A Star Wars Reylo AU: The Taming of the Professor

Seven

"What are you wearing to Phasma's party?" said Rose.

Rey stopped drying a glass and looked at her coworker. "What party?"

Rose let out an exasperated sigh. "You know! Her Department dinner. She does it at the beginning of every year. I've gone with Finn the past two years. It's loads of fun." 

Poe had finished ushering out the last of the stragglers. Finn arrived, dropping heavily into a stool at the bar. 

"Rey isn't checking her mailbox at the Department," Rose said to him.

"Oh yeah, I noticed that," said Finn. 

He reached into his bag and produced a small stack of envelopes. One had gilded gold lettering on the cover. 

"That's the invite!" squealed Rose. "Open it!" 

Rey glanced at her friend and slit the top of the envelope open. Rose had become a friend, and Rey was surprised to find that she looked forward to working with her. She'd never had many friends. Finn, too, was growing on her. Poe was nice to her, but they weren't friends yet. He was a little older, and his work kept him apart from the rest of them. Rey read over the invitation.

"This is Sunday night!" 

"Well, if you'd check your mailbox, you would have known earlier," said Finn.

"I always forget," said Rey.

"So," said Rose. "What are you going to wear?"

"I really don't have time for this," said Rey. 

In truth, this kind of situation stressed her out. There were so many expectations and she felt like she was barely treading water. 

"You have to come," said Finn. At her scowl, he continued. "I mean, you don't HAVE to, but it's sort of expected. Did Dr. Solo say anything to you about it?"

"No," said Rey. "We talk about books. Not parties." 

"I don't think he likes it either," said Rose. "He usually cuts out right after dinner. You could do that. Phasma won't mind." 

Not one to turn down free food, Rey acquiesced. "Fine. I'll come. But only for dinner. I have too much studying to do." 

"Am I expected to bring a date?" asked Rey, looking at the invite again. Maybe Poe was available. Rose always worked with Rey, and Maz had a few part-time tenders who came in on slow nights, sometimes even working herself. 

"No, not at all," said Finn. "I bring Rose because everyone at the Department loves her."

"And," said Rose, cutting him off, "because I protect him from mean ol' Dr. Solo." 

Rey snorted out a laugh, imagining tiny Rose standing between Dr. Solo and Finn, fending off the professor. 

"Very funny," grumbled Finn. "Wear whatever. Phasma tries to pretend it's fancy, but you'd be fine in jeans." 

"I own a LBD," said Rey. 

"Perfect," said Rose. 

"What?" said Finn.

"Nothing," said Rey and Rose in unison.

"Maybe I'll wear a 'LBD' then," said Finn.

Poe joined their cluster and slapped Finn on the back. "You'd look hot in a LBD, Finn," he said. 

Rey smoothed her face and nodded. "It would make quite a statement." 

Rey finished drying the dishes and Poe motioned her out the back door. "Come on, I'll walk you home," he said.

"Why?" she said, concern shattering her exhaustion. 

"Friday nights tend to be a little rough," said Poe, "but tonight especially so. You live close, right? I'm just down Central. It's no big deal. You really shouldn't walk alone anyway. If I had known you were doing that, I would have dropped you off earlier."

Rey spared a glance at Rose, who flashed her a discrete thumbs-up. She sighed and walked with Poe to her apartment. He left her at the foot of the stairs, waving goodbye. He hadn't forced her into small talk. She couldn't remember the last time someone had done such a considerate thing for her. She hoped he would continue to offer to accompany her home, because she knew she could never ask it of him. 

*

The next morning, Rey made her way to the main library on campus. Her laptop had died at the end of last year, and she hadn't been able to replace it. Her phone worked for some things, but typing her analysis for Dr. Solo was out of the question. She found a quiet nook on one of the upper floors with a public computer and set to work on the beastly assignment. 

After hours of typing, editing, re-typing and worrying her she might be bleeding from her eyes, she finished. Did he want a physical copy? She hadn't even asked, but he made his undergrads submit on paper. She decided to error on the side of caution and printed the document. She then walked it to the Lit Department.

She took a few deep breaths and tapped on his office door. When no answer came, she keyed in, pulled the paper out of her portfolio, and placed it face down on his desk. The silence in the office seemed to thrum around her. Combined with the smell of old books and the dim afternoon sunlight casting a warm pool of light on the desk, Rey found herself overwhelmed with sleepiness. 

She backed out of his office and locked the door, worried she might sit down and fall asleep. It would be mortifying to be found there, passed out in his chair, drooling on one of his precious books. 

When she returned to her apartment, she pulled her black dress out of the bottom of a stack of clothing by the wall. Stacks of clothing were the best she could do without a dresser. This dress had been a hand-me-down from a friend in Arizona. As far as little black dresses went, it didn't scream "hooker" like many of them did. 

She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She'd lost a little weight since last she had worn it, and it gaped a bit at her waist. If Phasma wanted fancy, this was the best she was going to get.