Summary: Rey and Luke get comfortable. Meanwhile, Kylo's attempts to break Rey hit a new low. But then again, she's used to people underestimating her.

###############

Rey stared at her computer screen, the spreadsheet and linked failure data histogram blurring as she tried to focus on her work.

I should have taken the day off, she thought, wincing as pain flared in the back of her neck. The ibuprofen she'd been gulping since she woke up was having about as much effect as tic tacs. Finn was in his downtown office for the week…Which was probably just as well. They had a lot to discuss, and she really, really didn't want to get into the particulars of her weekend while she was at work. Max was fond of saying that the office walls didn't need to have ears – the cubicle dividers offered about as much privacy as tissue paper.

So she'd been IM-ing Finn over the First Order's private messaging client since she'd arrived at her desk, laboring over each word (rumors of the First Order monitoring employee internet activity abounded), and minimizing the conversation box whenever footsteps neared her cubicle, or she spotted a flicker of movement in the cosmetics mirror she'd mounted next to her monitor. Many an engineer had avoided an awkward conversation concerning inappropriate internet use with such mirrors. Rey always rolled her eyes at the stories – who the hell had time to yack on Facebook during business hours?

But is was embarrassing to find out that a coworker had been standing behind your chair for a solid minute, waiting for you to notice them. And startling. Her coworkers were still teasing her about the first time Max had surprised her.

You scream one time…

Today she was getting a lot of use out of it, and not just because she didn't want her cubicle neighbors to get an earful (or eyeful) of TMI about her personal life. Kylo and the Knights were in the building, and from what Max had said, they'd been tearing the department a new asshole since 8 in the morning. By noon Rey had three IM windows open, and was bouncing back and forth between a very worried Finn, her stressed-out section manager, and Max, the newly anointed tech lead for the Archon Map project as of about 9 in the morning, the previous lead having been unceremoniously fired at 8:30.

Kylo hadn't been sighted on her floor yet, but his almost-but-not-really boss Armitage Hux had been in the Engineering VP's office for three hours, and as Finn had said, discussions between tech and finance leads usually meant budget discussions. Which, of course, Rey's entire team interpreted as layoffs.

Lily the recent college hire had been bouncing from cubicle to cubicle all day, soaking in more rumors, finally plopping down into the extra chair by Rey's desk, pleading for reassurance, her eyes huge behind a pair of extremely strong glasses.

"I'll be the first to go," she said mournfully (and a tad too loudly for Rey's taste). "I'll – "She slumped over her laptop. "I just got my own place!"

"You'll be fine," said Rey tiredly, rubbing the back of her neck. "These things are always rough, but there's usually a lot of overreaction. We're short staffed as it is. It wouldn't make any sense to any of us off." She wound up collaborating with Lily rather frequently, her being the second-most-junior engineer working on Archon Map. "And the priority on this thing just hit the roof. We'll be drowning in work, but it'll be, well, work." She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock again. 3:30? Come on… Rey was meeting Finn at 5, both her and Luke agreeing that their usual evening runs were out for the time being. Assuming I don't get stuck here, she thought, the memory of the previous week – and weekend – fresh in her mind.

…Though the latter was considerably more prominent.

I should have taken the day off.

######

She'd almost forgotten to set the alarm. Luke, used to keeping odd hours, usually didn't bother. She'd nestled under the covers while Luke turned off the lights downstairs, work most definitely the last thing on her mind. She lay on her side, facing the door, acutely aware of both every small noise Luke made as he padded through his end-of-day routine, and the well-worn softness of his shirt sliding over her bare skin. Each small shift of her body prompted a light caress, a ghost of a touch. It also seemed to be slipping off her shoulders and riding up her thigh much more often than the previous evening, the rougher drag of Luke's sheets against her hips teasing her with the thought of how good the cool cloth would feel around her body without the shirt in the way.

The suddenly uncomfortable, unnecessary shirt.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around herself, running her hands slowly up and down her arms. A distant memory – an embrace, warm skin on hers, the thrum of breath and blood filling her senses – flew free.

How long had it been? Her last night - no, everything - with Kylo didn't count.

The footsteps grew louder. Rey's fingers twisted in the cloth and warmth. She wondered if she dared.

But she tugged the hem down and scooted into the middle of the bed when Luke returned, flushing as his eyes immediately jumped to her face and form, her legs tangled up in rumpled sheets, her hair and garment disheveled and loose. Luke's breath hitched sharply as their eyes met.

"Hey," she said quietly. "All set?"

Luke nodded, his gaze lingering, and turned slowly away to hang up his bathrobe on a hook in the closet. Rey leaned back against the headboard and watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Like the previous evening, he wore loose pajama pants and a light undershirt, despite the space heater down the hall more than making up for the gaps in the window casement. She was certainly warm enough…And if he was aiming for modesty, the thin stretch of cloth did absolutely nothing to hide the definition in his shoulders, or the wiry strength in his limbs. Rey tensed, a hot flush blossoming in her core.

"When do you have to get up?" Luke asked, sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed. There was almost three feet of space between them. Rey blinked, momentarily confused.

Oh. Work.

