Chapter Text
Maz assures them that the photos are perfect but Rey isn’t sure she believes her.
Perched on Santa’s knee (he is a big, tall Santa all dressed in a red velour suit who looks to Rey’s practiced eye suspiciously like Ben’s godfather Chewie) while Ben stands slightly behind and to the left of his big, ornate red velvet chair, she had had the perfect angle to see that his big beard of snowy white had slipped slightly to reveal, she’s sure, to the camera what appears to be a natural, greying beard of golden reddish brown. It’s impossible to deny that she in turn had been laughing so hard at Ben’s running commentary on this particular Santa’s many (perfect) imperfections that she is sure that her eyes must have been closed when Maz had taken the picture – she’s sure they had been twitching at the very least when she had heard that little trademark ‘click’. Too, from the weight of Ben’s gaze she had felt on her, she was one hundred percent sure that he had been looking at her and not at the big, bulky black camera his godmother had been wielding at that particular moment.
Maz hadn’t seemed the least bit concerned though and had merely shooed them off so she could position the next couple waiting to take their place – there had been a growing line waiting for their chance to take a picture with ‘Santa’, all made up of couples or friend groups eager to memorialize the moment. It had been a bit of a blur, actually, in Rey’s memory – no one’s allowed to monopolize the Big Guy’s time, after all, and Maz had been as efficient as always as she had taken care to make sure everyone who had wanted a photo with him had a chance to get one.
She hadn’t even let Rey or Ben take a look at the photo captured on her digital screen before she had sent them on their way, reminding them in that crusty, loving, snarky way of hers that they were meant to trust her with her art.
“Not my first rodeo, is it, young Solo?” she had asked in her trademark acid tone, as always belied by her quicksilver smile, even as she had hauled her tall, broad godson all the way down to her level for a big, bussing kiss on his cheek, leaving the little red lipstick mark behind on his skin as she had done so. Ben had only laughed, kissing her in return before he had obediently led Rey away for another swing at the buffet tables.
Yes, Rey is positive that that photo of them with Santa is a mess – not that it really matters, for, perfect or not, she knows she’ll treasure it forever, this portrait of her and Ben at their first official holiday gathering together.
In any case, they’re both having a marvellous time, particularly Rey. Indeed, how could she not, she’s the love of her life to keep her laughing, friends to keep her entertained and plenty of delicious food to keep her fed. Then there’s the entertainment. The rocking music – all the holiday season classics and quite a few of the newer, more upbeat versions of those same songs – that swirls around them has her singing along to almost every tune and she has to remind herself more than once to finish her latest bite before she opens her mouth to belt out her favourite classics.
It’s loud here in this big, expansive, festively decorated hotel ballroom tonight, all the buzz of so many voices and conversations adding to the buzz of the music. The mingling cheery sounds in addition to the swirling of people as they head over to devour the buffet from the tables along the walls and pack the dance floor, plus the swish of the catering staff's movements as they go about their business (efficiently once again this year) means there’s a constant sense of happy and hopeful energy humming along in this packed room tonight.
This year's edition of the annual Skywalker Inc. holiday party is a decided success.
Rey takes some of the credit for that — her stories about her experiences last year elicited not only sympathy but also a fair amount of guilt (and a fair amount of envy for missing out) amongst her colleagues — but once again, the main credit for planning the event this year (if not the attendance) is, as it had been last year, mostly Ben's.
There is one major difference in his role here tonight for he’s no longer the host, not officially at least. No longer COO, having stepped aside early in the new year in favour of arguing for the promotion of Amilyn Holdo to fill the role, he’s technically no longer employed by the company at all, for he’d also stepped down as CFO at the same time as he'd vacated the COO position. Ultimately, he'd stayed long enough for the Board to fill both roles, having recommended hiring an outside man for the position of head of the Finance department, a quietly competent man named Moden Canady. (He's actually someone Ben had worked with in a past life with Snoke, though, as he had assured the Board of Skywalker Inc., he had always found him beyond ethical – so much so that Snoke had fired him shortly before the raid that had led to his downfall).
As he is no longer COO, CFO, or indeed, a member of the Executive but only a mere member (and a quiet one) of the Skywalker Inc. Board of Directors, Ben has the advantage of being seen no longer by the employees of his family company as he had once been (as a pain in the ass, a stickler, a Grinch). Thus it is that they no longer avoid him as they might once have – or at least, not as much. Indeed, as he relaxes outside of his previous role, allowing more of his more personal self to become apparent, there are more than a few employees who are surprised to find themselves enjoying his company tonight.
Regardless, while he’d volunteered his services in planning this party tonight (Holdo and Canady having given him a budget and full reign when it came to the distribution of it), he is not in the main part here for that, as a representative of the Board or the family or even (unofficially) of the company. Rather, he is here in his capacity as Rey’s significant other and (official) Plus One.
