Chapter Text
Christmas Morning
Ben woke up slowly to the sound of a snow plow rumbling down the street, his mind trying to catch up to the slight pain in his back and pressure on his chest. He nearly jumped when his blinking eyes settled on a brunette head leaning against him, hair fanning out, but he managed to keep his reaction to a small gasp. The tiny jolt that resulted caused her to stir, but she didn’t wake and snuggled closer into him.
He was not the type to wake up with random women in his arms.
When he looked up and found himself in his parents’ living room, the events of the night flooded back.
--
Christmas Eve
Ben and Rey managed to get Han and Leia into their bed, offering shoulders for support as they stumbled up the stairs.
Luke proved to be tougher since he had passed out again in Rey’s car. He was tempted to leave him there all night, but somehow he felt that letting his uncle freeze to death would not endear him to the lovely girl he was interested in getting to know better.
They managed to pull Luke out of the car, where he slumped on the driveway.
“Now what?” said Ben, looking heavenward. He and Rey kicked at Luke, whose sleepy moans were the only indication that he was still alive.
“We have to get him inside,” said Rey. She wrung her hands, and then looked at Ben with a critical eye, sizing him up. “I guess this is your WWII movie moment.”
“I’m sorry, my what?”
“You know, that scene that it’s in every war movie, where the soldier picks up his fallen comrade and carries him to safety?”
“I’m not sorry that I hardly think that falling unconscious due to losing a shot contest is the same as falling in battle.”
“Either way, he’s in danger.”
“I am not throwing out my back for Luke.” He toed at Luke again, hoping he’d magically jump up and walk himself in.
“That’s what the fireman’s carry is for.”
“I’ll remind you that I went to law school, not firefighter academy.”
So that was how they found themselves Googling “fireman’s carry,” and ended up on a Wikihow page demonstrating the steps to safely carry another adult. Ben studied the steps, bemoaning his entire existence, until Rey had the excellent idea that he could practice on her.
She talked him through the instructions as he picked her up with ease. She squealed as he flipped her to the ground playfully.
If only he could just keep picking up Rey.
“See how easy that was for you?” said Rey, straightening her coat.
Ben looked at her incredulously. “You are not a fifty-plus year old man who’s had one too many milkshakes.”
“You mean oat milkshakes.”
Ben rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised?” His shoulders slumped, and he accepted his fate of lifting the giant lump that was his uncle.
“Don’t hurt him,” called out Rey, lurching forward to help position Luke’s arms around Ben’s lowered shoulders.
“He’s drunk as a skunk. I don’t think I could hurt him if I tried.”
“Don’t hurt yourself, then.”
As he straightened, Ben focused on not allowing himself to obviously grimace and was rewarded with Rey unabashedly admiring him in his strength.
Ben couldn’t help a flash of pride. Working out regularly was his one stress relief from work, and he’d show it off if he wanted.
“You’d make a fine WWII soldier,” said Rey.
“That is the strangest compliment I’ve ever received, or at least I think it was?” Ben tried to keep his voice normal even as his body protested under the weight of his bum uncle.
“It definitely was.” Rey led the way into the house and held doors open for Ben. Together, they lowered Luke onto the guest bed and returned to the living room.
Without all the lawbreakers safely in their beds, Ben and Rey had no shared purpose and stood awkwardly.
This was when Ben did not know how to shine around women. He had felt more at ease with Rey than he was used to, but as they stood silently, he realized it was because they had had the events of the evenings to serve as an icebreaker.
“So... this is where you grew up?” Rey looked around the modest home. He winced when he saw her eyes land on his high school senior portrait on the wall. He hated that picture. He hadn’t figured out how to hide his ears with his hair yet, and of course his mom had selected the shot where he smiled with his teeth.
“Uh, yeah,” he said inelegantly.
Rey stepped over to the Christmas tree and examined the gifts underneath.
“There’s one here for you,” she said, touching it lightly. “Were you not planning to come at all?”
His stomach churned nervously. “I would have made it over at some point over the next while. I usually watch bowl games with my dad.”
