Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Recap: But before she could respond or kiss his senseless or any of the hundreds of ideas playing through her head at his sweet declaration, he was cupping her cheek in his hand, his gaze burning through her, “Rey, will you marry me?”

Thoughts screeched to a halt in her head and her entire body seemed to freeze up, with the exception of her tear ducts which seemed to produce an inordinate amount of tears in mere seconds. He pulled her into his arms and held her, and finally she broke free of her temporary muscle paralysis and launched herself fully at his face, her lips crashing into his own as she kissed him with such ferocity. She rained kisses over his face to every mole, every crinkle, every scar, until he was laughing fully. Finally she pulled away to nod emphatically and he crushed her to his chest, the air leaving her lungs entirely as she allowed herself to get lost in this moment of sheer unadulterated happiness and joy. She thought her face might split in half from how hard she was smiling.

Ben rested his forehead against hers as his hands ran up and down her back, calming her hammering heart rate, “You’ve got to break the news to Tico, Dameron, and Finn that we’re leaving though. No way am I going to get blamed for stealing you away from them.”

She laughed and nodded again, burying her face in the slope of his neck and inhaling his scent that was a mixture of citrus and pine, fresh, warm, and heady. She ran her lips along the hollow of his throat and delighted in the shudder it evoked. She pulled back and looked at him through her lashes, her hands framing his face as she met his gaze, “I love you, Ben. More than--”

But he didn’t let her finish. His lips had already found hers.

Rose straightened the cuff on her sleeve once more as she scrolled through the last few comms she had to get to before they made planetfall. Finn and Poe were playing Dejarik with Chewie in the back, and she needed to finalize the plans for the hyperlane that was going to launch next week.

It had taken countless meetings, endless negotiations, and multiple years to destabilize the Hutt’s regime over that section of space. It was being bled dry of its resources and terrorized into submission. Now that the Alliance was getting well established, it was able to tackle bigger endeavors and the hyperlane had been one of the projects the security subcommittee had focused on. Rose smiled as she sent off the final communication detailing plans for the launch party just as there was a loud shout from the gally.

She stood to go investigate but Finn was already entering the bridge, rolling his eyes as he took a seat across from her. “Chewie won again and Poe seems to think it’s a good idea to argue with him even though I warned him he’s going to get an arm ripped off.”

Rose let out a huff of laughter through her nose as she sat again. They stared into the pull of hyperspace travel for a bit, watching the lights of the stars blur past them. “I can’t believe it’s been a year since we’ve seen them.”

Finn turned his head to look at her, his mouth turned down in chagrin, “Well that’s kind of on them too.”

Rose’s eyes went wide and she glared at him. “Finn. They’ve got a kid and Rey is about to burst with baby number two. Switch off,” she groused.

He had the decency to look contrite at her reprimand, although there was still a faint pout lingering. Poe swooped in moments later looking far too smug about something and leaned against the doorway surveying Finn and Rose. He looked at Rose after appraising the situation and jerked his thumb at Finn, “What’s up with him? I could land a freighter on that lip.”

Rose laughed and Finn sunk further into his seat, his scowl becoming more pronounced. Poe hastened to quell his husband’s ire and dipped to give him a searing kiss. Rose mimed vomiting all over the control panel and Finn blushed but looked far happier now.

“We were just saying it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Solos,” Finn replied with mock exaggeration on their family name.

Poe merely nodded in agreement and wondered aloud, “Do you think it’s too soon to teach Alana how to drift around corners in a cruiser?” Finn looked scandalized and Rose let out an indignant shriek, but before either could reply to Poe’s ludicrous musings, they dropped out of hyperspace and stared at the beautiful green and blue orb before them, held in stark contrast to the vast blackness of space that surrounded it: Naboo.

“Alana! I’ve told you a hundred times not to climb on the stove. Especially when Elsie is trying to make you food!” Rey shouted in horror as she pulled her daughter from the front of the oven where Elsie was currently trying to pull out a loaf of five-blossom bread. Rey pulled Alana into her arms and tucked a lock of her dark wavy hair behind her ear.

The child attempted to bat her hands away and squirm from her arms, “Elsie! Bread!” she demanded, impatiently. Rey was aghast, “Alana! You may say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ your father taught you better manners than that.” Seemingly called forth by Rey’s mention of him, Ben emerged from around the corner, with his nose buried in a book.

Alana successfully squirmed free of Rey’s grip and ran to her father, throwing herself at his knees. He tossed the book aside and scooped Alana up, twirling her around as she squealed in delight crying, “Daddy! Daddy!” before promptly slapping his face with both hands and trying to shove her entire fist into his mouth. Ben’s eyes went wide and he promptly removed her hand from his mouth and placed her on the floor again to recover from his toddler’s none-to-gentle assault. She went careening out of the room and Ben met Rey’s rather overwhelmed expression with his own.

Rey broke into laughter and looked to where her daughter had exited mere moments ago, “She takes after you, you know.”

