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The Vulptex tea and coffee boutique is located on the first floor of one of the business skyscrapers in Coruscant. Like other towers, the whole building is made of glass and steel, but the small space at the bottom, painted in the colors of cinnamon and warm chocolate, happens to be a nice detail of the picture of big money.
Everybody knows that fine liquor can be a perfect gift for your colleague, and so are flowers – especially if we talk about a huge bouquet of peonies in the middle of winter. However, when both these options seem inappropriate, there is always the third one. It is a truth universally acknowledged that everyone, from assistant to tycoon, wouldn’t mind a cup of perfect tea or coffee in the afternoon accompanied by a chocolate truffle from an exquisite box. The Vulptex staff are always ready to find the best flavors for their clients, and this – along with the fact that they make pretty good coffee to go – has enabled them to win the hearts of white-collars around here.
To Rey, Vulptex is a kingdom that she rules alongside Poe, Finn, Rose, and Kaydel. She knows every flavor by heart; she is always ready to take a large stainless steel container of tea or coffee from the top shelf to let the customer feel them – the rich notes of rooibos, the tender scents of vanilla and lavender and sweet fruity hints. Or, if we move to another shelf, there are spicy, delicious aromas of coffee from Naboo, Chandrila, or Pasaana ready to be enjoyed. Oh, and what a pleasure she finds in describing each flavor, listing berries, fruits, spices and flowers perfect for a moment of piece!
“I like it! 100 g, please. And a raspberry chocolate bar.”
“I’ll take this tea bouquet for my friend – she’s allergic to flowers but loves your Orange & Mint. And are there real rose blooms in Theed Rose?”
“I’d like to add honey to this gift bag, along with House Blend and Apple Rhapsody. And do you have cards to put inside?”
Nothing delights her more than the look of pure contentment on a customer’s face.
Another part of her job, mainly in the morning, is to make coffee to go. Rey knows how important it is to make a perfect coffee – it can bust a bad mood in a few moments and make business negotiations much easier. She also doesn’t forget to smile and wish the customers a good day. Poe allows them all to go beyond professional smiles and talk to the customers for real. Ask about favorite flavors and share their own, mention books or TV series where beverages play an important role, scold stupid producers together and laugh after that. Sell good beverages, add good emotions for free.
Some customers they get to know by names – Ms. D'Acy and Mr. Antilles from Raddus Communications who like to buy both coffee to go and teas in brand paper bags for themselves; Mr. Mitaka from The First Order Publishing, often accompanied by a tall, elegant blonde who once asked Finn to collect one of their special delicious baskets of tea, coffee, chocolate and cookies for someone called Mrs. Snoke (“She deserves much more from that pickle of a husband, damn it!”) . There is also a redheaded man whose name is Hux (or Hugs? Hucks? Rey is not sure) who always asks to add ½ teaspoon of brown sugar in his cappuccino; and Mr. Kylo Ren, a fan of black coffee with a splash of milk and spices.
Before Rey found out his name, he had been known in Vulptex as the Busy Dark Prince. He has luscious raven hair that barely touch his broad shoulders and aristocratic sharp features; he always wears black; and he always seems to be on his phone while waiting for his coffee. He lets himself a nod in reply to Rey’s cheerful Have a nice day! before leaving the boutique through the door that leads to the lobby with elevators. Rey would be very happy to see him smile to her in return at least once, but the Dark Prince is always very busy.
Sometimes she sighs: this is what happens when you spend the whole day surrounded by chocolate and tea and coffee flavors called For Your Date, Eternal Love, or Jasmine Evening and then go home where no one waits for you but the plants. You begin to call attractive men Princes.
“Heads up, Peanut!” Finn tells her on his way to the coffee machine. “Pack 250 g of Black Caramel, please.”
Now Rey can’t hold back a smile: this is one of her favorite coffee blends.
.
It’s been a very long time since Kylo promised himself that tomorrow he wouldn’t pretend to be on his phone at Vulptex. It must be so easy: Hey, yeah, it’s a pity it was raining on weekends, you’re right. Thank you, have a nice day too! It’s not a problem for other customers who ask her to make them coffee or, for example, quickly collect a gift bag because “shit, I was sure her birthday is next week! You know, her smile…”
Yes, exactly, Rey’s beautiful, radiant smile, a true wonder at 8:50 a.m. This is why his heart always skips a beat, this is what makes him frightened as hell that he won’t be able to say anything beside his order and a few empty words but instead stutter in front of everybody. Thank God, he can easily pretend he’s very busy and avoid the inevitable shame. Everyone knows book publishing is a serious thing, especially when you work for Mr. Snoke. If only all these bookworms knew that the fate of their precious stories is defined by this old man with cold eyes and a golden tie… Snoke (‘that Pickle’) can be an asshole, but he definitely has a good nose for talents and spares no expense to gain their loyalty.
Kylo attends countless meetings and negotiates with impossibly stubborn and pernickety authors, and thanks to him, thousands of readers already pray for The First Order Publishing . It is always easy for him to find a strong argument, a small detail that makes his colleagues gasp and nod enthusiastically to persuade a new author – but when it comes to talking to one young and pretty woman, he’s absolutely helpless.
It’s 3 p.m., he is in the middle of a new sales report and desperately needs more coffee. Not the swill from the new office coffee machine, heaven forbid, but that one, with a pleasant spicy smell, made by Rey’s gentle hands. He has never touched her fingers, even accidentally, but everybody who has such a nice smile must have gentle hands. This is logic.
