"What about this one?" Rey asks, plucking a copy of Anna Karenina off the shelf.
"Rey," Finn groans. "I seriously have no idea what kind of book Ben Solo likes to read."
"Well, I do want to thank him," Rey answers, paging through the book. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Interesting way to start a book, that's for sure.
"That's awfully kind of you," comments Chirrut, Finn's blind boss. Rey likes him.
Baze snorts. Sunlight filters through the window, casting the store in a cozy glow. Finn smirks.
"It's a good story, too," Chirrut continues.
"Chirrut's probably listened to or read braille versions of every book that's ever been in here," Baze says.
"He's read almost all of them," Chirrut says diplomatically. Baze laughs. "That book," Chirrut says, pushing down on the counter to rise. "May have timely importance."
"Timely?" Rey echoes. One of the pages nicks her fingers. Ouch.
"It has a lot to say about families and love," Chirrut says.
Rey's phone buzzes. She pulls it out and reads.
"From Ben?" Finn asks.
"Mm-hm."
"Let me guess. Rey, can you meet me for dinner tonight? I've got candles and non-alcoholic wine," Finn mocks. "Don't look at me like that, Rey. Anyone who isn't—an idiot can see how he looks at you."
"I'm blind, and I can tell," Chirrut adds.
"You tried there, Finn," Baze says as Finn cringes.
Rey's face flames. "That's not what he said."
"Then what did he say?" Finn demands as she slaps the book down on the counter. He rings her up as Rey presses her lips together, refusing to answer.
"Smart girl," comments Baze.
Rey hands over her money. Finn winks as he gives her her change. "You wouldn't be upset, would you?" she finally asks.
"No," Finn answers. "So long as he treats you right." His eyes narrow. "So, was I right? Did he ask you to—"
"He said nothing about candles!" Rey hollers as she hauls herself out into the sweltering sunlight.
"Don't they remind you of a certain couple we know, Baze?" Chirrut asks, but Rey doesn't bother to stick around and find out.
"You're very lucky," Snoke tells him.
Ben nods, pushing his morning coffee away from him. The words from Hux's article niggle in the back of my mind. "I know."
"And now everyone thinks you're quite the hero," Snoke adds.
Ben shifts, his fingers pinching a pen and rolling it around between his fingers.
"Your parents must be proud."
"They are," Ben says, swallowing. Although Mom's leaving today, to spend the next week at the state capitol pushing some sort of legislation. When she comes back, Grandpa will be with her. "Although Rey could have saved herself."
"Really?" Snoke's eyebrows rise.
Ben nods. "She's actually quite a talented writer too—if you were looking for other interns—"
"She's from Jakku," Snoke cuts in. "I have two talented interns already. You're both enough as it is."
Hux snickers, and Ben contemplates getting up, calmly waltzing over to his desk, and shoving the pen directly into Hux's eye. It's not an unpleasant daydream.
Snoke heads to his office, and Ben ignores Hux. He's going out with the girl of his dreams tonight. And in the brief hour between his work and meeting up with Rey, he darts to the library, ready to pull old newspapers and scour them for any insight into his uncle's warped mind. Why can't everything be digitalized yet? Later this week he'll go to the courthouse.
"Hey," says an unexpected voice behind him.
Ben jumps as he turns around to see Finn there. "Oh. Hey," he says.
"We can be friends, you know," Finn says. "If you want. And if you're nice to Rey. And Poe."
"Oh," Ben says again. "Okay."
Finn nods at the newspapers he's gathered. "Research for your job? You gonna be able to write a story?"
"Um—maybe," Ben says. "I'm hoping. What're you looking up?"
Finn shrugs. "Baze and Chirrut have a large collection of old newspapers that they frame. I'm—"
"Stealing for them?" Ben tries to joke, but it doesn't land.
Finn scowls. "No. I've just read some interesting stories about Darth Vader and want to find out more about that whole scandal. Something to do with the casino cheating people, and your grandfather and uncle helped take him down, right?"
