As accustomed to it as he was, the corner of Kyle's mouth still twitched knowingly at the first signs of that infamous temper. As much as he and his predecessor were known for theirs, Rey's capacity for it was vastly underestimated. Freya's, too. They both tried their best to fight it, but it was always there, brimming just beneath the surface. Convenient for him, that he knew best how to bring it out in them. Curious still, how that impulse seemed to be as far from his thoughts as one could get.
He could tell from the way she'd phrased the question that she was responding to something other than his verbal response. She'd felt his surprise, as he'd felt her sudden flare of anger, radiating through his bones like she'd always been a part of him and he'd only recently been made aware of it. It bothered Kyle less than it used to, having come to accept the ways in which they were connected that left little room for privacy. After all, it went both ways.
Eyes gravitating towards her movements once she stepped up beside him, Kyle watched intently as she picked up a book and tried to talk around what was eating at her while she flipped through its pages. His hand fell away from the book under his own touch, dropping back to his side before folding both hands behind him, elbows slightly bent as his body relaxed into the formal, yet familiar position. It was how he often stood, when he found himself in a setting that he wasn't quite sure how to move in.
School. Another thing they wouldn't have in common. Any that he had would have been miles different from the kind of education she'd no doubt been given. All he'd really had was his tutor and a few hours set aside when he wasn't in combat training. No doubt she'd had the experience of an actual classroom, and classmates. People she called friends, and a more balanced education beyond language and military tactics.
Freya's light called to him just as strongly as the dark. That was the truth at the core of it that Kyle steadfastly ignored even now, but it's also what held his attention even after that burst of anger from her burned out like a dying star. It was what he sensed beyond the anger that really drew him, what lay buried underneath it that was as much a part of him as it was a part of her. Hurt. She was a wounded animal, lashing out with her pain instead of putting it where it belonged. He could relate.
"Empty." Kyle didn't realize at first that he'd spoken aloud, echoing the final word only a beat behind her like he'd anticipated it, as if he'd read it from her mind, when really it had already been on the tip of his tongue. It was a feeling, something that resonated in her that was already rooted in him. A feeling he knew all too well.
Maybe that's why Kyle didn't think twice about it, no longer feeling held prisoner by what he couldn't control. This was just one more thing.
"Tomorrow is unavoidable. For me, too," he added, his meaning clear as he glanced downwards, eyes finding her before it was his turn to brush past a confession and continue walking down the aisle, hands still folded neatly behind his back. His mouth felt curiously dry in the wake of it.