They came in a raucous horde, surprisingly on time, bearing all the provisions that would be guaranteed to make this a night to remember.
Ben Skywalker opened the door, and welcomed them with a curt and solemn bow.
"Welcome to the Skywalkers'," he said, utterly seriously.
The party bustled in.
Old Mr. Ossik Platt in the upstairs apartment made a face as he sat down to dinner with his wife. His arthritis had been acting up all day and moreover, his wife had made ribene stew. He hated ribene stew but never had the heart to tell her so.
"Where's all that racket coming from?" he asked, screwing up his face and squinting at his wife's doleful features.
"Those new kids downstairs are having a housewarming," Mrs. Platt replied in her characteristically mild tone.
"Damn 'em stupid kids! They'll make me go deaf in my old age!"
Mrs. Platt shrugged.
"They're good kids. I met the girl. Lively young thing. Newlyweds, I believe."
"Huh. And they took the cursed apartment? I was beginning to think Shotzi was never going to sell it. Didn't he start the rumour it was haunted?"
Mrs. Platt frowned.
"Ever since those awful vandals broke in, all those years ago... and then there was that man who used to live there before that. Never said a word. Never even knew when he was there. I think he was somebody big in the government. It's been empty since, more than ten years now."
"Well. Atleast it was peaceful then."
"Oh I think it'll be nice to have some new neighbours. The girl's promised she'll drop by for tea."
"If their infernal music-playing continues, you won't have anything to serve her tea in! This pounding'll smash the china! See? Even the table is shaking!"
Sure enough, a dull, continuous rhythmic thump seemed to be coming up from the floor and all their rickety old furniture had started vibrating ever so slightly.
"I'm gonna call the police if it goes on much longer. Some people need sleep around here! Stupid kids these days! You tell that to your lively young girl when she comes for tea!"
Mrs. Platt sighed and shook her head. She wished she could remember back to the days they had been newly married. It had to have been better than this.
Myri poked her head around the kitchen entrance.
"Red! Turn the music down! We have neighbours now! You want CSF busting up our party?!"
Ben grinned at her from the music player.
"CSF's already here, sweetheart. And they're the ones partying the hardest!"
Sure enough, a group of Myri's new colleagues from the Coruscant Security Force were lined up at the bar, doing shots and cheering loudly.
Myri pursed her lips and walked up to her husband.
She was dressed in a bottle-green shimmersilk cocktail dress that reached her knees and draped over only one shoulder. Glittering at her throat was the heart-of-fire pendant she'd gotten from Jaina and Jag at the wedding dangling from a fine gold chain.
Ben's eyes softened when he noticed it. The thin gold veins running through it reflected all the colours of the rainbow when it caught the light at a certain angle. He had already imprinted it with a message for her through the Force. If ever he should die without having had a chance to say goodbye to her (as was all too likely for a Jedi in times of war), he hoped it would act as a source of closure. He would never repeat his mother's mistake of leaving his father only with a scribbled note...
He forcefully pushed away the dark thoughts and smiled at his radiant wife. She stalked up and turned down the volume control.
Immediately, a chorus of boos echoed from around the room.
Myri shook her head.
"Sorry, folks. We've got to behave like responsible adult citizens here. We've put in a lot of blood and sweat into setting this place up and we'd rather we weren't evicted so soon!"
Ben raised a pacifying hand.
"My bad, ladies and gentlebeings. Allow me to change the mood of this party- from strip-club to black tie!"
He switched playlists and elegant chamber jazz began playing.
"Better?" he enquired of his wife.
She reached over and laid a light kiss on his cheek.
"Much better."
"How 'bout a dance then, milady, with your DJ- for-life?"
Myri smiled and patted his arm.
"Soon. I promise."
Valin Horn sauntered up to his younger friend and leaned against the giant state-of-the-art sound system.
"So, how's the old ball and chain been treating you?"
Ben gave him a lop-sided grin.
"On the whole? Pretty darn great! You should try it for yourself sometime, Horn."
Valin cleared his throat and looked slightly shifty.
"Yeah, about that... say, you doing anything this weekend?"
Ben frowned, a curious spike in Valin's emotions telling him this was going to be interesting.
"Not really. What's on your mind, bro?"
"I- uh... was wondering if you could help me with something."
"Oh? What's that?"
"I need help picking out a ring."
Ben's eyes widened to twice their size.
"Hold the comm!"
He grabbed his friend's arm and steered him away to a slightly more secluded corner.
