Chapter Text
Friday, September 18th, 2:23, PM
To:
Rebels & Weirdos Group Chat
[reyofsunshine]: hey r we still on fr takodana 2nite?
[hoeDAMNeron]: thats a stupid queston
[hoeDAMNeron]: its frIday ofc we arree!
[reyofsunshine]: good. My calc class is alrdy kiking my ass
[reyofsunshine]: I NEED LIQUOR
[finn-tastic!]: you know peanut there is someone who could help
[hoeDAMNeron]: finn. My sweet. My buddy. Y wold u poke the beeast like thaht????
[reyofsunshine]: wut
[hoeDAMNeron]: well now thats it pokd might as well fllow threw
[hoeDAMNeron]: ben rey. u could ask ben for help
[reyofsunshine]: not 2 b dramatic but id literally rathr die
[rosebianyothername]: wow, okay
[hoeDAMNeron]: would thhis be a guod time to mention i invited ben to tako tonight?
[rosebianyothername]: uh, NO i think a good time to mention that would have been when rey was already there.
[reyofsunshine]: WHAT THE FUK U GUYZZ
[reyofsunshine]: im not coming
[reyofsunshine]: dont tell him it bcuse of him though
[reyofsunshine]: just say that im bzy
[finn-tastic!]: aw peanut c’mon!
[rosebianyothername]: u should still come!
[hoeDAMNeron]: hes not even thst bad anymoore!!!
[reyofsunshine has left the chat]
[finn-tastic!]: well. She’s gone. We might not see her for awhile.
[rosebianyothername]: where does she even disappear TO???
[benswolo]: ...does she know I’m in this chat?
[rosebianyothername]: no
[finn-tastic!]: no!
[hoeDAMNeron]: ahahahahhaaaa no
[benswolo]: ...is that better or worse?
[generalHugs]: (gif-of-peter-quill-saying-‘it’s-worse-it’s-so-much-worse!’)
-
There was a saying Poe had heard a lot growing up; timing is everything. Now, in Poe’s case, that wasn’t true-you either did something or you didn’t and timing was just a flimsy excuse to hide behind and had nothing to do with it- however, in the case of Ben and Rey, he had to coincede that was the fucking truth.
They just...missed each other. And no, that was not just him being overdramatic and wanting to pair off all of his little friends, no matter what Finn thought; he knew for a fact Rey liked Ben. Or rather, had been attracted to him at least. The night he brought her along to the club where Ben’s then-band, The Knights of Ren, were playing, Rey had leaned over to Poe and whispered, “This music stinks but I could climb the lead singer like a tree.”
In turn, when Poe next saw Ben, Ben had practically strapped him to a chair and interrogated him about who the girl at the club had been.
It had almost been perfect.
But then they ran into each other, unsupervised, at Takodana .
And Ben had opened his mouth.
Poe didn’t know all the details. He showed up just as Rey was connecting her fist with Ben’s face. What he did know was Ben had still been Kylo Ren and full of a lot of anger that Poe usually just rolled his eyes at, but Rey didn’t know Ben the way Poe did, hadn’t grown up with him and his parents. No, she’d only known that his parents had given her a job while she struggled through college, and that Ben was their trust-fund baby who claimed they, ‘didn’t understand him.’
Suffice to say, it did not end well.
But speaking of endings, Ben came to his senses by Poe’s second year, seemingly completely on his own; the Knights of Ren disbanded, and Ben and his least-favorite-person-and-yet-seemingly-best-friend, Hux, came over to study at Resistance University. Poe brought them into the fold of his friend group without a thought, and despite the fact that Finn had experienced Kylo Ren’s tantrums firsthand (having worked as a rodey at their shows for some extra cash) and Rose and Hux had sworn each other as enemies ever since he insulted her taste in beers once when she was drunk and she bit his hand in retaliation, they all managed to resolve their differences.
