Chapter Text
Saturday, Christmas Eve, 12 AM (or five agonizing hours later)
As the clock struck midnight, snow drifted lazily from the sky, covering the cabin in a perfect postcard scene. Inside, the Skywalker-Solos were huddled around the kitchen island like a crime family plotting a cover-up.
“No! It can’t be true,” Luke gasped, eyes wide. “It’s impossible!”
“I saw him trip and fall down the elevator shaft myself!” Anakin cried, slamming a fist on the counter.
Leia groaned, clutching her head. “Will you two keep your voices down? Do you want Rey or Ben to hear you?”
“Oh, Ben! My only grandson!” Anakin wailed like a man at a funeral. “How could he do this to me?”
Earlier that evening, when Ben and Rey had announced their engagement, the response had been what a very generous person might call enthusiastic: Han and Luke stood there with their mouths open like stunned fish, Padmé clasped her hands over her mouth, and Leia let out a strangled sob before dissolving into tears. Chewbacca managed a polite nod. Poe, to everyone’s irritation, had clapped, whistled, and hugged Rey like she had just scored the winning goal. Anakin had to be peeled off the floor and dumped into a chair before formal introductions could continue.
The rest of the night blurred by in a haze of Chewbacca’s bottomless vodka stash. Now, with the guests asleep and the house quiet, the family’s polite smiles had melted faster than the snow outside.
“Can’t we just be happy for them?” Padmé asked, voice thin. “Ben’s finally going to have a family of his own.”
“By marrying a Palpatine!” Anakin sobbed.
Leia pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head was pounding. She had been thrilled when Ben finally got a girlfriend— especially one as sweet as Rey— but this new development had turned “thrilled” into “mildly panicked.”
Growing up, she and Luke hadn’t exactly had the picture-perfect father figure. Anakin had spent the first ten years of their lives either in jail or doing community service several states away. Their mother, the senator of New York at the time, had eventually brokered his freedom by making him sign a legally binding promise to never go near politics again— a win for democracy if there ever was one.
When he finally came home, family life got better, but not exactly normal. His absence had left scars. Leia still remembered the nights she caught their mother crying in the kitchen when she thought no one was awake. Luke had spent years stomping around the house like an angry little senator-in-training, furious that he didn’t have a dad to teach him how to fix a car or throw a baseball.
Leia had long since lost track of how many court dates they had been dragged to or how many times they had been chased by paparazzi like some low-budget royal family. Their childhood had been one long tabloid headline, and only when she was older did she learn why.
“I thought you said he was dead?” Han questioned, wrapping a comforting arm around his wife.
“We thought that he was!” Luke exclaimed. “No one could possibly survive that fall...”
“Looks like he did more than survive,” Han smirked.
Luke frowned at his brother-in-law. The fact that old Sheev Palpatine had managed to have a family while he did not, just seemed immoral.
“Well,” Padmé sighed, “there’s not much we can do about it now. It’s only a weekend. We can get through a weekend.”
Han smiled in agreement. “Besides, it’s not like my kid’s in a rush to get to the altar. We’ve got loads of time to sort things out.”
10 AM
“New Year’s Eve?” Han sputtered, nearly spilling his coffee as he stared at his son’s too-happy face. “This New Year’s Eve?”
“Yup.” Ben grinned from his spot at the kitchen table, practically glowing beside his fiancée. “Rey and I don’t want to wait. We’ve already been alone for too long.”
Everyone sitting around the table was frozen over their breakfasts.
“We wanted to surprise everyone and tell you tomorrow on Christmas,” Rey said brightly. “But after talking last night, Ben and I decided we couldn’t keep it secret any longer.”
Han blinked. “But I thought you were throwing that huge New Year’s bash at The Plaza?” He looked between his son and Rey, who were now holding hands and gazing at each other like they were the leads in a soap opera. “Everyone was supposed to come for that?”
“Exactly!” Ben said, grinning wider. “You’ll already be there. It’s perfect.”
“Our friend Yo-Yo Dah has already agreed to do the ceremony,” Rey added with a beam. “Everything’s set. All you have to do is show up.”
“Oh,” Han stammered, looking around at the other stunned faces seated at the table. “That’s uh- great, kids.”
“Oh, my most sincere congratulations, Master Ben,” Threepio chirped, clapping his hands together. “I am positively thrilled for you both!”
“So am I,” Artu beeped in agreement, as Chewbacca stood and affectionately ruffled Ben’s hair, nearly knocking him out of his chair.
“So, Rey,” Anakin cut in, pouting from his spot at the head of the table, "how did you find your room? I hope it met you and your grandad’s very high standards.”
