Twelfth Night | Reylo AU

Six

Kylo's morning alarm chimed into his dreams, the opening curtain call for his day. He rolled out of bed and began to dress himself. After brushing his teeth and pulling on his boots, he checked the clock; 9:45. He was already running late so he decided against making himself a bowl of cereal and figured he would pick up something to eat after class instead.

Kylo heard the flapping of the letterbox and sighed as he rushed towards the front door to collect the post, since he knew no one else would. However, there wasn't the usual stack of junk mail on the doormat. Instead, a small wax-sealed envelope sat in its place. Kylo bent over to grab it and see who it was addressed to. When he flipped the envelope over and saw the name that was scribbled neatly onto the front, he felt frozen on the spot.

Ben Solo

He let out a heavy sigh. It was that time of year again. Every year, about a week before his birthday, an envelope would come through the door addressed to Ben Solo. Kylo knew exactly who it was from and he knew exactly who Ben Solo was. The first year he had received one of these envelopes was when he moved into his frat house. He was confused at first, but when he'd opened it to see a birthday card from his mother and father, it made his blood boil.

Every year after that, he simply disregarded the  envelopes or tossed them aside. He understood that this was his parents way of trying to reconnect with him, but in reality, these annual letters were nothing more than a sickly-sweet reminder of Kylo's bitter childhood.

A voice came from behind him. "You okay, man?"

Kylo's head snapped up and he turned around to see Vicrul standing before him, holding a steaming mug and dressed in nothing but his bathrobe.

"Yes." Kylo said, tossing the unopened envelope into the bin beside him when he noticed Vicrul's eyes trail down to it. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Look, Kylo. I know how tough things can be for you around this time of year." He said, resting a supportive hand on Kylo's shoulder. "Just know that I'm here for you... And don't let all of this shit get in the way of having a fucking crazy, shit-faced birthday."

"Whatever. Thanks." Kylo mumbled, smiling a faint smile at Vicrul before turning to leave. "I'm late for class."

Vicrul let go of Kylo's shoulder, not before giving him a playful slap on the back. "Have a good day, man."

~

Rey's heart twisted and sunk with nerves as she leant back in her chair. Though she may have looked as if she were completely collected, that was not the case. She didn't want to see Kylo. She didn't want to see him walk through the double doors of the classroom any minute now, because she was still humiliated after what had happened the previous evening.

She couldn't remember much, since she was most definitely not sober at the time, but she did remember the image of Kylo's face, mere inches from hers, and the potent stench of his alcoholic breath.

She remembered eating pizza; she had gotten margarita and Kylo was eating something with pepperoni and green peppers on it. She knew that after they had finished their food, he left. However, Rey had absolutely no recollection of what happened before they ate, or before they were face to face, Kylo's relaxed breaths mingling with her quick, unsteady ones.

She found herself wondering what would have happened if those damn pizzas didn't decide to arrive at that specific time... what could have happened.

Those doors that Rey was watching so intently finally swung open, revealing a rather late Kylo. As he strode into the room, his eyes locked with her own for a brief moment. But today, there was something different about his face. Though his face was never particularly happy, Rey couldn't help but notice the utterly emotionless expression plastered onto his face.