But Rey. Oh, sweet, adoring Rey.
Rey could hold a fucking grudge.
It didn’t help how hard Ben tried; it always backfired. He had that Solo-Talent where you could infuriate a person with five words or less, but he didn’t possess the same charm his dad did to smooth it over. Rey always ended up mad as hell, though she would never admit it; no, she liked his parents too much and respected his uncle as a teacher too greatly to shit on Ben to his face, so she just argued with him and mostly avoided him like the black death. And Ben, meanwhile, had taken to sulking after Rey like a sad puppy. Poe didn’t know Ben to care much about people’s opinions, but maybe that was just another thing that changed after his emo phase.
“If we got them in a room together, I’ll bet they’d work it out,” Poe said, flipping over another strip of bacon. “Maybe if we finally convinced her to stay one of the nights Ben is cooking?”
Ben was amazing in the kitchen, and Rey loved food more than people. It was a solid idea. Finn groaned from the table, though, and Poe shot his boyfriend a look. His unsupportive boyfriend, that is.
“Poe. Leave it alone.”
“I agree with Finn,” Hux announced, not looking up from his phone. Poe and Finn, on the other hand, immediately snapped their heads to the ginger-haired man.
“Did you just say you agree with me?” Finn asked, his voice incredulous.
“Don’t get used to it,” Hux smirked, continuing to scroll. Poe rolled his eyes and turned back to the stove, self-righteous angst fueling him.
“Am I the only one who’s bothered by the fact that two of our dear friends can’t stand the sight of each other?”
“Solo has no problem with Rey,” Hux helpfully added.
That was damn true. The first words out of Ben’s mouth whenever he arrived anywhere was, “Where’s Rey?”
“And you aren’t mad they don’t get along, you just like stirring the pot,” Finn said, leveling Poe with a frown. Poe winked right back.
“Just keepin’ it spicy,”
“Jesus.” Hux moaned, standing up from the table and stalking off down the hall. Then, after a beat, a much louder, “FUCK.” Hux charged back into the room.
“The fucking bathroom sink isn’t working again!”
Finn snagged a piece of bacon from the plate Poe set down and shrugged. “Call Rey.”
“I am!”
Their apartment was shitty and their landlord/maintenance man even worse, but for three guys attending college without much money, it was good enough. And with Rey around? Nothing ever stayed broken for long. Just the week before she’d come to fix the heater when Ben kept complaining he was cold-of course, she came when he was out-and had it fixed in less than an hour-
Poe almost dropped his bacon, his jaw going slack. He grasped Finn’s arm, then reached out to smack the phone out of Hux’s hand. Hux screamed.
“OHMYGOD MOTHAFUCKA, IF THAT’S BROKEN YOU’RE DAMN WELL PAYIN’ FOR IT-okay, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Hux held up the undamaged device and then glared at Poe. Poe ignored it. He was good at that.
“I.” He began, a grin spreading on his face. “Have a great idea.”
-
Rey hoisted her bag a little higher onto her shoulder and pounded on the green apartment door.The pouring rain outside had soaked her clean through as soon as she stepped out of her Frankenstein-ed red beetle, and she was leaving a wet puddle on the welcome mat. At least the books are safe, she thought. The waterproof satchel had been worth it; Portland storms didn’t mess around.
With still no response, Rey knocked again and then growled, retrieving her phone. Poe said he was home, said it was an emergency, that he needed the bathroom sink. Honestly, Rey didn’t get it; what, did they need water directly in front of them while they slicked their hair back with too much gel? They had a kitchen sink, why was it an emergency to need the bathroom one? That was more than Rey had growing up.
Ah. watch it. You already used your ‘sad foster care kid’ card today when you told Rose you were canceling movie night to sleep.
She had just started to open up the group chat when the door swung open and Beebee rushed her feet, yapping and barking. She started speaking before she even looked up. “What took you so long, catch your reflection in a mirror-” she stopped short when she saw who she was talking to wasn’t Poe.
