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„This is not an invitation,” the young woman grumbled. “It’s an abduction!“Kylo Ren grinned inwardly. He had pursued his young assistant for months, to no avail; that he had managed to convince her to come home to his family for Thanksgiving dinner was more than he had expected. Almost, that is. He usually got what he wanted.“Just see it as a pleasant surprise,” he said.“Surprise?! When you practically all but bundled me up and stuffed me into your car?”“Well, you could have kicked me or run away. Or at least told me to get lost.”Rey Johnson snorted while she looked out of the side window of Kylo’s car. As one of the chief lawyers in the company she worked for, he earned so much that she never understood why he didn’t show off at the wheel of a Lamborghini, like so many of his colleagues, and drove an old Ford Falcon instead, a rusty piece of junk that looked like it wouldn’t outlive the winter. On top of it all, the sky was grey and it was raining. Typical November weather. Rey detested it.“It won’t be that bad, I promise. My family is quite reasonable. Most of the time.”Rey rolled her eyes. “This piece of garbage will break down before we are halfway there,” she muttered.“Don’t speak like that or my father will hate you right away! This car always was his pride and glory.”“If your father is in any way like you, I’m in for a treat.”“That’s difficult to say.” Kylo smirked in the way she found most insufferable. “Some people say I’m much like him, others say I don’t seem at all like his son.”Rey finally accepted that the situation was at a dead end. She leaned back in the passenger seat and tried to make herself a little more comfortable.Kylo Ren had been her boss for about six months and these six months had been everything but boring. 23-year-old Rey hadn’t been ecstatic about the idea of working as a personal assistant, let alone in a law firm, but she had needed to earn money so she had grabbed what she could - at least she was good at organizing so the office job wasn’t that terrible.Not that she hadn’t been warned from the beginning: Human Resources had urgently searched for another personal assistant, and she had been the first not to draw back right away on being told that her future boss was renowned for having the devil of a temper.At first the tall man with the tailored suits and well-coiffed black hair had seem polite enough, but he had soon shown to be impatient and expected her to manage impossible tasks in far too little time. After a few weeks, her own temper had run away with her: she had stormed into his office after another of his insolent e-mails, asking him how he ever expected to get his job done if none of his assistants could endure him for longer than three days. She had topped it off telling him that she was not afraid of him and that he could go to hell for all she cared. Kylo had just gazed at her in surprise.The next day, Kylo had been remarkably meek. Rey didn’t trust the calm, she sensed something was brewing. She wasn’t afraid of Kylo - she had grown up in the foster system and if she had learned something about people, it was discerning good from evil; and despite his cold arrogance and his damned impatience, she instinctively had sensed that he wasn’t actually mean. They had worked together rather well for a few weeks.Then Kylo had asked her out. Rey had refused - she didn’t find him attractive and besides she didn’t want to get involved with anyone at work. He had asked her again and again, collecting “No’s” until it almost became a personal joke between the two of them. From time to time, before she went home, he would lean casually in his door, his jacket discarded, smile at her and ask her to come with him to this and that restaurant or concert. Rey would simply roll her eyes and say no, and he’d laugh, like he was secretly pleased. Rey found she wasn’t really angry with him, nor he was with her if the twinkle in his eyes was anything to go by, but she still wished he would give up already and take her word for granted.Kylo was not unattractive, some of the younger women in the office even made sheep’s eyes at him; he looked like some hero in a melodrama with his prominent nose and the scar that crossed the right side of his face, which nobody knew how he had got it. Only his ears didn’t quite fit the picture, they stuck out from his head and made him look a little funny.After a few months they had built a good working relationship and Rey had learned to trust Kylo and to win his trust in return; it was like a semi-official friendship between them. But Rey still wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. ~~~ Rey had been sitting quietly at her desk today, the entire office already deserted, when Kylo had looked over the wall of her cubicle with his arms crossed on the top, being tall enough.“Not off for turkey-killing yet?” he had asked with half a grin. At times like these, when they were alone in the office, he sometimes talked to her privately.“No,” she had responded, sorting through some undone work. “At least I’ll have time to finish this.”Kylo had lifted an eyebrow. “No Thanksgiving dinner?”She had looked up at him. “I thought you read my file when I was assigned to you. You must know that I have no family.” She tried not to sound hostile. She was used to being alone, but holidays made her feel somewhere between wistful and frustrated, and right this morning before coming to work she had decided that this year she would handle them differently.“What about your friend - what was his name? Finn? That funny guy who comes to pick you up sometimes.”She had rolled her eyes. “Yes, his name is Finn. He has a girlfriend now and they went to her sister and her family.”“They didn’t invite you?” His expression had barely changed, but from the tone of his voice his concern seemed genuine.“They did. But I didn’t want to be in their way.”There was a pause. “So why did you pack a bag?” Kylo nodded in direction of her small luggage on the floor.“Because I have told myself that I will spend the next four days at some hotel, or resort, away from nosy lawyers who can’t mind their own business,” she snapped.“Nothing booked yet?”“With all of the places in the city and the outskirts, I’ll find something in a minute.”There was a short pause. Then Kylo knocked on the top of the wall like he had taken a sudden decision. “All right. You’re coming with me.”“I’m doing what?” She had looked up, startled. Kylo had come around to the entrance.“I’m spending the holiday with my family. They will be glad if I bring you with me. My mother has been pestering me the last three years why I never bring a girl home.”“Kylo, I’m not your girl, and for the last time, I’m not interested…”“Who said anything about being my girl? As if I would have an interest,” he had grinned, and Rey had snorted.Kylo became serious again. “Look, Rey, I mean it. I don’t like the idea of your spending the holidays all alone. There’s plenty of room in my parent’s house. I can call them and tell them I’m bringing someone right away.”“Oh yes, and what will you tell them? To prepare a double room?”“No, you silly -“ He had shortly closed his eyes and balled his fists. “There’s no reason to be insulting.”“Sorry. And don’t you insult me, you crook.”“Come with me. It’s only a small family gathering.”Rey knew nothing of Kylo’s family background. But the thought alone of spending a few days in something like a real home… She had to admit, it was tempting.Right then, Kylo’s cellphone had started to ring. Kylo had fished it out of his pocket, seen the name of the caller on the display and made an annoyed sound.“It’s mother.”“If you tell her with one word that I’m your girlfriend…”“Fine, fine!!” Kylo had made his call and Rey found she had never seen him look like that, blushing and gesturing nervously. “Mother, it’s me, Kylo… Yes, I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you I’m bringing someone, so if you could prepare a room… Mother, no! She works with me. A very fine young woman. She doesn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with… Yes… Yes, all right.” He had hung up, face flushed.“Does your mother always make you nervous?” Rey had asked.“My mother is like a force of nature.” Rey had opened her eyes wide. “Don’t worry, she’s very kind. But if she gets something into her head, she’s like an avalanche. And she’s like most mothers, waiting for her son to bring home a girl.”“She’ll have to wait another year or more. I’m not playing the role of the fake girlfriend!”“I said she’s an avalanche. She’s not a fool. Now, where were we?” Kylo bent and quickly grabbed Rey’s bag.“Kylo…! Give me that!” She tried to get the kidnapped item back but Kylo was taller and quicker than she was.“Switch everything off and we’re gone. We’ll be there in two hours. Where is your coat?” ~~~ Which was why Rey was sitting in this old piece of junk while Kylo drove her to a place she had never even heard about - a small town outside the bustling city where they worked, and his parent’s house apparently was beyond it out in the country, almost in the middle of nowhere. Rey loved nature, but she was wondering what she was getting into. Kylo had practically forced her to shut down all her equipment and brought her and her bag into his car before she had had any chance of getting over her surprise and affrontery. Now it was up to her to make the most of the situation.“Who will be there?” she asked. “Only your parents?”“My uncle Luke will be there, too - my mother’s brother. Our family’s not very extensive. Lando might come, too, he’s an old friend of my father’s. When I was small, I used to call him uncle, too. And then there’s Tendra, his wife. By the way, are you afraid of dogs?”“I’m not. So, they have a dog?”“Yes, Chewie - an Alsatian. Huge and with a matted fur like an old carpet,” Kylo grinned. “He must be ancient. He’s been with us since I don’t know when.”“Anything else I need to know?”“Yes - my mother loves to cook and to feed people their favorite dishes. To make sure, she always prepares tons of stuff. There will probably be enough food for an entire army. I hope you packed some bicarbonate.”“I didn’t.”“And here I thought you were the perfect assistant.” Rey punched him in the arm, and he grinned. “Don’t worry. Last week I bought enough of the stuff for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.” ~~~ Rey had been nervous at the prospect of meeting Kylo’s family: even if they were not romantically involved, he still was her 30-something-year-old boss, and besides, she wasn’t good at handling family reunions. They always reminded her of her own loneliness and made her melancholy. But she liked the look of the house right away: it was rather large but not luxurious, pretty and well-kept but homey. The rain had almost stopped and the air felt soft.As they came closer Rey admired the tasteful lights which showed off a nice garden, and the ivy covering part of the walls. A diminutive woman in a dress was standing on the porch, waiting. As they got out of the car, Rey was almost knocked over by an enormous hairy beast which turned out to be the family dog, which immediately started to sniff all over her before deciding that he liked her and bending enthusiastically to the task of welcoming her. Kylo got out of his side of the car and grabbed the Alsatian before he licked off her face. Rey giggled as he pulled Chewie off her by the collar.