#but it's literally impossible to get even a few minutes without any loud bangs ripping through the quiet

[usodeshou]

My dog is having the worst night of her life (or at least the worst since last year's New Year's Eve)

[chimswae]

BTS Caretaker CH29

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 4,753

- Author Note: Mild smut ahead (more to heated makeout session though hahaha) so, you have been warned on my cliche smut writing, i really dont know how to write a proper smut.So sorry for that, u can skip that part :)

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Chapter 29

“Coming!” hurriedly, Hoseok ran to the front door and he’s welcomed by the stack of boxes in someone’s arm. And that someone’s arm happened to be Seul. He pressed his lips together while taking the view in front of him with questionable gaze “wow, someone is planning to move in today?” Seul leaned her body against the wall to stabilize herself.

“Jung Hoseok you better make way for me if you don’t have any intention to help!” her faint hollered was muffled behind the stack of boxes.

Hoseok snapped out of his daze and quickly apologized before lending his hand to help the small girl. “What are these Seul? Why are you carrying all of these by yourself?”

“Present from Armys. I claimed it from the management office” he lifted the first box from the pile, groaning at its weight as he carried it inside. Not even half of the burden were lifted off from her and it really annoyed Seul to the core.

“Unbelievable! Are you really going to take one box from…ugh.. Goodness, you are impossible Hobi!” she nagged. Seul struggled out of her converse and entered the place carefully. When she thought she’d been careful enough, her knees buckled due to the extreme loads which did not match her size.

Seul blamed Hoseok for leaving her with the remaining boxes and chose to pick only one from the piles. Ungrateful Sunshine! She mentally groaned in dissatisfaction. Easing the boxes down on the ground carefully, Seul made sure her lower body could withstand the weight for few more minutes.

Her movements grew sloppy and uncoordinated “Ouff…” without warning, she screeched loudly garnering everyone’s attention. Seul stumbled forward and crashed on top of pile of boxes. To make it sounded humiliating, her face was buried inside one of the boxes and she had to literally hold her breath from sniffing the goodie bags inside.

“Seul?” “Seul what happen!” “Seul-seul are you okay?!” heavy footsteps could be heard from every corner. It seemed like everyone was in rush to the crime scene. A hand reached out to her arms, pulling her from inside the box and examining her body to find scratches on her skin.

Jin patted her cheeks, looking frantic “Did you get hurt anywhere?” finding herself breathless due to the small accident, she finally expelled a soft sigh along with small chuckle.

“Sorry. I am okay, I didn’t mean to worry-Yah Kim Seokjin” she was pulled into Jin’s warm embrace baffling everyone in the room. The members were snickering sarcastically, judging dramatic Jin throwing shades on him.

She palmed his chest, pushing the latter away from her body to create some space for both of them to breathe. “Aren’t you being a little too dramatic?” Jin shot her a disapproval look and trailed her gaze to the rest of the members who had their usual bitch-hands-off-her look across their face.

He knocked the top of her head with his knuckle “ Yah Kim Seokjin? Where is your Jin Oppa? Aren’t you being too informal? ” her nose scrunched up in disgust and turned to others seeking for morale support. Namjoon opened his arm welcoming Seul in his embrace. He grinned widely until the dimple appeared. She rushed to his arms, as Namjoon enfolded his long arms around her earning low protest from the floor.

“Since when you are so touchy with Seul?” said the maknae bitterly.

Jimin shook his head frantically “I cant.. handle more competition. Don’t fall for hyunggie Seul-ah!” he snorted with his whiny voice. She refused to entertain the whiny baby and sealed her mouth until then. The more she showed her response, the longer she had to watch these boys irrelevant mouth fight.

Namjoon paid no attention to others and rubbed her arms urging Seul to come with him to his room “Where are you bringing her?!” Jin shouted from the living room watching their body slowly disappeared from his vicinity. Yoongi rolled his eyes, escaping the commotion to his room.

 -------------------

Seul spent two hours in Namjoon’s room watching English shows though she barely survived throughout the shows, Namjoon was kind and patient enough to translate some difficult terms for her. Hoseok and Jimin would come to check on them every five minutes until the couple had enough and decided to lock the door.

The first 10 minutes, Jin pounded on the door like a mad man demanding the leader to return Seul back to them or else they would call help to open the door. The guys seemed to have so much time in hand today that they chose to pick on Namjoon and Seul instead of minding their own business.

After wasting his energy in persuading Namjoon and Seul unlocking the door, Kim Seokjin gave up and finally they could find some peace.

Nibbling on her chips halfway, she dropped the remaining on her lap as she pointed at the screen with a soft gasp “ Is it even ethical to kill someone and get away from it?!” Namjoon chuckled softly and hummed a soft yes.

“This is so fucked up!” Seul threw her arms in the air and rubbed her pounding head. He flicked his eyes up and down before his left brows shot up in either surprise or disapproval of  Seul’s choice of words “Language. You have been spending too much time with Yoongi hyung” flicking her forehead lightly, the girl pouted in protest.

Namjoon’s forehead creased into a frown “ It is called ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ for this reason duh. The title itself already give away the idea of the story. You are being a drama queen” she curled up beside him and brought her attention back to the television screen.

“I know, but it doesn’t make any sense. If I were Wisse Gribbins, I would tell the police and leave his friends to deal with their own problem”

“It is Wes Gibbins. You sounded so Korean” he corrected and let out an amused laugh. She smacked his forehead softly, scowling in disapproval “The last time I checked, I am Korean, Rap Monster-ssi” he cringed at the way how she called him by his stage name. It was his first time to hear it from Seul and for some reason it created a huge gap in between those words. Unfriendly, yes that was it.

“That sounds even horrible. Just stick with Namjoon. Rap Monster-ssi doesn’t fit you” he glared down at her and ran his fingers in her hair out of habit.

“But, I meant to ask something… Just your view, tell me honestly alright? I have been thinking to change my stage name” he bit his lower lips as if in deep thought.

The corner of her lips pursed up as she nodded “To what? Joonie? O-ri?” he scoffed.

“Joonie is too cute! Stop bringing up O-ri, I am so over my Hiphop Monster figurine which resembles a duck, ugh now I have to live with that”

Seul tilted her head, thinking deeply before responding “ Jji-Mon! (RipMon)” clasping her hand together, her eyes twinkled in happiness as if she just won the big prize of the night.

Namjoon stared at her blankly trying to brain Seul’s words. He regained back his ability to talk not long after.

