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They sat across from one another in a small booth of an old diner that had seen better days. Knees bumping against Rey’s, Kylo shifted against the thick, sun-faded plastic covered cushioned seats, trying his best not to grimace as the waitress refilled his almost empty coffee cup for the third time. The waitress, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else than here, haphazardly sloshed some coffee over the rim of his cup, but barely gave the mess a second glance before trudging back behind the counter. No wonder the diner was so run down; the staff didn’t even want to be there, which was good for Rey and Kylo.
Tucked in the most back booth of the diner, no one gave a shit if they spent the whole day there, or the fact that they were clearly watching the apartment complex across the road, waiting for someone.
Kylo huffed impatiently for the fifth time since sliding into the cramped booth. It didn’t help that his knees knocked the underside of the table, even worse that the coffee was burnt beyond oblivion, but what could they do about it? It was better than being cooped up in a stuffy car where their target could see them a mile away.
“How much longer you think we’ll have to wait?” Kylo asked, trying his best not to bounce his leg and bash his knees under the table.
Rey ripped a corner off her soggy french toast and popped it in her mouth, only to immediately grimace. “God, I hope not much more. I don’t know how long I can pick at this.” She pushed her plate away, knowing full well that in a few minutes, she’ll bring it back towards her in a desperate attempt to stave off her boredom.
“I can’t believe this fucker is worth this much money.” Kylo flicked through the worn folder that laid on the seat next to him. “DJ,” he read out. “Who the fuck calls themselves ‘DJ’?”
“The type of people to skip out on bail, apparently,” Rey replied as she leaned closer to the dirty windows. “Wait, hang on, I think that’s him.”
Kylo snapped his neck towards the figure approaching the building across the road and shimmied closer to the window to get a better look, ignoring how his manilla folder crumpled under his ass. Yep, that was DJ. He had glared at the mugshot of the scruffy man long enough for it to be burned inside his head.
“Let’s get this over with quickly and maybe I’ll be able to shout you dinner with what’s left over,” he said, quickly rolling his folder into a cylinder and tossing a few bills on the table, trying his best not to side glance at her.
Rey was hot on his heels, trailing not far behind. “You really don’t need to,” she commented, unholstering her gun as they crossed the diner threshold.
It said a lot if no one bat a single eye at the guns they were slinging. Good, they didn’t need the unnecessary attention drawn to them when they apprehended their target. They had a job to do. “DJ!” he called out, startling the man who was fumbling for his keys. “You missed your court date.”
“D-Did I? S-S-So sorry.” DJ offered the pair a weak smile before throwing his heavy ring of keys right at his face and making a run for it.
Kylo instinctively dodged the oncoming object, keys flying past his face like some kind of homemade weapon, and cursed loudly when DJ shoved between them. He fucking hated runners, mainly because Rey, being far more nimble than him, would tear off after their guy. He could never keep up with her speed and agility, his body being far larger and just big that he was more of a strength guy, rather than a ‘chasing the guy down an alleyway, over a few dumpsters before eventually catching them five blocks away’ sort of guy. And it wasn’t because he wasn’t fit. No, definitely not. It was just impossible to keep up with Rey’s borderline parkour moves that resulted in her actually catching the guy, not him. And he didn’t have some problem with that, but the guilt that festered afterwards never helped. Her and her brother was already doing so much for him, the least he could do was his fucking job and not look like the useless prick who got money for doing the bare minimum. Not with Rey. And not with her brother.
And thus, Kylo found himself ripping his car door open, thanking his past self for having the common sense to park nearby, and slamming down the accelerator. He had to be the one who got DJ. He needed this.
He sped down the street, leaving smoking tyre marks in his wake as he passed Rey shooting at DJ. There was no way DJ was gonna come quietly, so short of ramming him with his car, Kylo pulled a fancy move, his car spinning and leaving more skid marks before clipping their fugitive with the tail end of his car. It sent DJ flying, not enough to put him in the hospital, but enough that Kylo could cuff him and drag him back to the station to collect their bond.
