(ch 1: worm moon | ch 2: worm moon II | ch 3: waning gibbous | ch 4: third quarter | ch 5: third quarter II | ch 6: waning crescent | ch 7: waning crescent II | ch 8: waning crescent III | ch 9: new moon | ch 10: waxing crescent | ch 11: sap moon | ch 12: third quarter)
Rating: M (T this chapter)
Words: 36,902 (13/13 chapters)
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Spoilers, Tags Contain Spoilers, Stop reading these tags if you don’t want to be spoiled, Selkies, Selkie Ben, The Force, Magic
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for the fic, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
This is the end! This fic has meant a lot to me, and I'd love to hear what you think. <3
-
Rey’s eyes slowly blinked open in the early morning light. The sun was just below the edge of the horizon, and the gray light of dawn spread over the city. The empty shadow of the moon still lingered. Rey sat up in bed, reality filling in around her. The first thing she noticed was the cold and empty space next to her. Ben had left. With a sinking feeling, she realized exactly why he had come over last night. He really had meant it as a goodbye before he went off and faced Snoke on his own.
“That idiot,” she growled, swinging out of bed. She started grabbing for clothes at random, mind racing.
(cont. reading under the cut)
She thought about what Finn had said to her last night. Ben was just as bad as she was, running head-on into things without thinking them through. Their entire relationship was proof of that. She very much doubted he would be going for a subtle approach.
He wanted to face Snoke and take back his freedom for good or die trying. Snoke's headquarters it was then. She changed her tactics, tossing aside the ratty t-shirt she'd been about to put on and instead searching for something that might get her into an uppity office building. She didn’t know if Snoke had somewhere else he used for his supernatural dealings, but his offices seemed like the best bet right now. If that didn’t work, she’d go back to his mansion, and if that failed, then --
She’d deal with that if she got to that point. One step at a time.
Her closet didn’t have an abundance of dress clothes, but she did at least have the skirt and blouse she’d found at Goodwill for her interview with Maz. (It had turned out to be overkill, but worth having for those rare occasions she needed it.) She dug them out from behind her stained jeans and hoodies and set them on the bed, then fished her one decent bra out from the drawer. She dressed herself with jerky motions, settling herself into her best approximation of put together as quickly as she could. Grabbing her keys, she ran out the door of the apartment before the sun had edged over the horizon.
On the streets, she skirted around other people headed to their jobs, their work clothes changing from polos with company logos to button downs and suits with ties the closer she got to Snoke’s building, walking as fast as her worn out flats would let her. Office workers were starting to trickle into the building as she arrived, and she followed a group of them into a polished gold elevator, letting someone else scan their id and then pushed the button for the top floor. One of the women gave her a surprised look, her judgemental gaze quickly taking in the state of Rey’s outfit, but Rey kept her eyes fixed ahead, doing her best to look bored even as her heart pounded.
The elevator gradually emptied out as it travelled upward, until the last couple people aside from Rey got out a few floors from the top. The doors slid closed again, and Rey was left alone, looking at her reflection in them as she was carried up to the man who’d been lurking on the edges of her life for months. She breathed slowly in and out, focusing herself.
The elevator stopped with a soft chime and a woman’s voice announcing the floor as the doors opened. Rey stepped out, keeping her pace steady even as she wanted to run to Snoke’s office and wrap her hands around his neck until he gave back everything he’d taken. A man in an expensive bright red shirt sat at a large curved desk just to the side of the elevator, and he looked up at her with raised brows.
“Can I help you?” he asked, his tone making it very clear that he thought that she needed more help than he was prepared to offer.
(ch 1: worm moon | ch 2: worm moon II | ch 3: waning gibbous | ch 4: third quarter | ch 5: third quarter II | ch 6: waning crescent | ch 7: waning crescent II | ch 8: waning crescent III | ch 9: new moon | ch 10: waxing crescent)
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 29343 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Spoilers, Tags Contain Spoilers, Stop reading these tags if you don’t want to be spoiled, Selkies, Selkie Ben, The Force, Magic
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for the fic, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
-
Rey found herself unconsciously looking forward to the next full moon, wondering what it would mean for Ben and their lessons. When the night came, however, he was unusually quiet. They walked for longer than normal, until they finally ended up by the river again. Ben stopped suddenly and sat on the ground. Rey stood, nonplussed, before bending over and joining him.
