Chapter Text
It was still a little jarring whenever Finn answered the door instead of Luke, even years later. Kylo was distracted enough today to accept his cousin’s customary welcoming hug, shuffling past the yellow door of his uncle’s home and out of the snow.
“Is Uncle Luke in? I only have a couple of minutes.”
“Yeah,” Finn answered, unfazed by his pointedness. “He’s in the study, buried under a pile of books. Finally, let me take a fucking break.”
Kylo smiled to himself, stalking through the kitchen and down the hall to the study. Well, his cousin had asked for it. His uncle’s back was to him, a pair of magnifying glasses perched at the end of his nose as he pored over a fine-print tome.
“To what do I owe this honor, dear nephew?” he asked, not turning from his book.
Kylo reclined into one of his uncle’s armchairs, unsurprised when Finn came into the doorway, casually leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. It didn’t deter him from spitting it right out.
“I want to buy your house in Maine.”
Finn stood up straight, his arms falling to his side. Clearly, his uncle hadn’t shared that little secret with his son yet, and Kylo grinned as Luke sat stiffly at his desk, a beat of silence following.
“How do you even know about that place?” his uncle sighed, setting aside his glasses to swivel his chair around.
It was a step up from the old folding chair that used to be there, but Kylo was certain Luke must have gotten it from Goodwill because no one had made an office chair with a print like that in at least thirty years.
“I have my ways.”
Luke snorted. “So, your mother told you.”
Kylo shrugged. It seemed ironic that he had a better relationship with his mother now that she was Death, but he had come to accept it in the years since she took over that domain. Perhaps it could have been different between them had she never joined the Council of Three, but Kylo was willing to let that go.
“I’m guessing since you haven’t told Finn about it, that you haven’t been up there in ages anyway.”
Luke’s expression flattened, his lips pressing into a line. “Oh, well, in that case, you can just have it.”
Kylo rolled his eyes, ignoring his uncle’s sarcasm. “I’m serious. I’m not asking for a family discount or anything. I’m willing to pay whatever you think is fair.”
“Fair would be close to a million dollars, kid.”
Kylo refused to be daunted by such a massive price tag. He’s been saving up for some time now, and for Rey, it was worth whatever cost.
His shop has grown somewhat since she took over the potions business and Kylo had been more than happy to hand over the reins. While he had been a decent enough brewer to make a living, potion brewing was her passion. He could see it in the glint in her eyes as she ground herbs in her massive stone mortar and pestle, a shimmer of sweat gleaming on her forehead and a smile teasing her pink lips. She could use a food processor to make the job easier--it wasn’t uncommon for witches to rely on modern conveniences nowadays--but Rey always insisted on the traditional method.
“We can afford it. You won’t have to worry about maintenance anymore and it’s exactly what we need.”
It was the ideal place to start a family.
His uncle considered him, the cogs turning in his mind.
“What’s wrong with your place? I thought Rey loved it in Portland.” Finn finally interjected.
There wasn’t anything wrong with their home. They had lived there happily for many years now, and for the longest time, he would have been content to stay in Portland indefinitely. Then a new little family moved into the cottage next door to them and he began to notice the way she would look at the newborn in their mother’s arms, silent yearning bubbling under the surface. Rey never said a word but she didn’t have to, Kylo knew she longed for a family. He had hoped she would say something, but as the months passed and she never mentioned it, Kylo concluded that he would need to act first, instead.
“We do,” Kylo agreed. “Our lives are there, but…”
“You’re no longer hiding from your family and now you want to raise a brood of unruly children in the woods?” His uncle inquired, a knowing twinkle in his eye.
Kylo felt his cheeks grow warm. It was pretty obvious, wasn’t it? Flustered by being so transparent, he ran his hooked fingers through his hair, disheveling his dark waves.
Luke laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Fine, kid, we’ll discuss finances later. Rey would love it up there, I’m sure.”
He shuddered as he exhaled, relief washing over him.
Kylo had seen the house only once when he was still a boy learning the boundaries of his budding power, and he hadn’t understood the significance of the grey house surrounded by pine and weathered by salty, sea air, nor the toddling child with hazel eyes, who had played in its garden of purple lupins and black-eyed susans and beach roses. He hadn’t remembered the vision until long after meeting Rey and it was at last becoming reality. When his mother had brought up the vacation home her brother had inherited from their parents, all of the dots had connected.
“Thank you,” he breathed, staggering back to his feet.
Finn snorted, teasing him. “You got what you wanted so you’re leaving now?”
Yes, he almost answered. “Rey doesn’t know I left--”
“Just go. None of us want her worrying over your sorry ass,” his uncle said in a dry tone, waving him away and turning back to his desk. “Finn, go grab your tea already, break time is up.”
Some things never did change, it seemed.
Rey was singing to herself in the kitchen, bopping back and forth to her own tune as she stood over the stove when Kylo got back home. He walked up to her from behind, brushing aside her hair before pressing a kiss to her ear, his hands gliding down her sides.
“How was the greenhouse?” he murmured, gently squeezing her hips.