Rey leant against the driver’s door as Kylo slammed the passenger’s door with DJ groaning deliriously on the other side. “A bit extreme, don’t you think?”
Kylo fixed her with a look. “Says the person who was shooting wildly at our target.”
She grinned. “I wasn’t going to hit him. They were more like warning shots, if anything.”
“Uh-huh.” He tried opening the driver’s door, but Rey wouldn’t budge. “Get off the door.” She had stopped smiling and stared at him instead. Something was bothering her. “What’s wrong?”
Her stare went on a few seconds longer, causing a slight sweat to break out at the base of his neck. Did he do something wrong? Did he piss her or her brother off at some point? That thought alone sent his heart racing, trying his best to stay calm despite the screaming in his head.
Eventually, Rey pushed herself off the car and rounded to the passenger’s side, all without saying a word. She wanted to say something, that much seemed obvious, but Kylo was never good with words. He didn’t want to put his foot in his mouth and piss her off further. He needed his job. He needed them.
Sure, it was dangerous how he apprehended DJ, but as long as he was still employed at Hux and Co’s Bond Agency, it would be fine.
As long as they kept him around, things would be fine.
-
Rey was twelve when she moved into a house that was larger and more luxurious compared to the small one bedroom flat she had come from. It was then that she was introduced to her half brother, Armitage, who at seventeen years, was about to start university.
She barely knew her father. In fact, she didn’t even know he existed before her mother died, forcing Brendol Hux to take in the bastard child he had sired messily one night. Brendol was barely around, much like how her mother was, so it made sense for Rey to latch onto Armitage, or Armie as she so fondly called him in the later years.
He was ambitious, full of aspirations, that at the tender age of twelve, it was natural to look up to him. He was always cold to everyone, even to their father, but to Rey, she believed he was slightly warmer to her. After all, the first night she was there, she had heard him mutter that he was going to move out when he started university.
But he never did.
It could be because it was convenient to stay at home, save a bit of money so it would be easier when he did move out, but Rey didn’t think so.
Armie was a private person, but when she pushed his bedroom door open one night, creaking loudly so it was impossible to miss her entrance, he didn’t say a word from his computer. The sounds of tapping keys never faltered as Rey closed the door behind her and flopped onto his bed with her own homework
The girls at school would always talk about crushes and boyfriends, about how you could always tell you have a crush on someone if your heart beated really fast around them.
Rey’s heart felt like it was going to collapse; she was so stressed from entering his room. She couldn’t concentrate on her homework at all, mindlessly scrawling incorrect numbers and solutions to her maths homework instead, but she didn’t care. She was too busy trying to be as quiet as possible, trying her best not to disturb Armie so he could get the best marks he deserved. She just got tired of his closed door and the uncomfortable silence in the household was unnerving.
She just wanted a family.
She didn’t mean to develop a crush on him.
-
Armitage sighed and peered over his frames at the pair that stood before him. He fished a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pressed trousers and shoved the slender paper tube between his lips. “You’re lucky that DJ is in so much shit that our client couldn’t give a fuck the state he’s in, as long as he is able to appear in court,” he said, lighting his cigarette with a snap of his Zippo. “But pray tell, what the fuck was going through your mind when you tried to mow him down with your shitbox car?”
“Look, I got him, didn’t I? He’s just a bit battered, but alive and in one piece,” Kylo growled, frame stiff as a board.
Still eying the volatile man, Armitage pulled open his drawer and took out his cheque book. “Fine, but don’t let it happen again. Leave the apprehensions to Rey if you’re plan is to run them over.”
Kylo took his paycheck, his fist almost crumpling it beyond recognition before he remembered the reason behind his motivation. He bit out a thanks and stormed from the office to the elevator. Just as the doors were closing, a hand grabbed the edge of the door and pulled it back. Rey stood there with thinly veiled anger simmering behind her hazel eyes.
