A Million Petals • Reylo AU (on hold)

Chapter 12

A barista. Her boss. A retired pilot. His son. Seated at the dinner table in varying levels of confusion. The whole scene painted like a trap. That was very clear to a few of them. Ben's mother had managed to catch Rey and Ben when they returned. Once the two were frozen with strange embarrassment, it was easy for Leia to convince Rey to stay for dinner.

She kept her head low, trying to balance being a guest and wanting them to forget she was there. Ben glared at his plate. Leia and Han shared glances that made the other half very uncomfortable.

Finally, Leia spoke up and broke the quiet chorus of silverware against dishes. "So, what do you do outside of the coffee shop, Rey?"

"Um." She bit her tongue from rambling before she could think about it. A lazy, dark haze that had entered her life a while ago had stripped her of most hobbies or interests. "I do quite a bit of reading."

"Really? Any favorites I would know?"
Rey grappled for names she'd read. "F. Scott Fitzgerald was my gateway into the classics. Harper Lee and Robert Louis Stevenson. Mostly, I read a lot of autobiographical essay collections and memoirs."

"That's pretty niche. Why do you like those so much?"

Rey took a sip of water and let her eyes drift off. They met Ben's. Once hardened and fixated on anything but the situation at hand, the brown eyes softened. She could see the sunken and exhausted details, still so warm.

Putting the glass down, she looked back to Leia. "I love people's life stories. I think, nowhere else do you really get the truthful balance of happiness and pain. They're kind of wild. There's adventure and loss and love and... living more than simply existing. Even someone's lowest moments are inspiring to read because they never come at the end of the book. There's always more."

The three Solo-Organas looked at her, mouths fallen slightly open.

"You're so right," Ben breathed.

His parents shook from the awed stupor to look at their son. Mystified.
After moving on and soaking up the life stories Han and Leia regaled her with, dinner ended and Rey stood to help Han with the dishes. Once the three family members finally settled on whose turn it was, of course. When Rey followed Han to the kitchen, Ben and Leia both regretted not saying it was their turn. Han knew what he had been gifted once Rey appeared behind him, setting the dishes in the sink and picking up a sponge.

"How did you meet Ben, again?"

Her throat tightened. "We're kind of old acquaintances, I guess." The truth stung her with odd humor. "I heard he was in the hospital, so I went to visit."

"You went to visit him?"

"Yes." She avoided looking at the man by scrubbing intensively at a plate.

"Thank you." Han's hand rested on her shoulder and Rey had no choice but to face him. He was surrounded by a paternal aura. "Ben's never really had any friends. Not ones that would ever go out of their way to visit him, at least."

"I understand that. I really only have one other friend and we met because we rent the same house." She laughed sadly. "It's not easy finding someone who can tolerate all your quirks."

"And Ben's?" Han paused to test the waters. "Ben's... quirks?"

Rey took a moment to realize what he meant. "Ben's not hard to be friends with."

"You're a good kid."

"Thanks."

Rey finished dishes and found Ben sitting in the living room window seat reading. She hesitated, not wanting to disturb the peaceful demeanor settled on his face. He noticed her presence anyway. And it did not disturb his demeanor.

"I should get going. Can you thank your mom for dinner? I'm not sure where she went." She reached from the doorway into the entrance hall to grab her jacket.

"Yeah, I'll tell her. Where do you live?"

"Down by the school with that big playground."

"That's a ways," he noted.

"I take the bus."

He bit his lip in consideration. "If I drive you home, do you think you could show me said playground?"

Rey's heart picked up in pace and she nodded. "Of course."

Ben stood up and walked over to her. When they turned to leave, Han stood across the hall. "Have fun," he announced.

Outside, Ben came to a stop in front of his car. A moment passed. Then, he paced back to Rey. Something weighed heavily on his mind. "Did you mean what you said to my dad?"

Rey titled her head slightly. "Every word."

"It's just..."

Rey reached out for his arm. She could feel the bandages beneath his sleeve and he jerked away a little, so she slid her hand up to his upper arm. "What?" She coaxed.

"I'm not sure anyone's ever said something like that about me before. It's hard to believe."

Rey raised up her pinky. "I promise I meant what I said."

He linked his finger with hers.

"Thank you, Rey."