Chapter Text
"Rose, I'm not fucking doing this," Ben growls. Rose just looks up at him from over the frames of her round glasses for a second before her gaze moves back down to the phone in her hands.
"Well, maybe if you hadn't punched Wexley in the face last game, you wouldn't have to." A shrug falls off her narrow shoulders and Ben glares at her. She’s as unmoved as always, ignoring his attitude.
"I'm already suspended for two games, isn't that punishment enough?" he huffs. Rose looks at him over her glasses again, rolling her eyes after a second.
"You wanna act like a goon, you're gonna get treated like a fucking goon." Ben groans and glares at his agent. Rose is the only person who deals with his attitude like a pro and sometimes he hates it. Right now is one of those times.
They’re quiet for a couple of minutes before Rose sighs and apparently takes pity on him. "We wouldn't have to do this if this wasn't the third time you've started a fight on the ice. You're making the team look bad for continuing to put you on the damn ice."
Ben opens his mouth to argue with her but she raises a hand, one finger outstretched.
"I literally couldn't give a shit that you're the best defenseman on the team or in the state." That shuts him up pretty quick and he sighs, turning his face away from Rose, thoroughly chastised. "You need good press and this is the way to do that. Now shut up and make sure you're ready at six. You're lucky that she's even agreeing to do this."
With that, Rose turns on her heel and storms off. The sound of her flats tapping against the wood floors of his apartment is an annoyance that he counts until the sound of the front door opening and closing puts an end to it. With a deep breath, Ben tries to calm down the rising tide of irritation in him.
It doesn’t work.
So instead, he turns and throws a fist through the wall next to him. It’s not the first time and it certainly won’t be the last but sometimes Ben Solo just needs to fucking punch something to get his anger out of his blood before it boils over. Sure, he has a punching bag for that very reason, but walls crush and there’s something more satisfying about punching a wall over a stupid sand bag.
People doing stupid shit on the ice during a game deserve to get hit, if you ask him, but no one else apparently thinks that way. Which is fucking stupid. What good is hockey if you can’t just butt-end someone in the face when they do something stupid?
Maybe Rose is onto something with this…
Ben grumbles to himself as he moves to go take a shower. Maybe that will help to calm him down. He needs to shower anyway, since he'd been working out when Rose came over to accost him. Might as well at least try for this stupid shit that Rose is forcing him to do.
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Rey frowns across the table at the man who unceremoniously plunked himself into the chair.
He isn't unattractive, that's definitely not the problem. He has a face with strong features - a prominent nose, plush lips and a full mouth framed by a goatee, a smattering of moles and freckles all over his pale skin. His eyes are a warm golden brown that had looked dark at first, but obviously have other colours in them. They almost border on hazel.
He's also wearing a grey button-up shirt that had to have been tailored specifically for him because of the way the buttons strain against his broad chest and shoulders. He has a pair of dark jeans on his legs and he isn't wearing a tie, but it doesn't really matter much since he looks good and polished. His shoulder-length hair is black and messy, but in a deliberate way. It gives him the air of not giving a fuck, and it works for him.
But he's late and she's annoyed at him, so it doesn't matter how attractive he may or may not be. He is late on what was supposed to be a date and he'd barely even looked at her when he got there. Just dove straight for the menu and he's pissing her off.
She's only doing this as a favor to Kaydel, her manager who had quickly become one of her good friends. Her girlfriend needed help getting some good press for one her hockey-player clients and it's not like Rey has anything else better to do. Besides, Rey owes Kaydel for landing her in the role she's been granted on HBO's newest exclusive series.
"Hello to you too," she huffs after a couple minutes of him ignoring her. He glances up, his brow pinched together slightly. He grunts at her and Rey frowns. What the fuck is with this dude?
"Hey," he tells her finally.
Rolling her eyes, Rey glares at the menu in front of her. She'd already decided on what she wanted while she waited on him to get to the restaurant they were supposed to have their date at. But she needs something to do so that she doesn't end up kicking him or throwing her glass of water at his stupid handsome face.
