Chapter Text
“You can’t come back,” Luke said softly, his eyes full of regret.
He stood beside their car, Chewy at his side, facing them. The weight of his words seemed to weigh on him, but he kept his shoulders straight, facing his nephew without looking away.
Rey could sense Ben’ surprise, laced with a thread of hurt. “Uncle?”
An unspoken conversation of looks was passing between them, Rey could see he was breaking the news as gently as possible. “Love you, like my own son…but you can never come back.”
“I showed Rey,” Ben said, she could almost taste how dry his throat was. His arm wrapped around her waist, uniting them. “She knows.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Luke’s voice was kind but his expression was unyielding. His eyes flicked to her briefly, a hospitable glance, yet his attention stayed on Ben. “You’ve got a beautiful soulmate. One your mother would have loved to call daughter.” The warmth in his eyes cooled slightly. “And that’s why I’m telling you this. Don’t ever come back.”
It was quiet for a long minute. Rey felt, across their bond, Ben’s confusion, hurt, and anger. She said nothing; she knew that this was for Ben to deal with. The old man however, stepped forward and put a hand on his nephew’s shoulder, his fingers squeezed firmly.
“It’s good to see you, Ben, I love you.” His words were soft, and sincere, “Really.”
Ben’s Adam apple bobbed for a second, and she leaned against him a little harder, her fingers digging into his back. “I’m sorry, uncle, if I’ve caused you grief.”
“I’ve accepted who you are, even if your path has not been what I wanted,” Luke said quietly, remorse tinting the timbre of his voice. “I feared this day would never come. That you would lose your soul trying to bring justice to the world.”
“Leave with us,” Ben said beseechingly; she felt hope flaring inside him, just a little. “Come live at my house. We can burn this place to the ground.”
“No.” His rejection was instant and final, extinguishing the ember of Ben’s hope before it caught. His expression softened. “This is where I’m to stay,” Luke looked over his shoulder. “There’s been enough burning.” He returned his gaze to them. “Take care of her, and you him.” He said, looking at each of them in turn. “There’s happiness somewhere in this for you both.”
Resigned to acceptance, Ben stepped forward and Luke snapped him up into a tight hug a second later. He whispered something in Ben’s ear, and she felt a deep sadness echo across their bond, but there was also great love in it. When Ben broke away, his eyes shimmered.
She hugged him tightly around the middle, offering him her support. He hugged her back. He bore the loss well enough on his own, in fact, it was better than she’d expected. She released him reluctantly and admiration swept over her for his strength of heart; she felt him catch the feeling, and the smile he showed her was sincere.
They had come in separate vehicles and so, while she didn’t want to separate, it wasn’t practical not to. She got behind the wheel of one car, and Ben took the lead with the other.
Two days had passed. Two days to find a family, and then lose it again.
The mansion was in her rearview mirror, but Ben was driving in front of her. This way is home , she thought as she followed her soulmate.
***
“Ben,” Rey whispered in the dark.
She was lying in bed, facing him, her head tucked under his chin. She knew he wasn’t asleep, but he wasn’t talking either.
“Hmm?” He answered vaguely, sounding like his mind was elsewhere.
“What are you thinking about?” She nuzzled against him, calling him back to her.
His fingers trailed up her back tracing lazy lines along her shoulder. “Sloth.”
His breath was warm and it ruffled her hair, tickling her scalp. The shape of him against her was already a constant in her life; the feel of him beside her was as natural as an extension of her own body.
“Are you having second thoughts?” She asked when he didn’t elaborate. She could feel the tide of his thoughts, but not the words.
His warm lips pressed lovingly against her forehead. “I almost lost you with Bazine, and I almost lost myself with Pride. Whatever arrogance I had is gone.” He sighed heavily, a soft gust that broke over her skin, carrying the weight of his ponderings. “It is not just making sure I don’t make a mistake with the crime scene. It is making sure I don’t make a mistake with us.”
It felt like a shadow hung over them. She wet her lips. “Are you going to kill the next couple soon?”
He drew a slow breath, and released it; she felt his inner conflict. “Yes.”
The quiet stretched for a long moment before, finally, “Okay.” She said, pushing him onto his back so she could look at him. “But you have to take me with you.”
“Rey.” His hands were on her arms and she could feel the tension in his fingers. “You know who I become. You’ve seen what I do.”
She returned his touch, reassuring him. “Tell me how you found them. Tell me why you picked them.”
“Let’s not go there.” He glanced away from her, a frown tugging on his lips.