His gaze wasn’t on the water. Instead, he looked up, at the moon hanging heavy above them. In its fullness, it looked even larger than normal and shone bright enough that it barely seemed like the middle of the night. They sat together, the sounds of the city behind them and the gentle lapping of the water ahead.
“I had an aunt when I was growing up,” he said suddenly, and she jerked her head to look at him. He continued, still staring off into the distance. “A close family friend technically. There were a few of those around.” Rey couldn't help a stab of jealousy, but she didn’t say anything. “She was - is - one of the fae. In tune with nature and all that, but what she was really into was stars. She used to take me out at night sometimes and tell me stories, about all the constellations and the heroes that ended up there.” He paused. “Looking back, she was probably trying to teach me that I couldn’t force the entire universe to fit how I needed it to.” He snorted. “You see how well that turned out.”
(cont. reading under cut)
He hesitated again, face creasing as he worked through his thoughts. Rey had the sense that this was something deeply personal for him and almost looked away to give him some semblance of privacy, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the emotions passing over his expressive features. “I haven’t thought about her for a while. Tried not to. She was close with my mom, and…” He trailed off, face finally turning away. Rey thought about the woman she’d heard on the other end of the phone and her chest ached.
He breathed deeply, then rolled his shoulders and fixed his eyes back on the sky. “The moon was important to her too, even if she wasn’t connected to it in the same way my mom was. She had a pattern for things. The new moon was birth, new beginnings. A clean slate. And as it waxes, it’s a time for growth, to set your sights and take action. Then, at the full moon, when everything is at its height, you’re supposed to let it all go. Let old things die.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “If you can imagine, I was never much good at that.”
She smiled weakly. “I’m not either,” she offered.
His hand shifted on the ground between them, turning just enough that it brushed hers. She welcomed the contact and spread her fingers against his. He breathed out shakily. “And then as it wanes, you clear out your life. Prepare to start things all over again,” he concluded.
Silence fell between them as she thought that over. “That sounds nice,” she said eventually. “Making time to let go and move on. She sounds like a smart woman.”
“She was. My mom used to say that you don't live that long without picking up a couple things.”
They fell quiet again.
“Do you… miss them? Your family?” Rey asked softly.
He bowed his head and she thought he might not answer. Then he sighed. “Snoke didn't leave a lot of time for reminiscing,” he said bitterly. “When I first went to him, I thought he was the best option. Well, it felt like my only option at that point. By the time I started to have doubts, it was far too late to turn back. I didn't see a way out. And I've always been too stubborn for my own good.”
“I noticed,” Rey said, smiling despite the lump in her throat. “I'm not much better.”
He acknowledged her sympathy with a brief thankful glance. “So it felt like I was stuck there. And there was no point in thinking about what I couldn't have. My family, my home, such as it was, all of it. I let it die. Or tried to. And now that I'm not trapped under Snoke anymore --” He stared out at the water. “I don't know. I can't go back like the past decade hasn't happened. And I have no idea what to do with the future.”
“Do you want to go back?” she asked, cocking her head at him.
“Maybe,” he said, dodging the question. “If nothing else, I want to see the ocean again. Swim in it.” He expression twisted in longing. “I think I missed that the most. It's like being torn apart, not having that part of me.” He looked over at her. “You never did make it to the ocean, did you?”
“No,” she admitted. “I still want to. Someday.”
“I'd take you there,” he said quietly, and her eyes met his in shock. He looked at her intently, with a bone-deep seriousness she didn't know how to handle. She turned back to the river.
“What's it like?” she asked, not acknowledging his offer.
He turned as well, frowning as he thought. “It's… big. Bigger than you think. You can swim and swim and never reach the horizon. And everything about it is alive, from the waves and tide pools on the shore to the endless stretches in between. It's unpredictable, but you can learn to understand it, even though it's constantly changing. But then so much of it is the same, for thousands and thousands of years. It's… hard to explain.” He'd gotten more animated as he spoke, but then trailed off at the end, deflating.
“It sounds wonderful,” she said wistfully. “It's hard to imagine what it's like, that much water all in one place.”
“I could show you,” he blurted.
She looked over at him. “What?”
“I could share my memories with you. If you wanted.”
