Chapter Text
The sun was bright behind her eyelids as Rey Jones woke. The hotel bed was decadently soft beneath her body, and she stretched out like a cat in a patch of sunlight as she came to be fully awake. It was much later than her usual wake up time of 5 AM, but she was on vacation and her boss, Leia Organa, had outright insisted that she take the morning to be lazy. She must have known that a long day of sight-seeing on the strip would leave her muscles feeling like jello the following morning.
Sighing contentedly, Rey rubbed her cheek against the fluffy pillow and smiled. When she took the job working for Leia Organa - the world famous writer - she had never envisioned becoming so close to the woman or her husband. Though she supposed it was the nature of being a personal assistant. She ran errands, cooked dinner, did the shopping, and was most frequently found in the Organa home helping Leia go through her manuscripts or taking her to appointments. It was her job to worry about the mundane so Leia could use that brilliant mind to create more novels for the world to cherish.
In the four years she had been working for the woman, she became a permanent fixture in Leia and her husband Han’s lives. They took her out to fancy dinners, they invited her over for Christmas. In all those years, Rey began to think of them as the parents she had never had. She loved her job, she loved both Han and Leia - but their son, Ben, was an entirely different matter.
She didn’t want to think of Ben while so comfortably snuggled in this luxurious bed. She refused to open her eyes and start the day - she wouldn’t start it with thoughts of him, either. While he was handsome - it was undeniable - he was also cold and aloof. There was something in his light brown eyes that was distrustful of Rey. She knew he had suspicions about her and how his parents seemed to care so deeply for her. She knew that he didn’t like her being around so much, doing so much for the aging couple. Then again, if Ben couldn’t be bothered to take care of his parents, someone else had to. Rey felt fortunate that the job fell to her shoulders.
She refused to think about those ugly thoughts now. Not when she was in bed, enjoying the lazy morning.
Tonight would be the ceremony. Leia and Han were renewing their vows after thirty-five years of marriage. They had hired an Elvis impersonator to do it in a little chapel right on the strip - Leia planned to wear a red dress and Han a leather jacket. It was befitting of their relationship, Rey thought with a lazy grin. The two bickered constantly, but there was no denying their love for each other. It warmed her heart. It made Rey long for the kind of relationship they shared - one filled with trust and humor, respect and adoration.
Someday, she thought with a sigh. Someday you will have a love like that too.
Not that she had the time, presently. Her work was her life, and even when she wasn’t busy playing chauffeur or chef, she spent her time with the Organa-Solo family. More time than their son ever did. Oh, he made appearances at Christmas and Thanksgiving, Easter and the Fourth of July when Leia through a massive barbecue and fireworks party. He came over for dinner on Sunday evenings, almost every week. Dinners that Rey organized and cooked, initially hoping that her culinary skills would encourage him to lighten up. But he always sat at the end of the table, broody and quiet with his coal black hair and pale porcelain skin, looking as though he were counting the minutes before he could excuse himself and make a hasty exit.
Rey scoffed quietly and rolled onto her side. It was then that the sinking realization that she wasn’t alone struck her. A broad chest met her bleary gaze when she blinked her eyes open, a wide pale muscular expanse that made her gasp in shock. A heavy arm snaked around her waist, dragging her across the million thread count sheets, tucking her into his side. Rey lay, frozen with shock, unable to move.
She couldn’t remember meeting someone or going home with them. She wracked her fuzzy brain, searching for a memory of what had happened last night. Rey could remember playing the penny slots with Leia while they sipped fruity drinks with colorful little umbrellas. She could remember Han teaching her the finer points of poker as they did shots of Jack Daniels. And then…
A nightclub? She could vaguely recall a dark, cavernous building with flashing lights and pounding bass. Hands gliding over her hips and ribs, pulling her tightly into a broad chest… much like the one she was currently cuddled against.
She was mortified and too frightened to open her eyes. Rey had never had a one night stand before. She had no idea how to behave. Her insides twisted into knots as she squeezed her eyes shut, taking deep breaths, inwardly panicking.
Oh, this was awful. She needed to escape - and fast. Gingerly, she reached for the muscular arm wrapped around her torso and tried to lift it - but the man only gripped her tighter, pulled her closer. She blew out a frustrated breath and turned her head, reluctantly cracked one eyelid open. A mess of cleave black hair obscured the man’s face, but her heart sank with a sudden horrible realization.
This was no stranger.
