Kira felt like her muscles were turning to jelly. Sweat dripped down her face, plastering locks of red hair to her forehead. She had to keep going. She couldn't let the exhaustion stop her. Her life depended on it. With a cry of frustration, she threw herself back in, swinging her lightsaber for all it was worth.

She was going to beat Ghereth in training, even if it killed her.

The seeming effortlessness with which Ghereth swept aside her attack only added to her frustration. The fact that he preferred to train shirtless was icing on the distraction cake. He was hardly even breathing hard, for crying out loud. He extinguished his lightsaber and took a step back. "Kira, trying to overpower your opponent's defenses is a recipe for exhaustion. It's like banging your head against a duracrete wall and expecting the wall to cave in first."

Yeah, I get it. You're built like a brick shithouse. Congratu-fucking-lations. Kira took a moment to control her breathing before she turned off her own saber. "Isn't overpowering the enemy what you do all the time?"

Ghereth smiled and shook his head. "Hardly. With my Force Push and Stasis techniques I isolate them. My lightsaber forms strip away their defenses until there's nothing left for me to overpower."

Kira sighed. She really wished he wouldn't be cute when she was trying to be mad at him. "Maybe I'm better off staying in the back of the battle, then."

Ghereth frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not sure I understand. You're a great Jedi, Kira. I've seen only a couple of Jedi who can handle the saberstaff with the ease that you can. You need training like a Selkath needs a tall glass of water. Why is beating me so important to you?"

Kira smiled coyly. "You mean, aside from the chance to see you all sweaty and glistening?"

Ghereth grinned sheepishly and scratched at the back of his neck. "Heh. Well...I'd be lying if I said I didn't...enjoy the effects a long day of training has on the fit of your clothes…" Kira was sure he'd figure out flirting one of these days. One of these days. "But I was actually fishing for the real reason."

Kira's shoulders slumped, and she sighed. He always had to cut to the heart of the matter. She fidgeted with her fingers as she stared at the floor. "Look. It's not that I don't like staying in the back and making sure you don't get us both killed, but...sometimes, I just wanna get stuck in, y'know? Kick some ass!" She smiled a little and looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I just don't want anything to happen. To you. Or me. Or us. So, I figure...if I can work out how to get past you, Mr. Duracrete Wall? The Sith don't stand a chance."

"Sounds like you've got the makings of a Jedi Guardian," Ghereth replied, a note of pride in his voice. He came over to her and set his hands on her shoulders. "Maybe it'll help to think of it this way. Master Orgus always said to me, 'Even on the smoothest ride, there's a squeaky wheel.' Everybody has a weakness, Kira. It's just a matter of finding and exploiting it. That's all combat is, really. Trying to find your enemy's weaknesses while keeping your own obscured." He took a few steps back and activated his saber again. The clear blue shaft shimmered in the fluorescent light of the training room. "Ready?"

Kira activated her double-bladed saber, whirling the blades in anticipation. "Ready!"

"Three. Two. One."

The two met in the middle again, sparks careening in every direction when their blades met. Kira tried a few new angles, coming up from under his guard and sweeping around from a sixty-degree angle. But everything she tried, there he was, endlessly battering away her attacks. The end of her technique took her a step too close, and he shoulder-checked her. She staggered back a few steps, scowling. "Ow! So we're fighting dirty, is that it?"

Ghereth shrugged, giving his lightsaber a little flourish. "I have the advantage of strength and size. Find your own advantages, Kira." With that, he went on the offensive, ramming her guard with hard, fast strikes that sent her backpedaling. She kept backing up until she felt her shoulders touch the durasteel bulkhead.

"Find the weakness, Kira!" Ghereth yelled over the clash of sabers. He refused to relent, continually striking as her guard grew weaker and weaker. "Clear your mind, and think carefully! You can do it!"

Kira took a deep breath, forcing the world to slow down around her. Find the weakness, Kira. Find the weakness. Listen for the squeaky wheel. Find the weakness.

Find the...weakness?

Kira extinguished her lightsaber, and dropped it. Ghereth was briefly stunned by the sudden maneuver, and that gave her an opportunity to step around his guard, pressing her body against his. She cradled his face in her hands and pressed a deep, thorough kiss to his lips.

Ghereth initially froze, but soon melted. He dropped his own saber, turning it off and sending it clattering to the floor. He braced one hand on the wall behind her, and snaked the other around her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

When they finally came up for air, Ghereth's expression was quizzical. "Hang on a minute. Weren't we supposed to be training?"

Kira laughed. She ran her hands down the rippling expanse of his chest. "Well. You said 'find the weakness,' right? So, I got to thinking. What could Mr. Brick Shithouse, Mr. Duracrete Wall's weakness possibly be. How could I get him to stick his neck out?" She smiled at him fondly. "Then I realized. You've stuck your neck out for me a hundred times now. So I figured your weakness is probably me."

Ghereth laughed. The solidity of his form against hers made her feel lightheaded. "I think you've got the right idea. Just...maybe don't try that particular technique on the next Sith we run across."

Kira grinned. "Depends on how cute he is."