“The mandrakes are outgrowing their garden beds. I think we’ll have our biggest crop yet this year,” she answered before her tone grew more teasing. “Where did you run off to?”
He hummed. There was no time like the present, after all.
“I went to see Uncle Luke. There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about, so just listen for a moment,” Kylo said. “I was going to let you come to me first, to give you the chance to sort out your feelings before speaking, but I don’t think I can keep silent and wait any longer.”
She stilled within his arms, a spark of unspoken anxiety filling the subsequent pause, and Kylo rushed to soothe it, pulling her closer to him.
“I’ve seen the way you watch the neighbors, Rey, the way your eyes grow misty every time they walk their stroller down the sidewalk past our house. I know you’ve wanted a baby for a long time and I don’t want you to think we have to wait because of me. I’m ready to take that step. I want to. The reason I visited my uncle was to convince him to sell me one of his properties so we have enough space for a kid. Or five.”
“Kylo,” she whispered, trembling in his hold, “are you sure?”
“Very,” he assured, an excited grin splitting open his face, revealing pure joy. He longed for that happy, provincial life he’d never thought possible for himself, was ready for anything with her.
“Can we go see it?”
“Now?” he laughed.
“Yes!”
Kingfisher Road was even more rural than Cod Fish Falls, to his amazement, though the woods here were different. The foliage was much thicker, with tall trees blocking out the sun in places. The nearby town of Damariscotta was twenty minutes away by car--though he supposed that was of little significance to them.
Rey squeezed his hand excitedly as they walked up the gravel driveway to the large, gray house with the red door, her gaze flitting about wildly as she took in the little, white gazebo and wooden decking, the untamed yard of lupins that encroached on the driveway, the raspberry bushes the grew wild on the edge of the woods. Later, they would find tiny strawberries and a patch of blueberries near the road, and a bay tree in the woods with fragrant leaves.
Now, though, he took them through the front door. The interior looked like an eighteenth-century ship that met Pier 1, and Rey giggled, ringing the brass bell that hung near the door.
“It’s very…nautical,” she said graciously. “A lot of anchors.”
“We can definitely change it,” he snorted. “Apparently my mom used to be huge on themes. The house itself was built by my grandfather, shortly before he died. He never actually had the chance to live here and it became a sort of vacation home. No one’s used it in years, not since before I was born.”
“I love it,” she promised, rolling onto her toes to kiss the corner of his mouth.
He watched as she crossed the tiled flooring with a skip, the entire ground level was an open space, almost a third of it delegated to the kitchen. There was certainly a lot more counter space here. She peeked her head out the side door, which led outside to a small herb garden. Closing it before the mosquitos could invade, she opened the next door, laughing out loud when she saw the forest-green wallpaper covered in water foul. He crept up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder, his hands reaching for her hips. It wasn’t just the wallpaper, but the shower curtain, the hand towels, and even the soap dispenser.
“Ignoring this atrocious design choice,” he chuckled, “do you think you could picture having a family here?”
Rey made a horrified gasp. “Did you just ask if we should have a baby while standing in a bathroom plastered with weird demon ducks?”
“Technically,” Kylo grinned, “those are loons--”
She made a loud, dramatic groan, twisting out of his hold, “Somehow, that’s worse!”
“--and technically, I’m in the kitchen still.”
She sniffled, shaking her head, but when she met her gaze, he knew she wept with tears of joy, her smile so wide, her cheeks looked ready to burst like overripe tomatoes. He should have suggested it years ago.
“Yeah, you loon. I can picture us raising our family here.”
Grinning, he followed her into the bathroom, pinning her against the wallpaper depicting a group of loons on a pond, thoroughly practicing how he would give her that family.
2 years later
Kylo stood in the kitchen, sunlight pouring through the downstairs through the south-facing bay windows, waiting for the kettle to boil so he could make his coffee. Rey was sitting cross-legged on the couch by the fireplace, cooing in a low, soft voice to the tiny bundle in her arms. The quiet, sucking grunts of their daughter nursing and Rey’s sweet voice were only interrupted by Chewie, chasing a chipmunk through the sideyard, barking gleefully.
Before Rey, he had never imagined this peaceful existence and had even told himself he didn’t want these simple, humble experiences that had nothing to do with spells or conjurings. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Loving Rey and watching her bring Charlie into the world, there was nothing more magical than that.
She glanced up, meeting his gaze from across the room, communicating more with her pearly, dimpled smile than she could with a thousand words. Kylo grinned back, her joy infectious, only to scramble back to the stove when the kettle began to faintly whistle, lifting it off the heat before it could disrupt the perfect little scene on the couch.
He heard Rey giggle at his expense, murmuring into the delicate, brown curls on their daughter’s head, “Your daddy is very dramatic.”
His chest full of warm, glowing light, he could only be thankful he paused in that alley all those years ago, on that rainy afternoon he found a feisty cat fighting a murder of crows.
As it turned out, feisty cats made the best witches, because he had been caught in her hex from day one.
✨ The End ✨