A/N: This is the penultimate chapter of the story, but the final chapter in 'present time'. Ahh you guys, I'm getting emotional! And it doesn't help that this entire chapter is pure fluff ;)

~XXXIV. Finally~

~i. A Proper Celebration~

"What time did you tell them to head over?" Rose asked Poe as the two sat at the bar sipping on beers.

It was nearing 7 PM and the guests of honor were nowhere to be found.

"I said 6 for sure," he informed his friend. "Augh they're probably still shacking up!"

"Duh, genius," Rose chuckled. "But how are we supposed to explain their tardiness to his parents when they get here?"

"I'm working on it," Poe said gallingly while he shot yet another text to his friends.

Hux, Phasma and Finn walked up to the bar after playing a quick game of pool.

"Geez it's almost 7," Hux regarded the time.

"Still not here yet huh?" Finn asked the two.

"Someone should call them," Phasma suggested.

"Way ahead of you," Poe raised his phone to his ear and signaled to the group.

"Oh you guys," Kaydel walked out of the back room carrying a tray of clean wine chutes. "Just let the happy couple be."

"Dammit, I'm getting voicemail again," he muttered. "Ben Solo, get yours and Rey's asses down to the Cantina right now before I have to explain to your parents tha-"

"Hello everyone!" Leia exclaimed when she and Han stepped into the restaurant.

"Just get your butts down here now!" he mumbled.

Poe immediately hung up and the gang sheepishly smiled, greeting Ben's parents.

"Poe, you've got yourself a pretty sweet place," Han greeted Ben's oldest friend.

"Thank you, sir. And don't worry I'll give you the family discount: 100% off," he winked as he proceeded to pop the cap off the beer he handed to Han.

"Thanks, son," he gladly took it and sipped his beverage with delight.

Leia made her rounds saying hello to everyone, then plopped onto the seat next to Han.

"And where are our guests of honor?" she wondered aloud.

Everyone glanced at each other, nervous to reply.

"Oh hey look," Kaydel gestured at the front door opening.

"Thank god," Rose mouthed to Kaydel and Phasma as the three women giggled.

"FINALLY!" Poe hollered.

The guests of honor stepped inside with Rey dressed in a sky blue floral summer dress and Ben in a cerulean dress shirt. They were giggling at something spoken between them with Ben's arm around Rey's shoulder and the couple in their own little blissful bubble. It was a sight to see. Immediately they were bombarded by their friends and family screaming 'congratulations' to them both, with hugs and hearty handshakes all around.

After everyone had their turn, they all settled into a comfortable setting around the bar.

"Well, well, well… Ben and Rey, who would've thought?" Poe teased the happy couple.

"Hey, I just heard that you guys had a betting pool on us?" Ben pretended to size Poe up. "I'm not sure I like that you guys were making money off mine and Rey's relationship."

"Oh please dude, it was easy money," Hux laughed.

"And tough shit anyways because we all lost. You two got together after the six month mark," Rose shared.

"Serves you right for trying to make money off us!" Rey teased.

"We're all just happy you two are finally together… for real," Leia said of the love birds.

"Mom, it was always real," Ben said lovingly about Rey, and without thinking.

This was met with a round of 'awwws' by everyone, prompting Rey to giggled and Ben to go red in the face.

"Adorable," Leia cooed at them.

"Alright we need to start this celebration off right," Kaydel announced. She and Poe popped a champagne bottle open and handed glasses to everyone.

"So… who talks first? Ben? Rey? Anyone?" Poe said to an awaiting group.

"I thought you guys had a whole thing planned?" Ben chuckled.

"Ben, you guys barely gave us four hours to plan this! You're lucky we found a 'congratulations' banner at Party City last minute," Phasma joked.

"Alright, alright, fair enough," he laughed.

"Either way, we're really grateful for you guys for doing this," Rey thanked them all.

Another brief moment of not knowing what to do passed by.

"Fine, fine… I guess I'll give a speech, since I'm the best man and all," Poe bragged.

"Wait, what?" Hux said.

They all turned to him and laughed.

"Okay, co-best man, sorry Huxy," Poe heartily patted the redhead on the shoulder.

"Speeeech!" Finn hollered, prompting everyone to request one too.

Poe raised his glass and began.

"Alright. Settle down," Poe tried to lull the crowd.

When it was calm enough, he began.