"I'm -"
"Rey Johnson, yeah, I know." Okay. Seriously. What the hell is with this guy? Yeah, she knows from her Googling spree earlier that day that he's a stand-out hockey player that's nearly a legacy thanks to his grandfather. Knows that he has a penchant for getting into fights on the ice for no real apparent reason beyond apparently liking doing so. That's why she is here after all - his agent wants to make him seem more human by having them date.
It's all for show, but Rey hadn't been against it. Because, again, she owes Kaydel.
She's regretting agreeing to this already.
"Are you always this pleasant to people you have dinner with?" she asks him. Because damn him for being late and for being an ass. She didn't have to do this. Shouldn't have agreed to this.
Her date looks up from the menu at her and stares at her face for a couple of seconds. With a blink, he turns his attention back to the menu.
"It's not like I really had a choice in being here," he deadpans. Wow. This is going great , isn't it? Rey huffs and shakes her head.
"I don't know what the fuck I expected," she mutters to herself. With a sigh, the increasingly frustrating man across from her sets the menu down again and runs a hand through his hair.
"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that," he informs her. Rey just stares at him with a blank expression. "I don't usually eat dinner with other people. Let alone go on dates with people."
"Really? I couldn't tell." Something flashes in his eyes at her deadpan statement, but he blessedly keeps his big mouth shut.
Rey is seriously considering taking back everything she'd thought about him being attractive just a few minutes ago.
"I'm Ben Solo, but I'm assuming you already knew that, too." Rey can feel his eyes on her still as she nods.
"I did. But I was still going to let you introduce yourself instead of being an ass about it." Ben's mouth twitches and she isn't sure if it's supposed to be a smile or a scowl.
"I...deserve that," he says before his attention goes back to the menu. Rey nods after a second and grabs her glass of water to sip at it.
A waitress comes over to take their order and Rey smiles at her as she orders a roasted chicken dish that had sounded amazing when she'd looked over the menu earlier. Ben doesn't even look at the girl as he orders a steak and a side of pasta, asking for some wine as well. It wasn't that long ago that Rey was in their waitress's shoes, waiting for her big break while she took smaller roles and auditioned for fucking everything she could find.
Ben's attitude toward the waitress doesn't surprise her and she fights the urge to roll her eyes.
"So what did you do to get punished like this?" Ben asks from across from her. The question startles her and her brow furrows as she stares over at him in confusion.
"What?"
Ben waves his hand in a little circle in the air. "This. What did you do for your agent to force you into this?"
Rey scoffs and shakes her head. "I didn't do anything. I volunteered for this as a favor to Kay." Ben tilts his head at her slightly and blinks.
"Well fuck." He shakes his head at her this time. "I don't know why I wasn't expecting that."
"Not everyone is an asshole who has to be forced into things, you know."
"I mean, yeah, I guess." He shrugs and Rey hates the way she finds the effortless movement so damn...elegant.
The waitress brings them their wine and Rey takes a sip of hers after thanking the waitress. She needs something to do with her hands until their food comes out and wine is just as good a distraction as any.
"Must be some favour you have to pay back to land you in this." Rey shrugs at his comment.
"Kaydel is the main reason I have the acting role I do right now. So yeah, I'd say it is." Ben is looking at her again, some thought or emotion on his face that Rey cannot identify. After a second, he nods slowly and makes a little 'hmph' noise.
"Alright. Well. How do you wanna do this?" he asks her. One of his large hands gestures between the two of them. "Rose didn't give me any details beyond I had to go on a date with you and we had to act like we're in a relationship."
Rey shrugs and waits to answer until the waitress is done placing their food in front of them. With a smile, she thanks the other girl while Ben just ignores her and sips at his wine.
"I don't know. Kaydel didn't tell me much either," she admits. "I assumed we would go on a few dates and drum up some rumors and good press and then go our separate ways." It sounds really simple, when she puts it like that. A lot more simple than it probably should be, but whatever.
Ben nods in thought as he digs into his pasta first, using the food as an excuse not to talk to her for a bit. Rey doesn't mind, preferring the awkward silence between them while she ate than risking him saying something to piss her off and call this whole charade off completely before it even begins.
He asks her a couple of things throughout dinner - small things like what she does in her free time when she's on set and how she feels about acting in general. She returns the favor and asks him about hockey and how long he's been playing.
