Chapter Text
Even late at night, the resistance base’s eastern wing common room is bustling with activity, filled with exhausted pilots, mechanics, engineers, and many others. It served a space to swap stories, eat, play, listen to music, or whatever else they could come up with.
Rey is an exhausted pilot. Exhausted mechanic. Exhausted scavenger. Exhausted jedi. She’d spent the better part of her day rolling around on the hanger floor doing ship repairs. Now she finds herself sitting comfortably on the old, dilapidated common room couch, that may or may no be cleaner than the hanger floor. It’s hard to tell. She picks aggressively at fingernail, trying to free up the caked in grease and dirt, only half listening to the conversation going on around her.
“No, No, No, Finn,” Poe exclaims, punctuating his statement with a slap on the table. That catches Rey’s attention. “I’m telling you. The quality of ships around the time of the clone wars, and even the empire, was way superior that what we are seeing now..”
“No way. Have you seen..,” Finn puts a hand up, trying his best to get a word in, but Poe’s not having it.
“I’m not talking big ships. I’m talking tie fighters...x-wings. Technologies improved...sure, but cheaper materials are being used. What goods an updated display, if the paneling isn’t strong enough to protect you? Newer ships just aren’t as sustainable.”
Rey decides that she has something to contribute. “I can attest to that. I spent most of my life rummaging through the wreckage from the Battle of Jakku. Those parts may be old, but they’re solid.” Poe points his finger at her excitedly.
“Thank you, Rey. See, Finn. Told you,” he gloats, crossing his arms in front of him.
“Whatever, new or old, you get hit with a cannon and you’re dead,” Finn sighs. The room quiets for a moment. Just sometimes you forget that you’re in the middle of war...a war that’s already taken countless lives. Then, something always brings you back to the reality of the situation.
Rose whines, laying on the floor dramatically. “Well, I, for you, am done talking about battles, tie fighters, dreadnaughts, blah, blah, blah.” She rolls on her elbows and her eyes light up. “I want to do something fun.”
Finn nods. “Yeah, I let’s do something fun…yeah. What around here is fun?” Kaydel is already picking through the supply cabinet without much success.
“All that’s in here is some old texts, a few holograms, and bits and pieces of old board games,” she says snapping the door closed.
“I have a deck of Sabacc in my room,” Poe offers with a shrug.
“Yeah, that’s it. Go get it,” Kaydel says pushing Poe towards the door. “Rose go do a kitchen raid. Don’t bring any of that dehydrated guava fruit. It’s nasty. Don’t bring any portions. Rey needs to learn to eat something else.”
“Hey,” Rey says, prepared to defend the sustaining qualities of a standard portion.
“You know I’m right. I’m going back to my room to get a couple bottles of Corellian Whiskey I have stashed away,” she says slyly.
Finns mouth falls open. “Where the hell did you get that?” Alcohol was a rarity on the base. Some of the resistance allies had committed to sending food shipment every couples weaks. Booze was never part of the deal.
“I found them is one of the old supply closets,” she shrugs. “I turned them in to the General. She told me find a time to put them to good use.”
Poe laughs. “That sounds like her. Finn, you figure out something we can use for the Sabacc pot. Make it worthwhile. Reconvene in 10 minutes. Be prepared to lose.”
Finn hoists himself off the couch and offers Rey a hand up. She allows him to pull her to her feet. Sitting on the couch for so longs made her stiff, so she talks a moment to stretch a bit.
“You playing?” Finn asks.
She shakes her head, putting on an apologetic smile. “I think I’m just going to call it a night. I worked on force stuff with Ben early this morning and was working mechanic pretty much all day.”
“You can make all the excuses you want Rey,” Poe interjects, “but, I think, you are just afraid that you are going to lose.”
“I’m not afraid I’m going to lose,” she says. That’s the dumbest thing she’s every heard. She and Poe get along really well for the most part. However, the last few days they’ve really been butting heads. A few successful missions in a row have given him a big head and Rey, quite frankly, is done with it. “Fine. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
“Bring dark and twisty back with you. I don’t want him showing up through your force bond and helping you cheat,” Poe wags a finger at her. Rey doesn’t bother suppressing her eye roll.
“So first I’m a loser and now I’m a cheater,” she grumbles. “Ben couldn’t help me if he wanted to. He’s got the force suppressant cuffs on.”
“All the same, I like him where I can see him.” Poe spreads his arms out and backs out the door. “It’s gonna be a fun night.”
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Rey half expects Ben to be asleep at this hour. Frequent nightmares made sleep a rare thing for him. When she knocks on the door, it swings open almost immediately. He takes one look at her and his vacant expression turns into a scowl.