He looks at the full bookcases in his office and groans. Teenagers in all those young adult novels are capable of doing everything – saving the world, winning a war, finding the words that turn their enemies into lovers. Kylo’s teenagehood was far more boring, and he doubts he would survive the first few chapters in any post-apocalyptic novel. The thing that has been surprising him most is how all these boys and girls seem to be so pretty and wise, always knowing where to run or what to say to be kissed instead of be slapped. To be honest, this can make some older people like him uncomfortable. He still remembers how he didn’t know what to do or say to the people who mattered to him. It’s far easier in conference rooms: all these people are just stories (and money) and don’t touch his very heart.
Whether he can speak properly or not, he still needs coffee. Clenching his fists, he stands up and goes to the elevators.
.
Rey is busy with another customer, so it is Kaydel who makes him coffee. On the one hand, he’s glad that providence is merciful and gives him time to prepare to say something comprehensive; on the other, just those few seconds that he spends looking in her wonderful hazel eyes are enough for something warm inside him to bloom. She is really like… her name, like sunshine.
He is not just ‘head over heels’, he realizes. He is… bewitched, body and soul – like Jane Austen's man once said. God.
“I’d like to buy one of your gorgeous bouquets,” the customer amiably tells Rey meanwhile. “Like this one on the rack.”
The boutique is full, but he can still hear her chuckle and dares to glance. Rey smiles at the woman, her chestnut hair made in triple buns, and Kylo has to curl his fingers to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. She had already told how she loves the process of making these bouquets – not to him, of course, but he had listened very carefully.
“Oh, just give the bouquet and its price tag to me, please,” Rey says, pointing at the wooden shelves.
The woman does as told, and Rey awws, pressing the elegantly arranged collection of cotton, teas, coffees and something that looks like a jar of jam to her chest. The whole piece of tea and coffee art is wrapped in pink and violet paper.
“This is the cutest one! You have a perfect taste, you know,” she informs the customer. “Buying for yourself or for a gift?”
“For a gift.”
“Ahhh, someone is so lucky. I’ve never received such a gift,” she admits shyly.
Kylo blinks while the creature inside him snarls, “What?! ” He has known this woman for several months and strongly believes she deserves to get any gift she wants on a daily basis.
“My friends give me flowers on my birthday, and I don’t mind at all,” Rey explains to the customer who shakes her head sympathetically, “but it would be very nice to get something like that one day. People think being surrounded by all these amazing teas and coffees is enough, but – nope. Do you need a special bag for the bouquet?”
Kaydel puts Kylo’s coffee on the counter, and he takes it, pretending that he studies the chocolate candies at the glass showcase next to the other customers while all he sees is Rey. If he had some of his father’s infamous charm (“ The Solo’s gift ”), he would approach the rack, grab the biggest bouquet they have here and just give it to her with a wink or something like Milady, sorry about the wait . But Ben Solo never was nearly as charming as his father, and Kylo Ren is no better. For now, he can manage short Yes, Uh-huh or No, thanks as replies.
Kylo marches towards the exit, sipping his coffee. A plan is forming in his head, and it is based on the main salvation for people like him – the HoloNet.
Mitaka catches him at the door of his office, nervous as always. Ugh.
“Mr. Ren, we’re waiting for your feedback on the report…”
“Later,” Kylo snaps at him and shuts the door. He knows how to do his job, thank you very much. They have some time before presenting it to Snoke, and he is sure that Mitaka has other things on his to-do list.
He pulls his keyboard closer and types vulptex. They must have an online shop. A-ha! Vulptex-ts.com is it, and here are ‘Gifts’. There are 140 options, from small gift bags for two packs of tea to huge baskets with a 1-year supply of chocolate. He chooses ‘Bouquets’ and scrolls down until finds the exact one that he saw today. He studies the description of orange jam and 6 blends of fruit tea and coffee and frowns. It’s nice but too simple for Rey.
Spending 20 more minutes on the website, clicking at various pictures, he finally nods. Two chocolate bars, a jar of honey, a small box of glazed strawberries – and he can also add four coffee and four tea blends. To his surprise, there is a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. He has never had a chance to spend time like this, choosing from so many options of beverages and candies, and he finds he likes it. This is gonna be interesting…
He hunches over the desk, opening tabs with sweets, tea and coffee, preparing to study a completely new territory. Kylo Ren might be a coward, but he is also a highly organized manager. He can allow himself to spend time reading about coconut chips and marigold petals in tea cups without placing the interests of The First Order in jeopardy.
…When it’s almost 5, he finds himself adding the first item – an almond cherry chocolate bar – to his bouquet and sighs with contentment. It’s just the beginning, but he hopes she will like the result. He plans to study the chosen 20 options for tea and coffee at home and then double-check his short list in the morning. It would be suspicious if she got her gift the next day after her confession.
And what is this? “Do you have a special message for the recipient? Say it with a gift card!” Does he have a message for Rey? Must it be something sublime or rather simple? Funny or elegant?
The first thing that comes to his mind is Your smile makes me feel like a fool, but I would never mind.
Ew. These Solo’s genes. Good job, Kylo.
He runs his fingers through his hair and sighs. His gaze travels across the colorful spines of the books that people in the Holonet find akssfgagsfaghg , OMG and SO COOL I CANT-. Perhaps he could use someone’s quote?
He approaches the bookshelves and starts taking random books.
If you join me in the darkness, I will kill the light without hesitation. Cool but too dramatic.
I’m nothing without you. Mmmm, too much.
…You live in every sun puddle I see in the morning, every soft touch of the wind that caress my skin at night. You’re in my every breath. Very nice. But she will probably get scared.
