***Author's Note***
Good evening, dear readers. Here is the next installment;forgive me for the lateness of the hour.
The next morning, Rey woke first, chuckling when she saw Ben's sleeping form beside her. Yesterday had been a hellish (for him!) mixture of fittings, debriefings, bacta tank sessions, and party consultations. As a result, by the time he had dragged himself out of the 'fresher, he barely had time to crawl into bed and collapse face-down with his good arm slung across her belly. Well, I might as well wake him, she thought. She worked her way out from under his arm; Ben grunted and rolled onto his back, grumbling sleepily. Rey leaned in close and laid her lips first on his forehead, then on the scar she was responsible for, then gently on his lips. Ben smiled as she kissed him.
"You know it drives me crazy when you do that," he complained, laughing.
"I know. That's why I do it," she replied, grinning mischievously. Ben groaned as he seized Rey around the waist and flipped her onto her back, nuzzling her neck. Ben nipped playfully at Rey's jawline, making her yelp. He ran his hands gently, lovingly up her thighs, over her hips, and brought them to rest on her perfect breasts. He lowered his mouth to circle her nipple with his tongue, smiling wickedly as she gasped and arched her back. Ben slid slowly down her body, trailing kisses as he went. "Did you ever think," he murmured against the inside of her thigh, "That I might be perfectly fine with missing the so-called festivities? No; I'd much rather stay here with you." He kissed her swollen nub and lapped sensuously at her womanhood. Rey cried out and grabbed handfuls of his dark, curly hair.
Laughing, Ben rose to cover her. Slowly, he sank into her, groaning softly. Carefully, he positioned himself so that he could rest his forehead against hers, and cup her face with his right hand. He cupped her breast with his cybernetic hand gently as he began to slowly move against her. "Don't look away," He whispered. Rey laid her left hand on his face, and her right on his hip, urging him on. "Never," she whispered back thickly. With each gentle pump of his hips, they sighed gently together to a soft peak, he pumped himself into her one last time and followed her to his own climax with a gentle moan. He laid his head over her heart, listening contentedly to her steady heartbeat; he thought it might be the single most important sound in all the universe.
"Well, as lovely as that was," Rey said softly, "We had better start getting ready for your mother's party."
Ben groaned in earnest against her chest. "Woman, you are sheer evil! How can you think of parties at a time like this? You have me naked and completely at your mercy! I'm helpless, and all you can think of is some silly party?"
Rey dissolved into giggles as she grabbed a pillow and brought it down, hard, onto his face. Ben oomfed indignantly and tore the pillow from her grasp, laughing as he lunged for her. She was too quick for him, though; Rey rolled backwards off the bed and stood at the foot of their bed, laughing at him.
"Get dressed, Ben. I want to show you off. And then, I want to dance with you."
Ben covered his face with the remaining pillow and groaned again. "See? What did I say? Evil! Pure, unadulterated evil! Dancing? Now I know you're trying to kill me!"
Rey laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be so melodramatic. Get your clothes on, Ben. They're hanging over there," she pointed to the other end of their room, where something silvery blue hung. Ben acquiesced with poor grace, slumping over to where Rey had pointed.
"Why can't I just wear my robes? My robes are fine. Ugh. I hate parties," he grumbled to himself. "Do I really have to go?" He pleaded with Rey.
Rey looked over at him, widening her eyes innocently. "No, you don't have to; I'll just go by myself and find someone else to dance with. Maybe Finn would dance with me."
Ben scowled and narrowed his eyes at the thought of another man, any other man touching his woman. "Fine," he growled, "I'll go to the damn party. Couldn't Mother have given me something darker to wear?"
Rey giggled, "Your mother thought it was a good idea to visually distance you from Kylo Ren. That means putting you in brighter colors. Please, just try to have a good time tonight? We are two of the guests of honor."
Ben sighed, "All right. I'll try, but no promises!" He cringed as he slipped into the trousers; they were of a very fine wool, he thought. He picked up the tunic, which was made of the same fabric. Next, he buckled on the pale silver belt and matching boots. He glanced in the mirror, and was pleasantly surprised at what he saw. The neckline of the tunic met in a "v", exposing his collarbone and a bit of his chest. It fell to about mid-thigh, and the whole thing was trimmed in pale silver. The pale silver-blue lent a new warmth to his skin, and played up the contrast between the stark black of his hair, and the sparkling amber of his eyes. The pale silver belt accentuated his athletic physique. All together, Ben thought he looked rather...regal. There was no other word for it.
