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#Post#: 1857--------------------------------------------------
[15] BEN
By: Zellaphone Date: July 16, 2021, 10:43 pm
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Ben was relieved to find out that the coffee shop wasn't closing
up anytime soon. He really didn't want to have to find a
different place to do his work, nor did he want to go back to
his office or his empty home just yet. He liked it here,
especially when there were no other customers in the store. And
there was Rey, but he really just liked the familiarity of her,
he supposed. He wasn't expecting them to really talk much. They
never usually did. It was just nice to have someone he knew...
or, well, somewhat knew around while he was stressed and feeling
a bit lonely. She set down his coffee, and he was about to grab
it and take a large sip of it despite the fact that it was
likely still very hot, needing the dose of caffeine, but then
Rey set something out down as well. She explained it was on the
house, wanting him to have something for his rough day. Curious,
he peeked inside the wapper, smiling softly when he saw the two
chocolate chip cookies she had brought him. His heart was warmed
from the sight and the action, and he thanked her, feeling
genuinely cared about for the first time in he couldn't remember
when. All from two cookies. She brushed off his thanks, about to
turn around, but he quickly grabbed her tip and one of the
cookies, offering them to her if she was allowed to eat while
working. He knew that the cookies would have had to come from
her own pocket, so it didn't feel right for him to accept two.
She seemed surprised by his offer, but accepted, explaining that
she technically wasn't allowed to eat on the clock, but her
night manager was high. How professional. She took a bite of her
cookie after sliding her tip into her pocket, and he expected
that to be the end of their conversations until he started to
head out. However, he was apparently wrong, as Rey slid out the
chair across from him, taking a seat and joining him at his
table. His eyes widened, caught off-guard, and she must have
noticed, apologizing and asking if it was alright if she sat
with him. "Oh, uh, yes," he said a bit awkwardly. He didn't mind
at all if Rey sat with him, but he just had never expected her
to do so. But, there were no other customers around and her boss
was high, so he guessed it didn't really matter what she did.
"Yes, you're fine," he said quickly, sounding more confident
this time as he straightened up a bit, pinching a piece of his
own cookie off. He popped it into his mouth, smiling again when
he discovered that it was still warm and slightly gooey, just
how he liked it. Somehow, she had managed to make the perfect
selection of dessert for him with knowing next to nothing about
him. After a beat, she spoke up again, talking about how she
wasn't in school for law, but she knew a little bit about the
system. That piqued his interest. She went on to say that she
didn't know what kind of case he was dealing with, but maybe she
could help with something. He leaned back in his chair, crossing
his arms and considering her offer as he looked at her from
across the table. Why was she so interested in helping him? Was
she really just this kind? He already knew the answer to that.
He wouldn't forget how she had tried to cheer his last client up
after seeing how miserable he looked, and now she was trying to
comfort him. It was... strange to him, but not entirely
unwelcome. He just didn't believe that he really needed anyone
else's help. He had dealt with cases like this before, and no
matter how difficult they were, he always got the outcome that
he and his client wanted one way or another. He refused to get
anything else. She quickly added that she didn't have to help,
but she just wanted to ease his mind, not wanting him to think
that she was being nosy. He didn't think that. He thought for a
moment, wondering how much of the case he should disclose to
her, if any of it. Really, he wasn't supposed to be discussing
it outside of work at all, but he knew that any information he
gave Rey would be safe. But, he didn't see any need in telling
her too much. It would likely only depress her, and he had
enough confidence in himself to know that he could do this
alone. He explained to her that not much could be done about the
case for now without gaining more evidence, which seemed
unlikely since the next court date was for tomorrow. He added
that he did, however, had some connections that he could use,
thinking about Phasma specifically. He could always contact her
and have her fake a call that would allow her to go into Julie's
home to see if she could find any more evidence. It wasn't
exactly legal, but in cases like this, he found himself not
caring in the slightest. He was about the thank Rey for her
offer to help, but she spoke up again, suddenly saying to have
someone check Julie's scalp, explaining that cops didn't usually
do so, but when an adult knows they're in trouble, they tend to
be more careful. That was true. He knew that from experience and
from what he has observed over the years, and in this case it
was especially true. He wasn't sure what all the police had
examined, but all she knew was that the bit of evidence they and
Julie's aunt had gathered to kickstart this whole case was all
they really had now. The girl was no longer showing up to places
visibly bruised or bleeding, leading Ben to believe that the
father had mostly switched to verbal abuse for the time being.
Rey explained her reasoning for wanting someone to check the
girl's scalp, saying that hair-pulling in these situations never
stopped and would sometimes even get worse. He titled his head
slightly, finding Rey's wording to be interesting. It was if she
was speaking from experience, and as he watched her run her hand
through her own hair as she spoke, he had good reason to believe
that she was. He felt a twinge of anger stir inside of him as he
tapped his bicep with a finger. Was Rey beaten growing up? She
continued, saying to check for bald spots, dried blood, and cuts
and bruises on the scalp. He wondered what he'd find if he
looked under Rey's hair. Did she have scars? "The scalp..." he
repeated in thought, his brow furrowed slightly. “I was already
going to see if they'd allow for me to call for another
examination tomorrow, though the father has been very, very
careful.” he confessed. "Fucking bastard," he said under his
breath. Unfortunately, in court, he was never allowed to insult
the prick, so it felt good to do so now. He told Rey that he
appreciated her offer to help, but he really didn't know what
more she could do. He didn't want to bother her by ranting about
his troubles. She apologized again, stating that she wasn't a
lawyer and couldn't be much help, but she hoped he could find
the evidence he needed or convince the jury that he had more
evidence. He shook his head. "There's no need for you to
apologize. Again, I appreciate the offer and your advice," he
assured her before looking away from her briefly, finally taking
a much-needed sip of his coffee before taking a chance and
asking what had been on his mind. “Is your advice from… personal
experience?” he asked her, looking back at her. "You don't have
to answer if you don't want to," he added quickly, not wanting
her to feel pressured to tell him anything that would make her
feel uncomfortable.
Eventually, he turned his focus back to his mother's and her
irritating emails, telling Rey that perhaps she could help him
with something else. That seemed to brighten her mood, looking
eager to help him as she took another bite of her cookie.
Adorable. He gave her a hypothetical, asking if she would go to
dinner with someone she was trying to avoid or ignore them and
continue to be pestered until she felt backed into a corner. She
raised a brow, and it quickly clicked in his mind that the
hypothetical could be referring to himself and her out of
context, so he swiftly tried to rectify that, telling her that
he was not referring to the two of them. He doesn't date, so he
would never try asking her out for dinner. She said that it was
good that he wasn't talking about them, saying that would have
been awkward if he had. He didn't know why he felt disappointed,
or possibly even hurt to hear that, but he did, for some reason.
Honestly, he should feel relieved knowing that she didn't want
something that he also believed that he didn't want. This was a
good thing. "Right," he said in agreement, ignoring the
confusing feelings that he felt. He was just tired and stressed.
And lonely. She went about answering his question, saying that
it would depend on who was reaching out to her and how actively
she was trying to avoid them in this hypothetical. That was a
fair point. Depending on the person and the relationship you had
with them, it sometimes would have no great effect to ignore
them in this situation. However, since he knew he was referring
to his mother, it did. Rey continued, saying that it was
sometimes easier to just go through with the dinner and deal
with it so that they couldn't bother you anymore. She then
shrugged, saying that she didn't know who would be so desperate
as to reach out to him for company. He managed a chuckle at
that, but since he knew the truth, it was a rather humorless
chuckle. He wasn't sure why his mother was so eager to reach out
to him these days. It wasn't as if she had ever acted like she
wanted anything to do with him when he had been growing up. “I
do make for rather boring company. Especially in long
intervals," he said lightly, somewhat joking before getting more
serious again. “My mother is the one reaching out to me. You've
probably heard of her. She's one of the candidates running for
Senator," he confessed, letting Rey know more of the details. He
was at a complete loss about all of this. "Leia Organa," he
clarified. “And I am very actively trying to avoid her," he
admitted to her. “My relationship with her is a bit…
destructive, and what she usually has to bother me about isn't
exactly something that can be easily dealt with," he further
explained, his expression growing a bit more bitter as he
thought about his recent conversations with his mother. Nothing
ever changed with her, nor was anything ever good enough for
her, so he knew he would never hear the end of her trying to
change or 'fix' him in order to 'help' him. He shook his head,
knowing he was saying too much and needed to stop. Rey didn't
know him, nor did she need to. She probably didn't want to. She
was just the waitress at the coffee shop he went to. And the
girl he occasionally ran into while jogging, apparently, and he
was just the man who flirted endlessly with her normally and
left her tips. “I'm sorry, I'm just tremendously tired tonight.
I shouldn't be asking you for family advice or prying into your
own personal life," he said, running a hand through his hair
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#Post#: 1858--------------------------------------------------
REY [16]
By: winterssmary Date: July 17, 2021, 3:08 am
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She was relieved that Ben wasn't too uncomfortable with her
sitting down. She should have thought to ask him sooner, but she
just assumed that he invited her to when he offered her a
cookie. She was an idiot, is what she learned. Maybe she was
just so focused on how fucking pretty his eyes were or how
beautiful he was when he smiled at her. Or maybe it was because
she just wanted to sit across from him. She wanted to spend some
time with him, to speak gently to him and help him feel better
somehow. The cookies were a good start, but he seemed lonely.
And maybe, she was a little lonely too. "Good," she breathed
quietly after gaining his approval. After they both took a quick
bite of their respective cookies, she mentioned that she knew a
little about the system that he worked in, despite not really
knowing anything about law. She offered her help or advice, just
to try and ease his mind. He didn't seem thrilled by that, but
he didn't seem angry either, which was all she really cared to
avoid at the moment. She didn't want him to think she was trying
to pry or that she thought she could somehow do a better job
than him. She couldn't and she knew it. He said that the only
thing that could help is more evidence, which seemed unlikely,
but he added that he had a few connections he could use. That
was all good, she supposed. However, at the evidence line -- and
having piece together that this case involved child abuse -- she
felt a familiar stinging on her scalp, the burning and tugging
on her hair coming back as a phantom pain. She remembered her
own case when she was a child, after Mr. Plutt learned that CPS
was on his trail and he started being more careful about leaving
marks on her. She knew that her lawyer might have stood a better
chance if he knew that the hair pulling got worse, since it was
easier to hide. No one checked a child's scalp, for some reason.
