"Thanks for letting us come over, Mister Ren." Rose plastered her sweetest smile on, nudging Kaydel as she stared at the man with her wide brown eyes.
"Just remember," the man said, peering at the one boy of the group. "No boys here after eight. That means you, kid."
Finn brushed a hand over his hair. "Sure thing, sir."
The girls giggled and tugged Finn toward the living room- den- whatever it was supposed to be called.
This was the first time Rey's friends had ever come to "hang" where she lived. Finn, a foster failure (his words, not hers) had seen a few of the places before, and Rose had picked up and dropped off Rey at the last place, but this was her first time truly hosting.
It was weird and exciting. She had gotten large plastic cups (re-usable, not those cheap things that littered the environment) in everyone's favorite colors. Finn had green, Rose had pink, Kaydel had blue, and Rey had red. That wasn't actually her favorite color, but it had worked well with the others, so it didn't really matter. There were three different kinds of soda, two kinds of chips, brownies to bake later, ice cream, and they had permission to call for pizza too.
Kylo was permissive, partially because Rey asked for little; Gwen was gone again.
Her foster mother had increasingly disappeared on work-related trips since The Night of the Disastrous Dinner. Rey was sure Gwen hated her, and she and Kylo argued any time they were in the same room. She'd seen this before; it usually resulted in her being kicked to the next house.
It had come as surprise when Kylo suggested having a sleepover, like she was a normal teenager and he was a normal parent.
The four of them played Rock Band and half-watched Princess Bride while picking at food until it was time for Finn to take off. His adoptive brother dropped by for him, coming to the door long enough to roll his eyes at the giggling girls and say hello.
"Thanks, Poe!" Rey called as the pair headed to the deceptively decrepit car he drove.
Kylo looked up from where he was reading on his Kindle. "Wait, Poe? As in Poe Dameron?"
"Yeah. That's Finn's brother."
He was frowning, but shook his head clear of the thoughts. "The girls staying the night?"
She shifted, rubber soles of her slippers squelching slightly on the floor. "That's still okay, right?"
He huffed a chuckle. "Yeah, Rey. It's still okay. This is your home too, and that's not going to change."
"Gwen doesn't want me here."
"Then Gwen shouldn't have agreed to take you in. I told her before we decided to go this route that I'm not the type to give up someone easily, that I wasn't going to bring a kid into this house just to decide to quit when it got hard."
Rey bit her lip and almost didn't say the next words. "Even if she leaves?"
Kylo's amber eyes hardened. "Even if she leaves. That's her choice; I've already made mine."
No one had ever chosen Rey, not even her parents. An emotion too large to contain expanded inside of her and she launched herself at Kylo. His big arms wrapped around her even as he 'oomph'ed at the sudden impact. "Thank you," she whispered against his starched collar and fragrant throat, breathing in the scent of him, leather and whiskey and forest.
He stroked the nape of her neck down the line of her back, a soothing weight that held her in this world. "I'm here for you, Rey. You don't have to be alone."
She pulled back, smiling at him, mouth opening-
"BROWNIES!"
Kaydel and Rose appeared from behind the wall that separated the den from the sitting room and Rey stood awkwardly, removing herself fully from where she'd been half in Kylo's lap.
"Really?" she droned at her friends. Kaydel had the grace to blush, but Rose was all dimples and bright eyes.
"You promised us freshly made brownie sundaes, Rey-bean. Not my fault I expect you to deliver."
Her friend poked her cheesy and Rey lifted her palms in surrender. "Fine, fine. Far be it from me to deny you." She ushered them into the kitchen where Rose took up reading the directions out loud as Kaydel searched for the dishes they'd need and Rey gathered the other ingredients.
With forty five minutes they were gathered in their sleeping bags with bowls of sugary sweetness they'd pay for tomorrow. Kylo had bid them goodnight as the brownies baked and all the lights were off other than the television playing a trashy horror film Rose had chosen off Netflix.
"So, like, are you usually alone with Kylo?"
Rey had the excuse of fudgy brownie drenched in chocolate syrup to give her a moment. "What do you mean?"
"Where's your foster mom?"
"Rose," Kaydel hissed, blonde brows drawn.
Rose rolled her eyes. "It's just a question, Kay."
"Gwen works a lot," Rey said after a pause. "So does Kylo though."