He clipped his light-sabers to the belt and turned to ask Rey if she was ready. What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks. Rey was draped in a shimmering bronze sheath that pooled around her, trailing behind her. From her shoulders, there was a flowing cape that fell to her elbows. The neckline plunged daringly to her sternum. Around her hips was a delicate-looking gold belt, from which hung her saber-staff. Her arms were bare from the shoulder down, and her face had been elegantly painted; it made her eyes look...deeper, somehow, were her lips always that red? He didn't think so. Her hair had been piled on top of her head in curls, and a few ringlets had been artfully let to fall so they would frame her face. She shifted, and he caught a glimpse of deep brown leather high-heeled boots that ended at her thigh. She looked like some kind of warrior goddess.
Ben felt his jaw unhinge as two droids came over to arrange his hair. At last, he found his voice; "When the hell did they come in?"
Rey rolled her eyes, "Sometime while you were over there griping. You don't think I could do all this myself, do you?"
The droids finished with Ben's hair, and he waved them off, irritated. They had loosely bound his hair at the base of his neck with a silver strip of cloth so that it hung loosely around his face. Rey thought she had never seen a more handsome man in all her life.
Ben cleared his throat, "Rey, you look, well I mean, wow," he finished lamely. Rey blushed and looked down.
"Thank you," she mumbled, "You, too."
The door wooshed open to admit Poe and Finn, who, upon seeing Rey, came to such a sudden stop that they ran into each other. "Wow," said Finn in a choked voice.
Poe sidled over to Ben and tucked a small box into Ben's trouser pocket. "You'll need this at just the right moment. Trust me," he whispered conspiratorially into Ben's ear. He grabbed Ben and Rey by the elbows and began to drag them forward, "Come on, you two! Don't just stare at each other all night! Other people want to see you, too!" With that, they were towed toward the mess hall by an overly-enthusiastic Poe.
The doors opened, and the four of them stood framed in th e doorway with Poe to Ben's left, and Finn to Rey's right, while Ben and Rey held hands. The assembled mass of people all slowly turned towards them, and a hush fell over the crowd. Even the musicians stopped playing. All at once, the crowd began to cheer raucously. They heard General Organa's voice rise above the crowd, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Heroes of Endor!"
Ben leaned over to whisper in Rey's ear, "Heroes of Endor? Now, really; I think she's over-extended herself a bit..." Rey bit back a giggle as they both smiled and waved at the crowd. You owe me big for this one, desert rat, came his thought. He sensed her amusement come through their Force Bond.
The four of them glided down the marble staircase into what was usually the mess hall; Ben saw now that its original usage must have been its current one; a ballroom. Much to his dismay, once they reached the end of the staircase, every woman (and no few men) wanted to dance with him. Though he tried desperately to fend them off, eventually a cute little Twi'lek with skin the color of a dusky orange sunset claimed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor. Ben looked distinctly uncomfortable as the Twi'lek ground herself against him, sensuously. He was a good sport for the majority of her "dancing", though it looked more like a cantina routine to Ben. It wasn't until she wrapped her legs around Ben's hips that he flushed and thought towards Rey Get me out of here, and I'll do anything you ask of me. He sounded so pathetic that Rey took pity on him.
"Sorry, may I cut in? I'm missing my man, I'm sure you understand?" She shot the Twi'lek a glance that would have chilled the marrow of a lesser being. She took Ben's cybernetic left hand in her right and placed her left hand on his right shoulder. The music shifted into a pleasant Waltz tempo.
"Finally, a dance I actually know," Ben surprised her by twirling her in a circle, and bringing her gracefully back to center; back to him. They danced beautifully together until the song ended. "Can we eat now?" Ben asked hopefully. Rey laughed and nodded. Together, they walked over to the tables that were laden with so many kinds of food, Ben couldn't begin to tell what came from where. All he knew, was his plate was full, and it was delicious. They both ate their fill (and then some) while being constantly accosted by those that were not willing to volunteer for the Endor mission. Over and over, they were forced to relive the Endor Liberation (as it was now being called) to those foolish enough not to take part in it. Eventually, Luke took pity on them and waded in with the excuse of bringing them to the General. At last, they reached Leia, who was looking quite pleased with herself.
"You look wonderful, both of you," She said breathlessly. Captain Antilles has been trying to get me to dance all night; you don't mind, do you, son?" Ben shook his head and watched as Leia was dragged onto the dance floor by the charismatic Captain. Watching the pair dance gracefully, Ben began to wonder just what had been happening since his father's demise. Shaking the thought off, Ben bowed and kissed Rey's hand.
