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Chapter Text

Rey burst through the back doors of Takodana Tavern soaking wet as the rain was pouring from the sky outside.

“You’re late,” boomed a large voice Rey knew to be from a small woman. “Again.”

“I’m so sorry, Maz,” Rey called back as she took off her raincoat and boots, changing into comfortable sneakers for her shift at the bar. “It’s game day.”

Maz stuck her head out from around the corner. “And how do our boys look today?” the older woman asked, knowing that Rey tried to watch at least warm-ups if she had to miss a game.

Rey rolled her eyes once Maz’s head disappeared back into the tiny closet she fashioned into a proper manager’s office back when she bought the place off of the Hutts many years ago. “The new guy, Storm, he looks a bit shaken up, but Poe and Andor are in top shape tonight.”

“I still don’t understand that trade,” Maz huffed loudly. “Now go relieve Jimmy before he blows a gasket over ‘how utterly reckless and rude you are’.”

“He’s one to talk..” Rey muttered under her breath. James, not Jimmy as Maz liked to call him, was an uptight master’s degree student in something stupid like philosophy or something like that. He had it out for Rey since Maz hired her over a year previously, saying that 18 was too young to tend the bar. Yet, for as young as she was, Rey certainly made a mean cocktail.

“Sorry I’m late, James,” Rey apologized as she bumped him out of her way with her hip, trying to get to the soda and water cups on the bottom shelf of the bar. He merely grumbled and pushed back before leaving.

“He’s such a charismatic guy,” came a gravelly voice Rey hadn’t noticed sitting in its usual place.

Looking up, Rey saw her favorite customer. Han Solo nursed a glass of whiskey, eyes already shining at her. “Hey, Han,” she mused. “Ready for another yet? Or should you order some fries to go with that hangover you’ll be nursing in the morning?”

Han laughed a hearty laugh, “Why not both?”

“Coming right up.” She typed it into the computer, making sure to charge his never-ending tab. “No Chewey tonight?”

“Ah, no,” Han replied. “He’s otherwise engaged this evening.”

Rey’s eyebrow quirked as she busied herself with the man’s drink. He was the only one at the bar, and therefore the only person she had to pay attention to for the time being. Wednesday nights were usually slow, lucky for her, so she could pay attention to the TVs mounted above her head enough to actually track the puck on the ice during Poe’s game. “Doing what?”

Han snickered. “Family shit.”

A smile spread across the 19-year-old’s face. “He would be the domestic one out of the two of you.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know, little miss, that I raised a family in my time-” he was cut off by Rey’s laughter. “You’re making fun of me.” The girl shrugged at her customer’s expense.

“How many kids did you and the missus have?”

Han groaned inwardly, wanting to avoid the subject, especially as Rey reached for the television remote for the best TV on the floor, changing it to a hockey game that was about to start. Perfect timing.

His mind trailed after that, automatically searching for a number in black and gold.

Rey started wiping the glasses from the dishwasher and turned her back to the bar to see what Han was watching so intently.

“Hockey fan?” she asked over her shoulder.

Han grunted into his whiskey. “Not by choice.” Rey smiled, moving onto the second glass after polishing the first one for too long, leaving a streak.

“Yeah, me, too,” she sighed. “My cousin tried to teach me when we were younger, but I have no foot coordination.” She laughed to herself, remembering the few times Poe tried to get her to skate on the pond behind his dad’s house. “Dameron, number 12,” she points with the dried glass as Poe gets a breakaway.

Han chokes on his drink. “Poe Dameron is your cousin?”

Rey turns back to him, “Oh, don’t tell me you’re a Knights fan.” Her eyes narrowed, but the corners of her lips twitched as if she was trying to keep from smiling.
That made Han laugh. Of course he wasn’t a Knights fan, but the girl obviously didn’t understand the true rivalry between the Rebels and the Knights- most fans didn’t know the true story. Hell, Han barely understood what went down. “Nah, my wife is into the Rebels,” he answered simply.

“Oh, you married in, eh?”

He nodded. That’s certainly the right way to say it.

“And I’m glad she isn’t into the Knights. They’re such brutes,” Rey kept chatting. “The hit Mitaka took on poor Snaps the last time they met was nasty.” Han hummed in response. “And then that Ren. He just looks like a nasty piece of work. For a captain, he sure is the silent, brooding type.” At that Han started to smirk.

“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea,” he meant to say under his breath, but the whiskey was getting to him. Rey spun back around away from the screen. “Nevermind,” he tried to quickly rectify. “Just a bad run-in with the guy a few years back.”

Rey could tell there was more to the story, but she had learned a while back that pushing a customer too far, no matter how badly she wanted to know, was never a good idea. “I just hope we can pull a win from this game. Or at least get the one point from going to overtime.”

“To the Rebels!” Han suddenly lifted his glass to toast. Rey joined in, lifting her own cup of water to clink.

They stood and sat in silence, watching the game closely for some time.

Rey ordered her own plate of chicken tenders and fries about halfway through her shift. Han was now joined by two other men of the same age and backstory at the opposite end of the bar. They were just as low maintenance, needing refills about once an hour and ordering food in order to soak up the booze before they went home to their wives.

Han scoffed at her plate as the cook brought it out to her personally. “How old are you, Rey?”

She wiggled her eyebrows at him, “Wouldn’t you like to know, Han?” She dunked a piece of chicken into a reservoir of ranch dressing while smirking. Han knew how old the girl was; they’d have heart-to-hearts about her upbringing and her schooling at least once a week since she started working for Maz.

A phone started vibrating violently next to Han’s empty glass. 'Leia' popped up on the screen. Han just stared at it for a few moments before Rey asked: “Anyone important?”

“Wife,” he simply stated. “I should get going before she throws a fit.” He pulled out his wallet to pay off his tab, tipped Rey 50%, and sulked out the door, leaving a very confused, but delighted Rey thinking about the books she was going to buy with that extra $20.

~

Locker rooms smelled terrible, Ben knew this after basically spending his entire life in them. From visiting his uncle before a big game to playing peewee hockey to high school sports and now the big leagues. They all smelled of sweat and a foot fungus no matter how many times a day they had someone come in to disinfect the place.

“What the fuck was that, Ren?” yelled a fury of ginger as Ben went to sit down on the bench in front of his respective locker. “You just GAVE that play away to Dameron. You let him get that last point! We could have AT LEAST taken it to overtime!”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Calm down, Hux, it’s not as if we are in any danger of not making the playoffs this year.”

“You should be playing every game as if it were sudden death!” he continued to scream, making his face turn even redder than his hair. “We have to be the best!”

“Hux!” called a melodious voice from the door. Both men turned to face it, knowing that it wasn’t yet allowed in the room until press was given the go-ahead. Phasma stood in her three-inch heels- not that she needed them- and pencil skirt and blouse, covering her eyes with her perfectly manicured hands, her hair pulled back tightly into a bun at the base of her neck. “The hounds want an interview, so I suggest you calm the fuck down and get your lily-white ass out here before they break past me.” She quickly disappeared back through the door before Hux could answer his head of marketing and media.

“This. This isn’t over, Ren,” Hux steamed as he straightened his ugly green tie. “My office tomorrow morning.”

Ben kept silent even after the redhead blew out of the room like a tornado. He quickly changed into his fancy sweats, making sure he looked put together but exhausted from playing such a close game. He knew he’d have to face the press within the next few minutes.

The rest of the team changed in quiet discussion, all too exhausted and beat from the game against the Rebels. Mitaka flopped down in front of his own locker, just two down from Ben. “That wasn’t a shit pass,” his teammate commented. “Hux damn well knows that.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Ben agreed. But he wouldn’t admit that Poe was a damn good player, none of the Knights would for fear of either Ren or Hux’s wrath. Very few of them understood the animosity between the three, but they knew to leave well enough alone and not mention Poe Dameron’s name within vicinity of either of them.

“Good luck tomorrow,” Mitaka said throwing his duffle over his shoulder and making a move towards the door that would take him to his car while Ben made a move to the same door Hux and Phasma had just used, knowing the press was waiting for him to make a statement.

Bulbs flashed, blinding him momentarily before he got used to the fluorescent lights of the hallway compared to the dim lighting of the locker room.

“Kylo! What did you think about tonight’s game,” called one man to his left. He couldn’t make out the face, but went on to answer anyways.

“Well, I think we did the best we could tonight, but the opposition was better,” he used his most ‘politician-like’ tone for all of his interviews, something he picked up from his mother’s side of the family.

“Kylo!” rang a voice from his right. “How do you feel about that pass you gave up to Dameron in the last minute?”

“Obviously that was a bad turn for the game. Dameron was just in the right place at the wrong time, or right time if you’re a Rebels fan, I guess.”

“Aww, Kylo, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me,” Poe said, sliding up next to Ben, honing in on the interview to give a second one.

“Don’t take it to heart, Dameron,” Ben growled. “You got lucky.”

“Kylo!” called another reporter, “Are you pulling back a bit because you’re guaranteed a spot in the playoffs already?”
He went to answer, but Poe beat him to it. “No, they’re playing full strength, even though their starting goalie is out with a groin injury. We’re just THAT much better.” Poe laughed, slapped Ben on the chest before walking back to his own locker room. Ben glared after him before gaining back his composure, hopefully before any of the reporters saw.

“To truthfully answer your question…”

~

Phasma stood in the back of the mob of reporters, scrolling through her twitter feed. It was always the same type of questions poor Kylo Ren had to answer for. “How was the game from your perspective” type shit, so he always answered similarly. If you’ve seen one interview, you’ve seen them all, and then you assume you don’t need to pay attention, and then you miss your star player’s enemy brushing into the interview as if they’ve been bros since they were in diapers.

It wasn’t until the reporters started to clear out that she looked up to Kylo’s black eyes burning a hole right through her head, so she shot a confused look back. “Ren?”

“Were you not fucking paying attention?” it took him three strides to reach her and whisper to her angrily. “You just LET Dameron in on this fiasco of an interview?”
Her icy blue eyes went wide. “I-I-I didn’t realize.” She wasn’t afraid of Kylo Ren, a player that could be replaced. She was afraid of her boss, Hux. “Shit.”

“I’m not going into that meeting alone tomorrow morning, Phas,” he growled before skulking back into his locker room to grab his duffle and storm back out.

Chapter Text

Poe Dameron was a cocky son of a bitch. And he damn well knew it. Which is why he barged in on Ben’s interview after giving an amazing interview of his own only moments before. It only put him in one of his best moods he’s felt all month.

As soon as Poe pushed the door to the visitor’s locker room, his newest teammate was on him. “What were you thinking?”

Poe laughed at Finn Storm. The poor kid had just played his second official game with the Rebels and his first game against his previous team. While he had been a reserve player for the Knights, he was now a starting Defense player for the Rebels and getting much more ice time. Poe and the rest of the team figured politics had left him in the team’s box each game, either that or they had no idea what kind of player they had on their hands.

“He knows I was only teasing him,” Poe pat the rookie on the head. “We go way back, Finny.”

“Next game, you’re going to find yourself in the boards missing some teeth,” Finn warned.

Poe just laughed.

“Storm is right, Dameron,” boomed Coach Ackbar’s voice. “Keep your shit together. You of all people should know how dirty the Knights can play.”

Poe rolled his eyes and began to sulk. Of course, everyone would gang up on him, even though he was the happiest any of them had seen him in weeks. If they preferred him in a shit mood, they were doing a damn good job at bringing him down from his amazing win. He walked back to his temporary locker and started shoving his belongings into his bag with too much anger. Finn glanced over to make sure his new teammate wasn’t going to break anything while he packed.

“Yo, Poe,” Finn started as Poe began to zip his bag. “You want to grab a drink tonight? I might happen to know a few places around here.”

Poe looked Finn up and down, not sure what he was looking for, but he shrugged and jerked his head towards the door of the locker room anyways. Finn chased after him, his own luggage already packed.

~

Rey arrived home before Poe. She knew she would. It was that way any time he had an away game that she had to work during.

It was a good thing she ate dinner at work with Han, she realized. While it had been a slow day, Rey had been running around all day, watching practice the next city over early this morning, and making it back barely in time for work. Ten minutes late was nothing compared to a few previous incidents. Maz never cared.

Rey peeled off her rain boots once she crossed the threshold, pulled off her sweaty socks, and sat down on the tiles, ready to nap right there. Bebe, Poe’s orange tabby, ran from the top of his cat tree in the living room to greet his humans at the door, always expecting both of them to return at the same time even though Poe would go out on the road for days at a time and Rey was Bebe’s only constant companion.

“Hi, Beebs,” Rey yawned as she held her hand out for the cat to rub against. “I’m guessing you’re a hungry boy, right?” Bebe answered impatiently. “Alright, alright, I can take a hint.”

She pulled herself off the floor and scooped the feline up into her arms. “So, what did you do today? Anything fun?”

Bebe purred in response as Rey’s phone buzzed in her purse.

Poe:

Went out for a drink. Be home late.

Rey smirked. It’s about damn time he starts actually socializing again. Ever since Paige refused his proposal, he hadn’t been the same guy Rey had grown up trying to annoy.

Bebe climbed up onto Rey’s shoulder, settling in like a vibrating collar as he continued to purr while his human carriage typed on her phone.

Rey:

Need a ride?

Poe:

One and done

Rey:

Uh-huh. If you wake me up in a few hours needing a ride…

Poe:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, thanks, Ma.

Rey set her phone on the counter. “Alright, Beebs, Tuna or Chicken?”

“Mow!” he perked up and began licking her hair as if to groom her.

“Chicken it is!” She pulled out a can from the cupboard and continued to feed the cat before getting herself ready for bed.

She climbed into bed after changing into a nightshirt and shorts, reaching for her TV remote. Ever since Poe signed his contract with the Rebels five years ago, he wouldn’t let Rey live without a sense of luxury, thus installing a flat screen in her bedroom when she moved in with him a year ago, making sure the house was always stocked with food, hiring a maid service even though Rey protested loudly that she could clean the place just fine!

She knew arguing was fruitless against Poe. He always got his way, which just added to his cocky attitude.

Her television was already trained to the sports channel wrapping up and summarizing the day’s games. She hoped she hadn’t missed the interviews. Interviews afterward were always her favorite part to watch. It showed how fun and goofy the team actually was compared to the serious goons on the ice during the game.

She lounged on her queen-sized bed (something she had protested, but secretly wanted as Poe insisted) for a half an hour, just enjoying that her legs were now elevated rather than bracing her entire weight.

Rey’s eyes began to droop just as the sportscasters played the clip of Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron’s interview. As soon as Rey realized what they were showing, she shot right up in bed, flipping Bebe over onto his other side with a surprised meow. Rey scrambled for the remote again to turn up the volume and then reached for her phone.

~

The two Rebels drove separately once Finn gave directions, and walked into a dive bar a few streets over from the arena. It was far enough off the beaten path that they wouldn’t run into crazed fans in enemy territory.

They sat down at a small table in the back, flagging down a waitress to get them a couple of drinks. She brought them a couple of beers. The place was too cheap to serve good booze that Poe had come to appreciate from both his nice paycheck and the fact that Rey worked as a bartender. And Poe was always up for acting as guinea pig for Rey’s alcoholic masterpieces.

“To victory!” Poe yelled a little too loudly, holding his glass up to cheers with Finn.

“To victory!” Finn repeated. With a clink and a swig, both of them downed half of the glasses.

The two men sat in silence for a few moments, glancing up at the television on the wall behind the bar. A recap of Kylo Ren’s interview was playing, making Poe smirk when the larger man stuttered ever-so-slightly at the last question: “What is with the animosity between the Knights and the Rebels?”

Poe leaned back, waiting for the response. “I-I think you’re mistaking a normal rivalry with something more. We’re both two of the best teams in the league. Of course, we’re going to be rivals.”

“But seriously,” Finn started. “What is going on between you and Ren?”

Poe’s eyebrow quirked. “You mean you didn’t get a novel gifted to you as soon as they recruited you? I’d have thought they would have made you take a test before you even touched a skate to the ice.”

Finn shook his head, now even more intrigued. Poe sighed.

“Ren and I grew up playing together. First in Peewee, then high school, and then a couple seasons in college before he was recruited by the Knights.” Poe ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, trying to find the right words. “The last season together in college, there was an accident that I could have prevented if I had been more experienced and actually thought my way through a play, but it ended someone’s playing career and drew the entire team apart and seems to have bled into-”

“Hux, you injured Hux didn’t you?” Finn interrupted. Poe’s face went white before he continued.

“Hux and Ren were best friends back in the day,” he nodded. “I really shouldn’t say any more. If they wanted people to know, they’d say something, but we need to keep this between you and me.”

Finn nodded before downing the rest of his beer. Poe glanced at his phone, half expecting Rey to have texted him to make sure he was behaving himself. Yup, there it was.

Rey:

Do you have a death wish?! He looked like he was about to beat you to a bloody pulp!

“Ahh, I should get home soon,” Poe smirked.

“Girlfriend?” Finn asked, returning the smirk.

“Cousin,” Poe answered laughing.

Finn scrunched his eyebrows together. “That girl that’s usually in the stands during warm-ups?”

“Yeah, that’s Rey,” Poe laughed. “She’s my little cousin.” He began typing out a response saying that he’d be home within the hour.

“I thought she was somebody’s girlfriend or wife,” Finn explained.

Poe laughed, “Nah, just an obsessive fan.” Poe looked up from his phone, smirking even more. “Why? You got a crush?” Making Finn look down quickly.

“No, no!” he defended. “I was just curious is all.”

“You know, I could introduce you,” Poe conspired. “She’s painfully single, and I keep trying to get her out of the apartment. She’s living with me while she gets her degree.”

Finn continued to look embarrassed. “I don’t think I’m in the right place to date a teammate’s family member,” he mumbled.

“You’re not going anywhere, buddy,” Poe understood what the other man meant. “The GM likes what she sees from you, not to mention Ackbar is paying all sorts of attention to you. I think the fact that you’re on the starting line-up for Thursday’s game says a lot.” Finn just nodded and stayed silent, obviously not used to praise, so Poe dropped the subject.

“Alright, let’s get out of here,” Poe stated as he pulled out his wallet to pay for both drinks up at the bar. Finn began to protest, saying that the drinks were his idea, but Poe shot him down.

~

Rey was passed out when Poe arrived home. Bebe shot right out of bed at the sound of the front door opening for the only other human that has a key, his favorite human in the whole world. The sound of his belled collar tinkling as he pranced through the hallway.

“Hey, buddy!” Poe affectionately cooed at the cat. “Is Rey sleeping?”

He scooped up the ginger cat and scratched under his chin while they walked down to check in on the sleeping girl. She was curled in on her side as if to spoon someone, the hole between her knees and chest was normally Bebe’s favorite spot as it provided the most heat.

Instead of waking her, Poe shut the door tightly, making sure Bebe couldn’t get in to wake her up too early. He then set his furry friend down on the couch in the living room and proceeded into the kitchen for his own night time routine of setting up the coffee pot to brew at 6 am and grabbing a snack before burrowing into his own bed on the opposite end of the apartment.

~

Han Solo wasn’t normally one to show his nerves, but being summoned to his wife’s office late at night was never a good sign. While Leia was utterly beloved by the public, Han knew what sort of hellion she could be. Her fury was something of a legend.

He sighed before entering the room at the empty arena. “Hello, dear.” He tried to be as cheerful as he could be.

Leia sat at a big mahogany desk, rubbing the bridge of her nose before looking up. Her hair was frazzled from a long day, strands falling out of the braided bun on the back of her head. She smiled weakly. “Han.”

“You sounded a bit urgent on the phone,” he started, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her.

“Mmmm,” she hummed. “Maybe I just wanted to see you.”

Han’s eyebrows raised. “You haven’t called me in for that in a while.” Leia shot him a glare. “Not that I’m complaining!”

“Actually, your son contacted me today,” Leia smirked.

Han sighed. “Why is he always MY son now that he’s off being a big shot, but he was yours when he was a sweet kid?”

Leia let out a laugh, “I think you just answered your own question, Han.”

“Well? What did our darling child want this time?”

“To scream at Dameron.”

“Oh,” Han's face fell slightly. “That’s it?”

Leia smirked. She knew her husband had been just as upset over Ben’s abandonment as she had, he just didn’t show his emotions as much. “He might be coming over for dinner next week.”

“Might?” Han knew it was too good to be true.

“A week is a long time to change your mind, as you well know,” she responded. “I was thinking about-”

“No, don’t you dare invite the team,” Han palmed his face as if to rid his forehead of sweat. “You know that will only cause more harm than not.”

Leia clucked her tongue. “You’re no fun anymore.”

Chapter Text

She didn’t understand how someone else’s actions of hubris were her fault. Sure, she hadn’t been paying attention when she should have been, but it was an honest mistake. Yet, here she was, waiting to speak to Hux about the atrocious interview that stupid Poe Dameron had to jump in on. Phasma did not have the time nor the energy to deal with this bullshit right now. Yet, here she was, waiting outside of Armitage Hux’s office like a naughty child waiting to see the principal.

“Phasma!” barked the voice she was hoping to avoid.

Walking into the room, she noticed Kylo Ren was already sitting in one of the chairs in front of Hux’s black desk. If she wasn’t about to get her ass handed to her, she would have laughed at the fact that Ren’s knees were scrunched up a bit, as if he were sitting in the child’s chair. His dark wash jeans were lighter on his kneecaps, obviously straining at the angle they were being pulled tautly. Phasma sat down next to him, lounging comfortably as she crossed her legs to keep Hux from seeing up her skirt.

She stared forward at him, waiting for him to scream, letting the pressure out of his beet-red face.

“Phasma,” Hux started out softly. “Please explain to me how Poe Fucking Dameron was able to sneak up on Ren and hijack his interview.”

Phasma thought for a moment. “My mind was elsewhere, Hux.”

“Your mind was elsewhere,” Hux pretended to muse. “Where pray tell, was your mind, then?”

The man they called Kylo Ren rolled his eyes. “Hux, don’t be such a dick.”

“You know I can replace you,” Hux spat at his team captain.

“I’d like to see you try,” Kylo Ren laughed. “Besides, even though I am royally pissed that Dameron hijacked my interview, as you put it, there is no such thing as bad press. Right, Phasma?”

“He’s right,” the blonde finally got herself together. “Social media has taken off last night and this morning and-”

“I don’t fucking CARE about social media, Phasma!” Hux finally yelled. “I care about winning the damn cup every year!”

Ren spoke up softer than his boss, “Then why do you care about an interview?”

“I WILL NOT LET DAMERON SHAKE US UP!”

“Well, it sounds like you’re the only one that’s shaken up about it,” Ren mused. “Sure, I was pissed that Organa’s perfect prince decided that he could talk to me, but what’s done is done. Perhaps if we had another bodyguard-”

“Fine! Hire another fucking bodyguard for interviews,” Hux huffed. “You’re both excused.”

Phasma quickly stood up, still not entirely sure what had just happened. Had Kylo Ren really just defended her?

“Ren!” she called after him as they both exited the pristine office of their General Manager. He stopped in the middle of the hall without turning around to face her. She ran up to him, one of his own strides equaling two of hers when she wore a pencil skirt and heels to work. “Thank you. For throwing water on that fire,” she said, watching his face stay hardened from the interaction with Hux.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t entirely your fault,” Ren huffed. “I have to get to warm-ups.” He walked quickly away, leaving Phasma stunned.

Phasma rolled her eyes after a minute. Both of these men were such drama queens, but if she pointed it out, she’d easily be fired from her job. And despite the most recent drama, she loved her job.

She waltzed back through the halls to her own office, one floor down from Hux’s, thankfully. She didn’t want to see him again for an entire week if she could help it.

Her office was decorated minimalistically with chrome and black furnishings. The only artwork on the wall was her own honorary jersey with her first name on it, since her last name was so mundane and unrecognizable amongst the other Millers in the league, including one of the Knights’ team members. A gift from Hux her first Christmas season with them a few years ago.

Phasma collapsed in her chair. This day was already too eventful for her. She woke up her computer and started scrolling through the Knights social media accounts to see how well the interview had trended. Not that it trending would make Hux happy. No, what would make Ol’ Huxy happy is if someone set a hit on Mr. Dameron.

Alas, Phasma did not make enough money for such transactions, nor was she appreciated around the office enough as it was.

Instead, Phasma would make it up, at least to herself, by capturing all of the stats and pouring them into her boring spreadsheets, even if she really wanted to pour over the gossip columns to see if anyone finally posted the fake “Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren an Item?!” headline.

She wouldn’t decide to take a break from staring at the computer screen for two hours, causing a small headache to tug at the back of her eyes. Usually, she’d just romp on down through the concourse, walking at least four laps to get her steps in on her Fitbit. Today, though, today she wanted a change of scenery. She slipped her heels back on and grabbed her phone in case of photo ops for Instagram, and paraded to the elevator.

~

Rey finally had a day off from both school and work. So, naturally, she was sitting in the stands at D’Qar Arena by herself. She was bundled in one of Poe’s old high school team sweatshirts that dwarfed her small frame and fleece-lined leggings to keep warm since there was no crowd around her to feed her their body heat.

She had her computer in her lap as she typed out a paper on homoeroticism in Shakespearean Sonnets when someone plopped into the stadium seat next to her.

“Hey, Rey,” Rose Tico greeted. “What are you working on?” She gasped looking at the three textbooks and two novels weighing down Rey’s Jansport. “Jyn is going to yell at you if she sees this.”

Rey rolled her eyes as she typed out one last sentence before closing her laptop to take a break. “What Jyn don’t know won’t hurt her.” Rose smirked at that, enjoying talking to another woman her age whenever Rey would visit. “No one to stitch up yet this morning?”

Rose gave an exaggerated sigh, “It’s like they don’t even want to see me.” She stuck out her lip in a fake pout. When Rose was hired in a few months ago, the guys would find any reason they could go to and see the new team nurse. They were used to older men bandaging them up, not a cute 20-something girl fresh out of school. “Paige called me last night.”

Rey stiffened. Rose was Paige’s younger sister, and after Paige left Poe, Rey was not Paige’s biggest fan.

Rose knew this. Rose was also angry at her sister for stringing Poe along for the ride, especially when the guy had helped Rose get a job right after college and still treated her with respect even after the whole incident. “She wants me to get her clothes from your place and bring them to family dinner tomorrow night. I really don’t want to upset Poe any more than he already seems to be,” she gestured towards the glass where the two girls could see Poe furiously skating laps on his own, something he only did when he was upset.

“I’ll talk to him and get them for you tonight,” Rey offered.

Rose sighed, “Thank you so much. I wish she would just man up and do it herself.”

“No, I think it’s better if he doesn’t see her,” Rey weakly smiled. “It’s better if I don’t see her either.”

“Fair enough. I wouldn’t either if it were reversed,” Rose said. “Are you going to the team holiday party this year?”

Rey looked away from the ice, “I don’t think so? Poe usually goes, but…”

“Yeah, and now he has a plus one opening, doesn’t he?” Rose smirked. “You should ask him to take you! I don’t want to be the only girl there for the team to hit on.”

Rey laughed, “I’m pretty sure my cousin would murder anyone that comes near either of us.”

Rose raised her eyebrows, “Are you sure? Because it sounds like Poe is trying to get the new guy to ask you out.”

“What?”

“I heard him this morning singing your praises to Storm this morning in the locker room,” Rose smirked. “Sounds like all of his energy is going into making sure you’re taken care of.”

“Oh, Rose! That’s so gross,” Rey squealed, covering her ears. “Don’t say it like that!”

Rose burst out laughing, “You’re such a prude! When was the last time you got any? You know it’s good for stress relief.”

Rey blushed, “A year or so? I don’t remember exactly.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s WAY too long, my dear,” Rose scrunched her nose. “Convince Poe to bring you. The whole team will be there with their significant others or friends plus other hockey bigwigs. And you get to wear a fancy dress!”

“I don’t have any fancy dresses,” Rey mumbled, clearly out of her element with girly girl sort of things.

Rose perked up even more, “Then we’ll have to go shopping!”

“Why don’t we wait to see if Poe even wants me there,” Rey settled. “He might already have a date.” Rey knew Poe didn’t have a date yet, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend an evening in an uncomfortable dress and heels while being paraded around by Rose like a piece of meat.

“Fine,” Rose sighed. “If Poe says no, will you be my date?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Rose,” Rey cringed. “Parties aren’t usually my thing,” she confessed.

“At least consider it,” Rose pleaded. “It will be so much more fun if you’re there.”

Rey smiled at that. Rose was her first real friend outside of her family. Even though Poe was almost an entire decade older than her, he had taken her under his wing and included her in everything he did without complaining. In turn, she showed up to as many of his games throughout the years, only starting to slack off in the past year and a half after graduating high school thanks to the never-ending workload of college and working part-time for Maz.

But, now she had a real friend that invited her to events without her cousin. Rose went out of her way to talk to Rey about school and work and their hobbies; Rose was going to teach Rey how to knit and Rey was planning on taking Rose out for a night of laser tag after finals in two weeks. The two women couldn’t be more different, yet that’s what made their friendship work so well.

“Alright, I’ll consider it- if I can get this paper turned in on time.”

“Deal!” Rose stuck her pinky out for Rey to swear on, making both girls break out in youthful laughter.

~

Ben’s day was not getting any better after the morning ass-handing Hux supplied. He stormed out of practice halfway through the day, only to run into Phasma as he was about to leave the locker room.

“Kylo!” She squealed nearly dropping her phone. Ben quickly bent over and picked it up from the floor, checked for cracks before he handed it back to the director of marketing.

“Do you ever look up from that stupid device,” he sneered, letting his foul mood run amuck.

Phasma narrowed her eyes, “As a matter of fact, no. It’s my job, Ren.”

Ben huffed and tried to push past her, but she pushed back. “Let me by, Phas.”

“No.”

“Phasma, I’m not joking,” Ben sneered. “I need to get out of here.”

“Does this have anything to do with Hux?” Phasma looked up at his innocently.

Ben rolled his eyes. “No.”

“Then what is it?” she pressed. “You know how annoying I can be if I don’t get my way, so you better just spill it, Ren.”

“If you must know,” Ben sighed. “I’m supposed to be having dinner with my parents on Saturday.”

“And?”

“And I’m not looking forward to it,” he tried to conclude.

Phasma knew better. She folded her arms and popped a hit out to lean against the wall. “Why not?”

Ben palmed his face in frustration, “If you must know, my mother told me to bring a date after I agreed to it.”

Phasma laughed out loud. “The fearsome Kylo Ren, enforcer of the Knights, is afraid of asking someone to dinner? You have got to be kidding me.”

“Laugh it up, Phas,” he grumbled. “There are only two reasons my mother would tell me to bring a date. Either she invited other people, even though she knows I hate her parties, or she has other dubious plans.”

“Your mother sounds like my kind of woman,” Phasma laughed at her coworker’s expense. “I could do it.”

“W-what?” Ben stuttered.

Phasma smirked, “I’ll go to dinner with you. As a friend.”

“You don’t understand what you’re agreeing to,” Ben warned.

“Good,” Phasma’s eyes sparkled. “That’s the best kind of party.”

Chapter Text

Rey blanched as she looked in the large tote bag Rose had brought over to her apartment. It was full of makeup and brushes and hairspray, things Rey usually avoided aside from the occasional swipe of lipstick and her basic brown mascara. Growing up around only men had left her painfully in the dark when it came to such girly things.

“Oh, Rey, this dress is gorgeous!” Rose squealed from Rey’s closet. “Where did you get it?”

Rey laughed. She had done nothing with the dress other than hang it up in her closet.

“Poe had someone in the offices order it for me after he asked for my measurements,” she mumbled. “It might say on the tag.”

“Holy shit,” Rose squealed again. “Did you even look at the tag?” Her voice was utterly too high pitched for Rey to understand. “They didn’t take the price tag off.”

Rey rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell me. Knowing Poe, he spent a small fortune on it, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, a five-hundred dollar fortune,” Rose deadpanned, stepping out of Rey’s walk-in, holding the off-white dress up to herself. “God, I wish we were the same size. I’d steal this for my future, non-existent wedding. This lace is just to die for!”

“Alright, Rose, you’re going to stain it before I get a chance to spill red wine all over myself at the party.”

Poe stuck his head in, “You girls are going to be ready in an hour, right? Leia ordered us a limo and they don’t really like to be kept waiting.”

“How fucking fancy is this party?” Rey snapped feeling very out of her element. Poe laughed almost maniacally at his cousin’s expense.

~

"Ben, honey, I told you to bring a date, not a coworker," Leia mused as Phasma sought out  Amilyn Holdo, who was sampling the famous punch a bit much. Her natural blush was clashing with her lavender locks. Ben and Leia watched the two women exchanged pleasantries before Holdo poured Phasma a cup of Leia’s blood-red punch, making Ben groan and regret agreeing to this.

"I brought a friend, not a coworker," Ben snapped. "You also told me this would be a quiet dinner, not your annual Rebel Holiday party that usually takes place NEXT WEEK," he snapped through clenched teeth. “Do you know what would happen if the tabloids got wind of this?”

“Oh, stop acting ashamed of your family, Ben,” Leia sighed. “Just try to enjoy yourself, please? Mingle a bit. Jyn and Amilyn would love to see you, dear.” She patted his face before moving on to the next group of people she needed to greet. It was still early in the evening and guests were still pouring in couple-by-couple.

Han looked at him with empathy as Leia floated away. He had stayed silent through the exchange, always letting his wife do the talking to their only child.

"Sorry, kid," Han said handing him a scotch on the rocks. "I tried talking her out of it."

Ben glared before downing the entire glass in one swig, "You could have warned me."

"Would you have answered the phone?"

"Well, you see, Han, there's this new technology that allows you to send a simple message of text that I can read on my own time," Ben snorted, "It's called text messaging. Have you heard of it?"

Han grumbled, “You know I don’t know how to use that damn contraption. Your mother made me upgrade to that stupid computer last year.” Ben tried not to smirk at his parents. They had not changed one bit since his childhood, though they seemed happier now that they weren’t fighting over taking him to practice all the time. “Looks like Lando is here. I’m sorry, kid, I really did try to talk her out of it,” he said before walking over to the door to greet his second-oldest friend.

Ben spotted his ex-teammate Storm hiding in a corner, seemingly dateless and not having made friends on his new team yet. He rolled his eyes, hoping that Storm hadn’t seen him, though by the look of nervousness on his face, he’s guess that Storm had already spotted him.

“Kylo!” Phasma snuck up on him. “Oh my god, Kylo, you didn’t tell me this was going to be a Rebels party! I would have dressed sexier.”

Ben raised an eyebrow at her. She was already wearing a tiny, slinky silver number that seemed to be catching the eyes of even the married men in the room. He had watched Han try to avoid looking at the tall blonde woman even in the eyes for fear of Leia’s wrath later.

“What? Maybe I want to catch a rich hockey husband,” she mused. “I’d like to retire soon, you know.”

“Good to know I’m being used,” Ben smirked, swishing the ice in his almost empty glass.

“Just be happy that I refuse to deal with your sass on a daily basis or else I’d be trying to trap you,” she said nonchalantly. She downed the rest of her punch. “I mean other than your personality, you’re the perfect specimen.”

“I think you should have some water now,” Ben looked his date up and down, noticing she was swaying ever so slightly on her four-inch silver pumps. “That punch is stronger than it looks.”

Phasma pouted, obviously already feeling the effects of the annual beverage.

~

Poe was trying SO HARD to not laugh. He knew Rey was not the type to cake on the eyeliner, but Rose was insistent that his cousin have wings, whatever that meant.

“Now, a few things before we get there,” Rose spoke seriously. “Do not in any circumstances drink the punch.”

“The punch?” Rey looked confused.

“Leia is notorious for her Holiday Punch,” Poe supplied. “Also, Jyn will probably corner you and ask if I’m doing my exercises at home,” Poe smirked. “Please lie.” Rey rolled her eyes. She knew that one.

“And stay clear of Leia’s husband once he has a few,” Rose scrunched her nose. “He gets grumpy later in the evening.”

Poe snickered, “No, that’s only because you kept pestering him last year, Rosie.” Rose glared at him. “You were too enthusiastic. He is just a quiet man that likes to stay out of the public eye.”

“Yeah, well, I blame the punch that no one warned me about,” Rose glared pointedly at Poe. “That should be it, I think.” Rose fiddled with Rey’s newly curled hair as the limo came to a halt.

“Rose! It’s fine, I look fine!” Rey snapped, her nerves finally getting to her.

“Oh, honey, you look more than fine, doesn’t she Poe?”

Poe quickly got out of the car, extending a hand to Rey so she could escape the confines of the vehicle.

Luckily, Rey had put her foot down at Rose’s suggestion of heels of any sort, so Rey landed gracefully in her nude ballet flats on the walkway up to the Organa house. She was stunned by the huge house. Sure, she lived in a luxury apartment with Poe, but this. This was an entirely different world.

Rose crawled out of the limo with the help of Poe as well, always the gentleman. She opted for a simple black satin, floor-length number that showed off her curves. Rey wondered if Rose had dressed up a little too much

Poe was wearing a suit he normally wore for away games. Rey could only glare at him for being at least semi-comfortable in something he wears on the regular.

The trio walked in together, Poe holding his elbow out for Rey to take. She was his date after all. The double doors opened to a large foyer where guests mingled. Rey wondered if Leia Organa had an actual ballroom hidden in the massive building somewhere.

“Dameron!” Hissed a voice from close by. “Thank God you're here.”

Poe smiled and embraced Finn Storm, who looked even more uncomfortable than Rey. “Finny! Glad you could make it.”

“That's my line, Dameron,” came a more regal voice from behind them. “Rose, it's wonderful to see you, and all dressed up! You look gorgeous.”

Rose smiled and embraced a woman of similar stature to Rose: short and curvy. But she had a classical air about her.

“And who is this, Poe?” The woman turned towards Rey, recognizing the dress Rey wore. “Is this the famous Rey? Oh, I'm so glad that dress looks better on you than it did in the store!”

“Rey,” Poe stepped forward to introduce, “This is Leia Organa. Owner of the Rebels Hockey Team.”

Rey's eyes went wide, “You picked out this dress?”

“Of course, my dear,” Leia waved it off as if it was nothing. “Do you really think any of these goons have a sense of fashion? Aside from Amilyn, that is, but she was a bit preoccupied this week.”

“Thank you,” was all Rey could whisper. She was in complete awe of this woman who stood several inches shorter than herself but made sure her presence was well known throughout the entire room. Leia beamed at Rey’s gratitude.

“I must go mingle some more and make sure my scoundrel of a husband isn’t getting into too much trouble, now,” Leia stated, straightening the grey, beaded blazer she had paired with her long, navy blue gown. “Don't forget to have some punch, and make sure you say hello to Ben, dear,” she winked at Poe before floating away. Poe did a double take, trying to make sure he heard her correctly.

“Poe” Finn whispered urgently, trying to get his new friend’s attention. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Poe shook his head, gaining some semblance of composure back while Rey glared at him, confused. “In a few minutes, Finn,” he finally said. “I need to get Rey settled in with a safe beverage.” Finn looked irritated before looking at the women Poe had arrived with. His eyes widened at the sight of both of them.

Rose took off after hanging her coat up in a closet that was already stuffed full of jackets and wraps, intent on pouring herself at least one glass of punch, even against her own warning. Then again, Rose was already of age having just turned 22 a few weeks previously, where Rey was still merely 19 years old.

“Well, you know Rose,” Poe said pointing to the woman at the refreshment table. “And this is Rey, my cousin.”

Finn held out his hand for Rey to shake and she took it, still a bit dumbfounded by her interaction with Leia Organa. “Hi,” she said meekly.

“Hi, I’m Finn. The new guy,” he said sheepishly. “But, Poe, really, Kylo Ren is here."

“I know, Leia just told me,” Poe rolled his eyes. “They really didn’t tell you anything when you were on that team did they?” Finn just looked at him as if he was crazy. “I really do need to make sure Rey doesn’t drink the swill, so you can either stay here and cower in the corner, or you can come with us to find the good booze.”

“It’s in the dining room,” rumbled a deep voice. “Careful, though, you don’t want Han knowing you’ve broken into his personal stash.” Kylo Ren had walked up to their trio of his own free will, even spoken to them. He swirled his newly refreshed scotch, almost tauntingly. “Hello, Storm, I hear you’ve found a home in this band of misfit players.”

“Ren,” Finn nodded, trying to hide his shaking hands, and doing a shit job at it.

“So, Han hasn’t changed his hiding spot?” Poe laughed, trying to diffuse any tension between the group. “Rey, you’ve heard of the fearsome Kylo Ren.”

Rey couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about seeing this man in person struck her as familiar.

“What are you doing here?” Finn finally spat. “I didn’t think you normally took to socializing outside of the rink, let alone with your rival team.”

“First of all, I was invited,” Ben smirked. “Second of all, this is my parents’ home. Why shouldn’t I be here?” Ben looked Rey up and down quite obviously. “Rey… why do I know that name?”

“Ren, you remember my little cousin, right?” Poe slapped him on the shoulder as if they were old friends, reminiscent of the interview Poe had barged in on a week ago.

“Ahh, that’s right,” Ben’s smirk deepened. “Last time I saw you, you were a tiny little thing, always trailing behind Dameron when we weren’t on the ice. Always his shadow. I see some things haven’t changed.”

Rey blushed deeply, more embarrassed that she couldn’t figure out how this hulk of a man knew her, let alone remembered her from her awkward adolescence.

“Rey!” Rose’s voice squealed as she returned to the group. “Come on, you should see the spread Leia has laid out.”

“I need a drink first,” Rey responded to the over enthusiastic girl, tugging on her arm. She turned to Poe, “dining room?”

Poe was about to step forward when “I can show you.” Rey looked up at Kylo Ren, who was much more handsome in a suit than he was in his after-game sweats, Rey noted.

“Okay,” Rey answered, not entirely knowing what to do.

“Follow me, Little Cousin,” he took her by the shoulder to direct her towards a door at the opposite end of the foyer.

“First floor only, Ren!” Poe called after them. Ben didn’t grace him with an answer.

Rey could here Finn whisper to Poe, “You’re really going to let him mix her a drink?”

“She’s a big girl, Finny,” Poe answered. “Got her period and everything…” he pretended to wipe away a tear.

Chapter Text

Han sat in the corner of the dining room, making sure to hide from his wife and sulking son. If they really wanted to find them, they knew where to look for him: with his good booze. He’d left Chewie and Lando chatting about something, he didn’t know, he wasn’t paying attention. His excuse was to refill his glass. He was proud that he’d managed to hide out for a whole half an hour, which is why he wasn’t surprised when the dining room door squeaked open (damn, he should fix that tomorrow) to reveal his giant of a son (where did he get his height? If it wasn’t for other traits he gave his son- like those damn ears, poor kid- he’d worry that Leia shacked up with Chewie and passed it off as Han’s instead).

“Ah, we’ve been found out already,” Ben said with a hint of distaste on his tongue. “Han, I’m stealing your good booze. Dameron doesn’t want his baby cousin drinking- what was it he called it? Oh, ‘the swill’.”

Han barked a laugh before he got a look at the petite figure cowering behind Ben. “Tonight is just full of surprises, isn’t it sweetheart?”

“Han Solo?” Rey recognized the man immediately. “You weren’t lying when you said your wife was into the Rebels,” her eyes sparkled with a bit of laughter she was holding back, some semblance of relaxation waving over her ever so slightly at seeing another friendly face after being hijacked by her cousin’s greatest career rival.

Han stood up, be it a bit wobbly at first. “I guess it’s my turn to serve you a drink, sweetheart.” He mixed her an old-fashioned very quickly, given his already inebriated state, and handed it to her. He noted that she looked much more relaxed with a drink in her hand.

Ben scoffed at the beverage. “Wouldn’t you want something a bit sweeter? You’re, what, in college right?” he asked Rey.

“I’m pretty sure Rey can handle it. Ben?” Han answered for her with a wink, holding up a bottle of scotch to tempt his son. Ben nodded at his father, signaling that he was also ready for another beverage if Han was serving.

“So how do you know Rey?” Ben questioned once he had his own drink in hand.

Rey looked at Han, waiting to see what he said. It was well known that a bartender never tells. It wasn’t her job to keep families in the know about their patriarch’s (or matriarch’s) drinking habits. She would follow all of her customer’s cues if they ran into each other in public.

“Rey works for Maz,” Han replied simply.

Ben looked between them, Rey shrugging.

“I wondered if Dameron would bring you along and out me,” Han snickered. “Heard he had a bit of a nasty break up, so Leia wondered, loudly I might add, if he’d come alone. It made her a bit sad- she seems to think everyone needs to show up with a date, especially that one-” he jerked his thumb at Ben, “But after you let slip that you’re his cousin, I may have mentioned to Leia that she have him invite you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Thank you,” she started, “for allowing Rose Tico to torture me all evening.” Her eyes narrowed menacingly. “Do you know how painful it is having someone drawing on your eyelid with a sharp pencil? Or they catch your eyelid in that torture device they call an eyelash curler?!”

“How do you think I feel, kid?” Han gestured to his suited self. “I have to do this at least once-a-fucking-month.”

Rey pursed her lips, “No wonder you drink so much.”

Han laughed outright at that, his eyes crinkling in his mirth. He enjoyed this young woman way too much.

“I should return you back to Dameron,” Ben grumbled, not entirely happy that Han was taking over his interaction with the pretty girl- as per fucking usual. “Now that you have your drink.”

Han caught on to his son’s irritation. “Go back to the party, kids, before your mother sees you with someone other than your date. She might get the wrong idea,” Han snickered.

Ben groaned as he quickly steered Rey back to the party. Rey tried to protest, but Han assured her he would see her later in the evening, even if only to refresh her drink like a good host.

~

Phasma was having way too much fun. She had procured three different phone numbers and was given top offs on her beverage six times as she made her way around the room only once since Kylo disappeared on her. She even got the chance to tell that Poe Dameron off for getting her into trouble the other day!

She was highly unsatisfied with the interaction, though. He apologized in earnest, saying that he had only meant to make Mr. Grump more grumpy for the evening. No, she wanted him to be afraid of her. Damnit.

Aside from that, she was having a blast. She had managed to make Storm even more uncomfortable than he already was just by interrupting his conversation with Dameron. That had been quite delightful!

But the highlight of her evening? Seeing the fearsome Kylo Ren escorting a lovely young lady from a closed door. She floated on over to her ‘date’.

“Kylo! There you are,” she happily greeted. “Who is this lovely creature?” she addressed Rey.

“Phasma, this is Rey Dameron. Rey, Phasma. She’s head of marketing for the Knights,” Ben said in a bored monotone voice.

“Dameron?” Phasma was intrigued. “I didn’t know Dameron was married!” Phasma’s eyes lit up and clapped her hands together as if she had just received the juiciest gossip. “How long? Are you even old enough?”

“Phas-” Ben tried cutting her off.

“Oh, I want all the details! How is he in bed?”

“PHASMA!” Ben barked, gaining the attention of several people close by. “This is Dameron’s baby cousin.” Rey couldn’t help but notice the emphasis on ‘baby’, and it irritated her ever so slightly.

“Oh,” Phasma stopped. “You don’t look like a baby cousin, my dear.” The blonde amazon winked at her. “You should return her before Dameron comes for your head, though, Ren, dear.”

“I can decide for myself who I talk to at a simple party,” Rey finally spoke up. “And I see my friend over there, so if you’ll excuse me. It was lovely to meet you, Phasma, and thank you for the drink, Kylo.” She hurried on over to where Rose was chatting with Jyn Erso. She took the moment to not glance back at the dumbfounded looks she realized the two were giving her, instead taking a large swig of her beverage.

Jyn Erso was a formidable woman that the entire team was wary of. Her methods of getting the teammates into shape were brutal to say the least. Always barking at them for carrying their bags the wrong way, making them sit up straight when they were on the bench waiting to be called up, even showing up at injured players’ homes to make sure they were doing their exercises correctly and frequently.

Rose was laughing at something Jyn had said when Rey approached. “Rey! There you are!” She squealed, obviously a little buzzed already. What the hell was IN that punch?

“Here I am,” Rey replied, smiling. “How many of those have you had?”

“This is still my first,” Rose giggled. “I promise it's my only!”

“Famous last words,” Jyn shook her head. “You look lovely, Rey.”

Rey smiled, “Thank you.” She felt awkward being complimented by others, but knew to not argue. “What were you two talking about?”

~

Ben couldn't stop following her with his eyes. That girl, the one that used to steal fries off of his plate when she thought he wasn't looking, had a permanent kool aid smile until she was ten years old, was always screaming in the stands when the refs called something wrong, she was entrancing.  

“Have you heard a word I was saying?” Ben’s attention was brought back to Amilyn Holdo, who had cornered him as he went to grab a snack from the array of fruits, meats, and cheeses Leia always ordered to be set out.

“Uh, yes?” he tried. “Something about getting a dog?”

She narrowed her eyes skeptically. “Not even close, kid.” Phasma just snorted into her drink at his answer. Holdo huffed in irritation, blowing her purple bangs out of her face. “I was asking what happened to that girl you were seeing, Veronica?”

Ben scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, “She left me years ago, Holdo.”

“Well, when you don’t come around to see your Godmother, how the hell is she supposed to know?” Holdo exclaimed.

“Shut up, Phas,” Ben grumbled.

The blonde held up her hands in defense, “I didn’t even say anything!”

“You were about to,” Ben snapped. “And to answer your next question: no, I’m not seeing anyone. Nor have I seen anyone since Veronica.”

“Alright, sore subject. Noted,” Holdo bit her cheek. “How about you, Phasma? Anyone special in your life?”

“Not at the moment,” Phasma smiled as the attention was turned to her. “But I’m always keeping my options open.”

Holdo laughed, “That’s my kind of girl.”

“But, I wanted to ask you about your marketing campaign,” Phasma started.

Ben began to zone out again as the two women chatted enthusiastically about numbers and hashtags. He even thinks that Holdo gave Phasma the phone number of the Rebels’ marketing manager for the two to connect. Instead, he found Dameron’s cousin again. Dameron was back to guarding her, making sure her drink was satisfactory, that she had enough to eat, double checking that she was comfortable mingling with his teammates and bosses.

She flashed Dameron a huge smile, he must have said something funny. Ben found himself thinking that he wished he was the reason for that smile, but changed the subject in his mind quickly. Wasn’t she a good ten years younger than he and Dameron? Would that be considered statutory? Then again he had just watched his father serve her a drink, not that that really meant anything since Han had been pouring him whiskey and scotch since he was a young teenager.

Phasma kept eyeing Ben, watching where his eyes kept wandering to. But, Ben was too preoccupied to notice Phasma was watching so intently.

“Hey, Kylo?” Phasma’s voice brought him back to reality. “Would you be a dear and get me another drink? Something less potent, pretty please.” She batted her eyes at him sweetly.

“Sure,” he mumbled before heading to the drink station where there was a pitcher of water that remained full since the start of the party. He was ashamed of his thoughts up until that point, so ashamed that he didn’t notice anyone else heading for the water.

“Ben, dear,” his mother startled him. “I see you’re enjoying yourself.” She beamed up at him. He was about a foot taller than Leia, making any family portrait from after he turned fourteen awkward as all hell.

“Not sure you could call this enjoyment,” he started. “But this is one of your…. Less painful soirees, mother.”

She smiled up at him, “I’m so happy you’re here, dear.” Leia squeezed his arm. “Have you talked to Dameron? Both of your Godfathers are here, too.”

“Han mentioned Lando and Chewie were here somewhere,” Ben said. “And I’ve already talked to Dameron.”

“And you’ve seen who he’s brought?” Leia started to smile, her eyes sparkling in a way Ben would describe as menacing, but was actually just a side effect of her punch. “She’s really grown up, hasn’t she?”

“Yes, mother,” Ben sighed. “I should get this back to my date,” he said pointedly. As he turned back towards where he had come from, Phasma and Holdo were nowhere to be found. Ben groaned.

Leia laughed, “Are you sure they weren’t just trying to get rid of you?”

“Whatever,” he snapped.

“Why don’t you go and eat something before your blood sugar drops too low,” his mother suggested. Ben rolled his eyes, having grown out of his hypoglycemia years ago, but she wouldn’t remember that, would she?

Instead of ignoring her, he wandered back to the buffet table, finally filling a plate of fancy cheeses and crackers. He just barely caught a glimpse of two unpolished-but-dainty fingers pulling a cube of colby-jack from his plate.

