Opening

“Damn, Rey, you have really come far with this place.” Finn’s eyes roamed the entirety of the cafe, his expression as appreciative as his tone.

Rey looked around with him. It had been nearly a year since she opened Much Ado About Coffee and it had passed in a chaotic dream. The storefront sat at the end of an outlet mall that backed up against a series of neighborhoods and led into an array of office buildings, providing brilliant foot traffic. Locals had become regulars, a few book-drives and propagation of the right plants had filled out her shelves. The tables and chairs were mismatched, cups and plates secondhand. The space inside the brick walls and tall windows smelled of pastries and coffee and the slight must of aging paper and ink.

It felt more like home than her apartment did.

Of course she spent significantly more hours here than she did in her apartment, so that tracked.

“Thank you,” she said with pride. “I think one more book drive and it’ll be as filled out as I’d like it to be. Thank you again for the Percy Jackson series.”

“Anything for my biggest Percabeth stan. I didn’t need two sets anyway.”

“How is the new job going? Everything you dreamed of leaving me for?”

Finn had been her first employee, freshly unemployed, halfway through college without a major, and feeling lost. They’d bonded hard and fast in those first weeks getting the cafe up and running and he’d become the brother she never had.

Then he had to go and graduate magna cum laude and get a job in his field. Traitor.

Rey was the first person he’d told after receiving the call that he’d been offered the job in the Community Development department working for the city, still in shock from the full time with benefits and advancement opportunities offer. His resignation was still bittersweet for both of them.

Finn looked back at her with genuine worry at the “leaving her” comment. She smiled at him reassuringly.

“I’m joking, Finn, you know how happy I am for you. Seriously, it’s been two months now, right? How are you settling in?”

“I love it,” he sighed, visibly relaxing. “My boss is great, I’ve started making friends with some of my coworkers, and! I’m actually using skills I learned getting my degree!”

“Look at you go, you millennial unicorn.”

The collection of jingle bells Rey had tied to the top of the front entrance clanged as the door opened and Rose Tico entered, toeing the line of when she needed to arrive for the early shift and work the morning rush. Her sister Paige owned a small bakery business which supplied all the cookies and pastries for Rey’s shop. Through Paige, Rey had met Rose, and she was now one of four girls who worked at the shop with Rey, though Rose was the one who had most thoroughly stepped over the Employee-Friend boundary.

“Oh! Hi Finn!” Rose greeted, her face lighting up.

“Hey Rose! Surprised to see you here for the morning shift.”

Rose let the expression on her face fall dramatically, highlighting the shadows under her eyes. “Ugh. Yeah, one of my required courses conflicted with the afternoon shift, and if I desire both my graduation schedule and the ability to pay my share of rent, I had to pick up the morning shift for this quarter,” she explained as she made her way behind the counter and tied on her apron. “Curse you, Microprocessor Architecture, I shall never forgive you.”

Rey had seemed to make it sort of a pattern after Finn, hiring almost exclusively university students. Rose was in Electrical Engineering, Kaydel a Communications major. Korrie had already come and gone this past June with her PoliSci degree, Jess and Tallie still in undergrad. They were here for now, and one day, like Finn, they would go. Rey had made her peace with that. All part of the business.

“I sure don’t miss those days of juggling work shifts and school schedules. Stay strong, there’s hope in the future.”

“Thanks,” she said with a laugh, then turned to a customer who’d come up to the counter. “Hi! What can I get started for you?”

“How’s Poe doing?” Rey asked. “He hasn’t darkened my doorway in a while, the scoundrel.”

“As of 2:47am,” Finn said while rolling his eyes. “He’s nine chapters deep into the fourth Sword of Truth novel and somewhere on the east coast. I think he’s been enjoying Red Eye flights lately. Fine for him, but his incessant habit of live-tweeting his reactions to me as he reads is messing with my sleep.”

“Mute him.” Rey stuck out her tongue. “Or at the very least set up a do-not-disturb time. He’s funny as hell, but he can be funny at a decent hour.”

“That’s a good idea. Never tell him how early you wake up, though, or he’ll come for you next.”

“I don’t have to worry about that, he says my reading speed and schedule is too unpredictable to join his unofficial book club like you and Rose. He either can’t keep up or ends up giving me spoilers.”

“Your ability to burn through a paperback in eight hours is truly super human,” Finn nodded. “But hard to find time to read when you work as much as you do.”

“Much Ado won’t run itself,” she shrugged. “It’s a good thing I love it.”

“Speaking of jobs we love, I should get going to mine. It was great to catch up with you, Peanut. Been too long.”

“I’ll check my schedule and see if there’s an opening we could do a movie night,” Rey said with a smile.

“Oh hey,” Rose said to stall Finn, then handed him a to-go cup. “White chocolate mocha, extra shot, extra sweet. Start your day off right.”

Finn took the offering with a hand over his heart. “You’re an angel. Have a good one, ladies!”

“Bye~”

The bells clanged merrily as he left, allowing a couple commuters in behind him as the morning rush began to pick up force.

“Well that was extra sweet of you,” Rey said with a smirk. Rose spun to her with an anxious look.

“Shit, am I that obvious?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t call it overt, but it doesn’t quite scream ‘purely former coworker kindness.’”

"Do you think he likes me? Should I look for a sign?"

"Maybe you could ask him."

"I could. I could ask him. I can do this."

"You can do this.”

The Rejection

Rose walked in to the cafe looking like she was choking back tears, or had recently been crying already. Rey’s heart clenched in sympathy for her friend. She had a cookie ready and waiting, and slid it across the counter when Rose approached. The sad young woman wasn’t scheduled to work this afternoon, but Rey had had a feeling she’d be dropping in.

“You know?” Rose sniffed.

“Finn came over last night and anxiety dumped on me about-,” she added air quotes with her hands, “-‘how he ruined his friendship with you.’ I'm so sorry, Rose.”

“How he ruined it?! I’m the friendship-ruiner! Finn is so perfect he even rejects people perfectly. I’m purely friendzone material. I’m lucky he even wants to be friends still.”

"You're telling yourself fake news."

“Oh, let me wallow. I can be logical tomorrow.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a small amber bottle. “After my hangover.”

"We don't accept outside food or drinks in here, Rose."

"You were the one who convinced me to ask him out. So you are going to make me a coffee, and then I am going to make it Irish."

Rey sighed and glanced around the shop. It was fairly empty, normal for this time in the afternoon, and the few patrons who were there were minding their own business and not paying Rose any attention, even as she dragged one of the bar stools away from the window seats and plopped herself at the pickup counter. Rey went ahead and prepped a mug of black coffee, well sugared. Rose dumped half of her sample whiskey bottle into the mug and Rey finished it off with a thick layer of cream.

“He was so nice about it, too,” Rose moaned after her first sip. “Of course he was nice about it, he’s my friend, he’s always been my friend and always will be, but dammit Rey I wanted it to be more. Is that so wrong?”

“Of course not, Finn’s lovely.”

“He is. He’s kind and devoted and funny and every time I was with him made me so happy and now-“ She took a few swallows of her drink and covered her face with her hands, crying anew. “Now he gets to go have his dream career and his cool nerd adventures with Poe and casually date people who he’s not worried about ruining a friendship over, and those funny bastards and all their awesome coworkers get to be happy together and I’m sitting here alone.”

“Love you too,” Rey mumbled, her friend and coworker, chronically single herself. Not that she particularly minded. She was busy enough as it was.

"Maybe I should go for one of them next," Rose slurred, gesturing over to a couple of men at the far table. One was a regular (Brad? Beau?), dark haired and silent, a prominent scar on his face and his laptop connected to him like a life support machine. The other, a redhead who made hushed, snide remarks at varying intervals to the quiet man, was familiar but not enough for Rey to pick him out of a crowd. "They're the antithesis of Finn. Tall, pale, and constipated. Maybe that should be my new type."

"Maybe we should give it a couple days."

The Horse And His Boy

It started with a clatter, then a gasp and a splash.

“Aw, Matthew!”

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright,” his mother sighed. The boy, no older than 12, was hurrying to pick up his toppled Italian soda, but the damage was done. The sweet drink had doused half their table and was leaking steadily onto the floor. “I’ll grab napkins-“

“Mom, the book!”

“Bring it here, kiddo,” Rey called, grabbing two rolls of paper towels. He hurried up to the counter with one of her paperbacks, its pages dripping a trail in his wake. “Take this one to your mom while I get this dried off.”

He did as instructed, helped his mother until he was more in the way than helpful, then shyly shuffled back to the counter.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"No. Why would I be?"

"It's going to stain."

Rey hummed, blotting and separating each affected page with the towels. "Yes, it will. And now everyone who picks it up will see that it has been read, and deemed worthy enough to care for after being damaged. And should you ever pick it up again, you'll see the stain, and it will bring you back to how you felt, in this moment, reading it for the first time. Books leave marks on us so very often, but it is rare to have the opportunity to leave a mark on a book. You should feel honored." She had gotten to the front cover and smiled, finally noting the title instead of the stain. “What an excellent book to have marked. Did you get to finish it?”

“No, still pretty close to the start. They were running from the lions.”

“Mmm, well this copy needs to stay here to finish drying, but check your school or library and keep reading. It’s about the purpose of misfortune.” She waved the damaged book at the boy. “Even moments like this have a reason.”

The boy’s mother had done what she could with the sticky mess, even having to wipe off her shoes, and packed their things.

“Matty, c’mon, let’s get out of the way. I’m so sorry, if you’ve got a wet rag, could I mop it up for you?”

“No worries, I’ve got it. Have a great day, come back soon!”

Rey waved at the pair as they left, then turned to finish caring for the messes.

The silent man in the corner was staring at the book with an expression that looked like heartbreak.

Rey propped it up on the counter close to the AC, so the airflow would continue to dry the fluttering pages. She had to pass by him to grab the mop from the back hall, and the motion had him snapping out his trance. He downed the rest of his drink, gathered his things, and was gone before Rey had finished cleaning.

The book was still on the counter the next afternoon when her silent regular came in. He stared at it, mechanically passing her his credit card and usual slip of paper with his order written on it- a London Fog today. Rey watched him on her periphery while ringing him up, then held the card back out to him.

