Inspired by DyadSqueal's Twitter prompt: "Rey hires hitman Kylo to punch her ex-sucky bf in the face because she thinks that what a hitman is".

Basically what it says on the tin.

I'm going to have to reconsider retirement, if all the clients are as pretty as this.

Kylo took his seat across from the young woman who'd booked him for a "consult". She was cute, brunette, and much less nervous than his clients usually were - in fact, she greeted him with a beaming smile that actually looked genuine. Either she was a superb actor, or she was a sociopath.

It didn't matter to Kylo, so long as he got paid.

"Hi! You're Kylo?" she asked, and shoved a cup across the table without waiting for his reply. Black with sugar, he hoped, as he'd requested; she was drinking something violently pink and he had absolutely no desire to know what was in it.

"That's me." He kept his voice low, casual. He'd already scoped the coffeeshop and its environs, and nothing set off any warning bells. Kylo never trusted anyone completely, but the meeting probably wasn't a sting.

Not that coffeeshops were his usual meeting venue, but he could be flexible, when the occasion called for it.

"Great! I'm, um, Kira." The client was still smiling, looking downright excited, but at least she'd remembered to use a pseudonym.

Kylo nodded and sipped his coffee. Mmm, perfect. She can follow instructions, good. His choice of careers required a lot of caution, and clients were wilder variables than targets - all the more so because they were still alive afterwards. He'd declined more than one job because he couldn't be sure the client would keep their mouth shut. "Are you enjoying the weather?"

"Oh yeah, I love spring!" Kira burbled on for a minute about flowers and birds, and Kylo let her words flow over him; her accent sounded nice. It didn't really matter what she said, since the small talk was just to make their meeting look less like what it was, but Kylo found himself grinning at her description of nesting wrens as "sweary little motherfuckers" and the way she waved her hands for emphasis.

She was refreshing.

He put his elbows on the table as she wound down, leaning forward a bit. "What have you got for me?"

"Oh, right." Kira fished in the oversized shoulderbag at her feet, then laid a battered red folder on the table, clearly remembering his instruction to not hand him anything directly. "He's my ex. Boyfriend, that is."

Kylo nodded again and slid the folder into his grasp. On the one hand, the detail wasn't strictly necessary, but on the other, it was good to know. The more information he had about the target, the smoother the job would go.

He flipped it open. The headshot was clearly cropped from a larger photo, but it was good enough; one printed page held addresses and similar data.

"He's an arse," Kira went on. "Treated me like shite and then dumped me, and then when my grandfather died he came crawling back, just because I wasn't poor any more."

She was scowling now, and some small part of him mourned the loss of that wide smile. "Well, I can certainly take care of him for you."

"Can you give him two black eyes?" Kira asked hopefully. "Maybe break his nose?"

Kylo paused. It was hardly the first time anyone had asked him to draw things out, as it were, but she wasn't giving off that vibe. "Say again?"

Kira swung her fist in a tiny punching motion. "Break his nose, he's really vain about it. I just want him to look in the mirror afterwards and feel bad about himself, you know?"

...What.

Kylo closed the folder and set it down, regarding the woman across the little table, who was sipping at her straw. Not an actor, not a sociopath. She's an -

Innocent seemed an absurd word, and yet it fit. He was tempted to ask if English was not her first language, but that seemed rude. "Just to be sure," he said carefully. "You want him beaten."

Kira winced a little. "I guess," she said. "Maybe not beaten, not hard, just punched a few times. I mean, it's right there in your name, isn't it?"

Kylo bit his lip, hard. He was torn between disbelief and a violent desire to laugh, and yet for some reason he didn't want to hurt Kira's feelings. "So it is."

He wavered on the edge of the choice, and then made it. "I think I can make the experience memorable," he told her, extracting the contents of the folder and folding them to tuck into his coat pocket. "And the price I quoted you is a little high, given the circumstances. I'll send you a revised invoice."

Kira blinked at him. "Really? Because I budgeted for this."

Kylo scooped up his coffee cup and stood. "It's a worthy cause." He smiled at her, and couldn't help wondering what the world would be like if assassins were all just admonishing fists for hire. That's just a pipe dream.

It was enticing, though.

"I'll be in touch," he said. Kira grinned again, wide and delighted, and he dipped his head and left.

The spring sunshine was warm on his face as Kylo walked down the block to his car. What a job to retire on.

In a nearby tree, a tiny brown bird hopped and trilled, glaring at him with all the fury a one-ounce bundle of feathers could muster.

Kylo had to laugh.

Ms. Kira:

Please find attached proof of completion, and my invoice. Payment is due immediately using the cash app below.

Thank you for your business.

Dear Kylo:

My friend explained to me what a hitman really does. I am so embarrassed! I want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Don't worry, he doesn't know what I did, it was just a thing in passing. You were really nice not to turn me down.

