#mating ritual and then made the guy she was supposed to fuck be a hunk so of course she's immediately fine with it

[tendercoretroglodyke]

you know this whole alternate dimension thing could've been really fun if they hadn't made it a stereotypical medieval fantasy world where all the women are either slaves or princesses who are forced to wear metal bikinis and have no agency and are gratuitously slapped and threatened with rape and rely on a group of men to save her :)

#they literally enslaved cordelia tortured her then made her a 'princess' put her in a bikini told her she had to participate in a #mating ritual and then made the guy she was supposed to fuck be a hunk so of course she's immediately fine with it #and they hit her some more and threatened her some more and then told the hunk he had to fight someone to protect her honor #and that if he lost the fight she would be brutally 'violated' (described in detail!!) #and then had two men fight over her #while some other men fought save her elsewhere #meanwhile the only other woman is a meek escaped slave who only exists to make food for angel and wipe the sweat from his brow #and then they dragged this whole thing on for 3 episodes!!! #this is.... bad!!! #cordelia got ONE hit in at the end and they made it out to be some big girl power moment are you kidding me?? #im honestly not gonna be able to watch seasons 4/5 knowing what theyre going to do to cordelia #im just going into s3 with the assumption its the end #this is too much #joss whedon watch your fucking back #tw rape #ats

[ehstarwar]

a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves (1/8)

Rey looked down onto the empty orange bottle seated on the edge of her bathroom sink. She knew realistically that staring super hard at the bottle wouldn’t magically make it refill with suppressant pills, but she was willing to try anything this point.

The newest edition on the ever-growing list of Shit Rey Experiences', is being unable to get suppressants.

-

Rey can no longer afford suppressants and decided to take on unsuppressed life. Thankfully, Ben is there to help her.

-

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 2.3K

Read on AO3

Notes: i've never written ABO before, but good golly, i have read it and am now ready to take the plunge. plz enjoy!

Chapter 1: doth suffer a sea-change

-

Rey looked down onto the empty orange bottle seated on the edge of her bathroom sink. She knew realistically that staring super hard at the bottle wouldn’t magically make it refill with suppressant pills, but she was willing to try anything this point. Three minutes of hard staring ended up being unfruitful and Rey let out a defeated sigh. 

She had faced quite a few hardships in life. Being abandoned as a child, tossed from foster family to foster family, getting into a university 500 miles away from where she was from, affording said university until she graduated summa cum laude, figuring out a way to survive and pay her loans back simultaneously; the list goes on.

But nothing, nothing, was comparable to the hardship Rey undergoes, continually, as being an omega. 

She wishes the hardest part about being an omega was the constant degradation she experiences in the professional world. If it just meant lewd comments and occasional handsy knot-headed alphas, Rey could deal with it no problem. But the fucking heats. The claw off your skin, masturbate until your numb, loose your absolute mind heats that made being an omega a living hell. And on suppressants, that only happened once a year. 

The newest edition on the ever-growing list of ‘Shit Rey Experiences’, is being unable to get suppressants.

Her terrible insurance had now decided that suppressants were an ‘elective’ medication that omegas could function normally without. While Rey will support Senator Organa until she dies, she does wish that the senator hadn’t fought quite so hard to pass the legislation that ended the federal mandate that all omegas must be on suppressant unless mated. 

It was a huge step in the country, one that Rey had even advocated for, but one with unforeseen consequences like insurances not covering the cost of suppressants anymore. But, such is life. This was the bed that had been made for her, and this is what she would deal with. People went without suppressants all the time; progressive omegas that clearly didn’t live in the same part of town she did, but omegas none the less. 

Rey swept out of the bathroom, promptly tossing the empty bottle in the garbage, before turning to her roommate. 

“I’ve decided something,” Rey announces.

Rose didn’t look up from the television, but responded anyways. “And what would that be?”

“I’ve decided to quit taking suppressants.”  

Rose chokes on the cheese balls she’s currently shoving into her face while looking up at Rey.

“You what?”

“I’m not taking suppressants anymore.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t need to. Omegas are individual, like every other designation and do not need to be medicated just to join society. Senator Organa advocated very hard to have the federal mandate repealed, and to show my support, I will no longer be taking suppressants.”

Rose looked at Rey like she was out of her mind, and she supposed she was. Betas like Rose would never fully understand what it was like for omegas or alphas, so Rey isn’t surprised that this information is shocking to her. 

“Do you realize what this will do? Don’t unsuppressed omegas have like, three heats a year? You literally hate the singular one you have, why would you choose that?” An excellent point that Rey had not considered.

