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When Rey was a little girl, she used to dream of her parents. It was how she got through the scorching heat of Jakku and the daily scent of Unkar Plutt’s smelly armpits. She was small when she was young—fitting into the tiniest spaces was her specialty—and she imagined her parents coming, finding her crawling through places no one else could reach, and feeling proud of what she had achieved.
She hated sand. It was coarse and rough, and irritating, and it got everywhere.
She preferred water, something she didn’t understand since water was scarce on Jakku.
She dreamed of her parents arriving one day, of being told she was a little princess living in a castle, and that she was loved.
It was one day while scavenging that she heard the noise of a ship engine. It landed near her modest home, kicking up dust everywhere. Grabbing her staff, she approached the ship, shaped like a Gungan face. There was a logo on the side, with the words “Oie Boie!” written in red, and the image of a Gungan and a Dug in a position Rey had never seen before.
It felt like it was calling her. Calling her home.
The ramp lowered, armored men walking down, stopping a few feet away from her.
“Your Grace,” one of them said, bowing. “We’ve come to collect you. It is time for you to return home. Your father has been looking for you.”
“My father?” Rey’s voice cracked. Could this really be it? Had her parents finally returned to her?
“Who are you?” she asked. “And who is my father?”
The men shuffled on their feet. “We’re not at liberty to say at this time. Please board with us and we’ll take you to meet him.”
Rey blinked. “What?”
The troopers looked at one another before turning back to her.
“Please board the ship Your Grace.”
Rey shook her head, confused. What was happening? She frowned at the logo again, narrowing her eyes at the gungan on the side. Didn’t gungans come from Naboo? She had heard passing talk through the years.
She straightened. What was she standing around for? There were people coming to take her off this planet and to somewhere hopefully not covered in sand. Picking up her staff, she ran past the guards and into the belly of the ship.
#
Rey spent most of the trip peppering the guards with questions about her parents, but no matter how many questions she asked, they wouldn’t answer any of them.
Why was it such a big secret?
After what felt like forever, they finally dropped out of lightspeed. Rey gasped at the planet in front of them. It was green and blue, not a patch of sandy brown anywhere. Her eyes were drawn to the blue. So much water.
Once the ship landed, in a city filled with beautiful architecture, flowers, and waterfalls, Rey eagerly disembarked. Her eyes roved around, trying to take in everything at once. She halted at the end of the ramp when her eyes landed on a group of Gungans standing next to what appeared to be Naboo officials.
“Are yousa Rey?” A gungan stepped forward, tripping on nothing and nearly falling onto his face.
“Uh.” Rey watched the gungan right himself. “Yes, I’m Rey.”
Before she knew what was happening, the gungan threw his arms around her, picking her up and swinging her back and forth.
“Oie Boie, meesa most excited to meeta yousa!”
Rey squirmed, trying to unpin her arms, which were trapped in the gungan’s grip.
“Put me down, please.”
The gungan put her down immediately. She stumbled back a few steps.
“Who are you?” she asked.
The gungan grew serious. “Meesa yousa’s dada.”
Rey shook her head. “I’m sorry, what? My...what?”
“Yousa Rey Rey Binks!” The gungan threw his arms out as if his news was a wonderful surprise. “Meesa Jar Jar Binks. Meesa yousa dada!”
Rey blinked, her limbs frozen as the shock ran through her. He was what now?
“But… but… how?” she said, stuttering as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
The gungan’s face—Jar Jar, that was his name, she reminded herself—grew serious.
“Meesa a gungan. Yousa other dad isa dug. When yousa wasa a baby, a evil man try to kill yousa, so weesa sent yousa away. And now yousa back!”
Her other… dad?
This had to be a joke. She knew how babies worked. You needed a male and female to procreate.
“But what about my mom?” She asked, hoping not to offend him. He waved his hand, letting her know she was supposed to follow him.
They walked in the direction of a beautiful castle, and she wondered if this was some sort of sick joke the universe had decided to play on her.
“Yousa don’t has a mom,” Jar Jar finally spoke. Her eyebrows shot up in response. “weesa paid someone to carry yousa. Yousa can be a dug, yousa can be a gungan. Meesa don’t know.”