“I'll bring it to your table when it's ready.”

He was still staring at the book, unmoving. Rey checked the name on the card in her hand (it was short and started with a B).

“Ben?”

He startled and came to, looking at her (confused) and then the card (a silent ah as his lips part a moment) and back. He took the card, then nodded in thanks before returning to his preferred table.

Once his order was ready, Rey placed the book on his table, his tea on the cover.

“It's dry, if you want to read it.”

He didn’t grab it, not right away. She caught him pausing in his typing a few times in the first hour, stopping to look, or shift the saucer on top.

He was on chapter 3 by dinner.

The Local Cryptid

"Rey?"

"Hmm?"

"What is that?"

Rey looked up from her laptop to follow Poe's line of sight. To the table in the far corner, and the giant of a man sitting there, having what appeared to be a very, very quiet mental breakdown.

"Oh, that's Ben."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Not my business, but I might sneak him a cookie later. Sugar will do him good. Maybe he'll forget he didn't order it amidst his internal chaos.”

"He looks a bit unhinged. Want me to kick him out before he breaks something?"

"Leave the local cryptid alone, Poe."

The jingle bells on the front door clanged, and they both looked up to Finn making his way inside with a roller suitcase and his messenger bag.

“Did you see the new 40K novel announcement?!” he said to Poe, eyes wide with excitement.

“You mean The Silent King?!”

“YES.”

“YES!”

“If we don’t get closure on what’s happening with the pariah nexus I’m going to lose my damn mind.”

“They’re not going to close that plot line, it extends in the background well through the plague wars-“

“Oh my gosh, that horrid pariah and his nexus, right?” Rey said, snickering mid sentence as the men startled. She had no idea what they were talking about. “Hi Finn, how was work?”

“Hey Peanut,” he said abashedly. “Work was good, but exhausting. Definitely looking forward to this long weekend.”

“Where are you guys going again?”

Poe glared at her. “Do you not love me, manita? Nay, do you not even know me? It’s Labor Day weekend!”

Rey paused and blinked at him. “So… a barbecue?”

“Dragon Con!! We’ve got round trip tickets to Atlanta, baby. The biggest, baddest, most popular convention in the country-“

“San Diego Comic Con is the biggest convention,” Finn interjected.

Poe continued like he hadn’t heard him. “We’ve got contests, workshops, panels, vendors, the best of the works. Five full days of fandom filled partying and I still won’t be able to see it all. My cosplay is ready and I’m packing an extra empty suitcase dedicated to merch on the return trip.”

Finn’s eyes wandered around the cafe while Poe talked, snagging on something in the back that made him frown.

“Oh, that’s exciting!” It sounded like whichever circle of hell was devoted to crowds and Rey was so glad they hadn’t invited her. “I hope you guys have a great time. Bring me a souvenir.”

“You got it, girly pop. Can we get a couple of our usuals to go? I’ll go get your bags loaded in the car,” Poe said, slapping Finn on the shoulder and heading out the door with his luggage. Finn turned back to Rey with concern.

“Who else is working tonight?”

“No one, it’s just me closing today.”

"You sure you're okay being here by yourself for the rest of the shift?"

"In my own coffee shop?” She laughed incredulously. “Yes, I think I can handle it."

“Yeah, but it’s getting dark earlier these days-“

“I did the night shift just fine last year, Finn.”

Finn lowered his voice, hissing under his breath. “Well you didn’t have a certain creepy regular loitering around as much during the night shift last year.”

He looked pointedly past her. Rey turned to follow his gaze to the table in the far corner. To Ben. He was glaring at his computer screen with fury and typing lightning fast, as if to see which of the two actions would set his laptop on fire first.

She whipped back to Finn and continued in her own angry whisper. “You cannot be serious!”

"He looks like he’s typing up his Manifesto!”

“People are allowed to have bad days, Finn.”

“Look, I know I'm judging a book by its cover here, but he is big, dark, and scary. And he's always here."

“He likes it here. It's cozy, I feed him.”

“He's not a cat, Rey.”

Rey sighed. “This is really bothering you, isn't it.”

Finn nodded.

"Hey Ben. Ben!" she called, taking a few attempts to pull his attention away from whatever he was so engrossed in. She balled up a napkin and threw it at him, though it fell short by about two feet. "Ben Solo!"

He finally turned to look at her, scowling at her for the interruption. A single dark brow quirked in question.

"If I disappear or am murdered in the next five days, you will be held accountable for my death."

Ben stared at her for a few beats. He rolled his mouth and jaw, mulling over his thoughts like they were on his tongue. Then he pressed a fist over his heart, closed his eyes, and bowed his head. The picture of a knight swearing a solemn oath.

Rey turned back to Finn with a flat expression. "He will defend me with his life."

He didn’t appear comforted. "You barely know him."

"I supply him with caffeine,” she said, handing him his and Poe’s own to-go cups. “We have a bond deeper than blood."

The bells rang. “Finny! You ready?”

“Go,” Rey insisted. “Have fun. I’m going to be fine.”

“I’ll text you,” Finn grumbled, then headed out the door.

Rey waved them off, the bells quieting to leave only the white noise of clattering laptop keys behind her, and shook her head in exasperation before returning to her own computer and expense reports.

The Scary Dog

She made it to Sunday without incident.

Honestly Rey should’ve clocked the guy as A Problem the moment he walked in the door. Mr. “Says he’s 6’ 1” but is definitely 5’ 10” with perfect hair was wearing a full suit (seriously, who does that at 3:45 on a weekend afternoon, the churchgoers were gone hours ago) and texting on his way in, until he glanced up and got a good look at Rey. Then the phone disappeared and the smug smile came out as he made his way to the counter.

“Good afternoon, gorgeous,” he said, biting his lip.

“What can I get for you?”

“I'll have a venti iced Americano-” Rey's eye twitched. This was not a fucking Starbucks. “-and your phone number,” he said with a grin.

“That’ll be $3.49.”

“And what are the other seven digits?”

“Funny,” she said, smiling without humor. The drink didn’t take long to make and she was soon placing his cup on the pickup counter. “Enjoy your day.”

“I’m hoping to enjoy my evening even more,” he said, smirk still plastered in place. “But it appears you’ve forgotten to give me the other half of my order, beautiful.”

“Thank you, but I’m not interested.” She motioned to the door. “Have a nice day.”

“C’mon, there’s this great club down on the waterfront, the drinks are excellent-“

“I’m not interested.”

He continued like she hadn’t spoken. “Let me take you out tonight.”

“Take your drink and leave.”

“Now why would I do that?”

Rey’s face twisted into a sneer as she reached for her broom handle.

The slam of a heavy hand landing on the pick-up counter made her and the douchebag jump.

And it's Ben who was leaning in and crowding- not her own space, but the other man's. Ben, who glowered down at him with those dark eyes, shoulders creating a defensive flannel wall between them. Ben, who didn’t have to say a word to make the man lose his nerve and back away.

“Damn, lady, call off your dog.”

“Now why would I do that?” she said serenely. “Careful, he bites.”

“Fuckin’ hole in the wall psychos,” he muttered as he snatched his drink, turned tail, and ran.

Ben turned to look at her with a question in the set of his brow. Is she okay? Did he do the right thing? Rey smiled to reassure him.

“You sure take your job seriously.”

He made a face of offense and repeated his fist-over-heart salute from last week.

“Yes, yes, man of your word. But truly, thank you for stepping in. I would have hated to have had to bloody his nose. Not particularly hygienic in the food industry.”

Ben quirked a small smile, gave her a single nod, and returned to his post in the corner.

“My loyal guard,” Rey hummed to herself. “Yours is a friendship well earned.”

Book Club

“Alright ladies, let's take bets, who do we think is the endgame lover?”

“Oh it's definitely the vampire lord she's been crushing on for years.”

“No way, it's the best friend roommate! Their scenes in this book were so hot!”

“He lied to her for months-”

“Well the vampire lord groomed her for years-”

“Is anyone else getting some serious tension vibes from the short king?”

“...”

“You mean the demon hunter who's been screaming at her for two books and literally tried to kill her?”

“I mean yeah, they fight a ton, but they also have to rely on each other in those scenes where they have to work together, and the way he swore fealty to her at the end of this one? Swoon worthy.”

“...You're out of your gourd, Emily.”

“Okay, let’s pause there,” the book club moderator announced with no effort to hide her exasperation. “I need a refill, let’s go place some orders to our lovely hostess, bathroom breaks if you need them. Please wait to discuss anything about the book until we’re all back here.”

Rey finished the load of dishes she was working on and resumed her post at the counter. The women of the Wednesday Night Book Club broke off on their own or into a few groups of two, and Rey listened to the local chatter while she worked.

“Ohmigosh, he's here again,” one of the younger gals said excitedly to her friend, speaking under her breath but not quietly enough to not be overheard.

“Brooding scar guy? You're still pining after him?”

“Absolutely. Holy crap, he's gorgeous. Look at those legs! That is a tree just waiting to be climbed.”

Rey watched Ben’s fist clench and unclench as he seemed to pretend not to hear what the women were saying about him. There was a faint sweat on his brow. She started in on a new drink, continuing to keep her ear on the gossipers.

“Now there's a hot vampire lord for you,” the friend chuckled. “It has been way too long since you got some, girl. You should go talk to him.”

“You're right, I'm gonna ask him for his number.”

Rey walked over to Ben, resting a hand on his back as she placed the chai on his table. He jumped a bit at the new contact but didn't shy away. The anxiety that had been tightening his shoulders melted away under her touch as he looked up at her.

“Here's your refill, babe,” Rey said with a wink for Ben that Giggling Book Clubber wouldn't be able to see. He smirked up at her knowingly. For good measure, she kissed his forehead before heading back behind the counter.

“Aaagh, you gotta be kidding me,” Giggly sighed as she slouched down into her seat.

“Sorry, hun,” the friend said, patting her shoulder. “Hot barista got to him first. Explains why he's here every week, though.”

“Alright ladybirds, we’re going to get back on track now. So next up is book three, and I know some of us have gotten started, but after that we’re jumping to book one of the sister series. Does anyone need help getting a copy?”

