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elopez7228 · 4 years

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Scenic Route 45/45 COMPLETE

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

Epilogue

Everything was fine in the apartment on Betterton Street on July 22nd.

The kettle was hissing in the kitchen, and Jessika got up from the couch to go fill the teapot.

She jostled Poe as she passed, who was slumped on the couch and whose legs had prevented her from leaving.

“Move over a little!” she grumbled, kicking his heel lightly.

“I can't move, princess, I'm too busy taking care of my boyfriend. Go around!” He retorted, hugging Finn's shoulder against him.

The two men sat cuddled together as if they were on a never-ending date. Which they were, actually. Ever since Finn left the hospital, Poe had been glued to him day and night. He would tell everyone that he previously thought he was going to lose the love of his life and he was so miserable that now he promised never to let go of him again. And up to now, he proved to be a man of his word.

Finn's right leg was still in a splint, his left arm in a cast. The bruises on his face were slowly fading, and he could smile again without wincing.

BB8 lay on the carpet, chewing on her ball. As for Rey, she occupied a plush armchair, newly upholstered with Madras plaid fabric and accented with reflective gold studs.

She bit her thumbnail nervously. Jessika put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Don't worry,” she said softly. “They’ll win.”

“I know they're going to win,” Rey whispered. “But him? What's going to happen to him?”

The television connected to Rey's laptop was streaming ABC7 online, broadcasting live from California.

The San Francisco courthouse took over the screen. Metal barriers and a volley of police prevented a group of demonstrators from approaching. The crowd was in an uproar, waving banners denouncing FORCE for endangering the Hoopa Valley Protected Reserve with an illegal mine.

That was only the tip of the iceberg, not that they knew it. Rey knew it, and her heart was racing. She wanted to cry.

She leapt up, recognizing Leia Skywalker as she approached, accompanied by Amilyn Holdo. Luke Skywalker trailed after them.

In the week since she’d returned to London, she’d had time to tell her friends the story. Maybe ten times, maybe even twenty times. Some things she’d left out, like the details of Ben’s past life. And other things she’d toned down, like the number of times he’d thoroughly fucked her. But overall, they now had a pretty good idea of what was at stake today.

A few minutes later, she watched as a stunted old man with yellowing skin emerged from an unmarked limousine, followed by a redhead in a very sharp suit. Next came their small army of lawyers, in a flurry of more ironed suits and massive briefcases.

Rey leaned forward, fingers clutching the armrests of her chair. Where was Ben Solo? She then spotted Mace Windu, who glared sharply at the cameras. And suddenly, Ben appeared. He wore a dark suit and tie, his face clean shaven, and his hand clutching a phone. The crowd made him visibly uncomfortable. Nervously, he ran his fingers through his hair and Rey let out a painful sigh. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair...

Everyone was holding their breath. Jessika had stopped pouring tea. The room was so quiet that Rey thought she could hear her own heartbeat.

She pulled out her phone, typing frantically.

On the screen, Ben Solo stopped ascending the courthouse stairs to check his phone.

Then he looked around, as if looking for someone in the crowd before looking directly at the camera. He smiled. Rey began to cry.

Jessika put the kettle down and came over to rub her shoulders.

“Come on, breathe. You sent him a sext, right? Looks like he enjoyed it, you temptress.”

It was 10 AM, at the edge of the world on the Pacific coast. 6 PM in London.

The night would be long.

The trial would not be shown on television, of course. The journalists circled outside the courthouse like vultures, hoping to glean the slightest bit of information. Rey might as well have gone to bed and come back the next day to watch a recap, or browse the internet for the verdict. But it would be a waste, because she could never go to sleep like this,

At three in the morning BB8 began to bark at the screen, startling Rey who had dozed off in her chair. Finn and Poe had been asleep for several hours already—Rey gave them her room because Finn's health demanded it. Jess was sleeping soundly on the sofa. Leia and Luke Skywalker emerged from the courtroom.

BB8 barked again, wagging her tail excitedly when Leia’s face appeared on the screen. Rey came to kneel beside her and turned up the volume.

The journalists held their microphones to Amylin Holdo, who was preparing to give a public address.

"A pivotal moment in the battle against FORCE," said the reporter in the foreground, "what was supposed to be a quick trial to determine the legality of opening a mine in Humboldt County has turned into a federal case involving the highest levels of the company. Whistleblower Galen Erso unveiled so much more than a fishy mining operation during the hearing, and is currently being questioned by the police. The trial has been suspended until justices can determine the veracity of the new details. Andrew Snoke and Armitage Hux were specifically singled out, with new charges of tax evasion, corruption, blackmail, kidnapping, battery and embezzlement against the duo. Police are looking for a warrant to search all of FORCE’s San Francisco offices. "

WHAT ABOUT BEN?