“The heats suck, yes, but… maybe if I know I’ll be going through it more often, I’ll try a little harder at actually dating someone. Use it as a motivator, ya know.” The excuse didn’t sound nearly as bad as Rey thought it would, even if it was total horse shit. She also knew that Rose’s constant pushing for Rey to actually put herself out there would be placated by this answer. 

“This seems like a pretty major change just so you can meet someone. Have you tried that one app that is supposed to help match up alphas and omegas? Knot It, I think it's called? That would be a more reasonable first step than… this.” The concern in Rose’s voice touches Rey and part of her is tempted to break down and tell her the truth. But then Rose would want to help her, being a best friend and all, and Rey would be put even further into emotional debt for all the helping she’s done over the years. She decides to hold steady to her little fib, hoping that Rose will just let it go. ( A pipe dream, to say the least.)

“I’m choosing this for right now. If it becomes… too much, I might change my mind. But I’m going to try this first. It’ll be good for me, I think.”

Rey ignores the unease in her friends gaze, and goes about her business.

-

The bar is crowded when Rey arrives at Maz’s. Some sports game is on that Rey would care about more if she could afford live TV to watch it continually, but cable wasn’t exactly a standard for someone who eats ramen for nearly every meal.

She see’s the large table in the back, the one that’s unofficially reserved for her friends, and notices she’s the last one there. A chorus of ‘hellos’ greet her as she slides into he booth, and is handed a plastic cup full of PBR.

“Rey-Rey! You made it! How’s our favorite mechanic?” Poe asks, clearly already a few too many deep.

“I’m good! Have you guys ordered yet? I’m starved.”

“I ordered a big ole’ hunk of qb with extra ass!” Poe screeches, looking up at the monitors, earning an eye roll from the sober people at the table, and giggles from the drunk ones.

“Buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks with extra marinara sauce,” Ben tells her. He’s across the table from her, but Rey is pretty sure that the calves she keeps bumping into are his. Ben’s damn long legs will always be a point of contention with her. Who needs to be 6”4 anyways? It’s just gratuitous. Still, she like the person they belong to.

“Bless you,” She tells Ben, earring a sweet smile and a hint of a blush. Ben is so easy to make blush; it's one of Reys’ favorite pastimes. 

The night goes on; food is consumed in an ungodly amount of time, beer is constantly flowing, the rest of the bar dies down but they all remain. It’s nice, the little family they form. Rey would never had dared to dream of such a thing, but meeting these people was the greatest gift she’d been given. Rey met Finn the first semester of undergrad, and been a part of this group since. Through Finn, she met Rose, Kaydel, Jannah, and Poe, and through Poe she met Ben. Friday nights a Maz’s had become a staple for the last few years, one religiously followed even when they probably should have all stayed home. 

While Rey loved being in this group of friends and partaking in their rituals, she had to admit to herself that it was… a lot. Without suppressants, at least. Smells were intense, to say the least. Every thing was heightened to the nth degree and Rey had spent the last three weeks without suppressants needed to excuse herself to get a breath of fresh air, too many times to count. 

Everything smelled so, so much, and Rey had to suffer through all of it. 

But it wasn’t all bad. There was the occasional whiff of a fresh smelling laundromat, or sweet pastry that was nice to experience. And, of course, the juicy smelling alphas that usually came as quick as the went. Like right now, in the bar, Rey could smell the thick aroma of leather and pine mixed among the crowd. It was strong, even diluted by the scent of others, so she couldn’t imagine what it would be like on its own. The though made her clench her thighs together in hopes of something that would likely never come to pass.

“Rey… Rey? Are you with us?” Finn waved a hand in front of her face, snapping Rey out of her train of thought.”

“Oh sorry. I was just… distracted.” Rose ‘hrumps’ next to her. 

“We’re still on for Wednesday, right? Trivia night at Lukes?” Finn asks her.

“Yeah! Of course. I’ve been prepping for it by watching Jeopardy every night,” She tells them, earning a chuckle from Ben.

“Good. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget. You’ve been so spaced out lately,” He tells her, making Rey sink further into her seat. 

“Probably because of the suppressants. Or… lack thereof,” Rose replies, causing every sober eye to turn and stare at her. AKA Finn and Ben.

“You stopped taking suppressants? Are you nuts?” Finn asks, incredulously. 

“Thank you, Rose. And no, I’m not nuts. I’m just… choosing the natural life, so to speak.” She gives Rose a pointed glare, and tires to ignore the heated expression on Ben’s face. Finn is a beta, so his opinion will probably be a little off the mark, just like Roses. 