“Hold on, sister series? How many books are there?”

“Like, at least 12.”

“WHAT?!”

The book club devolved into an argument so chaotic Rey could no longer make out the sentences other than the moderator’s “Guys, it’s worth it, seriously!” She focused on finishing her orders, cleaning her machines, but glanced back over to Ben-

Just in time to catch his eye before he quickly turned away, snatching up his drink, a fierce blush and soft smile on his face.

Thrift Shop

“We would get better prices at IKEA.”

“We would also need a replacement after four months.”

“And meatballs.”

“We can get meatballs at the deli on 5th. IKEA is a hell house, Rose. I’m not going to drive that far and deal with the crowds just for a slightly better price and lower quality. Plus, we won’t get Old Cozy Eclectic from IKEA, think of the aesthetic.”

“Right now I’m thinking of the claustrophobic. Sheesh, it’s like these thrift shops compete against themselves on how much they can squeeze into one room while still leaving room to walk.”

She had her there. Rey had to turn sideways to shuffle past the next set of displays without knocking down a vintage painted cabinet and a collection of shiny beaded necklaces drowning a decorative bust.

The two women squeezed themselves past one-of-a-kind dressers suffocating under random color-coded decor, racks of clothes older than themselves, a display of local honey set up inside a roll top dresser. They both silently stopped open-mouthed at an entire nook of purely wicker items- wicker baskets on top of a wicker chest, wicker chairs, wicker hats, a wicker bag, for fuck sales a wicker lampshade on a wicker side table. Rey and Rose said nothing and moved along past an army of Live Laugh Love and Associates painted on wooden boards.

Finally they got through a doorway into another room and found three department stores worth of mismatched furniture ranging from leather Lazy Boys to that one random floral couch that perfectly blends in with camo uniforms. A corner dominated by faded green caught Rey’s eye and she navigated the labyrinth to investigate.

“Ooh, this one’s not bad,” she told Rose, stroking the soft fabric over a back cushion. “And it’s got a matching loveseat and armchair, I could put this in the back and make a cozy corner up front with the others.”

“There’s two more of the chairs,” Rose pointed out. “Think you could fit all five?”

“If I ditched a handful of my more uncomfortable wood chairs, but yeah, even better.”

Rose plopped down onto the couch for a sample. “Oooh, they’re comfy, too. This is kismet, Rey, you gotta get them.”

“Yeah but you’re short, it might not be comfortable for someone with longer legs.” Though when she sat down herself, she had to admit, they were pretty great. Soft but still supportive. Definitely the kind you could spend hours on without getting uncomfortable.

“You’re tall for a woman though, that’s middle of the road enough, I’m sure the majority of your customer base will be fine with it.”

“Yeah but like… what about really tall people.”

Rose paused, staring pointedly at Rey until she lost her nerve and looked away. “Rey, are we shopping for a couch for Ben?” she asked bluntly.

“We are shopping for a couch and chairs for the coffee shop. One of which I intend to put in the back corner.”

“Where Ben sits.”

Rey felt a bit defensive. “It’s not like he’s the only regular we have.”

“Just the only one who may as well be contributing to the rent and WiFi bills.”

She sighed. “He has a reason for coming in three times a week and staying for two or more hours. I don’t know what it is but that’s his story, not mine.”

Rose drummed her fingers on the arm of the couch. “Do you know why he doesn’t talk? He’s clearly not deaf. Is it the scar? Selective mutism in public places?”

“No, it’s the scar.”

Rose gasps theatrically. “You do know the lore! Spill!”

“One, it’s rude to talk about the personal trauma of people you barely know without their consent. Two, I don’t know the lore, just my experience with him. I heard him speak, once. Before you were hired. I think it was our third or fourth day after the cafe opened…”

Rose looked at her expectantly but patient as Rey struggled to grasp onto the memory- sure Ben was memorable, especially in that instance- but it was so long ago now, and wrapped up in the blur of their opening week. She’d been juggling problem after meltdown upon disaster, getting maybe three hours of sleep a night, and then this asshole-

“He screamed at Finn. I don’t remember what he said, what he was yelling for, or what he sounded like except loud. Kicked him out without another word. Next time he came in he had that huge, healing wound down his face and neck, and he ordered with a slip of paper.”

“So it was definitely something in the in-between.”

“I think something really bad happened to him, Rose. Something worse than just an injury. It’s been over a year, but I swear I remember his hand shook handing me that first piece of paper. He looked so scared, Rose, can you imagine? That massive beast of a man was terrified. No one should have to feel like that just getting a damn coffee, and it’s exactly for that reason that I even opened the shop, for people who just need a warm drink and a safe space. I just-“ she took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I just want him to feel comfortable, okay?”

Rose pondered her a moment before quietly replying “Okay. I’ll be right back,” then shot off into the tight aisles of the store and out of sight.

Rey hopped around, testing a few other couches, but most of them had unmanageable damage, stank of cigarettes, or were small enough for her to have a definite no even for her height. She was back to the soft green ones that had originally caught her eye when Rose returned.

With a hostage.

The man Rose was pulling behind her was dressed in a neat suit, which Rose had wrinkled, had a shock of red hair, and looked like he’d been sucking on a lemon for the last few years. And he was tall. Rey had the feeling she’d seen him before, but she got that feeling a lot with how many people she had passing through the shop on a weekly basis.

“Is a man not allowed to look at antiques without being harassed?!” the man snapped, his posh accent seeming to amplify his prissy attitude. He stumbled a bit as Rose nearly threw him at the couch.

“Oh ba humbug, buddy, just get your lanky legs over here, do something nice for someone else, and I’ll buy you the stupid tea cups as a consolation.”

He looked down his nose at Rose as he straightened his suit jacket, then sat at the other end of the couch with poise and dignity.

“So… what do you think?” Rey asked awkwardly. “Comfy?”

“Yes, it is quite suitable for an individual of larger stature,” he answered primly, then turned back to Rose. “Am I free to go now?”

“Thank you for your service. Let’s go pick out some fine china.”

-

Rey set the delivery time for mid-afternoon, and her bet paid off. The furniture truck arrived roughly twenty minutes before Ben did.

“Hey! Good timing,” she called to him as he cautiously approached the scene. The upholstery was stacked up on the covered sidewalk in front of the shop, and Rey was just finishing placing the wooden rejects outside to make room. “How are your feng shui skills?”

He just blinked at her. A guttural yell sounded from inside and she turned to look through the windows. Rose was sweaty and snarling, shouting “YEET” as she threw a chair- Ben’s chair- out into the alley through the side door. The man looked a bit faint when she turned back to him.

“Well, I could use some muscles, if you’re up for volunteering.” Rey grabbed an armchair and dragged it backwards into the cafe. She was quite pleased when a moment later she saw Ben doing the same.

Rey and Rose worked together to lift the bigger pieces over the threshold. Once everything was inside, Rose promptly peaced out, claiming the end of her shift.

“I need a shower. Desperately,” she panted. “You and the giant can take it from here. Make him earn his keep.”

Rey just shook her head at her friend and started pulling the chairs into position. She didn’t need to ask Ben for further help. He had already grabbed the couch, and pushed it right where his usual chair had been.

Cheer Squad

Rey glanced up at the sound of the door bells jingling over the cacophony of chatter between her and the doorway. Ben stood there, holding it open for Rose, arriving early for her evening shift. They stopped short, staring at the sea of uniforms before them, at Rey in the heart of it glowering impatiently at them over the milk steamer, then Rose muttered something to Ben and they both backed up, letting the door close without entering. Rey just sighed, shaking her head before plastering on her customer service smile, handing off a drink to neon orange and green fingernails, and then asking the next glittering teenager for her order.

A knock sounded at the back staff door. Rey ran to it, no time to lose, and found Rose and Ben once more.

“Thank fuck you're here.” She grabbed Rose, threw an apron around her neck, and shoved her towards the counter. “Large blended caramel mocha, extra extra caramel, drizzle caramel sauce on top. Go. I'm right behind you. Order,” she barked, holding her hand out to Ben- he dutifully handed her his sticky note- then turned him bodily and pushed him in the direction of a table catty-corner to His Seat. “Your usual spot is overrun, but you'll be safe at the table in the corner. I'll bring you your drink, we'll ring you up when it's clear.”

The man seemed a bit shell-shocked but did as he was told. Rey rushed back to the register, taking “Abbie’s” order as Rose handed off Caramel Caramel Caramel to “Sophia, with a ph, Sofia with an F is in the next group.”

“It is 3:45 on a Tuesday, why is there an entire squad of cheerleaders in here?!” Rose hissed.

This was an incorrect statement. There was an entire squad of cheerleaders AND at least a dozen other high school girls out of uniform, presumably friends not on the team.

“If I overheard correctly, one of them has a cousin in the book club who brought her this weekend. Practice got out early, someone sent a group chat text or made an Instagram post, then BOOM. Unexpected rush of teenagers, the majority of which are paying cash. My brain is broken. It's all recipes and math and names. PEPPERMINT WHITE MOCHA FOR KAYLEIGH!”

Kayleigh gasped, snatching a book off a shelf as she made her way over to the counter. “You have the entirety of The Dark Is Rising?! I read the first three but never finished it! Are these to borrow or just read while we're here?”

“There's a check-out card in the back, just leave your name and phone number and put the card in the box. You get a dollar off your next order when you bring it back within three weeks.”

“Aww, it's just like elementary school,” she crooned, grabbing the card and a pen as Rey went to take the next order.

“Name?”

“Sofia, with an F.”

“Ah, there you are.”

“Is it seriously just the two of you working here right now?”

“Yep, we are few, but mighty.”

“You poor things.” Sofia shoved an extra two dollars into the tip jar, which was starting to seem inadequately sized due to the influx of cash orders. “I work at Black Rock in the summers. You're an absolute beast handling all this. Hang in there!”

“Thank you, dearie! I'll have this right out to you.”

The handful of boys on the cheer squad had also been invited, approaching the register together. Rey worked on Ben’s order as she and Rose alternated ringing up “Braden,” “Jadyn,” and “Aiden.”

“For fucks sake…” Rose muttered.

“We know,” Aiden nodded.

