Chapter Text
There are many aspects to friendship-- trust, respect, and so on. For Ben Solo and his friends, they found the best way to cement this bond was through accountability, namely with the infamous “Bro Code”.
Ben and his friends first met while they were all studying at NYU. Starting his freshman year, Ben was able to start with two friends right off the bat: Poe and Finn. As family friends, Ben and Poe had known each other since diapers, and as luck would have it Poe ended up getting the dorm room right down the hall from Ben. Did Poe make it a point to hang out in his dorm more than needed because he thought Ben’s roommate, Finn, was cute? Yes. Did Poe never get the nerve to ask out Finn, therefore just leaving them in a perpetual state of friendship? Also yes.
The last member of the friend group was Armitage Hux. Armitage, more commonly acknowledged simply as Hux, was everything Ben, Finn, and Poe were not. Extremely organized and anal retentive, the four most likely never would have become friends if not for an Introduction to Economics course Ben had to take where he got paired with Hux. One evening spent working on a shared project in Ben’s dorm quickly turned into drinking, video games, and pizza as soon as Finn and Poe showed up. Being drunk at 2 AM on a Tuesday and eating stale pizza must have been some kind of male bonding ritual, because ever since, the four had been inseparable. Perhaps Ben would have more insight if he actually remembered any of that night.
After becoming friends, it wasn’t long until it became obvious there needed to be some ground rules. Enter the Bro Code; the pillars of brotherhood. What started as a joke among friends quickly turned into much more on one fateful Saturday evening at a bar on the lower east side. Ben, Finn, and Poe all sat at their usual booth in the back corner when Hux frantically sped walked to the table.
“Poe I need your help,” Hux interrupted. “Like right now.”
“Ah, so nice of you to join us finally,” Poe teased.
“Okay that’s great and all, but that cute girl from my business class is at the bar and I need a wingman,” urged Hux, cheeks now tinged pink.
“This is too good! And here I was thinking you were a robot with the amount of interest you have shown in finding a beau,” he laughed.
“Yes, yes. Har har, very funny, but I’m serious. Come on man, Bro Code!” Hux gritted.
And thus began the Code among friends, sorted in order of importance. This occasion would soon lead to rule seven.
Rule #7: A bro is to always wingman for another bro in need.
From that night on, the Bro Code became the utmost importance to them. It became a way to hold each other accountable, but also to always remember the importance of their friendship. Whether big or small, many problems were able to be solved by a quick consultation of the Code.
That time Poe accidentally hit on Finn’s ex-hook up from sophomore year? Not allowed. It contradicted rule #4: exes are off-limits.
Or there was the time Hux was trying to bail on movie night to go on a date. Well that wouldn’t fly because of rule #2: bros before hoes. However please note that rule #2 did not apply when Ben had to skip Finn’s birthday party to visit his mom back home, as no one with half a mind would dare consider Leia Organa a “hoe”.
Now, starting their senior year of undergrad, the four of them were able to sustain a friendship throughout almost the entirety of their time at NYU. The last weekend before the semester found them at their usual lower east side bar, Maz’s, sitting in their designated booth enjoying the last night of freedom.
“Ben, it you're time to get us a round,” reminded Finn. “I got it last time.”
“I’m on it,” Ben said while getting up. “Any requests, or just what’s on tap?”
“I wouldn’t mind a Long Island ice tea,” intoned Hux.
“Just tap,” added Poe. He never really was one to care what he was drinking, as long as there was alcohol in it.
“Same here,” said Finn.
“On it,” and Ben was sliding out of the pleather bench to get to the bar.
The bar was definitely more crowded than usual, Ben noticed. Based on the age range, there did appear to be quite a few students preparing for the impending stress from the upcoming semester. Everyone else quickly became inconsequential the moment he spotted her sitting alone at the bar.
From behind, he could see her shoulder-length chestnut hair ending right above her exposed shoulder from her slouchy maroon shirt. With the current view he had, the moment she turned he was able to get a glimpse of her profile, and well, that was more than enough incentive for him to change his mission from getting drinks, to getting to know her. The closer he got, the more he noticed that what she was wearing was not typical bar-going clothes of a college girl trying to have a wild night out. A simple oversized maroon shirt over some leggings, and not a touch of makeup. This girl definitely looked out of place.
“Are you waiting for someone,” Ben asked, and the girl jumped, clearly not expecting anyone to approach her.
“Jesus!” she cried. “You can’t just sneak up on someone like that, mate.”
She was scolding him, but it was at this point Ben noticed the lilt to her voice and British accent she had.
“I take it you’re not from here?” Ben guessed with a smile on his face, trying to be suave.
“Ah, my accent gave me away did it?” she joked. “Well you got me. I’m from Alabama.”
“I-uh-wait, what?” “I’m kidding,” the mysterious girl was smirking now. “Obviously.”
Ben was not the kind of guy to have much luck with women, nor did he ever really pursue women, much to his friends’ chagrin. But this woman sitting in front of him, well she was something else and Ben would be lying if he wasn’t intrigued.
“So how did you find Maz’s from across the pond,” asked Ben. “Visiting and staying nearby?” he guessed.
“Actually, my brother loves this place. He and his friends come here all the time, and I needed a drink before I face him,” she cringed. Obviously there was more to this girl than she was letting on.
Ben finally took it upon himself to man up and actually take the seat next to her.
“You can use my phone if you want,” he offered. “To call your brother I mean. You look like you could use someone to talk to, and I mean, I’m basically a stranger-- okay I am a stranger-- but you shouldn’t be alone. Um, yes. Also. I’m Ben. By the way.” he awkwardly help his hand out to her.
“Well hello there, Ben. I’m Rey,” she smiled and took his hand. “And you’re right, but maybe a drink first is still a good idea. You want to buy me one, not-a-stranger-Ben?”
“I mean, I’m here with friends if you want to join us,” he turned to look at his friend group. In his quick glance he didn’t realize he’d caught the eye of Hux, who was now pointing out Ben’s pathetic attempt at trying to flirt to the rest of the group--nor did he notice someone getting up from the table to head their way.
“Actually, nevermind,” Ben stopped himself. “I’ll wait until the second date to get my friends to embarrass me.”
“Second date, huh? Awfully confident for--,” but Rey was immediately cut off by a familiar, and borderline frantic, voice.
“Rey! What are you doing here?” Finn asked, looking just about as shocked as Ben felt. “Why didn’t you call? What’s going on? Why are you even in America? You told me you were in London looking for your family?”
“Finn, calm down. I’ll explain everything, I promise. For now, let’s just say there is no family to speak of. Besides you, of course,” she reassured him.
And that’s when it hit Ben-- family. And wait, didn’t she mention her name was Rey?! The moment Ben had his realization, Finn turned to his friend.
“Oh Ben! You never met Rey last time she was here, did you? Mom emergency right?” he remembered. “Anyways, this shining ray of sunshine is my younger sister.”
Turning back to his sister to take in the fact she was actually there with a huge smile on his face Finn took her into a huge embrace. Rey looked over his shoulder and gave Ben a look almost to say “brothers, am I right?”
Ben didn’t have siblings, but he did have his brothers: his friends. And they had their code. The Bro Code, which hit Ben all at once.
The most important rule of all, the rule to end all rules.
Rule #1: Siblings are absolutely, undeniably, positively off-limits.
Shit.