“Chewie! Don’t eat the guests!”The dog turned around, barked at him almost hysterically as he recognized him, ran around his legs, jumped up at him and then started to lick his face, too. Rey laughed again finding that Kylo looked a lot friendlier like this.Kylo’s family turned out to be quite welcoming. Leia was a good-looking woman who, for all of her motherly attitude, held herself up like royalty; her long, braided and pinned up hair added to the effect. Her husband, Han, was almost her opposite - a roguish, charming guy with a smirk that reminded her of Kylo, probably quite a lady’s man when he was younger. Both welcomed her on the porch and then Leia immediately showed Rey her room, upstairs at the back of the house. It was like the rest of the house, a nice mixture between rustic and elegant.Having unpacked a little, Rey went downstairs and met Leia’s brother in the living room, where he was busy kindling the fire. Luke was a bearded man with bright blue eyes, sad somehow, as if he had seen too much; Rey saw later that his right hand was a little stiff. But there was a humorous twinkle in his eyes that made her feel at ease.They ate only a light dinner together, the big event being only on the morrow; Rey found it easy to mingle with the family and gathered a lot of new information. She wasn’t surprised when she learned Leia had been brought up by a senator and his wife and been busy in politics herself. The names were what left her most stunned. She found that Leia’s surname was Organa-Solo, Solo being her husband’s name; Kylo’s surname Ren was one he had assumed on his own. His uncle had the dreamy sounding name Skywalker. Rey learned that he had often been mocked at for his name when he still went to school; being reminded of it still made him roll his eyes good-humoredly. Han told Rey some funny anecdotes, making her laugh. Kylo sighed dramatically like someone who had heard them countless times, but Rey could tell that he was secretly pleased. ~~~ Rey went up to her bedroom expecting that she wouldn’t manage to close her eyes after all of the new stuff she had seen and heard. She felt excited like a little girl thinking about the three days lying before them. Kylo had told her that there was a beautiful small lake nearby and that he would take her to see it if she wanted.She fell asleep almost immediately and slept well through the night. She woke up hearing steps and voices and the small bustle of a house when everyone wakes up; so, she got up herself, showered and put on a simple outfit made of a pair of blue jeans and a white sweater; God, it was always such a relief to get out of those stiff office blazers. Looking at herself in the mirror which was at the back of the closet she sighed a little; she wasn’t too proud of her looks. Hair and eyes of an unremarkable color, average height, small breasts… Rey wasn’t aware that the way her face lighted up when she smiled or laughed was priceless.She opened her window finding a beautiful sight; the house was built near a small patch of woods and beyond it, she could see something glistening that was probably the lake. She could hear voices, but Kylo’s was not among them. Then she remembered he had said that when he came home it was his task to go and buy fresh bread for breakfast, so he probably had already driven off in that rusty old car. Rey smiled. It was funny, seeing her overbearing boss in such a domestic environment.Rey closed the window and decided she still had to unpack the rest of her bag. After a short while, her attention was drawn to another sound, clear and regular but not mechanic: she wondered if someone was chopping wood. She looked outside the window again and sure enough, there was Kylo working on a pile of wood, throwing the chopped pieces on a heap at his right side. He wore a plaid red shirt and had his sleeves rolled up, and to think that the nonchalant, refined man with the Armani suits and the designer watches would turn up like this made her grin from one ear to the other.Impulsively, she left her room and went out through the backdoor, finding Kylo working diligently at his task.“Good morning,” she called and stepped into the back yard surrounded by fir trees, determined to tease him about his menial task.As she came closer, the man let the axe sink on the chopping block and turned to her. Rey’s steps faltered and her brow furrowed.The man she had mistaken for Kylo didn’t have the trademark scar crossing his right cheek. His hair was cropped short enough to make the tips of his ears stick out - she knew that Kylo wore his hair long on purpose,
to hide them. He was not clean shaven but had a goatee, and his brown eyes had a friendly, slightly shy expression.“Good morning,” he answered. His voice was kind, warmer than Kylo’s ever was. What the hell…?Rey stopped a few steps from him, still entirely caught by surprise. The young man held out his hand.“Nice to meet you. I’m Ben. Kylo’s brother,” he added.“Oh, I’m sorry!” Rey took the hand he was offering her. She let go and fixed her eyes upon his face again, familiar and yet so unfamiliar. “Excuse me if I stare… But… Are you twins…?”“Yes, I’m his twin brother.”At that, they both heard the backdoor opening. Kylo looked down the steps to his brother, his expression reminding a thundercloud. Rey knew it well enough. The next moment the door closed with a slam. She hadn’t expected anything else.Rey’s eyes met Ben’s.“We… are not on the best of terms,” the young man told her. He looked resigned. ~~~ Rey and Ben entered the house welcomed by the sound of Kylo’s angry voice: he was obviously arguing with his mother. After a few moments, another door slammed and it was quiet again.Leia emerged from the kitchen. “Good morning, Rey. Did you sleep well?”“Yes, very well, thank you.” She searched the older woman’s face, feeling worried.“Kylo is not taking breakfast with us,” Leia sighed. She looked up at her other son and shook her head slightly. “I hoped we could be together, just this time.”She turned and went into the kitchen. Luke, who had heard them from the living room, entered the hallway through one of the side doors and met Rey’s gaze.“I’m sorry you have to witness that, Rey. Kylo told me that you don’t have a family of your own.” A look of surprise and sympathy went over Ben’s face at the words.“But if there’s one thing that comes with most families, it’s the skeletons in the closet,” Luke added. Leia passed them and went to the dining room with a dish piled with the loafs of bread and rolls Kylo had brought, and her brother followed her.Rey turned around to look at Ben.“I knew I shouldn’t have come,” he said. “We usually take turns - one year I come for Thanksgiving and Kylo for Christmas, the next it’s the other way around. Mother wanted to try if we could be all together this time. Now with uncle Luke coming to see us again, and since Lando moved so close and is visiting us, and Kylo bringing you, she hoped that with all of those guests we could just mingle.” He sighed and began to open a kitchen cupboard getting out cups, dishes and glasses. Rey unconsciously started to help him by loading the things on a tray to bring them to the dining room.“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be very… stressful,” she said.“I hope you will like it here, nevertheless.” He smiled at her. Ben had something genuine about him and Rey found she liked him. ~~~ Kylo didn’t show up before lunch. Rey could tell he was fuming, but trying to hold his shit together because he didn’t want to hurt Leia or embarrass the whole family. He and Ben went out of each other’s way and never spoke a word to one another.Leia spent the whole afternoon preparing the Thanksgiving meal, and Rey helped her as best as she could, after having confessed that she had never really learned how to cook or bake; they had some girl talk and laughed whenever something got burned or not quite done. Luke sat at the kitchen table from time to time, shelling peas and peeling potatoes patiently. The sons were nowhere to be seen, and Han had retired to his workshop - he hated homework and when his wife prepared parties he fled from the preparations and didn’t show up until the last minute. Leia took it with good humor saying that his appetite more than made up for it.At eight Lando and Tendra showed up; Rey had just changed into a flowered yellow dress and was coming downstairs when she first saw them. Lando was a good-looking guy Han’s age, with a somehow Caribbean look. He immediately took and kissed her hand and made her exaggerated compliments, making her giggle until Leia told her that the old pirate never could resist the temptation to charm a pretty young woman. Tendra, a tall, beautiful redhead, just punched him in the side and told him to leave it off before she said hello to Rey.Kylo and Ben turned up a few minutes later, Ben entering the backdoor and Kylo the front door, and taking their seats at the opposite long sides of the table so they didn’t have to look at each other.Rey found that Luke seemed to be a very religious man: he stood up before the meal and spoke a very kind, ecumenical prayer. Rey could hear between the lines that he was invoking any deity or holy spirit they believed in to give them peace. She briefly looked at Kylo who was staring down at his plate.Dinner went off very well, considering the slight tension that could be felt between the brothers. Later some old records were dug out, neighbors came by and there was some impromptu dancing that made Rey feel very embarrassed since she couldn’t dance. Lando taught her a few steps, then Ben confessed her that he was bad at it, too, and they spent the next twenty minutes tripping over each other’s feet and hiding their embarrassment behind laughter. Rey forgot Kylo’s presence entirely and it was only when the music ended that she wondered where he was. She found him leaning against the fireplace, slowly emptying a glass of red wine and looking at them with an inscrutable expression. It figured, she thought, that he wouldn’t even attempt to join the dancing. ~~~ When the party was over and every guest had left the house, Rey went up to her room. As she sat on her bed, not yet asleep, she looked out at the full moon shining through her window and pondered for a while; this time she couldn’t sleep right away.She found she liked this strange family; she hardly knew Ben but felt an instinctive trust towards him. He was rather awkward and shy while Kylo was cheeky most of the time.And had Kylo been jealous? She was sure he wasn’t in love with her. Piqued because she had rejected him, but not in love. And what was it with him and Ben? Their family seemed nice enough, not the kind of people who were mean or neglectful to their children. It was confusing. After laying down, Rey briefly wondered about the ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ Luke had mentioned before sleep claimed her. ~~~ Everybody passed Friday lazing around, tired from all the eating and socializing; except for Leia who bustled about the house, she wasn’t the type of person who could just do nothing. Rey usually liked being busy herself, but this time she felt emotionally drained and was fine with just sitting in the living room reading a book. Luke did the same, sitting on the other sofa. From time to time their eyes would meet over the book covers and he would smile at her. Once she caught a glimpse of Ben passing by the windows and followed him with her eyes; as she met Luke’s eyes, he grinned and she blushed.Kylo was nowhere to be seen until dinner; his promise to show Rey the lake seemed all but forgotten. It was a beautiful sunny day, the air cool and crisp, so in the afternoon everybody decided to take a long walk to the lake taking Rey into their middle. She and Ben fell back after a while, talking about anything that came into their minds; she could tell he was trying to make her feel at ease. Chewie happily ran ahead or around them, sometimes barking and running after some small animal in the underwood until Han or Ben whistled him back. It was a good day and Rey loved the lake with some of the trees bending over the surface, as if they wanted to see their reflection in the clear water. It had an Indian name; Leia and Han told her how they sometimes came to swim in summer, when it wasn’t too cold.Ben skipped a few stones over the surface of the water, until Han bragged he could still do it better than he any time; they started a good-natured competition which made everyone watch and cheer, until Han won by making a stone skip five times as opposite to Ben, who managed only four times.When they turned to walk back, Ben stayed gazing over the water. A flock of wild geese flew over the lake where the sun started to set.Rey went back to him and hooked her arm into his, smiling up to him. “Come, they will leave us behind.”He smiled back at her and they walked after the others.“Are geese your favorite animals?” she asked.