Chapter Text
Fall semester of senior year in college brought many things to campus: senior design projects, football games, the beginning of senioritis, job fairs, and pretty colors.
The bright green leaves were slowly fading away to the brilliant fall colors Rey loved, but one older male among the many recruiters at the college’s career fair had a shirt such a bright lime green, it had to have sucked the life from every green leaf in its path.
Or so Rey thought as she walked down the corridor of hopeful recruiters.
Nonetheless, she stopped at this man’s display, not because she was interested in a job, or in finding out if he had planet-sized machines that could steal the green life force out of anything, even stars.
No, he had something infinitely more interesting than free swag: he had free food -pizza in fact.
She was a poor college student, even on a scholarship, so she loved all free food.
Then, she saw the motor in the recruiter’s hands that he was playing with as he chatted with others. She had seen many like that, in the junkyard next to where she grew up with her foster father. The cocky, green-clad recruiter had pulled this one apart partially, seven pieces of it gathered in his hand.
The recruiter finally addressed her, his slightly wavy, fading brown hair falling over the wrinkles and laugh lines in his face. His khakis bordered on being just a little close to comfortable over business casual, and his demeanor was relaxed. He was quite confident in himself and his ability to talk, apparently.
“Got a name?” asked the grinning recruiter before pointing to himself. “Han Solo.”
He put out his hand in greeting, and she gave him a firm shake. He seemed impressed.
“I'm Rey, and I'm here for the free food,” she said honestly with a nod.
She certainly wasn't dressed for an interview in her jeans and t-shirt. She already had a job offer pending from the place she had interned at last summer.
Han gave her an amused look, and then put his other hand out, the one holding the motor parts.
“You sure it's not this?” he asked. “I saw you checking it out. I only know one other person who would eye it, and he loves them.”
“He must like and know Fords, then,” replied Rey, taking the motor parts. She took the seven small parts and began assembling them quickly.
When she finished, she handed it back to him, satisfied. It had been a couple years, but she still had it, the knack - the ability to fix anything. It was the reason she decided to become an engineer, to help others and to fix anything she could. That, and she loved math. She knew from experience that, at a minimum, tolerating math was a must in engineering.
“He does know them,” replied Han with a rueful grin, “no doubt because of me. I needed to work with my hands, and becoming a yardbird wasn't an option for me. I'd want to go back to my old life.”
“So you were in the navy?” asked Rey with interest at recognizing the term for shipyard employees.
Han perked up a bit at her comment. “Yes, I was, a proud pilot. You in the navy yourself? Nuclear plants love former navy folk.”
“What, me?” asked Rey in surprise, pulling away from Han and his table of day-glow colored items. “No, my foster father was, before he was discharged and grew old and fat. And what do you mean nuclear plants?”
His too-bright-for-human-eyes green shirt had small purple letters, along with the symbol for an atom. The letters said:
“SW IS
LIFE!”
When that made no sense, she read what another glowing green sign said:
“Starpoint Woods Power Station”
In smaller letters, it read, “SW Station-Voted Brightest Nuclear Plant, Forty Years Running”
She chuckled at the brightest part.
“So you're actually proud of those brightly colored monstrosities of shirts? Does everyone have one?”
“Eventually every employee gets one,” he said with a grin. “And you'll learn to love the color. It grows on you, as does the bright purple lettering.”
“Doubtful,” she scoffed, deciding to humor him since he insisted on asking questions. “What's the best part about working there?”
“Well, discounting the great pay and steadiness the job gives me, definitely the food. Just don't tell my wife that. She works there, too, but I can't have my normal fun with her there, so I don't choose her on principle,” he said with a smirk.
Rey laughed at the last part of his comment. As casual as he was here, she could imagine him being much worse around his wife.
“It's not possible to have the good job and the good food,” she stated skeptically, leaning on the table. “Are you for real?”
He leaned in with a conspiratorial air, looking around as he spoke softly, as though letting her in on a big secret.
“I used to wonder about it myself as my wife expounded on the many benefits to working there. Crazy thing is… It's true. It's all true. They have a personal chef who gets paid to do it since the catering company lost its contract six months ago. The catering food was piss-poor.”
He was being absolutely serious. She couldn't believe it. She stepped back, trying to distance herself from him.
“Look, I've seen the Simpsons, and I know that there is no good solution for used fuel-"
“Yet,” he interrupted. “But dry cask storage works great in the meantime. We've already extended our license for twenty more years, and we're on our way to extend it further. Job security, Rey. The best kind. You can use those engineering skills you have in design engineering, creating replacements for all the old, obsolete things we have in our plant.”