“Oh yes,” Rey said with a polite little smile. “The bed was very comfortable.”
“And your grandad? Was he comfortable?” Anakin prodded, hoping the squint in his eyes wasn't noticeable.
“We both thought the room was lovely,” Rey said, still smiling.
“Where is he, anyhow?” Anakin asked, squinting harder.
“I think he’s still in bed. He’s a very strong sleeper,” Rey tittered. “After the flight yesterday, he was exhausted. He told me to pass along his heartfelt thanks for your hospitality. It was so kind of you to make room for him at the last minute.”
“Of course,” Anakin muttered darkly. “Wouldn’t want to seem inhospitable to my… future family.”
“So, Rey!” Padmé jumped in, her smile just a little too bright. “Have you figured out what you’re going to wear yet?”
“Well,” Rey began nervously, “I don’t have many relatives here, so I was hoping you and Leia might go shopping with me. I don’t need anything fancy. I know you’re all terribly busy, but if you had nothing else to do—”
“We’d love to!” Leia burst out, tears springing to her eyes. “We’d just love to!”
“We would be honoured,” Padmé said warmly, seizing the moment. It had been years since she’d been to a wedding, and the thought of shopping for her grandson’s fiancée made her heart positively glow. “We can go into the city on Boxing Day!”
As the table erupted into excited chatter, no one noticed as two figures silently slipped away from the group and quickly went outside.
11 AM
“He’s just so old!” Luke cried as he took another puff of his spliff. “How can Rey be his grandchild?”
“I’m in agony!” Anakin spluttered, choking on his cigarette. “Oh, I can’t breathe!”
“Easy, dad,” Luke grabbed his father by the shoulders. “Breath in and out. In and out. Feel it flow through you. There you go.”
“How is he alive?” Anakin wailed. “After the accident, no one heard from him again! It’s been fifty years!”
When Anakin saw the sudden cheerful turnaround in his wife and daughter’s moods, he stormed out of the cabin. His perfect grandson was marrying a Palpatine, and everyone seemed thrilled about it. It was outrageous! It was unfair! Sure, Padmé would kill him if she caught him smoking (especially with their son), but this was a special occasion.
“I’ve got to hand it to him. No one saw this coming,” Luke said, shaking his head with a laugh. When he noticed his father’s eyes brimming with tears, he added, “Dad, come on, it’s not the end of the world—”
“Not the end of the world?” Anakin shouted. “We’ll never be rid of him! It’s not fair!”
Luke sighed. Growing up with his father’s ongoing war against Sheev Palpatine was what had pushed him to become a lawyer and start The Resistance firm. He had wanted to fight against corrupt officials, protect the vulnerable, and keep anyone else from going through what Palpatine had put his parents through. When Sheev vanished after his accident when Luke was a teenager, their endless court cases vanished with him. Although the damages ran deep, their family had finally found peace.
Until now.
“In all fairness,” Luke said as he lit another spliff, “It could be worse.”
“Worse?!” Anakin repeated with a howl. “How could it possibly be worse?”
“Ben could have knocked her up. Then there’d really be no way out,” Luke stated, holding out the lit spliff to his dad.
“Not another word,” Anakin snapped, grabbing it out of Luke’s hands and taking a puff. “And don’t tell your mother.”
4 PM
Ben Solo was pretty sure he was about to pass out. Rey was already gorgeous on a normal day, and imagining her in a bikini was enough to make him hyperventilate.
“Geez, Ben,” Poe groaned. “I’m not telling you to leap across the hot tub like you're from some kind of trashy fanfiction. It’s supposed to be fun. Relax!”
“Relax?” Ben yelped, raking a trembling hand through his hair. “I can’t relax. It’s Rey! Who is apparently waiting for me. Alone. In a hot tub!”
“Exactly,” Poe said, jabbing a finger into Ben’s chest. “When you transferred to The Resistance, I swore a solemn oath to make you less miserable. This is me keeping my promise.”
Ben sighed. Other than Rey, Poe was his only real friend. The years he’d spent working under Mr. Snoke at The First Order firm had been miserable, draining what little social and family life he had to begin with. He'd never had many friends growing up, and something about riding with him in elevators seemed to always scare even his colleagues away.
Then he met Rey, who worked at the flower shop down the street from his office, and everything shifted. Suddenly, his life had purpose again and for once he wanted to help people instead of destroy them. The fact that she had screamed at him through their first three meetings didn’t slow him down, and neither did the time she hit him with a stick for startling her on the beach. After a ten-minute lecture about how monstrous his job was, she had grabbed the nearest log and whacked him hard enough that he fell into the waves. Ben was mystified. Possibly concussed, but mystified.
