"Leia, you're hurting me," Rey complained. Leia paid Rey no mind and continued twisting bands of silver into a braid over the crown of Rey's head. The rest of her hair was free, falling straight down her back.

"Maybe I wouldn't be so harsh if you and Ben hadn't run off for four months and not told anyone where you were," Leia said, sounding smug. Ben and Rey had returned a month before, barging in on a casual dinner at Leia's apartment announcing they wanted to get married.

It was- as Rey guessed it would be- complete chaos.

"At least we didn't elope," Rey said, and Leia made a face saying she had a point. "What was your wedding like?"

Leia laughed for a moment and then said, "Small. Just Luke and a few friends. I was already pregnant and much too busy rebuilding the Republic. So Han and I skipped all the frills. Quite frankly," and Leia learned close to Rey like she was telling her a big secret, "I didn't even care about getting married. Han was the one who convinced me."

Leia slid a pin into Rey's hair to hold the braid in place before stepping away to admire her handiwork. Rey twisted her head in the mirror, looking at her reflection.

Rey knew that asking Leia to help her with her hair and dress was the right choice. She had seen pictures of Leia outside of wartime, always elegant, dramatic, and put together. In fact, Rey had studied holos of Padme Amidala and noticed the same thing. Of course, Ben had a flair for the dramatic and more fashion sense than Rey, so it must have run in the Skywalker family.

"I love it. Thank you, Leia," Rey said, gently touching the braid. Had Laila ever braided Rey's hair like this? Was she planning to one day stand where Leia did and get her daughter ready for her wedding? Would she like Ben? Would Zavil?

"Don't thank me yet. I have a gift to give you," Leia said, leaving the room.

They were in a private suite at one of Coruscant's most private hotels. It was beautiful and luxurious, but nothing could compare to the fact that tabloid droids weren't allowed near the hotel.

It would truly be a private, intimate wedding. Which was exactly what she and Ben wanted.

"Luke insists it's also a gift from him," Leia said, returning with a large garment bag. She laid it carefully on the bed before opening it.

A beautiful dressed spilled out. The fabric was soft, delicate. It was yellow, pink, and purple, with silver details. Rey touched it hesitantly, because it was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"It was our mother's. One of Padme's favorites," Leia said, watching Rey feel the dress. "I always wanted this to be handed down to whoever Ben married. So… it's yours."

Rey didn't know what to say. Her voice was stuck in her throat as she let it sink in that this heirloom, this part of a family, belonged to her now. Leia seemed to understand, because she wordlessly put a hand on Rey's shoulder.

"Should I wear it today?" Rey asked, looking at Leia. Leia smiled lovingly at Rey, and Rey understood then that even if she had never known Laila, she had a mother.

"If you want. We do have other options," Leia said.

"Because you'd never have just one choice for an outfit," Rey said, smiling, and Leia laughed. After a moment of thought, Rey held the dress close to her.

"I want to wear it," Rey said.

"Then let's figure out how to get it on now. Knowing Padme, it could take a minute," Leia said.

Rey undressed and let Leia help her into the gown. It was lighter than Rey had imagined and exposed more skin than Rey had ever shown before. Still, Rey felt beautiful. Powerful.

"Did you imagine this happening?" Rey asked as Leia attempted to figure out how to position fabric at the front of the dress.

"I always hoped," Leia said. "More about the idea of my son coming home than him getting married. There were a few years where it was hard to believe it could happen. He just seemed so far gone. But, you arrived and changed everything."

Leia looked up at Rey then, from where she crouched and fussed with fabric, and said, "You saved the Galaxy, you know. Without you, we'd either still be at war or completely gone."

"I didn't do it alone," Rey said.

"No, but if you weren't here, this would've gone very differently. So, thank you, Rey," Leia said, standing up. She beckoned for Rey to lean down a little, and she kissed her cheek.

