Chapter Four

Taco Tuesday

Rey was curled on her side in bed, the comforter pulled up to her chin and her mobile pressed up against her ear. She was giggling over a story Kylo was telling her about one of his students. It was very late and she was growing tired, but not tired of talking to him. They had been on the phone with each other all day. Only hanging up for brief moments to get food or use the bathroom. They had both found themselves in strange positions in order to keep their phone batteries alive. Rey felt like a teenager, at one point lying on her back on the floor near an outlet with her socked feet resting above her head on the wall.

She knew they both needed to get some rest. She had to be at the shop bright and early for their Monday morning meeting. Kylo had an early class to teach. She had teased him about that, thinking that Astronomy should only be taught at night. He had insisted that was what the weekly lab was for, on Wednesdays at the observatory. She felt her lids grow heavier still and let them fall closed.

"Rey?" She heard Kylo ask her softly.

"Mm?" Rey questioned back, barely coherent.

"I think I should let you go to sleep. We can talk again tomorrow?" He added quickly, the second sentence ending in a questioning lilt.

"Okay, you're right," she breathed, a little more awake this time. "But do we have to hang up?"

She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "No, I'd prefer if we didn't."

"Me too," she whispered, her hand already relaxing and her eyes closing once more.

Rey's alarm startled her out of a cozy slumber. She reached for her mobile to turn it off, fumbling under her pillows and blanket. She turned off the alarm and saw that her call with Kylo was still going and her heart warmed. She spoke his name into it. The first word on her lips two days in a row now. He didn't answer. He was probably already getting ready for class. She hung up and sent him a good morning text, then scrambled out of bed. Chewie was already weaving excited circles around Rey's legs. She was ready for breakfast.

By the time Rey had showered and put on her shoes, she had a return text from Kylo.

Good morning. Good luck scavenging. :)

She smiled as she closed the door to her flat and hugged her coat a little tighter around herself. It was cold this morning and she could see her breath. She had told him all about her job and how she liked to consider herself a scavenger. She worked for a sort of antique shop, but they specialized in more unique finds and worked with clients to find very specific items that they requested. They mostly serviced very rich clientele with unique collections. It was her job to meet with clients and then find them what they were looking for. She had been contracted to find small things from silver spoons to real shrunken heads and larger things like cars and giant metal advertisement signs.

She was good at researching and was often able to track down her finds online, but she also traveled around the city and just outside it, visiting junkyards and people's homes to look through their personal collections. Sometimes she had to travel out of the state to secure an item, but that was rare.

She decided to text Finn as she neared the shop.

Are we still on for Taco Tuesday?

Yesssssssss!

She was pleasantly surprised that she had gotten a response back so quickly from him and was very happy that he was still coming. Taco Tuesday had been their tradition for years now, but sometimes he bailed when Rose had other plans. She would tell Finn about Kylo at dinner, she decided as she opened the door to the antique shop and slipped inside.

——————

Kylo watched the clock tick at a maddeningly slow pace. He was in his cramped office for "office hours". This was a part of his job he really despised. His students rarely came to office hours unless it was already the end of the semester and they were either failing or very close to it. Some of the tenured professors only came to office hours if the student had specifically made an appointment, but since Kylo was still relatively new, he had to stay there the whole time.

His thoughts were about Rey as they had been all weekend. He needed to hear her voice again. They had managed to send a few texts throughout the day, him in between classes and her in between clients and meetings. The work day was nearly over for both of them and he was looking forward to calling her and hearing her voice and her laugh. God, he thought he could be sustained on her laugh alone for the rest of his life.

He wanted to see her in person, more than anything. He was afraid to ask again though, he didn't want to push her and scare her off. She still hadn't told him her last name and they both had continued to avoid speaking about their families and childhood. He still couldn't believe that they were in the same city. It was like a fucking fairy tale. For once, life had given him a small, kind miracle. Not that it would have mattered where she lived. If she had lived on the moon, he would have found a way to get to her.

His phone buzzed in his desk drawer. He had forced himself to put it there so he would stop checking his messages every five seconds. He jerked it open with a little more force than necessary in his haste.

