Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Despite the smell of coffee and bacon wafting in from her kitchen, Rey Niima remained unmotivated and buried in blankets, wrapped tightly in her favorite quilt. Her mother’s quilt.

It was a warm, sunny fall day in New York City. Life was bustling outside her window. Rey could hear the birds chirping, folks talking, dogs barking. But despite all of that, she still felt unable to move.

Until she remembered it.

It, the thing that she looked forward to. It being her one secret she allowed herself.

Rey jumped up from the bed, swiftly tearing through the kitchen in a blur, snatching herself a piece of bacon as she went.

Snap, her boyfriend of a whopping four months, had his eyes on the newspaper in his hand as he idly flipped his eggs. “Listen to this,” he said, chewing. “The city hired a group of so-called experts to introduce some green initiatives. Their first order of business? Opening a new lawn care store… in the city!”

His laughter was loud, booming, and Rey groaned to herself as she huddled at her desk, knees pulled to her chest, as she opened her laptop. She chewed thoughtfully, scrolling through lines and lines of junk mail, until she saw it.

“I mean, who the hell even has a lawn to care for around here? It’s absurd.” Snap’s ability to cook, talk, and not notice her, all at the same time, was more impressive than it was insulting. “Besides, we have enough flower shops that no man in this city has an excuse to neglect their partners.” He paused then barked with more laughter. “Except me. ‘Cause…well, you know.”

She did. She was the owner of a flower shop, something which he often used as an excuse to never have to buy her any flowers at all. She offered an empty laugh in response, but he was already talking again.

“It’s unreal what this city will put funding into. God forbid we get some reliable transportation like actual buses and subways that run on time.”

“Aren’t you late?” she asked, popping the last bite of bacon in her mouth as she typed her password in with one hand.

“We only fix ‘problems’ that we let the public see, and that all starts right here on the damn paper. What we write has weight to it even if it’s just words.” Snap tossed the newspaper onto the table as he cut off the stove. When he checked his watch he blew out a breath. “I’m late.”

In one swift motion, he grabbed his jacket and crossed the length of her living room, pecking a kiss on her head before he let the door slam behind him.

As soon as Rey heard the front door slam, shaking the wall she was sat against, she opened it. It being an email.

To: rebelgirl8
From: KyloRen
Subject: Coffee

It’s barely 5 AM and I find myself once again drawn to the ritual of making a perfect cup of coffee. Not just because I drink it, but because there’s something truly meditative about the process–carefully tamping the grounds, watching the crema bloom like magic. Then I sit in my office, I listen to the sounds of the city, and I allow it to wake the rest of me for the day.

I can’t explain it, but the act itself feels… necessary. Do you have anything like that? Any weird things that you savor despite it being so entirely mundane? What about places you go to, or things you seek out? I’ve got it: how’s about instead of telling me, you show me. What do you say? That diner down on 9th this Sunday? Breakfast on me? Just say yes, Kira, it’s easier.

Love,
Kylo.

Her cheeks hurt from smiling. She couldn’t believe the audacity of his request to meet up. Rey tossed her head back with laughter. Her body felt warm, alive, alert, and when she looked back at the email she considered saying yes. Yes. Yes!

But before she could even write her email, another one popped in.

To: rebelgirl8
From: KyloRen
Re: Re: Coffee

Just kidding.

Elsewhere, not too far from the laughing girl, on the other side of town, was Ben Solo, half-dressed and chewing thoughtfully on a bagel as he smiled at his laptop screen. Cream cheese was stuck to his upper lip. His damp hair curling as it dried around his ears.

He leaned back in his chair, reeling from the moment of clarity he felt as he sent his latest email to his pen…pal? The sounds of horns and yelling and chatter a simple backdrop to the bubble Ben allowed himself to exist in, as his thoughts swirled of Kira. Kira with her sweet words and boring jokes. Kira with her extensive knowledge of reality TV and endless abundance of the wildest book quotes. Kira and her–

“I’m late.”

Bazine was standing in the doorway of his office, putting in her earrings as she glowered at him. “What’re you doing?”

