Chapter Text
Eternity was in our lips and eyes,
Bliss in our brows’ bent, none our parts so poor
But was a race of heaven. They are so still,
Or thou, the greatest soldier of the world,
Art turned the greatest liar.
- Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1, Scene 3, William Shakespeare
Rey was tired, sweaty, covered in thick makeup and fake cuts and bruises all over her body and face. The clothes she was wearing were ratty, like the ones she grew up in at the foster home in New York City. Except these clothes were made to look ratty. They were custom clothes made to look as if she was just in a fight with someone and barely won.
She was in the middle of filming The Resistance in Prague. Cameras and building exteriors blown to bits were around her, cars that were intentionally flipped over, and deliberate fires being extinguished could still be heard in the background. It was the third day of shooting this sequence, the 75th day of filming the production, and today was Rey Niima’s 28th birthday.
The surrounding did not match the celebration going on. A big sheet cake was wheeled out, big bunches of balloons attached to the tray, and clapping and singing just drowned out the sound of the last fires extinguishing. Rey covered her gross face with her gross hands to hide her embarrassment. She knew that people would know it was her birthday, it’s kind of peoples’ jobs here on set to know the events and to keep the production lighthearted in the midst of the political drama they were filming.
Rey didn’t expect such a big production for her birthday especially when they were in the midst of filing such a pivotal sequence of the movie. Her character, Kira Erso, would be caught in the middle of a gun fight between the Siths and the Jedis, and she would be the one to shoot the final shot to end it all, having figured out who the bad guy really was. This scene was scheduled to take two straight weeks of filming, involving explosives and stunts and more extras. It was a sequence that would take place in different settings on the same street, in offices, in alleys, on the street, on the rooftop, and they needed to get the sequence perfect.
So when a colorful sheet cake was rolled out, Rey was not prepared but she was grateful nonetheless. The cast and crew sang a loud Happy Birthday to their heroine, laughing and cheering as she turned another year older. Rey had never had such a large birthday celebration. They were always small celebrations, with a cupcake or one year as a senior in high school, the Organa/Solo family took her out to a nice dinner complete with a nice cake. The birthday hoopla was new but not unwelcome, especially since she’d have to get used to all the attention.
She’d starred in a few Broadway shows already, nothing headlining, but her big break was this high budget, high profile movie. The Resistance was Christopher Nolan’s next baby and if it was like any of his other movies, it’d be a hit and would catapult her to stardom. A no-name, a no-one born in London, ended up Brooklyn with no record of parents, shuffled between foster families until she was 16 and was only able to attend a prestigious boarding school due to a generous donation by the mayor at the time, which paved her way to attend NYU for acting and nab background parts in off-Broadway productions. Eventually, with persistent auditioning and bartending between auditions, she had main ensemble parts that garnered her more attention. Her stint as Vivienne Kensington on Legally Blonde the Musical caught the attention of casting directors working for Christopher Nolan. She auditioned, she went back to her bartending job when Legally Blonde ended, caught more auditions, and waited for months until she was offered a role in The Resistance.
Suddenly, Rey had a schedule, a sizable bank account, able to move into a decent apartment still in Brooklyn, and an assistant that kept track of her soon busy schedule. Her bartending job was no more as she had physical training for three months before shooting would begin. There were some fittings, some chemistry reads between her co-stars, some PR training, but mostly she lived in the gym and only saw her trainer Jyn. Her life became preparing for this movie that would change her life.
The 75th day of production ended with Rey’s birthday celebration, allowing everyone to enjoy some cake on set and then a dinner party that took over an entire restaurant in Prague. Everyone on set that day as well as some of Rey’s costars that weren’t filming that day showed up to the fancy restaurant closed off to the public.
Though it was Rey’s party, she stayed in the background, simply listening to other peoples’ conversations around her than being the center of attention. She’d gotten know her costars well enough in friendly settings but as the alcohol flowed around the restaurant, it seemed that everyone got a bit looser.
“This is a dream,” Finn Storm was saying, waving around his glass of champagne. “I never thought I’d be in a movie. A Nolan movie! In Prague! We were in Australia just a month ago! Are we going to wake up from this dream?”
“I hope not,” Rey smiled, taking a drink of her own champagne. “I don’t want to go back to bartending if I can help it.”
“You would never go back to that,” Paige Tico, eyes a bit glossy but very happy, said. “You’re too beautiful for that. Your career is going to explode, honey. So many movie deals, probably some awards for this movie, you’ll never be the same again. You won’t be able to go to the grocery store without paparazzi.”
Rey felt nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it was the alcohol causing her to feel a bit red in the face or maybe the fact that she’d just been told straight up how different her life would be. She wanted to act, to be a name that people would recognize right away. All she ever wanted was to play characters to get a chance to be a different person, even if it were just for movies that lasted two hours. But she wasn’t sure if she was ready to let this anonymity go.
What did I get myself into?
Instead of spiraling into her thoughts, Rey downed her champagne and asked for another.
They were in Rey’s hotel suite now, a few hours after the party ended. Finn, Paige, a few crew members around the same age, and Rey sat in the living room area of her suite, all nursing bottles of wine and for Rey, some whiskey.
She’d lost count of how many drinks she’d had and frankly, she didn’t care. It was her birthday. She’d never let loose like this before in her life, always choosing to be in control, but if she wasn’t going to party in Prague, while filming a $100 million movie, then where would she?
It took almost half a bottle of Prague’s finest whiskey and a question from Finn that started the whole debacle.
“What’s still on your bucket list, Rey? You’re 28 now. Was there something you wanted to accomplish by this age and haven’t?”
That was the question. And with that question, Rey’s thoughts went back ten years prior to her senior prom. She’d made a promise with someone. A silly promise, one that she never thought they’d go through with. Ever. Cause it was silly then and silly now.
“I wanted to be married by 28,” Rey started giggling. “Oh my god, I can’t believe I thought 28 was old back then."
“I wanted to be married with at least three kids by now,” Paige said, pointing her bottle of beer at Rey. She was currently lounging on an entire love seat, with definitely no plans to move. “I’m 32. I can’t even take care of myself yet.”
Everyone in the room laughed, Rey more so, thinking about this promise she made ten years ago. No one had asked what it was, but Rey took it upon herself to tell everyone. Sitting up slowly, she recounted the story, of how she and Ben Solo promised to get married when they were both 28 if they weren’t married yet.