The sun had now set and the moon and stars were out to adorn the night sky. Rey was still holding Ben's face in between her hands and her cheeks began to hurt from smiling so much, but she just couldn't stop. Even if she had imagined herself being together with Ben for the rest of her life, the idea of being married to him was something else entirely. "But when should we get married? And where?" she asked, unable to keep the excitement from her voice. There were so many questions whirling through her head. She had little to no idea what a wedding was supposed to be like. Perhaps Ben did? But it was not he who provided an answer.

"I think I might have a suggestion," an ethereal voice spoke and they both turned their heads to find the ghost of Anakin Skywalker there. He was smiling at them, much like he had when they'd last seen him on Exegol. Ben rushed to his feet and helped Rey to stand as well.

"Grandfather."

"Hello, Ben. Rey." He bowed his head to the pair. "I didn't mean to interrupt the moment, but I sense you're in need of some advice?"

"We would be honored," Rey said, accepting Anakin's help. He seemed happy to hear it.

"It gives me great joy to see you here on Naboo – the home planet of your grandmother," he added, looking at Ben. "It was very dear to her. It also happens to be where we got married. I know she would have loved it if her grandson did as well."

"I couldn't think of a better place," Ben said and he spoke the truth. He would love to honor his grandparents by exchanging his vows with Rey where they once had. Anakin went on,

"Our ceremony took place at a retreat on the island of Varykino out in the Lake Country. The place is owned by your grandmother's family – the Naberries. They live here in the city of Theed. Ask for Ryoo Naberrie. She's your mother's cousin. If you explain the situation, I'm sure she will be glad to help you arrange everything."

It was too good to be true. Everything was falling into place, like it had somehow always been meant to be. Ben didn't know what to say. "Thank you, grandfather. We will go look for her first thing tomorrow."

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Rey said, wanting to express her own gratitude. Anakin bowed before them.

"It's only my pleasure to help. I'll be back for the ceremony, all right?" He wasn't asking for an invitation – it was a promise. He wouldn't miss their wedding for the world and nor would they deny him that wish.

"We'd love to have you there," Rey smiled warmly and Anakin smiled in kind before fading from their view.

Finding the Naberrie home had been surprisingly easy. Or maybe not, considering most of the citizens in the capital were friends with the Naberrie family, or at the very least knew who they were. When they finally arrived at their doorstep, Ben and Rey were practically dying of anticipation. They held each other's hands as they waited for the door to open and it didn't take long before they heard movement from inside and an elderly woman, presumably in her early sixties, stood before them. Devoid of any recognition, her expression was soft as she beheld the pair. "Hello," she greeted the two strangers. "May I help you?" She looked between the two, but her eyes eventually landed on Ben, compelling him to speak. She was gazing up at him so expectantly that an unnecessary sense of pressure overtook him and he wished the old lady would have turned to Rey instead. She was much better with words, or even handling people for that matter.

"Hello," he began and there was a slight tremor in his voice. Why was he nervous all of a sudden? Perhaps because he was no longer hiding behind a mask. "Um… My name is Ben Solo. And this is my fiancée, Rey," he said, gesturing to her. "We're looking for Ryoo Naberrie. Is she at home?"

"Why yes," the woman said. "That would be me." Ben had thought it might just be her, but raised his eyebrows at the information all the same.

"Oh, that's perfect!" he said. "You see, I am a descendant of your blood line. My grandmother was Padmé Naberrie." Ryoo looked up at him in confusion and disbelief.

"But… But that's impossible. My aunt Padmé died before she ever gave birth to a child."

"No, that's what you were made to believe. The truth is…" Ben paused, considering his next words. It wouldn't be easy to explain everything. "Well, it's a long story. If it's not too much to ask, may we come in?" Ryoo looked between them again, deciding whether she should trust them or not, but something convinced her that they could be trusted and that they didn't mean any harm.

She allowed them to join her inside.

Ryoo lived together with her husband, Darian, and they invited Rey and Ben to join them for tea so they could talk. This warm reception made Ben feel more at ease and the pressure he had been feeling began to wear off. Some days, he felt rather exposed without his mask, especially when around new people, but he was slowly learning what it was like to be seen for who he truly was and not who he pretended to be. While he didn't know all the details of the story, he told them what he did know of his grandfather's relationship with his grandmother and how it led to this very moment. As not to deter them, however, he never mentioned anything about Darth Vader or his own involvement with the First Order or Rey being a descendant of Emperor Palpatine. They both shared a dark past and, though it seemed slightly wrong to not be completely honest with these people – or any other person they met – they did acknowledge that their past did not define them anymore. They had chosen their own paths now. The path to a better, brighter life.