Eventually, after they’d worked through their differences (and his scars healed), Rey had encouraged him to quit and join his uncle’s firm. Now, by some miracle, her friends had begrudgingly become his friends too.
“What if she doesn’t like me?” Ben moaned.
“Doesn’t like you?” Poe quirked an eyebrow at his friend. “She’s agreed to marry you. I think you’re safe.”
“She’s never seen me topless!” Ben ran his fingers through his hair. “Dad always said that I look like I weigh twenty pounds soaking wet! Oh God, what if she laughs?! What if she calls off the wedding?”
“Ben,” Poe grabbed Ben by his shoulders. “Look. It’s taken me all day to get your family out of the way so you and Rey can have the house to yourselves. They’re all waiting for me in the woods to help them find a tree. You’re not letting me down.”
“But-”
“But nothing!” Poe shouted. “And no, you can’t come.”
Ben groaned. The first time Rey had held his hand, he had almost cried. Since then, they had only primarily hung out in public places at night because her grandfather had very strict rules. Even being able to lightly kiss her fully clothed made him lose his mind. This was going to be a disaster.
“All I’m asking is that you go sit and relax with her in the hot tub,” Poe continued. “You’re going to be married in a few days. Just get used to being alone together for Christ’s sake. You can do this.”
“I can do this,” Ben repeated, nodding his head. “Okay, I can do this. I’ll go and find her and sit with her, and it’ll be fun.”
“Yes, that’s the spirit!” Poe grinned, slapping him on the back. “Now, go get your girl!”
5 PM
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. Ben repeated Poe’s pep talk as he approached the hot tub. It’s just Rey. You love Rey. Rey loves you. She’s not going to scream if she sees you shirtless. This is going to be fine.
Hearing footsteps, Rey stood and turned toward him.
Oh no. Ben’s brain short-circuited at the sight of her in a red bikini. He absolutely could not do this.
“Rey!” he squeaked. Why did his voice suddenly sound three octaves higher? Clearing his throat, he tried again. “I—uh—Poe said everyone was going to cut down a Christmas… tree. A tree! You know. Trees.”
Brilliant. Nailed it.
“Yes, I know,” Rey said, a little amused. “My grandad told me.”
Uhg. Ben gulped. Why was he such a moron?
Ben ditched his towel like a man about to face a firing squad and climbed into the hot tub. He could do this. He just had to sit down and act normal. Easy.
Except Rey wasn’t smiling at him. She was just staring with those big brown eyes.
Oh no. Ben panicked. Dad was right. She thinks I look hideous. She’s regretting saying yes. Maybe I really do look like I weigh twenty pounds soaking wet-
And then Rey flung herself at him, nearly knocking him backward into the bubbles.
“Ben!” she laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
Ben froze. Rey was kissing him. Not just kissing him, enthusiastically kissing him. His brain flatlined.
“Oh, uh—hi!” he blurted between kisses, trying to figure out what to do with his hands. He finally rested them awkwardly on her shoulders, like a man posing for a school photo.
“Do you know,” Rey said breathlessly, “how long I’ve waited to get you alone like this?”
Ben blinked. “Uh… long?”
Before he could process anything else, the sound of a towel hitting the bench behind them made him leap three feet in the air.
“I thought I heard voices out here!” Luke called, stepping onto the deck with a stack of books under one arm. “And just in time too—”
He held the books aloft like a prize.
“Look, Rey!” Luke announced proudly. “It's your new set of law books!”
“Thank you so much for bringing them!” Rey squeaked, flinging herself to the other side of the tub, face burning.
“Anything for my favourite future student!” Luke beamed, setting the books down on the bench like they were sacred texts. Without hesitation, he tossed off his towel and cannonballed into the water with a splash that nearly drenched them both. He settled right between Rey and his nephew, who now sat ramrod straight, hands tightly crossed over his lap like a man in mortal peril.
“I’m so excited you decided to go to law school, Rey,” Luke said cheerfully. “I was going to save the books for tomorrow, but when I saw you two out here all alone, I figured you might be bored. So I came to keep you company.”
“You shouldn't have,” Ben muttered through clenched teeth, staring straight ahead, praying for death.
“Ben and I can help you study!” Luke added with a grin, giving his nephew an encouraging slap on the shoulder.
“That’d be just great,” Rey squeaked, smiling apologetically at Ben, who looked like he was seriously weighing whether drowning would be a greater achievement than law school.
8 PM (after a very awkward dinner)
“Dad?” Leia waved a hand in front of her father’s face. “Dad, what’s wrong?”
Anakin stood frozen beside the newly decorated Christmas tree, staring into a gift box like it had personally betrayed him.