"Bail Organa didn't have a whole lot to do with it, according to my mother," Ben says. "But yes." For whatever reason, he doesn't want to mention that he, too, is researching about Darth Vader, albeit with a slightly different angle. He makes a mental note to visit the Whills bookshop.
"Have fun tonight," Finn calls when Ben leaves. His phone dings and he sees a text from his Dad, in response to him saying that he's going out with Rey for dinner: good for you, kid.
When he meets Rey in front of the restaurant, she takes his breath away. Dressed in a gray-blue sleeveless top and with her hair neatly pulled back, she looks nothing like the white trash Hux said comes from Jakku.
"How was work?" Rey asks as they share an appetizer of calamari.
Ben shrugs. "It was."
"Do you even like it?" Rey asks, dipping a deep-fried piece of squid into the tomato sauce.
"Yes," he insists.
"Do you feel like you have to say that? Because you want to be a journalist?"
"Well—I want to be a journalist. And I know all this editing will help. Eventually," Ben says. "I'm just—lazy."
Rey cocks her head.
"What?"
"That's just not the word I would have chosen to describe you. Impatient fits better," she informs him, reaching for another piece.
"He's going to be just like your father, Leia," Dad said as seven-year-old Ben lay down on his bed, nose throbbing from a fistfight he got in with another boy, after the other boy insisted Ben let him copy his math homework and Ben responded by giving him fake answers, erasing them and putting the correct ones only after the other boy had copied the wrong ones. "Not Bail. Anakin."
"He won't be, Han. You're always saying that."
"It's because you can see those same tendencies, too. Chewie sees them. Luke sees them."
What tendencies? Ben wondered, curled up. He didn't know much about Anakin Skywalker, only that he and some unnamed grandmother gave Uncle Luke and Mom up for adoption. But Dad was making it sound as if Anakin wasn't a kind person in a bad situation, like Uncle Luke told him, but a cruel one.
What kind of person doesn't want his children? Ben thought, a pit in his stomach.
"Your parents will be so ashamed of you!" his teacher had snarled after Ben brought a brick down on the other boy's head, when his nose was already streaming blood.
He hoped he'd never have to find out.
"I bought you this," Rey says after dessert. She digs into her bag, pulling out a book and handing it to him. "Read this yet?"
"No," Ben says, reading the cover. "Thanks, Rey."
"Chirrut says it's interesting and timely. Whatever that means." Rey rolls her eyes. "The first line made me laugh."
Ben flips it open and snorts. "Are there really any happy families, though?"
"Are the Damerons happy?" Rey asks.
"Maybe," Ben allows. "I'll give them that."
"What's wrong with yours, exactly?" Rey asks.
He stops on the sidewalk. What is wrong with them? His parents and uncle are successful, revered. They all say they love him.
But they're just words.
Kind of ironic coming form a guy who wants to be a journalist.
"I feel—ignored," Ben says. Cars honk at each other, and tourists crowd in around them. His face flushes as he wonders how she'll respond to that, considering that she was literally abandoned. "Like I'm not as important as their work." But this is the truth, dammit. That's how I feel.
"I don't know what I was less important than," Rey admits. "Only that I was less than."
He sighs, looking at her. We're both so lonely, aren't we?
She almost smiles, as if she heard him. She isn't condemning him, writing him off as a whiny brat, and something inside him cracks open. Warmth floods his chest. His fingers reach for hers, brushing her knuckles.
"Oh, my goodness, fancy running into you two!" gushes Threepio, appearing like a ghoul in front of them. Ben could shove him into oncoming traffic. "I was just passing by—on my way to your uncle's, Ben—"
"Hey, Threepio!" calls another familiar voice. What is this? Ben wants to scream as Poe Dameron appears, a plastic bag in his grip. "I saw Luke and Artoo up ahead."
"Oh!" splutters Threepio. "Why, thank you." He trots off, and Poe shrugs at them.
"Thanks," Rey says. "Where're you off to?"
Ben really doesn't care where he's off to.
