"You don't know when you were born?"
Rey smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. Still, she gives a little shrug, as if her birthday truly doesn't matter. "It's not like my parents left a note so that Plutt could help me celebrate every year."
Ben can't help but scowl. Though he has embraced the light and all that comes with it, he has not lost his anger. All that Rey went through—it still makes him furious. He wants to find Plutt, her parents, every soul who has dared to hurt her and make them see, make them hurt—
Ben forces himself to take a steadying breath, consciously unclenching his fists.
So Rey—kind, beautiful Rey, who gives him everything just by breathing—doesn't know when her birthday is.
Ben can fix that.
Ben is grateful that he remembers the code to the First Order's historical archives. While Rey is busy ending the war, he devotes his time to combing the archives for information on her family. Since he knows the year she was born, it narrows things down.
It has been a while since he did this kind of research; it reminds him of how much he once enjoyed being a scholar. There was a time during his early training that he thought he would give up his 'saber and devote himself to academia. He can't help but wonder, some days, how different his life would have been if he'd been given the chance to do so.
Yet, any other path would not have led him to Rey. He would relive the last ten years, suffer all the pain and disappointment again, if it meant that he would still come home to Rey in the end.
At last, after a long day of research, he finds the date.
There is much information on her father—every birthday he had on Exegol, every detail of the emperor's growing son over the years—and then, a note of his escape, followed by a line of text that will forever be branded on Ben's heart.
Offspring, female, 15 ABY, 19th day of the 5th month — powerful. Light. Must be found and destroyed.
As always, familiar rage threatens to drown Ben. But for the first time in years, it fades as quickly as it comes, replaced by aching sorrow. Surely Rey's parents wanted her, but to see this—to see proof that she was intended for death even from the moment of her birth…it destroys him. She was just an innocent child. He can never tell her this.
Ben will take only the good of this research and bring it to her. His eyes skim over the details once more, breath catching when he realizes the significance of the actual day she was born. Nineteenth day of the fifth month; it's exactly six months apart from his own birthday. Even in this, they are perfectly balanced, complementary. She is a child of spring, he a child of autumn. His mother always cared deeply for astrology when it came to relationships, and for the first time, Ben can see why.
Glancing at the date in the top corner of his data pad, Ben does a quick calculation. He has two weeks until Rey's birthday. A smile steals across his face.
Just enough time to plan the perfect celebration.
Three days before Rey's birthday, Ben finds Poe in the base's hangar, working on his x-wing. It's a rare moment of peace for the general, clearly. Ben is so used to seeing him surrounded by Resistance fighters that he pauses a moment, surprised by his own luck. He has never been comfortable with crowds, so it's ideal that Poe is alone.
BB-8 spots him before Poe does, beeping excitedly as Ben makes his way over to them. Ben gives the droid a small smile. Given his history with droids, he never thought he'd care for one, but there is something special about BB-8. The droid's personality is so distinct, so likable, that Ben can't help but enjoy its company.
Poe doesn't look away from his ship when he asks, "What can I do for you, Solo?"
"I need flight clearance for Naboo," Ben says without preamble.
Poe's eyebrows shoot up. He gives Ben a sidelong glance full of suspicion and disbelief. "Sure. That definitely lines up with the part of your sentence that says you're confined to the planet until further notice."
"I'm asking within the required time frame—three days prior to expected departure. I will be chaperoned by the last Jedi. And I will ensure this," he says, lifting his right pant leg to indicate the tracker secured to his ankle, "remains active at all times." Ben pauses. "Please, Poe."
Poe sighs, but Ben can read the sympathy mixed with his frustration. "Why Naboo?"
Ben's jaw shifts as he considers his answer. "Truthfully?"
Poe snorts. "No, Ben, I want you to lie to me."
Ben glances around, ensuring they are still alone before he speaks, his voice low. "Rey's birthday is on the nineteenth. She doesn't even know it's her birthday, because they never told her on Jakku, and I need— " He breaks off abruptly, the vulnerability of his intended words almost choking him. But this is the truth of his new path in life. He will be honest, open, and unashamed of himself. Taking a cleansing breath, he continues, "I need to retrieve something from Naboo so I can give it to Rey. As a present."
Poe pauses his work, wiping his hands on his pants as he turns to Ben. "A present, huh?"
Ben nods.
"What kind of present?"
"A…family heirloom."
"Oooh," Poe teases. "Nice one, lover-boy."
Ben rolls his eyes, but his mouth lifts in a half-smile. "Your approval means the galaxy."
"Alright, alright. I'll ask Rose to write up the clearance paperwork after dinner." Poe grins, slinging an arm around Ben's shoulders and steering him in the direction of the mess hall. "And how about Finn and I organize a little get-together for when you two get back?"
"Thank you, Poe."
"Don't mention it, Solo."
Naboo is even more beautiful than Ben remembers. With Rey at his side, wide-eyed and smiling, he feels as if he, too, is seeing it all for the first time.
He sneaks off on the pretense of using the 'fresher while Rey enjoys the view from his grandparents' balcony, returning only a few minutes later, ring stowed safely in his pocket. Wrapping his arms around Rey's waist from behind, Ben draws her close, bending until he can rest his chin on her shoulder.
"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart," he murmurs.
This close, he can feel Rey's breath hitch at his words. She grips his arm hard. "You mean…"
"Nineteenth day of the fifth month, fifteen ABY." He opens his mind to hers through their bond, shielding her from the negative details, but letting the rest of his research flow into her thoughts. She accepts it all with the utmost gentleness, afraid that her own eagerness might shatter the information like glass. Ben holds her tighter. She needn't fear that this happiness will be torn from her; he will never let that happen.
With their minds so close, Rey can hear those thoughts and sense his protectiveness. In response, her joy finally overflows without reservation, as incandescent in their minds as the sun above their heads.
"Thank you," Rey whispers, and with those words, a lifetime of loneliness is soothed at last.
Ben kisses her cheek, then slowly releases her. It's time.
When Rey turns around, Ben is already on one knee before her, his grandmother's ring in his palm. Rey covers her mouth with one hand, her surprise reverberating in Ben's mind like an echo from a mountaintop.
"You are all I've ever longed for," Ben says, every word imbued with such honesty and love that both of their eyes well with tears. "Rey— "
She interrupts him with a kiss, nearly knocking him over with the force of her embrace. "Yes," she whispers, covering him with kisses until he is smiling so widely that his cheeks hurt.
"I love you," they say in unison, and it only makes them smile more. Ben slips his grandmother's ring onto Rey's finger.
Holding hands, they make their way back through the lake house to the Falcon, and begin the journey home.
A/N: Did Ben get his proposal from a Mumford & Sons song? …maybe… (:
