Disclaimer: Still doesn't belong to me ;-)
Part II
"You're… holding back," Jaina panted, spinning and blocking a high blow before dropping to a knee and somersaulting as he tried to flank her with a high leap. "Afraid to… beat up… on a girl?"
He grinned in the predatory way and thrust a hand forward. Jaina felt the Force blow coming and stuck herself in place- but it left her vulnerable as Kyp leapt forward while she couldn't move. She raised her violet blade in a defensive arc, feinted, and let herself be swept backwards by the shove; Kyp sliced through empty air.
The surprise of her maneuver cost him his continued use of the Force to shove her away. The pressure ceased moments before she hit the wall; consequently, she banged her head just a little softer than she would have otherwise. She winced once but crouched low again, conscious of her distance to the corners and determined not to allow him to back her into either.
She needn't have worried; he deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt, moving purposefully towards her. Confused, she deactivated her lightsaber as well and frowned, straightening.
"What?"
"Let me see your head."
She stared. "It's fine. We don't have to stop."
A faint flicker of a smile touched the corners of his mouth. "Just turn around and let me see your head."
Sighing a bit dramatically, she did so, clipping her lightsaber back to her belt in the process. She started a bit when she felt Kyp's fingers move softly through her hair, probing the mildly bruised area gingerly. A faint touch of the Force tingled in her scalp as he assessed any underlying damage…
And before she could react, his leg jammed into the backs of her knees, driving her to the floor; he yanked her head back by her hair and his lightsaber was suddenly ignited, inches in front of her neck.
Thirty seconds passed in silence. Jaina heard nothing beyond Kyp's heavy breathing in her ear.
"Ow?" she finally managed. Chuckling lowly, he deactivated and put away his lightsaber and released his hold on her hair but remained kneeling behind her. He pulled her disheveled hair from her face and neck, smoothing it down her back before reaching up and massaging her shoulders gently.
"Holding back?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice. She shivered involuntarily as his hands worked out a knot below her right shoulder blade. "Never forget, Jaina… physical strength is only one tool, especially to a Jedi. You shouldn't let your guard down just because the threat appears to be ended."
She groaned and leaned back into his touch. "And just how am I supposed so know whether our sparring sessions are truly over, Master?"
A faint sense of amusement flowed from him. "Trust your instincts?" he suggested sardonically. "What are they telling you now?"
"That it's you who's not to be trusted." She clamped her mouth shut, having spoken without thinking. His hands stilled but did not leave her shoulders, and Jaina became very aware that his breath was still heavy against her neck; she didn't think it had much to do with the physical exertion either.
"Is that so?" his voice was tinged with a dark humor. He reached one hand under her chin and tilted her head around so that their faces were mere inches apart. "Maybe your instincts are better than I thought."
For a full five seconds, she remained, paralyzed, wide-eyed and staring into those deep, dark eyes and kneeling on the floor of the training room, centimeters between their bodies…
And then with a move so sudden it even surprised him, she was off the floor and halfway across the room before he could blink. Her breathing was shallow, almost gasping. "I think that's enough for tonight. We have an early meeting."
"Jaina…"
"Goodnight, Master Durron."
He watched her go, torn between annoyance, frustration, curiosity, and… perhaps a tinge of desire.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
She was barely in the door of the training room the next night when his sharp voice rang out. "Running away from your master without having been dismissed is a bad habit to be in, Apprentice Solo."
Her expression did not falter, but he thought he detected a faint blush rise in her cheeks. "So between squadron training during the days and Jedi training in the evenings, I essentially answer to you at all times, is what you're telling me?"
"There's always the time you're asleep," he argued bemusedly. "I have no power over you then."
A definite blush that time. Interesting. Perhaps she had been having some intriguing dreams…
Looking slightly chagrined, she planted herself stoically. "My apologies, Master. It won't happen again. Now," she surveyed the dimly lit training area, "what did you have in mind for tonight?"
He tilted his head as he studied her for a moment. "Come here," he ordered. Her brow rose, but she did as told, approaching slowly- cautiously, even. She stopped a meter in front of him, but he closed the gap with a long stride, forcing her to look up at him from her considerably shorter height. "Why did you run away last night?" His tone was curious more than anything, but she looked reluctant, as though he had reprimanded her.
"I did not 'run,'" she clarified. "I told you I was leaving and left."
"That doesn't answer my question."
She frowned. "It was late and we had a long day ahead of us."
"Still not good enough."
This time she exhaled heavily, letting her frustration come through physically and mentally. "I was… uncomfortable."
His brow quirked in interest. "Is that so?"
She snapped a defensive reply. "Yes! You'd just told me that you weren't to be trusted, after dragging me to the floor with a lightsaber to my throat- a position I am more than a little reluctant to find myself in with someone I can't fully trust."
He surprised her again. "A fair point," he conceded. "But I still don't think that's the reason. I said your instinct was a good one; I never said you couldn't trust me."
The consternation showed on her face as she frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Of course it does. Tell me, Jaina- how long have you known me?"
She throttled her confusion as fast as it appeared. Good girl. "Longer than I can remember. Fifteen years."
"And would I hurt you?"
"No." She said it immediately, automatically and then looked a bit peeved at her fast response.
He smiled. "You see- you know that I am safe to you, and that can make you lazy, sloppy; but your instinct- that surpasses what you know to be true. It tells you that, though you know that I would not harm you, I am still a powerful person. It makes you wary, sets you on edge, and by putting you in the situation I did, I forced you to see that side, to realize that you should never let your guard down, no matter how confident you feel of your own safety."
"So…" she took a step back to better look at his face, "all part of the lesson then?"
"Hm," he murmured noncommittally, still regarding her curiously. Of course, her sudden departure the prior night had little to do with any of these reasons, but they were valid concerns and lessons, so he would let it go- for now. Sometimes… he forgot how innocent she really was, beneath the hardened, warrior exterior.
Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.
They sat together on the floor of her cabin, expanding their awareness in the Force, linking together much in the same way as a battle meld, but relaxed, feeling, sensing…
In two weeks, she'd been reluctant to meditate in this fashion with him, was reluctant to open her mind to him so fully. The events of a few days prior, however, had cowed her somewhat as she feared offending him by seeming to not trust him once more- so she relented after he'd barely asked again.
It was an educational experience for both. Kyp had a better view into Jaina's thought processes than ever before, and it was interesting to see the cold calculation with which she approached meditation. Nearby presences were filed neatly away in her awareness based on such factors as proximity and species, and she fully investigated each location in the Force before moving on to the next, compartmentalizing the ship in her mind as it was in real life.
Kyp's own awareness was more fluid, taking in everything at once and then breaking it down piece by piece as his attention and curiosity were grabbed by a certain action or being within his scope. Neither way was preferable over the other, he supposed; Jaina's method gave her more detail, his own gave him a broader picture of things.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and watched her in silence for a few moments, seeing her heavy-lidded eyes flutter as though dreaming as she sought out the next piece of the Force, broke it down, analyzed it, and filed the knowledge away for when it might be useful…
Her eyes opened slightly- and then wider when she realized he was watching her. A flurry of panicked emotions rose and were suppressed before Jaina pulled herself harshly out of the mind meld. It was too late though. He'd sensed exactly what she'd been trying to avoid, the emotions she had suppressed since the night he walked her from the hangar to her quarters… a sense of a dark, forbidden attraction…
"You're easily distracted," he commented coolly. Her face reddened, eyes still wide as her mind went into damage-control mode. "Is it the number of people here, so close to you? Perhaps it's exhaustion? You have been working awfully hard of late." She shook her head in annoyed defiance at the implication that she couldn't handle it. "Or perhaps…" he smiled softly, "perhaps it's just me."
Her heart thudded. "What?" Her tone was cool, controlled.
"Come now, Jaina… there's nothing to be gained by hiding your feelings. You've been suppressing them for two weeks and it isn't good for you. It's making you uncontrolled, easily goaded…"
Her eyes flickered. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"Tell me what you're feeling," he offered simply, sitting back and regarding her with his carefully schooled 'Jedi master' expression.
"I…" she hesitated. "Embarrassed. I'm better than this and I hate looking… undisciplined… especially for someone whose opinion I value as much as I do yours."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "And what is causing your lack of discipline here?"
She looked briefly annoyed before sighing and relaxing, letting it go. "I think you know," came her soft reply.
"Hm," he watched her closely. "I do. But it would be good for you to put it in the open yourself."
Face instantly red, she struggled to retain a sense of her dignity as she ground it out. "I find myself… increasingly intrigued by you," she admitted quietly. "In a way I know I shouldn't."
A slight smile touched his lips. "Why is it you think you shouldn't? Why is it forbidden?"
"I'm your apprentice!" she sounded scandalized. "You're one of my father's best friends, you're almost double my age…"
"Are you convincing yourself or me?"
She stopped her tirade abruptly. "What?" her voice was careful.
"You heard me. Jaina," he stood and took her hands in his, pulling her to her feet as well, "you aren't blind. You cannot be as oblivious as you pretend regarding my… attraction… to you." A hand reached out to stroke her hair, tucking a loose lock behind her ear.
Her question stopped him suddenly. "Is that why you wanted me for an apprentice?" she demanded, stepping to turn away from him. His hand shot out and caught her arm.
"No," he said honestly. "You'll be an extraordinary Jedi one day, but you've become lax in your training since your aunt took ill. I couldn't let you continue to neglect yourself like that." He looked her up and down slowly, and she flushed. "But… you're beautiful, fiery, and spirited, and I can't help it if I've grown to admire you for those qualities in ways that aren't strictly… master-apprentice appropriate."
Her emotions were spiking too quickly for Kyp to keep track of them. He loosened his grip on her arm but pulled her close to him again. "Maybe I should go," Jaina murmured.
"This is your room."
"I-," she frowned at his jesting tone. "You know what I mean. I should leave Chandrila."
His eyes flashed and she blinked, wondering if she'd imagined it. "Jaina," he said calmly, "we have a remarkably informal apprenticeship going; I don't think you need worry about violating the sanctity of the master-apprentice spirit here." When she didn't answer, he leaned closer down to her and his lips whispered across her ear. "And can you honestly tell me that you aren't at least a little curious…?"
He pressed his lips to hers. She was frozen, still at first, but after a moment, moved her lips experimentally against his. In response, he deepened the kiss, bringing up a hand to grasp the back of her neck as he reached out for her emotions in the Force…
She was drowning. Excitement, anticipation, confusion, nervousness… it had been bottled up, but she'd wanted this for days, and that thought more than any other drove him. He pulled her body flush against his as he plundered her mouth, strong hands moving across her back before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and holding her tight as he backed up a few steps until his knees hit the back of her small bed. Turning, she squeaked in surprise as he first pushed her against the cot and then lowered her down onto it.
And that's when the alarm bells began ringing in her head.
For a few moments she was still kissing him back as her mouth and hands struggled to stay coordinated with her mind. And then she was turning her head aside, mumbling his name as he continued to lavish kisses across her throat. When that proved ineffective, she tried pushing him until she realized two things: first, that he was much bigger and stronger; second, that she could use the Force to accomplish what her physical strength could not.
With a sudden shove, Kyp found himself stumbling backwards across the room as Jaina sat up, eyes wide, hand to her mouth in… surprise? Fear?
They stared across the small space at one another for close to a minute. Both were breathing heavily, raggedly, and Kyp's expression slowly cooled as he remembered himself. He ran a hand through his long hair. "Jaina…"
"I'm sorry," she went red and looked down.
"No," he said adamantly, startling her further. "Shavit, Jaina… I mean, you shouldn't be sorry. I was… out of line." He smiled ruefully. "I forget how young you are sometimes." She flushed and looked angry. "Come now," he slowly walked back to the bed and, hesitantly, sat down beside her. "I don't mean it patronizingly. It's just easy to forget that you've grown up in a war and, while you've been off chasing the Yuuzhan Vong, you haven't had time to experience that other side of adulthood."
She still looked worried. "It's not… not that I don't like you," she winced. "I just don't know… what's happening…" she let out a shuddering sigh. "That just happened very quickly, is all."
"Yes," he murmured, cupping her face gently in one hand, pleased when she leaned into the touch rather than away from it. "It did, and the fault is mine. Never let anyone make you feel pressured to do something you're uncomfortable with; I got carried away and you handled it well." He smiled softly. "So let me make it up to you and tell you exactly what I'd like." Her eyes contracted nervously and her breathing hitched, but she did not object. "I would like to kiss you one more time- and then I'd like to leave you to your privacy to think some things over before you turn in for the night."
A corner of her mouth quirked upwards. "That would be… acceptable."
Her stomach was aflutter with a tingling nervousness that was not entirely unpleasant as he leaned close once more and- with much less urgency- pressed his lips gently to hers again. It was a thorough kiss, slow and methodical, and she found herself disappointed when he pulled away and stood.
"Think on what's happened here tonight," he told her softly. "And if, in the morning, you still feel it best that you quit Chandrila, I will not attempt to dissuade you. Goodnight, Jaina."
End Part II