Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn’t anything serious, at first.

She’d have all her work done in the first three hours of the workday, typing and clicking incessantly, sending out any and every email that was needed, which allowed her to spend the remaining hours mindlessly browsing through the World Wide Web. 

Exactly five hours every day of window shopping on eBay, reading scanned pages of The Lord of Rings, following celebrity gossip forums, and her ultimate favorite: reading the Missed Connections postings on Craigslist’s Personals section. 

Los Angeles is a big city. So naturally, there’s a lot of daily postings. Rey hums, clicking from one to the next, shuffling closer to her monitor, her office chair wheels squeaking. Nobody ever bothers to grace her cubicle. She likes it that way.

Burbank Hotel Lobby (Burbank)

Distinguished looking business man and I exchanged looks and winks this afternoon around noon to 1230 in Downtown Burbank. You were checking in.

If you read this and are still interested, send a clear face and the name of the bar your were standing near and let's at least talk.

Some guys over in finance laugh about something. Their whoops echo throughout the entire office. Rey’s never bothered to learn the names of anyone in the other departments.

Laundry, exchanged glances (West LA)

Hey, we ran into each other at the Laundromat on Pico and Westgate. I believe you were there to pickup your mom. While you were packing we exchanged several glances, I felt some tension. Felt hesitant to ask, because of the age difference. But regretted as soon as I saw you drive off. If the interest is mutual and happen to find this post, reach out.

One of the fluorescent lights above her flickers. She keeps forgetting to tell the janitor about it. 

My apt maintaince guy (Boyle Heights)

I want to talk to you but I’m shy. You’re very handsome and we’ve always locked eyes. Tall Hispanic

No matter what, each post always oozes the same hungry, desperate tone. It’s almost like she can taste their torment through the screen: the dying hope that maybe, just maybe, they’ll get to see their missed connection once again. 

The clock in the corner of Rey’s computer screen finally reads 5:30.

Her things are already packed away. She does that at lunch. She logs out of Craigslist and turns the computer off with a satisfying click, eager to be home as soon as she can.

__

A big project is announced. 

Rey is on the team involved with it.

She…thinks.

In all honesty, outside of the tasks she’s been assigned to do within her department, Data Entry, she couldn't care less about what happens around her. In the three years she’s worked at this insurance office, Rey has never attended a single holiday party or company outing. 

(Well, there was that one dinner she went to after some merger, but all she remembers about that was drinking her first beer and that one guy from HR asking if she listens to Enya) 

And yes, she does listen to Enya. In fact, Rey believes that Orrinaco Flow is the best song to exist.

Because it’s Q4, and they’re already going to be extra busy with all the time off due to the holidays, management requires everyone in her department to renegotiate their Christmas bonuses. 

On one hand, she’s pleased to possibly receive more money than what was originally expected, but on the other hand…

One-on-ones are not really her speed. Other people are not her speed. She was always the kid throughout school who had limited to no friends. When she made it to college, Rey won the lottery and didn’t have to deal with a roommate. As an adult, her dating life is D.O.A. and she likes it that way.

Maybe, possibly not really, but that is a different conversation—

Her knuckles and palms itch horribly as she sits in one of the HR manager’s offices, waiting for them to get back from their lunch break. Rey came in too early, nervous about being tardy. 

All she wants at this very moment is to return to her monitor and her world of online shopping and chat forums. 

The manager finally appears after six hellish minutes, greeting her with a small, toothy smile and holding a bag of Chinese takeout. The smell of peanuts and grease wafts through his tiny office, which isn’t really that tiny; it just might look small in perspective because this dude is huge.

It’s the same guy from that one dinner, she distantly realizes. The one who asked her about Enya. Same dark hair, pale skin and big ears.

She just doesn't remember him being so...tall.

“Ms. Solana, is it?”

She nods, itching her palm.

“Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to meet with me.” He sits and places the takeout bag too close to Rey. Her nose wrinkles. “We just need to go over some numbers and send out a proposal to the board regarding your annual bonus. Although, your knowledge of numbers might be a bit better than my own.”

He chokes out a dry chuckle, expecting her to respond. She does not.

“Well, err— Ms. Solana, Rey? May I call you Rey? Alright, thank you. So…Rey, the boys upstairs are more than happy to meet you at this number,” he says, setting a clipboard in front of her. 

She briefly reads the form, skimming it as quickly as she does the files she enters each day. Efficient, simple, and fast. 