“What in the world? How did you know about that! It was long time ago, and I thought you weren’t a fan Seul. Or are you secretly my fan since start but you got to hide it because you are too shy to admit it?” he drew his own conclusion annoyed the hell out of her.

Sneering sarcastically, she poked his forehead returning Namjoon to his original position as he had moved a little too close to her “I saw the concept trailer, whereby you and Jimin had to rip off your shirt. You really are a true god of destruction; how could you rip it off at once when Jimin’s shirt was looking fine after the deed, unlike you. Tsk, Rap Monster-ssi” she teased.

“That was wardrobe malfunction. Stop using that against me. I won’t ask your opinion for my stage name anymore, you are a true Army, what do I expect? You will make me use those funny nicknames”

“Hey! I am not your Army. And those nicknames aren’t that bad. I found it is entertaining” he chuckled lightly.

“Alright you are not my Army. However, you are our girl. So, let’s get back to our main topic, shall we? About my stage name. I am thinking of making it official. Instead of using Rap Monster, I want to use RM. What do you think about it?”

Seul beamed “RM sounds professional and cool!”

“And, Rap Monster sounded unprofessional?” he scratched his head.

“I didn’t say that. Rap Monster is good but now that you are moving forward and become bigger, I think RM suits you better though I prefer Namjoon over anything, no offence. But, Rap Monster sounds too teenager-ish to me. I like RM. I am sure Armys will love it too” she patted his head with light giggle.

He chortled “Teenager-ish. That makes sense. I am no longer the Rap Monster who wrote childish lyrics, I wish to be better and thorough in producing music. Do you think Armys will be okay with RM?” he expressed his concern. In all honesty, Namjoon did not want to screw things up especially when it involved Armys. Every decision that he’s about to make, he would put Armys in his thought.

“Joon, your fans will love it. Remember they love you just as much as you love them. Trust them. You are worrying too much. Shall we just use Jji-Mon instead?”

“Absolutely no. You are not in charge in this” he pinched her nose, frowning at her small tease.

They jumped in surprised as a loud banging at the door drew their attention momentarily “Kim Namjoon! Ji Seul! Open the goddamn door now or I swear to god I will break it down in 10 seconds!”. Kim Seokjin was screaming at the top of his lungs threatening them once again.

Springing up, she smoothed back her tousled hair and rose from her feet “I will tame the whiny lioness, stop worrying over the stage name. Let Armys know how you feel, it will make you feel better”

“Thank you Seul..I will think about it” a slow smile worked its way across his face. Namjoon knew exactly what he felt right now. And, he made up his mind about the stage name.

“Kim to the Namjoon! Return Seul safely now!” he pounded loudly.

“Ugh Jin is so annoying. Give it a thought alright?” she winked as she hurriedly went to open the door “Coming! You can stop pounding the door now Jinnie!” Seul hollered in response to Jin’s wrath.

 ---------------------

The next day Seul arrived at the boys’ place to work a little later as she had to accompany Mrs Hwang for routine check-up. She went straight to tend her job as soon as she sent her mother back safely. Upon her arrival, the place was empty. They must be out somewhere or most probably at the company practicing for their next tour. In few days they will be leaving Korea and this time it’d be Wings Tour Japan Edition.

In the middle of preparation for their tour, the boys had started going in and out from the studio for their upcoming comeback which was expected to be in September. The second half of 2017 had already drained fifty percent of their energy. Hence, the thought of surviving the rest of the year until their comeback was torturing them.

Seul walked along the hallway, picking up dirty laundry in process while humming to some random songs. She stopped halfway in front of Yoongi’s private study room or more like his mini studio. He had one at the company as well as in their dorm. Yoongi would use either one of his genius lab depending on his mood. However, most of important and private stuffs would be secured in his main genius lab. The one that he had at home was a casual thing, he didn’t really put passwords to the door.

There was a small voice coming from the room, and out of curiosity she pushed the door slowly scanning the room in hope to find familiar faces like Min PD. Smiling to herself, she was over the moon to see Yoongi in his seat engrossed in his work. He didn’t even notice her presence there.

She took the chance to enter the room stealthily just to scare him a little. Chewing on her lower lips, she stifled her giggle settling the dirty laundry outside. Seul crept into Suga’s Genius Lab, shutting the door behind her silently. She stood behind him waiting to jump out or to creep up, startling him.

Seul chose the second options to appear more daring. It was Suga not Jungkook. This guy deserved a little scare just to tame him. To put it off this way made it sounded so wrong. She shook her head to get rid of the weird thought and getting ready to execute her so called guerrilla attack.

Before she could make a move, Yoongi swivelled his chair around facing the girl. Seul gawked in bafflement, giving Yoongi upper hand to pull her into his lap. “Got you” his low voice sounded awfully deep today, and it almost made Seul losing her shits.

“What are yo-“ she struggled to stand up but Yoongi tightened the grip around her torso, running his thumb in circular motion along her waist line.

“I miss you” he murmured.

She softened in his hold. “I miss you too” she encircled her arm around his neck. Seul looked startle by her own action but drawn as he inched close to her face. It was only a matter of time before their lips reunited again. Yoongi brushed his lips against her, holding her cheek in his hand drawing her closer.

He kissed her gently, cradling the back of her head, relishing the feel of her soft hair and delicate bones. Their lips moved in the same rhythm, ravishing each other lips. She stroked his chest, allowing the latter to push his tongue inside dominating this battle.

To be frank, she never expected kissing Min Yoongi would be this hot and it triggered her desire to feel more of it. He roamed his hand around her body, feeling every inch of her covered skin adding the fuel in their already heated moment. Aching for more, they pulled away from the kisses panting for clean air and before she could regain her normal breathing completely, Seul let out a small moan in his earlobe.

She clung to him, emitting a low groan as he sucked on the tender area at the base of her neck. Her voice encouraged him to explore her body further. Yoongi’s temperature rose and he went to kiss her again with so much passion. This time Seul responded to the kisses as passionate as his.

Carefully, he ran his hand to her buttocks switching her position. She straddled him on the seat, her knees on either side of his legs, wrapping herself deliciously close to his body. His fingers fiddle with the button of her blouse, when she made no move to stop him, he took the chance to unbutton them halfway down enough to reveal her chest.

Yoongi breathed softly against her lips and nuzzled her face. Their gaze met as they communicated silently with a single stare that they exchanged. Chewing her lower lips, Yoongi kissed her briefly before running his lips along her jaws. He slipped her hand under her blouse, feeling her tender skin against his hand.

