Hi! Welcome to my Star Wars Model AU! It's my first foray into the Star Wars/Reylo community and I'm so excited.
This story is dedicated to my AMAZING alpha reader, Christina. Her love and support fuels me on.
As always, I own nothing!
Chapter 1: The House of Organa Contract
It was too good to be true. Skywalker Modeling Agency had been given the exclusive modeling contract for the spring House of Organa collection and Rey was somehow lucky enough to be one of the models selected for the feature spread in Vogue magazine shot by renowned high fashion photographer Kylo Ren. Rey had to keep pinching herself as they crammed into their manager Luke's car to head out to the location. Finn was talking animatedly in the front seat, playing both navigator and DJ, while Rey was squeezed between Jessika and Paige.
"Please, Finn, it's way too early for that loud shit," Jessika whined, nursing her black coffee and glaring at the back of Finn's head. She had the hood of her sweater pulled over her head, her long black ponytail a dark swath against the bright orange.
"I told you to come on my run with me this morning," Finn shot back, smirking as he turned up the music just a bit more.
"I'm sorry that I don't qualify 4AM as a morning run," Jessika grumbled.
Finn was all smiles, reaching behind his seat to give her calf a squeeze. "I guess you do need that extra beauty sleep, huh?"
"Hey, hey! No kicking the car, Tico!" Luke snapped as Jessika tried to retaliate.
Rey laughed and rolled her eyes, turning to look Paige instead. Rey craned her neck for a moment, unable to help being nosey, and noticed Paige was texting her little sister Rose at rapid pace.
"Oh! Is your sister working on this shoot?" Rey gasped, mind making a quick connection.
Paige looked up and gave her roommate a smile. "Yeah! She'll be making our faces look lovely all day."
Rey gave a sigh of relief. "I'm glad there will be someone there who I trust with my face."
Rose came to the model apartments often, always excited to try a new technique on her sister's friends. Rey loved it, happy to be a canvas for someone as fun and creative as Rose. Rose was such an easy person to get along with, so her presence was always welcome in their tiny little apartment. Rose had even managed to convince Finn to let him be her palette from time to time, insisting that a high fashion male model had to look ridiculous sometimes, too.
"Rose said her friend Poe is in charge of wardrobe. He was one of the assistant at the Zac Posen show, remember?" Paige continued.
"Poe Dameron, right? He was so nice!" Rey gushed. "Remember when he showed us pictures of his cat? Oh gosh, what was its name?"
"BB," Jessika helpfully supplied, voice still subdued as she sipped her coffee.
Rey nodded. "That's it! Cutest little thing, all white and orange." She peered up into the rearview mirror, hoping to catch Luke's eye. "Can't we please get a cat?"
"For the millionth time, Niima, no! You girls are never home enough and then I'm the one who will get stuck taking care of it," Luke replied, weary of this argument.
"You don't think R2 wants a friend?" Rey attempted, bringing up her managers old gray cat. The sassy old thing was often lounging around the office, chirping at anyone who would listen, always headbutting you for pets and making sure to lie down so you'd trip, only to huff up and angrily run away. That cat was the closest thing Rey ever had to owning her own animal and she had been begging for her own ever since she was fifteen and Luke first took her in.
Rey was a child of the system, having been left at a hospital when she was only five by parents who apparently told the staff that they would be right back. It was in her first foster home that she first saw a fashion magazine, an old copy of GQ sitting out on the coffee table, riddled with mysterious watermarks and stains. Rey was entranced by the beautiful pictures inside, finding herself drawn in to the air of fantasy that the photos had. She found a Harper's Bazar at age eight left at a bus stop, and finally a Vogue when she was nine left behind at a restaurant. She held on to these like her personal treasure, the glossy pages all that helped her carry on as she moved from home to home, helping her find strength on the nights when she would go to bed hungry or beaten. When she walked into Skywalker Modeling Agency at age fifteen, Luke saw her incredible passion for the industry and signed her, even helping her legally emancipate herself from the foster system. She once dreamed that he would have been the one to adopt her, but she knew that it was just as well that he stayed her boss rather than her father. Luke, while a kind and caring manager, was not exactly father material.
"I'll let you be the one to tell old R2 that another cat will move in, then," Luke shot back, though his eye crinkled at the corner to let Rey know that he was just kidding. Not enough to allow the girls to actually adopt their own cat, of course.
"Holy shit you guys, I think that's where we're shooting," Finn said suddenly, nearly pitching his phone on the floor in excitement.
