NOTE: UBER BRAIN FART! I mistakenly reposted Chapter 4 as Chapter 5. Thanks to draegon-fire for giving me a heads up. I've rectified that and updated the work. So soooooorry. My Bad.
Good tidings! Happy Holidays! Hope this finds all of you safe! 🎄
Chapter 5
"Hey, Rey?" Rose called out as she knocked and opened Rey's door.
"In the bathroom," Rey yelled.
Rose started towards her friend's voice, making sure to avoid the stuff that was strewn all over the floor. It still amazed her how diametrically opposite the siblings were: Hux was almost pathologic in his need to keep things neat, while his sister was unapologetically messy with a capital M.
Rey had already wrapped herself up in a terry towel and was in the midst of brushing her teeth, when Rose found her in the bathroom. "What's up?"
"Hux is calling Mitaka to set up by the pool. You think you're up for brunch?" Rose answered. It hadn't escaped her notice that with all the chaos of her friend's room, Rey had neatly folded her cocktail dress and carefully tucked it in the far corner of her bathroom counter.
Rey nodded, and inquired between brush strokes, "Until when are you and Armie here for?"
"We were lucky to get people to cover us at the hospital until Monday, so we don't have to leave until that afternoon."
"That's great!" Rey said, as she finished brushing and proceeded to clear her face of last night's make-up. "That'll give us more time."
"What will you be up to this weekend?"
"I'll be totally free tomorrow. Today, I might have to take care of a few things at the tracks before I swing by Leia's."
"No dinner plans?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe," Rey said, as she cleansed her face. She was wishing that Leia's afternoon tea party wouldn't run long. Maybe she can get out of it all together with Ben back.
"Will it include the new Alpha you're seeing?"
That stopped Rey from sudsing her cheeks. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on, Rey," Rose said as she tapped her own nose with her forefinger. "The nose doesn't lie."
"I'm not seeing anyone," the brunette protested, as she continued lathering the frothy foam on her face.
"Rey, your brother just about died thinking that you just came home from a walk of shame," Rose related. "We scented him all over you."
"You did not!" Rey said, with an air of embarrassed indignation, as she flushed all the way down to her toes.
Rose can't help but smirk.
"Rose, I'm not seeing anyone," Rey said, as she quickly doused her face with cold water. "But the Alpha is Ben, if you must know. He's Leia's son and an old family friend."
"Right. Friend."
"Yes! FRIEND," Rey emphasized, as she entered the shower booth, which automatically frosted up once the door closed. "He just did me a favor at his mother's party last night, being that Poe was there and he's engaged to Bazine!"
"He's what?!" Rose exclaimed at the news. She knew enough to be scandalized by the development.
"You heard me. Engaged ," Rey said, her words slightly muffled by the shower spray. "Frankly, if Ben hadn't been there, I wouldn't have known what to do. I mean, I don't think I would have survived the night if Ben hadn't kept me away from those two. Poe, I think I can handle. But Bazine… ugh!"
"Who's Bazine?" Rose asked as she got comfortable on the spacious bathroom counter. Her friend's story was getting interesting.
"Oh, she's this mean girl from way back in boarding school. She made my life a living hell… And you know what? Poe and I were together for almost a year and yet Ben was the one who ended up introducing me to his parents! And if that didn't happen, I wouldn't have confirmed that I was the other woman!"
"Hey! He's the two-timing douchebag here and don't you forget it!" Rose admonished, recalling Rey's now apparently confirmed suspicion about Poe.
"But I couldn't help but feel stupid!"
Rose kept quiet because she couldn't really contradict that. She remembered Rey being extremely upset the night of the break-up that she'd ended up staying the weekend with her and Hux. Well, her. Hux had been out for a week-long conference then so Rose had been alone when an extremely pissed Rey came barging through the door. It took three pints of ice cream and a bottle of wine to calm her down. That was the first time that they had really bonded and they've been close ever since.
"Truly, if Ben hadn't been there," Rey continued, with what to Rose sounded like a very loud but equally grateful sigh, "I'd have died from embarrassment!"
Rey was never this animated, especially about boys. Cars — that Rose understood. But guys?!
Rose's interest was stoked. "So, what's this Ben really like?"
Rey's quick description of him as "understanding, gentle and tall" was all Rose needed to hear to confirm her suspicions.