Need you. Now. Straight to the point, buddy, but Kylo doesn’t want her to leave the city.
Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together. Wait, this is a lyric in the text! And the last thing he would like to do is to talk to Rey about her possible death.
He finds himself at the very same place next day, looking through the books to no avail. Few hours earlier, he dared to smirk when Rey shared her thoughts on the benefits of cinnamon and cardamom for a human body with the customer ahead of him in the line. He even pretended to hang up right before Rey turned to him, but she looked pretty enough to reduce his ability to formulate sentences to Black coffee, milk, and spices – Yes – Thank you very much. He still thinks his efforts count.
Kylo huffs and slams the book shut. It’s time for decisive action. He moves to the drawer and pulls out his calligraphy set, the thing he uses when needs to find a solution for a serious problem. Ben Solo used to do it too.
He takes his favorite pen and looks at a clear sheet of paper. It’s always easier to find words when he paints them in black ink. So, who is the Rey that he has been watching so many times across the counter?
He knows that Rey likes flowers, pineapple pizza, and historical TV series; she gave chocolate truffles to her neighbor for Christmas who in turn gave her a pair of cute mittens. She is nice. Funny. Kind. Beautiful. Attractive (oh yes, she is) . She makes his morning better. She takes his mind off his troubles. His heart may go crazy, his tongue gets dead, but there is a smile that always threatens to bloom on his lips under her look.
Kylo smiles to himself now. So, what does this all give him?
The sun with sweet scents. Light. Warmth. Sunshine again. He writes down every word that comes to his mind, creating some kind of a mind map in calligraphic writing, drawing lines and underlining words. Perhaps this can help him find the right message (he doesn’t even consider skipping this step.)
Coming home, he studies the descriptions of teas and coffees that make his mouth water. He knows how to write promotional texts to excite the audience, but no one would deny that a cup of coffee might help you feel much better, especially because of ‘…the delicate notes of caramel, rich taste of roasted nuts and juiciness of fruits’ . He wants Rey to feel better.
.
On Monday he comes to Vulptex really being on the phone. Natasi Daala has just arrived from Tatooine and wants to postpone the meeting on her new book series.
“Yes, Mrs. Daala, I know you need more time,” he says, tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder to pull out his wallet.
“Good morning! Black coffee, milk, spices?” Rey asks him with a soft smile. He nods, quickly and gratefully, consumed by the sound of the low female voice at the other end of the line. He barely notices how she pouts a little before turning to the coffee machine. Solo’s voice inside him intones, “Ah, it must be so hard to be sunshine.”
“I understand, but we need to know the exact date,” he continues after shutting it down, watching her triple buns move with her head. “It is necessary to develop the communication strategy that will benefit all of us... Perhaps we can set up a meeting next week?.. We have already received the sales report from the last quarter, and I think you will be satisfied... Yeah, yeah, bye.”
He ends the call right when Rey puts a cup in front of him. They both look at the phone at his hand and then at each other. Kylo suddenly feels lost – it would be stupid if he imitated a new call, but he needs to say something until a wave of panic inside him becomes too high. He is a grown man, he is a rich man, the company he works at controls the lion’s share of the book market, and he almost talked to her several days ago, this time about the soothing power of chamomile…
A second passes. He remembers the compliment what other customers often say to her.
“Your coffee saves my day,” he tells her politely with just a ghost of warmth. Rey blinks, and he suddenly notices gold in the depth of her hazel eyes. Has it always been there?
“Thanks…”
That quote about sun puddles emerges in his mind, as a warm scent of fresh coffee fills his nostrils. At the same time, Kylo notices there are new customers entering the boutique from the street, her co-workers are too close, and he just stays here and stares at the woman whom he was thinking about the whole weekend.
It’s all too much. He purses his lips and nods before swiftly leaving the boutique.
.
Is it even legal to sound like that? Now Rey knows what people mean when they say that someone has ‘a chocolate voice’. So deep, rumbling and gentle at the same time. It suits her… their Busy Dark Prince. She was glad that today his interlocutor preferred to listen to him instead of talking as usual. She just wished he talked more to her .
.
After giving his errands to Mitaka and his co-workers, Kylo finally opens Vulptex-ts.com . He completes his order with the chosen flavors of tea and coffee, honey and one more chocolate bar. Then, humming under his breath, he types his small message and finally proceeds to checkout, feeling goosebumps of excitement run down his back.
It feels so strange to him – to choose a gift for someone that is not his mother or his father for the first time in many years. It is easy: a new book or a Jar Jar Designs gift card; football tickets or whiskey. But Rey... a desire to find a gift for her has awakened something inside him that he still doesn’t know how to call. He just wants to care about her the way nobody has ever cared about him. It must be nice – to be reminded on a random day that you matter.
His email: as far from The First Order Publishing as possible. Her name: correct. Delivery address: correct. Date: this Friday to make her happy on weekends? Next Monday to make the start of the week better? It doesn’t matter, she’ll see this order in a moment. A nice gift doesn’t require a special date, after all. This is logic.
Alright. It’s done. He closes his eyes and turns his chair around, looking at the panorama of the city of glass spread out below his office. He can’t suppress a giggle while imagining Rey’s face when she’ll find out she has to collect a bouquet for herself. She’ll smile… for real. Or maybe laugh.
He hears an email notification ring in his computer and turns back. Hux is waiting for him to discuss the plan for the upcoming month. Otherwise, the Pickle would be enraged.
Kylo manages to school his face into its usual, blank expression before leaving his office.