The girls clambered over one another to get a better look out of Jessika's window as Luke slowed the car down. They were in the middle of basically nowhere, the field of wildflowers to their left basically ignored as they took in the sight of what might have been the biggest mansion any of them had ever seen in person on the right. There was still a silver fog hovering just above the grass, giving everything a dreamlike air.
"It's like a mini Versailles," Jessika gasped.
Luke pulled into a soft rock parking lot, packed full of crew members milling around, and the models practically sprang from the car.
"Look, there's a hedge maze out back!" Rey squealed, having sprinted immediately to a stone balcony marking the edge of the parking lot. The maze was massive, still a vibrant green even this late in the year, a sandstone pathway winding around
"Look at that fountain! It's so big you could swim in it!" Finn cried, pointing out the massive water feature at the front of the house. The water fountain was circular and had sculpture at the center of it, horses and riders spouting water.
"There must be a barn nearby, I can smell horses!" Paige was practically bouncing, standing at Rey's side.
"Luke is this serious?" Jessika asked, using a slim hand to shield her eyes as the rising sun poked out from some clouds beyond the hedge maze.
Luke smiled at her. "Welcome to high fashion modeling, kids."
The quartet of models were still bouncing and squealing as Luke led them into the manor, having to give them a look of mock seriousness as their sound echoed off the walls, making it nearly impossible for the person seated at security to make sure everyone was supposed to be on site.
"Ah, Mr. Skywalker," the guard said, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "I have a note here from the photographer that requests that you, um, please do not accompany the models any closer to the sets."
"What? What's the matter? What's going on, Luke?" Jessika asked, pushing forward to look at the note from over Luke's shoulder.
The older man was quicker, though, and he tucked the note into his back pocket, giving a weary sigh. "I'm afraid it's true, kids. But don't worry, you know I wouldn't set any of you up for something if I didn't think it would be absolutely safe for you to have gone alone. Your contracts have already been approved and I've had extensive talks with Dameron about your styling. And if any of you need me for any reason, I'll be right out at the car. Have fun, kids. I'll see you tonight."
Luke gave a simple wave and just like that, he left behind four confused models.
"You, um, you can go ahead and proceed to wardrobe. There's been signs posted," the security officer said once Luke was gone.
"You heard the man, ladies. It's off to wardrobe for us," Finn said. He thought for a moment about whether it would be better for him to lead the group or bring up the rear, thus ensuring that the group stayed together, when he realized that the girls had already moved passed him. "Hey!"
"So, did you sister say anything about what we should be expecting today?" Rey asked as they followed the signs through the halls.
It really was like walking through Versailles. The ceilings were all painted and the walls were lined with massive portraits, the windows nearly floor to ceiling and draped with heavy, beautiful curtains. Rey had to hand it to whoever selected this location, it certainly was gorgeous. She tried not to feel too unworthy of the beauty around her as she trudged the gilded hallways, wearing gray sweatpants and a beige zip up hoodie, but they had all arrived in sweats so she was glad for the safety in numbers.
"Poe showed her our dresses. She wasn't allowed to text me any pictures, for obvious reasons, but she said they were all to die for. She basically told Poe which ones each of us should wear, so I really hope she loves me as much as she says," Paige said, giving a grin at that.
"Rose knows how seriously we all take these jobs to want to play a sisterly prank on you," Jessika reassured her.
"Besides, I can't imagine House of Organa ever designing something that wasn't to die for," Rey added.
"I'm so glad to hear that," a crisp, clear, and distinctly feminine voice said.
The quartet came to a dead halt as none other than Leia Organa herself came around the corner. She was dressed in a white blazer with a tight-fitting nearly nude blouse underneath, tucked into white straight legged pants and finished with a nude pair of heels. Her chestnut hair was piled on top of her head in a series of intricate twists and her face was relatively free of makeup, save for some mascara and a soft red lip. In one hand she was clutching a coffee, much bigger than Jessika's, and in the other her phone.
"Oh. My. God. You're Leia Organa!" Rey couldn't stop herself from blurting out.
"What she means to say is that this is an absolute honor," Jessika cut in before Rey could say anything embarrassing. Rey was grateful.
Leia smiled. "It's a pleasure to see that the people modeling my clothes are fans. Helps make the pictures pop more if you ask me. There's a deeper emotional connection."
Rey could only nod dumbly, so dazed as she was by coming face-to-face with one of her absolute idols.
"You kids are from Skywalker, right?" Leia asked, taking a quick sip of coffee.
