Work Text:
Honestly, all Bee Bee wanted was a freaking cup of coffee because Niima was on her ass about why this one particular line of code was not working and honestly she doesn't know, because really, asking an undergrad to build a robot that will go to space is a bit too much for an undergraduate thesis. But as usual, blocking the way to her precious coffee cup was Dr. Niima, once again fuming at Dr. Solo.
"You said you're going to remove that environment killing, gas guzzling, propulsion jet on the last meeting, Niima-"
"Look Solo, as fascinating as your take on using rechargeable engines to get the bloody capsule to disengage from the main ship body and still retain enough momentum to launch itself to the docking bay, I have ran every simulation and your numbers failed to account for one key thing that engineers cannot ignore - fucking air resistance."
"THERE IS NO AIR RESISTANCE IN SPACE REY, IT'S A FUCKING VACUUM!"
"THEORETICALLY! But the amount of energy needed to overcome the 'negligible'-" And Bee Bee cowers as Dr. Solo's eyes narrow as Dr. Niima's hands made air quotations around the word - "resistance from fucking interstellar gas, we would need about a third more of energy stored in the main propulsion system, that equates to about 10 kilograms more in battery space, 10 kilograms that I cannot accomodate in the hangar because I already had to make room for your fucking probe-"
"That will pick up on the dark matter we are studying-"
"EXACTLY, all of these shit is matter, and all of them are not negligible and I am not sending a ship that is so heavy it's going to ignite in the atmosphere up there-"
"Your simulation is wrong, I demand to see it Rey!"
"You don't know the first thing about engineering Ben, that's why your fucking design is so unstable - did you really expect me to just stick vents to expend the additional combustion energy and call it a day-"
"Vents work!"
"If you want to create lateral force propulsion that will essentially cancel out the initial projectile trajectory like seriously Ben, not everything can be a cross fucking guard-"
"FINE! FINE! Add the bloody jet, but you're gonna pay for this Niima!"
Bee Bee was too busy cowering to catch the victorious smirk that lit up Dr. Niima's eyes. "Tell me when and where Solo!"
---
Of course Solo just had to prove Niima wrong and wrote a publication on the efficacy of cross guard venting on modern jet propulsion systems, and Niima just had to write an editor's note to that article citing all the reasons he was wrong.
Of course that meant more hours of work for her, scouring the internet for all articles that may prove Solo wrong.
But the sight of a fuming Ben Solo barking at Rey for her unprofessional article was enough motivation for her to do this.
Honestly, this was better than keeping up with the Hutts.
Entertainment at it's finest for Bee Bee
---
"Did you see Solo has a photo of him and Niima on his desk?"
Bee Bee looks up in shock as Grogu shows a photo on his phone, discreetly taken from Solo's office.
It was during a conference, with Niima in business attire glaring at a smirking Solo.
"I think he keeps it there as a reminder he won best paper in some conference he attended with Niima."
"Solo can be such a vindictive bastard."
"Niima's the same. She has a photo of Solo in her office." This came from one of Niima's students, huddled with them in the lab's cafeteria.
This one was a photo of Solo in one of the faculty meetings, burnt red as a lobster as a laughing Rey Niima, in a shirt and her hair in a braid points at him in glee.
"I think they're both vindictive bastards."
"Damn, I would never want to be around those two, they must really hate each other."
---
So imagine his shock when one day, as she was proof reading their new paper, she noticed that Rey Niima placed an interesting sentence in their discussion section.
"Uh, Dr. Niima?"
"Yeah?"
"You said in the discussion - 'while my husband has claimed in his previous study that Kyber crystal energy was a viable alternative to common fuel injection engines in minimizing energy expenditure during jet propulsion-"
"Yeah, I know what I wrote Bee-Bee, what's your question?"
"Erm... your husband, Dr. Niima?"
"Oh! Oh kriff sorry about that Bee-Bee, yeah, could you just change that to 'while previous studies have claimed that Kyber crystal energy-'? Thanks."
"Sure. I didn't know you were married, Dr. Niima."