Kylo. Well, no, if you wanted to be technical, Ben. She frowned. If you wanted to be even more technically, Shirtless Ben.
Fuck me. She went rigid, worried he would somehow hear her thoughts. I mean, fuck me in a, this sucks way, not like a request, although...
“Uh…” in his defense, he seemed just as confused as her. Rey focused on that. She wasn’t alone in her confusion, he did not have the upper hand.
“Is Poe home?” She tried. It wasn’t unreasonable for Ben to be there, she knew that. Poe, Hux and Ben all shared an apartment near the campus together, though how none of them had killed each other was a miracle Rey would never understand. “I was supposed to come fix your pipe.” She thought she saw his face go crimson. She glanced at the floor. “Well, no, not your pipe, your sink, the sink, I’m here to fix the sink-”
It was Ben’s turn to frown. Rey bent down to pet Beebee instead of continuing to stare at his rippling abdomen. “No, Poe’s out on a date with Finn.”
“He’s what ?” She cried, eyes flashing from his pectoral-region to his face.
“He’s. Out on a date?”
“I know what a date is, I just mean he said he’d meet me here,” She cursed internally and then pasted on a smile. She was going to murder Dameron. Which was sad for so many reasons; she had worked hard to claw her way up to four friends, and Finn seemed so happy with him as his boyfriend...“It’s fine. I’ll come back later-”
“Hey, wait,” he called, stepping into the hall to block her path before she could bolt. His muscles jumped as he did. Rey frowned again. Why would I notice that? “You don’t need Poe here to fix the sink. The sink is still here. Poe just isn’t.”
Did he always have to sound so goddamn condescending? Rey grit her teeth. “Yeah, sure, fine.”
“Great.” He raked a hand through his luscious locks and led the way into the little apartment. Rey trailed him into the bathroom, dropping her bag. Beebee sat down beside it with his tail wagging. He was clearly the only happy one in the situation.
“You don’t have to be my guide, I’ve been here before,” she grumbled before a towel was shoved in her face.
“You’re soaking wet; dry off so you don’t catch your death of cold,” he grumbled.
“What are you, a regency-era mother?” She snapped, but she took the towel anyway and began rubbing it against her hair. She figured... nay, she hoped ...that Ben would just leave. Go back to doing whatever Ben Solos did in their spare time, like disappoint their mother’s or listen to My Chemical Romance.
“You shouldn’t do that.”
Rey looked up at him. “What?”
“Rub the towel against your hair. It creates split-ends and frizz. You gently dab it between the cloth, that way’ll help close the hair pores.”
Rey just stared at him. He blinked at her, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and his chest still, unfairly, bare. He shrugged. “What?”
“Are you seriously telling me that I dry my hair wrong? ”
“Just making a friendly suggestion.”
“Okay, here’s a friendly suggestion; put on a freaking shirt.” She spun around on the cool tile again and began pulling tools out of her bag. She could feel Ben’s stare, heard his little intake of breath. Crap. She’d probably offended him. Not that it mattered to her if she offended him, of course not; but her favorite professor was his uncle, and Han had given her a job at his garage and it didn’t matter how many issues she had with Ben, she didn’t have to be rude. That would be sinking to his level.
“Dude.” She tacked on hastily, just as he was leaving.
“What?”
“I said, ‘put a freaking shirt on dude’. You know. Friendly.”
Another sharp intake of breath, but this time it sounded suspiciously like a laugh. He left her alone, and Rey scowled at the pipes a moment before whipping out her phone.
Tuesday, September 22nd, 6:46, PM
To:
Rebel Group Chat
[reyofsunshine]: POE IM GONNA KILL U
[generalHugs]: when he’s dead, can i have his room?
[reyofsunshine]: wtf since when r u in the group chat?
[generalHugs]: since poe thought of a dumbass nickname for me
[reyofsunshine]: whatever. Are you home?
