#oh my god wait and that Freak of a vampire guy literally sniffing her and then naming her exact perfume. that was fucking nasty

[whimsicalcotton]

how could i forget. she got hit by a car once too

it's gotta be fucking wild to be Molly Phillips. like you've got one kid being relatively normal but the other is getting tossed off rooftops and splitting her soul and catching hypothermia and getting psychologically tormented by ancient celtic spirits and passing out at random waking up saying "he showed me my bones" like what the hell actually

[dingobabywrites]

 so, in light of recent events, people have been discussing when they think Dean and Cas realized that they were in love with each other. While I 100% believe dean realized in purgatory, I dont think Castiel realized until Dean broke Naomi's connection.

BUT!!!!

I also think that is around the same time Sam realized it too. Obviously Charlie already knew ( " what about Castiel, he seems helpful and..Dreamy" she's a lesbian. That comment wasn't for Her!") I think Charlie was the one to point it out to sam and I think the two of them agreed to keep it to themselves since neither of those two would have been able to handle that information. So, I wrote a little thing about how I think it went down.

I also wanted to give myself an explanation for those wierd looks and mystery note from the end of the episode...so yeah...here's that.

Sam hobbled down the hall to the guest room, his hand still throbbing from knocking Dean unconcious . It was…worrisome, to say the least, that he was having this much trouble with healing from such a minor injury, not to mention the other things that were happening to his body; the fatigue, coughing up blood. Troubling, but, as much as he hated to admit it, worth it. Dean had been pissing him off more than usual lately anyway. It wasn't just the trials. Sure, he was frustrated with Dean for thinking he wasn't strong enough to handle them (he had fought against Lucifer in his own mind for christ's sake) but it was everything else too. His loyalty to Benny still didn't sit right with him. He had been so quick to kill Amy, just because she was a monster. He didn't care that she was just feeding her kid. She was just a monster to him. But for some reason, Benny got a pass. Sure, the guy saved both their asses, he was grateful for that, but even Bobby knew it was wrong.

And then there was Cas.

 

Sam wanted nothing more, than to tell Dean that he should have learned his lesson the first time with the Angel. It wasn't like he didn't like Castiel. Of course he did. He was appreciative of everything the guy had done for them. Dean was right that he had saved their asses more than once. It was just….at the end of the day, whether they liked him or not, Castiel had betrayed them. He understood that perfectly. What he couldn't understand, was why dean was so suprised by him doing it again. Hell, Dean had been the one to bring up that fact that the guy wasn't acting right since he got back and yet, there he was, praying to him, putting his trust in him again. It was maddening, to say the least. He had tried to talk to his brother about it, but Dean immediately shut down.

So, yeah, his hand was still hurting, but it was damn worth it.

He turned the corner to find Charlie stuffing her things into her duffle. He knocked on the door frame with his uninjured hand. "Hey, there."

"Sam." She half smiled, when she turned around, her eyes still a little bleary from crying. "Hi, I'm just…just packing up to head out and…" she sniffled and plopped down on the bed, covering her face as she began crying anew.

Sam walked into the room and pulled up the desk chair, sitting down in front of her. "Dean told me what happened, while you two were under." He said. "I am so sorry about your mom, Charlie." He placed his hand on her shoulder as she began crying harder. "I know how hard it is to let go like that…"

"Dean was right," she sniffed. "I needed to stop holding on."

Sam let out a bitter scoff and pulled his hand back, squeezing both hands between his legs. "Yeah, Dean's always right, isn't he? Too bad he can't follow his own advice."

Charlie looked up, her eyes sad and confused. "Holding on to my mom was the reason I was stuck there. If he hadn't made me let go, I would have died.we both would have."

Sam shook his head at himself, trying his damndest to let go of his own bitterness to be there for his friend. "Ya, I know. I'm sorry…just…I know you're hurting right now, I just want you to know I'm here for you."

Charlie sniffed again, wiping her arm across her face to dry it before leaning back and staring at Sam. "I don't get it." She said, as firmly as possible.

Sam, leaned back and shrugged. "Me neither, really. I always thought all djinn fed off happiness. It's like every time we figure stuff out, something new comes along to throw us off our game."