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 1950 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people's homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn't have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she's not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: I’m so excited to share my fic for this year’s @reylofanfictionanthology! Thank you so, so much to everyone involved in this. To all our writers, you are amazing and make this project as incredible as it is. To my fellow mods, you are lovely people who have put so much work into this. I never cease to be impressed. And thank you to everyone reading this! This project has been about six months in the making, and we are all so excited to be able to present this collection!
Thank you also to @shelikespretties and @shmisolo for going through this, and @persimonne for taking the time to read this when I was about to give up and convincing me it was worth finishing. You are wonderful <3
-
Rey disabled the alarm on the back window through the crack between the frames, pulled it up, and slipped inside. The plush carpet made no sound as she landed, and she closed the window behind her. The full moon shone through the window, casting a silver glow on the luxurious furnishings. A buzzing excitement rolled over her as she took stock of the room she found herself in.
She’d heard the new wave of crime that people were supposed to worry about wasn't the stereotypical burglar in a catsuit breaking into the house in the middle of the night or any of those old-fashioned criminals that made their living with soft steps and quick fingers. Now it was all maintenance workers in disguise and online scams, the kind of things that could get much better rewards with less effort than painstakingly picking open locks. She, however, preferred the classics.
(cont. under the cut)
The room was almost exactly what she'd expected from a sleazebag like Snoke. Thick dark carpet, walls draped in fabric, and a bed that looked like it was covered in the same material as the man's infamous golden suit. She nearly gagged. Oozing wealth, but no taste. Not that she'd know anything about that. Still, she didn't feel too bad about dipping into the man's bloated riches to help keep herself afloat. He was out at one of his monthly meetings that night, something she’d watched him leave for regularly for a few months now, likely rubbing elbows with other criminals as disgusting as he was.
She started at the dresser, a heavy thing made of dark wood inlaid with gold and pearl and with various boxes and jewelry scattered carelessly across the top. Her gloved hands picked through the offerings, taking small pieces here and there, rings or chains that looked less worn or that sat at the bottom of a pile, things he likely wouldn't miss. Scrunching her face in disgust, she quickly rummaged through his sock and underwear drawers, but didn't turn up anything interesting. She retrieved a watch and a couple jeweled tie pins from another drawer, then faced the room again.
The closet was worth a brief look, but she could save that for last. The bed first then. She pulled up the skirt to look underneath, but the frame went all the way to the floor, and knocking around it didn’t turn up any hiding places. She turned to the chest at the foot of the bed, an older piece with engravings of oceans in the light wood. It looked incongruous in the rest of the room, like someone had actually put care into its creation. A lock secured the front, but it was easy enough to pick that. She pushed back the lid, hoping to find a safe or something equally as worthwhile. Instead, a heap of dark fur sat alone inside.
She picked it up, frowning. The fur slid soft and silky under her hands as she stood and shook it out. It turned out to be a coat, slightly too large for her, but not at all shaped for Snoke's gaunt and towering frame either. It looked strangely inviting, and all she wanted to do was to take it with her and wrap it around herself, snuggling into it.
The thought was a completely ridiculous one. The coat would suit her as well as anything else from Snoke's indulgent garbage. It looked luxurious and definitely expensive, but not worth trying to bundle it back out of the house with her. Still, it was an odd thing for Snoke to keep locked up and so close at hand.
Rey sighed, letting it slip through her fingers and fall back into the chest. As it landed, she heard the crinkle of paper and quickly bent over to find what it was. She dug through the pockets until her hand reached a scrap of stationery, which she pulled out and spread on the edge of the chest. The paper looked old and slightly the worse for wear, but the words printed on it were easily legible:
Ben Solo
415-623-1000
Rey's heart skipped a beat. The handwriting was clearly a child's, clumsy and unpracticed, with lines pressed deep in the paper where he must have been concentrating. The ‘S’ could nearly be an eight and the zeroes ran into each other. But the name and number were understandable, and the intention was obvious. She'd done something similar for her prized possessions as a child, such as they were: a faded ‘R’ scrawled in marker on the foot of the doll she'd made from scraps, and when she was older, ‘Rey Niima’ written carefully on her beat-up copy of ‘The Little Princess’ she'd stolen from her classroom. She hadn’t wanted to commit to the phone number of her latest home, so she’d settled from writing under it: “If found, please return”. Her hands clenched on the paper, wrinkling it. She didn't know who ‘Ben Solo’ was, but she'd be willing to bet he didn't belong within a thousand feet of Snoke at any time.