The elevator ride was awkward and tense. “I thought we’re partners,” she bit out, three floors from ground level.
Startled by her words, Kylo looked down at her. “We are.”
Rey opened her mouth to reply, only to decide against it. She closed her mouth and turned back to the silver doors. There, there it was again. “Whatever you want to say, get it off your chest, Rey.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
There was a ping and the elevators doors opened. “Well, I still owe you a meal.”
Finally, Rey turned to him, eyes softening with a slight frown pulling at her lips. “You don’t have to, Kylo.”
“No, no, I insist! Come on, it’ll make up for what I did today.”
After a few more tries, she eventually agreed and Kylo’s heart soared. He knew it was dangerous to like her, not because she was Armitage’s sister, but because he didn’t need that extra stress, especially since neither of herself or Armitage knew of his shitty financial situation.
But God, it was hard not to feel good around her. Not when her face lit up at the mere sight of food before she inhaled it, a loud burp rumbling from her throat when she was satiated. Working for Armitage and Rey was the best thing to happen to him and little moments like this always made him forget about his shit past before the Hux siblings or the fact that even with his paycheck from capturing DJ, it still wouldn’t be enough to cover all his bills.
But for now, enjoying Rey’s company was all he had.
-
Rey was nineteen when she moved into a two bedroom apartment. Armie finally moved out like he had always planned to, and had taken her with him as well, much to her pleasant surprise. The extra bedroom was unnecessary, but she believed Armie chose that one to keep up the appearance that she wasn’t spending every night in his bed.
Nothing ever happened, and she didn’t expect anything to happen. She just slept better when her arms were wrapped around his thin frame, or when his firm chest was pressed against her back, and she hoped he felt the same. He never said anything about it, even though it felt wildly inappropriate to be doing what they were doing, which was nothing, but it still felt wrong.
Armie was turning twenty-five soon and men in their mid twenties shouldn’t be cuddling their younger sister like that. Not the way he does, pressing his hardening cock against the cleft of her ass in the haze of his sleep ridden mind.
But, morning wood was normal, so this was normal.
This was fine.
-
Kylo was a fucking idiot, a big thirty year old idiot.
He had miscalculated and instead of being just a hundred short, he was five hundred short. Well, miscalculated wasn’t the right word. He was a fucking dumbass but to be fair, it wasn’t his fault.
His place was a mess to the point where a bill came in the mail and was immediately buried under all his crap, only to be found when he cleaned his place as ‘celebration’ for clearing most of his bills. What a joke that was. The real kicker was that it wasn’t even an utility bill. No, it was a fucking parking fine, and the only reason why he got it in the first place was because a tree covered the disabled parking sign. His blood pressure rose and his face became red just remembering that piece of shit fine.
And it was due tomorrow.
He needed his car. How else could he ‘mow down’ his victims, as Armitage so eloquently phrased it. Taking out his phone, he browsed his contacts, trying to figure out who to call, if there was even anyone he could. He paused in his scrolling, his thumb hovering over the first entry in the H section, and swallowed the thick lump that formed in his throat.
Han.
He could call him. Han would be the most understanding of the lot, what with him having a less than stellar background, unlike Luke and Leia.
Kylo didn’t dare scroll down further, even though he would have to if he wanted to get to Rey’s number, but the thought of even seeing his mother or uncle’s names was too much to bear. His eyes strayed downwards and zeroed in on the next entry.
Hux, Armitage.
The name that once brought a scowl to his face was now someone he couldn’t see his life without. Although, the fact that his contact was the only full name saved into his phone said a lot. Hell, he would normally call him Hux if it didn’t confuse the siblings, even though Kylo would never see Rey as a Hux.