“All kind of birds,” Ben said. “I love the idea of flying. Like you can have endless freedom.”She grinned. “My favorite is a kind of bird, too.” He lifted an eyebrow enquiringly. “Penguins,” she laughed. “Silly, isn’t it?”“Oh, penguins are cute. Even if they can’t fly,” he grinned. ~~~ When they got back, Kylo was in the back yard, waiting and looking as if he wanted to break every single piece of furniture in the house.“When is dinner?” he asked curtly.“Right away,” said Leia going inside and disappearing into the kitchen. The tension in the house was getting palpable.Rey and Kylo left his family’s house on the next day, although they had planned to stay until Sunday. Rey could sense that Kylo couldn’t stand it anymore and was afraid he might blow up like a ticking bomb any moment. She was sorry for his family members, who all hugged her on saying goodbye. She lingered a little when Ben embraced her, looking up at him, liking his fond, slightly awkward smile.She and Kylo hardly spoke on their way back, they just listened to the radio while Rey looked out of the window at the scenery passing them by.As he said goodbye to her on the steps to the building where her flat was, Kylo briefly ran his hand through his hair, nervously. He seemed embarrassed.“Thank you,” Rey said simply. “I liked meeting your people. It was certainly better than being all by myself.”“You’re welcome.”Rey looked at him enquiringly. Kylo grunted and averted his eyes. Finally, he looked back at her.“Rey, don’t ask me. Just don’t ask.”She took up her bag and made her way up the steps.“See you on Monday,” Kylo said, and she waved him goodbye, feeling puzzled and a little worried.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Christmas was getting closer and Rey was beginning to feel wistful again. She loved the atmosphere and she had found out that she could debate with Kylo every day about how sappy he found it, but she couldn’t help it - snowflakes and candlelight and Christmas trees and all the delightful smells made her feel like the child she had never been.She would have to spend the holiday on her own, though; Thanksgiving at the Organa-Solo-Skywalker’s house had been a little weird, but overall it had given her a warm feeling. There was something going on, for sure, but they were good people. Even her haughty boss who was doing his damnedest to pretend he was a crossover between the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge. Rey couldn’t have cared less. She left him a few self-made gingerbread cookies on a plate in his office, and bustled about the corridor hanging fir branches decorated with tiny angels, Santa’s and glass balls on every door; Kylo’s branch was particularly loaded with the stuff, which made him groan when he arrived at his door and saw it for the first time. Rey and her colleague Gwen, who had helped her, giggled like little girls when they saw his face. Oh no, they had totally not done it on purpose. Later, she saw him munching on one of the cookies. When she teased him about it, the threw an envelope folder at her, but he was grinning; Rey quickly fled, laughing, while the folder hit the door from the inside. ~~~ It was about two weeks before Christmas Eve and Rey was about to leave her office building passing through the hall when the doorkeeper, the over-correct but friendly Anthony, kept her back.“Miss Johnson, if I may have a word…”“Yes, Anthony?”“There is a visitor for you, miss. He has waited for you half an hour.”Anthony pointed to one of the visitor couches at the long side of the hall. Rey’s heart quickened when the man got up and came closer; Ben Solo’s kind eyes were smiling down at her.They briefly exchanged greetings and Anthony went back to his post by the door.“I’m on a Christmas errand, actually,” Ben smiled.“A Christmas errand?” She smiled back at him. “What could that be?”Ben gave her a medium-sized, lined envelope and looked at her expectantly. Understanding that he wanted her to open it right away, Rey tore the envelope open feeling not a little curious.Inside, she found a very beautiful Christmas card with a hand-written invitation to the Solo’s household for the holidays, signed by Leia.Rey blushed and looked up at Ben.“Oh God… That’s so kind. But really… You hardly know me.”“We all liked your Thanksgiving visit very much, Rey. I’m sure Kylo will be pleased too,” Ben added.Rey’s flush deepened. “Kylo didn’t say anything about an invitation.”“I know, it was mother’s idea. At least think about it, please.”Rey lowered her eyes, then stuffed the invitation into her purse. “Thank you.”She looked up at Ben again; apart from his features, she wondered again how he was so different from Kylo. He was casually dressed and his expression was somehow timid.“So…” He looked down at his feet, then raised his eyes to her again. “Were you going home?”“Yes…” Rey bit her lip. “Actually, I was thinking to have a look at the Christmas market by the river. I haven’t been there yet.” She looked at him again. “Did you actually only come to town for the card?” she smiled.“No… I had a few things to deliver to customers, so I figured… Anyway, I’m done now. Guess I’ll grab a cup of coffee somewhere and then head home.”“Where do you live?” she asked, curiously. Kylo had a large apartment somewhere in one of the most refined districts, she knew that although she had never been there.“A few roads away from my parents. I work with my father in his workshop, so I don’t have to go far to work. Usually I walk.”Both looked down, feeling embarrassed.“We can go to a coffee shop, if you don’t mind,” Rey said. “I need something warm and the coffee here in this place sucks.”After two cups of hot chocolate Ben and Rey walked to the river and over the Christmas market together. They had teased one another when Ben told her that chocolate was much better for getting warm than coffee; Rey had grinned and answered he would surely make an excellent dad some day; he had grinned back, blushed a little, told her to be still and tucked her hand in his elbow.Rey found that Ben wasn’t as enthusiastic about Christmas as she was, but he also didn’t dislike it the way his brother did (or at least pretended he did). He liked the falling snowflakes, the laughing children, the lights and the spicy aromas coming from the market stands. They bought a few cookies and shared them good-naturedly, leaving crumbs all over their coats and giggling. ~~~ After Ben had dropped Rey by before her front door, he felt slightly guilty. She wasn’t Kylo’s girlfriend, but he was the one who had brought her to their parent’s home; and she worked with him.Damn, he liked the girl. She had this bright, friendly smile like she could embrace the whole world at times, which was all more surprising considering that she probably hadn’t had an easy childhood and youth. She probably had some kind of backlog demand and was determined to make the most of the here and now.Ben had felt like he had lived in semi-darkness for years, and now she was here, shining so bright… For a moment, he thought about how much he hated the unresolved situation with Kylo. Would it never end? Apart from the awkwardness in the family, another thing it had messed up was both their intimate lives.Kylo had had his fair share of affairs over the years, never anything serious. Any time Leia would ask him to bring his current love interest home, he’d say he’d just broken up with her. It never lasted longer than a few months.Ben himself had searched for a long-term, caring relationship but his messed-up emotions constantly got in his way. His first girlfriend had only used him, the second had been a good girl but they had hardly anything in common. The third, Kaydel, had broken up about a year ago. Things seemed to work, but then she found out more about the darker secrets in his life, and hadn’t been able to handle it.On his way to the parking lot where he had left his car, Ben passed again by the building where Kylo’s company had its offices, briefly looking at the windows and wondering where his brother was now, and what he was doing.Then he felt cold and pulled his shoulders together. Before last Thanksgiving he hadn’t seen Kylo in years and now he felt icicles in his heart just knowing that his impossible, stormy, secretly kind-hearted brother was near. ~~~ Rey had decided to accept Leia’s invitation for Christmas after all and was picked up by Ben, who did nothing to hide his delight, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve in a car which looked almost as old and dingy as Kylo’s Falcon. She refrained from comments and hoped the family would like her gifts: she had seen a pretty set of scarves and between mentally slapping herself for not having a better idea and repeating to herself that she hardly knew them after all, she had bought one for every family member, in different colors, trying to divine which color would suit whom best.Kylo came to the house late, while Rey was helping Luke unearthing the figures for a Nativity scene which Leia usually arranged every year but had not yet found the time to. He briefly greeted her and then bolted upstairs to his room, probably hoping not to meet his brother. Rey sighed inwardly.Emptying the old crate, Rey marveled at a few carved sheep and a shepherd: they were obviously made of wood but very light, and finely made.“I got those in Germany,” Luke explained her. “Bavaria, more precisely. They’re hand-made. I figured Leia would like them.”“Did you live there?” Rey wondered.“Yes… I was in a Catholic monastery for some years.”“Was it good there?”“Yes.” The elderly man’s expression became slightly absent. “Many people in the region liked to preserve old traditions on Christmas. I would sometimes take walks in the woods or around lakes, deep in snow, looking at the Alps, and from far away I would snatch Christmas melodies played on the traditional instruments. The atmosphere was unique.” Luke hummed a slow, languid tune that Rey had never heard before under his breath.“I bet it was,” Rey smiled.“But I came back after a while,” Luke concluded, winking at her. “Family ties are too strong in the end.”Luke went into the kitchen to have a cup of tea and talk to his sister, who was busy with cooking and baking as usual, and had somehow convinced her reluctant husband to help her at least with some of the pastries; this time instead of helping out Luke teased his brother-in-law about how domestic he was becoming until Han threatened to throw him out on his ear. It was good-natured banter though, like with two friends who have lived through a lot and are glad to have nothing to worry about than everyday things.Ben came into the living room and it was left to him and Rey to build the Nativity scene; there was a lot of fussing and giggling, and Ben insisted to place one of the goats on the roof of the stable despite Rey’s laughing protests.Kylo came downstairs as he heard Lando’s loud voice coming from the entrance. Rey mentally spoke a silent prayer that nothing might happen to disturb the temporary truce she felt in the house: she felt happier and more at ease than she had in years. Everybody laughed at the silly goat sitting atop the stable roof, and Rey thought she even snatched a small grin coming from Kylo. He was calm, but the vibes coming off from him felt like he was a volcano struggling not to erupt at any moment.Snow had slowly started to fall and to settle all around the house. Everybody laughed when Han confessed he had actually made his first move at Leia at a Christmas party, trying to kiss her under the mistletoe; she had said indignantly that this whole mistletoe stuff was silly and that if a girl wanted to be kissed she would not signal it by accidentally passing under a door where some branches of a parasite plant hung; and that if she didn’t want to be kissed it was a very poor excuse for mauling her. Lando joked he had never understood why Leia had married him, that old loser, after all, and Han grinned that Leia had probably simply found out how much she enjoyed slapping and reprimanding him. From the looks they exchanged while everybody laughed Rey could see that there was a strong fondness between them despite their bickering.Gifts were exchanged and appreciated on the following morning, a lot of unhealthy food eaten, horrible sweaters turned up (Rey was glad she hadn’t got the one with the childish snowmen Lando had bestowed on Han - it was a running gag between them to choose terrible sweaters as Christmas gifts) and then neighbors came by and by joining them for some dancing again. Tendra and Lando were good at it, the whole company leaving the floor to them as they elegantly got through the “Merry Christmas Polka”. A little tipsy from eggnog, Han tried with a few Christmas carols later until everybody shushed him and Leia said he could never carry a tune and he wouldn’t learn to do so now.Rey felt more welcome than she ever had in her whole life, although Kylo’s warning that they would need bicarbonate turned out to be right.When Ben gave her his own small gift later that day before bedtime when they were alone for a few moments - a small carved penguin for a key fob which he simply pressed into her hands, looking a little embarrassed, she felt her heart melt. It skipped a beat when she smiled at the young man before her and he answered with a smile of his own: Ben was not exactly beautiful, but he had a warmth and sincerity in his smile like she had never seen in anyone. ~~~ It was night and Rey was in her room, getting ready for bed and thinking how this had been a good day after all, when she heard voices arguing loudly outside. It didn’t take her long to recognize Han’s and Kylo’s voices.Then the backdoor opened and Kylo stormed out.