All In

All In

They were arguing again. Rey huffed out a breath and glared at the big man in front of her. The one she couldn't get along with. The one she kind of didn't want to get along with. But kind of did, at the same time.

"It's fine, dandy, no big deal," she stated.

"I had to use my phone flashlight to get up the stairs. This place is a pit." Ben Solo stood in the doorway of Rey's tiny new studio apartment, a bottle of wine tucked under his arm. He looked around at the dark, shadowed hallway. Rey peered around him. To be fair, she could barely see the hallway heading for the stairs.

Him being right just made it worse. She put her hands on her hips and marshaled her arguments.

Rey had been dating this tall, dark-haired guy with amber eyes on and off for a couple of months, casual at first, then with more intensity as their connection grew. And with that intensity came conflict. The closer he got, the more frightened she became. Her heart had been broken before. She worried that he would break it one more time–and, much as she didn't want to admit it, that might break her completely.

So she fought him. He had money. She didn't. He tried to pay for everything when he found out how much she scraped by. She wouldn't let him. He had family and she was alone. He had a famous and honored lineage. She was nobody.

Ben crossed his arms over his big chest, still holding the bottle in one big paw. The gesture cut off Rey's dark thoughts.

"It's a decent apartment," she argued. She swept her arm toward the single bed crouched in a corner, the battered loveseat, and worn-out chairs surrounding an old metal table. "It's furnished."

"Okay." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, well, it is furnished, I'll give you that."

Rey stepped up to Ben and put her hand on his thick arm. She snagged the bottle of chilled white. "Thank you for the wine, big man."

He gazed at her for a moment and leaned in to kiss her lightly, his mustache tickling her lips. "You're welcome... wild thing."

She gave him a dazzling smile. "I promise, I've lived in worse places. This neighborhood is okay. The apartment doesn't have bugs–"
"That you know of," Ben muttered.

Rey pressed her lips together but decided to let that comment slide. "Are you coming inside or not?" She stepped back and headed for the kitchen. "I'm making dinner, and if you're nice to me, you can have some food." She heard Ben follow her across the cracked linoleum and pull back one of the chairs. The thing squeaked ominously when he lowered his butt into it. Closing her eyes for a brief moment to picture her lover's long, long legs, Rey pulled the marinating chicken breasts from the tiny fridge. It made a small screech as she opened the door. She placed the platter on the countertop, opened the wine, and poured them both glasses.

Ben took a sip, then set the glass down. He looked around the cramped space, until his gaze rested on the entrance. "I'm going to check the door."

"What?" Rey almost choked on a sip. "What are you–?"

Biting back her annoyance, she watched as Ben opened the door, inspected the lock, the door jamb, the door itself, and the hinges. He stepped outside, shut the door, and vigorously rattled it, then gave it a couple of slaps and kicks..

Rey ran over. "What the hell? Don't break my door! I have to pay for that."

He opened it again. "I–"

She pointed a finger at him. "And, no, you can't pay for it."

He narrowed his eyes. "That's not what I was going to say." He slammed the door so hard the walls shook.