It’s a fine number. Great, actually. She might finally upgrade to a bigger apartment this year. 

Her eyes dart back to the HR guy when she hears him fuss with the takeout bag. He doesn’t realize that she watches everything: him tearing apart his chopsticks, undoing the white box, digging into his chow mein. 

Her face naturally, and unfortunately, reacts in disgust as she watches him shove a massive mouthful of noodles into his mouth. 

He finally notices.

“Oh…”

And swallows his bite.

“Sorry, just…really hungry today. It's been a busy morning. Haha. I’ll, uh, put this away for now.”

Rey doesn’t say anything back. She can’t. She doesn’t know how to handle people who just…say everything that pops into their head, like this guy. He’s like a live wire that’ll shock her if she gets too close. 

“Are you happy with the number? Or would you like to—“

“I’m happy.”

He nods and hands her a pen. “Then please go ahead and sign, Ms. Solana.”

She’s out of there thirty seconds later.

___

bus stop cutie (santa monica)

i saw the cutest guy at the bus stop in downtown santa monica. blonde curly hair, big round glasses, biceps. can’t stop thinking about him, hope you’re seeing this and having a great day

November has become deceptively chilly. The sun is out, but Rey has to wear a scarf in the mornings. After work, it’s too hot, and then she’s sweating her blouse out like the Sahara. 

It doesn’t help that her ’03 Camry’s AC broke a month ago. 

Getting it fixed would require her to talk to a mechanic.

Nooooooooooo

She re-reads the bus stop cutie Missed Connection a few times, just because it’s adorable. Young lovers, most likely. A lot of college kids around Santa Monica take the bus. 

Rey imagines the girl, sighing as she types out her post, replaying the afternoon she encountered bus stop cutie on repeat in her head. 

Does she regret not approaching him? Does he think about her, too? Will he ever actually see this post?

Will Santa Monica girl and the bus stop cutie ever meet again?

Rey clicks away, instead opting to read an article about the new Nintendo console that she keeps seeing commercials about. May Wii play? 

It’s only 4 by the time she’s bored with reading random news. She hides out in the women’s restroom for a solid hour with a Lisa Jackson book, since literally no one will notice she’s gone, and then decides to hop back onto Craigslist for the last half-hour home stretch of the evening. 

A new one was posted in the last hour she was gone. 

I see you every day and we never talk (Culver City)

i see you every day and I’m too scared to say anything to you. I don’t think you even realize I exist and I don’t know how much longer I can take it.. please look up for once. 

Rey reads the posting, then over again a couple of times, her heart sinking a little. Whoever wrote this is one sad son of a bitch. And whoever is ignoring them sounds like a bitch. 

It’s already 5:30 before she can think more about it. 

___

The office approaches December like a violent, racing force. 

To her absolute displeasure, her supervisor, Poe, asks her to stay late.

For two. Weeks. 

She doesn’t express it, but Rey literally wants to die. Or kill someone. Maybe one of the board members.

She only agrees because Poe is actually kind of cute. The other women in the office probably think the same thing, and since their entire department is primarily composed of women, they all end up staying late together.

And for the first time in her entire career here, Rey ends up…chatting with her co-workers. 

One is Rose, who is quiet and pleasant, and has a cat at home that Rey thinks is cute. Another is Kaydel, a pretty blonde woman who has her life very much together. One of the few men, Finn, is kind and funny and—

“Poe’s boyfriend?”

He smiles proudly. “Yep. He’s one lucky guy, right?”

Rey lets her disappointment seep out a little as she nods. Of course the only guy she’s thought was attractive in years plays for the other team. 

“I had the same reaction,” Rose whispers to her when Finn becomes distracted. They’re all sitting together in one of the larger offices, going over some team PowerPoints. It’s past 6 PM. “It’s always the cutest ones, too. But hey, there’s plenty of attractive guys here!”

“Yeah, sure,” Kaydel murmurs across the table. 

Rose rolls her eyes. “There’s Tim, one of the adjusters. He’s a bit older, but hey, the grey looks good on him. And then there’s that super cute ginger IT guy, and then that really big one in HR—”

That last one catches Rey’s attention. “Who?”

“I think the redhead is named Arnie—“

“No. The HR one.”

“Oh. You mean Ben?”

“That’s his name?”

Rose shrugs. “Last time I checked.”

“You like him?” Kaydel asks. 

“Ben? The HR guy? I don’t know him.”