[generalHugs]: nope. Visiting mum this week.
[generalHugs]: i’m trying to convince her egging my father’s house would be a good bonding experience.
[reyofsunshine]: u need therapy
[reyofsunshine]: ...also if u wait id love to come along for that
[generalHugs]: the therapy or the egging?
[reyofsunshine]: hahaha jokes on u im alrdy IN therapy
[rosebianyothername]: What did i just walk into???
Rey chuckled and started to type out a reply, but the sound of feet in the hall made her shove her phone back into her bag and go back to working on the pipes. She felt Ben come and stand in the doorway.
“How’s it going?”
“Fine. I should have it fixed in fifteen minutes. It was just a loose cap.” She wasn’t bragging, she was not trying to impress him. Those were just facts.
“Oh.” Why did he sound disappointed? Did he want to take up her whole evening making her work? She had things to do!
...well, no, no she didn’t. She was ahead on homework and Finn was out with Poe, which meant she couldn’t catch up on any of the shows they were watching together. She’d probably just go home and eat ramen. Maybe she’d water her plants.
“I was gonna offer...I’m starting on dinner. Would you like some?”
“No, that’s okay, you don’t need to do that.” She cursed and twisted her wrench a little further. Beebee licked her face.
“It’s really no trouble.”
Rey’s stomach growled; she knew Ben could cook. It was endlessly annoying, all the things he was good at. She’d been forced to acknowledge it last Hanukkah, when Leia invited Rey over to dinner for the holiday and Ben had been there, helping his mother in the kitchen. Now, Rey was pagan, not jewish, and Leia knew that and didn’t care, but Ben just stared at her all night, like he was mad, like he felt she didn’t belong. It sucked.
BUT. The food was probably the best thing she’d ever put in her mouth.
“It’s really fine,” she repeated, even though that wasn’t true. If Hux was visiting his mother, who lived over two hours away, and Poe and Finn were on a date...they’d be stuck eating alone. Rey couldn’t stomach that, no matter how much her stomach wanted to. He left again without another word.
-
The first time Ben heard the story of how his parents met, he had thought his father was an idiot.
His dad had picked up his uncle, who was hitchhiking to a protest rally against his parents wishes. Han had dropped him off-or rather, had planned on dropping him off. But when he saw Leia, and Leia learned he wasn’t staying to help, she had called him a, ‘heartless mercenary who probably didn’t care about anything or anybody.’
And Han had decided right then and there that he was going to marry the spunky young woman with the two-bun hairstyle and the big, ‘MEN OF QUALITY ARE NOT THREATENED BY WOMEN FOR EQUALITY’ sign. Even as she continued to hurl curses at him.
Ben should have known. Known he was bound to fall under the same Solo curse. Except his would be so, so much worse because he had absolutely no game. (His dad didn’t really have much either, according to his mom, so that was sort of comforting.)
The first time he saw Rey, he was drawn to her, and when they met up at the bar and he said something stupid because he was stupid and too into his Kylo Ren persona to use his brain, Rey had promptly responded with a scoff of, ‘You. You’re just afraid you’ll never live up to your family's legacy, so you’re not even trying.’
And Ben. Oh, he still cringed to think about it. He had responded with, ‘And you’re just trying to replace my family with yours because you don’t even have a legacy to look back to. But believe me, they’re gonna disappoint you.’
Rey had decked him. And Ben, about halfway to the ground, had known he’d already fallen in another sense of the word, for the spunky young woman with the three-bun hairstyle. Ah, how history repeated itself.
It had been a wake-up call in many ways.
But things did not improve.
At Hanukkah, when he’d been in his own family house with plenty of time to chat her up, he’d been too shocked by how pretty she looked to even get in a word edgewise. (Not to mention his father, who hogged Rey all night talking about cars. Ben wasn’t bitter.) He tried to be friendly when she was around with their other friends, yet he always ended up saying something to piss her off-maybe it was like the old quote, about how if you love someone they can dump soup in your lap, but if you hate someone the way they hold a spoon will drive you crazy. Maybe he was that for Rey.
