Author's Note:
Disclaimers: All rights reserved of the originals "Star Wars" Characters, Names, Places, etc., to George Lucas / Disney.
A small AU Fanfiction. For those who wanted a better ending for The Rise of Skywalker, have a look at my other FF Star Wars: A dyad in the Force, a longer and better storyline, of how the Rise of Skywalker could end.
Thank you for clicking! Enjoy!
Chapter 1 - Ren Brothers
The motorcycle ride was a ritual a few could understand. Seated behind the large fairing, he would turn the key and just sat for a moment, listening to the purr of the engine. It was a reliable machine and comfortable, a touring model Harley Davison - V ROD CUSTOM - Edge of Rudo. The model was released on May 09, 2016. It caught his attention; that was his bike. He knew it since the first day he saw it in 'RACERS' - a motorbike magazine.
Then he would head for the mountain roads. Once there, he disregarded speed limits, opening the throttle wide. Sometimes his knee would be just skimming the ground as he took the bends. This was his therapy. The world disappeared within, as his silence united with the motor of his bike's echoing sounds.
Speed and sound became one scene letting this moment of bliss and peace extend as much as the light is spreading over the horizon. The ride was long but known. Soon he reached home. He wished for a few more moments to sink inside his world, forgotten and ignored.
The youngest of the Ren Brothers turned off his bike engine; his leather boots touched the ground, echoing a few tapping sounds. He pulled the key off the engine and remained seated, spacing out thought after thought—a petty second for himself before stepping back to reality.
Ben's POV*:
"Punch after punch. Kick after kick. That's how it was, that's how it is, and that's how it will be—a life filled with violence and death. So much death, and while growing older, it only got worse.
A dangerous way to grow up, you get addicted to the adrenaline. Slowly fighting becomes one with the essential need of your soul and body. At first, it was to defend and protect what is important to you. Protect it with your fists. Fight fair. That was our code.
But the world doesn't play fair. I found that out from a young age. Then it was a blow under the belt. It took years of hard work, pain, and training.
But now we stand firm. Strong like our uncle would want. Look at us now, Luke. We are the Ren Brothers. Our name echoes power and fear!
A year ago, we had lost everything: our parents, uncle and ourselves, and almost our town. We could not save Luke. But we managed to be part of the ones that aided this city.
Now, like the Resistance, we answer when called. Evil never stopped to exist in this world. Every day a new enemy is rising. We cannot fight everyone, but we can make a difference to protect what is close to us.
The war with the First Order -the underground gang- was long over. But the daily battles never stopped. Some Days we want peace. But there are those dark times that we enjoy fighting.
The action.
The danger.
And death.
Part of our everyday lives."
The quiet and calm days were feathers without hurry, moving this way and that in the air, happy to change direction according to the wind. Just as the feather will in its own sweet time be at rest upon the earth, so the sun will rise and set high in the sky. Though moments were like that were less and less for Hux. At least inside their apartment, he could find his peace and rest. Forget the past that was haunting him and try to dream of the future.
The water had already boiled, and a bowl with ramen forgotten on the kitchen counter. His stomach was complaining about crunchy sounds reminding him that it was hungry. He stood up and stepped over the counter, his gaze lost in the moment and his thoughts all over the place.
Hux's POV*:
"Ben never listens to his older brother. It's still the same as when we were little. Only now we have lost too much in this world. Our parents, Luke, and we almost lost ourselves. How much you can be deprived of a single raining night. Or better two such nights with years apart.
My only family Ben My stupid young brother. The most important thing in my life. I guess he knows how important he is to me. But I never told him. And lately, I get worried. We fought a lot; we helped to take down the First Order. We made bonds and friends during our long journey. We lost Luke. We found our way.
Our lives have nothing to do with regular and calm everyday living. Ben adopted this lifestyle. The action and the danger, I will not deny it. It draws you as a fire a moth.
Though as we cross paths with death, I am worried. Not so much about myself. I am troubled by Ben. He should start living his life. And not bet his life fight after fight."
The dripping increased neither in its rate or its volume, yet by the time she had read only two pages, it was as good as a hammer to her eardrums. Part of her brain was analyzing the pattern; it was almost regular, but not quite. It was just chaotic enough not to come when least expected and then drip when not. Those little drops of water made her cerebral cortex hiss and recoil as if they were avidly funneled right through her skull.
She had been so determined not to leave the warmth of her bed, curled in the duvet, oblivious to the white puffs of her breath. But now she must get up and go to the bathroom with a wrench because God knows she could not afford a plumber. True be told, the pipes from the apartment above were the issue. Whenever they used the shower, drop after drop would leak inside their shower.