He was anxious to change the subject. “Do you, uh, want to take a seat? Make yourself at home.” He gestured at the couch, and she smiled gratefully.
--
Christmas Morning
Carefully, Ben set a hand on the top of Rey’s hair and slid his fingers through, moving his hand to a new section every time he hit a snarl. He was nervous for when she’d wake up, but he didn’t want to waste this opportunity to have her in his arms.
He knew that he should go and check on his parents and Luke, but he didn’t want to disturb Rey and end the magic.
He continued playing with her hair, feeling guilty that he wasn’t running to make sure any of his family members had died, when he heard something smash in the kitchen followed by a familiar voice cursing.
His mom at least was up. Satisfied that she could deal with her husband and brother, Ben settled back into the couch, trying to straighten his back without dislodging Rey.
He wasn’t successful. As he felt her shake her head under his fingertips, he yanked his hands back automatically.
--
Christmas Eve
They decided to watch a movie. Rey seemed determined to honor her offer to stick with Ben through Christmas.
After fumbling with his parents’ new remote for an embarrassingly long time (his dad was always jumping cable providers to get new customer promotions), they settled on A Christmas Story on TBS.
They stayed mostly silent as they watched as the movie played. Ben longed for some of the easy camaraderie they had had at the police station. As a commercial break dragged on, he begged his mind for any conversation topic.
“So why is Luke such a recluse?”
Rey’s question introduced a topic that was not even close to what he had been sorting through in his mind.
“Um.” Ben picked up the remote and pushed the mute button, which was thankfully easy to find. “That’s kind of a complicated question, one that I don’t really know the answer to.” He looked at Rey, sitting across from him on the couch. “What has he told you?”
“Just that he hadn’t seen his sister in a long time, even though she and her husband lived nearby.” She scrunched her eyebrows and bit her lip, clearly weighing her next words. “He never mentioned you.”
“That’s not surprising. I haven’t seen him much since high school. We were close when I was young, when he still came around here a lot, but I was a moody teenager and probably didn’t do much to maintain that relationship.”
“That guy up there?” She pointed at his senior picture. “Moody?”
“Tough to believe, huh?”
She laughed. “Nah, that picture screams ‘you’ll be grounded if you don’t smile.’”
“That’s basically the truth. My mom came and gave me the evil eye from behind the photographer the whole time.” He shuddered. “She’s good at that.”
“So what do you and Luke talk about?” Ben changed the subject, genuinely curious. “From what I’ve gathered over the past ten years, he’s gotten even weirder, which is saying something.”
She scooted the littlest bit closer and gave him a smile. “After tonight, I’m thinking that maybe it’s a little bit genetic.” She reached out and poked him on the chest.
He huffed. “Touché.”
“I don’t know, random stuff, small talk. It used to be exclusively weather, but then he warmed up slightly. We talk about my business, too. He actually has some good insights, believe it or not.”
“Please tell me you’ve made him a necklace.”
Her smile grew. “No, but I love that idea. He does wear a ring I made though. Proudest I’ve ever been to have a customer.”
“He paid?”
“No. But still.”
“I updated his will a few years ago,” said Ben, remembering one of the few times he had seen his uncle since high school. “He also didn’t pay me.”
“Did he leave all his money to me?” Rey’s eyes twinkled with merriment.
If Ben recalled correctly, Luke had left his money and house to charity, but he still smiled coyly and said, “Sorry, attorney-client privilege.” Feeling bold, he leaned in closer and added, “But just between you and me, I wouldn’t go quitting your day job.”
She feigned dramatic disappointment. “I guess I can stop plotting his murder.”
“You realize that murder negates your rights as a beneficiary?”
“Well, obviously I’d make it look like an accident.”
“Did you have a plan?”
“Hmm.” She tapped her chin. “I think I’d break something in his old Ford X-Wing. Then I’d wait until it was on the blocks and he was under, and then I’d…” She mimicked sliding her foot to knock over the blocks.
Ben’s mouth dropped open. “Wow, Rey, that is frighteningly specific.”
She shrugged innocently. “This is all hypothetical of course.”
“Of course.” Ben chuckled. “I feel like I should be terrified that you came up with that so fast, but strangely, I’m…” He snapped his mouth shut before the words “into it” came flying out.