She tried to set the coat back. Even if something was wrong here, which it very likely was, she couldn't do anything about it. Having the coat would just get her in trouble, one way or another. She was here to get herself through another month, not involve herself in any of Snoke’s notoriously sketchy dealings. Yet, even with all of that logic, she couldn't close the lid and let it go.
With a growl, she gathered the coat up and pulled it out of the chest, then closed the lid and locked it again before she could reconsider. Scowling the whole time, she bundled the fur into her bag and tied it to her back. As she eased herself back out the window, she couldn't help but feel like she was going to regret this.
(ch 1: worm moon | ch 2: worm moon II | ch 3: waning gibbous | ch 4: third quarter | ch 5: third quarter II | ch 6: waning crescent | ch 7: waning crescent II | ch 9: waning crescent III)
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 24,789 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Spoilers, Tags Contain Spoilers, Stop reading these tags if you don’t want to be spoiled, Selkies, Selkie Ben, The Force, Magic
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for the fic, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
-
The weekend brought a rough day at the garage, with Teedo somehow even more irritable than usual. She kept her head down and finished her work as quickly as she could. Even then, he tried to keep her from leaving, claiming she was cheating him on her hours, but she finally escaped. She only had a couple hours before she had to be at the bar, and she found herself actually eager to spend time with Ben. She’d tried sensing the Force on her own, but she didn’t know how to use it like he did, and any research she’d tried only ended in conspiracy theories and fairy tales.
He’d shown up after her shift at the bar each night that week, never coming in, just waiting for her to come out. There wasn’t enough time in the walk back for them to practice much, but they talked, and she slowly learned more about the world she’d inadvertently stepped into. Ben was eager to tell her about the history of the Force and to teach her about the different creatures influenced by it. When it came to the First Order and his own past, he was more reluctant, but his unshakeable idea that he needed to protect her usually overcame his guilt.
(cont. under cut)
His new apartment was several blocks away from his old one, in a different direction from her apartment, but not any further. She walked over as soon as she got free of Teedo and found herself outside an apartment building that looked to be mostly rented by students. She climbed the stairs to the apartment number he’d given her and knocked on the door. This building looked more rundown than his last one, with more scuffs and dents along the hallway, but at the same time more welcoming. A rug sat outside the door, and she stared at it until the door swung open in front of her.
It wasn’t Ben. The man who stood in the doorway was several inches shorter and much slimmer. She blinked. “I think I have the wrong apartment -” she started, but then the sound of heavy footsteps came from inside the apartment and Ben appeared behind the other man.
“Oh, Ben, is this - ?” the stranger started, but Ben pulled the door open further around him, moving him out of the way.
“Yes, thank you, Mitaka,” Ben said, irritation and dismissal clear in his voice. “Rey, come on.” She walked into the apartment, smiling awkwardly at the other man as she passed.
“Hello-” he tried again, but Ben kept walking, and Rey followed him. He led her down a short hall and into a small bedroom at the end, cramped with a bed and a cheap desk.
“You have a roommate?” she blurted out as soon as he’d closed the door behind them.
Ben scowled. “As it turns out, it’s difficult to find a cheap apartment on short notice around here. Mitaka had a roommate drop out at the beginning of the semester, and he was desperate enough to take me.”
“You didn’t have anything to do with his roommate dropping, did you?” she asked, only half-joking.
He rolled his eyes. “No. If I was going to go that far, I could have found a better place.”
She glanced around the room and had to admit he had a point. The space wasn’t worth getting rid of someone else for. “So why move here at all then?”
(ch 1: worm moon | ch 2: worm moon II | ch 3: waning gibbous | ch 4: third quarter | ch 5: third quarter II | ch 6: waning crescent | ch 7: waning crescent II | ch 8: waning crescent III | ch 9: new moon)
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 26,824 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Spoilers, Tags Contain Spoilers, Stop reading these tags if you don’t want to be spoiled, Selkies, Selkie Ben, The Force, Magic
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for the fic, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
-
Later in the week, after her classes, he took her along the river walk, the slowly growing moon reflecting off the water. They sat on the edge of the concrete, legs dangling over the river just below. Rey wondered what it would be like to push off the sidewalk and slip in. The silvery moonlight hid the murkiness that was clear during the day, making it seem much more tempting. Next to her, Ben stared down at the water with a mix of emotions she wasn’t sure how to decipher.
