Work Text:
“Hello you!” Rey Niima grinned as Ben Solo’s soft smile filled her computer monitor. 2 o’clock on the dot, as always.
“Good morning, Rey,” Ben answered, “— or, good afternoon rather, you know with the time difference.” he continued, stammering his way through the slip-up. He pulled a mug of coffee to his lips to cover what appeared to be a blush colouring his cheeks, gulping some work-appropriate liquid courage.
Ben wasn’t much of a morning person, but the marketing director for the New York office of Resistance Creative started most of his days on a Zoom call with his counterpart in the London office.
Rey wondered if he knew this was her favourite part of the day.
“Good morning to you too!” she giggled, leaning her cheek against her balled fist. “Not long now until we’re in the same time zone, no greeting adjustments necessary.”
“Yeah,” Ben spoke shyly, “I suppose we’ll finally manage to do one of these in person.”
In the three months since Rey joined Resistance, she and Ben had worked closely as a team. At first, it was just to coordinate campaigns. The global agency was big on fostering talent between offices, exposing their employees to new opportunities internally, which meant Ben and Rey worked closely dividing schedules and deadlines.
A few weeks into the job, Rey found herself dealing with a late night crisis. The files her artists had worked to perfect for the last month had gone missing somewhere on the server, and at midnight with a printing deadline fast approaching, panic set in. Seeing no other option, Rey picked up the phone and called Ben. Although she caught him in the middle of a dinner meeting, he had excused himself and managed to locate the missing work.
After that night, their professional relationship had warmed into friendship.
Their calls expanded to include commentary on a new TV series they were both watching and plans outside of work. Ben would sip his morning coffee while Rey nursed a cup of afternoon tea.
Although they both traveled a lot for work, they had never found themselves in the same place at the same time.
Until now.
A few moments of silence passed as they grinned at one another through computer screens. Rey was the first to break the silence, coordinating with Ben for one of their interns to support his team on an upcoming campaign for a non-profit.
“I really ought to go get packed,” Rey said excitedly 20 minutes later, work conversations wrapped.
“Your flight leaves in —” Ben checked his watch and chuckled in disbelief, “— seven hours and you haven’t already packed? Why am I not surprised.”
“Hush, I like to prepare in the moment Benjamin! Not all of us arrive at the airport five hours before departure.” she quipped.
“Yes, why arrive five hours early when you can run through security, Rey.” Ben retorted with a smirk.
“That was one time, and I still made it to my seat before the door closed!” she defended, crossing her arms in mock exasperation.
“But not before the gate agent chased you down the ramp with some choice words.” Ben crossed his arms back, raising an eyebrow.
Rey rolled her eyes with a pleasant groan and tried to hide her smile. She loved their familiar banter; it was so natural. Talking to Ben had always felt right, even at the beginning when all they talked about was work. She smiled at him, taking in his soft brown eyes and black hair just this side of too long. Ben had a physically commanding presence, but his soft voice and the gentleness in the way he carried himself made her feel so…safe.
Her best friend Finn was convinced they were soulmates, a sentiment Rey had shut down more than once. He had steadfastly listened to her try to explain her relationship with Ben, the way she felt every time they talked and the inexplicable pull she felt toward him even though they’d only known each other for a few months, and in a professional capacity no less.
Soulmates weren’t rare, but they were uncommon and there was very little known about how the bond worked. Decades of research dedicated to the topic had made two things apparent: something in the universe wanted soulmates to be together and worked to bring pairs into the same orbit; and once they touched, soulmates bore the twin mark of their other half.
Ben was a colleague on another continent — a friend even, but still on another continent. They had an easy friendship, and Rey wanted to preserve that more than she wanted to entertain the minuscule potential that they were somehow fated. Perhaps she felt more for him, but he would never see her that way.
She could never tell him just how excited she was to finally see him in person.
“I’ll text you pictures of airport drinks!” she sang instead. The familiar sense of anticipation bubbled in her heart paired with a sense of inevitability she wasn’t prepared to explore.
“Okay Rey. I can’t —” Ben paused, frozen on the screen for a moment before he sighed with an imperceptible shake of his head. “Be safe.” he murmured instead.
Rey gave him a look before leaving the call. Ben didn’t move, staring at the blank Zoom screen. His pale face stared back, reflecting a longing he hoped desperately she hadn’t noticed.
Tomorrow, everything would change. Tomorrow, Rey would be there in the flesh, and Ben didn’t know if he could hide his feelings with her right there.
Because although she was the very best part of his day, there was no universe in which he could possibly be anything more to her than just a friend.
✧ ✧ ✧
Ben cracked his eyes open against the morning light creeping past the curtains of his bedroom. He stretched out his arms and felt his phone slide from its overnight perch on his chest. It had taken up residence sometime around midnight the previous evening after Ben anxiously waited for a text from Rey announcing her arrival in the city.