"Not that." Charlie said, waving his statement off. Sam looked at her, confused, not sure what she was referring to. She took a breath and pulled a book out of her duffle throwing it on Sam's lap. 'Mystery Spot' By Carver Edlund. "You say these books happened in real life. That everything written in them actually went down…but the past two times I've been around you guys…you certainly dont act like you do in the books."

Sam skimmed the first page of the book and chuckled, tossing it back on the bed next to Charlie. "Yeah, well, things have just been different, I guess."

"So, you used to love and support each other, no matter what and now you just, what? Stopped?" She asked.

"It's…" Sam scoffed and shook his head. "things are just, more complicated now…"

"You maybe, wanna elaborate there buddy?" She asked. "I may be a genius, but a mind reader, I am not."

Sam let out a breath and scrubbed a hand through his hair. He figured it might feel better to at least get something off his chest. "To be honest Charlie, I dont think Dean is cut out for the job anymore."

"Why not?"

"His judgment, for one thing." Sam answered. "I don't know, just ever since he got back from purgatory… he's been…it's like he can't think straight anymore. He used to be no nonsense when it came to killing monsters and only trusting people he knew he could trust and now… I mean, I get it. Purgatory was rough on him, but the guy has literally been to Hell and back. I don't see why this time is any different."

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked softly.

"I mean like, being friends with a freaking vamp." Sam answered, coldly. "Yeah, Benny wasn't like the others, and I get the whole 'brother's in arms' aspect, but it still doesn't make sense." He waved his hand, gesturing back at the book before letting it drop. "That Dean? That Dean would have never put his trust in a monster. That Dean wouldn't let people back into his life that had screwed him over, and now…I don't know, now it's like he just doesn't care about letting people in that who could hurt him, or…people who already have."

"So, it's not just about the vampire." Charlie said. "Who else has Dean been trusting that you don't think he should?"

Sam gritted his teeth and shook his head. "Cas really messed him up Charlie. I mean, the guy already turned his back on us once and Dean just let him back into our lives like nothing even happened."

"Ah." Charlie said, with complete understanding. "Okay, I get it now."

"Get what?" Sam asked.

"I get why Dean has been acting wierd, duh." She said, like it was obvious. Sam sat, staring at her, trying to peice together what puzzle she seemed to have completed. "Oh, my God. Do you really not see it?" Charlie laughed.

"Um, no?" Sam said, skeptically.

"Wow," she scoffed. "And here I thought you were the observant one." Sam waited for her to explain herself, still utterly lost on what she was talking about. "It's Castiel." She said, speaking to him as if he were a child.

"What about him?" Sam asked, hoping like hell that she wasn't talking about the angel brainwashing his brother or something.

"I've read the books, Sam." She said. "I know all about Dean's special Angel friend."

"No." Sam shook his head. "No, chuck stopped writing after Dean went to hell. There's no way you could have a read anything about Cas."

Charlie scrunched her face and bobbed her head back and forth. "Mmmm, not exactly." She reached into her bag and pulled put her laptop, turning it on. "Remember how I said the books were online now?" Sam nodded waiting for her to continue. "Okay, dont get mad," she said as she typed "but, he may have kept writing a little bit longer than you thought…."

"He what?!" Sam said, furious. They had told that dick to knock it off after that stupid convention."How long?"

"Relax." She said, scrolling through some page on her screen. "He stopped after you sacrifice yourself to Hell, actually. It was beautifully written by the way, super emotional, but no one has seen or heard from him since."

'Good!' Sam thought to himself. He felt a little bad for that thought, since Kevin was now the prophet it meant that the reason no one had heard from Chuck was likely because he was dead, but at least no one else could know more about their lives than they already did. "Okay, but what does any of this have to do with Dean? Why would Cas be the reason he's acting wierd?"

Charlie sighed, cringing to her self a little. "Well, as you already know, where there's a fandom, there's most likely fanfiction…"

"I'm aware." Sam said, peeved by the memory of stumbling upon the fanfiction written about him and Dean.

"Look, I'm not saying anything is definite, but alot of people who write fanfiction are really good at reading between the lines." She clicked her mouse a few times before closing her laptop and setting it back in her bag. "I mean, I've read all the books myself, and I totally know that you guys are real people and not some fictional characters, and it's completely not okay to speculate on your lives and feelings or whatever...but I mean, it's kinda hard not to see where they're all coming from."