Kylo came from an entirely different world to the one he was in now; his mother was a Senator, his uncle a College Professor, and his father, despite being an ex-drag racer, was now a NASCAR pit crew leader. Even Kylo had heard of Brendol Hux, famous CEO of leading retail chains, at some point in his life, so when he realised the one job that accepted him was run by a Hux, he was wary, to say the least. Besides severely disappointing his family, he had no intention getting a job that slowly squeezed the life from him, metaphorically speaking.
He couldn’t ask for anything better than becoming a bail enforcement agent, or ‘bounty hunter’ as he referred to it after a couple of drinks. At first, he was uncomfortable to be around Armitage, half expecting a lecture from the man about proper enforcement behaviour or the like, but when none came, even after his...unorthodox ways, he eventually relaxed around the guy.
His time with the Hux siblings was different. For one, there was something going on between the pair. It was subtle and barely noticeable, or maybe it was his fucked up mind seeing things, but he noticed the half-brother/sister duo was close. Or maybe it was his envy to be close to someone like they were with each other, to be open enough with family that they didn’t judge or give their unnecessary opinion on things that don't concern them.
Sometimes he wondered if he wanted to be close to anyone or with them in particular.
Armitage was a cold bastard, but he was different around Rey, and over the years he had been employed by him, Kylo wanted to believe that difference extended to him. He knew Armitage smiled, Rey just made people around her smile, and he would die to be included in their intimate circle.
But then there were days where he refused to go out for after work drinks and socialise with them. How could he? He felt like the third wheel, weirdly enough, and couldn’t bare to get between them. He already attributed to his parent’s failed marriage; he didn’t need to do that to Rey and Armitage.
Having Rey as a field partner was great though. Not only was she a killer bond enforcer, always cackling when she tackled down runners, but her presence alone always eased his anxiety, especially when his mind would traitorously remember the shit between him and his family.
Much like what it was doing now.
Kylo groaned and threw his phone somewhere across the room. He could call his parents or even Luke; any of them would be jumping through the hoops to pay for his parking fine if it meant they got an update on his life. However, the very thought of speaking to them, even for a brief second, sent the contents of his stomach creeping back up.
Urgh, what to do?
His mind flickered back to the older Hux sibling and wondered briefly if he could ask for his pay in advance. No, that was too much like a favor and he didn’t like the debt it left behind. Although, there was another option...
The self loathing he was experiencing was reaching new levels by the time he crawled across the floor to his abandoned phone, his thumb shaking as he begrudgingly pressed Hux, Armitage.
Christ, he was pathetic.
-
The key to success was to never put all your eggs in one basket. For Armitage Hux, that meant not relying on his strangely successful bond enforcer agency, and to have a backup plan in case it fell through. Unlikely as there seemed to be a surplus of people skipping bail. Ironically enough, his bond agency was his backup plan. He had originally started a gentleman’s club since there would always be businessmen who wanted to company of scantily dressed men and women to dote on them. And he thought it was fucking hilarious to have the Hux name associated with a fancy strip joint, because if there was one thing he wanted in life, it was to drag his father’s name through the mud. Brendol Hux was probably rolling in his grave at the fact that his name and brand he had worked so hard for was now attached to a strip joint and bounty hunter agency.
He worked a lot. On most days after office hours, he would have dinner with Rey before overseeing his club until one in the morning, which was perfect since Rey would already be asleep in his bed, something that was now a curse to him. Hiding away at his club was convenient, if every single brunet stripper he had hired didn’t constantly remind him of the fact that he desperately wanted to fuck his sister. Well, half-sister, but that didn’t make anything better. She sought refuge in his bed every night for the past seventeen years, and he knew all about neglect and abuse she had endured as a child, related a bit too closely if he was being honest, so who was he to deny her of basic human interactions? It was hard to get by sometimes, but he would never act on it. He would never betray her trust just because he couldn’t get his shit together. He would laugh to himself sometimes in this solace of his club; he once hated the idea of ‘family’ and yet, he was too scared to do anything for fear that Rey would leave him. Then what would happen to him? He needed her.