"For the record, I'm probably the wrong person to give a toast about love because you all know that I can be a bit of a lady's man," he chuckled.

"Aint that the truth," Finn said under his breath.

Everyone heard it anyway and they all chuckled. Poe tossed a coaster at his friend for the joke, then he proceeded.

"Then again, I guess I'd be the perfect person to describe the relationship that is Ben and Rey's. I'm lucky to have been friends with Ben since as long as I can remember and just as lucky to have met Rey several years ago. I got to see firsthand how these two were as individuals. And when they got together, how they couldn't be any more perfect for each other."

A round of 'awwws' were spoken.

"I don't mean to take the spotlight from them, but seeing Ben and Rey go on this six month journey together helped me understand what it means to love someone. How you can change for the better, but still be yourself. And the right person will accept you for you."

The couples in the room smiled at the sentiment, each hugging their respective partners lovingly. Rey noticed Poe and Kaydel holding hands and smiling at each other. He gave Kaydel a hug, and while he embraced her, his eyes met with Rey's. She winked at her friend, happy that he was finally with a girl he truly cared about. He smirked at her and let go of Kaydel's embrace, bringing everyone back to finish his toast.

"Love isn't perfect. It's not easy. It's certainly not something you can quickly define. It's about overcoming obstacles, facing challenges, fighting to be together, and just holding on and never letting go. Just like Ben and Rey these past six months. But most of all, love is realizing that every hour, every minute, and every second was worth it because you did it together. Life is messy. Relationships are messier. I didn't understand why people wanted to be in one at first. But as I learned from these two, when you meet the right person, one day it will all make sense."

Rey was starting to tear up at Poe's words. Ben sighed happily, holding on to his wife and trying not to break down either.

"Here's to the lovely couple. To your crazy, stupid, wild, romantic… Vegas story," he smirked at his friends.

"Here, here!" Hux cheered.

They clinked glasses and sipped their champagnes. Rey and Ben hugged their best friend and expressed their gratitude for his words.

"Ben, why don't you say something on behalf of you and Rey?" his father suggested.

"Dad, way to put the pressure on me!" Ben retorted. Everyone laughed. "Why didn't you ask Rey to do it?"

"Um, excuse me," she poked at her husband's chest. "Need I remind you that you put the pressure on me when we played disc golf with your parents and you didn't seem to care!"

Everyone laughed at her remark.

"She got you there, son," Han chuckled, high-fiving his daughter-in-law.

"Come on, Ben. Speech!" Hux cheered. Naturally, everyone else chanted along.

"Alright, alright," Ben grunted. "See, this is why I didn't want to come," he told his wife.

"Oh please, you didn't want to come because you wanted Rey all to yourself," Poe teased.

"Poe!" Rose and Kaydel slapped his arms.

"Ow! What?!"

"Don't be so forward, Ben's parents are here," Rose hissed at him.

Han and Leia chuckled.

"It's alright, not like Ben hasn't heard me say anything suggestive to his mother before," Han winked.

"And I already interrupted the two when I stopped by for breakfast one morning," Leia shared casually.

"What?! When was this?!" Kaydel, Rose, and Phasma were shocked.

"Oh god," Rey recalled the embarrassing morning all too clearly. Just like before, she buried her reddening face in Ben's chest.

"Mom, please don't-"

"I don't know about a month ago?" Leia recalled. "I went to pick up Rey for work and Ben shut me out in the hallway while he was kissing Rey in the kitchen. At least I hope that's all they were doing," she chuckled.

"That's all we were doing," Ben said through gritted teeth, his face flushed with embarrassment as well.

"Mhm… But that doesn't explain what happened before I got there," she told everyone. "Don't think I didn't notice your messy hair and Rey's wrinkled blouse," she smirked at her son.

"My boy!" Han cheered. Poe, Hux, Finn and Han high-fived each other.

"You two were already being friendly before the court thing?!" Rose said aloud.

"I am not going to merit that with a response," Rey tried saying as flatly as possible, though her crimson cheeks weren't fading away any time soon.

"Wait, hold the phone," Hux said. "If this was a month ago that means that's around the five month mark... That means I win! Pay up you guys!" he demanded.

They all chuckled and threw their coasters at Hux.

"Hey, why don't I give that toast you guys were asking me to do, hmm?" Ben tried for the sake of his wife to divert the subject, albeit at his expense.

