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English
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Star Wars Rare Pairs 2024, Zia's Exchange Works
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Published:
2024-12-09
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1,196
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1/1
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Invitation

Summary:

Beru and Owen want to invite Ben to join their family.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Beru put the last piece on the table and took a step back to admire her work. It was good if she said so herself. All the proper pieces were there from the wheel of cheese she made with her own two hands, to the tea that Owen had gathered, to the bread they had baked together that morning. It was a perfect set up to properly ask someone to join their family.

All she needed was Owen and the man that they planned to ask, Ben Kenobi.

She looked at the timepiece and noted that it should be any moment that Owen would return, with Ben in tow hopefully. As long as neither of the men did or said something to annoy the other into not wanting to spend the time it would take to get back. It had happened more than once on these monthly get togethers they had scheduled with each other. Which always meant Beru going and getting him the next day. But Owen knew how important that day was for them. He wouldn't pull any stunts. Though there was no telling what Ben would do. Even though it seemed their feelings were reciprocated they could have been reading it all wrong.

Breu heard the speeder approach and then stop. She waited inside for whoever was in it to come in. She wasn't able to tell if Ben was there with her husband until she heard the distinctive sound of two pairs of boots on the steps. Part one was successful.

Owen entered first and gave Beru a smile. He was as hopeful as she was. But her heart sank just a bit when Ben entered the kitchen behind Owen with a suspicious look on his face. Owen must have been acting too far out of character in order to not scare Ben into refusing to come.

"Hello Ben," Beru said.

She walked over and gave him the hug she always did when he came over. He hugged her back as always and when she pulled away there was a smile on his face. Though she knew him well enough to see the suspicion still in his eyes. They would manage to change that soon enough.

"Hello Beru," he said. "It is lovely to see you again."

"Oh stop that. It hasn't been that long since last time."

"Every day that passes feels as though it is an eternity from my dear friend."

His tone was light and playful but she heard the thread of truth in it. And it was moments like that which had finally convinced that Owen was right about Ben feeling what they both felt as well. Or at least enough to take the next step to becoming more.

"Oh stop that you," she said, lightly tapping his arm.

She ushered him to his seat and saw a smile on Owen's face. Beru was just happy that they had found someone that didn't make him jealous to see her with. Way too many of their potential partners had had that happen to them.

Once they were all sitting Owen set about serving the tea. It was a particular pattern. The three cups set touching each other and him pouring them in a circular motion from one to the next. He started with Beru's then Ben's in the middle and last his own. Ben watched with curiosity.

"This is different," he said. "You are performing a ritual of some sort."

"Yes," Owen said, then set down the pot and handed the cups to their owners.

"Am I committing to anything if I drink?" Ben asked.

He still picked up the cup. Which made Beru get a warm feeling in her heart. Even if he wanted to make sure he trusted them enough to pick it up and be willing to listen.

"No," Beru said. "There is no obligation to anything by sharing anything from our table. But we have to partake before we can ask what we want to."

Ben nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"Is this one of those things I would know if I was actually from around here?"

"Yes, it is," Owen said. "It's nothing bad though."

"I'll take your word for it."

They moved onto talking about their lives as they drank the tea and ate the bread and cheese. Ben complimented it as he always did and they sat and enjoyed each other's company. But eventually they finished and she could sense the tension starting to build in her husband. Owen was nervous about asking Ben to become more than just a neighbor, more than a friend. She reached out and grabbed his hand to give it a squeeze. He smiled at her. Then they both turned to Ben.

"We invited you to our table today for a specific reason," Owen said.

"And shared our food," Beru added. "The fruits of our labor."

"We have a question to ask," Owen said.

Ben looked at their clasped hands and then back up.

"I hope that I can give a satisfactory answer," he said.

"Will you join our family?" Beru asked. "Become a member of our home to make the harshness easier to bear."

"To make all our lives more fulfilled and to share the joys and hardships," Owen said.

The look on Ben's face could only be described as shocked. There was no other word for it. He hadn't been expecting it at all by that look. He set his cup down on the table gently.

"Is this a marriage proposal?" he asked gently.

"Only if you want it to be," Owen said.

"It is more an invitation to move in and make all of our lives better," Beru said.

"But if I want it to be a marriage proposal?"

"Neither of us are going to complain," Owen said.

"We'd like it," Beru said. "But we would also understand if that is too soon and you want to move slower on that part."

"You would still want me to move in? Even if I said I would never be interested in that aspect?" Ben asked.

It was hard to get a read on how he was feeling. Whether or not he wanted any of what they were offering was completely unclear.

"Yes," Beru said. "You are our friend and we want to help you."

"And it would help us and Luke," Owen said.

Ben stared down at the cup at him for a long moment. Long enough that Beru started to worry that they had overstepped and that he wouldn't be interested.

"I would like to move here," he said, eventually. "But I am not ready for marriage. I am unsure I ever will be."

"We understand," Beru said.

It was better than their worst fears but worse than they had hoped.

"That said," Ben said, with a flirtatious smile, "I am in no way opposed to taking our relationship further, romantically or physically."

He gave both of them a very pointed look at the end of his sentence and wiggled his eyebrows.

Beru laughed as Owen sputtered.

"Well Luke is with the Darklighters until tomorrow," she said, with her own look.

Notes:

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