This was the time of evening Ben Solo had come to loathe. He sat in the corner of a dark bar, nursing his second gin and tonic, lime on the side. The businessmen and women started to fade away and obnoxious party boys - pockets filled with their parent's money - and their girlfriends infiltrated, looking for anywhere not filled to capacity serving alcohol on a Saturday night.
He sighed and tipped his glass, watching as the ice cubes fell together, an ache growing between his eyes. He held his hand up, motioning towards the bartender for another drink.
This was part of his daily routine; he woke up at five in the morning and went for an hour-long run, went back to the penthouse to make breakfast and have a shower. He'd get to the office by seven, work, on average, for twelve hours, long after everyone else left. Then, he would head to Central Park West to DRK, the simplistic bar he was in now. He'd have a drink or two, sometimes a gin and tonic, sometimes a whiskey neat, depending on how the day went. On his way home, he'd stop for Hungarian or Lebanese or Thai, bring it back to his apartment to eat in front of his TV, before retiring to his bedroom to read in bed and pray he'd get at least a few hours of sleep before his alarm sounded.
The bartender rounded his table and set down the fresh gin and tonic, quickly turning on his heel as a swarm of new customers headed toward the bar. The lights, always dimmed to stay on brand, darkened further as the clock struck nine.
Ben ran his hand through his hair and leaned backward to stretch. He eyed the mundane patrons flooding the bar when he locked eyes with a brunette in a sleeveless black dress. She gave him a small smile before leaning in towards her date, who seemed to be whispering something in her ear.
Ben righted himself in his chair, cleared his throat and picked up two limes from the glass dish before him. He squeezed the juice out of both wedges and took a swig of his gin and tonic.
He tried not to pay attention as he watched the brunette smile politely at her date and presumably excuse herself as she made her way to the bathrooms.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling him out of his trance. It was Armitage Hux, his friend and colleague, reminding him it was Saturday night and that having a little fun never killed anyone. He smirked and looked around, part of him sure that Hux was going to sneak up behind him at any moment. He knew Ben's routine all too well.
But no, he reminded himself - Hux would be at home with his wife, Phas, and their newly adopted puppy, Tuso.
He noticed the brunette and her date clinking their glasses together. He busied himself by answering Hux. As he waited for a snarky reply, he checked his work email and took a long sip of his cocktail. He replied to several emails and deleted what he didn't need and to his surprise, he had wasted twenty minutes. He checked to see if Hux had replied before locking his phone and setting it down beside his drink.
He caught the eye of the bartender - who's name he really should know by now - and stood, placing a twenty underneath his nearly empty glass, and shrugged his suit jacket over his shoulders. He took one last glance around the sea of people and noticed the brunette and her date had moved further down the bar. She seemed to be leaning against him while simultaneously trying to push him away.
Ben's eyebrows furrowed when the man gripped the girl against him - a low growl escaped from somewhere inside. He pushed past groups of people as the brunette's date pulled her toward the exit. The patrons around them were moving out of their way, probably assuming she just had too much to drink. Ben knew they had only been there long enough to have one.
"Hey!" He barked.
The man didn't turn around, but Ben's long legs closed the distance between them in just a few strides. "What did you do to her?" He asked, his voice dripping with venom as he placed a hand against the man's shoulder.
"Get your hands off me, dude," The man spat as he shrugged off Ben's hand. "I didn't do anything, she's drunk. I'm just making sure she gets home alright."
The woman tripped over her feet as she tried to push against the man - she opened her mouth and furrowed her eyebrows. A quiet "No," slipped from her lips as she tried to stand on her own.
She closed her eyes and opened them quickly, trying to focus them.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked as he planted his palms on her shoulders, trying to stop her from swaying.
She shook her head.
"No, of course you're not okay."
"I came with her and I'm leaving with her, man, so if you'd kindly mind your own fucking business -" He brushed past Ben and put his arm on the small of the woman's back. "Come on, Rey."
Ben's hand jutted out before him, his long fingers wrapping around the man's neck. He pushed him backwards against the wall and whistled to get security's attention. "Take care of this before I do," Ben spat, sliding the man up the wall towards the ceiling, before letting him fall unceremoniously to the ground.
He found the girl - Rey? - leaning against the wall behind him, her eyes closed. "Can you hear me?" He murmured and squeezed her hand as she lost her balance. "Rey?" He asked, letting her lean against him. "Do you have a purse? Where do you live?" She groaned in response.
"Okay," He sighed. She was leaning all her weight against him, trying desperately to stay on her feet. "I'm going to help you, okay?" He brought an arm under legs and lifted her into his arms, her head nestled against his chest.
He left the bar, snow softly falling around them, and hailed the first cab he saw. He placed Rey gently in the back seat, closed the door, and got in the opposite side.
He told the driver his address, just a few blocks away, and smoothed the girls hair away from her face.
The driver looked in his rear view mirror, pointedly at Rey. "She's not going to throw up in here, is she?" He asked in a husky Brooklyn accent.
"Not if you get us home before she feels the need."
He felt the cab push forward and Rey moaned, her eyes opening but not focusing.
After several agonizingly long minutes, the cab pulled over in front of Ben's building. He shoved a twenty dollar bill through the window and scooped the girl into his arms once more.
"Everything okay, Mr. Solo?"
"Fine, thank you, Pio," Ben murmured as the doorman, clad in a golden-brown suit let him inside the building. He entered behind him, following Ben to the elevator.
"I've got it, Sir." Pio said politely before Ben could struggle to get a free hand. "Would you like me to accompany you to unlock your door?"
