unexpected domesticity shipping meme. you never thought you'd have a home, at least not one you can call completely yours, no strings attached and no one lording above you or controlling you. you may not have even known what a "home" truly is, or thought you wanted one. now, there is a touch of domesticity in your life, no matter what things are like otherwise, because you have a home, though you may not have a house proper.
most importantly, you now have someone to share this new facet of life with - a partner. similar to you or completely different, relationship unspoken or unrealized, heavily romantic or understated, they are slowly but surely becoming someone indispensable to you. you never could have seen this coming. and, of course, with domesticity comes a certain amount of intimacy, perhaps even the ultimate physical intimacy...you may be open to that already or you're working up to it when you'd hardly considered it before.
whether your situation is for the long term as it stands, could end at any moment, or a mere disguise you're using to lay low, you're getting comfortable. how does that make you feel? will you it accept a new lease on life - or will you sabotauge yourself before someone else does?
— Comment with your character, preferences, what tone you want your thread to take, and whether or not your open to smut. — Reply to others.
Ben understood, but Matt didn't, and he squirmed his way out of his father's lap to run right to Rey. Ben reached for him, but just missed. "No!! Mommy go now!"
"I might need to take him outside for a moment." He mouthed sheepishly, wishing he kept his mouth shut on the whole topic of ice cream. Matt was now completely wound up. "Don't let me miss anything important."
He tucked the thrashing toddler under his arm. "Somebody's telling me they don't want any ice cream at all!"
Luckily enough, none of the other people in the waiting room really even seemed to bat an eyelash. More than likely, they'd been on the receiving end of similar tantrums, or had been around enough of them that Matt's outburst was easy enough to ignore.
"That's okay, most of the preliminaries won't take long. You won't miss anything important I promise."
As they went, Rey offered a silent apologetic little smile to the others in the waiting room, then followed the nurse into a familiar examination room, where they went through the usual routine, the weighing, blood pressure, the annoyance of having to pee in a cup, and the myriad of general questions before the doctor arrived for the physical examination.
She was definitely pregnant, and as far as the doctor was concerned, everything looked good. And since Rey had gone through all of this before with Matt, she didn't really have any questions or concerns.
About twenty minutes passed before she was able to head back out to the waiting room for Ben and Matt, and she hoped that Matt was in a better mood than he'd been in when she'd left. "They're ready, if you are."
It took the majority of those twenty minutes to get Matt to calm down. (Mostly by running off some steam up and down the hallway...) When that door opened again, he was still tucked under Ben's arm, but was pretending to fly.
"Mommy!!"
"Let's fly to Mommy! We're almost done, okay. There's something Daddy wants to see before we go."
"...Ice cream?" the little one pouted.
"And THEN ice cream."
He followed Rey back into the exam room, and Ben took a seat where he could easily see the monitors.
"We're going to watch this special TV, okay?" he hoisted his son into his lap. He remembered watching Matt this way, and how it actually gave him goosebumps.
Rey wasn't far enough along for anything to be recognizable, but the doctor would still be able to point out where the baby was and that it was alive and well. That was all he needed to know at this point.
She laughed, and held the door open wider, grateful that he was in a far better mood than when she'd left. Save for his outburst, he was doing remarkably well for having to sit through something as boring and time-consuming as a doctor's appointment.
"Yup. Just this one last thing before we go. And then you can tell me all about everything you did this morning."
Once they're situated in the examination room, the doctor explains the procedure and what they were going to be looking at, preemptively apologizing for the cold of the gel before it's applied to her stomach liberally. It was far too soon to see anything definitive, the screen shows nothing but black, and grey and white spots here and there, but the doctor seemed to feel that everything was normal and that things were developing correctly, and then - she stops. Hums a bit. Takes another look at the screen before glancing at Rey with a smile.
"Well, that is interesting."
Rey's heart dropped directly to the bottom of her stomach. In her experience, when someone, especially a doctor said that something was interesting, it usually meant anything but.
'Interesting' was never a word he liked to hear from a doctor. Anymore than his wife asking, 'what's wrong?'
Ben didn't realize how strongly or how suddenly he clenched until Matt squealed, "Daddy! Too tight!" His arms loosened and his son squirmed down to the floor.
"Sorry! Sorry!" He shook, leaning in, trying to see whatever the doctor might be seeing. Everything in the first part of the exam was all right, so what did they find now that changed all that?
"No, no, nothing's wrong." She directed their attention to the fetus, going over what she was able to discern at this early stage of development. And then to the one next to it... "You're expecting twins, Mrs. Solo."
Matt could have cried, screamed, unplugged the ultrasound machine, set off a chain reaction that caused the entire planet to implode, Ben Solo would not have moved. His jaw was on the floor in a lopsided smile and every other part of him threatened to drop right alongside it.
