Summary: Running into exes can be so awkward.

A/N: I deeply, deeply apologize for the fact that is has taken me ten days to get this chapter (and the next!) up. I also apologize because it's going to be another little bit until chapter 19, I think. We're moving to a different state in 7 days, so life is a liiiiiitle hectic right now. 19 could be up sooner, since it's going to be a lot shorter than normal, but I can't promise anything.

Also, this was going to be another monstrously long chapter, but this one felt right to split. So part two will be posted in one hour as well! Consider it my apology, this two-chapter day.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

These Surreal Days

THIRTY-TWO WEEKS — CANTALOUPE

Sometimes, Rey had the sense that they'd cheated destiny somehow.

Like maybe things weren't supposed to have worked out this well, but they found a loophole and wandered out of a tragedy, into a happier story. Kids like her, the discarded ones, the ones thrown away like garbage, they didn't get stories like this. And kids like Ben, loved but lonely, too much privilege and not enough guidance, they didn't turn out like he did.

That made her a little nervous, sometimes. Like someone would show up demanding the cost for their happiness. As if, for balance to exist in the universe, an equitable amount of suffering had to be paid. But that was when she felt morbid and melancholic. Mostly, she was just extraordinarily happy.

It was a funny thing, her joy. A quiet thing, humming in the background of her heart. It came from all these little pieces coming together, things she didn't even know she wanted, seven months ago. She wouldn't have thought that bearing an unplanned child in an increasingly uncomfortable body would bring her any kind of joy. In fact, she'd have been pretty sure that would be a nightmare. And she wouldn't have thought that being close with Ben's parents would be anything more than a weird arrangement, but loving them and being loved by them was everything she'd ever dreamed a family could be. And she wouldn't have willingly acknowledged that being engaged, wearing someone's ring on her finger with the plan to become his secret wife in four days' time, would make her feel fluttery and glowy and wanted. Most of all, she wouldn't have allowed herself to envision a future where that person she'd be marrying was Ben.

So yeah, it was funny how things had worked out. And funny that she felt lighter and happier and safer than she'd ever felt before because of all these pieces coming together.

Because of Ben.

She meant it when she told him she was impatient to marry him. That she didn't want to wait. Because it had been a long, painful road getting to this point, and now that she'd made up her mind, she wanted to seize him with both hands make him hers. Forever. By whatever laws or traditions or perceptions there were.

They told his parents that day before dinner. Ben apologized for freaking out on them, explained that he felt they were rushing something he hadn't spoken to Rey about, and then broke the news. At first, they didn't have much of a reaction at all. Leia smiled and patted her son's chest while Han calmly stood and left the room. It threw Ben and Rey, who'd expected some sort of pleased response after their behavior a few days before. Han returned with a record and a bottle of champagne. He pulled the vinyl out, blew off the dust, inspected it for scratches, and then put it on the player he had in the corner. While the needle hissed over outermost ring of the record, Han popped the campaign and poured a couple of glasses. By the time he handed one to Leia, the unmistakable first notes of Kool & The Gang's Celebration began to fill the living room.

It was like Ben and Rey were completely forgotten then. Han and Leia toasted, linked arms, and began to dance around the living room like a couple of downright fools, sipping their champagne and boogieing to the world's cheesiest victory song. Rey laughed. Ben cringed so hard she thought she saw his soul leave his body. He ran over to the record player and stopped the song halfway through.

"Stop, stop, goddammit, why are you two the most embarrassing people on this planet?" he complained.

They didn't seem to mind. Suddenly Rey found herself assaulted by the tightest hug Leia had ever given her while Han pounded on Ben's back and told him he'd made a "real smart move" for once in his sorry life. He said it with so much warmth and affection, there could be no insult hidden there. Ben didn't take offense.

When they explained their plan, his parents happily accepted it without a murmur of complaint. Even Leia, who Rey had felt sure would object to the unconventional timing of everything, merely hugged her monstrously large son and said, "Alright, so when? Tomorrow?"

Ben snorted. "As much as I appreciate the shared sense of urgency, I'm not getting married after a long day at the office. We were thinking this coming weekend."

Leia beamed. "Excellent." She turned to Rey. "That will give me time to go shopping with you for a dress!"

Rey balked at that. She didn't want to go looking for a gown, not when this was just a small, modest, private little thing and definitely not when she currently felt like her body had swelled to the size of a water buffalo.

"Oh," she said awkwardly, "um…I don't need a dress."

