Music And Silence- A Reylo AU

Chapter 28- Moonlight and Motorbikes

Ben rode out of the hotel car park and headed out of town. Other than the small town, it was just countryside and rolling hills for miles. The wide roads and pedestrian lighting quickly gave way to winding single lanes that she imagined tractors dawdled down, aggravating the locals. As they drove past junctions, Rae could see the single-car dirt tracks where the hedgerows towered over the dusty tarmac. Ben glided down the roads at speed as dusk fell, and the light began to fade. Rae wasn't sure if he had a destination in mind, but he'd headed towards hills that had been distant. After a bit of a climb, he pulled in at the top of a hill by a purposeful viewpoint and turned off the engine. Rae clambered off, and Ben put down the parking foot and then removed his helmet. She followed his lead and handed him the helmet to place on the bike. He offered his hand, and she took it as he walked to the edge of the viewpoint to look out over the expanse of the countryside below.

"Wow, now that is a view."

The fields closest were shades of green and yellow, and those further away were dimmed hues until they almost blended with the evening grey sky. In the distance, Rae could make out a river that, in the failing light, looked like a silver vein running across the patchwork grey-green fields.

"It's good, but that's not why I stopped," Ben said, pointing upwards. "Look up."Rae followed his gaze. The sky above was an ombre blue sheet full of stars and a full moon shrouded in a hazy mist.

"Uh, you forget that you never see any of this properly in London. So beautiful." She started to spin about, looking upwards, "Where is it?" she queried, scanning the sky.

"Where's what?" Ben asked.

"The Plough. It's my favourite constellation. There it is." She stood and pointed, then looked at it for a while. "Actually, it's the only constellation I can find. I first noticed it when I was with my dad. He and my mum never lived together. Well, they did, but not that I can remember. Anyway, I spotted it at his house, he lives very rurally, and the stars are amazing because there's no light pollution. I thought it looked like a question mark, and he told me it was the Plough. Now I always look for it when I go somewhere new. No matter where I am on the planet, it's nice to know we can be looking at the same stars." She looked at Ben, and he was smiling genuinely at her. She was glad that genuine smiles had returned.

"That's adorable. Didn't know you had that in you."

"Shut up!" she said, hitting him gently with her hand.

She looked up again; the moon looked like the beginning scene from an old black-and-white horror movie. A perfect trail of clouds scrawled across the centre. The haze had cleared, and she could make out the darker craters. She smiled and threw back her head.
"Aaaooohhhhh!" she howled at the moon, then turned back to Ben.

He was looking at her, eyebrows raised, "You're a little strange, you know that, right?"

"I know. I'm OK with that, are you?" she asked as she watched him sit and then lower himself to lying on the grass with his arms behind his head.

"You know I am," he replied sincerely with a smile.

There it was again, that sentiment that made her heart swell. Exactly as you are; she just looked at him for a moment, taking in the sight of him, thinking of when he'd said that first and how it had changed everything. How it had changed her for the better, how lucky she now felt to know him, let alone be with him. She took a breath and stepped over to join him on the grass.

The ground was cool, and she could feel the dew settle into her jeans as she lay on her back, staring at the sky.
"Do you know any constellations?" she asked.

"Same as you. I know the name Orion's Belt, but only because of Men In Black; I'm not sure which three stars in a row it is. I mean, there are a lot of stars that could be considered to be in a row."