Chapter Text
Despite your status as a high-ranking official in the First Order, receiving a visit from the Master of the Knights of Ren was incredibly unusual, and generally cause for alarm. So when he marched into your office without knocking and stood before your desk, you couldn’t help but be worried. “Good Evening, Commander Ren,” you said, standing out of respect and trying to keep your voice calm, despite the sense of dread that always followed Ren into a room. He made no reply, so you spoke again, asking, “Is there something that you need?”
“You are skilled in hand to hand combat,” he stated, his voice coming low and deep through the voice synthesizer on his mask. Since joining the First Order, you had made a reputation for yourself as you repeatedly beat many of the other officers in sparring matches, including an intense and now infamous match with General Hux, who, despite appearances, was a skilled and cunning fighter. Phasma was particularly impressed by your skill, and you now assisted her in training the many Storm Troopers under her command. Apparently Phasma and Hux were not the only important members of the Order who knew of your abilities, and now Kylo Ren was interested as well. “Yes, sir,” you replied to his statement, “hand to hand combat is my specialty.”
“And what experience do you have with weapons training?” he asked. “Depends on the weapon in question,” you said, “ I work regularly with blasters, obviously, while training with the Storm Troopers, and I have some experience fighting with a staff and a few other weapons.” He made no immediate reply, and the two stood across from each other, as you waited for him to speak. It was strange to see him this way, so calm and collected, head tilted slightly to the left, almost thoughtful. Normally you saw him on the offensive, arguing with the general, intimidating prisoners, or ripping through the walls of the Finalizer with his lightsaber. After what felt like an eternity under the inquisitive gaze of the mask, he said, “meet me tomorrow morning in the training facilities at 0500 hours for sparring practice,” and left before you could manage to respond.
You woke to your alarm the next morning with an immediate sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. All night you had tossed and turned, worried about the training session the next day. Your sleep was both restless and dreamless, but you swear you could remember waking up in the middle of the night to the smell of burned flesh and the feeling of a lightsaber carving into your skin. You hadn’t had much of a history working with Kylo Ren, but his reputation preceded him, and you knew all about his temper and lethal abilities from listening to Hux complain about the damage he had inflicted both on and off the ship. Sighing, you got out of bed and began to get ready. You weren’t entirely sure what to expect, so you decided to dress how you normally would for a training session, in a dark pair of leggings and loose-fitting tank top, so that you could have a free range of motion. You swept your hair back to keep it out of your face, and then made your way to the officer’s training facilities.
You were a bit early, and Ren had not arrived yet, so you began warming up on your own. There were a few other people in the room, either lifting weights or sparring. You were in the middle of stretching on one of the sparring mats when you heard the door open behind you, and you looked up to see Kylo Ren enter in all of his imposing glory. Everyone else in the room had stopped what they were doing as well, all unsure of what Ren might want.
“Everyone out,” he said, and you watched as the other officers quickly gathered their belongings and left the room, trying to avoid the gaze of Kylo Ren. The door shut as the last person left, and you and Ren were alone. Without speaking, he removed the helmet from off his head, and the cape from off his shoulders. You weren’t exactly surprised by his appearance; you already knew that he was a few years younger than the general, something Hux had mentioned to you once when he went off on one of his tirades. You were, however, surprised by his eyes, which were not what you had expected at all. Dark brown, almost kind and shockingly human. He seemed to be taking in your appearance as well, running his eyes over your frame, in an almost curious manner. You were used to men in positions of power questioning your capabilities; it came with the territory of being a woman in a combat role. But it seemed that Ren was sizing you up without judgement. He saw you as a worthy opponent, that much was certain, or at least the closest thing he could find to one. He approached you, after gathering two practice sabers that he had brought with him, his steps almost hesitant, and you realized that this was the most unsure, the most vulnerable, you had ever seen him. Which isn’t saying much, you thought to yourself. He still looked threatening.
“Lieutenant,” he said in greeting, tossing you a practice saber. You caught it easily from the air, grabbing at the hilt. The weight of it in your hands was not what you expected; the hilt was much heavier than the blade, and you swung it through the air a few times in an attempt to adjust yourself to the weapon. Ren came to stand by you, watching as moved the sword through the air. He cleared his throat before speaking, “are you familiar with this type of weapon?” You shook your head in response, holding the saber still in your hands.
“I’ve never fought with a saber before, but I know quite a bit about staff fighting and I would guess that at least some of the principles are the same,” you responded. Ren nodded in agreement, and you noticed how different it was to be around him when he didn’t have the mask on, almost comfortable. You listened intently as he explained how best to grip the hilt, the basics of stance, and methods for attack and defense. Once he was done explaining the basics, the two of you began sparring.
If you had thought Ren would go easy on you because of your lack of experience, you were soon proven wrong. Sparring with him was intense and exhausting, and although you weren’t using real weapons, each hit from his practice saber was powerful, and you could feel the bruises blooming beneath your skin from some of his sharper attacks. Despite the grueling workout you were getting, he seemed to gain more energy as time went on, growing more and more sure of himself. It looked like he was incredibly proud of himself, as well, and you could have sworn you saw him smile after each victory. The overall effect was aggravating, but at the same time, oddly charming, and you found yourself trying not to blush anytime he corrected your posture or complimented you on performing a particularly difficult move.
You had decided to take a break for a moment, drinking deeply from your water bottle and stretching your aching shoulder muscles. You and Ren were about to start sparring again when you glanced at the clock on the wall. You cursed when you realized the time, and started to grab your belongings. “I almost forgot, I have a meeting with Captain Phasma right now and I’m already late,” you explained as you moved towards the door, stumbling a little when Ren grabbed your arm and pulled you towards him. There was a little more momentum than he had expected, so you ended up standing directly in front of him, close enough that you could feel the heat radiating from his body; see the freckles dotting his cheeks. Close enough to kiss him, you thought to yourself and you could feel the blush bloom on your cheeks. He took a step back from you, the faintest trace of a blush spreading across his face as well, and he tried to regain his composure. “I can explain your tardiness to Captain Phasma, stay for one more match,” he told you, and you were compelled to comply. “I don’t know if I can handle losing again,” you said, in a tone that was maybe a bit too friendly, grabbing your weapon. “Who knows,” Ren replied with a lightness to his voice you could never have heard through the modulator, as you both took your positions, “maybe this time you’ll get lucky.”
It was obvious from the beginning of the match that you had improved from your first fight, and now more than ever you were determined to win. While Ren’s guidance had helped strengthen your fighting style, you knew you would need a new strategy in order to beat him. His technique was excellent, but there were still small flaws that you began to focus on. Ren was used to fighting at arm's length, relying on his reach to keep his opponents at a distance, and any time you moved into his personal space he would falter. You decided to use this knowledge to your advantage, and the second you found an opportunity you moved in, stopping the movement of his saber from coming down on top of you by grabbing his wrist, with enough momentum from the swing of your own blade to hit him in the side before he could try to block the attack.
“I win,” you whispered, out of breath. Your faces were barely an inch apart, and you could feel the hot grip of his hand at your waist. His breath was warm and heavy, and you could swear you saw him glance down at your lips. The moment, whatever it was, ended quickly, however, as the door opened with a loud swish, and the two of you were shocked out of your reverie by the unexpected visitor.
It was General Hux, and he looked furious.