"Of course you do," said Leia, and Rey thought she looked rather determined. "Something to suit you now. Your real dress. The one that's all you. Then later, when we do the public ceremony, you can pick a fancy gown that makes you feel like someone else."

Rey relaxed. She thought she could do that. Find something that would suit her situation, her taste, and the occasion. Yes, actually, she liked that idea very much.

Han rubbed his hands together. "And that'll give me enough time to get online and get ordained to be a clergy so I can officiate. Is that okay with you, kid?"

Ben stared at his father in bafflement. "You want to…officiate?"

"Unless you wanna invite someone else?"

"No…" he glanced at Rey. She just grinned and shrugged. It seemed like a great idea to her. Ben looked back at his father, his surprise giving way to a slow smirk. "Han Solo, the lifelong atheist who doesn't mess with religious mumbo jumbo is going to get ordained by some online church as a clergy?"

His father laughed. "Hey, I'll baptize myself into whatever the hell religion you want if it means I get to see you keep hold of this chick and her little girl."

"This chick," Ben scoffed.

"Oh, don't be so stuffy. It's not an insult. Are you insulted, kiddo?" He looked at Rey.

She shook her head. Leia sighed happily. The good moods sustained them through dinner with Luke and Mara. Ben told them about the engagement, and about a spring wedding when the baby was around six months old. They expressed their congratulations and happiness. Rey felt a little bad about leaving them out of the loop. Mara had been nothing but kind and friendly to her over these months of regular family dinners. And Luke was likable too, in his own prickly way. It might have been okay to tell them about it, to let them be there this weekend. But they seemed content to wait until spring, so she didn't try to pull Ben aside and change the plan.

Luke got a little misty-eyed when he saw his mother's ring on Rey's finger. He and Leia had a nice moment reminiscing about what they remembered of their mom, of her kindness, her devotion to them, the ferocity with which she protected her children, and with which she could stand up to their sometimes overbearing father.

"Maybe it's fitting," Luke said after some thought. "Rey has some similar qualities. And Ben has always been a little bit like Dad. So…yeah. I think it's right. Feels like coming full circle. Like coming home."

Home.

Yeah. Rey felt that too.

The next day, Ben arranged to go in for a half day of work. They spent the morning together, first going to Rey's next appointment (everything still good, everything still nicely on track) and then going to get their marriage license. When Ben finally went into work after lunch, Rey took herself to the library to try to focus on her own clients. It was hard, though. She felt peculiar, much the way she had the day she'd learned about being pregnant. Like somehow the whole world was different, but she was supposed to go on as normal.

Ben's ring flashed cheerfully at her whenever it caught the light, provoking that funny swooping feeling in her stomach. Sometimes she still couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that she was so loved. That someone wanted to voluntarily spend every single day around her for the rest of their lives. That he was choosing this. Choosing her.

One night, Rose invited them both to dinner. They met up with her and Hux at one of their favorite American 50's themed diners, indulging in burgers, fries, and malted shakes. Even Ben, who rarely threw his rigidly healthy diet out the window like that, fully embraced the diner menu.

Since they'd just dropped the news the day before, Rose was all about gushing over the ring. And their engagement in general.

"This is the craziest turn of events ever," she sighed. "Five years of pretending nothing exists between you, and then all the sudden it's a mad dash through all the stages of a full-blown romance and running pellmell into marriage."

"You're the one who teased me to tell you when the wedding date was that day I invited Ben to spend quarantine with me," Rey observed around a mouthful of fries dipped in chocolate shake.

Ben was watching her with a horrified expression. She swallowed, grinned.

Rose laughed. "Oh really? I don't remember that but it definitely sounds like me."

"It does," Ben agreed, still giving Rey dubious side-eye.

"Try it," she urged, dragging another fry through her malt. "It's the perfect balance of sweet and salty."

He grimaced. "Definitely not." His attention flicked to Hux. "What's your problem?"

The ginger's naturally paper-white complexion had gone even whiter, and his wide eyes were fixed on Rey's midsection. She had leaned back in the booth a bit, trying to take some pressure off her spine, which brought her swell out from under the table.

"It's…moving…" he said with soft horror.

"She always does that when I drink super cold things," Rey laughed. "It's the shake, probably."

