Notes are on the bottom of the page. Same disclaimer holds about me not owning anything Star Wars related nor anything pop culture related.

"So, how was your Tinder date, Ben?" Phasma asked with a teasing tone and Hux looked at Ben with a curious, smug expression. Ben glared at Hux in return.

Chapter 3: Maz's Beanery and Armitage Hugs

Rey glanced around the cafe as she entered, trying to see if she could identify Ben. The plain, unassuming exterior belied a spacious interior full of mismatched tables and oversized blue chairs, along with a bookshelf stocked with well-worn books and a box containing board games for the guests to pass time. The conversations and background music maintained a comfortable tone to the ear even though the cafe was quickly filling up with people.

Perhaps he hadn't arrived just yet, but she was about five minutes early. She placed her helmet on a window-side table and settled into one of the overstuffed chairs. While she waited, she searched her cross-body bag for her phone, placing the larger items on the table in front of her. Once she found the phone, she texted Rose to let her know that she was at the coffee shop and told Ben where to find her.

After a few text exchanges with her roommate, a voice caught her attention, "Hey, Rey?"

Rey looked up and recognized the man from his pictures with his thick black hair and intense eyes, although he was much taller than she expected. She nodded with a smile, "Hey, yes, and you're Ben? It's nice to meet you." When he nodded back, she took his hand in greeting.

"Why don't we order drinks first?" Ben remarked before his eyes caught sight of a square pink device on the table, "And, is that a taser?"

Kriff, Rey thought, she probably seemed like a paranoid shut-in who spent all her time watching shows about unsolved crimes. She blushed as she began stuffing the taser and other removed items back in her bag, "Uhhh, yes, it is. It's my roommate's, not mine. She wouldn't let me leave the apartment without it. I only had it out because I was trying to find my phone."

She continued talking as the two walked towards the line for orders, "My weapon of choice is actually a staff, not that I ever actually use it against people..." She scrunched her nose, "You know what, that came out wrong. Your first picture showed you in a kendo outfit? Just curious, because I'm a red belt in Tae Kwon Do... How long have you been taking kendo?"

Rey cursed at herself mentally. This was no way to start off a date, with conversations about fighting and weapons that probably made her come across as someone out for blood.

However, Rey's nervous introduction and facial expressions amused Ben. It seemed that she was just as anxious as him about this meet-up. With a half-smile, he responded, "I started it a couple of years ago... I used to do cross-fit, but I stopped it when I started graduate school. I still go to the gym, but I'm interested in the medieval military. So, I thought Kendo seemed fun, and it helps with stress, too..."

Dammit, Ben thought to himself, he didn't need to be slipping about his temper to his date on their first meet-up... He would never lay a hand on a woman, and he was trying to get his anger issues under control. But, still.

He decided to change the topic. "So, Maz actually used to run a tavern just north of the border, but it burned down in a wildfire about ten years ago. She opened up this shop around that time, because she wanted a quieter pace," Ben explained.

"Ben Solo! Good to see you today. Who's this lovely young lady with you?" a dark woman with her face lined by faint wrinkles, large tortoiseshell glasses, and a braid, wearing a bright yellow dress, exclaimed.

"What would you two like?" Maz asked after Ben introduced her and Rey to each other.

"You can go first, Rey," Ben offered.

"I'll just have a cappuccino, please."

Maz added, "Do you want a snack? As Ben can tell you, I make these muffins fresh every day."

"Hm, I'll try the pumpkin cream cheese muffin, please and thank you."

After Rey gave her order, Ben ordered a double espresso and a strawberry walnut muffin for himself.

"You don't have to do that. I can pay for myself," Rey commented and began to reach into her pocket as Ben told Maz he'd cover the bill for the both of them.

"I insist."

"Really, it's fine. You don't have to do this just to prove some outdated gender role."

"I'm not trying to prove anything. Let me get this, please," Ben responded with a sigh.

"Okay, fine, thank you," Rey acquiesced.

"All right, well, I hope you both enjoy your food. Ben, tell your father he owes me for shipment 420 and tell my boyfriend to come down and visit me before I meet someone else," Maz commented with a twinkle in her eye as she handed them their drinks and muffins. Ben nodded politely and Rey gave Maz a smile before they walked away from the counter.

Shipment 420, really? Was Han, his "father," still making those kriffing marijuana shipments? It wouldn't shock him if Han opened his own marijuana shop once that stuff became legal in a few months. Ben thought to himself as he tried to not blush or give away his emotions to Rey as they walked back to their table. He just hoped Rey didn't catch the reference.

"Your ears are turning red, Ben. Are you cold?" Rey asked while she placed the drinks on the table.

"No, I'm okay," Ben replied as he set the food on the table and brushed his hair over his ears.

Once the two of them settled into their seats, Rey took a sip from her coffee and asked, "So, why did your roommate make a Tinder profile for you?"

Ben took a deep breath and sighed, explaining, "He was angry at me for making a mess in the kitchen... I'll admit, it wasn't the first time there was an argument about my messes. But, this time, I was at the gym and left my phone on the table. He knew my passcode... It's been changed since, and yes, the kitchen is clean now."