“Kylo,” she said, meeting his eyes when they returned to her. “Tell me.”
There was a shift, and she saw something dark and dangerous flickering in his eyes. A want.
She rose to meet his kiss when he rolled her over. His hands held her wrists pinned to the bed.
“Tell me,” she repeated once the kiss broke.
He leaned in close, hovering just above her. She tried to kiss him again, but he evaded her, holding himself just out of reach. “Little rabbit…” he murmured seductively, leaning closer, until he was only a breath away. “I’ll tell you soon.” He kissed her lips, hard and fast, teasing, making her want more. “But not right now.” He growled softly and brought his lips down against hers again, his tongue pushing past her lips in a wet kiss.
They fucked like the end of the world was happening in five minutes.
She was pretty sure they were both going to be sore in the morning, but she couldn’t find it in her to care. She was panting, trying to catch her breath as he kissed the sweat from her skin.
They’d needed that. She curled up in his arms, feeling as if they’d found each other again between the sheets.
Laying on his arm, she yawned tiredly, draping a leg over his. Both of them stared up at the ceiling and he kissed her temple, his mind peaceful.
She decided not to break that peace, and tucked herself deeper into his arms. Tomorrow.
He seemed to agree, and they fell asleep, bodies entwined as they slumbered deeply.
***
The water was warm around them as they sprawled, her back to his front, in the bathtub. They’d spent the day at home, not able to stay dressed long enough to go out. It was also appealing to both of them to pretend that the rest of the world didn’t exist for a while.
Their limbs tangled together under the lazily swirls of the water. The resonant splashing, dripping sounds echoed hypnotically around them. Eventually, the lights had dwindled down low, the candles were flickering, and she knew they couldn’t hold off any longer. “How did you find this next couple?”
He stirred slightly, creating little waves in the water. His fingers drew esoteric designs on her skin as they traveled up her arms. “From their only surviving child.”
“One of your clients?” She asked, turning in his arms to look at him from under her lashes.
He hummed affirmingly. “A referral,” he said, his voice distant. “I do a lot of pro bono work. I also help the mentally ill in prisons, and I am often asked by other therapists for help.”
“Who was he–or she?” She caught his hand and twined her fingers with his in a slow, teasing dance.
“A boy in a man’s body. No identification, though he called himself Robbie. He was quickly put in a medical institute, his IQ barely above a ten-year-old’s. Serving life in prison for killing another man over food. It was his obsession to always have food…strange case.” He trailed off, losing himself in thoughts and memories for a minute.
“And you were his therapist?” She traced his face with her fingertips.
He nods slowly. “They were hoping I could get his name, find out if there was a family. No prints matched in the system, and he was an absolute mystery. I was intrigued.”
“Did you find out who he was?” Rey asked, though she had a sense of the answer.
“It took six months, but yes.” A cold crept into him. She could feel how he fought to hide it - to not show her what he had found.
This was what Luke had worried about. Even these small doses of it made her feel like she’d ingested poison.
“Who was he?” She whispered, pulling him to her, sharing her warmth with him.
“Robert Lundy,” he said, stroking her back. “The only living child of Patricia and Walt Lundy.”
She shivered despite the warm water and wrapped herself a little more around him. “What did his parents do?”
His arms crossed over her, pulling her toward him as his knees came up, sloshing water over the rim. She was laying on top of him, face tucked against his neck, captured in his embrace. “I’ll carry that, little rabbit,” he breathed into her neck. He took one deep, slow breath after another. “I went to their home: a shanty on acres of land, filled with trash, cockroaches…The rats are the cleanest thing there.”
Rey imagined the harsh scene, and understanding came without a specific knowing. It was enough.
Her thoughts move on to her next question. “When will you do it?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder, kissing her skin. “Tomorrow.” She nodded slightly.
The wax of the candles was starting to drip down their holders and onto the rim of the tub. The flames were flickering, sputtering occasionally, and the water started getting cool. She started to rise, but he caught her hand gently so she turned to look at him.
“What do you need from me?” Ben asked, tracing her knuckles with his thumb. “I can’t do this without your blessing.”
Rey regarded him. Droplets of water beaded on to her shoulders and ran down her body in rivulets to return to the bath. “I want to meet them. Not during the kill, but before. Just once.”
The corners of his mouth twitched down, but he squeezed her hand before letting her go. “Okay.”
She nodded, and stepped out of the tub. He sat up, and blew the last of the candles out before he joined her.