.
They start going through the list of online orders in the evening, when all white-collars addicted to coffee are at their computers and two workers are more than enough to pack 100 g or more of tea or coffee. Rey has just put a box of chocolate hearts and a box of the For Dates coffee capsules in a bag and handed it to a man when Rose calls her from her place at the computer.
“Come here. Now.”
Her voice sounds surprisingly strange.
“What is it?” Poe, Vulptex’ s owner, is here first. One second later, he gasps, “Holy shit!”
“Bloody hell!“ follows Finn, peering at the screen over his shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Rey exclaims. She makes her way past the shelves and joins her friends at the second cash register. Her jaw drops.
They have a new online order. A big, expensive order. One of those gorgeous delicious bouquets that are usually chosen on Christmas or Valentine’s Day – not some random day. The recipient’s address is this very boutique. And their name is…
“Rey,” Finn breathes and looks at her with his mouth pop open. “Who sent you this?”
Her mind goes blank. She can’t produce a single syllable, and the shocked look on the faces of her friends doesn’t help her focus at all.
“I don’t know,” she finally blurts out, her voice tiny and a bit scared. Who decided to surprise her like this, after so many years of loneliness and endless waiting? Or can thoughts really become physical? She herself told that woman she had never received such gifts.
“Just look what they chose for you!” Poe says, pointing at the screen. Rey blinks, finally being able to actually read something below her name.
Delicious Tea & Coffee Bouquet ‘Star Flower’
Cherry Heaven Almond Cherry Chocolate
Sweet Dreams Milk Chocolate / big
Honey with raspberry
Strawberry Gems glazed strawberries
Black tea Chocolate Cookie 100 g
Black tea Lemon Sherbet 100 g
Rooibos Jogan Fruit 100 g
Black tea Naboo Sunny Breakfast 100 g
Coffee Black Caramel 100 g
Coffee Chocolate 100 g
Coffee Cinnamon & Cream 100 g
Coffee Chandrila Morning Star 100 g
Sprig of lavender
Sprig of dried candlewick (yellow)
Gift wrapping
How many times Rey smelled all these delicious (and expensive) teas and coffees before packing some for a customer; how many times she imagined herself sharing a cup with someone, cuddling and talking about nothing or something important – she doesn’t really care, the main thing is to have a person to share this peaceful feeling with… Not to mention the sweets that you can eat in the evening without shame ‘cause you have a crime partner.
Chocolate Cookie smells like real biscuits and chocolate; she guesses if she had found that tea when she was younger, it would have been much easier for her to trick her stomach into thinking that it was full. Same about the Black Caramel and Chocolate coffees. Anyway, they are delicious.
Lemon Sherbet has the sweet scents of vanilla that always reminds her of Vanilla Coke. Strange but still nice and refreshing.
There are mint, jogan fruit, coconut, cinnamon, pineapple, tiny cookies, and sugar pearls in Rooibos Jogan Fruit which makes it one of the most expensive teas in Vulptex. Still, Rey believes its flavor is definitely worth it.
Naboo Sunny Breakfast with chamomile and blueberry always makes her think about a tiny cottage in the middle of a flower field, so quiet and peaceful at dawn, when your dreams are fading away but you are not afraid of letting them go – someone is waiting for you here, in real life, with fresh bread and sweet fruit jam. It is Rey’s dearest dream, and she barely holds back a sob. This tea is just so… cozy.
Cinnamon & Cream is something she enjoys because you don’t need any extra spices – the flavor is perfectly balanced and so comforting. Same about Chandrila Morning Star – the way you can feel the scents of lavender along with cookie dough is a true wonder. Just as Sunny Breakfast , it makes her think about sunshine and warmth.
“Rey… this is amazing !” Rose whispers, pressing her hand to her mouth.
Indeed, somebody really spent much time studying more than 400 options before collecting this order. Rey scrolls up to find the email. [email protected] tells her nothing. What does it ever mean?
“Wait, I think they left a message too!” Kaydel says, taking the computer mouse from Rey.
They hear someone enter the boutique, and Poe, as the highest-ranking staff member, sacrifices himself and goes to service them. Rey, Finn, Rose, and Kaydel read the text for a gift card.
“When I look in your eyes, it feels like the sun rises again. Thank you for being here.”
The sun rises… Thank you… Thank you…
There are too many smells, too much light, too much warmth blooming in her chest, too much… everything. Rey rushes to the back room hidden behind a brown curtain and throws herself on the couch, her throat thick from tears. She stifles her sobs into the pillow, sparks dancing in the dark in front of her closed eyes.
She loves this anonymous gift. She really does. She just didn’t expect to feel herself… seen, like, for real . It’s flattering, it makes you feel somewhere over the stars, it makes you grow wings – and it is a bit scary. Until now, Rey thought she would never be scared ever again. She was wrong.
Finn, Rose and Kaydel surround her in a moment, stroking her trembling shoulders and whispering reassuring words.
“Peanut…”
“My dear…”
“Rey, please, don’t cry. You don’t like it?”
She sniffs, finally rising herself on her elbows.
“N-no, I like it v-very much. They thank me for… existing, I suppose. I-I just didn’t expect-”
“And you have no idea who could send this?” asks Finn.
He knows it’s been a while since Rey reached out to her acquaintances from the orphanage. They don’t seem to miss her and neither does she. The death of her parents is confirmed, written in black on stamp paper. The only family she has is Vulptex.
“Maybe it is your neighbors?”
Rey shakes her head, wiping tears with her thumbs. “No. Not their style.”
