It's about time I tried my hand at Reylo. My OTP. Forever. And. Ever.
Synopsis:
When Ben Solo served ten years in prison, he was sentenced to a life of solitude. He didn't think it would be possible to pick up the pieces of his remaining shell of a life. At least, not until he met Rey.
Never Alone
Chapter 1: A Sliver of Hope
"Think this guy has any cash on him?"
"Pft. I don't think so. He's not worth it."
"Why? He doesn't look so tough to me."
"If you wanna sign your fuckin' death warrant, go ahead."
Ben Solo did not make any indication that he heard what a couple bystanders on the street were saying about him. But yes, he did hear what they were saying about him. He just didn't think they would be stupid enough to pick a fight with him. One reason being that it was broad daylight. And two, he had plenty of experience of self-defence, and it showed in his physical stature; to quote what he heard from one of his former inmates, he was 'fucking ripped.' He truly was a terrifying person for someone that was a little over six feet.
Ben continued walking forward, with one arm carrying a duffel bag and the other one at his side, a fist clenched. His dark eyes stared at the sidewalk, never blinking; his jaw tense, lips unmoving.
During the first few years, Ben quickly gained a reputation for being one of the most intimidating inmates around; it didn't matter if you were talking to him or not – that would be excuse enough for him to beat the shit out of you. His temper at the time was basically like a ticking time bomb.
Some men claimed that they saw their fellow inmates get their ears torn off.
Other men claimed that they were stabbed in the chest with a toothbrush.
A handful of men claimed that they were still trying to recover from the choke marks from around their necks.
Some of these rumours had credibility, but most of them did not. It was true that Ben Solo's temper was ferocious. It was true that he lashed out against anyone who pissed him off. But tearing their ears off? That was an extreme – Ben never went that far against anyone. Even though he served time for manslaughter, Ben wasn't a fucking psychopath.
But it didn't matter though; most people tended to stay far away from him. So there wasn't any point in trying to deny any of the accusations against him.
He earned himself solitary confinement at almost every opportunity imaginable. Not that it really bothered Ben in the slightest; he was always used to being alone.
And he was always going to be alone.
Ben walked down the dirty streets of Corruscant, with no destination in mind.
It had been ten years since he last walked these streets; ten years since he really took a good look of what Corruscant had become. But he couldn't really say that he missed the city. Not really. He didn't say he missed the air pollution, or the honking of cars, or even the occasional street performers.
It was the people that he had a problem with; his parents came to mind, but Ben refused to really think about them. He couldn't bear to see the disappointment on their faces ten years ago, and he didn't want to see them now. As far as he knew, Ben wasn't part of that family anymore, which was why he didn't have anyone notify his parents about his pending release.
If only he had the resources, he'd move, but seeing as he just got out of prison, it wasn't going to happen. All he had was a change of clothes and just enough money for a bus ride downtown.
He knew what he had to do at this point; a) getting a place to live, and b) getting work.
Ben sighed, releasing a pent-up breath.
Ben Solo was aware of how hard the rest of his life was going to be; he was in prison for ten years to this day, and it was not an experience he could simply erase or omit from job and housing applications.
And what were the odds that anyone would want to hire him, much less let him rent an apartment? Even though he didn't give a shit of what other people thought about him, he didn't want that to effect his chances of reintegration. And it wasn't like he didn't want to put in the effort to reform himself; ten years of prison time made him think about a lot of things.
He didn't want to be known as 'Kylo Ren' – a criminal with a massive temper. Ben wanted to put that part of his life behind him. But it wouldn't be that easy. Things were never easy for him.
His thoughts were put on hold when a piece of paper flew past his face. Instinctively, Ben blocked it from hitting himself, and out of simple curiosity, he looked at it.
It must have been a cruel joke; someone was advertising for a roommate – apparently no questions asked since the words 'desperate' and 'ASAP' were printed in bold case letters.
Ben raised an eyebrow. Whoever this person was, they were in dire need of someone to take over a lease on Suns Crescent, an area of Corruscant that he wasn't familiar with. The lease was good for a year and could be renewed next summer, etc. But what Ben was concerned about was the rent; he scoured the flyer for any information that he missed.
So rent for this place was apparently cheap; it was about $550 a month. Including all utilities and Wi-Fi. He would be sharing with two other people. It shouldn't be a problem if he kept to himself.
There was a part of Ben that was extremely skeptical; considering the shape of this flyer, it had been out for a while. So there was a chance that this person already found a roommate.
But a smaller part of him argued that he should least check it out, and if not, well, at least no one could say he hadn't made an effort to reintegrate into society.
It would help though to see who he might be roommate with; for one last time, Ben checked to see the contact information of the advertiser in question.
Rey Ridley.
:3 :3 :3
Ben never considered himself lucky once in his lifetime. He wasn't really a believer in karma; considering that the bus he took downtown actually stopped near Suns Crescent on its route, he believed it was simply a coincidence. What were the odds of that happening? If that wasn't a sign that things were kind of looking up for him, he didn't know what was.
Ben had to admit though that the neighbourhood looked safe enough; although there were more suburban-type, white picket fence houses, there were some apartment buildings scattered around. Ben knew he could definitely appreciate the quiet aura that the neighbourhood exuded.
Even the apartment building at the end of the block looked decent; it was far from dilapidated, but it wasn't one of those modern architectural works that cost hundreds of thousands to build either. It didn't look to be more than six stories, but Ben could be wrong about that.
What really mattered was that it would do for him. At least for now.
Stepping up to the front door, he pressed the button for the fifth apartment. Nothing happened for a good minute or so, which left Ben to ponder whether if this was a good idea. Well, it was too late anyhow; he never believed himself to be a coward. He usually stuck around to see things through – this shouldn't be any different.
Much to Ben's surprise, the door opened, and before him was a young girl, dressed in sweatpants and a cropped hoodie. She didn't look to be more than nineteen, with her youthful features. She had her brown hair tied up into three buns – not that he was judging her for that; Ben never saw girls wear their hair up in more than two. Freckles decorated her cheeks, a feature that Ben found to be kind of pretty.
"Hi. Can I help you with something?" Another observation that Ben discovered was that she was British.
"I found an advertisement for a room for rent," Ben cleared his throat, making sure not to break eye contact. He held up the piece of paper and gave it to her. "Is it still available?"
Then, she smiled, and for some reason it split his heart into two; he never was the receiving end of a smile like that – like someone was genuinely happy to see him.
"Yes, it is. You came just in time too – I honestly didn't think…" She shook her head, and strands of loose hair framed her cheeks. "I'm Rey."
Ben accepted the offered hand, giving her a firm handshake. "I'm Ben," he introduced himself slowly.
"It's nice to meet you. Come inside, I'll give you a look around." Rey turned around, nudging Ben to follow her inside.
Not for the first time, Ben wondered if this was really going to be a good idea.
But for the first time, in a long time, Ben felt a sliver of hope.