Leia Organa was calling.

Damn it. That was one way to kill his mood. He declined the call quickly and put it back in the drawer, resisting the urge to slam it shut. His mother had been calling him at least once a week for almost a month now. But before that, they had gone nearly three years without any attempt at contact at all. Their last communication had been a huge fight that he did not want to think about. She had been leaving him voicemails, but he hadn't worked up the courage to listen to them yet. Whatever she had to say to him, he knew it wasn't good. He glowered at the clock and sighed at the small amount of time that had passed.

——————

Rey hummed to herself as she walked down the sidewalk towards her favorite supermarket. Kylo had sent her the recipe earlier in the day for Tom Kha Gai soup. Their plans for tonight were to "cook together" as in, she would cook at her flat and he would cook at his at the same time, while on the phone together. She grinned at the adorable cheesiness of it. He had tried to insist on having the ingredients delivered to her flat so he could pay for them and so she wouldn't have to shop, but she stubbornly refused. She didn't want to give him her address yet, although she didn't admit that was the reason.

So, they had compromised. Kylo agreed to let her buy the ingredients herself and she agreed that they could watch The Dark Knight tonight. She picked up a small basket and began hunting down the things she needed. She was in a hurry because she wanted to get home so she could hear his voice again.

Once she was in her flat, she dumped her bags of food on the counter and gave Chewie a quick kiss on the top of her head. Chewie gave a chirpy meow and went to stand by her food bowl.

"I know, I know! All I am to you is a vending machine," Rey muttered as she kicked off her shoes in her closet. She changed into her sweats and a tank top. She wasn't actually going to be seeing Kylo, so she may as well go ahead and dress for comfort. She made her way back to the kitchen and served Chewie's dinner.

Rey pressed the call icon beside Kylo Ren's name. The butterflies that seemed to now permanently reside in her stomach, went into overdrive.

"Ingredients prepared?" A deep, silky voice murmured in her ear.

"Check!" She replied with a laugh, putting the call on speaker phone and placing the mobile on the counter. "I've got the pot out, the cutting board at the ready, and a knife in my hand."

"Perfect!" Kylo replied and began to walk her through the instructions. They recounted their day to each other as they chopped and stirred. She was enjoying the sound of his voice filling her flat. She inhaled over the pot, breathing in the smell of coconut milk and lemongrass, which she had never cooked with before. Rey tended to stick with quick, easy meals for one and didn't experiment much with cooking, but she was having a lot of fun.

"That was delicious!" Rey told him, as she tipped her bowl to the drink the remainder of the broth. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and placed the bowl on the coffee table. She was already on the couch, ready to start the movie. Chewie took this opportunity to crawl in her lap and Rey automatically began stroking her soft, thick fur.

"I'm glad you liked it. What do you want to make tomorrow?" Kylo asked.

"Oh, I get a say in the food this time?" She joked and then remembered tomorrow was Taco Tuesday. "Erm, actually I forgot... I already have plans tomorrow evening."

"Oh?" He asked lightly, but she could hear the disappointment beneath his casual tone.

"Yes, with Finn. We have a bit of a tradition with Taco Tuesday. We could make something on Wednesday," she offered.

"I have to teach the lab Wednesday night."

"Oh, that's right." Rey chewed her lip. "Thursday then?" She offered hopefully. "I was thinking we could do a British dish."

"Thursday is good," he said, sounding less disappointed this time. "Bangers and mash?"

"No," she said haughtily and rolled her eyes. "I actually don't care for bangers and mash that much. I was thinking Shepherd's Pie."

"Shepherd's Pie or Cottage Pie?"

"You know the difference? I'm impressed, Kylo Ren."

He laughed and told her to play the movie on the count of three. She counted with him and settled in.

The next day went by quickly, Rey had meetings with serveral clients, a look through an estate sale, and had one delivery to make before meeting Finn for dinner. The delivery was a first edition copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. She liked to personally deliver the items when she could. She marvelled at the ornate library that Mr. Hutt kept. Books lined the walls from the floor to the very high ceilings, the room complete with actual rolling ladders attached to the shelves. He seemed to have forgotten that she was still there, so she turned and let herself out.