For a moment, time seemed to stop entirely. Rey vaguely heard Matt squeal, and even then, it sounded like it came from very far away, not a foot or so to her right. Mostly, she was steeling herself for whatever bad news was yet to come.
Although everything was still hazy, she tried valiantly to pay attention as the doctor explained just what it was that she was seeing - the screen still looked mostly fuzzy to Rey, but there was indeed one tiny white blob ... and then, another, right next to it. If not for the clarification of just what it was they were looking at, Rey never would have guessed that she was looking at their babies.
Babies.
She laughed breathlessly, finally shifting her gaze to Ben, who looked ... shocked, and thrilled, and undeniably overcome. Matt, on the floor, didn't seem to care at all. That would change once they sat him down and explained all about becoming a big brother.
"Huh. Looks like we're going to have a herd after all."
The doctor had to say it three or four more times before Ben could respond in a complete sentence. When he stood up, he almost tripped over his son while reaching out for his wife. Leaving was just as clumsy, but by the time they reached the waiting room, he was bursting with excitement. (It's easy to see where Matt gets it.)
"Rey... Rey, we're having twins. This... This calls for a celebration! No, double the celebration. Ice cream and, well, what do you want? Whatever it is, I'll make it or I'll pick it up." He bent down, and hoisted Matt into his arms. "You're going to be a big brother, Matt! You're going to have two little brothers. Or sisters. Or maybe one of each, we don't know yet."
He didn't really understand. But he did know that Daddy was beyond elated and that he was getting ice cream.
The reality of it all would sink in soon enough for everyone. But for now...
To be fair, the thought of twins hadn't been on her mind at all, despite knowing that multiples ran in Ben's family - his mother was a twin, after all! It still didn't feel real, not when the doctor says that they'll schedule extra appointments to ensure that the babies' development was on track, not when Ben took her hand and squeezed like there was no tomorrow, not even when she was cleaned off and dressed again, and all three of them were exiting the examination rooms.
It would probably take some time for the full reality of the situation to hit. Until then, Ben was right, it was time for a celebration. New babies definitely called for that sort of thing, right?
He's so excited, she can't help but laugh in return, happy to have the rest of the afternoon with her family, just as happy to celebrate their impending arrivals. Things were only going to change from here, and quickly. "Pizza. Pizza from that little place we had our first date at, do you remember? And, oh, the biggest chocolate cake possible for dessert."
Matt seemed pretty content with everything, but Rey knew that would change, too. Sometimes, he still wasn't so good with sharing, she could only imagine that reluctance would rear its ugly head when it came to sharing Mommy and Daddy's attention, too.
"From where we had our first date?" He laughed. "Anything you want, Rey."
Matt, of course, was just thrilled to be getting both ice cream and cake in one day. He didn't know what being a big brother entailed, but he was definitely liking the privileges that supposedly came with it!
Their first date was a night Ben would remember for the rest of his life. At the time, Rey was the pretty face at the coffeeshop he got fired from (and not just because he snuck her a drink every once and a while). Hell, he was two days away from getting fired from a gas station when she slipped him her phone number. They went out that weekend to a pizza place a couple of blocks from her law school. He was broke and had to ask his mother for money, which she reluctantly gave.
The whole night, Ben couldn't stop wondering what Rey, a girl who was obviously going great places in life, saw in someone like him. He didn't stop wondering that until well after they formally tied the knot.
But here, now, those thoughts were farthest from his mind - replaced by making sure Matt ate more ice cream than he wore and then letting him run it all off at the playground. He was expected to sit still an awful long time today.
It seemed an appropriate request - and, in her own little way, a private celebration of everything they'd weathered together in order to make it here. It may seem a simple sort of request, but it meant the world to Rey. "The babies have spoken, and they're in the mood for pizza from Guiseppe's."
Ice cream, cake, pizza? Matt's excitement has reached a fever pitch. It wouldn't last forever, especially once he realized that life as he knew was about to completely change, so it was best to enjoy it to the fullest.
There was something about Ben that caught her attention from the moment she walked in to her usual little coffee place and saw him behind the counter. And if she hadn't already mostly lived in the place while studying, she would have made it a point to come in then. For a while, in the moments when it wasn't busy and she wasn't caught up in her books, they talked a bit, got to know each other some, but more often than not, Rey caught herself staring, and then blushing furiously as she re-read the same paragraph in her book that she'd read seven times before.
And then he wasn't there. But somehow, in the most random places, she'd catch a glimpse, happy to be in his orbit once again. And then he'd disappear. It was their meeting at the gas station that really prompted her to act - who knew if or when she'd see him again, and it was such a long shot, but she'd give him her phone number, and hoped that he'd call.