At least they can have some amiable conversation. The more she talks to him, the less she feels like this whole thing is going to be her undoing. By the end of their dinner, Rey is fairly certain she can suck it up and act like she's actually in a relationship with him.
Ben pays for their dinner and walks out with her, but he shuts back down when they leave the restaurant and go their separate ways.
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It's another week before Ben talks to Rey again. And the only reason he does is because Rose invites her to the first game he's playing since his suspension.
Rey looks even prettier in the lights of the back offices than she did in the dim lighting of the restaurant he'd met her in. Her chestnut hair is loose around her shoulders and she's wearing a pair of skin-tight jeans that show off her nice legs. She's also wearing a grey sweater and a dark blue scarf looped around her neck. It's cold in the arena and she is definitely dressed for it.
Her freckles stand out more against her skin back here, under the bright fluorescent lights.
"Hey," Rey tells him with a little wave from the safety of her arms wrapped around her torso.
Ben nods at her and glances over at Rose before looking back at Rey, who is glancing around the locker room and his various teammates standing around in their gear as they wait for the game. The guys are trying not to look like they're eavesdropping or trying to figure out what she's doing here. Ben secretly hopes that none of them are getting any ideas.
"Rey wanted to come back and see you before the game," Rose offers. Ben isn't sure how much of that is true and how much of it is for the benefit of the other men that don't have any idea of their arrangement.
"It's not that exciting until we get to the actual game," he tells her.
Rey nods in response. "I figured, but I still wanted to surprise you and come say hi." She's good at this, he realizes. Rose did good in picking an actress for this fake relationship because even he's half-tempted to be convinced by what she just said.
Ben doesn't know what to say, so he just grunts and nods at her. He hears Rose let out a sigh from beside him and turns to Rey. "Wanna go find your seat now you've seen your moron?" Ben glares at his agent while his not-girlfriend giggles.
Fuck. She has a nice laugh, even if it is forced and fake.
"I was actually hoping to stop and grab a jersey before the game, but maybe it's a little late for that," Rey tells Rose. And Ben isn't all that great with other people or relationships, but he turns to his bag of gear where he has extra jerseys stored just in case. They're clean, thankfully - he'd managed to remember to have them clean while he was on his suspension.
The jersey is fisted in his hand as he holds it out to her. Rey looks between the shirt in his hand and his eyes, her pretty hazel doe eyes widening slightly.
"It's clean, I promise," he offers. She smiles at him - all perfect teeth - and takes the shirt from him.
"Thank you," she tells him. It takes her half a second to pull the jersey over her head and settle it around her torso. And then, almost as if she does it before she can think twice about it, she steps closer and leans up to brush her lips against his cheek.
Ben stares at her as she steps back and keeps smiling at him. "We're still getting dinner after the game, right?" she asks sweetly. And Ben's brain is still trying to catch up with the fact that she just kissed him. His cheek, sure, but he wasn't expecting it.
Why, he doesn't know. Because this is supposed to be a relationship between the two of them and they're in front of his teammates and at some point they're going to have to show some PDA if this whole stupid thing is to be believed. But still. It caught him off guard and he doesn't know what to do so he just nods. Apparently they're going to dinner.
Rose is smirking at him as Rey turns back to her and the two women leave.
He's still trying to figure out what the fuck just happened when Hux comes up and slaps him on the back.
"Didn't realize you finally got a girlfriend in the time you were out, Solo," he ribs. Ben glares at the forward and shrugs out of the red-headed man's reach.
"We've been on a few dates, yeah," he edges. Dameron pops up next to Hux, his arm slinging over the taller man's shoulders. Ben takes a step back so Poe doesn't get any bright ideas about pulling him into the embrace as well.
"That's the main actress from that new HBO show, isn't it? How'd you meet her?"
And now Ben is mad at Rose for bringing Rey back here. Because he does not want to answer any of these questions from his nosy teammates.
Then again, maybe this is just preparing him for the inevitable horde of questions that are coming if this plan of Rose's works.
Fuck.
Ben really, really wants to take back letting his agent bully him into this.