“Hey-” he began to protest, turning around quickly to see Rey staring at him innocently as she chewed a few times before swallowing.

“Thanks, Ben,” she quickly smirked before quickly walking away.

~

“Well,” Phasma whistled as they climbed into Ben’s car at the end of the night. “That was enlightening.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ben grumbled to the steering wheel.

“Bull. Honkey.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Bull. Fucking. Honkey,” Phasma just stared at him, more serious than he’s ever seen her. “You, Kylo Ren. Ben Solo. Whoever the hell you are, have a crush.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he repeated.

“Alright, fine,” she turned away from him. “But for the record, I can keep a secret if you want to talk about it.”

“I don’t have a fucking crush on a child, Phasma,” Ben growled.

“Nineteen isn’t considered childhood, Ren,” Phasma snapped. “You’re just worried that Dameron would come after you if you deflowered his baby cousin, is that it?”

“I’m not deflowering anyone.”

“Suuuuuuure.”

“Phasma!” Ben snapped. “Leave it alone!”

“Fine. Fine.” Phasma continued to look out the passenger window, watching the landscape pass by as Ben drove like a bat out of Hell. “So, Holdo is your Godmother, eh?”

Ben groaned loudly.

Chapter Text

Rey’s alarm wouldn’t stop buzzing no matter how hard she mindfully willed it to shut the hell up. It was Sunday morning after the Rebels Holiday party. Eventually, she rolled over, groaning loudly, and unplugged the offending electronic.

“What the hell, Rey,” came Poe’s voice, gravely from sleep. “Why is your alarm going off on a Sunday morning?”

“I need to study,” she whined. “Exams start tomorrow.”

Poe disappeared from the doorway and began making noise in the kitchen. Rey could hear him pull out a mixing bowl and whisk something furiously. Pancakes.

Even with the promise of fluffy clouds covered in liquid syrup, it took Rey a good amount of effort to roll out of bed and onto the floor to find her flannel robe.

She found him spooning the batter on the skillet, sausage patties sizzling in the pan on the kitty-corner burner, syrup with the top popped off in a pot of boiling water to make it less viscous.

“So, why has it never come up until now that Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo?” Rey let out after he had fried up a plate for her and dressing it exactly how she liked them.

Poe sighed, “It’s complicated, Rey.” He continued to flip pancakes.

“Seriously?” Rey just stared at him. “‘Complicated’?” She air-quoted around the hefty word.

“Because I was trying to respect his choices. He didn’t want to be Ben Solo anymore. He didn’t want the Skywalker fame. He wanted to be good on his own accord without the expectations,” Poe said quickly in one single breath.

Rey rolled her eyes, “Well, you could at least have warned a girl before she made a complete fool of herself not being able to recognize one of your childhood friends.” She shoved a whole, fresh pancake in her mouth. “He probably thought I was an idiot.”

Poe glanced back at her, “And why do you care if Kylo Ren thought you were an idiot?”

“I don’t,” Rey spat too quickly after swallowing her mouthful of pancake.

Turning back to the pan to move his stack to his plate, Poe smirked. “So you’re over that crush, then?”

“I never had a crush, Poe,” rey grumbled into her food.

“Uh-huh,” he played along, his eyes glazed over as if he were remembering something from the distant past. He shook his head comically, “So, what do you think about Finn?”

“What about him?” she continued to shove food into her mouth.

Poe sat in the chair opposite of her in their makeshift breakfast nook with their tiny tiled bistro table and chairs. “Just, what do you think of him?”

Rey narrowed her eyes at him, “Why?”

“I just want to know what you think of him,” Poe snapped defensively. “As a person, as a player, anything.”

Rey thought for a moment, “I barely know him? He seems like a strong player aside from his apparent anxiety when faced by the knights.” Poe nodded as if he knew all of that. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Poe. You’re not trying to set me up again with someone, are you? We both remember how well that worked last time.”

It was last year and Poe had convinced Rey to come out on a double date with him and Paige and one of Paige’s coworkers. It had ended with the guy grabbing her butt before he even spoke a word to her. The date had ended halfway through dinner when the guy asked Rey if she was a virgin and Poe was about to punch him, but Rey slapped him first and stormed out with her cousin following her closely and Paige apologizing to Rey profusely over the next three months.

“That was not my idea, it was Paige’s,” Poe sighed.

“Well, it still sucked. And while I’m sure Finn isn’t as much of a pig as Calvin,” Rey went on, “I don’t need you trying to set me up with anyone.”

“Yeah, fine,” Poe mumbled.

Rey eyed him, “Do you promise?”

“Hmmm.”

“Say it, Poe,” Rey continued to stare at him until he looked up.

“Come on, I just want you to be happy and settled,” he pouted.

Rey’s eyes rolled so hard that even she was surprised they didn’t stick. “Poe Dameron, I am only nineteen years old. I am a sophomore in college. What part of that says I need to settle down?”

“Yeah, fine,” Poe grumbled and shoveled his breakfast into his mouth so quickly that he finished before Rey- a very rare occurrence as she still usually ate as if someone was going to steal something off of her plate.

He busied himself with washing the dishes right away while she finished eating. She cleared her place, bringing him her dirty plate and flatware of which he gladly accepted silently.

Rey grabbed her backpack, opting to stay in her pajamas and robe for most of the day until she needed a mental break. She flopped it onto the large L-shaped couch Poe had insisted upon even though it was only her, Poe, and their cat that sat on it. Carefully, she pulled out her notes and novels for the two exams she had the next day. Bebe joined her, bored of watching his Poe wash dishes. Rey smiled at the enthusiastic cat.

“Bebe,” she cooed, “come here, kitty cat.” She unfolded one of the throw blankets they had draped over the back of the couch and used it to cover herself, making a space perfectly sized for the orange tabby and patting it to entice him. The cat stared at her before moving on to check out a book she had left open on the floor. A heating vent was blowing on the top pages, making them flutter like an animal to be hunted.

But Rey was not paying attention to the feline and his shenanigans. She was looking over her notes for her Intro to Classics seminar. The exam was to be multiple choice, matching the correct god/goddesses to their myth on top of three essay questions.

It didn’t take long, maybe forty-five minutes, for Rey to let her eyes droop from exhaustion, and soon she was lightly snoring. Poe had just come out of the shower when he found her and tossed another blanket on top of her before heading to his bedroom to watch his television.

It was a good thing Rey was left alone after that. Poe might have heard her mumble a name while she dreamed. She dreamed of very soft hair running through her fingers. Fine black hair that curled at the ends. Hair that came down to just above his shoulders and always flopped into his face. Rey couldn’t keep her hands out of the hair.

“Meow!” yowled a voice in front of her face and Rey jumped awake to find Bebe rubbing himself against her hands.

Perhaps it was time for that shower.

~

Ben’s phone buzzed once. Buzzed Twice.

Must have been a double text.

It buzzed again. Ben groaned in frustration. Whoever was texting him would not leave him alone until he answered them.

He sat up too quickly, feeling dizzy after his hair flopped into his face. “Whoever you are, I’m going to hurt you.”

He leaned over the edge of his king sized bed, reaching for his coat from last night. His phone was left in the pocket, now at 13% battery.

Phasma:

212-555-3495

Phasma:

Thank me later ;)

Phasma:

I really meant thank me now.

Ben:

What is it exactly I’m thanking you for?

Ben finished typing out his message, yawning. He looked around the room with his eyes half open. He sought out a pair of pajama pants, pulling them up over his boxer briefs.

The phone buzzed again.

Phasma:

Just call the number, baby.

Ben groaned again. This woman was going to cause him to have a stroke.

Ben:

If that is who I think it is, you’re insane.

Phasma:

But you’re thinking of her.

Phasma:

Tell her. Girls go CRAZY for that shit.

Ben:

Phasma, I think I hate you.

Phasma:

:*

Before Ben could set his phone back on his nightstand to do something else, his phone vibrated again. Expecting Phasma to keep pestering him, he took in a deep calming breath.

Mother:

It was wonderful to see you last night. It looked like you were having fun. Love you.

Great, just what he needed, a guilt trip from Leia. Did he dare to respond, only to dig a deeper hole for her to stick her tiny nose in?

Ben:

It was mildly entertaining.

He finally took that moment, before she responded, to drop the phone and run out of his bedroom to find some breakfast.

After his boring bowl of oatmeal, Ben showered and continued getting ready for the day as if it were any normal Sunday where he’d venture out for a lunchtime coffee and newspaper. Yet, when he re-entered his bedroom, he saw another text from his mother that had sat there unopened for an hour.

Mother:

Yes, Rey Dameron was ravishing wasn’t she?

Godfuckingdamnit.

~

Monday practice was especially brutal for everyone on the Rebels team. Most had taken the opportunity to party a bit harder than they’d normally allow themselves during the season, but Leia’s Holiday parties were always the exception. Even coach Ackbar was popping the advil two days removed.

Poe and Cassian seemed to be the only two teammates that had any sort of semblance of normal energy on the ice. Luckily, they were reaching the end of the day when Rey walked through the employee entrance of the area, exhausted from a day of final exams.

She made her way through the maze of hallways to Jyn and Rose’s office they shared with other medical staff, hoping to take a nap on one of the massage tables. Rey briefly wondered if there were any clean blankets hanging around that she could snag.

“Well, hello there, sunshine!” rang Rose’s voice. Too perky for someone who ended up drinking three cups of punch and tossing her cookies as soon as they walked her into her studio apartment. Rey wasn’t quite sure how the girl made it to her bathroom, but she did it and managed a graceful twirl, too. Poe and Rey left only after they had tucked her in bed, still wearing her dress.

Rey’s eyebrow quirked, making Jyn laugh as she worked to stretch Finn out after a nasty fall this morning. “Ow!” he squealed as she pushed him slightly too far.

“Don’t be a baby, Storm,” the trainer snapped. “There’re leftovers from the party in the next room,” she directed at Rey. “No punch, I promise.” Rey couldn’t help but snort at that.

“I’ll grab some in a minute,” she said as she fell onto the massage table next to Jyn and Finn. “I just need to shut off my brain for a few minutes.” She closed her eyes and rested her arm over her face to block out the artificial light that broke through the thin skin of her eyelids.

Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes, believing Rey would fall asleep soon if she wasn’t already. Then- “Stop fidgeting, Storm! Or else this will take longer!” Finn groaned loudly.

“Do as she says,” Rey warned, not anymore closer to falling asleep as when she walked into the building. “Or else you’re in for a world of pain. Both psychological and physical.”

Poor Finn whimpered under her suggestion, trying to not move but relax under Jyn’s instructions. “Hopefully this teaches you to be wary of any beverage Leia Organa hands you,” Jyn mused ten minutes later as she walked away from the table, letting the poor guy just lay there and accept his pain, or as she would say “relax”.

“You okay over there?” Rey asked the man on the next table. He only groaned. “Well, at least I know you’re alive.” He thought she heard him snort at that, but couldn’t be sure.

“Rey,” Rose re-entered the room with a plate of cheese and crackers from two nights ago. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Dying, why?”

“I think we should celebrate!” Rey’s eyes were still covered by her arm, so she couldn’t see Rose’s face. “You’ll be done with school, we can wear ugly Christmas Sweaters, and dance the night away!”

Luckily, Rey had an out, “I can’t this weekend. Poe’s dad is flying in.” There was only so much partying Rey could handle.

“Kes will be in town?” Jyn asked from behind the glass of her more private cubicle in the office. “Why didn’t Poe say anything?”

Rey shrugged before answering, “I think he’s in for just the weekend. Seemed like he wanted to spend as much time with us around the game as possible. You’d have to talk to Poe,” she deflected. Sometimes it was exhausting living in a family that everyone adored. They never got any time to spend with just each other.

“Well, then we’re planning something for your birthday next month,” Rose piped in.

“It’s not my actual birthday, Rose,” Rey laughed.

Rose pouted as she popped a cube of swiss into her mouth. “What else am I supposed to call it?”

“Got You Day,” Rey snickered as she used the term most people used for the anniversary of when they brought home their treasured fur children. It was a running joke between her adoptive family that she was more of a treasured and pampered pet than a daughter/niece/cousin.

“You’re not a dog, Rey,” Rose grumbled.

Rey sat up, rubbing her eyes, “Well, it’s the best I’ve got, Rose. I don’t need a birthday.”

“Why don’t you have a birthday?” Finn finally spoke.

“Poe’s uncle adopted me when I was little,” she explained quickly.

Finn turned his head to look at the two women, one dangling her legs on the side of the table that faced him, the other standing at the foot of it, munching on crackers now that her pile of cheese had disappeared. “Yeah, but it should say on your birth certificate, right?”

Rey’s eyebrows shot up, “I didn’t have one on me when they picked me up from the junkyard I was hiding in.” That shut the guy up.

“Alright, Storm,” Jyn said, bustling back to his table. “I want you to take an epsom salt bath tonight, and ice that hammie for 20 minutes five times. Tomorrow you’re going to learn a few stretches to keep this from happening again.”

Finn sat up finally. He moved without wincing, almost, being careful to put his full weight on his left leg. “Alright,” he simply answered, obviously in too much pain from pulling a muscle to argue in any capacity.

Poe and Cassian Andor burst through the door of the medical center.

“Hey, Rey,” Poe said as he ruffled her hair and ruining her perfect messy bun aesthetic. “How did your exams go?”

“I want pizza tonight,” she replied instead. Poe just laughed.

Chapter Text

The Thursday night had started out like any other. Rey had kicked James out of her bar, and Han had set up shop on his usual stool. Tonight, though, the bar was decently packed, leaving Han to his own devices for entertainment much of the time. Instead of hockey, the TVs played college football and other random sports.

It was an off night and Poe was spending the evening with his father. Rey had pretended that she couldn’t get out of work so that father and son could spend quality time together. She’d catch them for breakfast in the morning.

Somehow it had gotten to midnight, even though the last time Rey had looked at a clock it was merely 9pm, and that seemed like it was a mere ten minutes ago. Time flies when you’re serving already schnockered people more alcohol? Sometimes Rey wished she was of legal drinking age so she could throw one back after dealing with a handsy guy or spoiled rich girl looking for sugary cocktails that would guarantee a hangover.

She looked over to Han, who was slumped over, looking dazed at his phone. Shit. She should have cut him off a few drinks back, it seems. Rey quickly poured the man a steaming cup of coffee and took his whiskey away without any protest.

“Kid,” he mumbled. “Wife won’t pick up.” Rey nodded, pretending to have a hold of the situation. Maz had already left for the evening.

“Can I see your phone?” she asked, suddenly getting an idea. He handed it to her without a second thought, already unlocked for her.

Rey began to scroll while catching the attention of one of the waitstaff to man the counter for her for the moment.

Mindy bobbed on over, her bright blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. “What’s up, Rey?”

“I need to make a call, can you watch the drawer and make sure he-” she pointed at Han who was sniffing the coffee as he waited for it to cool “-doesn’t fall over?” Mindy nodded and started making conversation with Han, helping to keep his wits about him.

Rey stepped outside by the smoking shelter and hit “call” after finding a name she knew.

Calling Ben

Rey took a deep breath and held the phone up to her ear. It rang twice and went to voicemail.

“Umm… hi, this is Rey Dameron. Um, Han needs a ride home. He’s at Maz’s,” her voice wavered, embarrassed and nervous all at once for a reason she didn’t quite understand. She quickly hung up and dialed again, just in case. Flurries began to fall, making Rey mentally shiver as she waited for the phone to connect to the server.

“WHAT?!” barked a voice on the other end after five rings. “This had better be important, Han.”

“It is important, but this isn’t Han,” Rey boldly replied.

She could hear the confusion in his voice, “Rey? Why do you have Han’s phone? What’s wrong?”

“Well, Han needs a ride,” she started. “I would do it, but Maz already left for the night and there’s no other manager here to cover for me.”

“I’ll be there soon,” he said before just hanging up. Rey breathed a sigh of relief before walking back into the bar. She smiled at Mindy, who left to check on her rowdy tables.

Han’s eyes shined at Rey as she handed him back his phone. “Ben?” he smiled a mischievous smile. She nodded as she added more coffee to his mug and poured him a basket of pretzel rods.

It was about a half an hour before Ben burst through the doors, hair and shoulders covered with fresh snowfall. She was busy pouring a line of seasonal beers for a table when he walked up to the bar, spotting his father.

“Han,” Ben started, looking at his inebriated father up and down, trying to figure out if he needed to carry the grown man from the bar.

“Ben, sit down, have a drink!” Han’s eyes lit up at the sight of his son, as if he was about to teach his son how to shave or something else bond-y. “Rey makes a mean drink, don’t you, sweetheart?” He winked at that bartender.

“Actually,” Ben rumbled, “I think it’s time to get you home.”

Ben started to get his wallet out to settle up his father’s tab, but Rey waved him off. “He has a tab. He can pay it himself. If not, I know where he lives,” she flashed him a dangerous smile that momentarily made his knees quake. She came around to the other side of the counter to try to help Ben hoist Han up, but she was unnecessary; Ben already had the man up and supported.

Rey followed them to the door to make sure Ben had Han securely. It was then she noticed how quickly the snow was coming down. This would make for a fun drive home tonight in her tiny car.

“Thank you,” she suddenly found herself saying to the tall, handsome hockey star.

He just looked at her for a moment, still hanging on to Han even though Han really didn’t need to be supported any more, the pretzels had soaked up a good amount, but playing damsel in distress during a moment such as this would not hurt his pride too much down the road, Han mused in his head.

“It’s not a problem,” Ben finally answered. “I’m glad you called me. But, he’s heavy, so I should get him in the car.” He also looked out the double glass doors. “Are you going to be okay getting home in this?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rey smiled. “I can call Poe if I need to.” Ben nodded before heading out the doors. Rey watched him pile Han into his top-of-the-line SUV and slowly drive off.

~

Rey was wiping down the bar at the end of the night, checking off each of her closing duties as she completed them. Only she, Mindy, and Jackson the cook were left cleaning and ushering out the last of the patrons. They weren’t technically closed yet, but it was nearing 2 am.

The bell on the door tinkled, only ever heard on slow nights. Rey looked up to see Ben standing there, looking cold and wet in his black leather jacket, clearly overestimating his own immunity to the cold of winter. He sauntered up to the bar, looking kind of sheepish.

“Last call was ten minutes ago,” Rey supplied with dry bartender humor.

Ben looked slightly taken aback, “I don’t like the idea of you driving out on those roads. They’re terrible.”

“My knight in shining armor,” Rey snickered. “I’ll be fine-”

“Did you call Dameron?” he interrupted.

She glared at him, “No, I’m a big girl. I’ve driven in worse.”

His brows furrowed and mouth pouted, “Which car out there is yours?”

Rey rolled her eyes, “The sedan. It’s more sturdy than it looks.”

“You should have Dameron buy you a proper vehicle for the climate,” he sighed.

“I can buy my own car, thank you,” she huffed, quickly becoming irritated with his insistence that she be but a mere damsel.

“Just accept the ride,” he snapped.

She glared at him, he glared back, both too stubborn to let it go. Mindy and Jackson hid in the kitchen, watching the encounter from the pick-up window. There may have been a bet involved, but neither Rey nor Ben were aware of it.

“Fine,” she gave in. “I just need to finish closing up, or else Maz will be after me. Do you want a drink while you wait?”

Ben smirked and sat down on the stool his father normally inhabited. “Just a coffee.” He began to pull out some cash from his wallet.

“No charge,” Rey said. He raised an eyebrow at the fact that she refused his money twice in one night. “Maz would scold me something fierce if she knew I charged someone after offering to drive me home in a snowstorm.”

“Until she finds out who it was,” he smirked. “She’s not my biggest fan.”

Rey looked up from the spot she was furiously scrubbing at on the worn metal surface of the bar. “Oh? Then why does she have your baby picture in her wallet?”

“She what?” Ben’s eyes went wide.

“I saw it once,” Rey elaborated as she went back to scrubbing the counter. “I asked her who the chubby-cheeked cutie was. It doesn’t take a lot to recognize your ears.” She looked up quick enough to see Ben try to cover his ears with his hair more. Subtle. “Ben-Kylo, I was joking with you.”

“Ben,” he said softly. “Call me Ben.” He said it without making eye contact with her, but she still smiled warmly at him.

“Ben,” she tested out the name just as lightly as he did. “Maz told me the picture was of Han’s little one, so after last week, I put two and two together.” She smiled brightly at him.

The ears he had just tried to cover could be seen peeking through, turning a shade of pink.

“I have to go in the back to grab my things,” she announced suddenly, looking over the closing checklist one last time, “and I should be ready.”

She scuttled to the back where Jackson and Mindy were waiting for her. Rey only glared at them while she grabbed her winter coat, boots, and purse from her locker. She didn’t change her shoes for fear of being ambushed by the Spanish Inquisition.

Before heading back into the bar, Rey made a stop in Maz’s office, being the only other person with a key had its perks. She detached her car keys and left a note for her boss explaining the situation and that she’d be back in the morning, hopefully, but left her keys in case the vehicle needed to be moved for the plow truck.

She zipped up her coat and met Ben by the front door of the restaurant. “Ready?” she asked.

Ben nodded and held the door open like a gentleman.

His black SUV was already covered in snow, parts of his windshield were already melting away thanks to the remote start he turned on as she went to grab her belongings and the fact that his car had been running merely twenty minutes beforehand. He opened the door for her, making sure the snow didn’t fall into her seat.

Once he climbed into the driver’s seat, he turned the heat on their feet rather than the windshield. “Let me know when you’re warm enough.”

They sat in silence after Rey gave him directions while he put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot. Snow was still piling up. If Rey had to guess, she’d say there were about six inches on the ground already. She was already cursing herself for not calling Poe and Uncle Kes earlier.

“How was Han when you left him?” she asked suddenly.

Ben pursed his lips before answering. “He fell asleep on the couch.”

“The couch?” she asked skeptically.

“He didn’t want to go upstairs,” Ben shrugged defensively. “He doesn’t like sleeping upstairs when Leia isn’t home.”

“Where is Leia tonight?”

Ben sighed. This girl was very inquisitive. “She’s visiting my uncle who knows where.”

“You don’t know where your uncle lives?”

“No,” he answered simply.

“Oh,” Rey let it drop.

The rode in silence for a bit longer until Ben can’t stand it anymore. “So, do you do anything other than work at the Tavern?”

“Mmhmm,” Rey answered. “I’m a student at the university.”

“What are you studying?”

“Literature and creative writing.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you plan on doing with that?”

“Write,” Rey sighed, waiting for the usual ‘you’ll never make a living as an author’ speech.

“Hmmm,” he hummed. Rey couldn’t read him. The car was too dark to make out his less prominent features at 2am, no headlights from fellow cars to light their way.

“What?” she asked, nervous about his opinion of her life choices.

“Nothing,” he answered. “It’s just not what I expected from a bartending hockey fanatic.”

Rey smirked to herself, “You’ll find I’m full of surprises.”

“Are you now?” Ben’s curiosity was piqued even further.

“You want to turn left up here,” Rey changed the subject. “Second building on the right.”

He pulled the car up to the building and began to unbuckle himself before he noticed Rey’s confused look at him. She had gathered her purse and unbuckled herself, hand on the door handle as if ready to tuck and roll if the car were still moving.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“You’re not walking me up,” she stated.

“Why not?” he asked, confused.

“For one, Poe is upstairs,” Rey smirked. “Even if you two were friendly he’d probably beat you to a bloody pulp for driving me home in the wee hours of the morning before either of us could explain.” Ben just continued to stare at her. “And then there’s the whole thing of ‘I’m perfectly capable of walking up a stoop, unlocking the front door, and riding an elevator up to the correct floor’.”

Ben raised his eyebrows and put his seatbelt back over his lap. “Alright,” he mused, a small smirk starting in the corner of his mouth. “If you slip on some ice, I am not liable for Poe’s wrath.”

Rey nodded, “Fair. Thank you for the ride.”

“Chivalry and all that,” Ben shrugged. That made Rey smirk as she opened the door and carefully slid down from her tall seat. “Be careful in the morning when getting your car,” he called after her.

She smiled up at him before she closed the door, “Bye, Ben.” And then she scampered up the steps to her building.

Chapter Text

Poe was passed out on the couch when she walked into their shared home. He had offered his bed to his father for the weekend. Rey tiptoed around the apartment, trying to let him sleep as she got ready to turn in for the night. Alas, it didn’t work.

“Rey?” Poe called, voice graveled from sleep. “Is that you?”

“Yeah,” she whispered as Bebe ran up to butt his head against the first part of her he could reach. “

“Crap, I was going to call you to see if you needed a ride in this mess.” He sat up and rubbed his face.

Rey smiled, “I did get a ride, don’t worry about it.”

“Who drove you?” he asked, surprised she’d accept help from anyone but him.

Rey thought for a moment about lying but decided against it. Why bother? There were witnesses and it would probably come back to bite her in the ass. Han would guess, probably tell Leia who’d then let it slip to someone at D’Qar, and then the rest would be shit.

“Ben Solo.”

Poe snorted. “Good one.”

She just stared at him in response.

“Wait- really?” It took a moment for the information to sink into his half-awake brain. “What the fuck was he doing at the Tavern?”

“I called him to give Han a ride home,” Rey explained, trying to make sure her cousin didn’t freak out on her. “He wasn’t in any state to drive and apparently Leia is out of town.” She tried shrugging it off. Poe just stared at her. “What?” she asked impatiently.

Poe sighed almost comically, “Rey, what did we say about getting into cars with strange men?”

“Oh, shut up, Poe,” Rey rolled her eyes and walked off to her bedroom, ending the conversation.

~

Kes Dameron had once been a formidable defenseman. He spent most of his career bouncing from team to team but ended up retiring with the Rebels after his wife had passed away, leaving him the sole caregiver of their young son. He didn’t want to leave Poe in the care of a nanny or burden his brother, who was just getting the hand of parenting his own foster daughter when Shara passed away.  

So, Kes had retired a few years early and became a stay-at-home father and part-time peewee coach, which led to him becoming a high school hockey coach, allowing him to spend plenty of time with his son throughout the years and also being able to support his brother’s endeavors with Rey. The two brothers worked in tandem to care for their children, Kes doing all of the chauffeuring while Erix, the scholar of the family, helped with academics.

Kes had become rather adept at making a gourmet breakfast at 4am when trying to get the kids out the door to school and hockey, and knowing his grown son was on his way to practice, he stepped up to the pan to surprise the two adults he helped raise. Of course, he set some ingredients aside for a few hours to make sure Rey’s breakfast was just as fresh for her.

The scent of bacon wafted over through the living room, waking the almost-30-year-old man on the couch for the second time in less than two hours. Before moving into the kitchen to see what his old man was up to, even though it was quite obvious, Poe walked down the hall to make sure Rey’s door was shut tight so that they would not wake her up.

Bebe followed his owner throughout the apartment, even into the bathroom as Poe went in to freshen up before breakfast.

Poe grunted as he entered the kitchen, Bebe meowing similarly as if he, too, had just received a wake-up-call that was rather unwelcome.

“What time did Rey get in last night?” Kes asked while he flipped the hashbrowns.

Poe’s brow furrowed as he tried to remember in his still-groggy state. “Like 2:30 or 2:45?”

Kes mumbled something before he went back to check on the strips of bacon.

“What are you planning on doing today?” Poe asked, trying to make conversation that didn’t rub him the wrong way. “Just hanging out? Or do you have plans to meet up with anyone?”

“I was thinking about coming down to the rink to watch, if you don’t mind,” he shrugged. “It would be nice to chat with Ackbar.” The two had been teammates right before Kes retired. Poe nodded in agreement. “And then I’d best be heading back. Kids have a game on Monday.”

“You should see about bringing them to a game after their season is over,” Poe offered. “I’m sure Ackbar and Organa would be more than happy to give you a discount or something on some really good seats.”

Kes smiled at his boy, “You know, that’s not a bad idea.” He continued to move about his kids’ kitchen. “What does Rey normally get up to on Fridays?”

Poe hummed, trying to summon Rey’s schedule to the forefront of his mind. “I think she has a class from 10 to 2?” Poe thought for a moment as a plate full of food was placed in front of him. “I think that’s it, but I don’t know if she has other plans.” Then a thought struck him, “Oh, we need to get her car from Takodana Tavern.”

“She didn’t drive home?” Kes looked concerned.

The younger Dameron shook his head, “No, she- uhh- she got a ride.”

“You don’t sound too happy that someone else did your job, boy,” Kes smiled. “Who was he?”

Poe looked taken aback, “Who said it was a guy? And it’s not my job to take care of her, dad. She’s an adult, you know.”

Kes smirked even more, “It’s a hard habit to break when you’ve been doing it for almost fifteen years, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is,” Poe sighed, palming his face to wipe away the shame of denying the obvious. “I just don’t know if I’m okay with it.”

“You and Erix both, son,” Kes chuckled. “I still have to talk your uncle down from coming out here every week to check to make sure she’s eating enough- not that that has ever been a problem with her-, getting her homework done, and is wearing clean clothes. So, do we know who this mystery man is that she’s taking a liking to?”

“Ky-Ben Solo,” Poe answered.

“Oh,” was all Kes said.

Poe quickly tried to defend his cousin, “She hasn’t really expressed interest in him, though. More like he just happened to be there to drive her home.” Poe thought for a moment while he took a bite of the perfectly crispy hash browns steaming on his plate. “They got along decently at Leia’s Holiday party, though.”

“So we’re back to calling him Ben?” was all Kes could snark. Poe rolled his eyes. “Sorry, it gets confusing.”

“He’s still Kylo Ren as far as I know,” Poe tried to explain. “But, Rey called him Ben last night. Maybe I’m just reading into it too much.”

“Have they seen each other other than these two instances?”

Poe shook his head, “No, the party last week was the first time she’s seen him. She had no idea that Kylo Ren and Ben Solo are the same person.”

“Well, it sounds like he’s just being a gentleman to a childhood friend, son,” Kes smirked. “I don’t think you have to worry about them. He probably still thinks of her as the tiny thing that followed you boys around. Probably why he felt protective enough of her to drive her home last night.”

“I guess you’re right,” Poe relaxed. Though , Poe thought to himself, he did keep catching Ben watching Rey at the party. Then again, that could have just been Solo’s reaction to seeing Rey all grown up. And it wasn’t as if Poe didn’t facilitate them getting reacquainted. He had allowed Ben to swoop in and escort her to the safe alcohol.

“If you really want to know, why don’t you talk to them?” Kes suggested.

Poe’s lips pursed. “I tried talking to Rey last night, but she just went off to bed.”

Kes raised a brow, “Of course she did. If it’s just friendship, she won’t understand why you’re making such a fuss over it, and if it is something more intimate-” Poe faked a gag at that- “she won’t say much to you since you’re basically her older brother.”

“If you’re expecting me to talk to Ben Solo, I would like to know what you’ve been smoking and can I have some,” Poe deadpanned.

Kes just shrugged, hiding a smile.

~

Later that evening, Rey had gone to work to pick up a shift and his father had left the city. So, Poe was left to his own devices for the evening. He still wasn’t used to spending an evening alone. But, practice had been too brutal for him to want to go out for a drink with Finn or Andor, so he ordered Chinese take-out and turned on multiple episodes of South Park to just relax for the evening.

His mind kept drifting back to his father’s idea of talking to his old teammate about his intentions with Rey, especially as he scrolled through his social media accounts.

He spotted a photo that Rose had posted from the Holiday party on her Instagram account. Rey and Rose were posed in each other’s arms, both red-cheeked and smiling big, goofy smiles. He double-tapped before he noticed the background: by the buffet table stood Holdo, Ben, and his bleach-blonde date, and Ben was not looking at his date, even if she was completely gorgeous.

That woman was everything Poe thought Ben- sorry, Kylo Ren would go for now. She was tall, but not too tall for him even in heels, leggy, and outgoing enough to take attention away from himself.

But, Ben wasn’t looking at his date. No, it looked like he was staring at the camera. And… Was he smiling?

Poe had not seen that man genuinely smile since they were teenagers. Maybe this friendship of theirs wasn’t that terrible of an idea if it got Ben to look somewhat human rather than God of Death and Despair again.

~

Ben was also home alone that evening, just like last night when Rey had called him from his father’s phone. He was spread across his king sized bed, also scrolling through his phone. Except, he wasn’t on his own feed on instagram. No, he was on Rey’s. He felt triumphant when he found out that it was public, so he didn’t need to make his presence known to do a little bit of social media stalking, so long as he didn’t accidentally like something.

She liked to take selfies, he noted. She was a big fan of deep colors. And Poe and Rose made frequent guest appearances in her photos. But, perhaps her most popular subject was an orange tabby and its weird antics. There was even a photo of the polydactyl cat giving the camera a thumbs up.

He browsed for what seemed like hours, even finding himself on Poe’s profile.

But, then his phone buzzed:

212-555-3495:

Thanks for the ride.

Ben just stared at the notification on his phone. He hadn’t saved the number in his phone, half-expecting Phasma to have given him a wrong number on purpose. His heart quickened, not sure why she would thank him for basically kidnapping her and finding out where she lived all in one swoop. Damn, he felt creepy for insisting, but the roads really were shit.

Ben:

Not a problem.

Rey:

I hope you don’t mind I got your number from Han.

Ben:

Is he at the bar again tonight?

Rey:

No. He called, though, to thank me.

Ben:

Funny, he hasn’t thanked me yet.

Rey:

Bruised Ego. Give him a few weeks before you tease him :P

That made Ben laugh. It was true that Han rarely thanked anyone, especially his son, for anything.

Rey:

I’m heading to bed now, I just wanted to thank you for the ride.

Ben:

You’re very welcome. Sweet Dreams

Ben set his phone down on his nightstand and crawled into the bed properly before falling asleep, enjoying uninterrupted dreams.

Chapter Text

“So, have you texted her?” Phasma appeared suddenly as Ben was leaving the locker room the next day. He was dressed in his street clothes rather than sweats, signaling he was going somewhere other than home after his day was finished here. Phasma carried her winter coat in the same arm as her impressive designer handbag.

Ben feigned ignorance. “Texted who?” Phasma huffed impatiently.

“Have you texted Baby Dameron?” she asked louder, making one or two heads in the hallway turn after practice as they headed to work on their individual workouts for the day. Ben just glared at her for the unwanted attention. Unlucky for Phasma, though, Hux was behind Ben, appearing in the doorway as she said the unsavory surname.

“What about Dameron?” Hux’s eyes flashed.

“I don’t know,” Ben continued his acting.

Phasma quickly caught on, “Oh, it’s nothing, Hux.” She tried to wave him off.

“Hmmm,” he hummed unhappily, but let the subject drop. “What are you doing down here, Phasma?”

“Taking a walk,” she answered simply as she followed the two men down the hallway. “I needed to stretch my legs.”

“Snoke wants to meet,” Hux suddenly stated. “In the New Year.”

Ben scrunched his face. None of the three liked meeting with the team owner. “What about?” Phasma said, breaking the silence.

“He didn’t say,” Hux said curtly. “But he requested all three of us.”

“I don’t wanna,” Phasma whined like a three-year-old that didn’t get a nap. “I don’t like him very much.” Hux raised both eyebrows at her. “What? Just because I work for him, doesn’t mean I have to like him. I just have to tolerate. Which is what I do with all of you.”

“Thank you so much, Phasma,” Hux sneered. “I must say that I must tolerate you as well.”

“You know, that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to or about me,” Phasma beamed at him. “Complimenting your employees when they do something good is actually known to make them work harder for more praise. It’s proven.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.”

“You should also consider buying me a couch for my office,” Phasma snuck in. “I’m less annoying when I’ve had an after-lunch nap.”

The two men made eye contact, Ben trying not to laugh while Hux’s expression read ‘who the fuck hired this woman? Oh, shit, right, me.’

“We should get going,” Ben finally spoke.

Phasma looked between them. “You’re going out? Together?”

“We’re going Christmas shopping, Phas,” Ben groaned.

“But, why?” Phasma relayed her confusion with a side of disgust. “You hate each other.”

“No we don’t,” both men quickly said at the same time.

“Uh-huh,” she folded her arms and cocked a hip against the wall. “Is there a thing going on between you two?”

“Phas,” Ben growled.

Hux wiped his face with the palm of his hand, “It’s been tradition since high school, Phasma. We have similar shopping lists, so it’s just easier to go together and help each other decide. I think Ben understands my mother more than I ever could.”

“I don’t know why it’s so hard to remember that your mother prefers floral patterns to stripes or dots,” Ben grumbled.

“I’ve got better things to remember, Ren,” Hux snapped.

“Actually,” Phasma started, “you really don’t. Little boys should always respect their mommas. Like Kylo, here."

Hux barked a laugh.

“No, I’m just a decent human being,” Ben defended himself. Hux continued to laugh.

Phasma pouted. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a Momma’s Boy, Kylo. Especially with such an elegant and sharp-witted woman as Leia Organa as a mother.”

“See you tomorrow, Phasma,” Ben ended the conversation, Hux following him to his car so they could carpool.

~

Rey felt immensely more relaxed now that the semester had concluded. No more exams, papers, or pop reading quizzes (of which were the bane of her existence) to stress her out for an entire month before it began all over again for the Spring semester. Luckily, the classes she had signed up for Spring were classes she was looking forward to taking: Illustrated Texts, Renaissance Literature, and her fun class of Watercolor 1 were among the line-up.

She walked out of the student bookstore on campus with a lighter backpack and a little bit of extra cash in her wallet, perfect timing for Christmas shopping with Rose at the local mall. They’d meet there, making sure to stop for some fancy peppermint or gingerbread flavored coffee, and then conquer their lists. Rey needed gifts for Poe, Uncle Kes, and her father today. She had already bought Rose a new purse and filled it with some of her favorite candies.

Rey and Poe would drive out of the city to their dads’ respective houses that were situated just a couple of streets away from each other, and spend Christmas Eve with their fathers and then Christmas day the four all together, complete with a honey ham. Christmas was one of Rey’s favorite holidays, always enjoying the chaos of the morning unwrapping and the tranquility of the evening meal.

“Hey!” Rose called from her seat on the edge of the mall’s fountain, phone in hand as if she was finishing a text. The girls embraced once Rey reached her friend. “How’s your day going?” Rose asked as they made their way to the coffee cart.

Rey shrugged, “Relatively low-key. I got a whopping $50 for books I spent close to $300 on, so there’s that.”

“Jesus, that’s such an effing scam,” Rose swore, remembering her time buying anatomy and kinesthesiology textbooks.

“Better than nothing,” Rey rolled her eyes. “And still a better deal than renting in case I ever need to keep a book.”

“So true,” Rose empathized. “I never had the choice since many of ours had labs printed in them that we needed to turn in for credit. I do not miss college whatsoever!”

The girls ordered their drinks and set off for the far end of the mall, game plan in mind.

“So, have you heard from tall, dark, and brooding lately?” Rose asked suddenly as they perused a sporting goods store. Rey rolled her eyes. “Come on,” Rose urged, “a guy does not go back out into a snowstorm to drive you home if he doesn’t have at least a small crush on you.”

“No, we haven’t texted since the night after the storm,” Rey answered truthfully. “And he’s just an old family friend, Rose. He still thinks of me as Poe’s baby cousin that wouldn’t leave them alone.”

“Yeah, sure,” Rose laughed at her friend’s obvious deflection.

“What about you?” Rey changed the subject. “I see the way you look at Finn when he’s on your table.” Rose’s eyes widened. “You’re more gentle with him than you are with anyone else, even Poe.”

Rose started to blush slightly, “He’s sweet.”

“Just sweet?” Rey prodded.

“He’s so shy, Rey,” Rose giggled. “He gets so nervous for physical therapy or a massage. I took pity on him after last Wednesday and he keeps coming back to my table whenever I’m in. And since Jyn sees that he’s working on his exercises and stretching, she’s handed him off so that she can focus on making sure Cassian does his. You know how resistant that guy can be,” she huffed.

“Maybe you should ask him out.”

“I don’t date coworkers,” Rose shot down.

“He’s not a coworker, he’s a client,” Rey pointed out. “And he doesn’t have to be. You could send him back to Jyn if things work out. Or don’t work out.”

“Tell you what,” Rose settled, “when you finally admit you and the big bad hockey rival had something going on the other night, I will think about asking Finn to dinner or something.”

Rey shook her head, “Rose, stop.” To say she was annoyed with the attention Rose was paying to something that was not real was an understatement. It was a non-event to Rey, even if she did admire that Ben had really grown into himself.

She could remember how gangly and thin the poor kid was, suddenly being a foot taller than the rest of his teammates at the young age of fifteen. Poe had somewhat caught up to him in college, but he never looked comfortable with himself.

“Hey- uh- Rey?” Rose stuttered softly, trying to get Rey’s attention. Only Rey’s attention. “Um, Hockey Stud at Four O’Clock.” She nudged Rey in the chest, a bit too hard.

“Shit, Rose, that was my boob!” Rey squealed, drawing attention to the two young women.

Including that of Ben Solo four aisles away. He looked up to see that Rey hadn’t noticed him, though he was certain her friend- the one from the party, he noted- knew he was there. He smirked to himself a bit, making his way slowly over to the girls.

“Hello,” he acknowledged Rey. She spun around, clearly surprised at his appearance. “What are you doing here?”

Rey swore to herself, “the devil” was all Ben could hear.

“Christmas shopping,” Rose supplied, noting that Ben had yet to even look at her. “We’re trying to figure out a gift for her cousin, but we don’t know what to get a hockey star that already has everything he wants and the money to buy anything else.” Rose’s face broke out in a smug smile as an idea hit her: “Any insight, Kylo?”

“Hmm,” he thought aloud. “Does it have to be hockey related?” he asked. “Because if it were me, I’d hate to get something for work as a gift.”

Rey scrunched her face, “You’re right.”

“Who else is on your list?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“Poe, my dad, and Uncle Kes,” she offered her short list to him. “Not a lot.”

Ben shrugged, “Still longer than mine.”

“What are you getting for Han?” Rey asked. “I wouldn’t suggest a personalized flask, that’s just asking for trouble,” she tried to joke, but Ben pursed his lips. Rey couldn’t tell if it was distaste or in thought, but the way his nose twitched when he did it was adorable, she noted.

“I was planning on going to the bookstore and seeing what jumped out at me in the history section.” Rey quirked her eyebrow.

Rose was silent during this exchanged, just ruffling through baseball jerseys next to her while listening carefully.

“A book? For Han?”

Ben snickered, “He hasn’t told you what he did for a living before he met my mother?”

Rey shook her head, even more confused now that she realized that Han and she never talked about Han, only her.

“Ren!” yelled a voice behind them. Hux was standing in the doorway of the store. “Would you hurry up?

“Be there in a few minutes,” Ben called over his shoulder.

When he turned back around, he noticed Rey’s brows scrunched in both disbelief and recognition. “Is- is that Armitage Hux?”

“Yeah,” Ben said shortly. “We were shopping together since he’s an idiot and never remembers what type of people his parents are. Two years ago he got his father a tie even though I told him not to. The man is retired.”

“Should have just bought him a set of golf clubs if he’s going to be that generic. No need to be cheap, too,” Rey mused.

“That, actually, is not a bad idea,” Ben laughed. He knew the elder Hux did like to golf in his free time. Most hockey players did. Kept their swings in shape. “I’ll suggest it.”

“Good,” she smiled up at him a toothy smile.

“Well, I best be going,” Ben said, returning a small smile. “He’s not patient at all.”

Rey smiled and nodded at him, “Have fun.”

“Oh, I won’t,” he promised, jokingly as he left the store to meet up with the impatient ginger.

“Alright,” Rose said, finally making herself known again. “That man has not smiled throughout his entire playing career with the Knights.” Rey shrugged in response, turning to the jerseys Rose had already browsed. “Rey! How do you not know what flirting is?!”

“Can we just get our shopping done? Please?” Rey huffed and begged.

“Fine, but you’ve got some ‘splaining to do soon,” Rose concluded. “Come on. Let’s go to the record store next. My mom is getting Paige a record player, so I want to get her something to listen to on it."

Chapter Text

Poe and Rey had driven to the suburbs together Christmas Eve morning. They had their gifts piled in the back seat along with their clothes and some food Rey had prepared before the trip. They blasted their favorite bands and sang along with the words at obnoxious levels.

“So, I ran into Ben and Hux at the mall,” Rey started as a song ended.

“Oh?” Poe asked as he turned the knob on the stereo down. “How did that go?”

Rey thought for a moment, “Fine? I don’t think Hux recognized me. He was too busy yelling at Ben to hurry up than to notice who he was talking to.”

“That sounds like Hux,” Poe smirked, remembering their childhood. “Hux has always been so full of himself.” They sat listening to the current song for a few moments. “What did ol’ Benny have to say?”

She shrugged, “Hi? Basic small talk, I guess?” He could hear her shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

That answer made Poe relax his shoulders, of which he didn’t know he had tensed at the beginning of this conversation.

“What did you think he’d say to me?” she asked, having seen him physically let his shoulders down.

“I don’t know,” he answered, noticeably holding something back. “I just don’t want you mixed in with the wrong crowd, Rey. And there was a time that he was considered the ‘wrong crowd’.”

“What about now?” she countered.

“I don’t know.”

“Then why are you pitching a fit?”

He looked taken aback, “I’m not pitching a fit!” But his cheeks started to flush, signaling that Rey was correct.

Rey’s lips scowled. “You are. I’ll heed your warning, but I’m not going to just walk away when someone starts a polite conversation. Especially since he’s your boss’s son.”

“Fair,” he pursed his lips and drove on.  

~

Poe dropped Rey off at her father’s home just a couple of streets over from the house he himself grew up in. Like the protective older cousin he was, he carried her overnight bag inside while he allowed her to get the lighter things, with much protest from her.

“Hey, kids,” Erix Dameron called from the kitchen. Rey dropped her things in the doorway as she ran to hug the man that took her in. She about toppled him over with her enthusiasm. “It’s great to see you, too, Sunshine,” he beamed at her.

Poe followed her after setting her bag down by the stairway at the entrance of the house. “Hi, Erix,” he said, grabbing an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter and biting into it as he sat down on a stool.

“How was the drive?” Erix asked as Rey let go of him.

“Same old, same old,” Poe answered, waving his hand as if to say ‘enough with the pleasantries, old man’. “What’s on the menu tonight?”

Erix squinted his eyes at his nephew, “You’re not staying for dinner, kid.”

“What?” Poe tried looking innocent. “I’m just making conversation. And I wouldn’t mind something other than dad’s meatloaf for dinner.”

Rey snickered, “But it’s tradition.”

“Yeah, once that needs to die,” Poe said darkly. “The man can cook, aside from that blasted meatloaf that he insists on making every damn year.”

Erix could only laugh at the misfortune of his nephew while he checked on the turkey in the oven. The scent of it had hit the two as they entered the house, making Poe’s mouth water. “Go home, Poe.”

“Fine, I see how it is,” Poe pouted. “Just kick out your poor starving nephew and save all the good food for your precious daughter!” He got up and stormed out comically.

“See you tomorrow,” Rey called before he slammed the door. “I’m going to go and put my bag upstairs.” Erix nodded at her as he returned to the stove, cooking something for lunch while waiting for their dinner feast to be ready later in the evening.

Rey walked back into the foyer of the house where the stairs led up to the three bedrooms of the house. Hers is the second door on the left, next to the guest room/office the two of them rarely-if ever- used. Rey’s room was only half-decorated at this point. All of her important belongings, such as her clothes, were missing from the closet and her favorite knickknacks were displayed in hers and Poe’s apartment.

She dumped her tote bag of clothes out on her old twin daybed and began to fold them nicely to set on top of her dresser. Once she reached her sparkly giraffe Christmas sweater, she smiled and set it on top of the pile, planning on wearing it all day tomorrow. Today, however, she was wearing a navy blue sweater with huge off-white, beaded snowflakes all over the front. She basically had a sweater for every day of the week during the Holidays.

“Rey,” Erix called from the bottom of the stairs. “Dinner is almost ready.”

“Be right there!” she called back as she checked her phone. Nothing. She wasn’t expecting anything but hoping.

~

Rey was always an early riser on Christmas morning. Her new schedule as a bartender had not changed that for the one day a year that waking up early counted, even though she no longer believed in Santa Claus. Yet, for some reason Erix and she kept the tradition of “Santa gifts” still appearing under the tree in the dark of night.

She brushed her teeth, made her hair look somewhat presentable before heading down to where the smell of coffee wafted from the kitchen. Erix had set a timer for it, knowing Rey would be awake before him. She busied herself by pouring a cup for herself and toasting a plain bagel to tide herself over until brunch.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” came Erix’s yawning voice from behind her. “Sleep alright?”

Rey smiled at him as she swallowed the sip of coffee she was in the midst of. “I did.”

He ruffled her hair as he walked past her, grabbing his own cup of fresh coffee, “I miss having you around, kid.”

“I miss being around,” she countered.

“Enough to move back in?” he asked with false hope. Rey only laughed at his attempt. “I didn’t think so,” he mused before taking his first drink of coffee.

“Mmm,” Rey hummed. “I actually kind of wish I could move out of Poe’s place.”

Erix laughed out loud, “A bit overprotective?”

“A bit.” Rey stared down at her mug for a moment. “He tried setting me up with one of his teammates.” This statement spurred on her adoptive father’s laughter. He knew all too well that his nephew would be more protective than he was of Rey. “And then he made a big issue out of someone other than him giving me a ride home in the snow storm a couple of weeks ago.”

“Ah, I may have heard about that,” Erix smiled knowingly.

Rey’s eyes narrowed, “And what did you hear exactly?”

“That a certain painfully single hockey star has begun to show interest in my darling daughter,” he laughed.

Rey huffed, “Giving someone a ride home in a snowstorm is not showing interest.”

“No,” he agreed, “but, coming back after driving someone else home and waiting for you to close up shop is.” Rey’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Sunshine,” he laughed with his hands up in defense. They stood in silence for a minute before Erix broke it: “Do you want it to be something more?”

“No!” she burst. “I mean…”

“It’s not a crime, sweetie,” he laughed. “Your cousin would get over it.”

Her lips pursed in thought. “I don’t know what I want,” she mumbled before dipping her head to take another drink of coffee before it went too cold.

“You’ve got time to figure it out, Sunshine,” he laughed. “Let’s go see if Santa brought you anything, shall we?”

Rey laughed at him as she gathered her bagel and mug and made herself comfortable on the couch as she watched her father bend over to grab a few things from underneath the tree. There were a total of 11 wrapped boxes, one of those being from Rey rather than for. She was handed two to start and he grabbed his one and Rey waited expectantly as he opened his first.

~

Ben’s Christmas morning was not as pleasant as Rey’s to start. Instead of waking up in the comfort of his childhood home, not that he really ever found that much comfort in it as it was always empty of people, he woke up in his apartment, alone. As usual.

The only thing that alerted him to the fact that it was a special holiday was a text on his phone from his mother telling him when to be at his parents’ house and to not be late. Ben groaned as he read it. A full evening with his parents. Joy. At least there wouldn’t be anyone else around to annoy him, but that also meant there wouldn’t be anyone to distract his mother from asking a million and three questions about his life.

Alas, here he was, debating about which button up shirt to wear: black or grey? And finishing wrapping his parents’ gifts to give. He kept himself busy all morning to keep himself from overthinking what all could go wrong during this family day and what had gone wrong in previous years. Broken glasses from too-tight grips, a rug catching on fire when someone became too distracted to remember to close the cage on the fireplace, and a broken front door from being slammed twenty times too many over the years to name a few. And Ben could only be blamed for the front door, so…

Instead of dwelling, packaged up the presents and a bag full of dinner rolls he had bought the previous night after remembering on his way home from work that his mother had assigned him roll duty. Last year’s green bean casserole was, well, sub-par to say the least. Rolls, if store bought, can’t be ruined too badly.

Once he was all packed he glanced at his phone to make sure his mother hadn’t requested he bring anything else, there were multiple texts waiting for him. He hadn’t realized he had left the phone on silent.

Phasma:

MERRY CHRISTMAS

He was going to assume she had sent the text to her entire contacts list, so he avoided responding to her. Why allow her an opening to yap his eyes out via texting.

Ginger Beast:

He appreciated the clubs. Thanx.

Rey:

Merry Christmas. Don’t let Han drive you too crazy.