To her great relief (and surprise), he had, and that first date had led to many more - the sorts of dates that only the perpetually broke could really find a way to enjoy. And since then, they've been pretty inseparable - despite his worries and insistence that she could do better. Rey didn't see it that way - maybe others didn't get to experience his kindness in quite the same ways that she did, but it was there, along with a capacity for love that she'd really only ever experienced with Finn, who had been her best friend for ages.
Ben was a devoted husband, the kind of engaged and dedicated parent that any kid would be lucky to have, and no, life was never perfect, but there was no one else on Earth that Rey would rather go through it with than him.
And, as they watch Matt play, hopefully exhausting himself into a peaceful, deep sleep later, she reached for his hand, lacing their fingers before settling them both against her still mostly trim stomach, sighing happily. "Our babies."
At first, he was scared of scaring her away with one of the many skeletons in his closet. Not many nice people spend a decade of their lives in a militant cult. But it wasn't sociopathy that led Ben down that path. It was insecurity. When shown kindness and compassion, he returned it in spades. The First Order used this to their advantage to maintain his loyalty and that of others like him.
Rey was different. Rey actually cared. She might have been the first person in his life he believed ever did. When Matt entered their lives a couple of years later, Ben Solo truly found where he most belonged.
He left his hand on her stomach. It was far too soon to feel anything, but he swore he could tell the difference - that kind of vitality that only their combined love could create.
"...I wonder what they'll be like." He mused aloud.
Matt looked a lot like Ben in the face. He had his nose and his big ears. The blond hair and bad eyesight, they assumed, must have been from Rey's unknown side of the family. His temperament was a lot like Ben's too, but his tenacity and drive was all his mother's. Matt was going to go places - that much he already knew.
A person's past didn't necessarily have to dictate their present, nor their future. More and more, details of their pasts were shared, and Rey never bolted, never so much as flinched the more he trusted her with. Ben had never been anything but kind, and respectful, and so gentle in a way that she'd never known before. Of course it wounded her deeply to learn that he'd spent so long trapped, and used, and manipulated, and abused. But she was adamant that for as long as he wanted to be with her, he'd never feel those things again.
He was so easy to love. And she was determined to take care of him in every way possible for whatever time they were granted together - which she hoped was for the rest of their lives. The same goes for Matt, their new babies, whatever other additions they might add to their family.
The warmth of his hand is very welcome, and so is the unspoken reassurance that no matter what, through the good and the bad and the worries and the triumphs, she didn't have to go through anything alone.
"Yeah, me too. What they'll look like - if they'll take after you or me more", she answered, chuckling wryly. "If they'll be less difficult than Matt."
Matt - Ben's blond mini-me. Matt - who sometimes reminded Rey remarkably of herself when she was little, full of a determination that was surprising for a kid his age. He had his good times and his bad times, but she truly believed that he could do anything he put his mind to.
"Do you want more boys? I have to admit, I really love the idea of you with a daughter."
Ben chuckled lightly at the image that popped in his head - sitting cross-legged under a pink table while two little mini-Reys offered him cookies. Matt was there too, with an oversized bowtie and coat jacket, touting pretend tea like a sommelier does wine. Until he snatched the cookies for himself. Because that would totally happen...
"I can just imagine you coming home from work to find four little hands trying to braid my hair, and you wanting in on it." He teased.
Poor Ben. He'd be overwhelmed in no time flat if the twins ended up to be girls just like Rey. She'd never been much of a princess, but it's a hilariously cute mental image, braided hair and painted fingernails and tea parties, all overseen by a dapper Matt. Until, of course, he ran away giggling, plundered cookies in hand. Because that would definitely happen at some point.
"Well, yeah! I've been playing with your hair longer, I absolutely get to jump in and have some fun."
Although she was still smiling, still caught up in the mental pictures, there was still something important to consider.
"We're going to have to tell your parents at some point. Maybe not yet, but ... at some point."
The thought of Daddy's little princesses made him smile, but thinking about his own parents wiped that smile right off his face.
"You remember what happened when I told them you were pregnant with Mstt, right?"
It came with mixed emotions. They were separated at the time, so his father pretty much found out through the grapevine and then praised his son for finally knocking someone up. He was drunk that first time, but he seemed genuinely happy for them in subsequent phone calls, even if he frequently told Ben not to screw this up like usual. His mother was worse. Sometimes she acted like the doting grandma to be, offering to take Rey on shopping trips for baby clothes and things. Sometimes there were the snide jabs about Ben's inability to provide financially for his family while at the same time setting back someone else's career by leaps and bounds, She was well-versed in being both civil and abusive, and then wanting to babysit.
