Chapter Text
The Night Shift
Chapter One
“Fuck off you prick!”
Ben narrowly avoided being spat on by the drunken idiot he was currently wrestling into handcuffs. He grunted as the guy kicked and flailed around, doing his best to get his hold secure before he tried slapping the other cuff on.
“This is police brutality!”
“Need a hand, Solo?” Hux grabbed the man’s left side and forced his arm down to the handcuff, then hauled the guy up off the floor on that side as Ben took the other. They had him in the back of the police van in moments. “You’re getting soft in your old age, man.”
“Piss off,” Ben smiled, though his heart wasn’t in it. He bloody hated night shifts. They’d been fine when he was in his twenties, and early thirties. He’d noticed they’d started getting to him around thirty-five, and now a year away from forty he felt like he was done.
He was absolutely dreading forty. He’d really thought he’d be somewhere else in life at this point, not still working as a frontliner for the police force being shouted at and spat on by idiots who couldn’t hold their liquor. He’d always had an idea in his head of the perfect wife, with her dark brown hair and espresso-coloured eyes and a body he could lift and press against the wall at will.
His age was starting to show; his black hair was becoming speckled with salty grey and wrinkles were forming around his eyes. He’d stared at himself in the mirror this morning, certain that his hairline was just a bit higher than it used to be. He worried about his dissipating youth so much more these days.
“Or is it just that your new wife is tiring you out?” Hux continued, leaning against the side of the van whilst they waited for their colleagues to finish up with the other troublemakers. Poe and Finn had Phasma’s backup; Ben knew they’d just get in the way.
“Careful, Hux,” he growled, straightening up his vest and uniform.
“What? It was the same when I married Rose. I was exhausted. She kept me in bed every spare moment for months.”
Ben scowled. It was dangerous to talk about this here. On shift. Hux seemed to sense his discomfort and switched off both his and Ben’s radios lest they accidentally press the wrong button and broadcast to the entire force.
“So?” he prompted when Ben still said nothing.
“She’s not been settling well. I thought this week we’d turned a corner… but then last night she…”
“Solo, Hux, get the doors,” Phasma shouted over, hauling two handcuffed men towards the second van – on her own. Poe and Finn followed sheepishly behind. Ben subtly flicked his radio back on.
“Hux, you go back to the station,” Phasma said once she’d banged the door shut. I’ll take one van with Solo and the Damerons can take the other one.” She gestured to Poe and Finn, who were referred to as ‘The Damerons’ simply because they never worked with anyone but each other if they could help it.
“You haven’t had a break yet Sarge,” Hux answered. “How about I go with Ben, and you head back? You know it’s only a matter of time before Snap calls in something stupid and you have to go and deal with that.”
Phasma glared at Hux. Ben held his breath; the woman did not like being told what to do. But it seemed the need for food won instead of her ire, and she agreed, snarling at Hux not to screw up the transfer at custody.
“One time,” Hux muttered. “I gave the wrong name one time and she’d never let it go.”
“It was a pretty big fuck up,” Ben chuckled. “You gave the Inspector’s name. I’ve never seen so much panic.”
“So, about Mrs Solo,” Hux said when they were locked in the cab and driving towards the station. Ben glanced in the rearview mirror. Even though the wasted guy in the back shouldn’t be able to hear them, there were no guarantees.
“She’s fine,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“Okay.” Hux was silent for almost five minutes – possibly a record – before he suddenly said, “Rose has a pet. A… rat. When we first got it, it struggled to adapt. We fed it and kept it warm and gave it a lovely comfy bed to sleep in with plenty of… stimulation… but it still kept biting and trying to escape.”
There was more silence as Ben concentrated on the road. The other headlights reflecting on the still-damp road were hurting his eyes. He’d have to book an eye test in. Damn.
“You ever had a pet like that?”
A pet. Exactly what Hux thought of Rose – the wife he’d procured through less than honest means. Ben had raged at Hux about it for months – the risk of Hux being associated with trafficking could be catastrophic – but eventually his rage had settled into jealousy. He didn’t want to talk about Rey with Hux, much less ask for advice based off Hux’s relationship. And yet… custody was fifteen minutes out and it wasn’t like there was much else to talk about.
“Y…yeah. In fact, we’ve just got a new puppy. And it sounds a lot like Ro… the rat. I…. we… have tried to teach it that its safe and everything but it still keeps lashing out.”
“Yeah… they do that. Especially when they’re rescue pets. It’s their backgrounds. For some reason, no matter how hard they had it before they always want to go back to what they know. They get there, though. With enough patience… and punishment.”
“Hmm.”
He thought of his sweet wife, his beautiful Rey, curled up naked on the guest bed in their shared home, without a blanket, her arms restrained by leather cuffs and a chain attached to her collar. He felt a twitch from his crotch. Shit. None of that now.
He’d left her there all night as punishment for the way she’d lashed out at him yesterday. She’d attempted to bite him several times and attempted to spit on him multiple more. He was at his wit’s end. Training resumed when this bloody shift came to an end.
“How long have you had it now? Three, four weeks?”
“Four.”
“Maybe you should put in a request for leave. You only had a few days at the beginning, right? Maybe a couple of weeks off would help with training. Pets need their owners present so they know what to expect all the time.”
