“How are you not nervous right now?” Sam asked with a small giggle. “On my cousins wedding day, she was like freaking out.”

I smirked. “Technically, my wedding day isn’t until August 3rd.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Then why are you wearing this white dress, smarty pants?”

“Because I’m marrying Tony today,” I said with a small smile, biting my lip as I enjoyed the way those words sounded on my lips.

Sam laughed. “Seriously, you’re like cool as a cucumber right now, what gives?” she asked again, picking up another strand of my hair and twirling it around the wand.

I just smiled, taking in a deep breath as I lifted my shoulders slightly – not wanting to interfere with her work. “It’s just Tony.”

Sam just smiled again and shook her head, putting her focus back on my hair. I smiled again myself, staring at my reflection in the mirror of Tony’s mom’s bedroom. It had been two days since I had regained my memory – and all the feelings that had accompanied it – and Tony kept his word to me, we were getting married as soon as we could. That was why I was now sitting in a white sundress - being as my real wedding dress still needed some alterations that could not have been made in the pressing time - but that didn’t matter to me.

All that mattered to me was that after everything I had been through, I was finally going to be able to marry the man I loved.

The plan was simple but chaotic and I honestly wouldn’t have had it any other way. I guess you could call what Tony and I were doing today was getting eloped – though in a twisted, kind of family oriented way, if that made any sense at all. Today, Tony and I were going to marry each other in front of all our family, even if that didn’t include blood of course, then, on August 3rd, we would have another ceremony for all of our other family and friends that couldn’t make it. So in a way, Tony and I would be renewing our vows in about a month’s time and that thought alone made me chuckle in amusement at how crazy this whole thing sounded.

Of course though, once everyone found out that I had finally remembered, they understood it completely. Currently, as Sam worked her magic on me, all the men in my life, and a few women as well, were setting up the backyard of the Perry household into a makeshift altar. Mama Perry and Mama Fuentes were slaving away in the kitchen, preparing food for later and my stomach fluttered with butterflies as I looked down at the clock and saw that it was almost time for the ceremony which meant that Tony should be up in his former bedroom, getting ready.

“All done,” Sam said with a satisfied sigh.

Before I could say anything there was a knock at the door and Sam and I shared a look in the mirror before she started her way over to the door. She opened it just a crack, making sure that whoever it was couldn’t see in the room, and peeked her head out.

“Nope, sorry, you can go back downstairs sir, I’m not letting you see her; its bad luck to see the bride before the wedding and trust me, the last thing you and Rori need is a superstitious curse to come true.” Sam said sternly but her tone was teasing and I bit back my laugh as I heard Tony groan in amused annoyance.

“I just want to talk to her, I promise I won’t look,” he said and my heart stuttered in my chest as the reality of everything seemed to settle as I realized this was it, the real deal.

“It’s fine Sam,” I said with a laugh, getting up from the chair and walking over to the door. “Let me talk to him.” I gave her a pleading look as I hid behind the door.

Sam groaned and was about to speak up before she sighed and looked back out the door.
“Stand against the wall, and I swear if you-“

“I promise I won’t peek,” Tony quickly interrupted her with a small laugh.

There was shuffling from both ends of the door and I heard a soft thud on the wall where I imagined Tony leaned against it. Sam moved out of the way and went back over toward the mirror, now working on fixing her own hair as I took a step closer to the open door, standing facing the wall where I could tell Tony was leaning against and the fact that there was only a wall between me and the man I have been wanting to marry since I was little, once again caused a flurry of butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I saw a flash of movement in the opening of the door and looked over to see Tony’s tattooed hand hovering in the air and I smiled as I lifted my own hand up and entwined our fingers, its was a little hard with the awkward angle we were in but just like everything else, we made it work.

“I love you Rori,” Tony said and I instantly smiled as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“I love you too, Tony,” I repeated, feeling a blush creep up on my cheeks and I rolled my eyes at myself.

“I just want to make sure you still want to do this, I won’t be mad if you want to wait, I know things are still kind of hazy sometimes and I don’t want to - ow!” I rolled my eyes again, now in annoyance as I clenched Tony’s hand tighter and smacked it against the doorframe.

“Tony Perry, I want to marry you now, like right now, so stop your rambling and just deal with it.” I muttered playfully, giving his hand another hard squeeze.

I heard him chuckle in the hallway. “Okay, okay, no need for violence.” He said, giving my hand a squeeze of his own.

We were silent for a moment and I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, and I swear I could hear Tony’s heartbeat – or maybe it was my own – as he played with our hands that were still tangled together in the doorway.

“Are you sure you're ready to finally be my Princess Leia?” he asked quietly – so Sam wouldn’t hear probably – and I smiled before I drifted closer to the doorway that was separating us.

“I’ve always been your Princess Leia, Mr. Solo,” I said just as quietly.

He chuckled softly and I could just imagine him rolling his eyes. “I mean officially, because I’m just letting you know that once I kiss you down there, I’m never letting you go, you’re going to be stuck with me forever.”