“You come back here right now!” Han shouted after him. “I’ve had enough of your childish behavior. You can be angry all you want, but you have no right to be rude to your mother. All she wants is to see both of you a few times of the year. Can’t you at least pretend that it’s normal?”There were a few sounds Rey couldn’t quite make out; then all at once she felt the hairs on her neck rise. Oh God, no. They were having a fist fight.She stormed to the window and saw father and son barely illuminated by the pale light coming out from one of the bedrooms on the ground floor.“Han…!” Leia’s voice came from inside the house, suffocated.Rey could see that Han was getting in trouble; he was very strong for his age, but his son was taller and broader and he obviously had taken his father by surprise.Rey quickly opened the window. “Kylo!” she yelled. “No!”Kylo looked up at her slender form in the nightgown and her shocked face and let his arms fall. He threw his father a last angry look and stormed off. Rey could see that he had punched his nose; the older men wiped his face and found blood on his hand. As he turned back to the house, he tripped on the fresh snow and almost fell. His wife, huddled in a dressing gown, ran out and held him up.Rey turned around and stormed out of her room, downstairs. She had an urge to slap Kylo’s face. What had his father done to deserve that? If only Kylo would tell her something. Anything. But he was mute, like all of them.From the corridor, she could hear arguing again; Ben and Kylo were in the entrance.“Kylo! Will you never let go?” Ben sounded exasperated.Rey appeared at the bottom of the stairs.“I’ve had enough of this!” she shouted at the brothers, who turned around to look at her. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”At that, Luke entered the hallway fully dressed. He looked haggard, like he hadn’t slept the night before, sensing trouble. His and his nephew’s eyes met.There was a moment of silence. Then Kylo turned to look at his uncle. “You tell her if you want,” he said, his voice full of venom. “Or perhaps my good brother can do it - since they seem to get along so well.”He stormed out slamming the door, a little plaster crumbling from the ceiling and dropping to the ground. Ben sat down by the door with his face in his hands.Rey was aghast; she began to suspect that there was more to all of this than some ancient argument between siblings.“Ben…?” She came closer and stooped by his side.“Go to bed and try to sleep, Rey,” Luke said kindly. “I can handle Ben.”“I can’t sleep,” she said.Ben slowly looked up. “How’s dad?”“He only bled from his nose a little. No harm done.”Ben exhaled in relief and got up. “Come, Rey. I’ll bring you to your room.” There was a silent plea in his eyes. Rey shifted her eyes to Luke, who sighed a little and nodded before going into his room.Ben’s own room was on the same floor as Rey’s on the opposite side of the corridor. Rey turned around in the door.“Ben…” The young man before her looked defeated. “Ben, I know I have no right to intrude. I’m a stranger.”“You’re welcome here,” he said honestly, if a little roughly.She reached out and touched his arm. “Do you want to speak to me? Maybe it will make you feel better. Since we can’t sleep anyway.”As Ben lifted his eyes to her face, she saw such a hurt in them that it made her catch her breath. His face looked haunted, and now she realized why it spooked her: in the office, at times when he was very stressed, Kylo had the same expression.Rey pulled Ben slightly by his hand and they entered her room. She closed the door and lighted a small lamp, not wanting the bright light overhead. There were two chairs at the side of the window off the bed. Rey put on a wool jacket over her nightgown and sat down. She looked up at Ben who was still standing.“Ben, you must know that I’m practically an orphan. I don’t know whether my parents are still alive. They just dumped me somewhere when I was small. That’s why I have such a common surname, the authorities just gave me one at random.”The young man stepped closer and dropped on one knee before her.“I’m not saying that because I want your pity,” she added. “I just wanted to say that I grew up in foster system, and I’m not pretending it was all terrible because some families were really nice to me. But I wasn’t always lucky and I’ve seen a lot of shit growing up. I want you to know that I’m not some… some delicate maiden who will faint at the sight of a little blood or who has no clue that life is not always sunshine and roses. You don’t have to be ashamed before me.”“Rey, I… I’m not sure.”“I am,” she insisted. “You and your mother and father and your uncle, and you, seem very good people to me. Kylo’s difficult, I know that, but he’s not a bad person. But it’s like you are all suffering from some… wound that never was healed. Is there nothing I can do, that anyone can do?”Ben hung his head; the moment stretched until it seemed to crystallize around them.Rey felt that Ben very much wanted to open up to her, at least to relieve some of the tension in the air. But when he finally spoke, looking past her and out of the window, his voice was so unrecognizable and his words so clipping she thought her heart would stop.“Rey… Kylo - killed a man once.”

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Rey swallowed. Hard. She tried to look into Ben’s eyes but he had turned his face away from her.“…What?”Ben got up quickly and turned to the window, ruffling his hair. “Shit. I knew I’d do this all wrong.”Rey got up and came up behind him, tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder.“Ben, please try to look at me.” The young man didn’t move.When he turned around, the expression in his face was again so haunted that it made her gasp. So, there was more behind this. She shivered.“Ben…?”Ben wiped his face, unable to look at her. “It’s a long story, Rey.”“I can tell,” she answered. “Ben, I’m ready to listen.”From the expression in his face, his whole attitude, she could tell he had never spoken to anyone about this. He let out a shuddering breath.“It’s been a long while. Rey…”“Yes.”Rey sat down on her chair again and pulled his sleeve, wanting him to sit down beside her again. Ben never did so but started slowly to pace around the room. His eyes seemed to look beyond her.“Rey… There’s been some real shit going on in our family. Before Kylo and I were born. It had something to do with our grandfather.” He paused. “Kylo actually was named for him. He was christened Anakin. He chose the name Kylo later, on his own. Our grandfather…” Ben exhaled. “We never found out all he had done. He was a criminal, head of some important organization.”“Ben, oh no…” Rey was horrified.“Mother and uncle Luke were raised by strangers. Grandmother had died giving birth and her husband was too dangerous even to consider letting him close to them. They were put in the same high school, however. Imagine their surprise when they found out they were brother and sister when they turned eighteen. They’d been good friends before, but ever since they were inseparable.”Ben went over to the window and gazed out. “It wasn’t the only family secret… they also learned that their father wasn’t dead as they had thought, and what was the matter with him. And wouldn’t you know… Uncle Luke actually wanted to get to know him. He always was a very altruistic guy. Part of charity organizations, collecting funds and whatnot, ever since he was barely a teenager. After a while his father agreed to meet him somewhere, secretly. Luke tried to make him reason and… in an argument, grandfather tried to hit him with a knife he always carried with him. Luke dodged but he was hit badly in his right hand - that’s where he got his injury from. Mother rushed to the hospital to find him in deep trauma. Thank God he had some very good medication or his hand might have had to be amputated. They could heal it halfway, but it was never the same. Neither was he, from what mother told us.”Ben turned around to look at Rey. “The funny thing is… Uncle Luke just didn’t give up. He was convinced that this awful guy wasn’t really gone, that there still was some good in him… That the man who ran the organization had trapped him against his will. They were uncovered with the aid of the military, years later. Uncle Luke was in it, too, but he only got to talk to his father one last time. He had been shot and died a few days later, after having asked his son to forgive him. Mother never got to talk to him. She didn’t want to.”Rey swallowed. “Your uncle must be a very loving person… if he could still seek out his father after all that.”“Yes, he is. But that’s what made things worse, Rey.” The young woman looked at him, questioning. “Uncle Luke was adamant to do something for neglected youngsters, like his father had been. He founded a school with a special program for children from orphanages or difficult families, where they could socialize with others. It was a model project, with federal backing and endorsement. Mother taught there, too. And Kylo and I were sent to the same school. Of course.” His voice became bitter.“Everybody expected us to be model students, being close relatives to the founder of the school and the sons of one of the major teachers. I mean, it wasn’t bad. Kylo and I liked it there. Sometimes we got shit from the poorer students because they thought we were privileged, but mother and uncle didn’t indulge us. We didn’t grow up in luxury and we never got better grades than we deserved or could skip around discipline if we made trouble. And father had nothing to do with it, he had his workshop. He had been mad about cars all of his life, in particular old ones. He was a good father, but he wasn’t always around and I guess he figured my mother and uncle would know better how to deal with us. Anyway…”Rey felt her stomach clench. She felt that they were getting closer to the core of the matter.“Uncle Luke couldn’t keep up with all of his duties, so he engaged a new principal for the school. Someone who was supposed to do the organizing so Luke could look more after the students. The man had excellent references and he had been in the job for ages. It seemed a good idea to hire him. I told mother once that he gave me and Kylo the creeps, but she saw no reason not to trust him. He always was respectful and worked hard. Often stayed in his office until late.”Ben wiped his hands on his pants, he was starting to sweat.“I was called into his office one evenings, because of some stupid transgression. I was just fifteen, and I guess you know how boys are… I can’t even remember what it was. But that’s when hell broke loose.”There was an uncomfortable silence. Ben’s voice shook slightly.