“This was one of the reasons I decided to stop here,” she said aloud, not sure if it was meant to be towards Ben or not.
His head jerked up to look at her. “What?”
“The river,” she explained, pointing a foot at it. “I grew up in the desert. When I left, I wanted to see water, find anywhere green. I didn’t make it all the way to the ocean, but I liked the river. So I stopped here.”
He watched her with sad eyes, lips pressing before settling in a frown. “What?” she asked defensively.
(cont. below the cut)
“Nothing, it’s just --” He sighed. “Being here, with this as the only water around -- it was one of Snoke’s ways to control me.”
She looked back to the water, feeling oddly defensive. “What’s wrong with it?”
He raised a brow at her. “Rey, it’s not been that long since you could drop a match in this river and set it on fire. That happened, more than once. There’s laws and agencies now, but there’s also people like Snoke around to find their own shortcuts. Even when things do get better, the damage lingers. It feels...sick.”
Frowning, Rey reached out with a force over the river, trying to see what he meant. Nothing jumped out to her. She was used to feeling the city and people sinking their roots into everything around, and the river felt like an extension of that, not much different from the pipes running under every street.
She shook her head. “I can’t tell.”
He slumped further. “Most people can’t,” he muttered. Her chest panged in sympathy.
“Is it a selkie thing?” she asked.
“Probably. That would make sense.” He sighed. “It’s not like it should matter either way. I couldn’t change in freshwater anyway.”
“You’re a long way from home,” she said before she could think. It would take days just to drive to the ocean from here.
He swallowed, throat working before he spoke. “I guess.” He breathed out slowly, in a way that reminded her of how he prepared to sink into the Force. She waited for him, watching out of the corner of her eye. After several breaths, he straightened. “Since we’re here, why don’t we see what you can do with the river.”
He coached her through pulling a ball of water from below them, though conspicuously absent from this lesson was his usual demonstrations. She wondered what exactly the river felt like to him, that he didn’t want to touch it. He was taking her through manipulating the water in the air when her stomach growled loudly enough to startle them both. She winced, hand coming up to cover it as if that would quiet it. She’d almost forgotten that she hadn’t had anything since the peanut butter on white bread she’d packed for her lunch. Usually she could grab a couple crackers later, but meeting with Ben had thrown that off.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Break?” he suggested, looking at her with concern.
She shook her head. “I’m fine. I’ve almost got this.”
(ch 1: worm moon | ch 2: worm moon II | ch 3: waning gibbous | ch 4: third quarter)
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 13602 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for the fic, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
-
Rey’s heart stopped. “What?” Her voice went up several octaves.
Ben, on the other hand, looked remarkably calm, except for the way his knee bounced under the table, and he went back to playing with his drink. “It’s tradition,” he said simply.
Rey struggled with several responses to that before settling on, “How?”
(cont. under cut)
“You returned my coat to me. That’s been a marriage rite among selkies for as long as we’ve had our skins.” His eyes watched as he stabbed ice cubes with his straw, but then they flicked up to meet hers, watching her intently.
“I’m not a selkie,” Rey said, a little desperately.
Ben shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It used to be a huge thing, humans stealing selkies’ skins to marry them. In our traditions, the marriage is only valid if the coat is returned, and the selkie is given their freedom. These days, it’s usually more symbolic, couples trusting each other with their coats, but the traditional route still applies. Everyone knew when I lost my coat what it would mean when it was returned.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “And you’re okay with that? You were ready to be married to whatever random person picked your coat up and gave it back to you?”
He shrugged. “If they gave it back, they knew what they were doing. Better than the alternative.”
“The alternative? And how the fuck would anyone know about that? I only got it back to you through blind luck!” Whatever hold Rey had thought she’d had on this conversation was swiftly disintegrating. Magic was one thing; this was another one completely.
“The alternative would be them destroying it, or using it to threaten me,” Ben said quietly, glancing away for a moment. Rey suddenly remembered exactly where she had found his coat, and in whose house, and her blood ran cold, even as she struggled to keep up with the rest of the conversation. “And anyone who knew about my coat would know what it meant. You didn’t stumble on it on accident, Rey.”
She opened her mouth to correct him, then closed it again as she reassessed how much she needed to tell him. “I practically did,” she insisted. “It wasn’t like I was looking for it.”