In his city. Rey was here.
That thought fully roused Ben, and he pushed himself out of bed to prepare for the day.
They had planned to meet in his office after her breakfast meeting with a local client. The clock on his phone told him he still had several hours, but his body was filled with nervous energy. A hot shower helped him loosen up, and by the time he was fastening the last of his shirt buttons, Ben felt close to normal.
Energy still tingled through his veins, but it was more subdued, like a song thrumming.
Halfway through his commute into the city, Ben felt the buzz of a notification on his phone. A text from Rey filled the screen as he unlocked it.
Rey: good morning :) hope its not too early to text
Rey: i know you don’t do mornings
Ben snorted at the understatement. He’d slept fitfully too, and a constant stream of caffeine was going to be required.
Ben: Hey Rey, how did you sleep?
Rey: in the city that never sleeps? what kind of tourist do you take me for
Rey: but really ben the hotel they put me up in is amazing
Rey: giant fluffy bed and these amazing cloud pillows
Rey: i dont know i may never leave
He didn’t let himself dwell on the thought of Rey staying in New York. He knew she wouldn’t actually consider something like that, not when she had a full life in London.
Ben: I’m glad they put you somewhere nice! I’m just heading into the office now but let me know how your meeting goes.
Rey: ill see you soon ben
Ben slipped his phone back into his pocket, preparing to disembark from the train as it approached his stop.
Half an hour later, he was settled at his desk with a fresh cup of coffee in hand to begin going through priorities for the day. Rey would be arriving at her client meeting soon, and then a short car ride later would bring her to the skyscraper that housed Resistance Creative. Ben wanted to get ahead of the work they’d need to do together so he could take her around the office and introduce her to his team.
He was midway through reviewing a draft campaign proposal when his phone buzzed again.
Rey: the good news is the waffles here are otherworldly
Rey: the bad news is holdo sprung a surprise presentation on me
Rey: were walking to her office and its probably going to be a few more hours
Ben: Don’t worry about it Rey. Please say hi to Amilyn for me, and I’ll see you this afternoon.
Ben: I’m sorry to say there are no waffles here. I pushed for a breakfast bar in the last budget, but corporate said no.
Rey: a tragedy
Rey: at least you tried
Rey: also…i may not be coming empty handed
Ben: Rey, did you get an order of waffles to go?
Rey: in my defense theyre really good waffles and i didnt want you to go without
Rey: that would be terribly rude
The thought warmed his heart, and Ben smiled into his phone.
Ben: I’ve got a bottle of maple syrup around here somewhere. Enjoy the presentation and I’ll see you soon!
A heart appeared on his last message, and Ben felt the warmth of a blush tinge his cheeks. Tucking the phone away on the corner of his desk, he forced his attention back onto the proposal draft.
✧ ✧ ✧
Two drafts later, Ben needed to stretch his legs. Rey had texted to confirm she was leaving Holdo’s office just as he finished the last page of the document. That was about 10 minutes ago, giving him plenty of time to run down to the coffee shop on the ground floor of the building.
Ben stood to the side of the coffee bar to wait for his order: a black coffee for himself and for Rey, a black breakfast tea he would doctor by hand with enough milk to make the beverage “rose gold”, as she had described it.
“Any more is lukewarm milk, any less is water. Rose gold is velvety perfection,” she had declared in one of their first conversations after the midnight debacle, “a hug in a mug.” The unintentional poetry had made her laugh at herself, and Ben smiled now recalling the sound.
The barista called his name a few minutes later, and Ben carefully balanced a lidless paper cup in each hand on his way to the sidebar that held various sweeteners, creamers, and cup accessories. Tucking a lid on his coffee, he pushed it to the side and began slowly pouring milk into the tea. Not wanting to overdo it, Ben grabbed a wooden stir stick from a nearby holder and began gently mixing the milk into the dark amber liquid.
The colour of his concoction still didn’t look quite right. He reached toward the milk container, but before his hand could meet metal, it brushed against something soft. A spark tingled through his fingers and rippled through his body with a shiver.
Ben gasped as he grounded his hand against the cool wood of the bar. Two cups identical to his own were stationed near the forgotten milk container: black coffee and a tea that hadn’t yet been fixed. He turned his head to meet a pair of hazel eyes framed by sun-kissed brown waves.
Rey Niima stood before him looking like a ray of sunshine.
His eyes trailed down her face to the small hand that rested near his own. A thin black four-pointed star was etched on her pinky finger, a mark he was both shocked and unsprised to find mirrored on his own. His eyes flicked back to hers.
With an awed look of recognition, Rey breathed, “Hello, you.”