Chapter Text
Soul magic is strong in the Skywalker family. His mother and father are soulmates, although he doesn’t consider them the quintessential pair. His uncle and aunt are too, which Ben thinks is closer to the ideal. His biological grandparents on the Skywalker side were soulmates as well. That pairing ended horribly, resulting in the adoption of his mother and uncle as babies by his Organa grandparents.
The magic is rare. Only one kid in his class had a cousin find theirs. No one else knew of anyone who had the magic.
Still, he was convinced the soul magic was strong in him and that he would find his perfect match too. It took up much of his imagination. He made up plenty of stories and played pretend with his fellow schoolmates through the years by organizing lines to gaze at one another to make believe the glow flashing and a bond forming. At night he always asked for the same soulbond story too which his parents only read half the time with grumbling acceptance.
He knows his preoccupation with the magic is why they don’t believe him when it happens to him. That, and the fact that the bond had never been recorded between blood relations before. It would be something kept secret though, wouldn’t it? Something shameful enough that a family would deny it being so, just like theirs do.
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˊˎ˗
“Shoes, Ben!” His mother yells, but he just needs to finish his picture. He rushes, getting the red marker to add a heart to the balloons on the card he’s making. Aunt MaraJade is his favorite and she’s finally home after her hospital visit. On the phone, his mother said having a baby is like hatching out a watermelon but he didn’t understand how that could be when she told him awhile ago that angels float babies down to give to parents who are ready.
He’s outlining the flying spacecraft in blue on his card when his bedroom door is yanked open. His mother’s furious face appears in the gap. She’s dressed in a blouse with her shoes on and hair braided up. Leia is ready to go but he'd been waiting for her as he's been dressed.
“Benjamin Chewbacca Organa-Solo, I swear on your life if you don’t have your shoes on in two minutes I will leave you behind!” Then she’s gone and stomping down the hallway to open another door. He can smell the tangy smoke as it drifts this way from the force she used to swing open the door. “Han! You’re not even dressed! We’re going to be late!” The door slams and he hears, “At least open a window!” as the final scream.
Ben folds his card and grabs the chapter book he’s in the middle of and rushes to beat his mother to the front foyer. His socked feet slip on the granite tile, the banister of the stairs still wrapped in the balloons from his birthday party, and the chandelier twinkles in the sunlight from the full-length window letting in the rays. Their home is large, full of things, and almost always empty of people.
It makes sense to him logically, since his dad is a freight pilot so he travels and his mother is a judge so she’s always busy but he wishes it was different. Leia is red-faced when she stops in the foyer. He shows her what he made in front of the entrance closet while looking for his shoes, telling her the details hoping to spark some praise from her, but mostly to buy his father some time. She barely looks at it. “It’s nice, Ben, Mara will love it.”
“Why is it always a rush? We’re going for lunch Leia, we have all afternoon over there.” Han is buttoning up a blue Hawaiian shirt and Ben looks down at his own outfit. His mother made him dress up so they could take pictures. He is tightly buttoned up and collared.
“Don’t wear that!” Leia complains. “You’ll look out of place in her baby album.”
“And she’ll know how cool her uncle is to pull this look off.” Ben’s father pushes his own hair back and does an embarrassing strut to Leia who smacks Han away as he tries to come in for a kiss. “Don’t you agree, Princess ?”
“Shoes, Dad,” Ben complains, “and you are not cool.” He carefully puts his card and novel in his jacket pocket as he stabs his arms through.
Han snorts in disagreement. “You don’t know cool yet, kiddo. Not with that slicked-over hairstyle you let your mother do to you.” His dad gives him a little challenging smirk. His mother balks while Ben thinks his mother never does his hair. The maid does.
“Don’t fill his head with that! You look lovely, dear.” Leia cups Ben’s chin looking over his frowning face. “My handsome little rain cloud,” she smiles at him and they move along. His father hauls the gifts into the backseat beside Ben. The rattling engine of his dad’s beater that he refuses to get rid of rumbles around them as they hit the road.
“See, we should be there already,” Leia complains as she points to the clock.
“The clock doesn’t work,” Han replies, his mother mumbling that nothing in his car does. “You know I can drive faster,” his dad quips and his mother smacks at Han’s arm as a clear inside joke passes between them without Ben understanding. He gets out his handheld game which was already in the car in preparation for their long trip out.