His eyes met hers with an earnest intensity. “I know where this was being kept,” he said, pulling on the coat. “Don’t insult me by telling me that you didn’t have to put any effort into getting it.”
“I - That’s not what I meant,” she protested, but he shook his head and kept going.
“I know you still don’t understand everything that’s going on here, and that’s not saying anything about you,” he said, before she could interrupt him. “But you’ve just learned that all this even exists; you can’t get what it all means yet. But with what you do know about what this is and where you found it, do you think it would still have been there if it was so easy to retrieve?”
Rey struggled for words for a moment, before giving the only answer that made sense. “No.”
Ben sat back and nodded. “So. This was never going to be a conversation I had to have with some stranger who tripped over my skin in a ditch.” He half-smiled. “Though I have to say I didn’t expect this either.”
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 4241 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for upcoming chapters, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
-
The day passed in an exhausted haze, from the garage to classes, barely staying awake through the lecture, and then a short break before she had to clock in at Maz’s. She could use a nap, but the chance that she wouldn’t wake up in time wasn’t worth the risk. Instead, she pulled out the bag from its hiding place.
Glancing over her shoulder to double check that her door was closed, she took the coat out and lay it on her bed. It felt just as soft as she remembered, with that same indefinable draw. She refrained from burying her face in it and instead dug in the pockets of the bag for the note. With it in one hand, she pulled her phone out with the other and sat on the bed looking between them.
Realistically, the number probably wouldn't even work. Or it would be answered by someone who had no idea who Ben Solo was and didn't know what she was calling about. Even better, it could be answered by someone who did know who he was and called the cops on her. The odds of this going well for her were not in her favor. The paper crinkled as her fingers tightened around it. She let out a slow breath.
(cont. under cut)
The rational thing to do would be to burn the note and hide the coat with the garbage. If she wanted to risk it, Plutt would still likely give her a couple hundred for it. Even though he'd give her a hard time, it'd probably improve her odds with him in the long run. Instead, she dialed the number.
Her phone showed it as a California area code, and she stared at the screen as it dialed out. It rang several times, and she was about to give up when the call connected with a click. Her heart stopped.
“Hello?” said a voice on the other end. It sounded like an older woman, and Rey couldn't breathe. “Hello?” she said again, more impatient.
Rey unstuck her tongue. “Hello,” she rasped.
A beat of silence. “Who is this?” the woman asked.
“I, um.” If Rey had thought about what she would say, it all went completely out of her head. “Is this...Mrs. Solo?”
The woman hesitated, and Rey thought again how there was no way this would work; it was probably some complete stranger --
“Organa-Solo,” the woman corrected. “May I ask who's calling?”
“This is -- I'm Kira,” Rey said, stumbling over the lie. “I think...I found something of yours? Or your son's maybe? This number was in the pocket.”
There was a sharp gasp on the other end. “Ben?” the woman asked, voice sharp with desperation. “You have something of Ben's?”
“I - yes, it's a coat, his name -”
“You found his coat?” Rey flinched and held the phone away from her ear.
“Yes, a fur coat -” A choked sob on the other end interrupted her this time. “Ma’am?”
The other woman didn't say anything for a bit and Rey listened to the sounds of barely restrained tears overlaying various swearing and a few words she didn't understand. “Are you okay?” Rey ventured.
She could almost hear the woman drawing herself together on the other end. There was a rustling of clothing and she could imagine this woman sitting straight, composing herself. “I am… much better than I have been,” she said haltingly, but with an undeniable firmness to her voice.
Rey waited. “Should I… send it to you?” she said eventually.
“I - why don't you bring it to my son? I think that would be best.”
Rey started. “You know where he is?” She had a sudden vision of being sent the address to a cemetery to pay respects to someone she'd never known.
The woman laughed bitterly. “Despite some very determined efforts, yes. I do. I assume you found his coat nearby? Are you in Daxam?”
“Um. Yes?”
“Perfect. Ben lives at 96 Sienar Street, apartment 218.”
Rey blinked. “That's not far.”
“Could you take it to him then? I'm sure he would be very grateful.”
“Er, yeah. I could do that. But…” Rey trailed off, not sure what she was going to say. Nothing about this had gone as she'd expected.
“Good,” the other woman said decisively. Then, in a gentler tone. “Thank you, Kira. I can't tell you how much this means.”
“It's… no problem,” she said weakly.
