Epilogue
"I'm almost finished!" El called to Mike, who she knew was loitering in the hallway waiting for her to complete the sewing project she had been working on. She knew he was excited. She was as well. It had taken her a few weeks to do, since her life at home was now constant chaos, but it was a labor of love.
Mike had surprised her with tickets to the 45th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration that would once again be held in Indianapolis. He felt like he'd lucked out since the previous year it had been in London and the year before that it was held in Los Angeles. Being a major anniversary, he was hoping they would pull out all the stops and he knew his parents would be more than happy for them to be in Indiana for a few days. It was only two weeks away now and they were getting more and more excited as the days passed.
They had gotten married in October of the same year Mike proposed. The trees were beautiful and their friends flew in to join them. It was a small wedding but was everything El had imagined it would be. She didn't want to waste a lot of money on a wedding, which is just one day, when she could use the money to buy things for their future, like a house. So that's what they did. They had a small, intimate wedding and had bought a house that they could fix up. It was a front gabled craftsman style dwelling with a porch that extended the entire width of the house. It was exactly what El had always dreamed of. There were plenty of built-in bookcases to hold their books as well as their collection, which continued to grow.
They had spent the majority of the year after they got married renovating their new home until El could no longer see her feet. Mike would notice how tired she looked and steer her away from painting or sanding or whatever small task she had been trying to accomplish, smiling and moving her to a comfortable chair where she would sit while he rubbed her feet and they would imagine what their life would be like a year from then. Ben was born on Halloween. The perfect combination of Mike and El, he had his father's hair and his mother's eyes.
He was now a toddler and enamored with his parents' collection. Mike called him Lord Helmet because when he would wear one of the Star Wars helmets, which he wanted to do all the time, Mike thought he looked like the character of the same name from Spaceballs. El thought he looked like a bobblehead doll. She had been working every chance she got on a costume for him for the convention. She had kept it a secret from Mike, not telling him what costumes she was making. She was proud of herself for thinking so outside the box. She had two sets for them to wear.
The plan was for Mike, El, and Ben to fly into Indianapolis and spend the first two days at the con and then Mike's parents would come get the baby and let Mike and El have the rest of the convention to themselves. El and Mike were looking forward to the alone time almost more than the convention itself.
"Can I see yet?" Mike called. It was clear he was just on the other side of the door, most likely with his face pushed against it.
El smiled to herself. She loved him so much. "Are you sure you want to see it or should I put Ben in it and then let you see?"
"Well he's right here with me. I can send him in. He's standing exactly the same way I am." Mike laughed and El could imagine her son and her husband standing side by side with their faces pressed against the door to her sewing room.
"Send him in then." El heard a soft go see Mommy as the door opened and in walked her son. Like his father, he was wearing a Star Wars shirt. Ben's had a stormtrooper helmet on it and said this is my happy face.
"Close the door, Mike. I'll send him out when he's ready." She heard Mike groan but the door gently closed.
She tried the first of Ben's costumes on him. He was no stranger to getting dressed up in costume. Being born on Halloween, Mike and El wanted it to be something he liked. He had taken to it well. When El had zipped him up she turned him around to look at him and laughed.
"You are the cutest Wookiee in the galaxy! Go show Daddy." She followed him into the hall where Mike was waiting.
"Chewie? You look awesome, buddy! Mommy is so amazing!" He picked him up and swung him up, careful to not hit his head on the ceiling. Ben cackled. Mike walked over to El and kissed her, still holding Ben.
"Ours are hanging in the sewing room. Wanna see?"
"You know I do." The three of them walked back into the room and El opened the closet door to reveal the costumes that would compliment Ben's.
"Hoth Han and Leia? How did you make these look so good? I mean, these are perfect, El." Mike ran his fingers over the fabric.
"Well I bought the jackets. I had to track them down because Columbia stopped selling them a while ago, and we will definitely have to wear them for real when it's cold because they were not cheap, but they look so great. I even got you the goggles and the gloves. I had to make the gloves. We'll have the best family pictures ever." Her smile overtook her face. Mike felt himself smile too.
"Okay, time for costume number two, Chewie," El said to Ben. "Tell Daddy to step out again."
"Step out, Daddy."
Mike threw his hands up but was chuckling. Ben's language skills were really coming along well.
When the door opened again Mike was a little confused. Out stepped his son but it wasn't a costume he recognized. It looked like a cross between Luke Skywalker's outfit from A New Hope and young Obi-Wan Kenobi but instead of brown and tan El had used black, gray, and white. Mike thought it looked really cool but he wasn't sure who it was supposed to be. El had combed Ben's black hair to the side and since he hadn't yet ever had a haircut it looked like his father's, kind of long-ish and wavy.