"Pink tasers and fake Tinder profiles. Life would be boring without our roommates," Rey smirked. Ben chuckled lightly in agreement. Somehow, Rey's comment made him feel less anger towards Hux for his antics leading to this meeting.

"Seems like Maz knows your parents? Are you originally from California, then?" Rey inquired.

"Yes, Maz is an old family friend, and sometimes she's... my father's business partner. I grew up in north California, though, in a small city between Sacramento and San Francisco. My parents travel frequently, so I spent a large part of my childhood being carted around the country with them," Ben responded, choosing his words carefully, "What about you, where are you from?"

"I was born in England, actually. My birth parents brought me here with them when I was a baby. We were actually living in a town near Barstow in the desert, Jakku. Not sure if you've heard of it. They left randomly when I was six and didn't return. I was in foster care until I was ten, when I ended up with my adoptive family. They live near San Diego. Both of my brothers are also studying here, actually," Rey responded, her eyes getting a wistful look when she discussed her birth parents. Her voice became a little more upbeat as she mentioned her adoptive family, however.

Ben's expression took on a slightly softer, more sympathetic countenance in response to Rey's answer. He answered, "I see. For what it's worth, your current family's lucky to have you. What are you and your brothers studying here?"

They continued the conversation for a couple of hours, long after they consumed their muffins and coffees. They only noticed the passage of time when their surroundings began to take on an orange sheen.

Rey looked out the window and commented, "Is it really sunset already? I should probably head back to my place before it gets dark. This is a great cafe. I'll have to try to come here more often. Well, even with your roommate's prank and my roommate's taser, I really did enjoy chatting with you."

"I enjoyed this, too. Maybe we could meet up again next weekend?" Ben offered, surprised at the ease of spending the afternoon with Rey.

"I would like that. We can text about plans over the week?" Rey replied, and Ben agreed.

"Great to meet you and have a good weekend," Rey remarked as she went in for a hug. Ben returned the hug, "You too. Let me know when you make it back to your place. Have a good weekend, as well."

...

Meanwhile, at Hux and Ben's apartment, Phasma wrapped up her translation of a Latin inscription and began to open up her powerpoint for her discussion section next week. She realized that she never received the section materials and textbook from Holdo after class on Thursday. She got out her phone and group texted Poe and Ben.

"Hi Poe, I never received the section materials from Holdo... Didn't you say we'd get them yesterday?"

"Yes, Holdo gave them to me and sorry I forgot to bring them to you and Ben. Either of you on campus or nearby today?"

"I'm actually at Ben's apartment. It's not far from campus at all. He's not here now, but I'm there with Hux. Come on over."

"Ok, what's the address?"

A while later, with BB-Ate in tow, Poe located the apartment complex and entered once Phasma buzzed him into the building and greeted him from a balcony as he walked into the courtyard.

"Hey Phas, I hope you don't mind that I brought my dog over. I live a couple blocks from here, and she needed the walk," Poe remarked as he climbed up the courtyard staircase to the apartment.

"Hux has a cat, so I'm sure it's fine," Phasma remarked and patted BB on the head just before they went inside. Poe took in his surroundings as he entered the apartment.

The immaculately clean living room and dining area contained sleek, minimalist furniture with little color. The walls were mostly sparse with the exception of a map of the Roman Empire and a poster of Darth Vader and the Troopers hung over the couch and armchair in the living room. Besides the books and computers on the coffee table, the only other objects in the room were a TV on a stand, along with its additions, and a guitar hanging from a coat hook.

The whole apartment felt sterile and cold to Poe, and yet, it didn't surprise him given its inhabitants. In fact, one of them, Hux, was still absorbed in his work on his laptop and didn't look up to greet Poe.

Poe took the initiative, instead, "Hey, Hugs, right? I think I've met you before. How's it going, man?"

Hux blinked and looked with a slight expression of disdain at Poe, Phasma and Ben's colleague, who wore an air of confidence. He commented, "It's Hux, and yes, I attend some of your department's lectures."

"Hm, right, Hugs."

Phasma groaned as she took her place on the couch, "Okay, enough. Poe, why don't you have a seat. You got the books?" Poe settled down into the armchair and produced the textbooks and section materials from Holdo. BB took her place at Poe's feet and contentedly fell asleep.

Phasma and Poe then discussed the section and its contents. After some twenty or so minutes, the apartment's front door began to open, prompting BB to wake up and greet the incomer with a series of barks.

"What the kriff?" Ben exclaimed with a startled expression on his face as he closed the door behind him.

Poe called out, "Sorry, Ben, I brought my dog along with me. She's harmless, just likes to greet people, that's all. Anyway, I got your books right here."

"No, that's fine. I like dogs. I was just surprised. Thank you for bringing them," Ben remarked as he walked into the living room. BB walked up to Ben and scratched his foot, and he responded by petting the corgi's back.

"So, how was your Tinder date, Ben?" Phasma asked with a teasing tone and Hux looked at Ben with a curious, smug expression. Ben glared at Hux in return.