Ben thought about it. He hadn’t taken a decent couple of weeks off in years. He’d originally only joined because his old boss Snoke had wanted someone on the inside. Someone who could join intelligence and keep him updated on what the police knew about his organisation, First Order. Eventually, though, Ben had gotten tired of Snoke’s demands and endless taunting over how much more boy he was than man. He’d… removed him from power and taken over, using the alias of Kylo Ren, only doing business in his black metal mask.
He'd yearned for a companion; someone to share it with. He’d waited… and waited for the right woman to cross his path. He’d gradually lost hope over the years that he’d ever find someone who would match him, resigned to spending the rest of his life alone, his anger at the universe increasing with every interaction he had with other human beings.
He’d remained in the police force so as not to blow his cover and had transitioned back into response several years ago to start preparing for his exodus. Hux was going to be taking over for him as mole and was the only person who knew his dual identity. He’d been about to hand in his notice when it happened.
He met Rey.
They’d run a drugs raid on another of the gang leaders in the area – an Unkar Plutt – and she’d been curled up on a pile of blankets in a glorified cupboard next to the kitchen. There was a torch and biology textbook next to her on the floor. She looked tiny, but on questioning her - once Plutt had been ferried off to the police station – he’d discovered she was in her early twenties and trying to do a science degree through distance learning.
Ben was sure she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. There was a fire in her eyes that he wanted to explore further, and rough edges to her exterior that he wanted to smooth over. She had entirely too much self-assurance, but that could be managed. He’d pictured her lying beneath him, dress pushed up to her waist, writhing on the end of his dick. Her hair was splayed out in a chestnut halo on the silk pillows he’d buy her and her eyes fluttered closed as he filled her with every last drop of his essence. He’d had to dig his pen into his thigh to try and stop the rush of blood to his groin.
But when she smiled at him… it lit his soul on fire, and he’d left battling the need to take her there and then. But he’d tried to be patient; had wanted to woo her the right way. When he returned the next day, under the cover of needing more information for his report, she’d disappeared.
It took two years to find her again, and by that point Ben’s patience was a distant memory.
Their wedding had basically been an elopement, though the bride was barely conscious for it and the ceremony had been held by a very questionable priest. She’d been dressed in rags when they’d stood up together, to Ben’s dismay. She looked like she’d come from somewhere hot; her pale clothing certainly wouldn’t keep her warm here and it was streaked in dirt. He hoped that one day, when she was more compliant, she’d allow him to plan her a proper wedding, with a proper dress and guests and a reception in a beautiful old mansion.
“I could take some time off,” he conceded. I’ll ask Phas when we get back to the station.
“What about… the other job?”
“Pryde can handle it.”
There was silence for a few minutes as they neared the end of their journey.
“If you want, I could put you in touch with a trainer,” Hux suddenly offered cheerfully. “I know this great guy…”
“A trainer… you brought in someone-fucking-else?” Ben growled.
“You told me to take care of her behaviour, so she didn’t… mess things up. So, I did.”
“Without telling me?”
“You had your hands full looking for your own pet,” Hux said carefully. “Besides, this guy was brilliant. If you did ever want to set up a… pet training business, this guy would be the one to get them to behave. I could send you his number…”
“No.”
“Alright, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me. He worked wonders with Rose’s… rat. It’s a completely different creature now. Knows how good it’s got it.”
“I’ll think about it.”
*-*
It didn’t take long to process their prisoner. The van ride had sent him to sleep, and he was too tired to fight at custody. They were in and out in twenty minutes, which must have been a record.
Ben sought Phasma out the second they got back to the station. As luck would have it she was still there, eating her rice salad in the corner of the break room.
“Sarge, I need a favour,” he said, walking over to the counter to grab a mug.
“Depends on what it is.”
“I need to take some annual leave.”
She glared at him over her Tupperware. “So? Submit it the usual way, online.”
“I need it to start when this shift ends, and last for two weeks.”
Phasma looked at him like he’d grown three heads. He kept his cool and spooned some coffee into his mug. Instant. Yuck. He pulled the red knob down on the hot water boiler on the wall and filled it halfway.
“You’ve got to be kidding, Solo. We’re short-staffed as it is. Pick another time.”
“My wife’s not feeling very well, and I’d like to be at home to take care of her,” he replied calmly.
“Ah, this mysterious wife no one’s seen or heard. I’m still sore about not getting an invite to the wedding, you know.” He wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, her face totally deadpan.
“Rey’s just shy. She wanted to elope.”
“And now she’s sick only a few weeks in? You’re either running her ragged or she’d one of those delicate snowflakes who’s going to catch whatever you bring home. You won’t be able to take leave every time she gets a cold.”
“I wouldn’t expect to. But come on, Phas. When do I ever request leave?”
The clock ticked for eight loud, long seconds before the woman sighed in defeat.
“Fine, Solo. I’ll sort it. Just email me your date of return and I’ll work it out with HR.”
“Thanks, Sarge. Really appreciate it.”
“Get back to work,” she grumbled.
Ben tipped the whole coffee into the sink, rinsed his mug, and walked away.