The cantaloupe-sized girl was extremely active at the moment, moving around restlessly. Rey's stomach was tight enough that Olive's jabs and pokes and thumps were visible beneath the fabric of her shirt. It felt like a disco in there. Rey could laugh about it, but it wasn't exactly comfortable. She wasn't sure how she'd make it another eight weeks when she already felt overburdened and crowded out of her own skin. But moments like this were amusing. It had terrified Ben the first time he saw Olive's hiccups twitching through Rey's stomach like a muscle spasm. Seeing how much it freaked out Hux in a similar fashion now gave her some kind of wicked delight.

Rose's eyes were wide too, now that she'd noticed, but she still gave her boyfriend a harmless smack. "Don't be rude, Armie."

"Rude? Who's being rude? It's moving, Rosie. It's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. Goddamn nightmare fuel."

Ben smirked, boldly gliding his palm over Rey's bump as if to prove it didn't scare him. Even though it did. All the time. "What's the matter, Hux? Afraid her parasite is contagious?"

Hux's eyes snapped to his, an incredulous grin cracking over his face. "Did you just call your own child a parasite, Solo?"

"I mean, that's basically what she is," Rey agreed. "Less now that she could survive outside her host. But before, yeah, definitely fit into the category."

Rose laughed. "What is wrong with both of you? That's your daughter you're talking about!"

"Though she might be a hellspawn, by the looks of it," Hux said with a shudder, watching as a distinctly round lump skidded beneath the surface of Rey's skin. Ben's hand twitched away when it reached him, the tips of his ears reddening a little as he flashed her an exhilarated look. The fool. Rey leaned her head into his shoulder.

"I like my hellspawn," she sighed.

Ben took a sip of his cookies and cream shake. No malt, because he was a boring sap who didn't like the flavor of malted milk. "Wasn't it you," he said, glancing at Hux, "who just said that he wanted to practice being a father by babysitting for us? Because watching Rose grow something from Alien inside her would be part of the fatherhood package."

Hux's face reddened three different shades of summer-ripe tomato. "I did not say that! It was you sorry lot twisting my perfectly innocent, kind-hearted offer into something entirely different!"

Rey glanced at Rose, who was blushing just as hard as her boyfriend. Honestly, it made Rey laugh. She didn't have a great deal of sympathy for her friend right now. How many times had Rose deliberately embarrassed Rey or Ben over the years? It was kind of nice to see the tables turned.

"Sure," Ben hummed. "Keep telling yourself that."

"So spring," Rose said quickly, changing the subject. "You have a month picked out yet?"

Rey mercifully gave her the escape, hiding a small smile. "April or May."

"Both popular for weddings, though not as crazy as June." Rose sighed a happy little sound. "I take it Doctor Skywalker will be pretty much spearheading the planning?"

"Yep," said Rey. "You can coordinate with her. I really have no idea what a maid of honor is supposed to do, or where to even begin with any of this. As far as I'm concerned, Leia can have full control."

Ben grimaced. "You give her that kind of freedom, she's going to throw us a whole Met Gala."

Rey laughed, Rose's eyes sparkled. Hux watched his girlfriend's reaction with a touch of longing that made Rey wonder if Rose was still holding him off. It was pretty obvious how badly he wanted that for them. Rey couldn't fathom why Rose had been demurring as long as she had. She obviously loved the guy.

"I'm sure your mother will ask our opinions on things," Rey said to Ben, setting aside her curiosity. "That's when we can tell her to cool it."

"Not sure she knows how to cool it," he grumbled, checking his watch. He pulled her in for a quick kiss to her forehead. "Hey, I gotta get to work. Are you finished?"

She sat forward, taking one final sip of her shake, draining it until the straw sucked noisily at the puddle at the bottom. She wiped her face with a napkin, grinned, and nodded. "I am now."

Everyone stood, sliding out of the booth. Hux and Ben went to the counter to pay the tabs. Rose linked her arm through Rey's and the two of them wandered out of the restaurant and into the sunshine.

"You seem really happy," Rose said gently.

"I am," said Rey. "Sometimes I can't figure out how I got here. Why everything's working out so well. But I am really happy."

Rose snuggled into her. "You deserve it. And honestly, don't worry about anything wedding-related until after you get this peanut here. Paige is good friends with Doctor Skywalker. She can get me an in with her, and then she and I can handle the things that need to get done now."

Rey was about to express her gratitude when, on the way to the car, they almost ran directly into the tall, sinewy body of a bombshell of a warm ocher-skinned woman. Bazine, Rey realized with a lurch.

Bazine Netal was definitely model material, with her high cheekbones and severe, sharp angles. Her lean, muscular body, curves where they should be but rigidly contained, like they were designed. Her dark hair had been pulled up in a tight bun, enhancing the cat-like allure of her amber eyes. Her lips, painted with darkest maroon parted in surprise when she registered that someone had almost bowled her over.