"For Syal?! Man, you guys haven't even dated for a year!"
Valin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Yeah, I know. But she's the one, Ben. I'm telling you, this is it! I've never felt this way about anyone before! I mean, I know I had feelings for her from way before but was too chicken to admit it, but... Look, thing is, neither of us is getting any younger. And what with seeing her baby sister getting married, I think she wants a bigger committment too."
Ben's heart was thumping excitedly. He looked at his friend, his eyes sparkling.
"Hey, you're absolutely sure you wanna do this? No backing out?"
Valin bit his lip, but then smiled with only the barest hint of uncertainty.
"Yes. Yes I do. I love Syal and I want to ask her to be my wife!"
Ben clapped him on the back with a loud hoot of laughter.
"You realize we're going to be like brothers-in-law, then?! Welcome to the family, Horn! And before you even bother to ask, of course I'd be honoured to be your Best Man!"
Ben had just loaded a very high Fletcher Dyce into an airtaxi and re-entered his apartment. He surveyed the wreckage through which his wife was carefully picking her way over to the couch. She collapsed on it with a huge sigh and closed her eyes.
"I am honestly getting way too old for parties like this," she claimed.
Ben made his way over and sank down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Speak for yourself! I'm still in the prime of my youth!"
"Whatever was I thinking marrying a man eight years younger than me?!"
"Maybe, 'Man! Now there's an ass I wouldn't mind growing old with!' ?"
Myri punched his arm playfully.
"Nerf!"
Nevertheless, she drew her feet up and snuggled under his arm.
Ben laid his head back and chuckled softly to himself.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Just thinking that maybe married life isn't so bad, after all!"
Myri lifted her head and looked at him shrewdly.
"No you weren't. That's not what you were thinking at all!"
Ben raised his eyebrows at her.
"Impressive. Most impressive. Has Dad been teaching you how to read my mind?"
His wife still looked at him suspiciously.
"No. I don't need him to. I can read you all too well on my own, Red. So? What is it?"
Ben solemnly shook his head.
"Nuh-uh, Officer. That's classified information. I'm not at a liberty to divulge, I'm afraid."
This time it was Myri's turn to raise her eyebrows.
"Keeping secrets from me already, is it? Well, that's a habit I'm going to have to break!"
"Sorry, sweetheart. But I gave my word as a bro. The code dictates, you know. 'Bros before ho- ahem... wives'".
"So... Valin, huh?"
"Maybe."
"When's he planning to pop the big question?"
Ben very nearly yelped in surprise.
"Wha-?! Were you eavesdropping, Eight? How- how did you find out?!"
Myri heaved an exaggerated sigh.
"Red, I wish you wouldn't keep underestimating my capabilities. I'm an Intelligence officer. And a particularly good one. Not for nothing. I know what it takes to weasel the truth out of people. Even you, Jedi."
Ben pulled her closer to him.
"I sincerely apologize, my lady. You're right as always."
Myri smirked.
"There. So much better. Looks like there's hope for you as a husband yet!"
She idly twisted the button on his dinner jacket.
"Besides, Syal deserves this. I know how long she's waited for a guy like Valin to come along, and I want my sister to be happy. So even if Horn wasn't thinking about proposing, I'd have knocked it into his head soon enough."
Ben was looking at Myri with a look akin to wonder in his cerulean eyes.
"Eight, please promise me you'll always be on my side. If ever you were to fall to the Dark Side, I have no doubt we'd have another 'Iceheart' on our hands!"
Myri laughed and reached for a clumsily stoppered half-finished bottle of Alderaanian wine lying on the caf table.
"Well, then let's hope it never has to come to that! I have far too many plans for us to become 'Madame Director' anytime soon!"
Ben shuddered, then took the bottle and pulled out the cork with his teeth.
"I'll drink to that!"
He took a mighty swig and passed the bottle back, getting to his feet and extending a hand to her.
"You know, I never got that dance you promised me earlier..."
Myri smiled up at him dazzlingly and accepted.
Ben gestured at the music system and one of their old slow favourites began to play.
Myri leaned her head against his chest and breathed in his musky smell contentedly.
"I'm lucky to have you to share these moments with, Ben," she said.
Her husband smiled fondly.
"I always knew you were a sucker for my charm."
She looked around the apartment.
"What a mess. There's barely any room to dance!"
Ben gently tucked away a stray lock of her hair.
"Hey, you know what the best part is? This is our home, our mess. And there's no one I'd rather be dancing with in it, than you."
