Chapter Text
A bead of sweat rolled into her eye, making her curse as she had to blink away the stinging sensation. Rey rolled out from under the speeder and stood up, stretching out her back and pulling up the hem of her shirt to wipe the sweat off of her face. Seeing as she was from the desert, you would think she’d be unaffected by heat, but she was used to dry warmth, not the humid, sweltering climate of summer on Devaron. The new Resistance base had everyone a little hot under the collar. Laying under a speeder for hours doing repairs wore her out.
As she finished wiping her brow with her shirt, she saw a flurry of movement out of the corner of her eye. A new ship had docked in the transport bay, and Rey recognized it right away. It was the Millenium Falcon. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. It was clearly aging, but still looked just as gorgeous as the holos. And it could only mean one thing. Han Solo was here. Rey had yet to meet the General’s husband since she was recruited for the Resistance. In the few months since she was tapped by some Resistance members at Niima Outpost, she had picked up bits and pieces about the lives of the people she had always thought were myths– the Skywalkers. She never knew before that the famous smuggler was married to one of them.
Rey slowly walked closer, bringing a few tools with her so as to look like she was still working and not spying on the new arrivals. She peeked around a storage container to see a few people gathered around the ship’s ramp. She immediately spotted the general, who was hugging a graying man that was much taller than her. She gasped a little. That had to be Han Solo in the flesh. She’d always admired the badass smuggler, who seemed to be able to finesse his way out of every sticky situation he came across.
As she continued to look, she also spotted a younger man standing behind Han Solo. He was even taller, with long black hair. He was turned away from her, but just from his profile she could tell that he was probably what was considered handsome. She’d never met so many humans before joining the Resistance, and quickly learned just how attractive they could be. This guy looked well built, with broad shoulders and thick arms that filled out the sleeves of a grey tunic.
“Whatcha doin’?”
Rey nearly jumped out of her skin, her tools clamoring onto the workbench in front of her. She turned her head to see Finn.
“Kriff, Finn. You scared me!”
“Sorry!” her friend exclaimed, holding his hands up. He looked over to where she had been staring. “Oh look, Han and Ben are back.”
“Ben?” she asked.
“You don’t know who Ben is?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.
She shook her head.
“Oh, he’s Han and the General’s son.”
“Oh,” Rey said, looking back at the three Skywalkers. “I didn’t know they had any kids.”
“Yeah,” Finn replied. “Ben usually goes with Han on reconnaissance missions and supply runs. He’s also a hell of a pilot, but I think he prefers to work behind the scenes.”
Rey looked at Ben, wondering why she hadn’t heard him mentioned before.
“He mostly keeps to himself,” Finn continued. “I heard he got pretty messed up as a kid with all the Force stuff in that family. So he lays low for the most part.”
The Force? Rey had recently learned that it was real, that the mysterious energy that the Skywalkers and the Jedi were able to harness was actually a legitimate thing. But no one on base seemed to know much more about it, and the holos she was able to find were pretty vague. She hadn’t expected to meet someone who actually had it, or knew it, or whatever.
Just then, the three people at the base of the Falcon turned toward where Rey and Finn were standing. Rey picked up her tools again and ran over to the speeder. Finn looked at her curiously, but then walked back toward the storage container he had been reorganizing. Rey was arranging the tools she would wheel back under the speeder when footsteps approached her station. She turned around to see the General, Han, and Ben walk right up to her.
“Rey!” the General said with a smile. “I’d like to introduce you to my husband and son. This is Han, and Ben. Boys, this is Rey. She just joined us two months ago.”
Rey’s attention first went to Han Solo. He was much older than he was in the holos, but still just as striking. But before she could notice much else, she felt a spark in the front of her head from the person on his left, something that made her eyes snap toward him.
Oh.
He was attractive, alright. Rey had to keep her jaw from dropping as she looked at him. His dark hair was even better up close, all wavy and luscious. He had expressive brown eyes, a sculpted face, and big, pink lips. And he was looking at her too. Almost looking through her, with a thoughtful gaze and an intense focus.
“Welcome aboard,” Han Solo said, regaining her attention. “Where ya from?”
“Oh, nowhere,” she answered nervously, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.
“No one’s from nowhere,” he countered with a smug grin.
“Jakku,” she shamefully supplied.
Han blew a whistle. Out of her peripheral, she saw Ben raise an eyebrow.
“All right, that is pretty much nowhere.”
Rey nodded, a bit embarrassed. She didn’t have an impressive, storied past like the Skywalkers, or even interesting ones like the others on base. She was just a nobody.
“She’s an excellent mechanic,” Leia said kindly. Rey didn’t know what she had ever done to earn Leia’s attention and praise, but she appreciated it all the same.
“And a pilot!” Finn suddenly interjected, making his way to the toolbench, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Hey kid, good to see you,” Han greeted Finn. “A pilot, huh? I didn’t know they had a lot of flying on Jakku.”