"What are you talking about, Charlie?"

"Dean said that Benny helped him fight through purgatory, right?" She said. "He met him pretty early on in his time there, no?"

"Yeah," Sam said, still completely bemused, "I guess…Dean hasn't really talked a lot about what happened while he was there. He told me some things, but he never really went into detail."

Charlie nodded and shrugged sheepishly before continuing. "Okay, so he met Benny early on, and Benny told him he had a way to get back, right off the bat. So, why did it take them so long to get out of there?"

"Dean said he spent alot of his time searching for Cas." Sam answered.

"Exactly!" She exclaimed, like that should have been the answer.

"I'm sorry Charlie, I still don't understand what you're getting at here."

"Sam, he could've come back at any point after meeting Benny. They only spent as much time as they did together, because Dean wanted to bring Castiel back with him. Even after everything he did. Don't you think that's a little…suspicious?"

"That's exactly what I've been saying!" Sam said. "Why would he do that?!"

"Yeah, Sam, why?" She said, still trying to lead him. "Why would someone run back into a fire, when they have a way out? I mean, I think you, of all people, would know the answer to that."

Sam gaped at her in shock. It took a minute for him to register what she was implying, but once he did… "Charlie, that's…"

"Just a thought!" She defended before he finished. "I'm just saying that Dean doesn't normally put his trust in people. Except, maybe…the people he REALLY cares about and the people that protect them. Maybe there's more to the story when it comes to his trust in Benny than you thought. I definitely feel like there's more when it comes to Castiel."

"Charlie, come on." Sam laughed a little. " You know Dean. He's…"

"More complicated than people give him credit for." Charlie cut him off. "He also knows how hard it is to let go of the people he loves. He's actually really bad at it. Maybe, worse than you know."

"Charlie," Sam started, before being cut off once more.

"He's definitely more concerned about you than you think." Charlie said firmly, standing up as she did. She began packing once more, keeping her eyes averted from Sam's. "He's not trying to control you, you know. He raised you, Sam. You mean alot to him. You ever think for a moment that he's just really scared for you? Scared of losing you? I mean, back to my point, he is really bad at losing people."

Sam sat in silence, petulantly mulling over Charlie's words. She was right, probably. Dean may have been scared, but it was still possible that he just couldn't hack the life anymore. Sam wasn't some child. And the other stuff she was saying…she was way off base. There was a big difference between reading about someone's and living it.

"I sent you the link to the website I used to read the books." Charlie said as she zipped up her bags. She slung her backpack over her shoulder crossing her arms as she stared him down. "I know you lived through it all and everything, but not every part was about you. There's a few things you may have missed."

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen." Sam shook his head.

"Just a suggestion." She shrugged. "It might open your eyes to a few things you don't understand. I get not wanting to relive those times but…if you ever decide that's something you might wanna do, hit me up. I can tell you what chapters to skip, or whatever. And, if your really curious about Dean's relationship to Castiel, 'On the Head of a Pin' is a good place to start. The torture chapters are pretty rough, and I know you'll want to skip over your parts…but the other stuff.…" she shrugged.

"Okay." He said, at a loss for more words than that.

"You ready to roll?" Dean said, from the doorway, knocking on the door frame before entering the room.

"Looks, like it." Charlie smiled up at him as he entered.

"I didn't interrupt anything did I?" Dean asked looking between her and Sam with concern written all over his face. "You guys look a little spooked."

"Ew, gross, no." Charlie said, scrunching her face at Dean's implications. "Sam, was just helping me with my bags. Right Sam?"

"Uh, yeah…" Sam said, standing up and grabbing her duffle off the bed.

"Eh, come on, you know I'm just teasin ya!" Dean chuckled, jabbing her on the shoulder playfully. "He may have the hair, but the body parts are all wrong, right?"

"Definitely." Charlie agreed.

"Come on." Dean said, tilting his head toward the door. He waited for Charlie to leave the room, then cast a skeptical glance at Sam before following after. Sam was sure he was in for an earful after she left. He began dreading it as he said his goodbyes, anticipating the lecture as he told Charlie she was welcome to comeback at anytime. But it wasn't the only thing on his mind now. After bidding Charlie farewell, he went inside, giving the two of them their time alone. He hesitated for a moment, convinced that the trials were seriously messing with his head if he was even considering this. Then again…

He headed to the library, grabbing a peice of paper and a pen on his way and sat down. 'This is just stupid.' He thought to himself as he wrote down the words 'On the Head of a Pin'. He heard the bunker door open. Dean walked up, the look on his face telling Sam that it was time for his ass- chewing, so he decided to cut it off before it could start.

