Chapter Text
Here's a story I started a little over a year ago. Med school has kept me very busy, but I wanted to put out some of this work and update Pieces while I had the time over break.
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Another weekend, another wedding for someone he’s never met. Having a wife who is likeable, sociable, and well connected means you end up attending lots of charity events, weddings, and funerals of people you’ve never heard about. Well, Han will claims he’s never heard of them and Leia will remind him that he sat next to them for four hours at an auction last weekend. He has a hard time keeping track of his wife’s friends, because in his opinion she had too many. For some reason, Amilyn is the only one he could remember consistently. It had been the same way with his son. Ben once brought his friend Poe over and from then on, as far as Han was concerned, any friend Ben brought over was likely Poe Dameron.
“Leia, could you please remind me who is getting married?,” Han asks, trailing behind her as she leads them into a ballroom of the Four Seasons. Whose ever wedding it is, they spared no expense. Nice venue was a good sign. Usually means nice food and nice booze.
“For the last time, it’s Linda Tico’s daughter Rose,” she says. “I’ve never actually met Rose, but I’ve been in bridge club with Linda for five years now. You just need to sit through the ceremony, get free food and drinks, and then we will go. No whining. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I know the drill. This ain’t my first rodeo,” he says cracking a smile. He watches as Leia waves to someone across the room before taking a seat just off the center aisle.
It’s still a good twenty minutes until the ceremony begins and several staff members and members of the bridal party are still milling about. There’s a few men standing off to the side presumably part of the wedding party, and the one facing out catches Han’s attention.
“Hey, Leia,” he says, elbowing her softly. “Is that Poe Dameron?”
She sighs. “Han, you’ve never been good with names. I don’t think you’d know Poe Dameron if he punched you in the face.”
“Seriously, look.” She looks toward where he’s pointing and cocks her head.
“You know....it could be. I haven’t seen that boy in probably fifteen years.” She picks up the wedding program and starts flipping through it. “Well, I’ll be damned. Han, you were right,” she says, pointing to a section of the program.
Sure enough, his name was there. However, that wasn’t the only name that caught his attention.
Groomsmen:
Poe Dameron
Nicholas Gander
Anthony Miller
Benjamin Solo
Max Tico
“Leia, look.” She scans the remainder of the list, eyes widening when getting to the name of interest. Her face pales and she hastily begins looking around the room, hoping to get a glimpse of her son for the first time in almost eleven years. It doesn’t take long. A very tall man enters through one of the side doors and both Han and Leia immediately recognize him as their son.
“He looks so grown up,” Leia whispers. Han had to agree. Ben had been a gangly teen, but very much grew into his looks during college. However, the confidence never followed along. But the man who just walked into that room exuded confidence.
They watch as he approaches Poe Dameron who, to their shock, turns around and points towards them. Ben claps Poe on the shoulder and begins to make his way towards them. He cuts through the row in front of them and sits himself in the seat directly in front of them.
“Hi.” Han’s mind goes numb. Hi. The first thing his son has said to them in nearly eleven years.
“Ben?,” Leia whispers. She grabs for his hand and surprisingly he lets her take it.
“Uh, yeah. It’s me. Here I am,” he says, quietly. “I noticed your name on the guest list this morning. I didn’t know earlier than that. I would...I would have found a way to let you know. I didn’t want the ceremony to start without saying something to you.”
“How have you been? Where have you been?,” Leia asks.
“I’m good. I live on the upper east side,” he says quickly. “Are you good? You both look good.”
“Yeah kid, we’re good,” Han says. He’s never had a way with words and knows that his son doesn’t either. With the way things ended, he’s surprised Ben’s talking to them at all. A good surprise though. A really good surprise.
“You’re good and you live on the upper east side. After eleven years, that’s all we get?,” Leia whispers, her voice pained.
“Leia,” Han says quietly.
Ben bites the inside of his cheek, pausing to give himself time to formulate a response. “Let’s get dinner sometime, okay? I understand this is hard for you. This is hard for me. This isn’t an ideal environment for this conversation, so let’s not do it today.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “So, I’m gonna rip off another band-aid here. The groom, Finn, is my brother-in-law. I’m married to his sister. This is a big day for my family and I don’t want any drama that will distract from this day. We aren’t going to get into my marriage or my personal business today, but we can soon. I promise you we can soon. But, please just give us space today. Rey will probably come up and introduce herself to you. She’s a good person. The best person I know.”
Leia sucks in a huge breath. “You’re married. You got married and didn’t bother to let your parents know,” Leia said. Her face is stoic as always, but her tone is deadly. “But we aren’t talking about that today apparently. Are you free Wednesday at 7 for dinner?”
“Yes. Yes I can do that.”
Her facade breaks and a tear springs to her eye. “Okay.”
“Okay,” Ben says, nodding. “You have anything more to say, dad?”
Han had a lot he could say or ask. So he defaults to something lighthearted. “Your girl. She pretty?”
“No, she’s beautiful,” Ben responds. With that, he gets up and heads back towards the front of the room.
Han turns toward his wife. “Sweetheart, I know you’re mad, but I think it’s a good thing that he’s talking to us. I think it’s good he’s willing to meet with us.”
“I’m not mad Han. I am devastated,” she bites back. He understands....really he does. Her son may be back in her life, but she’s missed a major milestone. One she would have cherished. Han however, feels relieved. Ben took time to warm up to others and often had trouble making friends. So, Ben having a wife means that Ben hasn’t spent the last eleven years of his life alone and, to Han, that is a great source of comfort.
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The processional starts as most do. The families enter. Several small children serve as the flower girls. There is one of them that has a full head of thick, curly black hair. Han has a sinking suspicion that a wife wasn’t the only thing Ben had been keeping from them. Luckily, Leia seems to be too distracted to notice.
When the first bridesmaid enters, Leia quickly identifies her as the bride’s older sister Paige. The second woman is young with a peppy walk, bright smile, and smattering of freckles. “You think that’s her?” Leia whispers in his ear.
“I do,” he says, jerking his head towards the front of the room. There, his son stands with the biggest smile on his face.