They all laughed but promised to give the couple a break and allowed Ben to start his speech.

"I just want to start by saying that Rey and I are really happy we get to finally celebrate with everyone our nuptials. It wasn't conventional, but it's real and my love for her is real too," he said.

"Eeeeep!" the women in the room squealed. Rey shot them all glares. She didn't know if she could listen to Ben without blushing madly, while at the same time trying to keep her cool in front of everyone.

"I'm a bit of a screw up," he confessed. "But finding the right person, the one you want to spend your life with, is the greatest accomplishment one can achieve and I'm proud to say I found it. I found Rey," he smiled at her. "But the unfortunate truth is that the right person doesn't always come at the right time. And that makes all the difference."

They all nodded in agreement.

"From the moment we met, the timing couldn't be any worse. I got fired from my job. Rey got dumped. Once we both stepped foot in Vegas, we got double booked. She almost hit me with a stick," he winked at her.

She rolled her eyes at him. They all chuckled.

"Then Rose smacked my temple and Finn wrestled me to the ground. Seriously I wasn't having the best start to my vacation," he smirked at the couple.

Rose giggled and Finn apologized again for that.

"Then we got married and we got this court order. That was not in our plans. But, looking back, maybe the timing actually was perfect. We just didn't see it yet. Not until we spent the next six months opening our eyes and seeing what was in front of us this whole time," he smiled at his wife lovingly.

She hugged him tight. These six months were really life changing for them.

"Was it convenient? I think we can all agree it wasn't. But that's the thing about love. When you love someone - when you really love someone, it's not a matter of convenience. It's not just present when times are good. It's present when times are bad too, just like Poe said. And Rey and I went through the good and the bad for six months. But we stuck around each other because deep down we knew we were meant to be together. The truth is everyone in this room is a part of our relationship. Poe, Mom, Rose, Phasma, Hux, Finn, and Dad – even you Kaydel. Especially you," he said to the barmaid.

She was surprised that he included her. Ben cleared the confusion immediately.

"You were the first one to see that I needed to make a grand gesture to get Rey back. Thank you for that," he smiled warmly at her.

Rose and Phasma turned to Kaydel and smiled at her appreciatingly.

"Everyone here believed in me and Rey before we believed in ourselves that we were meant to be together. And with that, we are so thankful for you all. We love you guys. So, here's to everyone in this room. Not just me and Rey."

"Here, here!" Phasma chanted.

They all clinked glasses again and drank their champagne to celebrate.

After the toasts, the crowd dispersed into smaller circles; Hux, Rose and Han played a game of pool, Phasma and Leia were snacking on some hors d'oeuvres, and Finn was queuing up some music to play on the sound system.

Ben and Kaydel were sitting at the bar talking a bit, while Rey sat on the other end with Poe, taking some shots together.

"So, you and Kaydel, huh?" she waggled her eyebrows at her bartender friend.

"You and Ben, huh?" he mimicked her gesture.

They clinked glasses and downed their first shot.

"Hey, mine is old news. You're the new hot gossip now," she winked.

Poe laughed and swatted her with a bar towel.

"Yes, me and Kaydel if you must know," he said cheekily.

"I'm happy for you, Poe. I really am," she smiled at her best friend.

"I have you and Ben to thank for that, kiddo," he admitted.

"We didn't do a thing. This was all Poe Dameron charm," she smirked at him.

They each took another shot and laughed at her remark.

"Speaking of…" Poe diverted the subject. "How come you never told me or anyone that you and Ben were already exploring each other's bodies before the court date, hmmm?" he teased.

"Poe Dameron!" Rey feigned shock. "You should know better… a lady never kisses and tells," she winked at him.

"God, Ben's going to have a run for his money with you," he chuckled at her.

Rey and Poe laughed it out and shared another shot together. Rey noticed after she took her that shot that Ben was talking to Kaydel intently. She curious as to why they looked so serious on this happy occasion. He caught her gaze and looked up at her, winking at his wife. She was about to wonder some more of their conversation, but that wink sent her heart fluttering. She smirked back at him and dismissed the thought, enjoying the rest of her conversation with Poe.

"I think it's time for your first dance, don't you think?" Poe said to Rey.

Ben and Kaydel had walked over to them by then.

"Really? A first dance? Kind of cheesy, Dameron," Rey kidded.