I laughed quietly, once again feeling my cheeks warm up. “Being stuck with you forever sounds like a dream.” I murmured.

“Well if it is, do me a favor and don’t wake me up, okay?”

“As long as you promise not to wake me up either,” I said quietly, feeling tears pricking at my eyes.

“I promise,” he whispered fiercely.

“I love you Tony Perry, so much,” I said and then took a deep breath in, trying to keep the tears from falling over and ruining my makeup.

“I love you just as much Aurora Rose Hayes. I always have and I always will.” He said and I heard his voice crack with emotion and I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face. “I’ll meet you down there, Ms. Organa.”

“I’ll be the one in white, Mr. Solo.” I responded.

He chuckled. “I’ll be the one in black skinny jeans and a Star Wars shirt,” he said playfully.

I giggled. “Oh, god, you know, I’m kind of hoping you’re serious.”

He laughed. “Oh, I am.”

“Alright, that’s enough we still need to finish getting ready,” Sam said from behind me. “You two lovebirds will see each other in a few minutes, now go, separate, skedaddle.” She made shooing motions with her hands.

Tony and I both laughed and he squeezed my hand one more time before we unwillingly let go of the other. Sam smiled, shaking her head as she closed the door again. She squinted her eyes at me, probably noticing the way the my eyes were still watering and then she ran her eyes along my body before she got to my feet and she shook her head and let out a groan.

“Ugh, you are seriously killing me with those black chucks with this dress. Please, please just wear your sparkly glitter ones, if only for my sake.”

I chuckled and made my way back over to the mirror. “Nope. These make me feel sexy.”

“You’re impossible,” she sighed in exasperation before she came up behind me and we both put the finishing touches on our makeup.

There was another knock at the door, this one a lot softer and more hesitant and we both shared another look before Sam once again made her way over to the door. I watched with curiosity, wondering who else would be coming to visit me before I went downstairs, and I furrowed my eyebrows as I saw Sam stiffen with surprise as she opened the door and peeked outside.

“Who is it?” I called out, beginning to walk toward her.

She turned around to glance at me, nothing but shocked confusion on her face. “I, uh, um,” she stuttered before she shook her head, clearly at a loss for words, before she opened the door and revealed who was standing at the door.

It was the last person I ever expected to see.

“Mom?” I gasped out.

“Hello,” she said timidly, tugging at the end of her collared shirt.

“What are you doing here?” I questioned, surprised that my words weren’t coming out harsh or angry, to be honest, I was just shocked.

“Can we talk?” she asked and then glanced at Sam before looking over at me again, a small smile forming on her lips when she looked down at my dress.

“Um, I’m going to go see if the guys need any help,” Sam said quickly, just as shocked as I was in that moment. “Call me if you need me.”

I nodded before I watched her scurry out the door, my mom stepping into the room to get out of her way. I smoothed down my dress and took in a deep breath as I took a seat on the edge of Mama Perry’s bed. I glanced up at my mother again as she quietly closed the door and my mind was racing. When my memories of Tony returned, so did everything else, including all of my memories of my mother and I couldn’t come up with one good reason as to why she was standing here in this room with me. Or how she had even gotten into the house for that matter.

“What are you doing here?” I repeated, seeing that she still wasn’t going to say anything.

“Tony came to see me,” she admitted quietly before she came closer to me.

“He did?” I asked, now ever more shocked than before. “When?”

“Yesterday afternoon,” she said and took a seat over at the vanity mirror, right across from me.

I thought about what she said, wondering when Tony had found the time to go see her since we had been all but inseparable since I finally regained my memory back. Then, I remembered how yesterday I had gone and taken a nap and when I woke up, Tony was gone but he came home a few minutes later, claiming to had just left to go get us dinner but I had been asleep for a couple of hours so I wasn’t exactly sure when he had left to begin with. It was possible that he had visited my mother in that time. That thought only caused another burning question to pop into my head though. Why did Tony go see my mother?

“Why?” I muttered, my voice now harsh but I didn’t exactly intend it to be; I was still just shocked.

My mother sighed deeply. “He told me that you finally remembered everything. And he also said that you guys were getting married today. We had a long talk about everything that has happened between us all and he said that even though you would never admit it, he knew you would want me to be here.”

I didn’t say anything, mostly because it was true. Sure, there was a lot of bad blood between my mother and Tony and I but I did still love her. She was still my mother. Plus, I couldn’t help but think of that week right after my accident, she was trying to help me, granted it didn’t work too well, she still wanted to help me get better and she had to know that deep down, even if she never mentioned Tony that I would eventually remember him. She was still willing to risk it though, just to help me.

“Oh,” I finally mumbled, scuffing my shoes against the other as I looked down.

