Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rey Jackson scrolled through her phone looking for her next Tinder mistake. 

She hadn't been looking for a mistake this morning. Or yesterday. She had considered it Wednesday when her roommate, Finn, and his fiancée, Rose, (coincidentally, her other roommate) had started talking about wedding flowers (white roses vs white lilies). Thankfully, the shocked deer-in-headlights look Rey had given them had stilled their tongues and put off the inevitable a little bit longer. 

But not today. Today they had started going on about menus, and guest lists, and releasing butterflies or doves at the ceremony, and oh god it was too much for Rey. 

How many vegan options did they need? If they had butterflies and doves, wouldn't the birds immediately eat the insects? Rey kept those thoughts to herself.

She needed a distraction. And a messy, no strings attached, Tinder hook-up in the back of Maz's Cantina was just the kind of distraction she knew would do the trick. For today anyways. 

It had worked when Finn had brought Rose home for the first time. It had worked when Finn and the feisty Asian started to officially date. It had worked when Rose had moved into their shared apartment. It had also worked when Rey had run out of money following her first year of college. 

It continued to work when she struggled with 3 jobs to support herself before she and Finn decided to room together.  It barely worked when the government delivered her Mother's ashes to her. But it definitely worked when Finn dropped down on one knee and proposed at Thanksgiving.

Random hookups had always been a good distraction before. Much better than the awful therapist the ministry had sent her to in her teens. And hey, that one time she got crabs? Very distracting for a whole other reason. 

Sure, sometimes these hookups turned into a 'second date', but never a third. Honestly, Rey wasn't looking for compatibility on Tinder. 

The last few boyfriends she had dated, she had met through more conventional, socially accepted means-- like her Intro to Art 101, and the coffee shop she had worked at (before the florist, but after the bike shop. (Rey had, among other things worked as a pizza delivery girl, bike mechanic, barista, florist assistant and chambermaid to list a few). 

No, any meaningful relationship she found herself in started with a nice, normal, conversation in a public place. Not in the bathroom of her part time bartending gig. 

She swiped through a few more faces. Urgh. No time to be picky right now. She suspected that Rose was going to ask her to be a bridesmaid or, God, maybe Finn was going to ask her to be Best Gal or some sentimental shit like that.  

<It had been spring when Rey had met Finn. The dark skinned american had wandered into her Auto Shop, stopped dead in his cross country trek with 3 flat tires. (Not literally her auto shop, she'd barely been working there 3 months.) 
He was hours away from smelling the Pacific ocean, having left the Atlantic three weeks before. Rey took pity on him, and let him use her store credit to get the tires patched. 
There was something about the friendly abit panicked, man that she couldn't put her finger on, a kindred spirit maybe? But Rey could remember a time when she desperately needed someone to give her a break. Take a chance on her.
 Rey ended up fired for her trouble. She told the sexist son-of-a-bitch, Plutt, who had hired her to go fuck himself and drove the last few kilometers of Finns journey with him. 
They dipped their feet into the Pacific ocean off the White Rock pier and a lifelong friendship was born.>

And now six years later he was getting married. Rey knew she should be happy for him, and God if anyone deserved him, it was Rose. She was the light to Finn's dark. Stood her ground when he wanted to run. Rose saw the good in people when Finn wanted to give up and move to Greenland. 

But knowing you should feel one way, and actually feeling that way was a whole other beast.  All Rey's mind could drag up was all the things they were going to do without her... 

They were going to get their own place, and she would have to find a new roommate, and a new best friend and if she was lucky they would invite her over for Christmas, even though they would be far too busy for her once they started having their adorable half black half Vietnamese babies.... 

Fuck. Babies. Family. Rey was spiraling.  

Here she was sitting in her bedroom on a Friday night trawling Tinder. She clenched the phone tighter in her hand. She needed a distraction now. 

Her eyes widened as a face appeared on her phone screen that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, would suitably distract her. 

Poe Dameron. 

Or more like , Poe HOT-DAMN-eron, as she and her co-worker Jessika had taken to calling him. 

Of course he was on Tinder. It made sense with the multitudes of dates Rey had seen him on at Maz's as she tended bar. 

He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes, and a roguish smile that made ladies (and even gents) undergarments drop. 

How had she never come across him before? Probably because you weren't this desperate before, she thought to herself. 

She and Poe had chatted in the friendly comfortable, bartender-patron way as he wooed his next conquest and she supplied the liquid courage. Not for him. For whoever found themselves under his come-hither gaze and needed an extra boost of Am I doing this? Oh god, yes I am doing this.

Perfect. He would do.

He would definitely distract Rey from lavender vs periwinkle bridesmaids dresses. Chocolate ganache versus Swiss buttercream. Draw her mind away from millions of decisions it took to make a wedding happen. Decision that they wanted her opinion on for some unfathomable reason. 

Every decision was a reminder that in 6 months and 22 days her best friend and roommate were getting married. And Rey Jackson would be alone. Again. 

Rey swiped right and went to pick out something cute to wear, because goddamnit she was going to enjoy herself and not think about anyone's happiness except her own tonight. 

They didn't meet at Maz's. No, she spent enough evenings there on the clock. Rey would rather go somewhere she didn't have to worry about how many lemon wedges there were behind the bar, and was Jess going to clean that spill up or not?

She tied her wavy chestnut hair up into a high ponytail, swept black shimmery makeup over her eyes and nearly blinded herself with her mascara wand. Normally she kept it simple and natural, playing up her hazel eyes, but tonight Rey wanted to get laid. She wanted to feel sexy, wanted.

A glittery cream top that cut low below her arms, showing off her ribs and lack of bra was eye catching (she hoped). Paired with dark skinny jeans that showed off her -meager- curves, and black flats that she could still run in if the need arose. Rey was always practical. If this went south she wasn't going to be tripping over heels. 

They found a table near the bar. It was Friday night and the place was packed. Loud rock music blasted and greasy fried food passed overhead on serving trays. Rey wasn't hungry. Not for food anyways. She could use a drink though. A drink always loosened her up and calmed the roiling sea of her subconscious of why she needed so many of these distractions.

Poe was wearing his signature brown leather jacket, with tight jeans and his dark locks tousled just so. Clean shaven for the occasion. He was a pilot wasn't he? 

<They had chatted a while back, a quiet night when he had actually been stood up by whoever he was meeting. At first he had tried to flirt with her, because the night was young and he still had a chance right? 
Rey had maintained the cool professionalism of a bartender who knew his dating history almost as well as he did. When he realized he was getting nowhere they ended up chatting about the latest Star Wars movie that had just come out. Rey had seen it twice.
Poe had laughed in disbelief as she spouted off her criticisms, and admiration when she started listing Easter eggs that most casual viewers wouldn't have noticed. "I couldn't believe that's where blue milk comes from." She stopped almost embarrassed and Poe chuckled.
"Oh, I've heard that one before" and a thoughtful look crossed his face. "My roommate is a big fan of those films, well, any science fiction really, maybe you should meet him -" 
She stopped him there. Rey had been dating Logan for two months at that point and while it did end almost a week after that conversation with Poe (like it always seemed to do when things got serious), she wasn't interested in what kind of roommate Poe Dameron had. Even if he supposedly had good taste in movies.>

But tonight they were both focused on each other. Flirty winks, and the casual brushing up against each other of people who knew they were going to be having sex in a few short hours. They were at a bar not too far from Poe's apartment. 

"Perfect" Rey had said coyly as Poe mentioned that this was his neighborhood (though halfway across the city from Rey's own stomping grounds). He grinned at her and downed his beer. 

Good, they were on the same page then. They were both on their second drink when Poe abruptly switched to water. 

Huh?  She wondered. Rey always found these hook-ups to go more smoothly when she was just past buzzed, but not quite smashed. 

Well, okay then she thought to herself. 

Their conversation was easy and comfortable. Poe regaled her with stories of celebrities he had flown about for the charter helicopter company he worked for. Plenty of business from the local film industry. Rey laughed when she had to and smiled at the appropriate times. He wasn't boring but he wasn't really her type either. This was the kind of conversation she put up with to get laid, not expand her mind. 

With her past boyfriends there had been visits to museums and discussion of art (and God she wishes she could paint water lilies like that). She and Finn had caught a film festival once (and what on earth was Brad Pitt doing in a movie like that?) And when she had finally gotten comfortable with Rose, they had bonded over Doctor Who and spent many happy hours in front of the TV, theorizing who would play the 13th Doctor. 

Rey's throat tightened as she thought of Rose. Of Finn. Of lavender silk gowns, and Baby Breath bouquets. 