"I'm sure I'll manage." Ben gave him a tight smile as the elevator doors opened.
Pio nodded and retreated to the doorway as the elevator closed. "Thank you," Ben mumbled, but it was too late.
Ben had Rey securely tucked into his bed, a bowl on the floor next to her, in case she felt sick, along with a bottle of water. He paced around his living room for several minutes, unsure of what to do next.
He sat at his barely used kitchen table and started his laptop - first, he searched what could've possibly been slipped in the girls drink. Then, he searched side effects and what to do.
He sighed and checked his work email once again, before shutting down the laptop altogether. He realized he hadn't eaten since noon and got himself a protein bar and bottle of water from the kitchen.
As quietly as he could, he got a long, black throw blanket and two pillows from the guest bedroom, along with a pair of pyjama pants and a black tank top as to not disturb Rey. He set himself up in the corner of the corner of his bedroom, as far from the bed as he could get. He didn't want her to be afraid if she woke up in the night, but he didn't want to be too far away in case she got violently ill. He made his way to the bathroom to do his nightly ablutions before trying to settle into his makeshift bed for the night.
Rey woke up with a pounding headache, her mouth dry as a bone. She slid her legs out from under the covers and leaned forward, her hands cradling her face. She took a deep breath to try and calm her stomach and got up slowly to make her way to the bathroom.
She stumbled down the hallway and into the bathroom where she fumbled for the light switch - that wasn't there. She blinked, eyes focusing on her surroundings. Instead of the peeling, dark wallpaper she was used to, the bathroom was filled with crisp white tile.
Where the hell am I? She thought, turning to find the light. She swiped at her blurry eyes, focusing on herself in the mirror - her hair was mostly out of the neat bun she styled the night before. Her mascara had crumbled off and smudged under her eyes, and she was still wearing the black dress she had picked out for her date last night.
Her date. Was that who's apartment she was in? She tried to remember something from last night, but all that was coming to her was the beginning of the evening. She sighed and turned on the tap, rinsing her face with cold water.
She turned and left the bathroom, retracing her steps to the bedroom. Okay, she thought. She was in her apartment with her roommate, Finn, when her date picked her up. They had gone for dinner, then for drinks and then -
She heard keys in the lock. The front door opened, followed by the clatter of keys falling on the counter.
Fuck. Panicked, Rey grabbed the first thing she could see to defend herself - a long, wooden ceremonial staff - and made her way out of the bedroom and down the hall, until she was face-to-face with, well, someone who was not her date from last night.
"Who are you?" She demanded, wielding the staff in front of her, pointing it toward the man as she back up into the living room.
He held a tray of coffee and a paper bag in front of him, his mouth hanging open just slightly. "Why don't you put that down and we can talk." He set the breakfast on the counter and took a tentative step forward.
"Where's Kent?" Rey questioned, jutting the staff forward while taking a step back.
"If you mean the scum you were with last night -" he took a breath. "Have a seat, I'll explain everything."
"Don't tell me what to do, just - what the hell is going on?" Rey stepped up on the couch. This man's stature was large and intimidating - she wanted her presence to be just as big, while maintaining her distance. She woke up in a strangers apartment with no recollection of the night before, after all.
Rey opened her mouth to speak again when a wave of nausea hit her. Her eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth. She scrambled to get off the couch and dropped the staff unceremoniously to the ground.
She got to the bathroom as quickly as she could, lifted the toilet seat and emptied the contents of her stomach.
A few moments later, the man appeared behind her. He stood in the doorway, a set of men's pyjamas, a bottle of water and a sleeve of crackers in his arms. "I didn't want to put these on you last night," he started, gesturing to the pyjama pants. "I didn't want you to feel… violated." He almost swallowed the word. "You can sleep this off. I promise I will explain everything when you're more… mobile." He set the pyjamas over an empty towel rack, the water and the crackers on the sink.
Another wave of nausea rolled through Rey and she wretched again. She heard retreating footsteps and she sighed, placing her forehead on the cool tile of the floor. Her head was still pounding and jumping around in the living room had not helped matters.
"Rey?" A concerned voice asked. He came into the room this time and leaned down towards her. Her head snapped up from the ground, causing her to lean into the toilet bowl and gag.
He placed a cool face cloth against the back of her neck and stood. "I went back to DRK this morning and found your purse - it's on the kitchen table. I also got you a peppermint tea when you're ready for it. There's Advil on the bedside table. You're probably feeling pretty exhausted - go back to sleep and when you wake I'll fill you in and we'll get you home."
Rey brought the face cloth to her forehead. "What's your name?"
"I'm Ben Solo." He waited for her to say something but she just sat, staring. "Do you need help up?"
She breathed deeply. "I might." She pushed herself, grabbing onto the edge of a towel rack, when suddenly his hands were under her elbows, guiding her up.
"I think I could j-just call my friend, Finn, and -" she nearly tripped over her feet as she exited the bathroom.
"I'd really like to explain everything and I don't think you're of sound mind at the moment." Ben guided her into his bedroom and set her gently on the bed, checking the bowl to make sure it didn't need to be rinsed.
"Here, take these," he said as he took the Advil from the table and put them into her hand.
Rey stared at them until she noticed Advil printed on the pills. She accepted the water he held and swallowed, praying she would keep them down. The headache was one of the worst she'd ever had.
"I'll be in the living room if you need me," he murmured as Rey closed her eyes.
She meant to answer him, but all she could think of was sleep. She opened her eyes once more as he shut off the light and pulled the door closed behind him. The last thing she registered was the makeshift bed in the corner of the room.