Over a two-week span, Ky-Ra had come to appreciate the roguish Jedi who had
come to live at the palace. He was unobtrusive most of the time, but
occasionally he would make a suggestion for defensive tactics and Ky-Ra got
the distinct impression that he didn't fear or respect her the way her
soldiers did. While he didn't openly comment on anything, there was
something to him that hinted that he wouldn't blindly follow anyone.
Ra had found herself enjoying his company. It was a novelty to find someone as willful as she was and Kyp had more rough, unexplored facets than any man she had ever met. He could be sarcastic and hostile, but under it all, she still felt the original tell tale wounded ness pulsing from him.
Kyp himself was having trouble containing his feelings for the enigmatic Ky. He never had much use for women in his past. Of course there had been the odd one or two that had caught his eye, and he honestly didn't know what his feelings for Jaina Solo were, but he did know for sure that no woman he had ever known had inspired the feelings in him that he had towards Ky-Ra. It wasn't just that he wanted to be around her; it was that he needed it. He craved it like food; like air. While he still had his pride, there was a part of him that wanted nothing more than to make her happy. Realistically, he wouldn't do it, but there was a part of him that for the first time felt somewhat healed. For the first time he felt like he wanted to let someone in, and it scared him. He was no match for a warrior queen and he knew it. He was simply a Jedi Master, and a less than noble one at that. He knew he loved what he couldn't have, but that fact couldn't keep him from loving it. There was a fire in her that he'd only seen in women like Mara Jade and Princess Leia to a degree. He had always known that he could only love a woman like that, be he'd always also known he'd never deserve one.
These thoughts were starting to occupy his mind more and more. It was one of those times that Ra managed to startle him from his reverie.
"So solemn," she said, sitting down across from him. Her barely controllable hair hanging wildly around her face, she was still wearing the plain military uniform that he'd always seen her in.
Kyp gave a faint smile and leaned back against his seat.
"It's the invasion," he lied. Lying was easier than the truth.
Ky-Ra was not about to let him off that easily.
"It's not," she said, looking at him harder, "and don't take me for a fool."
Kyp flinched at his mistake. A diplomatic woman would have passed on his lie and let him say what he wanted. Ky-Ra was the very definition of undiplomatic.
"I don't take you for a fool," he said calmly, "but I relive myself being one more often than I like."
"We all do," Ra said with a nod.
"Not to the degree I do," Kyp said softly.
Ra looked closely at the man sitting across from her. He was attractive of a kind and to a degree that most men weren't. There was an intensity and passion about him that simmered just below the surface, but mingled in that was a pain that threatened to boil over. It was as if he constantly had to keep a tight reign on his emotions to keep himself from flying apart. His dark brown eyes seemed to give away entirely what was going on in his soul. Sharp features and high, defined bone structure gave his face the dangerous, yet delicate, profile of the arrogant, stately kind. It was almost as though he couldn't help looking aloof. Nature had made him that way. His fairly long, unkempt brown hair, pulled hastily away from his face, leaving strands hanging loose, added to his rakish quality. He could have achieved anything he wanted; yet the pain he carried crippled him from actually succeeding.
Kyp let his eyes rise to meet Ra's as she studied him. She didn't look away and read in those eyes a challenge, yet a vulnerableness that most people would miss. He reached a hand up to Ra's face and leaned towards her. A fraction of an inch before his mouth touched hers; he stopped, still searing her with his eyes.
"Are you going to hurt me?" he murmured huskily, yet it was a real question, loaded with a fear he'd seemed to be hiding for some time.
"If I do, I'll never forgive myself," Ky-Ra whispered back seriously, having never meant anything she had said as much in her life.
With that affirmative, Kyp didn't pause from capturing her lips with his, desperate for the contact like a drowning man for air. It wasn't a gentle kiss; it was hungry. There was a need to it had nearly made him desperate. His hand tangled in the Ky's mass of hair, Kyp recognized that fact that if he didn't stop soon, he wasn't going to be able to. Yet there was a part of him that didn't care. He put up a powerful struggle against that part and finally managed to pull himself together enough to break his contact with the Ky.