He clicked the pen closed and stood up, ready to defend his actions. "Okay, look you were right. I-I should laid low. I-I know." He said as Dean approached him."I should have hung back. I'm glad I was able.."

Then Dean grabbed him. Then Dean pulled him into a hug. It wasn't at all what he was expecting. He was lost, but relieved and hugged his brother back.

Dean chuckled and patted his back before pulling away. "What do you say we find our prophet?." Dean smiled, before smaking him in the chest and walking away.

Sam was left to himself, completely bewildered by what had just occurred. Dean had certainly not been acting like himself, but this was a whole new level. Maybe there was some truth to Charlie's words? Maybe he really was just scared? Maybe Sam really didn't know everything about his brother. Now, wasn't the time to think about that, though. Dean was right, the had to look for Kevin. They had work to do. Research.

But Dean had to sleep at some point. Maybe Sam could do a little light reading in that time.

If Charlie was right about Dean being scared for him, who knew what else she was right about?

[calicosjinx]

Day 5: Valentine’s Night 💘

@kyluxromanceweek (sorry I’m late and this got a little long! 😭💖)

“You’re hovering.”

“I am not. I’m over here making your Dad and I snacks to bring to our room.”

“Yes you are. You maybe tiny Mom but your presence is a giant and I can feel it. Looming over me. Dad’s too.”

“Me?! I’m not even in the kitchen!”

“Looking around the archway counts Dad!”

Ben turned his eyes away from the sauce he was waiting to simmer and fixed his parents with a glare. There wasn’t much heat behind it, just a few layers of annoyance to hide his anxiety about literally everything right now. He and Armie didn’t want to wait much longer for their date but Armie also didn’t want to be seen more than necessary with his face still bruised so Ben suggested they have a private date at his house. His parents were supposed to be out of town this weekend but plans changed because that’s just how Ben’s love life was apparently. A series of unfortunate events. He wasn’t too upset about it honestly. Leia and Han did promise to stay out of his way tonight.

But Ben guesses this doesn’t count until Armitage actually rings the doorbell.

Armie would be at his house in an hour. He still needed to finish cleaning up, get changed, set up the dining room, and complete this ‘oh so easy and romantic’ pasta dish. It was a Solo family recipe, Han told him, and he promised it would make Armitage just that much more into him. ‘Works every time. Just ask your mother.’ Especially since the whole meal was made from scratch and would be cooked by Ben himself. ‘Who doesn’t love a man that can cook?’

Yet there they were. Hovering and making little noises every time Ben reached for an ingredient. Ben sighed heavily then whined. “Come ON guys. You’re NOT helping.”

“Sorry, Sorry!” Leia relents with her hands up slightly in surrender. “I was only going to suggest that-“

“Leia he’s right. How is he supposed to make this meal from his heart if you’re in there trying to cook it for him?”

Leia cut her eyes at her husband, “Me? You’re the one back there groaning every time he reaches for the salt.”

“Okay that’s different.”

Ben groans louder and runs his hands through his hair. “Again. Not helping!! Armitage will be here soon and I still have so much to do and this freaking sauce needs to be done so I can boil the pasta and I’m trying to concentrate so this can be perfect because I already smashed him in the face with my locker and-”

“Alright, Alright! Breathe.” Leia speaks softly. Taking Ben by the shoulders to turn him away from the stove and toward her. Once Ben and his mother lock eyes she cups his cheeks and brings his forehead to hers. Both closing their eyes in sync. Centering her son and helping him take calming breaths like Luke taught them to do when anxiety was flaring. Ben is extremely thankful for this. As much as his parents can drive him crazy he also love them and make they him feel safe.

“I’ll tell you what.” Han says as he leans off the kitchen archway and goes to a nearby linen closet. “Your Mom and I’ll set up the dining room for you now and clean the kitchen when you’re done cooking. That’ll give you some time and then we’ll both be out of your hair. Won’t even know we’re here, deal?”