“He’s got kind of a weird face,” Rose adds. “But he’s a pretty cool guy. I heard he used to be a pilot in the army.”

Poe enters the meeting room, holding a stack of manila folders up to his chin. 

“He was in the Navy and used to fly for the Blue Angels back in the day,” Poe informs the table with a tired voice. He’s exhausted. While everyone is staying a few hours after every night, their manager is working through the night. “Up in Seattle. His Dad also served in the Air Force.”

He drops the stack of folders with a heavy thud.

“Now, can we please get back on track, ladies?”

They all simmer down, save for Finn who curses something under his breath. Ladies, huh? 

Her eyeballs are hot and tired as the powerpoint continues, the lights too dim and the night too cold. She closes them, hoping for some relief. She’s worried someone will say something.

But like usual, nobody seems to remember she’s there. 

Rey falls asleep in minutes. 

__

Wind rushes wildly through her hair as she rides through the ancient forest, the scent of pine and sandalwood ticking her nose with every gallop atop her horse. Her fluttering, flowing dress is made of silks and glass beads, fit for a Queen. 

Up the hill Rey rides, past the trees older than time, past the faerie rings and the selkies on the shore who wave to her as she dashes past them. A flock of magical birds fly beside her. 

Her magnificent castle sits atop the forest, overlooking the land. Her horse comes to a halt, and she watches the bridge to her moat descend. Guards bow to her as she begins to cross.

She bathes in a silver tub. Rose petals and lavender soak in the water. Rey takes as long a bath as she wants, watching the sun set over the forest from the window.  

Peace in the land! She declares, dressed in her finest gown and finest shoes. Her crown is heavy and matches her throne. It’s made of gold and rubies, the seat cushioned with silk velvet and goose feathers. 

The Master of Ceremonies announces the most honored guests. A thousand appreciations for your invitation to your kingdom, Enya says with a curtsey. Her midnight blue dress pools gracefully on the floor, like liquid. 

Yes, your majesty. Thank you for your endless kindness, Loreena McKennitt curtseys alongside Enya, her hair like blazing fire. 

The royal ball begins. The people and creatures of her kingdom dance with heady laughter, with wine of no shortage, and food aplenty to feed everyone for eternity. 

A handsome, blonde prince with round glasses is presented to her amidst the party. 

My apologies for being tardy, Prince Bus Stop Cutie says with a bow. My bus was running late. 

Rey waves him towards the ball with a smile. Princess Santa Monica awaits you on the dancefloor, kind prince!

The prince skips into the crowd, joining the dance. A jester juggles knives. A man makes a dove appear from thin air. Girls balance plates on long sticks and stand on their toes. 

Rey watches from her throne because that’s what she will always do. She is an observer. She will not dance tonight, nor ever. Nobody will ask her for a waltz. 

The balls and parties are for the others– not for her. 

Your majesty! One of the guards runs to the dais. The music stops. Someone has landed on the roof! Another guest arrives!

The ballroom is sent into a sudden flutter. 

A moment later, the massive, grand doors of the Great Hall are opened, and a figure wearing a flight helmet, flight suit and boots walks in. The sea of guests part like waves as the mysterious party crasher approaches closer and closer.

He finally stands before her, tall and imposing.  

Pray tell, stranger, Rey calls to him. Where do you hail from?

The stranger doesn’t bow or curtsey in her presence. He disengages the locks on the side of his helmet, lifts it in one tug and says–

“--home!”

Rey jolts awake with a start.

“What?”

“We’re headed home,” Rose repeats, softer this time. The lights are all back on. They’re the only two people left in the room. “I think you fell asleep towards the end there.”

“Uh. Yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t blame you. This OT is killing us all.”

Rey shuffles to her car in the parking garage and drives home with her brain in cruise control. It’s already past 9. 

She heats up a Stouffer’s. Satisfying, but always lacking. 

The TV plays reruns and her DVD player has been broken for two years. Bored and antsy, she heads to bed early, not caring to take off her work clothes or brush her teeth, and forces her eyes closed. 

The dream doesn’t return.

__

The annual Christmas party happens on the last Friday before they shut down for 2 weeks.

Everyone is wearing festive colors; green pants and red sweaters. Knitted dresses with Rudolph on the front. Ugly sweaters from the 80’s. 

Rey tried her best this time. She really did. She only has one article of clothing that is red and it’s a skirt that’s typically too short to wear here. Nothing green either, so it's paired with a black, cable knit sweater and matching tights. 