“They don’t,” Rey replied simply. “I taught myself with simulators.”
“But you should see her, Han!” Finn said, now making his way over to them. “You can put her in anything and she can fly it!”
Han looked surprised, and gave her a smile. Rey peeked over at Ben, who was now staring at her even more intently. All of the attention was a little uncomfortable.
“I’m better at fixing things,” she said truthfully to the group.
“Well it sounds like we sure are lucky to have you,” Han said, patting his wife on the back. “Now if you all will excuse me, it was a long flight and I need to lie down for a bit before I drop dead on my feet. I’m not as young as I used to be. Rey, it was great to meet you.”
“You as well,” she responded, still a little starstruck.
“Finn,” he said, turning toward her friend. “You running a game of Sabacc later?”
“Yeah, I’ll see who I can pull together,” Finn answered. “Ben, you in?”
“What?” the tall man said, finally stripping his gaze away from Rey.
“Sabacc,” Finn repeated. “You in tonight?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” he replied. His voice was deep and heavy, rich almost. It sent a chill down Rey’s spine, where the sweat was now cooling.
Ben’s head whipped back toward her, almost as if he had sensed her reaction to him. He looked at her inquisitively again, and Rey had to keep herself from hiding from his gaze. It was… intense.
“Ben, would you mind coming to my office to debrief a few things before you settle in?” the General asked.
“Of course,” he answered, never taking his eyes off of Rey. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, which was unusual for her. Typically, she could get a good read on people’s emotions. Leia, for example, had a faint yellow glow around her. Not physically, but... emotionally. It was happy, content. Finn’s was neutral, off-white. But Ben… nothing. She couldn’t gleam even a sliver of spirit. It was a little disconcerting, as she couldn’t tell whether he was looking at her because he was mad, confused, bewildered, interested… it could be anything. His face wasn’t giving anything away either.
“Well,” she said, peeling her eyes away from him and back to the General. “Back to work for me then. It was nice to speak with you, General.”
“You too, dear,” she replied kindly. “I’ll see you later.”
Rey nodded, and turned back toward the speeder. Anything to excuse herself and hide from the scrutiny of Ben. Something about him was different, and oh so intriguing. She would have to find out more about him.
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The afternoon dragged on slowly. The humidity of their forrest surroundings made the base steamy. Upon becoming satisfied with her repairs to the speeder, Rey finally stored her tools and headed to her quarters. She’d never had a real room before, a real bed with a mattress and everything. She’d cried when they’d first shown it to her. When the Resistance member who had recruited her told her they had lodging, she had never imagined something so nice. It still blew her mind every time she walked into her room. She gathered a change of clothes and headed to the communal fresher. That was new too– running water. Taking showers was weird at first, but when she saw how often the other girls were doing it, and how clean they all looked, she decided to add it to her normal routine. She had to admit that it was nice to cool off after sweating all day in the transport bay. Plus, she found that she did some of her best thinking in the shower. It was meditative, in a way. She remembered how embarrassing it was when she had to ask another girl in the fresher how to use the vials of liquid they had given her when she moved in. The girl had been nice about it, though Rey could tell that she was confused by how clueless she was. Rose kindly explained which soap to use for her hair, and which for her body. Rey didn’t even know they made different types of soap. It was harder for Rey to relate to a lot of the women on base, but Rose had emerged as a new friend. She’d never had so many friends before. Just one or two other scavengers who eventually either died or were enslaved. It was a bit overwhelming, being vulnerable to so many people. But everyone at the Resistance had been extremely nice so far.
After showering and changing, she returned to her room and cleaned up her minimal mess, readjusting her quarterstaff where it rested against the window. Although she had fewer belongings now, seeing as she had to leave most of her things behind on Jakku, she was happier with her situation now more than ever. Her stomach no longer went empty at night, and she didn’t need to watch her back every second, fearing attack. She was also learning a lot. The Resistance had countless holos she hadn’t been able to access on Jakku, and she even occasionally trained with the pilots on the simulators and in the actual ships. She’d always looked up at the sky at night, wondering if she would ever cross it. Now she could. With a smile, she made her way toward the cafeteria for dinner.
“Rey!” Rose shouted from across the room, waving at her.
Rey waved back, and pointed toward the food line. When she had first arrived on base, she had been completely stunned by the plentiful supply of food. She was still self-conscious about it. She didn’t want to take too much, but couldn’t help filling up when it was in front of her. No one seemed to care as she took more and more on her plate each day, and she finally realized that no one was waiting to catch her, to kick her out for eating too much. So now she loaded up two plates, having sweat out a plethora of calories under that speeder. She also grabbed a full carafe of water, clenching it under her arm.