Ben nods then leans away from him mother. A much more relaxed expression graces his face as he turns back to his cooking. “Yeah. Yeah that would be great. Thanks.”

“No problem sweetheart.” Leia says as she moves to gather dishes, glasses, and utensils from a cabinet.

As soon as she enters the dining she can see Han smirking and shaking his head. Chuckling to himself as he places a soft tablecloth down. “I remember Ben talking about how much he wanted to strangle this Hux kid. Now he wants candlelights and soft music.”

“I remember wanting to strangle you when we met.”

“Now you can’t get enough of me.”

Leia opened her mouth, ready with a sarcastic comment but Ben’s voice cut her off. First it was a mumbled curse Leia chose to pretend she didn’t hear then a very distressed call of “MOM! DO WE HAVE ANYMORE GARLIC? I JUST RAN OUT AND I REALLY NEED IT!”

With wide eyes Leia looks back at Han who was now shaking his head for an entirely different reason. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

~*~*~

Dinner was finished without the house burning down so that was a good sign. The dining room was all set complete with candles, a vase with fresh flowers, and the dishes. The living room was ready for movie watching and Leia and Han were holing themselves upstairs in their bedroom. Perfect.

As soon as the doorbell rang Ben come rushing down the stairs so fast he nearly tripped himself. Thankfully he was able to balance himself on the landing. Before opening the door he counted to ten and checked himself in the mirror. He didn’t want to go too overboard with his appearance. At the end of the day Armie was still Armitage Hux and he didn’t want to be poked fun at for trying too hard.

Tonight his hair fell in freshly washed, conditioned, and blown dried waves. His shirt was a bit form fitting and hugged his chest just so and his jeans were clean. Lastly he adjusted a silver ball chain necklace with a pendant of a Star Wars TIEfighter along his collarbone. It was actually one of Armie’s keychains but he’d given it to Ben and Ben turned it into a necklace.

Ben took one more deep breath and nodded. Alright. Everything was ready. There was nothing left to but to open the door and let the magic begin. Ben cringed at that last thought. His inner voice was beginning to sound like his father.

When Ben opened the door he paused for a few moments. Grinning like an idiot at the sight of Armie in his soft blue sweater under his black coat. His skinny jeans making his legs look even longer and his red hair was free of product. Soft. Bouncy. Armitage Hux was here. At Ben Solo’s house not to yell at him but for an actual date. Finally. Ben’s smile kept growing bigger and bigger until Armitage arched an eyebrow. “Umm, Ben? Can I come in?”

“Oh! Oh yeah, shit, sorry. Yeah come in. Gimme your coat.”

With a chuckle and a smirk, Armitage walked into the house and slipped out of his coat handing it over to Ben to place on the coat hook. Quickly and a bit awkwardly Ben leaned down and kissed Armie on the cheek leaving Armitage blushing. Ben then placed a hand on the small of Armie’s back and led him toward the dining room.

He noticed Armitage sniffed the air a little as he walked in and Ben immediately felt a sense of pride growing in his chest. The dinner. Armie could smell the food Ben made! However the looks that crossed Armie’s face were making that same pride shift rapidly into uncertainty. He didn’t looks completely disgusted but he did look puzzled and his nose did that twitching thing it does when something isn’t actually pleasant around him. Ben ran the fingers of his freehand through his hair and slightly tugged the tips.

“I made dinner for us by myself. Instead of ordering out. I thought it’d be more...you know?”

That seemed to make Armitage’s expression shift to pure surprise as he looked at Ben. “Did you? I didn’t know you could cook at all.”

“Well now you know.” Ben spoke smugly. Nope. Armitage didn’t need to know that this was his first time cooking.

“Now I know.” Armitage echoed.

Once both boys were seated across from each other and served food and drink, Ben watched Armitage over the candlelight as he eyed the meal. He couldn’t figure out what was taking him so long to try it. Did it not smell good? Did Ben not make it look presentable enough? Anxiety once again began to rear its ugly head but Ben stuffed it down as best he could. The butterflies in his stomach wouldn’t allow him to even sample a bite until Armie did. Finally at slow pace, Armitage lifted his fork and twisted up some of the pasta. His lips pressed together into a tight thin line before he finally opened his mouth and ate. Ben actually watched his pale throat as he swallowed.