"Yeah," Finn helpfully piped in.
Leia did a quick sweep of the four of them, her lips turning down. "Didn't your manager accompany you? I had a few things I wanted to discuss with him."
"Oh, security said that the photographer banned him from set? But he's out front at the car," Paige supplied. "Why, was there something wrong with our contracts?"
A look of exasperation passed over Leia's face and Paige blushed, hoping she hadn't said something to offend the designer.
"No, no, nothing at all. You kids look absolutely perfect, which is why I handpicked you all. Go ahead to wardrobe just around this corner here, I'll find Mr. Skywalker. Thanks for the help."
And just like that, Leia Organa of House of Organa brushed easily past them and made her way down the hall.
"I cannot believe she was actually here," Rey finally squeaked out.
"She's even more beautiful in person!" Paige agreed.
"As if we weren't feeling pressure before, though," Jessika frowned. "A major contract with a major design house shot by a major photographer, that's fine, I can handle that. But having said designer here to possibly judge us all day? I'm not sure I'm strong enough for that."
"Stop worrying about it, Jess! Your forehead wrinkles when you do," Finn said.
"Hey!" Jessika snapped, lunging to swat at him.
The worry was broken and the models all continued laughing as they made their way into wardrobe.
"Hi again! I remember you girls from the Zac Posen show!" the ever-cheerful Poe Dameron greeted, handing out hugs all around. "That must make this Finn Trooper, eh? Nice to meet you, my name is Poe Dameron and I am head of styling today. Does anyone need anything before we get started? I see Miss Pava thought ahead enough to get some coffee, does anyone else need any?"
"We're all fine for now, thank you," Paige answered for the group.
"Sounds great. Okay, so I will walk you all through your outfits for today's shoot and then send you off for hair and makeup. Hux or Phasma will give you guys some more information about what we're looking for today, but I'm pretty sure I heard them mentioning something about having like twelve different sets of photos, a lot of group work before breaking you down into duos and solo shots. We have full use of the manor and the grounds and I was instructed to make sure everything is weather resistant, so I can only assume you will be outside eventually," Poe instructed.
The girls hid their displeasure well. A spring line meant shooting in early winter, and early winter in upstate New York wasn't ideal to anyone. It had been a gloomy morning so far so they all hoped that the sun would be a costar for whoever ended up having to shoot outside, praying the Indian summer temperatures would hold.
Poe took them through their wardrobe choices, moving between the four racks with ease as he highlighted which looks were to be shot together. The girls couldn't stop themselves from reaching out to run their hands along the soft silks and the beautiful laceworks on their dresses, ranging in colors from pastels to bright pinks to beautiful jewels, while Finn and Poe joked about how being a man meant wearing a different coat in each shot, the real variation coming in when it was without a shirt.
Rey chatted happily with the girl doing her hair, a kind-faced girl who looked just a bit younger than herself named Kaydel Connix. Though young, her hands moved with lighting fast precision as she manipulated Rey's sable hair into a 1920's finger wave, pining the hair up and under to give the illusion of being in line with her chin and then making sure that all the waves sat in a clean sense of precision. Rey was already getting giddy as she imagined the final picture, thinking about the powder blue dress she had been assigned for the first shot of the day. Rey had glanced briefly at the hair and makeup charts sitting on the counter, noting that no two dresses would have the same hair. She could only hope that the shoot would move smoothly and they could get it all done in the two days allotted.
"Now this girl has a beautiful face for make-up!" Rose swooped to Rey's side and planted a quick kiss on her cheek. "Don't be scared to go too dark, Kaydel. This babe was made to handle a nice bold lip." Rose gave a quick little wave and ran back to her sister's side.
"Can we get the models in here soon, please? Time is money, people! We're literally wasting daylight!" a snotty voice cut through the jovial air.
Rey grimaced, although she did her best to hold her face still as Kaydel blended her foundation. "Who was that?"
"That, my dear girl, is Armitage Hux, your art director for today. And heaven help you all the more for the combination of him and Ren," Kaydel replied, keeping her voice pitched low so that no one else would hear.
"What? Why?" Rey gasped. She couldn't tell if she was more excited about wearing House of Organa clothes or shooting with the Kylo Ren. His pictures had been responsible for launching the careers of models and designers alike for the last five years, it was an absolute honor to even think of being shot by him.