Seul’s body went rigid with surprised as trembled shook her body. The euphoric warmth blossomed within her once more when she felt his hand caressing her chest inching close beneath her cleavage. His lips returned to ravage her neck knowing what it did to her. She arched towards him, holding back the moan in her throat. He nipped at her neck slowly getting harder and more insistent as time passed.

Her hand clutched onto his shoulder for support, as her free hand ran freely in his brown lock. Yoongi’s action rendered her breathless. She unconsciously moved a little creating small friction against the dangerous zone. It was supposed to be untouchable, yet as soon as she heard Yoongi deep groan. She knew she had done something inappropriate to it.

“Darn it Seul” he nibbled on her earlobe as he picked up the confuse girl, making his way to the couch behind them. He laid her down and found himself on top of her. Yoongi was not rushing into doing anything intimate with her, in fact he had been monitoring her response. If she didn’t push him away, meaning he got her permission. Up to this stage, Seul showed no sign of protest.

She slid her hands under his shirt, signalling him to take it off. His breath hitched at the sight of eager Seul beneath him making Yoongi wanted to take her right way. She took a moment to stare at his body without blinking. Seul pictured the image of shirtless Yoongi in her head, admiring his fine body that matched the perfectly milky skin. Yoongi looked effortlessly beautiful without his shirt on.

“You seem impressed baby girl” said Yoongi teasingly.

Her cheeks reddened realizing that she’d been taken a long time to admire the fine man on top of her. However, when Yoongi lips captured her once again in another long and endearing kiss, it washed off all the shyness in her.

She closed her eyes and felt the passion swelling in her. He broke the kisses and looked into her eyes “Baby, tell me when to stop” she was moved by his soft side. Despite in this situation Yoongi put her feelings above his raging hormone.

Nodding with a smile, Seul pulled his neck down and made the first move. She kissed him on the lips, using a little tongue before trailing the kisses to his neck. She knew what was she doing causing the older guy to emit a long moan while his hand gripping her hip.

Chills bumps across her body as Yoongi pressed against her, as he pinned one of her hands abover her head. He interlaced their hand together and he kissed his way down to her chest.  Reaching her back, he unclasped the fabric that had been hiding the beauties in front of him. Seeing Yoongi’s lustful stare, she blushed madly and threw one of her arms to cover the twins from his prying eyes.

Their eyes locked, as he removed her hand uncovering the two beauties. He breathed sharply and mumbled “You are beautiful baby girl. Too beautiful” she anticipated what he’s about to next. She chewed her lips nervously but soon the feeling was taken over by one of the greatest pleasure in her whole life. One at a time, he just kept on and on kissing and sucking on them turning Seul into a moaning mess.

Arching her back, she pushed her chest forward letting him to have them, giving into the pleasure that he gave her willingly. While he’s working on pleasuring her, he unbuttoned the remaining button of her blouse and slipped it off her.

Yoongi held both sides of her abdomen as he moved down, pushing her legs apart. Watching her hesitation, he took the cue to trail his kiss back to her stomach, kissing it all over. He was so gentle with her, every kiss that he showered were made of love.

“Yoongs…where is everyone” she bit her tongue from expelling another loud moan.

Stroking her hips deeply, Yoongi kissed her inner thigh playfully and mumbled against her skin “Out. They won’t be back until tonight” kissing and licking her, he teased her into a frenzy. Seul grabbed the sheets tight, grunting sexily which drove Yoongi mad.

The couple continue undressing each other skilfully.

Clothes scattered on the floor leaving her with only thin fabric covering her most fragile area and so did Yoongi. He glances at her once again seeking for permission. A faint blush crept up her cheeks, and that was enough to convince him that she’s alright with this level of intimacy.

She exhaled as if to steady her nerves when he finally freed her and continued to shower kisses there, earning a deep grunt from Seul. One of her hands was locking his hair, Yoongi worked his way in between with passion.

“Yoongi..” her breath hitched. Seul was reaching her peak and he knew it, just how he intended it to be. Still not stopping, he kept on with his skilful tongue. Her body tense up as she exhaled a deep breath feeling the ecstasy from his sinful tongue love making.

The sensation from his warm tongue drove her insane.

Only soft and erotic groans could be heard across the room. Just how much they longed for each other this way? They were drowned in a sea of lust and love.

 ------------------

Sitting in between Yoongi’s legs, he snuggled her closer to his body. “I want you to listen to this song. It is a demo for our new album” her eyes gleamed in excitement. “Is it alright to let me listen to it? I mean I am not a BTS member” she mumbled confusedly.

“No, it is alright. It is just a rough version of the song. We haven’t confirmed anything yet” Yoongi chuckled softly as he reached out the ipod on the glass table and adjusted the headphones over her ears.

“Ready? Tell me what do you think of it alright?” Seul nodded with a thumb up. His thumb glided over the screen, and the first strain of a smooth alternative hip hop with a light touch of jazz echoed through the headphones. She found herself enjoying the soft beat as her head tilted by its own to right and left in response.

There was not much lyric in it since they may need to come up with new changes now and then. However, she could catch small lines that they already included in the song. It was poetic and catchy.

All of my wonder You’re the answer I call you her, her Cause you’re my tear, tear

Yoong ran his thumb along the side of her waist anticipating Seul’s reaction. He had been working the songs with Namjoon and Hoseok, though the leader had already come up with the full lyrics of the outro, he still had to make sure the beat matched the lyric perfectly.

When the song ended, Seul removed the headphones and turned her head facing the handsome rapper. “That was beyond amazing Yoongi!” she grinned, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He watched the girl cracking his gummy smile “Really? I wanted to submit this last touch to Joon, so he could record the rest of the lyrics” Seul tapped his small nose.

He scrunched his nose cutely “You did great! Can’t wait to hear the full version of the song. I can feel it in my bones that it is going to be my favourite songs from your new album” just by watching her giddiness boosted his confidence.

“Don’t decide that now. There are more cool songs in the album. Wait for it. It is going to be a new side of Bangtan Sonyeondan” he brought her to his arms again, resting his chin on the top of her head.

She nuzzled her face at the crook of his neck “I am with Bangtan till the end” he caressed her hair lovingly and placed a kiss on her head.

“Of course. You are our girl” he soothed her with a deep murmur.

Their girl. Namjoon said the same thing. Her feelings were a mixture of happiness and guilt. Sometimes she was scared of her future though she promised to live the present without worries.