Armitage never regretted any decision he made in his life...until Kylo Ren showed up in the middle of the night at his club, asking for a job no less.
He knew Kylo needed money. He also knew his background concerning the Skywalker-Organa-Solo family. He was his employer, it was his job to know these things, but god it was cute to see Kylo believe he was a master at hiding shit.
Of course, Rey knew all about his financial troubles. No doubt she wanted to help him, but didn’t want to overstep herself. After all, Kylo never even mentioned his life before he met the siblings.
Armitage already gave him a slight increase as well as higher bounty targets over the years, not that he told him, hoping that it would help. Apparently not, he concluded as he surveyed the man.
“You already work for me,” Armitage drawled, unimpressed by Kylo’s proposition.
“The paperwork should be easy then.”
Alone in his office with heavy bass music reverberating the walls, Kylo pushed Armitage into his plush, leather chair and rolled it back until it hit the wall with a thud. Armitage didn’t flinch, eyes never leaving his as he watched the younger male slowly sway his hips from side to side. His form was messy and amateur; he would lose so much money if he hired Kylo, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying the show.
Only, he wished he could if his brain didn’t bring up the one thing he had been avoiding the past five years.
Kylo Ren was volatile. He was reckless and if their targets weren’t criminals then they would probably be sued by now. That by all means should be a reason to hate the bond enforcer, but it wasn’t. No, instead he hated the man for an entirely different reason.
After being with Rey - after being Rey’s rock and support - Kylo-fucking-Ren swooped in to be the moon of her life and threatened to take away the one fucking thing in Armitage’s life he actually gave a shit about. Rey never looked happier, hunting down criminals with Kylo; Armitage could see her cheshire grin from miles away. However, he was a businessman and even if he wanted to be in the field, his physique wouldn’t allow it.
And goddamn, he really wanted to hate the guy with every fibre of his being. He wanted to hate Kylo and his fucking wall of meat and muscles that he called his body, or how his lips were so pouty and plump, or the fact he couldn’t stop staring at his ass sometimes. He wanted to hate how perfect Rey and Kylo looked together, clad in kevlar black with various weapons strapped to their bodies. He couldn’t hate Rey so hating Kylo was the next best thing, except the late night musings from Rey messed him up.
Now, he couldn’t help but appreciate the man’s build, his eyes roaming over his wide frame and perfect face with the hunger he had denied himself of. He wanted to possess Kylo, take him for himself, but he also wanted Rey, and heaven’s knew how much his sister pined after the boy, much to his annoyance.
This was dangerous.
As eloquent as he was during business meetings, he sure was shit at voicing his own feelings, which he loathed himself for. “Get. Out.”
Kylo froze, hips still to the side in mid gyration, and squinted at him. “What?”
“Get the fuck out of my sight.” He just needed to think and figure out whatever this was.
He barely heard Kylo leave the room, the club still unbearably loud, which was perfect because it masked the smashing of his chair. He kicked it across the room, only to chase it and pull it apart with his bare hands. His laptop joined the carnage soon after, the screen cracked and split in two.
Collapsing against a corner, he curled into a ball and forced himself to breathe. Why couldn’t Kylo just ask for money like a normal fucking person, Armitage angrily thought before burying his head against his knees.
-
Rey was twenty-four when she met Kylo. It was raining the night she stumbled upon him, bloodied and bruised as he angrily swung his fist at some thugs. The neighborhood they were in wasn’t the greatest and the only reason why it didn’t bother her was because of the gun she could pull out at a moment’s notice.
Once his attackers fled, she stood over Kylo’s crumpled body and against her better judgement, hoisted the man over her shoulder and dragged him back to her apartment. She had Armie in her life so there was never any need to socialise with others, but this felt different. Kylo looked so pathetic and lost, trying to take on six other guys with minimal visibility from the rain. His ambition, or stupidity, was what sparked Rey’s interest.