"You wanna get out of here?" She asked Poe over the loud rock music and even louder din of bar patrons. He grinned, nodded and threw some cash down on their table. Glancing down at his phone as they exited past the throng of near-but-not-quite-drunks and out onto the dark street. 

The air was chilly and damp, typical coastal weather for this time of the year.  Rey could feel the bite through her flats. FLATS. So pragmatic Rey. 

The forecast was for rain, but with this chill in the air, and it being November, it could be snow. Or freezing rain. Rey pulled her coat tighter as she and Poe made their way up hill towards his apartment. She had rode public transit to the bar and he made a joke about leaving his helicopter with a sitter that night.

"Problem?" She asked, catching him looking at his phone once again with a furrowed brow.

"Nah, just confirming where my roommate is." He said as he unlocked the front door to his apartment building. On the 2nd of 4th flight of stairs they had to climb, Rey could hear Poe fishing for something in his pocket. She could hear the crinkle of a blister pack.

Probably gum, she thought to herself. Though he shouldn't taste too bad, they had switched to water earlier than she had expected. She had a condom in her pocket, though she knew from Poe's reputation he would be well stocked. With a long history like his, protection would be non-negotiable.

They entered the, surprisingly small, apartment quietly. 

How old was Poe? 30? 32? It wasn't what she was expecting compared to most guys his age she had hooked up with. He didn't flick on the lights, but Rey could make out a bookcase, TV and couch, and were those movie posters on the walls? 

She paused and quickly sent a text with her location to Finn as Poe kicked off his boots. Not that she had even said that she was going on a date. A quick "I'm heading out" to the wedding planners as Rose started to say something about wedding dress shopping with her sister and mom if Rey was interested... 

Nope. Nope. Too much. Going dress shopping with Mom. What a luxury to have a mom that would care what kind of dress Rose would wear down the aisle. Rey felt the familiar hollow pang in her chest that had nothing to do with hooking up with Poe, or even the throat clenching feeling earlier about her best friends. 

Weddings were about family. Not just starting a new family for Rose and Finn, but a family coming together and celebrating- 

Rey reached up and cupped the back of Poe's neck and brought his mouth down to hers in a crushing kiss. Lips and tongue brushing together. His hands were on her waist and nimble fingers already slipping under her shirt as he pulled her into his darkened bedroom. She pushed his leather jacket off his shoulders as he pulled her blouse up and over -- and stared.  He obviously hadn't realized she wasn't wearing a bar. 

Huh. They always notice with this top Rey mused. Hence why she had worn it. 

He looked down at her bare chest and then gulped?? Did he just gulp? Poe Dameron was nervous with a girl? Rey thought bewildered.

But it passed and Poe's eyes were heavy with lust as he pulled her into another kiss. He directed her onto his bed, as she fumbled with the button on her jeans. His pants were around his ankles as the bed dipped as he crawled over her. They continued their sloppy frantic kissing as her hands roved over his body and through his hair. 

Much to Rey's surprise, Poe's hands were still, resting on her hips, not even trying to pull down her panties. Black lace for the occasion. 

He breathed in deeply as she pulled away, waiting for the press of his hips, ready for the show to start.  He settled his heavy body on top of her and dipped his face to kiss her neck-- and then stilled. 

What was he doing? She wondered. Smelling her? 

"Poe?" She asked hesitantly.  She waited a second and repeated her question. 

"Poe." She said, firmly this time. 

He let out a snore against the crook of her neck. Rey groaned in sexual frustration. 

Are you fucking kidding me!? 

Ben Solo heard the door of his apartment open and close. Foot falls. More than one person. 

Was that Poe? Didn't he have a date tonight? Ben reached over to his bedside table and glanced at his phone. Lights off in his bedroom, laptop perched on his folded knees, metaphorically, up to elbows in work. 

If Poe was bringing his date here he always warned Ben. They had been roommates for almost 10 years and they had it down to a science. If either were to bring a date home, there was always a courtesy text to warn the other to get scarce or find a pair of noise canceling headphones. 

Not that Poe needed to get scarce nearly as much as Ben did. Not that Ben was an antisocial, loveless, hermit. He'd had girlfriends over the years, but Poe had a new paramour every weekend it seemed. 

Ben growled and moved his laptop onto the bed beside him. He could hear coats and boots being shed in the hallway, just outside his door. 

Where were his headphones? If Poe had sent the customary text he would have gone down to the diner across the street. Or maybe go see the latest Fantastic Beasts movie. It was still playing right? But he sure as hell wouldn't be here, because Poe Dameron was loud and vulgar as fuck. 

Ben had learned over the years what to expect from his roommate's sexual exploits. At least in their last place their bedrooms had been on opposite sides of the apartment, and Ben could put on his headphones and turn up his music (or put on a movie) as he worked and remained almost blissfully ignorant of the obscene amount of moaning that came from Poe's room. 

But Poe was trying to save up for a downpayment for his own helicopter. He wouldn't be satisfied with simply being an employee. Poe wanted to control his own destiny. A smaller, cheaper apartment wasn't the end of the world for Ben's old friend. 

They had known each other since highschool and both had somehow ended up on the west coast. They hadn't been best buddies back then, but a friendly face in a sea of millions was worth a lot. 

Besides the sex stuff Poe was a good roommate. Clean, paid his rent on time and reliably. He was hardly at home too - usually just to sleep or practice procreating. 

He even dragged Ben out for social interaction, when he dived too hard into his writing and didn't come up to breath for weeks at a time. Poe had even introduced Ben to his last long term girlfriend (thought that had been over for months by now). Through Poe's work. Not his sexcapades. Ben wasn't interested in the vapid, frivolous, paramours Poe usually brought home. 

Poe's taste in partners was usually limited to physical attractiveness. The last time he brought someone home he liked personally, it had been 6 months of hell that almost ended in a Vegas wedding. Poe jumped back into the dating scene only looking at the superficial for the last few years. He had even tried to coax Ben down to the Cantina he met his flings at a few months ago. 

No thank you, Ben thought. I like to meet a girl naturally and see if there's a connection before jumping in the sack with them. 

But despite their differences Poe made a good roommate and friend. Usually.

Though friend might have to be revised he thought, grinding his teeth as he stood and looked around his room for his headphones. Or he could just slip out and head to the diner. It was open 24 hours and Ben had spent plenty of nights there with his laptop, digging into poutine. Or waffles. Or fried chicken. 

But he was right in the thick of revising a chapter, and when inspiration struck he liked to ride it out, rather than risk another bout of writer's block. 

Yeah, where were those goddamn headphones he spent $200 on to ensure he wouldn't have to hear Poe's throaty moans... 

Speaking of which they'd normally started by now. 

Ben paused by the sliding pocket door to their shared bathroom. A tiny apartment with a shared bathroom. The things he sacrificed for Poe Dameron... Honestly with what the housing market was at the moment they were not saving that much. But Ben needed to be close-ish to downtown, and Poe needed to be close to the airport. 

It was quiet. Almost too quiet. 

He slid his door open a crack. Poe's door was shut, but its lock disengaged. Ben puzzled. If Poe had brought someone home he would have locked the bathroom door to prevent any unwanted run-ins. 

Maybe he was mistaken, but he could have sworn he heard two sets of footsteps in the hall. He hovered his ear by Poe's door, not wanting to be a pervert for trying so hard to hear if two people were indeed getting it on in there. 

Okay, Ben thought, he could hear a voice. A female voice. A frustrated female voice. Odd. Women were rarely disappointed by Poe in the bedroom. Frustration came later when he didn't text them the next day. 

Ben's head snapped back as he heard foot falls moving towards the wooden door his ear was now pressed against. 

Shit shit shit  he screamed internally as he rapidly backed up towards his only exit. The door flew open and a half naked woman blinked into the bright light of the bathroom and promptly screamed. 

Ben hollered and dove back, sliding his door as aggressively as he could shut, his face beet red.

Rey's face was a shade of crimson as she watched the tall, dark haired man yelp and jump back, his eyes trained on her exposed breasts. Rey scrambled to cover herself as he slammed his door closed. 

Two doors on a bathroom, eh? Rey stood there, toes curling, body shaking while clutching her elbows in an embrace to cover herself. 

Why was she embarrassed? She has just been about to have sex with Poe Dameron, and now his roommate had gotten an eyeful. She groaned and turned away. 

The harsh fluorescent light from the bathroom was illuminating Poe's bedroom enough that she could see his snoring, mostly naked body, facedown on his bed. She groped around on the floor for her pants and shirt, ignoring him. 

Urgh, what a fucking waste of a night. Her face still burned. 

