Chapter Text
Ben Solo can’t stop looking at his phone. It’s resting by the cashier at the moment, yet his eyes are constantly on it and waiting for a vibration of some sort. Completely distracted and not able to notice the little tune the clock does whenever the front door opens.
“Ben, did you clean the counter?”, Leia screams all the way to the checkout, her head popping out through the gap. His phone vibrates and Ben picks it up with a smile, eyes immediately reading the text message. “Ben!”
“Okay…”, he mumbles, feeling his stomach bubble as his thumbs start to press on different letters.
I’m so excited for summer! We should totally hang out more often, Ben :)
“Ben?” Surprised by the sudden closeness of his mother's voice, Ben jumps startled in his chair and feels his cheeks immediately go ivory to red within seconds. Leia is grinning at him - all teeth. “Are you texting with a girl ?”
“N-no!”, Ben laughs, voice unsteady and his lie is somewhat unnecessary. His mother is Leia Organa-Solo , for God’s sake. She can see through steel and her husband, and just the way her eyebrows are raised and the little, sarcastic hum she lets out tells Ben enough to know that he is busted. “Yeah, it’s a girl…”
Leia giggles victoriously, leaning over the counter like a school-girl ready for gossip and it’s something with this store of his fathers that causes that effect on her. His mother is a busy woman - raising fundraisers for their poverty community and voluntary teaching children for free. But when she’s here in dad’s vintage store, Leia somewhat relaxes and becomes the Omega she is. Loving, soft, and comfortable.
Maybe it’s the scent of her mate that fills the store, maybe it’s the sight of her pup that calms her.
“Tell me about her. Is she an Omega?” Ben shakes his head, putting down his phone.
“No, she’s a Beta,” he answers, leaning back on his chair and acting untroubled. “She’s nice. We had history lessons together.”
He met Paige through Hux, who’s together with her sister Rose. It’s not like they’ve talked so much with each other, only a few sentences between lectures and then it has always been funny comments and containing themselves to laugh out loud.
It’s not like he’s in love or anything, but it’s the first time he’s texting with a girl. Paige is nice and funny, maybe he’ll ask her on a date sometime.
“Oh, she’ll also stay in town?”
“No, she’ll go to college…” Ben’s voice lowers and he immediately regrets saying that when Leia’s face drops, sadness pouring out of every pore from her. “Mom, come on… stop it.”
Being a low-class citizen - living in an exposed area - meant poverty and not enough money to go to college. It’s always something Ben has known, so it doesn’t bother him, but to Leia, it’s her biggest sadness. She has always been passionate about teaching and education, but there simply isn’t enough. And Ben refuses to be selfish and take what little they have.
“I want to work here! I love this place, really,” Ben says with a smile. “It’s always a surprise whenever dad opens the door, bringing in some new shit he’s overly-excited about.”
They both laugh by that fact. Han has always been a crow - collecting whatever that shines - and he can be gone for days in search of something stupidly valuable that somehow sells. It’s comical and one of the many reasons Ben loves his father's store.
“I know sweety, I know. I just want to give you the word…”, Leia says and Ben takes a grip of his mother's palms.
“I have everything, mom.”
Ben loves his life.
It’s kind of odd, being an 18-year old, poor Alpha, and actually be satisfied with life, but he is. Maybe it’s because it’s summer break or the fact that Ben is finally finished with high school. Never ever has to study again and more than satisfied to work and inherit the second-hand store.
His mother smiles and Ben smiles too. It’s kind of scary how well he gets along with his parents. The ‘getting-out-of-age’ phase is long gone - back to when Ben presented as an Alpha and was so angry and so horny for no reason. Han is a Beta, yet the presence of another man in the house triggered the 14-year old Alpha and the fights that could take place between them were deadly. Plates flying around the house and punches constantly thrown.
But finally - as Ben got older and hormones balanced out with the help of suppressants - it calmed down.
His dosage is a bit higher than the average Alphas - side effects being much less arrogant and self-loving. That’s because his doctor said it was necessary - his Alpha hormones are a bit stronger than it should be. Something he has inherited from his mother's father.
A real awful Alpha, as Leia has called him.
But Ben doesn’t mind at all, because he loves not being angry and horny all the time. All his friends like him and always praise him for being ‘so much nicer than they thought’ and using ‘not like other Alphas’ as a compliment.
It doesn’t hurt his pride. In fact, he likes it. He doesn’t want to be an asshole, like his Alpha math teacher Professor Snoke. Yikes.
Besides his friends, he also likes it because he can get along with his family. They have this beautiful relationship that consists of Cozy-Sundays and supper at 6 PM sharp, of conversation about the past and dreams of the future. There is no more fighting and screaming, just this.
Spending their days in dad’s store, whose floor is covered with items and shelves with even more, with everything from vases to books.
