It was Ben and Rey's first Summer as a couple, and they were already finding themselves invited to a slue of events. Ben's mother had invited them to an afternoon BBQ. Ben's father had invited them to the car show. Poe had invited them to the air show. Finn had invited them to the parade. Rose has invited them to the nighttime fireworks. Hux had invited them to a late night BBQ. Phasma had invited them swimming.
And they had turned down each and every single one down.
"I feel bad," Rey said, reaching out to take Ben's hand as he drove them up the mountain road in his suv. "I mean they all wanted us there to spend the fourth with them."
"They would have disappointed you," he said, giving her hand a squeeze over the center console. "And I'd be a monster."
"No I understand that you don't handle fireworks, and neither do I, and that's okay," she sighed.
"I also burn," he told her with a chuckle. "I always burn on the Fourth of July. Too much time outside and not enough sunscreen."
She laughed and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. "Where are you taking me anyways?"
"We're going to go see Luke at his summer camp. It's beautiful up there."
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "We're what? I thought you hated Luke."
He nodded. "I do. But I don't hate the camp. And you don't hate Luke. And there won't be any fireworks because they're worried about forest fires. And I help out on the fourth every year anyways. They miss the fireworks so I put on a light show over the lake."
Rey peeked over her shoulder at the plastic tubs in the back. "You do what?"
"You'll see."
They were just arriving to the sprawling campsite that was built up the side of a mountain. The main entrance was next to the lake, the lowest part of the camp, and Rey could pick out cabins through the trees up the mountain side. There was a large log lodge to the right that had a carved sign next to the door stating that they had arrived to camp Ach-to. Children ran in and out of the lodge and a couple of older children waved at Ben as he got out of his suv. He waved back, and one boy ran over, gave an overly complicated handshake, and sprinted back to his companions as they raced to the lake.
"Did you go here?" Rey asked, fixing her baseball cap over her buns.
"Every year until I turned 18 and joined the army," he told her, already spraying himself down with a can of combination bug spray/sunscreen. "It's only been a half dozen years or so that I've started coming back. I still can't stand Luke, but he needs the help. There's a handful of his counselors that ditch the holiday, leaving him in charge of a hundred or so minors. Luke won't fire them even though he should. Something about loyalty," Ben snorted.
"Hey hey hey, go easy on that stuff," Rey said, coughing as the wind blew a cloud of repellent her way.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he said, stowing the can back in the car.
"Well I'm gonna go say hi to Luke," she told him.
"Tell him hi from me," he called to her as he started to rummage in the back seat through his overnight bag.
Rey shook her head, stepped to the side as a pack of screaming children ran past, and took her turn to go inside the lodge. It was large and beautiful. There were several tables for meals now covered in crafts. There was a fireplace at one end with a collection of sleeping bags and pillows laid out in front of it on the wood floor. The other end held several doors for a kitchen and storage and bathrooms and showers and an office where she could see Luke on the phone with a few boys covered in soot sitting apologetically in front of him. Rey put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle but turned her attention to the walls covered in art and maps and songs and pictures of past campers.
Rey started looking for a picture of Ben, remembering what he said about coming every year. It wasn't too long before she found his pictures. There were fewer campers than there were now, but she found Ben standing in the back since he was one of the tallest, his ears masterfully hidden by black dyed hair. Her eyes trailed to the next photo, not so different, and then the next one, where this year his hair had been buzzed short, his face was sunburnt, and standing right next to his uncle, just starting his growth spurt. Each year, Ben's face grew rounder, and he grew shorter, until Rey found the first year Ben came. He was the littlest child, hiding behind Luke's knee, in an oversized sun hat. Counting the years, he must have only been 6 or 7 at this point.
"It's good to see you, Rey!" Luke laughed, bringing her back to the present. He took her in a big bear hug, smelling of smoke camping too long.
She laughed and winked at the three boys who were now scampering outside after their discipline.
"Ben didn't tell me you were coming up too!"
Rey nodded, fixing the cap he knocked askew. "He didn't tell me we were coming here. I love your camp!"
Luke chuckled. "I'm glad you do. Now you don't happen to know how to swim or basic cpr? My lifeguard has disappeared."
"She does not know how to swim, Luke," Ben grumbled, coming inside. "You really should hire some more counselors if yours are going to run off."
"It's only a couple times that they do it, Juneteenth, first day of summer, 4th of July, Pioneer Day."
Ben gestured towards Luke. "See? You've even got exact dates you could hire more people. Or even call in volunteers."
"I thought that's what you are," Luke said with a twinkle in his eye, bringing his nephew in for a hug.
Rey saw Ben's muscles tense up as he let his uncle hug him. Rey still thought it was hilarious that Ben was related to such a short man.
"Alright, now, lets get you two set up," Luke said, pulling out an itinerary.
Rey was set to keep an eye out on the littlest campers who were tasked with cloud watching and a nature hike that day. Ben was put with the older campers who were learning shooting and archery. They didn't see each other again until dinner, which was hamburgers and hot dogs and chips. Rey remembered wondering why Ben had packed several Costco sized boxes of chips and twinkies. She grinned when a couple cans of whipped cream appeared and the campers started over stuffing the twinkies. She snagged a can for herself and a few campers shrieked when she filled her Twinkie so much that it exploded, sending whipped cream all over her cheeks and the table. Ben leaned over and kissed a fluff of cream away.