“I can’t even say his name. Thinking of that guy makes me feel sick. He managed to scare and manipulate me somehow… He was good at that. He knew all about us. What had happened with grandfather, and how we were trying to make up for it, and that our family was so close. Kylo and I were somewhat rebellious at that age, I guess that’s normal. Sometimes we’d disobey, do things that weren’t allowed… like drinking alcohol, smoking weed or playing hooky. We were testing out limits. Nobody knew. Except for him… That old creep had his eyes and ears everywhere. I found out that he knew about almost all of our little secrets. That he would tell on us, shame us in front of our mother and bring down all of our uncle’s careful work. I was too young, and he scared me - else I would have realized that he hardly had any of the power he claimed, that we hadn’t actually hurt anyone and that nothing really bad could have been in store for us. But he managed to push me into an… arrangement.”Rey felt her face going hot and then cold. Ben turned his head away again.“He didn’t…” she managed to say.“I… I can’t tell you what… it was. What he wanted me to do just so he would keep his ugly mouth shut. And I went with it. I believed I had to or he would destroy everything I loved.” Ben wiped his mouth. “It went on for over a year. The guy got more and more demanding, vicious and shameless. He had me where he wanted and he pushed me over my limits over and over. I loathed myself. But the worst was still to come.”Ben sat down on the other chair and was silent for a while. Rey finally laid her small hand over his, feeling that he had to speak, to get things out of his head.“Kylo found out.” Ben’s voice was so harsh it became unrecognizable. “He saw me one late evening, coming out of that old snake’s office… and… He must have seen it in my face. He saw from my expression what I’d been doing there. He grabbed me by the arm and just pulled me away, and drove me home. Father allowed him to drive his favorite car, the Falcon, still back then.”“Kylo stopped the car after a few miles. He turned to me and asked me to tell him what was going on. I couldn’t… Almost threw up only thinking of it. And then I looked at him and… what I saw there was even more horrifying than the last year had been. I realized Kylo had been going through the same.”Rey’s eyes went wide. She took Ben’s shoulder, making him turn around to her. He still averted her eyes, and his voice dropped to the point where she could hardly hear him anymore.“He had done the same things… with Kylo. On the same conditions. He was even more of a pervert than we both had imagined. He must have taken a disgusting pleasure in knowing he was abusing both of us. Rey, you can’t imagine. The horror of it… Kylo and I were always so close. We were best friends, we shared almost everything. Kylo is nine minutes older than I. He used to call me ‘little one’, it was a running joke between us. He was somewhat protective of me. We are very alike, but I always was introverted… Kylo’s more assertive.”“Ben, you don’t have to talk any more. I can see it’s terrible for you.” Rey’s eyes were full of concern; despite the semi-darkness, she could see Ben’s face was getting wet.“If I stop now, I won’t be able to pick up again.”Rey nodded, making him understand that he could continue. “Go on, then.”“The next day, I went to school a little later, I hadn’t felt well in the morning. God, I’ll never forget that day. Ambulance and police before the door. A buzz and commotion like I’d never heard. Students and teachers grouping around, talking to one another, some of them shouting. When I arrived, they only threw me shy looks and then looked away. I started to run past police officers who were trying to hold me back. I stopped before the principal’s office and found mother sobbing hysterically on father’s shoulder. I had never seen her like that. Uncle Luke was a few steps away, white-faced, talking to one of the officers. - Kylo… had been brought away. And that ugly old… monster was in his office, on the floor, bleeding almost dead.”“What happened?”“Kylo had confronted him in his office, very early, before the first students came. Asking him to leave him and me in peace. Sn- the old pervert just laughed it off. He was too sure of himself, of the way he had manipulated both of us into fearing him. He didn’t realize that Kylo… had brought a knife with him, until he threatened him with it. He tried to struggle with Kylo, to take it away or make him drop it. They fought… that’s where Kylo got his scar from.”Rey put a hand over her mouth.“And then… Kylo got the upper hand. He stabbed the old guy right in the stomach. Someone heard fighting noises and screams and called emergency. They found Kylo bleeding all over his face and chest, kneeling, while the old creep lay on the floor choking to his death. The paramedics couldn’t do anything for him, the wound was too deep. Kylo was bandaged and brought away to the hospital - and then kept for custody.”“You can’t be serious,” Rey blurted out. “He acted on self-defense!”“Yes, but he was armed. He had entered the office with a knife. His victim was an old man, and he had no weapon on him. It made the whole situation… difficult to say the least.”Ben turned his face to her at last; she saw that he was shaking.“Rey, I wouldn’t want to live through those days again for anything in the world. I was questioned, and I had to recount all the details I could remember. The psychologists were as cautious as they could, but it was like living through hell all over again. And I was worried sick about Kylo. He was badly wounded, almost lost his eye, had to be questioned just like me; and he might be convicted for murder. But what hurt most… was our family. Mother and father, shocked beyond words; they had never suspected anything. That we hadn’t found the courage to confide in them, to ask them for help… That old pervert knew it, he knew it was something too terrible and intimate for us to speak about. Father looked like he could have killed him with his own hands. Mother tried to comfort me, but I couldn’t even bear her touching me. And uncle Luke saw his whole life’s work going up in smoke. Things were found out about that guy… unspeakable stuff. On investigation, pupils and ex-students from the school where he had been before finally spoke about them. Nobody had suspected, he had seen such a calm, hardworking guy, everyone had trusted him. In the end, uncle Luke simply resigned.”“With a school like that, people would have expected trouble to come from the pupils, not from the principal himself,” Rey said. “I guess that’s why your uncle didn’t see it coming.”“No one did. It’s typical for such cases, I have heard.”“What happened to the school?”“After the first dust had settled down, direction was taken over by a couple - they had these funny names, Jynn and Cassian. Nice pair, from what we heard. They did a good job, still do it now. Kylo got out through bail and a lot of that was due to our mother’s and uncle’s influence. In the end we moved here - we’re about two thousand miles away from where we used to live. The case is probably still being spoken about in that place.”“It was good, not having to live there anymore. But even moving away didn’t make things right. Father started a workshop of his own again, and I gave up college and entered the business to help him, I never was a bookworm anyway. I took up some carpentry, too. Mother still does voluntary jobs at the local prison. And uncle Luke… he simply disappeared. He couldn’t face us, he felt it had all been his fault. We found out later that he had retired to some monastery in Europe - the abbot contacted mother one day and told her he was there and he was doing well, but urgently needed some time to find distance. Uncle Luke always was very religious and liked being alone to meditate, but during that time he was like a recluse. He came back to the States only a few years ago. That’s when my parents began to give family dinners again. Kylo finished law school, gave up his name and went to the city. I guess it suits him fine.”Ben exhaled, set his elbows on his knees and hid his face behind his hands.“The worst is… the worst is that he and I haven’t spoken ever since.”Rey was dismayed. “But… how long has it been?”“Fourteen years. Fourteen years and four months.”“Haven’t you tried to…”“I have. I will never forget Kylo’s reaction, that first evening. Or the way he looked at me when my parents had picked him up from prison. I tried to speak to him again and again… he just shut me out. We can’t speak about it, Rey. And Kylo… you know how he’s like. He has these outbursts, he got his temper from our grandfather it seems. He was still angry with that monster because he had done so much harm, angry with me because I hadn’t told him, angry with himself because he hadn’t been able to protect me, and because when he wanted to, he tried on his own instead of asking for help, making such a mess of it. And I’m afraid to make thing worse. There is still so much pent-up… we’re choking on it. The harmony in the family is very fragile. You’ve seen it.” ~~~ Rey and Ben sat still for a while, after that, both wrapped in thought. Ben’s breath slowly became quieter. Finally, Rey got up and without speaking about it they went together back downstairs into the kitchen. Rey lighted the thick candle which was in the middle of the table between a few branches of fir; they did not switch the electric light on. Ben made two cups of hot tea and they drank it silently, Ben leaning against the counter and Rey against the table, both trying to calm down their nerves.“I’ll leave you alone, Rey,” Ben said at last, putting down his empty cup. “I’m sorry for dumping all that on you. Now you won’t be able to sleep all night.”“I’m the one who wanted to know,” Rey said simply.Ben was leaving the kitchen when she called him back.“Ben…”He looked over his shoulder. Rey was simply holding out her hand.Ben turned back to her and timidly touched her fingers. They were very still for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes. Then Rey impulsively closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck.Ben closed his eyes and returned her embrace, feeling close to tears.Rey gently stroked his shoulders. “Thank you for telling me.”She let her hands sink and slide down his upper arms. Ben looked at her, slightly confused.“Ben, don’t get me wrong… It’s terrible, all of it. I will probably need all night to wrap my head around it. But I’m so glad you told me. It means a lot to me that you could trust me so much to tell me… something that pains you so deep.”Impulsively, Ben leaned forward until his forehead touched hers. “Thank you for listening. And for simply being here.”“I’m glad if I could do something,” she whispered.As they separated, she found he was smiling at her timidly. She answered automatically with a shy smile of her own and squeezed his arm a little.“Good night… I hope.”“Good night, Rey.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rey couldn’t sleep for a long time that night, tossing and turning in her bed. Thinking about the whole thing again, she did not know what was more terrible, the silent pain she had seen in Ben’s eyes or the fury that emanated from Kylo.In the end, remembering what Luke had done, she sat quietly by the window looking out at the beautiful scenery, and for the first time in years she looked up at the starry sky with her hands folded, whispering the words over and over again to whatever deity or cosmic force might be listening:“Give them peace. Please, give them peace.” ~~~ Rey felt weary and edgy coming down to breakfast the next morning. She didn’t know whether the rest of the family had noticed or found out that she and Ben had had a long talk the night before.Everybody looked calmer, including Han who had a small band-aid on his nose. Luke greeted her with a secret wink in his eye and Ben brushed her shoulder once when she passed him by and no one was looking. She smiled up at him and felt some of her nerves abate.Everybody was sitting down for coffee and rolls when the quiet mood found an abrupt end: Kylo was storming downstairs.Leia got up and met him in the doorway to the hall. “Kylo! Are you eating with us?”