faderift | A kick in the teeth is good for some [Closed]

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A kick in the teeth is good for some [Closed]

WHO: Kylo Ren and Rey
WHAT: Just a sparring match between two Force users
WHEN: Early Solace
WHERE: Gallows Courtyard
NOTES: Violence - these two don't hold back much

With their warm up routine finally done, Ben found himself breathless as he stretched and watched Rey as she did the same. It had become a routine for them, when time permitted, to spend time together like this. He liked the feeling of adrenaline that made his lungs expand and contract, his limbs burning lightly as he stretched them post-jog. They ended up in the Gallows' training yard where all the swords and shields and other tools were kept.

He enjoyed coming here to quietly go through his training or to meditate with Rey. It allowed them a minute to turn their thoughts off, to just feel one another's presence, and those around them, within the Force. He was never more at peace than when they meditated. Yet, he finds himself wanting to do something different. He straightens from stretching down to his feet to look at Rey, his brown eyes full of purpose.

"Spar with me. Your choice of weapon." Not that they didn't both carry their light sabers, of course. There were plenty of metal or wooden weapons here too. He gestures silently with an outstretched hand for her to come at him, once their weapons had been decided.

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"You wouldn't have stabbed me with that." He's sure of that, but still he leans into her again to pin her hands beside her head. They were both out of breath, their adrenaline spiked. He can't say he minds that it takes this much just for the two of them to scuffle. They were evenly matched, after all.

"I was being generous, calling it a draw." He smiles almost wickedly as he looks her up and down, checking for any other surprises. He knows that she wouldn't have stabbed him but knowing she had the knife in her hands brought his guard up just a bit.

"No, but the point is if this were a real fight, I would have," she replies, the smile not leaving her face even as he pins her hands. She can think of a few further ways she could get herself out of this position but she doesn't, allowing him to look her over without putting up a fight.

"Generous for you. I had you before we hit the ground. I would've crushed your windpipe if I hadn't deliberately moved my staff."

"How nice of you not to stab me or crush my windpipe. If I hadn't been playing fair either you would have been on your back long before." He still remembers the Force in moments when his life depends on it. Were she threatening him, he would have pushed her back with a simple flick of the wrist, just as he'd unconsciously done when Chewbacca shot him, stopping the Wookie from tearing him in two.

Almost as a punishment for her deception with the knife, he squeezes her wrists before letting his hold relax again. It would be easy to make her hurt if he wanted to, from this position, but the level of trust they shared prevented it.

"You almost look like the same scavenger I met on Takodana, from this angle." They were both covered in dirt from their earlier scuffle and the difference from then and now was that he wasn't worried about being shot, nor was he planning to hurt her.

"I play to win, Solo, it's not my fault if you don't do the same," Rey replies her smile faltering a little as he squeezes her wrists. She wiggles a little under him, getting her feet under her so she can push her she get her knees up on either side of his hips, just resting against them.

His comment that she looked almost like that scavenger on Takodana made her look up at him with consideration, pulling her lip between her lips.

"You don't look anything like the monster that stalked me."

"Mm. I think I like that - the competitive streak." His hands move down her arms, relinquishing his hold on her, and his eyes drop to her mouth. He wets his own lips, just taking a moment to appraise her.

"Oh, I'm still the monster, but with you it's different." He doesn't feel so much like a monster with her. There were days he lost his cool, still, but he didn't resort to choking anyone or killing them when they made him angry.

Careful, as if handling glass or something precious and fragile, he tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. This girl continued to surprise him. No matter how he towed the line between darkness and light she gave him something steady and real. He couldn't begin to understand why, when he's sure that he doesn't deserve it.

Her lips part as he runs his hands down her arms, the motion sending chills up her spine. She looks up at him, sweaty from their fight, dirty from the ground, and he couldn't look less like a monster to her. Even as he maintains he's still that monster, he tucks a strand of her hair that's come loose from her bun so gently, like he's afraid to break her.

But as she's come to learn, he's always treated her like that. Gentle, when others weren't extended the same courtesy.

Her arms shift now that they're free to do so, her hands sliding up his biceps.