Uncle Luke lives in a cabin in the woods two hours from civilization and the Solo family.
His parents fight twice and Ben ends both arguments with kicks to the back of their seats until they stop. They pull off at a busy highway rest stop for restroom breaks where his mother rips his dad a new one when he leaves Ben in the bathroom alone to grab a snack from the vending machine. By the time they arrive to meet his new cousin Ben is done with family and needs a moment of quiet.
He volunteers to bring in the gifts when his mother rushes to meet his Uncle Luke on the porch. Leia disappears inside and Han meanders up to slap Luke’s arm the other gift in hand. “What a miracle! I’m glad you get to experience all the joys of parenthood. Just wait until she’s a preteen and wants nothing to do with you.”
Ben hears, snorts, and struggles with the basket of soft fuzzy things while wondering when he’s ever not wanted to fly with his dad. The only thing they have in common is flying and Ben never says no to that. Still, he says nothing as it goes smoother that way.
Uncle Luke takes the gift bag from Han, his dad opens the door for him, and then his Nana is there telling him he looks so dapper with his bowtie. “Give your dad some tips next time then Han won’t look like a bum in our family pictures.”
“Hey!” Han good-naturedly interjects and gets a hug from Grandma Organa after Ben. His grandfather gives him a pat on the shoulder as he walks into the small living room. A new rug is on the hardwood floor and new blankets are draped over the single couch. It’s always been a bit rustic in here, but now there is a pack-and-play with flower prints along the wall that leads to the kitchen and a soft pink baby swing next to the embered fireplace.
As soon as Ben puts the gift down following his greetings it seems like he is forgotten. Especially so when his aunt comes out of her bedroom. Everyone talks to his flush-faced and tired-looking Aunt Mara Jade. Even her usually bouncy red hair is limp and tied back. Her loose shirt has a white milk stain on her chest. His Nana is beaming with her wrinkled face twisted in seemingly permanent joy. Even his serious-faced grandpa is softly smiling as he speaks up over the murmur of the individual conversations all happening in the cabin. “Tell them the story, we’d love to hear it again anyways.”
“Well, I needed pineapple.” His Aunt started, “and the grocer didn’t have any. Luke even asked a worker there. I started crying as soon as they said they didn’t have it.” She gives a soft laugh. “Luke promised to go find me some after we finished but when we were checking out, the clerk asked if we found everything alright. Which, of course, started the waterworks again. Literally, my water broke right then while I was sobbing about pineapples. I thought I was peeing myself at first.”
Everyone laughed and Ben blinks, confused why everyone is so enthralled. He sits beside the baby swing with his back to the dying fire as he pulls the card he made from his pocket. He puts it on the stone hearth when he decides to finish his game and starts up his handheld once more with the volume down as Aunt Mara Jade goes into too graphic of details about the birth of her daughter. Ben half listens.
Uncle Luke hugs his sister as their heads dip together, both smiling. Ben shakes his head, tuning the rest of the story out as he races through the canyon track of his pod racing game. Then a soft mewling cry comes from the back room and down the hall—his Aunt and Mother dart to the back with his Nana following slower.
“You guys want to see the renovations to the shed?” Uncle Luke asks the men in the room. Han is all for it and even his Grandpa chuckles before standing.
“Normally I don’t approve of your extracurricular activities, but it is a celebration.” Grandpa Organa points to Ben. “You stay here, kid.” But Ben wasn’t going to get up anyway.
Han grips Grandpa’s shoulders urging him out the back door excitedly. Uncle Luke is talking about a new strain called ‘the Force’ but Ben wins his race and isn’t listening. There isn’t anyone to show his first-place achievement so switches to reading his book.
He’s getting hungry and goes to the kitchen. In the fridge there are bags of yellow-colored milk with the date written on them. His nose crinkles at the sight but snags an apple. The sink has a bunch of dishes in it and he’s never seen it so messy in here. He sits at the dining room table and pushes some paperwork with the hospital logo off to the side to give himself a clear spot. Ben crunched through most of his apple when the women come out. A bundle of blankets in his mother’s arms.
“Oh, where did Han go? She’s up, fed, burped, and changed.” Leia scowls but calls Ben over. “Come hold her then, I’ll take some pictures.” He puts his apple core and book on the table with a frown. He’s never held a baby before and his hands are instantly sweaty thinking about this fragile little thing in his arms.