"You're just trying to keep you and Ben from getting more of the spotlight," he joked.

"Oh a first dance, that sounds lovely," Leia clapped her hands together in excitement.

If Rey had any guilt left from this whole Vegas incident with Ben, it was that she felt horrible that Leia and Han weren't at their son's wedding. So of course, Rey gave in and insisted she and Ben dance to please his mother.

"You know, if my mom ever finds out that she has that power over you, she'll manipulate you and me to do ridiculous things," he whispered to Rey as he begrudgingly accepted her hand to an open area of the dining room.

"Well then we better please her now so my guilty conscience will soon go away," she stuck her tongue at him.

"You're lucky I love you," he groaned.

"I know," she giggled.

Phasma helped Finn connect the speaker system to her laptop as she chose a song for the couple to dance. The first few chords started to play when suddenly Han stood on a chair to announce something.

"Ladies and gentlemen for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Solo!"

They all laughed at Han, especially Ben and Rey, and the couple proceeded to get in position. Rey wrapped her arms around Ben's neck and his hands rested around her waist. They started swaying to the music, staring into each other's eyes, smiling at one another comfortably.

Suddenly they heard the clinking of glasses.

They turned to their friends and had noticed Finn and Phasma were the ones to incite the act, getting everyone to eventually join in.

"I think that means they want us to kiss," Ben said to his wife.

"I don't think they've ever seen us kiss… well with the exception of drunk Poe," Rey chuckled.

"I guess we'll just have to give them a show," he smirked at her.

"I guess so," she smiled into his kiss.

While hoots and hollers and wolf whistles were sounding in the background, Ben drowned it all out and took in the moment to enjoy this passionate display of affection with his wife.

~ii. Our First Date~

After a much needed celebration spent with friends and family at the Cantina, the pair headed back to their loft, promising to spend more time with everyone later in the week. The happy couple reached the top of the stairs to their floor and Ben fished for his keys in his pocket.

"I'm glad we got to spend time with everyone tonight. It was really fun," he said.

"And you were complaining all day that you didn't want to go, hmm," she teased.

"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes playfully. "But it worked out perfectly though…"

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"You'll see," he smirked.

She was about to ask what he was talking about when Ben unlocked the door and opened it to reveal a romantic setting at the kitchen island. Rey stepped inside, clearly shocked with excitement and confusion.

"Ben, what's this?" she said of the get up when she walked to the counter.

He shut the door behind them and walked up to her. He took her hands in his and smiled.

"Sweetheart, I know we went backwards with this whole relationship thing. We got married, moved in together, and started a six-month courtship," he chuckled. She laughed as well. "So, if we're going backwards for one more moment, I really want to take you on that first date we never got to have."

Okay, Ben Solo was officially the best husband on the entire planet.

Rey grinned from cheek to cheek and kissed Ben's lips passionately.

"I'd love to go on a date with you. But on one condition…"

"You name it," he said.

"This is the last time we go backwards because I want to just go forward with you and spend the rest of our days together."

"Deal," he smiled as he kissed her once more.

He guided her to the kitchen island and helped her sit on a stool. The marble counter was covered in a maroon tablecloth, with a simple white place setting. In the middle was a vase of long stem red roses and a slim white candle flickering between them.

"How did you even set this up?" she wondered.

"Kaydel helped me," he shared. "I asked her how I could make our first date special since she helped me find you at the lighthouse. She suggested to do it here at our loft because this place holds most of our memories," he smiled. "She actually slipped away from the party for a bit to set this up for us."

Ah, it all made sense now.

"Remind me to thank her for this later," she smiled at her husband.

They settled together at the counter and enjoyed a light pasta dinner, with cherry pie of course for dessert.

"Do you remember when we went out for dinner at that Mexican restaurant near my office?"

"Mhm, I call that our 'almost date'," he smirked.

"It's definitely fitting since I didn't know if we were on a date either," she giggled.

"What about it?" he asked.

"To be honest, I wanted it to be a date," she confessed. "I even went to the restroom to call Finn because I was freaking out what to do."

"Wow, okay," Ben was surprised. "I guess we both thought alike because when you were there, I called Hux and Phasma about the same thing!"

They both laughed at their shared revelations.

"I've wanted to go on a date with you so bad. Now I'm finally on one," she smiled at him.