She couldn’t simply wash off this insecurity in her, just because it was impossible to forget. Seul had to handle her present with confidence and face her future with no fear.

Just, never let your fear decide your future.

Yeah, she’s holding onto the principle.

-----------------

“Someone trashed our practice room!”

“The culprit tried to break into Hoseok’s hyung studio, but they didn’t get through it. I bet they or he or she whatever were in rush. They left right after they broke into Joon hyung and Yoongi hyung studios” Jungkook explained to Seul with heavy pant. He was just so mad that his veins started to appear on his skin.

Seul felt angry to hear the news, the girl clenched her teeth together “Did they take anything from the studios?” Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose with a harsh grunt.

“My works were all gone. Those assholes! OUR HARDWORKS WERE ALL GONE! SCREW THIS” he yelled venting his frustration. Namjoon expelled a heavy sigh “They didn’t take anything from my studio, but the equipment was ruined. Ugh, I really want to kill the person who did this” his brow creased and he pressed his lips into a thin line.

“CCTV?” she inquired.

Shaking his head in defeat “Someone tampered with the surveillance camera. The footage was deleted. I had no idea how they entered the building” Seul frowned in disapproval.

“It was odd how they trashed Joon and Hoseok studios but wiped off Yoongi’s works. The furniture and equipment in his room are untouchable. There is no sign of robbery. Could they be after Yoongi?” the eldest of the group spoke up with a deep furrow.

She sent Yoongi a sympathy glance knowing all his hard works being erased overnight, that must be upsetting. Who would do such things to him? Yoongi might appear unfriendly but he would not hurt anyone. He could spit the nastiest remarks on others who provoked his anger, yet that only happened when you tick off the Min Yoongi.

“Did you make any enemy outside? Anyone that rings the bell?” Jimin shifted his gaze back and forth from Jin and Yoongi. Then he pursed his lips, feeling defeated.

Yoongi watched him, while he narrowed his eyes in a deep thought. To think of the possibility, Jin assumption could be right. However, he couldn’t think of any names that could possibly do this to him. After he became a trainee and debuted as BTS member, he rarely got the chance to meet someone new and make new friends.  

He dedicated his life for his work and Bangtan, not that he remembers making any enemy outside. Maybe few people who loathed him from choosing the easiest path to become artiste. It was a long time ago since he used to be an underground rapper. Namjoon and him were hated for being an idol so they had cut off their ties with them. That was the last time they ever met the crews and to think someone would do this to him after years sounded unreasonable.

“We found the culprit! Lets head to the company now!” their manager popped out from nowhere surprising everyone.

“What? How? Who?” Hoseok and Jungkook said in sync, as they were already on their feet.

The tall man nodded while grabbing the keys “He turned himself in. We will get our answers soon. So, let’s go now” Seul eyes widened at the revelation. If the person really turned himself in, then why would he waste his energy to commit those crime.

“Do you want to tag along?” Yoongi touched Seul shoulder “I can make use of your presence beside me, please” his eyes bore into her. Seul hesitated to know she was in no place to be around the boys publicly.

They heard their manager emitted a deep sigh, “Seul, come with us. You may need to stop someone from causing a scene” his eyes were fixated on Yoongi. He knew exactly how the guy would react, Yoongi’s anger was not a joke.

“Sure…” Yoongi grabbed his extra mask and helped to put it on her. It was needed to protect the girl from being exposed to medias or Armys. At least, they might see her as one of the staffs instead of spreading false rumours.

For an odd reason, she didn’t feel good about this. She just couldn’t rid this uneasiness in her. Was she overthinking about the whole thing?

  This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2020. All Rights Reserved

[eleanor-writes-stuff]

right under my nose [one-shot]

Prompt: "Rey and Ben are best friends and each other's wing-man/woman when they go out...until one of them catches feelings for the other and everything turns topsy turvy."

It's hard enough setting your best friend up with the perfect one-night-stand. It's practically impossible once you throw feelings into the mix.

I can’t believe it’s taken me nearly five months, but here’s a friends-to-lovers modern AU in which Rey and Ben help each other get lucky without realizing that what they really want is to go home with each other.

Also available on AO3. And hey, maybe check out my Twitter or Ko-fi?

. . .

Ben Solo has made quite a habit of announcing his arrival with a bang.

Literally.

Rey startles as the front door slams shut, and braces herself for a long night ahead as she gets up and pokes her head out the door. Her roommate remains frozen in the entryway, shoulders tense and brow furrowed as he kicks off his shoes and shrugs off his coat.

“I’ll go get dressed,” she announces with a sigh, softening when Ben looks up to offer her a sheepish, apologetic smile.

“That obvious, huh?”

After five years, it really is. They’ve got this down pat now, the both of them, always ready to get dressed and head out to the bar at a moment’s notice. The years have passed, the bar has changed, and their bad days are mainly work- rather than college-related these days, but the routine remains the same: sit back, relax, and watch their best friend work some wingman magic.

They arrive at Finalizer twenty minutes later, greeted by the same neon sign advertising alcohol upstairs and live music downstairs as always. In all the years that they’ve been coming here (only about three, really), Rey has never been to the lounge downstairs. It’s a cozy, couple-y area, the kind Finn and Poe go to, and sometimes she and Ben will joke about finally finding someone to go with; sometimes they’ll even make an effort to do so. But one look at Ben, jaw still tense with the day’s stress, and she knows tonight is not one of those times.

Tonight they head for the bar instead, as they always do, and Phasma is quick to greet them with a commiserating smile. “So, who’s getting lucky tonight?” she asks as Rey and Ben settle into their usual seats at the corner of the bar, granting them the best vantage point in the house.

Rey leans into Ben, nudging his arm with her shoulder, and Phasma nods just once before she heads off to get their usual order started. There’s a grace period when they first get here, twenty minutes and a drink or two, the unspoken offer to talk about their shitty day if they feel like it, before the other gets to work. But that doesn’t mean she can’t look around a bit, scout out some possibilities while Ben pretends to be distracted by his phone while he organizes his thoughts.