"A moment, my Light," Ben murmured as he flowed towards his mother. "If I may dance with my own mother," He lifted a brow at Wedge Antilles, who bowed graciously in return. That was rude, Ben, his mother admonished. "I know," he replied aloud, "But it's still unsettling for me to watch you with anyone but my father." Leia chuckled as she leaned her head against her son's chest and just enjoyed the moment of peace that she had not had with him since he was a young boy; it had been a very different dance partner for him back then. Ben caught the train of his mother's thoughts and gazed mournfully down into his mother's eyes. Mother, I don't want to think about Padme tonight. Lets just enjoy tonight. Leia smiled.
"In that case," Leia smirked, "Perhaps there's a lady here that you'd rather be spending your time with?" Leia turned just as Rey approached, and placed her son's hand in the hand of his love. "Just don't mess it up, okay, Ben?" His mother teased. At least, he thought she was teasing him.
Rey looked at him questioningly, "What was that about?"
"To be honest? I haven't the faintest idea. Ben took Rey in his arms and began to rotate slowly with her. As he gazed down at her, he was struck again by how extraordinary she looked tonight. There had never been another woman so beautiful. Check your pocket, His mother said into his mind. She shot him an image, and suddenly he understood what it was that Poe had meant earlier. As the song drew slowly to a close, he took Rey's left hand and knelt before her.
"Um, what are you doing? Get up." The crowd surrounding them drew back whispering, waiting to see what would happen.
"Rey, you know I'm terrible at this kind of thing. Speeches are...not my forte. However; when I look at you, I find myself feeling...abnormally eloquent. When we met, I was hopeless. I had given myself to the Dark Side, and I enjoyed it. When you blasted your way into my life, you were my enemy. You were the perfect Light, and I was the perfect Dark; I hated you for it. But as time went on, I found my thoughts dwelling more and more frequently on you. I assumed it was due to your ease of defeating me. However, there came a day when I was faced with the possibility of your immediate demise, and I found myself wondering, was I alright with that? Could I live with never seeing you again? And much to my astonishment, I found that the answer was 'no'. I chased you through the woods of Yavin 4 that day; I had sent the Knights of Ren after you. I felt your pain as you fell, and I knew terror in my heart at that moment. I knew, when I found you lying unconscious in the rain, that I could never again allow you to come to harm. I knew the depth of our bond that day, when I felt the light-saber bite into your chest. I knew at that moment that I would die defending you, which is appropriate, as I lost an arm and a leg, quite literally, in your defense that day. I turned from the darkness that day, and chose the beauty of your Light. Since then, you have become my reason, not only to fight, but to live, as well as I know how. You are my only love, and I have never known another, nor will I. If you fight, I will fight. If you hurt, I will hurt. If you have joy, I will have joy. I have irrevocably bound myself to you, and I would have it no other way. You have become my other half; you could never replace the beloved twin that I lost, but you have, instead, repaired the damage done by Padme's death. I have never known one like you, nor do I wish to know another. Rey; this day, this moment, I beg of you to stay. I beg you to forgive my stammering foolishness. Please; stay with me. At the end, what I am asking of you, is quite simple. My dearest Rey, I love you more than I have ever loved any living being. Therefore, I ask, no; I beg you; marry me, my Light. Be mine for all time, until I can follow you, and join you evermore, in the Force. Join with me now, my love, and belong to me for eternity, as I already belong to you. Would you do me the honor, Rey, of becoming my wife?"
Ben looked into his love's face to see that tears had begun to run down her face. He reached up and wiped them away as she responded, "Ben, I have never known one like you. From the moment that I woke to find the evidence of your defense of me, I have known there was something...new between us. I have searched my heart, Ben, and I have searched the Force; I have found your statements to be nothing but truth. Therefore, I accept your proposal, Ben Solo; I will be your wife, and never again will either of us be alone, or without the other."
The crowd surrounding Ben and Rey worked itself into a frenzy at Rey's words. Ben saw his mother watching him with tears of joy in her eyes. Ben braced himself as Finn and Poe came hurtling out of the crowd, crying themselves; as the pair wrapped their arms around Ben and Rey, Ben knew that he would never be lonely again, for here dwelt silly people who cared more for the joy of one single moment than the greater good of the entire galaxy, and that was just fine by him. Amid many tears and much watery laughter, Ben slipped the ring that Poe had placed into his pocket earlier, onto Rey's ring finger on her left side. He leaned in to kiss her, murmuring, "I love you," as his mouth was crushed against hers.
***Author's Note***
I hope you liked my fluff. Know that the lateness is due to my falling asleep, not the difficulty of the chapter. As always, PM me if you have an idea for a story you would like for me to write. I have been given a challenge that I would like opinions on, also. Thanks for reading!