Rey turned to look at herself in the mirror. She was still Rey Kenobi, a girl from Jakku, but she was more elegant than she had ever been. Leia had turned her from a scavenger into a princess, just for a few hours.

How's everything going? Ben asked.

Wonderful. Now stop snooping, we're going to be married soon, Rey answered.

But I miss you.

You can deal for a while longer, Rey said, and she smirked when she felt Ben smile and leave the connection alone.

"You know what you're going to say?" Leia asked, stepping behind Rey. She had changed into a beautiful navy dress and was braiding her hair up.

"No, but that's okay. I'll know what to say when I'm looking at him."

x

Ben Solo was using every bit of patience he had to not snap at Luke as he tried again to braid Ben's hair properly.

"Didn't Leia walk you through this a few hours ago?" Ben said, taking deep breaths as Luke grabbed a brush.

"I've never braided anyone's hair before, okay? This isn't easy," Luke said, clearly just as frustrated as Ben.

"For what it's worth, Luke, I think you're doing a great job," Poe said, lounging on a nearby sofa. He was already in his formal clothing, with his jacket folded nearby.

"Could please try and help?" Ben asked, gritting his teeth.

"No, I have faith in you two," Poe said, grinning.

Ben huffed and looked back to the mirror. Everything else was perfect. Poe had selected his outfit (red and black, because Poe knew those colors looked best on him) and made sure there wasn't a single trace of black dye left in his hair. Leia brought Ben pieces of jewelry that had belonged to Bail Organa and were made in traditional Alderaanian style.

And, really, Ben didn't think there could be a single disaster on the day he was set to marry his soulmate.

Luke seemed to be pushing it, though.

"Leia said to-"

"-Use all my fingers. I know," Luke said. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried again. Ben remained quiet to give his uncle a fighting chance.

Ben knew that Leia would've wanted to do this herself, but Rey didn't have anyone to help her if both Luke and Leia were with Ben. And, based on how Luke was handling braiding Ben's hair, letting Luke help Rey get ready would have been a disaster.

"You know," Finn said, throwing himself next to Poe on the couch, "even if the braids don't work out, you're still marrying Rey."

"I don't know. She seems like she's the type of girl to get very judgey over her soulmate's braids," Poe said, earning a punch on the arm from his husband. "What? I'm just saying that she had those hair buns for a long time. She has a right to judge Ben for a shitty updo."

Still, Finn's words calmed Ben a little. He was going to marry her no matter what.

Those words also seemed to give Luke the confidence boost he needed, too, because a few minutes later he threw his hands in the air and cheered.

Ben looked in the mirror and confirmed that, yes, Luke had done it. The front of Ben's hair was pulled away from his face in twin braids over the top of his head. The rest of his hair was loose, longer than he had ever kept it before.

"Oh, nice!" Poe said, looking at Ben's hair in approval. "You did it, Luke."

"Congratulations," Finn said, touching the braids to make sure they were tight enough.

"Do you like them, Ben?" Luke asked, a bit of nervousness in his voice. Luke had never had a child, and his time training Ben as his padawan didn't offer much affection. In fact, Ben could guess that braiding Ben's hair was something Han would have done if he were alive.

No wonder Luke sounded so nervous.

Ben knew the braids were modeled after Alderaanian styles, which is why he agreed to wear them. He had never been to Alderaan, not even to the ruins. But it was part of his family history, and he felt proud to wear them on his wedding day.

"They're perfect, Luke. Thanks," Ben said, and then he saw his uncle begin to get emotional. Ben laughed, stood up, and hugged his uncle tight. It felt wonderful to cry over happy things instead of war and death.

"Aw, how sweet," Poe said, his arm thrown over his husband's shoulder. Even with Poe's usual cocky attitude, Ben could see that he, too, was emotional.

"Han would be so proud of you," Luke said, and Ben felt his throat get tight.