"I don't get it. It looks great, but I'm not getting it."
"Okay, I was a little weird with this one but listen to my thinking process. Our costumes are in the closet. Do you want me to tell you or do you want to see ours and try to guess?" She was biting her lip and Mike knew she was feeling anxious about it.
"You can just explain it. I trust you, El. I know it'll make sense." He smiled at her.
"Well Ben is actually Ben Solo," El told him.
"And who are we?"
"We're Han and Leia. We're always Han and Leia, Mike." She kissed him. They had walked to the closet again and were standing in front of the door. El pushed the Hoth costumes aside and brought out the other set. Mike couldn't believe what he saw. It was clear to him now that she had used Ben's current age to design costumes that were what she thought Han and Leia might wear when they had a toddler running around. There were obvious nods to their other outfits but it was entirely El's idea and Mike was astonished. He wanted to see what they looked like in them. El was admiring her work but Mike couldn't look away from his wife.
"You are so exceptionally amazing," he whispered as he pulled her close to him.
"I even thought of how she might wear her hair so I'll do that when we're there. We can try them on but I'm not going all out today. Not for that anyway." El winked at Mike. Mike thought maybe tonight Ben could go to bed a little early.
They both changed into the costumes and Mike was so impressed he took a picture of the three of them and immediately texted it to Lucas, Will, and Dustin.
Guess who we are!
Within minutes he already had a reply from Dustin.
Son of a bitch, you're the fucking Solos! That is AWESOME!
Mike showed El Dustin's text and she blushed. She had been happy with her work but that he immediately recognized what she had been going for made her feel overjoyed.
Once Ben was down that night and Mike and El were in bed, Mike showed her how much he appreciated her...twice.
"I can't wait until we get to be alone and I don't feel like we have to be so quiet anymore." El's hand was on Mike's cheek and he could see her eyes sparkle slightly.
"I promise that I'll make our time be unforgettable. You won't have to be quiet. I won't let you." He started to tickle her, sliding over her and feeling her laugh underneath him. When he stopped tickling her he was still lying on top of her, their breathing heavy, looking into each other's eyes.
"I love you." She whispered.
So maybe he showed her three times that night.
Two weeks later they flew into Indianapolis and took a taxi to the hotel, the same hotel where they had first professed their love four years earlier. Both Mike and El loved the way Ben would point at the giant props and clap when he saw people in costume, recognizing most of them. Mike picked up their lanyards and Ben's kid's pass and they all went to the room to get settled before they made their first appearance at the convention. They had brought a stroller but weren't planning on using it unless absolutely necessary. Ben was clearly excited and they wanted pictures and video of him walking around and meeting everyone.
El got Ben into his Chewbacca costume and then got herself ready while he ran around and played with his stuffed Wampa. She had made his costume look like it had snow on the shoulders and the top of the head. Mike was getting into character as well. They had noticed downstairs that it seemed to be very cool in the building so El wasn't as worried as she had been about them getting overheated in their winter attire.
"You look pretty," Mike said. He was standing next to the mirror adjusting the goggles on his head. El smiled and kissed him.
"You look hot, and I don't mean because you're wearing a parka inside." Her eyes looked him up and down before landing back on his face. She leaned in to whisper in his ear, "I'll help you take it off later." Mike gulped and nodded.
The convention floor was full of characters Ben recognized and they made sure to get pictures of him with everyone. Their own costumes caused quite a flurry of camera flashes as people rushed to them to ask for pics with them. There was a lifesize Tauntaun and they took a family picture in front of it before they noticed hidden steps to the saddle so Mike took Ben up and they both sat in the saddle of the Tauntaun while El took their picture.
Mike filmed El walking in front of him, holding Ben's hand. He loved watching them together and his heart felt full when she looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled.
They saw a group of little kids dressed as Han, Luke, and Leia so they asked if Ben could take a picture with them. The kids were all a few years older than him but they all gave Ben a high five.
El could tell that despite his pointing and oohs and aahs Ben was getting tired. It was starting to get toward the end of day one anyway so they went back up and changed and then Mike ordered room service so Ben could eat and they could put him to bed. Once he was asleep they looked at each other and grinned, knowing they had to be super sneaky and loving the risk.
"What time are your parents going to be here tomorrow?' El whispered to Mike, her head was on his chest and she was playing with his fingers. They were both still breathing a little hard.
"They're supposed to be here before 6:00. I'll call Mom in the morning before we go downstairs but that's what she'd said the last time we talked about it. She wanted to come get him today but I want to wear our costumes. And he's fun."
