Transformation: Becoming Ben Solo (A Reylo Fanfic)

Chapter 56 - Joining

A/N - Hello Reylo Lovelies!  I have to apologize for taking so long to post this.  With the holidays coming, life's been really busy, and admittedly I really struggled with this (and the next ) chapter (hopefully it won't take me too long to post that one either :)).  Anyhow, this one is a bit longer for you, and is mostly sweet and romantic (and hopefully not boring).  I promise - the next one will have the ,"achem" smuttier adult material 😊.  As always, thank you again to everyone who has stuck with this story 💖. I really hope you like it.   Please feel free to let me know - I really do love those comments and your reactions!!   And please don't forget to vote!  Enjoy!!

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Happy thoughts flitted through Rey's mind as she sat in her bedroom late the next morning, while Leia artfully braided her hair.    She couldn't believe that this day was finally here – that it came at all with everything that had happened since Ben asked her to be his wife.   Placing a hand on her belly, she sighed in contentment.  "What do you think, baby?  Are you as happy as I am?"  She was rewarded with a soft flutter that made her smile.  "I'll take that as a yes."  She chuckled.

Continuing her musings, she wondered if it was typical for people to have such thoughts and reflections on their wedding day.   To look back on what was, and forward towards what will be.   Honestly, she was still amazed at how different her life was from what it was only one year earlier.  Before the end of the day she – Rey of Jakku - would be Rey Solo – part of a family.  Wife to her Force-bound soulmate and mother of their unborn child.

She knew that her lack of a family and a name shouldn't really matter.  Her and Ben were already bound together, and regardless of the ceremony were already each other's family – having already pledged themselves to one another on their own long ago.  But this was one of those pieces that had been missing her entire life, and in her eyes the marriage would make it official to everyone else.  She is his and he is hers.

A thread of anxiety pulsed through the bond, interrupting her train of thought.  She knew that Ben was feeling nervous – she could feel it.  Should she try to calm him?  Leia had said that it was tradition for them not to see each other until the actual ceremony, but she wasn't sure if it would be okay to talk to him.  She really wanted to reassure him, but it felt a little like cheating.  She could feel a slight nudge brush against her mind, but nothing more.  No words, no thoughts, no mental pictures came her way, so he was similarly trying to see how she was feeling, without actually speaking to her.  She smiled to herself and sent a wave of warm serenity through to him, hopeful that her feelings would help to calm him too.

A sharp tug on her hair, followed by a whispered Sorry snapped her out of her thoughts.  She looked up into the mirror as Leia continued to work.  After the men had left last night, the three women sat around just relaxing and chatting amicably, when Leia wistfully began speaking about a number of Alderaanian customs, including women's braids.  She explained how there were different braid styles that were used to symbolize all occasions – one of them being for marriage.

Rey had listened intently while Leia reminisced over her home planet's custom, and feeling inspired, decided that she wanted to wear her hair in an Alderaanian marriage braid for the ceremony.  It would honor Leia, and likely surprise Ben.  Although Alderaan wasn't his home planet – it had long since been destroyed by the time he was born – Leia had mentioned how familiar Ben was with many of the customs, including the braids.  Laughing fondly, she'd mentioned how she had taught Ben how to weave many of the braids, and that he even used to like to wear them in his own hair when he was little.  Somewhat like a Padawan's braid, but not quite.  The thought had made Rey smile.