Her head was spinning. She had seen pictures of dugs before. They didn’t look very human either. I must have gotten my human looks from the woman that carried me, she thought.
She was led through a door and into a dining hall. The table was full of more food than she had ever dared dream of, and she had to stop herself from rushing to it. She wouldn’t show weakness, just in case she needed to make a run for her life. The gungan claimed to be her dad, but she still wasn’t sure what he meant by her not having a mother.
But she could figure that out later...first she wanted to eat.
She calmly followed him and sat down, eating everything he ate—proof that nothing was poisoned. Neither of them spoke as they ate, and soon she was fuller than she had ever been.
“How do you know it’s me?” she asked, curiosity finally returning now that her belly was full.
“Yousa hair,” he spoke, pointing at her three buns “yousa hair isa gungan tradition.”
She contemplated for a second, realizing that she had indeed had her three buns for as long as she could remember.
Jar Jar spoke again. “If yousa is half gungan, yousa ganna transform underwater”
She… what?
“Come, come,” he said, extending his hand. “Weesa is goin go for a swim”
#
Rey approached the water, eyeing it. She grew up on Jakku, where they were lucky enough to collect enough water to drink. She’d never even had a proper bath or shower, just using a little water to wipe herself down.
Jar Jar treaded water in the middle of what looked like a pond. He gestured to her.
“Come, come.”
“Uh…” Rey glanced around, her face heating. “I don’t know how to swim.”
Jar Jar’s eyes widened. “Yoosa no liken water?”
Rey shook her head. “No. It’s not that. There just wasn’t any water on Jakku.” She cleared her throat. “May-Maybe I’m a Dug.”
Jar Jar swam over, much faster than Rey thought it was possible to swim. “Iffen yousa steppen in da water, yousa find out iffen yousa a Gungan.”
Rey shook her head again. “I don’t know how to swim.”
“Yousa no needin to swim. Step in da water, and iffen yousa a Gungan, yousa know how to swim.”
Rey frowned. “I’ve been around water before and nothing happened.”
The gungan shook his head. “No. Water on dis planet issa for Gungans. No water on Jakku makin yousa a Gungan.”
Rey took a deep breath. This was insanity. It had to be a joke...but, once more eying the water, she dipped first one foot and then the other.
It’s hard to explain what exactly happened next, but it felt like her whole body took a long drink the instant her skin touched the water. It felt like she was properly hydrated for the first time in her life. Taking a deep breath she stepped forward once more, enjoying the feel of the water on her skin.
The bank sloped sharply and before she realized it, she took one step and her head went completely under water.
She panicked, inhaling a gasp just before she sunk below the surface of the water.
Except...it felt fine, normal even, to hold her breath. Her whole body tingled as she looked around. The murky water didn’t sting her eyes.
She jumped when Jar Jar swam in front of her, gesturing for her to follow him.
She swam with an unrestrained joy. This was better than she had ever imagined. Looking ahead, she saw floating chambers in bubbles and followed Jar Jar to one of them. Entering, she realized there was no water inside the chambers.
She looked around, taking everything in. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she spotted a mirror, and saw her reflection in it.
Her features had changed—she had grown taller, her ears had grown longer, her face resembling that of a duck. Her muzzle was long, teeth big, and her nose had disappeared, becoming flat on her face. Her eyes had grown taller as well, the sockets resembling two short thumbs.
She looked… she looked like a gungan.
Looking straight ahead again, she saw Jar Jar looking at her, wiping his eyes.
“Missa baby,” he sniffled. “A gungan. Yousa looken beautiful.”
She felt her face heating and grew uncomfortable—she wasn’t used to compliments, especially when she looked more like a two-legged frog than the person she was used to seeing in the mirror.
“What is this place?” she asked, looking around.
“Da Gungan city!” Jar Jar exclaimed happily, waving his arms around. “Weesa is here to talk about yousa marriage.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “My marriage?!”
Jar Jar nodded excitedly. “Yes. Yousa marriage to prince Ben Solo.”
“To…who?” she asked nervously. She had just found out she was the daughter of a Gungan and a Dug. This was too much information for one day.