In his new, temporary location, Rey was able to heave herself over the counter to nearly hand Ben his coffee without having to go all the way around. He made up the distance between them- one of the cheerleaders did a double take as he moved- and noted the to-go cup. “In case you need to make a run for it. I won't blame you if it's a bit loud in here for you.”

He nodded, but stayed. Rey finished up another drink, calling it out as she made her way to the next girl in line.

“Sofia with an F! Hi there, what can I get for you?”

“Medium chai latte, please?”

“And a name for the order?”

The girl closed her glittery eyes solemnly. “Sofie.”

“Good Lord.”

“I'm so sorry.”

The door bells jingled and another group of cheerleaders - in a completely different uniform - swarmed into the shop, squealing and waving as they saw their friends.

“Reload, it’s another wave,” Rose said, dread coloring her tone.

Rey grabbed her foot, stretching her quads. “We got this. We're gonna get these girls coffee, work our asses off, and make a great impression on our new customers. I'll stay with you through closing, it's completely unfair to leave you alone with this volume of extra orders and clean up.”

“You sure you're going to be okay? You were supposed to leave at 4, you'll miss dinner.”

“It's fine, I'll just have some of the extra pastries.”

“If there are any extras.”

A chilly breeze wafted over their sweaty foreheads as the side door opened. Rey sighed at the sensation, watching Ben disappear outside with no less than eight teenagers eyes silently following him appreciatively.

“Wow,” they breathed in unison.

“Did he pay yet?” Rose asked.

“He'll be back at some point,” Rey said with a shrug.

The next half hour was a blur of orders as the groups of Girl's Girls and handfuls of male teammates and friends patiently made their way through the line, some even coming back for seconds or pastries they'd initially passed by.

“Ohmigosh, I love your hair! Taylor! We should do our hair like Rey's for the next game!”

“Oh we could do so many ribbons around the buns!’

“Or colored hair spray- Meghan, let me practice on you- I NEED A SPARE HAIR TIE!”

Five shot at her from various spots across the cafe and she snatched them out of the air.

“Rey can I see your hair again real quick?”

Rey turned to give her a good view as she continued to mix and pour and steam.

Door bells jingled and Ben walked back in, carrying a thin, bulging plastic bag with red “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU” printed down the side. He deposited the parcel onto the counter and pushed it toward Rey. Steamy wafts of Thai noodles and spring rolls made her mouth water when she untied the bag and she looked up at him in shock.

“You bought me dinner?”

Ben just gave her a small smile and went back to his seat. The teenagers watched him go, open-mouthed.

“Wow.”

“Rey, you have heart-eyes,” Rose said. “I didn't know that was physically possible.”

“He bought me dinner. Surprise dinner. Didn't even get himself anything dinner.”

“Does he know that's a proposal of marriage in your culture?”

Rey moaned, her face full of peanut-sauced deliciousness. “Ten out of ten, would bear his children.”

There was the hurried sound of a laptop snapping shut and fabric rustling, then Ben was out the door with a bright red face and a quick wave over his shoulder.

“Wooooow,” sighed the cheer squads.

“I think he heard you,” Rose said the moment the door closed. “That was a swift exit.”

Rey merely shrugged and scooped up another bite. “Vanilla latte for Maddie!” she called, slightly muffled by noodles.

One of the girls stunned by Ben's third journey through the shop jumped out of her stupor and came to collect her order. “Your boyfriend’s shoulders are, like, MASSIVE. I swear he could probably lift two of us at once. Maybe three.”

“He is obnoxiously large, but not my boyfriend,” she smiled.

“Seriously??”

“Didn't you hear the other barista?” said “Addison,” closer to the counter. “She said he'd proposed.”

“Ooh,” Maddie nodded, turning back to Rey. “Your fiance is hot.”

Rose snorted. Rey maintained composure and simply said “Thanks,” then got to work on “Olivia’s” macchiato.

The Number

The sound of a laptop snapping shut and ringing bells caught Rey’s attention. The bells weren’t usually a surprise- it was the end of the Afternoon Slump rush and the bells on the front door had been ringing a plenty as she and Tallie weathered the heavier traffic. But these bells had rung from the rarely used side exit off the back.

Ben had gone off like a shot, moving faster than she thought possible with his bulk, and disappeared out the spare door. Rey barely caught a glimpse of him through the window, laptop and bag still clenched in his hands as he hadn’t bothered to pack up before running off. He’d practically left a dust cloud in his wake.

A second later bells went off again as an older woman came in the front door. She was probably in her mid-to-late 60’s, dressed in a crisp navy suit, greying brown hair braided into a crown. Rey had the odd impulse to bow upon seeing her. The woman walked up, folding her hands on the countertop as she made polite but direct eye contact with Rey.

Rey has seen those brown eyes before, in a different face. Usually glowering, or downcast, focused and perpetually lit by a computer screen.

“Excuse me miss, have you seen a young man named Ben Solo here? Tall, dark hair, scar on his face? He might also be using the name Kylo Ren.”

Much Ado had an odd L-shaped layout; the front windows and entrance were visible from the back, but the side exit was out of view of the front door.

The sound of bells still echoed in Rey's ears, and she pasted on her best customer service smile.

“We don't disclose our customers’ personal information, ma’am. You're welcome to look around, though. Can I get you anything?”

“Oh, ah…” The woman blinked a few times, like she was surprised by the indirect ‘no,’ but only said, “Just a coffee cake and London Fog to go, please.”

Rey caught the woman scanning the entirety of the shop as she waited. Many glances were cast towards the hall to the bathrooms and the two doors, suspicious lingering on every empty table and the Ben-sized divot on the couch cushions, but in the end the lady left with her order and disappointment.

Rey asked Tallie to watch the counter for a minute and headed to the back, then out the staff door.

She found him in the alley mutilating some trash cans with the heel of his boot.

He made a cracked sort of yell, muffled by grit-teeth, and grabbed one of the cans with both hands, swinging it up over his head through a storm of paper shreds in preparation to throw it. That’s when he saw her. Rey had waited, watching patiently with her arms crossed and one shoulder leaned against the door.

She watched this beast of a man deflate. His chest heaved as he caught his breath and dropped the can roughly back into position. He was shaky and awkward, swirling a loose fist in a circle on his chest, then grabbed his bag and started walking down the alley.

“Ben.” He stopped at her call, turning red rimmed, shame filled eyes on her. “Come have some cocoa. On the house.”

There was a pause, a step in the opposite direction, then a sigh as he dutifully turned back. Rey held the door open until he grabbed it for her and motioned for her to go back in first.

She made her way behind the counter and started on the cocoa. Ben got halfway back to his couch corner and stopped for another thoughtful pause. He detoured to the counter, snatched a pen, then jotted down a quick note on the back of one of Paige’s business cards before leaving them both next to the register and slumping into his seat with his head in his hands.

Tallie got to the card first and looked up at Rey with a sly smile.

“My my, looks like someone had an eventful trip to the alley,” Tallie said, waggling her eyebrows as she passed it to Rey.

“Not really,” she said nonchalantly, but her heart seemed to make a heavier thu-thump when she saw the extraordinarily neat handwriting on the card.

Ben Solo
458-555-5956

Rey hurriedly plugged the number into her phone and shot off a text, ignoring her employee’s giggle.

Rey: Hello there

Ben: I'll pay for new trash cans.

Rey: A year and a half of patronage and those are your first words to me

Ben: Hello Rey.

Rey: Better
Rey: Besides, you missed my trash cans, those ones belong to the insurance office next door

Ben: Damn. Explains all the paper shreds, though.

Rey: Don’t worry about it, they’re dicks anyway

Ben: I suppose you’re waiting for some answers…

Rey: I don’t recall asking you any questions

Ben stared at his phone, open to messages, the only movement the blinking of the cursor line. He was a spot of quiet among the bustle of cafe patrons, Tallie’s cheerful chatter, and hissing machines. Rey took the mug to his table without a word, like she’d done a hundred times before.

Ben: Thank you, Rey.

Rey: You’re welcome. My cocoa is indeed exceptional
Rey: I do actually have one question
Rey: What was the swirly thumbs up? It looked like it meant something

Ben: It means “sorry” in American Sign Language.

Rey: You're learning ASL?

Ben: My therapist suggested it as a way to embrace change and open myself up to connection .

Rey: That’s lovely
Rey: Mind if I learn with you?

Rey completed two more orders before she got his reply.

Ben: I’d like that.

The Editor

*Pa-Ting!*

“Can you read my text out to me, Rose? I’ve got my hands full.”

“It’s Ben. He says, ‘Can I move a chair around? My editor’s coming in to meet me and I don’t want to unplug my laptop to move.’”

“If there’s not a butt in it, it’s yours,” Rey hollered over to him. Ben finished typing something, then got up and snagged a chair from a nearby empty table, signing thanks as he went.

“The couch seats three though,” Rose said, confused.

Ben dropped the chair at an angle next to his couch, then pulled out his phone. A moment later, Rey’s pinged in Rose’s hand.

“‘He’s the type who would rather stand than be visibly comfortable in front of other people.’ Sounds delightful.”

Ben looked up at the ceiling mournfully and sighed, as if to say you have no idea, or to appeal to a higher power. Maybe both.

Rose slipped the phone back into Rey’s back pocket, giving it a friendly slap. “Cups are low, I’ll go grab some more from the stock room,” she said, leaving Rey at the counter.

A tall, familiar redhead in a neat suit walked in. Ben waved at him from his couch. Rose came back from the store room.

The man stared at the couch. Rose stared at the man.

“Oh fucking hell,” they said in unison.

-

Ben: You have a very serious scrunch in your nose.
Ben: What’s up?

Rey: Wondering if I should develop a lunch menu and get a panini press
Rey: We get good business at breakfast, but I’m not sure if our midday customer base is big enough to warrant soup and sandwiches

Ben: I’d eat here.

Rey: You’d move in here if I let you

Ben: Touché.
Ben: See if Paige can make cornbread muffins and I’ll give you my grandma’s chili recipe.

Rey: Deal

Chess

Rey finished tying off her apron and came out to the counter, glancing over to see if Ben was there. He was, typing away on his laptop, as well as-

“What are you doing, Poe?”