Maybe Rey could have waited to bring up Ben's parents, but honestly, there would never have been a 'perfect' time to do so. It was something that they had to consider. It was something that eventually, they'd have to deal with.
"Yeah, I remember", she answered, muttering darkly.
How could she forget? Rey thought that it would be a happy occasion, hearing that they were going to be grandparents for the first time. Maybe she had been naive in thinking that they'd be supportive more than skeptical (and let's be honest here, hurtful, too), but still, once they began throwing those jabs, she'd been incredibly hurt to realize that they were never going to be happy, not even with a grandchild on the way.
And she could only imagine the sorts of things they'd say this time around, seemingly unconcerned about hurting Ben in the process. She'd shudder to think that they actually enjoyed tearing him down.
"Probably not", she snorted, shrugging. "But we don't have to worry about it just yet. We'll tell them when we tell mostly everybody else, when I'm safely in the second trimester. You know as well as I do how they're gonna react. We don't need that."
She paused momentarily, leaned more fully against him, and offered the hint of a smile. "I love you, okay? We're gonna be just fine."
Ben eventually came to the conclusion that he had been an accident. His parents probably didn't even want children, but ready or not, there he was - a mistake they never made again. Sometimes, he wondered why they didn't ship him off to his Uncle's sooner.
Matt wasn't really planned, but he wasn't unplanned. The decision to start thinking about children then was about the same as the decision this time around. It was just that the results came far faster after they tied the knot than anyone expected.
"I guess some of it was helpful..." He admitted sourly. In the very beginning, when Ben decided to accept the role of househusband when Rey's maternity leave came to an end, his mother came by on a regular basis. She was almost sweet. Almost. "Even if she did act like she was rescuing Matt from the scourge of bargain diapers and non-organic peas."
But they did just fine. (Without her help, he swore they would have been just fine too.) So far, Matt has grown up healthy, happy and loved.
"Daddy! Swing! Push me!! Push me!!" He came running back to their bench, tugging on Ben's pants.
The smile was back.
"Guess I'm going to have to get used to pushing more than one swing at a time." He whispered. He got up with Matt's tugging, but turned back to Rey. "Want to help me practice?"
Rey assumed much the same about herself, even though she would never really be able to find out for sure. It was another thing she and Ben had in common - another thing they did their best to ensure that Matt never felt.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't amused by the coincidence - after all, they'd conceived these babies in much the same way they had Matt - and almost just as quickly after deciding to try, too. There were those that weren't too shy to say that they were rushing into things with Matt, but the truth is, in Rey's opinion, that things happened exactly when they were meant to. Sure, it had been difficult at times, but they'd managed.
"Yeah", she replied, although she didn't sound very convinced. "When she wasn't questioning our parenting skills." And acting as though bargain diapers and non-organic peas were going to be the end of the world as she knew it. "I'd like to think she'll have mellowed out since then, but - "
Ah, Hurricane Matt arrived just in the nick of time, and there was no helping laughing at his ice cream stained face, and his excitement over the swings. She laughed, nodding, standing up slowly. it wouldn't be long before she couldn't do things like this, after all, best to enjoy them while she could. "I would be happy to."
Ben was about to mutter something about not holding his breath, but there came Matt. Suddenly, the past didn't seem as important, or even as hurtful.
He tried to wipe the last of the ice cream off his son's cheeks, but was all too quickly dragged over to the swing set. There were two open swings right next to each other, and Ben steered his son toward one of them. He was getting so big that he didn't need too much help to get on. But he still giggled when Ben lifted up his shirt collar and spoke through it in a muffled voice, "Hold on tight, Captain Solo. We're cleared for takeoff!"
He pushed Matt to get him started, and then reached for Rey's swing.
"All systems are go for launch." He pushed her a little harder and faster. It was just like when they were dating. "And wouldn't you know, you still have me seeing stars."
Matt was exceptionally good at being a distraction, and if there was ever a need for it, it would be now, before the mood darkened too much. This was supposed to be celebration, after all.
Cleaning Matt's face was a futile effort, and Rey laughed merrily as she followed along, settling herself in her swing. It was absolutely the moments like this that she lived for, the moments where they had no worries, where they could enjoy themselves as a family and to the best of their ability. Matt's laughter did wonders on her worst days.
"Roger that, Mission Control", she answered, unable to keep her lips from turning up into a grin. "Why, Mr. Solo, that was positively romantic."
He was interrupted by Matt's excited chant of "Higher! Higher!"
Ben laughed. "Only the best for both of you. Or, well, all four of you..."
He moved between the swings one they were moving fast enough. Pretty soon, there was one hand on his son's back and one on Rey's. Back and forth they went, over and over. Really, just a few more years and Matt would probably be begging to go to an amusement park for thrills like this.