Rey was surprised that he could read her so well and knew that she would be interested in working with older equipment. She grew up around it and knew it best, but he had no way of knowing that, other than through that ancient motor. She gave him a skeptical look. “What if I'm a civil engineer?”
It was Han’s turn to give her a doubting look.
“I know your type, Sweetheart. You're a mechanical engineer. I've been recruiting for quite a few years now.”
Rey nodded in agreement. He continued.
“Regardless, nuclear plants need civil, electrical, environmental, nuclear, or really any kind of engineer they can get their hands on. So, you interested?”
“Are you offering me a job?” Rey asked, curious.
“I wouldn't be nice to you. I'm never nice to new rotational engineers,” he said in response.
“You're offering me a job,” she replied with satisfaction.
“I'm thinking about it,” he said impatiently. “Now, regardless of how I feel, I need a resume from you, and for you to fill out this application online. Nuclear plants love their paperwork, almost as much as the government. So, resume?”
Papers were exchanged, and Rey took home three pieces of pizza. It was a good day.
------
She filled out the job application to be nice, and thought nothing of it until she got a call from SW Station (apparently nuclear plants loved acronyms), asking her to come to the plant for an official interview.
She went, if only to see Han again. She had liked him, and if more people were like him there, then she might enjoy it more than her last internship.
Rey wasn't sure what she was expecting when she arrived at the plant, but not more bright green, as the security gate was also a similar lime green. Then there was the string of orange motivational posters encouraging everyone to work safely so they could go home to friends and family.
Then, there was the plant itself. The Jurassic Park fence in front of the plant was shiny, and there were two containment building domes, with no cooling towers. Odd, that. Lake Naboo sparkled in the morning sun behind the whole scene.
The pretty scene of the lake was only the beginning of things Rey liked. It turned out that the plant had a wide variety of people, mostly nerds in engineering. She fit right in.
She took the job.
-------
Her first day at the station - it wasn't even in the plant, as she had to get a badge first - was a huge letdown. All she did after peeing in a cup was sit at a computer in a Cherenkov-blue room and take computerized tests, for three days. She'd never get those days back. She hoped she never had to perform another computer-based training as long as she lived.
On her first official day, the fourth day, she arrived early to the security checkpoint, but her ancient car still got searched since she didn't have a badge yet (and wouldn't until later that day after all the security paperwork was done).
Behind her, a new, sleek black, muscle car was occasionally revving its engine, the owner impatient. She gave him a dirty look after the second rev of the engine.
The black seemed to clash horribly with all the bright colors and green surrounding Rey at the plant. The owner didn't seem to care that he was the absence of light, seemingly content to let everyone else share the colorful glory; she'd probably be in a similar boat with him after a year of so many bright colors.
When the guards finally finished and she was about to get in her car, the owner, a male with jet black hair, stuck his head out of the window.
“Next time, don't keep so much junk in your trunk,” he growled. “You're making the rest of us late. Time is wasting.”
“Get here earlier. Everyone has to deal with random searches, buddy. Deal with it,” she snapped. She was glad she remembered that tidbit at least. Anyone at any time could be searched, or asked to be drug tested, because of government regulations. Joy.
He had an appealing face, with dark, expressive eyes, and full lips. It was a pity he seemed like a stiff stick-in-the-mud.
She got in her junker and headed to her office. If she stopped suddenly when the troublesome muscle car appeared behind her again with the engine revving loudly, and if she sent him a one finger salute, then so be it. The plant was huge; she doubted she would see him again.
------
In her new office, she sat in a circle of four new engineers, with Han looking on indulgently.
Of the other three, two seemed to be nice. The other just seemed awkward as he looked around, his blond hair a mess. One of the other two was a female like her, and she introduced herself quickly, a slight squealing tone to her voice.
“Hi, I'm Rose Tico! I'm so excited to get started here; who knows what we might see and discover on our first day! What about you?”
“I'm Finn, said the darker-skinned guy with a red and blue watch, immediately shaking hands with Rose. I'm a big deal.”
Rose scoffed but smiled warmly nonetheless at him. Rey was almost sure Finn blushed at Rose’s smile.
“I'm Rey,” stated Rey finally. “I'm a little nervous.”
The awkward guy didn't get a chance to introduce himself, as Han chose that moment to interrupt.
