Hey everyone!
Sorry again for the late upload! I've been trying to enjoy my last few days of freedom before my summer job starts.
As always, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
PSA: ***I do not own Star Wars, although that would be really badass***
Saturday, October 21, 1939.
Early morning light filtered through the curtains of Rey's bedroom, dancing along the walls as the sun started to rise over the western portion of the city of Chicago. Every so often, a cloud would make its way in front of the sun, causing a brief moment of bleakness, until the glowing orb in the sky fought its way back through to shine once more.
Rey's hazel eyes opened ever so slightly as the light started to billow into her space. The small girl let out a groan the instant the sun hit her eyes, causing her to promptly close them.
She buried herself back into the pillows and covered her face with the green checkered quilt, trying to block out the sun's rays for a few minutes more. Slowly but surely, she was able to doze off into a light sleep for another half an hour before waking up to a sudden pain in her stomach.
Rey sat up uneasily in her bed while rubbing her abdomen, in hopes to make the uncomfortable feeling go away. It only got worse, and as she tried to stand up, Rey was hit with a sudden bout of nausea.
She ran as fast she could into the hall bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her in an attempt to hide her sudden sickness from the outside world. The last thing Rey wanted this time of year was to become ill, especially with the stomach flu.
Rey began to heave in front of the toilet. It felt like years passed until finally, she was able to release all of the contents that were present in her stomach. Beads of sweat started to pour down from her forehead as her body tried its best to deal with the sudden shock. Sitting on the floor, she could feel her temperature slowly rising.
Shit… she muffled in her groggy head.
Once Rey thought she had recouporated to the best of her present ability, she grabbed onto the sink in an attempt to pull herself off of the bathroom floor. She stood up for a moment, only to crumble back down once more before another wave of nausea hit her.
She lifted her head back over the rim of the toilet, and began the ritual again.
Afterwards she wiped her mouth with the hem of her nightgown while flushing the toilet, and laid down onto the cold tile floor, hoping that the chilly black and white tile would help to bring her temperature down.
I'm going to kill Kay for getting me sick… the weakened girl grumbled in her head before a migraine started to form.
As soon as she laid her head back down onto the bathroom floor to take breather, the door flew open and hit itself against the wall, revealing a panic stricken Ahsoka, "Rey! I heard you slam the door all the way from downstairs, what happen-"
Before she could finish the sentence, Rey leaned back over the porcelain throne and emptied her stomach once again. However, this time, there was nothing left to bring up, which caused her to dry heave. Ahsoka hurried over to her adoptive daughter and pulled Rey's hair out of the way while rubbing small circles on her back, hoping to sooth her. Once Rey was finished, Ahsoka helped her lay back down before rolling up a towel and placing it underneath her head to make her more comfortable.
Even in her pale and weakened state, Rey gave a faint smile to Ahsoka.
She would forever be thankful that such a loving and caring soul had adopted her, all of those years ago.
A genuine smile made its way across Ahsoka's features before she stated, "I'll be right back with some ginger ale, crackers, and a change of clothes for you. Just try to get some rest, Hun."
Rey nodded slightly before closing her eyes.
She drifted off into a light sleep, trying to regain as much strength as she could before the next wave struck.
Dark brown locks draped over Ben's eyes as he finally opened them to the new day.
It was Saturday.
He had another date with Rey today.
Ben smiled a bit as he shook the hair out of his eyes and flung his long legs off the side of his bed. As Ben looked around the apartment, he stretched his arms and back which were riddled with aching muscles from lasts nights game before getting up to make his way into the bathroom to relieve himself. Once finished, Ben flushed, washed his hands in the sink, then looked into the mirror in front of him. Grabbing a can of shaving cream, he sprayed some of it onto his lengthy fingers before wiping it onto his face. He filled the sink with warm water, tapped the razor into the basin, and started to shave his mug in a meticulous fashion.
Half way through, he heard the door to the apartment open and then close, followed by a ruffling of paper bags being placed on the kitchen table.
A feminine voice filled the air, "Ben?"
"I'm in the bathroom!"
His mother made her way to the only bathroom in the whole apartment and gave a heartwarming smile to her only son, "You're shaving on a Saturday morning. That means only one thing… you have an important day ahead of you."
Ben shrugged before tapping the razor clean in the water and bringing it back to his upper lip, "Yeah… I have a second date with a girl from West tonight."
"A second date… and a girl from West? She must really be a catch if you're going after a girl from the enemy's turf," She winked with admiration at her son.