“I love you, sweety…”, Leia says, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. Then she straightens her back. “Now clean that damn counter!”
“Okay, I will!”, Ben laughs as his mother walks towards the front door, but she stops mid-way when it suddenly opens with a slam.
“Look what I’ve got, after an hour of negotiation! ”, Han screams happily and Ben is already rolling his eyes as Lando and Chewie walk behind him, equally exhausted.
“A fucking doll...” Lando mumbles with a yawn and Ben has to suppress a laugh when Han’s eyes turn wide offended.
“It’s not just a doll, it’s-”
“Dear, I’ll meet you back at home! Bye, Ben!”, Leia says, leaving the store and the four men behind.
Han starts to yell and his coworkers screams back that he almost sacrificed his limbs for that stupid thing, and Ben can’t help but chuckle as he takes up his phone again. Answering back.
Yeah, totally! I’d love to. :)
It takes about a week and some convincing to skip one Cozy-Sunday and work to go out with his friends to the beach. Han has to sit by the counter instead of him and Ben knows how much he hates too. But it’s only for one Sunday, so it’s all right.
The group consists of Armitage Hux and Rose Tico, the three of them friends since ages ago and Ben always the third wheel whenever the pair feel like being extra lovey-dovey. But today, Rose brought her sister with her, and Ben can’t help but feel extra nervous. They have been texting for some days now, and Ben really likes her. Paige is hilarious, he wonders why they never talked more often.
When they meet up by the bus station, all worry seems to seep through his body and the four of them instantly start to talk. Their conversation is easy going and Hux isn’t as annoying as Ben thought he would - mock him and Paige to make the situation awkward. It’s nice and friendly, and by the time they get to the beach, everyone is excited to run into the water and swim.
Ben is much bigger than average - as all Alphas are. He stands out like a dirty spot on a white carpet, but they’re so busy with laughing and playing in the water that no one seems to notice. As if he’s just another Beta.
Ben likes that very much.
It’s about 10 PM, the sun lowering for the day and leaving orange rays of sunshine's behind. As they sit on the bus, no one talks. Everyone is gasping and resting against the windows as the soft hum of the engine lulls them to sleep. The water of the ocean has sucked the energy of them, yet it’s a satisfying feeling. With wet hair and limbs heavy with sand between their toes refusing to let go. Ben knows he’ll sleep well tonight.
They almost miss their stop and they giggle loudly when Hux wakes everyone up and runs out the door before it closes on them.
“I’ll follow the ladies to the door, you go home before your mother kills us all,” Hux says with an arm over Rose's shoulders, knowing how intense Leia can be. Paige gives Ben a small smile as he looks at them worried.
While Hux and the sisters walk towards the better part of town, Ben has to walk back to his and his neighborhood isn’t really a cozy one after 10 - danger lurking in every corner. It’s a consequence of being poor, Ben guesses. To have to hurry home before it gets too late and not being able to follow a lady to the door.
But Ben doesn’t like the thought of letting the girls walk home alone with just Hux.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?”, Ben asks, furrowing his eyebrows and that seems to offend the Beta.
“What, you don’t think I could take some creep down?”, he huffs and all of them laugh at Hux's seriousness. It’s not just creeps Ben is worried about, but whatever Hux says.
They part - both Ben and Paige blushing when giving each other a half-hearted hug - and as thankful that Ben is for Hux’s mocking absent, Rose still manages to throw him a look over her shoulder and give him thumbs up.
Ben huffs, before turning his way home.
By the time Ben sees the apartment his family lives in, he’s exhausted. Stopping just across the road to take some time to breathe, a chilly yet soft breeze running through his now dried hair. Looking upon the fifth floor, he can see his mother and father through the window to the kitchen. It’s dark outside, so the lit up room is clearly visible. Han is throwing his arms around and Leia seems to be laughing at something he says. Just the sight of his parents through the thin, bar-covered window causes Ben to smile.
Standing in front of the shitty, urine-smelling apartment complex and not being able to go to college is not the worst thing in life. As long as he has his family, friends, and health, there is nothing else that he wants.
How can he be so poor, yet feel so rich?
Ben smiles, thinking about going up those five stairs, listening to his father's story, and laughing while eating fast-noodles. Leia will complain to both Han for repeating the same story, and Ben for eating junk.
He’ll really sleep well tonight!
Before Ben can take a step towards home, a sound from behind interrupts him.
“Ben Solo?” Ben turns around, feeling his eyebrows raise in surprise by the sight.
Two men, both wearing suits that have nothing to do with this area - more like Wall Street - stare at him with tight smiles. Besides that, there is something. A smell that wants to tell the Alpha in Ben something, but he has it too suppressed to catch anything but something faul. Something evil, dangerous.
Money.