“Well, hello to you too,” she says, pushing past him into his room.
“What did I do this time?,” he asks gruffly, leaning against his door frame. He’s watching her warily and his body language overall is very defensive. “Is it about that thing that happened in the cantina this morning? Dameron will back me up. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Rey is confused. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Wait. What happened this morning?,” Rey asks, fiddling mindlessly with some of the old knick knacks on Ben’s nightstand. Han had kept a box of Ben’s old things on the Falcon. Parts of an old calligraphy set, some model ships, books,...
“Unimportant,” he says. He crosses the room to snatch the calligraphy pen from Rey’s hand. He gingerly twirls it in his hand before setting it on his desk. “If I haven’t done something nefarious, what have I done to deserve your presence in my bedroom at this hour of the night,” he says with a smirk. She can feel her face get hot which only makes his smirk deepen. He’s just trying to get her worked up. There are in each others rooms all the time. More often than not, they leave the door joining there rooms open. “I’m under the impression you are here for more than just a chat?” Even without the bond, he’s good at reading her.
“There’s a group of us gathering to play Sabacc in the common room. Ben, I’d like you to join me,” Rey says quietly, holding out her hand. His smirk quickly turns into a scowl. “Please.” He can’t keep the scowl for long. She can tell he’s trying not to smile.
“No,” he says simply, turning away from her. Rey never backs down from a challenge. Catching his shoulder, she pulls him back to face her.
“Yes. Come on. It’s going to be a good time...maybe,” she tries to keep her voice serious, but finds that she is questioning how fun this night is actually going to be. Ben, whose just as stubborn as she it, sits down in his desk chair, bringing his hands behind his neck.
“I don’t want to go and play nice with your resistance friends.”
“News flash: you are kind of a resistance friend now. You are my friend, so you’re indirectly their friend,” she counters. “Besides you eat three meals a day with me and some of them.”
Ben’s eyes narrow. “Exactly. It tries my patience.” She can tell he’s getting annoyed. “Besides, no one wants me there.”
“Aha,” Rey shouts. “Not true. Poe wanted me to ask you.” His head cocks to the side and one of his eye brows shoots up.
“Dameron invited me to a game night?,” he asks slowly.
“I mean? Technically, yes. He’s worried you’d help me cheat through the bond and he ‘wants you where he can see you,’” Rey says doing her best Poe Dameron expression which makes Ben chuckle. However, she doesn’t think he’s particularly persuade to join. “How about this? If you don’t go, I will launch a full fledged investigation into whatever happened in the cantina this morning.” His dramatic sigh lets Rey know she’s won.
“You are insufferable,” he growls.
“I know.”
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When Ben and Rey get there, Poe is sitting at one of the tables, shuffling through the deck. Kaydel follows in close behind them, holding up two bottles.
“I bought the good stuff,” she sings. She has a bottle open before she even sits down. “Nice of you to join the fun, Ben.” He nods briskly and reluctantly takes the seats next to her, kicking out the seat on the other side of him, signaling for Rey to take it. “Couldn’t find any clean cups, so we’re drinking from the bottle, friends,” she says, taking the first drink before sliding it to Poe.
When the bottle gets to Ben, he spends a lot of time looking at the bottle. He runs his hand over the label. Corellian Whiskey...the good kind. He wouldn’t be surprised if this came from his father’s stash. He needs another sip.
Rey snags the bottle from his hand and, without any hesitation, she takes a huge sip. A gulp actually. A very large gulp. Some of it comes back up as she coughs and sputters, trying to clear the burning feeling from her throat. Ben slaps her on the back. “Christ, Rey. Easy.”
Poe laughs. “Death by Whiskey. Remind me how the hell you survived on Jakku all those years.” Rey’s cheeks redden. For the most part, Rey takes pride in her ability to survive. But sometimes...people like to remind her of how different her childhood was and she feels left out. She doesn’t understand references or doesn’t know how to use certain things or hasn’t had certain things. She sometimes ends up the butt of a joke. She hates that she lets Poe’s joke get to her.
Ben taps her on the leg. “Ignore him. He’s an ass,” he whispers so that only she can hear.
“I know,” she mutters. “I’m fine.” Finn and Rose’s arrival breaks up the tension. Rose has an arm full of snacks which gets thrown on the table. Finn empties out a small nap sack of things.
“Alright. So, here’s what I’ve found for the pot,” he says spreading it out. “I found a rusty old pocket knife that is...kind of broken, an old ring, and a thing that may be a bracelet or maybe just some braided metal wire.”