Maybe she'll be different from the rest… Leia questioned in her mind.
He tried to hold back a blush, "She's different from other girls that I've taken out in the past."
And bingo was his namo… Leia laughed to herself subconsciously.
"Well… if all works out, I would love to meet her sometime," Leia asserted with another smile before heading back into the kitchen to start unloading the groceries.
Once Ben was finished shaving, he walked into the kitchen and helped his mother put away items. The petite woman was always grateful when her son was home to help around the house.
The kitchen in the apartment was relatively small, and consisted of only a few cabinets, a stove and a sink. Everything that you needed to get the job done in the kitchen, as Leia would often say to her son. The mother and son pair had called this small dwelling home ever since Ben was brought into the world. His father had insisted once Leia was expecting that they should get a larger space. At the time it made logical sense. Nowadays, Ben's rather large frame seemed to make the space feel smaller and smaller each year that passed.
The apartment was a one bedroom, one bathroom unit. Upon entering the space, the kitchen was off to the right, and to the left was the rather spacious living room. Off in the corner, behind a curtain that had been hung, was Ben's area. It consisted of a twin sized bed, with a nightstand and a small bookshelf. In Ben's eyes, that was all he could ever need. As long as he had a roof over his head and food in his stomach, he could care less about his living arrangements.
His mother stayed in the only bedroom, which housed a full sized bed and a closet which both Ben and his mother shared. Although the apartment wasn't much to look at, Ben still adored the place he called home. Sure, it wasn't as lavish as other homes on the block, but at least he had somewhere to lay his head after football practice or another grueling day at work.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ben opened one of the side cabinets, picked up a box of corn flakes, and poured its contents into a blue colored bowl. He put some sugar over the cereal, before filling the bowl with milk and sitting down at the only table in the apartment. His mother made the same breakfast and sat down across from him.
"So… tell me about her," Leia piped up while taking her first bite of her cereal.
Ben swallowed his bite while looking down and moving some of the cereal around in the bowl with his spoon, "She's feisty and stubborn."
His mother's brown eyes suddenly gleamed, "I love her already."
He chuckled a bit and took another bite of corn flakes, "She's definitely different from other girls… That's for sure."
"Good, you need a girl that can whip you into shape," Leia laughed while taking a sip of her coffee.
His eyes widened and looked at the woman sitting across from him, "Excuse me?"
Leia narrowed her brown orbs at him, "Last time I checked you weren't deaf, so I know you heard me correctly."
He grumbled under his breath while poking at his cereal, "What do you know…"
Upon hearing her son mumble underneath his deep breath, Leia grabbed the newspaper next to her, rolled it up, and smacked him across the forearm, causing the silver spoon to splash into the milk.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Ben exclaimed while trying to find his spoon in the cereal bowl.
Leia scoffed, "Your smart mouth. I ought to make you eat soap to wash it out."
Ben sat there, inwardly brooding at his mother's comment.
He was not a child anymore and could say whatever he wanted, when he wanted.
And Rey.
What did his mother mean by having her whip him into shape? He was already the size of a refrigerator for God's sake. The last thing he needed was to gain anymore muscle. Or did she mean it in a different context?
Still, how dare she say such things to him.
Before saying anything else, he tried to calm himself down to the best of his ability. He clenched his hands underneath the table and closed his eyes, a technique his mother had once taught him when he was younger and having trouble dealing with his father's absence.
Upon noticing him trying to calm his anger, a frown made its way across Leia's face as she reached across the table to grab his larger than life hand, before she spoke, "Ben… I'm sorry. I didn't think my comments would affect you in this way."
He glanced back at his Mom before pulling his hand away, "I'm going to be late for work..." he mumbled while getting up from his seat, leaving his half eaten bowl of corn flakes on the table as he grabbed his coat and stepped out of the apartment.
Work was work.
Since he was fifteen, Ben had been working in an auto-body shop, fixing up cars on the weekends to get a little extra money to help his mother with rent. However, during the summers, he was at the body-shop full-time, working hard to make the money flow.
This Saturday afternoon, he was laying underneath a 1934 Chevy Suburban, trying his best to fix the leaking transmission that had been plaguing the vehicle for what seemed to be months. Almost like clockwork, once every few weeks, the owners would bring the hunk of junk back to the body-shop, praying that it would finally be fixed for good. Not only was it leaking non-stop, but the transmission was rusting from the inside out, something Ben had never seen in his three years of working at the shop.
They need to chuck this car into the lake... Ben inwardly brewed.
Chevy's.