“Prince Ben Solo!” He said. “Heesa is da son of Princess Leia. Heesa granma good friend a mine.” His countenance fell. “She died long time ago.” He perked back up, shaking his head. “But thatan make Ben Solo one of the Naboo. Yoursa marriage has been arrange since yousa birth. Weesa is meet him tomorrow!"
Rey glanced back at the mirror, flinching at her reflection. “I can’t marry someone I don’t know. I just found out that I’m not even human, and now you’re telling me that I’m stuck in some sort of arranged marriage?”
Jar Jar nodded solemnly. “Yousa Gungan, but yousa human too. Yousa can do what no Gungan done and marry the Naboo.”
Rey shook her head, confused. “Why am I the only one who can marry one of the Naboo?”
Jar Jar shrugged. “Gungan and Naboo anatomy, uh…” He tapped his fingers together, looking uncomfortable. “They no compatible.”
Rey blinked at him, processing his odd speak. “Are you saying that I’m the only gungan compatible with humans?”
Jar Jar nodded. “That issa correct.”
Rey crossed her arms. “Then how do I even exist if the anatomy doesn’t match.”
Jar Jar made a little swirling motion with his finger. “Yousa no come from sex with human. Yousa come from swirling gungan, dug, and human together in dish. And,” he threw his arms out, “whalah! Yousa exist."
Rey snorted. This whole thing was ridiculous, and she would have called the gungan crazy if she wasn’t currently eyeing herself in the mirror.
She looked hideous.
Sighing, she turned back to Jar Jar. “Ok, fine. So I am the first gungan with a human vagina. That doesn’t explain why I’m being forced to marry a stranger.”
Jar Jar sighed, motioning for Rey to follow him as he walked over to some sort of strange couch thing. He sat, and Rey sat next to him.
“Ben Solo’s granma, Padme, she wasa first Naboo to treat Gungans like equals.” His face fell again. “She good Naboo queen. I very sad when she die.” He shook his head. “But, other queens no treat Gungans like Padme. We Gungans issa original here. Naboo issa invaders. But iffen yousa marry Ben Solo, then weesa become family and Naboo hafta treat Gungans as equals.”
Rey took a deep breath, trying to process all the information dumped on her. She had to marry someone in order to unite the two peoples of a planet. How hard could it be, right? She just had to get along with this guy, stay married. Who said she couldn’t just do whatever she wanted after the marriage anyway.
“Okay. So. I just have to marry this… Bun Solo guy, or whatever his name is, right?” She asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Ben Solo,” Jar Jar corrected her. “Yousa is to marry Ben Solo, and maken lotta babies.”
“Whoa whoa.” Rey’s eyes widened. “Nobody said anything about babies.”
Jar Jar nodded enthusiastically. “Yousa maken babies. Meesa needen heirs.”
Rey groaned. Life on Jakku had been much easier than this.
#
“Where is my other father?” She asked, looking at Jar Jar. She had been on Naboo for a standard day, and they were on their way to meet with her future husband, but she still hadn’t met Sebulba, her other father.
Did he not want to meet her?
Jar Jar sighed and his eyes grew sad. “Heesa dead.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling bad. She had thought he didn’t want to meet her and instead he was dead. She felt a sudden ache in her chest, sadness for the parent she never got to meet.
“Heesa woulda loven yousa.” Jar Jar said, stroking her cheek gently. “Heesa a great dada when yousa wasa baby.”
She smiled, wanting to say more, when their small transport ship stopped in front of the royal palace. Jar Jar got out first, and she took his hand, stepping out of the small vehicle.
The palace was beautiful, pastel blues and peachy colors and greens. Would she live here? Was this her future home?
They walked down a long hall and stopped in front of a big door. The guards in front of it parted ways and the door opened, letting them in.
They walked down a wide corridor, Rey struggling to pay attention to where they were going as she took in the opulence. Jar Jar had told Rey earlier that they would be meeting in the Naboo’s palace, and Rey couldn’t help but wonder again if this Bun—Ben—whatever—Solo had a home like this. Was he used to finery.