“So do you all want in on Sabacc tonight? Han asked me to get a group together,” Finn was saying as she sat down at the table with him, Rose, Poe, and Snap.
“Yeah,” Poe answered. “I want to catch up with Ben. But if he’s playing, I’m in.”
“I’ll play,” Snap said, slurping up a spoonful of rootleaf stew.
“Not today. Kaydel and I are having a girl’s night,” Rose said. “Rey, would you like to join us?”
The group looked at her, which always made her feel scrutinized. She wasn’t entirely sure what a ‘girl’s night’ entailed, but she knew she liked Sabacc.
“I’d like to play Sabacc, I think…” she said.
“Damn,” Poe said. “She’s going to beat us all again, isn’t she?”
Rey blushed. When Finn taught her how to play, she’d beaten the group several times that night. They told her it was beginner’s luck, but she couldn’t see how it wasn’t easy to win. All you had to do was tell if the other players were bluffing, and that was easy.
“Well, someone has to,” Finn said. “Actually, I’m excited to see how she does against Han. You think she could beat him?”
“The only person I’ve ever seen beat Han is Ben,” Rose answered. “But who knows? You are pretty good, Rey.”
“We’ll see,” she said, shrugging. She was excited at the chance to talk with Han Solo again. She had so much she wanted to ask him.
And then there was Ben. Would she speak with him too? Would she still feel just as strange when she saw him? There was something indescribable about him, something she couldn’t put her finger on.
“Solo!” Poe suddenly called out into the room. Rey turned around to see the man himself loading up a plate at the food line. He also had changed since she last saw him. She felt her eyes widen at the sight of him in black. A tight, black shirt wrapped around his upper body like a glove. She’d never seen a shirt fit a man like that before.
Ben turned and walked toward them, nodding at Poe. When he noticed her, he suddenly slowed, and took his time to approach the table. He took a seat across from her, next to Rose.
“We were just betting on if Rey can beat Han in Sabacc,” Finn said when he joined them.
“Are you any good?” Ben asked, looking right at her. His expression was neutral, and his aura wasn’t giving anything away. Rey felt blind when it came to him, she couldn’t read him at all.
“I just learned how to play,” she answered.
“She won every game her first time,” Snap said.
Ben seemed to analyze her for another moment, then smiled at her. Rey’s heart skipped a beat– his smile completely changed his face. Still incredibly handsome, but utterly transformed.
“Well, I guess we’ll see if you can beat me,” he said, winking at her.
Rey’s jaw finally did drop at that. He’d gone from distant and unreadable to rather familiar in a microsecond. Was he teasing her? Did he really think he could intimidate her? She spent her whole life defending herself. Nothing scared her. She remembered the winks thrown on Jakku, and they never had good consequences.
“I probably can,” she replied confidently, refusing to back down at his taunt.
But this only made him smile even wider, and her friends around her whooped and laughed. Had she said something wrong?
“Oh, I can’t wait for this,” Poe said.
“Do you think Han brought back any booze with him?” Finn asked.
“You know he did,” Snap said confidently, and the group devolved into conversation about the night’s activities.
“So,” Ben said to Rey from across the table in his deep, tempting voice. “Jakku. What did you do there?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“For a job,” he clarified. “Before you came to the Resistance.”
“Oh,” she said. “You know… picked abandoned ships for the most part. Whatever I could find to trade for rations.”
“So you were a scavenger?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.
Rey frowned, and massive wave of embarrassment hit her. She knew she didn’t come from the best of circumstances, but no one at the Resistance had ever been condescending about it. ‘Scavenger’ was what Plutt called her. What the traders at Niima outposts spit at the people who had to pick for a living.
In fact, the table had gone quiet. Everyone was now looking between her and Ben. She knew Ben was privileged, his mother was a princess for crying out loud. But she never acted like it. Her son, on the other hand, was apparently different. Her blood boiled with rage.
“I’m sorry that I wasn’t born to royalty,” she hissed at him. She wasn’t about to take shit from someone who didn’t even know her. “Some of us weren’t privileged enough to have nice clothes, or go to school, or have food whenever we wanted it. I did the best I could. And I really don’t have to meet your standards, do I?”
She could feel the anger rolling off of her now.
“So… is that a no?” he asked, looking confused by her response.
Rey huffed. He really wasn’t going to apologize?
“If you ever call me that again, I will shove my quarterstaff so far up your ass you’ll be tasting durasteel for the rest of your life.”
Ben’s eyes had gone wide by now, but Rey was done. She shoved away from the table, grabbing her plates and storming away. For the first time in her entire life, she wasn’t hungry. She’d been called a scavenger countless times, but for some reason it had never hurt this badly before.
“What the fuck, Ben?” she heard from the table as she walked away.
“She’s serious, Ben. She’s lethal with that quarterstaff.”
She threw her plates onto the service belt, and slammed the door of the cafeteria open.