"Daddy, I wanna jump!"
Ben slipped his wife one of those 'boys will be boys' expressions as he slid around the other side. Matt actually waited for Ben to stretch out his arms, but not a second more. He let himself fly off that swing and into his dad's arms. Both father and son were grinning like there was no tomorrow.
Perhaps that was a line of conversation for another time - another time when Matt was well and truly asleep, or sleeping over at Jessie's. Rey doesn't mind the interruption when Matt sounded so happy.
"It's just the five of us now" she replied, grinning widely, although the thought of their family growing by two was a little bit overwhelming.
Soon enough, she was giggling madly along with Matt, swinging higher and higher with every push and every pump of her legs. Maybe she needed more moments like this, although sooner rather than later, she'd have to content herself with just sitting on the swing rather than actually doing any swinging.
Matt was a bit of a daredevil, but Rey wasn't much worried, she knew that Ben wouldn't allow anything bad to happen if he could help it. Of course, in the moment that Matt launched himself from the swing, it felt like her heart stopped, but Ben caught him easily, and she breathed out her relief.
A twinge of guilt fell over his features, especially when Matt squealed, "again!!" This wasn't the first time he'd done this, obviously, but it did explain Matt's eagerness to climb on the furniture. Soon, he was squirming out of Ben's arms to climb back on the swing.
"Mommy jump? Daddy catch Mommy too?"
"I think you co-pilot doesn't quite share you love of skydiving." He quipped, winking back at Rey.
It was a rite of passage, wasn't it, giving in to the temptation to jump while swinging? Rey remembered doing much the same when she was small, only with a very different outcome - a broken wrist instead of strong hands holding her tight. So, while there was always that moment of breathless fear, she trusted Ben implicitly.
"Oh, no, sweetie, I'm fine right where I am", she answered, shaking her head. "Someone's gotta watch the ship while you're space-walking, after all."
She was perfectly happy just watching, perfectly content seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter, and being able to have an afternoon to experience it for herself, as well, rather than being stuck in her office as usual.
Indeed it was, and Matt couldn't get enough of it. If Mommy wasn't going to jump... "Daddy jump! Daddy jump!"
Ben laughed and hoisted his son into his lap as he took his place on the swing. He pushed off with his feet and Matt squealed in utter delight. He didn't go too high or too fast. Just enough to give a three year old a bit of a thrill.
"Better tell Mommy to close her eyes for a minute." He winked, playing it off as far more dangerous than it was. "And hold on as tight as you can."
"Close eyes, Mommy!"
Whether she did or not, he still jumped off the swing. But not having much momentum, he ended up on his butt soon after landing. Much to Matt's amusement as they both plopped down in the grass.
"The Falcon has landed. I repeat, the Falcon has landed. Next stop, pizza... Before I tear my pants."
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bakerstreet2016-05-25 09:44 am
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"I might need to take him outside for a moment." He mouthed sheepishly, wishing he kept his mouth shut on the whole topic of ice cream. Matt was now completely wound up. "Don't let me miss anything important."
He tucked the thrashing toddler under his arm. "Somebody's telling me they don't want any ice cream at all!"
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"That's okay, most of the preliminaries won't take long. You won't miss anything important I promise."
As they went, Rey offered a silent apologetic little smile to the others in the waiting room, then followed the nurse into a familiar examination room, where they went through the usual routine, the weighing, blood pressure, the annoyance of having to pee in a cup, and the myriad of general questions before the doctor arrived for the physical examination.
She was definitely pregnant, and as far as the doctor was concerned, everything looked good. And since Rey had gone through all of this before with Matt, she didn't really have any questions or concerns.
About twenty minutes passed before she was able to head back out to the waiting room for Ben and Matt, and she hoped that Matt was in a better mood than he'd been in when she'd left. "They're ready, if you are."
no subject
"Mommy!!"
"Let's fly to Mommy! We're almost done, okay. There's something Daddy wants to see before we go."
"...Ice cream?" the little one pouted.
"And THEN ice cream."
He followed Rey back into the exam room, and Ben took a seat where he could easily see the monitors.
"We're going to watch this special TV, okay?" he hoisted his son into his lap. He remembered watching Matt this way, and how it actually gave him goosebumps.
Rey wasn't far enough along for anything to be recognizable, but the doctor would still be able to point out where the baby was and that it was alive and well. That was all he needed to know at this point.
no subject
"Yup. Just this one last thing before we go. And then you can tell me all about everything you did this morning."
Once they're situated in the examination room, the doctor explains the procedure and what they were going to be looking at, preemptively apologizing for the cold of the gel before it's applied to her stomach liberally. It was far too soon to see anything definitive, the screen shows nothing but black, and grey and white spots here and there, but the doctor seemed to feel that everything was normal and that things were developing correctly, and then - she stops. Hums a bit. Takes another look at the screen before glancing at Rey with a smile.
