Chapter Text
It was another infuriating day at the office, much to Benjamin Solo’s dismay. Phone meetings, paperwork, and his annoying secretary kept reminding him of how little time in between appointments he had. But, he finally had a few moments to himself, a few moments to eat the lunch he had Connix order for him and try not to think about who he had to yell at next.
“Mr. Solo, sir,” Ms. Connix knocked on his open office door, “Your lunch has arrived.”
He grunted in response, throwing down the piece of paper he was trying to read onto his large, polished mahogany desk.
Connix placed the tray with his steak and steamed broccoli in front of him like she did every day. “Is there anything else I can get you, sir?” He waved her off, not wanting to waste his voice on his secretary. She left briskly, heading out for her own lunch period.
~
Rey rushed back into the building, pulling her young daughter along with her. “Come on, Lissy. Momma can’t be late back to the office.”
“But I don’ wanna go to work,” the little girl whined. Rey stopped and got down to the five-year-old’s level. Lissy’s big hazel eyes mirrored Rey’s own, both filling with frustrated tears. “I don’ like daycare!” Lissy hugged her teddy bear closely, comforting herself.
“Elizabeth Johnson,” Rey tried to be stern. “I know you don’t like daycare, but it’s Momma’s only choice right now. Uncle Finn had an emergency and I don’t have anyone else to watch you today. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to. Like, Momma doesn’t want to go to work, but she has to.”
“Why?” Lissy pouted.
Rey huffed, “Because this is how people make money. And we need money to eat and buy toys and go on fun trips with Uncle Finn and Auntie Rosie.”
“But James’s momma stays home with him!” she tried to argue, talking about their rich neighbors across the hallway in their apartment building.
“Well, James’s daddy goes to work every day,” Rey reasoned, taking out a tissue to let Lissy blow her snotty nose on. “And we don’t have a daddy to help make money, do we?”
“No.”
“No, we don’t. And that’s ok because Momma does a good enough job, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we are going to daycare, and we’re going to be good today and play nicely with the other kids-”
“They’re not kids. They’re babies!”
“Well, maybe Mr. Din will let you help take care of them since you’re such a big kid?” Rey tried.
Finally, Lissy thought for a moment and agreed, nodding once but still pouting. Rey stood up and straightened her blazer before pushing her daughter into the elevator. She was running late and she knew her boss would have a fit if he knew.
Working for First Order was both the best and worst job Rey ever had. Best because of the generous pay, vacation and sick days, and glorious other benefits- including a daycare for days exactly like this when her usual childcare plans fall through. Worst because her boss, the CEO was a fucking menace.
Mr. Solo wasn’t one to use words on a normal basis, grunting and huffing if he wasn’t yelling at a subordinate. He let his employees run meetings with partners or potential clients, preferring to watch or stay behind the scenes. He had high expectations. Like, too high of expectations, especially when it came time time frames of having projects done and finished on his desk. He’s been known to smash his laptop in fits of rage, too. And setting up his latest computer was Rey’s most recent project, due in less than an hour to the CEO himself.
But, instead of working on the laptop, Rey had to run back to her best friend’s apartment where she had dropped her daughter off that morning. Finn had begun violently throwing up before calling Rey to pick Lissy up and so she had to take her to the office daycare, where she could be properly watched. An hour and a half wasted.
They reached the tenth floor, where daycare was held, and Rey quickly dropped the still pouting five year old off with Mr. Din Djarin and the rest of the toddlers that showed up every day. On her way out, she blew the little girl a kiss and ran off to the elevator to head up to the fifteenth floor, where First Order’s CEO and IT department both lived.
She rushed back into her office, turned back to the laptop that had finished loading the new operating system, kicked off her heels, and started typing furiously.
~
Ben hated using his cell phone for e-mails, but it was a necessary evil after his, uh, tantrum yesterday. It wasn’t his best quality, throwing his laptop across the room when he was upset. But, yesterday his biggest investor, Mr. Snoke, threatened to cut funding. Ben didn’t even know why this time, and that’s what made Ben so angry. Usually Mr. Snoke gave Ben a reason and told him exactly what to change- cutting his IT team in half, or rushing a project- and Ben was able to push his team into making the old bastard happy. This time, though, this time was different and Ben had no idea what was needed to keep Snoke happy. Pure frustration is all Ben was feeling for the past 24 hours.