"Bazine!" Rose squeaked in surprise.

The other woman's face briefly looked perplexed, like she was trying to remember them. Like she hadn't spent nearly a full year associating with their friend group — though, admittedly, Ben spent less time with them when he'd dated her than he did when he was single. Bazine liked a different kind of social scene than their playful group. She thought they were childish. Ben convinced her to come around once in a while, and she seemed to gravitate to Tally as if she enjoyed talking to her, but she always kind of seemed like she was having a bad time. Maybe she'd intentionally blocked everyone out from her memory.

Then her face cleared.

"Ah, Rose, right?" A brief smile flitted over those lips, though it didn't touch her eyes.

Rose's smile was much more genuine. "Yeah, hi! It's been forever! You remember Rey?"

Bazine's mouth tightened and she reluctantly turned her attention to Rey, flashing with unmistakeable recognition, eyes flitting down to Rey's altered shape. "I almost didn't, thanks for the reminder. Hello."

"Hi," Rey said, tamping down her flash of emotion. Was it nervousness? Jealousy? What was it that flared inside her when Bazine leveled that look on her? "I didn't realize you enjoyed this diner too."

"I don't." Bazine frowned, bored glance sliding towards the kitschy building behind them. "We're bringing litigation against them for stealing a trademarked phrase for milkshake Mondays in behalf of a client. I'm here to do due diligence."

"Oh." Rose rallied much more forced kind of smile. "That's not as fun. Crazy running into you like this, though. It's been so long. You look great!"

"Thank you. As do you." Again, that glance at Rey's middle, and something that looked…it looked a lot like a smirk flitted briefly over her stony face. "Can't quite say the same, Rey. Looks like you got yourself into a bit of a predicament, didn't you?"

Rey blushed. "Oh, um, yeah…"

"Honestly, what a surprise. You look like you're ready to pop any second now. Are they twins? And is there a father in the picture?" Her words were conversational, but her tone was less than friendly. Rey had never had a negative interaction with this woman. She wasn't sure what she'd done to earn her ire.

"No, I'm not. No, it's just one. And yes, he is," she said, rallying her courage with the sting of offense buzzing through her veins. Her voice was bolder when she said, "Actually, Bazine, I'm engaged."

As if that bit of information would do anything to make Bazine stop looking at her like she was some kind of trollop who got knocked up because she just couldn't keep her legs together. Even though... it wasn't exactly far from the truth.

"Congratulations," Bazine said acidly. "I didn't know shotgun weddings were still a thing."

Rose glanced behind them at the sound of deep bass laughter, and the hair on the back of Rey's neck stood up because she realized Hux and Ben were coming out of the restaurant at last. Bazine's attention followed Rose's look and she stiffened. Rey turned.

Hux and Ben were talking about something — grinning that dumb boy grin that guys always wore when they talked about stupid things — and didn't notice the scene ahead of them at all until they were practically upon them. When they did, Hux froze, eyes widening into saucers. Ben paused in his step, blinking, his face registering brief surprise. He glanced between Bazine and Rey. Rey felt a momentary surge of protectiveness, because Bazine seemed to be in the mood to bite and no doubt Ben would only provoke her further. But Ben recovered coolly, his face composing into something reserved but friendly.

"Hey, Baz. Good to see you," he said without a hint of awkwardness at all.

Bazine, obviously, did not share his detachment. Her face hardened, jaw tight when she acknowledged, "Benjamin, hello."

Rey almost laughed. She forgot that Bazine had called him that the whole time they were together, even though it wasn't his name. The first time Poe heard her use it, he'd howled like it was the funniest thing in the world. Ben, rather embarrassed, told them Baz thought it sounded more distinguished. Nobody had stopped teasing him about it the whole time they were together.

Hux slunk up next to Rose, taking her hand and drawing him behind her protectively. "Bazine," he said with a nod of greeting.

They'd gone to law school together. Hux was the one who'd introduced Ben to Bazine in the first place. But the other woman barely spared him a glance of acknowledgement, zeroing right back in on Ben. Her eyes narrowed.

"I see you two are still hanging out," she said, thrusting her chin at Rey. "Does her fiancé know about your weird friendship?"

"You could say that, yeah," Ben said.

There was real hostility on Bazine's face now, and Rey experienced a glimmer of understanding. The reason for the barely restrained hostility.

