Chapter Text
Silicon Valley
“Pretty please?”
Rey blinked rapidly at the deep, round brown eyes pleading with her. She was no match for Rose Tico’s puppy face. Shaking her head, Rey laughed ruefully, “You know I'm not a public speaker! I'm also not a product manager. I'm just an engineer. A cog in the machine.”
Rose put her hands on her hips, scowling. “You built almost every component. You are not ‘just an engineer,’ ” Rose chided, curling her index fingers into air quotes.
“You know the system inside and out. Besides,” Rose tilted her head, her eyes suddenly glittering with anticipated victory, “what's a little public speaking for a free international trip to APAC. Free flights. Free hotels. Free food. Asia at your fingertips.” Rose waved her hands expansively.
Rey bit her lip. Free food was always hard for her to resist. Unhoused as a kid, bouncing between foster homes, food insecurity had been her daily reality, and even now Rey could never pass up an opportunity for free food. Especially after the trauma of her final foster placement, with an abusive foster father who only fed her if she'd completed enough jobs as an underaged, unpaid mechanic in his garage.
And for Rose to top off the food offer with free international travel? Diabolically unfair. Completely irresistible.
Rey hung her head, a deep sigh of capitulation escaping her as Rose pumped her fist in victory.
“I can't wait to see you on the live stream!”
“Live stream,” Rey repeated, horrified. She clutched her notebook to her chest and groaned, sinking back into her office chair. “But ROSE…”
“Don't worry, Empire runs these game developer conferences every year. It's a well oiled machine. You just need to know your platform and be ready to present and speak to customers.”
Rose reached over to squeeze Rey's shoulders. “And thank you. I didn't want to trust this launch with just anyone, but I really need to be here for my family.” Rey nodded, taking and squeezing Rose’s hands in sympathy. Rose's sister had been ill for some time, and was about to begin treatment. Like Rey, the Ticos had lost their parents young; they only had each other.
“Okay, okay. I'll do it.”
Watch out world. Miss Rey Niima was about to become Miss Worldwide.
🎮♥️✈️
San Francisco Airport
Rey approached the gate wide-eyed, dragging a heavy carry-on, the straps of her overloaded travel pack digging into her shoulders. Blowing tendrils of hair from her face, she dug up her ticket, squinting as she scanned it to find her boarding group.
Priority. Rey hummed to herself in excitement; she’d never flown internationally, let alone business class. Individually contributing engineers for Empire weren’t typically invited to represent the company… well, anywhere, really. She scanned the gate area, spotting the sign for the business class queue, and hurried over, stumbling to a stop behind an elegant, tall, dark haired man. At her commotion, he turned to look at her, his sharp gaze seeming to sweep over her array of luggage and the disarray of her appearance, before facing forward again.
Rey felt her face heat, self conscious at the stark contrast between them. Peering back up at him through her lashes, she surreptitiously studied him. His face was angular, but in a striking way, offset by the soft curve of a full mouth. He stood tall, a bit ramrod straight, his hair coiffed in almost surreal perfection. Rey patted awkwardly at her many scraggly flyaways. He carried just a sleek, compact messenger bag. At his wrist, an expensive watch peeked from the cuff of his blazer. And yes, he appeared to be crisply dressed in business casual, for business class. Rey tightened her grip on her overstuffed carry on, growing more aware by the minute of her worn sweatshirt and leggings.
“Business class, welcome to Flight 81 for Singapore!”
Rey shuffled forward behind Hot Business Man. She tried not to observe the way his body moved beneath the clean lines of his slacks, but couldn’t help but stare when he stopped and bent to tuck his brief into the storage area of a seat. When he straightened and moved to take his seat, Rey quickly lifted her boarding pass to cover her face, pretending to scrutinize it, hoping he hadn’t noticed her staring.
5A. Huh. Rey blinked, looking at the boarding pass, then up at the seat labels directly above her. Excitement welled again - this was Rey’s first business flight, after all. Mimicking Hot Business Man, Rey bent to stuff her heavy backpack in the floor storage area. She rooted around for a bit, stuffing the pack harder until it was all the way under. Huffing, she straightened and backed into the aisle, right into a warm body; she heard a soft grunt before the warmth retreated slightly to a respectable distance. His voice, however, still seemed to rumble right into her ear.
“Here, let me help you with your bag.” A warm hand tugged her carry on handle away and she turned to watch Hot Business Man lift her overstuffed bag with one arm into the overhead compartment.
“Th-thanks!” He inclined his head slightly, before turning and taking his seat. Rey followed suit, but unlike her row companion, she immediately began investigating all the items provided to her by the airline. Like a child on Christmas morning, Rey opened slippers, a leather encased vanity pack, a pillow, a throw, sleeping mask, and earbuds. She was wiggling her toes in her slippers and settling the throw blanket over herself when a large hand entered her field of vision and tapped the stack of booklets beneath the screen in her pod.
“First time in business class? You’ll want to peruse the menu before you settle in, the stewardess comes around to take your order first thing.” His eyes crinkled slightly, sweeping over her cozily slippered and blanketed body, this time with contained amusement in the purse of his lips.
“That obvious?” Rey beamed. Maybe Hot Business Man was not a snooty, Judgmental Business Man after all. She reached over to open the menu, her eyes widening excitedly at the array of options.
“I recommend the seasonal menu. And since you’re new–” he leaned toward her, and Rey’s breath hitched as his warmth and slightly spiced scent washed over her again. He turned to the back of the menu, and ran his finger along the length of it, stopping at the bottom section.
“Anytime Snacks,” Rey read softly, almost reverently. Growing up food insecure, the food abundance of traveling business class was blowing her mind. First the airport lounge, and now in flight set menus and unlimited anytime snacks.
“Don’t miss the spicy ramen,” he said, with a wink.
“Please wake me anytime the stewardess comes by with food,” Rey implored him, earnestly.
He barked a laugh, short and hoarse, like it had escaped and surprised him, and nodded at her.
And he kept true to his word, tapping her gently on the shoulder for each meal service and snack. When the lights went down, he helped set up her layflat, which involved some manual trickery of cushion flipping and buttons. Midflight, he walked her to the bar, and advised her on the best reds and whites to try. While he wasn’t particularly conversational, he seemed to enjoy and encourage her enthusiasm for all the perks of international business travel.
By the time they landed, Rey might have been a little bit smitten. And not just with the food.
Unfortunately, in the chaos of landing, entry cards, and customs, Rey lost track of her handsome stranger.
And she’d failed to get his actual name. Or number.
Shaking her head, she chided herself for her wistful pining. It was likely for the best, anyway. Rey Niima was in Singapore to work, not play. She couldn’t let Rose down, or her team. Squaring her shoulders, she pulled her backpack straps tighter, and headed for the taxi line.
🎮♥️✈️