Ben swallows and looks at his Aunt but she smiles reassuringly at him. He sits while his mother coos and guides his arms before dropping the lightest little human he’s ever had in the nook of his elbow. She’s all soft pink blankets with her little face peaceful and her eyes closed. She’s so tiny, a little squishy looking, but her small lips are a deep pink and they stand out to him as they are almost shaped like a teeny heart.
“Look over here, Ben.” His mother directs and he has a hard time turning away as he wasn’t done looking but he hears his mother’s camera start.
“It’s said sharing a birthdate makes you twin flames. That your souls are bound. I just know you two are going to be close. With our family so small it’s good,” his Nana gushes. “It also makes it really easy for us old people to remember when our grandchildren's birthdays are.” Ben smiles, finally listening as his mother snaps at him to look at her. He holds up the baby's head when Leia demands it.
“I’d love a shower if you guys would watch Rey?” Aunt Mara asks and she’s shooed away. Their Nana starts cooing over her grandchildren. "Send me all of them,” she says to her daughter but when Leia looks back at the pictures she’s not satisfied.
“You have to open the blankets more around her face. It just looks like you are holding fabric.” Leia scowls and Ben tries but just awkwardly shifts the blankets. When it looks good enough for his mother she’s snapping pictures again but the power flickers and then goes out. It’s daytime but overcast and the lighting isn’t good enough for pictures without electricity.
“What did those men do?” Nana chides. “Can’t leave them alone together, it’s asking for trouble”
“I’ll go check.” Leia goes, all but stomping out. Then it’s just Nana, the baby, and him until his Aunt Mara calls out for some help from the bathroom in the hall.
“You got her, Ben.” Nana soothes at his panicked look at her. “She’s sleeping anyways.” She goes, and his heart races as his eyes lock onto her face and wills her with all his might not to wake up. But her face scrunches up while her little pink mouth stretches in the most adorable yawn and her chin quivers from the effort.
They said she hasn’t opened her eyes yet but he watches, his stomach twisting with anxiety as her little lids lift. He doesn’t have time to register their color as her gaze locks on his and the soulmate glow burns. Twin flames indeed as the dark room illuminates with their souls connecting as if a little sun bursts open between them.
It lasts longer than he thought the glow would, full minutes pass, the warm feeling spreading between them, and something forms. A bridge from her to him and him to her. “Oh.” He hushes, the pieces inside of him locking into place and he has a purpose. At the ripe young age of ten, he knows exactly what is important. That all the paths of his life will lead to her.
The light fades and he blinks at her. Her little face is peaceful and he knows she’s content, that she’s just the right warmth with him and he hopes that means she likes him. “I’m Ben,” he tells her, “your soulmate.” He pauses though, confused as he adds, “And your cousin.” He has so many questions and he wonders if this has ever happened before but he’s also rather calmer than he expected.
Then the lights flicker back on and she isn’t happy about them. Her eyes close as he blinks extra to adjust to the brightness that surges back. Their Nana comes in and he’s in the middle of telling her about the glow when his mother returns. His grandma is quiet as his mother takes Rey from his arms, frowning.
He had been so afraid to hold her and now he is the opposite, nervous he isn’t.
“Ben, don’t make stories up.” They go into the kitchen with Rey. His Nana is doing the dishes as they talk in a whisper, obviously about him. He grabs his game and stays in the dining room wanting to be closer to Rey but he doesn’t know the first thing about taking care of an infant.
His Uncle, Dad, and Grandpa return laughing and smelling earthy. He thought his mother would tell them the news but she doesn’t, so Ben does. “Rey and I are soulmates.” Ben declares, hopeful they would have more insight or guidance on what will happen than his mother's staunch denial.
“What?” Luke’s brows furrow.
“You guys are cousins. It doesn’t spark in a family like that.” Han doesn’t sound so sure as he looks at Grandpa Organa before turning to Leia as if he asked a question.
“Of course not.” His mother swoops in. Little Rey is too warm and Ben reaches up to loosen her blankets but Leia dips out of his reach. “You know how he is about this, Han, he’s just after attention with the baby taking so much of us. He’s used to being the only child.”
“No, Mom!” Ben starts, but they don’t want to hear it. He understands he’s being managed when they rotate giving him attention. Nana plays checkers with him. Grandpa and Luke take him on a walk around their property line and Han takes him aside after they eat to tell him, “A new baby doesn’t mean less love for you, kiddo.”