Ben crossed the room, placing a hand on his wife’s belly before sliding it up to cradle the nape of her neck and pull her in for a kiss, “Yea right,” he mumbled against her lips. “That little spit fire is all you.” Rey blushed and swatted him away as they heard a crash from the other room. Rey turned and began to walk toward her toddler’s path of destruction when Ben pulled her back.

“I’ll go. You’ve got enough to worry about at the moment,” he quipped, gesturing to her belly.

Rey huffed and her hands went to her hips, “I’m not an invalid, Ben. Just very pregnant.”

Ben smirked and huffed out a laugh, “Fair enough, but maybe take it a little bit easy. You’re winded just watching her run around sometimes.” Rey’s mouth dropped open, clearly scandalized by such an outrageous declaration, but then she felt the twinge in her back that had been spasming and the baby chose that exact moment to painfully kick her in the ribs. She glared at her belly, then at Ben; they were clearly conspiring against her.

“Fine. I’ll sit down. Go make sure Alana hasn’t set something on fire though, please.”

Ben had hardly taken a step, however, when Alana came skidding back into the kitchen at full speed, knocking into the table and causing one of the glasses to fall. Fortunately, Ben was able to reach out with the Force and suspend the glass in the air. Rey didn’t even bat an eye as she plucked it from its airborne state and returned it to the table.

“Momma, Daddy, people are here!” she shrieked as she threw herself at Ben’s legs and tugged on his pant leg very impatiently. Your child, Ben mouthed to Rey as he let his daughter lead him from the room.

The three of them went to the entrance hall of Varykino and stood in the fading light of the day. The sunbeams scattered across the room, illuminating the magnificent pillars wrapped in heavy vines. The flowers were not in full bloom anymore as fall was fast approaching and the evenings were starting to carry the faintest hint of a chill. Rey drew her shawl around her and bit back a shiver. She was still a desert rat at heart and the cold would forever be foreign to her. Ben pulled her into his side, radiating heat into her as she nestled into his broad chest. Alana stood in front of them with her father’s other hand on her shoulder, keeping her close as she bounced on the balls of her feet, too wound up with excited energy to keep still.

The Falcon had landed across the meadow not long ago, its four occupants making the rest of the way on foot. As soon as they breached Varykino’s threshold, Alana shook off her father’s hand and sprinted across the foyer. “Unca Chewie!” she screeched in delight, launching herself into the Wookie’s waiting arms. Chewbacca had crouched to her height to catch her in a warm and fierce embrace before lifting the little girl in the air as if she weighed nothing. He swung her over his shoulders so that her chubby legs were draped on either side of his neck and she clung to the mane on his head. He let out a deep roar as she tugged the locks but it was all in jest as he trotted about the room pretending to be a bantha, tossing his head back and thundering forward. The little girl shrieked in delight as the rest of the adults laughed at their antics.

Rey crossed the room quickly, despite her slight waddle, and caught Finn up in a full body squeeze.

“Easy woman!” he wheezed out. “Shouldn’t you be pacing yourself, now that you’re about to spawn another miscreant?”

Rey relinquished her hold and punched him in the arm. “Who are you to call my children, miscreants? I’ve literally seen you pick a fight in a cantina and have caught you cheating in countless sabacc hands.”

Finn rolled his eyes but pulled her in for a tight hug as well, resting his chin atop her head. “I missed you too, Sunshine.”

Rey huffed, “I hate it when you call me that.”

Finn gave an evil grin, “And that’s why I call you that.”

“Rey!” Rose squealed, forgetting her well-mannered aristocratic delegate persona, and flinging her arms around Rey. “You look ready to pop!”

Rey looked down at her belly and back at her friends before patting it meaningfully, “I feel about ready to pop.” The three were distracted by a rather loud exclamation though and they all turned to find Poe laughing uproariously and Ben patting him brusquely on the back, smiling at whatever joke he had just made.

Rose looked from Finn to Rey and back toward the two laughing men, “Are they… laughing together?” Rey just shook her head in response.

Finn grimaced, “It’s still so weird seeing the two of them getting along.”

Ben and Poe finally realized the other three were staring at them and walked over to join them. “What are you all looking at?” Ben asked, entirely nonplussed.

“Has Mustafar frozen over?” Finn queried. Poe looked perplexed and shook his head. Finn sighed and rolled his eyes, “Nevermind, it’s just strange seeing you two all chummy.”

Poe shrugged his shoulders and put an arm around Rey, giving her a quick gentle squeeze, “We just happen to be mature adult men who can let go of the past.”

Rose broke down into guffaws of laughter and Rey let out an indelicate snort before her husband was at her side, wrapping an arm around her waist and looking marginally reproachful. Rey reached up a hand to cup his face, her eyes still alight with mirth, “I’m sorry, but you and Poe being described as mature? Come on.” He took the ribbing good-naturedly and Chewie and Alana chose that moment to come barreling back into the large foyer.

Alana made a bee-line for Poe and said in a tone that was more of a demand than a question, “Can we fly now?”