And, if at all possible, they seemed to be getting worse.
He went around the kitchen collecting ingredients for dinner, staring at his phone with an incredulous expression.
Why the hell was she friends with Hux and not him? He liked Hux, of course, he was friends with Hux, but it had taken years for the two of them to warm up to each other. And it took them making out, late after a show one night, to really open up to each other. It hadn’t turned into anything more, but Hux had confided in Ben that he grew up with a homophobic dad and Ben had come out to him as bi and it had helped bond them. What had bonded Rey and Hux? He only ever remembered them having rude, yelling matches at the bar.
Yet there she was, being friendly as could be in the group chat while asking if anyone was in the apartment besides Ben himself to rescue her. Ben opened up his private messenger.
Me, 6:59, PM: how are you friends with rey
Hux, 7:02, PM: hello to you too. Yes, my mom is doing well. She says hi.
Also my god Ben are you stalking the group chat?
Me, 7:03, PM: ITS NOT STALKING IF U R FUCKING IN THE GROUP CHAT TOO
Also say thanks to your mom for the cookies she sent last week.
Hux, 7:05, PM: Rey and I spent most of our childhoods in London. We like to make fun of the way you americans speak. Its not that deep solo
I will tell her you said that. She’s sending me home with leftovers too
Ben scowled and shoved his phone into his pocket. The water on the stove was boiling,(a bit like his rage) and he shoved the pasta in and slammed the lid on top.
He was moping and he knew it. Last week he’d gotten so desperate he’d actually asked his mom what to do, and she had laughed in his face and then kissed his forehead. “Rey likes you. Just be yourself.”
Crummiest advice ever. Typical mom-thing to say.
It was possible Hux had a point, though; he just had to think of things he and Rey had in common.
Therapy. We both go to therapy.
Oh yeah, Solo, that is a stellar thing to bond over.
Our grandpas worked together.
She hates her grandpa. Scratch that.
The lights in the apartment flashed and Ben frowned, glancing out the window to see the rain was now coming down in absolute buckets.
“Okay, all done,” Rey announced, coming into the kitchen with her bag on her shoulder, clothes still wet and hands covered in grime. Why the hell did all of that just make her cuter? Ben was in deep shit. “I’ll be heading out now.” She graced him with a smile, but it wasn’t the same kind she gave to everyone else.
“Oh, um, okay, I guess-” Can we be friends? Can we PLEASE be friends? “Be careful driving home, it’s really raining.”
Rey eyed him over her shoulder as he trailed her to the front door. “I’m a fantastic driver, Ben, I’ll be fine.”
Shit. “Right, of course-”
Before he could get the rest of the sentence out, both of their phones started wailing incessantly. He yanked his out of his pocket, ready to just dismiss it.
FLOOD WARNING FROM 7:15 PM TO 12:00 AM.
ROADS CLOSED IN HOSNIAN AREA.
Oh fuck. Ben glanced up from his phone just as Rey did from hers. They lived in the Hosnian neighborhood.
“Um. You can hang out here, I mean-” her eyes narrowed.
“Gee, thanks, for not throwing me out into a flood.” She dropped her bag and folded her arms. Ben raked a hand through his hair, feeling his heartrate pick up; the apartment didn’t seem big enough anymore. Well, it always felt a little small, he was six foot two, but right now it felt downright cramped.
“Right. Well, if you wanna use the TV while you wait, and I have plenty of pasta cooking-”
And that was when whatever mystical forces uncle Luke claimed were watching over them decided to take a real long holiday. The lights flickered, and then went out.
“I’d really rather not do this now,” Rey whined in the darkness. Ben shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed.
“Yeah, me too,”