"Come on. I've got some prep to do before it gets dark," he whispered in her ear.
She followed him back out to the lake which was smooth and clear now that every camper was at dinner. He had brought his large plastic containers out, and he took out a drone, already putting a string of lights on it.
"So what is this light show you do?" Rey asked.
"I call it the Force," he thrust his hand out to the lights and the drone made a noise like a lightsaber and the lights lit up like a wave, going dark again. He laughed at her widened eyes. "It's a little different every year. It's usually Star Wars themed though. Most of these kids like Star Wars, so I put it to Star Wars music, make it look like space battles, have a couple saber tricks." He suddenly blushed and looked down. "I actually had this really cool idea. I don't know if you've met Chip Antilles, but she's already great with the light show so I was thinking of having her run it and have you and I do this saber battle on a canoe in the lake."
Rey shoved his chest gently. "Ben Solo, the only reason I'm saying yes now is because I want to practice and do it again next year but cooler."
Ben grinned. "Lets do this."
They had already set up most of the lights around the lake when Chip, a brunette girl with hair in braids and feet in combat boots, sprinted down to the lake. She was one of the older campers, and she shook Rey's hand enthusiastically. Ben instructed Chip in the nuances of the equipment and what to do if the sound equipment gave out like it did last year since he was going to be out in the middle of the lake.
The sun was beginning to set, and the campers were starting to set out to bring the benches that were usually in the lodge to the edge of the lake. The moment the sun was under the horizon, the music started, the grand Star Wars fanfare, and the lights that crisscrossed over the lake lit up like shooting stars. The last straggling campers surged to the waters edge to gawk at the display.
Rey fidgeted with her life jacket just under the Jedi robes Ben had packed. She had known that he was a nerd—he had his own well used calligraphy set for Pete sakes!—but she didn't know that he was this much of a nerd to have Jedi robes and proper lightsabers and inflatable pool toys of R2-D2 and a Death Star.
"You're going to do great," he whispered as the fanfare grew quieter. "Follow my lead."
"Can I kick your butt?"
"I would expect nothing less," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her neck and turning her to watch.
Luke was paddling out to the center of the lake, two golden spotlights dancing around him as he stood, revealing a blue saber. Cheers traveled around the lake as he performed one of the greatest solo saber displays Rey had ever seen.
Ben shoved the oversized Death Star pool toy out to Luke, who lowered himself into a fighting stance before jumping into the water to slap the beach ball away. Rey smiled at the laughs around. The music changed, and Ben nudged her hip.
"That's our cue, sweetheart," he murmured.
Rey dropped into the boat, hiding herself so nobody could properly see her in the deepening gloom, and Ben stepped in, pushing themselves off from the bank. He pulled down the plastic Darth Vader helmet, and the Imperial March's deep bass spiked a sense of fear and anxiety deep in Rey's stomach. She didn't know how to swim. And they were just about to fight on a boat in a lake.
She peered up at Ben who was tall and imposing in all black, and the sound of a lightsaber ignited, and he turned on his own saber. This saber wasn't a typical one from a toy store. This was one of Ben's own personal creations. The nerd. It had a cross bladed hilt, and he had made the lightsaber light crackle in the casing. Rey had to admit it was one of the coolest lightsabers she had ever seen.
He spoke, but she couldn't understand his already low voice modulated even lower through the cheap mask's voice changer. There were cheers from the beach, and then Ben growled loud.
"Rebel scum!" He shouted, and Rey jumped up at her cue.
The lights which had been red shapes at this point above her had changed to blue twinkly stars.
She raised her head to look at them until Ben reached out and took her chin to make her look at him.
"Tell me about the droid," he goaded.
Out of the corner of her eye, Luke pushed the inflated R2-D2 out into the lake. This caught Ben's attention and she ignited her own blade. It was a purple Mace Windu one, and she smirked at the cheers of all the campers at the beach around them.
They were immediately locked into combat, sabers swinging, intense lighting above them, thrumming music around them, the splash of water below them. And the heat of summer between them.
Rey knocked him off balance, and though she caught his hand, his mask fell into the water, slowly bobbing away. He slowly turned to face her, his pale sweaty face lit up by the various lights, blue, red, blue again.
She tugged him closer, taking his face in both hands and kissing him as the swell of "Across the Stars" rang through the woods. Cheers came from the campers, and wolf whistles, and a few shouts of 'get a room!'
As the kiss ended, Rey pulled away, and smirked at him with hooded eyes. "I kicked your butt," she whispered, shoving him into the water.
More cheers, and she could even hear Luke laughing as he tried to fish the Vader helmet from the lake.
Ben held on to the edge of the boat, smirking himself. "Good job, Princess."
Rey gave several bows, and she flourished her lightsaber before turning to help Ben back into the boat.
"I think we should do this every year."
"Happy Force of July," Ben whispered, pressing a wet kiss to her cheek.