Forever Alone ~ Kylo Ren x Reader

15 - Exhaustion

After spending the rest of the evening laughing and messing around, you and Ben decided to head back to the Academy. The sun was long gone by the time you reached his hut and you were glad no one was there to watch you two, as you would probably be bombarded with questions and whispers. You didn't have anyone else besides Ben and he didn't have any one else but you. All the other young Jedi didn't want anything to do with you. Some were afraid of you, the duo that was always ruining class with endless questions and messing around. Others disliked you only because Master Luke appeared to favour you. Ben was obviously the favourite but you had no reason to be special. You were from the bottom of the bottom, and most of the kids here were from wealty families that occupied all sorts of titles. Many thought that it was unfair that you were treated so well. Though none of the yound Jedi made any inclination about their feelings towards you clear during class or drills, the whispers in the dining area and training fields were enough for you to get the message. 

Your classmates' distate for you didn't stop you from doing what you wanted though. No, in fact it made you even more eager to learn, to show them up. To prove that they wasted their time talking down to you. The best part of this whole ordeal is that they would never mention anything around Ben. As Master Luke's nephew, he held a lot of power over the other classmates. No real power, only that the others feared he may rat them out to his uncle and cost them their education. As long as you were with Ben, no one directly pestered you, though he wasn't able to stop the whispers. 

When you entered Ben's hut, you went straight for his cot and collapsed onto it, legs and arms sprawled across his blankets. He just looked at you and chuckled to himself, shaking his head and smiling. He went to his drawers and pulled out his sleeping clothes, casting a glance your way before starting to change. You were face down in his pillow and didn't look up until he was mostly clothed. By the time you removed your face from the pillow, he was just pulling his shirt over his head. You watched as the muscles under his skin flexed and relaxed as he moved. His broad shoulders stretched the fabric of the shirt at his chest as he pulled the clothing over his abdomen. You caught a glimpse of the muscles that were forming there, and noted how much bigger he seemed now. These past few months he'd really started to bulk up, either from the constant training you two did or something he was doing on his own. As an almost sixteen-year-old, he was finally able to build muscle instead of wandering around with his lanky stick arms. It just took you until now to realize that he was growing up, becoming a man.

Nothing similar could be said for you though. Being a year younger than him and a woman, you had a lot more work to do if you want to build the muscle he had. The training that had worked wonders for his muscle growth had done nothing but made you sore and hungry. You wished you had his metabolism, that you would be able to eat like he does, gain no weight and then burn off everything minutes later. It just wasn't fair. 

It didn't help that he had also shot up a few inches in the last few months. When you met, he had only been a couple inches taller than you, you barely had to tilt your head to meet his eye. Now however, he stood almost a full head taller than you, his chin lining up with your forehead. As big as he seemed now, you doubted he would stop growing any time soon.

He noticed your little trance and walked over to his cot, plopping down on the edge with enough force that you almost bounced right off the end of it. The cot creaked and squealed under both of your full weights and you worried that it may collapse. Luckily it held as you sat up and gave him more room. He scooted to the end of his cot with the pillow and leaned back against the hut wall, his arms behind his head. He yawned, stretching his arms up and over his head. Watching him made you yawn and suddenly become very sleepy. Seizing the excess space down at the other end of the cot, you sat at the other end with you back pressed up against his dresser. You then kicked your feet up and rested them on Ben's thighs, earning a confused smile from him.

"What?" You ask, looking from your leg arrangement to his eyes, and then back to your legs again.

"My feet are tired from beating the shit out of you all evening. I deserve this." You claimed, slouching back against the dresser and crossing your arms over your chest. You felt your head sway to one side and didn't have the energy to stop it from resting on one of your shoulders.

"Really? You see, I seem to remember me winning most of night and you being disarmed almost every time." He teased, resting one of his hands on your shins. The spot on your leg tingled under his touch but you ignored it as you retorted,

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say big guy." You could feel your eyes closing and it became a fight to keep them open. Even though the day consisted of mostly talking and wandering through the woods, you found yourself both physically and emotionally exhausted. No matter how many time you and Ben sparred with each other, you were always left breathless. You'd like to think that Ben responded the same, but there have been plenty of times where he has barely broken a sweat. 

"Aww, are you tired? Does the little Y/N need to go sleepies?" He teased, sticking out his bottom lip and pouting. Instead of answering him, you lifted one of your legs in the air and threatened to drop it on his crotch. Realizing what you planned to do, he quickly covered his groin with one hand and shoved your legs off him with the other. You shot him a glare as you pulled your legs into yourself, trying to curl into the wall and sleep.

"Okay, okay. My bad." He apologized, throwing his hands up in the air in surrender. Looking from the spot where your legs had been to your curled up frame in the corner of his cot he added,

"Alright, let's get you to bed. We've got an early morning classes with Uncle Luke tomorrow." He held out a hand for you to take but you stayed curled up in the corner, slowly letting your eyes shut.

"Come on, Y/N. Don't make me carry you." He said standing up, leaving his open hand out for you to take. You still didn't move, couldn't be bothered to care as you were just about to fall asleep. You could hear him scoff and caught the last bit of an eye roll as you let your heavy eyelids shut and your body relax into sleep. Just as your concsiousness was slipping away, you felt strong hands grab your arms and pull you up. His hands shifted from your arms to your waist as he threw you over his shoulder with little effort. Wow, he really had gotten stronger. You groaned as he left his hut and stated walking towards yours, with you slung over his shoulder like a sack.

"I told you I would." He responded to your groaning. Before you could protest, he had already taken you to your hut and was laying you down on your bed. He let you down softly, ensuring that your head landed on the pillow and none of your limbs were twisted in and uncomfortable way. Just as he was about to turn and leave, you reached out and grabbed his hand. 

"Ben?" You grumbled, your voice partially muffled by the pillow.

"Yes Y/N." He answered, crouching down in front of your cot so you were eye to eye.

"Just to make sure, we're not going to join this whole darkness thing, right?" You said lifting your face from the pillow and forcing your eyes open long enough to look into his. He hesitated for a second, only a second before saying;

"No Y/N, we are not joining the whole darkness thing." He said, a smile plastered on his face that you couldn't help but return, despite being half asleep. He gave your hand s tight squeeze, before standing up and started towards the door to your hut. Just before his hand opened the door, he stopped and looked back at you. He paused and then said,

"Goodnight Y/N." Then he was gone before you could wish him goodnight aswell. You still managed to force out a low hum as a farewell before you let sleep take you, not thinking twice about Ben's actions.