“Ani, what’s happened?” Padmé asked from her spot on the couch beside Luke.
He didn’t answer. He just kept staring down into the box, mouth hanging open.
“Anakin!” Padmé snapped, marching over and smacking his shoulder. “What. Happened?”
Slowly, Anakin looked up at her, eyes wide with horror.
“Sand?” he whispered, voice cracking. “A jar full of… sand?”
“Do you like it?” Rey asked, her big brown eyes full of hope as the entire house turned to watch the exchange. “My Grandad said you always had an affinity for it!”
“An affinity for… sand,” Anakin repeated slowly. His gaze darted between Rey and her grandfather, who were both staring at him with unsettling interest.
Sensing his confusion, Rey continued on brightly. “Grandad told me you both knew each other years ago, and how much you loved sand, so I thought it was perfect! As Grandad put it, what could be a better way to remind you of the good old days?”
“My granddaughter always has the most thoughtful gift ideas, wouldn’t you agree?” Sheev Palpatine grinned from across the room. “The sand in that jar is from her University in Arizona. After leaving me in England to study, she always sends a jar home every Christmas.”
“Oh, that’s… so thoughtful, dear,” Padmé stuttered, cutting in quickly. Anakin looked close to tears. Perhaps agreeing to let everyone open one present on Christmas Eve hadn’t been her greatest idea…
“Yes, thoughtful,” Anakin breathed, forcing a smile. “Ben has always had the best gift ideas, too. He always sends me the most thoughtful things. He graduated top of his class and even bought us matching rings to celebrate.”
Sheev narrowed his eyes. “Rey was on the honour roll every year. Poor dear rarely had any time for herself to think about frivolous things.”
Anakin’s smile twitched. “Ben worked two jobs to get through law school, and I still got a gift every holiday. He was also named valedictorian of his year.”
“Well,” Sheev said, stepping closer like a duelist about to strike, “Rey never needed an occasion to send me a gift.”
Anakin’s face paled as he clenched his fists. “Well, neither did Ben!”
“Okay, who’s ready for some apple pie?!” Padmé cut in, stepping smoothly between her husband and Rey’s grandfather before someone ended up Force-choked.
“Sounds great!” Rey and Ben blurted in unison before leaping to their feet and practically jogging toward the kitchen.
“Wonderful!” Padmé said with a relieved sigh. “Everyone-including you, Ani- into the kitchen!”
9 PM
Anakin was exhausted. After faking niceties all evening and spending all afternoon looking for the perfect Christmas tree- and having it mysteriously almost crush him when they were sawing it down- there was nothing more that he desired than getting into his soft bed and passing out. Some of his family were still in the kitchen eating, while the rest had wandered outside to lounge in the hot tub. Finally, there was peace.
He stepped into his room and, without hesitation, dropped the jar of colourful sand straight into the trash can by the door.
“I do hope that was an accident,” a voice hissed behind him.
Anakin jumped nearly a foot in the air before whipping around.
“What are you doing—” he sputtered, then froze, clapping his hands over his eyes. “Oh my god. My eyes!”
Sheev Palpatine was standing in the bathroom doorway, dripping wet.
“Why are you here?” Anakin gagged. “Why are you naked?”
“The water in my bathroom isn’t working,” Sheev said casually, crossing his arms with alarming confidence as water dripped onto the floor. “Conveniently, your grandson said I was more than welcome to use yours.”
“Don’t you have a towel or something you could put on?” Anakin wailed.
Sheev’s smirk widened. “No. Forgot mine in my room.”
“Well, hurry up and explain yourself!” Anakin bellowed, peaking between his fingers.
“Explain myself?” Sheev repeated.
“What are you doing here?” Anakin growled.
“Well, isn’t that just the question of the day?” Sheev said, stepping closer. “When I got out of the hospital after our little incident, I moved to England and settled down. Imagine my surprise when I found out that my angel of a granddaughter was dating the grandson of the man who defrauded and stole millions from so many innocent people.”
Anakin went pale. “You made me do that. You made me sign those documents. You told me it was the only way to save my marriage!”
“All ancient history now, wouldn’t you say?” Sheev sneered. “But the fact remains. I won’t have my granddaughter tied to a felon.”
Anakin stood frozen as Palpatine strolled past him, pausing in the doorway like a vulture about to take flight.
“Well, Anakin,” Sheev said, turning back with a chilling smile, “if you honestly thought I’d let my darling granddaughter marry your grandson, then I’ve given you far too much credit.”
Once alone again, Anakin flopped down onto his bed, thinking about his grandson.
I’m sorry, Ben.
Tomorrow, he would do everything in his power to stop the wedding.