“It was neither of us, right?” Rose continues, looking around to watch Kaydel and Finn nod.
“And not Poe,” adds Finn who knows everything about his roommate.
“Then it must be one of our customers!” Rose concludes excitedly, scanning Rey with her eyes. “Whom did you tell that you had never received such gifts?”
“A woman that could be my grandmother,” Rey replies with a shrug. Rose pouts.
“Hmm. The tone of that note makes me think about someone younger and more romantic.”
“A secret and shy admirer!” prompts Kaydel. “Like that… Mitaka?”
Rey hums. He is always so gentle but… no. He looks like a man who would rather send his beloved a bouquet of daisies or a box of chocolate.
“Hux?”
They all shake their heads. He doesn’t look like a secret and shy admirer at all.
“Why do we even think that it is one of our regulars?” Rose asks before Rey could submit the candidature of the Busy Dark Prince. “Maybe it was love at first sight.”
“Yes!” confirm Finn and Kaydel.
“Oh,” Rey says. On the one hand, this is even more thrilling, like a fairytale that becomes real. She has never found herself pretty enough for such things. On the other hand, and it surprises her most, just one thought about it feels… wrong. Like if someone offers her a thing that she must find wonderful, even precious, but she doesn’t – because this is not what she has been looking for.
“Okay,” Poe says when they three finally leave the back room. ”Whoever it was, Rey, I’m sure they will show themselves in the following days. We all will be very attentive and inform you in case we notice something strange.”
“Thanks, Poe.” Rey finds herself chuckling at his serious approach to the case with her gift.
“You’re welcome,” he replies, crossing his arms over his chest. Rey looks around, catching the warm looks of her friends full of anticipation and excitement and feels like she could easily burst into tears again.
“Thank you, guys, I love you.”
“We love you too,” Rose assures her. “Now, what are you waiting for?”
Rey raises her eyebrows, confused. Her friend groans and spreads her arms wide.
“Your gift! Tea, coffee, chocolate – c’mon, take them!”
This is when Rey finally laughs, happily, genuinely. For a moment, she doesn’t even care who sent her that bouquet. They called her their sun. They thanked her for being here. This is what she will never forget.
.
Your order has been delivered!
Oh yeah, he knows that. Rey smiles even wider than usual, and there are tender shades of pink on her cheeks that make her look extremely beautiful in the cozy interior of the boutique. And the thought that it was him who made her so happy makes Kylo’s shoulders relax. He did it. Kylo Ren finally made another person happy, not by arranging the publication of a book but because of his own choices. He feels… good. Satisfied with himself on a personal level for the first time in forever. He wonders how she would spend her free time – probably in her favorite chair, a cup of Chandrila Morning Star in her hand, a box with glazed strawberries waiting for her at the table, while she’s reading a book with a dreaming smile playing on her lips…
How has it never occurred to him that people who work at tea and coffee boutiques would like to get… tea as a gift?
“Here you are. Have a nice day,” Finn tells him, handing him a cup of coffee and scanning the half-empty boutique, as if looking for someone.
“Thanks, bye,” replies Kylo. Seems like his surprise made them all guess who it might be – that secret admirer of their dear friend, bb_supremacy . It was just a small kind reminder of how important she is. Now, when he has successfully completed this stage, he feels himself capable of coming up with more ideas for the future; he is inspired . The calligraphic mind map can still be of service.
He has something special on his mind, he really does. But now he wants to try something more simple and nice; he feels like a child again, but it’s so… funny. Exciting .
Kylo starts leaving notes for her from time to time, hidden between bills in a tip jar. It’s never empty, so he doesn’t get caught. Usually they are short, expressing gratitude to her being here, for her nice voice and help with making someone feel better. (He doesn’t let himself be too specific about her words or the names of the products in order to avoid any suspicions.) Sometimes he draws the sun or a cup of coffee surrounded by flowers, folds a small sheet of paper in half and writes her name on it before hiding it in his wallet.
He scolds himself for being so stupid and not coming up with this idea earlier. This is all about the way Rey practically shines now. She has already been like sunshine for him before, but now there is something different – in her eyes, posture, the way she talks to the customers, all dimples and quiet, illuminating laughs. And Kylo – Kylo finds himself smirking from time to time (even to his colleagues) and wishes her good day in response too. Quietly. Quickly. Occasionally.
Kylo really likes making Rey feel better.
.
It’s been a very long day. Dopheld Mitaka yawns, looking around the office half-hidden in the twilight. He spent several hours gathering more data for the new meeting with Mr. Snoke and then transforming it into colorful charts and graphics for Mr. Ren. This man values his time too much to spend it on reading long and complex sentences. Diagrams, on the other hand, are much easier to be perceived. Previously he had explained this to Mitaka and his co-workers several times, and his language had been pretty… colorful, to say the least.
Suddenly Mitaka feels chills run down his spine. Mr. Hux told him to give Mr. Ren the last issue of Coruscant the Literary with the notes in the New Authors section made by Mr. Snoke himself. The red magazine is right here, promising a really hard time to Mitaka from his bosses if he would dare to forget about it.
Ah, but there are so many papers in Mr. Ren’s office, and one magazine could easily get lost… he is not a robot that remembers everything, after all; he doesn’t even scowl too much for a while.
Mitaka sends the last email to Kenedy and rises to his full height, switching his laptop off.
“Bye, guys!” he waves at the few of his co-workers who still haven’t gone home; illuminated by the white screens, they all look like ghosts. Hiding the magazine under his arm, Mitaka quickly makes his way to the elevators – with a small stop at Mr. Ren’s office, now empty.