Mostly dressed she attempted to exit the room. But Poe must have a child lock on his door because it wasn't opening. She twisted and jiggled to no avail. Frustrated, she glanced at the bathroom. Two doors. 

Oh god she didn't want to run into the roommate again. But she did not want to wait here with sleeping beauty all fucking night either. 

She crept into the bathroom and gingerly pressed her ear to the opposing door. She couldn't hear anything. Cautiously she raised her knuckles to knock.

Ben had tumbled over his bed in his haste to get away from the naked woman in his bathroom.

Okay, half naked. She had been wearing black lace panties. Not that he'd noticed. Not that he'd noticed her small breasts. And her bright green eyes. and the dusting of freckles on her tanned shoulders. 

He swung open his actual bedroom door and breathed in, gulping air into his lungs, hoping to cool the heat on his face.

Come on man, you have seen naked women before.

In his vigor to get away from the beautiful -naked- woman in his bathroom, he had knocked his laptop off his bed. As he was righting it, scanning for damage, he heard the jiggling of Poe's bedroom door. 

It twisted and scrapped and yeah, Poe needed to change that lock, because she was not the first to get stuck. Poe would show her the trick with the half turn and lift, that would spring the door free. 

Except it didn't come.

The door stilled. Footsteps. Then came a small knock against his bathroom door. 

"Hello?" a small feminine voice, muffled by the wood of the door, called to him. He turned to the bathroom and stared. 

Where was Poe? Why wasn't he dealing with her? Why was Ben being accosted in his own apartment? 

"The door is locked, I, I can't get out." She pressed. "I'm decent now." she added. 

Ben sighed and his shoulders sagged. What should he do?  What would his father do?

He rolled his eyes at that thought. His father wouldn't have run scared from a half-naked woman standing in his bathroom. His father would have her in his own bed by now.

Urgh okay  what was the opposite of what his father would do? Be a gracious host? Even though she wasn't his responsibility at all and Poe was going to get an earful when he did make an appearance. 

She probably just wanted to get the hell out of here. Maybe she had cold feet? With Poe? Ben almost snorted. Whatever, not his business.

He unlocked his door and slid it open. She stood there fully dressed, thank god. Some sort of loose sparkly top and tight dark pants. Makeup smudged on her face, brown hair falling out of a ponytail, hands clasped awkwardly in front of her. A real walk of shame look if ever he saw one. His eyes softened.

"Yeah, Poe's door can be a real bitch." He said gruffly. Not too soft, then. 

He stepped back and held out his arm directing her out of his room and towards the living room. The only light illuminating her way coming from his righted laptop. She gingerly stepped through the room biting her lip with a flush creeping across her cheeks. She had freckles on the bridge of her nose too, he noted. 

"I'm so sorry" she stammered. "I thought Poe checked that you weren't home." She said, her eyes looking everywhere except at him. 

Ben frowned. There has been no text, he was damn sure of that. 

While he was scowling - at her - she thought, she slipped past him, down the narrow hallway and wasted no time pulling her coat off the wall by the door. 

"On your way then?" He said too loudly and too brightly. She winced. He immediately grimaced. What was wrong with him? This was the other reason why he was thankful that Poe usually sent him a sock-on-door-knob text. He could avoid awkward small talk with strangers in his own home. 

"Well, it was a resounding disappointment so I might as well go." She ground out as she struggled briefly with the zipper of her white and orange jacket. 

"Oh?" Ben's eyebrows shot up. She must have seen his face because she continued.  "The son-of-a-bitch fell asleep before the fun part."

"Really? Poe Hot-Damn-eron did not get to the 'fun part'?" He wondered aloud. "Well that must be a first."

She laughed at that. "I know right?"

"With his reputation I figured I would be suitably distracted for at least half the night." She enunciated each syllable of the word distracted in a way that caught his attention.

"Wait." She turned to him. "Poe Hot-Damn-eron?" She pronounced the moniker curiously, the same way she did the word distracted before. "Don't tell me he made up that nickname himself?" 

This time Ben laughed. "Yup. Been going by it since high school."

She laughed once again, harder this time letting out a tiny snort. Her shoulders shook slightly as she leaned against the wall, her finger hooked in the heel of her flat. 

"Oh my god." She muttered to herself. "I guess I dodged a bullet then, eh?"

He gave her a small half-smile as he shrugged. He clearly wanted her to go, she noted, as he slowly corralled her down the hallway towards the apartment door. 

"Anyways, sorry to intrude on your Friday night ..." She drawled, pulling her phone out. 

"Ben" he offered. Why did he need to tell her his name?

"Rey" she offered back, smiling at him before looking down at her phone. She twisted the door knob. "At least this one opens." Rey joked dryly as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Uh, yeah. Have a good one then" he called as he moved to close the door behind her. She was already briskly heading toward the stairs, eyes glued to her phone. 

Good. No more social interaction for him tonight. He had a chapter to finish.

Rey was glad to get out of there. Awkward chit chat with Poe's roommate -Ben- was not what she had in mind for tonight. The stairwell was chilly, even inside the building. 
Temperature's dropping, she thought. Must be close to zero. 

She was scanning her phone for an Uber nearby as a bright red notification flashed across her screen. 

FREEZING RAIN WARNING 
DRIVING CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS

Down four flights of stairs,  she finally reached the front door and shit -- she could see the sheets of rain coming down. No, not rain. Ice pellets. She pressed her face to the glass door and peered out. No traffic. Ice slick on the road. 

Fuck. She chewed her lip as she glanced around her. An old plastic lawn chair beside an overflowing ashtray sat in what could be considered a lobby for the apartment building.

She could text Finn... he would pick her up. He had plenty of times before when she had been stranded around the city, not just on disastrous dates like this one. Despite her mechanical aptitude she often found herself with flat bike tires and no spare tubes on hand. 

Her eyes flicked to the time. 9:45pm. Hardly late. Her thumb hovered over the call icon ... 

A red bubble caught her eye. She had an unread message from Finn asking if she was okay and if she'd see the weather. Another text popped up from Rose asking her the same thing. Was she OK? Did she need a ride cuz buses and skytrain weren't running. Her heart warmed at the concern from her friends. 

As her thumb scrolled the conversation, a text from earlier caught her eye. Obviously sent during her date with Poe, it was a photo of an origami swan napkin.  'Would this be cool at the reception or what???' The warmth disappeared when she remembered what they had been doing when she had all but stormed out earlier. She needed to start getting used to doing things on her own again. 

Rey clenched her jaw as she re-read her roommate's texts. Buses weren't running due to the icy road conditions. 

Shit. She was stuck here for the foreseeable future. She glanced down at the white plastic deck chair and shivered. There mustn't be heating in the entryway. 

Why would there be? No one lives in the entry way she groused. At least she hadn't burst out the front door and gotten locked out in this awful shit. Or slipped and knocked herself out cold. Didn't even have a toque with her. Real pragmatic Rey. 

Considering her options, she glanced back at the stairwell she had just descended.

It was maybe 15 minutes after his unexpected and unwelcome guest had finally left, when Ben heard a tentative knock on his front door. He looked up from the weather warning on his phone and opened the door without hesitation. 

She looked up at him. And up. God he was tall. A slight blush bloomed on her cheeks. She cleared her throat, embarrassed to be standing in front of a man who not twenty minutes ago had seen her tits. 

"So, yeah, I know this is awkward and you probably thought you saw the last of me but--" she began.

"The buses aren't running" Ben finished for her. 

"Yeah. Can, can I wait here please?" She stammered out. "The sidewalks are icy as hell..."

He stood in his doorway and looked down at her. She was what, 25, 26? It was Friday night and ice was raining down from the sky. She was wearing goddamn flats. What would his Mother say? He sighed. 

Ben held the door open for her and with a jerk of his head, ushered Rey in. For the second time that evening she slipped inside Ben's apartment, admittedly with very different motivations this time round. 

He moved down the dimly lit hallway as she once again pulled her flats off and set them by the door. She would keep her coat on. She was intruding. Didn't need to make herself at home. She remembered his haste to get her out of his home earlier. 

"Would you like something to drink?" Ben called from what she presumed was the kitchen. "Coffee? Tea? It must be cold out there if the bloody rain is freezing" he mused. 

Okay, maybe she would take her coat off then. 

This time, with the lights on and the lack of hurried pre-coitus undressing, she was able to get a proper look at the apartment she found herself in. It was fucking tiny. A kitchen across one wall, the living room opposite it. A small wooden table pushed up against the same window that housed their fire escape. The doorless wall of their hallway must be their neighbors. 

Jeez. She'd rented studios bigger than this. The minuscule benefits of the suburbs she guessed. 