“Alright, kids, welcome to Starpoint Woods Power Station: the biggest city for thirty miles around, and the best lakefront property there is. Shame we can't use it anymore for grilling and parties, but I digress,” stated Han as he leisurely strolled over to the college graduates.
“Now, as you know, you're rotational engineers. There are four departments in engineering you could join: design, the front or back end, or plant engineering, the front or back end. It will make sense later, promise,” said Han with a smile that didn't make Rey feel comfortable at all. “You're drinking from a fire hose today; enjoy all the knowledge about to be dumped on you.”
Puzzled faces greeted him, and he laughed.
“If you're in design, you ensure the plant maintains its originally-designed safety functions, whether by ensuring all documents are correct, or designing new parts and documents to make it safe. My wife, Leia, is in charge of all design engineering.”
He seemed so proud of his wife. Rey hoped one day she could find a guy who loved her that much. Or just find a guy. Most were unnerved by her ability to fix things better than them.
“On the other side, there is plant engineering. They're the go-getters and doers of the plant. Something breaks, and they go out to investigate. They know their system, program, or component better than anyone else. Snoke is in charge of them. Any questions?”
Wide eyes stared back at him, many questions at the ready.
“Good, glad to hear,” continued a cheery Han. “Let's go meet those two, as well as the managers under them. C’mon kids,” he said as he herded the surprised young adults out.
-----
Rey wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't this. These people were high level supervisors, but all seemed chill, except Snoke. He sent a chill down her spine instead, like the Grim Reaper before he became only skin and bones. Maybe that was why he went that way, to avoid looking like the wrinkly old dude with a creepy voice in front of her.
“There's my late, scruffy noob herder,” stated an older woman who shoulder-checked Han and came up to all of the new employees. “I'm Leia Solo. You might’ve heard of me from this guy over here.”
She jerked a thumb at Han, who gave her a boyish grin before indicating where the new engineers should sit.
Once all were seated and introduced, Rey was excited to join design engineering. Their supervisors, Holdo and Ackbar, seemed like people that she'd get along with. Ackbar had been the one who had interviewed her, and he remembered her fondly.
Leia was a kindly sort of mother figure that Rey would have liked having growing up, even if, as former engineering director Anakin Skywalker had apparently said, “The snark is strong with her.”
Snoke still gave her the creeps. His supervisors, Bazine and Mitaka, were slightly better, and younger.
When the meeting with the higher-ups and all the paperwork was finished, they headed to a welcome luncheon in the plant.
At the entrance to the plant, Rey discovered that, in addition to the Jurassic Park fence for security, there were other security barriers. At least this one was cooler.
“Wait, so getting our fingerprints and hand geometry actually serves a purpose?” she asked excitedly, turning to Han.
“Sure does, kid,” he replied, pointing to the machine that read her handprint. “If bomb scanners and an x-ray aren't enough, then having technology that reads the shape of my hand certainly makes me feel safer entering in. It makes me feel like I'm back in an airport, or in a James Bond movie.”
“I feel like I'm entering Tony Stark’s lab right now,” said Finn with awe as he looked around the second security checkpoint.
“If you next say that you love Chadwick Boseman, then you can join design engineering right now,” quipped Leia, pointing to Finn. “I need to talk about him with others since it makes my husband jealous.”
“He's pretty awesome, but Michael B. Jordan is my man!” cried Finn, running over to give Leia a fist bump.
Leia smiled and gave him a fist bump. She couldn't disagree with Finn; she had a weakness for young, misunderstood men who were trying to make their way in the world and doing what was right in their eyes.
----
Upon arriving in the conference room where lunch was being served, Rey had a small shock. There, sitting in the corner, was the same dark-haired guy she had saluted earlier that morning. Well, hopefully he wouldn't remember her or her three buns.
It was a shame he looked even better when he stood up to set up the projector. His black pants were tight and fit him in all the right places, and his sweater did nothing to hide his broad shoulders. She would almost swear that he was purposefully trying to make her stare at his backside, the way he lingered while leaning over. How was she not supposed to stare at that?
When he finished, the cold, humorless look on his face quickly cooled all of Rey’s sudden interest in him. He was still a stiff, impatient jerk with a stick up his butt. Then, he looked her way.
Their eyes locked. His brown eyes were dark and intense, and if she wasn't mistaken, also a little smug and knowing. Kriff….
“Ben, come over here and introduce yourself to your new coworkers,” shouted Han with good humor.
The intensity in Ben's eyes looked away from Rey momentarily as he nodded toward Han, but it soon came back.