Without turning on the lights, he quickly approaches the large black desk and looks at the neat piles of paper. Okay, he can put the magazine right here, under these sheets… carefully… Wait, is it a drawing of the sun?
He quietly pulls off one sheet of paper and steps closer to the huge window. Yes, indeed it is, with elegant, wavy long rays. The ink star seems to illuminate the mind map dedicated to something warm and beautiful. God, he finds something – or someone – sweet ? Does this man even know what it means?
Mitaka blinks several times, but the calligraphy is still here. Maybe this is for the new meeting with Mrs. Daala; he already started developing some promotional concepts for her future books. She could have already shared some details with him, something about the sun… and warmth… of course, she spent two weeks in the Tatooine deserts!
There is no way that Kylo Ren could be in love.
.
Rey and her friends’ search is fruitless. She keeps finding new notes in the tip jar, but Vulptex’s visitors are always generous and it’s impossible to find out who is their author. They all have been studying their customers very attentively, but no one acts too strangely, no one looks at her questioningly, as if trying to read her mind: did you like my surprise? Are you glad to know you’re my sunshine? There are the same faces, same smiles, same orders. Mitaka is still nervous while Mr. Antilles is nice and the Busy Dark Prince is discreet.
Today he seems to be especially busy and doesn’t show himself at all; Mr. Hux took two coffees this morning, the second one black with milk and spices. He also looked more irritated than usual.
“Everybody is swamped,” Kaydel points out later, pretending to wipe sweat off her forehead. “Four cup holders have never disappeared so fast.”
Rey chuckles, packing 200 g of the White Dragon flowering tea and thinking about her dear bb_supremacy. She will find him, or he will find her. She didn’t notice when she started to imagine a man – tall, his face blurry but his presence reassuring. And all these sweet notes she keeps in her purse and rereads sometimes, stroking the printed words with her thumb while drinking Chocolate Cookie … it’s been almost two weeks since the mysterious bb appeared in her life, and she can’t wait to know what the future holds. Kaydel suggested wishing aloud for something else, but Rey refused.
Someone steps into the doorway, but she lowers her head as soon as she realizes it’s Mitaka and his blonde friend. Rey hasn’t seen her for a while; perhaps she had a vacation.
“…you're exaggerating, Dop,” the blonde intones, rolling her eyes. “The Pickle had been waiting for her return from the desert, of course Ren wanted to be prepared.”
While they are slowly approaching the counter, Rey decides to check if chocolate bars at the shelf are lined up.
“The rising sun, beauty, wonders – what did you also read there? Morning Star , oh dear God… Pineapple and jogan fruit for breakfast, uh-huh. What a surprise, Kylo Ren happens to be creative and makes mind maps!”
“But chocolate and lemon sherbet…”
“Honey, he’s a marketing manager . They all love associations. Maybe it was for gift boxes.”
Rey freezes, squeezing the bar with honey and lavender with her fingers. She stares at the tiny violet petals and pink pieces on the top of the chocolate, seeing only the pale face of the Dark Prince, framed by lush raven locks, his plush lips pursed, brows knitted together above dark amber eyes. Too serious, too reserved (and lonely too?), with a soft spot for milk in black coffee...
This must be a coincidence.
But what if… this is not?
This thought is like a cold shower that runs down her body and then gives way to a wave of warmth that envelopes her heart in a tight and safe embrace. She doesn’t know yet, she can only rely on some vague words of the Dark Prince’s colleagues – but the knots of anticipation in her stomach are loosing and dissipating into butterflies momentarily. Rose’s gasp behind her back makes her smile.
“Hi!” Rey says to Mitaka and his companion just in time. “Do you want the usual?”
She will do what she’s good at. She will wait. This time, it won’t be in vain.
.
Kylo Ren overslept. For the first time in 15 years. He was so consumed by the dreams about new possible gifts for Rey (the mission is complicated by his inevitable struggles with talking) that he switched off his alarm and rolled on his side, grunting about mugs and blankets. When he came to his senses, he barely had time to wash his face and get dressed. Hux reluctantly agreed to buy him coffee, otherwise Kylo would be late for the meeting with Snoke.
Everything went fine, including through the apple he grabbed from his table before storming out of his apartment. Snoke seemed satisfied with the sales results and reminded Kylo and Hux that Mrs. Daala is coming again next week.
“I myself persuaded her to do that,” Kylo mutters under his breath while walking down the hall with Hux. “What’s next?”
“The event department needs you to have a look at the plan for the participation in the upcoming book fairs. It’s also Kenedy’s birthday today, so they have sushi there.”
Kylo suppresses a sigh. Well, at least it’s not pizza – he’s famished but still couldn’t make himself swallow tons of empty calories. He needs a reliable partner for a crime like this.
“How much time do I have?” he asks, and Hux smirks. Kylo has a bad feeling about this.
.
When he finally appears at Vulptex, it’s almost evening. Rey is here, waltzing behind the counter and humming under her breath - and this peaceful sight comforts him better than anything else in the world. She notices him and stills, tilting her head as he walks towards her. He swallows thickly and tosses a hand through his hair. Just breathe and tell a few nice things.
She watches his movement and then leans forward. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he says to her, his other hand squeezing his phone in his pocket. “Black coffee with milk and spices, please.”
“Of course,” Rey replies and sends him a smile that makes his ears burn. “I haven’t seen you in the morning today. Is everything alright?” she asks, taking a paper cup.
“Yeah, I was late. Are you… all… okay here?”