Her roommate told her the problem existed for almost a year now. She moved last week, and she could not get used to the annoying sound. Plus, the unlucky feeling to have those dirty and used drops fall on her while showering. She could no longer stand down and say nothing. She would pay a visit to her neighbors above and demand them to fix it even if she was told that they were dangerous people that should be avoided.
Rey's POV:
"I always thought Ajan Kloss was the scariest place to live. Even if I was born in a complicated household, I have seen how ugly the world can get. How dark people can treat you.
I was wrong!
I haven't seen real fear until the First Order showed interest in our region. Implausible how life can change. How you can lose everything and gain more.
I traveled to New York to prove to my family I could manage to make something of myself. We are oriented from Ajan Kloss. I grew up with the hope of escaping our forsaken city. New York seemed like the safest place in the world.
I never understood why everyone was proudly living in Ajan Kloss, working hard, and fighting. From my idiotic brother Poe to any from our friends. -Well, his friends now. I hated it. There was no hope in that part of the city. Fights and motorbike gangs, that was their lives about. Mine too. Before I managed to ignore my past and make a new future for me.
Architecture and Modern Design was my major. I lived for five years in New York. I threw away my past, family, and childhood. Now I could finally start my life as an ordinary human being.
A month after getting my degree, I found work in extensive cooperation back Home. I was accepted to be one of the architects behind a new project. At first, the plans were kept a secret. The government, in cooperation with the First Order, planned to build a casino. I would be part of one of the largest projects in the country.
I accepted the job and moved back. I started my work there as an architect, and at first, nothing seemed off. Though slowly, the more I was working and meeting people, I began to put the puzzle together. The First Order was not what it seemed to be. It was a group nightmare. And the government was corrupted. Behind the plan to build the casino lay dark secrets.
Day after day, and meeting after meeting, I found out most of the truth. What happened in the past did not bother me. It was not my problem. But it seemed their deals were affecting people's lives. People started dying, homes burned, and families ripped apart.
I could not keep working there. I was never a fighter in my life. I am not a Hero. If I am in danger, I will run if I have to save myself or someone else. I would keep myself. I am a coward. I am nothing like my brother. But what was happening was wrong. I resigned. I lost my work, the apartment that was provided for me.
The only positive news was that the First Order and the Government secrets were revealed a few months later. The Casino was never built, and the conspiracy was uncovered.
I did not return home; I still didn't want to do anything with Ajan Kloss. I have heard the stories, and I knew what was happening at home. Yet, it was no longer my home or my city. I sought work, but I was declined job after job. I was offered a position in Basekiller architects, planning, designing, and supervising buildings. I was accepted as a helper in the Research Architect Unit.
Finally, I found work and a room to share. My workplace as well as the flat I was staying in, both were located near to my hometown. Yet, it felt that I was already living in another world. At least I thought I had escaped entirely from my past."
"Do you know how much trouble I went through today?" said Hux as he watched his younger brother stepping inside the apartment."Where did you go?
"Hux!" he responded, pushing the door behind him. "I just needed some time on my own." He took off his black leather jacket and threw it against the couch, casting a glance at his brother. "I'll take a shower."
"Could you listen to your older brother for once?" he sighed, while Ben disappeared inside the bathroom. "Let's talk when you finish your shower."
Hux picked up Ben's Jacket and hung it. He walked outside the bathroom door and started talking to him. "Ben, you can't keep living your life the way we used to. There is a future waiting out there..."
The doorbell rang, and he was interrupted. He walked over and opened the door. In front of him stood 5'3 tall a female. Her brown hair was kept in a strange three bun hairstyle. Her body type is relatively slender, and her body figure resembles one of an athlete. She stood there casually with her big brown eyes gazing at him. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a close-fitting black shirt.
Although the male was politely smiling at her, she acknowledged who he was. Her roommate revealed the neighbors above them were the Ren Brothers. She didn't have to add any other details. When Rey still lived in Ajan Kloss, she had heard the stories. And even if she had not returned for years, nor talked to anyone. Finn would text her from time to time. To find out how she was doing and share with her the news. Rey was like a sister to him, and with Poe still mad at her. He would check that their crazy rebel was doing fine.
"Hi! I'm living downstairs, and there has been an issue," said Rey with an empty look on her face. She gazed at Hux and peeked inside the apartment.
Hux, happy to find a girl on his doorstep, smiled, and with his flirt mode on, he answered. "Hello, we never met, right!? I'm Hux! How can I help you?" he stepped aside, making some space for her to enter.