There’s a single man on the opposite end of the bar, handsome even as his features seem to mirror Ben’s dark mood – but throwing two miserable people together almost never ends well, as Rey has come to learn over the past five years. A slightly too loud group of girls over in a corner booth, all of them pretty and bubbly and most likely legal, and those Rey files away as a back-up plan. But the woman in the booth next to them, joined by what appears to be a handful of colleagues for after-work drinks… that’s the one, Rey decides when she stands up and makes her way over to the bar. Tall and lithe, glossy brown hair and even prettier brown eyes, a confident walk and a smile just sharp enough to attract attention as she greets Phasma – Ben likes to say he doesn’t have a type, and she’s set him up with enough women over the years to know that he’s not too picky, but this one definitely checks off all the boxes he pretends not to have.

Phasma seems to be on the same page, judging by the knowing look she flashes Rey when she comes by with their drinks a few minutes later. “Old man Snoke on your case again?”

“When is he not?” Ben grouses, adding in a mumbled thanks before he takes a deep swig of his Corellian whiskey. Rey turns her back to him just the slightest bit as she accepts her margarita from Phasma, nodding at the woman who’s rejoined her group.

“Bazine,” Phasma whispers as she pulls out a rag and pretends to wipe the bar. “Here with her officemates, no one in the picture.”

Even with the occasional free drink, this is still the best part about being one of Phasma’s regulars; she’d caught onto the routine within their first few visits, and has been happy to play along ever since. With her help, it’s just that much easier to nudge Ben’s attention towards the group of overdressed professionals in the back, that much simpler to have a drink delivered to Bazine after half an hour of them catching each other’s eye and trading smiles – hesitant, at first, but increasingly bold and secretive and knowing as the evening wears on.

Through it all Rey dutifully remains by Ben’s side and lets him talk her ear off about his godawful boss anyway, but as soon as Bazine gets up to thank Ben for the drink, she’s relieved of her duties for the night.

“Well, my work here is done,” Rey declares cheerfully – and loudly – as Bazine approaches. Best not to let Ben start off with the woman on the wrong foot, even though it’s probably crystal clear by now that Rey isn’t here with him in any… intimate capacity. “You know the drill: have fun, be safe, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Ben smirks as he leans over to pull her into a hug. “As if that’s hard,” he scoffs, holding her close for a moment before he pulls back and presses a kiss to her temple. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

Rey nods and collects her things, waves a quick goodbye to Phasma. “Will do,” she assures Ben, and makes her exit just in time for Bazine to slide into her vacated seat and introduce herself in a low purr. She allows herself one last look at the door, and sighs when she finds Ben completely turned towards the brunette in interest, a smirk playing on his lips as she rests a hand on his thigh.

“Job well done, Niima,” she congratulates herself quietly, and calls it a night. 

. . .

A month later, she finds herself back at Finalizer when Ben decides she’s in need of cheering up.

She’s not, really, it’s just a little disappointing that Finn’s had to delay his visit yet again but Rey’s a big girl, she can handle waiting another two weeks to see her brother, and really this is all so unnecessary–

“Twelve o’clock, Latino guy sitting near the TV,” Ben whispers as he leans over her to reach for a coaster, and well, they’re already out anyway. “He’s been staring at you since we walked in.”

Rey’s discreet about it, waits for some time to pass before she pretends to look at the door and just so happens to drag her eyes past mystery man while she’s at it.

He is staring, and even holds eye contact for a few seconds before he turns his attention to his phone. That brief glimpse is enough for Rey to decide that she wouldn’t exactly mind, and she tells Ben as much a few seconds later.

It’s a subtler game when the tables are turned, more distance between the two of them to hint at Rey’s availability but just enough camaraderie to scare off anyone who should be scared. That had been the whole point of the arrangement back in the day, after all: showing up together buys them enough time to get settled in without being swarmed and makes for an easy way to avoid the kind of people they’d rather not waste time on; the added wingman service is really just a bonus.

The third time Rey looks over, the man greets her with a blinding smile. It doesn’t take long for Ben to launch into a well-rehearsed pep talk after that, and five minutes later Rey’s strolling over with two drinks in hand and a confident smile.

“Hi.”

“Hey!” the man greets her warmly and enthusiastically – a little too enthusiastically, actually. “Rey, right?”

Warning bells go off in her head; the man isn’t familiar in the slightest, and Rey’s pretty sure she would have remembered him if they’d ever met. It’s times like these that she’s glad to have Ben carefully watching, to have Ben within walking distance just in case this seemingly harmless man turns out to be a stalker and she his oblivious target–

“I thought it was you, but Finn’s only shown me a few pictures and, I mean, no offense, but I wasn’t really paying attention to anyone other than him, you know? Especially the ones from your trip to Hawaii–”

And that’s when it clicks.

“Poe!” Rey blurts out a little too loudly as she finally catches on. “Sorry, I recognized you–” a blatant lie, because he’s not a social media person and Finn had insisted that it would be too weird and stalker-y to secretly snap a photo of his longtime crush, “– but it took me a minute to remember your name.”

“No worries,” Poe assures her with a casual wave before he gestures for her to join him. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. And funny, too, because Finn and I were originally planning to meet at this exact bar tonight, and he told me you’d probably come along, but then, you know…” His smile dims for the first time since Rey walked over, and some part of her relaxes at the confirmation that this man is just as gone for her brother as Finn is for him. Which is great, given that Poe finally asked him out the day Finn informed him he’d be coming to visit, and after all these months of watching and listening to her brother pine after his former supervisor, Rey really, really hopes this relationship works out.

“Yeah, that was disappointing for all of us,” she sighs, pushing Poe’s beer towards him before she takes a sip of her wine. “But I have it on good authority that there’ll be no more delays, so at least there’s that to look forward to?”

Poe nods and tips his drink at her before taking a swig. “Definitely. So, who’s your friend at the bar? Might want to let him know that I play for the other team before he comes over to rip me apart.”

Rey nearly chokes on her drink. “Who, Ben? No, no, that’s not–” But then she looks over just in time to catch Ben hurriedly turn away, and they’ve known each other for long enough by now that she can detect just the slightest hint of guilt in his profile.

Probably just him being his usual overprotective self. “He’s just had a long day,” she tells Poe, figuring that that’s the easiest explanation. “Actually I should probably go, we’ve both got work first thing in the morning so we should really be getting home–”

“Right, of course,” Poe agrees easily, mirroring Rey as she stands up and enveloping her in a surprise hug. “It really was nice meeting you, Rey. Hopefully we’ll be seeing each other around.”

Hopefully I’ll be seeing your brother enough to see you around, Rey hears, and allows herself a secret smile. Oh, she is definitely sharing this with Finn; after all that pining, he deserves a little relief and reassurance. “I’m sure we will,” she says as she steps away from the embrace, and offers him a smile. “Good night, Poe.”