Rey nods with a chuckle and steps to the coffee machine. For several seconds, all Kylo can do is to watch her elegant profile and the slim lines of her body as she makes him coffee.
“Maybe you would like something else?” Rose asks him, waving goodbye to a woman and her daughter who just bought a gift box. Kylo blinks. He is not used to buying such nice things as scented tea for himself . He’s too… him.
“Rose wants to say that we have a special offer for our regular customers,” adds Rey and jerks her head towards the shelves. “Special discount prices on the flavors of the week.”
“Thank you, I will think about it,” says Kylo with a polite nod. Talk! “Do they apply to all… types of roast?”
“Yes,” Rey assures him, raising her voice a little, “as well as to coffee with special flavors.”
Perhaps he could try something from the list he had made for her gift – there were some attractive options like raspberry coffee, Takodana Blend , Amaretto or Robusta . Rey made him think about things that have never really mattered before. Coffee should wake him up; it doesn’t have to be too exquisite, while tea doesn’t have to be drunk from special mugs with a strainer. (This is supposed to be his next gift. He’s choosing its color at the moment.)
As if reading his mind, she puts his coffee at the counter but doesn’t let go of the cup, instead asking, her voice a bit shaky, “How about White Caramel , Mr. Ren? You must have read the description on the website when you ordered it online 2 weeks ago. Isn’t it great?”
It is – but not enough for Rey, this is what he clearly remembers.
“No, I chose Black,” Kylo corrects her before he can stop himself. Granted, his brain never functions well when Rey’s around and also smiles at him.
Her eyes widen. Kylo freezes as soon as he realizes what he has done. The ringing in his ears intensifies as the well-considered plan of his personal growth in terms of communicating with Rey that included sessions on vulptex.com, empty talks and innocent compliments on paper comes crashing down with the loudest of bangs.
“I…”
This tiny, croaked sound is all he can manage. If he was as tough as he thinks of himself, he could probably get out of this. But his eyes, his voice, his very expression of deep shock betray him. Everything is happening too fast now, including the way Rose pushes Finn and Poe behind the curtain, leaving Rey and Kylo alone.
“It’s you,” Rey whispers, sounding relieved and happy. He slowly raises his gaze from her pink lips to her eyes and gulps, noticing that warm gold beneath the emerald in her irises.
He hears his own hushed voice. “How did you find out?”
“I was just checking. You gave yourself away, bb_supremacy, and I suppose you were the author of all those jar notes,” she points out. The soft sound of her giggle makes the blood in his veins run faster. He is exposed and has no way back. How can something feel so terribly wrong – and at the same time undoubtedly right?
“What does bb_supremacy mean, by the way?” she asks him curiously. “I've been racking my brain trying to figure it out!”
Kylo hears a stutter of hushed laughter behind the curtains. This is confusing.
“I was supposed to tell you that later,” he says distractedly to his coffee that looks like a sand-colored galaxy with constellations of bubbles on its surface, and a part of him wants to get lost in this infinity. “I had some kind of a plan…”
“A plan?”
“Yeah, on… talking. Everything.”
He grabs his cup, covering her hand with his long fingers. It is soft, warm – and so gentle against his that he forgets what he wanted to do next. This all was supposed to be about Rey, not him, but the way her thumb caresses his skin tells him to just relax .
“I have a plan too,” Rey whispers, making him look up at her. She bats her lashes, and he feels his lips part in anticipation. “I finish at six thirty. You can meet me outside and tell me about your email address and why you chose those particular flavors for my amazing bouquet. Then, Kylo, I would be happy to learn more about your plan on us. ”
“Us,” he repeats, and she beams at him with a nod. What a small but strong word that makes his heart beat like a drum while he stays here, holding his cup together with her as if it is some kind of a binding ceremony. Whoah, whoah, this is what happens when sometimes you happen to work with young adult authors.
“So, are we meeting tonight?”
Kylo would have never prepared for that question but his reply is immediate.
“Yes.”
.
It turns out Kylo may be very good at talking outside his office – especially if he gets the pleasant encouragement in the form of Rey’s arm tucked in the crook of his and her look at him, open and curious. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, she informs him she likes him right when he joins her at the lobby of their skyscraper. He can’t hold back a grin, and she points out that she’s been waiting for it for a long time.
“Now tell me what is bb_supremacy! ” she commands, tugging at his sleeve while they walk down the street.
“My old email address. I haven’t used it since I was 16.”
“Okaaaay, but what does it mean, m?”
Kylo looks at her, and for a moment, his breath hitches. She’s so beautiful in the spring lights, her green parka matching her hazel eyes, her chestnut curls touching her cheeks in the nicest possible way. She doesn’t take her eyes off his face, as if trying to see the answer in the constellations of his beauty marks. The only thing that helps him not to stutter is the memory of her serious Okay, first thing first: I like you too. That was the moment when he finally surrendered.
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
She nods with a ghost of smile already hiding in the corners of her lips.
“Bb means blue butterflies. I...I was really into lepidopterology when I was a child, and blue butterflies seemed to be the most beautiful of all – cool, you know. That’s it,” he shyly lifts one shoulder in a shrug. To his surprise, Rey looks excited.
“Oh, that’s so cute! Frankly, I was afraid it could be something like big boobs or body blow. And now I’m dying to know why you didn’t choose for me the Monarch Butterfly Flight tea?”
It sounds like a rhetorical question, but he is ready: he spent enough time in Vulptex’s online shop.