"I'm sorry," he said, not really meaning it in the slightest. Whether he was sorry about kissing her or sorry about having to stop, he couldn't even have told himself.
"I'm not," she breathed, still letting one hand rest on his face.
"You're both going to be," said a new voice from the corner of the room.
Ra had found herself enjoying his company. It was a novelty to find someone as willful as she was and Kyp had more rough, unexplored facets than any man she had ever met. He could be sarcastic and hostile, but under it all, she still felt the original tell tale wounded ness pulsing from him.
Kyp himself was having trouble containing his feelings for the enigmatic Ky. He never had much use for women in his past. Of course there had been the odd one or two that had caught his eye, and he honestly didn't know what his feelings for Jaina Solo were, but he did know for sure that no woman he had ever known had inspired the feelings in him that he had towards Ky-Ra. It wasn't just that he wanted to be around her; it was that he needed it. He craved it like food; like air. While he still had his pride, there was a part of him that wanted nothing more than to make her happy. Realistically, he wouldn't do it, but there was a part of him that for the first time felt somewhat healed. For the first time he felt like he wanted to let someone in, and it scared him. He was no match for a warrior queen and he knew it. He was simply a Jedi Master, and a less than noble one at that. He knew he loved what he couldn't have, but that fact couldn't keep him from loving it. There was a fire in her that he'd only seen in women like Mara Jade and Princess Leia to a degree. He had always known that he could only love a woman like that, be he'd always also known he'd never deserve one.
These thoughts were starting to occupy his mind more and more. It was one of those times that Ra managed to startle him from his reverie.
"So solemn," she said, sitting down across from him. Her barely controllable hair hanging wildly around her face, she was still wearing the plain military uniform that he'd always seen her in.
Kyp gave a faint smile and leaned back against his seat.
"It's the invasion," he lied. Lying was easier than the truth.
Ky-Ra was not about to let him off that easily.
"It's not," she said, looking at him harder, "and don't take me for a fool."
Kyp flinched at his mistake. A diplomatic woman would have passed on his lie and let him say what he wanted. Ky-Ra was the very definition of undiplomatic.
"I don't take you for a fool," he said calmly, "but I relive myself being one more often than I like."
"We all do," Ra said with a nod.
"Not to the degree I do," Kyp said softly.
Ra looked closely at the man sitting across from her. He was attractive of a kind and to a degree that most men weren't. There was an intensity and passion about him that simmered just below the surface, but mingled in that was a pain that threatened to boil over. It was as if he constantly had to keep a tight reign on his emotions to keep himself from flying apart. His dark brown eyes seemed to give away entirely what was going on in his soul. Sharp features and high, defined bone structure gave his face the dangerous, yet delicate, profile of the arrogant, stately kind. It was almost as though he couldn't help looking aloof. Nature had made him that way. His fairly long, unkempt brown hair, pulled hastily away from his face, leaving strands hanging loose, added to his rakish quality. He could have achieved anything he wanted; yet the pain he carried crippled him from actually succeeding.
Kyp let his eyes rise to meet Ra's as she studied him. She didn't look away and read in those eyes a challenge, yet a vulnerableness that most people would miss. He reached a hand up to Ra's face and leaned towards her. A fraction of an inch before his mouth touched hers; he stopped, still searing her with his eyes.
"Are you going to hurt me?" he murmured huskily, yet it was a real question, loaded with a fear he'd seemed to be hiding for some time.
"If I do, I'll never forgive myself," Ky-Ra whispered back seriously, having never meant anything she had said as much in her life.
With that affirmative, Kyp didn't pause from capturing her lips with his, desperate for the contact like a drowning man for air. It wasn't a gentle kiss; it was hungry. There was a need to it had nearly made him desperate. His hand tangled in the Ky's mass of hair, Kyp recognized that fact that if he didn't stop soon, he wasn't going to be able to. Yet there was a part of him that didn't care. He put up a powerful struggle against that part and finally managed to pull himself together enough to break his contact with the Ky.
"I'm sorry," he said, not really meaning it in the slightest. Whether he was sorry about kissing her or sorry about having to stop, he couldn't even have told himself.
"I'm not," she breathed, still letting one hand rest on his face.
"You're both going to be," said a new voice from the corner of the room.