“Damn, you’ve got those legs and you hide them in pants everyday?” Kaydel had exclaimed a hair too loud this morning. Rose even asked where she’d gotten the skirt from. 

Because the board has already stopped working for the year, there isn’t much to do. Instead of her usual 5 hours of free roaming the internet, Rey gets the entire day. 

Christmas has come early. 

She’s scrolling through the cars and trucks section of Craigslist's For Sale category. Rey doesn’t need a new or another car, but she loves seeing all the bumps, dings and scratches on the used cars. A lot of them are destined for junk yards. 

The office is so distracted with the Christmas party tonight that Rey’s even able to plug her headphones into the computer and listen to Yahoo Music while she scrolls. 

Most of the office leaves for lunch. The girls ask if she wants to join, but she politely declines. 

Rey has yet to check what was posted to Missed Connections today.

Asked you for the time (downtown)

I was in front of starbucks’s and asked you if you had the time (my watch is broken) ~ when you looked at me and told me “6:30” I was taken aback by how good looking you were and didn’t have the nerve to ask for your name

She wonders if it was a mistake not joining her department for lunch. It’s one of the first times she’s been included.

Late night fun (Torrance)

Women looking for other man friends message and say hi and send a pic.

Her headphones are turned all the way up, the music blaring loud enough for someone outside the cubicle to hear. But it’s okay. Her cubicle walls are tall and hide her away. 

Red skirt (Culver City)

You’re wearing a tight, red skirt today and a black sweater. I smiled at you but you didnt see me. Please see me. 

Her breath catches. 

It has to be a coincidence…right? 

There are a lot of offices in Culver City, not just this one. And it’s Christmastime. Tons of women are going to be wearing red. 

A finger reaches up and over her cubicle wall and taps the back of her monitor. 

Rey screams. 

She also falls backwards out of her chair. 

The headphones fly off, tangling with a cord to her computer, and by some stroke of cosmic luck, cut the power to the monitor. 

“Shit, sorry, Ms. Solana!”

Someone runs around the perimeter of her cubicle and then there are big, strong hands that grab her armpits and hoist her back up to a reasonable level. There’s a mist of confusion, some relief by seeing the computer screen has gone black, and a whole lot of panic as Rey realizes just who has interrupted her requiem of solitude. 

She’s too embarrassed to turn around. 

Did he see my screen? Hell, did he see my panties? 

“Please let go of me.”

Ben removes the hands under her shoulders like he’s touched scalding liquid. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you like…that. Truly. I just…” he sighs. “I wanted to know what song you were listening to. I could hear it from down the hall.”

Time to invest in a better pair of headphones apparently. 

Rey keeps her eyes to the ground as she picks up her chair and quickly sits back in it, tugging herself back to her desk. Her safe place. 

“It was a Gaelic song. You wouldn’t know it.”

“Maybe I’ve heard–”

“No. You wouldn’t have.”

She looks up at her dead monitor’s screen and sees his reflection, right behind her own. Ben stares at her desk, his shoulders drooped, jaw moving side to side. Whatever he’s going to say next moves around in his mouth like a gumball. 

“Are you coming to the party tonight?”

“No.”

“Oh.” He looks even sadder than before. “Are you...sure?”

“Yes.”

“Poe told me his entire team was attending, so I just assumed.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

He shakes his head. 

“No. Nothing at all.”

When Ben finally walks away, she lets out a shuddering breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

She hides in the restroom the remainder of the work day. 

__

“You’re not coming?”

Rose catches her leaving, right as Rey was about to enter the elevator.

“Uh. I don’t go to office parties.”

“Bullshit. You’re coming to this one.”

Rose drags her back into the office, much to Rey’s displeasure, and why has she been manhandled twice today? 

“Rose, no, you don’t understand–”

“That you’re probably the most anti-social human being I’ve ever met? Yes, I do understand that. However, if you keep this up, you’ll end up living in a house in the woods with fifty cats!”

“That doesn’t sound that bad–”

The party went into full swing during the 4 hours Rey was hiding away. Rose hands her a cup of punch and an empty plate. 

“They had Porto’s cater, for heaven’s sake. There is no way I’m letting you leave without eating a single potato ball.”

Despite her annoyance, she takes a sip of the strong punch and nibbles on a few things, hiding in the corner of the main area. Rose and the other girls put on Santa hats and take pictures with her new Blackberry. Poe and Finn dance to a Shakira song. Everyone looks like they’re having a great time. 