Ben despised Chevy's.
Ford's were of much higher quality, at least in his mind.
Wheeling himself back out from under the car, Ben wiped away the sweat on his brow with his greasy right hand, causing a black mark to be left in its wake.
By now the owners had returned to hear a status report on their beloved vehicle.
Ben wiped off some of the grease from his hands with a cloth and made his way out into the lobby of the establishment.
He found the older looking couple, sitting on one of the many benches. The man was dozing off in his seat, while his wife was reading a fashion magazine.
Ben made his way over to the jolly couple, and cleared his throat, causing the older man to jolt back into this world.
"I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Binks, I think it might be time to get a new car. I just can't seem to fix it," Ben sighed.
One thing Ben hated more than his father was defeat.
The older man suddenly looked distraught, "Ben, are you sure? There's nothing that can be done? I can't afford another car right now. I saved up all my money to purchase this vehicle, and I need it to get to and from work in the suburbs. It's the best job I've had since the crash; a steady income, but still, I can't afford anything else. I can't risk losing my job." The older man stopped and looked up at Ben with pleading eyes.
"Mr. Binks I've tried every-" Ben started before he was interrupted by his boss.
Andy Snoke, a man in his late fifties, with white hair and piercing blue eyes made his way into the lobby and over to the distraught couple and Ben, before reaching out his hand to grip the older gentleman's hand, "Mr. Binks, it's such a pleasure to see you again. I see that your Chevy is causing you trouble again, how about we go back into my office and we can discuss matters in there. No need to make a scene out here, right?" He let out a small chuckle and a somewhat warm glance between the couple.
Both of them nodded while Snoke reached out to Mrs. Bink's hand, "Ah. Mrs. Binks, looking younger than ever. Is that a new haircut? It's absolutely ravishing."
The woman giggled a bit while a small blush made its way across her cheeks as she returned the shake and placed her other hand on top of Snoke's, "Mr. Snoke, how wonderful of you to say."
Snoke gave another warm and devious smile which was simply unnoticeable to the older couple, "How about you both make your way into my office, and I will be there in just a bit. I have something I need to take care of."
And with that, the couple made their way into his office while one of the secretary's walked in with glasses of iced water and closed the door behind her.
Snoke's auto-body shop was known as one of the best within the city of Chicago, and he would not let anything stand in his way of achieving that title, no matter what. For decades, he was trusted by members of society that others feared, such as gangsters and bootleggers. Because of this, he was able to keep his business in check even during the height of the depression. The entire lobby was made of white marble, with hints of gold leaf. That's what drew people into the place. It looked like a business that people could trust to the best of their ability. The prices were almost fair, and there were often no complaints from patrons that visited.
But behind the scenes, it was a completely different story.
Snoke motioned for Ben to follow him into one of the hallways before he reached up and smacked him behind his head, causing Ben to wince as he was taken off guard.
Snoke scoffed while looking up at the taller boy in front of him, "You disappoint me, Solo."
Ben stood there silently, looking down at his boots. He was all too familiar with being battered by his boss. Ben had known Snoke ever since his father abandoned the family. He heard on the street one day of a way to get money and at the time his mother needed it desperately, so he walked through the pearly white gates of the auto-shop, and the rest was history. His boss knew of Han Solo through the smuggling rings and strongly despised the man. Even so, Snoke became Ben's mentor, and helped his family stay afloat, even though Ben would never admit to his mother where his extra raises came from. In some ways, Snoke filled the shoes of the father figure Ben never had. Still, he could be an ass about ninety-eight-percent of the time.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you boy!" Snoke asserted with dominance.
Instantly, Ben's caramel eyes moved onto those of his boss. A sudden chill plagued his body looking into the heartless eyes of Andy Snoke.
Snoke grimaced, "You have too much of your father's heart in you... Always trying to be a better person. Stop the bullshit and do your job. I'm sick and tired of you feeling sorry for everyone that comes into this place who can't rub two pennies together to save their life. This is a business, and businesses make money. Money that helps put a roof over your mother's head."
Ben continued to stand there silently, knowing it be best to stay quiet. After seeing he was causing no reaction in Ben, Snoke gritted his teeth before releasing a deep annoyed sigh, "Get your scrawny ass back to work and make me some more money for God sakes…"
And with that, his boss retreated back into his office, with the charming heartwarming smile back on his face to mask his true character to the older couple he was about to scam.
Ben mumbled under his breath before making a fist, tempted to punch the wall to his right. He stopped himself, noticing the watch on his wrist.