It was then that C-3PO walked in, with R2-D2 and BB-8 following.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt! Master Luke, Princess Organa has asked me to check on your progress with Master Ben," 3PO said. Luke turned, wiping away a stray tear.

"You can tell her we're ready."

x

It was a lovely ceremony. Ben could hardly speak because he had begun to cry the moment he saw Rey. Rey, on the other hand, had no trouble finding her voice to promise to love Ben in this world and all worlds in between. Their bond radiated love the whole time and Ben held Rey's hands like they anchored him to reality.

Rey had always wanted to belong somewhere and with someone. She found that with Ben.

Ben had always wanted to be loved and forgiven. He found that with Rey.

Finn declared them married, and they couldn't move fast enough to kiss each other.

Husband and wife.

Soulmates.

x

They left right after the party.

Luke and Leia made sure there was a wonderful dinner waiting for their small wedding party. It was only Ben and Rey's closest friends- no politicians, no Generals. Just friends. Rose Tico and her sister Paige were seated next to Finn, laughing at every joke out of his and Poe's mouths. Luke and Leia let themselves be casual, bickering like teenagers and occasionally cutting into the conversation with a sly comment that made the table roar with laughter. Connix kept sneaking Rose more and more desserts, both of them giggling the whole time.

Everyone tried to offer those two a polite bit of privacy, but it was hard to ignore the warmth between soulmates.

Rey and Ben sat at the head of the table, holding hands under the table and kissing each other's cheeks when they thought no one was looking.

There was enough love in the room that Ben and Rey couldn't stop smiling.

Once the dinner was cleared, Leia insisted that they have a toast. Or, rather, everyone else make toasts while Ben and Rey cry and sip their drinks. Everyone had a turn, telling stories from the war and from after, as they accepted Ben as a friend and the two of them as a couple.

Luke and Leia, of course, told stories of Ben as a child, and welcomed Rey into the family, officially.

After that, Rey and Ben snuck away.

They made sure that BB-8 and R2 had taken everything they needed onto the Falcon. All of their traveling clothes, their lightsabers, food, snacks, maps, and dozens and dozens of their favorite bad holos. They knew 3PO's feelings would be hurt, but he couldn't keep a secret. They rushed aboard, Rey holding her dress up with one hand and holding Ben's in the other. They were laughing and had to stop to kiss each other once they made it onto the Falcon.

Just as Ben had promised, they were running off to resume their journey.

And no one was stopping them.

As they sat in the cockpit and prepared to take off, they saw two glowing figures on the launchpad, waving at them with proud smiles on their faces.

Of course Obi Wan and Anakin would want to congratulate them. They made no effort to slow them down, and they remained outside the ship. Though, Rey and Ben agreed, Anakin would probably never want to set foot in such a garbage ship.

They left Coruscant and made the jump to lightspeed, already off to their next great adventure. Rey climbed out of her seat to sit on Ben's lap and kiss him. He held her close, smiling the whole time.

"I love you," Ben said when they broke apart.

"I love you, too," Rey said, tears in her eyes.

Their adventure together had only begun.

They were ready to face it. As lovers. As husband and wife.

As soulmates.

A/N: I really wasn't sure what would happen when I wrote an epilogue, and I just have to say thank you. The response this this has been so overwhelming and I'm really touched. I wrote Colorblind when I was a senior in high school and a freshman in college. I'm getting ready to graduate college this semester, so revisiting the story felt like looking back at my younger self. It's full of typos, continuity errors, and moments that really should've been written differently. But it has a soft spot in my heart.

If you liked this story back in 2016 or just found it now or anything in between, then you might like the webcomic I've begun writing. All of our social media is mythosredone if you wanna check out what my writing has evolved into.

Thank you to everyone who favorited, liked, and commented on this story over the years. It always brought a smile to my face and encouraged me to keep writing and creating. I'll never forget Colorblind. Even with the ending TROS gave us, we'll always have the stories we made to keep us going.