Despite his initial offer, he was still somewhat surprised to hear her so readily offer her home as their final destination before they inevitably parted ways. He remembered just as clearly as she likely did the last time they'd both found themselves there - physically, anyway. Kyle had been in her personal quarters plenty of times since through the guise of the Force, but physically, he'd only been there once before now. Not long after they'd first met, and he'd caught her by surprise then. Despite getting off on the wrong foot and his unannounced visit, it had marked the beginning of their journey towards mutual discovery, strained as it had first been.
It all felt like a lifetime ago.
There was a moment where Kyle might have said yes. When the small but persistent part of him that craved real connection might have actually won out over persisting reason. His hidden desire to not be alone and his more insistent need to distance himself from the situation were constantly warring inside him, and it was usually the latter that won. As much as he had grown accustomed to her company, Kyle was also used to being alone. It was the only thing that came naturally, and in a situation like theirs where everything was unfamiliar, it was also the sort of thing that Kyle was more likely to fall back on.
A part of Kyle's mind was already far away, imagining what it would be like to accept what was being handed to him. Trying and almost succeeding at picturing himself doing something as absurdly normal as stopping for food after an afternoon spent in a bookstore. Kyle's temporary delusion was almost strong enough for him to believe it, that something as uncomplicated as that could be his. But that wasn't his life. And with an uncomfortable pang, he realized it never could be. Not for him.
Before you go back.
It was her words that brought him swiftly back to reality, reminding him all at once with a note of frustration that he'd already crossed more lines than he should have today, and it wouldn't be wise to cross anymore. Not before he'd had some time to reassess. He could feel the danger surrounding her unasked question, one she might be more tempted to ask if they prolonged this outing any longer then he already meant to.
"Thank you, but I should..." Jaw muscles briefly tightening with the effort it took to remain resolute in his decision, as much as he didn't wish to anymore than he actually wanted to leave her at her doorstep. Kyle searched in vain for words that didn't come and in the end he just borrowed hers. "Get back."
Looking down at her with a flicker of something that might have been regret before it quickly passed, Kyle thought to himself how ironic it must all be when she'd been the one to forbid him from coming back to her flat in the first place, after his initial visit to her all those months ago. One of those rules that Freya so desperately clung to, likely in an attempt to maintain some control in their arrangement. Another time, it would have been more than enough reason for Kyle to take advantage of this unexpected tip in the scales, but it was no longer clear to him who held the advantage. And just like that, suddenly the ground he'd been so carefully treading had become treacherous underneath his own feet.
Freya had been the one to erect this boundary between them, but now it was Kyle who found himself unspeakably unwilling to cross it. He could walk her back to her place, but that's where he would leave her. Anything else felt more dangerous than routinely inhabiting her space through the Force nearly every night to date. Tucking her gift to him under his arm with a surprising amount of care, Kyle wordlessly moved to open the door for her for the second time that day, an act that felt almost second nature with her somehow. Then, before he could stop himself. "If you get tired of reading... you know where I'll be." In the Force, where she could always find him.