Rey groaned. This was pure torture. The journalist continued her speech, struggling to control her enthusiasm. She had obviously come to cover a non-event and found herself on top of the scoop of the century.

"The directors of FORCE each risk decades in prison as well as millions of dollars in fines and damages. The case could also have consequences for Governor Valorum and Justice Dopheld Mitaka, both of whom are also accused of corruption."

Suddenly, Ben’s face filled the screen.

All the butterflies in Rey's stomach took flight at the same time, and she struggled to breathe as her whole body trembled,

The screen then flipped to a still photograph of a fifty-something man she didn’t recognize. He had a straight nose and thinning hair, and looked very tired.

Words scrolled past at the bottom of the screen: “Ben Solo and Galen Erso, longtime employees of FORCE, work together to expose massive corruption scandal.”

Impossible!

Rey gasped aloud, waking her friend up. Jessika turned to the screen, rubbing her eyes.

“So what happened?” She mumbled

“Jess, he'll get away with it!”

She grabbed the remote and turned the sound up higher.

“Ben Solo-Skywalker, son of the plaintiff Leia Skywalker, represented by Mace Windu of the Boston Bar, had served on the FORCE Board of Directors since the beginning of his career. He and Armitage Hux met in Harvard and joined the company together. Reports say that FORCE funded the now-rockstar’s entire tuition because of his connections to Anakin and Padmé Skywalker, the original founders of the company. He was later swiftly promoted Director of Operations, where he took the pseudonym Kylo Ren, which also served as his stage name as the frontman of alternative rock band Kylo and the Knights of Ren. The group is originally from Denver, where Galen Erso also lived. The two men would go on to start a series of secret investigations to uncover what is shaping up to be a fraud scandal of unprecedented scale.”

Rey put down the remote.

Ben had never worked with Galen Erso, she knew enough to know that Galen had always been an Earth Soldiers spy. When she met Ben in Denver, he was still working for the First Order.

So he must have cut a deal with Holdo to gain a place in the story. But at what cost?

He must have loved the opportunity of turning on Hux, in testifying against him. But her questions remained.

Grabbing her phone, she typed a new message. Leia Skywalker's response came a few minutes later.

Ben protected Galen from FO agent Phasma. Really spared us a disaster. Some immunity in the works. Lots to do but all good. Take care of yourself and text me ok? Leia.

It wasn't all lies, then.

She typed out one final question.

What is he risking?

Ding.

For the old corruption cases, 3-6 months in prison. For other suspected crimes, house arrest with monitoring. Probably 2 years. Will keep you posted.

Rey exhaled.

Three to six months in prison. House arrest for two years. She had foolishly imagined showing him around London at Christmas. Her heart sank. Better late than never.

Within hours, her worst fears in life had dwindled to a matter of months without Ben. Everything would be fine.

Her phone chimed again, another message from Leia. She opened it immediately.

Don’t forget about conjugal visits ;-)

***

THE END

***

PS: what happened to the Knights of Ren?

Skylar is tied to a chair in the FORCE basement. Perhaps the police will find him there.

Saul, Shakti, Kelsi and Tyra are unemployed. But they have resources! Maybe Ben will have work for them and him when he gets out of jail?

Syed was unleashed into the wild with $20 and a Mars bar. And a kick in the butt.

and Phasma?

Ben Solo gave her the choice between 1) handing him the file and disappearing OR 2) going down with Hux and Snoke. She chose option 1. Maybe she’ll be able to play dominoes with Syed at their secret Nebraska hideout, until things settle down?

***

THANK YOU FOR READING ! Thank you to P. my translator, who went through this burden for TWO WHOLE YEARS... I mean, how nice of her is that ?!!!

If you liked the story, drop a comment, pop in my DMs, leave a word on AO3... speak up ! I’d like to hear from you.

Cheers, and long live Reylo !