"Oh, you had a date just now, Ben?" Poe inquired with a curious tone, unaware of Hux's actions.

Ben nodded, "Yes, I met up with her at Maz's. It went a lot better than expected. We're meeting up again next week."

Poe grinned and winked at Ben, "Nice. What's her name and what does she do?"

Before Ben could answer, BB began barking and sprinting across the living room. BB had finally noticed Millicent and was now chasing after her. Hux and Poe scrambled to catch their pets, running around the apartment for several minutes before finally catching them.

"Get that vicious rat out of here now!" Hux shouted at Poe, clutching onto Millicent.

"Chill out! I got her under control," Poe snapped at Hux, as he held BB by her collar. BB glanced at Poe and whined.

Once Poe put a leash on BB, he sighed, "I should head back to my place now, anyway. I have to get up early tomorrow to drive to my parents' house."

"Where do your parents live, again?" Phasma asked.

Poe responded before he walked to the front door, "Yavin, it's about fifteen miles from San Diego."

The response grabbed Ben's attention, as several things clicked together for him. While she hadn't named names, Rey had mentioned her brother being a graduate student in archaeology. She was also going to her parents' house tomorrow, which was in a town near San Diego. He also remembered a corgi in her profile picture on Tinder, which looked exactly like BB.

Opening the door, Ben commented in a measured tone, "Thanks for coming by, Poe. We'll see you in class on Tuesday."

Poe answered, walking out the door, "No problem, see you all later."

"I just realized Rey's Poe's sister. Don't say anything to Poe just yet," Ben admitted with a slightly nervous expression once the door closed.

"She better not bring that damn dog here," Hux grumbled.

Phasma exclaimed at Hux with a sharp tone, "Shut up! You're being ridiculous. Now, Ben, get some beers out the fridge and tell us more about how tonight went. I won't say anything to Poe, and neither will you, Armitage."

...

The next morning, Rey called out from the front door to her roommate in the bathroom, "Come on, Rose, the boys are here!"

"Just give me a couple more seconds, I'm almost done!" Rose called back as she curled a strand of hair. A few moments later, she grabbed her purse, locked up the apartment, and rushed down to the white sedan in front of the building.

Rose gave Finn, who was sitting in the front, a quick kiss on the cheek as she entered the back seat of the car and greeted Poe, the driver. BB sat in the middle, and Rey was on the other end of the back seat.

Once the car got moving on the freeway, Poe began talking,

"I already told Finn about this, but I have a story for you girls. So, last night, I went to Ben's apartment to drop off some T.A. materials from Holdo for Phasma and Ben. You think Phasma and Ben are uptight? Let me tell you, Hux has a stick up so far up his ass it makes these two look laid back. He completely ignored me when I entered the apartment, so I called him Hugs to get his attention... He just used the snottiest tone. I stuck around, though, to talk with Phasma about section. Ben was fine when he got back to the apartment from his Tinder date. We were asking him about the date when BB started barking and chasing Hux's cat. Hux flipped out, called BB a vicious rat, and made me leave as soon as we got them under control. He's crazy."

"Awwww, poor BB! She's such a sweetie!" Rose exclaimed as she leaned down to cuddle BB, who licked her cheek in response.

"Wait, you said that Ben was on a Tinder date? He's never seemed like someone who uses these kind of apps." Finn commented with an expression of disbelief on his face.

Poe nodded, with a slight chuckle, "Yes, and what's more, I was informed that the girl agreed to go out on a second date with him."

"Really?" Finn remarked, as Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Rey leaned her forehead against her hand, looking down at her feet.

"Hey, I'll be surprised if it lasts longer than two dates, with his asshole friends and his attitude. Wonder who the unlucky girl is."

Rose glanced at Rey with a questioning look, and Rey shushed her in return. Rose turned away and glanced out the car window, remarking, "Come on, guys, you never know with Ben, maybe..."

Before Rose could finish, Rey interrupted, "So! I got a new project for this semester working on a design for a space shuttle in one of my classes..."

...

Note:

Thank you, all readers and reviewers! Your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated. As always, feel free to leave any kind of input. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Also, even with the slow updates, I already have a plot and ending in mind, so it will definitely be completed this year. I will update this again by the end of the month, and the next chapter will focus more on Finn and Rose. After all, this fanfic has two storylines, one for each couple.

One more note...

Made some slight edits to the first chapter to make the characters' ages a little closer to canon, even though this is AU! Originally, Finn, Rose, and Rey were all sophomores. But, I decided to check the ages for Finn and Poe, and it turns out Finn is several years older than Rey. Rose has no confirmed age, so I'm making her 19 going on 20. Here, Rey just turned 20. So, Rey and Rose are the sophomores. Finn is now a college senior at 23, and he gets a gap-year backstory to explain his age and progress. Ben is 29 going on 30, Poe is 32, Hux is 34, and Phasma, with no confirmed age, is around 38-39. They're all graduate students, so there's no need to correlate age with academic progress. Just for the record, Han, Paige, and Shara are all alive and will make appearances.