Chapter Text
You examined yourself in the mirror as you put on the last of your make up. You looked good, if you said so yourself. Light, and professional, but still rather pretty.
You smiled in appreciation just as your phone rang.
You checked the number, and you smile grew a little wider at seeing your boyfriend’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hey babe,” you answered.
“Hey Y/N,” he said tiredly.
Your smile instantly vanished at the rather formal greeting.
“Something wrong?”
He let out a sigh and you could practically see him run his hand through his hair.
“I can’t make it tonight.”
You felt your stomach sink at the news. You were preparing for a holiday party hosted by your boss Senator Leia Organa. You were her assistant, and she had personally invited you to meet many of the other movers and shakers in the state and national government. You had invited Mark as your plus one and were relying on him to be with you. You were a good assistant, a great one even, but you still had a lot to learn when it came to socializing with the elite. You imagined that was why Leia had invited you, as a kind of practice run.
“Can you make it a little later,” you asked. “We can be an hour late, I don’t think it would make much of a difference.”
“I can’t Y/N, I’m swamped,” he said, irritation coming into his voice. “It’s not a big deal, you can go on your own.”
You wanted to bring up the fact that it was the third time this month he had canceled on you. You also wanted to add that you had planned this a good two months in advanced and had reminded him again and again how important this was to you, but you kept your mouth shut. Having that conversation over the phone wasn’t going to help anyone.
“Fine,” you said tightly. “Do you want to try and meet tomorrow at least?”
Another sigh came.
“I’ll see what I can arrange. I gotta go.”
He hung up before you could say anything back.
You held your phone tight in your hand, and had half a mind to throw it against something, but you let it go. You wished you hadn’t just put on your make-up. You needed to rub your face in frustration.
You liked Mark, you really did, but after six months it seemed the pair of you had hit a wall that neither of you could climb over, and you were starting to think maybe you weren’t inclined to.
You settled on running a hand through your hair instead, letting out a long breath. It wasn’t the time to think about that. You had a party to get to. You were going to be nice, and charming, and have a lovely time.
Half an hour later, you found yourself standing on the front porch of expansive property.
You had been over to Senator Organa’s home a hundred times, but you never managed to get over how luxurious it actually was. It stood on a hillside overlooking the ocean with other houses of equal splendor peppering it up all the way down to the sea. You knew she came from old money, but felt it wasn’t your place to ask exactly where it all started.
You rang the doorbell, and in a matter of seconds, you were surprised to see Han Solo answer the door.
“Hey kid,” he greeted. “Was wondering when you’d show up.”
You felt some of the tension leave your shoulders immediately upon seeing him. You always liked Han from the moment Leia introduced you. He was a little rough around the edges, but he was always kind to you.
He made no secret of his general disdain for politics and most politicians, but he loved Leia and he knew you were always trying your best to make her life, and by extension his life, easier.
“Nice to see you Mr. Solo,” you said smiling.
“Just Han, kid,” he corrected gesturing you inside. “Hey, isn’t that boyfriend of yours coming?”
You felt your smile falter, but you covered it as best you could.
“He couldn’t make it,” you said politely. “Work stuff.”
Han made a face. He looked like he wanted to say something along the lines of “no good asshole”, but he kept it to himself.
“Well, probably for the best,” he said. “God knows I’m going to need someone to talk to beside these old crows.”
You laughed, and you felt a little better.
“Is there anything you need help with,” you asked.
He waved you off.
“You’re off the clock, kid, try and relax. Drinks are in the kitchen. I’ll see if I can find Leia for you.”
He made his way to the living room where a group of men and women were already eating and chatting amongst themselves.
You decided to take Han’s advice and made a B-line towards the kitchen. You could feel your nerves starting to come back to you.
Luckily, most of the guest were already in the living room, and the few milling around were too engrossed in their conversation to notice you. You grabbed a glass, and quickly found a bottle of your favorite drink.
It was all going to be fine. You were a bright young woman working for one of the most influential senators in the country. There was absolutely no need to be nervous.
You took a long sip of your drink, anyway, just to cover your bases.
“Y/N, you made it.”
You glanced up, smiling as Leia walked into the room. She gave you a brief hug, which you returned before pulling away.
“Thanks for inviting me,” you said.
“Don’t thank me just yet,” she said with a wry smile. “You might regret it once Akbar starts recounting his war stories. C’mon, let me introduce you.”
You followed her into the main living room and started making the rounds. Leia introduced you to everyone. You recognized some people from around the capitol, but were relieved to realize many were old friends of Leia and this truly was more of a social gathering. You started to relax after that and after a few more drinks, you were even starting to have a nice time.
“Oh, Y/N, there’s one more person I want you to meet,” Leia said, before pulling you to a corner of the room.