Five years had passed and again, Rey found herself standing over his unmoving body on the side of the road, not far from Armie’s club. It was raining as well. She sighed from under her umbrella and nudged him with her foot. “Kylo.” All he did was bury his head further into his arms, like a child. “Kylo,” she repeated more insistently. “What are you doing here?”
“Leave me alone.”
Rolling her eyes, Rey squatted before him and forcibly pulled him towards her. “Did you go see Armie?” His flinch was answer enough. “Come on,” she said. After a bit of shuffling, they were on their way with Rey carrying Kylo on her back.
“He loves you so much,” he mumbled and if he wasn’t on her back, she would have missed it entirely.
“As a sister.”
“No. More. And you him.”
Her grip tightened on Kylo’s legs. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A soft sigh. “I wish I had what you guys have.”
“I wish you would be honest with us,” she said bitterly, unsure if he heard her or not.
Rey was exhausted by the time she got home, and it wasn’t because she was carrying a 200lb guy. Not bothering to change from her wet clothes, she pulled Kylo into the spare room, not wanting to inconvenience her brother by dirtying his room. He worked so hard and was always so tired when he finished work; the last thing he needed was a wet bed.
They collapsed on the musky bed together. Kylo’s eyes darted around and took in every bit of the unfurnished room as Rey clutched onto the front of his drenched shirt. He smelt like Armie, hints cigarettes and smoke from the club, which made Rey nuzzle into Kylo’s solid chest. She had never physically entered his club and Armie never mentioned it around her, but she knew all she needed to know from his smell. She didn’t understand why he didn’t close the club, and sometimes wondered if herself and Kylo weren’t doing a good enough job that he felt he needed to keep it open.
Rey groaned and smooshed her nose into Kylo’s pectorals. “If you needed our help, you should have just asked.”
Just like that, any pride or stubbornness that held him back melted from her words alone. She could feel him unravelling under her touch, shoulders sagging into her smaller frame.
“I didn’t want to presume,” he said, voice muffled from Rey’s hair.
She huffed and remained in his arms. Would Armie be okay with this? She barely understood her place with him and she was his sister. Hell, she wanted Kylo to move in with them, but the boys were so closed off she didn’t know how they would react to her suggestion. They were fine with her, but what about with each other?
-
Armitage stood in the doorway of their abandoned bedroom, his shadow falling over the half-asleep couple. He couldn’t move; he could barely breathe or make a sound as he took in the sight. Was this how it ended? Being driven out of his own home, his own sister taken from him, with his own feelings discarded like he was nothing? Like his father had done?
He couldn’t stomach the thought.
His shoes squeaked when he moved to leave, causing Kylo to look up from his bed. Their eyes met, just like in the club, but this time he felt weak. Powerless. Heart beating loudly in his ears, he was a hairsbreadth from fleeing when Kylo held out his hand.
“Please,” he said with a broken voice.
Armitage’s eyes flickered to where Rey was, propped back on her elbows watching Kylo. He couldn’t see her face but no doubt she was just as shocked as he.
Slowly, he dragged his feet across the wooden floors, ready to run in case fate was playing a cruel trick on him. Kylo’s hand didn’t move, patiently waiting for when Armitage joined himself and Rey. Finally, he crawled into the cramped bed and instantly relaxed against Rey’s back, her familiar presence calming his nerves. He propped himself up and out of habit, caressed Rey’s arm. His eyes strayed down to Rey only to snap back up as Kylo’s fingers ghosted over his own.
Was this real? The idea of having both was never in his realm of possibilities, but now, it felt attainable. Heart caught in his throat, panic started to rise with each passing second, his mind convincing himself that this couldn’t happen, until Rey broke the tension.
“We’re going to need a bigger bed,” Rey said softly, before burying herself back into Kylo’s shirt.
And just like that, everything became clear.
This was them.
It was going to be okay.