Just as quickly Armitage placed his fork back down and grabbed his soda. Taking deep gulps of the drink and clearing his throat as discreetly as he could but Ben could see it. He knew Hux’s face very well.

“You hate it.”

“No! No I don’t... I don’t. Hate is... a strong word.”

“You hate it.”

“I said I don’t hate it! I just-“

“Hate it.” Ben answered putting his own fork down in frustrated defeat.

“Ben I said what I said.” Armitage paused and tried again. “You cooked it. I love that. I do NOT hate the food but Ben? Love, exactly how much garlic did you use in this?”

“Enough...” The tips of Ben’s ears turned pink when he remembered. The recipe called for 2 bulbs of garlic. But Ben figured 5 wouldn’t hurt anything. It smelled amazing in the end. He chewed the inside of his cheek a bit then picked up his own fork.

He never regretted anything more than when he shoveled the pasta into his mouth. The burst of garlic was so strong he was positive if he spoke he could kill any vampire within the state.

Oh no. Oh no, oh no. That was why Armitage had looked that way when he entered the house. Only now did it dawn on Ben how much the house reeked of the garlic. Oh god. Ben stared at the offensive dish actually SEEING tiny chunks of garlic as if to be mocking him and then quickly looked up at Armitage. Fuck. He ruined dinner.

Quickly Ben rose from his seat and began gathering the two plates to take them away. As he leaned over to grab Armitage’s he repeatedly apologized.

“I am just... so sorry.”

“Don’t wo-“ Armitage started to say but with pink cheeks he turned his head away from Ben quickly. Speaking more to the table then to him. “You don’t... by any chance have mints around do you?”

Oh no. Both their breaths reeked of garlic didn’t they??!! WHY?! WHY WHY WHY!!! Ben lowered his head and spoke toward a wall so to not offend anymore than his breath already did.

“I have something better. Extra toothbrushes and a lot of toothpaste. Just...gimme a sec to fix this and I’ll show you to the bathroom.”

Armitage nodded daring not to speak.

~*~*~

After opening the downstairs windows and sliding glass door to the backyard, Ben stood outside with his eyes closed. Once again trying to center himself after having brushing his teeth in the downstairs bathroom but at the moment the centering technique was not working. All he could see was the way Armitage nearly sprinted into the upstairs bathroom and slammed the door. Ben just knew he was going to want to go home. Why wouldn’t he? They had no dinner to eat, both surely lost their appetite, and the house smelled something awful so they couldn’t even watch movies yet. The date was over before it even began. He should just walk Armie home and call it a night. The poor guy had suffered enough because of Ben, right?

Wrong.

The word echoed in Ben’s mind in the voice of his mother and he opened his eyes and looked up at his parents’ bedroom window. Leia wasn’t there but Ben did notice something else. Tonight was the clearest night sky he’d ever seen. All the stars we’re twinkling brightly. Vividly as if they were demanding his undivided attention. It put a smile back on Ben’s face and an idea in his head.

No. No fucking way was this date over. He worked too damn hard to get to this moment and dammit he was NOT going down like this. Ben could do this. He could fix this and salvage this date!

~*~*~

“And I need to put my coat back on?”

“Yup.”

“To go outside. In the middle of February. In the cold.”

“Yup, yup, and yup.”

“Are you just trying to polite me kick me out or slowly kill me?”

Ben rolled his eyes as he slipped into his own coat then began to push Armitage toward the sliding glass door. “If I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t use hypothermia to do it.”

“Comforting.”

“Shut up and just go outside Armie. Please?”

Ben knew he had Armitage then. Every time Ben said that nickname Armitage, though he’d never admit, melted. With a roll of his eyes and high flush to his cheeks Armitage finally stepped out and paused. Ben simply wrapped his arm around Armitage’s waist and led him the rest of the way on to the patio where his idea took form.

Ben set up the backyard as quickly as he could. He pulled one of the patio sofas closer to the fire pit Han had set up over the summer. Draped along the back of the sofa were a few thick blankets to also help keep away the cold and waiting on a nearby table cradled upon cup warmers were two mugs of hot chocolate complete with marshmallows.

