Chapter Text
Rey fidgets with the hem of her polka dot skirt as she takes a seat in probably the most opulent sitting room she’s ever seen. She didn’t imagine that at the ripe old age of twenty five that she’d be laid off from her job at the local bookshop after four years, and now ready to take on a new job completely outside of the realm of her knowledge. But she’s desperate and the employment office said it was good pay and minimal skills required, so she has to at least try. She tried not to put pressure on herself, her adoptive parents Maz and Chewie have been relying on her steady income all these years and she doesn’t want to disappoint them by not getting this one. As excited as she was for her adopted sister Rose to go back to college, she knew that it meant that she would have to be the breadwinner until Chewie could find a new job.
She’s snapped out of her thoughts when the demure woman sitting across from her politely clears her throat. She’s smaller than Rey, with long braided hair and thinly framed glasses. She sips tea and studies Rey curiously, like she can’t discern why on earth this quirky looking young woman is perched in her house for this job.
“Miss Niima, why should I offer you this job? Your resume shows no experience of caring for people with disabilities, or any kind of similar experience for that matter.”
“Yes, Mrs. Solo…” she begins nervously, biting her bottom lip. “What I don’t have in technical skills...I make up for in quick learning and a...positive attitude. And I know I can be a good...caregiver for your husband…”
Mrs. Solo cuts her off gently. “My son.” Rey pauses, a slightly grief stricken look on her face. This woman doesn’t look like she’s very old so that must mean that her son may even be around her age, the thought sinking low in her heart for a moment. “My son, Ben, is quadriplegic. Meaning he has paralysis in all four limbs. He has limited mobility in his neck and arms, but almost everything he does requires assistance. He has a home health aide that can handle all the medical requirements...but we’re mostly looking for someone to care for him outside of that. To be a companion. Can you do that, Miss Niima?”
Rey nods with wide eyes, not truly understanding what it might entail. She can’t even imagine what this man may be dealing with, but if she just needs to be a kind smile and a positive presence she just might be able to do that.
“Yes, Mrs. Solo.”
The older woman nods, a soft smile on her lips. “Well, let’s have you meet him then.”
-
When the sliding door opens, Rey’s breath catches in her throat. She’s come face to face with a dark pair of brown eyes, stubbled pale skin, long black hair and a set of uniquely mesmerizing facial features. It takes her a moment to zoom out and realize that he’s sitting in an electric wheelchair, dressed in a dark navy blue sweater and black pants. He’s staring at her with such rigor, his eyes scanning from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Rey almost feels embarrassed by his study, he’s probably grimacing at her bright red sweater or her black and white polka dot skirt or her black sparkly shoes...practically the complete opposite of his style.
“Ben, this is Rey. She’s going to be your new caregiver.” Mrs. Solo (who’s now asked her to start calling her Leia) says softly with a smile. Rey now notices that there’s a tall redheaded man dressed in a pair of blue scrubs next to Ben, a stethoscope around his neck and a smile on his face.
“I’m Armitage Hux, you can just call me Hux. I’m Ben’s home health doctor.” he says warmly, his thick Irish accent rolling through the relatively silent room. Rey smiles and shakes his hand, already feeling comfortable with him. She turns her eyes back at Ben who is still silently studying her.
“I don’t need a babysitter, mother.” the deep voice states coldly. She doesn’t know why she wasn’t expecting an American accent, she could’ve deduced that from speaking with his mother. What was this wealthy American family doing living in a manor estate in Hertfordshire?
His mother dismisses his statement, looking back at Rey. “I’ll leave you two to get to know each other.” And with that, Leia and Hux exit the room, the soft whooshing of the automatic sliding door closing behind them. There’s several moments of stiff silence, Rey swaying back and forth on her heels waiting to see if Ben will speak first. From what she barely knows about him she knows that won't happen anytime soon, so she pipes up.
“Do you want anything to drink? I make a mean cup of tea.” she offers with a grin, hoping it will sate the scowl on his face. He furrows his brows at her.
“Miss Niima, I don’t pretend to know your motives for accepting this job. It’s clear that my mother thinks I’m in need of a more...unconventional presence. So how about for both your sake and mine, we keep our interactions to the bare minimum and move forward with an amicable working relationship.”