“Getting my ass handed to me on a checkered platter,” he grumbled, eyes locked on the chessboard placed on the table between the two men. He lifted a hand, paused, then slowly moved one of his knights.

Ben swiftly took the newly exposed bishop with his own knight and put Poe in check. Turn finished, he returned to his writing.

“Oh come on!”

Their game dragged out long enough for Rey to relieve Kaydel from her shift, finish restocking the front, and complete a couple to-go orders. Blessedly, the shop was vacant aside from the three of them when Ben moved his rook and flicked Poe’s king off the board.

“How do you do that?! You’re barely even looking at the board! It’s all just tkatkatkatka ‘Fuck you, Poe,’” he put on a ridiculously deep voice while miming typing and snatching at a chess piece. “Tkatkatkatka-“

Working, Ben signed.

“No hablo a ese ele.”

Ben sighed, then pulled out his phone. Rey’s pinged a moment later.

“Oh geez I’m going to completely butcher this,” Rey muttered, looking at Ben’s text. “He said, ‘Estoy escribiendo. No eres un jugador de ajedrez lo suficientemente bueno como para requerir toda mi atención.’”

Poe pointed at him and said with venom, “Que te folle un pez.”

Ben replied with a one fingered sign that required no translation.

“The cryptid bastard is bilingual?! Why the fuck is he bilingual?! He doesn’t speak!” Poe raved, gesturing wildly with his hands. Ben continued typing, unbothered.

Rey shrugged. “We haven’t triggered his tragic backstory cutscene yet, you’ll have to be patient.”

“What are you writing anyway?” Poe sneered as he sat back and grabbed his coffee cup. “Sad self-insert fanfiction?”

This did make Ben pause. He mulled over his thoughts, rolling his jaw and pursing his lips in that way he does when he’s really thinking something over, then looked up at Rey and carefully finger-spelled to her.

“He said it’s called ‘The Knights of Ren Return,’” she interpreted.

Poe spat back into his mug as he choked on his coffee, a bit of it dribbling off his chin to the floor.

“Ew! Poe, what the hell?!”

“You’re Ben Solo?!” he choked out, receiving a slow nod in response.

“How have you missed this, he’s been a named character for like six months now. Even Finn knows.” Though knowing Finn, he’d probably forgotten.

“You!” Poe turned his accusing finger on Rey. “You’ve just been letting him sit here for months and you never told me?!”

“Mate, this is the first I’m even hearing about this. I knew Ben was a writer, but I didn’t know what.”

“How have you not read Knights of Ren?! You own a bookstore!”

“I own a coffee shop with a community library,” she corrected. “And I work upwards of 80 hours a week. Excuse me for not having a ton of leisure time. I’m going to go get the mop now.”

Ben: It hasn’t been out long.
Ben: Book one came out the week before my mother popped in here unexpectedly.
Ben: I’m guessing its debut is what sparked the visit.

“So it’s good?” Rey asked. She shoved the mop into Poe’s hand and pointed expectantly at his mess.

“So it’s good,” Poe wheezed, getting up to comply. “It owns my ass, Rey. It’s an orchestra of cyberpunk and sorcery, brotherhood and betrayal, strength and sacrifice.” He turned to what may very well be his favorite contemporary author and glared at him like he loathed every word coming out of his own mouth. “It’s absolutely brilliant. Finn and I are going to San Diego Comic-Con dressed as two of the lead characters.”

He’s exaggerating, Ben texted her. It has done well, but it’s niche.

Ben Solo was a dirty rotten liar and she found his book at the grocery store the very next week. It sat at eye line, cover-side out, not turned to their spines like the second rate novels, proudly displaying its New York Times Best Seller sticker.

Rey took a deep breath in and out, and threw it in her cart.

-

Rey: Who let you behind the counter?!
Rey: Ben
Rey: BEN
Rey: Snitch now or I’m discontinuing the snickerdoodles

Ben: Rose.

Rey: I knew it

Ben: It was for a good cause.

Rey: YOU CANT JSUT REWRITE MY MENU WITHOUT ASKING BEN

Ben: I asked Rose. She thought it was a great idea.
Ben: Your handwriting is atrocious.

Rey: 😡😡😡

Ben: Look, not everyone can do everything. My coffee is shit, I definitely can’t do math in my head the way your computer brain does it, and I swear I’ve seen you repair every electronic in this place without needing to call a professional. Meanwhile, I once changed a lightbulb and blew up my lamp.
Ben: I took calligraphy lessons, you went and learned actual useful things.

Rey: Fine you’re forgiven
Rey: Also a gal came in and left her number for you, she’s wondering if you’ll do a sign for her wedding

Ben: Neat.

Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy

There was a preschooler on Ben’s couch, and they had no idea how long she had been there.

The shop was unusually crowded, likely due to to the rainy weather and drippy people coming in to avoid the downpour. Ben was perfectly dry, save for his shoes, being the practical sort who protects his laptop with an umbrella. He had gotten into the habit of texting Rey his order on his way in, so she already had it ready and waiting at the register. Yet, despite having paid, he loitered at the counter, looking awkwardly toward his seat.

“Aren’t you going to sit down?”

Ben: I’m processing the break in my usual routine.
Ben: I think it would be unwise for a grown man to sit so close to someone’s child.

“Child? What child?”

He pointed to the couch at the back, though it was the opposite end he usually sat at. Rey had to lever herself half over the counter to see where he was pointing, one of the few seats in the shop that was in a blind spot for her.

Lo and behold, there was a little girl no older than 6 sitting on her own, bright pink rain boots dangling above the floor she stared at. Despite the business of the afternoon crowding the shop, the seats closest to her were vacant.

Ben: Are her parents here?

“I have no idea. Jess?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you see this little girl come in? Was anyone with her?”

Jess had to crane her neck to see where the girl sat, too, and blinked at her in surprise. “No, she must’ve slipped right past us. I feel like I’ve seen her before, though.”

In the time they’d been talking amongst themselves, no adults had appeared beside the girl. Rey made her way around the counter slowly and kneeled in front of her, Ben following like a shadow.

“Hey, sweetie, where’s your mom, or your dad?”

Silence.

“What’s your name?”

The girl said nothing.

Rey looked over her shoulder at the man standing behind her. “Great, there’s two of you.”

Ben frowned at her.

Rey turned back to the little girl and gathered what she could just by looking at her. She wasn’t a street kid, and Rey doubted she came from a place of neglect. The girl’s clothes all fit her well, she was clean save for a bit of mud on her boots. Her hair had been done up in pigtails, she was dressed appropriately for the weather. She glanced up at Rey a couple times, lip quivering a bit, but stayed quiet.

Ben: Lost?

“Lord, I hope so,” Rey said with a sigh as she stood. Ben frowned, his brows drawing together. “Let me go get my laptop. I’ll review our security footage and call the police.” She looked back down at the girl. “We’re going to do everything we can to get you home, okay honey? You just stay right here and make yourself comfortable.”

The little girl looked up at her with wide, shining eyes and nodded.

While Rey reviewed the security camera footage, Ben cautiously went ahead and set his stuff down at his usual seat, then made his way to one of the shelves near the front of the shop. Rey kept a few board games and the picture books there, and he picked through the collection.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi, this is Rey Johnson, I’m the owner of the coffee shop on 17th and Fairway. I’ve got a little girl here without a parent, I think she’s lost.”

“Have you gotten her name?”

“I asked but she won’t talk. My security cameras show her coming in about fifteen minutes ago behind another woman with her kids, but that group has already left.”

Rey gave the operator the girl’s description as Ben made his way back to the couch. He held up a checkerboard in front of him and raised a brow in wordless offer. The girl nodded with a grin and he went about setting the board up on the middle cushion between them.

“There’s an officer nearby, just make sure everyone sits tight until he gets there, okay?”

“Thank you.”

Rey brought the girl a cup of water, which she accepted with a smile. Ben had gotten his ass squarely handed to him at checkers three times and was setting up a fourth round when the door bells clanged. A police officer entered, getting the attention of everyone in the shop with his uniform and chirping radio, then held the door open for a woman behind him.

She struggled through the door even with help, lugging in a tiny baby in an infant car seat on one arm. Her diaper bag bonked into the doorframe on the way in. Tear tracks shimmered on her cheeks and her eyes were watery as they anxiously scanned the shop, landing first on Rey, who was waving and pointing to the back, then the little girl on the couch, whose hair perfectly matched her own.

“Izzie!”

The girl’s head snapped up at the sound of her voice. She leapt off the couch, running to the front.

“Mommy!!”

They collapsed together on the floor in a hug right there in front of the door, mom dripping rain water and relief all over. The baby looked a bit perturbed when his car seat hit the floor, but let his mom and sister have their moment as he sucked on a binky.

“I was so scared. Oh God, Elizabeth, you scared the life right out of me.”

“I’m sorry,” Izzie sobbed. Her mom held her out at arms length, looking her in the eyes with fear and love.

“Never, ever get off an elevator without mommy, honey!”

“Okay.”

“How did you get here?”

“I got out to the sidewalk and saw you weren’t with me. I looked around and couldn’t find you, but I remembered what you said and I found another mommy, but I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to say to her so I just followed her and ended up here. We came here for story time before, so I stayed and waited for you.”

“That explains why she was with another lady,” Rey muttered to Jess.

“And why she was familiar,” she whispered back. “I worked the kids story hour shift two weeks ago.”

“We were supposed to go down to the garage level, Izzie,” her mom said. “Not the lobby. You got off the elevator too early and I was stuck on it and went all the way down.”

“Oh.”

“I’m just so you’re safe,” she sighed, hugging her again.

“Can we go home now?”

“Yeah, baby, we can go home.”

Rey approached them with a to-go bag and a smile.

“We didn’t feed her since we weren’t sure if she had allergies, but here’s a few pastries for you guys to take home.”

“Thank you all, so so much,” the mother said, sounding like she might cry again.

“Let me walk you back to your car, ma’am,” the officer offered. He nodded to Rey and Jess, and they all headed towards the door.

Near the exit, Izzie ran back, hugged Ben around his legs (the tiny thing didn’t even come up to his hip), and went back to her mother. She was still waving and grinning over her shoulder as the door closed behind them.