“It’s herbal, right? I know not all people like it, so… But do you like this tea?” Kylo asks quickly. She strokes his forearm, sending a wave of prickling pleasure to his chest.
“I’ve never tried it. Don’t worry; everything in your bouquet is perfect. How did you choose it? Why? And, oh God, your first note… do you know that I cried after reading it?”
“What?!”
“Because I liked it, Kylo. These were the most beautiful words I’ve ever read about myself. Tell me,” she asks him again, squeezing his arm between hers and her body, “tell me everything, please!”
He does – slowly and hesitantly at first, growing more confident with every eager glance from her. He tells her about the flavors and his struggles with the first note; about his work and her delicious coffee. She tells him about the Dark Prince (and he almost chokes) and her weird guesses about bb_supremacy ’s identity without mentioning Mitaka. They laugh, and gasp, and look at each other, and by the time the dark sky gets dotted by myriads of stars, they both feel sublimely happy. This is another new feeling for Kylo, and he finds he likes it.
“So…” Rey starts when they approach her apartment house, “I hope you'd like to meet again?”
She looks shy, glancing at him from under eyelashes before dropping her gaze to the ground. Kylo fights the intention to lift her chin up with his fingers. He suspects he has never laughed so much in his life before as tonight.
“I would,” he says, feeling his voice tremble. “And I really hope you’re not upset about the identity of your bb_supremacy.”
Her head snaps up. “Kylo, no! When my friends said it could one of our random customers and love at first sight and all that, I felt… uncomfortable. You note was so lovely and made me hope this is someone I’ve known for a while. All your notes mean so much to me… And I already said that I like you.”
Kylo doesn’t tell her that if not for his shyness, he would have asked her out for the second time when they met (when he saw her for the first time, he had to remind himself how to speak at all.)
“See you tomorrow?” he asks. Rey hesitates for a moment before nodding and rising on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. For a moment, he gets lost in the tender notes of coffee and warm peck of her soft lips.
“Bye, Kylo.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
She smiles again at these last words of his before disappearing behind the door. Kylo doesn’t notice he’s smiling for real too until he catches the glimpse of his reflection in a shop window several minutes later. Usually he doesn’t like when someone wrecks his plans, and he definitely didn’t plan to put an end to his own anonymity today. But, as he said before, everything is different when it is about Rey.
He didn’t spill all beans to her tonight – and the prospects of her future smiles only for him make his heart clench in anticipation.
A certain number of ‘goodnight, sweetheart ’s' later
Rey doesn’t want to wake up. Not yet. Their bed is so big and soft and warm that she feels herself wrapped in the summer cloud, the cloud that is caressed by the rays of the Saturday rising sun. She is going to share this thought with Kylo – despite his serious look, he likes metaphors like that; his very first note made it absolutely clear, as well as all those she has been finding in the tip jar after their first date.
They are about butterflies that don’t know how beautiful they are but people do – just as Kylo knows Rey is special; about how he didn’t know some people can carry the shine of a star inside them until he met her; and so on, and so on. Some of them are simple but no less precious – like those where he reminds her that she is his sweetheart or that they are going to the cinema tonight. His words and her smiles are now hidden in a small case in her purse on the nightstand.
She reaches out to touch his shoulder, but his side of the bed is empty. She frowns, trying to remember… ah, yes. Kylo kissed the scar on her shoulder – the one left here by a heavy box with thermoses (she had barely managed to stop him before he could go and confront Poe after hearing about it) and muttered something about breakfast like years ago. The cloud is the cloud, but she doesn’t like to lie here without him anyway.
Blinking away sleep, Rey yawns and gets out of the bed, stretching out her arms. The cottage he found for them for the weekend in the countryside is small and cozy, with light wooden furniture and cotton curtains. There is also very quiet around here, and no matter how much she likes her job in Coruscant, being surrounded by green is a pretty nice alternative.
Smiling to herself, she glances at rose bushes through the window and goes to the small kitchen.
The first thing she sees here is the loaf of artisan bread and the jar of jam they bought the day before, surrounded by two plates on the round table lit by the sunlight streaming in from the French windows. A wave of warmth passes through her body, narrowing down to the bloom in her chest.
“Sweetheart.”
His deep, chocolate voice is what makes her fully awake. No matter how much his notes and gifts (good God, he still prefers to order them in Vulptex ’s online shop) mean to her, his baritone is what she loves about him the most. He might joke, he might say something nice or naughty, he might whisper or get louder, but the very sound always tightens something in her chest in a very pleasant way.
Right now, his voice is quiet, a perfect match to the morning peace that surrounds them both. Kylo is standing at the kitchen island, his large hands frozen above a cutting board and a block of cheese. His hair is a bit disheveled and he wears his black T-shirt and sweatpants, but he still looks like her Dark Prince that has just rolled out of bed.
They smile at each other. Rey crosses the distance between them and kisses him, burying her hand in his luscious raven hair. He responds immediately, as soft and eager as he was last night, his hand encircling her waist to pull her closer.
“Tea or coffee?” she asks him a bit later.
“Whatever you want,” Kylo says, nuzzling at her temple.
This is their ritual for every morning that they spend together. Kylo may be the Dark Prince, but this is Rey who decides what they drink for breakfast. And for lunch. And for dinner too.
Soon they both sit down at the small table, the dizzy notes of the freshly-brewed tea filling the sunny air in the kitchen as they discuss their plans for today. She laughs while telling him about the clouds while his eyes don’t leave hers, the sparks in their dark amber like tiny fireflies. Rey wants this morning to last forever.
Naboo Sunny Breakfast has never been more delicious.