Ryoo and Darian were so immersed in the story that they all but forgot their tea and let it grow cold. By the end of it, neither of them knew what to say or think. Ryoo had attended her aunt's funeral as a child. Had seen that her unborn child – or as it turned out; her unborn children – were still inside of her, joining her in death. Up until this day, she hadn't even known who the father was. Padmé had kept her marriage secret from everyone – including her own family. But now she knew why.

"I never knew," she said with a hint of sadness. "Never knew she was married. Never knew I had cousins! And now I won't even get to meet them." Ben had told them of his mother's and uncle's passing and now he felt sorry for the old woman before him. He knew what it was like to have a secret kept from you for so long. Finding out the truth about Darth Vader had affected him deeply. Even now it must have affected him, for Ryoo suddenly reached out to place her hand on his. "I'm sorry for your loss." It was then he realized he was on the verge of tears and pulled himself together.

"Thank you. I'm sure they would have loved to meet you as well." She gave him a rueful smile.

"Well, there's no use in crying over things that never came to pass. Let's think about things to come instead. Like how you're about to get married soon," she beamed at the young couple. "At least I assume it will be soon?"

"That's actually why we're here," Ben said. "We were told you own a house on the island of Varykino and wondered if we could possibly rent it for the wedding?" Ryoo's eyes began to shine and she clapped her hands together in joy, taking both Ben and Rey by surprise.

"Oh, how wonderful! Of course you can! Do you hear that, Darian? They want to get married on Varykino! It's the perfect place for a wedding! I'll tell you what: why don't you two come on over for lunch tomorrow and we can talk some more about it then? Darian and I can come up with some suggestions on where you can fix all of the arrangements in case you'd like some tips?" Rey and Ben agreed to it and expressed their gratitude. They were grateful for any help they could get. "Then it's settled!" Ryoo proclaimed. "This is the most exciting thing that's happened in years! Oh, I'm so happy you decided to come by!" They assured her the feeling was mutual.

On their way back to the Falcon, they shared some ideas and expectations regarding the ceremony. Inevitably, they got to talking about who they wanted to be there to witness their union. Needless to say, Rey was more enthusiastic about the topic than her fiancé was. "I wonder how many people there's room for at the retreat. Of course, we would want all our friends to be there."

"You mean your friends." His words cut into her heart like a knife. Although it came out harshly, she could hear the hurt and insecurity behind them. Rey stopped and forced him to look into her eyes. She needed to know he was listening.

"They're your friends, too. All you need is a bit of time to get to know each other. Trust me. One day, they will see you the way I do." She reached up to caress his cheek and when she spoke again, her voice had softened. "They will see the man behind the mask. He made quite the impression on Ryoo and her husband." He chuckled softly at her statement.
"I suppose he did."

"See? Don't be afraid, Ben." So long as she was there to give him courage, he wouldn't be.

When they made it back to the Falcon, R2 was there to greet them. He had an important message for them from Finn and the others in the Resistance, which was now known as the Intergalactic Salvation Union. So far, it was a small union, but Rey had faith that it would only grow bigger and bigger with time. Some of the people left in the Resistance didn't know what to do next, so Rose came with the proposition to turn their group into a charity with the main purpose of helping and restoring planets that had been affected by the war, as well as fighting for intergalactic freedom. Rey knew how passionate Rose was about fighting for what was right and greatly admired her for it. The Intergalactic Salvation Union was a great idea and now Rose and Finn were its ambassadors. Rey wondered what message they had for them, hoping it wasn't anything bad.

Whatever worries had troubled her quickly washed away as she made contact with Finn via hologram. He looked as healthy and happy as ever. "Rey!" he said, waving hello and she waved right back.

"Hi, Finn! How are you?"

"I'm good. Everything's swell." Just what she wanted to hear.

"Terrific! Is Rose there with you?" Finn looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, she's here. Just a sec." He called for her and soon they were two people taking up the picture on the hologram. Rose looked happy, too.

"Hi, Rey! We were trying to get to you just before. Any progress on that mission of yours?" Rey nodded in affirmation.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are." She paused for a moment, sensing Ben lingering in the doorway. Was he being shy? She turned around in her chair and waved him over. "Ben, come say hi!"