Rey couldn’t seem to breathe.

“Oh,” she whispered to herself. “Oh, I thought I was past this…”

Of course she wasn’t past this. Therapy? Never met her, who needs therapy? We don’t need therapy, we need small business loans and life purpose and working so many hours we don’t have time to think-

And air. We desperately need air.

“Hey Jess, I’m gonna take a short break.” Rey untied her apron- which did jack shit for her oxygen issue, but it was worth trying- then made her way to the staff door at the back.

She was pacing back and forth short-ways across the back alley and had barely taken six gasping deep breaths when she heard movement behind her. Ben had appeared in the alley, watching her carefully like he was worried he might spook her, brows drawn together in concern.

“I’m okay,” she told him, sounding distinctly not okay. “I’m just happy the girl found her mom. I’m okay. I just-“ She couldn’t get her breath to even out. Her heart was in her throat and beating so fast and her chest was tight and there just wasn’t enough air. “I just need a minute-“

Her completely unconvincing words were suddenly being muffled by flannel as Ben’s arms came around her and pulled her into his chest. Rey took that as permission to leave some embarrassingly large wet spots on his shirt as she cried into him. Ben didn’t seem to mind. He just held her steady, soothing a hand slowly up and down her back.

Once she was down to simply shaky breathing and a few sniffles, Ben let her go. He fished around in his back pocket then held something out to her in offering. She blinked down at it dumbly a few times.

“Is this a handkerchief?”

He nodded slowly. Rey snorted.

“You’re such a nerd!” Her crying transformed into cackling laughter. She pinched a corner of the handkerchief and waved it daintily in the air. “Oh thank you, Mr. Darcy, I don’t know what came over me, these are such poor manners I’m displaying, you are an absolute gentleman-“

Ben rolled his eyes so hard she worried they might stick for a second. He snatched the handkerchief away from her, draped it over his hand (the poor fabric barely covered it), and proceeded to half-scrub, half-smother her face with it. Then he shoved the little square back into his pocket and stalked back toward the shop.

“What?! I don’t even get to keep it as a token of your favor?!”

He half-turned back, still walking, and fingerspelled to her, C-O-C-O-A?

Rey grinned and followed after him.

“Hot chocolate sounds great.”

—

Rey: When are you coming in?

Ben: Maybe this afternoon. Why?

Rey: I need you
Rey: I need your big strong hands

Ben: Lid stuck on the new sauce bottle again?

Rey: Yep

Ben: Be there in 10.

Tragic Backstory Cutscene

It was half past 3 in the morning when her phone vibrated against the bathroom counter, breaking the eerie near-quiet of the early morning.

Ben: It was a car crash.

Rey was already up, slightly earlier than her usual 4 am to prep Much Ado for opening, but she got the sense he didn't think she would be.

Ben: I'm surprised you haven't asked me about it yet. It's usually the first thing people ask me about.
Ben: Or the only thing.
Ben: Not you though. But I want you to know.
Ben: But yeah. It was a car crash. That’s how I got the scar.
Ben: And lost my voice.

The [...] symbol flashed and disappeared over and over for several minutes. Rey watched and waited patiently. She's good at waiting.

Ben: And my father.

Her toothbrush clattered against the counter. The heater hummed. The sink sputtered as the water ran on and on and on.
It's so quiet this early in the morning.
Rey picked up her phone and typed back without hesitation.

Rey: Meet me at the cafe in half an hour

She got there in twenty minutes, her steps hurried down the empty, foggy sidewalks. He was already at the door, waiting with hands in his pockets and bags under his reddened eyes. Rey unlocked the door and pulled him in after her by his sleeve.

His hands were cold. She led him to his couch, and went behind the counter to make hot cocoa to warm them.

Ben: It’s his birthday.
Ben: It would have been his birthday.

[…] over and over while she grabbed cups and poured. As she walked back over, he typed something furiously and then threw his phone into the chair opposite him, covering his face with a hand.

Ben: Fuck.
Ben: I miss him and I’m just tired of wallowing in it alone.

Rey put the cups on the table and sat next to him. “I’m here,” she whispered, grabbing his free hand. “You’re not alone.”

He squeezed her hand back.

They sat there for a long while in silence. Eventually the tension dropped from his shoulders. He drank a bit of the hot chocolate between carefully measured breaths. Finally with a sigh, he let go of her hand and retrieved his phone.

Ben: Do you remember the first time I came in here?

“Yes, just barely. We were so busy… But I remember you yelled at Finn. You were… a real piece of work.”

Ben: That's a funny way to pronounce “asshole.”

Rey chuckled. “I threatened you with a broom, didn't I?”

Ben: You did. He took a shaky breath in and out.
Ben: The crash was only a few days later.
Ben: My dad and I were arguing, I wasn't paying attention, and took a sharp curve too fast…
Ben: I woke up in the ICU two days later with a dead dad and a tube down my throat that would turn out to have paralyzed my vocal cords.

“Fuck,” she said on a heavy exhale, because what else do you say to that? “Ben, I’m so sorry.”

Ben: I’ve mostly gotten used to not speaking. Things are different but I adapted.
Ben: I quit my old job but stayed in writing. Moved from my old apartment but stayed in the same city. Even Hux is a remnant from college.
Ben: Losing dad changed everything, though. Changed me.

“No more screaming at freshly trained baristas?”

Ben: No more high profile, connection filled career. No more feeling, or acting, like I’d control the world one day.
Ben: No more driving. Cars give me panic attacks now.
Ben: No more uncle Chewie -Dad’s best friend.
Ben: No more mom.

Rey thought of the woman with the braided crown who Ben had gotten his eyes from, who’d managed to lose her husband and son on the same day in different ways. The woman whose son not only wasn’t speaking to her, but couldn’t. Rey wondered if she knew he’d lost his voice, and had a feeling she knew the answer.

“I remember the second time you came in, too.”

Ben: Me too.

It was three months later, and even from one side, sporting a short beard and bags under his eyes, she recognized him immediately. Dark and towering, though he walked with his shoulders hunched and eyes on the floor. He’d looked like he wanted to melt into the shadows.

Rey had been ready to give him another piece of her mind, then he'd turned to look straight at her so she could see the right side of his face, and she realized he was the same man but completely changed. Broken and made new. The slice on his face had healed but was still pink and puckered, butterfly bandages in a short procession down his neck.

Ben: It was like I could see you rewriting everything you'd thought about me before. Giving me a chance to start over. You didn't even blink when I didn't speak and passed over my written order.
Ben: And then you passed me your own note with the WiFi password and pointed out the corner table out of sight of nearly the entire rest of the store. An invitation and a place to hide.

He'd stayed for an hour, then come in once every week. Then twice. Eventually three or four days in a row. The corner table became his, to both of them. Even when they barely interacted, when she didn't even know his name, Rey felt he belonged there. He was a part of it.

Ben: Having the scar on my face made me feel like some kind of monster. Not because of how I looked but because it felt like everyone could see what I’d done.
Ben: But yo- he backspaced twice. This place made me feel like I could breathe again for the first time since the crash.
Ben: It was my first step and made me feel capable of taking the next big steps. Gym, grocery store. Therapy.
Ben: I owe this place a lot.
Ben: Owe YOU a lot.

“You don't owe me anything, Ben,” she whispered.

He narrowed his eyes at her, like he didn’t believe that and nothing she could say would change his mind, but dropped the subject. He frowned at his phone as he continued typing away.

Ben: My mom still blames me.
Ben: For my dad dying.
Ben: I get it, I blame myself too.
Ben: I know she wants to see me but I also know that at some point she'll switch from seeing her son to seeing the man who killed her husband and I'm just not ready for that.

“Well, when you are ready, I’ll be there. If you want me to be.”

Tears welled in his eyes, but he shut them quickly before any could fall. Ben dropped his head into her lap, and without missing a beat Rey began carding her fingers through his hair. A soft sigh left his lips, heavy hand resting on her knee and giving her a squeeze.

Rey’s chest felt tight and her eyes pricked on the edge of tears for him. But sitting here- on the couch she bought so he’d be more comfortable- as she finger-combed his hair and processed all that he’d gone through, all that he’d lost, she couldn’t help but feel there was a reason. A purpose of this great misfortune.

“What was your old job?” she asked, feeling the need to redirect his thoughts for a bit. “The one you quit after the accident.”

Ben: I was a story editor at First Order Productions. Started as a staff writer, ended up working on a few high profile shows, but I was credited under a pen name.

“Anything someone who barely watches tv would know of?” she laughed. She never had time for tv, highly unlikely to have heard of anything modernly popular-

Ben: War of Crowns.

“Holy shit-“ she blurted before she could catch herself, and Ben chuckled against her lap. “Ahem. I mean… that’s pretty impressive. Though last season was a bit... weird.” Factoring in production times, she bet the latest season was the first one written after his departure from the writer’s room.

Ben: I try not to let that go to my head.
Ben: My old job was actually what dad and I were arguing about that night.
Ben: The executive producer was this sociopath who fancied himself as some kind of lord in the production world, real good at manipulating people so he could suck the creativity and life out of them. Dad saw right through him but I didn’t notice until I got an email berating me, while I was still in the hospital.
Ben: Sent in my resignation before I was even discharged.

“Good riddance. Sounds like he was a major asshole.”

Ben: Ah, so you can pronounce it correctly.

Rey slapped his shoulder lightly and he just laughed again.

Ben: What are things like between you and your parents?

“They ditched me at a fire station when I was five.” Ben gasped- she filed away the memory of the soft sound- and sat up, staring shocked into her eyes. Rey smiled humorlessly. “It was the first time I tried coffee. It was mid-winter and the firefighters didn't have anything else warm to drink.”

Rey looked over at her half-full cup on the table. A wildly different taste than the bitter drink from 20 years ago, but the same color, same warmth.

“I don’t remember much of what came before that. Lots of cold rooms and rotating faces, and so much driving from place to place. As scared and alone as I felt in that fire station, that cup of coffee was the first sense I had of something grounding me, something steady. I grew up in foster care from there. But even though I moved through a dozen houses, everywhere I went there was always a library in town. Every library has copies of the classics, or the pop culture novels. So no matter where I went, even though the people were different, the books were the same.”