Poe looked just as eager and earnest but had the good sense to look at Rey and Ben, “We need to check with your mommy and daddy first,” but Rey was already nodding and Ben smiled encouragingly, “And it looks like we’re on! Alright, lead me to your land cruiser, I want to show you how to drift around corners.”

Ben looked moderately alarmed at Poe’s last statement, but Finn was already breaking away to follow them, “Don’t worry, I’ll help keep the antics and life-endangering escapades to a minimum.”

With their departure, Chewie finally approached Rey and Ben, pulling both of them in for a long and heartfelt hug. Ben pressed his face into Chewbacca’s fur, just like he did when he was a child and the Wookie rumbled out how much he missed them all.

“We missed you too, Chewie,” Ben said softly. Rey pulled back as well and patted the Wookie’s arm affectionately before turning to Rose again, “So how is the Alliance these days? We try to keep up with the holoreports and the comms, but it’s hard with the day to day operations of the League and the brain cells this child seems to be eliminating daily.”

“You push yourself too hard,” Ben chided before ushering his wife and the group further into the hall. “Speaking of, let’s move somewhere you can actually sit down.”

The small group made their way through the entrance hall into a smaller, yet no less grand, sitting room where padawans and apprentices had their meals. Rose marveled at the marble floors and the open breezeway that unfolded onto a picturesque view of the lake. Tiny round tables with cushioned chairs tucked in littered the large space, somehow making it feel intimate despite the resplendent space.

They sat at one of the tables nearest the breezeway and watched the sun sinking lower over the horizon. The dusky oranges and deep blues of the sky were echoed in the shimmering surface of the lake and Rose thought she felt a collective breath from the others as they watched the water ripple below them.

Rose put her face in her palm as she finally turned to Rey, “We’ve made really good progress this year. We finally gathered enough support to close down the Hutt’s spice and slave trade, and we’re putting in a hyperspace lane across the space region that used to be theirs. We have more species represented on the Alliance than ever before with more worlds joining every year. But you know...it’s still an uphill battle.” She was proud of their progress. Really she was, but there was still so much left to do and undo from when the First Order ruled the galaxy. It was like untangling a giant ball of string only to realize it’s actually a dozen balls of string that have begun to irrevocably fray. It was a never ending fight, but she was glad to be a part of it.

Rey nodded understandingly and Ben steepled his fingers before him in thought. He sat up, placing both palms flat on the table before him and pinned Rose with a steely look, “Worthwhile change takes time, patience, and hard work. Luckily, you have an abundance of those traits, Tico.”

Rose’s face broke into a wide smile, “You're full of bantha shit Solo, but thanks all the same.” She looked back to Rey as the sun sank even lower, casting several pronounced shadows across her friend’s face. “How is the League? You haven’t said much in your last several comms.”

Rey leaned back further in her seat, hands resting on her belly, “Each recruitment mission has been a success. Every time we seek out Force sensitive children we find them all across the galaxy. Some want to come and train, some want to stay with their families, some don’t have any other option really,” she finished in a hushed tone, staring off across the water. “We’ve built up the foundations here, but we need more teachers. More than just Ben and I. We’ve started looking for Force Sensitive adults that we can train as well.”

Rose continued to focus on Rey, sensing there was more to what she was saying now. Rey gulped and turned to meet Rose’s stare, “I want to ask Finn to stay here with us. He’s Force Sensitive and I’ve taught him a few things over the course of our friendship and now I need his help.” Rose didn’t know what to say. Finn had been her right hand in the evolution of the Galactic Alliance. She had always had him to rely on and now Rey wanted to take that away so that he could babysit some kids? Her mouth hung open and for once she was speechless.

Rey sat up straighter and her eyes opened wider, pleading, “You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was really important. Not only are we teaching children in the ways of the Force, a sacred and holy thing, but we’re also giving many of them a home and a place to belong. I don’t have to tell you how important that is, not only to me, but to so many people across the galaxy that have been displaced by the tyranny of oppression for too long.” She was winded by the end of her speech and Ben leaned across the table to lay a comforting arm on her shoulder and ease her back in her chair again. She batted him away, “I’m fine, the baby’s just so big now he’s pressing up into my lungs.”

Rose’s eyes went from Ben to Rey and back again. She didn’t truly understand it, their relationship, but then again, wasn’t that the nature of love? Utterly perplexing. But the way they looked at each other, she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that they were so devoted to each other and to their growing family.

She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, “Fine. Ask Finn. I know he’s going to say yes. Never has been able to say no to you. And I suppose you need the extra help, what with having a new infant and all.” Rey beamed at her and stood, pulling her friend up from her seat and trapping her in a fierce embrace. “Just promise me we’ll see each other more. I can’t only see you lot once a year,” she demanded sternly.

Rey pulled back to look at Rose, “I promise. After all, you’ve got to teach our kids how to run a galaxy.” The two friends embraced again and the sun finally dipped below the horizon. A dark outline of the landscape became clear, an inky black surrounded by the soft glow of rich and rosy hues in red and orange; a final ovation before the curtain of night fell.