"He is fun. Because he's part you. But I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night and the next few days."
"Me too. I want you to be all that's no moon, that's a space station!" Mike kissed her head.
"That's what I always think, Mike." She lifted her head and smiled seductively at him.
The next morning while El fed Ben a waffle Mike talked to his mom and found out that his parents would be at the hotel by 6:00 like he had thought. They would have the whole day to have fun at the convention. El and Mike were both feeling extra electricity between them, knowing that when nighttime fell it would be like before, when they had no obligations and could just get lost in each other. Their excitement spilled over as gentle caresses and kisses every time one of them passed by the other in the room as they were getting their costumes on.
The costume El had made for Mike included dark gray pants with a yellow stripe running down the sides of the legs, a long sleeved white shirt that looked aged, not terribly dissimilar to all of Han Solo's shirts, and a black leather jacket that was distressed and had eight pockets on the front. He wore his leather holster and his Han boots from the previous year.
El's costume was light gray pants that were tight fitting and were tucked into white leather boots that went to her knees. Her top was the same color gray as her pants, form fitting and covered by a long sleeved white jacket that fell just above her navel. She wore a white utility style belt which divided the costume perfectly. Her hair was pulled back into two braids that stopped just at her neckline. She stepped out of the bathroom after finishing her hair. Mike looked up at her.
"Holy shit." His mouth was open.
"Holy shit." Ben repeated.
"I guess I'll take that as a compliment?" She laughed.
"Definitely. You look beautiful."
They dressed Ben and made their way to the convention floor. To the delight of El, most people seemed to know who they were trying to be.
"Oh my god!" One woman cried. "This is fabulous! I swear this has got to be exactly what Kylo Ren looked like as a baby. And what's your name?" She asked Ben.
"Ben."
"Wow, you've trained him so well!" The woman laughed and took a picture of the three of them.
Mike winked at El.
The costumes turned out to be even more popular than the Hoth costumes. Mike had Ben on his shoulders and they were walking past a setup that looked like the Millennium Falcon cockpit when once again a cameraman walked up to him and asked him if they could use the three of them in their montage of the convention.
"I mean, this is pretty amazing. You created your own thing but I knew exactly who you were supposed to be."
"It was all my wife's idea. She's the creative one. She thought of it and made everything." Mike beamed at El, who was blushing.
"Why don't the three of you stand here next to the Falcon like it's the family car?"
Mike, El, and Ben stood next to the Falcon and the man took some pictures.
"Okay, I'm going to film now. Why don't you let the little one run around here and mom you act like you're trying to catch him. Dad, you inspect something on the Falcon." He started filming and they did as he said. Ben ran under the cockpit and started up the ramp, which didn't lead anywhere but looked excellent for pictures.
"That was great! Thank you so much." A woman walked up to the cameraman and he spoke to her briefly. "This is my assistant. She will see to it that you can get a copy of this. He won't be this little for long!"
They spent the day wandering around and pretty much following Ben, letting him walk and watching to see what interested him. They had lunch in their costumes and took several pictures with people in the restaurant.
When Karen and Ted Wheeler arrived to pick up Ben they were all still in their costumes. El gathered Ben's things while Karen swooned over Ben, kissing him and tickling him. Mike smiled, remembering how his mother had done the same to him when he was little. Once they were off, after El and Mike had both kissed Ben goodbye and Mike had shut the door to their room, he turned to her. She was looking at him like she had the first time she met him.
"We're not going anywhere for the next two days," Mike assured her and she nodded, meeting him halfway as he crossed to her.
"Mike, I want you so bad." El was pushing his jacket over his shoulders in an attempt to remove it.
"Not as bad as I want you." Mike was already sucking on her neck, his lips moving down toward her collarbone.
"Shit. Shoes." El mumbled and then they both took off their boots. Mike used the break to remove his jacket and holster. El was already fumbling with the button on his pants. She had taken off her jacket after her boots.
"Look, the mirror is still here," Mike said as El nibbled on his lower lip, her hands pulling apart the buttons on his shirt.
"Then you can show me everything you're doing." El pushed his shirt off his torso, leaving him on his knees, his pants unbuttoned and hanging open.
Mike felt like he needed to catch up to her so he started pushing her waistband over her hips.
"Jesus, you aren't wearing panties? How do you keep getting hotter?" His hands felt her skin and squeezed before he finished his task.
"Isn't that what you like?" She grinned at him, quickly moving back to kissing his chest.
Mike pulled her up, his hands on the sides of her face, and held her head so close to his their noses were almost touching. "Fuck, I love you."