“I’m...amused,” he finished instead.
“So who will get to inherit the mighty Luke Skywalker estate?” she asked. Somehow, the space between them on the couch had managed to shrink again.
Ben laughed dryly. “Someone who will be very disappointed with what it contains.” He decided to follow Rey’s lead and scoot closer, too. “All I can tell you is, it’s not me, and it’s not you.”
“There’s so much deferred maintenance on his house I’m not sure I’d want it,” said Rey. “I’ve tried to help him with a couple projects, but we’ve only scratched the surface.”
“You are so good, Rey.”
She scoffed. “I’m really not. Honestly, Luke and I argue most of the time.”
“Luke argues with everyone.”
“That’s true.” She paused. Ben would have changed the subject, but her silence seemed thoughtful. Her eyes met his in the soft light of Christmas lights that decorated the tree and room. “What would you have thought if Luke had included some random neighbor in his will?”
Her question threw him off. “Um, I definitely would have found that interesting. I would have wondered what kind of woman could have made her way into Luke’s heart.” He took a breath before adding, “If I had met you, I would have figured it out.”
She came in a little closer. Only the crease between the cushions separated them. If either of them moved any further, they would tip into each other.
“Do you think we ever would have met if tonight hadn’t happened?” Her voice was barely above a whisper. The light conversational tone they had maintained was gone, replaced by something that even Ben could read as flirtatious.
“Probably not,” admitted Ben. “So I’m sure feeling lucky it did.”
Between the ambient glow of the Christmas tree and the late hour, Ben was acting far braver than he usually did. Most dates he spent overanalyzing every moment until he had convinced himself that whoever he was with wasn’t interested.
But the way that Rey looked at him, he couldn’t help but think that he had a shot. Her eyes left his, and searched his face.
She must not have found what she was looking for, because she pulled back a tiny bit. Ben didn’t know how it was possible that his heart wasn’t showing all over his face, but It wouldn’t be the first time he put someone off by expression alone.
He carefully set his hand on the back of her neck, rubbing slightly with his thumb. He waited for her to flinch, but she smiled softly. She surprised him by bolting forward and taking his lips in an eager kiss.
He caught her and kept her from falling off the couch in her enthusiasm, leaving his hand on her neck and placing his other hand on the small of her back, guiding her until she fit perfectly against him. They found their rhythm and Ben smiled into the kiss.
They kissed under the glow of the Christmas tree as the falling snow sparkled through the window.
--
Christmas Morning
Rey stirring under Ben made his heart beat like thunder. They hadn’t spoken after their kisses the night before, Rey simply laying her head against him and falling asleep.
What would she think now? Would she be pissed that he had taken advantage of her, all alone at one in the morning?
Ben sat frozen as Rey rubbed her face into his shirt and lifted her head.
“Hey,” she said groggily.
“Hey.”
She cranked her head to look out the window.
“It snowed a lot last night,” she said.
“Yep.”
“It’s really pretty.”
“Yeah.” He cursed his inability to say more than one word.
“If it had been this bad last night, we could have pulled Luke in on a sled.”
That made him laugh, and she grinned at him, sending his heart racing again.
His mother chose that moment to come stumbling into the living room.
“You’re up!” Leia clearly tried to sound chipper but she was betrayed by her wrinkled brow and sallow skin.
“So are you,” said Ben, cocking an eyebrow as he took in her disheveled look. “How are you feeling?”
“Great!” She gave Ben and Rey a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Benny, you didn’t tell me you were coming home. And bringing a girl!”
Rey stiffened against him, and he wanted to sink into the cushions.
“I didn’t bring - Mom, this is Rey, remember?”
Leia smiled apologetically. “I was a little out of it last night I’m afraid.” She held out her hand and Rey took it. “Please call me Leia, dear. I’m terribly sorry I wasn’t more prepared for you to come. Ben never told me he was seeing anyone.” She gave Ben an evil eye.
Ben sputtered. “Mom, what? Rey is not my -” He coughed. “What do you remember from last night?”