He's saved from answering by Phasma walking out of her office and clapping her hands together. "Alright, boys, let's get a move on." He's never been more thankful for the head coach. "Solo, don't punch anyone today."
And there goes whatever happiness at seeing Phasma again. He nods stiffly, grabs his stick, and follows his team out to the ice.
He glances around the arena when he gets on the ice and finds Rey in the VIP section next to their team bench. She has a wide smile on her face and is sitting next to Rose. She gives him a small wave when she sees him looking at her.
Her cheeks are pink with the cold but he finds himself hoping that she has a good time. Has she ever been to a hockey game? He can't remember if she told him she had or not when they went out to dinner. He'll have to try to remember to ask her himself later.
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Having Rey show up to his first game back from suspension has the desired effect on the internet. It wasn't hard to miss her, seated where she was against the glass and close to the Rangers bench. Add that to the fact she was wearing his jersey, SOLO emblazoned on the back in bold red letters along with his number, it was pretty obvious she was there for him.
Add that to the fact that they left the arena hand-in-hand and the internet world was losing its damn mind. The internet as a whole was very interested to see this new actress on HBO’s latest hit show showing up at his next few games, always dressed in one of his jerseys. The third time she’s at one of his games, she steals a kiss from him when he’s on his way to the bench. The surprise on his face was as worth it as the pictures that popped up all over the internet.
Rey, for her part, was a very good actress, able as she is to convince the world that what they have is a serious thing and not just a favour she’s doing for her manager. At least, Ben is pretty certain she’s acting. She’s always pretty cheery in general and she gets annoyed with him sometimes when they’re on their dates, sure, but for the most part she seems pretty happy.
She hasn’t gotten really annoyed with him since that first date. He doesn’t know if it’s just because they’ve gotten used to one another or if she just makes him want to be on his best behavior. Either way, they have an easy time together. Ben might even go so far as to say that she’s become one of his friends in the month since this all started.
Regardless of what’s going on between him and Rey, Rose seems pleased. And doesn’t just seem pleased, but is actually pleased with him and his efforts to continue making this look as real as possible and generating good things about himself in the press.
Two more months pass with her showing up to his home games in his jersey and them going out on weekly dates. Ben cannot count on one hand how many tabloids have published stories in the last three months about how breakout HBO star Rey Johnson has reformed the gruff and aggressive Rangers defenseman.
He might be a little bit offended that they’re playing it off as if he’s gone soft because of her. Really, he’s been trying to behave and not start any more fights because Phasma has definitely implied that doing so will land his ass out of any games for at least the rest of the season. If not permanently. Ben wasn’t ready for that and, regardless of his own annoyances about it, he didn’t want to test Phasma like that.
She’s his height and kind of scares him a little bit. But that’s neither here nor there.
Rey shows up to one of his games early again, a smile on her pretty freckled face as she breezes into the locker room. Ben doesn’t know how, but she always seems to know when everyone in the room is decent and he’s glad for it. He’s glad that he doesn’t have to deal with her face when she catches sight of one of the other guys’ dicks. Or his own. Regardless of who’s dick it is, it just doesn’t sound like a good time to him. At all. Period.
She only ever has eyes for him, though, even when there are countless other guys around either of them that are far more conventionally attractive than he. He isn’t ugly, per say, but Ben knows that he isn’t much to look at either - rough around the edges as he is with features that have always seemed too large for his face. Everything about him is a bit too large and awkward - his height, his nose, his fucking ears…
But Rey either doesn’t seem to see it or seem to care. It always kind of surprises him, just how good of a job she does at being an attentive and devoted girlfriend. There have been a few times (okay, more than just a few) where he’s had to remind himself that this is all fake. None of it’s real and it’s all just another part she’s playing.
Ben understands why people love her acting so much and want her on all of their talk-shows. She’s just straight up fucking pleasant to be around and has this air of utter... goodness around her. She laughs easily and smiles easier. Unlike him. Who always gets comments about how grumpy he is and who has quoted ‘attitude problems’ that have seen him in more trouble than he’s primarily worth.