Kaydel gave a brief look at their surroundings, making sure that everyone else was occupied in their own conversations before continuing. "It's just…they're both very particular, to the point where they will fight over the tiniest of detail. They would work apart except the proof is in the film and Hux seems to be the only person around capable of making the images in Ren's head a reality. They're like the worst pair of brothers you've ever seen." Kaydel leaned in even closer under the guise of doing Rey's lips. "There actually used to be a rumor that they were sleeping together, but then it was found out that Hux was using Ren as a cover while he fucked Ren's assistant, Phasma." Satisfied with her work, she leaned back and gave a shrug, her voice back to normal level. "If you ask me, that doesn't cancel out the possibility at all, but who am I to know?"
Rey gave her a wide-eyed stare, hardly believing that all of this was about the man whose pictures she had tacked all around her bed. She only hoped that there wouldn't be any fighting today. After all, the designer was on set and no one, not even someone as famous as Kylo Ren, could risk offending someone with as much influence in the fashion world as Leia Organa.
"And now you're more gorgeous than you were when you woke up! Head on back over to Poe, I'll see you at costume change," Kaydel pronounced, a pleased smile on her lips as she turned Rey back around.
Rey had a simple champagne eye with thick lashes twirled to the heavens and a wing that was so perfectly shaped she wished she could have done it herself. The lip color was a deep and dusky pink, her upper lip appearing fuller than normal under Kaydel's care application, the cupids bow pronounced and alluring. Sparing a glance around the room for Paige and Jessika, she noticed that they were done up to match her. Jessika's longer black hair was in a pronounced finger wave like Rey's while Paige's shorter dark hair was in waves to her shoulders. All of their brown eyes popped in their champagne eyeshadows, Paige's lips a soft pink while Jessika's was a shade darker than Rey's.
"You have the perfect body for these dresses," Poe praised as he handed Rey a powder blue gown.
Rey was well past having any shame and she stripped down right away, shimmying her white tank top down her hips to avoid messing with her hair and makeup, her sweats following close behind. Kaydel was already taking her clothes away, tucking them safely under her makeup station. Rey had followed the instructions to wear nude undergarments, a strapless bra and a sports thong.
"The bra will have to go," Poe said, looking at the dress and then back at Rey. Although he likewise had no shame, he was enough of a gentleman to look away as Rey shucked the garment, Kaydel taking that away as well. It seemed politer when one was standing only a few feet away, after all.
Poe and Kaydel helped Rey slip on the dress that was probably worth more than six grand. It was made of silk with a sash detail that draped over her shoulders and sweeping down the open back, the draping brushing her bum. There was a deep V neckline that plunged to a fitted bodice, elegantly beaded down to her waist, another sash cutting through the beading to show off the curve there. The skirt was long to the floor, the hem skimming behind her even as Kaydel helped slip on tall silver sandals, a simple shoe with one strap at the ankle and one across her toes. Rey stole a look in the mirror and was dazzled at her own soft beauty, drifting careful hands through the many folds of the silken skirt.
Jessika's dress was in a similar fashion, although both her and Paige's dresses sported soft floral elements. Jessika's dress was a soft blush pink, the embroidered flowers thick at the bodice and sleeves and gently tapering off towards the bottom of the full skirt. It sported a round, illusion neckline and short sleeves that gently floated around her upper arms, a braided beaded belt at her waist. Paige was pleased to be in her favorite color, a color so close to wisteria, while the floral embellishments flowing down the dress were a deeper purple. Her illusion neckline was more scoop necked than Jessika's and her sleeves were the shortest, a gentle wisp of a cap sleeve. Like the others, her dress was long to the floor and gently trailed behind her, even in the matching silver shoes.
Finn finally sauntered over, looking smart and handsome in his light gray suit with a white shirt, complimenting the softer pastels of his companions. He teased them about taking so long before quickly following up with how beautiful they all looked.
"Just think. These garments are worth as much as rent in our apartment for almost an entire year," Jessika said as they made their way to the set.
"Please don't remind me! I have my eye on a Danish over on the service table," Paige whined, throwing a quick eye to the spread as they walked past it.
"Ah, yes, good to see you're all in good spirits. Maybe your laughter is what kept you from getting to the set sooner, hmm?" a pasty redheaded man snapped, moving directly into their line of sight.
The quartet stood stock still, mouths all closing as they stared at the man.