It was then you noticed an extraordinarily tall young man leaning against the fireplace with a drink held lazily in his hand. He was handsome, with thick black hair and dark brown eyes contrasted against pale skin. You felt like you recognized him, but you couldn’t for the life of you remember where.
He seemed completely at ease in his surroundings, but at the same time out of place. While everyone else was wearing some designer label, he wore simply dress pants, and open white collared shirt rolled up at the elbows. You couldn’t understand how you missed him, but judging by his stance and where he was positioned in the room, that was probably his goal.
“Y/N, this is my son Ben,” Leia said. “Ben, this is my assistant Y/N.”
Then in clicked. You had seen his college school graduation photo sitting on Leia’s desk in her office. The photo really didn’t do him justice. You always thought it was Leia’s shorter stature making him look bigger than he was, when in reality he was dwarfing her.
It also explained the get up. Leia had mentioned a few times how Ben was determined not to rely on her family name to get ahead, opting to use his father’s last name instead. You had to admit, there was something admirable about that.
“Nice to meet you,” you said, holding out your hand. “Leia’s told me a lot about you.”
He gave you a quick once over, before shrugging.
“Can’t say the same,” he said, not bothering to take your hand.
You let it fall limply at your side, feeling a sudden rush of embarrassment.
“Ben,” Leia snapped.
To his credit, he didn’t flinch at her tone. A lesser man would had run straight to the hills.
He looked like he was about to say something back, when one of the guest stepped in the middle of it all.
“I’m terribly sorry,” he said in a rushed tone, “but it looks like Han and Mon Mothma have started getting into something.”
A look of annoyance and mild panic spread across Leia’s face.
“I’ll be right there,” she said quickly, before looking back to Ben and giving him a hard glare. She then spun on her heel and followed the guest outside leaving you alone with Ben.
There was a beat of awkward silence which seemed to stretch on forever. You waited for him to say or do something, but he simply stood there, making a point not to look at you. You realized soon enough he wasn’t going to be the one to break it.
“So,” you said, taking on a light tone. “What do you do?”
He at least had the decency to look at you then, raising one of his eyebrows.
“I thought you said you heard a lot about me?”
“More bits and pieces, but that’s generally not a good way to introduce yourself to someone,” you clarified.
He gave you an odd look, but conceded the point with a nod of the head.
“So, what do you do?” you repeated.
He didn’t answer right away, taking the time to sip his drink.
“I’m a musician.”
“Like a in band or…?”
“Piano.”
A small smile spread across your face at the explanation. You had always wondered about the piano in the front room. You knew neither Leia nor Han played and it was too nice to just be used for decoration. It was also always in tune whenever you sat down to tap at the keys.
“That’s actually really cool,” you said, meaning it. “So what…”
“Look, I don’t know what my mom said to you, but you don’t have to talk to me.”
You found yourself taken aback, and your brows furrowed in confusion.
“What makes you think I’m talking to you because I have to?”
“Well, you work for her right?” he said simply. “I’m just saying, I’m not going to rat you out if you don’t want to talk to me.”
You couldn’t help but feel insulted by the implication. Did he really think that you were the type of person to kiss his ass to stay on your boss’s good side?
“That’s very generous of you,” you bit back, crossing your arms. “What exactly do you take me for?”
You had the satisfaction of seeing a look of surprise and discomfort finally take over his face as he came to realize he had just stepped into some pretty hot water.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” he said lamely.
You didn’t know if it was the sudden rush of anger or maybe the booze shaking off your inhibitions, but you held your ground staring straight in the eyes.
“I’m talking to you because it’s what you do in polite society when you want to get to know someone,” you said simply. “But if you’re the type of person who thinks their mother has to pay their assistant to be nice to them, then I think I’ve learned enough. Excuse me.”
And with that you turned and walked away, not bothering to look back.
The rest of the night remained mostly uneventful. Leia was able to clear the air between her husband and Senator Mon Mothma deciding to spend the rest of the night by his side.
You chatted with a few of the other senators, and actually did pretty well all things considered. But, you couldn’t help your eyes drifting to the corner of the room every now and then.
Ben stayed where he was most of the night, only really leaving his spot to get another drink or when his mother pulled him away to actually be sociable. He caught your eye every now and then, and you were satisfied to find he couldn’t hold eye contact for long before looking away a little embarrassed. You also got the impression he was watching you even when you weren’t looking directly at him. You couldn’t prove it of course, but you couldn’t shake the slight tingle on the back of your neck no matter what part of the room you were in.
More and more people drifted out of the party until there was only you, and the Solos left. You offered to stay behind and help clean up, but Leia waved you off.
“You go home and get some rest,” she said. “I’m going to be working you like a dog come Monday anyway. By the way, where did you park?”
