Work Text:
A Ben Solo-shaped shadow fell over Rey Niima, Honors and AP English, as she relaxed in the teacher’s lounge. She looked up from where she sat and tilted up her chin, smiling. “Good morning,” she said.
Ben, Algebra I and II, didn’t return her chirpy greeting. “You’re using my mug again.”
The mug in question, filled with Rey’s favorite hazelnut blend, rested near her open lesson plans. “Am I?” she asked. Fancy that. “My mistake. I’ll be sure to rinse it thoroughly when I’m done.”
“Perhaps after school today you can buy a mug of your own?” Ben said, irritation evident in his voice. “Or use any of the other mugs provided by the school?” He gestured to the galley kitchen attached to the lounge. One cabinet contained two dozen white diner-style mugs for faculty and staff use.
Rey shook her head. “Those mugs don’t hold much, though, and I need my coffee in the morning.” First bell rang in about fifteen minutes, and if Rey wasn’t properly caffeinated her students bore her wrath regardless of their behavior.
“Your mug, however,” she held it up to show the logo of Ben’s alma mater , Coruscant University, “is perfect.”
“I know it is. That’s why I bought it,” he said, his words tight. “For myself .”
Touchy. Rey winced. Maybe he ought to have some coffee before classes started. “I’m sorry, Ben. I just grabbed the first mug I saw this morning–”
“This is the third time this week–”
Rey cut in, “If you love this mug so much, keep it in your classroom.”
“I’ve had two other mugs broken that way, Niima. My kids flop their homework folders on my desk and knock everything down. I’m still finding porcelain shards under my desk from last year,” Ben said.
He stepped away from where she sat and sighed. Teachers passed in and out of the lounge, oblivious to them as they stored their lunches and prepared their own morning beverages. Some carried in to-go cups from nearby cafes. Rey used to do that, but the cost added up after a while. The school supplied good coffee, anyway, so she took advantage of it.
Yes, she preferred Ben’s mug over the ones supplied to them. She thought to order the same style for herself but balked at the thirty-dollar price. She’d hoped to get a cup drunk before Ben showed up for work, and rinse it out so he’d never know. Oops.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “It won’t happen again.”
Ben grunted and walked away.
~*~
Two days later, Rey was jonesing for her hazelnut blend. She refrained from using His Majesty’s Coruscant U. mug, as she pledged. Through the week, though, she had to double up on the thick-walled diner cups to get the required caffeine for the day. The single-cup brewer took forever to work, too, and Rey nearly clawed the walls in search of relief.
This morning, she noticed a substitute teacher signing in to take Ben’s classes. “Is Mr. Solo out sick today?”
“Some of the math teachers are doing professional development today,” the secretary told her. “He’s out of class for the rest of the week.”
Rey practically ran to the teacher’s lounge to claim his mug.
She was a third of the way through her morning jolt when Ben Solo entered the lounge and laid eyes on her. “Really, Niima?”
Her last swallow scorched down her throat. At least she didn’t choke. “They said you were out today.”
“Professional development. It’s held in the library.” Ben moved toward like he might snatch back his mug. Instead he took a deep breath and said, “You know what? Keep the damn thing.”
“Ben, no…”
Ben wouldn’t hear it. “It’s just a coffee mug, nothing for me to lose my cool over,” he said. “You obviously like it. It’s yours.”
Rey said nothing. Today wasn’t about trying to own Ben for his possessiveness. She simply craved coffee in the morning. “Thank you,” she said, looking away.
Ben settled for a diner mug and returned to the library.
~*~
Friday morning. Rey stood before the open cabinet of mugs. Over the years, faculty and staff had donated quite the collection. In the midst of colorful vessels with floral prints and funny sayings stood the Coruscant logo mug that once belonged to Ben. Rey’s body panged with guilt to look at it. Ben gave it to her free and clear, but in Rey’s mind it wasn’t a sincere gift. More of a capitulation.
She liked Ben, as a colleague and hopefully a friend. The debacle over the mug aside, they were not antagonistic towards each other. Ben was handsome, and tall and smart. The kind of guy one would gladly date. Rey looked at the mug and feared if she had a shot at that, she blew it.
Rey took the mug and fixed her coffee, then sat down to go over her lesson plans. She didn’t look up when Ben came whistling into the lounge. “Good morning, Niima,” he said, his voice light.
“Hi.” She peered up from her notes. Ben toted a small paper bag. She returned to her work and inhaled the aroma of French roast as Ben fixed his morning drink.
He then took a seat across from her, and Rey’s mouth gaped open. Ben bought a new mug, about the same size as hers. White with a wide loop handle, it bore writing in bold black letters against the white porcelain:
SHOW ME YOUR TITS
“Mr. Solo,” Rey said.
Ben held up his mug. “You like it? I got a second one so I can switch it up. Helps keep the coffee stains down, too.” The second mug he produced from the gift bag had a giant marijuana leaf on it.
Oh, kriff. Rey pointed at the mug in use. “How is this not sexual harassment?”
“A tit is a bird in the chickadee family.” Ben winked. “Show me your birds, Niima.”
“Funny.” Perhaps she deserved this, she thought. “I will happily return your original mug if you never drink out of that here again.”
Ben smiled over the rim. “I don’t know. I kind of like this one. You’re right about the diner cups. They don’t hold as much coffee,” he said, “and I got that mug from the C.U. catalog. They’re not cheap. This I bought at the head shop at the beach for five bucks.”
“I mean it, Mr. Solo. Ben,” Rey pleaded. “You made your point, and I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.”
“Rey, it’s just a coffee mug, and most of the faculty here are good-humored. I’ll be fine.”
At that moment, two of their colleagues entered the lounge. Mr. Dameron and Mr. Finn caught sight of Ben’s mug as he drank. They looked at Ben, then at each other.
“Okay, dude,” Mr. Dameron said, and both men unbuttoned their shirts.
Too surreal a scene for words, but Rey found a few to speak. “Is this all staged?” she asked.
Ben shrugged, his smile sly. “Is it? Maybe yes, maybe no. I will say this, though,” he leaned forward, “Mr. Hux should be in soon, and he’ll do anything a coffee mug tells him.”
Rey sighed and slid Ben his original mug. “Give me the one with the pot leaf,” she said.