She spied the couch from before, flat screen TV set up for gaming with consoles and wires running everywhere, a rack of DVD's beside the TV. A coffee table, and two bookshelves, now that she could see properly, that were half filled with books and half filled with assorted nick knacks. Her eyes roved over the closest bookshelf as she moved toward the kitchen. Was that a Lego x-wing? 

"Tea would be nice" she said quietly trying to be polite. He busied himself in the tiny nook of a kitchen. Standing there awkwardly rubbing her bare arms, her eyes began to rove the posters on the walls. The Dark knight, Blade Runner, The Rocketeer? and... Her eyes went wide. 

"Is this signed!?" She asked advancing toward one of the posters: The Avengers. There were silvery signatures sprawled on it covering the faces of the much loved cast of superheroes. 

"Oh? Yeah. I waited in line for hours to get Mark Ruffalo's signature." He said looking over. "Wasn't able to get the whole set. The line for Robert Downey Jr was four times as long as anyone else." He regaled her the story of how he and some buddies piled in a Toyota Corolla and headed to San Diego for Comic-Con. They had severely underestimated how long the 2 thousand kilometers would take to drive. Almost missed a day of the convention. Got lost in the city. Partied hard. Even wore their own costumes. Ah, college. 

"Who did you dress as?" She asked eagerly. 

He paused. Most people had a glazed look in their eyes when he started on about the conventions. Girls especially. His last girlfriend, Bazine, had given him an especially bored look as he gushed over the signed Terry Pratchett novel he had received for Christmas from his uncle. She had tolerated his hobbies, rather than embraced them. No wonder most of his relationships didn't last. 

But Rey looked at him expectantly. 

"Uh, we went as stormtroopers, actually." Disney has just bought Lucasfilms. He remembered it vividly. Mitaka and Hux had gone as stormtroopers, HE had gone as Darth Vader. Poe had whined until he realized he could go as a rebellion pilot. 

"That ... is awesome! My friend Rose convinced me to go as the 11th Doctor last year for FAN EXPO. She went as the TARDIS. We convinced my roommate Finn to go as Mickey." 

Finn. Rose. Would there be time for cosplay when they were married? She thought mournfully. 

Ben was staring open mouthed at the beautiful creature in front of him who admitted that she dressed in a bow tie and suspenders (and probably a fez) for fun. He had been at this year's FAN EXPO. Had she been there too? A dark look passed over her face briefly and she abruptly turned back to the bookshelf. 

"Is that a real Lightsaber?" She asked. 

"Uh yeah! Well it doesn't really cut through steel doors or anything" he added lamely. The detachable blade was in storage somewhere, so he couldn't show her how it lit up.  She was gingerly lifting the custom replica of Anikins's lightsaber he had received for his 26th birthday with a look of awe on her face. She gripped it in front of her and he could see her imagining slicing down a Sith lord with it. 

"With this, I'm surprised that you didn't go as Anikin" She quipped. 

"I didn't own it then - but technically I did go as Darth Vader. so... " He shrugged. Why hide it? 

"Vader huh?, yeah you're tall enough" she teased. A smile tugged at Ben's lips as he watched her. The kettle began to whistle behind him. 

"I've got earl grey or orange pekoe- that okay?" He asked as he reached into a cupboard to remove a mug. Normally for company, or even Poe, he would grab one of the plain black mugs, maybe one of the subtle Harry Potter mugs, but no, for this girl he would... 

"Earl Grey is fine. Do you have any honey?" she asked. She had delicately placed the lightsaber hilt back on it's display pillow and moved from the array of collectibles and was looking at his books now. He grabbed down a little jar of honey that he kept for spreading on his peanut butter and banana sandwiches. 

"Hey if you like Star Wars you should see this..." He trailed off. She was frowning at an especially worn paperback that she had plucked off his shelf. 

"The Princess Bride?" Rey asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"It's a classic!" he said defensively. She looked around at the posters, the Lego (She had spotted a TIE fighter, as well as the x-wing now that she was free to look), lightsaber, and other merch that decorated his cramped living space.  Rey had trawled countless thrift stores and Sally Ann's to amass her own small collection of nerdy keepsakes.

"It seems a little.... Girly. Compared to the rest." She cringed, suddenly realizing that she was a guest and shouldn't be making judgmental comments about her host's taste in books. But that was Rey. She had always been blunt, and it had bitten her in the ass many times before. Why stop now? 

"Girly? Haven't you seen the Princess Bride?" Ben said, undaunted. "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles!" He quoted. 

Rey was staring back at his incredulous expression. She tapped the cover of the paperback. A damsel was clinging to a black clad swashbuckler. She wasn't interested in a cliché sexist fairytale. She had lived her whole life with no one rescuing her. She didn't need more stories of helpless princesses. 

"Well I guess you can't judge a book by its cover" she conceded politely. 

"No no no no -- It's a movie! How have you not seen The Princess Bride?" He insisted, leaving the kitchen. Forgetting tea and manners Ben strode over to the DVD stand, trailing long fingers till he found the case he was looking for. He held it out to her with an eager expression, urging her to take it.

On the front was a damsel clinging to a black clad swashbuckler. Out of respect for her host Rey didn't roll her eyes. Or maybe she did, because Ben gave her a look. 

"It's got it all! Comedy--Billy Crystal is hilarious. Sword fighting; Mandy Patinkin and Carey Elwes are brilliant. Oh man, Andre the Giant as Fezzik. It was Robin Wright's first film, you know, and don't get me started on Wallace Shawn..."

He was babbling on passionately as Rey finally took a good look at him. Yes, he was tall and broad shouldered with long-ish raven hair that covered his ears, with a strong nose and full lips. Dark stubble on his chin with a fair complexion. Downright pale compared to her own golden skin. Some might think he was odd looking, but here, him passionately defending a movie he clearly loved, his chocolate brown eyes bright and fierce, he was striking. 

"We should watch it then," she interrupted. She could stand to watch a movie. with him. He grinned at her. The awkwardness from earlier in the evening was nowhere to be found. The smile transformed his face, and her stomach filled with a weird fluttery sensation.

 "If we are gonna watch a movie, then we need popcorn." He replied. Rey and Poe had talked about splitting some nachos at the bar, how long ago was that? She wondered. She found the power button for the TV and went through five (Count 'em, five!) remotes till she finally discovered the right one for the DVD player. How many remotes does anybody even need?

Ben was microwaving popcorn and melting butter as she settled on the couch. She pulled a blue and grey blanket on to her lap Hmmmm... he's a Ravenclaw? she thought to herself. She doubted this blanket belonged to Poe. He was clearly a Gryffindor. Maybe a Hufflepuff.  Did anything in this apartment belong to Poe she wondered. Was he secretly a nerd too? She doubted it, remembering his casual thoughts on Star Wars. 

Ben finally remembered the earl grey with honey he had steeped for her. She admired the black mug decorated with the Millennium Falcon and a galaxy of stars as he approached her.

"It's actually heat reactive," he told her. "The stars only appear when you add the hot liquid. They'll fade as it cools" he added setting it down on the glass coffee table between them and the TV. 

His father would have made a show of it. Never missed the chance to impress the girl. How could he have grown up with such a charming man, but have none of it rub off on him? No, he wasn't trying to impress Rey. He was just helping her out. Down Boy. He chided himself. If it weren't for the storm she would be a hundred klicks away by now.

Ben settled himself on the opposite end of the couch from Rey and placed the bowl of popcorn between them. A respectable distance considering they barely knew each other.

But Ben had opened up to her so genuinely Rey felt like that wasn't quite right. 

She glanced over to him as he popped a kernel into his mouth, eyes trained on the TV as he worked the remote. Her eyes trailed up and down his body. He was wearing a grey Henley and dark jeans. She could see muscles defined through the material. Down girl. She scolded herself as she settled in. This isn't a date she reminded herself. We're just killing time.

She laughed at the clichés. She mocked the terrible 80s costumes. She gasped as Buttercup was nearly eaten by a shrieking eel. She snorted as Prince Humperdink tracked the lovers to the fire swamp. She stared in horror as Wesley was killed by Count Rugen's death machine. She cheered as Fezzik and Inigo stormed the castle. 

Ben chuckled as he kept stealing glances at her. She had taken her hair down from the ponytail and it was hanging loosely about her shoulders. He'd seen The Princess Bride a million times -- had most of the dialogue memorized. But here she was watching -and enjoy- it for the first time. Finally the credits rolled. The popcorn bowl was empty.  Rey had uncurled from her polite cross legged position and was lazily lounging.

 "Okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Buttercup had a good amount of spunk for a damsel." She conceded as she rolled her head towards him, "So which is better?" She asked. "The movie or the book?" 