"Sorry I took so long to ask you," he held her hand.

He leaned over and kissed her nose.

"You know that night there was another surprise…" she said.

"Oh?"

"Remember when we started to sleep on the bed together?"

"I don't know why we took so long to do that arrangement."

"Ben, hello? We were both stubborn idiots that's why," she got him to laugh. "But that first night we slept on the bed together, I woke up to you holding me. Did you know that?"

"It was probably instinct," he admitted. "But did you know you had your moments too some nights snuggling into me?"

"Let's just both agree that we knew what we were doing all those nights but didn't want to say anything," she giggled.

"When did you know that you wanted to be with me? Or that you felt something for me?"

Rey took a bite of her pie and paused for a moment to think about it.

"I don't know there were so many confusing times of my feelings for you," she admitted. But the first time I felt like a twinge for you was when we were on the couch in Vegas I want to say. When we were watching a movie. I wanted you to kiss me."

"Oh believe me, sweetheart, I did too!" he exclaimed.

"Well why didn't you?" she teased.

"And why didn't you? We can do this all night, darling," he teased back.

"What about you? When did you know you wanted me?" she asked him in return.

"When Rose hit me on the head," he said.

"Come on, Ben," she slapped his arm lightly.

"I'm serious!" he said. "When you thought I was a thief, I was literally mesmerized by you."

"I was about to murder you," she deadpanned.

"Psh, like you could beat me in a fight," he smugly grinned.

"Give me a stick and I'll shut you up right now," she pretended to size him up.

"Okay, okay," he called truce. "I guess after that, I had moments too. But the most important one I remember was when you encouraged me to get my license. You were so excited for me that I got excited myself. Honestly, Rey. You're the reason I'm going to be a pilot."

"Well, it's the least I can do," she smiled lovingly at her husband. "You're the reason I learned to love again."

Ben and Rey decided to pop a bottle of wine and sip their drinks as Ben scooted himself closer to her at the end of their meal. He wished this moment would last forever' whispering sweet nothings in Rey's ear, smiling, hugging, and kissing her until the end of time.

"So," he began as he set his wine glass down to face Rey. "I have one more thing."

"Another surprise? Darling, you've done more than enough to surprise me tonight."

"Just one more, promise," he said to her. "I know we didn't have the most conventional wedding ever…" they chuckled.

"It doesn't matter. I got to marry you. That's all I need for it to be perfect."

"So I'm told," he smiled, remembering that Rose told him the same thing. "But I still want to give you my vows."

"Vows?" Rey was confused. "You already had a speech at the Cantina early."

Ben shook his head. "A wedding toast is one thing, but I want our vows to be shared between just us."

"Ben, I don't have anything prepared," she felt shy.

"It's alright, sweetheart. I already know how you feel about me. I want you to know just how much you mean to me."

"Oh well now I can't say no to that," she giggled. She kissed him on the nose and allowed him to proceed.

"Okay here goes…" he took a deep breath and took a hold of both her hands. "I don't have much to promise you because I can't tell you everything will be okay. I can't tell you it'll always be stable for us either. I can't tell you I won't mess up, because I know I will. But there's one thing I do know for certain. I will love you until my dying day. I said this once and I'll say it again. I choose you, Rey. And I'll choose you all the time. Because you and I make sense. You and I are soulmates. We're stuck together. Our names may be 'Solo', but our hearts are now a duo. I love you Rey Andor Solo."

"Oh Ben," she tearily smiled. "I don't care about the stability, you're my rock. I don't need to worry about the future, because I have you. You'll mess up? I'll probably mess up more. But we'll always come back to each other. I'll never understand why you chose me, but I'm so happy you did. All I know is that with you I'll never be alone. You're my lighthouse, my happy place, my everything. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Rey. More than you know."

Rey didn't think that her life would ever amount to anything. Being a foster child, only having a family for five years, having her heart broken by a regrettable relationship. In fact, six months ago she would have never guessed she'd ever be happy again or be herself again. That all changed when she met Ben Solo. And she changed his life for the better as well. Finally, they both thought. Finally, they were together.

They could certainly get used to this.

A/N: STAY TUNED FOR AN EPILOGUE CHAPTER!

No preview because it's a surprise ;)

Okay not really a surprise, but I just didn't know what to use for a preview lol

Here's the title though: Epilogue (One Year Later; One Last Surprise)