So she brought it up to Ben, wondering if he'd known of an
investigator who tried that yet. She spoke as if she were in a
trance, remembering her own screams as wads of her hair were
ripped out while Mr. Plutt dragged her back down the hallway,
remembering how terrifying it was to reach up to her scalp only
to find blood on her hands. Without meaning it, she ran her own
fingers through her hair, tracing over one of the scars that she
knew about. She was sure there were more back there, but she
couldn't exactly see them. She could just feel the raised skin
on her crown. She told him what to check for, watching as Ben
furrowed his brow, seeming to ponder it for a moment. "Yeah.
It's not always easy to see, but it's worth a try if you haven't
already. Anything to save this kid," she said quietly. He
explained that he was already planning on calling for another
examination of the child tomorrow, but that the father had been
very careful. There was a disappointment in his voice, followed
by an almost growl that she heard as he whispered something
under his breath. "The smart ones always are, unfortunately,"
she said. She tried to shake all of her thoughts and memories
from her head, apologizing after he said that he didn't really
know what she could help with. He was right, of course. Her
advice wasn't enough to win a case and it might not have meant
anything at all to him. Maybe it was something obvious to a good
family lawyer. She admitted that she knew she couldn't be much
help, apologizing for inserting herself into his business like
this. She hoped that he got what he needed in order to save this
child, both for Ben's sake and the little kid's. He assured her
that she didn't need to apologize, that he appreciated her offer
and her trying. She gave him a small smile, nodding. She took
another bite of cookie before he spoke up once more. He asked if
her advice was from personal experience. She looked up at him,
eyes going a little wider than she would have liked before he
added that she didn't need to answer if she didn't want to. She
didn't know how to answer that. "Uhm..." She didn't want to
divulge all of the details of her childhood. She didn't need to
tell this man that she was beaten and bruised and hurt and
molested by her foster father who she still lived with. She was
ashamed of that. She was disgusted by who she was and how weak
she felt. "I... I mean... I grew up in the foster system. My
case worker told me a few things to look out for and I heard a
few stories from kids passing through," she lied. Well, it
wasn't all a lie. She grew up in the foster system and heard
horror stories from other kids, but she was the only constant
kid in Mr. Plutt's care. She rarely actually interacted with
other foster children. Or other children in general. "There's so
much abuse in the system and it rarely ever gets caught. They
wanted us to be a little more prepared, I guess," she said. She
wished that were true.
After a moment, he spoke up again, saying that Rey might be able
to help him with something, which caused her to perk up. She
grinned, saying that was a good thing and taking another bite of
her cookie. He gave her an odd hypothetical about going to
dinner with someone she was avoiding. But it didn't end in a
good place either. If she were to avoid said dinner, she would
be getting pestered and pestered until she felt backed into a
corner. Either way, it sounded miserable. But, of course, she
thought that Ben was referring to the two of them. It happened
to match their situation a little too perfectly. But, honestly,
if Ben were asking her to dinner, Rey would have said yes at
this point. She was enjoying being around him when he wasn't
being horny and weird. She genuinely thought he was a good
person. But she wasn't looking for one-night stands, which
seemed to be all he was interested in. If he were actually
asking her on a date, something that might lead to something
genuine, she would have said yes. But that wasn't the case. They
obviously wanted two different things. And also, Ben explained
that he specifically wasn't referring to the two of them, which
was a little disappointing. It hurt. She knew it was because she
was a little interested in him and to learn that he legitimately
only wanted sex from her made her feel small and useless. So,
even though she thought of him as a friend and someone she
looked forward to seeing the mornings, he still just thought of
her as the girl he flirts with at the coffee shop. She tried to
ignore those thoughts though, saying it was good and it would
have been awkward otherwise. He agreed. She answered his
question, saying that it would depend on the person and the
relationship he were trying to avoid. She said that it might be
easier to just get the dinner over with so that they can't
pester him anymore. She shrugged afterward, joking that she
didn't know who was desperate enough to reach out to him for
company. He chuckled, but it didn't seem genuine, which bothered
her. "Oh, Ben, it was a joke. I didn't mean it," she assured
him. He tried to joke along that he made for boring company over
long periods of time. She smiled softly, though she didn't want
to keep it going. He obviously wasn't in the mood to be teased.
He explained that it was his mother who was pestering him. Leia
Organa. She remembered reading about her briefly when she
Googled Ben recently, finding out that she was a generally good
candidate, but that her husband was a bit of a sleazebag and her
son was a family disappointment who sleeps around too much.
While she agreed that Ben's one-night-stands weren't the life
for her, she didn't understand how he was dubbed a
disappointment. He was an extremely successful lawyer who
specialized in helping people during the darkest times of their
lives. How was that disappointing? She nodded. "Oh, yeah. I've
heard of her," she said. She actually knew she would likely vote
for Leia, since she wanted to do something about poverty and she
was the pro-LGBT candidate. He explained that he was very
actively avoiding her, since their relationship was destructive.
He explained that she never bothered him with things he could
actually deal with. She didn't know what that meant and she knew
that family relationships were complicated. He was obviously
hurt by his mother somehow, but she didn't know enough. She just
knew that it was his mom. "Well, that changes things, Ben," she
said quietly. Ben shook his head, apologizing and saying he was
very tired. He said that he shouldn't be asking for family
advice or asking about her personal life. She shook her head.
"No, don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong," she assured
him. "It was getting lonely in here anyway. I actually don't
mind the company," she said with a smile. "But, anyway, onto
your mother, I can't tell you what to do or what it best,
because I don't know your relationship or anything, but, if you
keep running away from whatever happened between you two, you
may live to regret it," she said. It was a pretty generic
response, but a true one, she thought. Maybe. "But I also
understand. If all she does is bring you pain and anger and
negativity, it's not worth it. Salvaging a broken relationship
is no good if it doesn't serve you," she said. She wanted him to
make the decision himself and she wished he would see his
mother, since he should, she thought. But there was more to the
story than she knew and she didn't feel right just blindly
throwing that out there. If his mother didn't bring any good
into his life and he didn't see it getting any better, he
shouldn't have to put himself out there. "I just -," she began,
feeling like she might be getting a little personal, but he
already knew she was in the foster system, so it wouldn't have
been that shocking. "I'm sorry, you can correct me or tell me
how stupid I am in a moment, but -," she began again with a
small laugh. "If I ever got contacted by my mother, I'd give up
pretty much everything I have for a chance to see her, even just
for a dinner," she admitted. [/center]
#Post#: 1861--------------------------------------------------
[16] BEN
By: Zellaphone Date: July 18, 2021, 3:56 pm
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Ben was surprised, but not unpleasantly so when Rey sat down in
the seat across from him. If he were being honest, he was happy
that she was joining him, even if she was a bit of a distraction
from his work. Noticing his surprise, she asked him if it was
alright that she was joining him, and he -- a bit awkwardly --
told her that it was. She seemed relieved by that, saying
quietly that it was good that he was alright with her being
there. Perhaps she was lonely too. They both took a bite of
their cookies, Ben pleased with how warm his still was before
Rey spoke up again. She said that while she didn't know much
about law, she knew a little about the system, offering her help
or maybe just her advice with the case he was currently working
on in order to ease his mind. He leaned back in his chair,
curious to hear what sort of advice she had to give or what kind
of help she had to offer. Really, he didn't think that he needed
either, but he was willing to hear her out, and he'd be lying if
he said that he wasn't somewhat moved by her eagerness to cheer
him up. He couldn't understand why she seemed so set on
bettering his mood with desserts, kind words, and help, but he
wasn't about to reject any of it. He wanted it. He liked it. It
wasn't very often at all that people did things for him out of
the kindness of their own hearts. In fact, he couldn't remember
the last time someone had done so. Usually, people were selfish
with him, using him and helping him just to get what they wanted
from him. But that was usually what he expected from most
people, so he tried not to let it bother him too much. It did,
though. He listened as Rey went on to say that he didn't have to
accept her help, not wanting to come off as nosy or pry into his
private business, but he was still willing to hear her out. He
knew that she didn't have any bad intentions. However, he did
inform her that not much could be done for the case without
gaining more evidence between now and tomorrow, which was very
unlikely, but he admitted that he did have a few connections at
his disposal. Phasma was the first that came to mind, and it
admittedly wouldn't be the first time he would be using her to
gain evidence in a way that could be considered illegal if
scrutinized, if he actually called her at all. It would be easy
to fake some sort of claim that would allow her access into
Julie's home, and Phasma was usually fine with doing him favors
since he... had a... close connection to Hux. Rey told him to
have someone check the girl's scalp. She explained that cops
didn't usually do so, and that when an adult knows they're in
trouble, they tend to be more careful. That was true, especially
in this case, and he couldn't recall if anyone had examined
Julie's scalp or not. Unfortunately, he wasn't usually present
during examinations, and he was normally only given any evidence
that they did find, not a full report. He knew that they hadn't
mentioned any head or scalp injuries, however, and he also knew
that, depending on the cop, the examinations weren't always as
thorough as they needed to be. That is usually why he always
tried calling for another examination. She went on to say that
hair-pulling in situations like these usually got worse once the
adult knew they were under investigation, and he tilted his head
just a tad, finding the way that Rey was wording everything to
be interesting. She was speaking as if she knew what she was
saying was absolutely factual as if she had experienced this
herself. He watched as she ran her hand through her hair as she
spoke, and he found that action to be very interesting, tapping
his finger against his bicep as he felt a twinge of anger. Had
Rey been abused before? If so, by who, and was it taken care of
properly? She told him what to check for, and Ben couldn't help
but wonder if her own scalp used to have bald spots, dried
blood, and cuts and bruises. He wondered if there were scars on
it now, and the few scars on his own body seemed to ache with
that thought, though there was no real pain there anymore. He
furrowed his brow, thinking over her words. She said that the
injuries weren't always easy to see, but checking the scalp was
worth a try if it hadn't already been done, quietly adding to do
anything to save the kid. He nodded, his expression softening a
bit at her words. Why did she always seem to care so much about
people she didn't even know? "She'll be alright," he assured
her. "I'll make sure of it," he added confidently. He wouldn't
allow a child to live a miserable existence if he could do
anything about it, and he would do anything and everything he
could to make sure that she was safe. He explained to her that
he had already been planning on calling for another examination
tomorrow, thinking that maybe they would allow him to check some
of her over himself, but that the father had been very, very
careful. No longer in the courtroom, he allowed himself to
insult the man under his breath bitterly, wishing that he could
be given permission to beat the man senseless for all the pain
he had put this child through. He hated that man. He hated
having to sit there and listen to the disgusting creature lie
through his teeth and act like he was the victim in all of this.