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm...." he murmured, steepling his fingers together as he collected his thoughts on that very complicated topic. 

"Really?" She wondered aloud. "I figured you would just immediately say the book. Everybody knows the books are better than the movies. Take Harry Potter --" She said as she plucked at the throw blanket across her lap. 

"Yeah but the Potter films weren't written by Rowling, whereas the screenplay for The Princess Pride was written by the guy who wrote the book!" He explained. "So a ton of the witty dialogue is preserved." 

She was looking at him bemused, but not disapprovingly. He pushed on. 

"Of course the book is so much more in depth than the movie, and you get so much more backstory for Indigo, Fezzik, Humperdink, even Wesley." He ran one hand absentmindedly through his hair. Her eyes followed the action. 

"but when he -Williams Goldman- wrote the screenplay he really streamlined it. Kept all the best stuff and cut the stuff that could be optional."  He continued on. She had asked, he was gonna tell her. "Honestly I would take the first half of the book, with all the great satire and backstory with the second half of the movie. He wraps the story up much more neatly in the movie" 

He licked his lips and shifted on the couch, turning to face her fully. "There's a reason that the book is on its 30th anniversary edition - it's brilliant! He claims that he's adapting this old historic fairytale ..."  He plucked the paperback off the couch between them. Fanning the pages with his thumb, the fluttering sound punctuating his words. 

"He frames the entire book like the movie, with it being a story told from parent to child. And he added in all these comments from the author, just like the grandfather butting in. He even wrote the introduction so differently from the prose of the actual fairy tale that you would actually think it's two different authors..." He petered out for a second before adding: "It really made me realize what you could do with your writing. It really inspired me to ..." 

She watched his animated hands and expressive face as he espoused what was clearly something very dear to him. Her eyes softened. He was adorable. 

"So you're a writer?" she asked when he drew to a close.

"Well, I try to be" he admitted, a slight blush creeping across his features. "In my spare time. My hobby. I work IT during the daylight hours." 

"IT?" She teased. That explains the 5 remotes.  "So you love Star Wars, and go to conventions, and work IT and are writing a novel in your spare time?"

"God, don't say it like that" he grumbled embarrassed as he covered his face with a huge hand. 

"Like what?" She asks feigning ignorance.

"Like I'm some sort of basement dwelling virgin-"

"Oh I doubt that you are." She teased again, feeling the tips of her ears burn. He was gorgeous, there was no way he wasn't getting laid. 

Get a hold of yourself girl. She had blushed more in the last two hours, than she had in the last year. He coughed as his own complexion went pink. 

"I went to college for creative writing," he clarified. Ignoring her flirting? Was she flirting with him? "I only started doing IT for my mother's law firm as a favour to her wayback in highschool. Because no one there over 50 could get their bloody WiFi to work." She nodded. Boomers could be notoriously ignorant around technology that they supposedly had been exposed to for over 20 years. 

"Then when I moved out here she put me in contact with a old friend's firm, and they needed something more high tech than just a router reset, so suddenly i'm changing my courses around and creative writing kind of got put on the wayside" He took a deep breath as he thought back, glancing down at his hands. Why was he telling her this?

"...and now 7 years later I do IT for several companies around the Lowermainland. I make good money and I can make my own hours, so I can still be writing. I've even been published" he said proudly. A short story for a sci-fi anthology. He had it on the bookshelf. Would she want to see it? Ben wondered. He glanced at her face, pleasantly surprised to see that she was smiling at him. 

"Wow. That's, that's awesome. Getting to do what you love. I'm kinda jealous." She stretched her arms in the air, arching her back and kicking out her legs as she decided what to share. He had been so talkative, she should offer something. 

"I only managed a few basic courses my first year of college. Didn't even get to pick a degree or program or anything before my funding ran out." Her hazel eyes were on the novel still in his hands, but not really seeing. "I did enjoy the art department." She said wistfully. He was looking at her earnestly. 

"Your parents weren't able to help you out much?" he asked. Despite fleeing the province his parents had still paid his tuition. She shrugged. 

"Didn't have parents. Grew up in the foster system." Short and to the point. No need to dwell on the mother who didn't want her and the father who she never knew. No need to go on about the makeshift families, that only lasted as long as you were well behaved before they shipped you off to somewhere new. 

"Managed to get that first year of college on grants and bursaries and a scholarship. Then I had to join the working force." she added wearily. "I work as a florist slash Bartender at the moment. That's how I met Poe." she added. 

He took that in. She didn't have a family. She was alone. His own relationship with his parents was strained. He talked with them on major holidays, usually to explain why he wasn't there in person. They were constantly reaching out to him and he was just as aggressively leaning away. He just wanted independence-- wanted to leave his mark on this world outside of their towering shadows. He had moved out immediately after highschool and hadn't looked back. But... he still had them. His parents and his uncle. They were still alive and still loved him, no matter how far he tried to push them.  Despite being back on the east coast, if he fell, he knew they would catch him. He knew that deep in his soul.

Who would catch her? He wondered, studying her lovely face. Her eyes were dark. That same look that had passed over her face when she had mentioned her friends earlier. 

"Did that distract you enough?" He asked.

"Hmmm?" She said breaking from her own thoughts. 

"The movie. You said you needed a distraction earlier." He clarified. She flushed. 

"I was, uh, hoping Poe would be my distraction tonight." she said letting it hang there awkwardly between them. "But yeah, that movie was great. Loved it. Gonna have to make Rose watch it with me." She added, fiddling with the blanket, avoiding his gaze.

Suddenly he felt awkward again. Oh yeah, she had come to this apartment earlier to have sex with his roommate. And now she was stuck waiting out the ice storm with Poe's awkward-as-hell roommate. He coughed. 

"Uh, maybe we should check on Poe. Make sure he hasn't choked on his own vomit or anything." he offered.

"Oh yeah," She murmured looking as if it was the last thing on earth she wanted to do. 

but Rey stood and untangled herself from the lap blanket she had been snuggling during the movie, and headed towards Ben's room. She hesitated, and then pivoted towards the door to Poe's room instead.

"It's locked from the inside" Ben called "Gotta go through the maze". She rerouted. He stood and followed her, socked feet skipping across the linoleum. 

He flicked on his bedroom light and winced at the mess. Bed a dishevelled, clothes strewn about. His desk was overflowing with bits and bobs from work. Cables, a spare hard drive, a litany of tools. Those interested her, but she barely glanced around, her shoulders were tense as she passed through the bathroom into Poe's darkened room. She felt like she was marching back into a dark cave. 

"He should be fine," she said quietly to Ben as he followed her. "Neither one of us had much to drink" she wrinkled her brow. "Is he normally this much of a light weight?" But she knew the answer to that. She had seen him drink more than two beers and still be able to charm the pants of an unsuspecting 40 year old with purple hair one night at Maz's. 

"No, he can drink like a fish," Ben said as she knelt in front of Poe's sleeping face. Ben was leaning over, peering at his friend. Poe's breathing was shallow and his eyes were half open. His breath smelled sour. 

Rey pulled up one of his eyelids gently as he lurched forward and emptied his stomach contents. Both she and Ben jumped back. She with a shriek and him with a grunt. 

"Noooooo! Ugh gross." Rey gagged at the smell as she looked down at her shirt. Ben grabbed a towel off the back of the door and tossed it to her.

"Can you grab the garbage can?" Ben asked her, motioning to the bathroom, as he dragged up Poe's head by a fistful of hair. She maneuvered around him, trying not to brush him with her filthy shirt.

"What the fuck Buddy" she heard him murmur as she returned with the bucket, using the towel to mop at her shirt. 

They propped Poe's face on the edge of the mattress hanging above the garbage can to catch any other fluids. Rey halfheartedly scrubbed at the vomit that had missed her and landed on the carpet. Ben pulled the covers over his roommate and then followed Rey out of the darkened room, through the bathroom back into his room. 

She was looking down at her now ruined top. "Urgh I don't want to wear this all night" she muttered to herself under her breath. 

"Here." Ben handed her a clean black T-Shirt out of one of his dresser drawers. It was an older one he didn't wear too often. "You can wear that and we can throw your top in the wash." 

"Thank you." Rey said stunned, softly gripping the black shirt. Why was he being so kind to her? He barely knew her. Outside of Finn and Rose, she was unaccustomed to people being kind towards her. Unless they were being paid to look after her, but Rey knew the difference. Here he was lending her a shirt, and watching a movie, and indulging her questions, and letting her into the privacy of his home to shelter a storm. 

She stood there awkwardly, unsure if she should undress in front of him, or if he was going to leave her to it. It was his bedroom after all, maybe she should use the bathroom? Rey twisted into a half turn as her fingers played at the hem of her shirt. 

