Chapter Text
It made her ears ring. She blinked several times as she pushed herself off the ground, looking around at the collapsing ballroom. The selfish ones ran screaming, leaving their friends behind as they searched for an escape. Those more caring and sympathetic pushed through the rubble, coughing as the dust attacked their lungs but they persisted despite it, searching for victims of the explosion. Rey looked down at her once beautiful ballgown. It was covered in soot, as was her skin, and the silky fabric was torn in several places. She felt weak, she was exhausted. There was a pounding in her head and she could see splatters of blood on the rock behind her head. She needed to rest, just for a while. Slowly, she allowed herself to sink back down, lying on the cold ballroom floor as she closed her eyes. Yes, this was it. She just needed to rest her eyes for a moment.
“REY!” the shout sounded through her ears, distant but clear.
She felt the clutches of darkness drag her into unconsciousness as she gave her reply in a tiny whisper,
“Ben.”
---
5 days earlier
She walked a few paces behind him because that is how it had always been. The sight of his back striding away had become a familiar sight over the years. Watching as he ignored her completely, never speaking a word as he moved in a flurry of his black cape to his destination.
His fists were usually clenched at his side, showing her his constant agitation, his anger toward the rest of the world.
Not that she cared.
She couldn’t care less about how he felt, she was here to do her job, not for him.
Senator Solo was the most unpleasant man she had ever meant. He was cold and cruel, a permanent scowl across his face. He had always been this way. Ever since she had started working for him three years prior.
She had walked into his office with a smile on her face, giving him a cheery good morning and a small wave as she introduced herself. Only, he didn’t respond. He simply turned from his place at the window that looked over the city, looked her up and down from head to toe before turning back to the window, that scowl on his face.
For a week she had been chirpy and friendly, under the assumption that he was just shy and open up to her soon enough.
Except he didn’t. He never did.
So she gave up and the mutual disdain for one another settled in.
They rarely spoke to each other, despite how much time they had spent together. As his bodyguard, Rey had to be his side constantly, ensuring he was safe and protected. She did her job well, using the skills she had learnt as a Jedi to maximise security wherever he went. (which wasn’t very far, he rarely left his office).
She knew a lot about Senator Solo and most of what she knew profoundly irritated her. He was cold and blunt, he spoke in words rather than sentences (well to her at least), and his answers were often given with an icy glare of irritation. Everything on his desk had a certain place and were anything to be moved, he would be a thunderous storm cloud for the rest of the day. He always wore the same black ensemble, it never changed.
He stomped around the senate halls, barking orders to both her and his charming assistant Poe Dameron. He had temper tantrums that resulted in a smashed vase or broken wallpaper (although as time had gone on he had gotten better at controlling that). And he did this annoying thing where he ran his hand through his thick dark hair, brushing it away from his face in a way that sent a shiver of irritation down Rey’s spine whenever she saw him do it.
She despised him and couldn’t care less that he felt the same. She didn’t need to like him to work for him.
“Call the Senator of Geonosis to say I can’t make the meeting as I have one with my mother this afternoon.” He threw the command over his shoulder.
“That isn’t my job.” She said through gritted teeth.
He stopped and turned to her, “Then get Dameron to do it.” he instructed.
“Still not my job.” She bit back.
She could see his frustration as he turned on his heel, pulling out his holopad as he increased the speed of his strides down the corridor, so much so that Rey had to jog a little to catch up.
He typed the message quickly, his fingers practically slamming the screen as he did so before he shoved it back inside his pocket.
“You didn’t inform me about your meeting with your mother,” Rey stated.
“That’s not your job.” He said curtly.
“Well, it is my business if I am to be making security arrangements to ensure both of your safety.”
He shrugged. She wanted to punch him.
“Do it now then or just wait outside the door.”
Rey scoffed, “You act like my job is so easy.” She said bitterly.
“It is.”
She glared at him, “Trust me, keeping you alive isn’t easy.”
“Because you want to stab me in the back?”
A small smirk crossed her lips, “Perhaps. But I’d be out of a job which would be a huge inconvenience.”
“I could fire you.”
“You could, but then you would have to find a new bodyguard which would be-“
“A huge inconvenience.” He finished for her, a smirk on his lips, the closest she ever got to him smiling.
They continued to walk in silence down the halls of the senate building until they reached his pod. According to the schedule they would be discussing trade routes, taxes in the outer rim and the ongoing negotiations with the growing powers in the mid-rim. All very gripping topics that made Rey want to put a blaster bolt through her head as she sat down beside Senator Solo in the pod.
He sat with a straight back like he had a stick keeping him upright. She took her seat behind him where she had a clear view of both him and the entrance to the pod.
The meeting was just about to start when Poe Dameron came running in, breathless as he handed Senator Solo a collection of files, “You’re late.” He said cooly.
“Only by a couple of seconds, sir, I was chasing up these trade route files as you asked me to do this morning.” He explained hastily, still with his signature roguish grin across his face.
“Mmhm.” The Senator replied, flicking through the files and going back to ignoring his assistant. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Poe sauntered over to Rey, offering her a bright smile as he sat down next to her. “How’s my ray of sunshine today?” He asked.
Rey rolled her eyes, “Oh, hush you.” She said, giving him a playful slap, giggling like a girl as Poe pulled a face.