“No.” Kylo’s voice almost cracked. He threw a look to the breakfast table and as he saw his brother sitting by Rey’s side, like they had known one another for years, he knew. And both of them realized that he knew.“I’m going out.”“Kylo…!” Leia protested, hands on her hips.“Another time, mom.” He pecked her a kiss on the cheek and stormed out, slamming the door again.Han got up and put an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Let him. You know you can’t change him.”“At times like these I could slap him,” she said loud enough for Kylo to still hear her.Both sat down and helped themselves to some coffee and fruit, but it was obvious no one had much appetite that morning.Then Rey was startled by Ben’s sudden movement: he got up, throwing his napkin on the table, went out of the room and came back for a quick moment, his jacket over his shoulders.“Where are you going?” Han asked.“To the lake house. I know Kylo’s there.”The others exchanged glances. Ben looked at his parents. “Sorry, mom, dad. I can’t stand it anymore. I’ll get him back if it kills me.”With that he rushed out. Rey shuddered and wondered what that was all about.After a moment of silence, Luke’s voice was heard. “Well, as they say: beware the anger of a patient man.”Rey stared at him, getting alarmed. Han huffed out a breath and Leia put a hand over her eyes.“But - shouldn’t we get after him?” Rey asked in alarm, ready to get up herself.“No, Rey, don’t.” Luke calmly poured some orange juice. “Those two have something to sort out. It’s about time.” ~~~ Ben could make his brother out from the distance, standing on the pier. The family owned a little summer house by the lake, which they used when they felt like boating or swimming. Kylo had his hands on his hips where he stood, looking across the water.Ben stood and watched him for a moment, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. He’d been patient for so long, waiting for Kylo to open up to him, that his throat ached with his desire to scream.“Kylo!” he yelled.The man standing on the pier, his hair slightly waved from the wind, didn’t move.“Kylo!” Ben repeated, coming a few steps closer. He was getting angrier by the minute. He walked the rest of the way and finally set foot on the wooden planks. Kylo hadn’t moved, he still was with his back to him.“Why are you behaving like an ass again? Because you feel shut out? Is that it?” Ben accused him.No answer.“At least look at me! The great Kylo Ren, coolness itself, can’t even look at his stupid little brother?”No reaction.Finally Ben took the last steps and grabbed Kylo by his right shoulder. As he met his eyes, Kylo glowered at him like he wanted to kill him.At that, Ben did something that was rare for him: he reacted on impulse.He punched his brother in the face.Kylo staggered, taken off-guard, and rubbed his chin. The look he threw at his brother over his hand was smoldering.Ben hit him again.Again.At last Kylo let out a sound that sounded dangerously like a growl, and tried to hit back. Ben dodged his fist.“Is that all? Come on, big brother.”Kylo tried to punch him again a few times, and Ben avoided his fist and stepped back each time until they had left the pier and were standing on the ground again. He didn’t want either of them to fall into the water.Kylo barely had reached the ground when he pounced on him. They had fought a few times when they were younger, never in earnest, only to test which one was stronger. They were equal in strength, so it had never lasted long.But this time it was in earnest: they were both mad with fury and had to sort things out in a way words wouldn’t be any good for.Ben had developed quite a lot of muscle from his physical work, but Kylo worked out regularly; again, there was no difference in their strength. By the time they had wrestled, punched, struggled and beat one another for five minutes, Kylo had a black eye and Ben’s jaw felt like it was coming off.Unexpectedly, Kylo tripped over and fell to the side, dragging Ben with him as he tried to steady himself; they rolled over and almost fell into the lake.Ben found the upper position and grabbed his twin by his shoulders. “Kylo, I’m sick of this!” he shouted. “You useless asshole - why must you always make things worse?”He struck Kylo’s face, but at the same time he felt the sting of tears in his eyes.Kylo’s next move was unexpected. He quickly got up, and Ben was bracing himself for the next round of beating; but instead he was grabbed roughly and yanked until his ribs hurt.They were both breathing heavily, incapable to think from their overwhelming emotions. Ben took a deep breath, and suddenly he realized something.Kylo was hugging him.He was holding on to him like he wanted to crack his ribs and panting heavily at the side of his neck, but his breath was shaky and it was definitively a hug.“Little one.”“I’m not your…” Ben answered automatically. Then he realized that Kylo had actually said something to him. To him, not conveying a message through others. Ben closed his eyes hoping he wouldn’t start to cry, and then awkwardly lifted his arms to return the embrace. ~~~ The twins stayed like that for a while, on their knees, incapable to say a word or to let go. When they got up they shared a self-conscious, tentative smile before they slowly, wordlessly both started to walk back to the house.All at once, catching his brother off guard, Kylo quickly grabbed Ben and threw him sidewise across his shoulders.“Kylo!” Ben yelped in surprise. “Put me down!”“Nope! Now I’ve got you where I want you,” Kylo grinned, looking sideways to meet Ben’s eyes.Ben groaned; it had been an old pun between them that Kylo, though not taller, was a little broader than he, and he had often pointed that out in the past by simply grabbing his twin and carrying him for a while. It seemed some things never changed. ~~~ When the brothers came back from the lake, everybody heard their voices - Ben protesting and Kylo good-naturedly silencing him - and rushed to the windows. Leia put a hand over her mouth and then slowly crumbled on her brother’s shoulder, sobbing in relief. Luke put an arm around her and smiled in his quiet way.Han was waiting for his two sons in the doorway, smiling crookedly the way he always did when he had to wrestle with strong emotions. He saw Kylo’s black eye and the way Ben held his chin once Kylo had put him on his feet again, but didn’t say anything. He knew that sometimes nothing was better than a honest fight to clear the air.Rey emerged from the kitchen with a plate full of cookies, smiling happily: she had started to bake to prevent herself from thinking too much, but in her wildest dreams she wouldn’t have imagined the morning would end like this.“They’re still warm from the oven,” she said happily. “And does anyone want eggnog?” ~~~ “This is the best Boxing Day ever,” Han declared when everybody sat together for a late brunch that day. “Although the two of you perhaps didn’t need to take it so literally,” he winked at his sons. Kylo and Ben were sitting next to one another, smiling a little awkwardly but other than that, looking at ease. Leia looked as if a ton of weight had been taken off her chest.After a huge amount of eating, the brothers cleared off the table, throwing fruit peels and broken cookies at one another like children, until both burst out laughing. ~~~ There was another impromptu dancing that evening which had an unexpected turn: Kylo suddenly pushed Ben slightly between the shoulders making it look like an accident, but Ben fell against Rey, landing over her on the floor and trapping her within his arms for a moment until he apologized, blushing, and helped her up.Kylo stopped his brother in the empty hallway half an hour later, when everybody else had gone to bed; he gestured to Ben that Rey was outside on the porch.“Don’t make her unhappy,” he said to Ben in a low voice.Ben felt like the wind had been taken from his sails. “Kylo… I thought you...”“I like her. Never said I was in love with her,” Kylo grinned. ~~~ Ben finally found the courage to approach Rey that night, meeting her on the porch where she sat on one of the steps, looking at the stars. She felt deeply thankful for being here. Now that the black cloud that had oppressed the house had lifted, the atmosphere was blissfully peaceful.“I’m glad you listened to me last night, Rey,” Ben said softly, as he sat by her side. “It has made a world of difference. I never had the courage to confront Kylo. I may never would have found it if it hadn’t been for you.”“You did it on your own,” Rey smiled. “Kylo brought me here, and you opened up to me.”Ben took her hand in his and met Rey’s shy smile. Then, on an impulse, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.As he drew back, he was startled to see her eyes widening. Rey withdrew her hand and quickly got up, her back to him.“Rey…! I’m sorry. I thought…” He got on his feet, too. He wanted to touch her but didn’t dare to.“It’s ok,” she said softly. “It’s just that… I’ve never done anything like this.” Rey turned around, her cheeks were red and her eyes downcast. “I never told anyone, Kylo least of all. He would have laughed at me,” she whispered. “I know it sounds silly, at my age. But I had much shit to go through and I always thought…” she faltered.“Rey, it’s alright. I won’t touch you anymore.”At that, she looked at him in surprise. “I thought… I mean…”“Shit!” Ben turned away and mussed his hair nervously. “I got it all wrong again.”Rey came a few steps closer and laid her hand on his shoulder. Ben puffed his breath out.“I didn’t mind you kissing me, Ben. It’s just that… I won’t jump into bed with you right away, if that’s what you expect.”“No!” he almost shouted. Rey looked around and signaled him to talk softer. Then she looked away again and leaned on one of the posts, as if needing something to hold her up.She looked so lost that Ben instinctively went to her and took her into his arms. Rey requited the embrace, after the first embarrassment. At the feel of her soft body against his, and her sweet, feminine smell he realized what he had wanted to say.“I’m sorry, Rey. I just… I want to ask you to be my girlfriend.” He opened his arms a little and she looked up at him. “Sorry, I’m behaving like a stupid schoolboy.”“No… no, you’re not. I would like that. Being your girlfriend, I mean.”He exhaled. “Really?”“Yes. It’s just…”“We don’t have to have sex tonight, if that’s what you mean. We’ve plenty of time,” he said.“If that’s okay with you,” she answered. “Waiting a little more, I mean.”“Of course.” Ben almost crushed her into his arms. He would have waited years, if that meant having Rey always by his side. ~~~ After a while, they went back to the house on tiptoe. The fire in the living room was burning down, and nobody was there. The house was quiet, probably everybody had gone to bed.Ben suggested watching a French movie that was programmed for the night, he had heard it had good ratings. Rey immediately agreed and they spent two delightful hours cuddling by the glowing embers of the fireplace, watching a dreamy French girl deciding to give her life meaning by coming out of her shell and helping others.