Yelping, she jumped from the bed. Then glanced down her body in wide-eyed horror. She was completely naked, from her messy brown hair to her painted pink toes. Squealing, she leapt forward and yanked at the top sheet. But his hulking frame was weighing it down.
“Rey?” Ben Solo grumbled, lifting his head sleepily. She felt heat creep up her chest and neck as his eyes slowly raked over her nude form.
“Give me the sheet!” she exclaimed, using both hands to pull on it.
Moving none too quickly and refusing to take his eyes off her, Ben shifted so that the fabric came free suddenly and she stumbled, hastily wrapping it around her body. He frowned at her modesty, but Rey couldn’t have cared less. She didn’t want to be naked in front of her boss’ son. Not sober.
“What are you - why are you -“ Rey spluttered, at a loss for words. If Ben Solo were the last available man on Earth, she still didn’t think she would have chosen to be with him. He was so cold, so arrogant. He made it absolutely certain how little he thought of her. So why were they naked in bed together?
“My head is killing me,” he grumbled, rolling onto his side and propping his head in one hand.
“ What ?” Rey snapped, in disbelief. How could he be worried about his head when there was so much else going on?
“You were drinking me under the table. No way someone of your size should be able to handle so much liquor,” Ben replied with a crooked grin. Rey didn’t think she had ever seen him smile , and loathed the way her heart fluttered at the sight. If he was handsome even with a scowl, he was ten times better looking with his pearly whites showing. They weren’t perfectly straight, she noted with surprise. But it suited him, this slight imperfection in an otherwise exquisite face.
“We were drinking together?” Rey asked, frowning. She couldn’t remember. Shouldn’t she be clinging to a toilet if she had drank so much?
“Among other things,” Ben said, arching an eyebrow suggestively. Rey blushes even deeper red. “Do you mean don’t remember?”
“I remember some things.” She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “Just not how we wound up here. Together. Naked .”
“You don’t remember the nightclub?” Ben asked with an incredulous smile. “You took out two tables and spilled drinks all over some random guys that threatened to kick my ass. I had to haul you out of there before we both got beat up.” He didn’t sound the least bit bothered, while Rey felt her pulse quicken. Had she really had that much to drink? Was it possible that someone had drugged her drink?
But now that she thought of it, she did kind of remember stumbling into two high top tables, the crash and exclamations of a few men dressed in bright, obnoxious suits. She dropped her head into her hand - humiliated. She had caused a scene that necessitated Ben Solo swooping in to save her. If only she could remember how they had gone from the club to this hotel room… Shaking her head, she asked him, “What happened after that? My memory is a bit… hazy.”
His expression turned solemn, dropping the grin. His warm brown eyes slid to the bed, and she felt her stomach twist. Had she caved in to him so easily? It makes no sense! She had spent so much time disliking Ben - too much to explain how they had ended up spending the night together. Now the warm burn in her muscles made much more sense. She hadn’t run a marathon - she had spent the night making love, using muscles that hadn’t been exercised in years . What a fool she’d made of herself.
“We walked the strip for a while,” Ben said softly. “We… talked. You really can’t remember?”
“If you were drinking as much as I was, I’m surprised that you do.” She perched on the edge of the bed, careful to stay as far away from his naked body as possible. Even though the blanket covered his manhood, she could see miles of exposed marble muscles that looked somehow soft and firm at the same time. Who knew under all those stuffy suits the man was built ? He was tall, she knew that - like his father. But he was toned and buff in all the right places, which made her blush as she realized she was staring. It wasn’t appropriate - even though they had obviously done much more than stare at each other the night before.
“I’m glad you sat down,” Ben murmured, and Rey frowned at him in confusion. He rolled to the side, plucked a sheet of paper from the nightstand, and scooted himself up the bed to rest against the quilted headboard. He inhaled deeply before handing it over.
Rey snatched the paper from his hands and unfolded it. Quickly, her hazel eyes flew over the sheet - it was an official certificate from the state of Nevada. Her hand shook as she read it over - her name and information filled out in boxes alongside Ben’s. She squinted, though her vision was perfect - she simply couldn’t believe what the piece of paper was telling her.
“You mean…?” She glanced up at him, mouth hanging agape in shock. His pursed lipped-nod made her entire body go cold. Rey couldn’t believe this was happening - that her life had gone from so perfect to upside down in the span of one crazy night.
“It appears,” Ben drawled, seeming much more comfortable with the idea than Rey, “that you are my wife now, Rey Solo.”
It took everything inside of her to hold in a scream