"Well, that is interesting."
Rey's heart dropped directly to the bottom of her stomach. In her experience, when someone, especially a doctor said that something was interesting, it usually meant anything but.
"What? What's wrong?"
no subject
Ben didn't realize how strongly or how suddenly he clenched until Matt squealed, "Daddy! Too tight!" His arms loosened and his son squirmed down to the floor.
"Sorry! Sorry!" He shook, leaning in, trying to see whatever the doctor might be seeing. Everything in the first part of the exam was all right, so what did they find now that changed all that?
"No, no, nothing's wrong." She directed their attention to the fetus, going over what she was able to discern at this early stage of development. And then to the one next to it... "You're expecting twins, Mrs. Solo."
Matt could have cried, screamed, unplugged the ultrasound machine, set off a chain reaction that caused the entire planet to implode, Ben Solo would not have moved. His jaw was on the floor in a lopsided smile and every other part of him threatened to drop right alongside it.
"T..twins?"
"Yes, sir, Mr. Solo." She smiled.
"Rey... Rey, we're having twins..."
no subject
Although everything was still hazy, she tried valiantly to pay attention as the doctor explained just what it was that she was seeing - the screen still looked mostly fuzzy to Rey, but there was indeed one tiny white blob ... and then, another, right next to it. If not for the clarification of just what it was they were looking at, Rey never would have guessed that she was looking at their babies.
Babies.
She laughed breathlessly, finally shifting her gaze to Ben, who looked ... shocked, and thrilled, and undeniably overcome. Matt, on the floor, didn't seem to care at all. That would change once they sat him down and explained all about becoming a big brother.
"Huh. Looks like we're going to have a herd after all."
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"Rey... Rey, we're having twins. This... This calls for a celebration! No, double the celebration. Ice cream and, well, what do you want? Whatever it is, I'll make it or I'll pick it up." He bent down, and hoisted Matt into his arms. "You're going to be a big brother, Matt! You're going to have two little brothers. Or sisters. Or maybe one of each, we don't know yet."
He didn't really understand. But he did know that Daddy was beyond elated and that he was getting ice cream.
The reality of it all would sink in soon enough for everyone. But for now...
no subject
It would probably take some time for the full reality of the situation to hit. Until then, Ben was right, it was time for a celebration. New babies definitely called for that sort of thing, right?
He's so excited, she can't help but laugh in return, happy to have the rest of the afternoon with her family, just as happy to celebrate their impending arrivals. Things were only going to change from here, and quickly. "Pizza. Pizza from that little place we had our first date at, do you remember? And, oh, the biggest chocolate cake possible for dessert."
Matt seemed pretty content with everything, but Rey knew that would change, too. Sometimes, he still wasn't so good with sharing, she could only imagine that reluctance would rear its ugly head when it came to sharing Mommy and Daddy's attention, too.
no subject
Matt, of course, was just thrilled to be getting both ice cream and cake in one day. He didn't know what being a big brother entailed, but he was definitely liking the privileges that supposedly came with it!
Their first date was a night Ben would remember for the rest of his life. At the time, Rey was the pretty face at the coffeeshop he got fired from (and not just because he snuck her a drink every once and a while). Hell, he was two days away from getting fired from a gas station when she slipped him her phone number. They went out that weekend to a pizza place a couple of blocks from her law school. He was broke and had to ask his mother for money, which she reluctantly gave.
The whole night, Ben couldn't stop wondering what Rey, a girl who was obviously going great places in life, saw in someone like him. He didn't stop wondering that until well after they formally tied the knot.
But here, now, those thoughts were farthest from his mind - replaced by making sure Matt ate more ice cream than he wore and then letting him run it all off at the playground. He was expected to sit still an awful long time today.
no subject
Ice cream, cake, pizza? Matt's excitement has reached a fever pitch. It wouldn't last forever, especially once he realized that life as he knew was about to completely change, so it was best to enjoy it to the fullest.
There was something about Ben that caught her attention from the moment she walked in to her usual little coffee place and saw him behind the counter. And if she hadn't already mostly lived in the place while studying, she would have made it a point to come in then. For a while, in the moments when it wasn't busy and she wasn't caught up in her books, they talked a bit, got to know each other some, but more often than not, Rey caught herself staring, and then blushing furiously as she re-read the same paragraph in her book that she'd read seven times before.
And then he wasn't there. But somehow, in the most random places, she'd catch a glimpse, happy to be in his orbit once again. And then he'd disappear. It was their meeting at the gas station that really prompted her to act - who knew if or when she'd see him again, and it was such a long shot, but she'd give him her phone number, and hoped that he'd call.