When she thinks they’ll all be distracted enough, Rey makes her break for it. 

She keeps her back against the wall and scooches towards the kitchen, where she’ll be able to run across the hallway, hide under the cubicles directly across, then finally, finally escape–

“You did come!”

Ben looks enthralled as he jogs up to her. He also wears a Santa Hat. The punch in his glass is gone. 

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME. 

“I’m about to leave, actually–”

“Why? The party is just getting started!”

What is with this guy? Rey gets that he’s in HR and has to be a good people person, and all that, but Jesus–

“You have to stay at least until the presents. It’s the best part of the party, I swear–”

“I’m leaving. Now.”

Fuck it. Rey sets her cup and plate on the closest table and speed walks as fast as her short skirt will allow. She doesn’t understand why. Why does she have such a hard time with people? And especially this guy? Every time he talks to her, he’s always staring too deeply, too intently at her. He’s too nice, too emotive–

“B-but I bought a present for you this year, Ms. Solana!” he calls after her. 

Is he following me???

She beelines it down the hall. His steps are so heavy and loud, she feels them under her own two feet. 

He’s following me. 

Rey skips the elevator, knowing it’ll give him way too good of an opportunity to talk to her, choosing the stairs instead. 

She hears his matching footsteps all the way down as they descend. 

This has to be some kind of HR violation. 

Which is extremely ironic. 

“I’m calling the cops!” she shouts over her shoulder. Her Camry is in eyesight. 

“Wait n-no, please don’t do that–”

And then he does something that Rey does not realize and did not realize would affect in the way it was about to.

Ben runs fast enough to stand right in front of her and then drops to his knees on the concrete, the white trim of the Santa hat now sitting at the same level as her hips. 

And why.

Why.

Why does her stomach flip at the sight?

He grabs a flat, square-shaped present from his jacket pocket and looks up to her. It's not the same Ben she's used to seeing.

This one is...desperate. 

Hungry. 

But not for food this time.

"I...just...wanted..." He says, out of breath.

The present is perfectly wrapped, with neat and crisp corners. There's even a little bow in the corner. 

She takes it with a hesitant hand and begins to unwrap, not tear, into the paper. 

Focused, trying not to look at the man in front of her, on his knees. 

Rey pulls the piece of wrapping paper off to reveal-

"An Enya CD?"

It's specifically Paint the Sky with Stars, one of her personal favorites. 

...and also a CD she already owns. 

"Yeah," he smiles up to her, excited. "You like Enya, right?"

She nods.

"Oh, good. I was hoping you still did. And you don't have this one already, right?"

She shakes her head no. 

"Are you...okay, Ms. Solana?"

Something below her stomach jolts when he calls her Ms. Solana when he's like this. 

What the hell is wrong with me-

"Y-yes, thank you." She backs away, nearly tripping on her shoe. She needs distance between them. Now. "Thank you for the present. Merry Christmas."

He stands back up, takes the Santa hat off, and wipes the sweat off his forehead, all while never taking his eyes off Rey.

Not even for a moment.

"Merry Christmas, Rey."

Chapter Text

i get to see you again (Culver City)

it’s been too long. we’ve both been away too long. i’m happy i get to see your face again. 

The cursor hovers over the post button, his finger all but ready to click. 

Ben hasn’t posted since the new year began. He debated during the entirety of the break if this was even a good idea to still do (it’s not).

Two weeks of too much free time. He’d called him Mom a couple of times, wishing her a Happy Christmas as she traveled. Him and Poe went to their local YMCA and played some 3 v 3 with teenagers on winter break. But it wasn’t enough.

Nothing is ever enough to keep her off his mind.

“Maybe you should try one of those new online dating sites?” Poe had suggested, the two of them sitting on the metal bleachers of the Y, catching their breath. “There are plenty of girls there who’d notice you, Solo. Hell, there’s plenty of women at the office who’d be more than happy to go out with you.”

He shook his head and took a swig of water. “Not the same.”

Poe let out a massive, annoyed groan, digging his palms into his brow bone.

“It’s been two years, dude. I don’t think she even knew your name until, like, a couple months ago.”

That’s fine. Ben was just happy to know that she knew his name. And that she accepted his Christmas present. They were both enough to keep him going through the remainder of the break. 

It's like a pathetic high school crush sometimes. 