#reylo #fanfiction #scenic route #modern AU

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softlunars · 5 years

Text

only want you. ; k.w.j

“i don’t want somebody like you.

i only want you.”

summary: we’re sorry, the number you’ve tried to contact is currently unavailable. please try again later. alternate summary: ki’s posting a fic that’s been done for months as an apology for the upcoming writing drought this school week.

group + member: kim woojin ; stray kids

genre: angst

warnings: drugs mentions (cigarettes, alcohol), implications of mental illness (depression) word count: 1927

song inspiration: only want you - rita ora (a/n): this story uses - what could be considered as - extremes in terms of mental illness. in no way was this intended to romanticize mental illness and paint it as something that it simply isn’t. many of the actions described were based off a close relative’s own mental health issues and the stories they relayed to me - without saying lots, they experienced most, if not all, of the aspects described in the story, which leads to the more intense polarization of mental illness. i’ve added a “read more” option in case this note prevents you from reading this story. if not, i hope you enjoy reading this. thank you for reading this!

you can recall him clearly. kim woojin. the first one to make you feel something. something other than that goddamn lurking emptiness. the first one that brought light, slowly but surely, into your line of sight. the first one that you knew loved you - without any doubt. the first person you ever loved in return.

kim woojin was sunshine on a bright summer day. he brought to others serenity, happiness, a sense of belonging. he was collected, calm. he knew what to say and how to say it; there was never a point in time where he didn’t know what to do. when he smiled, you always swore he could bring the dead back to life. and when that smile reached his eyes? god, woojin’s shimmering aura could rival all the stars across the universe.

to put it simply, kim woojin was brighter than the sun itself. he was true sunshine in human form.

if woojin was comparable to sunshine, you were the darkness that followed.

while he radiated joy and comfort, you exuded desolation and animosity. there always seemed to be a rainstorm hanging over your head. you were unpredictable and quick to anger. people were wary around you, constantly feeling as if they were walking on eggshells. they warned unfamiliar people about your “vibes.” your aura. your knuckles seemed to be permanently bruised; no emotion was ever present on your face. you were compared to a ghost - a zombie, on select occasions. you walked around, going through the motions of life while not being particularly alive. several people were quite intimidated by you - they had heard, what could be compared to, horror stories about things you’ve done. simultaneously, though, they felt a flicker of worry every time you’d walk into the lecture hall, looking worse than the day prior. you’d hear whispers float about the room, wondering when you’d snap. when you’d finally “lose it.”

those hushed whispers were quickly cast to the wayside almost as soon as they became relevant.

when the human embodiments of light and darkness coexisted, side by side, those same people were astonished. how did someone like him fall for someone like… her?

you and woojin were described as polar opposites that, somehow, worked perfectly together. the saying of “opposites attract” encapsulated your and woojin’s relationship almost perfectly.

light and dark were never to be side by side, only following each other in a constant circle. they were doomed to be separated for eternity, yearning for one another and getting so close, yet not close enough. light and dark would never meet - they were cursed to be separate until the universe died.

you and woojin seemingly flung that tale from people’s minds - the people who surrounded you two, at least.

a despondent chuckle left your lips as you took another drag of your cigarette. seoul’s nightlife bustled below your balcony, with car horns and bright lights taking all your senses captive. the city was alive, just like it always had been and always will be. alive. something you couldn’t say applied to you.

you couldn’t control the feeling of aggravation bubbling in your chest. there were so many things that you could - no, should - be taking a part of. going to clubs with friends, having double dates, meeting new people and falling in love for the night before you left, as if you were never there. there was so much, so goddamn much, life around you. and yet, that life never held you captive. no matter how hard you searched, you couldn’t find that same life within you.

you didn’t want to fall into someone else’s bed because you knew woojin would be clouding your mind. you didn’t want to go on dates because it wouldn’t be woojin by your side; it would be a stranger whom you’d know you’d never love. they weren’t woojin - how could you love them?

all you wanted was him. all you wished to hold was him. and yet, even with all the love you held for him, he wasn’t yours to hold. not anymore.

with that thought in mind, your cigarette was flung over the side of your balcony. a scowl formed on your lips, and tears slowly gathered in your eyes. you were constantly reminded that woojin wasn’t yours anymore. he wasn’t yours to hold, he wasn’t yours to whisper “i love you” to, he wasn’t yours to love. you once had him. you once had your arms wrapped tightly around his waist and a lock on his heart. but nevertheless, you lost him.

you lost him.

you let woojin slip from your grasp, and with that, your life. you were so stupid. how could you just let your first love leave you? why didn’t you fight for him? why couldn’t you have just told him how you felt? it was all your fault.

all your goddamn fault.

walking back into your apartment, you eyed the empty alcohol bottles strewn across the floor. you never really cared to pick them up; you didn’t have any reason to, so why would you? they could, quite literally, cover your entire apartment floor. cigarette packs and smoked out stubs were littered around, as well. it was a mess, but you couldn’t find it in you to care.

and why would you care? no one came to see you, you only ever left the space for night shifts at the local bar, and the mess was rarely inconvenient - at least for you. there was no dying need to tidy your place up. so you never did.

another bitter laugh escaped your lips. woojin would’ve been pushing you to clean the space, just like he always did. he never could stand how you let your apartment deteriorate into a pigsty so easily. it always astonished him; he couldn’t fathom why you’d willingly live in such a mess.

his reprimands rang through your head as you took in the space surrounding you.