The last one made him smile before he could stop himself.

Ben:

I can’t make any promises. Hope you’re having a great day.

Her response was almost immediate, making Ben jump at the tone.

Rey:

I am. We’re about to have brunch. Kes and Dad are making hashbrowns now.

Ben:

That sounds delicious- definitely better than the cereal I just downed.

Rey:

I can hear your mother screaming in protest all the way from here.

Ben:

You’ll learn to tune it out soon.

He had to pocket his phone and gather the remaining odds and ends he needed to bring with him. Ben’s smile did not leave his face as he rushed out the door; if he was late, he’d never hear the end of it even if the festivities only included his parents and him.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take very long for Leia to start fussing over how long Ben’s hair had gotten, or to tell him he should start wearing actual colors rather than just black and grey, or for Han to pour him a strong beverage. No, not long at all, actually.

“Ben, you’re here!” Leia exclaimed as her son walked through the front door. She about attacked him with a tight hug around his waist, absolutely tiny compared to him. “Let me look at you.”

“You just saw me a couple of weeks ago, mother,” he grumbled. “Nothing has changed.”

“Good,” she smiled, “though you could do with a haircut, Ben. You know how I feel about man-buns.” She shuddered and he smirked, locking away that bit of information for later. Leia made to take a bag from his hands, but he moved enough to where she got the hint and huffed.

“Where would you like these, mother?” he asked pointedly, not allowing her to carry anything.

She rolled her eyes at his sass, “You know where everything goes, dear, your father is in the kitchen tending to the bird. He won’t even let me in the room this year.”

“Well, you did try to put red pepper flakes on it last year,” Ben defended his father’s decision.

“You’re no better than I am at cooking,” she countered accusingly.

“Yes, but at least I know to leave well enough alone,” he pointed. “You’d think after thirty years of marriage you’d know not to screw with Han’s cooking.”

She grumbled something before shoo-ing him into the kitchen to hand off the rolls to his father.

“Hey, Kid,” Han greeted, briefly looking up to make sure his wife wasn’t trying to sneak in on the pretense of refreshing her wine. “Is your mother still on the warpath?”

“Ballsy move, Han,” Ben responded, grabbing the rolls out of his grocery bag of goods and placing them on the counter.

“Yeah, well, she wouldn’t be as upset if she had people to entertain her other than me,” Han shot Ben a side glance.

Ben shot him a look that said ‘don’t start with that crap now’. “Where’s the wine?” Han gestured for him and Ben took a glass and the freshly opened bottle into the other room to entertain his mother himself.

He found her in the living room working on her cross stitch, her reading glasses falling to the tip of her nose.

“Need a top off?” he asked, shaking the bottle at her to tempt her before he poured his own. She smiled at him and nodded. “What are you working on?”

“Just something pretty,” she answered, turning the hoop around to show him a floral motif with the word ‘FUCK’ stitched in elegant cursive. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. His mother never ceased to amaze him.

“Gorgeous,” he deadpanned causing her to smirk proudly.

“Mmmm,” she hummed, getting back to stabbing the fabric to create more floral detailing. “It’s a great way to relieve stress at the end of that day.”

Ben sat down on the other end of the couch and pulled his phone out of his pocket to check for Rey’s response. And there it was:

Rey:

Be nice to your parents, Ben.

Ben quickly typed out a response.

Ben:

Han kicked Leia out of the kitchen. There is not enough wine in the entire universe for this day.

Rey:

Why?

Ben:

She likes to think she can cook…

Rey:

I take it that means she can’t.

Ben:

Definitely not. I think she burned cereal once.

“What are you smiling about, son?” Leia asked, still staring at her needlework.

“Nothing.”

“That’s a strange nickname for a girl,” she smirked.

Ben rolled his eyes at her. “Mother,” he groaned in a warning tone. “Please don’t start.”

“Fine, fine,” she sighed and stayed silent for a few moments while Ben surfed channels on the television and settled on The Grinch. “How is Rey’s Christmas going?”

“What?” he asked, taken aback by the abrupt question.

“Rey,” Leia enunciated. “You know, the girl you’re texting. You were flirting with her at the Holiday Party, and then you drove her home in a snowstorm. Which, I give you points for. That’s not something your father would have done if we were merely flirting.”

“I beg to differ!” called Han’s voice from the hallway.

“Darling,” she called back, “I know we’re twins, but we look nothing alike!”

Han swore as he realized that she was right, he had saved Luke from that snowstorm when he crashed his junker of a car on Hoth Road. “Well, I saved you by proxy!”

“That would only count if we were identical,” she laughed. She turned back to her son, who was rolling his eyes again. If he didn’t stop, she thought, they were going to be stuck like that soon. “You didn’t answer my question: how is Rey’s Christmas going?”

Ben huffed a sigh, why deny it anymore? “She’s having a lovely day,” he mumbled.

“Is she with Poe and Kes?”

“She’s at her father’s house,” he said. “I don’t know anything else.”

“Have you asked her out yet?” Leia asked innocently.

“Why would I do that?”

Han entered the room finally. He donned an apron that Ben had decorated for Father’s Day back in elementary school. A cheesy piece of canvas with Ben’s little handprints along the edge in green and yellow. “Because she’s a gorgeous girl that doesn’t think you’re a complete diva of a hockey star?”

“Why are you wearing that atrocity?” Ben asked, steering the conversation away from the topic.

“Because it embarrasses you, kid,” Han laughed.

“Then by all means, keep wearing it,” he crossed his arms.

Han wiped his hands on the apron and sat down in the armchair he usually occupied. “So why won’t you ask Rey Dameron out?”

Ben just glared at his father. “You’re really asking that?”

“Yes.”

“Sweetheart, she’s a lovely girl,” Leia weighed in. “She appreciates your work-”

“No, she doesn’t,” Ben shot back. “She appreciates YOUR work, Mother.”

“Just because you’re on a rival team from her cousin doesn’t mean anything,” Leia cooed. “If Poe were to ever be traded, she’d probably switch which team she favors, so I don’t see why it’s such a big problem.”

“But neither Dameron nor I will ever be traded by our teams, Mother,” Ben growled. Leia rolled her eyes at her son. “Your point is invalid.”

Leia sighed and looked to her husband for help. Han was silent, thinking his way through this conversation.

“Ben,” he started slowly. “How do I put this delicately?” He paused for a moment. “You are not getting any younger. A girl is showing interest in you while knowing exactly who you are. Lock. It. Down.”

“You people are impossible,” Ben stormed out of the room.

Han and Leia looked at each other and smirked. “I bet Rey breaks first,” Leia wagered.

“Oh, no,” Han laughed. “She’s way too stubborn.”

“And Ben isn’t?”

Han nodded, “Yes, but Rey is very much like you, sweetheart.” He smirked when she gave him a look. “Very headstrong. Nobody’s princess.”

“You’re such a charmer,” Leia laughed. “But Ben is too shy.”

“Ah, yes, he’s your sensitive boy,” Han laughed.

Leia pursed her lips at him, “Exactly. Maybe I’ll have a talk with Rey next time she’s at the arena.”

“No you won’t,” Han countered. “You stay out of the kid’s business.”

“Spoilsport,” Leia pouted.

Han just glared at her, “You promise me right now, woman.”

She sighed dramatically, “I promise to not interfere directly.”

“I guess that’s as good of a promise as I’ll get from you,” he growled. “I have to go check on the food.” He got up and left his wife alone in the living room.

~

Rey was stretched out on the couch, her feet propped up on Poe’s lap as the family of four watched It’s a Wonderful Life . She was on the verge of entering a food coma, having devoured her weight in mashed potatoes and gravy not thirty minutes previously.

Her hand was wound tightly around her cellphone. She and Ben had kept up conversation throughout the day. It was hard to explain why she would randomly burst out laughing, even going as far as to lie that Rose had texted her when Ben had claimed that his mother had burned cereal.

Her phone lit up just ask she was dozing off, so she didn’t see that the message was from Ben. Poe noticed, though. He thought for a moment about what he was about to do.

He should leave well enough alone and respect her privacy. She’d be livid with him if she ever found out, but he still reached over and skillfully unwrapped her fingers from the device and used her thumb to unlock it.

Ben:

My parents are trying to kill me.

It was an innocent enough text, even making Poe snort a laugh as he remembered how insane the Solos would drive their son when they were actually around. He went on to scroll through their conversation. Innocent conversation, it seemed to be, of Rey helping to keep him sane while being stuck with his parents. Poe sighed, ran a hand through his dark brown curls, and marked the last message as unread before placing it face down next to her again.

“Poe,” Kes started in a warning toned whisper, “what do you think you’re doing?”

“Just checking something,” he replied with a sigh.

The brothers eyed each other before Erix got up and grabbed the phone from next to his daughter and began to scroll, too. Rey finally started to become restless, burying her face into the throw pillow and pulling her blanket over her shoulders. All three men stood still while she became more comfortable. Once she stopped moving, Erix took the phone over to his recliner.

“Poe, you really shouldn’t snoop,” he said as he continued to scroll.

“Alright, Pot,” Poe shot back.

“Are you still worried about the Solo kid?” Erix asked as he was scrolling through her texts to said kid. “Because this looks like harmless chatter.”

“I’m not worried,” Poe huffed like a two year old not getting his way as Erix locked the phone again and set it on his side table. “I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t sending any dick pics.”

Kes had to stifle his laughter with his hand so as not to wake Rey up.

“‘Twas a Dick Free conversation, my boy,” Erix snickered. “Unless you’re counting yourself for snooping in the first place.”

Rey finally woke up, glaring at the men around her for being too loud. “What are you guys doing?”

“Watching the movie,” Poe answered, smoothing out the blanket that covered them both. “Go back to sleep.”

She moaned slightly and patted the couch in search of her phone. “Where’s my phone?”

“It fell on the floor, so I put it up,” Erix replied smoothly. “Here.” He handed it to her as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Thanks, dad,” she mumbled as she went through her new texts and social media notifications. She readjusted herself, curling into the corner of the couch off of Poe and stealing the blanket away from him.

Rey:

Don’t die!

Ben:

Why not?

Rey:

Because you’re fun to talk to?

Ben:

Oh?

The smile was creeping back onto Rey’s face as he quickly shot texts back as soon as she sent hers off. Luckily, the guys had already gone back to paying attention to the movie. Poe was also playing with his phone from time to time.

Rey:

Definitely more fun than my current company.

Ben:

That’s comforting.

Rey:

It should be.

Ben:

This may be too forward…

Rey waited for the rest of his text with baited breath. Her eyes widened. Was this actually going to happen?

Ben:

Would you like to get dinner sometime?

Yup. It happened. And Rey had no idea how to react, so she waited a few minutes.

Ben:

If not, I won’t be offended.

Say something, Rey , her mind screamed.

Rey:

I’d love to :)

Ben:

Oh thank god.

Rey:

?

Ben:

I was afraid you were going to say no.

Rey giggled aloud at that. She felt bad for the guy, but his fear was unfounded.

Rey:

Well, I didn’t. Where and when are we going?

Ben:

Are you free next Thursday?

Rey:

Maybe. You didn’t answer the where.

Ben:

It’s a surprise.

Rey:

I hate surprises.

Ben:

Too bad, little girl.

Rey rolled her eyes just as Poe looked over. “Who are you talking to?”

“No one, who are you talking to?” she bit back.

“Kids,” Kes used his dad voice. “Play nice.”

They glared at each other until Poe stuck his tongue out at her. Rey stuck her foot out to nudge his thigh. “Hey!”

“What?” Rey challenged. She turned back to her phone, still feeling giddy.

Rey:

Little girl, eh?

Ben:

Well, you’re tiny, Rey.

Rey:

I am not tiny. You’re a giant.

Ben:

No. You’re tiny. Embrace it.

Rey:

Have you met your mother? Or any other woman for that matter? Besides that blonde you hang out with. She’s an amazon.

Ben:

Phasma will be thrilled to hear that you think so.

Rey snickered again, trying to not bring more attention to her. Instead of responding right away, she made herself look busy for a few minutes, paying attention to the scene on the TV. They were at the part where George Bailey was pretending to fix Zuzu’s flower.

Rey:

Well she is!

Ben:

You didn’t tell me if you were free on Thursday.

Rey:

Lucky for you, I am. Maz gave me the week off.

Ben:

Pick you up around 5?

Rey:

Sounds perfect.

She smiled and set her phone down for a few moments, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders again and nudging Poe with her feet so he would make room on his lap again.

Chapter Text

Rose emitted a sound that could only be heard by dogs when Rey told her about planning a date with Ben.

“Rose, you have to promise not to say anything!” Rey harshly whispered.

Rose huffed, “I get that. But you should really tell Poe-”

“Tell me what?” he asked as he skated over to the girls sitting in the stands.

“Nothing,” Rey called, annoyed at her friend for talking too loudly.

He skated away and into Finn Storm, who seemed too busy staring at Rey and Rose to see Poe coming. “Watch it, Storm,” yelled Ackbar from the other end of the rink. Finn stood up and shook it off before skating on.

“Sorry,” Rose whispered. “But you should tell him sooner rather than later when he sees you on ESPN or something as Kylo Ren’s new girlfriend.

Rey groaned, “You’re right. But not today. He’s already in a shitty mood.”

It was the Monday after Christmas and the Rebels were back in the arena, practicing for their game later that night.

“Tico!” yelled Jyn from across the stands. “Need you!” She waved the younger physical therapist in to actually do her job.

Rose sighed, “I’ll see you in a bit. I want all of the details later, ok?”

“Maybe,” Rey laughed. “Have fun, looks like Storm is hurting a bit after that hit.”

She was left alone in the stands, so she folded her knees underneath her in the seat and pulled the hood on her sweatshirt up over her head to keep warm. She was tempted to send Ben a text, but fought the urge, realizing he was probably on the ice as well, and out of town for an away game.

“Rey!” called a voice behind her. Rey turned around to see Leia standing at the entrance to the stands from the concourse. “I’m about to go for a walk, would you like to join me?”

“Um, sure?” she answered, getting up quickly and following the other woman.

“Did you have a good holiday?” Leia asked as they walked around the concourse. The food stands were inhabited by their workers setting up for the game in a couple of hours.

“I did. Poe and I spent the weekend with our dads,” she responded.

Leia nodded, “Ben came home for a few hours, as well. Sadly, that’s all he can handle of us.”

“Handle?” Rey asked, intrigued.

Leia waved her hand airily, “We seem to embarrass and infuriate him.” They walked for a moment in silence until Leia broke it again, “It seems you’ve entranced him.”

“I wouldn’t-”

“It’s ok, dear,” she laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.” The older woman’s eyes twinkled. “Han and I just want him to be happy. Well, Han seems more concerned with your wellbeing than Ben’s in this case, but we’d both be supportive of any sort of relationship between the two of you: platonic or romantic.”

Rey smiled at Leia, “Thank you.”

“Of course, dear,” Leia laughed. “Now, what are you wearing for your date?”

“Wh-what?” Rey stuttered. “How-?”

“Ben rarely lets either of us hug him on his way out, and he embraced both of us on his way out on Christmas,” Leia laughed knowingly, “He didn’t have to say anything.” Leia thought for a moment, “Honestly, he probably wouldn’t tell us anything until his child’s first birthday if it were up to him.”

Rey couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Anyways,” Leia waved off the sentimentality of the moment. “He didn’t have to say anything for me to know. Do you at least know if it’s dressy or casual?”

“I don’t know where he’s taking me,” Rey said quietly, finally admitting to someone other than her only female friend that she was indeed going out on a date with Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren.

“Ah, he’s too much like his father,” Leia mused. “Always the romantic deep down and trying to surprise a girl. They don’t grow out of it, either,” she laughed at Rey’s blushing face.

Rey was not ready for this kind of conversation with Ben’s mother. Or was this a conversation with Poe’s boss? Either way, she was totally unprepared for such things.

“You know, Han and I met when Ben’s uncle and I were in undergrad,” Leia reminisced. “It was quite the scandal.”

“Scandal?” Rey asked, confused. “How so?”

“Oh, he was my professor,” Leia dropped casually. “He worked in the engineering department, but had the displeasure of teaching a freshman math class.”

Rey’s eyes went wide.

“So, for a while we had to be creative and Han liked surprising me,” Leia laughed, mostly at Rey’s expression but partly at the memories. “He hasn’t grown out of it, either. I found a bottle of my favorite wine on my desk a couple of months back that he sent me while he was on a trip for work,” she smiled.

“I didn’t realize he was such a romantic,” Rey finally muttered.

“He’s an old softy,” Leia smiled. “Where are you planning on watching the game?”

Rey appreciated the change in subject. “My dad bought me season tickets behind the benches, so I usually sit there.”

“Hmmm,” the older woman hummed. “You know Holdo and I have a suite that we usually haunt. We have a wonderful selection of food available. You should join us, if you want to, of course.”

“Oh,” Rey let out in surprise. “I’d love to for part of the game.”

“I wouldn’t want to leave the seats you have, either,” Leia laughed at the political answer. Leia’s phone beeped at her several times, an set alarm. “Oh, dear, I should get going. I have an errand to run before the game, but I will see you in a bit, yes?” Rey nodded. “Alright, see you soon and we can discuss your wardrobe choice for Ben. After all, who better to know what he likes than his mother? Oh, dear, that sounded creepy. Ah, well, it still stands.”

“Oh. Kay.” Rey let out slowly. “See you soon.” Leia walked away briskly, heading to her office to grab her things before heading out.  

Rey immediately reached for her phone as soon as Leia left her.

Rey:

Your mother is a tyrant.

Rey went to set her phone back in her pocket, but she was surprised that he answered almost immediately.

Ben:

I warned you.

Ben:

What did she do?

Rey:

She knows.

Ben:

Of course she does. She’s Leia Organa. She fucking knows all.

Rey rolled her eyes at the text.

Ben:

Don’t let her do anything you don’t want. If she tries anything, call me.

Rey:

She’s just concerned with my outfit. NBD

Ben:

Not too dressy if she asks again.

Rey:

That’s a relief!

Ben:

?

Rey:

My quota is one fancy dress a quarter and we’ve already hit that. Again, thanks to your mother.

Ben:

Noted. It’s game time.

Rey glanced at the time. It was almost time to let the press in and Rey needed to change and make it up to the suite Leia had mentioned would have food for her to nab.

Rey:

Break a leg. Not literally. You know what I mean.

Ben:

Lol Ttyl. Stand your ground.

Rey put the phone in her hoodie’s pouch and headed down to Rose’s office to get her change of clothes.

~

Ben groaned as he read the message from Rey that his mother figured it out. He knew he was being too damn friendly with them after she agreed to see him on a date.

“Ren,” Coach Krennic shouted. “Get off your phone and get suited up!”

“Yes, coach,” he replied in monotone. He said his goodbyes and last encouragements before putting his phone in his locker. His pads were already on when Rey had texted him and he immediately reached for the phone that had buzzes. Ben had been hoping to hear from her all day, imagining what she was doing on her day off.

He imagined her sitting in the stands, reading while the Rebels warmed up, cheering them on even before the competition began. She’s probably wearing a Rebels jersey, but which one? Poe’s number or Kes’s? Probably Poe’s, like the dutiful cousin she was. He hoped she’d be wearing leggings instead of jeans. He liked that look on her when she had been shopping with her friend.

“Ren!” coach yelled again, “Hurry your ass up! We’ve got a game to play!” Ben stood straight up and pulled his sweater over his head.

~

Rey pulled her “Dameron #12” sweater over her head before pulling her hair out of a ponytail and brushing out the dent. “How do I look?” she asked, turning to Rose and Jyn, neither of who could join Rey in the suite as they had to be ready in case of player injury.

“Adorable as always,” Jyn supplied. “Now go and enjoy the steak and wine!” she pushed the younger girl towards the door.

Rey laughed and ran up the stairs before she lost her nerve to go and feast with the bigwigs of Hockey. It didn’t help any nerves that this was Ben’s family, and she was interacting without him and they knew they were about to start dating.

Reaching the door with the correct number, she thought, on it, she knocked. She heard laughter inside and someone moving closer to the door.

“Rey Dameron!” Amilyn Holdo exclaimed, sounding slightly tipsy. “Come in, my dear, come in!” The eccentric woman ushered her into the suite.

Rey entered the room to find Leia pouring drinks for several other people in the room. Rey recognized Lor San Tekka and Ben Kenobi as Rebel veterans, the third man across the room had his back to her. The two women with them must be their wives or something.

“Boys, I’d like you to meet Poe Dameron’s cousin, Rey,” Holdo said with her hands on Rey’s shoulders.

“Hello, Rey,” Ben Kenobi said, extending his hand out for her to grasp. “You sure have a talented cousin out there.”

“Thank you, sir,” Rey whispered, in awe at being in his presence.

He cringed, “Oh, please, Rey, call me Ben.”

“Ben Sr.” Leia corrects. “To save on confusion. But he does get offended when you use ‘Old Ben’.”

“Never old,” Ben Sr grumbled. “So, you know my namesake, do you?”

Rey nodded, “He and Poe grew up playing on the same teams.”

“And they’ve got a date!” Leia squealed in a sing song voice.

The entire room went silent as everyone turned to stare at her. Rey glared at Leia for letting the cat out of the bag.

“I’m sorry, but they’ve all known Ben since he was born,” Leia apologized. “They deserve to enjoy the excitement of it, too.”

“What the hell did I get myself into?” Rey whispered to herself, causing Holdo to snort.

“Oh, honey, you’ve walked right into the Lion’s Den,” Holdo whispered savagely to her. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it real quick. She just really wants to make sure Ben is taken care of and his charming disposition doesn’t exactly help him calm his mother down. Come, wine will help.”

“You all realize I’m only 19, right?” Rey asked incredulously at the fact that they want to serve her alcohol in a public establishment.

“You realize we don’t care?” Holdo asked back, laughing. “It’s just wine, anyhow. Punch is only served at Christmas, New Years, and 4th of July.” Rey nodded in understanding, taking a gulp of air.

Leia had definitely not mentioned the other guests, and it made Rey choke on her tongue as she walked over and realized who the third man was as he handed her a glass of deep red wine. He smiled at her, understanding her shyness was both brought on by being star struck and then having her potential romance outed to all of them, all of whom have known Ben since he was a freaking fetus. “Thank you,” she managed to mumble at him.

“So, Rey,” Luke Skywalker started. “Do you play?”

She shook her head vigorously. “No, I’m actually a menace on skates,” she said shyly.

“That can’t be true,” Ben Sr. laughed. “Not with genetics playing in your favor.”

“Oh, I’m not-” Rey started. “I’m actually adopted. Erix took me in as a foster kid when I was three.”

The rest of the suite went silent for a moment until Luke spoke up. “Rey, how much of our family history has my nephew told you?”

Her eyebrows scrunched together, “Not much?”

“So, nothing,” Luke snickered. “That’s Ben for you,” he muttered more to himself. “Both Leia and I were adopted as very young children after our parents died. I went to live with our aunt and uncle as they were named my godparents and Leia went with hers, our mother’s closest friends Bail and Breha Organa.”

“Oh,” was all Rey could manage. “I didn’t realize that.”

Leia smiled kindly at her as Rey finally took a drink of the sweet wine. “Anyways, I’m sure you’re not as bad as you think on the ice,” Leia soothed.

“Are you planning on going to the alumni game on Thursday?” Ben Sr. asked, hoping that this question was less intrusive than his last.

“Is that why you’re all here?” she asked, surprised.

Lor San Tekka smiled, “You know what they say, you can take the player off the rink, but you can’t keep him off for long?”

“Literally no one has said that, darling,” the woman sitting next to Lor laughed. He shrugged and laughed along with her.

Rey settled onto one of the overstuffed chairs near the windows looking out over the rink, slowly sipping at her glass so as not to spill any of it on her jersey. Holdo followed and sat in the chair beside her. “They look good tonight,” Holdo commented, watching warm-ups.

“They do,” Rey agreed. “Andor’s been a bit aggressive lately, though."

Holdo laughed, “He’s just peacocking, I’m sure.” Rey shot her a confused look. “You can tell when the players are trying to impress someone. They go one of two ways: super amicable and playing fairly if they’re already an aggressive player, or they toughen up like Andor.”

“Who’s he trying to impress,” Rey asked.

“Ahh, isn’t that the question,” she laughed again. “Leia has her money on Jyn Erso-”

“The physical therapist?” Rey’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Holdo nodded, “I think it’s someone on the outside. Otherwise, we’d have seen them sneaking around.”

“You women and your damn bets,” Luke grumbled as he sat down next to his wife, Mara, who had pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to Amilyn.

“Put me down for a younger piece,” her eyes sparkled in Rey’s direction. “That’s why he’s sneaking around, I’m sure of it.”

Leia snorted, “Just because that’s how you and Luke handled things doesn’t mean all of my captains are cradle robbers.”

“No, just the men you’re related and attracted to,” Ben Sr jeered. “It’s the Skywalker Curse,” he told Rey in jest. “How old are you, Rey? No- wait…” he looked her up and down. “If Ben is 28 now, you’re somewhere between 18 and 21, right?”

“19,” Rey whispered.

“Ha! All of you Skywalkers and Solos are cradle robbers!”

Leia and Luke rolled their eyes in unison. “Our mother was ten years older than our father,” Luke explained. “And Mara here is eight years younger than me. Though Leia still takes the cake!”

“How much older is Han?” Rey asked, wanting to keep the conversation off of herself.

“Ten years,” Leia answered. “It’s not that bad.”

Luke snorted, “No, but sleeping with your professor who is ten years older than you definitely is.”

Leia glared as the rest of the group laughed at her expense.

Rey found herself enjoying the time she was spending with Ben’s family. She stayed in the suite the entire game, not wanting to miss a minute of the guys’ reminiscing and everyone’s gossip. She found that they liked to bet on things, the wage was always a mere $20.

At the end of the game, she stood up and thanked Leia for the invite, but she needed to meet Poe after press to get a ride home.

“Any time you’re here, Rey, this suite is open to you,” Leia smiled warmly as she hugged the younger woman before Rey took her leave.

Chapter Text

Rey waited for Poe outside of the locker room like normal. She refused to go in, even though it was allowed at this time- the guys had already changed out of their gear and into their after-game outfits (usually sweats or some other form of). It was the smell of the room that deterred her entrance, but it kept wafting out into the hallway whenever a teammate would leave for the evening.

Finn stopped as soon as he spotted her, “Hey, Rey.”

Rey smiled brightly at him, knowing he and Poe were friends. “Hi, Finn,” she acknowledged. He seemed to be in good spirits after the win the team pulled. “Great goal in the third,” she congratulated.

“Thanks,” he looked relieved. “Are you waiting for Dameron?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed as she glanced at her phone that was now permanently attached to her hand. “He’s taking his sweet ass time, though.”

“Yeah, Ackbar is trying to talk him, Andor, and Kay into doing a press thing for an alumni game or something,” he shrugged. “Something about Alumni Trivia?”

Rey nodded, “Would it be fair to play against Cassian?” she laughed. “He played with most of the Rebel Greats when he was a rookie.”

Finn’s eyes went wide, “Who did he play with?”

“Skywalker for one,” she smirked, “who happened to appreciate your goal, I might add.” She winked at him.

“What?” he said in a hushed tone, purely in awe. “How do you know that?”

“He was here to watch the game in Organa’s suite,” she explained. “San Tekka and Kenobi were there, too.”

His eyes narrowed, “You were in the suite? With them? And Organa and Holdo?” She nodded at each question. “How?”

“Leia invited me?” she didn’t understand what he meant.

He shook his head quickly, “No, I mean why did she invite you?”

“Oh, um,” she took a moment to think of another reason than ‘She wants me as her daughter-in-law and mother of her grandchildren’ because she figured that wouldn’t fly with anyone down here at the moment, let alone one of Ben’s old teammates and Poe’s new bff. “She, um, saw me sitting alone while you guys were warming up and knew I’d enjoy meeting her brother.”

“I would give my left nut to meet Luke Skywalker,” Finn said dreamily.

“Don’t promise such things,” Rey warned, “because I’m 99 percent sure you’re going to meet him this week.” Finn gasped like a fangirl. “Dude, be cool.”

“Be cool?!” He squealed. “Luke Skywalker grew up in my neighborhood and I fucking idolized him!”

Rey’s eyebrows shot up, wrinkling her forehead.

“I’m cool,” Finn said under his breath as he contained himself. “I’m definitely cool.”

“You sure, peanut?” Rey asked condescendingly. “Because you still have some crazy eyes going on there.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he laughed, “Sorry, I’m still adjusting to this team.” Rey smiled, trying to look supportive. “The Knights weren’t this… family oriented?”

“How do you mean?” she asked, now curious about how Ben’s team worked. What did they do to scare this poor kid?

Finn took a moment to think, choosing his words carefully, “They rarely did anything with the entire team, I guess? Only Ren and Hux gave interviews, unless Ren was injured, then they brought in Mitaka or Terex. And I’ve already done two interviews here after being here only a month and a half.”

Rey smiled at how happy Finn looked talking about his new team. He already looked as if he’d been playing with Poe and Cassian for years, making him a great asset to the whole team.

Cassian Andor opened the door to the locker room and raised his eyebrows at Rey and Finn. “Waiting for Dameron?” he asked Rey. She nodded. “It might be a few minutes. He’s having a very heated phone argument with-” he cut himself off as he noticed Rose was approaching the group. “Anyways, have a fun night,” he said sarcastically.

Rey groaned. There hadn’t been a Paige incident in a few weeks, even the removal of her stuff a week or so ago had been amicable. So, what the hell was this going to be about?

Rose walked up to Rey and Finn as Andor slunk away to the parking garage. She looked irritated by the way her mouth turned downward instead of her usual smile.

“We’ve got a problem,” Rose stated as soon as she reached Rey. Finn started looking confused and uncomfortable. “Hey, Storm,” she greeted him before turning back to her friend. “Paige thinks she made a huge mistake and is trying to get back together with Poe. I tried talking her out of it, I swear.”

Rey growled and groaned all at once.

“I know,” Rose agreed. “I could barely understand her on the phone a bit ago, but she was adamant about talking to him today. I’m so sorry.”

“He’s going to be in a shit mood for the rest of the week,” Rey groaned, tapping the back of her head against the wall in frustration. “I can’t tell him. I can’t.”

“Tell him what?” Finn asked, still standing there.

Rey and Rose gave each other a look. “Just that I won’t be at the alumni games on Thursday,” Rey replied carefully. “I’m going out.” Finn nodded in understanding.

It was then that Poe slammed the door to the locker room open violently. He looked angry: his lips were thin white lines and his glare would turn a man to stone.

He found Rey, Rose, and Finn standing together just a few feet away and approached, clearly trying to calm himself down before speaking.

“Rey,” he said shortly, not making eye contact with Rose, who was blushing and refusing eye contact as well. “We should go. Now.”

“Bye, guys,” she called as she followed her cousin to the garage. The two piled into the car silently, Rey watching him out of the corner of her eyes. “Wanna talk about it, champ?” Rey asked as they shut the doors.

“Not right now,” he said shortly, pulling out of the parking spot too quickly for Rey’s liking. Glancing over at him, she could see tears forming in his eyes. She stifled a sigh, knowing it would only piss him off more. Rey definitely needed him to be in a good mood for when she explains the Ben Solo situation to him.

“Okay,” she whispered in reassurance. “Can we get taco bell?”

Poe cracked a small smile at her predictability and made the turn.

~

A couple days passed and Poe had still not told a soul what had been said over the phone. Rose hadn’t heard from Paige, either. Neither woman could bring themselves to open up that can of worms. They would tell them when they were ready.

So, on Thursday, Rey just couldn’t bear to bring up the other tough subject on top of Poe’s already. Her rationalization was that he would be busy with his team and she’d keep her reasoning vague, but if he asked for specifics she had a school friend that she could name drop if need be. She could, and would, tell Poe later. Maybe after dinner, after she figures out if this is really meant to be romantic or not…

Honestly, Rey couldn’t tell if Ben was asking her out on a date, especially after what Leia had insinuated during their little chat. Did he want this to be platonic? They hadn’t really talked in depth about anything other than how they were spending their holidays or what they were doing in a certain moment. Did that qualify as flirting?

Then again, who asks someone to dinner for a platonic friendship? Coffee, sure. A group event? Yes. But dinner, just the two of them? Semi dressy? No, this had to be an actual date. Right?

But, at the same time, Ben didn’t seem to have many friends. His only friends, from the sounds of his texts, were Hux and Phasma. Perhaps Ben was keeping her away from Hux on purpose to appease Poe and vice versa, and Phasma was… well, she was Phasma. From the one time Rey had met her, she could tell Phasma was very high maintenance and even Ben couldn’t reign her in.

But, Rey decided to just let whatever happens tonight just happen as she pulls on a pair of jet black leggings to pair with an embroidered tunic and heeled boots. Fancy-ish. She had already warned him that she would not be wearing a skirt or dress, so hopefully he didn’t think she’d be dressed up like the holiday party.

“Rey!” Poe called from the living room. “Are you riding with me? Because I need to leave in like ten minutes if we’re carpooling.”

She poked her head out of her bedroom, “I’ve got other plans tonight.”

“What?” he asked, stunned. “You’re not going to the alumni game?”

“Nope,” she pulled herself back into her bedroom to tackle her hair. Poe followed her in, knowing it was safe to enter as she left the door halfway open.

“What’s more important than watching your favorite uncle play hockey?” Poe asked, looking like a pouting three-year-old with his arms crossed.

Rey sighed, “One, he’s my only uncle-”

“All the more reason, Rey.”

“And two, you never actually told me about this game, idiot,” she snapped. “I had to hear about it from fucking Luke Skywalker and his sister themselves.”

Poe’s lip stuck out. “Please, Reyrey?”

“Why?” she bit. “You’re in good company. You and Finn seem to get along well,” she offered.

He looked down at the floor and mumbled something Rey could not understand.

“Huh?”

He sighed and flopped onto her bed, face first, and yelled into the comforter, “Paige is going to be there.”

“Oh,” was all she could think to say. “Still bullying Rose into her extra tickets, I see.”

He stayed on her bed as she brushed her hair out and applied product before setting curlers in.

“Finn’s a good defenseman,” she offered. Poe either giggled or started sobbing at that point.

He lifted his head and smirked, “You’re ridiculous. Where are you going tonight?”

“Out to dinner with a friend,” she answered easily. It left a metallic taste in her mouth, though, lying by omission to her cousin.

He eyed her for a moment, “You don’t normally go out, though.”

“And you’re the one pushing me to do so,” she smirked. “So stop with the fifth degree.”

“Alright, alright,” he held his hands up in surrender. “I’m heading out. And it’s your fault if anything happens tonight.” He patted the top of her head and left the room.

“Noted!” she called after him. “Don’t wait up!”

“Fat chance!”

The front door slammed shut.

~

Ben was nervous.

More than nervous, he was petrified. What had he gotten himself into? He couldn’t take his old friend-turned-rival’s baby cousin out on a date, could he? It was too late to cancel on her, it was already 4:15pm and he needed to get himself into the car in order to be on time.

He didn’t have a plan, even though he had told Rey he had a surprise for her. He gave her a generic dresscode, too. Nope, he was just too nervous to come up with a solid plan and figured he’d just make Rey guess and go with one of her ideas.

He sighed, rolling up his cuffs to his forearms before pulling a dark grey button-up sweater with brown elbow patches over his shoulders. His shirt, also button-up, was white: not within his comfort zone. Looking in the mirror, he blanched. He looked like his father did in old photos and it was disturbing, but he didn’t have time to change and he doubted any paparazzi would notice him in this get-up. They were used to suits, sweats, and gear, not Grandpa sweaters and manbuns. (He tried it out the night of the party after his mother had mentioned it, and he rather liked the look of the hair out of his face. It framed his ears in a way that they didn’t look like they belonged on Mr. Potato Head as well, which is always a bonus in Ben’s book.) He was also clean shaven, his stubble was beginning to get unruly.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, making him jump a mile. He stumbled around for it, his hands not being able to find the opening of his pocket nor him remembering which pocket it was in to begin with.

Phasma:

I put a few condoms in your coat pocket.

Phasma:

We don’t need little Reylos running around

Phasma:

Yet

“Jesus Fuck,” he swore. Ben reached into his coat pocket to find no less than 20 Magnum brand condoms.

Ben:

What the actual FUCK

Phasma:

Don’t tell me you won’t make the most adorable daddy.

Phasma:

Is it weird that I imagine Rey calling you Daddy in bed?

Ben:

YES! YOU. ARE. FUCKING. INSANE

Phasma:

You’ll thank me later, big boy.

Ben groaned. Why was this woman tormenting him? Why did every woman in his life have to torment him?

He looked back at his phone, realized the time, swore again, and dashed out the door.

Chapter Text

Exactly at 5 pm, Rey’s phone chimed. As nervous as she was, she

Ben:

I never asked which apartment you lived in…

Rey:

5b

Rey grabbed her small handbag she had reserved for going out, be it a concert, drinks with friends, or a wedding or shower she needed to attend. It was simple and grey and went with almost any outfit. She double checked to make sure she had everything she needed for the evening. Powder? Check. Lipstick? Check. Cash? Check. Credit Card? Check. ID? Unfortunately. All ready to go.

The doorbell buzzed and she about tripped over herself trying to make it to the intercom. “Hello?” She called through it.

“Hey, are you ready?” Ben’s voice came through with a little static.

“Yeah, let me buzz you in,” she said, taking her finger off of one button in order to press the next one over.

A couple minutes passed before she heard a knock on her door. Bebe yowelled at the intrusion, not used to anyone knocking.

“Oh, hush,” she whispered as she swung the door open.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize I was being too loud,” Ben joked, smirking slightly but giving her big eyes as if to apologize for his cheesy humor.

Rey could only smile at him, “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied. “Are you ready?”

“Just about,” she said. “I just need to grab my coat.”

Bebe hopped onto the top of the bookshelf that was set by the front door. It was the only surface in the room that he could perch on and be taller than Ben, and he used it to his advantage. The orange cat took a stance that resembled a vulture, just staring at the tall intruder.

Rey gave the cat a confused look. “Bebe, what are you doing?” The cat just continued to glare. “I’m sorry, he’s usually much more welcoming,” she explained.

“It’s ok,” Ben said, slightly amused. “My parents’ cat isn’t my biggest fan, either.”

“I didn’t see a cat at the party,” she questioned.

“Oh, Arty is rather old, so they probably had him upstairs,” he explained. “They’ve had him since I was little. Honestly, I’m surprised he’s still alive, but he’s as energetic as ever.”

Once Rey had her coat on, she grabbed her purse and phone from the back of the couch where she had set them on her way to the door.

“You look amazing, by the way,” Ben commented in a voice just a smidge above a whisper.

Rey blushed, making her freckles disappear momentarily. “Thank you.” One point towards this being an actual date, she noted. “You look very… studious.” Ben smirked at her. “Okay, but a bun? Really?”

“What’s wrong with it?” he found himself feeling offended.

“It’s a manbun, Ben,” she deadpanned. “It’s an abomination to mankind.”

He pouted.

“Here, let me,” Rey offered. Ben bent over for her to reach his head without standing more on her toes without a second thought. Even in the two-inch heels, she was considerably shorter than he was. Then again, it wasn’t hard to be. She pulled the elastic from his hair and ran her fingers through it. It was incredibly soft, and she may have lingered longer than perhaps necessary, but she loved how it felt between her digits. “There, much better,” she smiled up at him brightly.

Ben, on the other hand, was absolutely stunned by her boldness. Most people, aside from Phasma who was incredibly too forward with everyone and anyone, wouldn’t even think about popping his personal space bubble. He didn’t like people touching him, even his teammates couldn’t give him a congratulatory slap without being afraid for their lives.

“Alright,” Rey smiled, “let’s go!” She quickly opened the door, blew a kiss to the cat while also telling him to behave himself. The cat just kept glaring at Ben, not taking his eyes off of him, making Rey sigh. If Poe’s overly-friendly cat couldn’t warm up to Ben, what made her think her cousin, who was less than friendly in the past few days, would accept him?

She pushed that thought away as she locked the door behind them.

~

Poe was hiding. He kept dodging groups of people in the concourse as he found himself a beer and a hot dog, finding reasons to visit the men’s room, and using Finn as a literal shield. Honestly, he didn’t think attending a hockey game was going to be this exhausting.

Fans kept stopping him and Finn whenever he was recognized for an autograph or photo, which was a nice distraction from looking in the crowd, trying to avoid his ex.

He also had Rose to thank, he was sure. Rose was a godsend throughout this entire crisis. Even though she should be siding with her sister- it was indeed the law of siblinghood, he had heard once- she went out of her way to make sure Poe was ok.

Alas, good things never last long enough, and Poe, after signing a five-year-old, pig-tailed fan’s “Dameron #12” jersey, he ran into Paige and Rose. Literally.

“Poe,” Paige greeted as they steadied themselves. “I was hoping to see you.” Poe just remained silent. “How are you?”

“Fine, but I’ve got to be head-” Poe tried to say, but was interrupted.

“Can we talk?” Paige insisted.

“Dameron!” called a voice behind him. Paige and Rose looked up to see Finn walking towards them with two freshly poured beers in his hands. “Come on!” Saved just in time.

“See you later, Rose,” Poe quickly said before turning and dashing out of the line of fire. Once he reached Finn, he let out a huge sigh. “You’re better at this defense thing than I thought,” he said to his friend once they were climbing down the stairs to their seats.

Finn gave him a confused look but didn’t comment on his friend’s weird statement. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, looking up at the suite that Leia Organa always had set aside for herself and other higher-ups. The team was allowed up today due to the fact that they weren’t actually playing, but Poe and Finn prefered to experience the entire game tonight. “What the hell,” he whispered under his breath.

“What?” Poe asked, following Finn’s gaze.

“Phasma Miller is here. In the suite,” he explained. “She’s the head of marketing for the Knights.”

“She looks familiar,” Poe commented as they continued to shuffle into their seats.

Finn nodded, “Yeah, Ren brought her to the holiday party.”

“Huh,” Poe grunted. “I wonder if he’s lurking up there, too.”

Fin scrunched his face in distaste. “I keep forgetting.”

“Forgetting?” Poe looked at him confused once they finally sat down in their seats right behind the penalty box.

“That Ren is related to the higher ups.”

“Oh, yeah, he’s quite the legacy,” Poe snapped slightly.

~

“Ok, so where are we going?” Rey couldn’t hold in the question any longer as they settled into the car.

“Impatient?” he asked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

Rey frowned, scrunching up her forehead. “I just don’t like surprises that much,” she mumbled.

“Why don’t you guess, then?”

She thought for a moment. “I need more clues.”

“Food.”

“That’s a shit clue,” she laughed.

His mouth turned downward ever do slightly in thought, “It’s not the alumni game?”

“Seriously? That’s all you got?” Rey laughed. “Alright, I can see we’re going to have to play 20 Questions. Are we going to a bar?”

“Are you 21 yet?” he asked with a jokingly condescending tone. Rey glared at him as he smirked.

“You better not be taking me out for putt putt golf, Ben.”

“Why would you even guess tha- wait, is that still Dameron’s go-to first date?” he interrupted himself.

Rey gave him a look, always forgetting how close the two boys used to be. “Is it Italian?”

“Do you want italian?”

She caught on, finally. “You have no idea where we’re going, do you?” she asked slyly.

Ben’s lips pouted, “No.”

“How about tacos?” she suggests. “I know of an authentic taqueria downtown. Well, as authentic as you can get out here.”

He silently pulled his phone off of its stand on the dash and handed it to her to put the address in.  

~

The game was slow-moving, but the crowd was energized to see their heroes back on the ice in their home arena. There was more laughter in the air than a regulation game. Poe and Finn were on their feet for most of the time, Poe rooting for his dad’s team while Finn was pulling for Skywalker’s.

First period ended with a 0-0 tie, horn blowing just as a helmet-less Kenobi slid into the goal after not being able to stop, dislodging the net. Skywalker skated over and helped the older man up, both laughing.

Poe, slightly inebriated from drinking two beers in a 30 minutes sitting, got up to use the facilities. Finn opted to stay put, not wanting to fight the crowd. Poe didn’t mention that he was heading to a super secret bathroom hidden up near the suites. Less people would bother him up there while he relieved himself. It’s weird having someone talk about your stats or asking for a selfie when you’ve got it whipped out to pee.

Leaving the bathroom, he noticed Leia Organa standing outside her suite with her husband, Holdo, and the platinum blonde Finn had pointed out earlier. Holdo waved him over.

“Little Dameron,” she announced to the group. “Enjoying the game so far?”

He nodded, “It’s great seeing dad out there again.” Leia smiled at that, knowing the feeling while she watched her brother. “Hi, I’m Poe Dameron,” he said extending his hand out to Phasma, “I don’t think we were introduced at the Holiday Party.”

“Phasma,” the blonde smiled brightly. “You’re quite the player, Mr. Dameron.”

“Thank you,” he said, oozing his charm at the pretty blonde. He had no plans to actually do anything with the woman, but perhaps if Paige were to see him moving on, she would, too. “I hear you’re the marketing manager for the Knights.”

“I am,” she perked up. “Actually you got me into trouble last month, Dameron.”

Poe could only laugh and shrug, “Sorry? I just like pulling Ren’s strings. I learned it from the best,” he pointed his thumb toward Leia and Han. Leia laughed and Han smirked. “Plus, between you and me, he’s an easy target,” he whispered loud enough for the rest of the group to hear and laugh at.

“Indeed, he is,” Phasma laughed. “I managed to sneak somewhere around 20 condoms into his coat pocket on the way to his date tonight. I wish I had seen the look on his face!”

“Ren’s on a date?” he repeated. The rest of the group went quiet. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

Phasma laughed, trying to cover her tracks after realizing he didn’t know where his little cousin actually was. “Hux said the same thing when he caught me.”

“What did he say?”

“Oh, he didn’t, he just gave me more to shove in his locker to find tomorrow morning,” she said wickedly.

“Good to see Ol’ Hugs hasn’t completely lost his sense of humor,” Poe mused. “He once stuck blue koolaid in all of the showerheads before a game in high school. Said it was because they were our school colors and he thought we’d ‘look more festive’.”

Phasma’s eyes looked far off for a moment, as if hatching a plan, “That’s bloody brilliant.”

Poe had a laugh. “Indeed. He was quite the hellion back in those days.”

“Hellion turned demon,” Phasma added.

“Ah, yeah, that’s my fault,” Poe flinched, rubbing the nape of his neck nervously with his right hand. But, he didn’t offer any more information.

“Mmm, yeah I got that the first time someone mentioned the last name of Dameron,” she wrinkled her nose in distaste. “The funny part was, they were talking about the variety of grapes they use wine.” She took a sip of the cocktail she was holding in her hand.

Leia and Holdo went on to talk about how the old guys were shaping up for the evening and Poe took the moment to excuse himself to return to his seat.

It wasn’t until he was back in the stands, sitting down and being handed a fresh beer by Finn did he realize…

Kylo Ren was on a date. Rey was out “with a friend”.

Fuck.

He’d been played.

~

Rey was mesmerized by the cook’s actions. They were waiting for fresh chips to go with their salsa and guacamole, and this was one of those restaurants that made everything right in front of you.

Ben was mesmerized by her careful watching of the chips.

“Number 23!” called the counter clerk. Rey immediately jumped to grab the tray like a rabid coyote jumping on an escaped pet rabbit. Ben tried taking the tray away from Rey to carry, but she about snarled at him.

They found a table in the back of the restaurant. It wasn’t terribly crowded, but it wasn’t the quiet, intimate atmosphere Ben had hoped for. But, if it was what Rey wanted, he was happy to oblige. To her credit, the food smelled amazing, too. He didn’t realize that he had forgone most meals all day out of nervousness and was now as famished as Rey was acting.

As soon as she took her first bite of chips and salsa, she started humming and groaning at how delicious it was. Ben couldn’t focus enough to take his own bite, so he was just sitting there, watching her while his own chip started to soak up the juices of the salsa. If he didn’t act now, he’d have a soggy chip. Salsa dribbled down her chin, so she scooped it up with another chip before catching him watching her.

“What?” she said innocently with a mouthful of food after noticing him watching her.

“Nothing, I just forgot how savage your table manners are,” he said.

She scrunched her face and slowed down on taking bites. “Sorry, I get carried away,” she said softly, clearly embarrassed.

“No, no!” he tried correcting his brashness. “It’s endearing.”

“Endearing?” she asked incredulously. “It’s endearing to watch food dribble down my chin and almost stain my shirt?”

He nodded, eyes sparkling, “It’s nice to know some people don’t change too much.” That made her smile.

“Well, then I’m glad,” she laughed. “Why aren’t you at the alumni game?” she finally asked. The question had been clawing at her all night.

Ben’s mouth twitched, thick lips turning downwards. “Because I’m here with you.”

Rey’s eyes rolled. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

He finally took a bite of his chip, resisting the urge to sigh as well with how heavenly the salsa and homemade chips were.

“You’re much more enjoyable company than my family,” he said after swallowing his bite.

“After how Poe has acted all week, I can certainly say the same,” she agreed.

“How has he been acting?” he continued to dip chips and munch while he tries to keep conversation going.

“Withdrawn,” she said simply before launching into the entire background while they ate their dinner. “And then Paige called him on Monday and set him off into this whole sour Poe thing he has going on.” She sighed after pouring all of that out to Ben.

“Sour Poe?” Ben snickered. “Really? You’re still using that?”

Rey’s eyes shot up to his, “I forgot you coined that.”

“Mmmm, yeah, I guess I did,” he leaned back in his chair, smirking.

Rey’s eyes lit up mischievously, “You know, he still refers to Hux as ‘Hugs’.” Ben let out a laugh that he didn’t mean to.

“Oh, that would piss him off,” he mused.

Ben glanced at his watch out of pure curiosity.

“We’ve been here for forty-five minutes and all we’ve managed to do is talk about my cousin,” Rey laughed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Ben soothed.

“What’s your favorite color?” she blurted.

His brows furrowed, “Red?” he said unsure. “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it.”

“Mine’s green.”

The two went about answering silly icebreaker questions, such as favorite food (“tacos”, “pasta”), favorite book (“Dracula”, “War and Peace”), and favorite vacation spot (“Mackinac Island”, “Cabin out near Seattle”). It went on for an hour before her phone started to ring.

Poe Calling

“Oh, shit,” Rey swore. “I should take this, I’m so sorry.” As soon as she swiped, his screams were heard:

“REY MIDDLENAME DAMERON! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU RIGHT NOW!”

“Poe-”

“No! I am not drunk! Answer the question!” He slurred his words, telling her that he was, actually, quite drunk.

Rey rolled her eyes while Ben’s just went wide.

“I’m at Mariposa’s downtown,” she explained. “What’s wrong?”

“Who. Are. You. With.”

“Ben Solo, why?” she simply stated.

“Home. Now.”

“Poe, you’re drunk. Do you need a ride?”

He took a minute to answer and then whimpered, “Yes.”

“We’ll be right there,” she sighed. “Stay put!” She hung up the phone and looked at Ben with an apologetic glance. “I’m so sorry, but can you drive me to the arena?”

Chapter Text

“Poe!” Finn snapped. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Getting Rey home,” Poe mumbled drunkenly. Five beers later and Poe was a drunken mess. While he was a tall and muscular man, he was a tall muscular man that rarely had more than one adult drink in a fortnight.

Finn had ushered him into a side hallway that only employees were meant to use. “I’ll drive you home. Give me your keys and your phone so I can call Rey back.”

“No!”

“Poe,” Finn growled insistently. “Now.”

Poe glared at him. “She’s on a date.”

“All the more reason for me to call her as soon as possible to get her back to it,” Finn sighed.

“She’s with Ben.”

Finn didn’t think he heard him right. “Pardon?”

“She’s on a date. With Ben.” Poe whined this. Something Finn never thought he’d see, a drunk Poe Dameron whining like a three year old not getting his way. But, Finn had to agree with his friend that no, Rey should not be on a date with Kylo Fucking Ren. At least he was thinking a little more clearly than Poe; He’d only drank one beer a period while chowing down on popcorn and hot dogs.

“Alright, so she gets here and then what? Are you going to ground her?” Finn asked sarcastically.

Poe continued to pout for some time before lighting up, “I need to call my uncle.”