Ben hesitated for a second, but found that his feet carried him into the cockpit against his own will. As he came into Finn and Rose's view, he attempted a smile and an awkward wave. "Hey guys," he said and tried not to cringe. Since when had that word become a part of his vocabulary? Finn and Rose seemed to be just as surprised as he was. At least Rose had the sensibility to give him a reply.

"Oh, hi Ben! How are you?" The question took him by surprise and the awkward tension returned as he fumbled for an answer.

"Um… I'm, uh… I'm fine. Thank you. How are you?" He added those last words as an afterthought, but it was better than not saying anything at all. He was really trying and Rey was proud of him for it. She had never seen him so flustered before. He would probably beg to differ, but she thought it was adorable.

"I'm good, thanks," Rose said and there was another pause before Rey remembered why she had called her friends in the first place.

"Um, R2 said you had an important message?"

"Oh, yeah!" Finn said, remembering as well. "Well, I suppose it's not that important. We just thought you might like to know that we're on Jakku right now and we're providing the people here with some food and material to improve their homes. It's a small contribution, but our goal is to create better conditions and more opportunities for the people to earn their living. No one is going to have to scavenge parts for scraps."

Tears began to form in Rey's eyes and she fought to keep them at bay. It made her so happy to learn what they were doing on her old home planet. What they were doing for its people. "I don't know what to say. Thank you for everything you're doing. It really means a lot to me."

"We're glad to hear," Finn said and put one arm around Rose who smiled in agreement. In the same moment, Rey felt Ben's hand coming to rest on top of her own shoulder and she took it, smiling up at him. He was happy for her.

"I thought you didn't want to go back to Jakku," Rey joked, eliciting an eye roll from Finn.

"Well, that was when our lives were in danger. But now I'm happy to help those who can't help themselves." When Rey looked at him, it was hard to believe he had once been the ex-stormtrooper who would have jumped at the first chance he got to run away. Now he was taking responsibility, not just for himself, but for the good of the entire galaxy.

"You've come so far, Finn. I'm proud of you." He thanked her with a silent, modest nod.

"That makes two of us," Rose said, gazing lovingly up at Finn who then gave her a peck on the forehead. Rey smiled at the image on the hologram and it reminded her of herself and Ben.

"We have something to tell you, too," Rey suddenly said, causing Ben to freeze as he realized what she was about to say. This was the moment of truth. He feared what their reaction would be. Rey was clutching his hand tighter, as if she too were afraid of what they would say. But it was now or never. "Ben and I… We're engaged!"

Finn and Rose were speechless, no doubt trying to process what she had just said. Their brows were raised in surprise, but whether it was a good or bad thing remained to be seen. Eventually, Finn found his voice again. "Engaged?" he asked. "As in, you're…"

"You're getting married?" Rose filled in for him and her face lit up at the realization. She just couldn't believe it. "Oh, that's absolutely wonderful! I'm so happy for you!" A great weight was lifted off of both Rey's and Ben's chests upon hearing those words. At least one of their friends seemed genuinely happy about their engagement. Now if only they could get the same reaction from Finn. "Isn't it wonderful, Finn?" Rose asked him.

"Uh, yeah… Yeah, it is. Congratulations." He didn't seem as excited about the news as Rose, but then again, it could take a while for the initial shock to wear off. It looked like he was questioning whether he'd heard right. Rey thanked him anyway and tried not to let her disappointment show. Thankfully, Rose remained oblivious. She kept on asking about the wedding and told them how she couldn't wait to be there when the day came. Rey promised to keep them updated and send out an invitation once everything was settled. With that, they ended the call and Rey and Ben were left alone in the cockpit.

Rey fell back into her seat with a sigh. "That went well," she said with only a hint of irony. After all, it was the truth. It could have been worse. Much worse. She just didn't know what to think about Finn. "Do you think he took it well?" Ben looked down into her face and gently rubbed her shoulder with the hand he still kept there.

"From what I could tell, at least he didn't seem angry or disappointed. He probably just needs some time to process it."

"I suppose you're right." Rey got up from the chair and hugged him, nestling her head against his chest. "At least we know we'll have one guest at the wedding." She felt his laugh vibrating from within and knew he was smiling.

"Somehow I have a feeling there will be many more."

A/N: Hi again! So here's another chapter which I hope you'll like! Nothing much happens, but it does lead up to the wedding which will take place in the next chapter. Before I continue, I would like to say that I never would have been able to include so many details about the world of Star Wars into this fic if it wasn't for Wookieepedia. That's where I got all the information about Naboo and the Naberrie family from. On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you about the wedding? Like Rose, I for one am very excited to attend ;)