Darkness Within

Disappearing Act

Rey sits in the large tub by herself, the warm water just barely reaching her shoulders, her knees pulled up to her chest by her arms that wrapped around them while Ben stands at the sink, getting ready for bed, occasionally glancing at her through the reflection in the mirror.

The feeling between them is icy, just as it has been on and off for weeks. At times they're able to put their disagreement aside and act normal, but Ben has noticed that the deeper and deeper Rey falls into her depression in Kira's absence, the further away from him she seems to slip.

Rey hasn't been the only one spiraling as Zyan has been becoming more and more erratic and hard to reason with. While his actions are noticeable, Rey refuses to acknowledge them and justifies anything that Ben ever points out to her by just blaming it on his feeling of betrayal due to his sister's departure.

Placing his hands on the vanity top, Ben leans forward and looks at himself in more detail in the reflection. The lines on his face have deepened, joining the greying hairs on his face in his aging state. Rey is lucky, having the children at such a young age has left her looking as if she is hardly old enough to have two kids that are quickly approaching adulthood.

"What's your problem?" Rey mumbles without looking up, just continuing to stare straight ahead at the bubbles on the surface of the water with her chin resting on her knees.

"Excuse me?" Ben asks with an exasperated sigh and turns to look at her with his arms finding a comfortable position crossed in front of his body.

"You keep sighing annoying loud."

"I'm just thinking Rey."

"You're always just thinking."

"You know why?" Ben asks bluntly and sits down on the side of the tub in front of her where she can easily see him if she lifts her head. Rey shakes her head but doesn't look up at him, just keeps her eyes downcast. "Because I miss you," Ben explains and gets her to finally look up at him, her eyes large, yet guarded.

"I'm right here."

"Physically," he explains. "Mentally, I have no idea where you are. I don't know where my Rey is."

"I don't understand, I'm right here."

"You're not getting it," Ben sighs and boosts himself off the tub to go back to the vanity and continue getting ready. Looking back at Rey, he notices that she hasn't moved, just sits in her still curled up position, starring at the water again.

Ben steps back over by the tub, this time so he is behind her and only slightly visible in her peripheral vision, and begins to undress. Picking up on his movement, Rey turns and looks at him over her shoulder, noticing that he is already partially undressed. "What are you doing?"

"Taking a bath with my wife," Ben explains cooly and pulls his pants off.

"Why?"

"Because I want to feel close to her," Ben nearly whispers and gets into the water behind her, sneaking his legs in to rest on either side of her. "And as I said, I miss her," he adds and gently pulls her backward with his hands on her stomach until her back rests against him.

Rey's body is tense, unsure of how to properly react, but Ben doesn't let her go, just keeps her softly trapped in his embrace and buries his face in the crook of her neck. "Rey, I love you, stop pushing me away."

"I'm not trying to," Rey whispers back and allows her body to melt into his arms slowly, letting her guard down more than she has in a long time. They sit there in silence, Ben reminiscing on the time when she was so mentally exhausted that she fell asleep on him in the tub, one of the first times she ever let her vulnerable side show fully. Over course that was in a very unhealthy time of their relationship, yet the feeling of her in his arms takes him back to the more simple times.