“Just some work.” Ben said awkwardly despite being lounged in his chair. He snapped the laptop shut and stood up, following his girlfriend of three years into the kitchen where she grabbed a Red Bull from his fridge.

They didn’t live together and she rarely even came over. But the night before she had gotten so drunk at a company party that she wound up stumbling her way to his place and crashed on his couch. The whole ordeal made him feel like they were simply acquaintances; they both had only enough respect not to send the other home in a cab.

“I’m late,” she said again, her tone implying this was his fault. Ben hummed, implying he was listening, as he made a second cup of coffee for himself.

“Don’t forget we’re going to the benefit ball tonight.”

Ben’s eyes twitched. “What? Why do I have to go?”

“Because Poe is going and you two can network.”

“I don’t need to network, I’m second in line for the company, Baz. Besides, I send money even if I don’t attend.”

Bazine’s face snapped to him suddenly and he recoiled. “It’s about showing your face, Ben, so when they see your name they think about how you came and you donated.”

“Fine,” he bit out, staring down at his coffee before glancing at her. “You’re late.”

“Fuck!”

Bazine stormed through his apartment, heels echoing as she walked and once the door slammed, Ben retreated to his office once more. Just in case.

Refreshing his inbox left him smiling.

To: KyloRen
From: rebelgirl8
Subject: Good morning

My favorite thing to do is start my emails as though we’re already in the middle of a conversation and you’re hanging onto every little thing I say. It’s as though we’ve known each other for so long we can’t recall life before one another.

I find myself wondering what you’d think, or say, and what it would make me feel when I hear it. Or read it, rather. I get eager to return home, to sit down and write to you every little mundane thing, just to know what you think. Just so I can return again and see your name. Read your words. Understand just a little bit more with each keystroke.

And when I finally read them, there’s nothing else. No sounds from the streets, no incessant buzzing of my ancient fridge, not even the creaking of my neighbors living their lives around me. Just your words. My heart beat. Your thoughts. You.

Love,
Kira

P.S. Just say when and where.

Kira’s words sat with Ben as he dressed for the day. He moved around his apartment in a slow daze, hardly noticing his legs had taken him through the building and out the door, onto his usual commute to work. The beat of his heart thumping in his ears as he looked at the world in a new light.

Emailing someone every day, multiple times a day, was unlike him. Hell, talking to anyone as much as he did with her was unlike him. He hardly spoke to his mother that much. Or his girlfriend. But worse than that, emailing a complete stranger was least like him of all. Someone he’d met in a chatroom about flowers. Flowers.

Despite his work, Ben did not possess a green thumb. Which had very little effect considering his work: closing small businesses. While there was always a certain charm about locally owned products, the city was not the place for them, and success is abundant in the quick and cheap. Ben took great joy in leaving his family’s law firm. He decided to work for Snoke, the owner of the wildly successful home improvement store 'Neighbor's Best', as his personal lawyer. His job was simple: making sure the company brings in an abundance of money, and doesn’t interfere with anyone who can fight back. Lawn care, home goods, the usual things that people always say they don’t need until it’s on a huge discount that doesn’t make sense to the public. Besides, they sold a little bit of everything. From tools to animal feed. Each location even had their own in-house florist with fresh bouquets every day.

When the elevator opened to their executive floor, he could already hear Snoke yelling. Poe was sitting on the edge of Ben’s desk, spinning a pen. He was clearly agitated. “You’re just in time.”

“Should I take a lap?” Ben asked.

Poe gave him an unamused look, somehow nicer than the one Bazine had given him earlier, then he stood from his desk, gesturing at the pile of paperwork he’d been blocking with his body. “Snoke wants you to survey the west side before we decide on our final location. There’s a popular flower shop over there that might be a great spot with all the foot traffic it gets.”

Ben knew Kira worked in a flower shop but he didn’t know which one or if it was even in the city, or if it was in Jersey, or some other spot commutable to anyone living in the area. But when Poe mentioned the shop name, something in him stirred. Guilt? Shame? His phone vibrated, and as he rejected yet another call from his mother, he looked up at Poe. “Wait, what shop?”

“I said it’s called ‘The Flowers by the Park’.”