But they aren’t listening. “No, Dad, I’m serious. We lit up the whole living room when the power was out.”
“Ah, Ben. Come on. Maybe the lights just reflected in her eyes or something.” He groans. Han is clearly uncomfortable, “Like the red eye with old cameras.” His dad ruffles his slicked hair and tugs at it a little painfully from the move accidentally. “Noone likes a storyteller, Kid.”
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˊˎ˗
“Happy Birthday dear Ben and Rey ,” some singing, “Rey and Ben,” making it a mismatch of notes. He’s annoyed at the whole activity as they refuse to exclude him but Rey laughs at the chaos and looks up at him with big hazel eyes. The flecks of green and gold in her depths are full of joy. It makes him smile, truly, right back. Pictures are taken by both of their moms. “Happy birthday to you!” The whole lot of them are offkey and it’s genuinely awful.
They share a cake and have for the last nine years. On Rey’s first birthday she got a tiny one to smash on her own. This one is white with blue and yellow dots on the edges. Her side has ten candles, and his twenty. The whole thing looks like a flaming mess with a total of thirty flickering flames.
“Make a wish!” Their family chants and Ben hears his dad, “Wish for the Falcon to run again!” And his Uncle snickering, “That’s going to need more than a double birthday miracle.”
Ben waits as Rey’s gaze goes unfocused with her little finger on her chin as she considers. She looks so thoughtful in his parent’s dining room. It’s a silent wish and he knows when she’s decided. The two of them blow on the flickering flames. He hears her across the bond. ‘I want a real life teacup piglet for a pet that stays small forever,’ and he can’t help but laugh as the candles die.
Their bond has been sporadically surging. It used to just be feelings pulsing in either direction but every now and again he gets something more solid. For instance, a few months back she twisted her ankle in gym class and Ben felt it as if he hurt his own ankle. He called Uncle Luke before the school called Aunt Mara Jade. Yet, still, they deny their bond’s reality even telling Ben she wasn’t hurt at all. Rey had told him herself later of course.
He knows it’s his mother’s ambitions that cloud her. Leia’s denial is the driving force for the rest of the family to follow her lead. Politician or not, she knows.
“What’d ya wish for, Rey?” Uncle Luke asked his daughter but his wife shushes her. “Don’t tell or it won’t come true,” Ben smirks knowing Rey’s wish won’t come true no matter if she speaks it out loud or not. Still, he slinks back as the cake is cut and handed out while getting on his phone to order her a teacup piglet stuffed animal and has it shipped directly to her house.
His dad noses over to him and Ben leans back against the wall to angle his phone away. Han is shorter than him now by a full inch and Ben loves it. His dad elbows into his side with a smirk playing on his aged face. He retired last year but he still gives flying lessons. They talk about it a bit and Han invites him along for a Saturday of piloting together before the conversation shifts.
“How’s college going?” He questions and Ben shrugs. “Still maxing out your credit hours on that useless English major?” The sigh that escapes Ben is long and frustrated. He knows. He’s double majoring so he has a backup major to fall to on top of the pilot's license he’s already achieved. His dad knows this. If it was just his future he’d not bother with the second degree but he had to be secure for Rey. “Any girls?”
“Of course not,” Ben sneers. “I’m waiting for my soulmate.” They both know what he means but his father is purposefully obtuse.
“That doesn’t happen for everyone Ben. Don’t wait your whole life for something that may not-”
“Dad.” Ben straightens and looks his father dead in the eyes. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you believe me anymore. I know and so does Rey.”
Only, Uncle Luke is there with a plate extended holding a slice of cake and a fork. The older man glares. “Oh, does she? My ten-year-old daughter knows you are her future?” Luke shouts her name. The conversations ebb for a brief moment and the three of them gaze over at her. Rey has icing on her cheek as she looks over to them with her curling brown hair dancing from the motion. “Come here a minute.”
Rey rises, taking another bite of her cake in a rush, Nana picking up the crumbs and putting them on her plate as she goes. The table of chatter continues happily, unaware. Rey slows as she looks at their tense faces, staying an arm's length away as she stops. The three grown men gaze down at her.
“Tell me,” Luke starts, “do you have a soulmate?”
“No.” Rey starts, her eyebrows coming together with her head tilting to the side, and she looks down at her mismatched socks. One has little skateboarding bananas and the other is a pale peach color. Ben chews his lip with frustration and wants to save her from this. Wanting to give her a peaceful childhood where no one in their family is pushing their will on her. He can bear this for both of them.