I paid the invoice right away.

- Kira

P.S. I am saving the photo to gloat over. You did a great job.

Six months later

The autumn air was crisp, but the sun was strong enough that Rey decided to take her snack out to the coffeeshop patio. It was one of those glorious high blue days, where the sky seemed infinite and everything was more vivid in the clear light, and she didn't want to miss a moment of it.

Two papers and a problem set waited on her laptop, but it was Saturday, dammit, she was going to relax a little before getting back to work. She deserved the time off.

Grandfather may have been a horrible old monster, but at least now I can get a degree. So what if she was five years older than most of her classmates? Nobody cared, and Rey could finally afford to pursue her dream instead of working her butt off trying to make ends meet, thanks to the old man's fortune.

Rey peeled the paper off her muffin and popped a piece into her mouth. It's been a weird year. Twelve months ago she hadn't even known she had a grandfather, a living one anyway; she'd been slaving away at Plutt's junkyard, trying to keep her head above water, until one phone call from a lawyer had changed everything.

Of course, it hadn't all been roses. Snap popping back up in her life and trying to smarm her into taking him back, for one thing - she'd peeled him off easily enough, but it had made her so mad.

Which was how she'd managed to get herself into the most embarrassing situation ever. Rey's face still heated when she thought about it. It was absolutely absurd that she'd reached adulthood without ever realizing exactly what a hitman actually did, but somehow she'd managed it. So I nearly had my ex assassinated. By mistake.

Even Snap hadn't been quite that bad.

But Kylo...obviously that wasn't his real name...he'd been so nice about it. He hadn't even burst her bubble - just gone off and given Snap exactly what Rey'd asked for, two black eyes and a nicely broken nose. She still had the photo, buried in her bureau drawer, and it still gave her a surge of vindictive satisfaction every time she looked at it.

Nice had not been in generous supply in Rey's life. So it stood out.

I suppose I should be horrified by him - I mean, he does kill people for money.

She wasn't, though. Maybe growing up on the edge of starvation, doing what she had to do to survive, had warped her morals. Or maybe it just let her understand.

Rey took a swallow of her drink and let the strawberry flavor slide over her tongue, deliberately savoring the treat she wouldn't have been able to afford just a year prior. Kylo had just asked for coffee, she recalled, though at least he'd wanted sugar in it.

She couldn't help wondering where he was now. He would have interesting stories to tell, she was sure, if he could be coaxed to tell them.

And he had a beautiful smile.

"Is this seat taken?"

Rey looked up, startled, and felt her face turn absolutely crimson, because there he was, smiling. At her.

She cleared her throat hastily. "No, go ahead."

Kylo pulled out the chair on the other side of the table and sat easily. The brilliant sun pointed up details she'd missed before - the paleness of his skin, and the faint line of a scar across his face, just missing his eye. "Before you say anything," he said quietly, "I just want you to know - this has nothing to do with our prior meeting, and if you want me to leave I will."

Rey gaped at him for a long moment before she managed to bring her brain back online. "No! I mean, please stay."

He smiled again, and it was dazzling. Rey smiled back, helplessly ensnared. "I should apologize," she began, but he shook his head quickly.

"Please, don't. It was - " Kylo hesitated. "Charming."

Rey knew she was blushing again, but the way he looked at her wasn't mocking, it was...hopeful? She looked down at the remains of her muffin, flustered.

"Listen," he said. "You should know that I, ah, retired."

Rey glanced up quickly. Kylo was staring at his own hands, resting folded on the table. "Yours was the last job I took, and I'm...leaving all that behind."

She chose her words carefully. "That sounds like, um, a smart decision."

He nodded. "I'm starting fresh." He looked up, catching her gaze. "It seemed like it was time."

Rey didn't look away; she rested one elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, and smiled at him. "So everything's new?"

His face lit up slowly, like a sunrise. "Yeah."

Rey nodded back, then held out her other hand. "Hi, stranger. I'm Rey Brittaine."

He reached out to clasp it. "Ben Solo. I'm delighted to meet you, Rey."

His hand was large and warm and gentle, and slow to let hers go. Ben bit his lip. "This is a bit forward, but - may I buy you lunch?"

Rey considered the man sitting across from her - a murderer, a hired killer, a dangerous man.

A kind man. Who had offered her an out from the moment he'd sat down, and was now regarding her shyly, as if a lot hung on her answer.

It was crazy to even contemplate it - but somehow Rey didn't think smarm was in his repertoire. "I'd like that."

His smile widened, and his cheeks pinked. "Thank you." He held out his hand again. "Shall we, then?"

She put her hand in his, and let him draw her to her feet. As they left the patio, she laced her fingers with his, and made a mental note.

Better shred that photo when I get home.

It looked like she had better things ahead.