(Maybe all the time)

But he can’t help it. He just can’t. Ben decided on that very day, that very night, when he first spoke to Rey Solana that he would be hers. It’s sick and disgusting, this territorial obsession he seems to have about her; an obsession that is usually less than innocent.

Poe and everybody will never understand it. He doesn’t care. 

Caught within his decision, he lets the Missed Connection post go to the drafts section and closes out of the browser. 

 Ben really should be doing actual work right now. There’s a lot to catch up on for the new year. 

Coffee would help. He heads to the kitchen and pours himself a cup, running into a few people, chatting about how their holidays went. He likes people, but not small talk. Which Poe has always found ironic, even since college. 

He finally manages to leave the community kitchen fifteen minutes later. He already refilled his cup. Twice.  

When he opens the door, it almost collides with someone coming out of the women’s bathroom. 

She doesn't notice at all. Rey keeps her head forward, eyes straight and feet moving quickly as she pivots to avoid the door, never bothering to acknowledge anything behind her. 

Ben didn’t have a good enough excuse this morning to make his way over to her cubicle and peep inside. Nobody from data entry had to speak to him. Poe’s been in a meeting all morning, so that excuse didn’t work, either. 

Alas, he was unable to see how her hair was done (ponytail, bun or french braid) or which cardigan she was wearing (black, blue, brown or grey) and he definitely wasn’t able to see what outfit she was wearing today. 

It’s a little longer than the red skirt, but it’s still short enough that most of her thighs are exposed. This skirt is brown, with some kind of pattern on it, and it matches the black tights underneath. 

And this skirt is just as tight as the red one. 

(Hallelujah!)

Ben all but runs back to his office, coffee splashing onto his thumb. He re-opens Craigslist and clicks on drafts. 

i get to see you again (Culver City)

it’s been too long. we’ve both been away too long. i'm happy i get to see your face again. 

i’m even happier to see you in that brown skirt.

With no hesitation this time, he posts it. 

'

It’s been two weeks and Ben has counted exactly five new skirts:

A skirt with black and white stripes, a skirt with a floral pattern, a plain blue skirt, a plain green skirt, and a pleated grey skirt. 

All short. All paired with tights. 

black and white (Culver City)

not everyone can pull off stripes, but you sure can. i wonder what else you'd be able to pull off? 

He was able to confirm three things after posting about the black and white striped skirt:

1. she is indeed still reading the Missed Connections page 
2. she has realized that the mysterious poster (him) is talking about, of course, Rey herself
3. The mysterious poster (him) works in the same office as she does

Ben was only able to confirm everything because after he posted about the striped skirt that day, she randomly, and uncharacteristically, walked a loop around the entire office, quickly careening her head towards every cubicle and office in her path.

Except his own office. 

Of course.

It made him want to laugh, but Ben kind of died a little bit inside when she walked right by, not even sparing a tiny glance.

Is he not even slightly on her radar?

What Ben could do would be the adult, grown-up thing and just…tell her that he’s been the one posting about her in Missed Connections. That would solve a whole bunch of problems.

(Or possibly create far worse ones)

Ultimately, he decides against telling her. 

And he continues to post, like a dumbass.

floral skirt (Culver City)

you’re wearing a floral skirt today. is this another new one? are you dressing up just for me? please say you are. 

blue skirt (Culver City)

the blue is nice on you. it goes well with your grey cardigan. but personally, i think they’d both look even better on my floor. 

Thank god his friends in IT taught him how to delete his browser history correctly. Ben’s posts are becoming borderline pornographic the further they spiral. 

green skirt (Culver City)

The green complements your eyes. i like how it matches your shoes and shirt. you should wear green more often. or whatever color you like. or maybe nothing at all. 

Spiral might not even be the best word for what is happening now. This...thing…is now nosediving into an endless, churning abyss of HR violations. He’ll be fired from a job he doesn’t care much about, which is fine, but it shouldn’t be, and he’ll just find something else boring and stable and not 30,000 feet in the air. 

grey skirt (Culver City)

I like the pleats. but i think i like what’s under them a bit better. 

And like clockwork, minutes after posting, Rey scurries around the entirety of the office, searching and scavenging for a clue, and always, always, ignoring him and his office.  

Is she looking for people who are specifically on their computers? Or maybe who’s in and who’s not? Someone who’s not in meetings all morning?

Attempting to get inside Rey Solana’s mind is like accessing the fucking Pentagon. It’s what he likes best about her.

