Chapter Text
Rey was sitting on the edge of her seat. Only ten minutes of class remained but every student in Space Systems Engineering was laser-focused on Dr. Holdo.
“As promised, we’ll be using the end of class to discuss a few important details about your final project. I’m sure you are all aware that I conclude this course with a competition. The winner is exempt from the final exam, earns ten points of extra credit, and, most significant of all, will have their name engraved on the Holdo Board for posterity. My most accomplished students, now revolutionaries in their fields, have their names on this board. Do not underestimate the doors that such an honor will open.”
Rey was practically chewing off her bottom lip in anticipation. Dr. Holdo was her hero. Before enrolling at university, Rey had read every article she could find about the enigmatic professor. As a preeminent astrophysicist and top space system engineer, Dr. Holdo’s career embodied everything that Rey hoped to one day achieve.
“This year, however, I have decided to alter one key element to really enliven the competition. You will be working in pairs.”
The room exploded with gasps and excited chatter. Rey was dumbfounded. Self-reliance and cut-throat competition were a hallmark of successful Holdo prize winners of the past. Working in pairs would be a substantial departure not only in structure but also in strategy.
Dr. Holdo held up her hand for silence and then continued, “I have made this change for several reasons but chief among them, a dear friend and esteemed colleague of mine recently passed away. We came up together and often collaborated professionally. Her death impressed upon me how essential symbiotic partnership is for success. The work in our field is often hard and unforgiving. The people who practice it, however, needn’t be.” Rey detected a watery glimmer in Dr. Holdo’s eyes as the professor looked out over the large lecture hall.
“Before you leave today, please list your name and that of your partner on the paper I’ve taped to the board. At 8 pm tonight I will email you the project objective. You will have exactly four weeks to finish. Good luck.” With that Dr. Holdo disappeared out the door in a flurry of lavender and taupe.
Rey popped up out of her seat in the first row desperately searching for Finn. She always partnered with her affable best friend and roommate on class projects. The young man wasn’t as academically gifted as Rey but he was an incredibly hard worker and always followed her lead which made him a solid partner. Just as she caught sight of Finn through the mess of harried undergrads a large torso blocked her view.
“We should be partners,” said a deep voice emanating from the expansive chest. A very tall, dark-haired man stood before her. Most students in her major didn’t interest Rey enough for her to learn their names. This man, however, had caught her attention during a class they had had together the previous semester. Ben Solo, a non-trad, had often openly challenged Prof. Skywalker during Ethics of Engineering. His arrogance irritated her but deep down she also admired his confidence. Confidence that she was now sorely lacking as she gaped at Ben, confounded by his proposal.
He ran a hand through his hair and gave her a lopsided smirk. “Come on, kid. You’re the most brilliant student in this class, besides me of course. Together we’d be unstoppable.”
Rey bit her lip and managed to stammer out, “I-I always work with my friend. Finn.”
“Seriously? Don’t be such a cock-block.”
Rey’s cheeks flushed as she tried to determine exactly what he meant when he tipped his head back in Finn’s direction. Finn was grinning from ear to ear and shyly tapping his fingers against his belt as he talked to a young man with dark wavy hair and a smile that could melt a glacier. She didn’t recognize the other man but she did recognize Finn’s tell. Finn only played with his belt like that when he was talking to someone he was attracted to. He had done it when he had first met her, before they had realized they were far better off as friends, and once she had seen him do it while chatting up a bartender during a night out. Rey sighed. As a hopeless romantic, Finn would undoubtedly agree to partner with the man who had caught his interest and then ask her forgiveness later.
“Alright, then. I guess we can work together.”
“Don’t sound so excited, kid.” There it is again, Rey thought. He had called her ‘kid’ twice and now she was certain he didn’t know her name. While Ben was undeniably a borderline genius when it came to engineering she wondered if she would be able to handle a whole four weeks of his arrogance. She glanced back at Finn who met her gaze and mouthed ‘sorry’ at her. She shot her friend an encouraging smile and then hurried after Ben who was already queueing for the sign-up sheet.
Much to her surprise Ben knew her full name and even spelled it correctly. Maybe he wasn’t as self-absorbed as she had thought.
“Where do you want to meet then for Holdo’s instructions? I live-off campus. Above The First Order, actually,” said Ben. He reached over Rey’s head to hold open the door as she scurried through. “I can pick you up if you don’t have a car.”
The idea of being alone with him in his apartment made her a bit uneasy. Even though this was her second class with this Solo character, today was the first time they had talked. As if he had heard her thoughts he blurted out, “Sorry! That obviously wouldn’t be comfortable for you. How about the library? 7:45?”
Rey nodded and after exchanging contact information they went their separate ways.