Rey said that the smart ones were always careful, unfortunately,
and she shook her head after he told her that he appreciated her
offer to help. She apologized, admitting that she couldn't be
much help, but she hoped he found the evidence that he needed in
order to win the case. He shook his head, insisting that she
didn't need to apologize to him and assuring her once more that
he appreciated her advice. She smiled a bit and nodded, taking a
bite of her cookie, and he decided to ask what had been on his
mind ever since she had started to give him her advice. He asked
her if it had been from personal experience, and she looked back
up at him, her eyes wide with shock. Quickly, he added that she
didn't have to answer his question if she didn't want to,
knowing that it was a highly personal question that could make
her feel extremely uncomfortable. He just couldn't help but
wonder and ask because maybe, just maybe... he could offer to
help her as well if the situation had never been properly dealt
with. She hesitated for a moment before opening up, confessing
that she had grown up in the foster system. He straightened up a
bit at that, listening as she explained that her caseworker had
warned her of a few things to look out for and that she had
heard stories from other children as well. That made sense,
unfortunately. As much as he hated to think about it, he knew
that the foster system wasn't a flawless system. It had its
flaws, and he was sure that there had been children he had won
cases for that had been sent into foster care and still
mistreated, as much as that pained him. Rey said there was much
abuse in the system that rarely got noticed, and he nodded,
aware of that fact, and she explained that they had wanted her
to be more prepared for what she might have been getting into.
"I see..." he said quietly, wondering if Rey was telling him
everything or not. Of course, it really wasn't any of his
business. He just hoped that she had managed to have nothing but
good experiences in the system. “How old were you when you went
into the system, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked her,
wondering if she had ever really even known her own parents and
what had happened to him. Of course, he wasn't going to press
for that many details. Again, it wasn't any of his business, and
really, he probably shouldn't even care. It wasn't as if Rey
thought of him as a friend or anything like that. He was just a
regular customer who pestered her and flirted with her.
Eventually, he mentioned that there might be something else she
could help him with, thinking about his mother again. He watched
as Rey perked up, a grin on her face, looking so happy at the
thought that she could maybe help him. His stomach fluttered at
that, but he did his best to ignore it. Perhaps his coffee was
giving him indigestion. She took another bite of her cookie, and
he gave her a hypothetical, asking if she'd go to dinner with
someone she was trying to avoid, or if she'd allow them to
pester her until she felt backed into a corner. She quirked a
brow, and it immediately clicked in his mind what she could
assume from that hypothetical. It was logical for her to assume
that he was referring to them, and he quickly clarified that
this wasn't the case, not wanting her to think that he was going
to ask her on a date. That wasn't what he wanted at all. He
didn't date, and he wasn't about to start making exceptions to
his rules just because Rey was incredibly kind to him. She said
that it was good that he wasn't referring to them, saying that
would have been awkward, and he hadn't been expecting to feel
disappointed from that, but he did. So she would have rejected
him had he asked her out? Maybe she really wasn't attracted to
him as he had originally thought. Well, at least now he knew,
not that it mattered. Again, he hadn't been planning on ever
asking her out anyway. He was only interested in having sex with
her, if she ever changed her mind about wanting that. He agreed
that it would have been awkward, trying to ignore the hurt that
he felt. She then answered his question, saying that it would
depend on who was reaching out to her and how much she was
trying to avoid them. She told him that it might be easier to
just go to the dinner and get everything over with, but he knew
that it wouldn't work like that. Of course, she didn't since she
hardly had any details about what he was actually dealing with.
She shrugged, joking that she didn't know who would be desperate
enough to reach out to him for company, and if this situation
involved anyone but his mother, he might have chuckled a bit
more genuinely at that. She assured him sweetly that it had been
a joke and that she didn't mean it, but he already knew that.
She just didn't understand, and that was on him since he hadn't
really told her anything. "I know," he assured her, trying to
joke along with her by saying that he did make for rather boring
company, especially over long periods of time. She smiled at
that, but didn't make any more jokes, and he felt the need to
explain himself a bit further even though he had originally
planned on avoiding doing just that. He explained that the
person he was avoiding was his mother, saying that Rey had
probably heard about her, which she had, unsurprisingly. His
mother was pretty much well-known by everyone in the city by now
whether she was loved or hated. Just from what little bit he
knew about Rey, he figured that it was likely that she would be
voting for her, or, at least, didn't mind her, which was fine.
Despite his relationship with his mother, he was going to vote
for her. He didn't agree with most of her thoughts and opinions
when it came to their personal lives, but he did agree with her
political stances, and he knew that she'd do everything she
could to make the city a better place for the people who needed
it. He admitted to Rey that he was actively trying to avoid his
mother and that his relationship with her was... destructive,
and that what she had to bother him about wasn't something that
could be solved over a dinner. What she wanted was for him to be
a different person. The person she thought he could be and
wanted him to be. Nothing was ever good enough for her, and that
included him, her only child. Quietly, Rey said that that
changes things, but he shook his head, apologizing and saying
that he shouldn't be asking her for family advice or asking her
about her own personal life. They didn't have that kind of
relationship, and he blamed it all on how tired he was. Surely
that was why he was opening up more to her and wanting her to
open up in return. But he also wasn't a total fool. He knew that
he cared about Rey already more than he cared about most other
people. She was beautiful, funny, intelligent, strong-willed,
and incredibly kind. He couldn't help but feel drawn to her. She
just had a natural way of drawing people in, it seemed, and that
was dangerous for him. He tried to distance himself from people
for a reason, but here he was... wishing to be closer to her in
some way. Rey shook her head, asking him not to apologize since
he hadn't done anything wrong. She explained that it had been
getting lonely for her, and that she actually didn't mind his
company. She smiled, and he couldn't help the way her words
warmed him. She didn't mind his company. She wanted his company.
His lips twitched upwards briefly, but then Rey jumped back into
what they had been discussing about his mother. She said that
she couldn't tell him what to do or what was best because she
didn't know all of the details about their relationship, but if
he kept running from whatever happened between them, he may end
up regretting it. He highly doubted that. After everything his
mother had done to him, he firmly believed that he was better
off without her. Having a relationship with her meant having to
keep her happy, which meant having to sacrifice his own
happiness. Rey went on to say that she also understood, saying
that if his mother only brought him pain and negativity, then it
wasn't worth it, telling him that salvaging a broken
relationship was no good if it didn't serve him. He hummed at
that. "That is true," he agreed with her. She was right, he
didn't owe his mother anything if everything came at his own
expense. Rey wasn't done yet, though, starting to say something
else before hesitating for a moment. He waited patiently, and
when she continued, she apologized, saying that he could correct
her or tell her that she's stupid in a moment, hesitating again
and laughing. He raised a brow, wondering where she was going
with all of this, but then she said that if she ever got
contacted by her mother... she'd give up just about anything for
the chance to see her... even if it was only for a dinner. His
heart ached at that, suddenly feeling as though he was being
insensitive dragging Rey into his personal business with his
mother, but maybe if she ever met his mother she'd understand.
"That's not stupid," he assured her softly, fighting the sudden
urge to reach out to her and touch her. He looked away from her
for a moment, taking another sip of his coffee and wondering how
he should proceed with this. Here he was talking about how he
was running from his mother when Rey would clearly do anything
just to have a mother. But... his mother had never exactly felt
like a mother to him. “I wish I could feel that strongly for
her, but when it comes to my family, my relationship with most
of them is rather... estranged,” he tried to explain, not
wanting to come off as an asshole. “And salvaging the
relationships would certainly not benefit me," he explained,
making his decision. He would continue to ignore his mother. He
owed her nothing, and he certainly had no reason to humor her
just to be insulted for an hour or more. It didn't matter if she
was his mother. "Thank you for your input," he told Rey, exiting
out of his emails tab on his computer. At least that was one
less thing he had to worry about, but then he suddenly realized
that he had just closed all of his conversations with Rey,
leaving them with nothing else to talk about. While that was
fine since he had work to do anyway and she likely did as well,
he found himself not wanting her to leave his company quite yet.
He hadn't admitted it to her yet, but he enjoyed her company as
well. He liked talking with her... and he even liked talking
with her without all of the flirting and teasing and meaningless
conversations. He decided to ask her about something he had been
curious about for a while, just to keep her at the table for at
least a little longer. "I've been curious about your clothes..."
he stated, taking a moment to take another little bite of his
cookie, swallowing before he continued. "Do you paint them
yourself?" he asked.[/center]
#Post#: 1864--------------------------------------------------
REY [17]
By: winterssmary Date: July 19, 2021, 3:59 am
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Was Rey going a bit too far when she offered advice and what to
look for in a child abuse case to a man who specializes in child
abuse cases? Maybe a little bit, but she felt this compulsion
and need to bring it up, since authorities didn't always know
exactly what to look for. She knew from experience that
investigators weren't usually as thorough as they should be and
that it was very common that they believed children were
exaggerating and lying for attention. The scalp was a good place
to look and could tell a whole story and she knew that a good
attorney might be able to do a lot with all of that information.
However, bringing it up brought back her own phantom pains,
causing her to run her hand through her hair, brushing her
fingers over the scars that she'd memorized the shape of. She
remembered having to brush her hair differently to try and cover
her bald spots for a long time and crying in the shower because
of how the hot water hurt on her bloodied skin. She remembered
going through a spell where she got in trouble at school for
wearing beanies to try and cover all the damage. She said that
it was a good place to try if he hadn't already, that they
should try anything to save the child he was working with. He
assured her that the little girl -- apparently -- would be
alright, swearing that he would make sure of it. She nodded at
that, his confidence definitely making her feel better. He had
an extremely good reputation, from what she saw when she Googled
him, and she had no reason to doubt him. She just hoped that
this little girl would find her way into a better, safer home
where she could be loved unconditionally. After discussing the
situation very briefly afterward, Rey apologized for randomly
butting in and inserting her opinion into all of this. She had
no authority on the matter and knew that her input really
wouldn't make much of a difference. He knew better and he could
handle this entire case without her assistance. However, he
seemed to not mind in the slightest, shrugging her apology off
and assuring her that he appreciated her effort. That made her
feel better, definitely. The fact that he wasn't taking offense
to this was a good sign. After a moment, he asked another
question, wondering if her advice was based on personal
experience. She panicked for a split second, eyes going wide. He
said that there was no pressure to answer if it was
uncomfortable. It was definitely a step she wasn't expecting to
take and she was shocked by the whole thing, but she understood
why he asked it and she didn't feel that it was a completely
outlandish assumption that he made. But she also didn't want to
just randomly dump all of her trauma on him at the moment. She
explained that she was in the foster system for a long time,
which was true. However, she absolutely fabricated the bit about
her case worker telling her what to look out for. She added that
she heard several horror stories from other children and that
she was informed of these sorts of things to be prepared, since
the system had incredibly high rates of abusive households. He
quietly accepted this answer, which was a relief. She didn't
want to get into all of it. Not now, anyway. He asked how old
she was when she was first placed in the system, though was
perfectly fine with accepting that she didn't want to talk about
it. She didn't mind speaking about the system. Just about Mr.