Rey smiles and pulls her necklace from underneath her shirt, noticing that Bee Bee was looking at her fingers. "Oh yeah, almost five years now. Got married right after grad school. I just can't wear the rings because I'm always in the lab, and I don't want to chip it against all that machinery."
Bee-Bee's eyes bulge as the huge hunk of rock that Niima called an engagement ring winked at her, it was a combination of red and yellow kyber in Mustafar metal.
"Wow that's beautiful Dr. Niima."
Rey grinned as she smiled down at her ring.
"Yeah, my husband made it himself with his grandfather. He smithed this in Mustafar."
Bee Bee grinned, thinking that there is hope that she would find a husband in all this messed up, insane world.
"That's really sweet. Oh, and one more thing Dr. Niima, do you want me to cite your husband's paper in the article?"
Rey blinked up at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Your husband's work on kyber energy jet propulsion systems? Do you want me to cite it?"
Rey blinked at her and burst out laughing. "Bee Bee, we have cited my husband's work."
When Bee Bee still looked at her in confusion, Rey pointed out the title of their article.
"Bee Bee, we're critiquing my husband's work on kyber energy jet propulsion systems. I may love him, but he's definitely wrong about this."
Bee Bee's eyes looks at where Rey's finger was pointing at. And it takes her two seconds to connect the fact that they were critiquing "Potential Use of Kyber Crystallization in Reducing Thermal Energy Loss in Jet Propulsion Engines", a paper written by Benjamin O. Solo, PhD, to the fact that they were critiquing Rey Niima's husband's paper.
"Kriffing hell?"
And Rey Niima cackles at Bee Bee's reaction.
---
"Rule number 1 - we don't talk about physics in this household." Her brain was in the Twilight zone.
That was the only explanation on why she was looking at Rey Niima in a tank top and shorts, standing barefoot with her arm wrapped around Ben Solo's waist as she welcomed them into their ginormous summer home off the coast of Naboo, a two hour drive from the hustle and bustle of Coruscant.
"Rule number 2 - have all the fun. We have a deck set at the back, you can all take the boat for a spin. The beach is up for grabs. Really, just have fun. We want to thank you all for helping us this semester."
"Rule number 3 - eat as much as you can. My mother in law went over board."
Everyone was still staring at them in shock much to the delight of the older post-docs who had been with Niima and Solo for a long time.
"Why didn't you all say anything?" Bee Bee asks in anger and Finn Jones, Niima's post-doc chuckled good naturedly.
"Finding out Niima and Solo are married is a rite of passage in this program. What gave them away this time?"
"Niima accidentally wrote 'contrary to my husband' on that latest research of hers on the inefficiency of Kyber Crystallization."
Finn scrunches his nose and sighs.
"That's lame. Last year Connix caught them making out in front of Solo's office."
"Wasn't that after Niima yelled at him inside his own lecture theater for including a session in his syllabus "All The Reasons Why Astromechanics 304 Was Wrong This Semester"?
Finn nods and cackles. "When I told Niima her husband is debunking her every lecture she went over there to chew him out, it was glorious."
"Hey Finn, what did we say, no work in this household!"
Ben screams from the kitchen to the laughter of everyone around him, as Rey stands on her tip toes and kisses his cheek.
"Yeah Finn, this house is Switzerland. We leave work at the university. No fighting in Naboo please."
Later when Bee Bee was staring at the giant framed portrait of Niima on her wedding day, white dress, bare feet, laughing as Ben Solo twirled her around in front of the ocean, Rey approaches her with a smile on her face.
"Come on, ask away."
"Seriously Dr. Niima, if you hated him that much, why did you marry him."
"I didn't. Hate him, that is. No one can hate Ben Solo."
Niima smiles as she stares at her own husband's smiling face.
"And also he's a monster in the sack so-"
"Dr. NIIMA!"
Rey cackles as Bee Bee covers her ears and splutters.
As the sound of laughter fills her home, she finds her husband, now manning the grill, and grinning up at her.
And she runs up to him, and siddles close, right next to his heart, just where she truly belonged.