Leia squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead with her hand not holding a coffee mug. Rey jumped up and helped her settle into the loveseat across from them, carefully setting the mug on the coffee table.
“You must feel awful,” said Rey. “Don’t even worry about me.”
“I think I had a little too much last night.”
“A little?” Ben was incredulous. He could see Rey turn away from his mom so she could smile. “Mom, do you really not remember anything about last night?”
A thudding noise, followed by a string of curses, made them all look towards the hallway staircase.
“That must be your father,” said Leia, shaking her head. “He was still dead to the world when I got up.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Ben. “I’m not sure I drank that much at my first college party.”
“You drank before you were 21?” Leia looked at him angrily. Rey covered her laugh with her hand.
“Really?” said Ben. “Now?”
He was saved from his mother’s extremely misplaced ire by his dad limping in, grumbling about a loose stair and his throbbing pinky toe.
“Don’t blame the staircase,” said Ben, rolling his eyes.
Han noticed him. “Well, looky here. We get Ben for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and all it took was a little arrest.”
“Benjamin, you got arrested?” His mother’s anger grew.
“What?” Ben stood up and pointed at Leia. “You got arrested. Both of you. All three of you.” He gestured back to the guest room. “I had to come to the police station in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and spring you from jail. So I think the word you’re looking for is thank you.”
“That’s a phrase, kid.”
Ben glared back at his dad, who gave him a smug smirk before sinking onto the couch next to his wife, whose eyes were darting around frantically, trying to conjure any memory of what Ben and Han were talking about.
Han nudged Leia’s knee.
“I could really use some coffee and Advil, Princess. I feel like I got hit by a truck.”
“Get it yourself,” she snapped back.
Ben knew where this was going, so he left his parents to bicker and indicated to Rey for her to follow him into the kitchen.
“I’m really sorry about all that,” said Ben. “I don’t think this is the charming family Christmas morning you were looking for.”
“Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting your parents to wake up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
“You don’t have to stay long. We’ll check on Luke and then you’re freed from this crazy family.”
Her eyes fell to the floor. “Right. Yeah, sorry, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“No!” He grabbed her hand aggressively, before loosening his grip and rubbing her wrist with his thumb. “No, of course I want you here. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to stay.”
She looked back up at him, some of the electricity from the night before returning. She was beautiful even after a night of couch sleeping. “I’d like to stay with you.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I’d really like a toothbrush.”
Ben laughed. “Me too.”
“Let me go ask your mom if she has any extra.”
Ben looked over towards the living room, which was getting louder as Leia caught on to what happened the night before. Ben groaned. Only his parents could stand to argue with pounding headaches.
“How about we find an open store instead?” he suggested. “It’s a perfect excuse to get away from this.”
She grinned. “Okay.”
They had to go back through the living room, where Han looked at them curiously.
“Who’s your girl?” he asked bluntly.
Ben froze but Rey spoke up. “I’m Rey, Luke’s neighbor. I was at the station last night. You probably don’t remember much.”
“Well, a merry Christmas to Ben!” said his father jubilantly, and Ben cringed.
A loud snore came from the guest room. Leia rubbed her head wearily like she hadn’t just been making plenty of noise herself.
“Luke’s snores could wake the dead,” she said. “Ben, go turn him. He must have fallen on his back.”
“No way,” said Ben. “Rey and I are going to the store. Luke is your problem now.”
Han’s head snapped up. “Can you grab some Pedialyte?”
“Pedialyte?”
“Yeah, it’s a hangover cure that Chewie swears by.”
Ben responded with “you have got to be kidding me” right as Rey said, “no problem.”
Han nodded approvingly at Rey. “She gets it.”
--
“Would your dad like these?” Rey held up a pair of slippers in the gift aisle of a Walgreens they had found open.
“You do not have to get my parents anything.”
“I’m invading Christmas morning.”
“They owe us for giving up our Christmas mornings. Besides.” He looked at his watch. “We all slept right through Christmas morning anyway.”
“Still.” She stuck the slippers in her basket. “I’d like to do something.” She began to reach for a makeup kit, but dropped her hand. “I have a necklace in the car that I was planning to ship tomorrow. No personal identifiers on it. I’ll just make a new one for the customer and give that one to your mom.”