Rey looked around her shop, the brick walls and wide windows that reminded her so much of the fire station. Breathed in the smell of roasted coffee and old paper and her collection of propagated plants. She may have been abandoned, but she managed to build herself a home.

“Good stories and warm drinks have always been what’s made me feel comforted. Safe. That’s why I opened this place, so I could give that feeling to others. And through it I’ve met Finn, and Rose, even if they come and go. I never had much growing up, but now I have Much Ado, and it’s mine. And I get to share it.” She looked him in the eye and hoped he understood she wasn’t talking about a purpose or a paycheck when she said, “This shop has brought me everything I could’ve ever wanted.”

He took a deep breath, lips parted, and looked at her like-

Like he wanted to say something.

But the breath left him with only the sound of a sigh, and he wrapped her in his arms.

—

Ben: Can we PLEASE switch off the Nickelback?

Rey: Put in your headphones

Ben: I forgot them.
Ben: FFS, turn it off.

Rey: Bite me

Ben looked over at her pointedly, brows drawn together, then bit down on his lower lip in a clear threat. Rey wasn't sure if she had blushed or blanched, but her heart was definitely doing flips as she rushed to the stereo.

The Kiss

Rose announced herself to Ben by slamming a copy of his book on the table in front of him, then shoved her phone in his face.

“Put in your number,” she demanded. “I am going to need extensive detail of Princess Lenora’s character design.”

He took the phone from her slowly, maintaining eye contact and not making any sudden movements like she was a threat.

“New cosplay?” Rey asked with a knowing smirk.

“Yeah, for Comic-Con,” Rose sighed. Ben typed faster now that her attention was diverted. “Poe invited me to go with them to San Diego, and I was just going to use my Katara one but he thought it would be more fun if our whole group matched, so he gave me this-“ she said the last word through her teeth while shaking the book in both hands like she was choking it. “This curse upon my circadian rhythm. ‘One more chapter’ became ‘watch the sun rise.’ Be prepared, I’m gonna be half asleep most of the day.”

“You’ve only just finished it?” Hux asked with a sneer.

Rose shrieked, jumping in the air and flailing. “How long have you been there?!”

“You walked right past me when you came in,” he drawled. Rey passed Hux his coffee over the pickup counter, which he had indeed been waiting at the entire time Rose had been in the shop.

“What’s your issue with me having just finished it? The book was excellent, I binged it in two sittings.”

“You intend to literally embody a character you have essentially just met? Like a child’s drugstore Halloween costume? At least take some time to truly absorb the work. Read it a second time, research a few of the inspiring cultures and stories listed in the appendixes. You should bring the characters to life in your mind before trying to bring them to life for others.” He looked down his nose at her, easy from the considerable height difference he had on Rose. “As the editor I would know.”

Rose popped her fists on her hips and started getting in his face. “So a person can’t enjoy a piece of fiction without getting an honorary doctorate in history and folklore now?”

“I’m saying you get a broader depth of understanding, a truer appreciation of the world and characters, when you know the source material that inspired them.”

“I think I can appreciate them just fine. The characters and lore are well written, and the book stands strongly on its own. The book can be enjoyed for simply being the book.”

Rey: Who’s right?

Ben: They both are. The visualization of the magic system relates back to color theory and string theory, and there’s reference to Irish and Scottish history in the lore, but I’ve seen a lot of readers speculating on the meanings of character names and what it means for their personal plot lines. I literally just got them off a baby names website or people I know.

Rey: Anyone I’d recognize?

Ben: There’s a character named Séarlas after my uncle Charles, and Lenora is a partial anagram of my mother’s name.

Rey: Awww

Ben: And I think there’s a townsperson named Finnegan.

Rey: *GASP*
Rey: YOURE KIDDING

Ben: I thought it was interesting.

Rey: But no Rey? ;)
Rey: Reyna? Regina?

Ben: It’s your fault for not wearing a name tag last year.

Rey: E tu, Brute? After all I’ve caffeinated you…

“You’re the type of man who would judge the intelligence of a fish on its ability to climb.”

“Cosplay is the love at first sight of fandom, the initial infatuation. It’s cheap and soulless.”

“80 hours of hand sewn work and hundreds of dollars in materials is cheap?!”

“Guys, take it outside,” Rey said, exasperated.

“The only soulless thing in this situation is you,” Rose growled as she shoved Hux out the door. The bells clanged behind them like the start of a UFC fight. The two continued shouting at each other, but at least now it wasn’t bothering everyone inside.

Ben: Hux is lying out his ass.
Ben: He is also going to Comic-Con, and cosplaying. His brother roped him into going together as the twin villains from KoR.

Rey: Is Hux going as the one who killed the king, or the one who’s trying to orchestrate a marriage with the princess Rose is going as?

Ben: …
Ben: You’re reading my book?

Rose increased in volume, snatching Hux by his lapels and shaking him a bit.

“I should go break them up before one of them gets hurt,” Rey sighed. She circled around the counter and headed past Ben towards the front door.

Rose yanked Hux down and kissed him square on the mouth.

Rey stumbled back a step, fisting the shoulder of Ben’s shirt to steady her as they both gaped like fish at the two outside. Hux had grabbed Rose by the waist and backed her into one of the columns that lined the walkway to continue their make out with support.

It stopped just as quickly as it had started. Hux jumped several feet back in one leap like he’d been shocked with a live wire. They stood staring at each other, chests heaving and cheeks flaming. Then he about-faced and strode off down the walkway out of sight. Rose took a moment longer to compose herself before coming back inside.

“I would like his number, please,” she said to Ben venomously before stalking back behind the counter.

His phone pinged as he pulled it out, and Rey could see the message from her place at his shoulder.

Hux: I apologize for having to postpone our meeting.
Hux: Please pass along my contact information to Miss Tico, if she is not opposed to it.

They both stared at it for a long moment before Rey asked, “What just happened?”

Ben just blinked a few times, shaking his head, and sent Rose Hux’s contact card.

-

Rey: Holy shit
Rey: Ben
Rey: BEN

Ben: Are you okay?

Rey: NO I AM NOT OKAY

Ben: Where are you are you hurt?

Rey: Im safe
Rey: I am at home
Rey: In bed
Rey: With the KNIGHTS LF REN ON MY LAP YOU ASSHAT

Ben: Oh.
Ben: You’re on chapter 31 aren’t you.

Rey: YES I AM ON CHAPTER 31
Rey: BEN HOW COULD HOU

Ben: Look, I'm working on it.
Ben: There’s a reason the sequel is called “Return.”

Rey:😭🤧 i am crying real tears here Ben you better not be fing with mw

Ben: It’s going to get better, I promise.
Ben: Get some sleep, sweetheart.

Rey: Ok
Rey: Gnughy

Ben: Good Night.

The Date

Ben was in a writing groove while she was closing. His eyes were practically unblinking, focused on spitting his thoughts out onto the screen, fingers moving so fast over the keyboard it became white noise. He didn't flinch as she dimmed the lights, took his empty dishes. Not even a twitch when she mopped under his legs.

He was still going even once she had finished, bag in hand and ready to leave, but she'd hate to ruin what he had going. So Rey just plopped down on the other end of the couch. She curled her feet up, sitting sideways so she could lean her head against the back cushion, and grabbed a book to read until he finished.

She didn’t get far. She was far too distracted watching him. Memorizing the planes of his face, the fall of his hair, the placement of his freckles, the minute movements of his eyes and mouth. All he was doing was typing and yet he's fascinating to her. And his presence was so… calming.

Ben shook her awake a couple hours later with the most apologetic frown she's ever seen.

Ben: You should've kicked me out at closing time.

“I could never,” she said with a grin. “Did you make good progress?”

He sighed and screwed up his mouth before admitting, Extensive.

“Excellent.”

Ben: I'm taking you to dinner.
Ben: You didn't eat anything except a croissant and I'm not sending you home on an empty stomach.
Ben: Do you like the diner 3 blocks from here?

“You could at least get down on one knee before saying something like that so I have a bit of warning. Damn, Ben, take me, I'm yours.”

He went red in the face and sniggered like a teenager as he held the door open for her.

If you've never eaten greasy breakfast food while the stars are out and half a city sleeps, practicing sign language and talking shit about your favorite YA novels with a boy with his soul in his eyes, Rey can highly recommend the experience.

He walked her home to make sure she got there safe. Rey smiled again at her Scary Dog Privileges. She bonked her shoulder into Ben's and he pushed her right back. He even trekked up the three flights of stairs, escorting her all the way to her door. She turned the key in the lock and looked back at him, lit up golden in the yellowed stairwell lights.

It was a moment. One of those things they put in the books and the movies and you never think you're going to experience yourself until you're standing there looking into his eyes and all you can hear is your breath and his.

A moment. An almost.

Where he glanced at her mouth and he almost-
And the words “Come inside” were on the tip of her tongue and she almost-

Then a car alarm went off and the neighbor's dog started barking and they jumped and chuckled nervously. She only had 5 hours until she had to be up again to open so she said thank you for the evening and goodnight and he signed back with that smile that made her heart clench.

See you tomorrow.

-

Ben: I miscalculated a recipe in my meal prep and ended up with extras. Do you want some?

Rey: OMG
Rey: yes yes a hundred times yes
Rey: Should we have a spring or a summer wedding?

Ben: …
Ben: I'm more partial to the late fall aesthetic.

Rey: He cooks AND has good taste
Rey: You've made me the happiest girl in the world

Ben: I made you sesame beef and rice.

Rey:🤤❤️

The Story Within The Story

It was routine, now, to clean up around Ben. The shades were drawn, house lights off, doors locked. He was still at his post on the couch, scanning whatever document he's currently working on and making occasional edits. Rey dropped a spare muffin, wrapped loosely in a napkin, on the cushion next to him, and without even looking up he lifted a hand to brush his knuckles down her forearm in acknowledgement and thanks. She squeezed his shoulder as she passed by him, heading into the back.

It was comfortable, their companionship. Downright domestic.

It was so routine that Rey instantly noticed when something changed, when she came back to the counter from the back office at the very end of her clean-up.