Plutt specifically. "Four or five, I think. I just remember that
the orphanage told me I was too old to be adopted and they sent
me away," she said after a hum. She couldn't place the exact
age, but she knew she was very young and it was around the time
she was supposed to start school. "My parents aren't dead, by
the way. They just couldn't take care of me when I was born. Mr.
Plutt says they might come back though. It's why I need to stay
close by. So they don't lose me again," she added quickly. She
may have spent her early childhood in an orphanage, but she was
no orphan. Most people assumed that she was, but she had
parents. And they were out there somewhere. She hoped that, one
day, Mr. Plutt would finally say she was ready to get the
information he had on them so that she could visit them. She was
sure they missed her and she missed them. Not a day went by that
she didn't think of them and want them in her life.
After a little bit, he said that there was something she could
help with, which brought a smile to her face. He asked her about
a hypothetical regarding going to dinner with someone you
actively avoid. On first instinct, she assumed that he was
referring to the two of them, that he might be asking her to
dinner. While she was caught off-guard, she certainly wasn't
opposed to going on a legitimate date with Ben. He was extremely
attractive and a good-hearted man, she learned. She just didn't
want to immediately jump into bed with him. She wanted something
real and long-term. She wanted to fall in love. Ben didn't want
that. But, if he was asking her to dinner, she might be wrong
and would be more than willing to test the waters with him. But
he quickly clarified that he wasn't referring to the two of
them. He didn't want to go on a date with her. His motives with
her were still purely sexual. That stung. It hurt her more than
she was willing to admit, but she did her best to play it off,
just saying that it would be awkward if he asked her on a date.
He agreed, but clarified that this was a different situation.
She said that she wasn't sure, since she didn't know the
details, but that it might be worth the trouble just to get this
individual off her back. But, she added that he might only get
negativity from this interaction, so he should continue to avoid
it. She added a joke that she didn't understand who would be
desperate enough to reach out to him for company. He laughed,
but there was no humor in it, so she quickly explained that it
was a joke and that she didn't mean it. He knew, apparently,
continuing with the joke. But she let it fall after a moment,
not wanting to push him any further. He was already not in the
brightest mood and she didn't want to make it worse. He
explained that the person he was avoiding was his mother, which
changed things for her. But he had a strained relationship with
the woman, despite her high political status and overall
likeability. Her political personality was, undoubtedly,
different from that one Ben grew up with, which made perfect
sense. She said that changed things, but he disagreed. He then
apologized, saying that he shouldn't be delving into her
personal life or asking her for family advice. But she shrugged
that off quickly, assuring him that she liked his company and
that she had been lonely in the shop tonight. This was good for
her. She watched as a genuine smile overtook his lips for a
brief moment, you know, before she jumped back into the
conversation at hand. She said that, if he didn't move forward
and talk to his mother, he might regret it. But, by the same
token, he shouldn't keep putting effort into a relationship that
only brings him heartache. She knew that he had to put himself
and his own wellbeing first. He seemed to agree with that
sentiment. But, she had another point to bring up. She said that
he could correct her or insult her once she was done, laughing
about it, but she explained that, if she were contacted by her
mother, she would give up anything just to see her. He assured
her that it wasn't stupid. She shrugged. "Maybe not stupid, but
it's insensitive to your situation. Not all mothers are good and
I shouldn't project all of my baggage onto you," she said
nonchalantly. It wasn't his fault that she was motherless and
their two situations weren't comparable in any way. He explained
that he wished he could feel that way about his mother, but that
he had an estranged relationship with most of his family. Her
expression fell a bit at that, hurting to hear it. She never had
a family, so she understood that loneliness. She just couldn't
imagine how bad it must have been for him to feel broken apart
from the family he did have. "That's a shame, really. I'm sorry
to hear that," she said genuinely. He said that salvaging these
relationships didn't serve him at all. She nodded, understanding
completely. Some family members are toxic and, blood or not, you
shouldn't be forced to interact with them if they hurt you.
"Well, if that's the case, then you certainly don't owe her
anything. You shouldn't have to put yourself through more
aggravation just for her benefit," she said, agreeing with his
decision to just ignore his mother for now. He thanked her for
her input and she nodded, smiling at him. "Of course. Glad I
could help," she assured him. She probably should be getting
back to the counter, but there were no customers at the moment.
The entire restaurant had emptied out during their conversation,
leaving just the two of them with Finn cleaning tables and Rose
in the back, probably texting someone. Ben spoke up again after
a moment, saying that he was curious about her clothes. She
quirked a brow. Was this about to be insulting? All of her
clothes were thrifted. It was all she could afford. She knew he
was a wealthy lawyer, but was he about to say something that he
thought was funny about her Goodwill jeans? Apparently not,
since all he did was ask if she painted them herself. Her eyes
lit up just a bit at that, glad he'd noticed. "Oh? Uhm, yeah,
actually," she said, swallowing another bite of her cookie. "I
buy a lot of thrifted clothes and sometimes I just want to make
them a little more... fun, I guess," she said with a shrug,
putting her right foot on her left knee and showing off her
hand-painted shoes for emphasis. She bought the sneakers for
about twelve dollars but cleaned them and gave them a decent
paintjob. Now they were one-of-a-kind. "It's pretty childish, I
know, but it's fun for me. I like it," she said with a smile.
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[17] BEN
By: Zellaphone Date: July 19, 2021, 9:57 pm
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Rey gave her advice and he listened, watching as she ran a hand
through her own hair as she told him to get someone to check
Julie's scalp for bald spots, dried blood, and cuts and bruises.
She said that hair-pulling typically got worse in situations
such as this, and while he was familiar with that being a common
form of abuse, especially for girls, he couldn't help but take
notice of how Rey was wording everything. It was like she was
speaking from her own experience, which he hoped wasn't true,
but being a lawyer -- and a good one -- he had a good eye for
interpreting people's choice of words and body language. She
told him that checking the scalp was worth a try if he hadn't
already, wanting him to do anything he could to save the girl.
He nodded, planning on doing just that. He assured her that the
girl would be alright, confidently adding that he would make
sure of it. She nodded, and he went on to explain that he had
already planned on calling for another examination tomorrow,
having known that cops rarely did a thorough enough examination
the first round. Nearly every case like this that he had worked
on had evidence missed because of negligence. He thanked Rey for
her advice, and she apologized, wishing him luck. He brushed off
her apology, not caring at all that she had felt the desire to
give him some advice for his case. She had just been trying to
help ease his mind, after all, which he greatly appreciated. If
perhaps anyone else had tried giving him advice, however, he
probably would have taken issue with it, but Rey wasn't telling
him all of this because she thought he was incompetent, she was
just being nice. He took a moment to finally take a sip of his
coffee, desperately needing the caffeine, feeling as though he
was slowly melting into his chair. When he set it down, he
decided to ask the question that had been on his mind, asking
Rey if her advice had been from personal experience. Her eyes
widened, and he couldn't blame her for being so surprised by his
sudden question. Quickly, he added that she didn't have to
answer, knowing he had just asked something deeply personal. He
just wanted to know if someone had hurt her in the past, and if
so, he wanted to know if they had been properly dealt with. If
not, he would glady deal with it. She explained that she had
been placed in the foster system when she was very young, saying
that a caseworker had warned her of things to look out for and
that she had heard horror stories from other children since the
system had much unnoticed abuse within it. He knew that to be
true, though he couldn't tell whether Rey was telling him
everything or not. Either way, it truly wasn't any of his
business, and it wasn't like he was actually her lawyer or even
a friend to her, so he didn't press her about it. He accepted
her explanation, but did ask her one more question, wondering
how old she had been when she had been placed into foster care.
She didn't seem to have any problems answering him, saying that
she had been four or five and that the orphanage had told her
that she had been too old to be adopted. "That's still very
young," he commented, wondering how long she had been in the
orphanage, but not asking. "I'm sorry, that must have been very
difficult for you," he tried to sympathize. While he had never
felt as though he had much of a family, he did. His father had
been mostly absent, as well as his mother, and she hadn't made
him feel very good about himself when she had been around, but
he at least had a family and a home. He couldn't imagine
literally not having anyone from that young of an age. Rey then
added that her parents weren't dead, which caused him to raise a
brow, wondering why she had been placed in an orphanage if that
was the case. She must have been abandoned. She explained that
she parents had been unable to take care of her, which he knew
happened from time to time. So she had been given up. He felt an
ache in his chest at that, and while their experiences were
different, he couldn't help but feel as though maybe she could
understand him. She must have been so lonely. She must have felt
so unwanted, just as he did. However, that's when she went on to
say that Mr. Plutt, who must have been her caseworker or a
foster parent or something, told her that her parents might come
back. She said that's why she needed to stay close by, not
wanting her parents to lose her again. His expression dropped
slightly at that. She thought her parents were going to come
back for her? Did she know how incredibly rare that was,
especially at her age? "Right... of course," he said quietly,
unable to bring himself to ruin her dreams. He couldn't do that
to her, even if he did believe that she was holding out for
something that would never come to be. It would crush her. Or
just make her extremely angry.
Thinking about Rey's parents had him thinking about his mother's
email again. Feeling a bit guilty about not really needing Rey's
help when it came to the case, he decided to ask for her advice
about this issue instead. She perked up at the invitation to
help him, and he did his best to ignore the fluttering he felt
in his stomach seeing her eyes so bright and her smile so wide
just from the idea that she could help him with something. She
honestly seemed too kind for her own good, but he wasn't
complaining. He didn't give her all of the details about what
had been going on with his mother, but instead gave her a
hypothetical, asking if she'd go to dinner with someone she was
avoiding. He didn't think anything of the question at first, but
as soon as Rey raised a brow, he realized what she might be
thinking. There was a chance that she could be thinking that he
was talking about them. It wasn't a crazy thought, but it
certainly wasn't a correct one either, or one that he wanted her
to continue to consider. He wasn't asking her on a date. He
wasn't going to ask her on a date. He was attracted to her,
sure, and was aware that he liked her in a friendly way, but he
wasn't going to date her. He didn't date. Anyone. And he was
content on continuing to tell himself that that was exactly what
he wanted. All he wanted was casual, meaningless one-night
stands because anything else was just setting himself up to be
hurt or to fail. Quickly, he clarified, telling her that he
hadn't been referring to them, which she was apparently relieved
about, saying that would have been awkward if he had been asking
her out on a date. Wait, so she wouldn't want to date him? He
hadn't been expecting it, but that statement hurt. Was it
because they weren't close enough? Was it because she still
thought he was a creepy sleezeball? Was he still being too much
of an asshole? Why did it matter? Really, he should have been
happy that she didn't want him asking her out since that was
what he wanted. Right? He pushed away his thoughts, agreeing
with her. She then went about answering his question, that it
would depend on who was trying to reach out to her in this
hypothetical, saying that sometimes it was just easier to go to
dinner and get everything over with. She then joked, saying that
she didn't know who would be that desperate for his company, and
he forced out a chuckle. He wished he didn't know either. She
apologized, explaining that she had just been joking, but he
assured her that he knew, not wanting her to feel bad about it.