His eyes never left hers as he approached; she wanted to look away, but knew instinctively that looking away would doom herself in his eyes for not standing up to a challenge. If he expected her to be apologetic for what she did earlier, he would be sorely mistaken.
When he was close, Han started things off with a joke.
“So Ben, why should you never talk to pi?”
Ben raised an eyebrow and gave his father a skeptical look.
“Because he will just go on forever. Get better jokes jokes, Father.”
“Alright, why do calculus majors never throw house parties?”
“I don't know, Dad. Why don't you tell us who have all heard this awful joke?” said Ben in irritation.
“Because you should never drink and derive!” said Han, slapping his knee. “It's a good lesson for all you new engineers suddenly earning a paycheck. Don't spend it all in one place immediately.”
After a hard look from his wife and taking a moment to collect himself, Han continued with introductions.
“Alright, kids, this here is my son, Ben. He's a bright and rising star within programs engineering, within the back end of plant engineering.”
Seeming to repress a groan at the terminology, Ben turned from Rey to face his father with studied aloofness.
“Are you always going to refer to my group as the backend of engineering and confuse these noobs more than they already are?” he asked, his voice neutral and back straight as he folded his arms.
“As long as it always gets your goat, you bet,” replied Han with a grin. Turning to face the new engineers, he continued, “I give him crap, but only because I love him.”
“You both have odd ways of showing your love and approval,” intoned Ben, seemingly bored. “But enough about us. Who are you?”
“This is Rose, the anime otaku I was telling you about,” said Han, pushing forward Rose. “She's going to the design side first.”
Rose put out a hand to shake, and Ben reached for it with an attempt at a smile, only to be pulled into a fierce hug by her as she squealed at seeing him smile.
“It's so great to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you from your father!”
Han looked on triumphantly.
“Well, I'll be,” muttered Han. “She really is a hugger.”
“You didn't mention that helpful detail,” said Ben with a strained voice and pinched face as he was hugged excitedly by Rose.
Rey tried not to laugh, and failed, as did everyone else at his comment.
“This here is Finn. He's a big deal, and a Marvel fanboy,” said Han as he shoved Finn forward. “He also is starting in design.”
Finn tentatively walked up to Ben, who gave off an aura of “Don't touch me" after that hug.
After introducing the other new guy, who seemed to have a similar voice to Ben, Han moved forward to stand between Rey and Ben, a knowing grin on his face. He then put a hand on the back of both of them before encouraging them forward.
“And you two are going to be best buddies, seeing as she is going to be joining your group first during her first stint in plant engineering. Ben, meet your future soulmate and gearhead enthusiast, Rey.”
It was just a simple jest meant to make everyone laugh, and normally, Rey would have joined in on the laugh. However, between the initial animosity and the intense stare they shared, the joke unsettled her somehow, making her pale a little. The only good thing was that Ben was equally taken aback, even going so far as to blush, clearly not expecting the soulmate part.
Everyone else chuckled as Ben actually made the first move to shake hands. She took his outstretched hand and gave him as firm a grip as she had his father. Ben seemed equally impressed by it.
Sotto voce, he stated as they leaned in, “Ignore him. He just enjoys making jabs about my lack of love life. Just don't tell him or my mom you already gave me the bird; they might start inviting you to family dinners on Sundays. Believe me, you don't want that.”
His warm breath hit her ear in an entirely wrong way. It sent chills through her as she smelled the worn leather he wore, a welcoming scent along with his own, earthy, male scent. Him speaking so familiarly to her already was a little surprising, given how stuffy he seemed, but seeing as he recognized her, there wasn't much to be done.
They finally pulled away, their gazes still stuck on one another.
“Thanks for the advice, Ben,” she said with a friendly smile.
She wasn't sure what else to say or do. Showing animosity now would be a dead giveaway, and she was grateful for the warning. She just wished that her saying his name didn't make his eyes soften in a pleasant way, making him seem more human and tender.
Drat him for that. She wanted to appear just as aloof as him.
Lunch was started after that, with Finn and Rey seated next to another woman in Ben’s group, Phasma. She had an eternal smirk on her face, and they quickly discovered that she loved giving orders and sharing gossip.
“Rey,” stated Phasma, “if you have technical difficulties, make sure to go to Ren. He's a techie and loves helping others, as well as talking about anything related to computers, unlike Hux.”