“No, Poe, we’re not getting her grounded. She’s an adult.” Finn rubbed his temples in frustration. Any sort of buzz he had going on was now burned away and he was getting a headache. “Are you sure she’s out with Ren?” Poe nodded with his bottom lip sticking out. “Okay, I understand your interference, but dude, you went about it totally wrong. Your father is here, who told you to leave well enough alone, and both of his parents are here,” Finn worked it all out aloud. “You’re not going to win this fight.”

“I know,” was all Poe could whine before sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor. “I want to go home.”

“Bro, you’re a shitty drunk and you totally owe me for this,” Finn commented before taking Poe’s phone and texting Rose to bring him some food and coffee while they waited for Rey.

~

“I’m so sorry,” Rey said for the millionth time.

“It’s okay, Rey,” Ben soothed. After a few moments of silence, he finally got the gumption to ask, “So what is your middle name?”

Rey, who had been on the verge of tears over the fact that her cousin was royally pissed, in both senses of the word, and that her evening was ruined, suddenly snorted. “I don’t have one.”

“How do you not have a middle name?” Ben asked, completely taken aback by the idea.

“You know I’m adopted,” she started.

He looked confused, “Yes?”

“I was three when they found me digging through a dumpster. I only knew my first name,” she explained. Ben’s fingers turned white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, Rey noticed. “And by the time Erix did the paperwork to properly adopt me and gave me his last name, he said it felt wrong to give me a proper middle name when he’d been literally yelling ‘Middlename’ through the house whenever I got in trouble for a couple years already. It just stuck.” She noticed how he frowned before explaining further, “It’s not legally my name. It’s just Rey Dameron.”

“At least it’s not anything embarrassing,” Ben muttered.

Rey’s interest was piqued, “What’s your middle name?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” he said seriously.

“Seriously, Ben, what’s your middle name?” she pushed. “I promise I won’t laugh.”

He mumbled something.

“I didn’t quite catch that,” she teased.

“You’re persistent,” he grumbled. “Lesley.”

Rey had a hard time not bursting out laughing. “Ben Lesley Solo?”

“Benjamin,” he corrected. “Go ahead and laugh. Just let it out.”

“It has a…. Ring to it,” she said, tears streaming down her face from silent laughter.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up while you can,” he snapped even though his eyes were smiling at how entertained she was. “This conversation doesn’t leave the car.”

“Fair enough,” She smiled at him. “Your secret is safe with me.” She reached out and squeezed his hand, causing chills to shoot through both their bodies. Her hand quickly retracted, not wanting to overstep.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, letting tension build between them. Ben finally broke it: “So, Dameron had no idea you were with me?”

Rey looked down, embarrassed. “He’d had such a bad week, I didn’t want to upset him even more,” she whispered.

“Hmm,” he hummed in slight agreement. “He probably doesn’t like the idea of the big bad Kylo Ren stealing is baby cousin away in the night.”

“Oh, was that your plan?”

“Perhaps,” he smirked.

Rey played along. “So, that’s the real reason you came up to my apartment, to get a feel for the layout and find the easiest escape route, I see now.”

“Well, damn, there goes that plan,” he swore.

“You’ll just have to come up with a better one than stockholm syndrome,” she joked. “This isn’t Beauty and the Beast, Ben.”

They had stopped at a stoplight, and he looked at her with darkened eyes, “And how shall I seduce you, Miss Dameron?”

She started to blush furiously, “I- uh,” she stuttered. “I don’t know,” she finally whispered.

They took off down the street, almost to the arena. They rode in silence, but she allowed him to slip his hand over hers.

“Can I ask you something?” Ben said as he parked next to his father’s corvette.

“Sure?” Rey responded as she unbuckled herself, not looking at him.

“Why did you agree to go out tonight?”

She stopped suddenly. “I-” she looked at him, “I thought it was obvious.” They just stared at each other for a moment before she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s go get my idiot cousin.”

~

The two walked into the arena through the employee entrance. Rey walked with determination through the hallways, not greeting people as they passed them by. Ben, on the other hand, was keeping a steady pace right behind her, making sure not to look anyone in the eye.

Rey stopped at the locker room door. “I don’t know where he is,” she admitted. The game was over and the players were making their way back to change before heading out for a celebration.

“Rey?” called her uncle’s voice. “What are you doing down here?”

“I’m looking for your son,” she responded, a small bite to her voice. “He’s piss-drunk somewhere and called me for a ride.”

Kes sighed, “I haven’t seen him since before the game. I can take him home if you-”

“No, I need to have a bit of a chat with him,” she all but snarled. Ben hadn’t seen this side of her yet, but he kind of liked how in charge she looked, as long as the attitude wasn’t directed at him.

Behind Kes walked Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi.

“Well, well, well,” Luke growled. “If it isn’t my long lost nephew.”

Ben nodded at him, “Uncle Luke.”

“You look good, kid,” Luke smiled. Ben nodded again, choosing to stay silent.

Ben Sr. looked between nephew and uncle and just rolled his eyes. “You Skywalkers are so dramatic,” he sighed while pushing past the rest of the people in the hall before stopping to say “Always a pleasure, Miss Dameron.” He winked before pushing into the locker room.

“Did you try calling him?” Kes suggested. “Or see if he’s up near the suite?”

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked, inserting himself into the conversation.

“My idiot son seems to have taken the evening a bit too fast and loose,” Kes elaborated. “He’s somewhere in the arena drunk and called Rey for a ride even though there are literally at least five other people in this building that would make sure he got home safely.”

Luke smirked, “Kid sure knows how to cockblock.” Rey and Ben both turned bright red at the suggestion. “Try the suite. If he’s not there, Leia and Holdo will know where to look.”

“Thank you,” Rey said curtly before taking Ben’s hand and dragging him away.

“They’re kind of adorable together,” Luke commented dreamily. Kes just shoved him and laughed.

~

Phasma was having a wonderful time. She thrived being around so many high energy people. It was quite the change from being at work with angry Hux or brooding Kylo. Oh, no, now she was among lively folk that loved to party and she started to wonder, offhandedly, if the Rebels were in need of a marketing manager. No, no, she decided. Even though Hux was a piece of work, there was a softer side to him deep down, and she would be damned if she wasn’t going to bring it out before her time with the Knights was up.

The game had ended about twenty minutes before, yet the crowd in the suite still lingered. Phasma kept sipping at her wine while she watched the rest of the room. Amilyn Holdo had drank one or two glasses of wine too many and the flush in her cheeks was clashing with her purple hair. Leia was standing next to where her husband sat, making conversation with some of her current team and their families. Han had pinched Leia’s ass a few moments ago, making Phasma wonder why the hell Kylo was such a stick in the mud.

And yet, the best part of the night was yet to come for Phasma. It was then that Rey Dameron burst through the doors of the suite with Kylo Ren in towe.

“Ben!” Leia exclaimed, moving over to her son. “And Rey! I thought you two were out for the evening.”

Rey’s face conveyed pure annoyance, making Phasma just as annoyed. What had happened to ruin their time out? Who was responsible for this blasphemy?

“Leia,” Rey spoke shortly. “Have you seen my darling cousin?”

Leia, confused, looked between the two, “Not since first intermission. Why?”

“Can you please help us find him?”

“Of course,” Leia said, signaling to Han that he should get up and help as well. “What’s going on?” she tried again.

“He called me for a ride,” Rey explained. “Apparently he’s a bit inebriated.”

Holdo and Ackbar both pulled out their cellphones as they joined the group. Phasma decided this was too juicy to not be in on, so she made her way over while draining the rest of her glass.

“Hold on, I’m calling Storm,” Ackbar announced. Finn must have answered right away because Ackbar spoke quickly and hung up. “They’re one floor down, in the hallway next to the concessions.”

“Thank you,” Rey said curtly, turned on her heel and marched out of the room, followed by Ben, Leia, Han, and Phasma.

“So,” started Phasma, “How’s the evening been, you two?”

Ben shot her a glare that only fed her interests. “Not now, Phas.”

“Really, Ben,” Leia inserted. “Don’t be rude. We’d all like to know how this-” she gestured between the two of them “-is going.”

Ben sighed, so Rey answered, “It was fine until Poe called.”

“Just fine?” Phasma quipped. Leia elbowed the blonde, knowing they were pushing their limits.

“It was more than fine, Phasma,” Ben growled. “Now let’s change the subject.”

Han trailed behind all of them, only there in case they needed his muscle. He, too, wanted to know more about this particular coupling but knew better, even better than his wife, to keep his trap shut until he and Rey or Ben or both were alone before harassing them with a bunch of questions.

The group made their way down an elevator and found the corridor Poe and Finn were hiding out in.

“What the hell is this?” Rey yelled as she found them. Poe was laying on the floor giggling while Finn sat across from him rolling his eyes. “Poe, get your ass up and let’s go home now.”

“Reyrey, help me,” he whimpered.

She placed her hands on her hips and stood right in front of him, Finn moving out of the way so that her butt wasn’t in his face as she bent over to look at her cousin. “Jesus Christ, Poe, did you really do this just to break up my evening?”

“No,” he started to cry. “Kind of. Not totally.” He was starting to come down a little, Finn having force-fed him a soft pretzel and coffee from one of the stands outside.

She pulled him up to a sitting position while the rest of the group watched. “Alright, mister, we’re going to talk when we get home.” Rey turned to the others, “Can someone help me get him to his car?”

Ben and Finn made eye contact and nodded. Each took an arm and hoisted, making it a little difficult in how different in height the three men were. It was like matryoshka dolls sitting in a line. If Rey hadn’t been so pissed off, she’d have laughed. Instead, she reached into Poe’s pocket and took his car keys.

“I guess we’ll head on out now that you have things under control,” Leia said, pulling Han away from the group as well. Han nodded his goodnights, winking at Rey.

Phasma walked alongside Rey as the five of them made their way down to the parking garage entrance.

As the guys loaded Poe into the backseat of his car, making Rey question if she was going to be able to get him into the apartment when they got back. “Wait, guys,” she sighed, Ben paused while Finn stood up straight. “I won’t be able to lift him from there.”

“Let’s get him into my car,” Ben offered. “I can take you both back.”

Rey thought for a moment and then sighed in relief, “Yeah, that would be really helpful.” So, Finn and Ben pulled Poe back out of his car and marched him a few cars down to where Ben’s SUV was parked.

They got him settled and Rey went to thank Finn while Phasma stopped Ben on his way around the car to the driver’s seat.

“So?” Phasma whispered to him. “How did it go?”

“Later, Phas,” he grumped. “I’m a bit busy.”

“I expect texts with full details as soon as you get home tonight, Ren,” she threatened, “or else you’re doing a car commercial.” His eyes rolled.

~

They were almost home when the silence was finally broken.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“It’s not a problem, really, Rey,” he soothed, taking her hand in his again. He removed it much too soon for her liking, having to parallel park in front of her building. “Shall we?” he motioned toward Poe, who was now snoring in the backseat.

She smiled at him, thinking about how easy it would be to just lean forward and kiss him, but thought better of it as Poe “Cockblocker” Dameron was in the back seat, snoring very loudly. She’d have to suggest he get tested for sleep apnea.

Rey was a bit shorter than Finn, so Ben insisted that she just open the doors for him.

He dumped the sleeping man on the couch as soon as they walked in. Poe may be smaller than Ben, but his muscle mass isn’t light by any means. Rey tossed a quilt over her almost-sleeping cousin.

“Thanks, Reyrey,” he mumbled.

“Sleep, Poe,” she cooed.

“Thank you, Benny,” he continued, shoving his face into the throw pillows stacked under him.

“No problem, Dameron,” Ben replied, slightly surprised.

“You know I can still kick your ass at Mario Kart,” Poe continued, getting quieter with each word.

“Sure you can, buddy,” Ben answered, patting Poe’s shoe-clad foot. He hoped Rey didn’t hear the slight tone of hurt in his voice that he thought slipped through.

“We’ll play next time.”

“Sure, next time.” He turned to whisper to Rey, “I should get going.”

She pulled the door closed as they stood in the hallway, finally away from Poe who was too drunkenly sleepy to make more of a fuss.

He towered over her, standing closer than he had to her all evening, “Can we do this again?” he asked in a husky voice.

Rey nodded slowly, staring up at him as he managed to get her against the door. “I’d love to.”

“Good, because I’d like to do this without interruptions,” his voice made her shiver.

“Me, too.”

“May I?” He asked.

“Please,” she breathed.

He bent down while lifting her chin lightly to kiss her. Just a small, experimental peck, before she deepened the kiss, standing on her tiptoes. Her hands found the hair she had already become enamored with running her fingers through and he stifled a groan. He was afraid that if he was too enthusiastic, she’d run away. She finally broke them apart, smiling up at him.

“I’ll call you tomorrow?” he asked before giving her one more peck, holding her face with both of his hands.

“I’d love that,” she replied, still breathless at being able to still smell his natural musk.

“Goodnight, Rey Middlename Dameron,” he smirked, backing away.

“`Night, Benjamin Lesley Solo,” she laughed loudly before she shushed her.

Ben retreated down the hall with the biggest grin on his face, while Rey snuck back into her apartment, with a smile twinning Ben’s as she kicked off her shoes and padded into her room to get ready for bed.

Chapter Text

Ben sat in his car for a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes before finally turning over the engine and taking off.

Had that really just happened?

He drove without much purpose, just allowing his instincts to drive him home. Perhaps not the safest of ideas, but would you be able to pay attention to the road if the one person that didn’t look at him like he was a monster or treat him like a child like his family did.

As soon as he pulled into his parking space at his own apartment building he pulled his phone off the dash, having noticed a few texts come through, most likely from Phasma. Ben groaned, not ready to disclose such information to the one woman that out-gossipped his mother, who seems to be on good terms with his mother, too, and might gossip with her.

Phasma:

SOooOoOOoo?!

Phasma:

The only reason you’re not texting me back better be because you’re putting those condoms to good use.

Ben knew that not answering her would be worse than giving her a detail or two.

Ben:

Just got home. Calm the fuck down.

Phasma:

SOOOO!?!?!!

Ben:

Dameron is sleeping peacefully

Phasma:

Good, because I need to kick his ass later.

Ben:

Get in line.

He stuck his phone in his pocket and walked up to his apartment before looking at his phone again, still trying to decide what small detail to give Phasma that didn’t invade his or Rey’s privacy but would get the insane amazon off of his back.

Phasma :

Are you two lovebirds going out again?

Phasma:

BTW- loved the outfit, Professor ;)

Ben:

Yes, we’re making more plans.

Phasma:

And…. did anything…. Happen?

Ben:

Yes, and that’s all the information you’re getting.

Phasma:

That’s too vague. That could mean mere hand-holding all the way up to fucking in the same room as her cousin.

Ben:

Shut up, Phasma.

Phasma:

Sex it was, then.

Ben:

I’m so glad you think so highly of me. I’ll have to tell Leia you think her son is such a gentleman.

Phasma:

Second Base?

Ben:

Goodnight, Phasma.

Phasma:

FINE

Phasma:

Goodnight, Loverboy.

Ben flopped onto his king-sized bed without changing into pajamas. He tossed his phone onto the night stand, not bothering to silence it for the night. Instead, he rolled over onto his side and replayed the evening’s events in his mind before falling asleep on top of the covers.

~

The next morning did not bode well for Poe.

“What’s wrong with you?” Rey yelled as she threw a throw pillow at Poe, beating him thrice before letting him speak.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Poe tried to defend himself. “Tone it down, you banshee.”

“No!” she seethed. “You don’t get to pull the ‘I’m so drunk or hungover or whatever’ card. You don’t trust me and I need to know why.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust,” he mumbled. “It’s him.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know!” he snapped. “I just don’t!”

Rey seethed. “Well, you’re going to have to get over it real quickly,” she snarled, eyes flashing. “Because this isn’t going to stop.” She stomped back to her room, picking up toasted poptarts from the kitchen on her way, and slamming the door like a teenager that just had her cellphone confiscated.

Poe groaned and flopped back onto the couch. He was an idiot. And he damn well knew it.

~

Rey stayed in her room all day, only leaving to use the bathroom or grab a box of something to snack on. Poe had retreated to his room by late morning so as not to run into her. He knew he had fucked up, and he’d rather not admit it just yet.

So, Rey started to read a book ( War and Peace ) and watched a movie while watching her phone like a hawk. It lit up twice throughout the day, once with Rose hounding her for details (of which she gave more about the Poe situation than the actual date) and once from Finn (how did he get her number?) checking in on Poe, to which she did not respond.

But finally around 2:30 pm it rang.

Ben Solo Calling

Rey launched herself at the phone at the foot of her bed.

“Hello?” she said, perhaps a little too loudly.

“Hi, Rey,” sounded Ben’s deep voice.

“Hi, Ben,” she replied smiling.

“Listen, I know you probably have plans tonight, it being New Year's Eve and all, but are you busy tomorrow?” he asked, cutting to the chase.

“Um,” Rey thought aloud. “No? But that’s New Year’s Day. Is anything open?”

“There is one place that I have in mind,” she could hear the smirk in his voice.

Rey groaned, “Another surprise?” she laughed. “Is it a real surprise this time?”

“Yes, I have an actual plan this time,” he laughed, too. “Can I pick you up around noon?”

“Of course,” Rey responded enthusiastically.

“Good, dress warm,” he said before hanging up mysteriously.

~

Poe finally emerged, remembering that he had agreed to go out with Finn and a few other teammates for Holiday Festivities. He thought about knocking on Rey’s door to see if she’d go with them but figured she’d still be too pissed off at him. So, like a puppy with its tail between its legs, he shuffled past her door and picked up his phone to text her instead.

Poe:

Going out with the team tonight.

Rey:

Will you be drinking?

Poe:

Not a chance.

Rey:

Damn straight.

Poe:

Do you want to go?

Rey:

Rose is coming over.

Poe sighed but was grateful she would be staying in. It’s not like she could drink legally out at a party, so he didn’t expect much else from her.

As a peace offering, he would run to the store and bring back a couple of bottles of red wine for her and Rose to enjoy.

~

Rose arrived about a half an hour after Poe left.

“Girl!” She squealed as she walked through the door, a bottle of champagne and a stack of movies in her arms. “Details!”

Rey took the bottle to set on the counter by the wine and copious amounts of snack food Poe had left for them. “I already gave you details.”

“You told me about getting Poe home,” Rose snapped. “You were on that date for well over an hour before you were interrupted, don’t argue.” Rey sighed and refreshed her glass of wine and gulped it before grabbing another glass for Rose. “Don’t you sigh at me, missy.”

Rey walked back around the counter, drinks in hand. “It was a basic first date,” she explained. “Aside from the cousin cockblock.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Rose looked a little guilty. “I couldn’t keep Paige away from Poe.”

“Oh, that explains that,” Rey realized. Rose gave her a look. “I asked Poe if he did this all just because I was out with Ben and he said ‘not totally’.”

“Yeah, she’s been insistent,” Rose groaned. “Trying to get me to talk to him. I ended up ordering a few brochures for grad school in Jolly Old England in her name. They should be arriving soon.”

“You’re so evil, I love it,” Rey laughed. Rose rubbed her hands together maniacally.

“But, seriously,” Rose giggled, “What did you guys talk about?”

Rey thought for a moment, trying to think of what was safe to tell her friend. “Well, we talked about our favorite things?”

Rose rolled her eye, “All good icebreakers, I guess. But, I thought you already did that via text.”

Rey shook her head, “No, I mostly talked him through spending Christmas with his parents before.”

“So, what’s his favorite position?” Rose asked quickly. Rey shoved her, almost spilling her drink.

“Oh, my God, Rose! No! Even if he did tell me that, you’re not going to find out,” Rey yelled, all flustered, now thinking about Ben flipping her over in bed with his strong arms.

“Ha! Now you’re thinking about it,” Rose teased. “Now tell me, are his lips as soft as they look?”

“Rose!”

“Are you at least seeing him again after that fiasco?” Rose huffed, realizing she wasn’t getting anything good from Rey.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Rey finally answered. “We have plans tomorrow.”

Rose smirked, “Good. Are you telling Poe this time?”

“Yeah, I will when he comes home tonight,” Rey sighed. “I’d have said something before he left if he had actually spoken to me.”

“Rey, he’s embarrassed,” Rose cooed. “It’s kind of adorable, actually.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not.” But she thought about it for a minute, “Though, I think Poe forgot he and Ben weren’t friends after we got him home.”

“How so?”

“Well, he kind of challenged Ben to play Mario Kart next time they see each other,” Rey scrunched her forehead.

Rose scoffed, “Mario Kart?”

“It was their thing when we were younger,” Rey explained. “They never let me play, though.”

“Okay, that is certainly adorable,” Rose agreed, “if not a little douchey.”

“Would you have wanted a five-year-old crashing into you when you were about to make the record?”

Rose nodded in passive agreement, “I guess. I just always hated it when Paige did that to me, though we aren’t almost ten years apart.”

“Is that weird?” Rey suddenly asked, setting down her wine on the coffee table. “The age difference?”

“I mean, we don’t get to choose when our parents fornicate or adopt?” Rose tried to reason.

“No, I mean me and Ben,” Rey corrected. “He’s nine years older than me.”

Rose thought for a moment, “I mean, no?”

“I can’t even legally drink for another two years and he’s almost 30,” Rey talked mostly to herself.

“Rey-” Rose interrupted “-stop thinking. Just go along with it. He’s hot and you’re gorgeous and already know what comes with the package of being related to a hockey legend."

“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself,” Rey chastised.

“Yeah, well, it’s not just me, I think Leia is already planning your wedding,” Rose joked.

“As long as she doesn’t go with peach or yellow,” Rey grumbled.

“Noted,” Rose smiled wickedly. “Now, about baby names-”

“ROSE!”

Rose held her hands up in defense, “Okay, okay, I’m done. For now.”

“Ugh,” Rey groaned. “Can we watch something? Do facials, or whatever it is we’re supposed to do during sleepovers?”

Rose dug into one of the bags she brought. “Alright, we have a few options for face masks…”

~

Poe walked through the door to find Rey and Rose passed out on the couch with the credits to some Disney movie rolling on the tv screen. It was about 3am and he was sober, just as he had promised Rey. Bebe mewed from his spot, tucked into Rey’s hip as she slept on her stomach. Poe walked over to free his cat and throw a blanket over the girls, just as Rey had done for him the night before.

“Poe?” Rey whispered in a sleepy voice.

“Yeah, go back to sleep,” he said, patting her head.

“Wait,” she demanded. He stopped in his tracks before he passed the kitchen on his way to his bedroom. “Can we talk?”

Poe sighed, “We shouldn’t wake Rose.”

“She had a bit to drink, I think she’s out for a while,” Rey snickered. Rose was also on her stomach, hair splayed all over her face while she lightly snored every now and then. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said, not looking at her for too long. “Finn says ‘hi’, by the way.”

Rey smiled as she sat up, “He seems like a decent guy.”

“He does,” Poe agreed.

“I’m seeing Ben again,” she blurted. “Tomorrow.”

“Okay,” he simply states. They stay like that, she sitting and staring at him, he avoiding eye contact in the hallway. “Just, be home by 10,” he tried to joke.

“Midnight,” she played along.

“Eleven,” he finally cracked a tiny smile.

“Fine, eleven,” she laughed.

Poe set Bebe down on the kitchen counter while he poured himself a glass of water. “Can I ask you something? Something personal.”

“Maybe,” Rey replied, skeptical.

“Is he good to you?”

Rey laughed, “Yes, Poe. He’s a complete gentleman.”

“Hmmm,” Poe hummed. “And you’ll tell me if he does anything unsavory as soon as it happens, right?”

“Of course,” she promised.

Chapter Text

New Year’s day was bright and sunny, only enhanced by the sparkling snow on the ground. Rey was getting dressed while Poe cleaned up the breakfast he had made for Rose and Rey.

Rose was splayed out on Rey’s bed, hanging around longer than she originally planned in order to help Rey get ready for hers and Ben’s second date.

“No, wear the red scarf,” Rose advised. “Red looks good on you.”

Rey pulled off the sage green one she was already wearing and wrapped the wine red one around her neck. She was already wearing a black peacoat that was warmer than it looked and fleece-lined grey leggings paired with an off-white sweater and black boots. Ben had said to dress warm, so she took it to heart.

“That looks sexy,” Rose admired. “Definitely stay with the red!” Rey smiled at her before glancing at the clock.

Rey pouted, “I’m not sure I want sexy, though.”

“Why the hell not?” Rose asked, sitting up.

“I don’t know!” Rey huffed. “I don’t want to oversell this.” She gestured to her whole self.

The doorbell rang, deciding Rey’s scarf selection for her as she merely grabbed her small cross-body purse and made a run for the door, Rose on her heels. Poe had beat her to the door, though. He spoke into the intercom, “Come on up.”

Rose’s eyes widened with both wonder and slight fear, but Rey just gave him a look that said ‘Really? We have to do this now?’

Poe didn’t look at her as he went back to washing dishes, just whistling nonchalantly.

Ben knocked lightly as if he was afraid to upset the dragon in its cave. Rey swung the door open, smiling up at him. Ben looked a little flustered, nose red from the cold outside. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” Rey responded. “Sorry,” she whispered beforehand. “This is Rose,” she gestured to her friend who had plopped herself on the couch. “She works for the Rebels as a physical therapist.”

Ben nodded as he said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Rose beamed at him.

Poe walked over to the counter, drying his hands on a fresh dish towel. “Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey,” Ben responded.

“Where are you two crazy kids heading today?” Poe asked, smirking.

“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Ben responded, not sure where this conversation was going to go.

Poe looked him up and down, “Text it to me. My phone number hasn’t changed.”

“Okay, DAD, is that enough?” Rey snapped.

“Nope,” Poe smirked. “Have her home before 11. No alcohol-”

“Jesus, Poe,” Rey huffed, “do you need a urine sample, too?”

“Wouldn’t hurt.”

Rey glared at Poe. “We’re going to go now,” she said, yanking on Ben’s arm. He had been too stunned and entertained all at once to join into the conversation.

“Bye, kids!” Poe called after them. Rey swore she could hear him chuckling as the door closed behind them.

Ben removed his arm from her grasp and replaced it with his hand, fingers twining around each other. He hoped like hell that he wasn’t being too bold. Rey was certainly not going to protest the feeling of his hand, twice the size of hers, wrapped around hers completely. They walked that way down the hall to the elevator and then through the lobby to where his SUV was parked right outside. He opened the door for her before letting go of her hand reluctantly.

Once he hopped in the car, Rey decided to break the silence, “I’m sorry, I really don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“He’s just being Dameron,” Ben replied, reaching over and squeezing her hand. “He really hasn’t changed at all when it comes to you.”

“No?” Rey felt her nose scrunch as she tried to think back.

Ben snickered, “Yeah, he’d make you wear a helmet just to watch us scrimmage on the pond behind his house.”

“Oh, god, I forgot about that,” she whispered. “He was afraid I’d be taken away if I got a concussion from an errant puck.”

Ben nodded, squeezing her hand again. “It’s nice to see some people don’t change too much.”

Rey hummed, “I don’t think you’ve changed.” He glanced over to see her smiling slightly at him.

“That’s funny because you certainly have,” he said suddenly.

“Oh?” she asked, daring him to say something unflattering.

“Much less annoying now,” he smirked at her.

“Yeah, sure,” she laughed. “I was never annoying.”

Ben stayed silently smirking as he drove.

“So, where are we going?” Rey finally blurted.

“You’ll see,” he taunted.

“But I need to text Poe,” she whined. “You’re too busy driving.”

“I already did,” he said. “Before I got in the car.”

Rey’s eyes narrowed, so Ben tightened his grip on her hand. “You’re a sadistic monster.”

“I am.”

“After this, no more surprises, Ben,” Rey grumbled. She turned to look out her side window, watching the snow covered trees fly by.

Ben pouted. He didn’t want to agree to such things when he did not know how she truly reacted to surprises.

“Maybe,” he said, diplomatically.

Rey huffed.

“Tell me about what you did last night,” Ben prompted.

She told him about Rose coming over, where Poe had gone, and the sorts of slumber party-esque things the two girls had done including face masks, pedicures (Rey was rocking ‘deliciously plum’ toenails while Rose was partial to the ‘I’m not really a waitress” red), and counting down the ball dropping with apology champagne Poe had left them.

Her retelling was perfectly timed because when she finally ended Ben was putting the car in Park. “We’re here,” he said. They were parked in a small park, completely covered in snowy pine trees and large drifts from the multiple snowfalls they’ve already had this winter. There was a small path cleared that disappeared into the woods beyond the park.

“Oh my god, you’re going to murder me and leave me frozen in the snow,” Rey fake gasped. “I have so much to live for, Ben!”

He rolled his eyes at her dramatic acting, but decided to play along and leaned in to lightly tug her scarf to force her to look into his eyes closely. “Come along, little girl,” he growled lightly, “you’re mine."

Rey was breathless at the gesture, unable to respond. She felt herself melt into him slightly.

“Too much,” he said as his face morphed into a flinch and he let her go. “I’m sorry, that was creepy.”

Rey suddenly got her bearings back, “No, no, it was kind of..” she trailed off for a moment. “I mean, it was kind of… hot?” she laughed nervously.

Ben raised both of his eyebrows in surprise, his mouth quirking ever so slightly. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He unbuckled himself and got out of the car, expecting Rey to follow as he rummaged in the back of the SUV for something. “Come on, sweetheart, I really won’t bite.”

Rey slithered down from the car, it being enough off the ground that she had to pull herself in and hop down each time. “Can I finally know what we’re doing?” she called as she landed.

“Only because I can’t hide these anymore,” he said, walking around the car to hand her something that resembled a shoe box, but was much larger. “Go-on,” he urged her to open.

“What is this?” she asked staring at the box.

“Just open it,” he urged again, delight sparkling in his eyes.

She frowned as she opened the box. Inside was a sleek black pair of figure skates. They were made daintier than hockey skates, of which she did not own for herself. “Skates? Really?” she cocked an eyebrow. “You know I can’t skate, right?”

Ben laughed, “I figured. You would never come out on real skates with us, from what I remember.” He pulled one out of the box, “I had Phasma guess on the size, but these will be easier to use for just fun skating compared to clunky hockey skates.”

Rey’s face had become void of all colors aside from the blush on the tip of her nose and cheekbones from standing out in the cold. “I- I don’t know, Ben,” she stuttered. “I’m not very graceful in shoes, let alone on skates.”

“Have you tried in the past few years?” he asked, slinging his own skates over his shoulder. They were beaten up and older-looking, giving Rey the sense that these were only used for recreation rather than for work.

“No,” she whispered, clearly nervous. “Last time I tried, I cut myself on a skate.”

“Well, at least if you cut yourself with these, it will be a clean cut?” Ben tried joking. He was upset with himself now for the idea. He thought it would be romantic to go for a skate and then go to a coffee shop for hot drinks and light fair. He didn’t think she’d object growing up in such a prominent hockey family. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he quickly amended. “But the skates are for you to keep.”

Rey sucked in a breath, “No, let’s go. Just keep your phone on your just in case you need to call 911 for me,” she joked dryly.

Ben grinned, “I’m sure that won’t be necessary. And at least this pond is not well-known, so we should have the place to ourselves.”

“Oh, good, less chance for me to completely humiliate myself,” she cracked.

They walked down the path together, holding hands again, though they both wore gloves now. Ben escorted her over to a bench for them to put on their skates. He helped her take off the blade guards and lace them up correctly before tending to his own feet. Ben was quick about it, too, standing up sooner than Rey was mentally prepared. He held out both hands for her to grasp as she balanced on the brand new blades.

“You didn’t happen to bring your pads, did you?” Rey gulped.

“I won’t let you fall too hard, sweetheart,” he smiled down at her. He pulled her up as soon as she was ready. As soon as she was up, he pecked her on the nose to calm her down. She grinned up at him.

They stood there for a moment before he started pulling her as he slowly skated backward. “Don’t you dare let go,” she said through clenched teeth as they started moving a little faster. Her eyes threatened to clench shut.

“Open your eyes, Rey,” he coaxed as he slowed them down a little bit. “You’re fine.”

She peeked before opening both eyes slowly.

“The faster you move, the less likely you are to fall,” he said before dropping one of her hands. “Here, just skate beside me.” He fell back to stand next to her before they started moving forward again, slowly.

They lapped around the pond a few times before he told her to try on her own. “Go on, I’ll stay close,” he urged. She gave him a glare as she tried to move forward on her own, instantly slipping. Ben caught her, arms around her ribcage and face buried in her hair and neck. “You’re alright,” he cooed as he pulled her back up and let her balance before letting her go again. “Try again.”

“Ben,” she huffed. “This is nuts.” He smirked at her as she fended off a temper tantrum at doing something she was bad at. Ben was thoroughly enjoying all of the chances to touch and hold her without formal permission.

She pushed off again, this time a little faster, taking his previous advice to heart, but she instantly fell, face-first, over a twig that she hadn’t seen on the ice. She squealed, Ben yelled in anguish, and she just laid there for a moment, taking in her humiliation. When she sat up, she grasped the knee she had busted against the ice and found Ben on his knees next to her, grabbing his face and fumbling for his phone. His giant hand covered half of his face.

Rey’s eyes bugged out of her head as she noticed blood dripping from the fingers that were tightly plastered to his face. “Ben!” she screamed. “Oh my god, fuck!” She crawled over to him.

“Rey, calm down,” he hushed. She scrambled on her hands and knees over to the bench where she pulled off her skates and threw her boots back on as quickly as she could.

“Ben, give me your keys,” she demanded as he slowly made his way over to her. “Give me your keys NOW!” She all but screamed as he shook his head.

“Rey, I’ll be fine,” he tried calming her down.

“IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME YOUR KEYS, I’M GOING TO CALL 911” she screamed. He frowned, allowing more blood to ooze from under his wrist, before handing them over. “Now get in the car,” she whispered dangerously.

He gave her a look, “I need my shoes first, Rey.” His voice was partially muffled and slurred from losing a fair amount of blood already.

“Sit,” she demanded as she unlaced his skates and shoved his huge shoes onto his feet. She pulled him up and along the pathway leading back to the car before shoving him into the seat she normally occupied. Rey found a t-shirt in the back of the SUV that she threw at him to use between his face and his hand.

Rey drove like a bat out of hell to the nearest ER.

Chapter Text

Rey was still shaking as the nurse took Ben back to his room.

“You comin’, sugar?” she asked Rey as Ben humorlessly sat in the tiny wheelchair that was required by the hospital. Rey, who was stark white at this point, followed like a puppy with its tail between its legs. She was silent as he checked himself in, trying to not burst into tears.

They were set in a small room at Ben’s request, saying he’d pay the money for the extra privacy. None of the nurses could tell who he was by his half covered face. The fact that he was using his legal name helped keep anonymity, too. Rey kept to a corner, afraid to even look at Ben.

“Alright, dear, just sit tight for a moment and a doctor will be in to stitch you up,” the nurse patted Ben’s knee, signaling him to lay back on the table.

“Rey,” he started as he saw her avoiding his gaze. “Are you ok?”

“Am I ok?” she asked incredulously. “I’m not the one with his face cut open!”

“Rey, I think you should call your cousin,” he said, seriously. “Have him take you home.” Her lip started to quiver, but she stayed silent to keep the tears from flowing down her face.

“Good Afternoon, Mr. Solo,” boomed a large voice from the doorway. The doctor was in. “Alright, so I see you’ve taken an ice skate to the face. Not very fun, eh?”

Rey could see Ben roll an eye.

“As you may know, the face is very delicate and since it seems to be in close proximity to the eye, we need to make sure you’re not blinded-” Rey emitted a squeak at that. “Oh, I see we have squeamish company,” the doctor said as he turned to Rey. “You might want to step out of the room, dear.”

She stood still, not wanting to leave Ben.

“Rey, why don’t you call my mother so she can drive me home when we’re done,” Ben suggested, handing her his phone from his coat pocket. She took it with a shaking hand and left the room quickly. She walked into the waiting room, filled with few people.

Dialing the phone, she found “Mother” and pressed it with a shaky thumb.

“Ben, dear!” came Leia’s voice. “To what do I owe this pleasure.”

“It’s Rey,” she responded, trying really hard to not sob. “I’m at the ER with Ben-”

“It’s ok, Rey, calm down for a second. Which ER?” Leia commanded.

“St. Joe’s off of Burgundy Street,” Rey said, finally letting a few tears fall.

“Han, get the car,” she heard Leia delegate. “Rey, sweetie, can you tell me what happened.”

“I-I-I slipped on the ice and he took a skate t-t-t-to” Rey instantly started sobbing. “H- his face!”

Leia was patient on the other end of the line, “Deep breath, Rey. Han and I will be there in about ten minutes. Just sit down in the waiting room and we will be right there.”

“Oh- okay,” Rey choked out. Leia hung up the phone and Rey collapsed into a chair away from the other three people waiting to be seen or to hear news of their loved ones. Rey looked back at Ben’s phone to notice a text from Poe sent two hours earlier.

Dameron:

Good Luck with that

Rey couldn’t hold it together after that. What had she done?! She ruined his face!

Han and Leia showed up less than ten minutes later, Rey suspected later than Han had really stepped on the gas to get there at Leia’s request. Leia immediately went over to Rey while Han got Ben’s room information and headed on back to see his son.

“Rey, you need to calm down,” Leia ordered, petting the younger woman’s hair. “Tell me what happened.”

Rey, who had finally stopped hiccuping, said “We were out skating, I tripped on a branch and Ben was behind me, making sure I didn’t fall, and my skate somehow got his face. There was so much blood.” She started to shudder again as if she was going to break down, but Rey didn’t think she had any more tears in her.

Leia continued to soothe her for a few minutes until Han came back out to the waiting area. “They’re stitching him up now,” he informed the two women. “No nerve damage or eye damaged. But he’s going to have a pretty sweet looking scar from now on,” he smirked. Leia kicked him in the shin, reminding him to be sensitive. “He’s asking about you, kid.”

Rey’s face drained of blood again, nervous to see him.

“He did say to wait until he was all done to send you back, of course,” Han snickered at her reaction.

“Rey!” Poe’s voice sounded from the sliding doors. “Rey, are you ok?” he knelt in front of her.

“What are you doing here?” Rey asked, confused.

Poe smiled at her, “Leia called me on their way over. Are you ok?”

She nodded before a few tears ran down her cheeks again.

Leia stood up and let Poe take her place in the seat next to his cousin. “I’m going to go and see how he’s doing,” she announced. “I’ll tell him you’re okay out here, alright?”

Rey nodded, handing her his phone and smiling weakly. She leaned her head on Poe’s shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

“Can I ask what happened?” he asked cautiously.

“Exactly what I knew would happen, except to him instead of me,” she managed to bark in one laugh. “I fucking warned him, too.”

“As long as he knew what he getting himself into,” Poe joked. “You know, a facial scar isn’t the end of a playing career if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“There was so much blood,” she whispered into his leather jacket. “God, I hope no one goes to the pond and sees all of that blood,” she lifted her head in realization.

Poe could only laugh. “They will one day tell stories of the crazy fan that sliced open the Great Kylo Ren’s face on that pond because he wouldn’t put out.”

“Shut up, Poe,” Rey huffed as she wiped another round of silent tears from her eyes. “Seriously, I hope no one calls 911 thinking someone was murdered or something.”

“They won’t,” he soothed as he rubbed her shoulder. “Do you want to stay here until he’s done, or just go home?”

Rey thought for a moment, truly considering running away before truly seeing the damage she inflicted. “I guess I’ll stay,” she finally decided. “Make sure he’s ok.”

“Good,” Poe said, “Because here they come.”

She quickly wiped her face, noticing her waterproof mascara had begun to run from how much she’d been crying.

He walked out ahead of his parents, carrying his blood-caked winter coat in his arms. The right side of his face was covered in a long, clean, white bandage that went from just under his eye down to his chin, and a second that covered a small section of his eyebrow. Bruising was starting to set in around his eye. Both of his brown eyes sought out Rey in the waiting room. Poe and Rey stood up and meandered over to the Solo family.

“Rey,” Ben started, “are you ok?”

“I should be asking you that,” she said in a hushed voice.

He smiled with the left half of his face since the right half was numbed, “Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask you.”

“Alright, alright,” Poe cut in, still not entirely comfortable with the arrangement. “Everyone is fine.” Leia gave Poe a glare behind everyone's’ backs and he quickly shut up.

“Ben’s coming back to our house tonight,” Leia mentioned. “You’re more than welcome to come with us, Rey.”

She looked back at Poe, who had come out just to drive her back home. He shrugged and nodded at her, giving his blessing. “Alright,” she whispered. Ben smiled another half-smile at her again, his eyes starting to glaze over a bit.

~

Leia hopped into the front seat of Ben’s SUV with Ben in the front passenger seat- his legs wouldn’t fit in the back- and Rey on the bench in the back. Han didn’t trust anyone, including his wife, to drive his Camaro.

The trio was silent, Ben starting to doze off from the pain medication he was given in the ER.

“Rey, dear?” Leia started quietly so as not to disturb her gigantic son next to her. “Would you like to stop by your apartment for a change of clothes?”

Rey looked down at herself and realized she had his blood on her coat and sweater underneath. “Yeah, that would be good.” Rey was still in a daze about the day’s events.

“Alright,” Leia said turning onto Rey’s street already. “Just grab a change and you can shower at our place. I don’t want to leave him in here for too long. Even with Han’s help, he’d be impossible to carry into the house.” Rey smiled weakly at Leia’s joke.

“I’ll be right down.”

Rey ran up to hers and Poe’s apartment. Poe had mentioned something about stopping at the store for some snacks for the rest of the Rose Bowl game playing today. She unlocked the door to find two people, who were not Poe, on the couch, limbs tangled.

“Oh my god!” Rey yelled for the second time that day. Finn and Rose sat straight up. Rose’s hair was messed up and Finn looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Rey!” Rose squealed. “Oh my god, are you okay? Poe didn’t say much other than Ben had an accident before he left.”

“No, first I get to know what this is,” she motioned to the two of them.

“Umm,” Rose thought. “I think we’re still figuring that out?” Finn nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” Rey said slowly. “I’m going to go and get clean clothes and head back out. Poe should be home soon with more chips. Please don’t defile my couch.”

She walked into her room, grabbed some clean yoga leggings, tank top, and sweatshirt, shoving them into the backpack she had recently cleaned out now that she was between semesters, and grabbed her necessary toiletries before heading back into the living room.

Rose was pouring herself a glass of water in the kitchen when Rey emerged. “Is he okay?” Rose asked.

Rey nodded solemnly. “I’ll text you later, Leia and Ben are waiting in the car.” Rose hugged her best friend and walked her out.

~

Leia pulled the SUV into the third door of their garage as if it always belonged parked there. Luckily, it was the spot closest to the indoor entrance to the huge house. Rey hadn’t managed a good view of it the night she, Rose, and Poe had come out to the party as it was rather dark out then. Now, though, Rey saw it in all its glory, but she kept her awe to herself. Leia opened Ben’s side of the car and nudged him awake.

Han stepped into the garage to make sure the women had his son alright. Rey just stood back as he climbed out, smiled at her and walked into the house.

“Sweetheart,” Han spoke to Leia in a hushed tone, “Threepio called, very insistent that you call him back as soon as you got back.”

“Alright, let me get these two settled,” Leia answered.

“I got the kid,” Han took charge, taking Ben by the shoulders as he guided him from the kitchen to the living room they had spent the holiday in together. Ben didn’t argue, following the guidance of his father’s hands.

“Shower or just changing?” Leia asked Rey, who was still standing by the garage door.

“Um,” Rey thought, taking in her current state. “Just changing, but can I have a washcloth to get some of it off of me?”

Leia smiled at her, and Rey noticed how her eyes crinkled the same way Ben’s did whenever he smiled. “Of course, dear.” She showed Rey the way upstairs to a bathroom Rey guessed was a guest bathroom, pulled out a few washcloths for her to use and left her to her own devices. “I’ll be in my office downstairs if you need me. And stop blaming yourself."

“Thank you, Leia,” Rey whispered before the older woman closed the bathroom door for her. Rey sat on the toilet with the seat down, her head between her hands, elbows propped on her knees. She sat like that for a few minutes before taking a deep breath and peeling off her clothes.

Rey hadn’t realized how much blood had found its way to her off-white sweater. It was a good thing she knew how to get blood stains out of delicate fabrics, you know, being female and all. She took off her leggings and washed off any skin that had Ben’s crusted blood on it with a warm washcloth. Once she was clean, she redressed in the clothes she had packed with her and stuck the dirty clothes in the backpack.

Before heading downstairs, she threw her hair up in a ponytail and used some mouthwash she had found in the cupboard because her mouth tasted faintly of blood, though she wasn’t sure how it would get into her mouth.

Once she was ready, she opened the door and headed back down the hallway to the stairs Leia had brought her up, only to be met by a white and grey cat with bright blue eyes staring at her with its head cocked slightly.

Chapter Text

She smiled at the cat as he pranced over to her when she made a kissy noise at him. “You must be Arty,” she cooed. “Aren’t you the sweet boy?”

He attempted to meow at her, but all the came out was something that resembled a ‘beep’. The cat rubbed himself all over Rey, making her fearful that Bebe would be upset with her the moment she returned home. She scratched his chin before telling him she had to go back to Ben, but the cat didn’t want to leave her alone. Instead, he followed her down the stairs like a puppy dog rather than an elderly cat.

Rey found Ben in a living room that seemed too small for the rest of the house. His eyes were closed as if he were asleep. One eyelid already a dark purple from the trauma. Once he heard her padding into the room, his good eye shot open to find her. Arty watched the scene for a quick second before prancing back down the hall towards the stairs again.

“Hey,” he smiled. “I’m glad you stayed.”

She just stood in the doorway, taking in the scene.

He patted the couch cushion to his left. “Come here.”

She sighed quietly before making her way over to him. “Do you need anything?” she asked bending over to look at him closely. “Water? Or a blanket?" He hadn’t taken off the white bandages, but she knew he would need to soon to keep the wound from festering. It was only meant to keep the stitches clean on the way home.

“You,” he simply said.

Rey made a face. “How strong are those pain pills?”

He smirked but didn’t answer her audibly. Instead, he reached out and pulled the sleeve of her sweatshirt towards him to get her to sit next to her. “Just sit with me. Please.”

“Okay,” she surrendered and sank into the couch next to him, suddenly aware of how much bigger he was than her as she could easily fall into the crack between the cushions he sat on. “Do you want the TV on?”

“Sure, pick something,” he hummed as if sleep were about to take him at any moment. “Anything you want, Sweetheart.” He leaned into her.

She found the remote control on the coffee table and proceeded to find Gone with the Wind on some classics channel. It was always a favorite of hers when she was home sick as a kid, so it only seemed fitting. Ben started to snore lightly, the hairs around his face falling onto her shoulder. Rey repositioned herself enough to brace his weight and he slid down to where his head was in her lap, good side down.

It wasn’t long until she fell asleep, too.

~

She was disturbed from sleep from a nuzzling feeling in her lap. It really didn’t help that the dream she was having incorporated it and the man laying on top of her.

“So soft,” she heard him murmur as she was fully pulled out of her slumber. He not only was nuzzling her lap but playing with her bare wrist.

“Ben!” she gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Admiring,” he mumbled.

She huffed, “Stop moving your head like that! You’re going to rip your stitches open or something.” She tried to hold his head still, accidentally pulling his hair harder than she intended. The movie on the screen had only progressed about 20 minutes during their nap, telling her the meds were still strong in his system. “Ben!” she squeaked as he bit her thigh.

Ben just giggled after that.

“What’s going on in here?” Han asked as he walked into the room with two milkshakes from the diner down the road.

“Nothing,” Rey said, exasperated. “He’s just being impossible.”

Han smirked at the scene. “Alright, kid, doc said no food that will upset your stomach on the fun shit he gave you. Don’t need you popping any stitches while you wretch over the toilet,” he explained as he handed the drink to his son. “I got one for you, too,” he smiled at Rey. “Sit up before you spill that on yourself, Ben.” Ben sat up at his father’s demand, pouting as his face stung him from moving too fast.

“Thank you, Han,” Rey smiled at him as she was freed from Ben’s weight.

Han left the room while Ben sucked down the milkshake without abandon, groaning at how good the cold felt and how delicious the chocolate was. It was a rather pornographic sound.

“Ben,” Rey started, trying to not laugh at how ridiculous he was being. “Ben, you should slow down.” He grumbled before setting the drink down on the side table, even going so far as to use a coaster. He turned to look at her. She was taking a sip of her own shake when she caught his gaze. “Something wrong?”

Ben shook his head, “You’re just really pretty.”

“And you’re really high,” she replied, trying to not blush too heavily. She wasn’t sure her face could handle much more emotion for the day.

“Not too high to know you’re gorgeous,” he said defensively.

“I think you should take a nap,” she said, not taking him seriously.

“No,” he said, stubbornly. “We have a date to finish.”

Rey rolled her eyes, “How about a redo? Once your stitches are out?”

“This was the redo,” he pouted. “Please, Rey?”

“And what do we do on this date?” she asked, amused at his insistence. “Because we’re not going back out on the ice if that’s your idea.”

He thought for a moment before leaning over and kissing her lightly on the lips.

“Ben, no,” Rey whispered, noticing how his lips were a bit swollen on the right side of his face. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

“You won’t sweetheart,” he said, trying to keep control. “It’s just a kiss.” Rey allowed him a few more moments, trying to ignore the fact that he still smelled like hospital and iodine.

“Okay,” she pushed him away slightly and pulled one of the quilts from the back of the couch over both their laps. Ben pulled her to him, having her lay her head against his broad chest and draping his arm around her waist.

~

Phasma was enjoying a glass of merlot in her apartment alone. While she was normally a social butterfly, there were days she treasured alone, and January 1st was always one of those days. She was enjoying lounging in just a nightshirt and socks with no makeup and her hair thrown into a messy bun. For once she was not expected to look completely put together.

She was sitting in her favorite chair, a bowl chair with a cozy knit blanket wrapped around her legs and a steaming cup of tea on the table next to her as she watched her celebrity gossip channel on tv and flipped through a trash magazine- her two favorite vices.

Expecting the latest on Beyonce and Jay-Z, Phasma was not expected to see a blurry photo of one hockey star she knew all too well to pop up on the TV, let alone all bloodied up entering a hospital with a certain brunette, whom the news station did not name, following along with a very pale complexion.

“Shit.”

~

Rey was starting to doze off again with Ben lazily playing with her hair- he’d slowly pulled it out of her top knot while they sat together- when Ben’s phone started vibrating in his pocket. Rey was suddenly aware that he hadn’t changed his clothes since this morning and Rey wondered if he had a change of pajamas here that would make him more comfortable.

Ben reached for his phone, underneath Rey. She was very aware of the fact that he grazed her ass as he pulled the miniature computer from his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and groaned before answering.

“What, Phasma?” he demanded, sounding grouchy for the first time that day.

Rey could hear Phasma freaking out over the speaker.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!” her voice came over shrilly. “Oh my god, Kylo, you’re all over the news!”

“What?” he grunted, not understanding her string of words correctly.

“Give me the phone,” Rey demanded. Ben obliged.

“Phasma?” Rey asked into the phone as she sat up away from Ben to concentrate on the conversation.

“Rey?! What the hell happened?”

“It’s fine, he’s fine,” Rey quickly said. “We just had a bit of an accident this afternoon.”

“A bit of an accident?! What happened?!” Phasma kept demanding. "It looked like a murder scene on the news!"

“Ben and I were skating on a pond and I tripped,” Rey explained quickly before Phasma could demand again. “I got him with my skate pretty good.”

“Fuck,” came Phasma’s answer. “Are you ok, Rey?”

Rey took a gulp of air before answering, “Yeah, I’m fine, he’s fine. We’re at his parents’ house right now while he’s doped up.”

“Well, at least you have some decent entertainment,” Phasma grumbled. “Is he getting handsy at all, or is he just sleeping it off?”

Rey smirked and looked at Ben who was sitting there with his eyes closed, listening to the conversation, “A little bit of both.”

“Good, good,” Phasma finally sounded lighter. “When he’s not high as a kite, can you have him call me, please? He’s all over the gossip columns right now and I need to figure out damage control real quick, doll.”

“Wait, really?” Rey did a double take back at Ben, who had opened one eye, his good eye, to look at her. Phasma's words were finally setting in that everyone knew of Ben's new beauty mark. “How did they know where we were?”