Their faces crashed together with passion and eagerness, not wanting to waste a minute with each other. Mike had removed El's top and was moving back and forth between her breasts. She was sitting in his lap in the middle of the bed watching the mirror. It was just as exciting as the first time she had watched him. She could feel him against her.
"I like to think about that time with the slave costume. It was so hot watching you." El was whispering into Mike's ear, occasionally licking his earlobe.
"That was my favorite. But you still are just as hot as you were then. I still get hard thinking about you." Mike ran his nose along her jaw line.
"You do? Even if I'm not around?"
"El, you are the sexiest thing ever. You haven't changed. I will always want you and you will always turn me on." Mike kissed her again, their tongues getting more urgent. Mike could feel how ready she was from her position in his lap, straddling him, both of them sideways on the bed so they could turn their heads and see the mirror if they chose to.
"Mike, I need you now." She looked at him and he could see her desperation, could see how she wanted give herself over to him and what he could make her feel.
Mike already had his hands around her waist so he simply slid them down a little until he was holding her by her ass cheeks. He lifted her up a little so that he could slide inside her. Wanting her to feel everything more, he held her near the tip but didn't let her move lower until she was squirming and begging him to let her have him. She was alternating between looking in the mirror and looking at Mike, who was watching only her as he teased her.
"Please?" Her voice was a whisper and she kissed him sweetly as she asked.
In one motion he let her go and pushed her down, causing her to gasp and cry out.
"Is that what you wanted?" Mike growled, savoring how she felt around him.
"Yes, that's what I needed, Mike. Oh, fuck." She threw her head back but quickly remembered the mirror and started to watch.
"You like to watch, I know it. I like to see your face when you feel me deep inside you. It's so sexy, El." Mike was moving her all by himself, the years of being with her allowing him to know exactly what she liked and how to move.
"We need to get a mirror for our room." El panted as she rode him.
"Fuck, I'm going to soundproof the basement and put a lock on the door and we can be as loud as we want." Mike stated, sweat was forming on his brow. El wiped it away and then kissed him sloppily, the force of his bouncing causing her to lose control of finesse.
"Yes, you should definitely do that. I need to be able to be loud with you. You make me want to scream your name." El looked at the mirror again, catching Mike's eyes in it.
"Let's watch until we come. I want to see us both." Mike kissed her again before turning his head back to the mirror. He held her close and kept his rhythm.
"Okay, it's not going to be long. Fuck, you're so good at this." El resisted the urge to close her eyes, wanting to do what Mike had suggested. "Every time you push me down I feel it getting closer, Mike. Every time you slide in I want to pull you deeper." She was watching his face in the mirror as she talked to him, loving how his eyebrows were raising with her admission.
"El, I can feel it. I'm so close."
Mike pushed her down again and she held herself there for a few seconds before she started moving her hips in slow circles, not letting him pull her back up. She watched the mirror.
"M-Mike. Mike!" She continued to swirl around him. "Oh, uhn! Oh fuck, Mike!" She inhaled deeply and pushed down even deeper. "Oh, fuck! Now, Mike!"
Mike couldn't hold out any longer but when he felt her tighten around him even more he let the sensation overtake him and he watched as they both climaxed at the same time, their eyes never wavering from each other's in the mirror. El finally turned his face so it was facing hers and she kissed him deeply, not so sloppily this time, using her lips and tongue as a team and making him moan even in his state of recovery.
They showered together after that and but didn't fall asleep until almost dawn, taking full advantage of being alone. The next couple of days were spent in much the same way, though they did make it down to the closing ceremony to see the video. When they saw Ben running around the Falcon Mike put his arm around El and felt her hand slide into his.
Conventions became something they did as a family and they enjoyed them all, but for Mike and El the best one would always be that first Star Wars convention, when they first kissed and had a lot of other firsts, when they figured out that they wanted to be together, when they became what they are, when a princess and a scoundrel fell in love.
A/N: This story started out as something that actually happened in my life. I changed the type of convention from horror to Star Wars and at first it was a little painful to relive some of the memories but somewhere along the way the story became its own creature and I found I was excited to keep writing it and see what happened. Mileven turned a bad memory into a good one and now when I think about it, I only think about this story. So it was cathartic and I feel better now. And I checked the wiki and Star Wars Celebration II and III were both held in Indianapolis so it wasn't crazy for me to set my story there, and for that I am happy because I wanted to try to keep it as real as I could. It's sad that it's over. I really appreciate the reviews and kind words and I hope everyone enjoyed reading it.
I'll be starting a new story soon but heads up that it will be darker and El will have some issues. But like all of my stories, it will be all about Mileven, whom I cannot make suffer for long.