"I don't think you are. You might be a little meaner to others but..." Your father was like that, too is on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn't say it. She doesn't want to ruin the moment. "That's just your personality."

He can feel the words she wants to say on the edge of their bond, making him suck in his breath. Instead he focus on the words she actually says, smiling ruefully as they fit inside his mind and he turns them over and over.

"My personality." He repeats, shaking his head slightly, his long hair falling in his face. "You know, there are others who could find different words for me besides 'mean'."

Cruel, almost feral, dangerous... yet he had allowed himself to calm somewhat. Not too long ago he resorted to choking and harming with the Force to get what he wanted. He hadn't done that in months. When she touches his arms, he allows himself to put all of that out of his mind. His thoughts were filled with her instead.

Rey can't help the smile that spreads across his face as his hair obscures his features. She reaches up with one hand, pushing his dark curls back as she lifts herself up enough so she can press her forehead to his, her hand settling at the base of his skull.

"They don't know you like I do." Part of her likes that, that there is this part of him that only she is allowed to see. It did complicate things, however, especially when it came to her trying to convince people that she was safe with him and actually wanted to be with him.

There was a clever retort in him somewhere, but it's forgotten when she pushes his hair out of his face and she lifts herself up to press her forehead against his. He moves back enough to give her space but doesn't go far when her hand moves to the back of his head.

He bites his lip, hesitating for just a moment before pressing his mouth to hers. His hands move to her shoulders and then to her cheeks, his leather gloves that he often trained with preventing him from touching her skin directly. A moment later he comes back to himself, realizing how exposed they are out in the courtyard.

"Rey," he whispers her name and kisses her again before pulling back slightly, his ears buzzing - his everything buzzing, really.

When they're together like this the rest of the world often fades into the background for Rey. Much like it had each time they'd connected through the Force, everything else seems muted and distant. It doesn't matter to her that they're lying in the dirt in the courtyard, and she kisses him like they're in their own bed.

It's only when he pulls away a little that she refocuses, feeling his emotions swirling together with hers, that concern at where they're currently positioned. She lets out a breath, moving in to kiss him again, before dropping away from him, laying flat on her back again, as that's really the only direction she has to go in.

"Shall we call it a day on the training?"

His breathing becomes shallow as soon as she pulls away from their kiss. He wouldn't mind kissing her again but his want for privacy overruled that desire. He sits back before removing himself from Rey completely, at first remaining crouched beside her before straightening to his full height and reaching out to take her hand and pull her to her feet.

"Let's call it a day."

She takes his hand and lets him pull her to her feet without really thinking about it, absently brushing dirt from her bare shoulders once she's standing. She exhales, looking at Ben and a slow smile creeps across her face.

"This would be the down side of our moving out of the Gallows. We have to go all the way home to get clean, or use the group baths." Which Rey doesn't love the thought of. The hot springs under Skyhold had been just as bad. Group bathing is never going to be a concept she's on board with.

He hasn't even bothered trying to get the dirt off of himself. He was more focused on her and the way she looked with her hair slightly mussed and little bits of dirt smeared on her skin. His hands drop to her waist and he pulls her into his space, fingers hooked into her belt to keep her there.

"Then we'll just have to hurry home." He whispers, leaning into her without completely closing the distance. "I don't like the idea of sharing a bath with strangers either."

He wouldn't even need to hook his fingers into her belt to keep her near him, his pull is magnetic to her. Everything from the way he looks at her to the tone in his voice as he whispers into their shared space keeps her right where she is. Tongue rolling between her lips to wet them she slides her hands up to his shoulders, her fingers hooking into his suspenders.

"Maybe we should get our things then. We'll miss the boat and have to wait until it comes back if we aren't fast."

"I'll get your bag then." He pulls away, looking around for any discarded items from said bag and putting what supplies she needed back into it. The staves are placed neatly with the rest of the training equipment and after a few moments her bag is pulled onto his shoulder.

"Do we have everything?" He turns to look at her, adjusting the bag more comfortably around his arm.