Phasma huffed for a moment, “It looks like it was an amateur photographer that recognized him and snapped a photo on their phone, but they definitely know it’s him.” She was silent for a few seconds, “How bad does it look?”

“Um, I guess I could show you better than I could describe it,” Rey answered, looking back at Ben who was still watching her as she stood up to see him better. “Luckily it missed his eye, but he’s going to have a scar from his eyebrow to his chin.”

“Got him good, did you?” Phasma asked, jokingly. “Don’t worry about the scar, sweetie. But, I do need him to call me when he’s conscious and coherent, ok?”

“Yeah, ok, I’ll make sure he does,” Rey responded.

“And send me that photo,” Phasma demanded before hanging up her end of the call.

Rey opened the camera on Ben’s phone and snapped a few pictures as he watched her silently. “They’re only going to Phasma, I promise,” she cooed even though he didn’t argue. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t post them anywhere.” She attached the pictures before setting his phone on the coffee table where he couldn’t reach. “Ben?”

He reached for her, but she was too far away. “Ben, do you have a change of clothes here?” He frowned at her, clearly thinking through her question.

“I think so?” he sounded confused.

“You’re still covered in blood,” she explained.

“Oh, right,” he responded, looking down at himself.

“How big of a dose did they give you?” Rey huffed to herself more than him. “Where would your clothes be?”

“In my room,” he mumbled. “Let’s go.” He stood up too quickly for Rey’s liking, though he kept his balance quite nicely. He took a step to reach her and smoothed her hair over the crown of her head. Ben led the way up the stairs, past what Rey assumed was Leia’s office as she heard the woman’s voice chatting away with someone on the phone.

“Are you ok on the stairs?” she asked as he took the first step. He nodded, wincing at his movements. “You should stop doing that. Use your words.”

“Words are hard,” he replied grouchily, making Rey smirk just a little bit.

“You’re a two-year-old right now, Ben,” she mused. He frowned at her, again wincing as he moved his mouth. It seemed as if his chin was the most painful. “We should get you some ice after you change,” she made the note.

Ben made it up the stairs faster than she expected, taking two steps at a time. He waited for her at the top of the stairs, her little legs only took one at a time. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had a girl in my room before,” he commented, almost giddy.

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, “Really, Ben? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

“I can’t help it,” he snickered, holding her hand and leading her to his childhood bedroom. “You’re just so tempting.”

“Hmm,” she hummed. “I think we need to get you into clean clothes so you’re comfier.”

“You’re good at this,” he muttered.

“At what?” she asked, starting to go through his old dresser drawers

“Taking care of me,” he said, smirking. Rey rolled her eyes away from him so he wouldn’t see. “I wish I could return the favor.”

“Ben, can you please help me find some clothes for you to change into?” she said, starting to get a little testy from his lack of help.

“If I do, will you get into bed with me?” he tried.

“No,” Rey said.

“It doesn’t have to be this bed in particular. I have a bigger one in the next town over,” he said, sneaking up on her and laying his good side of his cheek on her shoulder.

“Ben,” she sighed. “Just get changed, please?”

He slinked his arms around her waist, but instead of holding her, he opened the small top drawer, the only one she hadn’t been through yet and pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt. He released Rey and set the clean clothes on his twin-sized bed- a bed Rey couldn’t imagine him being able to fit on, even as a tall and lanky teenager.

He started to pull off his clothes, hissing when his pull-over sweater scraped the more tender parts of his injury.

“Sit,” Rey demanded, standing in front of him. He obliged without argument lifting his arms for her to pull his undershirt over his head. She worked methodically, stretching the collar over his head so as not to bump the wound. “You’ve got blood everywhere,” she sighed. “Sit until I come back with a washcloth.”

He behaved himself while she went to the bathroom Leia had shown her earlier and dampened the cloth. When she entered the room again she found him stripping off his jeans, leaving him in only his boxer briefs that had ridden down slightly with the friction of his pants being pulled off. Luckily for her sanity, he was facing away from her and she got a slight glimpse of his well-defined ass.

“Ben,” she cleared her throat. “I thought I told you to sit.” He turned around and sat back down on the bed obediently, letting her wipe away his dried blood from earlier. He hummed as she bathed him. She was glad he was pantsless as it had dribbled down further than she had originally thought. “Okay, pants,” she ordered. He did as he was told again and then waited for her to help him with the shirt again. As she lowered it onto him, she rewarded him with a peck on his uninjured cheek, causing him to beam at her.

“You’re too good to me,” he said.

“Seeing as I’m the reason you’re like this, it’s only fair,” she laughed, finally starting to relax from the day’s events. “Okay, let’s go back downstairs and get you an ice pack.”

Chapter Text

Leia held her head in her hands as her elbows were propped on the mahogany desk in her office. It had been a long day, to say the least. First, she and Han had argued about her retirement (he wanted her to, she did not), then Rey had informed her of Ben’s accident and they rushed to the hospital, and then they brought both kids back to their house before she called her personal assistant, Cecil Threepio back when he informed her that Ben’s, or rather Kylo Ren’s, accident was known by the news (though details were murky). Yes, she deserved the glass of wine before her.

Han lightly knocked on her office door before simply walking in, letting Arty sneak past him on his way in. Han had to try to not trip on the beast. “Damnit, cat,” he cursed under his breath. “I’m about to make the kids some dinner,” he announced to his wife. “Would you like me to make enough for you, too?”

“That would be wonderful, dear,” she smiled at him, clearly exhausted. “How are they doing?”

Han smirked. “Your son has her wrapped around his finger. She’s been taking care of him, even bathed and changed him out of his bloody shirt.”

“Ah, no, I think it’s the other way around,” Leia laughed for the first time that day. Arty jumped up to her desk to head boop his mistress. She absentmindedly scratched his ears exactly as he loved. “You should have seen the way he was watching her get in and out of the car on our way home. Like a puppy dog, that boy is.”

“Must be the Skywalker in him,” he laughed, too, knowing deep down he was just as soft for his wife as his son was for the girl. “Did you ever think we’d be talking about our son over a desk like this back when it was my desk we were meeting at?”

Leia sighed, “You know, I don’t think I did. I think I was a bit preoccupied with trying to pass your class than to think about the sweet baby boy we would make.”

“That we would end up corrupting into an antisocial brute,” Han joked. “Though, I blame the brother of yours for a good chunk of the corruption, too.”

“He would agree with pride.”

“I should get to the kitchen,” Han mentioned. “What would you like?”

“Anything,” she replied with a sigh, unable to come up with any idea of food that sounded good. “I should go and check on them,” she thought out loud.

Han shrugged. “They’re asleep on the couch.” He turned to leave the room.

Leia and Arty looked at each other once they were alone, Leia starting to smile ever so slightly. “Shall we?” she asked the cat who beeped back at her enthusiastically before jumping onto her shoulders for a ride.

They found Ben and Rey laying on the couch together, both seemingly asleep and cuddling close. Ben had an arm around Rey, holding her to him protectively close. Her hand was clutching the front of his shirt as she rested her head on his chest. Leia walked over the push Ben’s hair out of his face and check on the swelling and bruising. He stirred at her touch.

“How are you feeling, kid?” she asked as he opened his eyes to look at the disturbance. He grumbled in response, confused about his surroundings while realizing Rey was still asleep in his arms. “Your father’s making dinner.”

“What time is it?” he asked sleepily.

“Almost 8 pm. You can have another dose of painkillers if you need them now.”

He groaned, reaching for, and failing, his phone on the coffee table, “I was supposed to call Phasma back.” He looked back down at Rey and tried to figure out how to get himself up without disturbing her. Realizing there was no way to do so, he reached his hand up to pet her head, “Rey, I need to get up.”

Leia sat back, Arty having jumped down to inspect the scene, sniffing at the empty milkshake cups and climbing up the back of the couch to stare down at the couple like a vulture. Rey groaned as Ben tried to wake her. In fact, she snuggled deeper into Ben’s chest, hiding her face from the waking world.

“A little help?” Ben asked, not making eye contact with his mother. Leia could only smirk as she pulled the quilt down so it only covered their legs.

“Alright, sit up a bit,” she directed. Rey grumbled lightly but still did not wake. “I’ve got her legs,” Leia said, bracing the girl, “slide yourself out.” He did as he was told, letting his mother hold Rey in place before laying her back down. Once she was given the quilt back, she pulled it around herself in her sleep, burying herself into the couch.

“Thanks,” Ben mumbled as he stretched. Leia stood up and patted his uninjured cheek in adoration before walking out to join her husband in the kitchen.

Ben grabbed his phone before looking at Rey’s sleeping form, watching Arty paw his way down the back of the couch to curl up under her butt, right behind her knees. He couldn’t help but enjoy the scene.

He finally looked down at his phone to find it had exploded throughout the day with notifications from not only Phasma, but Hux, Mitaka, and Poe Dameron.

Hux:

My office. Monday Morning. First Thing.

Hux:

You better have a good explanation.

Mitaka:

Who did you piss off this time?

Phasma:

CALLLLL MEEEEE

Dameron:

Photos really don’t do it justice. Has she calmed down?

Ben decided to respond to Dameron first, figuring he didn’t need an angry cousin pounding down his parents’ door later this evening.

Ben:

She’s sleeping.

The response was almost immediate.

Dameron:

Thanks. How’s the face?

Ben:

Painful.

Dameron:

I bet, Frankenstein.

Ben:

Frankenstein was the doctor, idiot.

Dameron:

Yes, but it was the doctor that was the true Monster.

Ben:

Stop reading SparkNotes for fun.

He returned to his home screen to open the phone app. He sped dialed Phasma, deciding to get this awful conversation over and walking into the dining room for some privacy. It only took her two rings to answer.

“Kylo?” Phasma gasped.

“Yeah,” he grunted.

“You know, the whole ‘I’m injured, take care of me’ thing doesn’t work in the long run,” she taunted. “Once you’re off pain meds, she’s-”

“What did you want, Phasma?” he interrupted.

She huffed on the other end of the line. “How do you want me to spin this?”

“Spin what?” he snapped.

“How you were injured, Kylo,” she responded testily. “I didn’t think you’d want Rey fed to the sharks, you know.”

Ben rubbed his temple with his free hand, trying to think. “I don’t know, yet, Phas. I don’t know what Rey would want me to say.”

“Well, I can tell you that Hux won’t like the original story.”

“Can’t it just wait a few days?” Ben groaned. “Tell them whatever you want, for now, just make it vague.”

“Fine, but you owe me, Ren,” Phasma snapped. “Hux isn’t going to be pleased, and I doubt Snoke is going to be far behind him.”

“Goodnight, Phasma,” Ben replied with finality before hanging up. His face was throbbing as he tried to make sense of the conversation. He gave up thinking about it before heading back into the living room to wake Rey up for dinner.  

~

Han and Leia had checked on them one last time before heading to bed. Rey glanced at her phone, almost nervously. Ben had refused anything stronger than ibuprofen for the rest of the evening, preferring to really enjoy cuddling with Rey on the couch, though he’d never say it out loud in front of his parents.

Rey had stayed awake as well, fussing over Ben not taking his meds. Dinner had been served in the living room as the Solo family was accustomed to where Han and Leia snarked over little things. Ben and Rey were silent on the couch, glancing at each other. It felt comfortable for everyone.

But, then the older couple had gone to bed, going up a set of stairs separate from the stairs that took one up to Ben’s room.

“Are you tired?” Ben finally asked her, his arm slung back around her.

She sat up and stretched a little, “Yeah, I guess I should call Poe to come get me.”

“You can stay over,” he offered, meeting her eyes with his the begged her to agree.

“I don’t want to impose,” she said, shyly.

He said, leaning forward to rub her shoulder. “You’re not. I’m pretty sure Han already made up the guest room for you.” He smirked as she turned to look back at him. “Come on.” He pulled her up from the couch, hugging her close and kissing her forehead. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“You shouldn’t be thanking me,” she sniffled slightly.

“Rey, stop it,” he tried not to laugh at her. “It was an accident. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine for not heeding your warning, Sweetheart.” He pulled apart to look at her. “And it’s not like this couldn’t have happened at work, anyways.”

She nodded, looking into his eyes rather than glancing at the purpled stitches all down his cheek. “You just look so awful,” she crinkled her nose.

“Alright, let’s get you to bed before you say any more hurtful things today,” he pouted jokingly. She gasped as he dropped her.

“Ben!” She squealed as he pulled her through the hall.

“It’s bedtime,” he declared. “Come on.”

This time they walked further down the hall than Ben’s bedroom. There were two doors at the end, a guest room and a storage room. The guest room was slightly smaller than Ben’s room but housed a queen sized bed that had been turned down. Rey began to pull her sweatshirt off and walked over to the far side of the bed.

“Well, I’ll be down the hall,” he said, watching her strip slightly. “Goodnight.”

“No,” she suddenly said. “Please stay.” He looked between her and the bed. “At least for a little bit?” she asked at his hesitation.

“If you’d like,” he said, nodding. He sat down on the bed as she climbed in, under the covers. He propped the pillows up on his side, leaned back, and let Rey get comfy along his side. Running his fingers through her hair, he reached over and hit the lights. “You ok?” he asked once she stilled.

“Mmhmm,” she hummed. He stayed above the covers, trying to not be too forward after what he thinks he remembers from when he was under the influence of his pain pills. “Goodnight, Ben.”

“Goodnight, Rey,” he soothed, still combing through her hair as she dozed off. Ben quickly followed.

~

Poe had passed out on the couch with Finn on the opposite end of the L shape. Rose had gone to Rey’s bed to sleep for the night after the boys passed out on her and ‘The Ring’. Bebe was curled around Poe’s head, bathing his human’s hair into a cowlick. Poe woke up to his cat holding his head still with a few well-placed claws around his nose.

He sat up and looked around at the darkened room, the sun was just starting to come up at almost 7 am. “Hey, Buddy,” he swatted lightly at the cat. “I appreciate the effort, but I can bathe myself.” The cat made an annoyed sound before continuing his human’s grooming regimen. Poe sighed and allowed the cat to continue to work. He blindly reached for his cell phone on the coffee table to check for messages, expecting one from Rey as he hadn’t heard from her before he passed out at 9 pm. Indeed, there it was.

Rey:

Staying at Leia’s tonight.

Poe sent his reply quickly so she’d have it when she woke up, but hoping she wouldn’t wake up to it. After consoling her yesterday, he knew she needed the rest. He had wanted her to come home, but knew she wouldn’t be able to relax without knowing Solo was fine.

Poe:

Let me know when you want me to pick you up.

~

Across town, Ben woke up to the sound of a phone vibrating on the side table. He was delirious and trying to figure out where he was and why his face hurt so much before reality came back to hit him as something stirred next to him.

He was still on top of the quilt in the guestroom, Rey was burrowed into the bed, only her wild hair peaked out from the blankets and stuck out in all directions, making Ben smirk as he reached out to smooth it down. She started to stir, too, at his touch. He quickly retracted his hand, not wanting to wake her, but she pulled the quilt down enough for her eyes to be visible to him.

“Morning,” she rasped.

“Good Morning,” he replied in his deep voice. “You should go back to sleep.” Her eyebrows scrunched up telling him she was frowning, so he leaned down and kissed the puckered skin on her forehead.

“I don’t wanna,” she whined in her sleepy voice. Rey took the opportunity to uncover the rest of her face and snuggled into his side more. He just played with her hair more while she wiggled into the most comfortable spot. He couldn’t help but snicker at her. “What?” she asked grumpily.

“You don’t want to sleep, but you get more comfortable?” he asked.

“I don’t question your motives,” she snapped jokingly. She ground her hips into the bed in an effort to innocently stretch but moved against Ben in a way that made him flush.

“Uh, Rey?” he spoke up as she continued, oblivious to his own reaction. “Sweetheart, you should stop doing that.”

“Hmm?” she hummed, looking up at him. “Oh. Oh!” She blushed as she realized her movements could be taken as incredibly sexual. “I’m sorry.” She covered her face with the quilt to hide her embarrassment.

Ben scooched down so that he was face to face with her in the bed. “It’s ok,” he laughed.

They just stared at each other for a few minutes before Rey blanched and stated: “God, you look terrible.”

“Thanks,” he jokingly grumbled.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Ben frowned at her. “I thought we were done with that,” he said. “None of this is your fault.” She closed her eyes tightly before sitting up to grab her phone. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Checking for messages,” she mumbled as she responded to Poe.

The smell of bacon wafted through the doorway from downstairs as Rey typed out a message. Her stomach growled loudly, making her face flush, but Ben could only enjoy the moment.

“Hungry?” he asked. “You know, Han’s only cooking for your benefit,” he mentioned as she nodded shyly.

“I should go home soon, though,” she sighed.

“I’ll take you after breakfast if you want,” he mentioned.

“Should you be driving?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

He smirked, “I won’t be taking the painkillers any time soon. I’ll be fine,” he said, kissing the top of her head. He didn’t know where all of this physical affection was coming from (hell, he only ever hugged his mother anymore and even that was a rare occurrence), but he couldn’t stop himself when it came to Rey.

Rey smiled up at him as they both climbed off of the bed. “Alright,” she agreed, “After breakfast.”

Chapter Text

Rose yawned as she walked out of her best friend’s bedroom, finding Poe making a huge omelet for the three of them to split. There were more than three servings in that pan, but Rose wasn’t one to question a hockey player’s food intake, let alone two of them eating one meal together- she’d be surprised if there was any left for her, actually. It was just after 9:30, a perfectly acceptable time for breakfast, but somehow it was only Rose and Poe that were awake. Finn snored loudly from the couch.

“Does he have a mute button?” she asked, grumpily as she sat down at the bar.

Poe only smirked, continuing to chop the vegetables and meats that would go into their breakfast. “And, how did you sleep, Rosie?” Poe asked, perkier than Rose had seen him act around her. She knew that he still cared about Rose as a friend, but that it still brought up memories of time spent with Paige.

“If Rey keeps refusing your money, send it to me so I can buy a bed just like that, please,” she joked.

“Noted,” Poe laughed as he poured the egg mixture into the pan.

The door to the apartment opened suddenly, startling Rose and Poe. Finn was still completely zonked out with one arm slung over his face to block out the light.

Rey and Ben shuffled in, suddenly quieting down as Rey noticed Finn on the couch. She held up her finger to her lips to signal to Ben to keep quiet, too. Ben’s brow creased as he glanced over.

“Don’t worry about him,” Poe called at normal volume. “He’s dead to the world. You’re just in time for breakfast.”

“We already ate,” Ben responded, but Rey was already in the kitchen stealing a piece of bacon from the plate in the microwave. Rose was gawking at Ben, though Ben decided to ignore her as he walked in to join the others that were awake.

“You want coffee or anything?” Poe offered.

“I should get going,” Ben said, looking a little uncomfortable. Rey turned and handed him a cup of black coffee with a frown on her face telling him that he had to stay, at least for a few minutes. “Alright, I guess I don’t have to go yet.” He took off his coat and slung it over a barstool before sitting down.

“So,” Poe started. “How pissed is ol’ Hugsy?”

Ben smirked with the good side of his face at Poe’s antagonizing nickname for their childhood teammate, “Ahh, I wouldn’t quite know yet. He only told me to meet him in his office first thing tomorrow morning.” Ben ran a hand through his hair, “Probably way more pissed than he should be, that’s for sure.”

“Probably whining that his star player almost lost an eye,” Poe snickered. “Alright, someone has to wake him up. This is almost ready,” he announced.

“Rose?” Rey asked in a tone that seemed knowing, but the two awake men couldn’t place what it was.

Rose rolled her eyes and stood from her stool. She walked over to the freezer and took out an ice cube that she would tuck into Finn’s shirt collar.

“WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?!” Finn screamed as it finally registered in his brain that there was something going on. “Jesus Christ, there are better ways of waking someone up!”

“Good Morning, Finny,” Poe cried. Finn only glared at everyone, not realizing that Ben and Rey were now part of his audience.

Finn stood up and stormed to the bathroom to straighten himself up, grumbling the entire way there.

“I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard him speak in one day,” Ben muttered as he sipped his coffee.

The four in the kitchen made small talk, mostly Poe and Rose asking Ben the least uncomfortable questions while Poe plated the food onto five plates even though Ben had protested earlier.

“So,” Poe started as they all sat to eat. Rey, Ben, and Rose were at the bar while Finn and Poe sat at the breakfast nook table. “What’s the official story?”

“We don’t exactly have one yet,” Ben replied. “I was going to let Phasma and Hux figure something out. Keep Rey out of it.”

Poe smiled, “Yeah, it might not do well to tell Hux about this-” he motioned to the couple “at least not until you send out wedding invitations and then there’s no turning back.” Poe didn’t even bat an eye at his own words, let alone smirk as Rey rolled her eyes and Ben flushed.

“Shut it, Poe,” Rey snapped.

“It’s just a fact, Rey,” Poe sang.

Ben interrupted before the two cousins started fighting, “Hux will get over it.” Rey’s look softened at that, making him wonder if she was opposed to the idea of a secret relationship. Not that he wanted to keep her a secret, though they hadn’t talked about it yet. No, he figured she wanted to maintain any sort of privacy she had now, and being openly with him was asking for people to get all up in her business. He didn’t care either way, as long as she was willing to spend time with him.

But, he did kind of care, deep down.

“So,” Poe interrupted Ben’s thoughts with mischief in his eyes, “Rey, has Ben let you ride his zamboni yet?”

“Poe!” Rey shrieked, covering her blushing face. Rose started laughing hysterically while Finn choked on his bacon. Ben just glared at Poe.

“What?” Poe asked, trying to look innocent. “Most women want to ride a zamboni, don’t they?”

Rey threw toast at her cousin, ending the conversation.

~

Ben left Rey and Poe’s apartment around noon after helping clean the kitchen while Poe bade Finn goodbye. Rose was still hanging around on the couch, watching the couple out of the corner of her eyes while she typed out messages on social media via her phone.

He leaned over her while she dried a plate to whisper, “You know, my parents really do have a zamboni at their house. They used it to resurface the pond behind your uncle’s house all the time.”

“Jesus Christ,” she laughed. “Of course you have an actual zamboni.” She turned around and smiled at him.

“I could take you for a ride if you want to,” he said in a seductive voice.

“I’d love a ride on your zamboni, Ben,” she giggled before Poe returned and squinted at the two of them.

~

Monday morning finally rolled around and Ben made sure he was out the door for practice a half an hour early, just in case Hux decided to truly explode. He checked his phone for texts before walking into the office, seeing if Rey had responded to his good morning text but not expecting anything at 6 am. If given the opportunity, that girl could sleep until evening.

“Ren!” Hux yelled, noticing Ben outside his door. “Get your ass in here.”

Ben sighed before walking in. “Morning, Hux,” he said as he sat down.

“Jesus, Ren, you look like hell,” Hux gasped taking in a good look at Ben. “What the fuck happened?”

“I was skating for fun on a pond, someone tripped, and I landed on their skate,” he shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It completely missed my eye. I won’t be out any games.”

“Who were you with?” Hux demanded.

“What makes you think I was with anyone?”

“Ponds are meant for broke teenagers and romantic dates,” Hux reasoned. “You are not broke, so it must have been a date with the brunette in the photo, Ren.”

Ben frowned. He hated Hux’s nosey nature. “My girlfriend.” Hux started laughing at the declaration. “Come on, Hux, it’s not that funny.”

“Was your date so horrible that she needed it to end in a hospital visit or did you cut your own face to get out of spending time with her?” Hux continued to laugh for several minutes. When he finally calmed down, he wiped away a fake tear to emphasize his hysteria. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Who is the charming young woman?”

“Her name is Rey,” Ben said, chewing on his good cheek. “You’ve met her before, actually. Rey Dameron?”

Hux’s face went whiter than Ben thought possible.

“Hux?”

“Dameron? As in Poe Dameron’s little cousin?” Hux asked, trying to make sense of what Ben was telling him. Ben nodded. “Isn’t she like ten?”

“She’s an adult now, Hux,” Ben groaned heavily.

“You’re still robbing the cradle,” the redhead sneered. “The brat used to have a permanent kool-aid smile, for crying out loud!”

“Just like you had a permanent zit on your chin?” Ben countered with a raised eyebrow.

Hux scoffed, “I couldn’t help that, Ren.” He felt his chin for good measure, making sure the bane of his teenage years was still gone. “Keep this to yourself for now,” Hux concluded. “You’re fraternizing with the rival team.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Ben sighed.

“Yeah, well, you’re an imbecile,” Hux snapped. “Snoke isn’t going to be pleased.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “What the hell does Snoke have to do with my life outside of the arena?”

“Jesus Christ, Ben-” Hux snapped, using Ben’s given childhood name on accident “-just think for a minute!” He took a moment to steady his own breath before continuing. “Snoke swiped you from your legacy team’s grasp as soon as he could. This is a rivalry, it’s business. And, if you look like you’re sympathetic to the Rebels because of who you’re fucking, it won’t bode well for business and Snoke will drop you, contract be damned!”

Ben just stared at the man across the desk from him. “Then Snoke doesn’t need to know right now,” he stated as calmly as he could. “A kid tripped and I went to catch him, not Rey.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you were out there in the first place,” Hux grumbled. “You’ve got a day to think of something. I’m not going to be fired for your dick seeking much younger snatch.”

“You can’t control me, Hux,” Ben pointed out, quickly becoming angry. “It’s honestly none of your business.”

“Everything is my business when it comes to this team!” Hux bellowed as Phasma knocked on the door. “WHAT?!” he screamed at her.

Phasma merely rolled her eyes and plopped into the chair next to Ben. “Official press release is ready for both of you to read over. I left Rey out of it,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice. “You dove to keep a little girl from falling and blah blah blah. Basically exactly what happened, just keeping names out of it.”

“No reason as to why I was there?” Ben asked, sounding calmer.

“No one cares about that,” Phasma waved him off, not noticing Ben’s smirk at Hux. “They will want an interview at the next game while you sit out because you are certainly not playing next game, but after that, everything should calm down.”

Ben nodded in agreement. One interview on the subject he could do.

“Fine, but if Snoke finds out-”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all fired,” Ben interrupted before storming out of the office.

Phasma glared at Hux for a few minutes as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What, Phasma?” he snapped.

“You and Snoke have a terrible sense of marketing if you think Kylo’s happiness is going to ruin the team.” She simply stood and stormed off as well, leaving Hux to roll his eyes to an audience of no one.

Chapter Text

Rey returned to work in the new year. As much as she enjoyed the week off, she missed the structure of having a set schedule.

“Hi, Maz,” Rey called as she entered the tavern Monday afternoon.

“Hey, Kiddo,” the tiny woman called from her office. “Have a good holiday?”

“Yeah,” she responded as she tied her apron around her waist and threw her hair up into a messy bun. “How about you?”

“Eh, it was a normal week for me,” the woman waved her off in the doorway. “I need your new schedule tomorrow.”

Rey pulled out a piece of paper from her purse before locking the padlock on her locker. “Here,” she said, handing it to her boss while she stood in the doorway to the closet of an office. “A little lighter load this semester, so I can pick up another night.”

Maz raised her eyebrow. “No.”

“Why? I don’t plan on taking summer courses, so I’ll have three whole months off of school,” she tried to reason.

“Nope, not doing it, Dameron,” Maz settled. “If you don’t slow down, you’re going to age prematurely.”

Rey’s eyes rolled so hard it was almost painful. “Fine, but I get Saturdays and Sundays off, not on call for any reason!”

“Deal!”

Rey huffed her way through the dining room over to the bar where she would work the rest of the evening for below minimum wage, hoping the soft rose lipstick she wore now was just enough to illicit decent tips from her usual patrons.

~

Ben dialed his phone after practice, not aware that Rey was already at work. He had just changed out of his gear and had an idea, but wanted to run it past her, now disenchanted with the idea of surprises.

“Hey, this is Rey. Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!” came her personalized voicemail message.

“Hi, it’s Ben,” he said awkwardly. “I just wanted to know if you were free later this week. I guess I’ll just text you later. Bye.”

He hated leaving voicemails. Talking was never his forte, and talking to no one? Yeah, that was a bit too weird sometimes.

“Who ya callin’?” came Mitaka’s voice like an infatuated middle school girl’s best friend. Ben looked up to see the man batting his eyelashes at his team captain. Ben just frowned at him. “Oh, come on, Ren. Do you really think the rest of us are stupid?” he laughed at his teammate’s face.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve never been that calm during practice,” Mitaka laughed. “Either you’re getting some, or you’ve royally pissed off Hux. And seeing the state of your face...”

Ben grumbled something unintelligible making Mitaka laugh harder at the easy target.

“Kylo Ren!” yelled Phasma’s voice from the doorway of the locker room. “Come out here, please!” She was standing with her eyes covered by a perfectly manicured hand, french tips on acrylics and all, to shield herself from players that were less modest.

He stood silently, pocketing his phone in the jeans he had changed into after practice and making a move towards the door. As the door closed behind him, Phasma shot him a scary grin. “What, Phas?”

“You’re going to love me, Ky,” she squealed. “That that you already don’t, because let’s face it, I’m the sh-”

“Phasma,” he growled. “Get to the point.”

She smirked. “Well, I did a little research, ok? Don’t hate me, but I snooped on Rey’s facebook profile-”

“Phas,” he groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration of having to deal with this manic beast in bright pink pumps.

“She’s changed her relationship status, by the way,” she sang under her breath, trying to get him on board. “In a relationship, so scandalous, Kylo,” she winked. “Anyways, I saw that she seems to have a thing for a certain performing artist that I happen to know you personally enjoy as well, so I went ahead and procured two tickets to next month’s gig-” Ben’s head snapped up at her words. “Oh, would you be interested?” she feigned innocence.

“Who?” he asked, curious to know what else he and Rey had in common.

“Hozier,” Phasma replied, sweetly. “But if you don’t want them, I’ll just see if Armitage wants to go.”

Ben made a face, “Don’t tell me you two are a thing.”

“Why? You jealous?”

“No, I’d need to go and make my own funeral arrangements for the stroke I’ll have when I catch you two fucking in his office,” he said with a straight face.

“I already made them and added them to your Will,” she smiled. “Alas, you won’t need them any time soon. I’d no sooner let that all up in here than you would, my dear.”

“Thank God,” Ben whistled. “How much do I owe you?”

“I’ll let you know,” she smiled wickedly, making Ben feel uneasy as she turned on her pink heel and walked in the direction of her office.

~

It was the first Saturday that Rey had off and she was very happy to know Ben had the evening off, as well. She was in her bedroom, attempting to read Paradise Lost for her Renaissance Literature class while talking to Ben on the phone.

“How did your first day of classes go?” he had asked before she groaned in frustrating. “That good, huh?” he chuckled.

“It won’t be terrible, just a lot of reading between these four classes,” she sighed, slipping her bookmark in before shutting the book closed. “I should have known better than to sign up for four separate lit classes.”

“Even I could have told you that,” he mused.

She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her through the phone. “Be nice,” she demanded.

“I am!”

“Sure,” she snickered lightly, hoping he didn’t hear how she was grinning from ear to ear with the banter. “I’m finally understanding how you’ve got your reputation, Kylo Ren,” she said his professional in a dark voice.

On the other end of the line, Ben did all he could to not groan aloud at the lowered timbre of her voice.

“Okay, I’ve got a question for you,” she suddenly perked up, pulling him out of his own fantasies.

“Hmm?”

“How did you come up with that weird-ass name to begin with?”

Ben started laughing, a full boyish laugh and Rey couldn’t help but want to see him laugh like that in person. “I didn’t come up with it,” he finally confessed. “Snoke did when he recruited me.”

“But, why?” she asked. “Why change your name? It’s not like you have a legacy last name like Poe.”

“Oh, people still knew,” he laughed darkly. “Hard to not know the little kid on Luke Skywalker’s shoulder when he hoisted the cup for the fifteenth time.”

“You know, I don’t think I was born then,” she teased.

“No, you wouldn’t have been,” he agreed. “I was maybe three? I had a horrible haircut a few days before, so my ears stuck out like crazy. I hate that picture.”

Rey giggled, “You hate a picture just because your ears are sticking out?”

“Yes,” he said, seriously.

“But, Ben!” she squealed as she pulled it up on Google, “you’re adorable!”

“You googled it, didn’t you?”

“Duh. But, seriously, Ben, you’re the cutest,” she cooed over the photo. Luke had a tiny Ben with jet black hair that went in every direction and huge ears sticking out from under it perched on his shoulder while he held the cup over his head. Probably not the safest pose, but completely adorable. Ben had a look of awe on his face, just staring at the cup overhead.

He grumbled on the other line, clearly embarrassed.

“Too bad newborn photoshoots weren’t popular back then,” Rey teased. “Because I would kill for a naked baby Ben posed in the cup.”

“I’msuremymomstillhasitframedsomewhere,” he mumbled quickly before realizing what he said. “Shit.”

“Wait, seriously?” Rey’s eyes grew really wide. “Please let me see it.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “But if you copy it and sell it, I’m coming after you.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” she asked, not knowing where the sultry tone to her voice came from.

“Don’t tempt me, Little Girl,” he whispered gruffly. “Or I’ll come over there and kidnap you for the night.”

“What’s stopping you?” she challenged before he hung up on her. Slightly confused, she tossed her phone back on the bed and went back to her textbook.

~

Half an hour passed since Ben had hung up on her and she had fallen asleep, book splayed out on her chest and Bebe curled up next to her head on the pillow. Her phone started buzzing: an incoming call that brought her out of her nap.

“Ben?” she asked, even more confused than when he had hung up.

“Let me in,” he replied without pleasantries.

“What?”

“Let me into the apartment, Rey,” he said, enunciating every word in hopes she would better understand. He could hear the sleep in her voice, and he couldn’t help but hope she was just as delirious when she opened the door.

“Are- are you outside?”

“Yes. Please let me in?” he asked, starting to sound desperate.

She quickly stood up, not even thinking to put on a pair of sweatpants over the tight, short-like underwear she wore under the baggy sweater. Rey hurried over to the front door of the empty apartment- Poe being away for a game that night- and opened the door to Ben staring at her with darkened eyes.

“Ben, what are you-” she was silenced by a kiss. He cradled her face in his large hands as he closed the door with his leg. She reached up without thinking and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Ben! Slow down!” she gasped after a few moments.

He pulled back and smiled at her, smoothing the peach fuzz on her right cheek with his giant thumb. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispered back, taking a moment to look at her flushed face. “Did I wake you?”

She nodded, still feeling confused at not being completely awake yet. “What are you doing here?”

“You sounded too tempting on the phone,” he answered with a grin before looking her up and down for the first time, taking in her tanned legs and bright pink toenail polish. “Rey?”

“What?” she said, still looking up at him.

“You’re not dressed,” he said as his grin grew.

She looked down at herself, “I guess I’m not.”

“You should fix that before I lose all control,” he whispered in her ear as he leaned in to nuzzle her.

“Hmm,” she hummed, enjoying the closeness. “I guess I should. My pants are in my bedroom, though.”

He scooped her up and carried her to her room in a bridal carry and set her down on her bed where Bebe was glaring at the couple. Whether it was for disturbing his sleep or if it was because Ben was in the room. Rey didn’t get up right away, enjoying him standing over her.

“Ben?” she asked in a half whisper.

“Mmm?” he responded, too taken with her to form a real word.

“Can you hand me the flannel pants behind you?” she smirked as she lay back, somewhat propped up on her elbows behind her.

He looked a little surprised as if he forgot why they had ventured deeper into the apartment than Ben had been before. “Yeah, sure,” he said, looking behind him as she laughed at him. “Do you always study half naked?” he asked her as she pulled the pants on.

“Only when I’m home alone,” she laughed. “Poe yells at me for even wearing a bikini swimsuit, the prude.”

“That’s a damn shame,” Ben grumbled before sitting down on the bed next to her. He reached to pull her to a sitting position. “Did you eat dinner yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” she replied thoughtfully before her stomach screamed, demanding food. “Pizza? There’s a place down the street that delivers here for free.”

He smiled, “That sounds perfect. You don’t mind that I came over, do you?”

“Of course not!” she squealed, leaning in to kiss the cheek that wasn’t ruined by her skate. “I’m actually very happy that you’re here.”

“Good, now what do you want on your pizza?”

Chapter Text

Ben’s face still looked like a train had run over half of it, yet he ate his pizza without wincing, Rey noticed. His eye was completely blackened and the stitches still puckered slightly with swelling, but they were not nearly as angry-looking as they had been earlier in the week. At least he didn’t protest to the ice pack she brought him after she took their plates into the kitchen after they were done eating.

They settled on her bed to watch Poe’s game and, in Rey’s case, attempt to read for class. Ben tried to not distract her, but couldn’t help himself when she was right there. She was sitting up against the headboard, book propped on Ben’s shoulder as his head rested on her lap as he traced the plaid patterns of her flannel pajama pants.

“And Dameron takes the shot and GOAL!” yelled the announcer on the screen. “That breaks the tie right before the clock runs out on the second period.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into the Falcons, but they’re actually playing a decent game tonight,” Ben remarked as the screen went to commercial.

Rey frowned, “I think it’s more that Kay is having an off night and Snaps and Arnold are both injured.”

Ben hummed in agreement before rolling over to look up at Rey. “What are you reading?”

“ Paradise Lost for Renaissance Literature,” she sighed.

“That’s rough,” he snickered at her pained face. “What other classes are you taking this semester?”

“Chaucer, Intro to Children’s Literature, and Narrative Nonfiction,” she groaned, covering her face with her book. “I usually take five classes per semester, but-”

“You’re a masochist, Rey,” Ben laughed.

“Yeah, well, I want to be done soon,” she huffed. “I’m already a semester and a half ahead.”

“What are you planning on doing after you graduate?” he asked.

Rey thought for a moment. “I’m not sure,” she finally answered. “I don’t want to go into teaching, but the publishing industry is difficult to break into unless you have a master’s degree and massive amounts of internships.”

“What about writing?”

“I don’t think I’m that great at it,” she snorted. “Academic papers, sure, but creative writing? Ha! Not to mention, there’s not much money in being an author. It’s very rare that someone like JK Rowling or Stephen King just happens onto the scene.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think you need to worry about money,” Ben laughed.

Rey’s eyebrow quirked. “And why is that?”

“You’re surrounded by famous hockey players with tons of money saved up that love you,” Ben answered with a smirk. “Even if Dameron falls through, I’m pretty sure my parents would take you in. Leia already talks about you as if you’re the daughter she never had,” he laughs.

“Ahh, yes, I could be Han’s live-in bartender,” she smiled down at him.

“Hmm maybe that’s not such a great idea, then,” Ben laughed. “Maybe I’d take you in, then.”

“Oh?” she played along. “And what would I have to do to earn my keep?”

Ben’s eyes squinted as he thought. “I think your presence alone would be more than enough.”

She leaned down and pecked him on the lips quickly, smiling the entire time. “You’re such a charmer, Ben Solo.”

“Only for you,” he smirked. “I doubt anyone would believe you if you told anyone.”

“No, I think at least your mother would agree,” she said as she smoothed his hair back from his forehead.

“She’s biased,” Ben replied.

“Still, that’s at least two people that know how sweet you can be,” she snickered.

Ben give her an evil grin before growling “Oh, I’ll show you sweet” and easily pulled her on top of him and kissing her deeply. Rey squealed before he distracted her mouth, book forgotten on the very edge of the bed, about to fall. Her arms were pressed against his broad chest as he held her as close to himself as he could. She groaned lightly when one of his hands reached up and rifled through her hair, spurring him on to roll them over onto her back.

His knee landed between her legs as he held himself up, afraid to crush her tiny body in comparison to him.

“Ben,” she whispered urgently. “Ben, what about your face?” she asked in between kisses. He took the opportunity to pepper her face in small pecks before stopping to stare down at her, eyes almost black rather than his usual chocolate brown.

“You’re right,” he conceded. “But you’re just too tempting, sweetheart.”

She smiled up at him. “Once your stitches are out, you can kiss me as much as you want.” He groaned as he nuzzled her neck with the uninjured side of his face.

“Oh, I will take full advantage of that,” he mumbled against her ear.

“Oh yeah?” she asked, eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of his breath against her ear.

“Mmmhmm,” he hummed, sending vibrations through her all the way to her toes. “I think we have to make up for missed time.”

She snickered at him, “Ben, it’s literally been a week since I ruined your face. How is that lost time?”

He raised his head to look at her. Her eyes shined and her cheeks were flushed. “Because.”

“You really have a way with words, Ben Solo,” Rey snarked.

“You sure are a feisty one, aren’t you?”

“You wouldn’t be into me if I wasn’t,” she laughed, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear. He leaned into her touch and smiled.

“That may be slightly true, but I like your other qualities, too,” Ben said softly. “Like how excited you get over a hockey game, how you take care of others, especially me, and how you’re easily pleased by food.”

“I am not easily pleased by food!” she fought.

“Uh-huh. Would you prefer a floral or cookie bouquet?” he teased.

She pursed her lips and stared daggers at him. “That’s not fair. How is that even a question?”

“My point exactly,” he smirked before lightly kissing her thinned lips. She didn’t reciprocate, still glaring. “But it’s adorable. Not a bad thing at all.” Rey rolled her eyes. Ben sat up, pulling himself off of her reluctantly. “Come on,” he urged her to do the same. “Game’s about to start again.”

They re-adjusted so that they were both leaning against the headboard, Ben crowding her into his arms and tangling their legs together under the throw quilt Rey kept at the end of her bed.

After the game, Ben decided to leave. But not before pulling her hips tightly to him at the door, and kissing her lightly. “Oh, I have a surprise for you,” he smirked. “I hope you’re free a month from today.”

“Why is that?” she asked, smiling up at him.

“I may have tickets to a concert and was hoping you’d come with me,” he said, pulling out his wallet to pull out the tickets to show her.

“Really?” she lit up. “How did you know I liked him?”

He paused for a quick second to come up with an excuse but decided it would be better to just come out with it. “I didn’t. Phasma did and gave me the tickets.”

“Oh?” Rey laughed. “I barely know her.”

“I think she did some social media stalking or something,” Ben confessed. “She’s certifiably insane.”

“I’m gathering that,” Rey smiled. “But, I would absolutely love to go.” She reached up on her tiptoes and gave him one last chaste kiss to send him on his way.

~

Poe went straight to the hotel after the game, too exhausted to celebrate in any fashion. Walking through the door of his room, he collapsed on the bed still in his suit pants and dress shirt. He was almost asleep before someone knocked on his door.

He groaned loudly as he got up from the stiff queen-sized bed, hoping like hell the person on the other side of the door heard him.

“Poe!” yelled Rose from the other side of the door. “Poe open up, please!”

Once it hit him who was on the other side he rushed over and let her in. “Rose? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Paige,” she sobbed before he noticed her face was tear-stained and blotchy. “She’s in the ER and I rode here with Jyn, but I can’t find her. Can you drive me back, please? I don’t know who else to ask, I’m so sorry.”

Poe was trying to comprehend what the woman in front of him was saying, grabbing his bag and keys on autopilot. “Get your things and I’ll meet you at the entrance,” he said before pulling her in for a hug.

She ran back to her own room to grab her luggage as quickly as she could while Poe brought his car around.

Waiting in the driver’s seat, he called Rey.

“Poe?” came her slightly sleepy voice. “What’s up?”

“I’m taking Rose to the ER back home. Paige seems to have had an accident or something and she needed a ride,” he explained quickly as he spotted Rose walking out of the lobby.

“Do you need me to meet you there?” she asked, concerned for her friend. “Is Paige alone?”

“I don’t know yet,” Poe confessed. “I’ll talk more to Rose and we’ll let you know if we need you, but you should go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” Rey replied. “Keep me up to date, please.”

“I will,” he said. “I’ll talk to you as soon as I can.”

“Drive safe.”

Rose finished piling her stuff in the backseat before climbing in quickly.

They rode in silence for the hour and a half commute, only talking when Rose got an update that Paige was taken back for testing.

They arrived at the hospital, Poe dropping Rose at the entrance before he found a parking spot. He took a minute to breathe in his car before heading in to check on the sisters. Rose texted him to say she went back.

He walked in and saw that the waiting room was mostly empty, so he took a seat and pulled out his phone.

Poe:

We just got here. Rose went back, I’m in the waiting room. Will let you know if I hear anything.

Rey:

OK

Poe sat with his head in his hands, trying to keep from falling asleep in the uncomfortable chair. Alas, he was not successful and soon passed out.

It was sometime later when he was shaken lightly by Rose. “Poe?” she spoke softly.

“Hmm?” he hummed, coming to.

“Um, Paige wants to talk to you,” she said, her voice cracking as if she was nervous.

His brows creased, confused, but nodded and got up to follow the younger of the Tico sisters back.

They found Paige on a cot resting in a double room where she was the only resident. She opened her eyes as Rose sat down next to her.

“Hey,” Paige rasped, clearly exhausted from being poked and prodded by the doctors. “Thanks for bringing her here.” She smiled weakly at Poe.

“You okay?” he asked shortly. She nodded. “What happened?”

“I passed out,” she replied simply. “Very low blood sugar.”

“That sucks,” he said.

Rose twiddled her thumbs before leaving the two alone to go and find a vending machine. It would be an hour or so before Paige was discharged.

“I need to tell you something,” Paige said after Rose left the room. “And I really don’t want you to hate me.”

Poe finally made eye contact with her, finding tears in her eyes.

“The reason I had low blood sugar-” she stopped herself from sobbing. “I’m pregnant.”

Poe’s throat threatened to close at her words.

“They said I’m about six weeks along,” she got out. “I- I don’t know what to do.”

Poe couldn’t speak. He was taken aback by the revelation. Instead, he sat down on the cot with her and put an arm around her as she cried.

Chapter Text

“So…” Rey awkwardly started. She sat across the table from Poe in their apartment a few hours after he returned from the ER. They’d been sitting there, absorbing the information Paige dropped on him the night before over a meager breakfast Rey had to scrounge up. He was still dressed in his suit pants that he had spent the entire night in.

“Yup,” he simply replied, staring into the cup of black coffee in front of him.

“You’re sure it’s yours?” she finally asked.

Poe sighed, “She’s never lied to me before, I don’t see why she would start now.”

They sat for a few more minutes, sipping from mugs of coffee.

“Can we keep this between the four of us?” Poe suddenly asked. “You and Rose are the only others that know, and we need time to figure out what we’re going to do.”

“Wait, what do you mean figure out what you’re going to do?” Rey asked cautiously.

Poe wrinkled his nose at her in disgust. “Not that , Rey! Jesus. I mean relationship-wise and how to tell people and explain it.”

“Okay,” she sighed. “I won’t tell anyone until you’re ready.” She thought for a moment before saying (with a huge smile spreading across her face): “Papa Kes is going to be so excited, though.”

Poe groaned and laid his head on the table, mumbling something.

“What?” Rey asked, still sporting a smirk.

“We’re not calling him ‘papa’,” he enunciated from the surface of the table, still muffled slightly.

Rey frowned. “Why not? It’s cuter than Grandpa.”

“Save it for your dad, then,” he grumped. Suddenly, he looked up, a devilish glint in his eyes: “Actually, Han might be better suited for the name.”

“Poe!” Rey screeched, covering her ears with her hands. “No! Bad!”

He just cackled as he cleared their food wrappings away from the table.  

~

Finn could tell something was off about his friend and teammate the next few days. Though, Finn thought, if Poe had wanted to talk, he’d seek Finn out to talk.

He also noticed that Rey hadn’t been to watch a practice all week, either, and that was odd.

And the worst of it was that Rose had been really distant. She only responded to his texts with one-word answers and didn’t text him first. This was what worried him the most, and it wasn’t that he could ask anyone: Poe didn’t know about them, he didn’t have Rey’s number and asking for it might be weird, and Rose would just respond with “nothing” when he would ask if something was wrong.

Ahh, fuck it.

“Dameron,” he yelled after Poe as they headed toward the locker room, gear and all. “You got a sec?”

Poe grunted in response.

“What’s up, man?” Finn asked as the rest of the team shuffled by.

“Nothing,” Poe said, looking confused.

Finn narrowed his eyes. “Dude, don’t lie, you’ve been off all week. Everyone has been off all week.”

“It’s nothing, Finn, just a bad week is all,” Poe started to walk off after patting his friend on the shoulder. Finn let it slide for now, but he was going to get it out of Poe at some point. And that some point was going to be soon.

~

Ben was nervous, to say the least. Sure, he and Rey had hung out alone at hers and Poe’s apartment, but she had yet to see his place even though they’d been an item for just over a month. He wanted her to like it, for her to be as comfortable there as she was in her own home, but couldn’t help be afraid that the silver on black on grey would turn her off. Ben Solo wasn’t much for decorating.

Yet, here they were, about to arrive at his building, get out of the car, and ascend the elevator up to the penthouse where he resided. There was no turning back now. And, honestly, if she hated it, Ben would be more than happy to let her redecorate- not that he’d admit that out loud in anyone’s but her presence.

They sat in the car with comfortable silence as Ben drove down the street, her hand clasped in his.

“This is a nice neighborhood,” Rey commented.

Ben had a hard time not laughing, “Sweetheart, it’s just downtown.”

“That doesn’t mean it can’t be nice,” she defended. “It would be fun to live in the middle of everything.”

“It does have its perks,” he agreed, squeezing his hand slightly. He pulled into a small underground parking garage off of an alley. “This is me,” he said as he shut off the car once he was parked in his usual spot.

Rey looked at him out the side of her eye facing forward. “Are you sure you’re not trying to murder me, Ben Solo?”

A confused look showed on his face. “No?”

“Oh, it’s just we’re in a dark underground structure with no one in sight,” she explained, trying very hard to not laugh. “You could have your way with me here and no one would bat an eye.”

He just looked at her, almost daring her to keep talking.

“I mean, where do you hide the bodies, Ben? Or is your serial killer name Kylo-”

She was suddenly shut up by his lips, kissing her furiously to make her forget the joking tangent she was going off on. “Are you done?” he asked as he pulled away, an amused tone to his words. She nodded as she unbuckled herself and grabbed her backpack from the back seat. He met her at the back of his SUV, taking her backpack from her and lacing his fingers in hers.

They walked that way to the elevator where he pushed the top button out of habit.

“Penthouse?” Rey whispered as she gawked.

“What?” Ben asked, not hearing what she said.

“You live in a penthouse,” she said, not asking for clarification.

He looked down at her, not showing any emotion. “Yes?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head. “I should really not be surprised by you anymore.”

“What were you expecting?” he asked, intrigued.

“Something humble?” she thought for a moment. “I don’t know. A dark cave where you hide away from the public and your family whenever possible.”

“It’s all of that, except not a cave: a tower,” he laughed, starting to relax.

She hummed as she leaned into him, enjoying hearing him laugh. Rey loved how relaxed Ben could act in her presence. She had seen him act like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum on the ice before she had known that he was Ben Solo, heard stories of his nasty temper and stoic facial expressions, or rather a lack thereof, and seemed to be the only one, other than his parents, to see this side of him since his teen years.

“Are you tired?” he asked as he watched her close her eyes as she leaned into him in the elevator.

“A bit,” Rey answered, opening her eyes to look up at him to see his adoring gaze down at her.

“Are you going to make it long enough for me to make you dinner?”

She smiled brightly at him. “What are you making me?”

“Anything you want, Sweetheart,” he growled into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

“That’s a dangerous offer, Mr. Solo,” she countered.

“I’m well aware that I’ve just let a child lose in a candy store,” he smirked at her, behind her back. “But, really, what would you like?”

“Something with mashed potatoes?”

“Alright,” he snickered to himself. The elevator came to a halt, rang, and opened to a short hallway that led to his front door, painted a soft white. As the term ‘penthouse’ promised, it was the only door on the floor. He led Rey towards it with little-to-no effort; she was just as eager as he was. “Chicken or steak?”

“Hmm,” she thought for a mere second. “Steak. Definitely steak. And anything else you want to make would be amazing.”

His deep voice rumbled in his chest as he laughed at her voracious appetite. “Whatever you want, little girl,” he said as he pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head lightly before unlocking the door. Rey blushed ever so slightly at the term, trying to hide it from him.

He let her step through the doorway first, hitting the light just to the right of the door as he walked in after her. Ben’s apartment was scarce of decorations, aside from the framed Knights’ jersey with his fake last name and number above a fireplace in the living room. In front of the fireplace was a white skin rug and a sleek black leather couch. The room held two large bookshelves, framing a door that led out to a balcony.