People are typically simple and predictable; reading people’s minds and being a step ahead has always been easy for Ben. It’s why he was such a sharp student. And a good pilot. And a fantastic HR manager. 

He can’t figure out her method. And he never will. 

There is something just so…appetizing about that.

They were strategically seated next to each other at that company dinner years ago. The HR team was hoping to “inspire” and “foster” new connections between other departments. 

She didn’t look up to a single person except her manager, Poe, for the entire first hour of them sitting down. That’s how he was able to deduce that she was in Data Entry without speaking a single word to her. 

One of the other HR managers had done her onboarding work earlier in the year. Ben had seen Rey around. Kind of. Glimpses here and there. He knew she was young and lived in the area. And that was about it.

“What’s a…Corona?”

It was the first thing Rey ever said to him. The question was so quiet, he almost missed it over the hullabaloo of the party. 

Ben nearly laughed until he noticed her tone was 100% serious. 

“It’s a Mexican beer. They’re really good! Especially with lime. Have you ever had Mexican beer before?”

“I’ve never had a beer ever.”

When the server came to take their drink orders, he asked Rey for her ID. When he was checking it, he smiled, then handed it back over, wishing Rey a belated twenty-first birthday. 

He drank his old-fashioned and watched her take her first sip of Corona, sans lime (despite his suggestion). 

“What do you think?”

Rey shrugged, setting the perspiring bottle delicately.

“Taste like a beer.”

And Ben has been obsessed since that moment. 

He needs to see her happy. Excited. Crying. Angry. Pissed. Jealous. Everything and anything that is under that delicate and stiff exterior. 

There’s a satisfaction to watching her run around the office, annoyed and searching. Maybe it's because he’s finally getting a reaction from her, albeit not quite the one he’s after, but it’s a reaction nonetheless. 

Nix the whole ordeal of being a "high school crush." 

Ben’s no better than a high school bully. 

He craves a reaction from her, just like a bully. 

And after the grey skirt post, Ben’s worried he might be actually tormenting her.

How would he know if she's actually enjoying this? If there’s a mutual interest? 

He can't ask the other women in her department. Rey doesn't seem to tell them anything. 

Poe won't know anything either.

And it's not like she'll talk to him. 

(He's tried that an uncountable number of times)

Ben drives home that evening, thinking long and hard.

A plan comes to him later that night. 

A plan that will tell him everything he needs to know, if all goes well.

A plan that will definitely get him fired if it doesn't.

'

a picture, please (Culver City)

you know it’s me. please check your email.

The Human Resources’ anonymous email system is reserved only for candid, unbiased employee feedback, notifications of harassment cases, and inquiries about possible HR violations. 

Ben doesn’t use the anonymous email system today for any of those reasons. 

You’re also technically unable to delete sent emails from this specific program. Luckily, Hux in IT, being the great friend he is, gave him the workaround code to do so a few months ago when he had to delete sensitive details from a violation inquiry email. 

And…Ben is also not using that feature for the right reasons today, either. 

To: [email protected] 

From: [email protected] 

Good afternoon,

I hope this email finds you well. Are you having a splendid Friday?

If you would like to know my identity and enjoy this little game between us, please sit on the photocopier today after everyone has left and leave the pictures in a yellow envelope underneath the fridge in the kitchen. 

Thank you. 

Your ever adoring fan,

Missed Connection

Ten minutes after he’s hit send, Ben’s in the community kitchen, heating some microwavable ravioli when Rey comes running down the hall, her face red as a beet, and rips open the door to the women’s restroom, darting inside. 

“Whoa,” Kaydel Connix says behind him, in line for the microwave. “Did someone die?”

He sighs and goes back to watch the box of ravioli spin around slowly, the machine humming. 

“I certainly hope not.”

'

When 5:30 PM hits, Ben re-stacks the pile of papers on his desk and readies them for Monday.

Poe comes to his office, and they chat about the Allstate lawsuit.

They take the elevator down together, making plans to get lunch on Saturday at the beach bar. 

Ben unlocks his car and starts the ignition to warm the seats, watching as Poe drives away.

He watches the remainder of the office enter their cars and leave the parking garage. 

At 6:15, he kills the ignition. 

At 6:17, he walks up two flights of stairs and swipes into the IT offices, one floor below the main one. 

And at 6:21 PM, after bypassing the door leading to the control center, Ben Solo sits in the CCTV room of the office and turns on the dozens of monitors lined up on the wall.