“babe, you really gotta clean this place up. you live here! you can’t just let it get to this point every single week.”

oh, if he could only see it now. you could already picture the slight curl of his upper lip, the look of pity clouding his eyes. he always did pity how you lived your day-to-day life, even though he’d never dare bring that up to you. but you knew.

you knew. you always knew how woojin felt about you - every little emotion. you could read him better than you could read yourself. you knew him - inside and out. so, of course, you noticed everything about him. you noticed all his mood shifts, all his pent up emotions. thoughts he’d never express to you.

really, you never intentionally looked for anything you could perceive as negative. you were never searching for something to torture yourself with each night - no. you would’ve rather been completely oblivious than notice every slight emotional change.

rather, you were constantly on edge. aware, looking for any sign that woojin would turn into the people from your past. looking for any sign that woojin would leave. you didn’t even know why you did that - maybe to be able to leave him before he even thought to leave you. and what a joke that was.

he still left first.

you trudged your way into your bedroom, the immediate stench of alcohol and smoke making you grimace. you made your way to the mattress shoved into the corner (you never bothered to get a real bed frame), barely noticing the permanent stains on the bedding (should you get that cleaned?). your phone lit up, illuminating the room as the bing! of a notification filled your ears.

you didn’t use your phone often, only ever picking it up when you needed or wanted something that would usually require going outside for. you didn’t have much social media - only instagram and twitter to keep up with your co-workers. even then, you had most of those notifications on mute. your phone gave you the slightest semblance of a connection to the ever-moving world around you. the annoying handheld device was barely used, only ever touched for ordering take-out, getting extra shifts, and the occasional music search - that is, if you ever had the energy for one.

for that reason, you were slightly surprised that a notification had found itself onto your phone’s screen. picking up your phone, you rolled your eyes when the notification revealed itself as another spam email. maybe you should turn those off, too.

what surprised you even more, though, was the fact that you didn’t just lock your phone again after looking at the notification. you found yourself swiping to your messaging app, scrolling through the contact list you never bothered to clear out.

it felt as if you were watching a movie, watching someone else go through the turmoil of rationalizing texting their ex. you felt disconnected from yourself as you touched the contact that, to this day, still makes your heart flip and shatter at the same time. kim woojin.

you laughed bitterly at the situation. maybe, you thought, you really had reached rock bottom. maybe you finally lost it, just like all your classmates predicted. maybe this would only fuel your shattering heart and lessen, even more, your hopefulness for a better life. maybe this would just make everything worse. but, then again, if you really had reached your lowest point, what could possibly do any more damage? what could possibly make anything worse?

you held that thought close in your mind as your thumbs flew over the bright phone screen, letting everything that you had kept bottled up flow.

to: woojin

from: y/n

“um, hey. it’s (y/n). maybe you knew that? idk, if you still have my contact saved you did lmao.

so i don’t even really know why i’m texting you, especially this late at night. you’re always asleep before 12 so idk if this is gonna wake you up or not. i’m sorry if it does.

but i really… idk. i really wanted to say i’m sorry. i never actually told you, in person or over text, and i never let you close enough again to attempt to understand me. that’s all my fault, i guess.

either way, i just really hope you know i never had any intention to hurt you the way i did. i never had any intention to ruin us the way i did. i don’t even know why i did it, jinnie. i was hurting real bad, and i know that isn’t an excuse at all. i shouldn’t have thrown all the negativity i was feeling onto you. it was shitty and toxic of me. so i get why you left.

anyways, i just wanted to apologize to you for doing all that i did. i know this isn’t going to fix anything, but i really needed to get it off my chest. so um… that’s it, i guess lol. i hope you’ve been doing well, woojin. i’ll see you around, maybe?”

you clicked send. and maybe the message you got back broke your heart more than you anticipated.

from 9230, the recipient you are sending to has chosen not to receive messages. msg 2108.

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