Rey glanced down at herself. Her dress—ugh a dress—hung strangely on her body now that she had become human again. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the fact that swimming in the waters of Naboo made her change shape, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved to find the change wasn’t permanent.
Eventually, they were led to a door, which was pulled open by two guards. Rey’s stomach felt like she had swallowed rocks as Jar Jar walked inside. She followed awkwardly behind him, wondering if other Gungans also had his strange gait.
Her throat ran dry when Jar Jar stopped, and she stepped next to him, seeing the man standing with an older woman and the queen of the Naboo. He was hot. Like...really hot. She was going to marry this guy?
Someone cleared their throat, and Rey realized she was staring with her mouth open. She quickly closed it, shifting awkwardly on her feet. She glanced at the queen. Was she supposed to be bowing?
She tugged on the cuff of her dress, swallowing, trying to remoisten her throat and ignore other moist...areas.
“Thank you both for coming.” The queen nodded to both of them. Rey tried not to stare at her elaborate makeup and clothing.
Jar Jar placed a hand on her shoulder. “Weesa thankan you royal highness. This issa me daughter, Rey Rey Binks.”
The older woman stepped forward. “It’s very nice to meet you, Rey Rey. I’m Leia.”
Rey cleared her throat. “Just one Rey is fine.”
Leia smiled, nodding and then gesturing towards the hot man next to her. “This is my son, Ben Organa Solo.”
The man—Ben—stepped forward, surprising her by grabbing her hand and pressing a kiss on her knuckles.
“It’s nice to meet you, Rey.”
Fuck . His voice.
“Nice to meet you.” Rey winced when her voice came out sounding like a frog croaking.
How apropos, since Ben would eventually find out she could turn into a frog-like creature.
Ben’s face was difficult to read, but she watched him swallow, his jaw ticking as he stepped back.
Maybe he thought she was hideous.
Rey stood taller. Fuck him and his gorgeous voice. She may not be the grandchild of a queen, but she wasn’t hideous. Not in her human form at least.
He wasn’t perfect either. His ears stuck out.
(She ignored the fact that she still found them hot.)
They made small talk as her father and his mother chatted about the wedding. He was a quiet type—calligraphy, history books, keeping to himself. She told him about her life on Jakku and the moment her father’s people came to retrieve her.
They got along fairly well, and she could imagine herself married to him regardless of the lack of feelings. It didn’t hurt that he was extremely hot.
She wondered if he was aware of her occasional transformation into a Gungan.
When all was said and done, it was decided they were to be wed in a month’s time.
Until then, Rey had plenty of time to herself.
The month passed in a flurry. She swam a lot, learned about her gungan culture, her late father Sebulba—a famous pod racer who, coincidentally enough, had once raced against Ben’s own grandfather—life on Naboo. Her father Jar Jar tried to connect with her plenty of times, and so far they were getting along fairly well.
She had met with Ben on several occasions, growing closer to him the more time she spent with him. She had assumed their marriage would be lack feelings but she was wrong. The more time she spent with Ben—the more she got to know him—the stronger her feelings got, until a month later, she was craving more time with him.
She never told him she transformed into a gungan underwater, and he never brought it up either. She just hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed when he found out. She didn’t think she could take Ben’s rejection.
#
Just like that, a day turned into a week, which turned into a month, and it was her wedding day.
They had decided that the ceremony would take place at the queen’s palace and the reception in the gungan city. The waterways of Naboo were filled with boats waiting to take guests to the underground city.
Rey was more than a little nervous about Ben’s reaction when he saw her in the water. She had been careful not to get too close to the water on the few times they had walked near the waterways, but there would be no hiding it once they were married. They were going to swim to the gungan city, Rey as a gungan, and Ben with an aquata breather.
Rey sighed as her hair was arranged into a traditional Naboo style, though she thought it a little silly since the moment it hit the water, it would just turn into a waterlogged mess.
She turned her head when Jar Jar made a noise, her eyebrows rising at the sad look in his eyes.
“What is it?”
Jar Jar brushed tears from his eyes. “Yousa is muy muy beautiful.”
Rey’s cheeks heated as warmth spread through her chest. “Thank you.”