His mother was just a touchy subject. His whole family was a
touchy subject. He tried to make a joke himself about what
boring company he was over time, but she merely smiled, clearly
not wanting to risk teasing him any further, which he was fine
with. Because of her answer, he decided to fill her in on more
of the details, explaining that it was his mother who he was
trying to avoid, saying that she might have heard of her, which
she had, unsurprisingly. His mother was known by most in the
city nowadays, if not everyone. He explained that he was
actively trying to avoid her, and that they had a destructive
relationship. She said that the subject being about his mother
changed things, which he should have expected. Of course someone
who didn't really know his mother or knew his whole situation
with her would think that he should go to dinner with her. He
shook his head, apologizing to her, saying that he was tired and
shouldn't be asking her questions about her personal life or
seeking out her advice for family matters. He was being
insensitive and far too personal with her tonight when he had
been trying to avoid being so. As he did with just about
everyone, he had been trying to not get closer to her, but he
knew that was exactly what was happening now. However, Rey
brushed off his apology, saying that she enjoyed his company and
had been lonely. She wanted him there. She liked having him
there. Fuck, he enjoyed her company too. So much so that he was
still avoiding the urge to invite her home with him to not even
sleep with him just because of how lonely and stressed he felt.
His lips twitched upwards into a smile at her words, finding
comfort in them. She liked having him around. His smile fell,
however, when she went back to discussing his situation with his
mother, saying that he might live to regret it if he kept
avoiding her. Although, she added that he shouldn't try and
salvage a relationship that only gave him negative returns. He
agreed with that, knowing that speaking with his mother was
ultimately pointless for him. Nothing good ever came from it,
but she wasn't quite finished with her points yet. Hesitantly,
and giving him a warning that he could correct her or call her
stupid, she said that if her mother ever tried to contact her,
she'd give up anything just to see her for one dinner. Fuck,
what was he doing asking the girl who had never had a real
mother what to do about his own? He felt like shit now, his
heart aching for Rey, wishing that she could have what she
wanted while also understanding his own situation. Quietly, he
told her that her desire wasn't stupid. It wasn't ridiculous for
someone who had never met their mother to want to see them, but
Rey shrugged. She said that maybe it wasn't stupid, but it was
insensitive to his situation, saying that not all mothers were
good and that she shouldn't project her own baggage onto him.
“No, but I feel as though I’ve been rather insensitive to your
situation as well," he admitted. He explained that he wished he
could feel the same way about his mother as she did her own, but
his relationship with most of his family was rather estranged.
She definitely didn't need to know all of those details. She
didn't need to know that he hadn't seen his father many, many
years, or that his mother had sent him away because he had been
too much to deal with when he had been eleven, or that her
brother, much like herself, only ever cared about fixing him.
All he really had was Lando, who wasn't even a blood relative.
Same for Jannah, but she didn't really seem to care for him
anyway. Rey didn't need to know the extent of his loneliness or
his problems. She told him that was a shame, saying that she was
sorry to hear about his relationship with his family. He shook
his head. “It’s not as much of a shame as you would think, and
there’s no need to feel sorry. I am much better off without
them," he assured her, adding that salvaging any of the
relationships wouldn't be beneficial to him. Rey was right, he
should humor his mother if all she was going to do was hurt him.
He should just continue to ignore her. She nodded, agreeing with
him in that he didn't owe his mother anything, saying that he
shouldn't put himself through aggravation for her benefit.
"Agreed," he said with a nod, thanking her for her input.
Really, he should have been able to come to that conclusion much
sooner, but when it came to his mother things got...
complicated. Rey smiled, brushing off his thanks and assuring
him that she was glad that she could help. He gave her a small
smile in return, exiting out of his work emails. It got quiet
then, their conversations all at an end. He knew that it would
probably be best to let Rey return to her work, even if there
were no customers, and he knew that he needed to return to his
own work as well... but he wasn't quite ready for her to leave
his company yet. She had said that she had been getting lonely,
and he had been lonely as well, so what was the harm in talking
just a little longer? He began to ask her a question that had
been on his mind since the day he had met her, admitting that he
had been curious about her clothes. She raised a brow, and he
asked if she painted them herself, causing her face to light up
once again in the way that he liked to see. She confessed that
she did, explaining that she bought a lot of thrifted clothes
and liked to make them more... fun. He smiled at that, watching
as she put her foot on her knee, showing him her sneakers that
he had noticed before. The ones with the blue butterflies. He
had one that looked just like them framed in his home office.
She said that her hobby was childish, but it was fun for her and
she liked it. "I like it as well," he admitted softly, not
finding it childish at all. He always looked forward to seeing
what sort of hand-painted thing she'd be wearing every time he
saw her. “Perhaps you could paint something of mine some time,"
he mused thoughtlessly before once again realizing that he was
crossing that line between a meaningless relationship and
something else. However, he found himself minding less and less.
If Rey genuinely enjoyed his company and having him around... he
supposed he wouldn't be opposed to them being on more friendly
terms. “My jogger shorts could always use an update," he added
as a joke, just in case if he had read anything wrong.[/center]
#Post#: 1868--------------------------------------------------
REY [18]
By: winterssmary Date: July 20, 2021, 9:35 pm
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Rey was relieved that Ben was handling the situation he was
navigating as well as he was. She was a little surprised by it,
but pleasantly so. He seemed so calm and collected, so focused
and so hellbent on saving this innocent child from a terrible
situation. Her advice might have been helpful, but his reaction
to it made her more confident that he would have taken care of
it regardless. He wasn't exactly known to lose and he,
apparently, wasn't about to ease up now. He thanked her for her
input, despite it not really being needed, and then started to
ask her some questions. He wanted to know if her advice about
hair-pulling and scalp damage came from personal experience. It
did. It absolutely did, but she didn't really want him to know
that. Not now. They still didn't know each other well enough for
her to disclose all of that. So she lied. Partially. She
answered vaguely, explaining that she was in the foster system
for most of her life and that her caseworker was generous with
information in an attempt to protect her. The truth is, no one
in her life had ever tried to protect her. Not really. Not that
she can remember, anyway. She only ever remembered being passed
around and abandoned entirely by a slew of people who never
wanted her. Then she ended up in Mr. Plutt's care, which wasn't
much better. She was never protected, but at least she had a
place to stay. And hope that things would get better. She'd be
able to find her parents, the ones who wouldn't leave her behind
and the ones who would protect and love her, if she got the
information Mr. Plutt promised her. She just had to take her
licks for the moment. It would get better someday. Ben accepted
her answer about the foster system, but asked how old she was
when she was placed in the system to begin with. She explained
that she wasn't positive, but she was around four or five. She
knew that it was just before she started kindergarten and after
the orphanage said she was too old to be adopted. Ben casually
commented that it was very young to be sending her away, to
assume that no one would want to adopt her. "Right. But people
want babies... I wasn't a baby anymore," she admitted with a
small shrug. "Besides, they didn't have a lot of space there.
They let a lot of us go when we were really young," she added,
an obvious excuse for the people that saw her as a burden. She
just... she couldn't discount how difficult running an orphanage
was and she knew that many of the staff members were wonderful
people. They didn't deserve her bitterness, so she did her best
to stave it off. He apologized, saying that he knew it must have
been hard for her, but she waved it off rather quickly. "Oh,
thank you, but you don't need to apologize. It was so long
ago... I'm fine," she assured him. She didn't want to think too
much about it, knowing that it would be upsetting if she did.
She regularly kept herself up at night thinking about her
childhood and what all it meant. She didn't understand what she
did to make people despise her so much. She was only a child.
She couldn't remember acting out or causing trouble, but Mr.
Plutt always reminded her that she was a problem child. She was
whiny and difficult and put up a fight. She was stubborn and
liked to play the victim a lot. She was impulsive and stupid and
would have ended up on the street if not for him agreeing to
keep her, even after all the accusations and charges she levied
against him earlier in life. She then explained to Ben that her
parents weren't dead, since she knew the term orphanage tended
to paint that image. She explained that they gave her away when
she was born because they couldn't care for her, but that Mr.
Plutt said that, as long as she stayed close, they might come
back for her one day. She didn't want them to lose her again, so
she stayed in his house. Even though she hated it there. She
watched as his expression dropped, quietly agreeing with her,
but she shook her head. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?" she
asked with a small laugh, not even disappointed by it. It was
normal and he might have been right to assume that she was
foolish for her ideas. "Don't worry about it. Rose said the same
thing when I first told her about my parents and I don't think
she's wrong," she admitted, pursing her lips a bit. "It is a
pipe dream and I know it's absurd to think they'll come looking
for me," she added. She wasn't a complete moron. Just a hopeful
one. "I guess I'm just naïve. I haven't lost hope yet," she said
with a little laugh.
He moved topics after a moment, which was nice. Apparently,
since she wasn't capable of offering much help on his work
matter -- for obvious reasons -- he wanted to ask for her
opinion on a different matter. Of course, he initially gave her
an odd hypothetical, one that confused her and made her think,
for a split second, that he might actually be about to ask her
on a date. She would have accepted if that were the case.
However, he quickly clarified that he wasn't referring to the
two of them in this situation. He was not asking her to dinner
and he did not want to take her on a date. That was
disappointing, even if she didn't admit it aloud. She didn't
like being fully aware that his interest in her was purely
sexual. Well, maybe not purely. They were being pretty friendly
at the moment, which was a good step, she supposed. She was
ridiculously attracted to Ben, but she would be happy with a
friendship if that was where this naturally took them. Besides,
after seeing the Google Image results for Ben Solo, she was
convinced that she wasn't his type anyway. His last girlfriend
had an entire career built on looking beautiful in lingerie. He
clarified that he was trying to avoid someone but that they were
pestering him a lot. She tried to be relatively open-ended, but
also fishing for information. She couldn't give much advice
without understanding his relationship to this mystery person.
But she knew that he shouldn't have to put himself out there if
it only caused him pain or brought him negativity of some sort.