“Come on, Luke,” Han mumbles halfway coming to both of their defenses. “She’d have been what, two days old when-”
“Exactly.” Uncle Luke snarks. And Rey’s gaze peers up under her lashes at Ben. He can feel her nerves and he tries his best to send calm her way. It’s easier to do being this close but he’s unpracticed and it’s still a sporadic bond with their usual separation. Her eyes widen just a fraction as if she felt it. “You need to get over this, Ben. Whatever happened, it wasn’t what you thought.”
His voice rises too loudly and the rest of the family pauses. Forks halfway to mouths and faces shifting all in their direction.
“Rey dear, come here.” Mara Jade calls out successfully distracting her.
“We’ve been careful.” His mother sounds like she’s on a podium, calm and logical. “Ben knows, there is no record of a related pairing. It was just the lights turning on after going out.” He meets her gaze and she breaks eye contact first but Aunt Mara Jade looks at him with a sad smile as she fixes Rey’s hair. She never speaks up when this old argument comes up and it makes Ben wonder what she really thinks about it.
“How do you know if someone is your soulmate?” Rey timidly asks and Ben opens his mouth to answer but his Uncle’s hand slaps his chest as if bracing him back, it stings. He glares, wondering whose place it is exactly but she is a child. It’s not their time.
“Let’s open presents,” Mara interrupts. “It’s her birthday.” The tension builds, Luke and Ben glaring and angry before Rey whispers very softly, “Please,” and that’s very easy for Ben to obey. They move to the too-clean sitting room where a stack of gifts are there for Rey and a pile of cards for Ben.
He can tell Rey fakes her smile at his parent's present and not from the bond but from the face she makes. It’s not like they bought it themselves anyway. She likes his gift best and it’s satisfying when he tells her, “There’s a gift in the mail for you too,” their expressions lock softly, “something you have been wishing for.”
Rey blinks her big doe eyes at him with her curiosity burning inside him but she doesn’t ask. Luke scoffs, grumbling, but telling Ben thanks clearly being forced to by Aunt Mara Jade’s arched eyebrows. Ben just rolls his eyes. Giving his Uncle an 'I don't care' shrug. He thought that would be the end of it as Luke looks almost apologetic.
Until his mother asks for a word.
Ben follows her to the foyer far enough away from the party. "Ben, this should be obvious but you can't be with Rey. She's ten years younger-"
"Dad was married and thirty-three when you two sparked. You were what, nineteen?" Han had told him a few years back to try to get Ben to 'live' instead of waiting around.
"She's blood, Ben. Your cousin. Even if there is a bond, which there cannot be, that can not happen. You were a fantastical kid which will make for a great writer but Ben you have to forget about it." She is pleading, her frown deep. "Think of the scandal, the publicity. Maybe it would have been fine in old times but just, find a girlfriend. You'll see the difference between your love for Rey and an adult woman once you, you know, feel what that’s like."
Ben stares down at his mother for long slow blinks before he decides she will never accept this. Neither will Luke and his father wouldn't ever truly go against his mother. Mara Jade, he isn’t sure about but he knows the topic makes his grandparents very uncomfortable. They are pushing him out because of it and trying to outcast him. It matters very little though as today they tried to bring Rey into the fight. That is unacceptable to him.
He wonders then if his mother fully grasps what she is asking or if she just doesn't care. She knows what the bond is like, it had been strong enough for his father to leave his ex-wife and for his mother to ignore his criminal record.
Ben had always wondered which was more important to Leia, her own son or her public image. Now he knows it's her career that dangles above him.
So, he nods, deciding he will keep his mouth shut. It's Rey that he must protect and he doesn't want his family swaying her. He can be patient, he can bide his time, eight more years. But a little fear trickles in. Perhaps Luke has already been convincing her. It’s possible as they have been trying to gaslight him into denying the soulbond happened at all.
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˊˎ˗
Ben’s worked hard, taking summer classes and finishing two B.A. degrees in three and half years. He earned himself some honor cords but he feels awkward as his robes are too short with the ankles of his pants showing. He ordered his size, he’s just tall. He climbs up to the stage and takes his blank diploma sleeve asking for a second so he has a place to put his fallback option.