“Just a little ways up the hill.”
“Would you like someone to walk you back?”
“No, I’m alright,” you said, shaking your head. “It’s not that far.”
“I don’t know, it’s getting dark. I’d feel better if someone walked with you.”
She then turned, partially yelling into the kitchen.
“Ben, would you walk Y/N to her car?”
You felt your heart rate spike in a mild panic, but you tried your best to keep it off your face.
“Oh no, he doesn’t have to.”
“I don’t mind,” he said walking into the room. He then turned to you giving a small shrug. “Mom’s right, the road’s pretty narrow and people tend to not look where they’re going. Better to walk with someone who’s hard to miss.”
He said it so matter-of-factly you fought the urge to laugh.
“Well, that settles it then,” Leia said.
You tried desperately to think of a counter argument, but by then Ben had grabbed his jacket and was waiting patiently for you by the door.
You walked passed him into the evening air. You walked in step in silence. You didn’t want to admit it, but you were happy he had decided to walk with you. You hadn’t realized just how low the sun had gotten and there were hardly any street lamps lining the road away from the house. Even still, it felt strange and once you were out of view of the front door, you felt the need to speak up.
“You really don’t have to walk me back,” you said politely.
“Consider it an apology, for being rude,” he said.
You raised an eyebrow, at the understatement.
“Rude?”
“A dick,” he corrected. “I was being a dick.”
He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head before continuing.
“Look my mom has been getting on my ass about finding someone, so when she introduced us I assumed she was trying to set us up and… well, sorry.”
You couldn’t help but be surprised by his apology. Ben Solo struck you as the type of person who never apologize to anyone. His tone was sincere, if not a little tired, but you figured it was about as good as you were going to get.
“Apology accepted,” you said with a nod.
That earned you a small smile and the air between you suddenly felt much more comfortable.
You took the opportunity to examine him properly. You stood by your initial assessment of him being handsome, though maybe not in the most conventional sense of the word. His nose was a little bigger than one would consider normal. His smooth face was spotted in freckles, and as he brushed some of his hair out of his face, you caught a glance of some rather large ears. You wondered briefly if he kept his hair as long as he did to hide them. Separately, all those things might had been off putting, but they seemed to all fit together perfectly on him.
An image suddenly came to mind of Leia sitting with Ben at the dinner table asking when she was going to have grandkids. You never saw her as the matchmaker type, but then again, the Solos were proving to be full of surprises. A small laugh escaped your lips as you pictured those ears of his going completely red with a flustered expression to accompany it.
“What’s funny?” he asked glancing over at you.
“Nothing,” you said, pushing down the laughter into a smile. “Just the idea of Leia trying to set us up.”
Apparently, he didn’t find it nearly as funny as you did, as his mouth twisted into a frown.
“I didn’t realize the idea of dating me was so humorous.”
You cursed yourself inwardly, realizing your mistake. You seemed to finally be getting along too.
“That’s not…” you let out a frustrated sigh, trying to figure out a way to explain it. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what? You have a boyfriend or something?” he asked.
It was your turn to frown, one part out of confusion and one part in annoyance at how the entire conversation seemed to be going.
“Okay, first of all, I don’t need to have a boyfriend in order to not want to get into a relationship with my boss’s son,” you explained sternly. “Second of all, yes I do.”
Ben raised his eyebrows in insultingly clear shock.
“Really?”
“Yep,” you said, snapping the p for emphasis. “Been dating for about six months.”
“Six months,” he repeated, nodding his head. “What’s he like?”
You opened your mouth ready for an onslaught of adjectives to describe Mark to pour from your mouth, but nothing came.
All you could come up with was a rather defensive, “He’s nice.”
“Nice?”
“And smart,” you managed. “And he has a job…”
“Sounds dreamy.”
You felt yourself get hit with a wave of embarrassment, making you feel all the more hostile towards the man.
“You know what? I don’t have to explain this to you,” you said sharply.
“Sorry for asking.”
Another silence fell between you and you felt a sudden impatience to just get back to your car and go home.
You glanced over at Ben, surprised to see him smiling at something in the distance.
“What are you so happy about?”
He turned back to you, raising an eyebrow.
“Can’t a guy enjoy the view?”
You paused a moment taking the chance to look out onto the horizon and immediately had to agree.
From the hilltop, you could see the sun was setting across the water. The pink of the sky was starting to disappear, transitioning into shades of purple. Lights from the streets and buildings were only just starting to turn on, finding a perfect balance between day and night. It reminded you of some romantic comedy you watched years ago, the two lovers walking along the road while cheesy montage music swelled. The whole scene was tailor made for it.
“It is kind of romantic isn’t it.”