She also made a little joke, teasing him about how no one should
be that desperate to reach out to him for company. His chuckle
was humorless and she knew that she hit a nerve without meaning
to. She quickly apologized and he accepted it, even adding his
own little self-deprecating quip. She decided to steer clear of
those for a little bit. He clarified that he was referring to
his mother, which certainly changed things, even if he was
avoiding her. Leia Organa was an extremely popular politician,
one Rey had researched even before knowing that she and Ben were
related. She did wonder why they had different last names and
why she never mentioned her incredibly successful son on the
campaign trail. But that was none of her business. He apologized
about all of this, asking her personal questions and asking her
for advice on family matters. But she brushed it off
immediately, assuring him that she liked talking with him. It
was getting lonely in the store and she liked the familiarity of
having Ben around. A genuine smile graced his face, which
definitely made her heart swell a bit with pride. But it fell
immediately after, when she actually answered his question. She
said that he might regret ignoring his mother, but that it
wasn't worth it if he only humored her and received nothing but
negativity in return. He seemed to agree with that sentiment.
She added that, even if he thought it was stupid, she would give
anything for the opportunity to have a dinner with her mother.
Of course, their circumstances were different and she couldn't
possible compare the two. He assured her that it wasn't stupid
of her to have that idea, which she agreed with. But she thought
herself insensitive to his situation. His mother was a
completely different woman and not all parents are worth their
children's' attention. He admitted that he felt he might be
insensitive to her situation as well, but she shook her head.
She wanted to help. Besides, she'd been listening to classmates
and friends talk about their parents and complain about them all
her life. This was normal. "No, not at all. It's an honest
question. We're just having to tackle it from two completely
different perspectives," she said. He explained that he wished
he could feel the same way about his mother as she did about her
own, but that his entire family had a pretty rocky relationship
with him. It was a shame, really, and she apologized for that.
She knew it must have been hard. But he didn't think it was a
big deal, apparently. He assured her that it wasn't as big of a
shame as she thought, that it was actually better this way. She
didn't believe that. Not in the slightest. But she would let him
keep believing that. She just knew he must have been lonely,
especially given that he didn't seem to really do the whole
attachment thing. "Well, that's good then," she said. He claimed
that salvaging a relationship would be no good to him, so they
both agreed that it would be best for him to continue to just
ignore his mother. He thanked her for her input and she smiled,
glad to help him. After a few moments and a few more bites of
her cookie, he asked her another question, specifically
referring to her clothes. He asked if she painted all of them
herself. She brightened up a bit at that, glad someone took
notice. She explained that she did, that she thrifted most of
her clothes and she liked to try and make them more fun. She let
out the part about her having to cover stains and fix wholes and
nicks in a lot of them, since she didn't think it was too
important. She just liked playing with clothes and messing
around with all the stuff she found. She set her foot on her
knee, showing off her painted sneakers. She had butterflies on
these, based on a design she found online. She said that she
knew it was a little childish, but that she didn't care. She
enjoyed it. He said that he liked it too, which brightened her
grin a bit. "Really? Well, thank you. I always expected a lawyer
would be a little more... stuffy and serious," she said with a
little laugh. She didn't know if he was just humoring her or if
he was being honest, but she was choosing to believe him, given
how open they'd been with one another tonight. He suggested that
maybe she paint something of his sometime, which carried a few
implications and caught her off-guard. She was perfectly happy
with the two of them actually being friends and talking like
normal people. In fact, it was something she truly wanted. She
just wasn't expecting him to initiate it. "Maybe I could, sure.
If you're serious," she said, head tilted a bit. After a bit, he
joked that his jogging shorts could use an upgrade. She laughed.
"Oh, I'm sure. They could definitely use a few tulips and
sunflowers," she teased back. [/center]
#Post#: 1871--------------------------------------------------
[18] BEN
By: Zellaphone Date: July 21, 2021, 2:01 pm
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As stressed as he was about his current case, Ben knew he was
going to win. He didn't allow himself to lose -- especially if
it meant someone was going to get hurt -- even if it meant
giving up sleep and skipping meals in order to work. This case
was certainly no exception, and while things looked a little
grim, he was confident that he could turn it all around. He
expressed this confidence to Rey, wanting her to rest assured
that the child he was working with would be alright. She seemed
to believe him, smiling and nodding before he thanked her for
her input. She hadn't told him anything groundbreaking, but he
did truly appreciate her willingness to help. But now he had
questions for her. He asked her if her advice about the
hair-pulling came from personal experience, recalling how she
had worded certain things and how she had run her hand through
her hair when speaking about scalp damage. It was part of his
job to read people's body language and pay attention to their
words, and all the signs were leading to the possibility that
Rey had once been abused. The thought angered him, feeling
strangely protective of Rey, but she told him that she herself
hadn't been abused. Apparently, she knew about the hair-pulling
from a caseworker warning her about things to look out for in
the foster system, and she had heard horror stories from other
children within the system. He couldn't tell if she was lying or
keeping anything from him, but he didn't push it. It really
wasn't any of his business. He asked her then how old she had
been when she had been placed into the system, and she answered
about four or five. According to her, the orphanage she had been
in had told her that she had been too old to be adopted, so she
had been moved into foster care. He commented that she had still
been very young to be moved, but she said that people wanted
babies from orphanages, which she hadn't been. He wouldn't mind
adopting a preschooler, but he kept that thought to himself,
especially since he knew that he wouldn't. He couldn't. He
worked far too much and lived alone. She added that they hadn't
had a lot of space in the orphanage and that they had to let a
lot of children go when they were still young. "I see," he said
quietly before apologizing, acknowledging that being an orphan
and living in the foster system must have been difficult. While
he certainly knew what it was like to feel alone throughout
one's whole life, he at least had a family. They never really
felt like one, but he had one. Sort of. He had three blood
relatives, two of which he hadn't seen in many, many years. Rey
waved off his apology, thanking him but saying that his apology
was unnecessary since it had all happened so long ago, and she
was apparently fine now. He didn't believe that, though. While
most of what had happened to him happened a long time ago, it
all still hurt. It still made him angry. But, he didn't question
her. Instead, he simply nodded. Rey then explained that her
parents weren't dead, they just hadn't been able to take care of
her. For some reason, that hurt even more, knowing that her
parents willingly gave her up, though he knew that wasn't
extremely uncommon. She went on to say that Mr. Plutt, who he
assumed had to be a caseworker or an old foster parent of hers,
said that her parents might come back for her, which is why she
needed to stay close by so that they didn't lose her again. He
couldn't help the way his expression dropped at that, knowing
how very unlikely that scenario was. Parents didn't come back
for children they gave up, and if they did, it was extremely
rare. Was Rey really that naive? She was in college now. Her
parents weren't coming back. But, of course, he couldn't tell
her that. He didn't have a death wish, nor did he want to be
that rude. He might be an asshole at times, sure, but he wasn't
the kind of person who would tell someone who had been abandoned
that they were never going to see their parents. That would just
be awful, so he quietly agreed with her. She called his bluff
though, shaking her head and asking with a laugh if he thought
she was crazy. His eyes widened. "I-" he tried, not really sure
how to answer that. Crazy, no, but naive, certainly. "Well-" he
tried again, but he still didn't want to insult her in any way.
She told him not to worry about it, saying that Rose, one of the
girls she worked with, said the same thing to her once and she
didn't think she was wrong. Well... that certainly made him feel
better, but not by much. She confessed that she knew her dream
was nothing but a pipe dream, and that she knew it was foolish
to think that her parents would come back for her. So perhaps
she wasn't that oblivious. She confessed that she must be naive,
admitting that she hadn't lost hope with a little laugh. His
heart sunk slightly at that. So she was holding out for
something she knew would never come to be. He knew what that
felt like, though he had given up on all of his pipe dreams
these days and had excepted reality. He knew that his family
would never be proud of him, and he knew that he was destined to
be alone. Life had proven that to him time and time again, and
there was nothing that could be done. But... he didn't think it
was absurd for Rey to have hope. Hoping for change just
sometimes couldn't be helped. “Hope isn’t such a bad thing to
have," he told her aloud, breaking off another bite of his
cookie. "As long as you stay grounded, of course," he added.
While hope wasn't necessarily bad, hoping for the impossible
wasn't a very good use of time.
He changed the conversation after that, all their talk about
parents causing his thoughts to dwell on his mother and how she
had been trying to reach out to him. He thought that maybe Rey
could help him make up his mind about what to do about her, and
she perked up at the chance to help him again. He gave her a
hypothetical, which in hindsight, probably hadn't been the best
idea, but he did so anyway. He asked her what she'd do if
someone she was trying to avoid kept asking her to dinner, only
to have to quickly clarify that he wasn't speaking about them.
It took him a moment, but he became aware of how his question
might have sounded, and he was not trying to ask Rey on a date.
Would he date her if he hadn't given up on relationships
altogether? Absolutely. Was he attracted to her? Extremely, but
that didn't matter. He didn't date, and he wasn't about to make
any exceptions just because he could acknowledge that he already
cared about Rey more than he did most people. She said that it
was good that he wasn't asking her out, however, and that it
would have been awkward if he did. Really, that statement should
have made him feel relieved, but instead... he ended up feeling
a bit hurt. Nonetheless, he agreed, ignoring his own ridiculous
feelings. He was just tired, stressed, and lonely. He didn't
want another girlfriend. She tried to give him the best advice
that she could on the limited amount of information he had given
her, but, of course, she couldn't really help him much without a
little bit more detail. She said that everything depended on the
person and what kind of relationship he had with them and how
actively he was trying to avoid him. She told him that sometimes
it was just easier to go to the dinner and get everything over
with, but then joked that she didn't know who would be so
desperate to reach out to him for company. He tried to chuckle
at that, but it came out as ungenuine. He truly hated being
stuck in this situation, and she apologized, but he brushed it
off and tried to joke back, saying that he made for boring
company, but Rey didn't tease him anymore after that. He
confessed that the person in question was his own mother, whom
he was actively trying to avoid. Rey claimed that changed
things, but he had to disagree, though he couldn't blame her for
thinking such things since she still didn't know all of the
details. He wasn't about to tell her his whole life's story,
however. In fact, he probably shouldn't be discussing this with
her at all. He apologized, explaining that he was tired and he
knew he shouldn't be asking her questions about her personal
life or asking her advice on his own personal family matters.