"Uh – 6:00," she said. "Yeah, I know..." She smiled as Luke quirked an eyebrow. "Traffic can get pretty nasty, and usually things start up at the office around 7, and I like to be there when it happens. Rather not get a big pile of drama dumped on my head. And it's just gotten worse since the – well, you know."

"I was about to ask about that," said Luke, fiddling with the clock radio on the nightstand. "Do you think that Ben – that Kylo is going to give you any trouble?" Rey frowned.

"I'm not sure," she said. "But I'm going to have to deal with him eventually. Don't worry," she said, turning to face him. "It's work. I'm pretty much attached at the hip to one of my coworkers these days – and in meetings half the time. Lots of people around. And Kylo wouldn't do anything to run his image." She snorted. "You should hear the FO guys talk…"

Luke smiled sadly and pulled the covers back.

"That sounds like him," he said. "But Rey – Call me if something happens." He climbed into bed, and took her hand. "Anything."

Warmth unfurled inside Rey's chest. She leaned in before her brain could object, molding her body to his, one arm curling around his back as she shut her eyes and breathed. Luke murmured something into her hair, his voice low and deep in his chest, shuddering through her bones. An arm circled her, his hand coming to rest, warm and firm, at the small of her back. Rey's breath stuttered as Luke pulled her close, his lips ghosting across hers. She gripped his shoulder in response and drew him down with her.

They lay on their sides, facing each other. Rey reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, down his cheek, skirting his jawline, the tips coming to rest on his lips. Luke shut his eyes, his breath shaky as she drew the pad of her thumb across his bottom lip.

"Rey…" he whispered. It was her turn to shiver as Luke's hand slid up her thigh, resting just under the hem of her shirt. She swallowed, her heart thudding as he traced firm circles on her skin.

"Luke – I – "

She didn't want to stop. She wanted to move that hand from her hip to her breast, to taste his name on her tongue and melt into his heat. She wanted –

"I want to do this right." Her voice was quiet. Did he hear me?

Luke smiled that smile, his eyes impossibly blue.

"You do have to get up in…hmm…six hours?" he murmured, low and playful. "Not enough time…"

"Not nearly enough time," said Rey, laughing. "And we're injured. As luck would have it."

Luke groaned and flopped onto his back with exaggerated frustration.

"You know what?"

"What?" asked Rey, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Sometimes I wonder if the universe has a sense of humor."

Sleep came slowly, fortunately urged on by the sheer physical strain she'd been under all day, and only after Luke's breath slowed, the tension gripping him faded, and his form relaxed against her, loose-limbed and peaceful. Rey lay on her side and watched the rise and fall of his chest, just barely visible in the cool light coming through the blinds, and for the first time in five years considered calling in sick.

######

"Rey?"

Lily's voice pulled her back to the present. She cleared her throat and smiled wanly. Focus. You've got an hour and a half to go.

"Now, have you got the circuit analysis done? We've – Hang on…" Her inbox pinged. "Aw crap…"

"What?" asked Lily, tensing.

"Hux called a meeting in…Fifteen minutes. Looks like everyone…" she mused, scanning the invite list. She paused, her eyes fixed on the end of the list.

"What is it?" asked Lily, peering at her worriedly. Rey swallowed.

"You're on here too." Lily paled and pulled up her email.

"No subject," she said.

"Heard from John yet?" Lily shook her head. "Then bring your laptop," said Rey, plastering a smile across her face. "We need to stay on IM. This is probably just admin stuff..." She got up and headed to the washroom, her mouth set in a grim line.

She had a bad feeling about this.

######

Kylo and all six Knights were there. Of course they were. And from the way that Kylo and Hux were eying each other, they were there to keep the peace. Or at least make sure that Kylo came out on top.

You'd think that Acquisitions and Finance would get along, Rey thought wryly. She had to give Hux credit – he was one of the only First Order executives who saw through Ren's bullshit. Of course, he tended to fight back with his own special brand of bullshit. Which was just fine with Rey. She figured that the more time the two executives spent taking potshots at each other, the less time they'd have for doing the same thing to Engineering.

Oddly, the FO execs were already seated, and not in a cluster, like usual. They had spaced themselves out around the table, forcing the Unkar engineers to pick out seats in the gaps between them. Rey hurried towards a block of open seats adjacent to the door, Lily following. She settled herself carefully and pulled out her laptop, her face carefully blank.

Two seats away, Kylo leaned back in his chair, his face a smooth mask of professional interest.

"How was your weekend?" he asked. Only someone who'd known him as long as Rey would be able to spot the malice filling his voice.

"Fine," said Rey coolly, looking up briefly from her laptop screen – just enough for courtesy. The last thing she wanted was to drag her team into this. "Busy."

Kylo's eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure," he said, dropping his voice. "You do look rather tired..."

"What is this meeting about, Mr. Ren?" Lily asked, oblivious to the tension.

"Program administration," said Kylo without looking at her. He caught Rey's eye, the edge of his mouth twisted up into a smirk. Rey ignored him, turned to the younger woman, and pointed out a blinking column on the data readout.