"He's here now. I don't think I've even seen her yet," the smaller girl said thoughtfully. "Kylo seems to take an interest in you and your life. Does your foster mom even know you have friends?"
This was uncomfortably close to the truths Rey had herself thought. "I think she wanted someone younger. A little kid."
"Hm." Sadness passed behind Rose's dark eyes. "They can't have kids of their own, can they?"
She shook her head; her friend leaned against her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Rey. How long do you think you have here?"
They'd been friends long enough that Rose had learned foster parents who wanted babies didn't tend to keep older kids.
"Kylo says I'm staying." Her voice was small because it was one thing for him to say it, another for it to be the truth. She wanted to believe him. She liked him. More than Like . "That Gwen can choose for herself if she goes, but that he won't just get rid of me."
"Really?" Rey couldn't read the emotion of Kaydel's face. "Well, that's good. It's not like you're a puppy or something. Not that it should be easy to get rid of puppies either."
Rey huffed. "Yeah, I get what you mean."
"I hope he means that," Rose added. "You deserve a real home."
"Thanks."
Kaydel clambered to lean against Rey's other side, the two girls providing comfort and love without words. They slept that way, too, Rose and Kaydel sprawled across the mess of blankets and pillows on the floor, both on their sides to face their friend.
Kylo ran a hand through hair that was even too shaggy for him. He needed a haircut, though he'd have to do it soon to avoid his parents commenting on it. The holidays were coming up and God forbid Leia think she got her way.
The dishes from the night before were already clean judging by the 'done' light on the dishwasher, the sleeping bags and blankets and pillows all cleared away. It was almost as if his home hadn't been invaded by teenagers last night.
He had carefully kept out of the way that morning to give the three girls space, but he'd still expected to see them there. Instead Rey was reading, curled up in her favorite chair.
"Where are your friends?"
She beamed up at him. "Good afternoon to you, too. Rose left early; her mom dragged her to church. Kaydel left about an hour ago. She has cheerleading practice."
His brows rose. A church-goer and a cheerleader, not what he expected from his girl. She'd seemed like a bit of an outsider.
"Kay's also class president and Rose is the treasurer. My friends are all over-achievers."
"About Dameron's brother?"
Her grin widened. "Finn is a mathlete and school champion of the shot-put."
"No kidding." He leaned against the arm of her chair. "Poe was a track and field legend in his day."
"Yeah. It was a real surprise when his parents adopted Finn. I mean, Poe has to be around your age, right?"
Kylo tried to suppress his grimace. "He's three years older."
"What?"
"Yeah; we went to school together too. High school and college." He shrugged. "We weren't exactly friends."
"Why not? Too big of an age gap?"
Should he? Why the hell not. "Dameron was a dick and I was a bit of a geek."
Rey's surprised bark of laughter twisted his gut, but not entirely in embarrassment. "You were a geek? But you're so- so…" He stared as she waffled for the words. "Cool." Her cheeks turned scarlet and it was his turn to laugh.
"Thanks? But I was gawky agt your age. And angsty as fuck." That brought forth more of the bubbly giggles and Kylo found his cheeks hurting from all the smiling. "Did you eat breakfast?"
She shrugged, mirth still shining in her eyes. "I had a doughnut."
"C'mon. I'll make you an omelet."
Rey was too happy to help him in the kitchen, darting to the fridge and picking through the cabinets as he manned the stove. She moved so naturally around him, never in the way and never in opposition. Cooking for her, with her, was a pleasure, and she was genuinely interested in the process.
"Why do you whip them like that?"
"You want the omelets to be light, fluffy. You have to whip them just the right amount, though. Too much might ruin them."
"How do you know when to flip the pancake?"
"Pay attention to the outer rim and the air bubbles."
"There can't really be that big of a difference in coffee."
"Oh, you sweet summer child."
By the time they'd settled at the table with a mighty brunch they were able to eat in companionable silence.
Until Rey's bright hazel eyes darted up to him and she said, fingers fiddling with her napkin. "Is Gwen still coming home tonight?"
Kylo set down his fork and wiped his lips. "No." She'd called him the night before, but he hadn't wanted to disturb Rery's first ever slumber party. "She's taking some time away for a bit. To think."
"Oh."
The silence was less comfortable after that.
A/N:
Just a reminder that, no matter how long this goes without updates, if it still up, I still plan to finish it. Anyway, get updates on my life and what I'm working on on Twitter, found via the carrd in my profile or just looking up this name.