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Kylo’s doing WHAT??”A few months before, Kylo had packed a bag and started his trip southwards, impulsive as usual, and everybody had shaken their heads and decided he must have gone insane. Ben and Rey both suspected that he needed to get some distance and start afresh, after all the emotional uproar. Talking a lot was not in his nature.There had been a night when they had felt very close, all three of them. Ben had woken up from a nightmare - they still plagued him sometimes - and then wandered up and down his room, incapable to sleep. until Kylo heard him from the room below and came upstairs. His brother’s face wasn’t only pale from the moonlight, his eyes were circled and he looked like he was about to throw up. Kylo understood wordlessly: he often felt a suppressed rage that made him want to yell or destroy something, but he didn’t suffer from nightmares.From her own room across the hallway, Rey had heard Kylo’s steps and the two brothers talking softly; alarmed, she had opened her door dressed only in a pair of soft pajamas, and knocked at Ben’s door. As he opened, she quickly sensed what was the matter.They spoke about it together, all three, and in the end Ben almost fell asleep with his head on Rey’s shoulder. Thinking practically, Rey simply laid down in his bed and cuddled up in his arms to offer him physical comfort. Kylo at first had rolled his eyes and commented dryly that his brother had been a cuddler ever since he was a baby; then he had helped covering both of them up. As he had been about to leave the room, he thought better of it and went back to the bed. With a sigh, like someone giving in to the inevitable, he laid down on his brother’s other side, close to his back, with one arm slung around his shoulder. Rey had giggled a little, and Kylo had winked at her. Minutes later all three of them were asleep, Ben’s nightmare forgotten. ~~~ A few months after making peace with his brother and seeing him happy with Rey, Kylo had begun to feel more and more restless. He always had an uneven temper, and now he suspected he had unconsciously taken a lot of his repressed anger on his brother. But the true source of his anger had never been Ben… and Kylo wasn’t a quiet person to begin with.Feeling that he urgently needed to see something else to get his repressed energy out and to reorganize his thoughts, he had applied for sabbatical, remembering that he had always wanted to explore South America but never had found the time to do it.The vacant post had been filled in with Gwen, whose competence and no-nonsense attitude had won Rey’s trust and respect from the first moment she had met her.The family had shaken their heads and predicted that Kylo would be back after two weeks, either sick or broke or with a completely wrecked Falcon, or all three things together. But Kylo was not heard of in months; he didn’t charge his mobile phone regularly, texted only from time to time to make everyone know that he was still alive, and he liked to mock them by sending the most old-fashioned postcards he could find.Leia, Ben and Han decided that it was best to keep busy so they wouldn’t think and worry about Kylo too much. Rey began to help the men in the workshop, finding that she liked to assembly things. ~~~ Luke was more difficult to approach; for all of his kindness, he was always a little distant. Rey had soon found out that he was wise but also sad - he had obviously been through too much. There was an underlying sense of humor in him that never left him though.They bonded one weekend over a few old photobooks that Han had unearthed from somewhere. Ben had groaned and said those old pictures were pitiful, but Rey had loved looking through them while Luke explained her the details and told stories from his two nephews’ childhood. After a while, Rey tentatively snuggled against his side and felt Luke putting an arm around her shoulder. Neither said a word, but Rey felt she had found another friend.They talked about the mess with Luke’s school one day when nobody else was in the living room. A hard, cold rain was falling and Luke lit the fireplace; Leia had gone on some errand and Han was working, as usual.Rey confessed him what Ben had told her and Luke had averted his eyes. Rey didn’t blame him, but he obviously still felt very bad about it. They sat on the couch side by side and Luke sighed, looking into the soothing fire.“You still blame yourself,” Rey had remarked, quietly. “But you’re only a man. You can’t take the weight of other people’s sins on your shoulders.”Luke sighed. “I was too self-centered. The abbot back in Bavaria told me that I needed to learn to listen more to people. I guess he was right, that had been my problem all along. I had been so bent on my mission that I felt too sure of myself.”He looked at her and smiled a little. “I do some counselling now. It’s amazing how much you can learn from your patients when you exchange opinions instead of just giving advice.”Rey had smiled at that and pulled up her legs under her body, feeling more relaxed. They had talked about their favorite books then, and not touched the other subject again. But the air between them felt clearer now, and Rey was glad for it. ~~~ Kylo had been gone almost five months when they heard of him again, on a sunny day in late summer; in a way that was unexpected to say the least.One weekend when Rey was visiting again suddenly they saw a girl, or better a young woman, stomping their way uphill to their house, her travelling clothes dirty and her chestnut hair in three messy buns.But there was no tiredness in her; her eyes gleamed with energy and suppressed fury.Han got up first; they were outside eating on the porch.“Can we help you?” he asked.“Are you Han Solo?” the young woman asked back.“I used to be,” Han smirked. She raised her eyebrows, and he replied, “Still am, I guess. What can we do for you?”“Kylo…” she snorted, “Kylo gave me this address. He’s your son, isn’t he?”“Last time I checked he was. Where did you meet him? Where is he, by the way? We haven’t heard of him in weeks…”Leia took over at this point, stepping down the porch. “That’s enough, Han, don’t you see she’s tired and worn out? Have you eaten, child?”“I have hardly eaten all week,” she answered rolling her eyes.“Come in,” Leia said. “We were having brunch. What is your name?”“Kira,” the young woman answered, obviously remembering her manners. “I’m sorry, I look like a total mess.”Ben got up, wiping his mouth on a napkin, then he held out his hand and introduced himself and Rey. Kira stared at him in surprise; Kylo obviously hadn’t told her that Ben was his twin. Meanwhile the others wondered at the parallels between her and Rey - both of average height and slender built, heart-shaped faces, kissable lips, brown eyes and shoulder-length hair. In temper, though, they differed as totally as the two brothers.During a long breakfast, while Kira ate heartily like she had been starved for months, she told them how she had met Kylo.The daughter of a late clergyman who had expatriated from the States to Brazil, she had lost her parents when she was a child. A local family she had known all her life had taken her in; they had always made her feel welcome, but she had nevertheless sometimes felt like she didn’t belong, and had wanted to come to the country her parents had come from, at least to see it if not necessarily to stay.She had met Kylo, “That idiot,” as she called him, hearing a brawl outside house at night. Their town was rather small and there weren’t many foreigners, but she knew English and wondered who was stupid enough to quarrel with some local guy in the street at night who obviously had wanted something illegal from him.Kira had quickly come out of the house and sent the man to his own affairs with a few well-placed curses in Portuguese; Kylo’s massive form and the fact that he was already balling his fists did the rest.She had made the stranger enter the house where he had explained to the family how he had stranded there due to his old car, and that he was traveling through the country “getting to know it” - Kira had rolled her eyes over the foolishness of the American guy who obviously thought getting into fights with drunk foreigners was some part of local folklore. But he was obviously an educated, well-mannered man so they had offered him a room for a few days.It hadn’t taken long for Kira to show Kylo the town and to accompany him on his hikes on the hills surrounding it, and even less to realize that she couldn’t be near him for longer than half an hour without arguing. When he said he wanted to get back to his car, have it fixed and travel back through the rest of the country and then home, she had come to the conclusion that he was either the most arrogant or the most stupid man she had ever met, and that she couldn’t let him go on his own.Saying goodbye to the kind people who had given her a home for so long, she had promised she would be back as soon as she had brought the idiotic Americano home safely; but the mother had only smiled at her and told her to do as her heart said.Their trip home had been exhausting to say the least, and Kira had lost count of the misadventures they’d been through. Some of the cities and landscapes had been stunningly beautiful, but her eyes sparkled when she told about finding that Kylo had no plan to begin with, and that instead of worrying about it he had just laughed at her. They had slept under starry skies, worried about snakes and scorpions, fixed the Falcon over and over, run out of gas, almost crossed a desert because they had taken the wrong turn, once hadn’t thought of making provisions when they had come through the last village and reached the next only two days later, and she didn’t know how many times she had groaned that the vultures were only waiting to eat their carcasses.When they had reached the States and the car broke down again (“It’s the last time I will ever drive a mile in it again!” she swore), Kylo had made her get out and told her his parent’s address, promising to reach her as soon as he could. Kira had stomped off with her bag, never looking back at him while he was bent over the Falcon’s steaming hood.“I would have done better to help him push it,” she finished.“You wouldn’t know how often I said that to Han, when he still drove that rusty old bucket,” Leia told her.“Hey!” Han protested. “It’s still better than a lot of that shiny modern stuff you find on the streets nowadays!”“Yes, I know, Han… But I don’t think Kira is interested in that. - I suggest you take a shower, while we clear up breakfast,” she said to the young woman.“I wonder where Kylo is by now,” Ben said. “Maybe I should go looking for him.”“He must get back here some time,” Kira snorted. “And when he gets back, I promise you…”Ben and Rey exchanged glances. Merciful heavens, the girl was a spitfire. Her musical voice and smiling eyes spoke of a friendly nature, and Chewie had liked her right away, putting his huge head on her knees and letting her pat him while she ate and spoke; but her temper blazed like a fire in the peaceful household. ~~~ Kira had disappeared into the house for perhaps an hour when they heard Kylo’s voice over the stuttering of a car: he was calling for his brother, then his father and mother, and his voice sounded clear and bright, not at all like someone who had been in trouble.Ben and Rey ran down the porch towards the Falcon; it was rustier and muddier than ever and its motor sounded like it needed an urgent makeover, but it was running. Kylo’s clothes were dirty, his hair almost shoulder-length and he obviously hadn’t shaven in days, but he was grinning from one ear to the other.Ben was the first to reach him. “Kylo! Thank God you’re all right.”The two brothers hugged.“Of course I’m all right! What made you think I wasn’t?”“We heard you got into a mess with the Falcon…”“Is Kira here?”“Yes, she’s inside. She came an hour ago, in the devil of a temper.”“Oh, don’t worry. That’s her normal state of mind - at least when she’s around me.”“She’s not alone with that,” Rey remarked dryly.“Look who’s here - Rey!” Kylo exclaimed and before she knew what he was doing, he had lifted her up bridal style.“Kylo!” she yelped.He hugged her to his chest. “I’ve missed you all! My grumbling assistant, my gloomy brother, father’s old jokes, mother’s burnt barbecue, uncle Luke’s lectures… It’s good to be home again. Here!” With that he just dropped Rey onto Ben’s arms, putting his own arm around both of them, while they protested and struggled not to fall.“Don’t drop her, little one!” he grinned while he went to the back of the Falcon and took out his traveling bag.Chewie ran out of the house wagging his tail and barking at him, Kira on his heels.Kylo let the huge beast almost throw him to the ground as it stood on its hind legs with its paws against him. Kira was standing behind him, her hands on her hips.“Kylo…!”Kylo patted Chewie’s head and pushed him a little to get him out of the way.“Sweetheart!” He opened his arms to her, a broad smile all over his face.