I'm so glad that you are enjoying this!
Ben: Can Caleb ride with you to school? Snoke called us in for an emergency meeting.
Rey: Sure. Is he coming over now?
She glances at the clock. Six a.m. Her doorbell rings as she throws on her robe because she is still wet from her shower.
As soon as she rounds the corner that leads to her back door, her heart goes out to the Solo men. Silently she opens the door. Ben, with only his button-up shirt and dress pants on, eases in, with a sleeping boy still in his pajamas, drooling on his shoulder.
"Couch?" Ben whispers.
She nods and follows them. He lays down his son, and she hands him the throw Mama made. It melts her heart when Ben leans down to kiss his son. Accepting the blanket, he covers Caleb.
Ben heads back to the door but stops before he can exit. "You might need this—" he takes off the backpack Caleb uses when he comes over to spend the night. "Crud, I forgot his shoes and Kylo Ren backpack."
"Leave your backdoor open. We'll stop on the way to school."
She can see the relief as it washes over him. "Thanks, Rey," he says as he leans over and kisses her on the forehead before he rushes out the door.
"Bye, Ben," she murmurs as he runs across their yards. He's never done that before, well maybe a hug here and there. But a kiss? Her heart speeds up as she thinks about what this might mean. Not to mention that the spot where his lips touched, yeah, she's tingling like the heroine out of one of her bodice rippers she loves to read.
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"Now, take out your crayons." Several hands go up. "Yes, or your colored pencils." She gives Caleb the last piece of paper. "Now, draw what you're going to be for Halloween."
Rey sits back down at her desk, happy with a moment of quiet in her busy first grade classroom. Caleb is in her class, but London is still in kindergarten next door. Yes, London was probably ready for first grade, but kindergarten is needed too.
She normally doesn't do this, but something tells her to check her cell. Slowly easing her top drawer open, she touches the screen to wake it up. Her brow furrows when she sees several texts and a couple of missed calls from Ben.
A quick glance tells her that her students are still busy, so she picks up her phone.
Ben: Rey? I know you're in class, but this is important. Text me back.
Ben: I figured you'd have your phone in your pocket. If I call the office, would they come and get you?
Ben: I'm calling you.
Ben: You didn't answer.
Ben: I know this is short notice, but Mom and Dad are sick and well I need Caleb to spend the night. Tonight. Call me when you can. I hope this is ok. I'm not sure who else I could call.
Ben: Please let it be alright that he stays with you. Snoke is being an ass and wants us to stay here until we figure out the case.
Ben: I'll owe you forever…
Rey: Hey! What's going on?
Ben: There you are. I'm guessing that your phone isn't in your pocket?
Rey: No, but from now on I'll start carrying it with me. What's wrong?
Ben: Please let Caleb stay tonight. I'll explain later. Do you still have a key to the house?
Rey: Yeah, I do.
Ben: Thank you. Call me when school's over. Snoke's staring at me.
Ben: Remind me to start sending out my resume. I need to do something else.
Rey: lololol…
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Thank goodness it's a school night. At least that's her excuse for putting Caleb and London in the bed at eight. In the quiet of the now mostly silent house, she sinks onto the couch and exhales. Her eyes flutter shut and she leans back and let's herself just breathe.
It wasn't a particularly hard day, but sometimes she needs quiet.
And tonight, it's not hard to ignore the nagging voice that usually reminds her of all the things she needs to do.
But then, she remembers the chocolate she hid in the freezer two months ago.
And a beer would be nice with that chocolate.
"Fine," she mutters to her subconscious as she stands, then walks back into the kitchen. "Thank goodness." The chocolate is still there. now, a beer—" She opens the bottom of the refrigerator. "Thank you, Mr. Solo, for leaving it over here," she almost giggles as she pulls it out.
She heads back to the couch but remembers the book she was reading on her Kindle. So, another detour before she can sit down again. But just when she gets comfortable—there's a soft knock on her back door.
Her heart skips a beat… the only one who knocks on her back door is Ben. A glance at the clock on the wall tells her that it's almost nine. "How long did I sit with my eyes closed?" she grunts as she stands.
Another knock—and she opens the door. "You didn't even look to see who was at the door," Ben fusses as he walks in.
She doesn't miss how his normally perfect waves are messy. Or how his tie is nowhere to be seen. Or how the top buttons of his button-up shirt are undone. Or how his rolled-up sleeves show off the perfect amount of forearm to remind her that somehow, he makes it to the gym every day when she hasn't been in years.
She also doesn't miss how certain parts of her are very happy to see him too.
"You're the only one who uses my back door—" she groans as the double meaning of her words hit her.
He chuckles as her face heats up. "That sounds promising—" he whispers.
"Ben!" she squeaks as she swats at his arm before she shuts the door behind him. "Anyway—what are you doing home so soon? I thought you were pulling an all-nighter?"
She offers him the other beer that he left in her refrigerator. He accepts it with a tired smile as he twists the cap. A long swig before he explains, "Oddly enough, Snoke had an emergency. He said we could all go about thirty minutes ago."
"That's nice. Are you hungry? There's some leftovers."
"What did you make?"
"Tacos."
"Yes, please." He sits on one of her stools around her island in the kitchen while she fixes his dinner. "What time did the kids go to bed?"
"Don't laugh, but it was eight o'clock," she turns to meet his eyes. Her breath freezes in her chest while there's something in his eyes that she's seen before. Maybe she doesn't want to find out what it means because then she'd have to watch her dreams crumble again, and it would only be her and London against the world again.
