Darkness Within

People Like Us

Rey sits on the back balcony next to Vale, both of them covered by a heavy blanket that is stretched across their laps and sipping tea that Vale had made for both of them. Kira and Zyan run around below them, dodging in and out of the trees and sparring using the training sticks Ben had made for them by a local craftsman in town.

Rey observes their skill silently, ready to give them pointers when they tire enough to stop for a drink of water. Zyan is still small, his height and muscle mass not filling out yet in his 10 year old body. Kira on the other hand is starting to sprout, giving her a few inches on Zyan which she likes to rudely remind him of despite Ben and Rey's constant explanation of how different genders grow at different speeds and that he'll eventually catch back up to her. Nevertheless, Kira is acutely aware of the fact that bringing up the height difference is a quick way to upset her brother and fuel his temper they all know lurks right below the surface of that sweet face.

Kira is much less subtle when it comes to her temper, oftentimes being referred to as a wrecking ball by Vale when she gives updates on the children's behavior after Rey and Ben take the occasional trip to town for the evening. Unable to control her anger, she often lashes out, both physically and emotionally towards whoever is present, and as a result, often needs to be restrained by her parents. While it just makes her even angrier, both Rey and Ben get quite a kick out of casually reclining in the sitting room and completely restraining her with little effort with the force.

Ben has been gone for a few days, out retrieving presents for the twins tenth birthday, the birthday that Rey and Ben had promised a big present for. Of course, the kids have asked daily, if not multiple times a day about the present, and what exactly it is since they learned of this exciting mystery.

Vale has spent the entire day in the kitchen preparing for the birthday dinner tonight, finally getting a chance to sit and relax while the dinner cooks. Rey is thankful for her presence, giving her a built-in friend to fill the ever-present desire for companionship outside of her romantic and parental relationships.

The back door to the house opens followed by Bens's boots as he steps out announcing his arrival back home. His hands grasp Rey's shoulder's lightly from behind and he leans down to kiss the top of her head.

"How long have they been at this?" Ben asks as he walks around to another chair and sits to watch the kids still sparing below.

"Probably an hour," Rey responds and looks over at him, noticing how long his hair is getting again and how she should probably cut it for him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he smiles and reaches out to take her hand. "Are you ready to go prepare their gifts?"

"Yeah," Rey agrees and turns to her friend. "Vale, can you watch them for a bit, this shouldn't take long."

"Well, it might," Ben corrects and Rey looks at him, raising an eyebrow slightly at him.

"No problem," Vale chuckles. "Take your time, I can have them come in and help me set the table and frost their cake. It'll keep them busy."

"Excellent," Ben says and stands, pulling Rey up as well and with him into the house.

"What are you so anxious about?" Rey teases as she follows him through the house and down the stairs into the office connected to the hangar.

"Just excited to see you and prep the presents," Ben answers quickly, glancing over his shoulder with a devilish grin.

"Uh huh," she acknowledges, not completely believing him.

Ben holds the door to the room open and Rey sneaks past him, immediately getting the box containing the saber hilts out from the locked drawer they've been hiding them from the kids in. The door's lock clicking shut behind her catches her attention and she smirks a little.