Though Rey remained on her spot. "As I was saying, there is an issue in your bathroom. When you are using the shower, it leaks into ours. There must be some problem with your water pipes. Please fix them." she said in a loud and robust tone.
It was then when the bathroom door opened, and a very half-naked Ben showed. A towel only wrapped around his waist, steam evaporated from his warm body. He paused and glared at Hux and the unknown girl that was looking at him. "Why would that be our problem. Maybe the damage is in your pipe system!" he declared.
Rey forgot the image of the hot male in front of her and shouted, "Our!? No, No! I checked it! It happens when you use your shower. And honestly, the leak is not our only problem. Imagine when we are showering, and your dirty water ends upon us!"
Ben gave an ironic smile. The idea of his dirty water ending up as shower water for the annoying girl in front of him seemed pleasant. "It's not our problem!" he concluded and pushed Hux away and closed the door into her face.
Rey flipped and knocked a few times on the door. But no one answered, and she would not try her luck to get in a fight with a Ren today. They would have this talk again, but later. Maybe she would ask Hux one more time to fix the pipe. He seemed more friendly than Ben.
Hux slowly watched the door close, and he could no longer see the cute girl. "What is wrong with you?" he yelled at Ben. "We have a girl standing in our front door, and you send her away?"
The younger of the Ren brothers ignored his brother and went into his room and changed into a clean pair of loose track pants and a black shirt. He knew that the water system on their shower was broken. Luke was always the one that fixed any damages inside the house. The only reason the pipe was never fixed was that it reminded them of Luke. And setting it seemed almost out of the question.
The following days, the leaking pipe problem remained, and Rey did not contact the Ren brothers. She claimed that it was due to her busy schedule. The main reason was that she was a coward, and facing Ren was a beak deal. Soon though, she ran out of luck and stumbled against Ben in the staircase.
She cursed her luck and wanted to flee the scene as soon as possible. But she knew that would not benefit her, and the leaking problem would remain. She straightened her body structure and cut Ben's way. Her right hand randomly touched the wall as she gazed at him. "Have you looked into the problem with the water pipe?" she asked him.
Ben narrowed his eyes and openly glared at her. He was not at his best, and that damn girl kept annoying him. "I told you it's not our problem!" he hissed, trying to push her away.
Rey didn't back off; she grabbed firmly from the staircase and remained to block his way. "You know your water pipes are broken..." she shouted, catching his full attention. "Stop playing, Dump! And brink a plumber and repair them!"
The annoying girl was right. But He could not accept that the last uncompleted task that Luke left would be fixed. He shook his head, disagreeing with her, and forcefully pulled away from her. He decided to ignore her and walked away.
Even chicken-hearted Rey was now pissed with his behavior. "What the heck!" she voiced up, and she knew what exactly she had to say. It would piss the Ren, but she was sure it would work to repair the damn pipe. "Luke would have already patched it up!" she added.
Ben paused and cast a glance above his shoulder. It was not only that his uncle's name was mentioned. But the way that annoying girl said it. Indeed Luke would have fixed it by now. Although he never gave her an answer, Rey was sure that the pipe would be repaired soon. The problem was that she had just stepped on dangerous grounds and was on Ben's blacklist.
"Well done!" she mumbled in irony to herself. And hoped that after that encounter, she would never see the youngest of the Ren brothers again.
"Hux! Call a plumber; the pipes are broken. I cannot fix them!" Ben said the same afternoon as he stepped outside the shower. He was trying to repair the pipes, but it was beyond his knowledge. Rey's words had already put him through a lot of thinking. In the end, he could not ignore the fact that Luke was dead, and he would never return. How long would he hide his misery and grief inside that bathroom?
Hux looked at him with an open mouth. His eyes followed him as Ben took a seat next to him. "Are you sick?" Hux asked and placed his palm against his forehead to check if he had a fever.
Ben rolled his eyes and punched his hand away. "I'm fine. I think the damn girl from downstairs was right. It's our pipe system that is broken."
"I know that, Ben. You never really listen to your brother. How many times have I already told you that?" Hux said while searching his contacts to find a plumber. "Not sure what made you change your mind. But I'm glad that you are finally moving on!"
Hux called the plumber the same evening, and the pipe system was repaired. Ben never revealed what made him change his mind. Now he had a new enemy on his list. As for Rey, she found out the same night that she could take a shower without the dirty water from the apartment above her. However, our fearful and gutless girl started an unknown war with the youngest of the Ren brothers.