Or maybe he is offering her everything he has to give—
"No, I probably would have done the same thing." She looks away but only to finish fixing his taco the way he likes it. She sets his plate down in front of him and walks into the living room to fetch her beer.
Just like a gentleman, he waits for her to come back before he starts to eat. She waits for him to be in-between bites before she asks, "So what was this big project that you had to stay late for?"
He takes a sip out of his bottle. "Snoke is wanting to buy some empty lots downtown. Of course, we tried to explain that we are criminal lawyers not real estate. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't have dementia or something. He used to be, well not this."
"That is tough. How many years have you worked there?"
"Ten? I was there when I met the bitch and she had Caleb." He looks down at his empty plate.
"Do you want another one? I have plenty."
"Something sweet?" he asks instead.
"You just want to know where I keep my secret chocolate," she teases as she's rewarded with one of his genuine smiles. "You're just lucky I already had my stash out."
"Wait, are you talking about drugs or chocolate?"
She meets those stupid whiskey-colored eyes of his that make her feel things she shouldn't. "Who knows? Could be both."
"But I know it's chocolate," he murmurs as he accepts the mini candy bar. "Did Caleb go to bed easily?"
"Well considering how excited they are about Halloween, they did. I might have had to promise them something in order to get them to stay in bed." They watch each other for a long moment and Rey can feel what-ever-this-is-that-they've-been-ignoring-building. So she does what she always does. Break the silence. "Caleb can stay since he's already asleep."
"Are you sure? London can stay over one night this weekend," he offers.
"That sounds nice." She's not about to admit that a lonely house sounds awful but nice at the same time. "I was getting ready to watch a movie—"
"Are you asking me to Netflix and chill?" The teasing Ben Solo is back and this one she can handle, not the one who watches her like she hung the moon just for him.
"Maybe—do you want to go home and change—"
He looks down at his rumpled work clothes. "Yeah, I'll be right back. Leave the door open for me?"
"Always—" she says as he rushes out the door. She happens to glance at herself in the mirror hanging by the back door. "Crap," she whispers when she sees that she's wearing some salsa that the kids spilled on her.
It only takes her a minute to change, so when he comes back in his flannels, she's wearing hers too. His are a classic red and black buffalo print where her's matches a set she got London last year for Christmas—white with rainbows and unicorns. And her favorite pink Star Wars shirt, of course.
"You look cozy." She smiles up at him as he shuts the door behind him for the second time that evening.
"You look cute," he admits and even in the dim light of her living room, she can see his face turn the same shade of pink as her unicorns. "What are we watching?"
"It's your turn to pick," she says as she hands him the remote.
They sink onto the couch together and she covers his legs with the quilt Mama and London sewed last summer. But when he choses Sleepy Hollow, she has to smile as she bumps his shoulder with hers. Last year for Halloween, Ben decided to dress up with the kids. While she just wore a set of cat ears, he dressed up as Ichabod Crane.
She'll never admit it, but it was the tricornered hat he wore that only added to the crush she has on this man.
Is what she feels for him even just a crush at this point? She glances over at him. He's already reciting the lines he knows word for word and even in that, she finds immense comfort that he's here with her on her couch. He could be anywhere else at this moment; but he's here. With her.
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He should just tell her.
He really should. He's fairly certain that she feels this too. Surely, she knows that she's his sun, and he's just a helpless planet caught in her gravitational pull. He couldn't leave if he wanted to.
Not that he does.
He tries to stay awake, that's why he always puts on a movie that they've both seen a million times. First, she yawns but it's so cute how she does it. Like she doesn't want him to see how tired she really is.
Just like he is.
He wishes he was brave. Braver than he is right now at least. Ten years ago, he would have gambled it all to have her.
But now, loss and disappointment is still bitter in his heart.
And he'd rather have this—several nights a week stealing moments with the one he loves—he smiles—he loves her. He loves her so much it hurts when all he wants to do is grab her and make her his.
But after what the bitch did to them, he'll make do with this- her head landing softly on her shoulder. A wiggle to get comfortable as her hand lands on his thigh. He pulls the cover up tight around them as his eyes close too—
But then again, his sun feels really good in his arms-
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Somewhere her phone is ringing. Something is ringing. Then a grunt. But she's so warm, she doesn't want to move. The not-so-little feet coming running down the hall echo through the quiet house.
Her eyes fly open at the same time the bodies that own the feet come flying and they land on them—them? Them! She hears the grunt of the person she's curled up with on her couch.
"Ben?"
"Daddy!"
"Mr. Ben!"
Her eyes finally open to his whiskey-colored ones squinting into hers. "Good morning," he murmurs.
"Good morning," she echoes.
That's when Caleb rolls over in between them followed by London. While father and son reunite, she gets her morning hug from London. "My alarm goes off at six. That means you two need to get dressed and I need a shower." She looks for his gaze before she asks, "Can you hang out for a minute?"
"That's fine," he answers but there's a look in his eyes that she can't quite interpret. But he asks instead, "How about some pancakes?"
"You don't have to work today?" Caleb asks.
"I've been working so hard lately, I'm going to be late today."
Both kids welcome this news with, "yay!" as she walks down the hall to her room.
It's not until she's in the shower that she remembers last night. Of course, she fell asleep on him. She does that every time now. She smiles when she remembers him murmuring something about "more comfortable" and they both stretch out on her couch.
But as much as she tries to not think about it, she can't deny how much this—he and Caleb feels like home.