“Well, all of those suck,” Poe says.
“Finn, you had one job,” Rey jokes.
“Alright, it wasn’t like I had a lot to work with,” Finn throws his hands up and grabs a bag of fruit crisps.
“Ben you playing?,” Poe asks as his deals the cards out.
“No. I’m just watching.”
“Alright, suit yourself.” He stops when he gets to Rey. “Have you played before?”
She shakes her head. “I’ve seen some people play at Niima outpost, but never got around to playing myself.”
“We can play together this first round, so you can learn. It’s one of those games that takes a while to get the hang of,” Poe explains. He probably knows he upset her and is trying to be nice. Rey nods in agreement. He explains all of the rules and takes time to explain each of the cards meanings to her. The first round is fairly low key and Rose ends up with the broken pocket knife.
Rey rests her chin in her hands. “I think I can handle playing on my own now.”
“You sure?,” Poe asks and he deals out the cards.
“Yeah, I think so.” Ben sits slightly behind her, keeping an eye on her deck. She doesn’t play well. She makes some stupid mistakes...suspiciously stupid mistakes. Poe points out her errors and offers suggestions on how to improve. Rey doesn’t really seem to care that much, but she watches how Poe plays carefully. Poe wins rounds 2 and 3 without much competition. He collects the ring and the questionable bracelet.
Rey reaches for the whiskey bottle.
“Little sips,” Ben reminds her. She takes it nice and slow this time, and in smaller amounts. “Thata girl,” he says under his breath. “I puked the first time I had Corellian Whiskey, so you’re doing okay.” Rey throws him an appreciative smile.
“Okay, we need better stakes here,” Kaydel argues. “I don’t want to play for something that may or may not give me tetanus.” Everyone sits there thinking.
“We could play for food?,” Poe shrugs.
“Dumb,” says Finn.
“Says the guy who thought a rusty pocket knife would be desirable,” Rose chimes in.
“How about... the winner gets there night watch shifts covered by the rest of the players for the next two weeks,” Rey suggests. The general consensus is that this is an excellent idea. Ben, however, knows something is up. Rey hates the night shift more than anything. He finds it fishy that she would put herself in the position to cover more than her allotted times. She’s a shit player. He turns to say something to her, but is silenced by her hand on his knee. She gives him a wink.
The cards have been dealt and they’re ready to start. “Have a good time on the night shift friends,” Poe says arrogantly.
This game, as a whole, starts a lot like the others. Slow. However, Rey plays matter. Her hands are carefully chosen. She seems to anticipate Poe’s moves before he makes them. She saves her better hands. She only uses what she needs. It takes a while before Poe catches on.
“Rey, you’re getting a little better,” he says elbowing her in the side.
“Yeah, I guess so,” she responds, biting her lip.
The games progresses and Rey plays more aggressively. She rules the dice confidently and lays cards down confidently. Ben can see Poe is starting to get nervous. It’s down to the final hands. It’s between Poe and Rey. Poe lays down his cards and pumps his fist in the air.
Ben’s face falls. Poe has a really high hand. Rey tilts her cards in Ben’s direction so that he can see them betters.
Her hand is higher.
“It was a good game Rey. I’m impressed with how fast you learned,” Poe says.
With that, Rey slaps down her hand.
“And that, Poe Dameron, is one of the ways I survived on Jakku all those years,” she says confidently.
Poe jumps out of his seat to look at her hand. “What? You’re kidding me? How did you even....” He stops to take in Rey and Ben’s smirk. “You’ve played before?” Finn and Rose bust out laughing, and even Kaydel is fighting back a snicker.
Rey nods and takes a sip of whiskey. “Yeah, every once and a while, it was too dangerous to go out to the wastelands to scavenge. If you wanted to eat, you either put out or learned to play cards. I’ve been playing since I was 10. I was small, assuming, and underestimated. Tonight, I needed one round to play dumb, two rounds to learn your playing habits, and one to win,” she says sweetly.
“That’s called a hustle, Poe,” Ben says, adding fuel to Poe’s fire. His face is beat red and he pulls at his short dark hair.
Rey stands up. “Friends, I bid you goodnight. It’s been a pleasure playing with you all,” she says, bowing at the waist. She’s met with claps and whistles. “Poe, I’ll let Leia know that you’ll be taking my shift tomorrow night.” She’s met with a grumble in response.
With that, Rey marches herself right out of the room and heads back towards her room. Ben takes a few long strides to catch up with her. She smiles at him. “See I told you it might be fun.”
“Remind me never to underestimate you, Rey.”