(23) proximity

302 9 3
                                    

After what felt like endless hours of tossing and turning in your bed, you finally decided to take a sleeping pill. You have work in the morning, you need to be somewhat rested. However, when your alarm rings for the first time, you blindly reach for it and turn it off. Then you do it again, and again. Eventually, you're conscious enough to realize that you're going to be late for work if you spend even another minute in bed. With a loud groan, you get up and stumble to the bathroom, barely able to see anything properly yet. You force yourself to take a shower, even though the last thing you want to do is to take your clothes off. You're so tired that everything feels cold. Even the moderate temperature of the bathroom. At least the water on your face wakes you up somewhat enough for you to fully feel your body.

With your hair dried, you lean against the sink, staring at the tiled wall. You're honestly not sure if last night actually happened. Did you really have an extensive make-out session with Kylo Ren? Or was that just a dream your restless mind created? You sigh. You know that it happened, but you're not sure how to feel about it. Armitage asked you to be his girlfriend and a few hours later you kiss the man he despises.

Armitage. Something changed about him. The man you were on that planet with fades away. With every day you spend on Starkiller Base, he becomes more foreign to you than a strange planet could ever be.

You think of the stream you dove in to hide from the Rebels. The Armitage who put his legs around your waist as you let the current carry you, deep in the middle of the river, close to the sandy ground where it's almost silent; The Armitage who got all flustered when you kissed him, who had a softness in his eyes that made your stomach flutter; you're losing him.

Of course, you knew how he's at work. Damn, you heard that man shout at officers more than you can count. But he never, ever raised his voice at you. Except maybe during sex, to moan, or beg, or curse. Now, it's a push and pull. One minute, he pulls you in, looks at you like you're the center of the universe; the next he snaps at you with a coldness in his voice that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

The beeping of your datapad interrupts your pondering. Panic rises in you when you read the message by Phasma. Where are you?

Shit. You were supposed to meet with her in the hangar ten minutes ago.

On my way, sorry.

Closing the zipper of your uniform on the run, you jog to the elevator. On the way down, you try to get your hair into an appropriate hairstyle without having a mirror. When the doors open, you have to give up and start running again. With your cheeks tinted red, you more or less jump down the stairs to the hangar.

The last meters to the ship, you walk at normal speed, catching your breath. Phasma is already in full armor, her helmet propped up on her hips. As soon as she sees you, she gives you a nod and boards the small vessel that takes you to the training grounds. Quietly, you sit down next to her, tapping your foot on the metal floor.

Eventually, she speaks up: "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Alright."

You don't say another word until you enter the room with the battalion you're going to work with today. You split the group in half. One training with Phasma in advanced combat, the other with you concerning flight surgery. Kuruk keeps his battalion in check, observing everyone present. After about two hours, the groups switch.

Once you're in the workflow, you forget about how tired you are. You don't have to have quick reaction time to explain basic stitches. That changes when Ren enters the room unannounced. Everyone freezes before standing at attention.

Sky Fall [ReaderxGeneralHux&KyloRen]Where stories live. Discover now