Rey took a few moments to walk around the room, not venturing down the hallway that would lead to the kitchen and bedrooms. Her silence made Ben even more uneasy as he just stood in the doorway, pulling his coat and shoes off to put away on their corresponding racks just inside the door. Rey still wore hers as she looked around.

“It’s so you, Ben,” she finally spoke, smirking at him.

“How so?” he asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

She laughed “It’s just so sleek and pristine.”

“You think I’m sleek and pristine?” he laughed. Rey rolled her eyes and plopped down onto the couch. “Let me take your coat.”

She reached around and pulled her coat off and handed it to him. She’d pulled her boots off beforehand at the door, so as not to track snow through the apartment. Ben hung up her coat next to his before climbing over the top of the couch to join her.

“Do you want to help me with dinner or just relax?” he asked as she readjusted, moving over to make room for him.

“I should really get some homework done, honestly,” she sighed, glancing down at the backpack she let rest against the couch before sitting down. “I have a paper due next week that’s worth a quarter of my grade.”

“Ouch,” he winced in empathy. “Do you need anything before I get to work?”

“Do you own a television?” she asked, straight-faced. “I like background noise.”

He smirked at her and leaned in close. “It’s in the bedroom,” he whispered with a dark tone. “Let me show you around before you get comfortable.” He stood up and pulled her up with him, not allowing her to protest the movement after she was comfortable.

“Alright, so through here are the kitchen and dining room,” he said, pointing to the right as they walked through the hallway. “Guest bathroom, guest bedroom one, and two, and then my room is here.” He let her stick her head through each doorway as he pointed them out. His room was painted a soft white, like the rest of the apartment, with the only pop of color throughout the entire unit is a red whole-cloth quilt at the foot of his bed, places crooked in comparison to his perfectly made grey bed.

“You don’t like colors, do you?” Rey asked as she walked forward to hop up on the bed.

“Never really had a real opinion on the subject,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. “I didn’t decorate,” he admitted. “I let Phasma do it right after Hux hired her a few years ago. She just went for team colors, I think.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to laugh. She unfolded the quilt and made herself at home before pulling her laptop and books out of her backpack. Ben watched from the door, enjoying watching her burrow into his bed as if it were hers. “What?” she asked as she caught him watching.

“You look comfortable,” he smiled. “Do you need anything?”

She hummed for a moment, thinking. “Tea?”

“I have peppermint?” he asked, hoping it was enough for her.

“That sounds perfect,” she smiled brightly as she went to turn on her laptop and he handed her the TV remote. “Thank you.”

He left the room as he heard her click on the TV. He returned ten minutes later with a large, steaming mug for her. Rey was leaning against the pillows, right in the middle of the king size bed, making her look even smaller than she really was, her computer on her lap as she typed something with clear concentration. Books lay strewn around her. Ben thought for a moment, trying to figure out how all of that fit into her backpack as well as didn’t break her back.

She looked up as he set the mug down on the bedside table closest to the door. “How’s it going?” he asked, picking up one of the books around her, making sure the post-its didn’t fall out, messing up her needed quotes and research.

“Really, good,” she said, continuing to type and smiling. “I just need another three pages.”

“Seriously?” he said with a pained look on his face. “I’d rather we do something else,” he pouted.

Rey laughed, “Don’t want me to get good grades, Solo?”

“At the risk of sounding like a patriarchal asshole,” he started, climbing onto the bed to tower over her, “If I had my way, you wouldn’t need to get good grades.”

Rey started blushing, “Oh? And why is that?”

“Because I’d take care of you,” he chuckled, shutting her laptop as he climbed over top of her and delicately set it to the side.

Rey giggled as he resisted actually touching her, intent on teasing her. “The feminist in me is offended.”

“Hmmm I don’t think I care,” he growled as he bent down and kissed her jaw. “But I should go and tend to the potatoes before they boil over.” He sat up abruptly, causing her to moan at the loss of contact.

“Damn you, Ben Solo,” he heard her mutter as she sat back up to continue working on her paper. He couldn’t help but cook dinner in its entirety with a cheeky grin.

Chapter Text

Rey wandered into the kitchen a half an hour after Ben had left to tend to the potatoes. She smelled divine scents wafting through the doorway and was compelled to taste test everything he was making.

As she walked in, she found him plating the mashed potatoes he promised next to steak and steamed vegetables on two plates. Ben hadn’t noticed her in the doorway, so she took a minute to just watch him work, making everything look perfect on the plate.

“That smells amazing,” Rey spoke after taking in the domestic scene. Ben jumped slightly.

“How long have you been there?” he asked, eyeing her as he picked up both plates and carried them away from her towards the dining table on the other side of the half wall separating the kitchen from the dining room.

She followed him, letting her nose and stomach get the better of her willpower.

He set the plates down and she sat down in front of one of them. Ben smiled at her, appreciating that she didn’t need an invitation to tuck in and make herself comfortable in his space.

Rather than sitting across from her, he sat kitty-corner, leaving the fruit bowl centerpiece where it set. Rey sat there, waiting to see when it was ok to dig in and demolish this beautiful feast. He quirked his brow at her, signaling that it was more than okay for her to start eating.

She dug in, moaning as the steak melted in her mouth. Ben couldn’t help but watch her like he did almost every meal because she was too entertaining with her enthusiasm.

“Sweetheart?” he asked.

“Hm,” she grunted as she shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes and broccoli into her mouth, not looking up from her plate.

He smirked, “You know you sound like a one-woman porn studio right now, right?”

She stopped mid-mouthful and looked up at him with innocent eyes. “What?” Ben couldn’t help but start laughing. “Oh, my god,” she set her utensils down and swallowed. “I’m so sorry.” He just smiled at her.

“That’s ok,” he soothed while trying to keep from laughing too much, “It’s rather hot.” She just kept blushing.

“It’s really good?” she tried quietly, only making him laugh harder.

“I gathered that,” he said in between chuckles. “I like your enthusiasm.”

Rey rolled her eyes while she picked up her fork again and took smaller bites, now self-conscious, eyeing him. He just kept watching her, not touching his food. “Eat, Rey,” he urged, still smiling.

“No,” she frowned. “You’re going to make fun of me more.”

“I wasn’t making fun of you, Sweetheart,” he said placing his hand over hers under the table. “I was appreciating your enthusiasm for my cooking.”

“You didn’t poison me, did you?” she asked slyly. “You haven’t taken a bite.”

Ben chuckled darkly before scooping up his own forkful and went to town on his own plate, eyes on her, though. “See? I didn’t poison the food.”

“Uh-huh,” he pretended to huff, but couldn’t keep a small smile off of her lips. “This is actually really excellent, Ben.”

He hummed as he chewed his own meal, appreciating her compliment. They ate in a comfortable silence, she devouring food quickly and he savoring the time and meal with her.

“Would you want to go to a Knights’ game next week?” he asked out of the blue.

“I’ve got nothing to wear,” she quickly replied, a smile starting to play at the corners of her mouth. “I don’t think you’d appreciate me wearing Poe’s jersey at an unrelated rival game.”

“I think that can be arranged,” he smiled. “There might be something for you under my bed already.”

Rey stopped, “Wait, really?” she stood up quickly and ran to the other room leaving Ben in her dust. He followed her, finding her ducked under his bed, butt sticking up in the air.

“Need help?” he asked with a jokingly bored voice. A muffled squeal came from Rey as she started to scoot out, holding a medium-sized box. “I thought you were against gifts.”

“Not gifts that really mean something,” she smiled as she sat on the floor, completely dwarfed by the bed as it sat on risers. “Can I open it?” He gestured her to go for it. She ripped the box open, threw the tissue on the floor as she pulled a Knights’ Jersey with Ben’s name and number on the back, but fitted to be just slightly baggy on Rey’s petite frame. He watched as she ran her fingers over the embroidery details. “Ben,” she gasped after a few moments. “Thank you.”

Ben couldn’t help but smile, “You’re welcome.” But, he was taken aback suddenly as she pulled off her sweater, exposing the white lace of her bra under the cami she wore, and pulled her jersey over her head to model it for him. He swallowed at the sight. Rey stood up show it off. “You look amazing in black and gold,” he complimented.

“You think?” she asked, turning around to see how the fabric lay against her backside. “I don’t know, I think I like orange and white bet-”

Ben cut her off by almost tackling her to the bed with a kiss. “You look absolutely amazing in my jersey,” he groaned as she giggled.

“Oh, yeah?” she pressed on.

He nodded before moving in to kiss her neck, pinning her to the bed.

“Ben,” she moaned, trying not to. “Ben, please,” she begged, placing a hand on his shoulder to slow him down.

He immediately stilled and looked up at her, “What’s wrong?” Rey could hear the pout ooze from his voice.

“Just a little too fast,” she said as she kissed his nose. “And we should probably clean up the kitchen before we get distracted.”

He frowned at her, remembering the mostly-eaten meal on the dining table. “How about you get comfortable while I throw the dishes in the washer.”

“How is that fair?” she asked. “You cooked dinner by yourself.”

“And I’m taking care of you tonight,” he argued. “After tonight you can do whatever you want in this apartment, but right now you’re not allowed to lift a finger.”

Rey scowled at him as he sat up and pulled her into a sitting position. “You’re way too much of a gentleman, Ben Solo. Here I was thinking the fearsome Kylo Ren would be a brute, just trying to get into my pants, but Ben?” she laughed as he blushed slightly, “Ben is just adorable and charming. And horny,” she giggled as she felt his erection against his jeans as she pulled him in for a hug.

“My father would be laughing in your face right now if you said that in front of him,” Ben joked. “Actually, my teammates would, too. Pretty much everyone I know would never believe you.”

Rey snickered, “Their loss.”

He nipped her nose before making his way back to the kitchen to clean. Rey settled herself back on the bed, picking up her laptop where she left off, hoping she wouldn’t be staring at the screen for very long for the rest of the night.

~

She had fallen asleep while he cleaned the kitchen. Rey was curled around her laptop, books just laying open scattered. Ben couldn’t help but enjoy the scene, listening to her soft snoring, watching her chest rise and fall with the noise rumbling from her throat.

He would have just cleaned up her homework and climbed it, but Rey was lying parallel to the pillows, blocking Ben’s access to being under the covers, and he knew from childhood experiences to never try to steal Rey’s blanket. Instead, he decided to gently wake her to have her move.

“Rey,” he whispered to her after dog-earing/bookmarking her books (he made sure they already had other indents before doing so, out of respect for the literature) and moving them to the floor, shutting her laptop and fishing the power supply out of her bag to charge it in case she woke up and needed to work again. She groaned in protest, her nose scrunching enough to make the freckles there pop against the paled, strained skin. “Sweetheart, you’re hogging the covers,” he said to her, smirking as she squinted at him.

“What?” came her delirious voice. “Oh. Oh! I’m sorry,” she said, realizing where she was and sitting up to allow him access to his own bed.

“How did you manage to fall into such a deep sleep so quickly?” he joked as he sat on the side she had not taken. Oddly, the side she left vacant was his usual side, and Ben certainly noticed.

Rey wiped her sleepy eyes, “Just lucky, I guess.”

“I never asked if you wanted to stay over or not,” Ben mentioned, a little sheepishly. “I can take you home if you want, whenever you want.”

“Is that an invitation?” she asked, smirking at his shyness. “Because if you’re asking me to stay, I’d love to. Your bed is much comfier than mine, and I didn’t know that was possible.”

Ben couldn’t help but laugh at that comment. “So, you’re here for the bed and food. I should have known.”

“I figure if you’re going to murder me soon anyway, why not enjoy the amenities?”

“Fair.”

She beamed up at him, still donning the new jersey and allowing her hair to fall out of the top knot she had fashioned after he left the room. She also sported dried drool on the corner of her mouth, and Ben knew she had no idea it was there. Or how endearing it was. He took the moment to tuck a chunk of her hair behind her ear, just enjoying the proximity to her.

“You have no idea how happy you make me,” he suddenly confessed. Her eyes widened, but her smile never faltered. “Running into you again was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

“Yeah?” she asked in a breathy whisper as if she didn’t dare to believe his words.

“Definitely, little one,” he cooed as he leaned in for a soft kiss. Her hand automatically snaked up to his hair to feel how soft it was between her fingers. “You should go back to sleep,” he whispered as they simply held each other closely. She nodded, still hazy from her impromptu nap after dinner.

Ben got back up from the bed and shuffled through the dresser on the opposite wall, pulling out an old t-shirt that was too small for him now- but perfect size for Rey- and tossed it at her. “You shouldn’t sleep in the jersey,” he smirked as she unfolded the fabric to reveal his, Hux, and Poe’s (and Rey’s later) high school insignia and mascot.

“How do you still have this?” she snickered.

“Would you rather Harry Potter or Star Trek boxers?” he asked, having turned back to the dresser to find her suitable bottoms to sleep in.

“Trek me, baby,” she said before realizing what had come out of her mouth. “I mean…”

“Oh, I’d absolutely love to,” he said seriously.

Rey blushed deeply. She swore she could feel even her baby toes heating up. “Ben?”

“Hmm?” he was still rifling through his drawers, this time grabbing clothes for himself to sleep in.

“I- I mean, what are your expectations?” she asked rather nervously. “I mean in bed.”

Ben turned to see her fidgeting with the shirt he had tossed her. “I won’t lie and say I’m not incredibly attracted to you and want to be with you as much as humanly possible.”

Rey looked a little uncomfortable, “I’m just not sure I’m ready for more than what we already have?” She ended it on a question, hoping he wasn’t turned off by her revelation.

He bounded over to her on the bed and grasped for her hand. “That’s ok,” he promised. "I never want you to feel as if I'm pressuring you to do anything you don't want to or aren't ready for, okay?"

A tear escaped down her cheek. Rey was happy, but she felt that he deserved an explanation. “I just don’t want what’s happening to Poe to happen to us this soon,” she said very quietly.

“What’s going on with Poe?” he asked, brow scrunching in confusion.

Rey gulped, realizing she was about to break her promise to her cousin. “You can’t tell anyone. I was sworn to secrecy.”

“I promise not to tell anyone,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“Poe knocked Paige up.”

Ben was silent for a minute before, “So, would the baby call you Aunt Rey because you and Poe are so close? Or would that just create more confusion?”

Rey immediately started laughing. “Auntie Reyrey, or they’re not getting a shower gift.”

“Alright, let’s go to sleep,” Ben announced now that he had calmed her.

~

Rey was terrible at keeping secrets. Everyone knew this, except that Poe in his need for moral support asked her to keep this secret. She could and she would damn it, except that she almost blurted it out a few times.

At least she could talk to Rose about it. And she was sure Rose was in a worse spot than she, being Paige’s sister and all. Well, of course, she could talk to Ben now that she had spilled the beans, but Rose had the other half of the story.

“I just can’t believe this is happening,” Rose blurted as they ordered ice cream from a stand inside the mall after they ate lunch on Rose’s lunch break.

“I know,” Rey agreed, not really knowing how else to express her surprise.

“I mean, no wonder the breakup was so messy,” the shorter woman commented.

Rey looked up from her wallet as she fished out a $20 to pay for the both of them, confused. “What do you mean?” She thanked the cashier as they handed them their cones. “Paige didn’t know, couldn’t have known, she was pregnant when he proposed.”

Rose stared at her with wide eyes as they stood near the fountain in the middle of the food court. “You didn’t do the math, did you?”

“No? Why?”

“Paige is about six weeks along,” Rose dropped.

Rey stared back at her friend, eyes bulging slightly as she did the math. “That doesn’t add up.”

“They had been seeing each other every now and then to try to smooth things out: Poe trying to get back together with her, she wanting to stay friends,” Rose explained. “But they ended up…”

“What the actual fuck,” Rey swore, granting her a few stares from the mom’s with kids sitting near them. Rose merely nodded as Rey made sense of the new information. “Poe didn’t tell me how far along she was,” she almost whispered. “No wonder they need to figure shit out.”

“Yup,” Rose popped the ‘p’.

“Kind of turns you off of sex, huh?” Rey said wistfully without thinking about what was coming out of her mouth.

Rose snorted. “Um, no,” she laughed. “It turns me on to doubling up on birth control.”

“So, you and Finn?” Rey asked shyly. Rose nodded with a mouthful of soft serve. “How is that going?”

Rose genuinely smiled for the first time that day. “Really good! He’s taking me out after the game tomorrow night.”

“Oh, where?” Rey asked, happy to change the subject.

“That Italian place downtown,” Rose flushed.

“Swanky!” Rey gushed. “I definitely want to know the details of that meal. I need to know exactly how the sauce tastes and how tender the pasta is.”

Rose gave her a look, “Rey? Sweetie? You already have food in your hand. Eat it, please.”

Rey took a huge bite out of her cone at her friend’s request.

“So, Aunty Reyrey, shall we go to Baby Gap and dote prematurely on our future niece or nephew?” Rose announced after their ice cream had disappeared.

“Why, Aunty Rosie, I do believe that’s a brilliant idea!”

The two women locked arms and briskly walked through the mall together before Rose had to return to work.

Chapter Text

“I told you I’d be there for you,” yelled Poe, unable to keep his cool any longer as Paige freaked out in front of him. “I don’t know what else you want me to tell you!”

Paige was fuming. “I don’t know! I don’t know what to do!”

Rey could hear them through the front door as she approached, returning for the evening. She sighed as she reached for the handle; she didn’t want to be a part of this and wondered, briefly, if she should just turn around and head straight to Ben’s. Except that she knew he had an away game and he hadn’t given her a key or showed her where a spare was hidden if he had one hidden.

“Well, what do you want to do?” Poe asked. Rey could hear how he was holding back from yelling again.

“I don’t fucking know, Poe!” Paige all but screamed. “I just want to stop fighting.”

“Okay,” he sighed, barely audible through the front door. Rey took that as a signal that it was safe to enter her apartment.

“Honey, I’m home!” she announced as she walked through the door. “Hi, Paige.”

The two parents-to-be were standing in the kitchen, Paige red-faced nodded at her greeting and Poe running a hand through his hair as he always did when he was overly stressed. “Hey,” Poe said with little enthusiasm. “I was about to order dinner, do you want any?” he asked his cousin.

“Yeah, just get me whatever,” Rey said, knowing not to intrude on their conversation. “I’ll be in my room working on a paper.”

They both nodded at her before she retreated down the hall to her side of the unit.

Rey dropped her backpack and purse onto her bed and changed into comfier clothes before digging her phone out of her purse. A text message awaited her.

Ben:

Hope your day is going better than mine <3

Rey replied quickly, realizing he had sent the text merely a few minutes before and she hoped to catch him.

Rey:

Well, P&P are having a loud discussion in the kitchen

Ben:

What about?

Rey:

Probably baby shit- figuratively.

Ben:

In a few months, it will be literally, I’m sure.

Rey:

LOL god, I hope they don’t argue about that in front of me.

She crawled into bed, holding onto her phone and waiting for a reply. It was early, only 3pm, but she still crawled in and sandwiched herself between the covers.

Ben:

Oh, I’m sure they will. I have to go now, but I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Rey:

Break a leg. Metaphorically. Don’t board anyone too hard.

Ben:

That’s no fun :*

Rey smiled and set her phone on the wireless charger Poe gave her for Christmas.

“I don’t want to just see them on their birthday and Christmas!” came Poe’s shouting. Rey was surprised at how much he was raising his voice. Very rarely did Poe Dameron yell or scream in anger, instead choosing to stay quiet until he had an opening to speak calmly about his feelings.

“Why are we even talking custody right now?” Paige replied loudly.

Rey decided to turn up the volume on the TV to drown them out, or, better yet, alert them to how loud they were being.

“I’m guessing you don’t want me at doctor’s appointments either, do you? What, do you just want me to throw money at you and ignore you both the rest of our lives? Because I’m not okay with that, Paige.”

“I don’t want you to just throw money at this, Poe! I’m not some worthless fucking Gold digger!”

“I’m aware of that,” Poe growled. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have turned down my proposal.”

There were a few minutes of silence where Rey assumed Paige had either run off to the toilet to purge or she was crying and Poe quietly apologizing. She hoped it was the latter.

But it was in those few minutes that Rey passed out, too exhausted from balancing work, school, and love life to keep her eyes open any longer. As she fell asleep, she hoped that it would only be a 20-minute nap.

Instead, she slept for hours, not realizing that Paige and Poe had adjourned to his bedroom.  

~

Poe worked to catch his breath. “So… that just happened.”

He turned his head to see Paige just as out of breath, eyes starting to droop from exhaustion. “Mmmm,” she hummed, clearly too blissed out to form words.

“Are you okay?” he asked, suddenly remembering why they were in the same building, let alone apartment and bedroom, together after their turbulent holiday season of break-up. “Do you need anything? Water, ginger ale, food?”

“Oh my god, Poe, just shut up for a moment,” Paige huffed, flinging her arm over her eyes and ear closest to him to block him out. “I’m fine,” she muttered before sitting up very suddenly, looking green, and then bolting for Poe’s attached bathroom. “Fuck!” he heard her yell after she stopped retching.

He followed her into the bathroom after giving her some space, wetting a washcloth so she could wipe her face clean. Naturally, he was worried. Her severe morning sickness and inability to stomach any food had led her to the hospital visit earlier that week. “Do I need to ask again?”

“I’m fine,” she insisted with a snap to her tone. “Just nauseated.”

“No, I meant do you want water, ginger ale, tea, anything?” Poe asked, kneeling down to be closer to her eye level. “I could run out and get you some crackers if you want, too.”

“Actually, what sounds amazing are pizza rolls,” she laughed pathetically as she wiped the back of her neck with the washcloth he had handed her. He smirked at her and offered her a hand to pull her into a standing position. “I think this is the first time real food has sounded good in weeks.”

“I’m sure Rey won’t mind me stealing some of hers as long as I replace them tomorrow. Come on, babe,” he said, automatically using his pet name for her, “let’s get you into comfy and clean clothes first.”

“Can you preheat the oven first? If I don’t eat soon, I’m going to throw up again.”

“Of course,” he snickered lightly at her new appetite. She had never been one with such a voracious hunger for junk food like his cousin, but she wasn’t one to starve herself, either. She walked back to the bed to lay down until he came back.

It took him all but a minute to get the oven started before he came back to Paige and pulled out a shirt and pajama pants from his own dresser and pulled them over her extremities like he was dressing a child. She looked exhausted, and he couldn’t help but feel the need to care for her in this state- almost guilty.

“I want to do this together,” she blurted as he tucked blankets around her as she sat up in bed. “I don’t want to ship the kid off to your place for weekends and try to co-parent like that. I want you there for as much as humanly possible.”

Poe’s heart swelled and he immediately bent down to kiss her. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want me there.”

“Are you kidding?” she laughed, finally settling into his bed comfortably as she used to. “I guess it took the greatest commitment in life for me to get over my fear of it.”

“So, we take this one day at a time?” he asked, trying to keep himself from getting too hopeful this early.

Paige nodded. “I don’t want to tell anyone until the next scan, just in case,” she announced.

“I can give you your engagement ring if you want,” Poe thought aloud. “I mean, if you… you know-”

Paige’s eyes glistened at his thoughtfulness and the fact that he still held onto the gorgeous ring. If the tables had turned, she would have either returned it immediately or pawned it, but Poe was much more sentimental than she was. “Would that mean…?”

“It would mean whatever you want it to mean, baby doll,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “For now, it’s a promise ring, okay?” She nodded again before accepting his gift, finally.

~

Ben was not happy. No, he was rightfully pissed, actually. Hux had cornered him before warm-ups, delivering the news that neither men were happy about.

“It’s just one car commercial,” Hux sighed. “I’m not asking, either. This is coming from Snoke himself.”

“Then he can fucking tell me himself,” Ben growled.

Hux rolled his eyes at the hulking hockey player acting like a petulant child. “Ren, it’s in your contract to work on at least one sponsor’s marketing campaign,” he spoke slowly. “Snoke will have your ass if you break the contract. I’m just trying to help you by limiting it to one stupid commercial rather than a fucking series.”

“I’ve never had to do a fucking sponsor commercial since I’ve signed!” Ben raised his voice, causing Hux to pinch the bridge of his nose and groan.

“That’s right, Ren, because I put it off because I knew you didn’t want to do it!”

Ben’s eyes widened. “What?”

“And now,” Hux continued, enunciating each word to keep Ben from interrupting further, “Snoke came across one in particular that he wants you, and only you, to do, and I can’t get you out of it.”

Ben stayed silent for a few moments, adjusting his duffle on his shoulder, before “Alright, fine. What am I doing?”

Hux handed him a large yellow envelope to open. Ben opened it, reading what was revealed to be a script and he groaned.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I didn’t write it.”

~

Poe pulled on proper shorts, rather than just his boxers, to clean up their early dinner of pizza rolls. He was a little surprised that all noise had ceased from Rey’s room and went to check on her after he put the baking sheet back in its proper cupboard.

He knocked lightly on the door but received no answer. Did she take off without letting him know? He opened the door to check.

He found her passed out, buried under her covers as she had tucked herself in. “Rey?” he whispered, checking to see how deeply asleep she was experiencing. He cursed himself, realizing he had promised her food but had only tended to Paige’s needs.

She looked tiny in her bed, with only tufts of her rich brown hair poking out where her comforter met the pillow. Poe was torn between letting her sleep and waking her up to get her to eat. Seeing her sleep so early in the day worried him. While she was one that required six to eight hours of sleep each day, she rarely took naps, being a bouncing beam of energy from dawn until dusk- even during her worst semester when she had taken six classes.

Poe decided to let her sleep, figuring she just had a stressful workload the past week and that he’d check in with her in the morning.

He turned off her bedside lamp and closed the door, much to Bebe’s distaste. The cat had been stalking the door, knowing full-well that his favorite person had a guest and that he wasn’t allowed on the bed for fear of being kicked in the heat of passion.

“Come on, Buddy,” Poe called, assuring the feline that he and Paige were done with their activities for the next few hours. The cat bounded after his human, jumping up on the bed to boop Paige on the stomach.

Paige looked up at Poe with wide eyes, realizing the cat knew about their predicament. Bebe had never latched onto Paige, or anyone for that matter, as he did with Poe and Rey, and this type of affection was saved for those two, and now baby Dameron.

Chapter Text

Rey fretfully folded the jersey Ben had gifted her, nervous about Poe’s reaction to her new color scheme. She wasn’t wearing it yet, it was still early in the day as she was about to head over to The Supremacy Arena to watch the Knights warm up and get to know the team. Another thing she was nervous about. Perhaps more nervous.

Watching the team meant she’d be watching from the suite that Hux usually occupied. He had offered to buy her tickets, but she didn’t want to distract him or give him the reason to go to the penalty box just to see her sitting behind it. He rolled his eyes and kept silent, knowing full well that she was right, he would trip someone just to make googly eyes at her for two whole minutes.

Luckily, though, Rey had Phasma to keep her company throughout the day while Ben worked.

“Hey,” Poe greeted her in the kitchen, mowing down his bowl of oatmeal before he had to run out the door as well. “What are you doing up so early?”

“Ben’s picking me up,” she said, searching the cupboard for a granola bar. “Did Paige eat my granola?”

Poe scrunched his nose in anticipation for Rey’s rage, “Probably. I think she got out of bed for a midnight snack last night.”

“Bitch is lucky she’s carrying your child right now,” Rey grumped, not really meaning what she said.

“I’m sorry,” Poe apologized in earnest. “I’ll order Paige her own snacks to keep in a different cupboard during a break today.”

Rey rolled her eyes, “So, you two…?”

“Taking it one day at a time,” he answered. “We both want to make it work, but it might take some time to get into the right rhythm.”

Rey looked her cousin up and down before smiling at him, “You guys had sex last night, didn’t you?”

“Shut up, Rey.”

“Oh, come on, Poe,” Rey laughed. “It’s just nice that you’re finally getting along again.” She went about, stealing his oatmeal to make her own breakfast. “So, when are you planning on telling people? Particularly our fathers?”

“Paige wants to wait for the 12-week scan,” he answered, sipping at some coffee and making sure his phone was charged for the day.

Rey pouted, unsure if she could refrain from telling her father for another five weeks.

~

Ben was excited to have her there. He knew it would be awkward, if not terrifying for her, which is why he put it off in the first place, but he was just so excited to show her his home ice and know that she was there to cheer him on.

He parallel parked outside of her building and walked up, the doorman recognizing him by now. He waved in appreciation as he loaded himself into the elevator.

Poe answered the door just as Ben started knocking, shushing him a bit. “Paige is still sleeping,” he gestured towards his own bedroom. Ben raised his brows and sought out Rey’s eyes. She shrugged and smirked. “So, what are you two up to today?” Poe asked as he threw odds and ends into his duffle. “Don’t you have a game tonight?”

“Ah, yeah,” Ben answered, looking at Rey for an explanation as to why Poe didn’t know. “Rey’s spending the day at Supremacy with me and staying for the game.”

Poe looked up, “Really? Making your dating life public, Solo?”

Ben glared at him for a moment, “I guess I am.”

“Well, dear cousin, give ol’ Hugs my best,” Poe announced as he pulled his coat on after leaving a note on the counter for Paige.

“Alright, I probably won’t be home tonight,” she said after him. If he had any protest, he didn’t let it show; he just closed to the door after himself.

Ben crossed the room quickly with his long legs to Rey. He hugged her close before kissing her forehead. “Missed you,” he mumbled into her hair.

She moved her head to look up at him and smile. “I missed you, too, Ben.”

They heard someone clear their throat behind them. “Ok, what the hell,” Paige grumbled as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. “Ben Solo, what are you doing here wrapped around Poe’s baby cousin?”

“He’s with me,” Rey answered, not leaving the comfort of his arms.

“I gathered that, but,” she stopped to think of her words, “how and why?”

Rey gave her a confused look. “Poe didn’t tell you? Ben and I are together.”

“No, he didn’t,” Paige mumbled. “I guess we’ve been a bit distracted for a while.” She adjusted her shirt over her abdomen. Even though she had a while to go before she showed she was nervous about people figuring out all the same. “How have you been, Solo?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. “It’s been, what? Like eight years since you dropped out of college?”

“You shouldn’t be drinking that strong of coffee,” he answered, still holding onto Rey. Both women shot him a glare. “What? If I know Dameron, then that’s the strongest coffee on the planet. That can’t be good for… right, I’m not supposed to know.”

“Poe left you a note,” Rey said, changing the subject, still glaring at Ben. He mouthed ‘sorry’ at her as she removed herself from his embrace.

Paige took a swig of the black swill and took the note from the counter. “You’re not to say a word of this to either of your parents, Solo,” Paige growled from behind her cup. “Or anyone else in your family for that matter.”

“I can keep a secret from them,” he chuckled. “Congratulations, by the way.”

Rey was staring at Paige, silent while the letter was read and she and Ben caught up with simple small talk. “Paige?” she started carefully. “Is that…? On your finger?”

“Right, that,” Paige scrunched her nose. “I guess he got it on me after all. We’re not engaged exactly, but you know, the press would hound us otherwise. Poe called it more of a promise ring.”

Rey scrunched her forehead in surprise. “Ah, that’s a better explanation.”

“We should get going,” Ben mumbled while looking at his watch. “It was good to see you, Tico.” Ben nodded at Paige as he ushered Rey to the door and her winter outerwear and grabbing her backpack full of clothes and toiletries from her.

“Tell Poe I said to break a leg,” Rey called as they walked through the door.

~

He brought her through the basement hallways like he would any other day, but instead of heading to the locker room to change, he walked Rey up to Phasma’s office where he had been promised Phasma would entertain her until lunch time when he’d fetch her to eat with.

But Phasma wasn’t alone in her office that morning. Hux was sitting across from her discussing a video series marketing the team as people rather than just machines Phasma had been trying to get going for years. It was obvious Hux still didn’t see the sense in them, but realized Phasma needed a little more creative outlet in order to bring in more fan participation when it came to ticket and merch sales.

“See? If someone finds themselves connecting to a particular player, they’re more inclined to purchase player-specific merch,” Phasma explained, showing Hux financial reports from multiple other teams that used similar tactics.

Hux sighed as he looked through the reports. “Alright, you can try three short videos and then I want to see the reports before I approve anything else, got it?” He stood, turning towards the door after she nodded in confirmation, to see Ben and Rey standing in the doorway. “Ren,” Hux greeted. “And who is this?”

Rey, ignoring any nervousness she was feeling, smiled brightly, “Hey, Hugs. Long time, no see.”

Hux’s face melted into an expression between rage and confusion, “Dameron?”

“Hey, Rey!” Phasma chirped from her desk. “I just need to finish a couple things up before I give you the tour.”

“Tour?” Hux sneered. “What is she doing here, Ren?”

Ben smirked, “Rey is here to watch the game tonight. As my personal guest.” Hux visibly gagged. “Oh, shut up, we’re all adults here.”

“Barely!” Hux hissed.

Rey raised her eyebrows, clearly not impressed with the old acquaintance, “You know I’m right here and can hear everything you’re saying, right, Hugs?”

“Does Dameron know about this?” Hux demanded of Ben.

“Of course Poe knows,” Rey huffed. Ben held back a smirk as Rey kept answering for him. Hux glared at Ben before walking out of the room.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Phasma said, relieving some of the tension in the room.

“I should go and make sure he doesn’t have a stroke,” Ben mentioned, squeezing Rey’s hand as he made his way back towards the door. “I’ll see you at lunch, ok?”

Rey nodded with an “Alright, see you later.” She smiled weakly at him before he felt that it was okay to leave her.

Phasma kept typing furiously. “Just one more minute, dear, and then I’m all yours for the day,” she said brightly. Rey smiled in return. “Alright, done!” Phasma rose from her desk and smoothed her outfit.

“Where can I leave my bag?” Rey questioned, not wanting to carry it with her the entire day.

“My office locks, don’t worry,” Phasma replied, taking the bag from her and setting it behind her desk.

Phasma linked her arm with Rey’s and marched her onwards through the entire arena.

~

By the time Ben came to get Rey for lunch Rey was famished. Phasma had taken her through every floor and room of the Supremacy that she had access to, including Hux’s office. That had resulted in a glared from Hux to Phasma, but no words from the cranky General Manager.

Ben had agonized over how they would spend their lunchtime. Was it too intimidating to introduce her to the team? Or would it be more romantic to take her out and spend time just the two of them?

He decided to let her choose.

“I can certainly handle your teammates,” she laughed at him.

Ben smirked, yes yes she could handle his teammates, but that didn’t always mean she would want to. But he led her down to the VIP Season Ticket Holder’s lounge located just under the concourse. It was a large and long room used for banquets and fundraisers, but also held a Cheers-like bar for the bigwigs that held special season tickets. Currently, though, it was crowded only by giant, burly men fighting over who got the last blue Gatorade in the tub of ice.

He held her hand as they entered and make a break towards the buffet table that held two different types of pasta, three types of sandwiches, and a plethora of fruits and vegetables. “Take as much as you want,” he mumbled as he handed her a plate.

“Woah, Ren!” called a voice from a few feet away. A man slightly shorter than Ben- not that that was a difficult thing to be- clapped his teammate on the back while glancing at Rey. “Who is this gorgeous creature?” he caught Rey’s unoccupied hand and brought it to his lips to kiss as a greeting.

“I’m Rey,” she said, biting back a giggle at seeing Ben’s eyes squint and darken.

“Wait, the Rey ?” He gasped looking between Ben and Rey, “So this is the lovely lady we have to thank for Ren’s sick scar!” Mitaka said loudly, gaining the attention of the rest of the room. “Well, Rey, I’m Dopheld Mitaka,” he winked at her. “It’s wonderful to make your acquaintance finally. I’ve never seen Ren in such a good mood as he has been the past month or so, even with the scar.”

Rey beamed at him and looked to Ben for confirmation. He was sulking, though, watching one of the few teammates that weren’t terrified of him hanging all over his Rey. Mitaka, knowing Ben well enough, dropped her hand lightly without even having to glance at Ben.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Dopheld,” Rey smiled as she moved towards filling her plate with food. Ben followed her as she distracted him with conversation.

Chapter Text

Ben and Rey retreated to a corner of the room where a table had been set up but nobody sat at. She could tell Ben was nervous for her to interact with the guys. Most of them were laughing at each other and joking around, but a few kept eyeing their table, trying to see if it was safe to approach.

“How was your tour?” Ben asked after he swallowed a bite.

“Confusing.”

Ben smirked at her, “Afraid you’ll get lost?”

“Yes!” Rey huffed. “This arena is huge. Whoever built it never heard of keeping things simple.”

Ben couldn’t help but chuckle, earning him a few wide-eyed glances from some choice teammates. “Neither I nor Phasma are going to let you get lost here, sweetheart,” he assured her, reaching for her hand that rested on the table.

They ate like that until their plates were clean, ignoring the rest of the room as they talked about their days thus far.

Hux watched from afar, seeing his best friend light up at the mere laugh of another. He realized that perhaps this whole thing wasn’t as terrible as it seemed. Though, he’d be damned if he had to attend a bachelor party with fucking Poe Dameron any time in the future.

~

A few hours later, Phasma guided the younger woman she was put in charge of by the man she now considered her closest friend ( how sad , she thought) from her office down to the suite they would watch the game from. Rey wore her new Knights’ Jersey while Phasma sported a black and gold skin-tight dress.

“Who all will be in the suite?” Rey asked as they reached the elevator.

“It’s usually just me and Hux,” Phasma replied. “Don’t worry, he’s supposed to be on his best behavior.” She noticed Rey wringing her wrists. “Rey, sweetie, there’s no reason to be nervous.”

“I know,” Rey sighed. “I’m just feeling out of place.”

Phasma smiled at Rey knowing exactly how to steer the conversation. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kylo smile that much in one day.”

Rey looked up at Phasma with wide eyes. “Really?”

“Really,” Phasma laughed, “I think he was freaking out the rest of the team.”

“Yeah, I kind of got that vibe from them at lunch,” Rey smirked. She was still a bit shy around the eccentric blonde.

Phasma took her around to a private entrance that led through to the Executive Suite but stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “Now, before we go in, there might be a chance that Hux and Snoke will join us. They never give me a head’s up. I can promise to keep Hux on his best behavior, but I can’t control Snoke. He is a dirty old man.”

“I work at a bar,” Rey deadpanned, “I can handle dirty old men.”

“Ahh, good, good,” Phasma said, finally turning the knob to enter.

The room was filled with comfortable recliners and a buffet table. How much money did they put into catering on game days? Rey thought to herself. She and Phasma were not alone. Hux sat in the corner with his laptop computer, typing furiously away. He didn’t look up as the two women entered the room.

“Alright, so you can choose from any seat other than the back row here,” Phasma said, gesturing to a row of three seats that had the best view of the monitors. “Just in case Snoke joins us, you know.”

“Good, I wanted the front row, anyways,” Rey smiled before rushing over to choose the chair with the best view of the ice.

Hux finally looked up from his screen. “Phasma,” he demanded her attention, “I need your opinion on something.” She walked over to glance at his screen. “Old man Snoke sent it over this afternoon.”

She considered the screen for a few moments before declaring it “atrocious” and took Hux’s laptop from him to make improvements on the graphic. “I don’t know why this man thinks he can deal in marketing, but he really needs to stop,” she complained loudly.

Rey’s attention was not being paid to the two other people in the room. Her eyes followed Ben on the ice as he warmed up with the team. It was 20 minutes to puck drop, so he and the rest of the team were shooting pucks at their starting goalie in turn. Ben didn’t yet have his helmet on, causing Rey to scrunch her nose in distaste of the manbun he was sporting to keep it out of his face. Though, she had to admit that it was kind of sweet that he kept trying, especially when it would be hidden beneath a helmet in just a few minutes.

Hux took the moment to whisper to Phasma, “So, what’s with them?”

“Why don’t you ask them ,” she shot back with a smile.

“It’s just weird,” he whispered harshly at her. “She’s a kid. Last time I saw her she was a tiny little runt, always with her nose in a book. Hell, she still is a tiny little run.”

Phasma snickered. “Armitage, are you jealous?”

“Jealous of being a pedophile?!” he gasped. “Fuck no, Phas.”

“No, of being happy with another person,” Phasma sighed. “Admit it, that cat of yours is not enough.”

“Don’t you dare,” Hux fumed. “Millie is perfection.”

“Well, why don’t you come and sit with us and get to know her,” Phasma sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “She is your supposed best friend’s girlfriend and I don’t foresee that changing any time soon.”

Hux glared at her, “You insulted my cat.”

“Hux! No one cares about your pussy,” Phasma huffed loudly, causing Rey to turn around and look at them in confusion before returning her eyes to the ice. “Come on, get a beer and enjoy the game for once.”

Hux just kept glaring at her, glancing in Rey’s direction before shutting his computer and setting it in its bag. “Fine,” he mumbled as he stood up to pour himself a drink. Instead of beer, he poured himself a scotch, neat, and then plopped himself down in the chair next to Rey.

“First rule, Baby Dameron,” he started. “Don’t call me ‘Hugs’.”

Rey didn’t even look at him, too enraptured by the figures on the ice already, “Whatever you say, Hugs.” Hux glared at her. “Oh, calm down, that was the last time.”

“You are too much like your cousin,” Hux groaned, rubbing the nape of his neck. He didn’t see Rey smirk but sipped his drink while glancing at the ice as the players vacated to their locker rooms.

“Armitage,” came a raspy voice from the doorway. All three occupants turned to see an elderly man with an entourage of well-dressed minions. Ok, 'entourage' was a bit of an overstatement for three people- two men and one woman. “I didn’t realize you would have a guest this evening,” the old man wheezed with a slick smile as he spotted Rey.

Hux stood quickly to shake the man’s withered hand. “Mr. Snoke, it’s wonderful to see you here,” he said, flustered at not having notice. “I wish I had known you were coming, I’d have arranged a different spread.”

“Ah, I won’t be staying the entire game, Armitage,” Snoke smiled a sleazy smile. “I just wanted to drop by for a period to see how the boys are faring. Ah, Phasma, my dear, how have you been? You look as lovely as ever, my dear.”

Phasma walked over and allowed Snoke to kiss her on the cheek as she shook his hand. “Mr. Snoke, what a pleasure. I’d like you to meet our Rey,” she said, dragging Rey, literally by the arm, into the conversation.

Mr. Snoke took Rey’s hand without her offering and kissed it in a supposedly chivalric manner. “Rey, such a pretty name,” he mused. “And a Kylo Ren Jersey? Are we hosting groupies now, Armitage?”

Hux spoke up, noting the terrified look in Rey’s eyes, “She and Ren have been seeing each other for...” he looked to Rey and Phasma for that answer.

“About a month and a half?” Phasma guessed, trying to do the math quickly. Rey nodded.

“Oh, the puck is about to drop,” Hux said, looking up at one of the monitors. “Rey, would you like a drink?”

“I’m not-”

“Vodka soda?” Hux urged, raising his eyebrows to let her know that he damn well knew how old she was. “Or?”

“Jack and ginger, please,” she mumbled as he ushered her back to her seat. “Is something wrong?” she asked him in a whisper.

Hux shook his head and whispered back: “Nothing for you to worry about.”

Snoke and his groupies, who had yet to utter a word, took up their seats in the back row, where Phasma had told her not to sit while Hux played bartender to the four of them before bringing Rey her illegal drink. Phasma sat next to Rey, pulling out an iPad to sketch out her schedule for the week.

“Here,” Hux said behind Rey, thrusting a glass into her hand and went back to sit with his boss.

Phasma snickered, “The worst is over. You earned that drink.”

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, tracking the puck closely.

“I mean just drink,” Phasma snapped lightly, ending the conversation before it could take off and get her into trouble. “Jesus, Kylo is on point today.”

Ben was clearly showing off early in the game, making Rey smirk at Phasma’s comment. It reminded her of what Luke and Ben Sr. had said in the Rebels Suite what seemed like ages ago: Ben was peacocking. He powered through a breakaway, scoring the first goal of the game in less than four minutes in. Very little celebration happened in the suite, though, with just Rey jumping out of her seat and Phasma cheering but saving the drink in her hand from spilling.

Hux, who was now sitting with his boss and his assistants, raised an eyebrow at the enthusiasm both women gave off, trying very hard to hide a smirk at how into the game Phasma was getting. She’d never been one to watch the games closely, usually choosing to work on her computer along with him or chatting up whatever bigwigs were visiting that particular evening, but seemed to have caught the bug while sitting with Rey.

“Armitage,” Snoke said with his greasy voice leaning over one of his assistants to speak to the redhead, “tell me about this girl.”

Hux was caught off guard. “What do you mean, sir?”

“I mean where is she from? What does she do?” Snoke seemed to look her up and down as she jumped out of her seat again, yelling at the refs for an unfair call. “Is she a golddigger?”

“I-I don’t know that much, sir,” Hux answered untruthfully. “But I don’t think she’s a golddigger.”

Snoke pursed his lips and squinted towards Rey and Phasma. “She is of legal age, at least, right? I don’t need a sex scandal when it comes to my star player, Armitage.”

“Yes, yes, she’s twenty, I believe,” Hux answered quickly, trying to remember for sure.

“Ah, good. But refrain from getting minors drunk in my arena, Armitage,” Snoke sneered before returning to his assistants chatting about some nonsense that Hux couldn’t be bothered with.

Instead, Hux stood up to refresh his glass, excusing himself. As he was refilling his glass with scotch Phasma snuck up behind him to get her own glass of wine. “How much longer is he planning on staying?” she asked him quietly.

“He said one period, and it’s almost over,” Hux droned. “But you know the man is unpredictable.”

Phasma nodded in agreement as she took a swig from her refreshed glass. “You know, I had no idea hockey could be this much fun.”

“It’s not fun, Phasma,” Hux deadpanned. “It’s a job. Jobs aren’t fun.”

“Who hurt you, Huxy?” Phasma asked, placing a hand on his shoulder that he shrugged off. “I mean, I’ve stalked your mom enough to see the baby photos on Facebook. You used to smile.”

Hux glared at her and walked away, not gracing her with an answer as she cackled her way back to where she and Rey were enjoying the game.

~

The third period was about to begin. Snoke and his cronies had left just as the second period began, allowing the other three occupants of the suite to breathe. Rey decided not to ask questions of Hux and Phasma, but to wait until she could talk with Ben.

Knights were winning 4-1, the one being a power-play goal while Ben was in the box. Rey thought it was funny how he put up a fight over his blatant high-sticking. The petulant child Kylo Ren was showing through now that he was in his element.

“Hey, Rey,” Phasma started, “Hux and I need to head down to head off the press in a few minutes. You’re more than welcome to come with us, or you can stay here.”

Rey thought for a moment. “I’ll come with you,” she decided.

“Are you sure?” Phasma asked, looking her new friend in the eye. “They might put two-and-two together. Are you ready for that?”

“I don’t see why not,” Rey smiled.

Chapter Text

Rey had never been subjected to the press. She always managed to keep a low profile since no one ever paid much attention to family members that didn’t actually play the sport. She had experienced the frenzy after a game while waiting for Poe to drive her home but had never been involved. And she expected this time to be similar.

The game was not over yet when the three reached the interview staging area. Reporters were already lined up, paying more attention to their phones, or in one reporter’s case a pad of paper, going over the questions they could be asking. Phasma stepped forward to make sure they were where they were supposed to be, no further.

Hux made a detour into the locker room for a few moments, leaving Rey to her own devices for a few moments. She took the moment to send Rose a SnapChat to keep their streak from breaking. Rose returned it immediately, probably not realizing Rey had a half view of Finn’s underwear hanging off the end of Rose’s bed. Rey left it alone, not wanting to hear the details of that quite yet.

“Rey, dear,” Phasma called her over. “Can I get your opinion on something?”

Rey looked up from her phone to see Phasma trying to move a barrier. “Sure.”

“Ms. Miller,” one of the reporters addressed Phasma. “Who is this with you?” It was rare that anyone other than Knights employees were hanging around behind the scenes at Supremacy Arena.

Rey and Phasma shared a look. “This is my friend, Rey,” she answered. “She’s my personal guest this evening.”

The rest of the reporters, there were six in total, gained interest. “You look familiar,” another one squinted at her. “Where do I know you from?”

“Nowhere,” Rey answered, not wanting to chat with them. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her dating life out in the open, it was that she wasn’t used to such attention paid to her.

“Wait, I know you!” a female reporter screeched. “I’ve seen you with the Rebels. With Poe Dameron.”

Rey sighed, but Phasma stepped in. “This entire conversation is off the record, or else you’re out of here. Yes, even you NBC,” she snapped at the one female reporter. They all glared at the blonde amazon as a couple had their tape recorders at the ready. “Rey is a friend of the team and not your gossip fodder.”

“Really, Ms. Miller, you’d think you would want more press,” the woman snipped.

“While I do run with the philosophy that there is no such thing as bad press, I must respect friends and family of the team that do not wish to have their names and faces plastered on celebrity gossip columns.” At that, Phasma grabbed Rey’s arm and marched her into the locker room. “Alright, this was a bad idea, but I can’t take you all the way up to the suite, let alone my office, right now.”

“What should I do, then?” Rey asked, trying to figure out why Phasma was so upset. “I don’t mind answering their questions. There’s nothing wrong with me enjoying another team’s game, is there?”

Phasma’s brow wrinkled. “Not really, but I think that’s a decision you and Kylo need to make together.” Phasma looked around the room for a moment searching for Hux. “They won’t want us in here until after everyone has changed, so…” she trailed off, thinking aloud.

“How about I wait here until the game is over, and then step out and hide behind someone while they’re giving interviews?” Rey tried.

“Yeah, I guess that’s probably the best. Unless you want to hang out in the gym next door,” Phasma snickered. “I must warn you, though, it wreaks.”

“I’m good with option one, thanks,” Rey snorted.

Phasma glanced at her phone, “Game should be over in just a minute, so you shouldn’t have to wait long. Kylo’s locker is right over there,” she pointed it out. “Steal his underwear while you’re here. He’d probably murder me if I did it, but you?” she cackled as she strode out of the room leaving Rey to her own devices.

Rey walked over to the locker she had been directed to. ‘K. Ren” was printed in a plaque above the alcove and she ran her fingers over it. Instead of searching through his belongings, she sat down on the bench in front of the locker and snapped another photo to send to Rose later when hopefully she didn’t have company.

The horn announced through the speakers in the room, signaling that the game had come to an end and that she should high tail it out of there before the room was taken over by massive hockey beasts. But she didn’t move. She wanted to see Ben as he came off the ice.

The rest of the team piled in, including Hux. Rey received odd looks from everyone aside from Hux. Ben was the last to enter the room, stopping short a few feet in front of his locker and smiling at the girl that was waiting for him. “What are you doing in here?” he asked, trying to keep his joy in control.

“Oh, I just wanted to sneak a look while I was here, you know before you manage to murder me,” she laughed, saying the last part low enough so only he could hear their little joke. “I guess I should head out to the hall.”

“Wait, Rey,” he said, holding onto her arm. He bent down a kissed her full on the lips to the sound of Mitaka and a few other teammates whooping at their PDA. “I’ll see you out there in a few minutes.” She nodded and bounded out of the room as the rest of the team began to strip from their jerseys and pads.

Hux held the door open for her and he followed her out to watch Coach Krennic’s interview. “Stick with me until Ren is done,” he said lowly.

Watching the sports journalists press Krennic for gossip about stats and how he thought the team was doing so far this year was exactly the same as when she would see Ackbar give his interviews after a game. Vague answers and beating around the bush was all coaches were good for in most interviews.

Rey could see Phasma standing behind the line of the press, making sure they weren’t asking out of line questions or getting too close to the interviewee. While Phasma seemed like an insane woman about 70% of the time, Rey had to admit that the woman did her job really well, especially for being a one-woman show for the most part. She watched Krennic’s interview for a few minutes until Ben made his way out, seeking Rey rather than the cameras.

He came over and made small talk with Hux while seeking out Rey’s hand to give it a squeeze behind the redhead’s back. She smiled at him and squeezed back.

“I’ll just be a few minutes, and then we can go home,” Ben said to her before dropping her hand to head up to take Krennic’s place. Rey nodded in response, though Ben could not see her.

Hux looked back at her with a quirked eyebrow. “You’ve domesticated him,” he sneered. “How quaint.”

“Jealous, Hux?” Rey snapped back. He raised his other eyebrow and returned to watching the interview.