Rey had always tried to keep her distance from Ben whenever he dated someone, and she had definitely tried to do that while he dated Baz. She knew how it could make a girl feel to have the guy she liked hanging out with someone else. So she limited her contact with Ben to the social gatherings. Sometimes he'd send her a random text here or there, and depending on the context, she might answer. But otherwise she stayed away. They could be lonely months, if Rey didn't also have someone to date at the time. She hung out with Rose and Finn a lot more. But for all her efforts to keep away, somehow, Baz had sensed their bond anyway. Just like some of the guys Rey had been with who had been bothered by Ben, even when she was careful to keep him at arm's length. It was hard to hide how well they got along when they were together.

Baz was jealous.

Please don't tell her, Rey thought, willing Ben to magically read her mind. If they broke up because he wouldn't marry her, finding out he was engaged now would only hurt her. And nasty as that look was on Baz's face when she spoke to her, Rey didn't have it in her to wish hurt on this woman.

"Listen, I have to get to work," said Ben after a tense second of silence. His hand lightly touched Rey's back and he glanced at her. "Shall we?"

She nodded, relieved.

He glanced at Bazine, his face smoothing. "It was a nice surprise seeing you. I hope you're well."

Bazine looked like she could smell something rotten. She frowned, glancing between them. "I'm doing fantastic, don't worry about me."

"Good to see you again," Rey said softly. She ventured a smile. Bazine didn't return it.

She turned to Hux and Rose. "Armitage, nice to catch up. Rose." With that, she shoved past them and marched on to the doors of the diner.

Rose poked her head around her giant tall boyfriend. "What's the matter with you? Did you think she was going to physically attack me? She was fine! Not exactly pleasant, but not violent."

Hux ran a hand through his hair. "We've had some run-ins lately in the courtroom. She's…different from when she used to hang out with us. She's a lot more aggressive. Honestly I had no idea what to expect." His attention went to Ben. "Are you okay, mate?"

"I'm fine," Ben said dismissively, turning instead to Rey, gently turning her towards him and grazing his fingers along her jaw to take her chin. He searched her eyes. "Was she rude to you? What happened?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say she was nice. It was weird. Awkward."

"She was definitely rude," Rose huffed. "Rey, sweetie, don't take her comments seriously. You look fantastic."

Ben's face hardened. Rey hurried to reassure him. "It's fine, I don't care."

"Why didn't you tell her about you two?" Hux asked. "I would have killed to see the look on her face!"

Rey grabbed Ben's face before he could turn around to look at the ginger. "I'm glad you didn't," she said softly.

His eyes softened. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, drawing an arm around her waist, and then looked over to Hux and Rose. "I freely admit to being an asshole when I have to be, but she was always kind of weird about Rey when we were together, and I thought it would be unnecessarily cruel to confirm her fears that she had every right to be jealous."

"Unnecessary? She is cruel, Solo," Hux insisted. "The people she represents…they're not good people. It would have been the least of what she deserves."

Ben shrugged. "She wanted something from me that I couldn't give. That doesn't give me the moral high ground. And I've done work for some sketchy companies too. It's fine. She's free to go on and live her life. I'm living mine."

"Your best life," Rose said with a grin. "Good for you, Ben."

Hux rolled his eyes. "Ugh. You know, Solo, sometimes you're sickening. I wanted to watch your asshole side take her down. Not your Boy Scout side spare her nasty little feelings."

"Sorry to disappoint you. I really do have to run, though," Ben said with a chuckle, cutting off any further analysis they might have launched into over the Bazine encounter. "So feel free to discuss between each other how you think I should have handled that. No doubt we'll see you again all too soon."

"Yeah, Poe wants to throw you an engagement party," Rose said excitedly.

Rey smiled. "He mentioned that. We're making him wait a couple weeks, though, so he can combine it with his baby shower party."

"He's quickly using up his allotted celebrations," Ben joked.

Rose giggled and Hux agreed emphatically. They exchanged their goodbyes, Rose and Rey hugged with a promise to hang out soon, and then they parted. The real reason they were making Poe wait had more to do with their secret plan for the weekend than it did how many parties he got to throw. They had a little ceremony to perform, and then Ben had arranged for them to slip away for what he conspiratorially called a honeymoon-slash-babymoon. Rey had no idea what the hell a babymoon was, but it sounded fun to go somewhere anyway. They weren't going far, or for very long, saving a bigger and more exciting trip for later when Rey could enjoy all the perks of traveling better.