The ceremony finishes and he checks his phone and sees he missed a call from both his parents. He calls his mother back and she’s sniffling as she answers. “Oh, my little rain cloud is a grown man.”
His dad in the background gruffly adds, “He’s been a grown man.”
“Yes, but now he’s graduated, educated.” Leia clears her throat, “We’re in the crowd, meet you by the fountain? We’ll take pictures there, then go out to eat. Your choice, our treat. We’re so proud, Benny-boo.” He grumbles his thanks, agreeing and keeping his gown on so his mother could get her pictures by the fountain.
She’s still teary when they meet up and Ben looks around at his parents. He’s disappointed his cousin and her family aren’t here. Nana gets a pass as Grandpa had a scare a few days ago and he’s getting a full EKG read today to determine if he can be released from the hospital. Han gives him a sad smile, shrugging before smacking at his arm and gruffly telling him, “Ya did good, kid. Summa Cool Loud too.”
Ben snorts a laugh, not bothering to correct his father. Pictures are taken and they make their way to their cars agreeing to meet at a slightly higher-end restaurant which isn’t Ben’s pick but conceded so his mother will stop fussing about it. He takes off his robe, hat, and cords as soon as he’s in his car. He texts his friend with the information while actively scowling at this impending charade.
A call comes in while he’s typing into his GPS and he smiles. Mara Jade’s name flashes on the face of his cell.
“Hello,” he answers.
“Congrats Ben!” Rey cheers softly with his aunt laughing in the background before she adds, “Send us pictures of you in your lame getup!”
“Where are you guys?” He doesn’t mind them missing, not this time. He's just curious as he knows he’d have been unable to go forward with his plan if Rey had come.
“Hospital,” his aunt shushes Rey, her tone too low to make out what she said. “Don’t worry, Ben, enjoy your day. We’ll see you later.” They hang up with Rey speaking last, telling him she’s proud and that she loves him. He tucks it away in his heart, another scale of armor for what he holds most dear.
His happiness of having spoken to her is still burning within when he makes it to the restaurant, his parents already seated. It’s busy but not overly so and they order. That's when his friend arrives.
They met a few weeks ago through a friend. She has another two years to go but she has a younger soulmate too. She understands as hers is still in high school. Not exactly the same situation but it is enough for them to connect.
He waves her over, her tight dress a little too showy and her makeup overdone. There is no denying her beauty. She said once she modeled when she was younger, that her mother had her in pageants but she hated it. She's studying to be a geneticist. Soulmate specialty if she can swing it, he doesn’t remember exactly but it has something to do with understanding the bond on a cellular level.
"Mom, dad, this is Bazine." He introduced her to their shocked faces and she bends to kiss his cheek. She takes her seat while giving them tight smiles and putting a hand on Ben’s arm a little too long. They talked about it all beforehand.
It takes his parents too long but they catch up before tentatively making small talk and giving Ben wide-eyed looks.
"Man, no offense Ben but she is way out of your league. Your ears alone," his dad half-jokes, poking Ben for a reaction. "Not to mention your face. What are you doing with this punk, Bazine?"
She sits up straighter. "He is a very handsome man. A good one. Loyal and devoted too." Her pretty eyes focus on Ben and he knows she's thinking of his soulmate too. She turns to narrow her eyes at Han. "You should be more careful with your words, especially being his father."
Leia snacks her husband's arm. "Bad joke. Of course Ben is handsome. He takes mostly after you, Han."
"That was the joke," his dad grumbles. The rest of the dinner is tense, but his mother gets a picture of them at the table before they go. Leaving the young couple to enjoy themselves.
"They still deny your soulmate?" Bazine asks, incredulous. "That's a special kind of cruelty. It's hard enough being separated. And you have a long wait, longer than me!"
"She's worth it." He smiles, looking off. "Thank you, for this. I owe you a favor if you ever need one."
She waves it away as if this was nothing. "Free food for the starving student is good enough." They walk out of the restaurant, hugging at the entrance platonically before she tells him, "You know the age of consent is sixteen. You may not have to wait so much longer."
"That's up to Rey. I’m on her time." Ben goes, making sure to walk Bazine to her car and waving her off. He heads to the hospital wanting to check on grandpa and see his soulmate. One he has been very close with but careful so his family thinks he’s over his childhood ‘story’.
They believe it as they want it to be the truth and it’s easier to convince people when they want it to be a certain way. Reality be damned.