With more bravado than he felt Ben said "You know I've already seen the goods, right?"

Rey smirked and without hesitation whipped her shirt over her head. That was when Ben realized that she was braless. 

If his nose had started to bleed, he wouldn't have been anymore surprised by the force of his blush. Ben stammered and quickly left the changing woman in his bedroom, his confidence evaporating. He thought she had been wearing a bra. He thought it was sexy flirting. He thought wrong. Oh god. 

He was washing the popcorn bowl and her tea mug when she emerged wearing his old t-shirt. It was almost a dress on her, hanging loosely off her petite shoulders and falling halfway down her thighs. Jesus, was he really that much bigger than her?  She looked down at herself inspecting the black material with a white skeleton dressed as a circus ringmaster. 

Oh man, that's the shirt he grabbed? God. Did she recognize it? She must be a few years younger than him, but would she be familiar with MCR? She didn't look like the type who had an emo phase in highschool like he did. 

"Thanks for the shirt," Rey said with genuine gratitude. She hoped he could tell from the way she said it.  People don't just lend you shirts.

He coughed a sound that (he hoped) was an affirmative. 

She walked around him and sat down at the small kitchen table that neither he nor Poe used for anything other than storing mail. Meals were usually eaten on the couch, or in bed, or at a restaurant. Neither of them cooked much. Rey watched him as he worked, or rather ran out of work. He tried to keep himself busy deflecting from the awkward encounter in the bedroom. 

Now that would have been a distraction. She thought to herself. Come to this apartment to fuck one guy then end up in bed with his roommate instead. 

Rey felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. Ben was a nice guy. He was kind. And passionate. and professionally successful apparently. and handsome to boot. He was a catch.  

Shit, what if he had a girlfriend? Guilt twisted a knife in her gut. She was a penniless orphan, making her way in the world clinging to her roommate and avoiding true emotional attachment to anyone else. Rey had no family, no education, no career, no accomplishments, nothing to offer to anyone.  Why would anyone want to be with her? The Friendship Finn (and later Rose) had bestowed on her was more than she deserved. 

"My roommates are getting married." She blurted out. He stopped and looked at her, confusion clouding his features. "To each other." She added. As if that cleared everything up. He continued to stare at her waiting for her to explain. The only sound between them was her awkward words and the trickle of the faucet.

"They, uh, got engaged a month ago, at Thanksgiving. And they are, uh, planning the wedding. And, and I can't stand it" The open and earnest look he was giving her, caused a dam to break. A dam she didn't know she had built. 

"I can't stand the table placements. The invitations. The golf course venue or the orthodox church even though neither of them are at all religious. I can't stand the stupid purple dress I suspect they are gonna want me to wear. And I can't stand that once they are married they won't have time for me." She was both angry and fighting back tears as she spit it out. 

"And I can't stand --- why don't they just have their own families help them with this shit-" but they did. Finn's grandma wanted to bake the cake. Rose's sister was the maid of honour. They did have families, and it was just one more glaring reminder that Rey didn't. They were trying to include her, but she didn't really belong. 

"Why do they have to start a new life without me?"  Rey was angry and embarrassed as she trailed off staring at the piled mail sitting on the table. 

Why was she telling this to Ben? Why would he care? Because he lent her a shirt? Because he offered to make her tea? Because he let her come back into the apartment that he obviously wanted to be alone in.  Because he shared his love for The Princess Bride with her, even though he totally thought she was going to judge him for it. 

Because no one except Finn - not even her boyfriends - had been kind to her without expecting anything in return. Everything had a price. People would only give to you if they knew you would pay them back. And yet, when Rey had pulled her shirt over her head, and all but offered her payment he'd had none of it. 

Ben had a tea towel slung over his shoulder as he leaned his hip against the kitchen counter. He looked at her thoughtfully as he reached out and turned the faucet off.

"So that's what you needed a distraction from then?" He said, understanding pooling in his mind. 

Rey's head snapped up to look at him. She nodded slowly. "I guess I don't have the best coping mechanisms" she started as a joke "...when it comes to people leaving me" she finished bitterly.

 "I'm not really any better I guess". He offered. "When things blew up with my folks... I moved four thousand klicks away to avoid them. Not the healthiest either." he added with a self depreciating chuckle.

At least you have a family  she almost muttered but stopped herself. She had just met Ben and already burdened him enough with her presence and this embarrassing outburst. He wasn't her therapist and she liked him and didn't want to scare him away anymore than she already had... That thought made her pause. She liked him. 

Ben watched various emotions play across her face. He just wanted to make her feel better. A girl with no family whose friends were leaving her behind

(Though he really rather doubted that, even if that's what she believed. He was gonna have to chat with this Finn and Rose. If she was so terrified of them leaving her, she must love them tons and they her in return. He was sure that they would set Rey straight in a minute if she told them these fears. If they would cosplay with her as Doctor Who characters they couldn't be terrible people?)

"You're not alone Rey." He said firmly. Brown eyes trained on her hazel.  "You hear me?" She gave him a watery smile.

He pulled a glass down from the cupboard and filled it with cold water. He offered it to her and said: 

"Hey, if you need another distraction ..." 

Rey gazed up at him through her eyelashes. Here comes the payment, she thought. 

"Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?"

It was 1 am, Rey and Ben were both slumped against each other on the couch. Arthur and his Knights running from a killer rabbit playing across the screen. The Ravenclaw throw blanket tucked over both of them. When the credits finally began to roll Ben jerked awake. 

His neck was sore. Rey was snuggled up against him. Her thigh pressed up against his, her head resting on his shoulder and her breath tickling his neck... she was dangerously close to falling face first into his lap. Ben swallowed, his mouth dry. She was warm against him. 

What was the harm of leaving her there? As he slowly shifted he grimaced. He was gonna feel it tomorrow if he slept on the couch, that's the harm. 30 years old and sleeping weird on his neck could pain him for days.

He could get up and go to bed. He could tuck Rey in on the couch. She was a head shorter than him and would fit much more comfortably. Well as comfortable as this couch could be. Poe and he used to have a large plush couch they would both fight over to sack out on. But downsizing had its detractors. That couch was in storage till Poe had his own helicopter, that bastard. 

Ben made a decision. He shook Rey's shoulder gently. 

"Rey. Rey! Hey, do you wanna sleep on the couch or on a bed?" He asked the half asleep woman. 

"Bed" she slurred, not even opening her eyes. 

"Come on then." he pulled her up and she grumbled the whole way as he led her to his bedroom. 

He artlessly laid her down on his mattress. She rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball. He stood for a moment weighing his options; then gingerly laid down beside her. He was a tall guy so he had a queen sized mattress with plenty of room -- he wasn't even touching her when he stretched out (though he was dangerously close to the edge).  

Maybe he should put a pillow between them... He arranged the comforter on her and pulled his spare blanket over himself. He rolled over onto his side and studied her sleeping face. 

What was he doing? She was a stranger. She didn't know him or even trust him. Well that's not entirely true, she did come back to the apartment. And she opened up to him about her friend's engagement. And yes that wasn't enough to justify her being in his bed but.... 

He wanted to get to know her. He wanted to watch movies with her. He wanted to meet her cosplaying friends. He wanted to go to conventions with her and wait for hours in line to get something signed with her. He wanted to eat waffles with her at the diner across the street at 3am. There was so much he wanted to do with her. 

Rey sneezed in her sleep and adjusted her limbs as she pulled the blanket close around her. A contented sigh escaped her lips. 

He was mapping constellations on the freckles of her face as he drifted off to sleep.

Rey woke up warm. Which was weird because she had been caught in the rainstorm. 

No she hadn't. She had stayed the night at Ben's. On Ben's couch. She opened one eye. Faint grey light was streaking in between dusty blinds. She wasn't on a couch. She wasn't in the living room. She was wrapped in a grey comforter and stretched out on a bed. Next to Ben. 

All she could see was his angular face pressed into a pillow, dark hair fanned around him. Rey could feel heat radiating from his body, his steady breathing filling her ears. She shifted, rubbing her bare legs together.....!? 

Oh shit. She had slept with him. Guilt flared hot and fast in the pit of her stomach. A sickly guilt that she had never felt after a tinder hook-up before. She liked him, and now he was going to think she was just a bed hopping slut ... 

But no. They hadn't. He was still dressed, laid out beside her. His almost-too-tight shirt was riding up, giving her a peek at the pale skin of his stomach. They hadn't even kissed she thought. Or come close to kissing. He had stayed a respectful distance all evening. The closest they got was when she had snuggled up against him as Sir Galahad was being tempted by a castle of virgins... 