"Keep an eye on that one," she said quietly. "Ping me if this goes over 600…"

Hux cleared his throat and got to his feet, sharply tugging down the sleeves of his crisp suit jacket.

"Now, if everyone's all settled in, we can get started." There was a low rumble of assent, and a few nods. "Excellent. Now…" The red-haired man stepped behind the podium and reached for the laser pointer. "As I am sure many of you are aware, there has been some restructuring going on in this company. I called this meeting to discuss the path forward – Busy times are ahead, and I'm sure you all want to get the jump on this as soon as possible," he said.

Hux brought up the next slide – quarterly profits versus manpower for the high-priority programs.

Rey's stomach lurched as she spotted the line for Archon Map – overhead was in the red, hours were up, and the work…

Five messaging windows popped up on her laptop.

Well, shit.

"…As you can see, the leads will be redistributing contract hours to keep the program in the black..."

The first one was from Max, typing furiously on his laptop three seats away.

M. Ackbar: You're still on the prgrm don't wry

Rey's shoulders relaxed somewhat. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd told Joanie that they were understaffed – it wouldn't make sense to…

R. Smith: who else

Her boss hesitated over his keyboard. Kylo drummed his fingers on the table, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

M. Ackbar: Me and lily

Rey blinked. That had to be a typo. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Max shaking his head, carefully not looking in her direction. Before she could pound out a response to the extremely not funny joke, Hux's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Please refer to your technical leads for the restructuring details. Now, for a top-level perspective…"

He pulled up the org chart for the Archon Map program. There was the standard cluster of corporate liaisons, finance officers, the quality team, and data security support, but…

Rey recoiled, and swallowed the barrage of very inappropriate words that were screaming to get out. Instead she messaged Lily, not trusting herself to keep her cool if she spoke to her directly.

R. Smith: meet in max's office after mtng
L. Evans: L. Evans is typing…
R. Smith: we'll be ok

######

Rey was out of her seat as soon as Hux ended the meeting, all but dragging Lily with her into the hallway. She'd spotted Kylo rapidly packing his briefcase, his eyes fixed on her face.

Looking for weakness, she thought, a fresh wave of rage surging up inside of her. They made it halfway down the hall before Kylo and Max caught up with them.

"Ms. Smith?" Kylo called, falling in alongside her. "I'd like a word." He turned to Max. "I'd like that report on my desk by tomorrow morning, please."

Rey's boss nodded, his face carefully blank, and gestured to Lily to follow him.

"Come to my office after you're done here," he said, eyes flicking between her and Kylo. Rey nodded, giving Lily what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

Rey stepped off to the side of the hallway, pointedly ignoring his efforts to draw her into an empty office. She planted her feet shoulder width apart, and stood as straight as she could manage with a computer bag slung over her shoulder. Kylo leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, smirking.

"Interesting timing," she said through clenched teeth. Kylo's smirk broadened.

"Pardon?" he asked, eyes wide and innocent. "Forgive me for thinking that you could handle a little extra responsibility."

Rey's face burned. She breathed in deeply, taking a moment to compose herself.

"I can," she said coolly. "With the right resources. Three engineers and a two-month deadline is not the right resources." He shrugged, loose-limbed and smug.

"Submit a requisition form," he said. "I'm sure you'll have time."

"And since when are you involved in anything even remotely related to engineering?" Rey snapped.

"I'm broadening my horizons," said Kylo. "It's good to be well-rounded. And I was informed that Archon Map had an exceptional team…A little extra time shouldn't be a problem for someone with your work ethic…" He leaned in closer. "It might tip your work-life balance a bit, but..." His voice dropped low, trickling malice into her ear. "I'm sure you can handle it. You clearly have a bit too much time on your hands."

"You…" Rey's fingers dug into her computer bag strap. Somehow she grounded herself, stood up straighter. "If you will excuse me, Mr. Solo, I have a meeting."

Kylo's face twisted. His hands shook at his sides, clearly barely holding himself in check. Rey waited.

He turned and left without a word.

######

An hour later Max, Lily, and Rey had a rudimentary attack plan. Since the three of them would be handling a workload meant for six or nine, efficiency was key.

"At least we're getting overtime," said Rey, half-collapsed over a pile of schematics. Max snorted.

"Don't jinx it," he said. "They're imposing limits on that over in the Eravana program."

"Archon is a higher priority though, right?" asked Lily.

"Higher profile, too," said Max grimly.

Rey knew what that meant: Fuck up, and you're on the street.

She and Lily walked in silence back to their offices.

"So we basically hang in here for two months, and then everything goes back to normal, right?"

"Right," said Rey. It was only half a lie.

She left work at 11. She'd cancelled her dinner with Finn and Poe at 6 once it was clear that she'd be working into the night.

And told Luke not to wait up.

Overtime. Think of the overtime. At least she'd be pulling in a larger paycheck. Her student loan debt sure as shit needed the extra help.

But that didn't seem to matter when she staggered down the hall, dizzy with fatigue, and the light under Luke's door was out.

She collapsed onto her air mattress after the world's fastest shower, her hair wet, her sandwich going uneaten on the counter.

Two months… Her last thought before she blacked out was that Kylo had severely underestimated her.