“You really don’t need to do that.”
She frowned at him. “Well, I’d like to. What about you?”
“I Amazon primed some stuff to my parents. I’m not a total monster. And Luke?” He grabbed a cheesy Elf hat. “That’ll do.”
They wandered the store, throwing a few snacks and toiletries into their baskets. As they waited for a store associate to join them at the check-out, Ben insisted on paying for everything.
“It’s the least I can do,” said Ben. “You’re making my day a million times better just by being with me.”
The smile she gave him was so dazzling he almost didn’t notice the worker who was trying to take the basket to scan his items.
“Oh, sorry,” Ben mumbled, handing it over. Rey reached in and plucked out the gift she had gotten for his dad.
“I’m at least getting this,” she said.
Ben turned to the cashier. “So, uh, you have to work on Christmas?”
“Yeah,” said the cashier without looking up from his work. “Because people still shop on Christmas.”
Ben winced and he heard Rey snicker. He wasn’t good at stranger small talk.
The cashier’s hand stilled as he scanned the first of three bottles of brightly colored Pedialyte. He looked up at both of them.
“Is your kid sick?”
Ben nearly choked on his tongue. “We, uh…” he sputtered.
Rey took his hand. “Something like that,” she said.
“You hate to see that on Christmas,” said the cashier. “That’s unfair.”
“Yes,” agreed Rey. “It really is.”
They finished checking out and climbed back into Ben’s car.
“We’d best get back to our poor sick children,” said Rey. Ben was relieved that she was joking about the misunderstanding and wasn’t horrified by it. She yawned. “And Mommy could use some coffee.”
“Maybe there’s a place open,” said Ben. “I’m sure my parents have finished off the whole pot by now.”
McDonald’s was all they could find.
“Don’t point out the fact that they’re working on Christmas,” said Rey, giggling, as they pulled up. “I think they’re well aware of the fact.”
“I was trying to make polite conversation.”
She laughed. “Here, while you’re at it, you should get some hangover food for our poor wee sickies.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” said Ben, before lowering his window and ordering five large coffees and an army’s worth of sausage egg mcmuffins with hash browns.
--
Han pounced on the greasy fast food bags as soon as Ben and Rey returned.
“I always knew having a kid would pay off eventually,” he said.
Ben and Rey cleaned themselves up a bit and wrapped their last-minute gifts before joining Han, Leia, and Luke at the kitchen table. The three were digging into the food like they hadn’t eaten in a year, including Luke, gleefully abandoning his hippie diet regimen. They traded jabs at each other, mouths full of food.
Ben grimaced, and leaned into Rey, whispering, “I think this is the strangest Christmas I’ve ever had.”
“Not your merriest, huh?”
“I said it was strange,” said Ben. “Not that it wasn’t good.” He took her hand under the table and squeezed. She squeezed back and his heart fluttered.
“Hey.” He leaned in even closer to whisper in her ear, feeling grateful that they had had a chance to brush their teeth. “How about after we’re done here, we spend the rest of the day together at my place?”
“Really?” she whispered back.
“Only if you want to.”
“I want to.” She bit her lip. “Only, do you think I could swing by my house first to change and get ready? I’d like to look nice so that maybe I can get a repeat performance of last night.”
Ben thought she looked perfect, but if she saw him as someone to look nice for, he wasn’t going to complain.
And if by “repeat performance,” she meant their kiss, he really wasn’t going to complain.
“Anything you need,” he assured her, thinking quickly about what he could accomplish in that time to make the day special. He hadn’t been impressed with the gift options at Walgreens.
She smiled and intertwined their fingers. Ben didn’t even care that the table had fallen silent as the three elders had noticed the googly eyes the two were making at each other.
He refused to turn his eyes away from Rey’s, no matter how much he would hear about it later. Ben Solo was not known for his positivity, but today, he knew that this was the start of something special.
Maybe there was a bit of Christmas magic out there after all.
--
Christmas Eve
“We don’t have to stay long,” promised Rey, holding Ben’s gloved hand with her mittened one. “But I promised your mom we would come.”