"I can take an Uber if you need to get to the office," she told Ben as he raced towards home. He wasn't driving with his emotions, like he had that day after his parents house, but she sensed urgency in his speed anyway.

"I don't care if I'm late going in. I'll put in some extra hours this week to make it up to Luke. Honestly, I just wanted to get out of there." He flashed her an apologetic grin. "Sorry to cut short your time with Rose."

"It's fine. I can see her whenever. Are you okay after running into Baz like that?"

"I'm okay," he said, sighing. "I don't have any feelings for her, if that's what you're worried about."

"It wasn't, but good to know anyway." She meant this to sound light, maybe a little teasing. Because she was pretty convinced of what he'd said when he proposed. That there'd never been anyone for him but her. She believed that. He manifested it in everything he ever did.

"It makes me feel like a dirtbag, though," he admitted after a second. "I really shouldn't have dated anyone when I felt the way I felt about you. It's like I led them all on. Bazine especially. She lived with false hope. I feel guilty about that."

Rey wanted to say something to take away that guilt, but she didn't want to minimize his feelings either. It wasn't like his guilt was unjustified. Rey would have been devastated to learn any of the guys she'd dated had been wishing she were someone else the whole time.

"Why did you? Date them, I mean. Or date her, I guess, for as long as you did, if you were never into it?"

He exhaled softly. "I was trying to convince myself I had other options. It didn't seem fair to you to pine after you and hinge all my future happiness on whether or not you ever saw me as more than a friend. So I tried to take the pressure off. I thought maybe I really could have feelings for someone else. I kept waiting for it to happen. It never did."

Rey really felt like the most oblivious person in the world sometimes, realizing he was there and in love with her this whole time and she'd never noticed. Maybe because she wasn't ready to notice. Maybe because she was too afraid of losing even his friendship to risk looking for anything more.

"It killed me every time you had a boyfriend," he admitted softly. "Sometimes I'd find someone just to have a distraction from the silence between us."

"I know that feeling." It was hard articulating to anyone why she felt so sad when Ben had a girlfriend. She told herself it was because she had to stay away from her best friend, because people couldn't understand how a guy and a girl could be friends without there being romantic interest. She argued the part of Sally all the time, insisting that it was possible, and in fact, that's what she had with Ben. Turned out Harry was right all along. It wasn't possible. There had always been romantic interest.

Ben glanced at her. "You never seemed ready for anything serious. Like you were just messing around."

"I was," she acknowledged. "I didn't know it at the time, though. Do you know how hard it was, Ben, being with anyone else when I had you in my head the whole time? Not just your sex god powers, although that was a pretty significant part of it—" she loved the way his cheeks and the tips of his ears turned pink at that "—but also because you're just...you. And we were just us."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It was messed up, I guess, but I couldn't find us with anyone else. It never felt like it does with you."

Rey sighed, laughed, tipped her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. "God, Ben, you're hopeless. So am I. We're both hopeless."

He chuckled soft and low. "Maybe we owe apologies to everyone we ever used to try to pretend we didn't have feelings for each other."

She grimaced. "That's quite a list."

He fell silent for a minute, his thoughts taking the place of a reply. Eventually he said, "I think it might make me a horrible person, but I think I'd do it all again to get this same outcome, though. To get Olive, and you, and this life. I've never been this happy."

Rey's heart skipped a beat, her eyes drifting closed. "That's not fair. When you say things like that…"

"What?" he asked, urging her on.

She blushed. "It makes me want to say yes to you all over again."

He pulled the car over in a sharp, abrupt move, navigating into the shoulder, killing the engine. Then he turned and, with a hand on the back of her head, pulled her towards him until his lips collided with hers, fervent and hungry. He kissed her so hard she couldn't breathe. He kissed her until her head spun. He kissed her like the world was ending.

"Wow," she laughed breathlessly when he finally let her go, nosing affectionately into her cheek while he caught his breath. "What was that for?"

"Because I want you to know what it does to me, knowing you said yes once already. And because I want you to know that I intend to ask you again and again, over this whole lifetime we share together, I'll keep asking you and keep hoping every time that you say yes."

"I will," she promised softly. "Every time."

He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, a little smile on his face. "Then let's start with this weekend."

Her heart fluttered again, that thrilled leap of emotion she didn't know what to do with. So she laughed, traced his smile once, and reminded him gently, "First, work."

"Work," he sighed, sinking back into his own seat. He readjusted his seatbelt and turned the ignition again. "I've never cared less about work."

A/N: On to part two!