Cardo invited us to his townhouse for dinner, and we left the palace when Kylo's duties were completed. As soon as we walked in, he took his tie and waistcoat off, unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt and rolling his sleeves up. He took the beer that Cardo offered him, glass clinking as the necks of their bottles touched, and then took a long drink.
"Rey, beer?" Trugden asked.
I shook my head.
"She'll take a scotch, though." Kylo told him, and took another sip.
My stomach rolled as I remembered the first and only time I'd tried to drink scotch, and I shot my husband a glare that had the Knights howling with laughter. He smiled at me, adoration glinting in his eyes.
Vicrul came to stand next to me. "Where were you today?"
"Crying in my room, mostly." I told him, honestly. "I'm sorry I missed our session. I wouldn't have been able to do much in the sparring ring, anyway."
"Vicrul wouldn't have been much in the sparring ring, either." Ap'lek said. "He's afraid of crying women."
I looked over to my left for confirmation, and Vicrul snorted, defensively. "Crying women are scary!"
My eyebrows pulled together, as the Knights laughed again. "You're a Force-sensitive death machine, and you're scared of a crying woman?"
"You wanna talk phobias?" He said, and pointed to the man across the room from him. "Trugden is scared of clowns."
"Clowns are creepy!" He retorted, and motioned toward Cardo. "Unlike this guy, who is afraid of frogs."
"I am not afraid of them!" Cardo argued. "I just don't want them to jump on me."
"He squeals like a girl if one does." Kuruk told me, making Vicrul erupt into laughter.
"Do you remember that mission on Trask?" He asked, and Ap'lek almost spat out his beer as the other Knights laughed.
I looked at Cardo. "What happened during the mission on Trask?"
He set his jaw and I heard Vicrul and Kylo chuckling behind me. "We all got out uninjured and returned home safely."
Another roar of laughter.
"We needed to get out." Ap'lek said, and I turned toward him. "And we're tearing through the swamp to get to the Buzzard that Kuruk had put down on literally the only dry patch of land he could find." He huffed out a laugh, remembering. "Kylo and I were the last. We do this running dive to get in, and Cardo was supposed to close the loading doors so that when Kuruk put it in drive, we all wouldn't tumble out again." I nodded my understanding. "But, Cardo couldn't close the door. Not because it was locked, but because a tree frog was on the handle."
They laughed again.
"If you want to hear one of us squeal like a girl," Cardo deadpanned. "Get Ap'lek around a snake"
"Oh, you mean a thing with fangs that can kill you with actual venom?" Ap'lek shot back.
"I'm not scared of snakes." I said. "But I am afraid of butterflies."
They stopped, and looked at me.
"Butterflies?" Vicrul asked.
I nodded. "I've always hated bugs, but was told butterflies were pretty and wouldn't hurt me, so I should like them. And, one day, I was about five, I was outside with other little girls and a butterfly landed on me, in the middle of my chest, and was hanging on the ruffles of my dress. The other girls grabbed my arms and were holding me so that they could see it, and when I looked down, all I saw was its legs as it crawled toward my face, and I started screaming." I shrugged. "I've been terrified of them since."
Kylo's arm went around my waist. "I didn't know that." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
"Well, I don't know what you're scared of." I said, glancing up at him.
"Yes, you do." He said against my hair. "You've literally seen my worst nightmare."
My breath caught as I thought back to the night I'd gotten past his shields and done just that. After his power had pulled me awake, and I'd braved it to pull him out.
He was scared of losing me.
I kept my tone light. "So, you don't have an issue with spiders?"
He shook his head, his eyes light with amusement.
"Heights?"
Another shake.
"He's afraid of needles." Ap'lek said, matter-of-factly. "He had to stab one in Vicrul's thigh once, and he nearly passed out."
I looked up at Kylo who took a drink of beer, but Vicrul smiled. "I can't confirm or deny, I was nearly dead."
"Was it a battle?" I asked them.
"No," Vicrul said. "It was the day I found out that I'm deathly allergic to jogan fruit." His hazel eyes went to Kylo, genuine affection dancing in them.
"Kylo, when are you and Vicrul going to tell Rey about your bro-mance?" Kuruk asked.
"Around the time that you tell Cardo that you fucked his mom." Vicrul said, without hesitation.
I gasped, but Kuruk grinned. "Old news." He looked over at Cardo. "Right, son?"
"Fuck you." Cardo said, flatly.
"Speaking of things Rey needs to know," Trugden said, voice grave. We all looked over at him, to find his face void of emotion. His golden-brown eyes shifted to Kuruk. "Scarif."
The Knights howled with laughter, but Kylo waved his arm, yelling over them. "No, that is not a story that Rey needs to know." He pointed to Kuruk whose face had broken into a wicked grin. "No!"
"Scarif is a planet known for its beaches."Aplek started.
"Don't you do it, Ap'lek, I swear!" Kylo threatened.
"And, we were there on holiday-" Vicrul added.
"Ok, guys, you've had your fun, that's enough." Kylo said, earning more laughs from the others.
"We were on the beach one day-" Cardo said.
Kylo moved to put his hands over my ears. "La la la la la! She's not listening!"
I was, in fact, intently listening.
"Kylo didn't have swim trunks, because I mean, the guy practically glows in the dark." The muffled voice of Kuruk continued. "So, Trugden bought a pair for him."
"It's getting late, huh?" Kylo said, panic hitching his voice. "We should go." And then he was practically carrying me to the door, as his Knights followed.
"He wore them to the beach, and as soon as he hit the water-" Vicrul yelled.
We froze as Ushar appeared in front of the door, his eyes and face reserved, careful. His shadows whirled behind him, one peeking over his shoulder at us.
I looked at him, forgetting the story, and the six other men around us, and lowered my mental shields for him. 'Ushar.' I said, through the Force.
His amber eyes flickered to me.
'I put you in a really shitty situation on Lothar, and it wasn't my intention.' I told him, hoping he could feel my sincerity. 'I'm sorry.'
He looked at Kylo, then to the Knights behind us, and back to me. "Trugden had bought a pair of dissolving trunks, so as soon as Kylo got into the water, they fell apart, and we spent hours on the beach laughing at his naked ass in the water until we actually threw up."
The Knights erupted into hysterics and Kylo glared at Ushar. "Thanks." He said, flatly.
"Anytime, Ky." He said, winked at me, and then he was gone.