Both Rey and Finn nodded eagerly, absorbing the helpful information. Phasma continued on, quite content being the center of attention. “Hux, the ginger over there, is known to throw temper tantrums about temperamental or slow computers. He actually threw one out an open window once. Whatever you do, don't talk about something called Starkiller Base with him or Ren.”
After that bit of info, Finn was distracted by the guy next to him, someone named Poe. That left Rey with Phasma, who inclined a finger to Rey.
“So, who do you want the dirt on?” whispered Phasma with a knowing grin.
“What's the deal with Ben?” asked Rey, looking briefly at him again, then realizing that he was staring at her as well. She looked away quickly.
Phasma saw the interaction and laughed.
“Don't worry, he's always that intense with everyone. Especially whoever gets stuck in our group. He likes to get a feel for who he thinks best fits in the group.”
“Is he always such a stiff and aloof fun-sucker?” asked Rey. “He seems like a stick-in-the-mud.”
Phasma chuckled more before patting Rey’s hand. “Oh yes, he always is. Of course there's also that one rumor….”
“And what's that?” asked Rey excitedly, wanting to have something against Ben for the next time they butted heads.
“Well, it is rumored that he keeps this bright green lube in a jar on him or in his lower right desk drawer at all times.”
“He does what ?” asked Rey as her voice rose several octaves, jerking her head to him at once in shock.
Eyes wide, she re-evaluated him with this bit of information. Well, given his good looks, she wasn't altogether surprised….
“So is he the resident sex god or something? Or does he just enjoy getting his kicks off at work and from behind?” she asked as she turned back to Phasma, trying and failing not to blush.
“No one really knows,” said Phasma mysteriously. “He seems more asexual so far, never taking an interest in anyone here. Just be careful if he offers to take you into the field to show you what he does for his work. He always carries the lube with him for his…. jobs .”
Rey’s back stiffened at that, and she made a mental note to avoid all advances or overtures from him about his work, lest she spend even more time with those intense eyes and his odd tastes.
“But other than that, he's a perfectly normal engineer, grumpy and hating people in general. He'd rather read and interpret results and rules all day if given the choice between rules and people, but he'd choose working in the field over rules. He's perfect for all our plant’s NDE needs.”
“NDE?” questioned Rey at the new acronym.
“Non-destructive exam,” explained Phasma breezily. “You'll get used to the acronyms quickly. They're everywhere.”
Nothing else was exchanged between them before food was served. After everyone had a plate, the Poe guy came up and stood at the front of the room.
As he cleared his throat, Rey noticed that Ben scrunched up his face, as though preparing himself for whatever nonsense Poe was about to dish out.
“Welcome to Starpoint Woods Power Station! There are some who call me…. Poe.” After a beat and a lack of recognition of his quote from anyone, he grunted and continued a little more subdued, “I'm from design engineering and am a recent graduate of the rotational program. I'm here to give a little presentation while we eat. But first…”
He glided over to the four new engineers, who all looked at him curiously as he waited to finish his sentence.
“Let's learn more about our newest coworkers. You,” he suddenly said to Rey, pointing to her as he turned to face her fully, “What….. is your name?”
“My name's Rey,” she started, uncertainty in her voice.
“What….. is your quest?” he asked in quick succession, leaning in.
Rey was confused for a moment, trying to place where she had heard that question before. Finally, she remembered.
“I seek more knowledge about nuclear power, rather than the Holy Grail,” she said with a grin.
Poe seemed all too pleased by that answer. Finally, he asked his last question.
“What….. is your favorite color?”
“Blue,” she stated with finality, resting her joined hands against the tabletop.
“Go on, off you go,” he said, turning to Finn.
Rey thanked him and tried not to laugh when Finn was asked about the capital of Assyria. It seemed Poe loved Monty Python and the Holy Grail .
When everyone had been asked three questions, Poe headed back to the front of the room and slapped the table that held the new computer on it.
“This old thing continues to live thanks to engineering ingenuity and a lack of funds to fix it,” he said with pride.
It was then that Rey noticed that Ben stood up straighter in his chair, as though preparing to get up. Not weird at all….
That was when a loud cracking noise made its way through the room, and Rey watched as the desk holding the fancy computer, the desk with items stacked under the wheels to hold it in place and not fall over, groaned as items shifted under it, one of the items cracking. The desk started to move forward, and Poe made a diving catch to prevent the computer screen from tumbling over. She was impressed.
She was not impressed by Ben who did stand up before disappearing out the door. Others came forward to grab items off the desk, and several argued about what to do with the desk now that the balance of items had been ruined.
Rey started asking others if they had any tools to fix it, but no one seemed to keep any on them, frustrating her. Nonetheless, she pushed her way to the ground and asked others to help turn the desk on its side so as to reduce the possibility that the desk would fall and become worse.
She had barely gotten the desk on its side when Ben came back, this time with a toolbox.
“Excuse me, subject matter expert engineer coming through, who knows better than to carelessly slap things. Move it,” he stated with a vein of arrogance as he situated himself next to Rey.
He seemed momentarily surprised to see Rey on her hands and knees with the desk on its side already.
“Not bad,” he said, taking stock of the situation. “No one's tried doing that without me forcing them to do it before. Excuse me, I need to fix this.”
As he complimented her (she was sure that him saying something wasn't bad was as close as he got to one), his eyes gave her another warm appraisal, and then he turned to the problem at hand, getting on his hands and knees to mirror Rey.
Wood glue was produced, as well as a few other items. In the time it took him to repair it, the computer was set up elsewhere for the presentation. Rey assisted him by finding and holding clamps for him, bending over or under him and getting cozy as needed. She thought nothing of the closeness needed to finish the work, as his face and nose occasionally were abnormally close to her hair and neck.
When it was all done, Rey felt a sense of satisfaction.
As she looked at Ben with newfound admiration - she always respected a guy who knew how to use his tools - she found that he was also gazing at her, his eyes darker and more intense as he took in her smile of joy at completing a task.
“So you feel it, too? The feeling of accomplishment at fixing something?” he asked awkwardly, trying to find something to say.
“Always,” she said honestly. “You know, for an arrogant stick-in-the-mud, you're pretty good with your tools.”
“I'm great with all my tools,” he said with pride as he patted his toolbox and lap, making Rey blush. “That's why I can be arrogant.”
Rey huffed at that, but let it slide since he had come through, and pretty quickly at that. He obviously had been prepared for this situation.
“And you seem to know your way around a toolbox,” he said, remembering the way she had anticipated what tools he would need and handed them to him as he turned to grab them.
“When you grow up next to a junkyard full of old parts, you learn how to fix things,” she said with shrug. “It's either that or go without.”
He nodded in understanding and got to his feet, reaching out a hand to help her up. She took his outstretched hand and enjoyed the warmth found there in his firm grasp as he pulled her up so easily, making it seem as though she weighed nothing.
When they were both up, they were quiet for a moment, eyes examining the other again as their hands remained joined, until a throat was cleared. They both turned at the noise and realized that everyone was still in the room, despite the lack of people that seemed to exist in the moment before, when they had focused solely on one another.
Only then did Rey pull her hand away, albeit reluctantly. Ben looked like he did not want to stop the contact, as much as his eyes seemed to pierce her.
Poe came up with a friendly grin before putting a hand under his chin as though to ponder something, and then he said lightly, “So, who talks first? Does he talk first? Does she talk first? Oh, the tension here.”
Ben huffed at that and went to take his seat, deigning not to dignify the remark with a response.
Rey had no idea what to say, so she quickly took her seat and avoided looking at Ben. Her body had betrayed her in that instance as their hands and eyes had joined. She still felt his warmth, smelled his balsam shampoo, and had tingling skin from where he held her.
This was bad. Very bad. She had never before been so quickly attracted to a man. She knew it was attraction; she was all too aware of him and the presence he gave off. Hot guys who knew how to use tools were dangerous to her, and he was the embodiment of it, all wrapped in a nice package of barely contained manliness, bad boy looks, and prickly concern and respect that was clearly given seldomly.
She was so doomed.
----
While Rey and everyone else tried to focus on the presentation, Han turned to his wife and gave her a smug grin as he looked between Ben and Rey.
Leia smiled in return, leaning over and whispering in his ear, “You win, Nerf Herder. I'm sold on them now. Name your prize.”
Rose, who was on the other side of Leia, looked to where the couple was watching and smiled. She had noticed the way Ben had checked out Rey while fixing the desk, and then their extra-long gaze.
“I ship it,” she whispered with a smile.
When the presentation was over, the new engineers were herded out of the room, off to fill out more paperwork. Rey caught one last glance at Ben, who was looking at her already.
When their eyes met, she turned quickly, and he smiled.
Rey would almost swear that she heard him whistling Portugal. The Man’s song, “Feel It Still", but that was crazy, right?
Oh well, this whole situation was, and she was going to be working with him and his jar of bright green lube closely for the next three months. At least he would be helpful with computer problems.