“I know you packed an overnight bag. It’ll be late tomorrow before we go back home.” Ben knew his voice sounded whiny, but he didn’t care. He wanted to spend the whole holiday with the two of them wrapped up in their cozy apartment with the tree that they had picked out together.
He had diligently carried the tree up three flights of stairs because Rey had insisted that they have a real tree, something she had longed for as a child but never got.
She was impossible to deny. Which was why they always spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with his parents. Rey loved spending the holidays with his family, and Ben loved Rey.
“Oh hush,” said Rey. “We can’t bail on your parents. And besides, if we leave them alone, who knows what shenanigans they could get up to?”
She pulled on her necklace, which now bore a charm that had the date 12/24 stamped on the back, the night they had met. Another charm hanging next to it featured their wedding anniversary.
“Don’t discount the good that could come out of them getting arrested,” said Ben, kissing her head. “After all, that’s the reason I met you.”
After dinner, Han pulled out some bottles of liquor. “This evening is boring a.f.,” he said. Turning to Ben and Rey, he asked, “Did I get that right? A.F.?”
“Dad,” Ben moaned as Rey laughed.
“I think it’s time for a little contest,” continued Han, waving a bottle around.
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“Oh lighten up, Ben,” said his mother. “We can’t get pulled in for public intoxication if we’re not actually in public. You’re so eager to hold that incident from years ago against us.”
“For good reason!”
“I’m in,” called out Luke, grabbing two glasses. He handed one to Rey. “It’s me against you, girl. It’s time I see what you’re really made of.”
Luke always favored Rey at family gatherings. She was probably the only reason he came. Luke would never admit it, but Ben knew he missed having Rey as his neighbor.
“Umm…” said Rey nervously. She met Ben’s eyes, and he worked his mouth in frustration. She disappeared for a few minutes. He was about to go find her when she came back in holding a small wrapped package that he immediately recognized.
“Hey, Leia,” she said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. “I was going to do this in the morning, but I think now is the time. I have a gift for you.”
“Oh sweetheart.” Leia hugged Rey as she took the package. She gave it a tiny shake. “You know I can’t get enough of your jewelry.”
Leia tore off the wrapping paper and opened the rectangular jewelry box. She gasped when she took in the bracelet sitting against the fluffy white padding.
“Nana?” she whispered when she read the engraving.
“Flip it over,” said Rey, her smile bright.
“May 2020,” read Leia, tears immediately coming to her eyes. She set the box on the table and grabbed Rey for a hug, the two both crying now.
Han grabbed Ben, and the whole kitchen became a mess of back pats, hugs, and congratulations. Ben pulled Rey back and tucked her in his side, squeezing her gently and kissing her temple.
Leia pulled her back. “Sit, sit,” she insisted, practically shoving Rey into a chair.
Rey laughed. “I’m quite alright, I promise.”
Leia wasn’t finished. She wagged her finger at Han. “You were about to poison our grandchild!” she snapped, whisking the forgotten liquor off the island. “This is going out of sight.”
“Well excuse me, Your Highness,” shot back Han. “Forgive me for not being a mindreader.”
He followed Leia out of the room, the two arguing again. Luke chased after them, calling out that he wasn’t pregnant and would still like a glass.
Ben sank into a chair next to Rey and laid a gentle hand on her abdomen.
“This kid is worth having if only for the purpose of stopping that shot contest,” he said.
Rey giggled. “I hope he or she means more to you than that.”
She was kidding around, but Ben looked at her seriously. “You know they do. You and this little one-” he rubbed her belly softly - “are the greatest Christmas present I could ever receive. You two are everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Rey climbed into his lap, circling her arms around his neck. “Me too. I love you, Ben.”
“I love you, too.”
Han and Luke came back in, triumphantly presenting their full glasses.
Rey nudged him in the ribs. “Go grab the Martinelli’s from the car,” she said. He nodded and went to get the non-alcoholic sparkling apple juice they had bought to celebrate the baby the next day.
Later on, as all of his family raised glasses to toast the littlest Solo, Ben didn’t think his heart could be any more full.