Rey is stunned silent. She’s almost certain a backhanded compliment was sprinkled in there somewhere, but she can’t discern it while she’s staring at him staring at her in utter contempt. She sighs, nodding in acquiesce before walking backwards towards the sliding door, quickly allowing it to put a physical barrier between them. It’s clear he’s already taken care of the emotional one.
-
It’s been one week and Rey is not sure if she can handle this any longer. Her employer (well, technically the son of her employer) has made it his mission in life to treat her with the utmost discourtesy she’s ever seen. Every morning she enters his part of the home with a bright smile and equally bright clothes, always met with a cold acrimonious look from Ben Solo. When that fails to bring him to civility she makes herself scarce most of the day, only coming in direct contact with him to bring him meals and medication. Once in a while he will request her to bring him something mundane or ask her to do something ridiculous, and she meets it every time with a cheerful smile. She knows he’s only doing those things to get under her skin, hoping that she will break and quit this job so he can be free of her, but Rey Niima does not give up that easily (especially when there’s this much money on the line).
The tide shifts slightly on a dreary Thursday afternoon. Rey is sitting in an alcove of the loft reading when she hears a large crash and a shattering of glass. She gasps and runs towards the sound, only to find Ben in his room with a bunch of shattered photo frames strewn across the table and floor. Shards of glass surround his chair, as he looks up at her with wide raging eyes and uneven breath.
“Don’t move. I don’t know what to do if you pop a tire.” Rey works in silence, sweeping up glass and moving the photos back onto the table in a pile. When the coast is clear, Ben practically zooms out of the room to get away from the whole ordeal. She takes a moment to pause and look at the photos, because it’s clear from his demeanor that none of this was on accident.
It’s a series of photos of him and other people, of him before his accident (an accident she doesn’t know about and is too scared to ask). He’s smiling and laughing with a beautiful dark haired girl in one, the same girl present in another photo with him and another man with dark curly hair. He’s in all sorts of exotic places that Rey’s only ever dreamed of visiting. She can see the gleam in his eyes, in the eyes of a Ben that has been gone for a very long time. Sometimes she thinks she’s caught glimpses of this Ben, when she comes in an especially ridiculous outfit or when she mistakenly thought that pesto sauce was green gravy. It was the closest thing she’d gotten to a laugh from him thus far.
She collects what's salvageable of these photos and brings them to the dining table along with some glue. Rey works for about thirty minutes in concentration when she’s interrupted by the clearing of a throat.
“I didn’t think you were daft enough to believe that destroying those photos was not an accident.” he says flatly.
“Well I’m not fixing them, per say. Just trying to--”
“I know I didn’t even want someone like you here, but I really hope that my mother did not hire someone stupid enough to feel like she has to try to fix everything when some things just aren’t meant to be fixed. ”
“Excuse me, are you done?” she says, raising her voice as she pounds her fist on the table. “I’m just doing my job, the job that your mother hired me to do. You don’t have to be an inconsiderate asshole about everything. I’m not doing this because I enjoy your company or are even particularly fond of you, I’m doing this because I really need the money. So unless your mother states she doesn’t need me here anymore I’m staying!”
“What are you expecting, Miss Niima? That I’ll want to continue to see images of my best friend and my ex-girlfriend when I just found out that they’re getting married to each other?” he bites, raising his voice slightly to match hers. Neither of them expected him to actually divulge that kind of information, but to Rey it all makes sense. They’re the only ones besides him present in these photos, an ache spreads across her chest at the feeling.
“I’m sorry...I didn’t know.”
“No, you didn’t. I’m not particularly forthcoming with that kind of information. But now that you do I’ll tell you. My best friend and my ex-girlfriend have secretly been dating for the last eight months and they just called me to tell me that they’re getting married. Forgive me for not having the most healthy of responses to that kind of news.”
“I understand. Betrayal...it hurts. But you don’t have to be crude to someone who is just trying to help.” She looks at him like she wants to tell him more but she holds back. He doesn’t deserve to hear her innermost thoughts and experiences, he would only slap them back in her face the next time she did something he found to be stupid. He blinks at her, Rey sighing and staring down at the wooden table in front of her “I’ll just leave them in the drawer then.” she responds morosely, picking up the photographs and walking out of the room, refusing to meet the pair of brown eyes that follow her.