She started to fight against the comforter that was twisted round her like a cocoon. She was alone inside her chrysalis she realized. She was still wearing the too large t-shirt, and now she could feel the denim of her jeans twisted in there too. She must have kicked them off in the night. 

How did she get into the bed? She rummaged through her memories after The Princess Bride. The embarrassing outburst at the kitchen table. Ben's kind words. The ridiculous British movie about knights with coconuts... Then Ben asking her if she wanted to sleep on the couch or on a Bed.... 

She finally managed to break an arm free of her soft, warm prison. She twisted away from him and spied her phone sitting next to, what she assumed was, his phone. They were both plugged in and charging. What a gentleman. 

When was the last time she had felt so taken care of? He had fed her, entertained her, clothed her, and listened to her and now had shared his bed with her. 

Rey turned back to the man laying beside her. A small smile crossed her lips as she watched his sleeping face. A few dark moles scattered across his pale features. She sighed contentedly as she heard the toilet flush. 

She froze.

"Ben. Ben!" 

He awoke with Rey's face pressed close to his. She was viciously whispering and nudging him with a comforter wrapped shoulder. 

"G'morning" he slurred. What time was it? Wiping drool from the corner of his mouth. Gross. Had she seen that? 

He groped around for his phone but didn't find it. It was on her side of the bed. Her side of the bed. Something weird fluttered in his chest at the thought. 

"I think Poe's awake" she hissed at him. He froze. 

Why was she worried? He frowned and sat up. He could hear the water running in the bathroom. He glanced at her again. She had his comforter wrapped around her like a nest. She looked at home, with her chestnut hair mussed and her cheeks rosy from sleep and his too large t-shirt hanging off her slim frame. She looked at home. That thought echoed through his still drowsy head. And Poe did not belong in that home.

He stood and in two large strides reached out and turned the lock on his bathroom door. Rey visibly relaxed. He settled back onto the bed beside her, folding his hands behind his head. She moved her comforter nest closer to him. Ben laid back, content to feel her warmth next to him. 

He could hear Poe grumbling from the bathroom. He was waking up. Searching for something. Or someone. Suddenly the bathroom door shook, but didn't open. That's what locks are for, he thought.

Ben could follow the sounds of Poes grumblings back out the bathroom into his own bedroom. Could hear him pulling clothes onto his hungover carcass. He heard the bedroom door jiggle and pop open with a lurch. And he could see Poe in his mind's eyes looking down at the woman's shoes in the hall. The gears turning in his foggy brain. Now he was imagining Poe slowly searching the living room and then the kitchen, before his eyes landing on the vomit covered blouse sticking out of the laundry hamper... and then he imagined Poe's gaze landing on Ben's closed bedroom door. Don't even think about it asshole.

That's what Ben imagined. But what actually happened was once the door popped open there was a moment of grunting and pulling on of boots before a frantic search of the tiny suite and the front door of the apartment was yanked open with a bang and Poe stepped out with a holler of "GOOD MORNING LOVE BIRDS I'm grabbing breakfast" then he was gone. Rey and Ben sat up in tandem, frowns and confusions playing on both their faces.

The spell was broken.

Rey groaned as she rolled over and grabbed her phone. 12 new messages and 6 missed calls. Guilt spread through her. She had sent Finn that initial message, but then she had been so distracted with Ben and her meltdown... 

"Urgh I gotta get home." she moaned. Rey needed to shower and brush her teeth and explain herself. And gush to Rose about Ben. Yeah, gotta tell someone about last night. She often gossiped with Rose about her hookups (never Finn, he was far to overprotecting), and wouldn't she be surprised in hearing about how last night didn't end up with sex? Whaaat? 

She was extracting herself from the warm nest she had built. Ben's eyes were following her. She started to pull on her pants. Rey didn't care if he could see her long legs. Let him look.  She flushed in a way that had nothing to do with embarrassment. 

"Do you want to grab breakfast? The diner across the street has great waffles." Her heart fluttered at his words. Ben was reaching for his phone. He needed her cell number too--

She smiled at him but God she needed to shower, and clear her head and sort through all the messy emotions of last night--  Rey shook her head in the negative. 

"Thanks, but I gotta go..." His face fell. Everything was different in the light of day wasn't it? 

"How about a raincheck?" She suggested. He perked up immediately. "We need to finish that movie sometime. I wanna know if the rabbit kills them all - and if Galahad finally gets laid." He chuckled and handed her his phone.

"Thanks for putting me up Ben." She was zipping up her coat and looking at him earnestly. "Seriously, you didn't have to, after last night, and thanks for listening to my emotional bullshit." It came out in a rush. Her number was safe in his phone. She didn't want to trudge up too much of last night in case it scared him off from calling her. 

He was not put out in the least bit; he would gladly have her invade his home again anytime. Ben told her so. He moved close to her in the narrow hall, last night he was trying to get her out - now he just wanted her to stay a little longer. 

She stood there awkwardly for a moment, a very faint pink hue to her features. She was waiting for... something...?

Ah, Ben leaned down and gave her shoulders a quick squeeze. Not gonna push it. as much as he wanted her to stay, he might have overstepped with the whole bed sharing-- 

As he was pulling away she leaned up and pressed her soft lips to the corner of his mouth. He froze. She pulled away, almost shyly, looking up at him through her eyelashes. He was still hovering above her. Their faces close. His brown eyes now trained on her face. Her lips.

 An eternity or a minute passed between them. He couldn't be sure. 

"Ah, well, text me sometime." She said, not moving out of the close proximity of his face. "So we can watch that movie. Or get waffles." Her lips were still inches away from his. "Or do something." She added with a coy smile. Ben nodded dumbly. He still hadn't said anything. 

Don't miss your shot idiot! His brain was screaming at him. And then she was out the door. Gone. 

He stood there for a full minute, computing everything that just happened.  the slam of the door ringing in his ears. Everything she had just said... He ran his hands through his hair, dragging his nails along his scalp relishing the sensation.

IDIOT. You should have kissed her back! A million possibilities ran through his mind. No, a kiss wasn't appropriate. Its not like that had sex or anything. They just talked. and watch two and a half movies. and slept in the same bed... and she had kissed him. God. He was an idiot.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked around his apartment. Everything was different in the light of day wasn't it? 

His eyes fell on the laundry hamper.

Rey was finally exiting the shitty 'lobby' of Poe and Ben's apartment building as her phone began to buzz. It's Ben's apartment to her now she mused. 

"Rey?" Concern marked Finn's voice as she answered his call. 

"Hey Big Deal." Rey said more casually than she knew she should. Especially considering she had been ignoring his texts. She was walking down the street, eyes scanning for a bus stop. 

"Are you alright Sunshine? Where are you? God, I thought you were dead!" He was mad now. Good. She deserved it. 

"You sent me your location and then I heard NOTHING from you all night! If it weren't for the fucking freezing rain I would have shown up!" Rey smiled at his concern. She could hear the familiar roar of a blue and grey bus as she joined a queue of commuters. 

"Is that Rey!?" She could hear Rose's sleepy voice in the background. "Fuck, is she alright?"

"I'm fine you two!" Rey answered them both. She explained a cliff notes version of what happened last night as she climbed aboard and scanned her TransLink pass. She wasn't going to get into the nitty gritty over the phone while surrounded by Saturday morning commuters. "Seriously I'm fine. I'm on the bus and on my way home right now."

"Rey I am so sorry about last night" Rose must have taken the phone from Finn. Rey could hear him grumbling in the background. "I know all this wedding stuff can be overwhelming..." Because of course Rose could see past Rey's distractions to the heart of the matter. 

"Why are you sorry?" Rey asked. "It's gonna be one of the happiest days of your life. Don't let my emotional baggage get you down." WOW. Okay that was honest. She thought she wasn't going to get into the can of worms on public transit, huh Rey?

 "Rey, you are like a sister to Finn, and one of my best friends and I want you to be a part of this." Rose said earnestly. Rey felt tears prick at her eyes. 

"I know." Rey agreed. 