She can't help but watch him with some amusement as he goes about getting her bag without prompting, and putting things back where they came from. She's always been a self-sufficient person, but it's nice having someone who does things for her without prompting. It's funny that that someone is Kylo Ren.

When he turns to look at her she widens her smile and walks towards him, holding her hand out to him.

"The dogs, and I think that's everything."

"Ah. Caedus, come!" He calls out for the dog and for the energetic mabari came bounding towards them, his tongue hanging out of his grinning snout, and Padawan followed behind. With that settled, he reaches out to take her hand.

"Let's go home, then." His fingers slip between hers with practiced ease as they start toward the docks. Already he could feel some of the grime from their training start to set in. He was sweaty with dirt streaking his skin in places. She hadn't fared any better.

Rey smiled as the dogs came running, falling in to step at Ben's side. She used to think it was awkward, walking with someone while holding their hand (or running) but now it felt natural. She squeezes his fingers gently as they walk.

Luckily the ferry hasn't left yet and they're able to get aboard for the short ride across Kirkwall's harbor. Rey likes to stand along the side of the boat and watch the hustle and bustle around the docks, as well as the water going by, so she moves to the rail, pulling him along with her.

He allows her to tug him along without complaint. Once they have their own spot to themselves on the boat, he stands beside her and leans against the railing to look out at the water. Kirkwall was always dingy and dirty and gray, but he's known there to be crystaline blues for oceans in other worlds and on other planets. He wanted her to see those things someday.

"Do you like living near water more than the desert?" It's a seemingly random question, but one with a point to it.

"I couldn't even imagine this much water when I was in the desert," Rey replies, with a half laugh. She's gotten used to it, but she still loves it. Where Ben sees a dingy gray city and murky water, Rey sees a city filled with life that never would be possible on Jakku.

"Here... we have basins full of water. It's free, we don't have to trade things for it or fight over it. People go hungry still, but... being thirsty is so much worse."

"True." He nods along with what she's saying, in complete agreement. He's seen pieces of her life on Jakku through their Bond and heard about it with her own words, but it doesn't stop him wishing for more for her. For the both of them.

"I just... wish I could show you so much more. Like Chandrila, or so many other places." He almost wished they were home, that they could be like this and no war separated them. He wished she had said yes to him. "Kirkwall has water, yes, but everything in this place is still harsh and gray."

"I guess it doesn't really matter. We're here, after all," he adds.

She should be surrounded by bright green and plush grass, with flowers and sunshine. Kirwall was currently humid and gray and foggy and that just didn't work for him. Still, she's happy here and he can't deny that he is happy here, specifically because of her.

"Here, sure. But this planet is so different in each region. I've seen different places, beautiful places. Kirkwall is beautiful, too. You just have to look at it right," Rey replies, leaning against him and wrapping her arm around his waist as she looks out over the water, a soft smile on her face.

"Like our home."

He slips his arm around her as she moves in to do the same, bringing her close to his chest. His gaze moves to her instead of the water rippling out around the ship. He was mapping out her features and memorizing them, not for the first time.

"Mm." he hums out an answer, leaning in to embrace her with both arms and holds her against the rail of the ship as they looked out together. "I guess it's not so easy for me to see beauty in things like that."

The gray walls, the gray water, the smells and the sights of the city around them - none of it appealed to him. He was most at peace in their home, of course, but then Rey's flowers and the little touches they had done to their home gave it life that burned brighter than the walls that held the city in.

She smiles as he wraps his arms around her, holding her as they looked out across the water. There's beauty even here, in this moment between the two of them, but she knows how he struggles to see things the way she does.

"You're not alone in that. Most people just think this place is a dump." Leave it to the girl who grew up on a dump planet to find beauty in it.

"Maybe you can show me all the things you find beautiful in it and I might change my mind." He considers that to be a challenge, honestly. There's so much he dislikes about Thedas and their current situation, but having her like this is the one advantage to it.

It was easy to ignore that they had both finished training and were sweaty and dirty when he could hold onto her like this. He wasn't always a big fan of public displays, even when he initiated them, but he liked the proximity. He liked being able to hold onto her.

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