It is a role he relishes – as does she (she can’t keep the smile from her face as he offers his arm so often to escort her through the crowded party).
Ben’s presence, and the nature of his role tonight, had been a surprise to many, and there had been more than a few eyebrows raised in reaction. Rey thinks it is more than just because of his previous role and his family connections to the company, but also a result of the preconceived notions of those who didn't know them when it comes to their personalities – she had always been thought of as a bundle of sunshine by coworkers, she knows, something no one, she knew, has ever accused Ben of having the warmest of personalities. Well, at least, no one knows him as well as she – and she knows him better day by day.
Shortly after Ben had submitted his official resignation from his official position with the company (having struck out on his own to found Republic Consulting, specializing in advising small non-profit and philanthropist organizations on how best to invest ethically and at the same time how to put into place rigid fiscal guide rails regarding the control of their budgets), he had approached her about engaging in a more intimate relationship than the warm friendship they'd maintained since the Christmas previous. It had been an offer she had been more than happy to accept. As anticipated, they had proven to suit very well indeed – they’ve been together for over six months now, long enough to know that their initial connection had been more than simply the result of trauma bonding but had indeed pointed to true compatibility.
Rey is deliriously happy and has been assured with some vehemence that Ben is as well.
She had been open with her employer from the beginning about her connection to a member of the Organa-Solo-Skywalker clan and still thinks that it had been the best approach to take, both personally and professionally, no matter the complications that comes with it. As someone who both worked for Skywalker Inc. and was at the same time involved in a serious relationship with a member of the company’s board, she had filled in the numerous forms and completed the numerous interviews that had resulted. There are certain strictures she faces as a result of these complications - so many forms to complete, ethics declarations to make and the occasional side-eye from professional rivals. The same is true for Ben, who had recused himself from direct involvement in a number of different areas of procurement and personnel (not that he’d been particularly involved in those areas of the company to begin with).
Still, despite everything (and as she’d assured Ben since they’d taken the next natural step in their relationship), the impact on her professional life had been minimal at most. With the fulsome support of not only Ben and Holdo but also of the family itself (Ben’s father Han had embraced her in ways she hadn’t expected her, tells everyone he meets that she’s the daughter he’d never had and had always dreamed of; further, in Leia, she’d found a remarkable ally and a true friend), the transition to her new life had gone even more smoothly than she could have hoped. Further, should her personal and personal lives come into conflict in the future, she has no doubt that given her skills, she could find a solution, whether that be at Skywalker or elsewhere.
Regardless, choosing to be with Ben, choosing to take a chance on them – it had been well worth the risk.
It’ll be a Nine Day’s Wonder, she’d told Ben regarding the transition period and the reaction to the public acknowledgement of their relationship – and for the most part, she’d been proven correct.
In contrast, the impact on her personal life had been both momentous and welcome – resulting in nothing but joy. As the holiday music swells around him as she urges him to the dance floor so they can sway to a slower holiday song, Sia’s Snowman once again – Let's go below zero and hide from the sun; I love you forever where we'll have some fun – she regrets nothing, thinks only of all she had gained during this past year.
Yes, let's hit the North Pole and live happily; Please, don't cry no tears now, it's Christmas, baby
Raising her left hand to rest it on Ben’s big broad shoulder as he moves with the grace of his broad frame to sweep her into the wide, daring twirl that she loves best – she always feels the safest when wrapped in his arms – the bright solitaire diamond she wears on her ring finger shines under the bright lights of the dance floor. She can’t but sparkle along with it. As her fiancé flashes that generous grin that she loves as he looks down at her, as his deep brown eyes soften to molten as his adorable dimples flash, as he lowers his head to meet her lips with his in an intimate kiss just beyond what was considered appropriate for a newly engaged couple to share at a corporate holiday event, she thinks only of the moment.
I want you to know that I'm never leaving; 'Cause I'm Mrs. Snow, 'til death we'll be freezing
As she throws herself into embracing it, and more importantly, into embracing him.
Yeah, you are my home, my home for all seasons
As she thanks all her lucky fates that they had seen fit to bless her, during this last year and beyond. As she remembers how lucky she had been to have walked into this very same ballroom this time last year to find this glorious man sitting alone – only a little bit sad but, she's convinced, mostly waiting for her to find him.
My snowman and me
Singing along to the lyrics so perfect for her and the man once said to have a heart made of ice – Let's go below zero and hide from the sun; I love you forever where we'll have some fun – she smiles big and bright at him as their kiss breaks, declaring her love for him with words unspoken but for how the two of them share them across their heartfelt bond.
Anyway, she finds as she kisses him, that as always his lips are warm, welcoming, as they heat under the pressure of hers.
Yes, let's hit the North Pole and live happily; Please, don't cry no tears now, it's Christmas, baby
As Rey (Johnson, soon to be Solo) feels joy moving through her – for she knows she’s home.