<She vividly remembered the night she had overheard Finn and Rose talking about her outside of her bedroom. This was a few months into their courtship, but before Rose had moved in. So far, Rey had been aloof and cold to Rose, rebuffing any offer of friendship the woman had tried. 
"She hates me" Rose had snapped. No, not snapped. Nearly cried. 
"She doesn't hate you!" Finn comforted her. He was right Rey didn't hate Rose, she just didn't like that Finn now spent more time with his girlfriend rather than his best friend and roommate. 
"She means a lot to you Finn. I don't think I can be the second woman in your life" Rose said. 
Oh shit, were they going to break up? That filled Rey with dread. Finn was so ecstatically happy with Rose, and she didn't want him to be unhappy. Not with everything he'd done for Rey. 
Why did relationships have to be so fucking complicated? Caring about someone other than herself was a giant pain in the ass. 
"Rey is like a sister to me Rose. She has no one else. When I found myself stranded in this town she put her neck out for me. We've got each other's backs no matter what." The words stilled Rey. She laid on her bed in the dark of her room and felt her world shift. If Finn loved Rose so much - and Rey loved Finn - then she was gonna have to swallow this jealousy bullshit and do what was best for her brother. 
Rey didn't hear the rest of their conversation, but the next morning she woke early before she knew either Rose or Finn had work or class. She made eggs and toast, though cooking for Rey was usually frozen pizza pops or a pot of KD. She was never around for the morning after. She often found herself a Tinder mistake to keep herself out of the apartment when Rose stayed over. 
When Rose stumbled out of Finn's room looking like they had fought all night, Rey offered her a cup of coffee. Rose looked down at the steaming black and gold mug emblazoned with a badger. Loyal and true. She took the peace offering tentatively. The two girl's eyes met and they shared a quiet moment before Finn had burst into the kitchen looking like he was expecting war. 
Both Rey and Rose had given him a can't you see we are busy? look and the rest was history.>

"Hey have you ever seen The Princess Bride?" Rey cut Rose off before she said anything else that was gonna make her full on cry in front of all these strangers. 

"The Princess Bride? Uh, yeah of course. It's a classic" Rose blurted out, confused by the abrupt change of topic. Rey rolled her eyes. Of course Rose had seen it. "Why?" 

"I was thinking it would make a cute theme for your engagement party" Rey offered. A peace offering. For all of Rey's shitty behaviour since Thanksgiving. Paige had already asked if Rey would help her plan it but Rey had avoided giving Rose's sister a definitive answer. 

Rose squealed so loud that Rey yanked the phone away from her ear. Rey's friend was now babbling on about how she needed to find a suitable pirate costume and sword for her fiancé. Poor Finn. Cosplay wasn't really his thing. Rey grinned. She could be happy for her friends. They deserved it.

Another thought floated through her mind. She deserved to be happy too.

Rey was still on the bus when her phone buzzed again. The ice storm hadn't lasted all night, and with salt down on the roads transit was running smoothly. She glanced down at the number half expecting it to be Finn calling to ask Why in the world is Rose trying to make me dress like a pirate for our engagement party? 

She still had 25 minutes of silent commuting till she was back in her neighborhood and arguing about how Finn would make a dashing Dread Pirate Roberts would certainly pass the time. 

Except that it wasn't Finn calling. Or Rose. She didn't recognize the number at all ... 

Who? Ben. It must be Ben. Her heart flipped in her chest as she suddenly sat up straighter in her seat. With trembling fingers she answered, praying that she was right. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey, you forgot your shirt here!" It was Ben's low timber that reached her ears. Rey swallowed a grin as she looked down at her zippered coat, imagining the black t-shirt underneath. 

"Oh shit sorry! I had to get out the door, my roommates were freaking out thinking I was dead in a ditch or something" she answered truthfully, leaning back in her seat. 

"I totally get it. Glad you have friends who are so concerned about you." he replied. She smiled at that. She did have friends. She wasn't as alone as she thought she was.

He continued, "But yeah, we gotta exchange shirts. You still have mine too." Her gentle smile morphed into a smirk. 

"Oh? You miss this old thing so bad, huh? Maybe I need to hold it hostage till we finish that movie then?" She teased. The old woman who was straining to hear Rey's conversation leaned closer. Rey's smirk became more pronounced when she noticed her.

"How is that a threat when I have your shirt as my hostage?" he retorted. She wished she could see the expression on Ben's face.  "My gross vomit covered shirt? Like that's much leverage in getting this lovely vintage My Chemical Romance shirt back."

The morning light was illuminating his apartment as Ben stood in front of his kitchen sink, staring down at the vomit covered top Rey had left there the night before. His cell was cradled between his shoulder and ear as he worked soap into the fabric of her sparkly blouse. 

"My gross vomit covered shirt? Like that's much leverage in getting this lovely vintage My Chemical Romance shirt back." Ben groaned inwardly. She did recognize it. He needed to get back in control of this conversation. He had a point calling her right? 

"Well how about I wash it for you?" He offered, looking down at the half done job in front of him. 

"You are terrible at negotiating. If you went to garage sales, you would talk the price up" He could hear the laughter in her voice. but he ignored the comment. He was a professional who set his own hours and pay. He could negotiate. 

"Okay how about in exchange for washing it, you watch two movies with me?" and stay for dessert he almost added. 

Rey's voice was mocking him: "Two movies? and a clean shirt? That's your terms? Sir, I refuse." 

Ben went silent and his hands stilled. Shit. How could he have been so wron-- 

"In exchange for MY clean shirt, I will return YOUR clean shirt and we can grab take out and finish The Holy Grail."

"Oh!?" Ben exclaimed hopefully. His sudsy hand was now gripping the phone to his ear. 

She sounded eager, "Like, how about... tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Ben repeated back. Could he really be that lucky? 

"Can you wash the shirt and get rid of Poe in that time?" She asked. 

"I can... I can get rid of him. He owes me for last night." He would tie Poe up and throw him in a trunk if it meant he could spend more time with Rey. 

She giggled, "I almost wonder if we owe him for last night." 

<Ben remembered Poe swaggering back into their apartment not 10 minutes after Rey had left, bagged breakfast from the diner in hand. He looked disappointed to see Ben alone. He had brought 3 breakfast sandwiches. He was even less pleased with Ben's barrage of angry pointed questions about last night. Ben was almost on top of him when he finally came clean.>

"Rey, I gotta tell you something about last night..." he started solemnly.

Rey's heart caught in her throat at the shift in Ben's tone. From playful to serious. Her hand that was gripping the phone went clammy. The elderly woman sitting across from her on the bus, who had been eavesdropping with a smile on her face, must have noticed the sudden change of Rey's posture, because a sad frown graced her wrinkled features. 

Rey tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as she strained to hear Ben's words over the roar of the bus. 

"Rey, I gotta tell you something about last night ... I don't know what kind of shit Poe was playing with you last night Rey, I found heavy duty nighttime cold medicine in his coat pocket when he came back." 

Her brain short circuited ".... WHAT!? What kind of idiot mixes cold meds with booze?" Rey gasped. Relief on her face and confusion on the old woman's. 

"Poe Hot-Damn-eron apparently." She heard him grumble. She wondered if Ben had nearly decked Poe when he told him of his ingenious plan.  She certainly would.

"Oh my god, his breathing last night... he could have...he could have died!" Rey's mind was reeling. "What the fuck was he thinking? WHY?" 

"Yeah, like you said. What an idiot." Ben supplied, but she could tell he was trying to keep his tone light: "It turns out I am a stubborn recluse, and Poe couldn't figure out another way for us to meet." 

Rey paused as that sunk in. Her eyes widened and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. The old woman was mouthing a silent 'what?' to her. 

< "My roommate is a big fan of those films, well, any science fiction really, maybe you should meet him" >
 Poe's nervous look when she pulled off her top. 
How he switched to water so early. 
<"just confirming where my roommate is." >

Rey's line had gone quiet. Was she still there? Ben wondered. He shifted on his feet nervously. 

"Rey?" He asked, fearing the worst. Would his roommate's manipulations taint her feelings about last night? 

"What a conniving, idiotic, bastard," she finally burst out, anger tempered by pearls of laughter. "It's fine, it's fine!" suddenly she was shushing someone he couldn't see. 

"Whose that?" He asked, his brow creasing, wishing he could see her lovely face. Damn, why hadn't he just driven her home? 

"An eavesdropper who is very invested in this conversation." She said with a giggle. He was imagining her smile. The same one from last night when Wesley and Buttercup has ridden into the sunset. Or the one from this morning, when she had surprised him with an almost kiss. 

"Oh God, Ben," she continued. "I think WE owe him for last night."

"Yeah, I think we do," he agreed with all his heart.

And sitting there on that bus, across from a nosy stranger, wearing a not-so-strange man's shirt, after spending the night unexpectedly with said strange man, with rare Saturday morning sunlight streaming down to illuminate the just-as-bright-feelings in her chest Rey smiled. 

 "But we are never going to tell him that." Ben grumbled into her ear. 

And if she had won the million dollar 6/49 last night, her smile couldn't have been brighter. And she knew that across the city, Ben was standing in his apartment with the same grin on his face. Because of course he was as happy as she was, they were going to see each other again.