The woman laughed again, genuinely this time. “I am very sure that's not true. I appreciate it anyway though.” She fell quiet and Rey started wondering what a tactful way to hang up would be in this kind of circumstance. She'd never been famed for her grasp of social niceties, and how to say goodbye to the mother of a stranger who's stolen coat she'd rescued wasn't covered in public school.
Thankfully, the other woman somehow had a more graceful grasp on the situation. “I should let you go,” she said, and Rey thought she sounded genuinely regretful. “But I would very much like to talk to you again, Kira. Maybe after you've seen my son?”
Rey hesitated. This was yet another bad idea, but the woman sounded so hopeful, she didn't have the heart to turn her down. “Okay.”
“Thank you so much.” Rey could hear her smile. “Again. I look forward to hearing from you.”
(ch 1: worm moon | ch 2: worm moon II | ch 3: waning gibbous | ch 4: third quarter | chapter 5: third quarter II)
Rating: T (M later)
Words: 13602 / 40k
Tags: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Finn, Rose Tico, Unkar Plutt, Leia Organa, Snoke, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Fairy Tale Elements, Moon, Scavenger Rey, Reylo Fanfiction Anthology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Summary: Rey has a busy schedule: between her part time jobs, trying to get a degree, and breaking into certain people’s homes to steal items she can pawn off to Unkar Plutt, she doesn’t have time for anything mysterious or unusual. And she’s not exactly in the habit of returning lost property.
However, something gets her to make an exception. Which somehow mixes her up with Ben Solo, and that turns out to be a hard bond to break.
Notes: Thank you again to everyone who was part of the @reylofanfictionanthology and who helped make this happen. <3
@persimonne , incredible human that she is, made a beautiful piece of art for this fic, right here! Spoilers for the fic, but it’s one of my favorite things ever.
-
When she slid into her usual seat for her last class the next evening, the room was less than half full. An astronomy class at the end of the day turned out not to be a popular choice for most students, but it worked well for Rey as something that met one of her core class requirements, fit into her schedule, and she didn’t have to force herself into attending. She pulled out her homework from her last class to work on as other students trickled into the room.
A minute before class was due to start, Professor Tano strode into the room, scarf fluttering around her shoulders as she took the steps down to her lectern. Rey turned to put her work away and pull out her notes for the class when another student came down the side of the classroom and took the seat next to her. She looked up in surprise; the whole class generally took the same seats every lecture, spaced out across the room. Instead of another student, Ben Solo sat next to her with a slight smile under amused brown eyes.
“I thought we were meeting after,” she hissed, as the professor set up her presentation to begin class.
(continue reading under the cut)
He shrugged his broad shoulders. For the first time since she’d returned it to him, he wasn’t wearing his fur coat. Instead, a dark jacket stretched across his back with a matching t-shirt and dark pants. He could almost pass for a college student if it weren’t for the edge to him that instinctively told anyone who looked that he wasn’t someone to bother. “I was just going to wait nearby, but I thought this might be more interesting.”
She was about to retort, but Professor Tano cleared her throat, looking pointedly in their direction. Rey thought her glance lingered on Ben, but then she turned to the board and began the lecture, drawing a diagram of an elliptical orbit on the board.
To Rey’s shock, Ben didn’t bother her at all throughout the class. Instead, he paid more attention than most of the students in the room, listening eagerly as Professor Tano explained the basics of the factors affecting the orbits of planets and satellites. She thought he’d be taking notes if he could, and he had an expression as if he was intent on committing every detail of the lecture to memory. When the hour was up, he looked disappointed, slumping back in his chair as the professor reminded them of their upcoming assignments.
Rey packed up her notes, noticing that Professor Tano was looking over at them again. She quickly finished shoving her things away and hustled Ben out of the classroom before the professor could come over to ask questions about the new student not on the roster.
She relaxed as they walked through the hallways and out of the building, Ben looking distracted and far away. “So, you’re interested in space?” she asked curiously as they emerged into the evening.
He startled and looked down at her. “Used to be,” he said, eyes on the sidewalk. She waited for him to follow that up, but he apparently didn’t want to discuss it.
“Where are we going?” she tried again.
He cocked his head. “Doesn’t matter. We can walk around and find somewhere.”
Sh looked up at him askance. “Nowhere in particular? You don’t have a secret training lair or anything?”
He snorted. “No. Not anymore. That would be helpful though.”