But Rey is...good. She’s really good. And it’s been three months of this and he still isn’t sure how long this is going to last or why she continues to spend any time with him. If he were in her shoes, he would have given up immediately. He’s maybe a little thankful for that favour she owes Kaydel because it means that she’s put up with his sorry ass longer than anyone else ever has. Surely, that favour has been overpaid by now, with the past three months of positive press about him.
He’s been mentally counting the days since this started, waiting for the inevitable day she decides she’s done playing this game with him. The mystery date hangs over him in the back of his mind, ticking away like a bomb.
But here she is, smiling up at him and dressed in one of his jerseys as always. Her wavy hair is loose around her shoulders again (just the way he likes it, really) and she’s wearing the Rangers beanie he’d given her a month ago after she’d complained about her ears being cold when she’s at his games.
He’d scolded her about not saying anything about it sooner and she’d just smiled and shrugged like it wasn’t actually as big a deal as he was making it out to be.
“Hey,” he tells her a few seconds after she stopped in front of him.
“Hey yourself,” she returns lightly, completely ignoring everyone else in the room. The guys had all greeted her with a chorus of greetings when she’d walked in, but she’d just waved at them absent-mindedly.
Rey takes a step closer to him and Ben can’t help but to swallow thickly as he stares down at her.
Because yes, he does find her attractive, thank you very much. And yes, sometimes after their “dates” when he goes home alone to his empty and quiet apartment, he wishes this thing between them was real and not just for show or publicity. Because it’s been nice to have someone to spend time with after his games. Nice knowing that there’s someone in the stands for him, cheering and wanting him to do his best. He’s been lonely most of his life - childhood included - and something about Rey just makes him want to be around her more. Which is dangerous territory since this is all for fucking show.
But still. Part of Ben can’t help but to want and hope sometimes. Is that so bad?
Rey’s still smiling as she takes another step closer to him and reaches a small hand out to rest it against his chest. He can’t really feel it through the padding of the equipment he’s wearing, but it doesn’t really matter when she raises up onto the balls of her feet and presses a kiss to his cheek.
“I’ll see you after your game, yeah?” she starts. He’s already nodding and about to tell her that of course he’ll see her after the game, but she’s got more to say apparently. “There’s something we need to talk about.” Her voice is soft and low, pitched so that he’s the only one in the room who can hear her.
And here it is. The end of whatever it is between them - this charade. And it’s fine, really. Ben is completely okay with that.
However, he also really wishes that she’d just kept that last bit to herself until after the fucking game. Because now he has to think about it for the next few hours while he knows she’s sitting at the glass next to their bench and not actually wanting to be there.
Fuck.
He nods stiffly and is trying to get up the gumption to tell her she doesn’t have to stay or even be here to begin with, that she can just end it now and not put either of them through the unnecessary torture of her being here when she doesn’t want to. But she’s already spinning on her heels and breezing her way back out of the locker room. Just like she’s going to breeze her way right out of his life in a few hours.
Fucking great. He needs to get it together.
Cursing under his breath, Ben turns and slams the door of his locker a little harder than necessary. Okay. A lot harder than necessary.
“What’s wrong, Solo?” Dameron asks from his right and Ben takes a deep breath as the shorter man sets up to rib him. He isn’t in the mood, but he doesn’t say anything as Poe continues. “Don’t worry, just keep playing like you have been and you can go back home to your girlfriend.”
A breath hisses out of Ben’s nose as he clenches his fist around his stick. He tries very, very hard not to imagine breaking the stick in his hands over Poe’s stupid pretty head. Okay. So he definitely thinks about it, because thinking alone won’t get him in trouble with Phasma. But he doesn’t care if Poe Dameron is one of the best centers in the entire NHL. He still wants to break his stick over his head and punch him in his stupid, pretty face.
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They win the game, but only barely. And it isn't thanks to Ben's playing, that's for sure. He's sullen and irritated when he storms his way through changing out of his equipment. The rest of the guys give him space, apparently sensing the way his attitude has shifted.
He does hear Poe wonder aloud if Rey would go out with him if she and Solo broke up, though. And that pisses him off more than anything. More than knowing that she's probably going to end things between them. Because when she does, there's no reason for her to not date Poe Dameron. Which means she will still fucking be here , taunting him with what he cannot have.