Ben isn’t looking when she walks back, and the confusion on his face is almost adorable when he blinks first at her, then Poe, then back at her again. “What–”

“He was staring because he recognizes me,” Rey explains before she drains the last of her wine and sets the glass down on the bar, “from Finn’s photos. The shirtless vacation ones he showed his crush in a last-ditch attempt to get noticed.”

It takes him a second, but when Ben does get it he promptly bursts into laughter. “Oh. Oh. Shit, Rey, that’s– I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be–”

Rey rolls her eyes and slumps back into her seat with a huff, lets Ben have his fun while she finishes his whiskey; she figures he owes her, after all.

“I’m sorry, let’s try again–” Ben offers when he’s finally gotten over it, but the idea’s lost what little appeal it held to her in the first place. They do have work first thing in the morning, but it’s barely even ten; spending the rest of the evening curled up on the couch sounds way better than letting Ben try to find another target for her.

“Can we just go home and watch a movie or something?”

Ben’s already scanning the bar, but he immediately turns back to her with a soft smile. “Sure, sweetheart,” he agrees easily, brushing a lock of hair out of her face before he reaches for his wallet and tucks a few bills under Rey’s glass, catches Phasma’s eye with a wave and points at the money.

“’Night, Phas!” Rey calls out as Ben reaches for her hand and helps her down from the stool, and ignores the little smirk the other woman gives her when she realizes the both of them are heading home together. Against all expectations, she’s discovered over the years that Phasma is a bit of a closet romantic, one who happens to think Rey and Ben have already found the perfect partner to go check out the downstairs lounge with.

But Rey, Rey’s no romantic. She’s a practical person, with a best friend she’d rather keep for life than drive away, thank you very much, and Netflix with her best friend sounds way better than live music with some random person, anyway.

“Are you going to make me watch a Disney movie for tonight’s epic fail?” Ben asks as they leave the bar hand-in-hand.

“I’d say we’re about due for a Moana rewatch, don’t you think?”

Ben bends down to muffle a groan against her shoulder, and Rey keeps on walking with a smile on her face.

. . .

It’s almost Christmas the next time they find themselves at the bar, and the pickings are predictably slim. In fact, Rey’s pretty sure this is going to turn into one of those rare nights when they just end up staying until last call to keep a bored Phasma company.

There’s a table of three older gentlemen, drawn in by the fact that there’s a game on the TV and Phas actually has the volume on tonight for background noise. A young couple is hidden from sight in one of the booths, probably enjoying a quiet date night now that winter break has started. And then, of course, there’s the redhead.

Or the creepy ginger, as Ben has taken to calling him in the last half hour. He’d seemed normal enough at the start of the evening, even a possible candidate at first, but he just keeps staring. It’s unnerving, but not so much that they haven’t been able to make a game out of it, the two of them trying to spook the other into thinking they’re the one Creepy Ginger has his eye on. Ben takes it further by inventing odd mannerisms to go with the odd staring and suggesting possible bad lines he might use on Rey, and by the time the stranger makes his move she’s too busy laughing to even notice it.

A second round for both of them slides into view, and they look up at Phasma to find her head tilted in Creepy Ginger’s direction. “Courtesy of a Mister Armitage Hux, who thinks three’s not a crowd at all.”

This is so much worse than anything even Ben could’ve come up with, and Phas seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself judging by the twinkle in her eye as Ben shudders and Rey instinctively burrows into his chest for protection. She keeps her face hidden even as Ben swivels towards their… benefactor and calls out, “Thanks, man, but we’re good with just us.”

When she finally lifts her head, it’s to find Ben’s arm securely wrapped around her waist. “Creepy Ginger doesn’t seem that happy, so I think we’d better keep up the act. Just to be safe, you know?”

“Just to be safe,” Rey agrees, and rests her head on his shoulder. It’s not like they have to worry about scaring off any potential matches tonight, anyway, and she’d happily take all the fake cuddling in the world in exchange for avoiding further interaction with Armitage Hux, who’s still staring when Rey chances a look ten minutes later.

“Ugh, he’s still looking,” she whispers to Ben, pressing her lips to the skin below his ear in a show of intimacy.

He holds her closer, turns to her with a smile even as he speaks through gritted teeth. “Shh, I think he’s getting up to go to the bathroom and he’s gonna pass by us.”

Rey panics and goes with her first instinct, which is to hide her face in Ben’s shirt yet again. He clears his throat and runs his fingers through her hair, and she can feel laughter rumbling through his chest against her cheek. She resists the urge to take a peek and keeps her eyes squeezed shut, and what feels like an eternity later Ben’s lips brush against her ear as he whispers, “The coast is clear.”

“Let’s go while he’s still in there,” Rey suggests, rummaging through her pockets for the handful of bills she’d tucked into them earlier in the evening. “I feel like he’ll just follow us home otherwise.”

Ben nods and gets to his feet before helping her up as well. “Good call. Phas!” he hisses a little too sharply, and all three of them turn to the direction Hux had disappeared in with bated breath.

“We’re gonna go now,” Rey whispers after a blissfully uneventful beat. “Merry Christmas!”

Phasma comes closer and puts their glasses away, tucks Rey’s crumpled-up bills into her apron. “I’ll keep him distracted to give you a head-start. Think of it as a Christmas gift.”

They shower profuse, hushed thanks upon her for all of five seconds before Rey drags Ben away, and the first half of their walk is utterly silent as they hurry down the street and out of sight. Eventually they come upon Maz’s All-Nite Diner, the halfway point of their walk, and under the eerie glow of that giant, blinding neon sign the both of them collapse into fits of laughter that leave them breathless and wheezing, clutching their stomachs as tears leak out the corner of their eyes.

“Oh my god, the way he–” Rey croaks, still doubled over in laughter.

“And that line, Jesus Christ–” Ben concurs, holding onto her shoulder for support.

Eventually they brush their tears away and regain their composure, and neither of them realize that Ben’s arm remains wrapped around Rey’s waist for the rest of the walk home.

. . .

The plan is for Ben to quit his job after the holidays.

It’s a good plan, one that’s been in the works for a while now and has Rey’s full support, and in the days leading up to Ben’s return to work, both of them are visibly wired up and so, so ready for this chapter of Ben’s life – their lives – to finally be over with.