Especially considering that his fingers were far too big for his tiny iPhone’s keyboard, making it even more difficult to type out the damn e-mail to his head of IT about the status of his new laptop. He paced as he typed- that is, until a tiny giggle stopped him in his tracks.
Ben stood still and looked towards the door, where the sound seemed to have come from. In front of his desk, peering over, were two hazel eyes framed by two perky but slightly messy brunette ponytails with bows that sat askew. Ben’s eyebrow cocked.
“Hello,” he said quietly. “Who are you?”
The little girl pulled herself up higher so Ben could see more of her smiley face. “Lissy.”
“And what are you doing here, Lissy?” The more he engaged her, the more comfortable she seemed to get. She walked around the desk so Ben was able to see her fully. She was dressed in jeans and a purple zip-up hoodie with a grey t-shirt underneath. She carried a teddy bear, too.
“Felix and I are bored,” she said. Lissy climbed into Ben’s very large office chair, setting the bear next to her. “Mr. Din was too busy with the babies.”
Ben finally made the connection- she snuck away from daycare, of course. He had honestly forgotten that they had a daycare in this building, never actually seeing any children running about. It must be on a different floor.
“Who do you belong to?” he asked, going over to sit on his desk in front of the little girl.
Lissy scoffed, “I am my own person! I don’ belong to anyone!”
Ben had a hard time not laughing at the little girl’s expression. “I’m sorry. Let me rephrase: Who is your Mom or Dad?”
“Can we have a tea party?” she asked, ignoring Ben as she spotted the antique teapot he kept on his bookshelf. It was a family heirloom from his grandmother, Padme, painted with delicate blue flowers. “Momma lets me pour the tea!”
“How about we ask your Mom first?” Ben tried again. “I-”
“Felix takes his with oat milk. He’s lack toes intolerant.” Ben just stared at the very serious little girl.
“I….” he just stared bewildered. “Okay, give me a minute.” He dialed the phone for his secretary. “Ms. Connix, can you please bring me a pot of hot water, a selection of tea, and some oat milk.”
“And scones!”
“And scones.”
~
Rey was almost done. So close. Sure, she was almost an hour late, but the fact that Mr. Solo had yet to call her office and yell at her or any of her IT team, she took it as a good sign. But, that didn’t stop her from working as quickly as possible. She hoped that he wasn’t stewing in anger this entire time.
When she finally finished, she packed it up and slipped her shoes back on to head down the hall.
Kaydel sat at her usual desk right outside Solo’s office. “Hey, Kaydel. Is he here?” she asked as she approached.
Kaydel smirked, “Oh, he’s here. But he seems to be in a meeting.”
“With who?”
“Shall I buzz you in?” Kaydel continued to smile, a secret smile as if she knew something Rey didn’t.
Rey squinted at her, “What’s going on?”
“Just go in,” Kaydel waved her along. “Go go.”
“But, you said-”
“Go on!”
She came around her glass desk and pushed Rey towards the door.
Once through, Rey heard a very distinct “Momma!” come from the seating area Mr. Solo kept for meetings with Skeletor- Ah, Mr. Snoke.
Seated on the red velvet davenport was her daughter and teddy, Felix. Across from them sat Mr. Solo, drinking from a proper teacup, pinky out. Rey’s jaw dropped. “Lissy, you’re supposed to be in daycare,” was all she could think to say.
“We’re having a tea party,” Lissy said proudly.
Rey walked over, getting a closer look. “I can see that, Lis. Mr. Solo, I’m so sorry for this, Mr. Solo.”
And that was the first time she ever witnessed Mr. Solo smile, slightly crooked teeth and all. “Oh, Lissy and I were having a fine time, Ms. Johnson. Is that my new laptop?”
“Uh,” she stumbled, looking down at her hands. She suddenly remembered why she was there, “Yes! Yes, it is. I’m so sorry it took so long,” she began to plead.
“That’s quite alright, Ms. Johnson,” he let it slide. “This is your daughter?”
Rey nodded. “Yes, I’m so sorry she’s in here. Does Mr. Din know where you are, Lissy?”