He should have never agreed to this bullshit idea of Rose's. Should have just straight up told her no and taken the two-game suspension with a dignity he apparently no longer has.
Rey is waiting for him when he storms out of the locker room. She's got her pretty smile on her pretty face and it kind of falters a little when she notices he's in a bad mood. Concern paints her features and her brow furrows together and god dammit she's too good at this.
He doesn't know why she's still pretending.
"Are you okay? You seemed distracted on the ice…" she says when he reaches her. He keeps walking toward the back entrance of the arena, not slowing his strides, and she speeds up to keep by his side. "Hey, woah! Ben! Slow down!" Rey commands and he holds in his sigh as she grabs at his hand with both of hers. She tugs at his arm to get him to stop.
He turns to her, then, a growl in his throat as he takes his hand back from her.
"You can go ahead and break up with me now, you know. You probably shouldn't have mentioned it before the game, but at least I had warning."
Rey blinks at him, stepping back half a step if only because he's growling at her. She glares at him, then, her smile turning into a scowl to rival his own.
"Is that what this is about?" she asks him, her voice low. Ben rolls his eyes and tosses a hand through his hair.
"Look, I get it, I do. I realize we aren't actually dating and you don't owe me anything. I know it's not permanent and it's been three months and you've paid your manager back or whatever."
"So then why are you so pissed at me, if this is all fake?" Rey snaps back. She has a snarl on her face and he hates how pretty and fierce she looks right now. Because this is it. This is how it ends. He was right. "That wasn't even what I had wanted to talk to you about, but okay, fine."
She rips the Rangers beanie off of her head, causing her hair to stick up at all ends as she thrust it at him. "If you're going to be this much of an ass just because I wanted to talk to you, fine."
With a huff, Rey crosses her arms over her chest and starts storming down the hallway toward the back exit. Ben groans, taking long strides to catch up to her.
"Rey," he says when he wraps his thumb and forefinger around her slender wrist. She turns to glare at him over her shoulder and glances between where his hand is wrapped around her wrist and then back up to his face. "I'm sorry," he told her. He doesn't know what else to say, but that seems as good a place as any to start.
Rey just looks at him, waiting for him to say something else. But he doesn't know what to say or how to say it. Fuck him. So he just looks right back at her, hoping she'll take pity on him.
After a few tense moments, she sighs and rolls her eyes. "It doesn't matter," she mutters, almost to herself. Almost as if she was waiting for him to blow up at some point.
"I'm not good at this," he tells her, not for the first time. He sees a flash of recognition in her hazel eyes as she smirks and shakes her head.
"Yeah. I got that," she deadpans.
"What did you want to talk about, then?" He has to know. If it wasn't about ending this fake relationship, then what the fuck else could she have wanted to talk about?
Rey shakes her head again, looking away from him and down the hall to the door at the end of it. There's a security guard there, looking as if he wants to be literally anywhere else but here, watching them fight.
Ben wishes he would have noticed the security guard before he started spouting shit about their relationship being fake… Granted, he probably should have known there would be one. There always is. Too late now, he supposes.
"Doesn't matter right now. We can talk later. I'm tired." And then she's walking away again, out the back door and Ben is left standing in the middle of the hallway, clutching the beanie she'd thrust at him. He hears some of the guys coming down the hall from the locker room, so he storms out the door himself.
Rey is nowhere to be seen and he hates himself for fucking this up. Part of him doesn't really think it's his fault. But a bigger part of him knows it is. Because he's the one with the feelings she obviously doesn't reciprocate. Which is fine. This is all fake. Even if she was apparently not going to proverbially break up with him tonight…
Ben is stuck in his head as he walks to his car, climbing inside and slamming the door behind him. It feels odd, not getting into the car with Rey after the game. They’d gotten into a habit over the last three months. Ben doesn’t like the fact that this is out of habit. And he doesn’t like that straying from the habit of going to get dinner with her and then dropping her off at her apartment complex afterwards makes him feel...wrong. Uncomfortable. He doesn’t really know how to feel about any of it, not really.
He drives back home in a daze, his head trying to figure out what the fuck was going on inside of it.