But Ben is all alpha. Not just any alpha; no, Benjamin Solo was 100%, grade-A, total alpha who also happened to be the biggest sweetheart she’d ever met. It was a horrible concoction that had been the subject of one too many fantasies that Rey had shoved down in lieu of friendship. 

Betas would have some idea what it meant for omegas to be off suppressants, but alphas? Alphas would bristle just at the thought of an unmated, unsuppressed omega, even if they smelled like a garbage disposal. 

“So you want to revert back to a sex-crazed lunatic that thinks water is overrated?” Finn continues to question. 

“I don’t think water is overrated even in heats. And I’ve already gone three weeks without and been fairly normal. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself without medication.” Rey keeps her expression calm and cool, but her eyes are steadfastly on her empty plate. 

“Well… good for you, I guess?” Finn isn’t totally convinced and this will absolutely come up later, but he knows not to push his luck like this in public.

Rey gives a tight-lipped smile in response, still unable to meet Bens’ gaze, and is grateful for Poe for his loud interruption that he ‘will be a trophy husband to the first gay NFL quarterback’. 

-

It’s not until they’re all standing outside the bar, in the chilly autumn air, that Rey realizes what’s wrong. She had felt Ben’s eyes on her the rest of the night, and it had taken every fiber in her being not to look at him. She knew what waited for her when she did and her inner omega wanted it too much to be a good thing. 

But what’s wrong is not that Rey has to face Ben while they wait to load their drunk friends into Ubers. What’s wrong is the way he smells. If Rey wasn’t drunk of the beer, then she was drunk off of Ben. The hints of nice smelling alpha emanated from him, even through a cloud of scents. It was deep and rich and Rey wanted to bathe in it. 

She could also feel the displeasure he was feeling and it made Rey want to throw herself on the ground and beg alpha for forgiveness. She resisted, but only just.

When it was just them outside, Rey finally turned to face him, garnering any courage she could find. 

“What is it?” She asked, aggressively, before she could loose her nerve.

“It isn’t safe,” Ben stated simply.

“What isn’t safe? Riding a bike without a helmet? Eating day-old sushi?” She retorted.

“Rey.” It was a command, even if he didn’t mean to give it. “It isn’t safe to be unmated and unsuppressed. Especially…” He trailed off.

“Especially what?” She wishes her voice were harsher to express the anger she feel within.

Ben stares at her for a minute before responding. It makes her scent gland itch. “I could smell you. Through all those people, I could smell you. What happens if a knot-headed alpha is too close to rut and you’re alone-“”

“I’m an adult. I can take care of myself. Rape is still illegal, suppressed or not.”

Bens’ jaw clench and his hands ball into fist and Rey feels her core heat.

“I know you can take care of yourself.” It’s not what she expects to hear, and the softness of his voice breaks something inside of her. Her steely expression falls and so does his.

“You’re right, I know you’re right. But this is the way it is.”

“Why?”

Rey sighs, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before telling him. “My shitty insurance got even shittier and no longer covers suppressants. My last refill ran out a few weeks ago, and with the way my student loans are right now, I can’t afford to buy them.”

She doesn’t need to see Ben to know the way he bristles. “This is because of my mom; because of the law she passed. It’s not fair to you that-”

“Your mother has been nothing but kind to me! She is a very sweet woman who I will always support and I get why she advocated for this. Yes, this sucks, but it’s not your mom’s fault.”

Ben isn’t placated by this, but keeps quiet. 

They stay like that for a terse minute, Rey scrambling to figure out how to move on from this conversation. He speaks before she gets a chance.

“I can help you. I can get you suppressants if you want. It’s really no trouble. If anything, I kind of feel like I owe you.” Ben is sheepish when he speaks, and Rey’s heart swells a bit.

“That’s kind of you, but no thank you. I can handle this on my own.”

“You don’t have to, Rey.” His voice is low, but washes over her like a warm blanket nonetheless. “Just, please tell me if you need help. Promise me that.”

Rey doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to even say that she would rely on him if she needed to, out of her own selfish pride, but the omega in the back of her mind screams to, at least, make alpha feel better. She knows if she does, it will help. 

“I promise.” Rey doesn’t know if she says that, or if her omega does.

#im also tryin to get through all the comments on my other works too! #but this popped into my head and now its a fic so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #reylo #rey x ben #ben solo x rey #rey x kylo ren #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #adam driver #daisy ridley #my work #fan fic #star wars #ao3 #appihtg