“No, he was too busy with the babies,” Lissy stuck her tongue out.
“Lissy! You can’t sneak off like that,” Rey huffed, sitting next to her daughter on the couch. She noticed a small dribble of tea on her child’s cheek and reached for one of the napkins. “And Mr. Solo is a very busy man, how did you even get here?”
“Moooommmmm,” Lissy groaned as her mother bathed her with spit. “Stop!”
Mr. Solo smiled again at the sight before him. He’d never seen this side of any of his employees, and he had to admit that it was a good look for Ms. Johnson, Rey. He had always thought of her as an attractive woman, but always too on edge to have a real conversation with any of his employees, let alone her.
“It’s really not a problem, Ms. Johnson. Besides,” he cleared his throat, “It gave you the extra time to work on the computer. No harm done.”
“I suppose,” she sighed. “Are these blueberry scones?”
“Only the best,” Mr. Solo said. “I can get you a cup if you’d like to have some tea as well?” he asked, giving her a pleading look. “I have a wide selection of tea.”
Rey looked between her boss and her child. Their expressions matched and Rey was powerless. From her daughter's hazel orbs to Mr. Solo's brown puppy dog eyes, Rey was caught defenseless. “Oh, alright, Mr. Solo-”
“Ben.”
“I’m sorry?” She did a double take.
“Call me Ben during tea time,” he smirked.
“Only if you call me Rey,” she shot back. “What are you having, Lis?”
“Milky tea,” the little one said proudly. “Felix, too.”
“Non dairy?" Rey asked. She took along napkin out and splayed it across her daughter's lap, and then took one for herself.
"Of course," Ben laughed. "I hear Felix is lactose intolerant."
Rey snorted at how easy Mr Solo, Ben, played along. "Yes, all three of us are, actually."
"Good to know," he said, coming back with a matching china cup and a box of tea, some loose leaf, some bagged. Rey took an Earl Grey packet- her favorite to pair with blueberry sweets.
They slipped into a comfortable silence as Rey's tea brewed. Rey took to fussing over Lissy again, fixing her ponytails and straightening her bows that had gone wild since she had originally tied them that morning.
"Momma, can we have tea here every day?" Lissy suddenly asked.
"No," Rey quickly answered. "Mr. Solo, Ben is a busy man and I have to work."
"Maybe we could make it weekly, instead," Ben rumbled from behind his own mug. "If you're available, of course." He was looking at Rey, not Lissy, with pleading eyes once again.
"Why not," Rey gave in. "Though, I fear my boss won't let me have the time off," she eyed him.
"Momma, why is your boss so mean?"
Ben choked on his tea.
"You alright there, Ben?" Rey asked, smirking.
"Fine, fine. I think we could talk him into giving extra time at lunch for tea," he recovered quickly, playing the game.
Lissy scrunched her face in thought. "Can we also ask for a trip to Disney?"
Rey blushed. Her daughter was a master negotiator. "No, Lissy-"
"World or Land?" Ben asked.
Lissy's eyes went as wide as the saucers they were using. "There's more than one Disney?"
Ben nodded, "Indeed. There are a few around the world. And Disneyland has Sleeping Beauty's castle."
"She's my second favorite Princess!' Lissy gasped. "Momma can we go there?!"
"Lis," she warned. "Some day. That's a very expensive trip."
Lissy pouted. "Well, can we get a daddy so we and 'ford it?"
Rey instantly blushed. "Lissy!"
Ben stayed silent, taking in the scene.
"Well, you said-"
"Lissy, let's get ready to go back to daycare," Rey started cleaning up, very embarrassed that Ben had heard all of that. "Thank you, Mr. Solo, we appreciate the hospitality, but we should get out of your hair."
"It's no trouble at all," he said, sad to see them go. "Thank you for the computer, Rey."
And as soon as the little girl came in to interrupt his day, they were gone.
~
Later that night, Rey had finally been able to get Lissy down for bed, still chattering on about how nice Mr. Solo was.
Rey was still baffled by the day's events and she sunk into a relaxing bath when her cell phone, provided by First Order, buzzed beside her.
Mr. Solo:
Thank you for joining us for tea. I hope we can make it a regular thing.