“Kylo, you were on a roll tonight,” the female reporter started. “What got you all fired up?”

Ben scratched the back of his neck and smirked, “It was just a good game,” he tried.

“Are you sure it doesn’t have anything to do with Poe Dameron’s cousin?” she shot back. Ben sought Rey’s eyes for permission only to see her shrug in consent.

“Perhaps,” Ben smiled back at her as he answered.

“How does this feed into the rivalry between the Knights and the Rebels?” another reporter jumped in.

Ben shrugged, “It doesn’t. It shouldn’t. What happens on the ice stays on the ice.”

“But wasn’t there old animosity between the two of you?”

“If there was, it’s not the public’s business,” he shot. “I’m here to talk about the game, not my personal life.”

Phasma stepped in and signaled to the cameras and reporters that they needed to wrap it up- or else- and the questions returned to the game. All asinine questions that Ben couldn’t answer without sounding like an idiot, as was the norm with sports reporters that truly don’t understand the game.  

“Do you feel that the whole team was lifted by your… enthusiasm for the game tonight?”

“Kylo, that high sticking penalty killed your chance of a shut-out. What will you do differently next game?”

“What do you plan to do now that your starting goalie is on the injury list?”

Rey couldn’t help but roll her eyes and scoff, causing Hux to snicker in solidarity. “You don’t have to listen to them after every single game, Little Dameron.”

“No, but once a week is more than enough for me, Hugs,” she growled back low enough for no one else to hear the annoying nickname.

“Alright, that’s a wrap,” Phasma shouted as soon as the cameras were off. “Move it!” The journalists sneered and glared at her, irritated they couldn’t get more gossip out of them.

The female journalist didn’t leave, though, she sauntered over towards the exit and motioned for her cameraman to go wait in the car while she pulled out her fancy iPhone and began typing.

Phasma watched her closely. “Hux,” she motioned for him. “Can I get your opinion on something?” Hux just rolled his eyes and strode over to his employee. They began whispering to each other, pretending to look busy. Rey noticed Hux glance back at the reporter before he walked over to a security guard.

Ben had retreated to the locker room quickly to grab his things, emerging merely a minute later taking Rey’s hand as he snuck up behind her.

“Let’s go home,” he whispered into her ear as she watched Hux and the guard walk over to where the reporter was inconspicuously taking photos. “Hux has that handled, sweetheart.”

“What is she doing?” Rey asked.

Ben snorted, “Trying to get a scandalous photo of us to either drop in a few minutes or sell to the highest bidder.”

“Oh,” Rey’s nose scrunched. “We shouldn’t let her down, should we?”

She could feel Ben smile against her scalp, “You might give Hux a heart attack.”

Rey turned to him and smiled wickedly. “All the more reason, Kylo.” At that, she pulled him down to her level and into a deep kiss.

“Miss Netal!” Hux yelled as the reporter jumped around the security guard trying to get a photo. “We will have you removed if you do not leave of your own accord!”

Rey and Ben couldn’t help but laugh at the ginger as they broke apart to watch the aftermath of their kiss. “Let’s get out of here,” Ben announced. “Are you hungry?”

“Is that actually a question?” Rey deadpanned.

~

Poe was arriving home, sore from a brutal game against the Eagles. The Rebels had won, but not without a fight. Paige had promised to meet him at the apartment, having not gone to the game as she had planned thanks to another fun bought of morning sickness. Stepping back into the relationship seemed seamless thus far. He gave her her key back the night before and she his to her apartment.

So, when he walked in, he found her curled up on the couch with Chinese take-out set up on the coffee table, ready for Poe when he arrived. The sound of the door immediately alerting Bebe to Poe’s arrival and the cat jumped from his spot on Paige’s lap to greet his human.

“Hey, Buddy,” he cooed. “Are you taking care of Paige?” He scratched the cat’s chin in praise. Picking the cat up, he made eye contact with Paige and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she replied with a shy smile. “You played great tonight.”

“It was a rough game,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

Paige stuck her tongue out in response, scrunching her nose.

“That good, huh?” he snickered as he plopped himself onto the couch beside her. “Did you eat? Are you hungry?”

“I was waiting for you,” she said, reaching for the vegetable fried rice and a fork for quicker consumption. She started shoveling the rice into her mouth as soon as he picked up a container of sweet and sour chicken.

They ate in silence for a few moments, ESPN playing on the TV as they ate.

“So,” Paige started. “Rey and Solo?” She stared at him expectantly.

Poe sighed, “Yeah, that’s a thing now.”

“It didn’t look like merely a thing this morning or during his interview after the Knights game,” she commented. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look that… friendly?” Poe choked on his chicken. “I don’t mean THAT way. I meant the fact that he smiled on camera when they were asking about her.”

“Aww our Benny’s in love,” Poe cooed, snorting at his own words.

“It sounds decently serious if he’s willing to talk about her to the press,” Paige mused. “Are you okay with it?”

“I can’t tell her who to date, Paige,” Poe said. “And the more he’s around, the more I see that they’re actually good for each other. Plus, Rey’s physically humbled him a bit.”

Paige shot him a confused look, “how so?”

Poe made a motion with his finger down his left cheek, smirking.

“No!” Paige gasped. “Rey did that?!”

“Yes, indeed, my little cousin marked the fearsome Kylo Ren,” Poe laughed. “He tried taking her ice skating.” Paige burst out laughing. “And he’s stayed with her, so I can’t hate the guy anymore.”

The two finished their grossly late dinners while chatting about things that had happened in the past two months, catching up amicably the rest of the evening before they retired for the night.

Chapter Text

January was quickly coming to a close. Rey had no idea how her ‘Got You Day’ had snuck up on her. Usually, it was a day that she looked forward to constantly, counting down to January 30th as soon as the ball in New York dropped. Her father, uncle, and Poe would lavish her in gifts and events each year, but so far there had been radio silence which only made Rey suspicious.

But she was too caught up in school work and the flurry of a new romance to question them too much. Poe was distracted himself, too, and she couldn’t blame him. Paige was over at the apartment almost every day even if she wasn’t there to spend the night. Things were externally back to normal at the Dameron Apartment now that he and Paige were working through things, just with the addition of Ben every now and then.

Now that Paige was around more in the past week, Rey had taken to spending more time at Ben’s apartment. And Ben was highly enjoying it, especially when she spent the night with him. He hadn’t pushed her any further since she asked him to take things slow, but it still didn’t deter him from enjoying waking up with her in his arms. Ben didn’t think he could ever get used to it.

That morning on her makeshift birthday, she woke up exactly there: in his arms with his face buried in her neck, puffing hot air down her back as he slept soundly. Rey smirked at how needy and vulnerable he looked as he slept, wrapped around her as if his life depended on it. His arms were tight around her middle as if to keep her as close to him as possible and he crowded her on her side of the bed.

As tempting as it was to fall back to sleep right then, Rey’s bladder had another idea. Carefully peeling his arms from her, Rey slid out of bed, trying to not disturb the giant man. Ben grunted at the loss of heat. He woke up slightly and opened his eyes to track Rey as she padded towards the en-suite.

“Where are you going?” he mumbled startling her. She turned to look at him and smiled.

“I’m just using the bathroom,” she whispered back. “I’ll be right back.” He grumbled in reply as she closed to door behind her.

A few minutes later, Rey grabbed her phone from the dresser as she passed it on the way back to bed to check for messages. Ben was waiting for her, sitting against the headboard, shirtless as he had been as they slept. In his hand was a small, long box with a bow on it.

“I didn’t mean for you to wake up,” she frowned at him as she climbed onto the bed once again.

He just smirked at her and leaned over to kiss her good morning. “Happy Birthday,” he whispered against her lips as he began to pull away.

“It’s not my birthday,” she fought, smirking and raising her eyebrow.

“Sorry,” he snickered. “Happy Got-You-Day.” She smiled back at him in appreciation. “Are gifts allowed on such occasions?” He waved the box in front of her and she wrinkled her nose at his antics.

“Depends.”

“On?”

“How much it cost,” she said, grabbing it from him. She slowly opened the box, revealing a small silver necklace. It was a basic, delicate chain with a dainty silver sun pendant resting in the middle of the dark blue velvet of the box. Rey’s mouth dropped. “It’s gorgeous, Ben,” she whispered.

“Here,” he said, taking it out of her hands and unclasping it from the box. “Can I?” Rey pulled her unbrushed morning hair out of the way and Ben moved in to wrap it around her neck before he clasped it back together and straightened it around her neck. “Beautiful,” he breathed as he kissed the sensitive spot right below her ear.

Rey melted against the hot touch of his lips. She whimpered as he continued down her neck, his hands falling from the back of her neck to graze her shoulders and arms before grasping her hands. “Thank you, Ben,” she said lowly, trying to keep from moaning the words. “It’s perfect.”

“Mmmm, no, you’re perfect, Babydoll,” he said, muffled by her shoulder as he nuzzled into her.

“And you’re incredibly cheesy,” she replied wistfully.

Ben pulled back to smirk at her, “And you love it.” Rey could only roll her eyes at him and lightly push his shoulder in jest. “Alright, how about you go get ready for the day and I’ll go make breakfast?”

“Why not the other way around?” Rey asked. “Since, you know, you take longer to get ready than I do.” Ben rolled his eyes at her as he moved to the edge of the bed to put his feet on the floor.

“Because that’s now how today is going to work, Sweetheart,” Ben said as he tossed a pillow towards her.

Rey sighed after batting the pillow away from her head. “You’re impossible, Ben.” He just smirked as he left the room, still in just his pajama pants and nothing else.

Rey finally took the moment to check her phone, expecting her family to be blowing up her phone.

And she was correct, for as soon as she went to unlock her phone, it began to ring with her father’s ringtone- the percussive beginning to“My Sharona”.

“Hi, Dad,” she beamed at the phone, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Erix’s pixelated voice sounded through the speaker. “It’s not too early, is it? I didn’t know if you and Ben had anything planned for the day.”

“No, you’re right on time,” she laughed. “We just woke up. I’ve been ordered to get ready, though while he makes me breakfast.”

“This kid is sounding better and better every time you talk about him,” Erix mused. “Are you sure you two wouldn’t want to move back in with me if he’s going to continue to make you food constantly?”

“Extremely sure, Dad,” Rey faked annoyance. “You’re still coming to dinner, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it, Sunshine. But, I should get going now and let you get ready for whatever that boy has planned for you.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tonight,” she said as she padded towards the bathroom once again, this time taking a set of clothes with her.

“Happy Got-You-Day, Rey,” he said before hanging up.

~

Ben had made her bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast and it was perfect. Rey didn’t want fancy all the time, so a quick breakfast before they hit the road for the day was perfect.

“Rey?” Ben called from his closet. “Have you seen-” She cut him off by handing him the dark grey sweater he had been searching for. “Thank you,” he grumbled in his frustration. Her arm disappeared from the doorway as he shrugged into the garment. “Are you ready?” he called, running his fingers through his hair one last time before heading out.

“I’ve been ready for over an hour,” came her taunting response. He quirked his eyebrows at her as he left his walk-in in an unamused look, making Rey snicker. “Don’t take this the wrong way because I adore it, but you know you dress like a college professor, right?”

Ben looked at himself in the mirror. He wore the grey sweater over a white button-up shirt that was tucked into his dark wash jeans. His glasses were hiding in the left breast pocket of his shirt, too. “Damnit,” he grumbled, taking in both his outfit and her words. “I guess Han had more of an effect on me than I thought.”

“Yeah, but on you it’s sexy,” she laughed as she spun him around to kiss him. “And I’ve never seen your father wear a sweater with felted elbows.”

“I guess,” he mumbled, frowning. “We should get going or else we’re going to be late.”

“Late for what?” she asked, hoping to get the answer out of him.

“Everything,” he coyly answered. “Let’s go.” He quickly walked out to grab his coat and put his shoes on. Rey followed him carrying her purse, quickly slipping into her shoes and coat before Ben even had his shoes tied.

~

He took her to the art museum. Lunch was hot and gooey from a local diner Ben frequented. They walked along the paved and plowed walkways of the park downtown. It was just a perfect day all around, but it was far from over.

They had planned to meet her father for dinner. Rey had already met Han and Leia and Erix had asked (repeatedly) when he’d see his girl next. Ben had suggested it for this particular evening, already earning points in Erix’s book.

But what Ben hadn’t disclosed was the rest of the guest list.

They arrived at an upscale bar and grille downtown. “Are you sure I’m not under-dressed?” Rey double checked, weary about her jeans, sweater, and sporty snow boots meant for hiking combination. She felt as if she should be wearing a dress to go into this fancy of a restaurant.

“You look perfect,” he tried to soothe her with an arm around her shoulder. “Come on, I’m sure you’re hungry.” As if on cue, her stomach grumbled, making Ben smirk.

“Oh, shut up,” she snapped at his smugness.

The restaurant they walked into was dimly lit with small chandeliers over each table. A bar divided the building into two separate wings. Ben led her to the left without talking to the hostess that was at her podium. They found her father at a large table, far too large for just the three of them.

Erix stood up to hug Rey as soon as he saw them walk through the room. “Hey, kid,” he greeted as he pulled her in tightly.

“Hi, Dad,” she said, voice muffled against his shoulder.

Ben held out his hand for Erix to shake. “Dad, this is Ben,” Rey introduced.

“Ah, yes, Ben Solo,” her father smiled at him. “It’s good to finally meet you after all I’ve heard.”

“Dad, I’ve barely told you about him,” Rey countered.

Erix smirked as they all sat down, not saying anything as he opened a menu. Ben raised his eyebrows, silently telling Rey ‘Yeah, but your cousin probably told his father who then told his brother.’ Rey rolled her eyes.

“So,” she started, ignoring the insinuation. “What’s with the huge table?”

Erix continued to smirk and stay silent. Ben, however, shrunk back from her, “I may have invited a few more people?”

“Like?”

Ben sighed, “This was supposed to be a surprise.”

“And do you remember how well the last surprise went?” Rey countered.

“Yeah, but this one doesn’t involve sharp blades,” Ben mumbled.

Erix sighed, set his menu down, and looked at his daughter. “Sunshine, it’s just us, your cousin, and a few friends. Nothing big.”

“And my parents,” Ben grumbled. “They heard somehow and Leia wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Rey snickered. “Poe was probably talking about it or something, then.”

“Ah, speak of the Devil,” Ben sighed.

“Rey, dear!” they heard from the entrance. “Happy Birthday!” came Leia’s voice. She was making her way towards the table with Han who carried balloons. He looked like he would love to be doing anything but carrying balloons. “Oh, we’re so glad to see you outside of work,” Leia gushed as she hugged Rey first before patting Ben on the cheek adoringly.

“Thanks for being here, I had no idea you were going to be here,” Rey laughed. “Are those for me, Han?” she asked, knowing he was looked for a reason to set them down. Or on fire. Why did Leia insist on such pageantry?

The older man looked relieved to be free of the balloons finally. “Happy Birthday, kid.”

Poe, Paige, and Rose weren’t too far behind them, all bringing noise and smiles and, in Poe and Rose’s case, gifts for Rey.

The table of people was loud, dominating the restaurant with their boisterous laughing and chatting. Erix and Poe told embarrassing stories of Rey’s childhood with them, Ben cutting in here and there during Poe’s retellings with his own memories (“Your kool-aid smile changed color every time I saw you” or “I remember that stuffed animal- looked more like a potato than a puffin!”) and Rey was enjoying every minute of it.

Chapter Text

The next month and a half passed by in a blur for everyone. Rey was happier than she’d been in a long time. Ben would take her out, try to spoil her as much as she would let him, though the only thing she normally allowed was fancy food now and then.

Once they announced, Poe and Paige were constantly hounded by their families for details and updates. They had been nervous for no real reason. Kes was over the moon about the idea of being a grandfather that he barely gave Poe any shit about their timing. Leia had offered to help Rose with the shower almost immediately after hearing the good news from Holdo. The Tico’s weren’t exactly ecstatic with how everything played out, but they, too, couldn’t help but be excited.

Rey and Ben had kept to their routine, enjoying the privacy they got in return for giving Poe and Paige theirs.

Ben kept thinking about the arrangement and how a baby would change it in just a few months. He kept toying with an idea, hoping that perhaps he wasn’t being too forward when he finally got the gumption to ask.

But playoffs were about to begin in the next month. Tensions between the two teams were rising, at least so the media said. Rey and Ben’s relationship was a hot subject throughout the hockey community. Is she still in contact with her family? Why would Kylo Ren date a Legacy Rebel (because the press was still out of the loop on the whole ‘Ben Solo is Kylo Ren’ thing)? Hux made Ben swear that he wouldn’t be seen in public with “fucking Dameron”.

“Which one?” Ben asked smugly.

“You bloody know which fucking one, Ren!” Hux shouted. Ben thought the man was going to burst a vein in his forehead, so he let it go from there. Best not to torture the person he considered his best friend, aside from the one that warmed his bed almost every night of course.

But something else had been bothering Ben lately.

“My contract is up this year,” Ben mentioned on another occasion.

Hux’s eyebrow raised as he sat in front of his computer. “You know you’re set here until retirement, Ren.”

“I know,” Ben sighed.

“Are you asking for more money?”

“No,” Ben thought. “I’ve been thinking-”

“I don’t pay you to think.”

“-about early retirement.”

Hux finally looked up from his screen. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Ben sighed. “I’m not happy, Hux,” he admitted. “I haven’t enjoyed playing in a few years now.”

“Who the hell cares if you’re happy! No one is happy at their job,” Hux countered.

The two men stared at each other for a few minutes.

“How much money?” Hux finally asked. “Whatever you want, Ren.”

Ben groaned, “I don’t want money, Hux. I have more than enough money as it is.” Hux rolled his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about going back and finishing my degree."

“I fucking knew Dameron’s cousin was going to get to you,” Hux snapped.

Ben snapped at the mention of Rey. “She’s got nothing to do with this. I’ve been toying with the idea for a year or so now, waiting for my contract to be up.”

“And what will you do with a fucking degree? A degree in what, at that? You barely finished your gen eds,” Hux spat.

“At first I thought about sports marketing-” Hux snorted at that, knowing Ben wouldn’t want to work with the public like that “-but realized how much I would hate to be in Phasma’s spot. I’m still working on it, but I don’t have to decide right away, not that it’s really any of your business.”

Hux rubbed his temples in irritation. “Snoke is going to kill me, you know. Losing his star player? No, he’ll do worse than kill me, he’ll fire me.”

“You’re such a drama queen,” Ben sighed. “He damn well knows you can’t make me sign a fucking contract.”

“You think that matters to him?” Hux laughed incredulously.

“Hux, I’m going to be late,” Ben said, glancing at his watch.

“Fine, but we’re not done here,” Hux warned, calling after Ben as he walked out of the office.

~

March meant more than just playoff prep for Rey. It also meant midterms were approaching. As a literature student, exams were not the norm, instead, professors opted to engage their students with large critical essays, and Rey was already feeling the pressure from all three of her classes.

She sat on the floor in front of Ben as they watched a late night show, her laptop sitting on the sturdy coffee table in front of her. She had books and journals everywhere, highlights and scribbles all over the papers.

The closing monologue ended on the show, prompting Ben to get ready for bed. “Sweetheart, you should get some sleep,” he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I guess,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut to rewet them. “I just wanted to get this outlined.”

“It will still be there in the morning,” he soothed. “You still have a couple weeks.”

“Yeah, but a couple weeks for three ten-page papers?” she snorted. “That aren’t even outlined yet?"

“But if you come to bed, I could rub your neck and back,” he whispered in her ear.

Rey whipped her head around to smile mischievously at him. “Ben Solo, are you trying to get my shirt off?”

He replied simply with a smirk. “Come on,” he nudged her to stand up so he could as well. “It’s bedtime.”

She piled up her papers, attempting to clean the space up. Ben stopped her as he stood up and directed her towards the bedroom. “You’re so bossy,” she grumbled, trying to move more papers and place bookmarks as she passed them.

He hummed behind her. She could feel his chest vibrate behind her as he steered her shoulders away from her work that was literally scattered throughout the apartment. Normally Ben kept the place immaculate, never having the patience for a mess. But with Rey it was different. The place felt like a home when she was around, leaving random things in random places- though, the hairbrush on the kitchen counter had been a line she crossed. Luckily he didn’t have to say anything, his gagging at finding a hair in a pot of gravy enough to warn her to keep her shedding out of the food prepping area.

Once they were finally in the bedroom, Ben attacked the back of her neck with light kisses and wrapped his arms around her waist so that she couldn’t escape. Not that she wanted to. Rey leaned into him, running her own hands over his.

Suddenly, Rey turned herself around in his arms and reached up to kiss him soundly. He went on to deepen the kiss as he slid his hands down to cup her behind. Her arms flew up around his neck and he took the chance to hoist her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as they kissed each other urgently.

Rey could feel Ben’s excitement through his jeans as she sought friction by grinding herself against him. He let out a deep moan at her movements and walked her over to the bed, but did not let her down. Instead, he attacked her neck with his lips and tongue.

“Ben,” she moaned, taking in every sensation that was shooting through her skin straight to her bones.

Ben could feel how her skin was heating against his lips. He didn’t have to pull back to see her how her face flushed, but he did anyway if only to hear her whimper as he took her in. She seized the moment to pull her t-shirt off, partially to spark him further but also because her skin was on fire. As soon as she was free of the garment, Ben let out a feral groan making Rey smile brightly up at him as he let her down to set on the bed while he removed his own shirt.

He pounced on her as soon as his chest was bare, pulling her further onto the bed as he climbed on top of her. Rey let out a small squeal as Ben hitched his arm around the small of her back to drag her with him.

“You okay?” he asked as he kissed and nibbled her collarbone.

“Yes, why?” she stopped to look down at him. He shrugged and sat on his haunches to trail kisses down her torso. Making it to her navel he nibbled on the soft skin under it causing her to gasp. Her hands ran through his hair, egging him on further.

His fingers moved to pull down her yoga pants, looking up at her to see if there would be any protest from her. Rey had her eyes trained on him, her chest rising and falling with her anticipation.

Ben slowly pulled off her underwear along with with the pants, kissing along her left thigh as he went. Soon only her nude bra remained. Rey sat up to meet him, pulling him into a deep kiss filled with nips and moans and gasps. She found herself on her back again, Ben grinding into her still with his jeans on.

“Ben,” she hissed as his zipper scraped her stomach. “Ben, stop.”

He immediately ceased all movement. “Too fast?” he asked, scared that he had pushed her too far. Ever since she asked to go slow, he would catch himself before too much clothing had been disrobed.

She shook her head, “No, take your pants off!”

He paused for a moment, taking in what she said, almost not believing he heard her correctly. “Oh!” he hopped up and, rather haphazardly, pulled the offending garment off, leaving his boxer briefs in place just in case.

“No, those, too,” Rey demanded from the bed. “If I’m completely naked, you have to be, too.”

Ben smirked at her as he pulled the last of his clothes off. “Better?”

She hummed in appreciation, having sat up to watch him strip better. She reached out and wrapped her hand around him, gently tugging to tell him she wanted him closer and he obliged quickly returning his lips to hers.

“Rey,” he moaned in her ear as she kept her hand on him, caressing him as he ran his hand through her hair, pulling it loose from messy bun she had sported all day. “You’re so beautiful, Sweetheart.”

“And you’re incredibly cheesy, Ben,” she snickered as his breath tickled her ear.

“And you love it,” he laughed with her as he pulled her into his arms, unintentionally forcing her to stop her movements on him. He kissed her temple before resting on his elbow. “As much as I’d love to continue, I’ve been thinking about something.”

“Okay?” Rey pushed, confused, worried that she’d done something wrong. Ben kissed her and adjusted so he wasn’t right on top of her anymore. Both sensing her worry and being unable to keep his hands off of her, he started drawing patterns on her skin starting at her shoulder and continuing south over her breasts.

“My contract is up at the end of this year,” he started. Rey relaxed, realizing it wasn’t entirely about their relationship. “And I was thinking about not resigning.”

Her eyes bugged, turning to look straight at him. “What?”

“I’ve been toying with the idea of finishing my degree,” he explained. “And I’ve had enough of playing for the Knights. I just think it’s time to move on.”

“Are you sure, Ben?”

He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it for the past year and seeing how hard you’ve been working for your degree and, you know, realizing this part of my life isn’t as fulfilling as others anymore-” he said all in one breath, quickly sucking in another “- I want to be Ben Solo again, not Kylo Ren.”

Rey smiled at him, cupping his cheek with her hand to bring him close to her in order to peck him on the lips. “If it’s what you really want, I’m in full support.”

Ben smiled at her, beaming. “I don’t deserve you, you know,” he snickered before kissing her again.

“Oh, hush,” she mumbled against his lips.

He quickly found the edge of the sheet and blanket underneath them and lifted her to turn down the bed. “Come here,” he said, positioning her without much of her help. She laid against the pillows and he kissed down her body, only stopping once he reached her thighs. He looked up at her with a mischievous look and asked “May I?”

Nodding, Rey sucked in a nervous breath and let him part her legs to lick and suck on her most delicious parts.

Chapter Text

Rey woke up the next morning alone, Ben had left for the rink hours before. He had left coffee in a thermos on the counter for her, still piping hot, as well as a note reminding her not only that he wished she had a wonderful day, but also that he would see her tonight and that she should avoid being late to the arena after class.

Her phone buzzed as she poured herself a bowl of cereal to accompany the coffee. Who would be calling her at 7 in the morning? She thought bitterly.

“Hello?” she answered without looking at the caller ID, eyes still bleary from sleep and voice still gravely from snoring in Ben’s ear all night.

“Rey, darling!” boomed Leia’s voice from the other end of the line. “I didn’t wake you, did I? I’m so sorry, I assumed you were an early riser like Poe and Ben and the rest of them. Goodness knows I still am thanks to having to get Ben to the rink so early in the morning all of his childhood. I could never get Han to take him.”

Rey fought back a groan at her cousin’s boss and boyfriend’s mother being so damn perky this early in the morning. “No, it’s fine, Leia, I just haven’t had my coffee yet.”

“Oh, good, I was wondering if we could have a chat, you, me and Rose sometime this week,” continued Leia’s assault on Rey’s exhausted ears. “We have a baby shower to plan, you know.”

“Right, I think I can come into the arena tomorrow before work?” she guessed, her planner being in the next room and her too lazy to fetch it.

“Perfect!” boomed Leia’s voice. “I’ll order us lunch! How about noon?”

“That sounds lovely,” Rey responded. She stared at her coffee lovingly, unintentionally ignoring most of what the matriarch was saying.

On the other end of the line, Leia began chatting happily about themes and ideas while Rey made agreeable noises while she sipped the black nectar. “Alright, dear, I’ll let you get back to your morning,” Leia finally let up. “I’ll see you tomorrow at noon at the arena.”

“Alright,” Rey responded, snapping out of her daydream of soaking in a hot tub of coffee. “See you tomorrow.”

~

Rey barely made it to the Supremacy in time for puck drop, still dressed in her yoga pants and baggy grey sweater. Phasma was waiting for her at the employee entrance, holding the door open for her. “You’re late, you’re late for a very important date,” she sang as Rey ran to the door.

“I know, I know” she huffed. “I needed to talk to my instructor about a paper after class and she wouldn’t stop talking about my use of a single semi-colon.”

Phasma raised an eyebrow, trying to not laugh. “How… punctual.”

Rey’s eyes rolled as she tossed her car keys into her backpack and pulled out her Knights’ jersey. “How long until puck drop?”

“About twenty minutes,” Phasma answered, looking at her phone. “We can make it to see the anthem if we take the service elevator.”

“Alright, hold on,” Rey paused their quick shuffling. She dropped her bag and jersey and ripped her sweater over her head, revealing a skimpy camisole and no bra.

“Well, I didn’t know we would be privy to a peep show this evening,” came a silky snide voice. Rey’s head jerked up to see a player from tonight’s opposing team looking her up and down, his teammates walking past him and avoiding eye contact. “Isn’t Ren a lucky jackass.”

Before Rey could say anything, Phasma was on the goon. “Would you like a sexual harassment suit on your record, Jorgen? Because I could make that happen real quick. I’ve got plenty of witnesses to bury your ass.”

The giant in bulky padding sneered at her and kept walking down the hall with the rest of his team in full gear. Rey could have sworn she heard him call both women “bitches” under his breath, but she couldn’t be sure.

Rey quickly pulled the jersey on to cover herself from further gaze. “Are you alright?” Phasma asked once the hallway was empty of all other beings. Rey nodded, picking up her backpack. “Because I wasn’t lying,” Phasma said seriously, “I’m not okay with that sort of shit. Asshole players thinking they’re fucking Gods and can take whatever the fuck they want.”

“Let’s just drop it,” Rey waved it off. “If he hasn’t learned his lesson, then we’ll figure something out.”

Phasma frowned but nodded. A compromise. Together, the two women walked around to the service elevator, surrounded by the catering employees and deliciously scented food that Rey could not wait to dig in to.

~

Ben’s day had been typical for a game day. Get up, get to the arena, hop on his favorite stationary bike, lift a few weights- just enough to get the adrenaline pumping, lunch, team meeting, and then warm-ups. He hadn’t heard much from Rey all day, but that wasn’t atypical for a day she had three classes in a row.

Ben hoped she had made it in time, but he couldn’t be sure. Coach Krennic had instilled a new rule that all cell phones had to be turned off after lunch on game day- no thanks to Ben.

Both teams were flying out onto the ice from their respective launches, warming up in front of the crowd before the national anthem played. Ben went without his helmet for warm-ups, giving him a better view of the crowd and the opposing team.

“Hey, Ren,” called a voice from behind him as he shot at his own goal, warming up his own goalie, Jones #37. Ben turned to see Jorgen, also missing his helmet and mouthguard, skating towards him with a smirk. “Met your little girl down below a minute ago.”

Ben eyed his rival, not answering him.

“She’s a cute little thing. Feisty.”

“What’s your point, Jorgen?” he finally snapped.

“Just appreciating the finer things in life, Ren,” Jorgen chided. “I mean, I normally go for something a little more… soft. Curvy. But I like your taste, Ren.”

Ben rolled his eyes and gripped his stick hard enough that he must have been white-knuckling it. “And you need to stop talking about her, Jorgen.”

“How much you want for me to have a go at her?” the rival smirked.

Immediately seeing red, Ben’s fist made hard contact with Jorgen’s jaw.

The next thing Ben remembered was Mitaka and Terex pulling him off the ice with help from the linesmen, his knuckles bloodied though he couldn’t be sure if the blood was his or Jorgen’s. Not that he’d be upset either way.

The two men threw him down onto the bench once they got him to the locker room. “What the fuck, Ren!” Mitaka yelled. “The game hasn’t even fucking started!”

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OUT THERE?!” Screamed Hux as he huffed into the room.

Ben groaned.

“You’re going to be suspended, Ren! Probably for the rest of the fucking season,” Hux fumed, nostrils flaring. “What the fuck went on down there?”

“Where’s Rey?” Ben finally rasped. “Did she-?”

“I’m right here,” Rey’s voice sounded quietly from the doorway. “And I saw the whole thing.”

Ben looked up at her, tears in both of their eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry about?” she asked. “Breaking his jaw or me seeing it?”

“You seeing it happen,” he huffed. “Fuckhead got what he deserved.”

Rey took a deep breath before walking over to inspect his hands. “Jesus Christ, Ben,” she whispered under her breath. “What the hell did he say to you?”

Ben continued to ignore everyone else in the room. They all began discussing the issue, who would step in for Ben, would there be charges pressed- Phasma assured Hux that there wouldn’t be, though she did not disclose how she knew that- and what the hell even happened.

He shook his head at her, “It was bad.”

“Obviously,” she huffed. She bent down to lean on her knees, getting down to eye level with him as he bowed his head in shame of what the other man said. “I have the right to know, Ben. Don’t keep it from me.” Rey reached up and cupped his cheek. He winced, not realizing Jorgen threw a few of his own punches until now.

“At first it was just calling you ‘feisty’ and not normally his type, but he was appreciative of,” he gestured to her and gulped before saying the last and worst part, “and then propositioned me to have you.”

Rey’s face softened. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have changed in the hallway. It was stupid, but I’m so used to doing it at Poe’s arena.”

Ben’s head snapped up so he could look her in the eyes, rage flowing through his, “Rey, you didn’t do anything wrong. He is a fucking pig.” Ben snarled the last part.

“Okay,” she nodded, fighting tears in her eyes. “How about we go home, yeah?”

“You’re not going anywhere until we get this figured out,” came Hux’s voice from behind them, almost snarling. “Jorgen can file charges if he wants to, Ren.”

“Hux,” Phasma barked. “Jorgen was egging him on. There are witnesses. Counsel would be stupid to take on his case if he did!”

Hux rounded on her, “Yes, but we still need witness statements to cover our asses, Phas.”

“Alright, you’ll have mine, Rey’s, and Kylo’s to start,” she nodded. “Was anyone else close by?” she asked Ben as he flexed his right hand, checking for broken knuckles.

“You’ll have to ask the team,” he mumbled. “I was a bit preoccupied.” Hux snorted in frustration.

“I heard it, every disgusting thing that asshole said,” Mitaka offered. “Honestly, if Ren didn’t pummel the bastard, I was going to,” he admitted. Rey offered him a weak smile in gratitude. “I think Ackerman was close by, too.”

“And me,” Terex stepped forward.

Phasma smiled at the whole room, “See, Hux? Jorgen doesn’t stand a chance.”

Hux pursed his lips contemplatively. “Fine, I want you two on the ice as soon as you give your statements,” he gestured to Mitaka and Terex, “you need to get some fucking ice on your face and hand,” he snapped at Ben, “And you,” he rounded on Phasma, “do whatever magic it is you do to calm the shit storm we’re about to be facing. I’m going to make sure Snoke doesn’t shit a brick. I’ll bet you he’s already here to fire me, if not on his way.”

Chapter Text

Luckily, Rey needed no help in getting Ben into his apartment after the game. His knuckles and face caught all of the damage from the fight. They were finally alone together, away from reporters and officials.

Just as Phasma had predicted, Jorgen refused to press official charges, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do about the League rules about fighting. Ben was suspended for the rest of regulation season at the very least and Jorgen was out until his jaw healed enough- more than likely he was done for regulation and playoffs this year.

“Go change,” Rey ordered him as they walked through the door. “I’ll get you a couple ice packs.” He nodded before skulking away silently.

Rey walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer door to grab the promised ice packs. Subconsciously she let out a heavy sigh as she located them in the door and found a couple of dish towels.

She made her way to his bedroom, only stopping by the bathroom to grab painkillers. “You really should have let the trainers look at your hand,” she lectured as she saw him attempt to flex his fingers. “It looks broken, Ben.” He stood looking away from the doorway dressed in only sweatpants as usual.

“If it’s still stiff tomorrow afternoon, I’ll go in for an x-ray,” he compromised calmly before turning towards her. “Right now I just want to hold you.”

Rey walked over to him after setting the ice packs on the bed. She held out the two small white pills for him to dry swallow before she let him wrap his arms around her. “Are you hungry?” she asked, looking into his eyes. She noticed how watery they were are he stared into hers. “I could order pizza or something. I didn’t get to eat dinner. Some jackass decided to defend my honor before I could take a bite of the roast beef Hux had ordered.”

He chuckled, “It’s a little late for pizza. But there’s tub of ice cream in the back of the freezer I was saving for tonight.” Ben took the moment of her standing close to her to brush a chunk of hair out of her face with his less bloodied hand. “Fudge swirl, your favorite,” he coaxed.

“How do you know all of my weaknesses, Benjamin Solo?” she asked, smirking slightly.

“You’re really easy to read, Miss Dameron,” he chuckled. At that, she lightly pushed his chest. Ben acted scandalized, “Rey!”

“Ben!” she playfully gasped back. “Alright, get comfy and I’ll go and get the ice cream.”

“Or-” he quickly pulled her back as she started to walk back out of the room. “Or I could draw us a bath. Together.” He pulled her hand up to his mouth to kiss. “What do you think?”

Rey rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile. “Fine, but then we eat ice cream?”

“Of course, Sweetheart. Anything you want.”

“I want you to ice your hand and face first.”

“Fine.”

~

Hux, for the first time in his life, was at a loss for words. Snoke had already handed his ass to him for Ben Solo’s actions, calling Hux an “incompetent imbecile” for not being able to control his own players.

“Jorgen goaded Ren, Sir,” Hux tried to explain to the man that had taken over his office, using Hux’s chair as his own temporary throne. “We could easily take Jorgen to court for sexual harassment-”

“I didn’t realize Mr. Jorgen played for that particular team, Armitage,” Snoke sneered.

Hux sighed. “No, Christopher Jorgen propositioned Ren to have a go at Miss Dameron,” Hux got out quickly, clearing his throat in disgust. Hux might be considered a bastard on his best days, but even he drew a line at being a slimy bastard. “After trying to ignore it, Jorgen kept pushing and Ren felt Dameron was in danger, so he acted.”

“Is that all?” Snoke snickered. “I can’t say I blame the man,” he said as he stroked his chin as if reminiscing. “But he got what he asked for tangling with Kylo Ren.” Snoke’s smile widened to something that resembled that of The Grinch.

Hux sat there in silence. Far from stunned, he felt uncomfortable hearing his boss, slave driver, supreme overlord of the paycheck laughing over someone trying to take advantage of little Rey Dameron.

“Armitage, you’re dismissed for now,” Snoke finally said, coming out of a trance of memories. “We will speak again tomorrow at lunch after Ms. Miller can assess the damage the press has done.”

“Yes, Sir.”

~

While Ben and Rey soaked in the bathtub, Ben’s phone started blaring.

“Hi, mom,” he answered in a half groan, having left his phone in his pants pocket at the edge of the giant soaking tub in his master bathroom.

“What the hell happened, Benjamin!” screeched Leia’s voice so loudly that even Rey winced from between Ben’s thighs, her back to his front.

“It’s a bit complicated-”

“I DID NOT RAISE MY SON TO BREAK ANOTHER’S JAW BEFORE THE GAME EVEN STARTS, BENJAMIN!”

Rey reached back, signaling for Ben to give her the phone. He happily obliged, eardrums thanking the small woman in his lap.

“Leia,” Rey spoke into the microphone. “Jorgen goaded him.”

Leia fell silent and took a deep breath, “Alright, walk me through it.”

“It started even before they got to the ice,” Rey began to explain. “I was running late, so I changed my shirt in the hallway outside the locker room on my way up to the suite with Phasma. I still had a tank top on, but Jorgen decided to comment anyway. Phasma cut him off and he sulked. I guess he took his distaste of it to Ben and took it a bit far.”

“Fucking understatement of the year, Sweetheart,” Ben growled behind her. He snatched the phone back from her, “He asked me how much it would cost to…”

“Well, then the bastard deserved it,” came Leia’s suddenly cheery disposition. “Is he pressing charges?”

“If he does, we’ll press right back with sexual harassment,” Ben grumped. “He doesn’t exactly stand a chance, Mom.”

Ben could hear her sigh on the other line. “I can give your Uncle Lando a call tomorrow morning if you want.”

“Actually,” Ben thought aloud, “that wouldn’t be a bad idea. If he’s willing, have him call me. Or shoot Phasma an e-mail.”

“Alright,” Leia agreed. “I’ll call him in the morning, then. How is Rey?”

Ben took a moment to look over the woman sitting between his legs in the bath. Rey was starting to nod off against his chest, having settled there to listen to his heartbeat and feel how his deep voice vibrated in his chest. “She’s exhausted,” he said truthfully.

“Poor girl,” Leia cooed on the other end of the line. “You know your father defended my honor like that once.”

He almost dropped his cellphone into the water, jerking to catch it he jolted Rey awake. “What?”

“It was before we were official,” Leia reminisced. “When he was still teaching. I wasn’t in his class anymore, but your Uncle was. He came to my rescue when this frat guy, Fett was his last name, tried picking me up. He wouldn’t take no for an answer before shoving his tongue down my throat. Your father and Uncle saw it happen and Han pulled the asshole off of me and ripped out a chunk of the guy’s hair.”

“Jesus,” Ben swore. “What happened after that?”

Leia giggled a bit. “Well, after that it was kind of hard to keep us a secret. Of course Luke already knew. But seeing your father go all Alpha Male on the son of a bitch was just…”

“Okay, Mom, I think I’ve heard enough,” Ben groaned.

“You know, that was around the time you were conceived, now that I think about it.”

“Mom!”

“Oh, hush, Ben,” Leia huffed. “Sex and childbirth are the most natural of things in this world. I hope someday soon you’ll find that out for yourself.”

“Maybe,” he said shortly, not wanting to scare Rey off with talk of children or even marriage just yet. “I should get Rey to bed real quick, Mom. She’s falling asleep on me.”

“Am not,” Rey mumbled from in front of him. In response, Ben kissed her temple as he reached for a towel.

“Alright, you two, have a good night,” Leia said with an amused tone. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow after I talk to Lando. I love you, Ben.”

“Yeah, talk to you tomorrow, Mom. Love you,” he said before hanging up. “Come on, little girl,” he cooed as he sat her completely upright. “It’s bedtime.”

Rey groaned at being forced to move from the tub, even though the water was starting to cool. She stood up before him and he took in her figure, holding back a groan at how much he wanted to touch and kiss her all over. Ben reached over to drain the tub before he climbed out, reaching for his own towel as Rey wrapped herself into her own.

Ben quickly dried himself off before reaching out to pull her in and dry her off as well. Her eyelids kept drooping and it took Ben a lot of strength to keep from laughing at how relaxed Rey was. He decided to use this method of relaxation more often, especially in a month when finals would be starting for her.

“Do you want pjs?” he asked quietly as he brushed her hair through.

“Yeah,” came her quiet reply. “How’s your hand?” she asked as she reached for the hand that held her brush. “Jesus, Ben, I really think you need an x-ray tomorrow.”

“Alright,” he agreed, trying to flex his fingers again. “It’s not as bad as it looks, though.”

Rey rolled her eyes at him, “Big strong Alpha Male acting tough for his female?” she asked jokingly.

“Heard my mother, did you?” he groaned, trying to hide how the corners of his mouth began to betray him and turn upwards.

“Mmm I did,” Rey smiled. “She’s really pushing the grandbaby issue, isn’t she?”

“She knows not to expect anything for a very long time, Sweetheart,” he said seriously.

Rey turned to look up at him, her towel wrapped around her and tucked to hold itself up. “Just a few years,” she smiled. “I’d like to do things in, you know, the ‘proper order’,” she finger quoted.

Ben’s face split into a huge grin, ears turning red. “Yeah? You’d want that with me?”

“A protective alpha male like you? That’s kind of a no-brainer, Ben,” she giggled. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Not right now, but someday soon.”

“Let’s get you a degree first,” he compromised.

“I have a semester and a half left, Ben,” she laughed.

He shrugged, “Baby steps?”

She nodded, “Baby steps.”

~

Ben took advantage of his suspension by sleeping in the next morning, holding Rey closely as his late alarm went off. Of course, late for him meant 7am rather than 4am.

“Ben,” Rey groaned, reaching for the offending phone that kept blaring. “Ben, we should get up.”

“Mmmpht,” came his groan.

“Ben!”

“Alright, alright, I’m getting up.”

“You have a missed call from Hux and a text from Uncle Lando,” she said as she stole his hand to unlock his phone to get it to stop screeching.

“Fuck.”

Rey pulled the covers off of both of them causing Ben to scrunch up into a fetal position to keep his body heat close to himself. “I’m going to make coffee. You should get up and call your uncle at the very least.”

“Godfather,” Ben mumbled.

“I thought Chewie was your Godfather,” Rey thought out loud.

“I have two. Lando Calrissian is Han’s only other friend, from when he was a professor. Lando taught Law. It’s what happens when your parents know they don’t want any more children and your aunt and uncle have fertility problems- you get a million and three godparents and have to call every single adult in your life Aunty or Uncle so-and-so.”

“Must have been lonely growing up with no cousins or siblings,” she thought, pulling off the oversized t-shirt she had fished out of his drawer last night in order to change into her usual leggings and an oversized sweater for the day.

“I had Poe and Hux once I started playing, so it wasn’t terribly lonely,” he shrugged, finally sitting up in bed, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “You know I spent more time at your cousin’s house than I did my own for quite a few years there.”

Rey hummed, “Yeah, I know, I wasn’t allowed at your little sleepovers.”

“No girls allowed, Rey,” he chided as he passed her on the way to the bathroom. “For your information, I didn’t make that rule.”

“Call your godfather, Ben,” she laughed as he got distracted. “And ice your hand and face!” she called after him.

~

Han sat in his leather chair, whiskey neat in hand, just staring at the bookshelves in front of him. His office was more of a library and used less and less as the years went on. What began as his academic paradise was quickly becoming a dusty tomb of knowledge.

It was in this room that a three-year-old Ben would sit in the corner quietly with his action figures or books while his father researched through archeology journals and through the latest historical finds at new dig sites across the world. Han was an anthropologist through and through even after he was forced to resign as a professor, and young Ben wanted to be just like him.

And it was the latest gossip, confirmed by his wife, that certainly told Han that Ben did indeed take after him more than he wished the boy would. The details Leia supplied that the press did make Han proud of his son for sticking up for not only the girl he loved but also for what was right, but at what cost? Violence had killed his own career, at least partially, and he didn’t want that for his son.

Chapter Text

Phasma was in full-on battle mode since Kylo’s supposed attack on Jorgen. Fighting off the press was a full-time job in its own right, but when something out of the ordinary happened Phasma partially wished she had more than just a couple of interns at her beck and call. Though, to be fair, she’d just be running around fixing everything anyone else did anyway, so having an errand boy to get her coffee every hour and edit her posts for grammar was a huge help in its own right.

She sighed as she refreshed her email inbox. Twenty more messages came through: only two were store sales flyers, the rest was work-related. As if she didn’t have enough else to deal with.

“Ms. Miller,” came a timid male voice from her doorway. “Mr. Hux wanted me to tell you he’d like to see you in his office.”

“Anthony, how many times do I need to tell you to call me ‘Phasma’?” she huffed, clearly losing her humor through this turbulent day.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Mil- Ah, Phasma,” he quickly corrected. “But Mr. Hux seems extremely impatient.”

“I’m on my way, Anthony,” she sighed. “Can you fetch me another coffee while I’m dealing with him?”

The twenty-year-old kid nodded before disappearing through the doorway, his sandy brown hair flopping in his face. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Why were interns always so timid around here? Probably Hux and Kylo’s influence, really.

Sighing as she logged out of her computer, Phasma slipped her acid green pumps back onto her feet before locking her office- one could not be too careful during a newsbreak such as this.

“Armitage,” she droned, walking right into his office without knocking. “Can you please stop scaring the shit out of my interns?”

Hux’s mouth twitched into something resembling a smile. “It’s the only good part of my day,” he mumbled. “But I wanted to see where you were on the situation.”

“Well,” she heaved a sigh, “unless we release the sexual harassment issues everyone is going to see him as a cold-blooded fighter.”

“And we can’t do that unless Jorgen files charges, can we?”

Phasma raised her eyebrows, “Well, no, not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“We could and just sue his ass for sexual harassment in the first place, head it off before anything happens, save face, and live happily ever after,” she said all in one breath. “However, that’s not our decision. It’s Rey Dameron’s. And I have a feeling she won’t want to press charges.”

Hux’s hand went white as he gripped a pen he’d been writing with. “Ren’s going to use this as a reason to leave the league, dammit.”

“What?” Phasma asked, shocked. “Isn’t his contract up this year?”

Hux nodded solemnly, “And Snoke is going to murder me if Ren retires.”

“I don’t think-” Phasma started before Hux cut her off.

“Phasma, you don’t know the man like I do,” he said in a raspy voice. “He’s… a thug. He’s…”

“A ‘disgusting piece of work’ is the term I’ve always used,” Phasma mused.

The redhead waved her on, nodding some more. “I don’t understand what’s going through Ren’s mind, though.”

Phasma smiled, “I can easily tell you.” Hux raised his eyebrows, silently asking her to continue. “He’s never been truly happy playing hockey. It was expected of him, being a legacy. Sure, he enjoyed it, wanting to be like the rest of the Skywalkers, but he’s never had the chance to choose his own route until Snoke offered him a deal and up until recently, that was enough,” she explained. “But now,” Phasma drew in a breath, “Now, he’s finally seeing what real happiness is through being with Rey and he wants that in all aspects of his life.”

Hux sat there for a moment, letting her words sink in.

“And,” Phasma smiled slyly, “Perhaps he doesn’t want to put his own future spawn through what he went through- you know, his parents always taking off for random business trips and leaving him in the care of someone different every time since every adult in his life was working in the industry and also had to be away for games and whatnot.”

“I see,” Hux said, still mulling things over.

“So, maybe go easy on the guy?” Phasma suggested. “He is supposedly your best friend, remember?”

Hux nodded, his hand coming up to rub at his temples. “Alright, help me get him out, then. And preferably without ruining our careers along the way.”

~

Leia had not checked to make sure the girls were still lunching with her the day after Ben’s fight, but she still ordered a spread that could feed the entire Rebels team. At the very least Leia and Rose could enjoy it if Rey wasn’t up to entertaining the older woman and her need for such parties and ceremonies like Paige’s baby shower.

She had set out possible place settings, printed out possible games to play, and even had a few samples of centerpieces that doubled as prizes for the games. Never once did she wonder if it was too much. No, nothing was too much for the first baby born on the team in something like a decade.

Han kept telling her, as she was packing everything to bring into the office with her that morning, that she should leave well enough alone, that Paige wasn’t her daughter, by birth or marriage, and that perhaps her own mother wanted to throw the shower. Leia already said that Mrs. Tico, Angela, was in on the planning. Of course, Leia wasn’t going to do this without Paige’s mother on board, what the hell was Han thinking?

A quick knock at the door revealed Rose and Rey standing in the doorway of Leia’s office, right on time.

“Ladies!” Leia smiled and clapped her hands together. “I’m so glad you could both make it. How are you, Rey, dear?”

Rey’s shoulders were set, her head high as she responded with “I’m fine, and so is Ben.”

“Good, good,” Leia smiled. “Did he talk to Lando this morning?”

“I believe so,” Rey said as she and Rose sat down on the couch in front of Leia’s mahogany desk. “I had to rush out the door this morning, so I didn’t hear anything.”

“Right, right,” Leia waved her off. “We’re not here about my son defending your honor, are we?” She beamed at the two young women in front of her. “Let’s plan a baby shower!”

Rose giggled at Leia’s enthusiasm. “It looks like you have everything done, though!”

“Oh, no no no! These are just ideas,” the matriarch explained. “You two get to make the decisions.”

“What decisions?” Rey asked, looking confused as she pawed through a pile of invitations that sat closest to her as Rose went right for setting swatches.

Leia smiled, “Oh, everything! A theme, what invitations to send out, which games to play-” Leia handed her another pile “-and then there’s the menu to decide on!”

Rey looked at the games Leia had handed her sheepishly, “I’ve never actually been to a baby shower. Or a bridal shower.”

“Oh, you’ll have fun!” Leia laughed. “Think of it as a fancy girls’ day out.” Rey blanched thinking about the Holiday party a few months before when Rose had poked and prodded her into the frilly lace number Leia had purchased on her behalf. She would take her leggings over a dress any day and seriously hoped she could get away with them at a baby shower. 

“Or, you know, a fancy birthday party for adults. Paige will mingle with everyone, we’ll measure her bump and laugh about how her body will never be the same, the other moms there will talk about chafing nipples,” Rose quipped. “I’m not sure Paige is much for themes. I don’t even think they’re choosing a theme for the nursery.”

“I don’t think they’ve even decided where the nursery is going to be,” Rey griped. “Because the only option is my room unless they’re planning on keeping two households and they haven’t tried talking to me about what we’re doing about that.”

Leia gave both girls a knowing look. “I’m sure you’ll all figure that out soon enough. But invitations need to go out soon if we’re planning for just after playoffs.”

“Okay,” Rose took charge. “How about…”

~

Han was currently pored over a book and his ancient (by technology standards) desktop in his study. Before him on the mahogany desk sat a statue he was currently appraising for resale. Not the most glamorous of jobs, Han personally thought, but it was a fun hobby that brought in money for his other, much more expensive hobby- piloting.