***
They drove out of the city, through the suburbs, and into the rural area beyond. They drove until even the billboards dwindled out of existence, and there was nothing but open land around them, and sky above.
“You’re nervous,” Rey said, watching him check his watch for the millionth time.
He didn’t bother denying it. “It deviates from a well-established plan. The risks increase for the task and, more importantly, for your safety.” His eyes were on the road, but his knuckles tightened around the wheel. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She could feel a small flicker of irritation across the bond. It was important to her that she know the faces of this evil that her soulmate was going to extinguish. “What happened to Robbie?”
He sighed, not missing her change of subject, but he answered anyway. “He’s alive…I managed to get him more humane care. He likes to put puzzles together, and while he weighs close to five hundred pounds, he has never hurt a staff member and has become somewhat of a favorite among the faculty.”
She caught the ghost of a smile trace the corner of his lip when he talked about Robbie. “Do you still visit him?”
“No, it would not be wise…” The sense of his regret crept across the bond. “What he told me, I did not divulge to my peers. He only spoke their names once, and never again. But should he…I must seem as distant from it as possible.”
The sky was slate gray and incoming dark clouds threatened to burst open at any moment. She turned the heat up a notch as the temperature dropped.
Ben looked over to her and then back at the road. He stretched his arm across the back of her chair. His expression was earnest. “Would you marry me?”
The first drops of rain started pattering on the window, the sound of the wipers, a steady beat. She was picturing the kite, the ocean, her feet in the sand.
“Rey, talk to me…” He pressed gently.
“Could you pull over?” She requested distantly.
“Rey…it’s for your protection. It’s soon. We could legally do it tomorrow.” He said, preparing to convince her.
“I’d really like you to pull over.” She slid her hand down his thigh, squeezing lightly.
The car slowed down, and she affixed the image of the kite in her mind. He was looking at her worriedly.
There was no traffic, so he decelerated gradually, guiding the car to the side of the road, briefly hitting the rumble strip, before finally rolling to a stop. He retrieved the key, and turned in his seat to face her. “Rey–”
She clicked her seatbelt release, opened her door, and got out. She heard her name again.
The rain felt good on her face, on her cheeks. She leaned against the side of the car, crossed her arms, and tried to keep from screaming.
She heard the sound of his door open and close, and felt the door slam closed through the chassis, reverberating against her back. A second later, he was beside her. Instead of talking, he leaned against the car beside her. Turning his face up at the sky, his neatly combed hair became a wet mess plastered to his face.
“I love you.” She closed her eyes, speaking softly, though she knew he could still hear her. “If we get caught, I’m not going to pretend ignorance. I don’t want to marry you so I can have your money, your house, or whatever security lies in being Mrs. Solo.” Her heart burned with all the things he meant to her: a need, a belonging, a magnetism. Something that she could never define - something bigger than words. She knew he could feel it though.
He released a shuddering breath. “When I first started my ritual, the possibility of getting caught was always there.” He turned to face her, still leaning against the car. “I would face cameras, the public, and my life would become a spectacle.”
She opened her eyes to look at him, and she caught the sadness in his gaze. “Now, it is not me, the camera flashes on, it’s you. I’ll be shackled and chained, unable to defend you, to shield you.”
She twined her fingers with his. “You think we’re going to get caught?”
He shrugged obliquely. “I believe they will try.”
“They?” She raised an eyebrow curiously.
“Officer Storm has already created enough of a stir that I will be investigated. Hux can only roadblock so much. I have covered my tracks well, but they are still there, and if I’ve made a mistake, even one, there will be no mercy.” He met her eye evenly, undaunted.
“It’s because of me,” she said softly.
“Rey,” he cupped her face in his hands. “I am a murderer. I only go after guilty, evil people, but I still kill them. You did not make me this way. I want you to be happy, to keep writing your stories.”
“I found the story,” she said emphatically, smiling. “Don’t you get it? I know who you are and why you do it. I’ve found the answers and solved the puzzle. Now, I’m part of it and…” She kissed the inside of his palm. “If it’s going to end, then that’s okay. We at least wrote the last part together.”
His expression lightened, and he bent down to kiss her.
She broke away just enough to say, “Ask me again.”
“Marry me,” he whispered against her lips. Drawing her into him, both body and soul. “Because I love you.”
“Yes,” she said just as softly, kissing him back, tasting the rain on his lips.
Her heart was full, his as well, of a virtuous love. Light and dark, purity inextricably intertwined with eternal sin, bound together, for all time.