Someone has a crush , she thought, smiling to herself, as she listened to Rey gush on and on about her newfound White Knight.
xxxxXXXXxxxx
Ben was getting a little antsy. It was already close to 10 o'clock in the morning and Rey hadn't called.
He'd just finished his morning run when it occurred to him that she probably didn't know his number so he had ventured to find his mother to ask for Rey's.
Shirtless and sweaty, he didn't expect to walk into the house to see people from last night still milling about his mother's house. It appeared that the engagement party was not just a one night affair— it looked like it was going to last the whole weekend.
Luckily, C3 quickly diverted their attention, allowing him to escape to his room unnoticed.
He was just about to open his door when it swung away from him.
"Your Royal Highness," Artoo, who had finally caught up to his wayward charge after getting ditched ( yet again ) in the airport the afternoon before, greeted him with a smirk, knowing that it annoyed Ben to no end.
"You're lucky I can't fire you," Ben harmlessly retorted as he entered his room. By the man's ready grin, relatively short stature and pudgy appearance, nobody would think that the cheeky valet was a war hero many times over and one of the King's most trusted men, if not the most trusted. Artoo had sworn a blood oath to protect and serve the Skywalker line, as most of their personal staff did (of their own accord, of course) — and the only one who could release him was Luke.
"Terribly unfortunate, Sir," the valet answered unrepentantly. "Your mother left this for you," Artoo continued while handing him a folded piece of paper.
Ben Dear,
Since you're here, I expect to see you at lunch. It's time to meet some of the people you'll be working with at the Embassy.
And would you please be so kind as to tour the gentlemen around town right after?
The ladies are having a spa day just before tea.
Love,
Your Mother
His mother was putting him right to work.
Ah, fuck it, he thought as he grabbed the landline and called Rey's house from memory, hoping that the number still worked.
xxxxXXXXxxxx
Rey was still finishing up in the shower, when Rose heard a knock. She quickly went to the door and answered it.
It was Mitaka, with a cordless phone in his hand.
Who still uses landlines? Rose thought as she threw a questioning glance at the steward. Comms were much more efficient.
"It's for Miss Rey," he answered.
"Who is it?"
"A Mr. Ben Solo, ma'am."
Rose urgently reached for the phone.
"Thanks," Rose said, dismissing Mitaka by closing the door on his face. She hadn't meant to be rude, really, but she was just too excited for the opportunity to sate her curiosity.
"Hello?" She ventured as she released the hold button on the handset.
"Rey?" came a deep voice.
"No, sorry. This is Rose, her friend. Rey can't come to the phone right now."
"Oh."
"Would you like me to take a message?"
"That… that won't be necessary. I'll call again," the voice quickly stammered.
Rose, in large part, was more surprised that, for a supposedly longtime family friend, his accent was closer to hers than the Huxley siblings, but she needed to keep him on the line fast, so she blurted out the first thing that came into her head, "Why don't you come by, instead? We're having brunch by the pool in a while."
"Ah… I don't want to intrude."
"You wouldn't be intruding. In fact, you'll be rounding out the table since her brother is also here," Rose tossed in. She actually didn't know much about Ben aside from what she'd heard from Rey, but she'd heard that Hux and he were friends, too. She was hoping that was still the case.
"Hux is there?"
"Yeah," Rose confirmed.
"All right then," he answered after a pause. "I'll be there in about 15 minutes... 20 tops."
"Take your time," Rose said. "Oh, and don't forget to bring a bathing suit," she added just before she ended the call. She suddenly remembered that sheer maillot Rey had bought on a whim two weekends ago.
"Who was that?" Rey asked, as she peeked into the bedroom. She was expecting a call from her mechanics who were running tests for a prototype she had been working on.
"It's Ben," Rose answered. "He said he was coming over so I invited him to brunch," she added, while smiling through her little white lie.
"Oh, okay," Rey commented nonchalantly as she disappeared yet again into the bathroom.
"And Rey," Rose called out as she followed her friend into her walk-in closet. "Remember that little swimsuit we bought? The one you promised to wear?"
I hoped you enjoyed this latest update! BUT this might be the last for the year because I'll be taking a pretty important exam come January. Need to focus for a bit. After that, this fic will be back on its usual semi-regular schedule.
Oh, and please let us all have a better, happier new year! We all deserve it! ❤️