Ben had left his laptop on the counter, facing toward where she'd stand while taking orders.

He was in his usual seat, though he stared intensely at the laptop. One hand loosely covered his mouth and she was a touch irritated she couldn't read his entire expression.

“Have something to tell me?” Rey asked, pulling out her phone in anticipation of his reply.

Ben: It's a short story I've been working on. I'm having trouble with the ending. Mind reading it and giving me your opinion?

Excitement sparked instantly. She loves his writing, and he only has the one book published so far, damnit, she needed more. Without another thought, Rey angled the laptop for comfortable viewing and dived into the story.

____

A land of swords and sorcery. Nations at war. Cold stone castle and a proud Prince destined for greatness.

A witch, the Lord Advisor of the Queen's council reports. Dark magic. Can't afford to let it go on, she'll ruin the kingdom for sure. The prince himself is their best option to snuff this out once and for all. He can resist her, with the power of his bloodline.

He leads the hunting party into foreign woods, with trees that seem to whisper and invisible eyes watching.

They find her, the witch, in the fading sunbeams and broken shadows of the twilight filtered through the forest.

The soldiers back her into a corner, the prince himself grabs her- she’s young, this witch. He throws her into a tree, stunning her.

It's the only moment of an upper hand he has.

She brings the unnatural forest to unnatural life. Vines and roots move at her command. Some of the men have their arms tied down, or their legs wrapped, or even a restraining twist around their throat. A great chasm opens in the ground, splitting her apart from the attackers. One of his men turns, and he must have tripped, he must have, because his sword slashes across the prince’s face, a lash like lightning splitting his skin.

Everything is pain and a panic he tries to suppress as the ground moves under his feet- is it the witch, still, or has he simply lost the ability to stand- he falls and struggles to steady his breathing- he reaches for his men for aid because it must have been an accident, it must have-

“She was meant to kill you. We will have to finish the job.”

They don’t, despite their efforts. A dagger across his throat fails to go deep enough. The sword goes through his abdomen, in just the right place, and he spits blood. The men retreat in false triumph.

The prince waits until they’re gone, then gets his feet under him and stumbles through the woods in the other direction. He doesn’t know where he’s going, what he’s looking for, what he’ll find. Just away. At some point he passes out, but he doesn’t feel it when he hits the ground.

He feels it when a wet nose sticks itself in his ear. He jumps- the creature attached to the nose hisses- and cries out in pain as he jostles all his injuries.

“What have you found, Rosebud?” calls a soft voice from the direction of his feet. Footsteps crunching on the forest floor and then the voice is at his head. “Ah. A murderous snake.”

She squats down and stares into his eyes, her own glittering green and gold in the morning sunlight. It’s piercing and lasts forever. He’s sure her eyes will be the last thing he sees as he expires, then she speaks again.

“You lived for a reason,” she says finally. She stands and points loosely at him. The dirt and moss beneath him begins to roll and roil like waves, moving his body forward as the witch walks beside him. “Let’s find out what it is.”

A witch, they called her. Sorceress. Magician. Druid.

Rhea, she calls herself. And of course he would have come to kill a woman named life giver in the old tongue.

He doesn’t call himself anything. The wound to his throat failed to take his life but succeeded with his voice.

He’s deposited on a makeshift cot she’s charmed branches and moss to form, in a cozy home clearly built for only one inhabitant. The space is surrounded by books on herbs and spellcraft, a garden of potted plants and climbing vines growing through the dwelling, and supplies for mixing potions behind her work counter. It’s warm and earthy, smelling strongly of the tea she keeps constantly at the ready with a kettle over the fire.

Rhea tends to his wounds with potions and poultices, bandages and a spell. And once he’s no longer threatening to shuffle the mortal coil, she begins to teach him to be more of a person than a prince.

He makes a fool of himself half the time as he learns, as she teaches, but he takes direction well. He’s always been good at following orders. She’s patient with him. She’s always been good at waiting.

They become friendly companions in the quiet of the forest. It’s a far cry, an impossibility, an unforgivable transgression that he had ever threatened her life. But she has forgiven, and somewhere between the simple charms, shared meals, and quiet laughter of their days her life has become all that matters to him.

He awakes in the night to the sound of her crying. It muffles his footsteps as he crosses the room to her bed. Rhea whispers to him about parents and mentors and people she thought were friends, all who had come and all who never stayed. He holds her in his arms, finds peace in her presence, and prays he can offer even a shred of it in return.

Her life is all that matters to him, now that his old one has ended, and it is an unforgivable transgression that his old life comes back to try and end hers again.

The soldiers find them at the break of day, shattering the peace and quiet of the forest. Their swords cut foliage and boots break low branches. They have hunted the witch, the only witness to their failed crime of murdering a crown prince. The Lord Advisor leads them.

It's the Prince who steps in front of her, the prince who takes the brunt of the lightning bolt- dark magic, the advisor said, speaking not of the witch but of his own practices- who gets back up out of sheer force of will and slices the devilish advisor in half.

But the wounds were great, and even though he managed to save Rhea’s life, it was at the cost of his own. His heartbeat is erratic, sputtering. He drops his sword, drops to the ground. His chest is tight and he can't get the breath to go in and out of his lungs correctly.

Rhea gathers him up, resting his head in her lap. She brushes the hair from his face and cradles his cheek in her hand. This woman who found him damaged, broken, and deemed him worthy of care. She was the reason, he’s certain. Being with her, experiencing her, knowing her, was his reason for having survived. He stares into her eyes glittering green and gold in the sunlight.

I love you, he wishes he could say. I love you like the night loves the stars, the brightest and most beautiful amongst the darkness. And I'll never get to tell you. For that to be my certainty is so much more horrifying than facing the unknown of what’s to come.

The Whisper

Rey looked up, her cheeks wet and heart aching, at the man who has told her the most profound of declarations without ever uttering a sound. Ben had seemed to realize she’d gotten near the end and come to stand opposite her on the other side of the counter.

“He has to live,” she choked out. “Everyone she's ever cared about has left her, and she cares for him more than any of them. He can't leave her too. He has to live. He has to tell her.”

Ben looked at her with the strangest mix of despair and hope. His jaw trembled, fists clenched. A deep breath in, and-

“Rey, I love you,” he whispered.

Her barely audible gasp at hearing his voice, his voice, for the first time, hearing those words, was louder.

“I love you. I love you- to the point of im-impossibility. And desperation.” His throat was still raspy, voice occasionally cracking and having to pause, but strengthened with every word. “I love you to the point of, finally, seeking out a speech therapist, because I couldn't bear to not tell you. To not get the chance to even whisper it, at least once. ‘Cause I might just break in half if I didn't, Rey. I’m so in love with you.” He smiled with wry misery. “I love you like the night loves the stars.”

Tears fell thick down her cheeks, but she still managed to choke out, “That's six.”

He frowned, brows coming together in question.

“You said you wanted to tell me at least once. I counted six.” Rey circled around the counter and came to stand toe to toe with him, craning her neck to look into his shining eyes. “Tell me again.”

“I love you,” he answered dutifully, even stronger.

She brought her hand up to cradle his cheek. To trace his scar, from brow to throat. She felt him swallow thickly. “Again.”

“I love you,” vibrated under her fingertips, and she was sure that this time the rasp was completely gone, like a darkness purified.

Rey shifted her hand to hold the back of his neck, to pull him down and herself up to finally kiss that beautiful mouth. He melted against her, hands going to her waist and back to hold himself steady.

Pulling away was a travesty so she didn't go far, noses still brushing as she said, “Again.”

“I love you.”

She could listen to him say that every hour, morning and night, first thing as she woke, last thing before she fell asleep. Actually, Rey thought, that sounded like an excellent plan.

“I love you,” she murmured against his lips. “Every moment of every day, from now until my last, I love you.”

The grin he gave her was boyish and blinding. Her chest felt tight, like the joy was going to explode out of her if she didn’t kiss him again, so she did.

“What an honor, to be so irreversibly marked by you.”

-

Rey:These sheets smell like you change and wash them every week

Ben: Some people are actually disciplined, Rey.

Rey: Im a small business owner
Rey: Im disciplined as fuck
Rey: And busy
Rey: Where’d you go?

Ben: I’m getting you pancakes.

Rey: Ffs Ben
Rey: I want our rings to match
Rey: I’m thinking platinum bands

Ben: Diamond or an alternative stone?

Rey: Alternative, definitely

Ben: I’ll research what’s most scratch resistant.
Ben: My mother emailed me back. She said yes to meeting at the cafe next week.

Rey: I’ll make sure I’m on shift that afternoon

Ben: I love you.

Rey: Love you too 😘

Closing

“Peanut!”

Rey grinned as Finn, Rose, and Poe made their way into Much Ado.

“You're back! How was the con?”

“I spent so much money,” Poe fake cried with a wide smile.

“I’ve got, like, a thousand pictures to show you,” Rose said, whipping out her phone.

“They had a to-scale redemptor dreadnaught!!”

“The costume contest was amazing -“

“Okay, guys, one at a time,” Rey laughed as they surrounded her at the counter.

“How are you doing?” Finn asked, scanning her as if to check for signs of stress or injuries. “Everything go okay while we were gone?”

“Did we miss any major plot developments?” asked Rose. She waved animatedly to Ben, who raised a hand back while barely missing a beat in his typing.

“Did the cryptid get closer?” Poe deadpanned.

“Ben always sits on that couch,” Rey said.

“Yeah, but he used to sit on the other side, right?”

“You're probably just remembering it wrong,” Finn shrugged.

“I am not!” he said indignantly. “That man has been a part of the decor for the better part of a year. I swear, he's like a weeping angel. Every time I turn around he gets closer.”

“He's definitely closer to the register than he used to be,” Rose agreed.

“I had to move the couch to clean a spill last week, and we decided to just leave it there,” Rey confirmed. “Plus it’s sunnier in that spot, he likes it there.”

Finn sighed. “He's not your cat, Rey.”

“No, I'm her boyfriend,” Ben said without looking up from his computer.

Poe turned to stare at him.
Finn stared.
Rose stared.
Rey smiled.

“WHAT THE FUCK-”