To her great relief (and surprise), he had, and that first date had led to many more - the sorts of dates that only the perpetually broke could really find a way to enjoy. And since then, they've been pretty inseparable - despite his worries and insistence that she could do better. Rey didn't see it that way - maybe others didn't get to experience his kindness in quite the same ways that she did, but it was there, along with a capacity for love that she'd really only ever experienced with Finn, who had been her best friend for ages.
Ben was a devoted husband, the kind of engaged and dedicated parent that any kid would be lucky to have, and no, life was never perfect, but there was no one else on Earth that Rey would rather go through it with than him.
And, as they watch Matt play, hopefully exhausting himself into a peaceful, deep sleep later, she reached for his hand, lacing their fingers before settling them both against her still mostly trim stomach, sighing happily. "Our babies."
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Rey was different. Rey actually cared. She might have been the first person in his life he believed ever did. When Matt entered their lives a couple of years later, Ben Solo truly found where he most belonged.
He left his hand on her stomach. It was far too soon to feel anything, but he swore he could tell the difference - that kind of vitality that only their combined love could create.
"...I wonder what they'll be like." He mused aloud.
Matt looked a lot like Ben in the face. He had his nose and his big ears. The blond hair and bad eyesight, they assumed, must have been from Rey's unknown side of the family. His temperament was a lot like Ben's too, but his tenacity and drive was all his mother's. Matt was going to go places - that much he already knew.
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He was so easy to love. And she was determined to take care of him in every way possible for whatever time they were granted together - which she hoped was for the rest of their lives. The same goes for Matt, their new babies, whatever other additions they might add to their family.
The warmth of his hand is very welcome, and so is the unspoken reassurance that no matter what, through the good and the bad and the worries and the triumphs, she didn't have to go through anything alone.
"Yeah, me too. What they'll look like - if they'll take after you or me more", she answered, chuckling wryly. "If they'll be less difficult than Matt."
Matt - Ben's blond mini-me. Matt - who sometimes reminded Rey remarkably of herself when she was little, full of a determination that was surprising for a kid his age. He had his good times and his bad times, but she truly believed that he could do anything he put his mind to.
"Do you want more boys? I have to admit, I really love the idea of you with a daughter."
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"I can just imagine you coming home from work to find four little hands trying to braid my hair, and you wanting in on it." He teased.
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"Well, yeah! I've been playing with your hair longer, I absolutely get to jump in and have some fun."
Although she was still smiling, still caught up in the mental pictures, there was still something important to consider.
"We're going to have to tell your parents at some point. Maybe not yet, but ... at some point."
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"You remember what happened when I told them you were pregnant with Mstt, right?"
It came with mixed emotions. They were separated at the time, so his father pretty much found out through the grapevine and then praised his son for finally knocking someone up. He was drunk that first time, but he seemed genuinely happy for them in subsequent phone calls, even if he frequently told Ben not to screw this up like usual. His mother was worse. Sometimes she acted like the doting grandma to be, offering to take Rey on shopping trips for baby clothes and things. Sometimes there were the snide jabs about Ben's inability to provide financially for his family while at the same time setting back someone else's career by leaps and bounds, She was well-versed in being both civil and abusive, and then wanting to babysit.
"You think it would go better this time?"
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"Yeah, I remember", she answered, muttering darkly.
How could she forget? Rey thought that it would be a happy occasion, hearing that they were going to be grandparents for the first time. Maybe she had been naive in thinking that they'd be supportive more than skeptical (and let's be honest here, hurtful, too), but still, once they began throwing those jabs, she'd been incredibly hurt to realize that they were never going to be happy, not even with a grandchild on the way.
And she could only imagine the sorts of things they'd say this time around, seemingly unconcerned about hurting Ben in the process. She'd shudder to think that they actually enjoyed tearing him down.
"Probably not", she snorted, shrugging. "But we don't have to worry about it just yet. We'll tell them when we tell mostly everybody else, when I'm safely in the second trimester. You know as well as I do how they're gonna react. We don't need that."
She paused momentarily, leaned more fully against him, and offered the hint of a smile. "I love you, okay? We're gonna be just fine."
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Matt wasn't really planned, but he wasn't unplanned. The decision to start thinking about children then was about the same as the decision this time around. It was just that the results came far faster after they tied the knot than anyone expected.
"I guess some of it was helpful..." He admitted sourly. In the very beginning, when Ben decided to accept the role of househusband when Rey's maternity leave came to an end, his mother came by on a regular basis. She was almost sweet. Almost. "Even if she did act like she was rescuing Matt from the scourge of bargain diapers and non-organic peas."