Where are you!!??!

I'm coming! I'll be there in ten! Will you go ahead and order me a blackberry margarita?

She quickened her pace, but the restaurant wasn't too far from here. She glanced at the screen and saw that Finn had sent her a selfie of himself in their normal booth with a blackberry margarita in front of her seat.

You're the best.

I know.

She shook her head, smiling.

Rey was laughing and bent over her second margarita to take another sip. They had destroyed a basket of chips and queso and were now working through the tacos they ordered. Rose hadn't come with Finn tonight. She was an elementary school teacher and she had a conference with a parent. Rey was secretly glad. She had wanted some alone time with Finn to tell him about Kylo.

"I met someone!" She blurted. She felt heat rise to her cheeks at the way she had decided to broach the topic. She took another sip of her drink and watched Finn's face.

"You met someone? Like a special someone, someone?" He waggled his eyebrows at her and did a little shimmy.

"You don't have to act so incredulous!" She replied hotly and rolled her eyes.

"So, how did it happen? Did he catch you digging in his junkyard?" He placed a heavy emphasis on the word junk. He grinned and winked.

"Is that supposed to be some kind of inuendo?"

He shrugged and laughed. "I don't know, maybe."

"Actually we sort of met online..." she took another sip as a way to gauge his reaction and buy herself some time.

"Like on a dating website?!"

"Well, not exactly. It was through a chat room at first."

"I don't believe you. I can't picture our sweet Rey Rey looking for love in a chat room."

"I wasn't looking for love! And don't call me Rey Rey!" She resisted the need to roll her eyes again. "His name is Kylo."

"Yep, I definitely don't believe you. That's a made up name if I've ever heard one."

"Finn!" She tried to keep a whine of impatience out of her voice and failed. She slapped at this arm from across the table, trying to keep the exasperation she felt out of her voice. He dodged her and threw a chip at her in defense. It bounced off her forehead. She kicked his leg under the table. He lifted another chip threateningly.

"Would you just listen to me and stop being childish?!"

"You started it..." he muttered under his breath, but he straightened and gestured for her to continue.

She told him everything. Starting with the chat room, but glossing over the whole reason for why she was there to begin with. She didn't want him to pity her or make him feel bad for wanting to spend time with his fiancée. She ended with telling him how they had "cooked dinner together" but left out the part where they didn't even hang up when they went to sleep.

"Oh my gosh! We have to look him up and see if he's real!" Finn was already pulling up Google and typing.

"What? No!" Rey tried to grab for his mobile, but he held it out away from her, still typing. "I already know that he's real."

"Don't you want to know what he looks like and make sure he's not actually some creepy old man?"

"I know he's not an old man. I can tell by his voice... Did you find him?" She asked in spite of herself. The thought to look him up had crossed her mind already. She knew his full name and where he worked. It seemed unfair to search for him though because she still hadn't told him enough about herself that he could find her online.

"I think so..." Finn said slowly, "Professor Kylo Ren of Endor University. Wow, he looks mad in this picture. Man, what happened to his face!?"

"What? What's wrong with his face?!" She asked and then quickly shut her eyes as Finn turned the screen towards her.

"Now who is being childish?" Finn asked. He nudged her arm. "He has a pretty nasty scar across his face."

Rey halfway didn't believe him, but her curiosity got the best of her. She did want to know what he looked like. She held out her hand and then opened her eyes when Finn placed the mobile in her palm. She looked down and saw a faculty portrait of Professor Kylo Ren - Astrology Department. He did look angry, but she also thought she saw a pain and loneliness behind his eyes.

He had dark hair and wore it long, nearly reaching his shoulders. His face was long and pale with a smattering of freckles and beauty marks and his mouth was in a tight line. He wasn't smiling. She traced the line of the scar across his face. It started above his right eyebrow and traveled all the way down his cheek. She thought he looked beautiful. Haunted, but beautiful.