The two sat down and quickly got settled. Both snuggling close together under the blankets with the steaming chocolate in their hands. They spent a long while pointing out stars and specific constellations. Ben was a hundred percent sure Hux was wrong about the positions but Ben dared not google the correct answer. He attempted but one cutting look from Armitage ended all that. In the end they ended up making up their own. Even naming and claiming their own constellation, ‘The Finalizer’ between laughs, playful shoves, and musing.

Now they just relaxed. The sound of the crackling fire was smoothing and comforting and soon Ben wasn’t thinking about the meal disaster. He was only thinking of how beautiful the firelight and the stars reflected in Armie’s eyes. How warmth and perfect he fit against Ben.

“See now? Not trying to kill you. Just trying to make it up to you. Trying to make this thing...”

“Perfect.” Armitage spoke after a sip of cocoa.

“Yeah.” Ben mumbled. “Perfect.”

Armitage hummed in thought before speaking, “You know, Love, this is perfect and my standard of perfect is absolute Solo. So you know it’s the truth.”

Ben scoffed. “You canNOT be serious.”

“How dare- of course I can and I am very serious right now.” Armitage gave Ben a pointed look but there was no anger behind it. “This is perfect. I was actually terrified a little while ago that you was going to end this. End the whole damn thing and then I was going to be forced to give you a black eye as well. But you didn’t and I’m happy. I’m satisfied. I’m content and comfortable. Safe. I’m never happy or any of those other things but you do that to me. You make me happy. So this perfect. Accept it.”

Happy. Ben Solo made Armitage Hux happy. Armitage Hux thought things between he and Ben were perfect. Perfect by his own standards but nonetheless, perfect. Armitage didn’t have any warning before Ben slanted his lips over his. Ben didn’t even part their lips when he took their mugs in one and places on the table. He had no words to express how Armitage’s word made him feel. This kiss. The closeness. This strong desire to just be with Armie in every way was the best he could do right now without bursting into happy tears.

He had just slipped his tongue past Armitage’s lips when the glass door slid open causing the boys to part with a start. There Han Solo stood with a proud smirk on his face and a large flat box in his hands.

“Sorry to interrupt. You’re Mom and I ordered pizza but we might’ve ordered too much. We got an extra pie here. Plain cheese. Interested...?”

“Yes.” Armitage answered quickly surprising both himself and Ben. Still he glared when Ben just stared at him. “What? I didn’t eat much today. I was too...busy.”

Busy meaning nervous Ben thought to himself and he could completely understand the feeling. He nodded at Armie then looked to his father. Ben knew what was really going on and he had never been more thankful for his parents in his entire life.

“Yeah, thanks Dad.”

“No problem. Your Mom and I agreed that you guys should eat this up in your room if you want. The downstairs is still kinda.” Han cringed then continued. “But the door stays open...well cracked a little might be better. You guys need privacy and all but if Leia sees it’s just cracked your on your own, kid, so be careful.”

Just that quick the thankfulness for his father turned into mortifying embarrassment. Ben quickly stood up and took the pizza from Han. Armitage moving swiftly behind him into the house. Both headed straight toward the staircase as Ben spoke loudly over his father just in case he had more to say. “Yes thank you Dad! Thank you we... we appreciate it!”

“Anytime kid! Have fun but not too much fun!”

“Dad!!”

Han laughed at his own jokes as he put out the fire for his son and closed the sliding glass door.

~*~*~

The next morning Ben woke up feeling like a million bucks. After devouring the pizza, Ben and Armie ended up watching some movies, playing some games, and then making out until Leia kicked open opened his door and said it was past 1am. All in the all? The date was success.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

When Ben picked up his phone he expected to see text notifications from Armitage. He did NOT expect to see notifications from Instagram with many likes and comments on photos he was apparently tagged in. Photos of him from the moment he began cooking in the kitchen to the kiss he and Armitage shared goodnight. The entire date was basically there. All with the caption. ‘Our boy is becoming a man.’

Ben dropped his phone and yelled.

“WHY AM I ON INSTAGRAM?!”

“How else was I supposed to show your Uncle Luke, Chewie, and Lando?!” Han yelled back from somewhere in the house.

Ben groaned and dropped his face into his hands. Armitage was going to kill him and what do you know? As soon as that thought came to mind? Armie’s very special ringtone went off like a shotgun.

Ain’t love grand?