He only had two hours of work remaining for the day.
And only three hours until he would be reunited with Rey.
Just as the week prior, Rey heard the doorbell ring promptly at a quarter to six.
For the majority of the morning, Rey was laying on the bathroom floor, waiting for the next wave of nausea to attack.
Ahsoka's mother always insisted on staying in the bathroom when one was throwing up, since it was a much easier place to clean.
At around one in the afternoon, Rey was finally able to make her way back into bed, with the help of her mother. Still, she kept a trash bin next to her, in case anything else decided to come out of her body.
Luckily, the last time she threw up was around noon, so she was able to get much needed rest. Still, her head was plagued with a constant headache, and the nausea still never fully dissipated from her unruly stomach.
Rey tried her best to listen to the conversation happening in the entryway of the house.
Upon hearing the doorbell ring, Ahsoka made her into the foyer and opened the door. On the other side, she found Ben, sharply dressed like he had been the weekend prior, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
Ahsoka gave him a small grin, signaling for him to come in.
He smiled down at Ahsoka while making his way out of the cold and into the warm house while closing the door behind him. He stood before Rey's mother, looking rather anxious while looking down at the flowers and then at Ahsoka, "I'm here to pick up Rey for this evening... I hope Roses aren't too cliche."
Rey's adoptive mother couldn't help but let out a rather stressed sigh.
Instantly, Ben's stomach dropped.
Something was wrong.
Noticing the sudden panic on Ben's face, Ahsoka decided to speak, "I'm sorry Ben, but Rey won't be able to go out tonight."
Shit… She doesn't want to see me… Why do I even bother?... Ben sighed in his mind while looking down at his feet.
Hoping to calm his nerves, Ahsoka continued while placing her hand on his shoulder, "It's not that she doesn't want to go out tonight Ben… She woke up this morning with the stomach flu. If we had your number, I would have called you sooner to cancel. I'm sorry that you had to come all this way Ben."
A weight came off his shoulders once he heard the news.
She still wanted to see him.
Nevertheless, he was worried about Rey. He wanted to make sure that she was okay.
Ben looked over to the stairs and then at Rey's mother, "Would I be able to bring these to her?" he stated while motioning towards the roses.
"Ben… I don't know if that's wise-"
Ahsoka was cut off by her daughter, who yelled from her room with the last bit of strength she had left, "I want to see him! Please Mom?!"
Ben instantly smiled when he heard her small voice coming from the top of the stairs.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes before yelling back, "Fine! But don't come crying to me when he gets sick!"
And with that, she retreated back into the kitchen to continue preparing a soup that wouldn't be too harsh on Rey's stomach.
Once Ahsoka disappeared, Ben made his way up the old Victorian staircase. On the wall that he passed, were photographs of Rey when she was a child. One caught his eye, a photo of her with cake batter all over her face, with the same bright smile as she waved to the camera.
He blushed a bit before he made his way to the top of the stairs. Ben looked around the space before settling his eyes on one of the doors that was propped open with light shining through it.
Upon opening the door, he found Rey laying in bed. She was slightly flushed, but pale at the same time. Sweat was glicing off her face, and her nose was red from her blowing it the entire day. The weakened girl looked back at him, with a small smile across her face.
"Hey…" Rey said while looking at the tall man standing in her door, "Sorry I ruined our date."
Ben made his way over to her while shaking his head, "You didn't ruin it, just changed the plans," he chuckled a bit while taking a seat in a rocking chair next to her bed, "Here… I brought you these."
Despite her being in pain, Rey's eyes brightened up once she laid her eyes on the dark red roses, "Ben… Roses are my favorite!" she exclaimed with joy.
He grinned while he laid them down in front of her. Rey inhaled the sweet aroma of the flowers and smiled before grabbing them and placing them next to her on the bed, "Thank you Ben."
"You're welcome Rey," He stated while leaning back in the chair before rocking back and forth for a little bit.
Ben was trying his best to get comfortable in the old rocking chair that looked like it was an antique from the Civil War era of the United States.
Suddenly, Rey was hit with a bit of guilt. He shouldn't be in her room. She didn't want him to get sick, especially with the stomach flu.
She opened her mouth to speak, "Ben… You shouldn't be in here. I don't want you to get sick, especially since it's football season, you can't afford to."
His stomach tightened a little.
She was actually concerned for his safety.
Ben grabbed ahold of her blistering hot hand and rubbed it with his thumb while looking into her green eyes, "Don't worry Rey, I won't get sick. You see this body? It'll scare anything away."