“Who are you?”, Ben asks confused, feeling his heart start to race. He’s afraid.
How do they know his name?
One of the men glanced at his colleague with a shrug.
“That’s him.”
Before Ben knows it, a knee is suddenly hit straight into his abdomen.
Ben gasps, bending into two as he feels all air leave his chest at the awful pain and then everything is black, a string tightening around his throat. Something is covering his face and before he can scream, a pinch on his thigh keeps him silent.
As they drag him hurriedly somewhere - arms around his shoulder - Ben feels how his body feels heavier. Eyelids closing, tongue turning to concrete and body heavy as stone. They have to drag him the last meters, feet following behind as a tail.
He can sense being thrown into something. A car maybe. He doesn’t know. All he can feel is how he slowly turns into a puddle.
The glittering ocean covered with a layer of orange rays is the last thing Ben sees before he falls into consciousness.
It’s the sound of clapping that wakes Ben up with a twitch.
With one heavy inhale, Ben felt himself turning on. As a machine that hasn’t been started for years and everything that has happened to this unknown moment comes back to him.
He had a good start off the summer, went to the beach with his friends, and then he was supposed to go home.
Then two men kidnapped him.
It must be kidnapping, Ben thinks as he looks around himself with wide eyes. Feeling the panic rise together with the growing headache - the pain of sitting on a hard surface. It must be, because why is he locked inside a cage? A small one that is just inches from suffocating him and there seems to be some sort of cover above him. And his hands are cuffed together in front of him and Ben feels his breath turn heavier, faster, and tears sting behind his eyes.
Where is he? What are they going to do to him? What has he done to deserve this?
Mother? Father? Where are they?
He hears people - like a crowd around himself - mumbling and small-chatting. As if he’s in a cafeteria and Ben starts to cry. But he weeps quietly because he’s afraid they’ll do something to him if he makes a sound.
“And now, Miss Palpatine!”, an over-excited voice says, voice booming through the room and making the murmurs quiet down. “The last gift! From your loving Grandfather to his beloved granddaughter that today turns 18. Behold;”
Then the cover over him has swept away and Ben is exposed.
“Your Alpha!”
Ben doesn’t know if he’s more shocked, or the crowd.
Because he’s at a birthday party.
He’s surrounded by people, who stare at him wide-eyed with wine glasses in their hands and with their best dresses on. Ben is sitting in a cage, covered with sweat, and still has on beachwear. There are balloons everywhere - in the color of gold and red - and if it isn’t the crystal chandelier that takes all the attention, is the massive amount of food and cakes around him that no one seems to have touched.
It’s big, it’s enormous and it’s high-end. It smells of money, power, and glory - everything Ben isn’t and everyone is looking at him. He’s scared.
Especially when he is right in front of a girl, who seems to be the center of the party.
The birthday girl. Who is an Omega.
He can smell her - just faintly. His suppressants have blocked his ability to scent, but he can still smell that she is unsuppressed. It’s strong enough to go through his barrier and it’s so uncommon for Omegas to walk around without it. It’s dangerous, but only for those who can’t afford protection.
He looks up at her next. A small, petite lady sitting on a throne-like chair that shines of gold. She’s wearing a tiara, a fluffy white dress, and blood-red lips. Hair in a bun and glitter across her bare shoulders.
The girl stares equally shocked as him, lips parted in surprise.
But then he sees her. Closing her eyes, taking a deep inhale - taking in the smell of him - and understanding. Then she opens her eyes again, pupils widening and lips curling into a massive smile.
Her joyful scream echoes against the wall - high-pitched, awful, and breaking the awkward shock of the guest. Everyone starts to clap at the happiness of the girl, who jumps to her feet and cries into her manicured hands.
“No way, grandpa! No way, no way!” She runs towards an old man sitting in a wheelchair and Ben’s breath hitch when he sees the two men who kidnapped him standing behind the oldster. A disgusting smile grows on the melting skin of the man as he receives a big hug from the girl. “Thank you, I love you! Thank you so much, grandpa!”
As they continue to hug it out, the small chatting goes back on, and comments around him fill his ears.
“What a good looking Alpha! Miss Palpatine is so lucky.”
“I wonder why she choose a poor one?”
“Oh, Omega’s and their sense of smell!”
Ben thinks he’s going to die, going to faint, or going to vomit. Staring at his surrounding like a frightened, locked-up animal - trying to understand what is happening, where he is, and why he is talked about as a gift.
That can’t be- that can’t be!
“Take him to my room! I want to open up the rest of the gifts now,” the Omega says across the hall as she joyfully jumps towards her throne again. Princess-dress bobbing with her movement.
Then the cage is covered again and Ben shrieks by the sudden darkness, then next to the sudden movement of it being rolled away.
“Kids these days…”, Ben hears someone say, clicking their tongue. “They just want more and more .”