And then Snoke blindsides them with the fine print: sure, Ben can leave – after he puts in his one-month notice, unless he’d like to breach his contract and pay the corresponding penalty of three months’ salary.

In the grand scheme of things, one month isn’t really that bad. But the ‘grand scheme of things’ is also the three years of his life that Ben’s already wasted there (excluding summer internships), and adding one whole extra month to that just fucking sucks.

So Ben comes home, slams the door and throws his messenger bag clear across the apartment, and twenty minutes later Rey forces herself into a bra and jeans and shoes and off they go.

At Finalizer, Ben rants for twenty minutes, and then another twenty, and then another twenty. They’ve gone through three rounds by the time he finally stops for breath, and Rey is just about to point out the cute brunette who’s been sneaking glances at him all evening when she gets up and begins to make her way over to them.

“Incoming, six o’clock,” she murmurs into her drink, and watches Ben nearly choke on his whiskey when he catches a glimpse of the woman from the corner of his eye. Rey… isn’t faring much better, honestly; up close, the cute brunette is actually a stunning supermodel with sable hair spilling over her shoulders, and her smile is deadly, wide and sincere but devastatingly attractive all the same.

“Hi,” she says before either of them can react, and Rey’s plans of making herself scarce go up in flames when the woman turns to her instead of Ben. “I’m Paige, Paige Tico.”

Rey stares dumbly at her proffered hand before her eyes snap up to meet Paige’s.

“Oh my god, you’re Rose’s sister!” Through all four years of college, she’d somehow never actually met her roommate’s older sister, the one Rose would never stop gushing about, the one she meant to set Rey up with time after time–

“That’s me. And you’re Rey Niima, right?”

There’d been pictures, lots of them, but Paige was still in the Air Force then, still wore her face bare of any makeup and kept her hair cropped right above her shoulders and in its natural waves. She’d been beautiful then and remains beautiful now, and Rey only realizes she’s staring when Ben gives her a subtle little kick under the bar.

“Yup! Yup, I’m Rey,” she confirms, finally reaching to take Paige’s hand in her own. “And this is my best friend, Ben.”

Paige gives her hand a squeeze before she turns to offer Ben a handshake as well. “Nice to meet you, Ben. Were you friends with Rose too?”

“Through Rey, mostly,” he shrugs, and gestures at the empty chairs next to him and Rey. “Would you like to join us?”

She’s amazed Ben is playing it so cool, but maybe all thoughts of hooking up left him the minute he realized Paige is the older sister of Rey’s other best friend; he’s considerate like that, sometimes.

It’s probably for the best, given that Paige chooses to sit next to Rey. “Sure, thanks,” she tells Ben before turning back to Rey. “Actually… I was wondering if I could buy you a drink?”

Oh.

Oh.

For some stupid reason, Rey turns to Ben with a deer-in-the-headlights look instead of saying yes please. And for some inexplicable reason, she thinks she catches something in his eyes before he shakes it off and gives her an encouraging smile.

“You ladies go ahead with that,” Ben suggests as he gets up. “I think I’m gonna call it a night–”

“Ben, wait–”

“Oh, I didn’t mean–” Paige says apologetically, resting one hand on Rey’s arm as she leans back to look at Ben. “Please don’t feel like you have to leave, I’d hate to intrude on your evening–”

“No, not at all,” Ben assures her. “It’s just been a long day for me. Rey, I’ll see you at home?”

She doesn’t want him to leave. And Ben… Ben almost sounds as if he doesn’t want to leave either. But Rey’s spent a long time training herself not to see things that aren’t there, and she’s not about to start now.

“See you at home,” she concedes, and watches Ben’s retreating back until he disappears out the door.

And then she turns back to a smiling Paige, and hopes that this time she won’t say the wrong name.

. . .

Ben is… off the morning she comes back from Paige’s hotel – or maybe she’s off, or maybe they’re both off. Whether it’s because Rey has to grapple with the knowledge that she’d pictured him in the dark the entire time, or because his ego’s hurt that Paige had picked her instead of him at one of his lowest points, she has no idea. But whatever it is, something’s different between them now.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she finally says after ten painfully long and silent minutes of breakfast, and the surprised look on Ben’s face quickly gives way to something soft, something forgiving–

“It was supposed to be about you, but instead I went off and left you alone and– God, I’m just sorry, Ben. Let me make it up to you tonight?”

That look fades, and in its place Rey finds a mask of perfect neutrality as Ben scoops up the last of his soggy cereal. He finishes his breakfast, pushes away from the table with a too loud screech of his chair, and finally shrugs when he picks up his bowl.

“Sure,” Ben says, and that’s the last she sees of him until later that night, when he knocks on her bedroom door in a tight black tee shirt and equally dark and fitted jeans. She thinks of last night, thinks of the things her brain had pictured in the dark, and–

And buries it all deep, deep down inside as she ushers Ben out of the apartment and over to the bar. It’ll do her some good, getting him out of the apartment for the night while she thinks things through and tries to get her shit together. This is Ben, Ben the guy who’s been helping her get laid for five years, Ben the guy she’s been setting up with other people for the past five years. Whatever this is, it’s either all in her head or completely one-sided; probably both, really. So she’s going to pretend everything is normal, and she’s going to watch him leave for the night with another person, and she’s going to keep her head held high as she walks back to their lonely apartment and tries not to dream of him in her lonely bed.

In that outfit, it doesn’t take long for Ben to attract attention. He does well enough in his usual work clothes, sleeves rolled up to expose his muscular forearms and slacks showcasing his endless legs, but Rey can see why the too-tight shirt and sculpted-for-his-ass jeans combo has nearly everyone’s eyes on him tonight.

That just makes it easier for her to find a target, and harder for her to not do something about it. With all the looks he’s getting, it’s far too obvious that she’s stalling when she orders a second drink after their first twenty minutes instead of getting to work. “So,” Rey forces herself to say after a swig of whiskey, joining him in his choice of hard liquor just this once. “I’m thinking the blonde girl in the white dress?” She tips her head in the girl’s direction, and waits for Ben to call her out on her unusual choice, waits for him to say no and suggest someone else instead–

“Yeah, sure,” he shrugs, and goes back to his phone.

It’s her move, then, and Rey can only stall for so long. Tonight she thinks she’d rather not be there to listen to Ben lower his voice into a bedroom growl, to watch the girl smile and swoon over him, and so she approaches the blonde with every intention of sending her Ben’s way and then going straight home.