All of the animals in Noah's ark suddenly burst into her body upon feeling his hand on her own.
Nonetheless, Rey couldn't help but roll her eyes before a smile made its way across her face, "It didn't scare me away."
"Thank God," Ben returned a smile while rubbing his thumb over her hand once more before releasing it.
Rey inwardly pouted while he moved his hand away from her own.
She yelled at her self subconsciously, Get a grip on yourself… The last thing you want is to make him sick…
They sat there in silence for a bit before Rey finally spoke once more, "So… How was your week?"
It was nearing ten-o'clock and Ben was still sitting next to Rey in the rocking chair.
An hour earlier, Ahsoka came upstairs with the soup she had prepared and gave it over to Ben, who helped monitor Rey while she ate.
Once she was done finishing her soup, the two continued their conversations.
The topic of discussion this time around was sports, and Ben was quite surprised at how much Rey actually knew.
Granted, it wasn't much, but it was still better from other's girls that Ben had seen in the past.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rey shot up from her bed and grabbed ahold of the waste bin next to her.
Ben sprung out of his seat and grabbed ahold of Rey's hair as she started to heave. Gently, he rubbed Rey's back with his free hand, hoping to relax her to the best of his ability.
Finally, after a minute, Rey emptied her stomach contents into the waste bin.
Peering into the bucket before putting it beside Rey, Ben was able to notice the soup she had consumed the hour prior.
Gripped with shock once more, Rey's body shaked as sweat started to billow down her forehead. Her temperature was starting to spike again.
I feel like I'm dying... Rey irritated in her brain.
Rey was brought back into the world once Ben spoke, "Are you okay Rey? Is there anything I can get you?"
Ben's eyes were filled with worry.
Rey wanted to comfort him, and tell him that she was going to be fine, even though she felt like she was slowly dying.
She looked up at the man who was standing beside her bed before she closed her eyes as a new migraine started to form. Rey gritted her teeth together and groaned, "Ice… please…"
He nodded and rushed out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.
About a minute later, Ben arrived back in her room with an ice pack and a wet washcloth. He sat down next to her on the bed, and delicately placed the ice pack on her forehead while he wiped some of the sweat off of her neck and cheeks.
Rey let out a whimper while she squinted her eyes shut as another wave of nausea hit.
With worried and concerned eyes, Ben stopped wiping her face with the washcloth and instead placed his hand there, while rubbing little circles on her cheek with his thumb while saying softly, "Shhh… Shhh… Everything is going to be fine."
As if by magic, the wave ceased to exist, and Rey sighed a breath of relief. She opened her eyes to see Ben sitting besides her, with a faint smile on his lips as he looked down into her hazel eyes.
She looked up at his eyes before turning her head away in embarrassment, "I hate having you see me like this."
Ben hesitated for a second before grabbing the washcloth again to wipe away a stray piece of sweat, "And why is that?"
Rey shrugged, in hopes she didn't need to spill her feelings to the boy sitting on her bed.
He chuckled a bit while putting the washcloth back down, "You're not getting away that easy. Come on Rey… Talk to me."
She laid there for a few moments, contemplating what to say.
Does she tell him that it's absolutely insane he's sitting there on her bed, getting exposed to all of the bacteria she's admitting into the world?
Why was she worth getting sick over?
Especially during football season when playoffs were coming up.
Most men were sick and tired of her after the first date.
But there was Ben, sitting on the edge of her bed while snot dripped out of her nose, and planted right on his face was the goofy looking smile she had come to adore.
Rey looked like she had been hit by a train, but he could care less.
Why?
Rey sighed before opening her mouth, "Ben… I've loved talking to you these last few hours... But you should have left once you dropped off the flowers. God knows every other sensible guy would have since I'm currently a gross and utter hot mess that could infect the entire city. The playoffs start in two weeks, and you can't afford to get sick because of me. Why are you still here?"
Ben sat back for a moment, trying to think of what to say next. Butterflies kept filling into his stomach knowing that she was so concerned about his own safety, but he didn't mind it one bit. After much silence passed between them, one of the biggest and most genuine smiles made its way across his features while he looked down at Rey to cup her cheek again. He rubbed small circles on her cheek while looking down into her forrest green eyes.
Finally he said, "Why not?"
Yay! This chapter is over! Thanks for reading!
Hmmmm... is Ben going to get sick because of Rey? Who knows... (I actually do, Muuuwwaaahahahaha)
If y'all liked it, let me know! :)