“I’m not your sweetheart!” Kira shouted. “Leaving me in the middle of nowhere because you just wouldn’t take a plane or a train would you, no, you had to travel all the way in that piece of junk, which of course had to break down once more when no one and nothing was in sight…”Kylo just went over to her. “I was worried about you, too.” Having said that, he just threw her over his shoulder and started walking to the house, bag in his free hand.“Kylo!!” Kira started kicking her heels but she had no chance against the much larger man.Ben and Rey were on the lawn beside the Falcon, mute with surprise, Ben still holding Rey on his arms. She looked at him and both started laughing.“Seems like Kylo’s found his match,” Ben chuckled.“Thank God,” Rey giggled with relief. ~~~ Kylo and Kira did not come out of their room for dinner; Leia made a remark about them being tired from the journey, but everybody suspected they had better things to do than sleeping.Ben and Rey had not been intimate yet, besides making out and fondling sometimes; but since the night they had found out that they slept better when the other was around, when Rey was on a visit with the family Ben often came into her room late at night and they cuddled up together, talking until they fell asleep. Tonight was no different, although they still didn’t have sex.Kylo’s and Kira’s bedroom was downstairs, beneath Rey’s; they could hear them from here, and at times they grinned at one another half embarrassed, half amused. ~~~ On the next morning Kylo opened the window to have a look out and stretch himself in the fresh morning air; he still was shirtless. Rey saw him leaning down from her own window, and mischievously, she grabbed the ewer from the windowsill and poured its content over him making him shout. Then he looked up, laughed and threw some of the water back at her. Rey squealed and giggled and Ben, who had watched them, laughed. Kylo shot him a look that promised playful revenge, his eyes shining.Going out later, Ben found a pillow lying on the grass as if it had flown out of Kylo’s window during a pillow fight. He picked it up and felt something rustling.He went to knock on Kylo’s door, hoping that Kira was either under the shower or already having breakfast: Kylo was humming to himself. He opened the door still half dressed.“Little one!” he greeted his brother. “What’s the matter?”“This,” Ben answered shoving the pillow into Kylo’s hands.“Thank you. We just had a small argument, Kira and I.”Ben entered the room closing the door behind him and crossed his arms, while Kylo approached the bed and flopped the discarded pillow on it.“Seriously, Kylo?” he grumbled. “Condoms inside the pillowcase?”“Best place to keep them at hand,” Kylo chuckled.“But a whole dozen of them?”Kylo scratched his neck. “Really? I remember putting fifteen inside. I wonder what happened to the rest...”Ben rolled his eyes.“Well, and what’s with the two of you? Need some advice on how to have sex?” Kylo smirked good-naturedly.Ben rolled his eyes. “We may not be there yet, but what about you? How about some advice how to have a better relationship, so it doesn’t always have to be make-up sex?”Kylo just laughed. Ben had seen him through, as always. He didn’t mind his fights with Kira, she was intelligent and fair and didn’t hold a grudge; but Kylo wasn’t a fool and he could see that there was a quiet harmony between his brother and Rey that their own relationship lacked.His brother shook his head. “See you at breakfast,” Ben said and left the room. ~~~ Kylo resumed humming while he tidied up the room. Kira had left early; she liked to have a run in the morning and he had suggested her to have a look at the lake.They had not unpacked their bags the evening before and only got out what they needed in the morning; and their clothes from the day before were strewn all over the place. Kylo could already hear Leia reprimanding him if he didn’t at least clean up a bit.Getting intimate with Kira always ended up in a mess. They’d had their first time after a long hike, both exhausted and sweating; a heated argument, a cocky remark from his side and a slap from hers and they had been rolling all over their sleeping bags, Kira leaving scratches on his back. They had already been naked and he had had her trapped in his arms underneath him when she had unexpectedly lifted her foot and fondled his intimate parts with it, taking him entirely by surprise. Later, when she flopped him over and looked down on him mischievously, he suspected he was in trouble. He loved it. And he also suspected that the cramps he had in his legs on the next morning didn’t come entirely from the uphill climbing.He had assumed that Kira had a lot of experience, but she later told him she had tried sex only a few times and that she had been disappointed in her partners. Kylo didn’t take long to realize that Kira knew very well what she wanted, which had probably irritated the guys before him.Kylo grinned thinking of the things she had introduced him to, and of what they both had tried out or done over and over during the last months. She was not particularly kinky, but she had ideas he would never have thought of. Despite his many affairs, his own love life had rather been disappointing; the women he met at work or in bars and clubs, usually of the kind “self-assured, successful and fun loving”, just had their own agenda, hardly minding his. Both found a way to reach their orgasm after a while and then fell asleep, or didn’t even bother to sleep over. He hardly could stand them for longer than a month or two.Kira’s love for experimenting was something Kylo found unusual and intriguing. She loved a long foreplay, kissing and teasing. She liked having her clit stimulated by his wrist while he had his arm between her legs, fondling one of her ass cheeks, his mouth plundering hers or suckling on her breasts or neck. She also loved to have her ears gently licked, or to climb up his chest moving her breasts close to his mouth so he could fondle and kiss them to both their heart’s content. Sometimes she shoved him until he rolled over on his stomach and teased his ass cheeks with her breasts, before climbing further up and riding his ass, with him rolling his hips in time. A few times she caught him by surprise starting by first pressing her hard nipples to the soles of his feet, tickling him. When he was very excited, he found he liked having his ears licked a little, too. Kira had said once that was probably the reason why they were so big, making him laugh. She made him laugh a lot, and that was just what he needed.Last night she had laid down on him upside down, but while he had expected some sixty-nine, she had climbed further down until her genitals rubbed against his. It felt funny but also exciting when they started to move together. Later they had fallen asleep with his head on the only pillow (the other had sailed out of the window during a fight) and her cheek pressed into his chest. Kira was so much smaller than him that it sometimes felt like cuddling a kitten. And a kitten she was, even if sometimes her claws came out.He had told her about the abuse he and his brother had gone through one night when she was cuddled against his back; she had said nothing, only held him tighter and pressed a few kisses on his shoulders, and he knew she felt with him. Kira was the first woman he thought he might never get tired of.He smiled to himself thinking of Ben and Rey, obviously tiptoeing around one another. He still liked Rey, but he realized now that she had never stirred the same emotions in him Kira did; Rey was a soothing presence, Kira made him feel alive. He was glad that Ben went along so well with her - his shy, gentle-hearted brother needed someone who grounded him. Although the corners of Kylo’s mouth twitched when he imagined giving his brother some advice about how to seduce a girl. ~~~ After a late breakfast with a lot of catching up in the family, which ended up as another long brunch, all four of them walked to the lake, with Chewie barking and running ahead enthusiastically. Leia and Han watched them from the kitchen window, happily: it was such a normal and yet so strangely fantastical sight, both their sons peacefully side by side, each with his girl.It started to rain before they got back, and by the time they were close to the house they were already soaking wet. Kylo carelessly stepped into a puddle splashing his brother, and when he was accused of making a mess on purpose, it didn’t take long for all four of them to start a mud fight which had them all dirty and laughing after a few minutes. Han rolled his eyes when he saw the prints on the floor and staircase and cleaned up quickly before his wife would see them. They had all four looked so happy that he wouldn’t have wanted them to be scolded for anything in the world. Ben was about to enter his room when Rey impulsively grasped his arm, whispering his name. He had let her drag him into her room, wondering what she was about, and still more confused when she pulled him into her bathroom with her eyes sparkling and a smile on her face.“Rey…!” Ben blushed furiously when he saw her taking her clothes off, never taking her eyes off him.After a moment of confusion, he quickly did the same and let her pull him under the shower, where they soaped and rinsed one another off, laughing and, in the end, hugging and kissing intimately. It wasn’t sex yet, but it felt wonderful.They cuddled up and fell asleep in the same bed after that, lulled by the sound of the rain. Rey loved sleeping in this house upstairs. It felt as if as long as Han and Leia were in their own room downstairs, nothing bad could ever happen to her. When Luke was there, she felt even more protected; he was slowly becoming the father she had never had. And she knew that her own need was helping to heal the wounds in the family, that they were happy to make her feel safe. ~~~ “That tickles,” Rey chuckled.Ben had woken up from their nap before her and was slowly moving his lips along her legs; she had half kicked off the blanket in her sleep.He looked up at her and smiled. “Do you think I ought to shave?”She held out her hand and stroked his short beard. “I would miss it,” she answered.Ben was silent.“What is it, Ben?”“Rey…” He exhaled. “Sometimes I wonder if… If you wouldn’t rather have had Kylo.”She raised her eyebrows.“You know what I mean,” he added, averting his eyes. “He’s the cool one. Sometimes I wonder what makes you put up with me.”Rey laughed. “You are very intense, both of you,” she said.“You think so?”“Yes. But Kylo’s too much for me. I wouldn’t have a moment of peace with him. I’m so glad he met Kira. She’s good for him, don’t you think?”“She sure knows how to handle him,” he snorted, and both laughed.In the room downstairs Kira had teased a half-asleep Kylo by brushing with a strand of her hair over his naked ass cheeks. Kylo had grumbled something about wanting to take a nap, but she had just chuckled and went on teasing him until he finally made love to her. It had taken her a while to accept it, but she loved her hot-headed, cheeky, stupid Americano. And if that meant staying in this country which was still foreign to her, well, she wasn’t one to refrain from a challenge. ~~~ It was Sunday evening; the next day Kylo would go back to the city with Kira and Rey, to pick up work again. She did not speak about it, but it was no secret that Kira was searching for a job in the city or the surroundings.Everybody was sitting in the living room for an evening together when the twin brothers found one another on the opposite sides of a sofa, their girls between them giggling to one another about some girl thing.Kylo looked over their heads and his eyes met Ben’s. Instinctively, both laid their arms on the back of the sofa until their hands almost touched. Ben pressed a kiss on the top of Rey’s head and then smiled at his brother.Kylo just grinned. This whole crazy adventure had started because he had almost kidnapped and brought Rey home almost a year ago, and in a few months they would all be celebrating Thanksgiving together. He looked around the living room at his parents and uncle, chatting away quietly over a few glasses of wine, feeling grateful and at peace. It was funny to think how from something selfish and foolish, so much good had come.