(They really shouldn’t give his key card that amount of power they do)

He lets out a sigh of relief.

She's still in the office. 

And she's the last person still in the office.

Bingo.

Across the monitors and blurry images, he watches Rey slowly get up from her cubicle and walk into the printing room, checking left and right for anyone left in the office. Her hands are clasped tightly against her chest, her back hunched. 

As she approaches the copier, he watches doubt grow on her face. 

There was always going to be a 50/50 chance she was actually going to do this. 

There’s no sound, but he thinks she’s cursing at the ground, and then at the copier. She paces a few times, back and forth, until ultimately, she opens up the hinges of the automatic document feeder, the copier’s light turning on.

Rey stares into the light like it’s a cauldron or magical pool. Then, slowly, so slowly, she hooks her thumbs into the waistband of her skirt and begins to push both the skirt and her tights down her hips. 

(Holy. Shit.)

The first thing Ben notices is that she’s wearing a thong, which surprises him more than the fact that he's finally seeing her bare ass. The second thing he notices is that he’s harder than a brick and will maybe, and potentially, not make it back to his car in time.  

She has to hop a couple of times to make it on top of the glass, her ass and thighs jiggling at every jump. After finally making it on the fourth hop, she maneuvers her position so that she’s seated properly in the center.

The zipper of his pants is going to pop. 

Her arm reaches to the side, hitting the button, and the bright light of the scanner begins its methodical, boring job of scanning the contents of whatever's been pressed to its glass screen.

Oh, how Ben wishes his face were under that glass right now. 

The photos pop out on the other side, but the security camera's quality is too shitty to make them out. She scrambles off the copier, tripping a little at the skirt and tights still stuck around her ankles, and slams the scanner shut. 

He can’t help but laugh a little as she shuffles to the supplies desk and tries to pull her clothes up at the same time.

She shoves the photos into a yellow mailer envelope. There's got to be at least six of them.   

His eyes follow one screen directly next to the next, watching as she tiptoes through the main glob of cubicles, headed her way to the other side of the floor, still ensuring there’s nobody there. 

His excitement is building to a stupendous level as she approaches the kitchen.

He honestly can't believe she actually fucking did it.

She's doing exactly what the email told her to do. Ben can't believe his luck. 

Ideas conjure up in his head about how he's going to reveal himself. 

Will she be happy? Sad? Shocked?

Well, yes, shocked for sure.

Maybe he'll wait a couple of weeks before he does so.

This is a big reveal, after all. Ben wants a reaction but he doesn't want to give her a heart attack. 

Rey turns down the main hallway and heads towards the kitchen, the video extremely blurry now. He watches her approach the kitchen door, go past it, and...

...keep…

....walking?

She walks past the women’s restroom, past finance’s main offices, further down the hallway...

(Oh no)

...past the meeting rooms...

(Oh no no no)

....and down a very familiar hallway he knows too well...

(Oh no no no no no no no nO NO NO)

Ben shoots out of the seat, his nose only inches away from the monitor.

“Fuck.”

Rey stands directly in front of his office, one hand on the doorknob and the other gripping the yellow envelope with a fist.  

How.

How how how how how how

How long has she known?

Memories of the past few weeks flood into his head as he watches her walk in, her steps careful and calculated, as if the floor were black ice.

Rey might have known since the very first post, but Ben's not sure if that's possible. It was too... vague.

Did she realize it was him at the Christmas party?

Is that why she ran?

And is that the reason she blushed when he gave her the Enya CD?

His mind races, desperately trying to pinpoint any odd or changed behavior she's had around him. 

(Well, she's always a little odd around everyone)

She slowly makes her way to his desk, opens the top right drawer, and then, without hesitation, places the envelope in it. 

And Ben, well...

Ben's not really sure what fucking direction to go from here.

On one hand, he doesn't have to worry about revealing himself anytime soon.

But on the other hand, he doesn't have to worry about revealing himself anytime soon because she already fucking knows it's him.

Has Rey been...toying with him? Is that why she never looked into his office? Because she knew, all along, that it was him making those posts?

That it would drive him absolutely insane?

She runs out of his office quickly, the ice now like lava, burning her every step, back through the hallway, and then to her cubicle, where she scoops up her bag and jacket and dashes out the main doors, flying down the stairs to the parking garage. 

He collapses back into the seat, dazed. 

"I'm so fucking fired."