A Star Wars Reylo AU: The Taming of the Professor

Forty-Two

Rey stood with her forehead pressed against cold glass, taking deep breaths. A little cart with a wagon full of luggage zipped out of a building below her and toward the huge aircraft waiting for them to board. Fat snowflakes drifted down around the men who were tugging the suitcases off of the wagon and tossing them into the belly of the plane. 

"If it makes you nervous, don't look," said Ben. He was leaning with his back against the glass beside her, reading a book. 

"I need to see it. Face your fears and all of that." 

She had never flown before. The aircraft was massive, and while she had watched a dozen take off and land without exploding, she couldn't bring herself to trust this mysterious technological feat. Hurling through the air at hundreds of miles per hour, high above the ground, didn't seem natural. 

"It's not too late to back out," said Ben. 

She pulled her face from the glass and looked up to find his book closed and his attention fully on her. This was his idea of a birthday present. It had seemed so outlandish when he told her about it she had laughed and thought it a joke. 'I want to take you to New York to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It's a the Lyric. It won't be a warm spring break trip, but I think you'll enjoy it.' 

Of course, this plan involved flying, which she had never done. When she needed to go somewhere distant, she packed her belongings and boarded a bus. It took forever, but it was cheap and dependable. And it didn't require her to enter a metal tube and pray that technology remained mightier than gravity. Ben had pointed out that air travel was the safest, but that didn't help much. 

"I'm ready. I just need to make myself do it." 

When the attendant called for them to board, she held onto Ben's hand and followed him into the plane. He stowed their carry-on bags above and she sat, cinching the seat belt as tight as she could. 

"It will be over before you know it. If you want, they'll bring you some liquor. It's in tiny bottles and likely bottom shelf, but it might take the edge off." 

"No, thanks. I don't think puking up liquor would make this better." 

"As soon as we're up, you'll feel better." 

"And then we come back down." 

"That's the worst part. But it's short. And then we'll be in the Greatest City in the World. You'll love it." 

He pulled up the arm rest between them and leaned into her, his long legs requiring more space than what was in front of him. He kissed every accessible, visible bit of skin to distract her, but she stared out her window. Men with different colored lights scurried around below, and even at this height they seemed small. 

The flight wasn't as awful as she expected. She squeezed Ben's hand so hard when they landed she worried she'd break his bones, but he didn't complain. 

"Not so bad?" he observed as she clung to him and they disembarked. 

"It was a lot scarier than the bus." 

"That's not a resounding endorsement, but I'll take it. As long as you don't refuse the return flight. If so, we might be late getting back to campus." 

"I won't." 

A hectic taxi ride later, they arrived at the hotel and found a restaurant for dinner. Rey had never seen anything like New York City. It was too big to think about in proper perspective. The density and size of the buildings alone had her gaping and reminding herself to close her mouth. And the people. There was such a variety of people. She was sure she'd never been anywhere where there were so many people in one place. Ben was right. She did love it. The city was like a huge, throbbing heart, pumping people this way and that. 

They spent the evening reading through the play. They had finished books 1 - 7 with a combination of Ben reading them aloud and the reading on their own in between times. The play had been a delight after the heaviness of book 7. Not that it wasn't dark, but Rey loved the redemptive undertones the author placed in her writing, especially for the Malfoys.

When they arrived at the Lyric Theatre the next day, Rey climbed out of the taxi and allowed Ben to tug her onto the sidewalk. New York made the Arizona in her come out like nothing else. It was so very different that she couldn't stop gawking at the lights and the ever-constant sound, usually with her mouth open. The theatre was beautiful. It was the kind of place that nodded back at the Romans and used a 'V' in place of a 'U' in the engraving on the walls. 

At the end of the second show, Rey was giddy with delight. They sat in the theatre while it cleared out, and Rey took her time looking at everything once more before they had to leave. The ceiling was just so, unbelievably high. She'd seen plays before. The most recent was a little town player's show during the county fair back home. But nothing with the scope of this, and she had never been in such a massive venue.  

"Thank you," she said to Ben, leaning into him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Happy Birthday, Love. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

She frowned. He pulled her back and caught her face in his hands. 

"Why so sad?"

"I was just wondering how I could ever hope to give you anything like this. I would love to. But." She stopped before she made a complete fool of herself. 

"My birthday isn't for a few months. And I already know what I want."

She eyed him. Never in a million years would she have guessed that he would gift her a trip like this for her birthday. She had no chance of guessing his request. 

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Yes. But later. Let's get dinner."