All of this was more the type of thing that friends did, which
he didn't think that they were, nor did he know if he wanted to
be. Being friends with someone he was so attracted to could be
dangerous. She brushed off his apology, saying that she had been
getting lonely and that she enjoyed his company. That... felt
awfully friendly, and he did his best to ignore how her words
warmed him, thinking that she actually wanted him around because
she liked him. He smiled a bit, but it fell the second she went
back to talking about his mother. She said that he might end up
regretting avoiding his mother, but on the other hand, it wasn't
worth trying to salvage the relationship if all it did was bring
him pain and heartache. He agreed with that. She then went on to
say -- adding that he could call her stupid in a moment -- that
if she even got the chance to see her mother, she'd give up
anything just to have one dinner with her. Guilt sunk in at
that. Perhaps he was being too insensitive complaining about his
mother to someone who would do anything to see her own. He
should have never brought her into any of this. Quietly, he told
her that he didn't think her desires were stupid. Their
situations were just different, in a way, but maybe a bit more
similar than they would think as well. Both of their mothers
abandoned them. The main separation was that his mother
continued to reach out to him anyway after ultimately giving up
on caring for him. She agreed that it wasn't stupid, but said
that it was insensitive to his situation since not all mothers
were good and that she shouldn't be projecting her baggage onto
him. He agreed but admitted that he felt as though he was being
rather insensitive as well. However, she shook her head, saying
that he had just asked an honest question, but they were having
to tackle it from two different perspectives. "Right," he said
with a nod, relieved that she wasn't offended in any way. He
told her that he wished he could feel the same way about his
mother, but when it came to his family, his relationship with
all of them was rather estranged. She apologized, but he brushed
it off, assuring her that it wasn't as much of a shame as she
would think and that he was truly better off this way. Was it
lonely? Yes, but he could deal with loneliness. He had been
doing so his whole life. She said that it was good that he was
better off then, but he could tell that she didn't fully believe
him. “They’ve only tended to cause me more problems, which is
exactly what I don’t need," he further explained, and he assured
her that trying to salvage his relationships with them wasn't
worth it. This led to them both agreeing that it would be best
for him not to go to the dinner with his mother, and he exited
out of his email. She'd keep bothering him, he knew, but he
could just keep ignoring her. He got his stubbornness from her.
He thanked Rey for her help, feeling better about everything now
that he had a second opinion on it. Well, a second opinion other
than Hux's in which he never asked for. The man was just nosy
and thought he was superior to everyone. Rey took another bite
of her cookie, and he did the same, taking another sip of his
depleting coffee as well. He realized that they had now
officially exhausted all of their conversations, meaning that
she was likely going to leave his table so that they could go
back to work, but he didn't want that. He hadn't said it yet,
but he enjoyed her company as well. He liked talking to her. He
liked hearing her insights and her jokes and laughs. She was
intelligent, and he enjoyed speaking with intelligent people. In
order to keep her there with him for just a little longer, he
mentioned her clothes, asking her if she painted them herself.
He had been wondering that since the first day they had met, but
had always tried to remain less personal with her. Of course,
that line had certainly already been crossed tonight. Her eyes
lit up at his question, and she confirmed that she did,
explaining that she thrifted much of her clothes and liked to
make them more fun. He smiled, and she placed her right foot on
her left knee, showing off her shoes that he had noticed earlier
with the blue butterflies painted on them. She said that she
knew it was all childish, but she had fun painting her clothes
and liked it. Softly, he confessed that he liked it as well. Her
clothes were one of the first things he had ever noticed about
her. Her smiled widened, and he was starting to get annoyed with
how much his stomach fluttered around her. She was so, so
beautiful. She questioned him, but thanked him, explaining that
she thought a lawyer would be more stuffy and serious. He
chuckled at that, understanding why she would think that. “Don’t
worry, I am still very much both of those things, he somewhat
joked. He was pretty serious a lot of the time. Then, without
thinking, he suggested that she paint something of his sometime.
However, as soon as the words were out, he realized what kind of
implications they could have, leaving something of his with her.
He panicked slightly, and she said that she might be open to it,
if he was serious, tilting her head. Dammit, he was being much
too friendly. He had probably crossed a line and read all of
this wrong. She was likely this nice to a lot of customers and
regulars. He shouldn't be talking to her like this. "Perhaps..."
he said a bit hesitantly, quickly switching over to humor since
everything suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He joked that
his jogger shorts could use an upgrade, and she laughed,
agreeing with him and saying they could use some tulips and
sunflowers. He grinned. “That would certainly draw some
attention," he said. “Maybe it would help you notice me if we
were to pass one another again," recalling the time they had run
into each other while jogging. “Though I suppose I don’t have to
worry about not catching your eye now that I know you find me
attractive," he teased her, remembering their conversation from
that time.[/center]
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REY [19]
By: winterssmary Date: July 23, 2021, 8:09 pm
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After Rey tried -- and failed -- to give Ben truly useful advice
on his legal case, he said that there might be another matter
she could be more helpful with. She perked up, only to hear a
hypothetical that ended up being about his mother. While she was
relieved -- sorta, but not really; it was confusing -- that he
wasn't referring to her in this scenario, that he wouldn't be
asking her on a date and that he didn't have a legitimate
interest in her, she couldn't help but feel a little slighted by
the remark. It stung to know that he didn't feel the actual
attraction to her, the legitimate one that meant there was
something real between the two of them. His attraction to her
was superficial, purely sexual. But she tried to shake that off,
moving on once he gave her a thorough explanation for his
hypothetical. She still felt the compulsion to help him somehow.
And to just keep talking to him. He apologized though for
springing all of this on her. He went from asking her deeply
personal questions to telling her about his family drama. It was
an odd shift in how they behaved around each other just a few
short weeks ago. But it was a nice change, she could admit. She
rather liked being friendly with Ben, actually wishing it would
go a little further. She wanted to know him better, to know more
about him and to be able to open up to him. Something about him
felt so safe. It was difficult to explain. She shrugged off his
apology, assuring him that she was enjoying herself with him.
Besides, she didn't exactly have any customers to take care of
and Jared wasn't paying enough attention to make her worried
that she might get in trouble. He seemed happy that she was fine
with all of this, but that happiness faded when she actually
addressed his question, trying to play both sides, since she
didn't understand the situation with his mother in its entirety.
However, she felt the need to mention how differently she would
view the situation if it were her, perhaps gently trying to
encourage him to make amends with his own mom. No one should go
without a mother like she did. But Ben's situation was different
and she realized that it was only fair that she be respectful of
that. Not everyone's family was good to them and not all parents
deserved their children's affection. Ben said that her desire to
see her mother again wasn't stupid though, even if Rey knew that
it was insensitive to his situation. She had no right to compare
the two of them and what they wanted. If Ben thought it was best
that he cut all ties with his mother -- or put her off, at the
very least -- that was his decision and he knew what was best
for him. She admitted that she wasn't being sensitive to his
situation, but he felt that he was doing the same thing to her.
She didn't need him feeling guilty on her behalf, especially
because he wasn't doing anything wrong. She said that neither of
them was being insensitive then, but that they were just looking
at the issue through completely different lenses. He agreed with
that, moving onto her point. He claimed that his mother and the
relationship with her never benefitted him. Unfortunately, he
claimed that was the case for his whole family. Her heart ached
at that, knowing that she would give anything to have blood
relatives and would fight like Hell to keep them close. But it
was easy to say that when you've never had to deal with a
nightmare family. She apologized, but he shrugged it off,
insisting that it was better this way and that he was better off
alone. She didn't buy it. No one liked being alone. But he
insisted that his entire family only caused him more problems,
the opposite of what he needed. She nodded, holding her hands up
and feigning surrender. "I can understand that and I don't think
you're wrong at all for acknowledging that," she admitted,
knowing that he might be right. But she knew it had to be
hurting him. It always hurt to be separated from the people who
were supposed to love you unconditionally. "Life can be so
complicated already without all the added drama," she said,
giving support to his claim. They both agreed that Ben should
keep ignoring his mother, the table getting quiet for a moment.
Then, rather unexpectedly, Ben spoke up again, asking about her
clothes, wondering if she painted them herself. She perked up,
confirming that she did. She explained that she thrifted all of
her clothes and that she fixed them up herself. She had to, for
practical reasons, but she also found that it was a really nice
hobby to have. She liked spending her time with cheap fabric
paint and thread and a few patches. She liked how unique her
clothes looked by the end of it and liked feeling creative. She
knew it might be a little childish, but it didn't make a
difference to her. She propped her foot up on her knee, showing
off her sneakers with the butterfly pattern she painted. She
said that she liked what she did, regardless of how immature it
might look. But Ben said that he liked it too, which was a
pleasant surprise. She smiled, questioning that before
explaining that she assumed lawyers like him were all stiff and
bland. She imagined they'd be uptight and make complaints about
people with piercings and colored hair, let alone hand-painted
outfits on a grown adult. He chuckled, assuring her that he was
still very much those thing, despite liking her clothes. "Well,
good. Can't have you defying all my expectations. Otherwise, I
won't know what to think," she said with a chuckle. Ben then
suggested that she paint something of his, which definitely
caught her off-guard. She didn't know what he was insinuating,
but it sounded like a friendly invitation. Did Ben want to be
friends now? She was happy with that, saying that she would be
able to do something like that, if he was serious. He left it
kinda ambiguous before adding a little joke, mentioning his
jogger shorts. His tiny jogger shorts that hugged his thighs so
tightly that she thought they might rip if he flexed a little
too hard. She laughed along with that, suggesting that she paint
a few tulips and sunflowers on them. He grinned along,
commenting that it would certainly get him attention. "You
certainly need help in that department," she said sarcastically.
He said that it might help him get noticed by her, when they
pass one another while drawing again. She couldn't help how he
pursed her lips at that. Then, he added that she shouldn't have
a problem noticing him, now that he knew she found him
attractive. She froze at that, stiffening a bit and a blush
gracing her cheeks. "I think you must have misunderstood me. I
don't remember the conversation going quite like that," she
quipped, ducking her head to try and hide how pink her face was
now. [/center]
#Post#: 1877--------------------------------------------------
[19] BEN
By: Zellaphone Date: July 24, 2021, 8:44 pm
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Rey did the best she could to give him advice on the situation
he was dealing with regarding his mother, and he appreciated it.