"Finn's coming over," Poe answers. "So I was just getting some—thing."
"I know what's in the brown paper bag, Poe. It doesn't take a genius," Ben says.
"Huh?" Rey frowns.
"Well, okay, maybe we're meeting at his place and then going to the boardwalk," Poe allows.
"He's got beer cans in the bag, Rey," Ben explains.
"Oh."
"It's just one each," Poe says defensively. "We're not looking to get plastered."
"You know I've never had a drink?" Rey asks.
Ben's taken aback. "Really?" He remembers spending New Year's getting plastered up in his room alone, yelling to his mom that he was fine, fine, and just wanted to be alone. She spent the next morning clanging pans around. On purpose.
"I do have an ID," Poe says carefully. "If we call Finn—"
"Meet by the sand dunes?" Ben suggests. "Get her something she'll like, Poe."
"If her taste is you, she'll like anything!" Poe hollers.
"Verdict?" Poe asks as he sprawls on the sand.
"I haven't been missing that much," Rey says, making a face as she holds the beer away from her. "It's bitter."
"It's not my favorite either," Finn agrees. "But not bad," he adds when he sees Poe wince.
The sun's long since vanished behind the ocean, and the alcohol fills Finn with a strange warmth. He leans back against the sand. "Sorry we broke up your date."
"You didn't," Rey answers. "You two just added onto it."
"You like your book, Ben?" Finn asks.
"Haven't started it yet, but it looks interesting," Ben says.
"How's yours going?" Poe questions, leaning closer. "The Brotehrs Karamazov?" Finn's stomach flutters.
What's going on? Finn's not used to feeling this way. He rubs his face. "Good. It's kind of wild. There's this father and son pair competing to marry the same girl, who's a total ho and playing both of them, and then this one really angry brother and a monk who's super nice to everyone and is basically the exact opposite of everyone else in his family."
"That sounds like a soap opera," Poe comments.
"Dad of the year award right there," Rey says sleepily, raising her beer to her lips. "Makes all of our complaints look mild."
Ben snorts.
"Hey kids," says a voice Finn recognizes. He leaps up and freezes, the alcohol stinging now and all the warmth vanished.
Baze Malbus crosses his arms, looking down on them.
"Um—" Rey starts, but Finn can't even think of what to say. What'll happen if Baze tells Jyn? And he's totally getting fired. What was I thinking?
"You might want to pack it up really quick," Baze says. "A tall girl on the boardwalk was about the get the police."
"For what?" Rey yelps.
"Underage drinking. I don't think your parents will be thrilled."
Finn lowers his head.
"Hurry," Baze hisses.
"Are you helping us?" Poe asks, aghast.
"You can thank Chirrut tomorrow for it, Finn," Baze says. "You didn't think I was going to fire you, did you?"
Rey, Poe, and Ben scramble, grabbing the cans and stuffing them back into the bag. Finn shakes his head.
"Look, I know I'm an old cynic," Baze says. "But you should have a little more faith in humanity. You're too young to think like that." He reaches out, as if he's going to grab Finn's shoulder, and then yanks it back. "Get going. I'll try to distract them. And if I ever catch you actually doing anything dangerous, don't expect the same treatment."
And there's a voice Finn recognizes. "There are teenagers here, I think, drinking. Being on the beach after hours and drinking—it's a recipe for a disaster," Phasma says in faux-concern.
That troll! Finn grits his teeth and scrambles through the sand. Poe grabs his arm as they dash towards the row of houses. A few shouts echo behind them, but Finn doesn't turns around.
"In here!" Poe skids into his door, which he hurriedly unlocks. They all scramble inside as Poe slams the door behind them.
A snort.
Finn turns to see Ben actually laughing, covering his face as chortles emerge. Rey joins in, and Poe—and all Finn can do is replay Baze's words, again and again.
I'm okay.
And a laugh bursts from his mouth, too.
The light switches on. "What's in the bag, Poe?" asks Mrs. Dameron, crossing her arms.
"Shit," says Poe.