"My name is Armitage Hux and you will call me Mr. Hux. I am the artistic director for the shoot these next two days. Now if everyone just does what Mr. Ren and I instruct you to do, perhaps we won't have to spend two whole days out in the middle of nowhere and we can all be on our merry little ways sooner," Hux began. "You are all aristocrats, this is your home, and these clothes were made to fit only you. I do not want to see a moment of hesitation or insecurities in your eyes because an aristocrat bows to no one, not even themselves. We will be moving all around the manor today, so I need everyone to be sharp and focused. There are going to be six scenes shot today and seven scenes shot tomorrow. Unfortunately for our male prop here, you shall be in most of them."
Rey reached behind her and gave Finn's hand a squeeze, not at all surprised to feel that Jessika had reached for him as well. For as much as Finn joked about it, they all had lengthy discussions about how hard it was to be taken seriously as a male model when most of the time he was hired merely to be a sexy, moving prop for a female. While he insisted that he did not mind that part, he wished photographers weren't always reminding him that he was not the important one.
"For our first shot, we will be shooting the lot of you here in the parlor. The idea is that you are hosting a gala and a person would only be so lucky as to have been given an invitation to be with you, but you should still appear to be warm and inviting. People want to be with you not because you are intimidating, but because the attention you command is that alluring. Afterwards, we will take Mr. Trooper off to do a few solo shots while you ladies are dressed for your next set out in the hedge maze. Mr. Trooper will be shot in the library, playing the part of the educated and sexy young lord. Our hedge maze shot with the ladies will be all about the simple pleasures of being rich and will feature an Alice in Wonderland aspect as you ladies sit for your tea. Following that we will be shooting you in a rotating group of pairs, although I have left it up to Mr. Ren to decide who will be shot today and who will be shot tomorrow. Let that be a hint to you all to inspire him to want to shoot you as much as possible. One of you lucky ladies will be selected as the featured female model to be shot alongside Leia Organa herself," Hux said, his eyes bright as he explained his vision.
Rey looked at her friends. Although the reality of their profession meant that they were constantly being pitted against one another, that didn't mean she liked it. It was hard enough to maintain female friendships in the modeling world without snotty artistic directors reminding you that you must compete at all time.
"Alright, it's time to get going. We'll only have so long with this lighting!" Hux said, his voicing rising so that the entire crew could hear him.
Rey thought idly it was hardly daybreak, the grandfather clock that they passed ticking close to 7 AM.
Hux ushered the quartet over to stand in front of a cadet blue wall, a beautiful pastoral painting taking up most the wall space, two floor-to-ceiling windows directly across from them, the rising sun's light spilling into the room. There were lights and reflectors set all around it, giving them an idea of how much space they were going to have to play in. There was a chaise lounge and a chair, both upholstered in a rich wine velvet and lined in gold, sitting beneath the painting, two tables off to the side bursting with pale blue and purple hydrangea's. A table nearby was lined with champagne flutes and there was a man on a ladder standing in front of a large fan, a box of something just waiting to be blown into the shot, flower petals to Rey's best guess.
Rey's heart began to hammer as one of the doors on the other side of the room opened and two tall, imposing figures came storming into the room. The first was a woman who could have been a model with her great height, bleach blonde hair cut near close to her head and slicked back, sharp gray eyes lined in heavy black. She was dressed in a long-sleeved black jumpsuit, the neckline plunging in a V down to her bellybutton, breasts no doubt taped to the sides to keep them from coming free. The 3-inch black patent stilettos on her feet made her even taller, although that in and of itself seemed almost terrifying. She moved with purpose and elegance, every member of the crew leaping out of her way.
Or maybe they were leaping out of the way of the man who strode a half a step behind her. As a model herself, Rey had seen her fair share of handsome men, some classically, some roguishly, some boyishly, and even some femininely. But Rey had never seen someone who looked like this man. Although he appeared a few inches shorter than the woman, the way he carried himself made him seem like the tallest man in the room. And, as Rey's greedy eyes swept down his tight black sweater, he was definitely the broadest man. She could see the hard muscles beneath the soft fabric, the sleeves outlining every inch of muscle beneath them, looking ready to simply fall away so that hungry eyes could feast. It all tapered down nicely to a trim waist and impossibly long legs in tight black pants. But it was his face, his beautiful face that kept Rey entranced. There was something about his square jaw, his beauty marks, his long nose, those gorgeously thick red lips, and his impossibly dark eyes, thick hair ever darker threatening to fall into them, though he effortlessly swished his head to command the strands back.
So this was Kylo Ren.
-end of chapter
I can take no credit for anyone's outfits and we all know that hates anyone elses URL's, so please head to my tumblr at /eskaywrites to see the dresses I describe!