The woman is here with two other friends, but they left for the bathroom a while ago and will probably be in line for a while yet. It’s easy to slide up to her, especially with the warm smile she flashes Rey.

“Caught me staring, did you?” she asks, beating Rey to it.

Rey shrugs. “Can’t blame you. I’m Rey, and that’s my friend Ben over there.”

“Kaydel, and I know.” She laughs at the shocked look on Rey’s face and gestures for her to sit down before adding, “I work with Senator Organa. She keeps a photo of you two with her and her husband on her desk.”

“Oh,” Rey replies dumbly, still stunned by this turn of events. As much as she loves Phas and Finalizer, it might be time for them to find a new spot; they can’t go on like this, working their way through friends’ siblings and parents’ colleagues. But just for tonight… “I don’t know what Leia’s told you, but he’s single, for the record. Single and looking to mingle, you know?” she adds weakly, internally wincing at how stupid she sounds, how stupid she’s being.

“I see,” Kaydel says, and there’s an odd moment when she looks at Rey a little too long, a little too closely, before she turns to Ben with a contemplative look. “I think I’ll go have a chat with him.”

This is exactly what you wanted, Rey has to remind herself as both she and Kaydel get up. “Right, great idea. Go ahead. Nice meeting you, Kaydel.”

She doesn’t – can’t – stay to watch Kaydel walk up to Ben, to see them laugh over this coincidence and bond over his mom and her boss. Instead, Rey sticks with the plan and goes straight home, trades in her heels and dress for warm socks and a shirt she stole from Ben ages ago, and curls up on the couch.

This is where she and Ben spend most of their time together, when they’re at home. This is the closest she ever gets to her best friend, and that’s exactly how things should be, how things should stay. Sure, she’d been attracted to Ben since the day they met, but she’d gotten over that fairly quickly to be his friend instead. And sure, she’s found herself falling for him little by little ever since they moved in together and he proved himself to be the best friend a girl could ask for, but that’s exactly why this could never work. She’s seen Ben around other people, around past partners, and he never treats them half as well as he treats her, as he treats his best friend – which is why that’s all they can ever be, no matter what her stupid heart feels whenever she thinks about him with someone else, no matter what her deluded brain pictures whenever she thinks of finally having someone to go to the lounge with.

People who get too close tend to disappear eventually, driven away by one thing or another, and Rey’s survived enough of that to know she would not survive the same with Ben. She can’t lose him, and if that means playing it safe and staying friends forever–

Then so be it, Rey decides just as the front door opens and sends a beam of light spilling into the darkened apartment. Ben turns on the light, and her eyes are forced to adjust as he hangs up his jacket and tosses his keys into the bowl near the door before turning to her.

“You’re still awake,” Ben notices.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Rey tells him, a half-lie at most. “You’re home early,” she points out in return. “Didn’t feel like spending the night?”

He ignores her for a minute, heads to the kitchen and comes back with two glasses of water before he settles in on the other end of the couch and steals some of her blanket to cover his lap.

“I, ah… it wasn’t like that. I mean, she’s nice and all but… I just wasn’t feeling it, you know?”

Then so be it, Rey reminds herself, and wills the relief in her soul to disappear. Relief, jealousy, possessiveness – none of it is hers to feel, none of it is within the safe zone. “Oh. But it’s… it’s so late?”

Ben tugs more of the blanket towards him, pulling it away to reveal his baggy sweatshirt falling off her left shoulder. He blinks at her, takes a moment to clear his throat before he speaks. “Yeah, we started talking about my mom and lost track of time.”

Leia – Leia is safe. “How is she? I still feel bad about skipping Christmas last month.”

“And she’s still pissed at me for not wanting to go, but I’m glad I didn’t,” Ben shrugs, completely unperturbed. “She, uh, she’s good. Still thinks I’m an idiot, apparently – Kaydel says she rants about how blind I am on a daily basis – but good.”

Rey desperately wants to ask what he means by that, what Leia means by that, but… a part of her knows, a part of her remembers half-heartedly telling Leia we’re not like that, he doesn’t… it’s just not like that, for us.

So instead she gets up and tugs her borrowed shirt down past her bum. “That’s good to hear. I should probably call her sometime.” And then, bending down for the briefest of hugs, she wishes Ben a good night and disappears into her room.

. . .

They don’t go to the bar for the next month. Rey doesn’t ask on her bad days, and doesn’t offer on Ben’s; he’s a grown man, she’s sure he can handle his own hook-ups if he really needs to. But then comes the day Ben is finally, finally freed from his awful job, and best friends can go out to celebrate, right?

Everything goes well until halfway through their second round, when Ben decides to start the game. He leans in while Rey’s still laughing over his description of Snoke’s face when he walked out earlier today, and she can’t help the shiver that runs down her spine when his warm breath hits her skin and his lips brush her ear.

“There’s a guy who looks completely head over heels for you.”

Rey closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and forces herself to play along. She fakes a laugh and swats his arm, puts some distance between them under the guise of scanning her surroundings. “For my arse, more like. Who is it?”

There are a few who meet her eye as she sweeps past them, but none that Ben would pick out for her. In fact, none that look actively interested–

A warm hand cradles her cheek and gently guides her back to Ben, who’s smiling at her like there’s not a single thing wrong in the whole wide world.

“Me.”

It’s so simple, so perfect, that for a moment Rey thinks she must be hallucinating, dreaming, in a coma on her deathbed coming up with impossible scenarios to distract herself from her impending death–

But Ben’s fingers curl around her jaw, and his forehead rests against hers, and she can feel his breath against her lips–

Rey closes her eyes, lets herself fall knowing now that everything will be okay, that Ben will catch her.

“Would you–” She takes a shaky breath, blindly reaches for the hand in his lap and laces their fingers together. “Would you like to go downstairs with me?”

Ben closes the distance between them, and she can feel his smile against her own as he sighs into their first kiss. “Sweetheart, I thought you’d never ask.”

. . .

I received this prompt nearly five months ago, immediately fell in love with it, and then proceeded to do... nothing.

Anon - if you're reading this, I'm so, so sorry it's taken me this long to get around to it! I knew from the start this wouldn't be just any prompt fill, but it's taken me a long time to get back into the swing of things this year and I wasn't going to fill any prompts until I felt I could do them justice. I hope I've accomplished that here, and I pray it was worth the wait. Thank you for trusting me with this lovely prompt.

A huge thank you to everyone else for getting through all 5000+ words of this, and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, please don't hesitate to like/reblog/comment!