*
Finn was on cloud nine as he and Rey walked along the footpath between their apartment and the library. He wouldn’t stop talking about how Poe, his project partner and future husband by the way he was going on, was actually an Aeronautics major who was taking Holdo’s class on top of his normal course load.
“Well at least your partner doesn’t have a reputation for picking fights with professors,” grumbled Rey.
“Sorry about ditching you but at least we’re both working with total babes.” Finn winked at her and she responded by playfully punching his arm.
“Whatever, Finn. Breakfast date tomorrow?” Finn glanced at her sheepishly. “Fine. Brunch then?”
“Yes, please.” After a quick hug, Finn headed off towards the roguishly handsome Poe who was leaning against the circulation desk.
Rey, in turn, found her partner sitting on one of the red cushy sofas that were hidden behind the stacks. The grad students who normally monopolized the coveted comfortable spots apparently had been scared off.
Ben glanced up from the laptop balanced on his long legs and arched an eyebrow at her in greeting.
“Hullo, Ben.”
“Hey, kid.”
“I have a name you know.” Rey plopped down on the far end of the sofa.
“I know,” he said. She popped the lid on a bowl of cubed mango coated in chamoy and began shoveling the fruit into her mouth. Ben gave her a weird look but she ignored him and turned on her laptop.
The next fifteen minutes passed in silence as they each methodically refreshed their browsers waiting for Holdo’s email. Rey had spent quite a few hours at the beginning of the semester pouring over Holdo’s course website where amongst many helpful links their professor had cataloged previous final projects. The prompts revealed no decipherable pattern. A then unsolved mathematical proof one semester would be followed by a request for a practical application of a new technology. The only constant was that the winner would have to be exceptionally clever to succeed.
Rey clicked refresh once again and there it was – the email. She opened it and prepared to study a long and involved prompt. However, there was no dense multi-paragraph set of instructions or even an attachment. It simply read: Design an intergalactic spaceship.
She checked for a follow-up email that would replace the obvious joke email but there was nothing. Looking up she caught Ben scowling at his laptop.
“You got the spaceship design too, then?”
“Yup,” Ben said finally breaking his eyes away.
“Well, we should get to work.”
*
It was a few minutes after 11 when they were finally herded out of the library by a very cranky work-study student. Rey and Ben had brainstormed several approaches, divided up the research plan, and nailed down a schedule for when they could meet up.
They shuffled along awkwardly in the same direction before she remembered he must have driven. “My apartment’s a few blocks past the parking lot,” she offered.
“Can I walk you home?”
A quip about chivalry being dead for a reason came to mind but she reconsidered and nodded. Ben trailed a half step behind her, quietly following her lead.
As they neared the entrance to her building Rey noticed a twinge of nerves in her belly. She slipped her key into the lock and glanced up at him.
“Ok,” she said. His eyes were intently searching her features for something. Her cheeks warmed and she bit the corner of her lower lip. Ben give her an odd half smile as if he had just realized something amusing.
“Good night, Rey.” And with that he turned back and disappeared into the dark.
*
The din of a typical Friday night on a college campus drifted in the bathroom window of her tiny shared flat as Rey brushed her teeth. She should be out partying but the week had been so long and 11:33 seemed a bit late to start drinking. Finn was most likely hanging out with the rest of the soccer team, well at least if he hadn’t wandered off somewhere more private with Poe. As much as she loved rooming with Finn she was delighted with the privacy of being able to walk around in just the oversized shirt she wore as pajamas.
Rey settled into her bed and turned out her light. Her brain, however, wouldn’t switch off so easily. The Holdo project taunted her as she tossed and turned. Finally, desperate for a distraction to relax her mind, Rey gave in and tugged her night shirt up to armpits and began to fondle her breasts. After a couple minutes of stroking and pinching she slid a hand down her body to address the tension that was building between her thighs.
A few memories of satisfying past sexual encounters bubbled up in her mind’s eye before an image she hadn’t expected slowly came into focus. Earlier that evening, Ben had stood up and stretched before looking for a reference book among the stacks. A strip of his belly – two, maybe three inches – had been visible between the band of his underwear and where the hem of his shirt lifted. The wisps of dark hair that trailed down the lean, mole-marked skin had mesmerized her. What other delightful scenes existed beneath his clothes? Her body ached as she lingered on the idea.
Rey’s pace quickened and, out of habit of sharing a wall with Finn’s room, she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow as she let out a hushed, “Oh, Ben.” With her ass in the air she pulsed her palm against her clit and her release flooded through her. When she finally regained herself, she flipped onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
“Damnit.” Rey said aloud. This was going to be a distracting 4 weeks.