Chapter Text
Hurrying down the busy street, Rey knew that she was going to be late for her shift at Dex’s again. It’d be a miracle if she didn’t get yelled at for it, but there really wasn’t anything she could have done – this time, at least. She’d left her shoebox-sized apartment halfway across the city with enough time to spare, but then she’d had to make a stop along the way for her second job, and now she was practically running to get to the diner.
It wasn’t her fault that the local courier service she was supposed to use for the Omega Service had been unusually slow that morning. The past few times she’d gone, it’d taken only a minute or two to drop her package off, but today there’d been four people in line in front of her, and the clearly bored clerk behind the counter was processing items about as slow as he could.
If her package hadn’t been so time sensitive, she would have come back later. But it had to go out today, or else she’d risk being in violation of her contract, and Rey really didn’t want that. Not when she was finally starting to get on her feet.
It didn’t help when the lady in front of her turned to look at Rey when she walked in, the judgement in her eyes when she spotted the slightly raised, flushed gland on her wrist, making her stomach twist. Dammit. She’d been in such a rush that she skipped taking her suppressants today. Her next heat wasn’t for another few weeks, but with everything she had to do to prepare the items in the box, it’d left her more than a bit on edge.
God, she really hoped that no one here was aware of what she was sending through the courier service. Not that this was the sort of place that inspired curiosity with its nondescript storefront and lack of advertising. There were a handful of places just like it across the city, and unless someone were in the know, they wouldn’t suspect that it catered to a specific sort of high-end clientele.
Still, Rey couldn’t quiet the nerves curling in her stomach that the lady right in front of her knew that there was a pair of slick-soaked pink panties in the box. Or that the middle-aged guy processing the packages might suspect she’d spent all morning making sure that the neck guard had been thoroughly coated in her essence.
It wasn’t like she was ashamed of what she was doing.
Services like this had existed for almost as long as omegas and alphas had, and even if it wasn’t something talked about much around betas, Rey knew she wasn’t the only omega in the city that earned extra cash this way. But that didn’t stop her from worrying that some judgmental beta who didn’t understand why she was doing this would find out that she was carrying a small box full of slick-soaked items, and that in the next hour, they’d be on their way to the alpha she’d been hired to produce them for.
It was fine. There was nothing on the box to indicate it was being sent as part of the Omega Service. No curious onlookers would be able to tell what was inside.
At least the money from her second job more than made up for any anxiety she experienced every time she dropped a package off. It’d only been a few weeks, and yet she’d already been able to catch up on rent with just enough left over for next month. And after she got paid for today, she’d finally be able to start paying Finn back the money she’d borrowed when she’d been trying to find a place of her own to stay.
If only things hadn't taken so long at the courier shop because now, she was late for her shift at the diner.
As poorly as it paid some weeks, she really didn’t want to get fired. Dex had taken a chance on her when she’d shown up one night, with no experience or references as she asked for an application. Not just anyone would have been willing to hire an underage omega who’d decided to run away from her last foster care home and was barely old enough to hold a job. But Dex had, and despite his gruff alpha exterior, she’d learned that in his own way, he cared about all the strays he’d accumulated over the years.
Besides, he'd been good to her in a time when she’d written off all the adults in her life, and now that she was older and things were finally turning around for her, Rey wasn’t going to let it all slip away.
But first, she really had to get better at arriving to work on time.
Dex’s Diner was off the beaten path, tucked away in the shadows of a few big buildings, but it was close enough to the Capital’s arena to attract all sorts of people. It wasn’t anything fancy – the faded blue-green vinyl on the seats and checkboard floor hadn’t been updated since before Rey was born – but the food was decent enough and the prices were about the cheapest anyone could find in this part of the city, which kept the regulars coming back again and again. And today was no different, with most of the tables full when Rey walked in, with everyone from the janitor next door to a couple of people in suits to a table full of NHL players waiting to order.
“Finally,” Rose said, looking harried with hands full of dishes when Rey rushed into the kitchen 30 minutes after her shift was to begin.
“Sorry,” Rey apologized, quickly clocking in before tossing a black server apron and shoving an order pad and pen into one of the pockets. “I got held up trying to mail something.”
“Uh-huh,” Rose said, rolling her eyes as she shoved a couple plates at Rey. “These go to table 5. And then take the order at 11. I’ve been trying to cover your section, but it’s been busy.”
“I owe you one,” Rey said, following behind Rose as they headed out of the busy kitchen.
“One of these days, Rey,” Rose said with a grin. “I’m going to call in all of those favors you owe me.”
They both laughed, knowing that Rose had covered for Rey more times than she could count at this point. If it wasn’t for her, Dex would have probably given up and fired Rey's ass ages ago.
It wasn’t like she tried to be a bad waitress.
She just struggled with being on time.
And not getting into fights when a customer was an entitled ass.
But that was part of her charm. At least, that’s what a few of the regulars had said when they’d watched her kick out a sleazy suit who had no business eyeing up the waitresses the way he was. Or when she made it abundantly clear that any alpha who stepped foot inside the diner had better behave.
