Here's a little pre-Christmas treat! Happy Holidays!
Chapter 4
Rey stretched as she woke up to a bright Saturday morning, while taking in the chirping of the birds and the generous sunlight that was streaming through her bedroom window.
She doesn't remember how exactly she'd gotten there but she had known by instinct that it was because of Ben.
Ben, she sighed.
Ben, who probably had to carry her up a flight of stairs using all those hard muscles he had grown in the ten years that they hadn't seen each other. Ben who had patiently taken off her strappy heels before tucking her in. Ben, who had left a note by her bedside table, written in that ridiculously elegant script of his, telling her to call him or his mother whenever she awoke so that they'll know she's okay. Ben, who also told her in the same note that they would gladly have her over for breakfast, lunch, tea or even dinner, or whichever meal at whichever time she preferred.
Sweet, sweet Ben, she sighed yet again.
Was she crazy to be feeling this way? Like it's the best sleep she'd had in a while. Like she's settled somehow. Like the ball in her gut that had been there for so long had loosened...
Come to think of it, she had always associated Ben with all that had been good in her world, despite their hasty and painful separation ten years ago. He was the one he went to when her house was too silent. She spent more time with the Solos than she did at home, especially when Armie was sent off to boarding school. Her parents for some reason, didn't want her too far (which she hadn't really understood because she was left mostly to the care of staff anyway), so she had a tutor instead, at least when she was younger. When she was done with her lessons (and she was always done early), she would wander to the Solos— well she would take her bicycle— to wait for Ben, who went to a nearby international school. And when he came home, they would either hang out in his bedroom or the den, or in the garage, if Han had a particular project that they helped with. And she even spent more than a few dinners and weekends with them.
She recalled those times pretty well, and all throughout that time she didn't remember Ben smelling that good. He always smelled clean— don't get her wrong— and he always had, even when he was sweaty from working at the garage. But last night, last night had been a revelation.
She didn't know when it happened but her nose had picked up Ben's distinctive mix of sandalwood, bergamot, with a subtle hint of vetiver and a light touch of clove that were layered over something she couldn't quite put a finger on. She had never smelled anything like it nor had she ever experienced the contrasting set of emotions his scent had inspired. It had such a curious effect on her, being equal parts, soothing, invigorating, and borderline intoxicating. Other scents had faded into the background, and there was some little part of herself that had wanted to douse her whole body with it so much that she was reluctant to change out of her party clothes since it still had traces of him on it.
Bzzzzttt!
The loud buzz at the door had interrupted her thoughts. That must be her brother and his girlfriend. She had totally forgotten they were coming to spend the weekend with her.
Good thing she had let Mitaka, the family steward, turn down their room yesterday, she thought as she quickly made her way down the stairs to greet her guests.
xxxxXXXXxxxx
Armitage Randall Huxley had just opened the door when his little sister's excited voice pierced the morning air.
"Armie!" She shouted as she collided with him, all while giving him a hug and planting a kiss on his cheek. She was the only one who called him that. Everybody else, including his girlfriend Rose, called him Hux.
"Rosie!" She then exclaimed as she switched her embrace over to his girl.
Rose's eyebrows shot up even as she returned his sister's hug. She threw him a bewildered look.
Somebody's in a good mood , her eyes seemed to say.
Not that they were complaining. It just felt a little off, because the Rey that greeted them had been more of the old Rey — the sunny, cheerful, and bubbly Rey — the Rey before they'd lost their mother, the Rey before her abduction. Rose hadn't known her then. All Rose had been familiar with was the subdued, quiet version of his sister, whose smiles didn't often light up her eyes.
There was definitely something they've missed.
He had actually begun coming back home with Rose in tow whenever their schedules allowed. And free time during his neurosurgery training and her reproductive medicine fellowship had been much too little for his liking, especially when he thought that his sister was on the verge of a crisis.
"Your room is ready," Rey said, as she welcomed them into the pool house. That was such a misnomer for what actually was a 3-storey luxury villa, with three bedrooms, a studio office, four baths, a full open-concept kitchen, dining, and living area occupying the first floor, and a wide deck out back that happened to open up to the pool. It used to double as a guest house and a staging area for summer parties way back when their parents were still entertaining, but it had fallen to disuse ever since their mother's death. Rey had refurbished and modernized it, and called it home whenever she had needed to come down to the tracks to oversee some business. However, after that wanker, Dameron, broke up with her, she had established this house as her main residence.
In truth, Hux had fought the post-break-up move, wanting Rey to stay with him and Rose so that they could keep an eye on her. He had felt that she was way too isolated out here in the country, and he'd secretly feared that if anything were to happen, he wouldn't be there to help. But Rey would have none of it, saying that she was happier heading the research and special projects divisions out here, than working with their father in the corporate offices in the city. Hux had reluctantly relented after extracting a promise from her to call him everyday. He knew how strained her relationship with their father had become.
He sighed.
He was a scion of a motor company that had been handed down for generations and by abdicating that, he'd left Rey all alone to carry the mantle. Sometimes he thought if it would have been better if he just became what his father had wanted.
Hux shook his head to clear it. There were just too many thoughts in his brain for him to process this early in the day.
"There's juice and milk in the fridge… though I have yet to ring Mitaka for breakfast," Rey rambled on as she went further into the house. He followed her, with his and Rose's bags.
But his brain was struck by something.
Wait. What?
His sister had bare feet and had greeted them in what looked to be last night's cocktail dress.
Rey faced them again, "I'll be with you in a bit. Just give me a minute to shower."
Hux let his eyes roam her face. Her make-up was smudged. Her hair was a mess. And there was a lingering scent on her that was definitely not her own. Alpha , his brain supplied.
"Okay?" She asked casually.
What in the bloody fucking hell?! Did he just catch his sister at the tail-end of a walk of shame?
The shock had left him speechless, so it was Rose who answered for him, "Yeah, no problem."
As soon as Rey disappeared up to her room, Rose nudged him with an almost disbelieving smirk on her face.
"Did your sister just score?"
If he could, he'd have chided her for putting it in one of the crassest ways possible but he was still, at that moment, unable to make a sound.
Rose just giggled, probably at the weird face he was making, before she stood on her toes and planted a quick peck on his lips.
"I'll go find out," she said, before leaving another kiss and stepping back.
"And that should give you enough time to call Mitaka for brunch by the pool. You promised me a good summer weekend and that starts with food!" She said, as she turned and hurried after Rey.