“Iffen only Sebulba could see.”
Rey smiled awkwardly, ducking her head at the mention of the father she never had a chance to meet.
When her hair and makeup were finished, she was helped into her wedding dress. In true Naboo style, it was very elaborate, layers upon layers of lace. It weighed a ton, and not for the first time did Rey wonder how she was going to swim with it on.
The time arrived and Rey took the arm of her father and walked into the hall. The guest list had been massive, filled with every important Naboo and Gungan, as well as family and friends of her and Ben’s parents.
“It’sa time,” Jar Jar whispered, patting her arm. Rey’s heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest.
Also, keeping pace with her father’s interesting gait was...challenging.
When she was close enough, she looked at Ben and felt her nerves disappear. He looked like the prince that he was, standing in his Chandrillan finery. But it was the look on his face that melted her fears. His mouth was parted as he watched her drawing near, his eyes wide.
When she took his hand, she saw color high on his cheeks as he gazed down at her. The officiant cleared his throat, and they both started, turning toward the man.
Rey didn’t really remember much about the wedding, too fixed on the man standing next to her, holding her hand, looking in her eyes as they exchanged vows.
Before she knew it, they were pronounced man and wife. Rey tilted her face up, her heart pounding. They had gotten to know one another over the past month, but neither had been brave enough to kiss.
Ben searched her face, the corner of his mouth lifted as he leaned down. Rey, without thinking it through, placed her hand on his cheek, stood on her toes, and closed the distance between them. Ben immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.
Time stood still once more, neither of them aware of their audience until an awkward applause broke out.
They broke apart, Rey biting her lip against a smile. Ben smiled unabashedly, making her heart beat rapidly and her stomach flip.
Her father stood, coming to stand next to them and facing the audience.
“An now, iffen yousa all would come to Gungan City, to muy big party to celebrate meesa daughter and her new husband.”
Butterflies—and not the good kind—broke out in Rey’s stomach as Ben clasped her hand tightly and walked down the aisle, through a long corridor, and outside to the waterways.
They stepped up to the spot designated for their entrance. Ben pulled the aquata breather out of his pocket, and Rey broke out in a sweat.
He placed the aquata breather in his mouth and then turned to Rey, concern immediately covering his expression as he likely saw the fear in hers. Rey opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
When Ben started to reach up to take the aquata breather out of his mouth, Rey jumped, pulling him into the water behind him.
As soon as she entered the water, she kicked her legs, feeling her body tingle as she transformed into a Gungan. She didn’t look back, tugging Ben behind her.
Only when he pulled on her hand did she stop. They were too far into the water to return to the top and speak. Ben’s eyes were wide with shock as he took in her new appearance.
Rey mouthed the word sorry, and Ben frowned, shaking his head. He seemed frustrated by his inability to speak and started swimming again, pulling her behind him.
Rey pondered what his head shake meant as they traveled, now swimming side by side, to the glittering globes of the gungan city.
When they stepped through to the reception venue, Ben immediately removed the breather.
“Rey. Why didn't you tell me?”
She was both surprised and confused that his words held no anger, only confusion and hurt.
“I...I was worried,” she looked down, “that you wouldn’t like me if you knew I was a gungan.”
He snorted. “I already knew you were a gungan before we met. That’s why we got married in the first place.”
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
There was a beat of silence as she stared at her now ill-fitting and very wet wedding dress, before she felt a finger under her chin.
Looking up at Ben—who she now almost matched in height—she saw a frown on his face.
“You never have to be sorry for who you are, Rey.” His frown dissolved into a lopsided grin. “Though, it would have been nice to have a heads up that you can shape shift.”
Rey smiled back at him, her tension dissolving as he pulled her toward the waiting guests.
The reception went by in another whirl-wind. Her Gungan people were a strange lot.
When it was nearly time for Rey and Ben to depart, Jar Jar made his way back over to them. She and Ben had been pretty much attached at the hip the entire evening, but Jar Jar managed to insert himself in between them.
Wrapping an arm around each of them, he said, “Oie Boie, meesa can’t wait for teeny gungan human granchilds!.”