Slipping on her fake customer service voice, Rey dropped the food off at table 5 before making her way over to table 11, where five overly large hockey players were busy chatting away with each other while they waited. If she didn’t know they were all betas, it would have been easy to mistake them for alphas. Though that probably had something to do with hockey since they were all signed to the Coruscant Capitals, and both Finn and Rose had commented more than once about the wonder that was hockey thighs.
Not that she'd paid much attention to that.
“Rey!” Trudgen greeted, breaking off his conversation to give her a wide smile when she approached the table. It wasn’t the first time a few of the professional athletes had stopped by Dex’s, and this group had made a habit of coming in often enough during her shifts that she’d gotten to know a few of them by name.
“Hi Trudgen,” Rey said with an apologetic smile as she pulled out her pad. “Sorry about the wait. What can I get for you guys?”
It didn’t take long for the orders to be put in, and as Rey came around to refill their drinks, she couldn’t help but overhear part of their conversation.
“What do you think about Solo?”
“I like the kid,” Kuruk said, murmuring a thanks when Rey topped off his water. “But I don’t know if he’s going to make it. Snoke’s been awfully hard on him.”
“Shame,” Trudgen said, shaking his head. “Not often an alpha like him gets drafted.”
“Eh, I think he might have a chance,” Vicrul said, flashing Rey a smile when she moved past his chair. “He just needs to find a nice omega to help him relax.”
Rey could feel her cheeks flushing as she hurried away, knowing exactly what Vicrul was implying while laughter boomed around the table. On the scale of crude jokes she’d heard as an omega, this didn’t even register. And besides, the guys were harmless enough, and they always tipped well - though she couldn’t deny that it made her a little curious about their teammate. She didn’t really follow hockey, but from what she knew, alphas weren’t that common in professional sports these days.
Something about fairness, or at least, that’s what a few commissioners had claimed.
Their order got held up in the kitchen for longer than normal, and she would have thought they’d have moved on to a new topic when she returned to the table nearly twenty minutes later with their food, but no, they were still talking about the situation with Solo.
“Hey, Rey, you’re an omega, aren’t you?”
“Wh – what?” Rey asked, her hands suddenly clammy and briefly struggling to not drop everything straight onto Kuruk’s lap when Vicrul turned to ask her the question.
“Vicrul,” Trugden hissed, glaring at his teammate. “You can’t just ask someone that.”
“What?” Vicrul asked, the innocence in his voice at odds with the mischievous glint in his eyes.
“It’s rude.”
“Really rude,” Cardo chimed in. “You know that.”
“It’s ok,” Rey said, wanting to just brush off the situation. “Not the first time someone asked.”
It wasn’t like she tried very hard to hide her designation these days, but it was the first time any of the Capitals’ players had brought it up. Weird. She wondered if it had something to do with what she’d overheard.
“Ignore him. Please,” Kuruk said, giving Vicrul a shove. “Think we knocked him down on the ice too many times today.”
“Hey!” Vicrul interjected, faux offense in his voice.
“He’s a dumbass,” Trudgen said, glaring at Vicrul once more before turning to smile at Rey. “But we were wondering if you’d like to come to one of our games sometime.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Rey hesitated, caught off guard by the request. It was about the last thing she expected after Vicrul’s question.
“I’ve got some extra tickets,” Cardo offered. “You could bring a few of your friends with you.”
“I – I – ”
“Could even get you right near the ice too,” Cardo added, his voice earnest. “So you won’t miss any of the action.”
“Or any of the players,” Vicrul said, his mischievous grin fading when one of the guys kicked him under the table.
“Think about it?” Trudgen asked when Rey didn’t answer right away. “Our first home game is against the Leafs, and we’d love to have our favorite waitress there to see us kick their ass.”
The other guys nodded their heads and gave Rey such pathetic pleading looks that she couldn’t help but laugh. It was oddly charming.
“No promises. But maybe,” Rey said, unsure why she was thinking about agreeing to this. Not once in her time at Dex’s had she ever interacted with a customer outside of the diner. “I need to check my schedule first.”
Vicrul started to speak, but before he could get a word out, Kuruk slapped his hand over the other man’s mouth. And the outraged look on Vicrul’s face nearly made Rey giggle.
What in the world was going on?
“Sure, Rey. No pressure,” Kuruk said, grunting a little when Vicrul tried to wrestle free of his hold. “And if that game doesn’t work, I’m sure we’ve got a few spare tickets to one of our other home games.”
“Okay.”
She was almost relieved when an older couple entered the diner a moment later and she was spared having to respond to one of the strangest conversations she’d had in a while. And when Rey eventually returned to table 11 to check on them, she found a pile of twenties that more than covered their bill and a hastily scrawled note.
Sorry about Vic. He’s an idiot.
If you want the tickets, let me know.
We'd all love to have you there.
555-237-9251
-Trudgen
Huh. Today was just going to be one of those days.