The words slipped out before you had a chance to stop it. You froze taking a cautious look over at Ben, who was standing right beside you. He didn’t look at you, instead he kept his eyes forward maintaining a completely passive expression.
“Shame it’s just you and me then,” he said, with a shrug. “We don’t have much of a shot. You’re not my type at all.”
He glanced over at you and you couldn’t tell if he was joking or trying to insult you. You decided better safe than sorry, and stuck out your chin in defiance.
“Really?”
“Yep, not spark in sight,” he said before looking back at the setting sun, and letting out a mournful sigh.
“Waste of a lovely night.”
He then started walking, while you stood frozen in your spot. You didn’t know why you felt so angry. You weren’t looking for his approval, but the casual way he just dismissed you only sparked your anger.
Before you had a chance to think clearly, you ran to catch up, stopping just as you got in front of him making him stop in his tracks.
“You say there’s nothing here?” you said, straining your neck to meet his eyes. “Let me make something perfectly clear. I’ll be the one to make that call.”
He then had the audacity to smirk at you.
“But you’ll call?”
You felt a small blush on your cheeks at your mistake, but brushed it off quickly only using that embarrassment to fuel you.
“I’ll admit, you look cute in that polyester suit.”
“It’s wool,” he corrected, looking at least mildly insulted.
“But you’re right,” you continued. “I’d never fall for you at all.”
You then turned and started walking. You could hear his footsteps behind you.
“Maybe this would appeal to someone who hasn’t been in heels for over four hours,” you said casually. “Or to some girl looking for a chance at romance, but I’m frankly feeling nothing.”
“Is that so?” he said, his voice growing noticeably irritated.
“Or it could be less than nothing,” you added.
“Good to know. So, you agree?”
“You were right,” you nodded. “What waste of a lovely night.”
Before you had time to react, you felt him grab your hand pulling you back to face him. You stumbled slightly making you step closer to him so you were practically chest to chest.
He seemed just as taken aback by how close you were as you were.
You got the impression he had some clever zinger to shut you up with ready to go, but it had died on his lips the moment you turned around. He didn’t step away though, and after a beat of silence, you realized you weren’t stepping back either.
At this distance, you got a real appreciation of just how tall he actually was. Even on an incline and in heels, the top of your head barely reached his shoulder. He was looking down straight into your eyes and you felt your heart start to hammer in your chest. His eyes weren’t as dark as you originally thought. They were outlined with a thin dark line which quickly turned to a caramel color around the edges, it then transitioned into darker shade as they neared his pupils turning into a chocolate brown. You had never thought of brown eyes as anything extraordinary, but he was certainly making a case for them.
A part of you wanted to look away. You knew you had been staring too long, but then again, if you were, he was too.
His eyes then flickered downward lingering just a second too long on your lips before looking back.
You felt your breath catch in your throat and your heart start to hammer in your chest. It wouldn’t take much effort for him to kiss you. All he would have to do was lean down slightly and you could finally discover if his lips were as soft as they appeared.
Your cheeks grew hot as soon as the thought crossed your mind, but you couldn’t find it in you to feel guilty about it. Unfortunately, you never got the chance to find out.
At the moment, a car horn honked.
Ben looked up, and his eyes went wide. Before you had time to turn around, he pulled you towards the side of the road just in time for a car to come roaring past you.
“Speed limit is 25 asshole!” Ben called after them.
It of course did nothing, but it seemed to make him feel better. He turned back to you, looking you up and down.
“Are you okay?”
You nodded your head, trying to catch your breath after the sudden rush of adrenaline.
He then seemed to notice the limited amount of space between you and took a step back.
“We better find your car before something like that happens again,” he said roughly.
“Good idea,” you managed, knowing the moment was gone.
You felt a sudden sadness take over you, but you shook it off as best you could. You turned up towards the road, once again pulling out your car keys and pressing the lock button vaguely into the distance.
Just a few car lengths ahead of you, you saw the back lights of your car turn on and off. You let out a sigh of relief, before turning back to Ben.
He looked awkward all the sudden, like a teenager who hadn’t quite gotten hold of his limbs. He put his hands in his pockets, and kept his head down, not quite looking you in the eye.
You weren’t doing much better yourself as you held your arm as some sort of comfort.
You felt like you should say something substantial, or clever, but all you managed as a quiet, “Thank you” before turning back around toward your car.
You stepped inside and checked your rear-view mirror to see Ben standing there for a brief moment before turning back down the hill.
You didn’t move from your seat until he was out of sight and even then, you lingered a little while longer. You looked out the passenger window, looking toward the horizon which was now only illuminated by the moon and the speckled lights of the city below.
You shook your head, buckled your seat belt and switched on the engine.
Damn that lovely night. And God damn Ben Solo.