Sure, Han was retired now from both teaching anthropology and history (not that he had a real choice once his and his now wife’s scandal broke the news) and commercial piloting, but he still put both skill sets to use on the regular by freelancing at local historical societies, museums, and auction houses.

He almost wished that he had found this profession before he retired from the airline. He’d have been around more for Ben as a kid and for his wife, would maybe have a better relationship with his now-grown son, and might even have thought to have another kid or two, but what is done is done.

Sighing as he closed his book, he shot the auction house he was currently contracted with an e-mail about his progress quickly. Han couldn’t focus any longer on his work enough to do a decent job. Arty jumped up onto the desk, sniffing at the statue and giving Han a look of contempt for not paying attention to him, being the only other being in the house at the time.

“What, Fluff?” Han growled at the beast. “Don’t you dare knock that piece over. It’s worth a few thousand.”

Arty sat next to the piece, purring as he received the much-wanted attention from Han.

“Alright, old man,” Han groaned as he stood up from his desk. “I guess Leia isn’t going to be home in time to feed you-”

“Han!” yelled Leia’s voice from the garage entrance. “Can you help me with these bags?”

He left the room, Arty hot on his heels expecting to be fed as they made their way through the kitchen. Han found Leia carrying in a few bags at a time, full of both groceries and baby shower decorations. He took the bags from her, kissing the top of her head as they exchanged goods, and set them on the counter.

“How did it go today?” he asked, following her out to her car to retrieve more bags. “Get a lot planned?”

“We did,” she replied as she pulled more out of her vehicle. “Just have to run some things by Paige herself, but everything is all set. Rose was very enthusiastic about the whole thing.”

Han hummed, bored of all the girly talk. “Did Rey show up?” he asked, knowing his wife was worried that she wouldn’t. In all honesty, he was worried about the girl, too. He wouldn’t admit it, but after getting to know her as his favorite bartender, then seeing her fall head-over-heels for his son and vice versa, Han had come to love Rey like a daughter.

“She did,” Leia sighed. “She still seems shaken up even if she was trying to hide it. Barely gave me any input.”

“To be fair,” Han snickered, “You know she’s not much of a girly girl.” Leia shot him a glare as she loaded the last bit of her bags into her husband’s arms. “Don’t give me that look. Ben wouldn’t be so taken if she were your clone, Sweetheart.”

Leia gave him a look that said ‘take it back!’ “I resent that,” she all but squealed.

Han just laughed, “It just means no one could replace his mother.” Leia’s glare softened a bit. “Did you talk to Ben at all today?” he asked.

“No, but Rey said he had talked to Lando this morning before going in to talk to Hux,” Leia sighed.

Han frowned. “Doesn’t Lando work in environmental law now?”

“Law is law, dear,” Leia yelled back from within the pantry as she put her husband’s favorite cereal away. “And he got you off all those years ago, why not again?”

“I guess the apple really doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” Han mumbled.

Leia came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist to soothe him. “You know, it could be worse,” she mused. “He could have inherited your ‘ladies man’ persona. Then we’d have really been in trouble,” Leia snickered.

“Poor kid,” Han smirked. “Got the ears and no game.”

“At least he found someone,” Leia smiled as Han turned to face her and wrap his own arms around his wife. “They’re the same ages we were when we met, you know.”

“Oh, god, they are,” Han scrunched his face. “Is it possible to be genetically predisposed into being a cradle robber?”

“It’s not just you, you nerfherder,” Leia laughed. “You know my father was five years younger than my mother.” They just smiled at each other, still keeping their arms tightly around each other, musing in their own minds about their son and his future, ignoring the possibility of his legal troubles.

~

“Alright, papers are due via dropbox by midnight on Sunday!” called Professor Danes after his class as they packed up that evening. “And for God’s sake, use MLA this time, folks. Just because we talked about Freud’s work for a day does not mean we are psych students!”

Rey rolled her eyes while she had her back turned to the front of the class. She packed the backpack that took her seat as soon as she stood and closed her laptop.

“Rey!” whispered a voice next to her, her classmate Jess looked towards the door of the classroom.

“What?” Rey responded, not looking up from her task.

“I think I found something that belongs to you,” Jess said. Rey could hear the smirk in her voice.

Looking up, she saw Ben standing in the doorway, just watching her. As their eyes met, he smiled slightly, just the one corner turning upwards in a smirk as she smiled brightly back at him.

“Have a good weekend, Jess,” Rey said as she finished shoving a folder into her bag and took the stairs of the lecture hall two at a time. “Hi,” she said almost breathlessly.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Picking up my girlfriend,” he teased.

Rey faked a mock surprise, “What?! You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend!”

He gave her a look that said “I’m trying to not let you know that you’re cute, but you’re cute, damn it” before taking her backpack from her, with protest from Rey, and linking his fingers through hers.

“Did you talk to your Godfather?” she asked once they were out of earshot of her classmates.

“I did,” he nodded. “And he has a few ideas and tricks up his sleeves. I gave him Hux’s number so they can talk things over, but we should talk. In private.”

Rey’s mouth twisted into a frown at that. “I just want this whole stupid thing to be over,” she grumbled.

“I know,” he said, kissing the crown of her head. “But it’s a bit out of our hands now. If Jorgen decides to press charges, which is unlikely, we don’t have a choice except to press back.”

“Right.”

Ben peered down at her as they walked towards their cars. He’d parked just two spaces down from her, making sure he could walk with her before they took off to their destination. “Dinner?”

“Yes, I’m so hungry!” she exclaimed.

“Surprise, surprise,” he laughed. “Chinese takeaway?”

“Sounds perfect, see you at home?” she asked, meaning his place.

Ben smiled widely at her use of the word, “I’ll see you at home.” He kissed her farewell and made his way to their favorite place for sweet and sour chicken.

Chapter Text

A week had passed and there was no word on any legal proceedings towards Ben or the Knights. Hux was beginning to breathe easier as time went on, worried that this scandal would jeopardize his career. Alas, it seemed as if the scandal, as Phasma presented the data, was only bringing them more marketing opportunities and hype on social media.

News of the fact that the Fearsome Kylo Ren was protecting someone, be it a team member or the truth of Jorgen’s harassment of Ren’s new girlfriend, was spreading like wildfire, thanks in part to Phasma and her social media hookups at the hottest gossip columns.

So, when Snoke had personally asked to see Ben alone, the entire team had been confused, including Ben and Hux. But, one does not refuse Snoke’s “invitations” to his office, where Ben was sure he’d get one of two reactions out of the man he had once seen as a mentor when he was just beginning his hockey career, so Ben took the morning off from his daily workouts (just because he was suspended from the ice didn’t mean the man could slack on keeping up his muscle tone) and make the trek to one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

“Benjamin Solo,” drawled Snoke as Ben walked through the doors to his corporate office across town.

Ben had to fight off doing a double-take at the name as keeping a poker face around Mr. Snoke was key in any sort of communication with the man. “You haven’t called me by that name in a long time, Sir.”

Snoke grinned, “It’s been just as long since you’ve been going by it.”

“Sir?”

“I hear that pretty thing of yours prefers the name on your birth certificate,” he spoke as if they were reminiscing. “How does young Rey feel about your stage presence?”

Ben shifted in his seat just enough for Snoke to notice and widen his smile. “She thinks it’s brilliant, actually.”

“Oh? How so?”

“It allows us to have a more normal relationship off the ice, Sir,” Ben answered truthfully.

“A normal relationship?” Immediately Ben knew he said the wrong thing. “And, tell me, Young Solo, this normal relationship? Would it be the reason you’ve told Armitage that you’re looking into retirement?”

Ben internally sighed. He had figured this meeting would be more about the fight with Jorgen. Hux hadn’t said if Snoke knew of his after-season plans. Then again, it was possible that Snoke had found out from another source- the man had his ways and it was joked about that he had the arena bugged. “All due respect, Sir, but whatever my reasoning for retirement is has nothing to do with you,” he snapped. “I’m just done playing the game professionally.”

“All due respect, Kylo Ren,” Snoke began greasily, “I own you.”

“I signed a five-year contract,” Ben countered. “Five years is what we agreed to.”

Snoke grinned, “On the condition that you re-sign with the Knights on another contract.”

“No, sir,” Ben fought. “I went over my contract. I had my lawyer go over my contract. There is nothing in it forcing me to sign again with the Knights or any other club.”

“Your lawyer? Not that insufferable godfather of yours, is it?” Snoke sighed comically. “It’s widely frowned upon to use familial connections for legal advice, you know.”

Ben fought against rolling his eyes, but Snoke continued.

“My dear boy, this domesticity that you’re experiencing, it’s merely a phase. Look at some of your elder teammates that have felt the need to pair off and procreate,” Snoke supplied with the wave of his hand. “Perhaps you should find someone more suitable for this-”

“What are you suggesting?” Ben bit, cutting off the man in charge of his professional life. “That I leave the woman I love and marry some trophy just so you can keep me as your captain?”

Snoke looked shocked at being interrupted but then smiled snidely, “As a matter of fact, yes. You should be with someone that supports your career.”

“Not that my personal life is any of your business,” Ben snapped, “but Rey has said she’s supportive of any choice I make on the matter. It’s my choice to return to school and my choice to change careers.”

Snoke frowned and pursed his already paper-thin lips so that they disappeared. “I see.”

“So, if you don’t mind, I will be on my way. I have a meeting with an admissions counselor,” Ben said with finality as he stood and strode from the room without looking back.

~

Rey had taken an early shift at Takodana that day. She didn’t have classes that day, her midterms were almost finished, and a little extra money never hurt.

She was nearing the end of her shift, soon the bartender for the evening would trade places with her and send her on her way home to Ben for the night.

“Hey, kid,” called a gruff voice from behind her as she processed a few keno tickets.

“Hey, Han,” she responded, not even turning around as the tickets printed for the two men on the other side of the bar. “Usual?”

“Ahh, no,” he said, scrunching his face. “I’m thinking just dinner and coffee tonight.”

Rey finally turned around and gave the man an odd look quickly before she smiled brightly at the choice. “Alright, I’ll get you a menu.” She plopped one in front of him after handing off the keno slips and poured him a black coffee. “Cream or sugar?”

“Nope,” Han smirked. “Black is perfect.” Rey gave him a knowing smile. “So what’s my son up to tonight?”

Rey’s eyebrows scrunched slightly, Han noted. “I’m not sure,” she confessed. “He just told me not to eat before I came home.”

“Home, eh?” Han’s smirk only grew. “Did you move in and not tell anyone?”

“You know,” Rey laughed, “I think I kind of did.”

“Good,” Han laughed, too. “He needs someone there to keep him in line more often.”

“Like Leia does with you?” Rey joked.

Han smiled before taking a sip of his coffee.

“No Leia tonight?” she asked, pointing at the menu now that the subject of his wife had been brought up.

“Nah, she’s visiting Luke this week,” he grunted. “He and Mara are moving closer to the city and they wanted help packing. And you know Leia, a master coordinator.”

“That I do,” Rey smirked. “When are they moving?”

Han shrugged, “I try to stay out of the details. Just show up when I’m told with a truck or whatever.”

“Miss!” called one of the other patrons down at the other end of the bar. Rey immediately paid attention to them instead of Han, knowing he was able to handle himself for a few minutes.

“Han Solo!” rang a voice from the back of the house.

Han looked up from his menu and smiled at the tiny woman walking towards him. “Hey, Maz.”

“Where’s that handsome boyfriend of mine?” Maz played. “I like him.”

“You know he’s married, Maz,” Han laughed. “Has been for a good twenty years now.”

“Hmm,” Maz hummed with a smile. “True love never dies, Solo.”

“Apparently not.”

“How is that lovely wife of yours?” Maz continued as she climbed up onto the barstool next to her old friend. “I hear her team is doing quite nicely this season.”

Han nodded, “She’s wonderful, as always.” He paused for a moment, “Actually, no, she’s better than wonderful these days thanks to that one,” he nodded in Rey’s direction as she chatted with a couple that sat at a table near the bar.

Maz smiled warmly, “Yes, I hear she’s tamed that son of yours.”

“Tamed is putting it mildly,” Han snickered. “We’ve actually seen him at least five times in the past two months without even having to beg him.”

Maz’s eyes grew, “That is quite the feat.”

“Have you decided yet?” Rey asked as she made her way back to the bar to check on her more intimate patrons.

“He’ll have the penne,” Maz answered for him and waved her employee off. “And bring me out a plate with it, will you, Rey dear?”

“You got it,” Rey said as she typed the order in. “I’m heading out as soon as Nick rolls in, ok, Maz?”

The elderly woman nodded and waved the girl off. “So, Han,” she began again. “What’s on the docket this evening?”

“Just dinner and then heading back to finish up some appraisal work,” he grumbled. “I was sent a supposed Egyptian artifact this week. I have to break the news to the auction house that it’s a fake.”

“Oh, dear,” Maz sympathized. “I hope they take it well.”

“I’m not sure,” he sighed. “They’re a new house and are about to get their first wake up call. I just hope they didn’t purchase it yet.”

The two old friends continued to catch up like they do every month or so when they’re actually in the bar at the same time. Maz explained how she was handling the idea of retirement and what she was thinking about doing with the Tavern while Han filled her in on Luke’s move back to the city to be closer to both his and his wife’s families.

“Alright, folks,” Rey interrupted as she plopped down their dinners in front of them. “I’m heading out now.”

“Thank you, dear,” Maz beamed. “I’ll see you on Sunday, then.”

Rey nodded in response.

“Kid!” Han called after her as she was packing up the books she had splayed out under the counter, away from any spillage. “Are you kids planning on coming out for dinner next weekend?”

“I hadn’t heard of the plans,” Rey said as she pursed her lips. “I’ll ask Ben if he’s busy.”

Han shrugged, “Leia may not have talked to him about it yet.”

Rey smiled as she bid her boss and favorite customer/secondary father (as she was coming to think of him as) goodbye.

~

Ben quickly removed the chicken from the oven before it could dry out. He was thankful that he had taken those cooking classes before inviting Rey over for the first time a few months back. He was never a terrible cook like his mother, yet somehow he had never been able to pick up on Han’s skills. He knew Rey could only cook ramen and canned goods, so this was his chance to spoil her without her getting grumpy over it like she did almost every other time he tried to give her something or pay for another. Now, though, he could whip up some of the most basic of meals and Rey would attack it like it were a Thanksgiving feast.

Tonight was a special night, Ben had decided. He’d essentially told Snoke to fuck off and he had signed up for a full schedule of classes starting in September at the same University Rey was attending. He had never felt this much happiness in one day and it needed to be celebrated.

“Ben?” called her voice from the doorway as she walked through.

“Kitchen!”

“Oh my god, that smells amazing,” she gushed as she made her way in, still donning her coat and purse. “How long until that’s ready?”

Ben smiled at her enthusiasm. “Just a few moments.”

“Alright, I’m going to go and change real quick,” she announced before leaving the room.

“Okay, but be quick!” he called after her, teasing her. “It’s not going to stay hot forever!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” came her muffled reply as she pulled a clean sweater over her head.

Rey walked back into the kitchen as Ben was setting the last of the dishes on the table in the nook. “Oh, wine with dinner?”

“Only the best,” he said, pecking her cheek as he pulled out the chair for her.

“Should I have dressed fancier, Mr. Solo?” she joked.

“You’re perfect just the way you are,” he gushed. “Sit, sit!”

She quirked her eyebrows at him; something was obviously exciting him and she was excited to know what it was, figuring that he had made a most excellent meal. He immediately started piling a whole chicken breast, loaded mashed potatoes, and two different vegetables. Once her plate was full, he took the same amount for himself and poured their wine. “So, what’s the occasion, Ben?” she finally asked, after watching with amusement.

“I did something today,” he said slowly. “Well, three things, actually,” he continued.

Rey sat there, chewing a mouthful of chicken, waiting for him to elaborate.

He took a deep breath, “I signed up for classes next fall.”

“Ben!” Rey squealed as she tore from her chair to throw her arms around him, food all but forgotten. “That’s wonderful!”

Ben couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. It was the main reason he felt secure enough in his decision in the first place. “Luckily,” he continued once she detached herself from his neck and kissed his cheek, “it hasn’t been so long that the gen-eds I completed before expired, so I won’t have to retake too many classes.”

“What did you sign up for?” she asked, picking at her potatoes once again.

“I have to take a science class, so I signed up for basic Earth Science and the lab that accompanies it, Spanish 1 to cover the language credit, and then History of English Language to start the linguistics minor I chose.”

“That’s going to be quite the class load,” Rey commented, still grinning at him. “I’m not sure even the fearsome Kylo Ren can handle a full class schedule and playing hockey full-time.” Rey knew of his plans to resign from the sport, but he hadn’t told her every detail of the act.

Ben’s smile faltered slightly, remembering his encounter earlier in the day. “About that,” he started. “Snoke called me to his office today.”

“What about?”

“He got wind of me wanting to retire,” Ben stated. “I thought it was going to be about the fight, but he didn’t even bring it up.” He sighed as he prepared himself to tell her the truth about the encounter. “He said some things, though. About our relationship.”

Rey frowned. “I don’t see how any of it is his business, but go on. What did he have to say about our relationship?”

“Just that we could never have a normal relationship and that he’d rather find me someone more suitable to his tastes in order to keep you from telling me to quit the team.,” he said as quickly as he could. “I basically told him to screw off and walked out after he scoffed at me explaining that nothing in my current contract requires me to sign again like he claims.”

“He’s a fuckhole,” Rey swore with a straight face. Ben’s mouth opened and closed a couple times before he burst out laughing. “What?” Rey asked sharply.

“‘A fuckhole’? Really?” He said out of breath. “Where the hell did that come from?”

Rey shrugged, looking a little bashful. “It just slipped out?” He continued to laugh, not being able to take a bite of his meal. Rey frowned as she chewed. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart,” he said as he finally calmed down at her irritated demeanor. He kept smirking at her with his lopsided grin, trying to not snicker again. She rolled her eyes, cracked a small smile.

“You said you did three things?” She kept the conversation moving to distract him from her slip-up of speech.

Ben hummed, still smiling. He stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a small box. “I had this made today.” He handed the box to Rey.

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you just open it?” he responded.

Rey untied the bow holding the box closed. It was too big to be a ring, thank goodness, Rey thought. Even though she adamantly refused gifts like this, she still got excited. Inside the box, resting on too fine of velvet for such an object, was a set of keys.

“What-”

“Keys to the apartment,” he explained. “You can come and go as you want, you don’t have to be here only when I’m here. Or, if you want, you could just stay here,” he offered.

Chapter Text

Rey looked down at the keys- one for the front door, one for the mailbox, and one for the actual apartment- and back up at Ben, who was looking at her expectantly. “Ben, I can’t. We can’t.”

His face dropped.

“It’s an hour and a half commute to school,” she began to explain. “An hour to my job. And it’s too far from both of our parents’ houses.”

“So?” he asked, looking confused.

“So,” she sighed. “Maybe we should find something closer to the rest of our lives?” Rey suggested, smirking as his face lit back up as he comprehended her words.

“Yeah?” he asked. “So you do want to move in with me?”

Rey laughed. “Ben, I’ve basically been living here for the past two months, you dolt.”

“I know,” he said sheepishly. “But I figured your cousin would appreciate the bedroom back in an official capacity.”

“Yeah, I’m a little surprised they haven’t kicked me out yet,” she laughed. “They haven’t even hinted at it.”

“Sweetheart, you haven’t been home enough for them to hint at it,” he joked.

Rey hummed in agreement. “I will take these for now, though, until we find the perfect place” she grinned. “Thank you, Ben.” She leaned forward to peck him on the lips. “It means the world to me.”

He smiled against her lips. “So, the biggest question: apartment or house?”

“I guess that depends,” she smirked with an evil glint in her eyes. “How serious are we?”

Ben hemmed and hawed loudly, squinting his eyes comically as he pretended to think about it. “You know, now that I think about it…” Rey rolled her eyes before Ben got serious. “Rey Dameron, I’ve never been more serious about anything or anyone in my entire life.”

“Alright, house it is, then.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

~

Poe didn’t take the news of Rey’s moving as well as anyone had thought.

“You’ve only been dating for…” he trailed off counting his fingers, “three and a half months! Isn’t it a bit soon to be moving in together?”

Rey sat on the couch while Poe paced in front of her, lecturing her like a parent would a teenage caught out late with a joint or a beer. “Shouldn’t you be married and in a stable relationship when you spawn?”

Poe stopped and frowned. “Come on, it’s not the same.”

“You need the room anyway,” she reasoned, arms folded over her chest. “What were you and Paige going to do? Keep the baby in your room until Ben and I got married?”

“No,” he said cautiously. “We were going to look at bigger apartments next week. Three or four bedroom units.”

“That’s not practical and you know it,” Rey snapped.

Paige, who was cooking dinner in the kitchen, finally chimed in, “Poe, she’s your adult cousin, not your child.” He glared at the mother of his actual unborn child, and Rey instantly felt pity for the fetus for having such an overprotective father already. “Honestly, I’d be more than happy if we didn’t have to move before the baby arrives.”

Poe huffed, mostly defeated.

“Why is this so hard for you?” Rey suddenly asked.

“Because,” he started. “You’re my baby cousin.”

“Is that all?” she asked, eyebrow quirked. “Because that’s a stupid ass reason. Are you sure you still don’t have a hang-up on the relationship because it’s Ben Solo?”

Her cousin sputtered at the thought, “No! It’s definitely not that!” Paige snorted in the background. “What?” he snapped.

“It’s totally, that,” Paige answered.

“Is not!” Poe half whined. “I just want to make sure she knows the person she moves in with!”

“Poe Dameron,” Paige snapped. “She’s twenty years old. She’s a big girl. If it doesn’t work out, which, honestly their relationship is twenty times more healthy than ours and I’m totally a Reylo Shipper, then she crashes on our couch until we find a bigger place. Or she moves back in with her dad for a little bit. It’s not that difficult.”

Rey internally thanked Paige. Her pregnancy hormones had even themselves out now that she was in her second trimester, making her much more level-headed and cheerful than previous months. “Reylo?” Rey questioned with a scrunched nose, hearing the term for the first time.

“It’s your celebrity couple name,” Paige explained, waving the chopping knife she held for emphasis. “Rey and Kylo. Or, it totally works on the other level of Rey and Solo. Reylo!”

Poe and Rey stared at each other in disbelief for a few moments.

“I’m moving in with him,” Rey said with sudden finality. “Next weekend. We’ve already reserved a truck.”

Poe pouted, “Fine. But we have three away games in a row this weekend.”

“I know,” Rey said. “But it’s the best weekend for Ben since he’s still suspended and it’s still before playoffs, so he’s taking the weekend off.”

“I can help,” Paige offered as she added freshly chopped celery to the pot on the stove. “I have to work all week, so I can’t go on the road this time, but I can be here to help Saturday or Sunday.”

“You shouldn’t be-”

“Shut up, Poe.”

Rey watched as they stared each other down, waiting for the other one to break.

“Alright, well, I’m going to start packing the meager amount of belongings I own,” she said awkwardly as she stood up and made her way to her bedroom.

~

“Why do we have to have dinner with my parents?” Ben groaned for the millionth time as he made the turn down a familiar road.

“Because it’s free food that neither of us has to make,” Rey said robotically. “And they love you and miss you.”

Ben grumbled something unintelligible as he pulled into the Solo driveway. Rey ignored him.

As they approached the side door that the family used on a daily basis by the garage, they could hear Leia screech at Han: “The kids are here!” causing Ben to roll his eyes and Rey to smack his shoulder in response.

The door whooshed open to reveal his mother, a huge grin plastered on her face. “Ben! Rey! I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Hi, Mom,” Ben said, kissing her cheek as he walked past her into the house. Rey embraced the smaller woman.

“Rey, dear,” Leia mused. “You look so gorgeous!”

“Thank you,” Rey blushed. “Dinner smells amazing.”

“Ah, yes, Han only pulls out all the stops for Holidays and his favorite people,” Leia smirked as she walked Rey into the kitchen where the boys were currently. “Can I get you a drin-”

Interrupting his mother, Ben handed both women a glass of wine each, “I’ve got it.”

“Thank you, Ben,” his mother smiled up at him. “Did you bring this?”

Ben nodded, “It’s just been collecting dust in my pantry. I figured you would enjoy it.”

“Mmm you were right,” she muses as she took her first sip.

The three settled into a mostly comfortable silence while Han banged pots and pans around the kitchen, pulling a casserole dish out of the oven and washing dishes as he went. “About ten more minutes,” he called.

“Help me set the table, Ben,” Leia demanded. He followed her like a good boy, making sure not to ruffle any feathers while under her roof.

Rey made her way over to where Han was finishing up dinner. “Anything I can help with?”

“You could take these to the table, kid,” he pointed out to a couple of covered dishes on the counter.

Rey grabbed a pot holder and carefully walked the heavy pyrex into the dining room where Leia was chatting away at Ben. He smiled sheepishly at her as Leia continued her spiel about Luke and Mara’s new house.

“It’s small,” Leia commented, “but you know your uncle has never been one for a lavish lifestyle.”

“How small is ‘small’, Mother?” Ben asked with a droll.

Leia tutted. “A meager three bedrooms and two bathrooms. And they’re turning one of the bedrooms into an office for Mara.”

“I don’t know how they’ll ever survive,” Ben responded sarcastically.

“Oh, Ben,” Leia huffed. “I wasn’t saying it was bad, just smaller than what I would have purchased. Goodness knows your father and I need our separate ends of the house so we don’t kill each other.”

Ben sighed, “That I do.”

“I mean,” Leia went on as she followed her son, who was setting down napkins, with silverware, “you even had your own part of the house, too. I don’t know why you needed your privacy since you didn’t have any girls over. You boys usually hung out at Poe’s anyways.”

Rey started to make faces at Ben to distract him from the conversation, of which she could tell her boyfriend was definitely not enjoying.

“Rey, dear, do you have something in your eye?” Leia asked, feigning innocence as she caught the younger woman with one eye shut.

It took all of Ben’s self-respect to not burst out laughing as Rey wiped her eyes and pretended to flick away an eyelash for Leia. “Yeah, I think I got it.”

“Mmhmm,” Leia hummed, amused more than offended.

“Everybody take a seat,” called Han’s voice as he walked through the doorway dividing the kitchen from the dining room carrying a large roast. “Dinner is ready.”

“Looks amazing,” Rey drooled. “So, this is where Ben learned to cook.”

Both Han and Leia looked between the two of them in confusion.

“What are you talking about, dear?” Leia asked.

Rey looked at Ben, who was trying to hide a smirk.

“The kid can’t cook for shit,” Han said as he carved up the roast. “I tried for many years to teach him, but he seemed to take after his mother in that respect.”

“No,” Rey argued, her eyebrows scrunched together. “He cooks. Really well.”

Ben was almost to tears holding back his laughter.

Leia frowned at everyone else at the table. “Benjamin, have you been ordering food and passing it off as your own?”

He couldn’t hold back anymore, Ben burst out laughing at the confusion on all three people’s faces.

“Noooo..” Rey drawled. “I’ve seen him actually cook. Ben?”

“I’ve been slowly teaching myself,” he finally explained after calming down from his fit of giggles. “And I took a few classes before Rey came over for the first time.”

Leia stared in disbelief while Han looked on smugly. “Huh, turns out you are my kid after all.”

His wife reached over and smacked his arm and grumbled: “As if there were any doubt, you nerfherder.”

“Ow, Woman!” Han gasped, rubbing his bicep. “You know I had no idea how to cook before I met you,” he began after he soothed the future bruise.

“What?” Ben and Leia asked quickly, in unison.

Han smirked, “I guess I should let this secret out. I took cooking lessons from Maz so I could cook this Princess a home-cooked meal.”

The entire table stayed silent, Ben blanching at the thought of how similar he is to his father, Leia’s expression softening into that of adoration and amusement, and Rey smirking between the other three people while Han looked around the table, waiting for someone else to speak.

“Anyways,” Han finally cleared his throat. “How is school going, Rey?”

“Oh,” she said, taken aback by the sudden change in subject. “It’s good. There are three weeks left of the semester, so we’re getting into final paper territory.”

Han grunted, “I do not miss grading those. Especially freshman papers. Absolutely no depth or proper citations.”

“You say that as if you ever actually graded a term paper in your life,” Leia accused, “which I know for a fact you were too busy with EXTRACURRICULAR  ACTIVITIES to actually grade.”

Rey snorted into her food as Ben gagged.

“Darling, that was when I met you,” Han said smugly. “Before you, I was so bored out of my mind grading papers.”

“So, anyway,” Ben cleared his throat. “Rey and I are house hunting.”

Both parents quickly turned away from making googly eyes at each other to stare at their son. “You didn’t knock her up, did you?” Han finally growled.

“Han!” Rey screeched, looking embarrassed. Leia reached over and smacked him upside the head for the second time that evening for even suggesting it.

“No,” Ben replied calmly. “We want to move in together, but my apartment is too far away from school for both of us and Damer-”

“School for both of you?” Leia cut in.

“Ah, yeah,” the younger man backtracked. “I’m not going to be signing another contract with the Knights,” he explained, “and I’ve already enrolled at Alderaan University.”

“Retirement?” his father grunted. “At twenty-nine?” Ben shrugged and went back to picking at his plate. “That’s probably the smartest damn decision you’ve ever made, kid.”

Ben glanced up from his plate to see his parents smiling at him. “Anyways, we’re looking for a house,” he continued, “and I didn’t know if either of you knew of any places around here-”

“You’re looking in this neighborhood?” his mother interrupted for the second time. “And we could potentially see you more often?”

“Woman, stop interrupting the boy,” Han tried to silence her.

Rey decided to take control of the conversation, “Yeah, I want to be closer to my dad and be able to visit Poe and Paige more often, and an hour drive is just wretched for a daily commute, especially since I really want to keep my job at the tavern.”

“You know,” Han smirked. “I think I know of a house for sale a neighborhood over.”

Chapter Text

Phasma missed Kylo being at the arena for practice. He’d been taking time off what with the suspension and his imminent retirement- of which was yet to be announced- to spend time with family, he had stated.

“Phas,” called Hux’s voice from the hallway as he approached her office. “I need your help with something.” He looked up from his phone to squint at his employee-turned-recent-friend. “I said no.”

“Don’t worry, Huxy,” Phasma cooed as she lounged on her brand new black leather chaise lounge. “I bought it myself.”

His lips pursed, “It wasn’t just the budget, Phasma.”

“I’ve been more productive today than I have been in a year, doll,” she said and she squigged her toes against the leather, having kicked off her slingbacks recently. “You worry too much.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

Phasma looked back down at her laptop screen before asking “What did you need my help with?”

“Right,” he muttered. “This press release,” he said as he handed her a paper he held that she hadn’t noticed before. “We need to announce Ren’s retirement at the first playoff game next week.”

“Thank goodness,” Phasma lit up. “We can raise prices for his memorabilia during the playoffs and pacify Old Man Snake.”

“That’s the plan,” Hux drawled. “That’s how I was able to sell the idea to a very angry Mr. Snoke.”

Phasma read over the document carefully, taking her sky blue pen to it as Hux watched. “No,” she finally said. “Just a news article isn’t going to work.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Hux groaned. “This is turning out to be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“No, it’s not,” Phasma snapped as she stared daggers at her boss. “After the game, he does the interview instead of Terex or Mitaka, or perhaps just after they finish.”

Hux rolled his eyes, “Fine. Make it happen, but don’t let the press know about it beforehand. I don’t want to be cleaning this mess up before it even happens.”

“Have I ever let you down, Armitage?” Phasma batted her eyes as she pulled her computer up to her lap again.

“I plead the fifth.”

~

The week went by and Ben had agreed to the interview. “Might as well just get it over with,” he had sighed during his meeting with Hux and Phasma.

“That’s the spirit!” Phasma had cheered, clapping him on the back. “So when are you two lovebirds getting married, and can I be your best bitch?” She went ignored by both men.

But now the game was about to begin and Ben and Rey found themselves in their own suite, a favor bestowed upon them by Hux, knowing a run-in with Snoke would only cause chaos at this point. Joining the couple were Phasma and Ben’s parents. The Rebels’ playoffs kicked off the previous night, pulling a win in the third period.

“Ben, stop fidgeting,” Leia said, handing him a glass of wine from the bar. “You’ve given plenty of interviews before, this should be no different.”

“Easy for you to say, Mother,” Ben snapped.

“Don’t go all moody teenaged Ben on us now, kid,” Han chuckled from the bar where Phasma was mixing him up a mocktail. Ben shot the older man a glare from across the room as Leia smoothed down his already perfected hair.

Rey, who was currently piling her plate with food from the buffet table, merely snickered at the scene.

She brought the plate of food over, guiding Ben to sit down in one of the seats next to the one she had claimed with her purse when they arrived. “Come on, let’s just watch the game for now,” she nodded at the rest of the room, telling them to leave the man alone with just a look. Leia’s eye twinkled at the display.

“You know, I’m just so happy that if the Rebels meet the Knights in the finals, that I don’t have to choose sides anymore,” Han said out of the blue, sighing happily.

Rey laughed, understanding the issue as she was prepared to have to choose if Ben hadn’t decided to retire this year. Ben shot him a confused look, “You would root for the Knights?”

“Of course we did, Sweetheart,” Leia cooed. “You’re our son. How could we want you to fail?”

“Oh.” Ben’s ears flushed slightly, still getting used to being around his parents as much as he had been since falling for the girl sitting next to him.

“Your father even has a Knights jersey hiding in his closet,” Leia quickly interjected. Han’s face contorted in disbelief. “What? You don’t want your son to know you supported him outwardly, too? You two are just terrible at this father-son relationship thing.”

Phasma snorted from the bar where she was pouring herself and Leia a glass of wine. “Kylo is just bad at all kinds of relationships.”

“I beg to differ,” Rey finally piped up, eyes still trained on the ice as the players warmed up. “Now, can we please stop making the poor man uncomfortable and watch the game?”

~

“It’s time,” came Rey’s soothing voice. “Are you ready?” she asked as she straightened his tie. He nodded, not yet trusting his own voice. She stood on her tiptoes, still donning her Kylo Ren jersey and dark grey leggings she normally wore to games and pecked him on the lips. “Alright, you’re going to do wonderfully, but Phasma said it would be best if I weren’t in the line of sight for the press to hound or get off topic.”

“I know,” he said, cracking a small smile for her. “I’ll see you after.” She pecked him on the cheek before he turned to walk down to the locker room for the last official time.

The walk down to the locker rooms was shorter than he remembered, but he found reassuring smiles and nods from his teammates along the way. Hux found him and directed him in a very Hux-like manner, all business and no-nonsense, to his final moments as a Knight.

Ben took a deep breath, straightened his jacket for the millionth time that evening, and finally stepped into the line of sight for the cameras and journalists.

Mitaka was finishing up his post-game interview, having proudly worn the “A” on his jersey this past season. As the two teammates passed each other, Mitaka pulled Ben into a one-armed hug and wished him luck quietly. Ben smiled and gave him a mumbled thanks in return.

“Alright, folks, we go live in about a minute,” Called Phasma from behind the hungry journalists. “I have a few rules as we get set up: First of all, there will be absolutely no personal questions. Secondly, only questions about The Knights will be allowed. And last, Mr. Ren is allowed to pass on answering without question.”

While Phasma gave her spiel, Ben set himself up behind a podium one of Phasma’s interns had set up after Mitaka walked off. Phasma turned to him after addressing the press, “Are you ready?” Ben nodded in response. “Alright, after this, drinks on you,” she said quickly as she scooted away out of the line of sight.

Ben took a deep breath in and out before the camera in front of him started rolling.

“Good Evening,” he began. “I would like to take this time to congratulate my teammates on a great start to this playoff season. They played wonderfully, and I look forward to seeing how they continue to shine in the future. Especially since that future will no longer include me-” a million flashes went off as Ben continued to read off of the speech cards he had stashed up his sleeves. “After this playoff season, I will be retiring from professional hockey to pursue other life dreams and goals while I am able to. I’ve truly appreciated and enjoyed my time with the Knights and could not have asked for a better team to have spent my professional career with.”

He realized everything he was saying sounded monotone, but it was the only thing he could provide for the press at the moment as he recited what he and Phasma had written.

“My current suspension has nothing to do with this decision,” he went on. “This is not a decision I’ve made lightly and I know many of the fans will be upset with it and I understand the hurt. But, you have an amazing team to still cheer on and I encourage you all to keep supporting the Knights. Of course, I will continue to cheer for my old teammates as well. However, if you see me sporting a Rebels jersey in the future, I maintain the answer of ‘no comment’.” Half of the press gave an awkward chuckle while the other half stared on in confusion.

“I’d also like to take the moment to name my successor,” Ben announced standing up straighter and making eye contact with the cameras. “I know this isn’t exactly customary, but I figured you all needed some good news in this press conference. It is my great pleasure to announce that Dopheld Mitaka is going to take over as Captain for the Knights.” A round of applause erupted as Mitaka stepped back out and stood next to Ben behind the podium. “He’s been one of our strongest defensemen in the history of the team and I couldn’t think of a more deserving player.”

“Aww, Kylo, you’re making me blush,” Mitaka joked into the microphone causing Ben to crack his first ever smile in front of the press. “Thank you, everyone, for your support. I wish Kylo all the best on the next stage of his life, even though I personally think he’s an idiot for leaving the best team in the league.”

“Alright, alright, Doph,” Ben chuckled. “Now, let’s take a few questions.” Everyone’s hands shot up with a chorus of ‘Kylo’ or ‘Ren’ being shouted. Ben pointed to someone he didn’t recognize from the usual rotation.

“Do you think the league will allow you to play any more games now that we’re in the playoffs?”

Ben frowned slightly, “I’m honestly not sure. I am not going to push my luck with them; I know I screwed up big time by allowing Jorgen to push my buttons, so it’s in the officiates’ hands.”

“Even though you say you won’t be playing for the team anymore, will you be playing a new role for the team, or any hockey team, in the future?”

“At this time it is undecided,” Ben began, taken aback by the sly way this man asked around the ‘no personal questions’ rule Phasma had ordered. “If so, it won’t be for a few years at best, but I doubt it. I’m looking forward to finishing my college degree in History and Archives, to answer your burning personal questions, and rebuilding relationships with my family.”

“Kylo,” called a woman in the middle of the crowd, “did your girlfriend have anything to do with this decision?”

“No,” he said, frowning. “She is supportive of any decision I make on the matter. Her familial affiliation with the Knights’ greatest rivaling team had no weight on this choice. Besides, I think my affiliation with the Rebels outweighs hers.”

“Could you explain that?”

Ben made eye contact with Phasma and shrugged, “Oh, why the hell not.” Phasma smiled and gave him a thumbs up. “Kylo Ren is just a pseudonym. My name is Benjamin Solo. My grandfather was Anakin Skywalker, making Luke Skywalker my uncle and Leia Organa-Solo my mother. I was a legacy that didn’t want to be compared to the two generations that came before me, so we- my parents and I- agreed to the idea of a pseudonym before I signed the contract with the Knights.”

Cameras and shouting all began as Ben took a breath. “I think that’s all the information I’ll be giving you on my personal history. Is there anything related to the Knights I can answer?”

The questions that followed were simple, more his normal speed of ‘how do you think the future playoff games will go’ or ‘what do you think will be the team’s greatest weakness without you there?’

Walking away from the podium, Mitaka taking over once again now that he had been established as team captain, Ben spotted Rey peeking out from around the corner, bouncing in anticipation as he neared.

Chapter Text

Rey couldn’t help herself, she had to watch. She was peeking around the corner the entire interview, hanging out with Mitaka before he was motioned to get back out to the cameras. Leia and Han had stayed back in the suite, knowing that their presence would spark even more debate amongst the tabloids.

Honestly, her own jaw dropped as soon as she heard Ben stumble over the question of her influence and end up answering with his own lineage. She had known how important it was for him to seek his privacy and keep his family separate from his career, but the fact that he had just given that up floored her.

She couldn’t wait to pull him close and tell him how proud of him she was. The pure excitement of it made her literally bounce on the balls of her feet as he began walking away from the gaggle of journalists and their camera-people.

“Ben!” She gasped, still in awe as he walked faster towards her, leaping out from her hiding place and leaping to wrap her arms around his neck- a feat even for her tall frame.

He quickly grabbed her and steadied both of them before walking her back to the hallway she had been hiding in. “You’re supposed to be upstairs with my parents, little girl,” he growled into her hair as he held her closely.

“I had to watch,” she laughed into his shoulder.

“I’m glad you did,” he smiled as he pulled away from her to tilt his head down enough to kiss her forehead.

“Alright, lovebirds,” called Phasma’s voice from down the hall after she ushered out the press. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

“Jealous, Phas?” came Hux’s voice from behind her, unseen by the couple.

Phasma smiled wickedly, “You wish, Hugs.”

Ben smirked along with Rey as they heard the grumpy ginger grumble at the nickname, only being able to make out “Fucking Dameron.”

“No, that’s Ren’s job!” she called after her boss.

“OH, GOD, PHASMA!” They heard him squeal. “Now I won’t be able to get that image out of my nightmares!”

They heard Phasma cackle, prancing after Hux through the hallway in her four-inch, specially made Knights pumps.

“I mean, he is pretty dashing for a man,” Rey teased. “No three-ways, though. That would just be weird.”

Ben gagged, “I’ll stick with the Dameron in front of me, thanks.” He quickly smooched her on the cheek before letting her go and leading her to meet his parents.

~

“Poe!” Paige yelled from the couch. “POE!”

“What, woman!” came him muffled shout from what was once Rey’s bedroom. “Do you want this room painted before you squeeze that demon out or not?”

“We still have a few months,” she rolled her eyes. “Get over here! Solo’s giving a press conference.”

Poe appeared to stand behind the mother of his child quickly, covered in light yellow paint speckles here and there. “Shit,” he swore quietly.

“Did Rey say anything?”

“No, can you turn it up?”

“Kylo Ren is just a pseudonym. My name is Benjamin Solo. My grandfather was Anakin Skywalker, making Luke Skywalker my uncle and Leia Organa-Solo my mother-”

“Son of a bitch outed himself?” Poe gasped.

Paige smirked, “Boy has it bad.”

“Alright.”

“Alright what?” Paige asked, turning towards him.

“Alright, he can stay.”

Paige burst out laughing at that, “Like you had any say in the matter, babe!”

“Let me have this, woman!” he joked, tossing a throw pillow at her lightly.

~

“Alright,” yelled Mitaka’s voice over the sounds of the popular sports bar he, the team, and the Solos had overtaken once they were dressed and cleaned up from the game. “Alright, you bunches of assholes! I want to make a toast!” Phasma whistled so loudly everyone shut up and turned towards their new captain. “Thank you, Miss Phasma,” he nodded as he crooned with a fake southern accent he only donned while inebriated.

“My pleasure, Sweetie,” she winked.

“Alright,” he began again, “We all know that it is well past our bedtime, as I’m sure Mr. Hux will remind us as soon as I finish this toast. So, I will try to make this as least sappy and as quick as I can.”

Ben laughed freely, an arm around his girl and a whiskey sour in one hand, realizing he wouldn’t have to suffer extra drills Krennic would bark at them for partying too hard and too early.

“Now, I’ve been a part of the First Order Knights team for about seven years. I was in my fourth year, finally on a decent line that played regularly throughout each game, when in struts this lanky spitfuck of a kid fresh off of college ice, right? Me? I’ve done my dues, played the minors after getting my degree in sports management and playing hockey on a small scholarship. But this bastard just comes in and Krennic informs us he’s on the starting line-up per Snoke’s orders. So, you can imagine mine and everyone else’s thoughts on the subject.”

Everyone laughed, especially those that had stuck around the past few years.

“But, during his first game as a Knight he scored not just one, but five goals AND managed a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. I think that fight against the Hutts’ player really convinced me that this kid with a really weird fucking name was going to be an asset to our team.”

“Hear hear!” yelled another player from the back of the group.

“Though your ego, Ren? That was Hell,” Terex interjected.

Han started snickering next to Leia, who shushed him while failing to hide her own smirk.

“Yeah, and how did you come up with such a lame name?” Mitaka asked, turning towards the man of the hour.

Ben shrugged, “I didn’t. Snoke did. Something about mixing surnames or something. I don’t even know.”

Mitaka frowned at the lame response. “You’re no fun, BENJAMIN,” he enunciated the name he wasn’t used to. “Anyways, I’m not sure where we would be as a team without this human wall as our captain the past couple of years. I thought he’d be giving this speech for me instead about ten years down the road, but fate is a funny thing-”

“Doph,” Ben interrupted. “You’re rambling too long, Hux is about to pop a vein.” The ginger that stood a few paces away from Ben and Rey glared, but nodded slightly at his old friend in thanks for moving the speech along.

“Alright, alright, Ren good, retirement sad, LET’S DRINK!”

Everyone held their glasses and steins aloft in celebration.

~

“Oh, no no no, this won’t do,” Phasma cooed as she found Hux hiding at the bar alone. “What’s wrong Armie?”

“I think I’d rather you call me ‘Hugs’ than that,” Hux sneered.

Phasma plopped down on the stool next to him as he gulped down the rest of his scotch. “Seriously, though,” she insisted as she waved the bartender over to order her own drink. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why aren’t you out there with who I assume is the closest thing to a friend you have?” she batted her eyes at him.

Hux glared at her until the bartender sat down another drink in front of him and an identical one in front of his head of marketing. “You really want me to bare my soul to you in a bar at my best friend’s retirement party?”

“It’s the perfect time for a maudlin therapy session with your now-favorite coworker!” She pressed brightly, flashing him her bright smile.

“Alright, fine,” he sighed. Hux continued to be silent for a few moments before jumping in. “It’s really stupid and childish, though.”

Phasma giggled, “I never expected anything less, Hux.”

“I just never thought this would be where my life ended up,” he began. “The accident completely steered me in a different direction-”

Phasma cut in with “But, you have a more stable career this way.”

Hux nodded along in agreement, “I supposed.”

“You thought you and Kylo would be sharing a retirement party down the road, didn’t you?” Phasma guessed as she set her glass down from her latest sip. “Life is a funny thing, Hux. It doesn’t go how you want it to. Ever.”

“Thanks for the pep talk, Phas,” Hux laughed defeatedly.

“But,” she said loudly, “it will go the way you need it to when you work for it. But you have to work for it.”

Hux just rolled his eyes, “I’ve worked for everything I have. Sure, Solo threw my name to Snoke, but I had to prove myself to him.”

“I didn’t say you hadn’t,” she countered. “But if you’re unhappy, you need to change something. That’s what Kylo did.”

“Come on, Phas, Kylo Ren no longer exists,” Hux smirked. “Use the right name.”

Phasma scrunched her nose, “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

Hux barked a laugh. “Try having to go back and forth on it.”

“Whatever,” she blew him off with a smirk, obviously getting what she wanted as he smiled. “He still worked to change his life. He wasn’t happy either.”

“I’m not going back to college, Phasma,” Hux deadpanned.

“That’s not what I’m suggesting,” she said, unamused. “Have you thought about trying online dating?”

Hux blanched at the thought, “No, and I don’t plan to.” He paused for a moment. “I’m not interested in romance.”

“Alright, how about taking a vacation to a place you’ve never been? I could use a travel buddy to the Galapagos.”

“As if Snoke would allow that.”

“Have you ever asked for time off?”

“No.”

Phasma just stared at the man, who was now shrinking into the back of his stool, seemingly defeated. “What about applying to be another team’s GM?”

“No one is hiring, Phas.”

“A little birdie told me that there will be a GM position available in the next year or two,” she said in a taunting sing-song voice. “You’d just have to learn to get along with a certain player.”

Hux looked up at the tall blonde with wide eyes, “Holdo is retiring?”

Phasma bobbed her head in a ‘kind of’ way. “Well, she would still be the boss…”

“Mrs. Solo?”

“Yeah, she’s looking to sell the team to Amylin,” Phasma said in a hushed voice. “But not even Ky-Ben knows. I believe Leia said something about wanting to spend time with her inevitable grandchildren.”

Hux snorted at that. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up poking holes in Solo’s condoms if they make her wait too long.”

“Oh, good, then I won’t have to,” Phasma joked. “But, seriously, I think you should talk to Holdo.”

“And then what would you do?” He asked, smirking slightly again. “Once both Solo and I are gone from the team?”

She shrugged. “I’ve got a few options. But fuck if I stay and work for that disgusting old man if you two aren’t there to protect me.”

“Since when have you needed protection?”

She held her glass up to acknowledge his respect. “Ah, Huxy, just your mere presence has always been enough protection from the sleezeball.”

“I’m not sure if you meant that as a compliment or not.” Phasma barked a laugh in response before Hux checked his phone for the time. “I should get going home soon,” he sighed. “Millicent will probably piss all over my bed again if I’m more than three hours late with her dinner.”

“Go on, I’ll settle up,” she waved him off.

Hux quirked his eyebrow. “I have a tab open with the company card. No one but Snoke is paying for anything tonight.”

“Why, Armitage Hux,” Phasma gasped. “I do think your inner Rebel is beginning to show!”

“Have a good night, Phasma. Thank you,” he smiled before wandering off to say a quick goodbye to the Solo clan playing darts by the kitchen.

Chapter Text

Rey was completely out of her element as she tied yellow ribbons and white tulle around piles of pastel-colored m&m’s. The rest of the house was covered in pale yellow decorations, scents of baked good wafting from the kitchen where Han was grumbling about women infiltrating his sacred space as he cooked for them.

Behind her, Rose and Leia were busy setting up tables and chairs, giggling about the games they had planned. Rey’s nose scrunched as she heard Rose snickering over something about sniffing chocolate baby poop in a diaper. She would sit that particular game out, thank you very much, making plans to sneak out and “help Han” with something in the kitchen to have him pour her a strong beverage.

“No, Poe!” screeched Paige’s voice as they walked through the Solo’s front door. “We are not naming our child that.”

“Come, on,” he whined, unseen by the other three women, “Gertrude is a very respectable name.”

“I refused to call my child ‘Gertie’. Do you know how much E.T. scared me as a child?!” Paige fought as they walked into the dining room where the other three women were setting up her baby shower. “Rose, tell him I can’t name my child Gertie.”

Rose raised an eyebrow at the father of her niece or nephew, “Are you sure it’s even a girl?” was all she asked.

“Gertrude was my mother’s middle name,” Poe pouted.

Paige’s face softened slightly, “Can’t we just use her first name as a middle name?” Poe lit up at the idea, not having thought about it. “IF it’s a girl, that is.”

“Are you two planning on finding out?” Leia asked as she set a vase of flowers on the table she was currently decorating, Poe having immediately set out to moving the furniture to where his boss pointed out silently.

“Well, we were planning on it being a surprise,” Paige led as she went to sit next to Rey and help her with the candy favors. “But, I guess we should tell you the plan so it actually follows through correctly.”

“We have a gift box with the gender hidden in it,” Poe said giddily. “A gift from Baby Dameron to everyone else.”

Rey rolled her eyes and smirked at Paige, “How long has he been like this?”

“Since he had the idea a month ago,” Paige snickered. "We don't even know the gender yet, so it's going to be a surprise for everyone today."

“So, what are your boy name ideas?” Leia asked further.

“NOT Poe Jr,” Paige quickly snapped. “I like Phillip if we’re going with a P theme.”

“That’s not the worst,” Poe agreed. “I voted Phineas, but Paige pointed out then we would have two Ph/Finn’s…”

“We also have Peter on the list.”

Rose piped up, “How about Parker? It’s gender neutral.”

Poe and Paige looked at each other. “You know, I like it,” Paige smiled. “We’ll add it to the list.” Rose beamed as Poe smiled at the idea.

“Just as long as the kid’s name isn’t Peter Parker,” Rey snickered.

“Damnit, Rey,” Poe swore, his jaw dropping at the idea. “Now we have to name the kid that if it’s a boy.”

Paige just rolled her eyes, “And for a girl I like Priscilla-”

“No,” Poe argued. “I am not going to have a daughter literally named Prissy.”

“It’s better than Prunella!”

“I also offered Prudence,” Poe frowned.

Leia eyed the couple, “Does it have to start with a P? Because mine and Luke’s birth mother’s name was Padme-”

“NO!” yelled Ben’s voice from upstairs in his old bedroom. “Mother, you don’t get to give away family names to non-family members!”

“They are family, dear,” Leia called back. “Whether you accept it or not!”