While she obviously didn’t have all of the details to fully
understand his situation and his relationship with his mother,
she didn’t make him feel like some sort of monster for wanting
to avoid her. She did, however, mention how she would give up
anything to just have one dinner with her own mother. That
comment did make him feel a bit guilty, but that wasn’t entirely
her fault. Really, he should have known better and have been
more considerate than to complain about how his mother wanted to
see him so badly she kept continuously pestering him about it to
a girl who desperately wished to see her own mother but
couldn’t. He should have just kept his stupid, sleep-deprived
mouth shut. He had been telling himself since the moment he had
met Rey to not get personal with her, but here he was learning
about her and having her learn about him in return. However, Rey
had told him that she didn’t mind that. She had said that she
enjoyed him company, and he couldn’t help his urge to dive right
into whatever that meant and spend more time with her. He didn’t
really have anyone in his life that he knew truly enjoyed his
company, nor did he have anyone that he had any desire to spend
a great deal of time with and just talk to them, but he felt
that way about Rey. He wanted to get to know more about her. He
wanted to get to know her, and while he knew that was dangerous
for him, he also knew that she actually made him feel… happy
when he was around her. However, he was still being cautious. It
was likely that she was just as friendly as she was being to him
to other customers. After all, she had given David that cupcake
on the first day they had met. He didn't want to falsely read
her kindness as signs that she actually wanted him around more.
Rey apologized to him, saying that she was being insensitive
since she knew that not all mothers were good ones, and admitted
that she shouldn't be dumping her baggage onto him. He brushed
her apology aside though, confessing that he felt as though he
was doing the same to her, but she believed that neither of them
were really being insensitive. She explained that they were just
approaching this situation from different perspectives, to which
he agreed. He also agreed with her point that he shouldn't try
and salvage a relationship that didn't benefit him, which he
believed that his relationship with his mother did not. His
relationship with her had never benefitted him, he believed. Not
since he had been a baby, at least. He felt that way about all
of his biological family. Rey apologized for that, but he
shrugged it off, assuring her that it didn't bother him since he
knew that he was better off without them. Did it make him feel
extremely lonely? Yes, but he had learned that he was better off
alone than allowing people that could hurt him into his life. He
had been hurt enough. Being alone meant that no one could
disappoint him. Or, at least, that is what he kept telling
himself. Rey said that it was good that he was better off, but
he could tell that she didn't fully believe him, so he added the
explanation that his family only brought him problems, which he
definitely did not need. She nodded, holding up her hands and
saying that she could understand that and didn't believe that he
was wrong for acknowledging that his relationship with his
family wasn't worth salvaging. She added that life could be so
difficult already without added drama, and he nodded. "Agreed,"
he said confidently. He had enough on his plate without worrying
about his family, and he made the decision to continue to ignore
his mother, Rey seeming to support him in that decision, which
made him feel better about it. She seemed like she had a really
good head on her shoulders as well as a good heart, so he
trusted her opinions as well as her advice.
It then grew quiet between them, their conversations having come
to an end. He knew that it would probably be best to go back to
his work and let her do the same, but he also saw no harm in
trying to keep her at his table for just a little longer. He
wasn't a complete fool. He knew that he was feeling particularly
lonely tonight due to all the stress he was facing and lack of
sleep, and he liked having her in his company. She made him feel
less alone, even if she was still practically a stranger to him.
He asked her about his clothes, wanting to know if she painted
them herself. It was a question he had had since the first day
he had met her. She seemed surprised, but delighted by his
question, nodding and explaining that most of her clothes were
thrifted, so she liked to fix them up. She acknowledged that it
might be a childish thing to do, but it was fun to her and she
liked it. He didn't think it was all that childish, though
perhaps he should have. He just couldn't recall ever meeting
anyone that painted their own clothes. It was interesting to
him. Perhaps even endearing. He really enjoyed art, so meeting
someone who loved to paint so much was a bit exciting for him.
He confessed that he liked her clothes as well, which seemed to
surprise her as well. She smiled, questioning him and saying
that she thought a lawyer would be more stuffy and serious. He
chuckled, understanding why she would think that. Many lawyers
he knew were that way. In fact, he'd describe all of the ones he
worked with in the firm that way. Hux was expecially stuffy and
serious. Of course, he was rather serious as well a lot of the
time. Somewhat joking, he assured her that he was still both of
those things. Chuckling, she said that was good, explaining that
she couldn't have him defying all of her expectations or else
she wouldn't know what to think. He chuckled again himself.
“Well rest assured, I’ll always be a stuffy, serious, lousy
pick-up artist asshole-“ He stopped for a moment, trying to
remember what else she had called him before. “What was the
other one?” he asked before it came to him. “Ah, right,
glutinous beast. I liked that one," he said with a bit of a
grin. Really, at the time, all of those names had hurt, but he
believed that Rey saw him in a different light now, thankfully.
Then again, he couldn't be sure. There weren't many people that
saw him as anything but those things, and the ones that did
usually only saw him as a pretty face or a man with money. Maybe
Rey truly only saw him as those two things now, though it didn't
seem that way. She had seemed genuine when she told him that she
enjoyed his company. He then, without really thinking, suggested
that perhaps she could paint something of his some time, not
thinking about the implications of that suggestion until it was
already past his lips. She tilted her head, saying that she'd
possibly be open to it if he was serious, but he couldn't tell
if she was actually pleased with his suggestion or not. Again,
he had to wonder if he was reading all of this wrong. They
appeared to be much more friendly with one another now, but Rey
also just seemed like a friendly person in general. He could
really be just another customer to her and nothing more, and he
wanted to believe that he'd be fine with that if it was the
truth. Hesitantly, he said that he was possibly serious, making
a joke about her painting his jogger shorts in an effort to try
and making everything a bit less awkward. She thankfully laughed
at that, suggesting that she paint tulips and sunflowers on
them. He grinned, telling her that would certainly help him get
attention. Sarcastically, he told him that he clearly needed
help in that department. “You’ve noticed as well?” he asked
playfully before adding that it would maybe help to catch her
attention if they were to ever run into one another during a jog
again. Of course, it hadn't been hard at all to catch her
attention the last time. He somewhat mentioned that, saying that
he didn't think he'd have trouble catching her attention since
he now knew that she was attracted to him. She had admitted
that, though he had also quickly added that that didn't mean
that she was attracted to him, which he did his best to not be
disappointed by. He was attracted to her. Rey froze, her cheeks
turning that pretty shade of pink that he liked so much. It
always brought out her freckles when she blushed. She said that
he must have misunderstood her since she didn't remember the
conversation going quite like that. “My memory must be hazy
then," he said with a bit of a smirk because she certainly had
confessed that he was attractive to her. She ducked her head,
and he suddenly felt a little bad for bringing up that
conversation. She never seemed to mind too much when he gave her
genuine compliments, but when he teased her she usually seemed
put off by it or just very embarrassed. His smirk vanished. “I’m
sorry, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable,” he quietly
assured her. Talking was harder when you care what you say and
who you’re saying it to.[/center]
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REY [20]
By: winterssmary Date: July 25, 2021, 5:14 am
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Rey wasn't quite ready to leave Ben's table yet. She was having
a good time talking to him and, frankly, she didn't have much
else to do. There were no customers at the moment, so it was
just the two of them in the store. Save for Finn and Rose, of
course. She wasn't ready to stand up by the counter all alone
until someone showed up. That sounded incredibly boring. She was
about to do so though, against her better judgment, before Ben
spoke up once more, asking if she painted all of her clothes
herself. Admittedly, she was rather happy with the comment,
always excited to show off her work and talk about all the weird
things she did to make her outfits more fun. She admitted that
she painted everything herself and that she loved doing it,
despite it being a little childish. She even went as far as to
show off her sneakers, which were a relatively new design she'd
worked on. He seemed impressed, but might have just been
humoring her. Frankly, she didn't care which one it was. She was
just happy someone wasn't openly mocking her for her hobby. She
was, however, surprised about that. She admitted that she
expected him, a lawyer, to be stuck-up and stuffy and stiff,
since they all seemed to fit that mold. However, she found that
he broke a lot of stereotypes, which she liked. She liked it a
lot. He assured her that he was still stuffy and strict though,
which caused her to tease him, saying that she was glad. If he
kept defying her expectations, she wouldn't know what think. She
was joking, of course. She liked that he broke stereotypes and
molds. What you see isn't what you get with Ben Solo and she
quite enjoyed that. He chuckled, saying that he would always be
stuffy and serious. And a lousy pick-up artist asshole. She
cringed at that, hating to be reminded of all the mean things
she said. She wasn't a mean person. Normally. She didn't like
being reminded that she did a mean thing, especially when Ben
didn't deserve it. Sure, he was kind of an ass and too flirty
for his own good, but he didn't deserve the treatment she gave
him. She was just scared. Men scared her so she attacked them
first. It was a bad tactic, she was learning. Ben wasn't done
though, wanting to know what the other insult was that she
hurled his way. She gritted her teeth, tense, eyes closed tight
with anticipation before he remembered gluttonous beast,
claiming that he liked that one. "Hey... that's just cold," she
said with a laugh, knowing that he was just being playful, even
if it did make her feel guilty. And humiliated, despite them
being completely alone. "I'd hoped you'd forgotten. I really am
sorry about all of that," she said, actually honest about that.
But it was getting a little too serious. And she needed to let
him know that she wasn't taking this too seriously either. That
would make things uncomfortable for both of them. "Even if you
are still an asshole," she joked. He asked if she could paint
something of his sometime. Or, really, he suggested it. He might
have been kidding, but she hoped he was being serious. That
meant they were friendlier than she originally thought. She said
that she would if he wanted her too. Instead of giving her a
straight answer, he joked that he could use an update to his
jogger shorts, which caused her to laugh, recommending tulips
and sunflowers. He joked that it would help him get attention
and, sarcastically, she agreed. He added onto that joke as well,
asking if she'd noticed too. She rolled her eyes playfully at
that before he said that he hoped it would help him get noticed
by her, but then he added that he didn't really need the help.
He went back to saying that she found him attractive. She
blushed deeply, but tried to say that he remembered the
conversation wrong. She was lying. She did[i/] find him
attractive and everyone knew it. She was [i]insanely[i/]
attracted [i]to him, despite lying about it to protect herself.
She worried he might start pursuing her aggressively and trying
to pull her into his bed if she admitted she was attracted to
him. She insisted that he remembered the conversation wrong, and
he conceded that, though she could tell he was absolutely
kidding and didn't mean any of it. She ducked her head,
embarrassed by her blush. She didn't want anyone to see her
blush. It showed her freckles too clearly and always made her
feel vulnerable. After a moment, he apologized, saying that he
didn't mean to make her uncomfortable. She looked up at him, but
shook her head. "No, nonono, you haven't done anything wrong.
There's no need for you to apologize," she insisted. "I'm
just... naturally uncomfortable sometimes," she tried to reason,
even though there was much more to the story. "I'm not used to
people talking to me quite like you do," she admitted. She
wasn't used to the genuine compliments and the relentless flirty
teasing and just... him. But she liked it. "Which isn't a bad
thing. I'm not trying to say that talking to you is bad. It
isn't. It's just... different," she tried. [/center]
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