In front of her, she noticed the Senator turn slightly, narrowing his eyes at her, an odd expression across his face. When she looked up to meet his gaze, he hurriedly turned away.
“Well, this ought to be fun,” Poe grumbled.
Rey shrugged, “Let’s just get it over with.”
Her eyes fell upon Senator Solo as the meeting began and she couldn’t bring herself to tear them away. She watched as he ran his hand through his hair.
Force, she truly despised him.
—
When they reached Leia Organa’s office, Leia embraced both her son and his bodyguard, inviting them both inside. Rey took her post by the door, despite Leia’s protests and Senator Solo sat down beside his mother on one of the plush blue sofas.
“So what brings me here, mother? You said you needed to speak to me about something.” He said, his voice slightly more pleasant than usual (it always was when he was around his mother, probably because he knew she’d put him in his place if he was rude).
Rey liked Leia Organa, she was the one who had hired her in the first place through her brother, Luke Skywalker who had been Rey’s Jedi Master. She had a lot of respect for Leia Organa, she admired her strength and success, Senator Solo was lucky to have someone as wonderful as her as his mother. When Rey watched the pair, she often wondered what her own mother was like. She’d never known her mother and at five years old she had been found by Luke Skywalker himself and brought to his academy. When she met Leia, she couldn’t help but view her as a mother figure.
That was probably one of the reasons Senator Solo despised her so much. The feeling was mutual of course, sometimes the way he spoke about his family made her want to slap him across the face. (Although she often wanted to slap him across the face simply for opening his mouth).
“Yes,” Leia began, “I wanted to discuss this whole marriage idea again.”
The senator let out an irritated sigh, running his hand through his hair (again!). “Mother, we have been through this, it’s too soon, I am sure she’s not ready for this either.”
Rey stiffened slightly at the door. She knew exactly who she was. The Senator of Naboo, a family friend who happened to be single and the perfect match for Senator Solo. There had been discussions regarding their engagement for months, it was only a matter of time before it would be made official.
“I have been speaking to Senator Aranto and according to her father, her family are eager to move the process along.”
Senator Solo rose to his feet, “So that’s it then? You are just going to marry me off now.” He said as he approached the window, looking out at the city.
“Marian is a lovely young woman, Ben.”
“I know, Mother, but I barely know the woman.” He argued.
Leia sighed, her gaze moving to Rey who offered her a smile. The older woman gave her nod and followed her son to the window. “You’ll get to know her, as time goes on you’ll learn how to work together, how to make each other happy.” She said gently, resting her hand on her son’s arm as she looked up at him, “You knew this was coming.”
He gave a curt nod, “I know.”
“And you will grow to love her, Ben, you two are a good match.”
He turned slightly, his gaze meeting Rey’s gaze across the room, causing her breath to to hitch in her throat before he slowly turned back to the window. It was at moments like this where Rey felt sympathetic towards him. She may not have much aside from her job, but at least she had a choice, the freedom to marry whom she chooses when the time comes.
Senator Solo had no such choice.
He wasn’t unpopular… but he also wasn’t popular. Rey had seen the struggles Chandrila faced when it came to trade routes and alliances with other planets. Senator Solo wasn’t charismatic, he was cold and unwelcoming which made it a difficult task to have open discussions with the man that didn’t lead to outrage.
Marrying Senator Marian Aranto would form an alliance, it would improve his image and make him likeable. If he wanted to be re-elected and pursue his goals, he needed people to vote for him and people were not going to vote for him if they didn’t like him.
But that wouldn’t make it any easier. Rey knew she’d hate to have to sell her life away to keep a job, to pursue her goals.
Maybe if they were friends, if they actually liked each other, she’d try to help him.
“Mr and Mrs Aranto are hosting a ball in their estate on Naboo, they contacted me personally to invite us both.” Leia continued, “We were thinking that it could perhaps be an opportunity to formally announce the engagement.”
Rey expected him to argue, to fight back. Instead, he gave an exhausted sigh and nodded, “Okay, good.” He said simply, “That’d be lovely, I’m sure.”
She felt her heart drop slightly, an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Leia moved to wrap her arms around her son, pulling him into an embrace as she whispered her thanks into his ear. Rey took the opportunity to step outside of the office, not wanting to intrude on the pair’s moment.
She was only outside for five minutes when Senator Solo stepped out, closing the door behind him.
For a few moments, he simply stood, taking deep breaths as though he were trying to process the conversation.
“Senator Solo?” She said quietly.
He looked up at her and once again they were locked in that intense gaze that made her shiver. She took a tiny step closer as she looked up at him, her eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips as it dawned on her just how close they were. She heard his breath hitch and immediately directed her eyes back to his as she spoke, “Congratulations.” She said gently.
And just like that, his walls were back up and his expression was ice cold. He stepped away from her before storming down the corridor in a flourish of his black cape.
She didn’t have the heart to chase after him.
—
Poe Dameron stepped inside Leia Organa’s office with a shit-eating grin across his face. “Did you break the news?”
Leia nodded, a small smile across her face, “And Rey heard everything.”
Poe raised his hand, gesturing for Leia to give him a high five. Rolling her eyes, she slapped his hand before sinking back into her desk chair.
“This better work, Poe.”
He gave her a cheeky wink, “Trust me, this will work.”