But they did just fine. (Without her help, he swore they would have been just fine too.) So far, Matt has grown up healthy, happy and loved.
"Daddy! Swing! Push me!! Push me!!" He came running back to their bench, tugging on Ben's pants.
The smile was back.
"Guess I'm going to have to get used to pushing more than one swing at a time." He whispered. He got up with Matt's tugging, but turned back to Rey. "Want to help me practice?"
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It would be a lie to say that she wasn't amused by the coincidence - after all, they'd conceived these babies in much the same way they had Matt - and almost just as quickly after deciding to try, too. There were those that weren't too shy to say that they were rushing into things with Matt, but the truth is, in Rey's opinion, that things happened exactly when they were meant to. Sure, it had been difficult at times, but they'd managed.
"Yeah", she replied, although she didn't sound very convinced. "When she wasn't questioning our parenting skills." And acting as though bargain diapers and non-organic peas were going to be the end of the world as she knew it. "I'd like to think she'll have mellowed out since then, but - "
Ah, Hurricane Matt arrived just in the nick of time, and there was no helping laughing at his ice cream stained face, and his excitement over the swings. She laughed, nodding, standing up slowly. it wouldn't be long before she couldn't do things like this, after all, best to enjoy them while she could. "I would be happy to."
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He tried to wipe the last of the ice cream off his son's cheeks, but was all too quickly dragged over to the swing set. There were two open swings right next to each other, and Ben steered his son toward one of them. He was getting so big that he didn't need too much help to get on. But he still giggled when Ben lifted up his shirt collar and spoke through it in a muffled voice, "Hold on tight, Captain Solo. We're cleared for takeoff!"
He pushed Matt to get him started, and then reached for Rey's swing.
"All systems are go for launch." He pushed her a little harder and faster. It was just like when they were dating. "And wouldn't you know, you still have me seeing stars."
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Cleaning Matt's face was a futile effort, and Rey laughed merrily as she followed along, settling herself in her swing. It was absolutely the moments like this that she lived for, the moments where they had no worries, where they could enjoy themselves as a family and to the best of their ability. Matt's laughter did wonders on her worst days.
"Roger that, Mission Control", she answered, unable to keep her lips from turning up into a grin. "Why, Mr. Solo, that was positively romantic."
Made a new icon just for this thread. Lol
He was interrupted by Matt's excited chant of "Higher! Higher!"
Ben laughed. "Only the best for both of you. Or, well, all four of you..."
He moved between the swings one they were moving fast enough. Pretty soon, there was one hand on his son's back and one on Rey's. Back and forth they went, over and over. Really, just a few more years and Matt would probably be begging to go to an amusement park for thrills like this.
"Daddy, I wanna jump!"
Ben slipped his wife one of those 'boys will be boys' expressions as he slid around the other side. Matt actually waited for Ben to stretch out his arms, but not a second more. He let himself fly off that swing and into his dad's arms. Both father and son were grinning like there was no tomorrow.
Happy!Ben! We approve. :0D
"It's just the five of us now" she replied, grinning widely, although the thought of their family growing by two was a little bit overwhelming.
Soon enough, she was giggling madly along with Matt, swinging higher and higher with every push and every pump of her legs. Maybe she needed more moments like this, although sooner rather than later, she'd have to content herself with just sitting on the swing rather than actually doing any swinging.
Matt was a bit of a daredevil, but Rey wasn't much worried, she knew that Ben wouldn't allow anything bad to happen if he could help it. Of course, in the moment that Matt launched himself from the swing, it felt like her heart stopped, but Ben caught him easily, and she breathed out her relief.
"Wow! You almost flew, Matty!"
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"Mommy jump? Daddy catch Mommy too?"
"I think you co-pilot doesn't quite share you love of skydiving." He quipped, winking back at Rey.
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"Oh, no, sweetie, I'm fine right where I am", she answered, shaking her head. "Someone's gotta watch the ship while you're space-walking, after all."
She was perfectly happy just watching, perfectly content seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter, and being able to have an afternoon to experience it for herself, as well, rather than being stuck in her office as usual.
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Ben laughed and hoisted his son into his lap as he took his place on the swing. He pushed off with his feet and Matt squealed in utter delight. He didn't go too high or too fast. Just enough to give a three year old a bit of a thrill.
"Better tell Mommy to close her eyes for a minute." He winked, playing it off as far more dangerous than it was. "And hold on as tight as you can."
"Close eyes, Mommy!"
Whether she did or not, he still jumped off the swing. But not having much momentum, he ended up on his butt soon after landing. Much to Matt's amusement as they both plopped down in the grass.
"The Falcon has landed. I repeat, the Falcon has landed. Next stop, pizza... Before I tear my pants."
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