“Rori, I already told this to Tony, a lot actually, but I want to say it to you too. I’m sorry Rori. For everything that I said and did. I was only trying to look out for you. I was scared, my life didn’t turn out how I wanted it to and I didn’t want you to end up like me. I can see now, well, I had seen it a while ago but I was too damn stubborn to admit it, Tony is nothing like your father Rori. He never was and he never will be. I’m sorry that I pushed you away and hurt you. I really truly am. I understand if you don’t want me here but I would really like to see my only daughter marry the man she loves.”

I was quiet again, debating my next move. Everyone knew pretty much everything that happened between me and my mother and I know a lot of people would be surprised to see her but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel like they would be accepting of it. I mean, as crazy as it seems, there had to be a reason why I was only able to remember my mother at first. The way I was looking at it right now, even though I could possible regret it later, was that I got a second chance so maybe my mother deserved one too.

“I want you here Mom,” I said quietly, looking up to give her a smile and that was when I saw the tears running down her cheeks and in that moment, I knew I made the right decision, no matter what people might think, my Mother was being genuine in her apology and she meant every word that she said.

Plus, I couldn’t just ignore the fact that Tony had been the one to go see her, after all the hurtful words and accusations she threw at him, he still took the leap and made the attempt because he knew that it would make me happy having her here.

My mom smiled instantly and a fresh wave of tears flowed from her eyes as she stood up and walked over to me. I stood as well and we embraced each other in a very long overdue hug. Maybe things would change down the line but right now, I was going to savor this moment that I was having with my Mother.

“I brought you something,” My mom said then, pulling away from me and reaching into her bag that had been on her shoulder.

I watched as she pulled out a rectangular shaped jewelry box wrapped in dark red velvet fabric. She carefully popped open the lid and I gasped quietly as I stared down at the silver chain necklace that had a small diamond covered guitar pick as its charm.

“Your father gave this to me on our wedding night.” My mom explained, turning the box slightly so I could see the necklace better. “I know that you don’t have the best memories of your father hunny but he was a good man before he started drinking. He loved you very much and I know that he would be very proud of the woman you have become.”

“Don’t make me cry, I’m going to ruin my makeup Mom,” I whined as I sniffled, beginning to fan my face with my hand.

She laughed though it was slightly distorted by her tears. “You don’t have to wear it but I want you to have it.”

“Please put it on me,” I whispered, turning around and carefully picking up my curled hair as I tried to control the tears.

My mom laughed at me before she pulled the delicate piece out of the box. She placed the chain around my neck and I felt her clip it in place behind my head and as soon as I looked down at the necklace, I swear I could feel my father standing beside me and I couldn’t control it when the tears finally escaped my grasp. My life had been far from perfect but it was filled with a million different moments that made all that heartache and pain suddenly seem worth it.

“Rori, everything’s ready,” I heard Sam’s voice say from the door and both my mother and I turned around to see her staring at us, an unsure but welcoming look on her face.

“It’s time,” my mother said happily and suddenly, the butterflies erupted in my stomach again.

I was going to marry Tony Perry in a few minutes. Just a few more minutes, in just a few moments.

What happened next seemed like one big happy filled blur of moments. I barely remember walking down the steps and heading for the kitchen. I waited at the back porch door as I heard the song begin to play and I barely remembered seeing Sam walk ahead of me. All I really remembered was hearing Mama Perry whisper that it was my turn and as I stepped outside, beginning to walk down toward the makeshift aisle that had been prepared, there was only one moment that truly mattered just then.

My eyes locked on Tony’s who was waiting patiently at the end of the aisle for me. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a Star Wars shirt and of course, there was a snapback on his head but as crazy as it seemed, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I kept my eyes on him, noticing the way his eyes seemed to graze over me as I got closer and he broke out into a huge, breathtaking grin when he saw my shoes and he glanced back up and his eyes found mine once again. It was that moment, when I saw the way his eyes were slightly watery and the way the smile was plastered on his face.

Nothing else mattered in that moment as he reached his hand out for mine because as soon as my skin touched his, a million other moments flashed in my eyes. Even more memories that had eluded me were now right there. And as I watched his lips slowly mouth out the words ‘I love you’ I knew that there was nothing else that could make that moment any more perfect.

Tony and I had been through so much, good and bad. Our hearts had been broken a few times and there were times where we both had questioned if we would make it but as I stood here in front of him, his hands tightly holding my own, I knew that there was no one else I would rather be with. Tony Perry was my person, my soul mate, my ‘one true love’ and as I stared into his chocolate brown eyes, I could tell that he felt the same way towards me.

Our love was just a miracle of tiny moments, twenty years’ worth of moments and as he kept staring at me, I knew that there would be another twenty, fifty, eighty years’ worth of moments to come and I was prepared and excited for all of it.

A million different moments and sometimes, all you need is one to remember that you are right where you belong and even though it didn’t always feel like it, you had been there all along.

And as Tony gripped my head in his hands and crashed his lips down on mine, officially claiming me as his own, I finally found that one moment and I was going to remember it forever.

Notes

I'M SO SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER TO UPDATE!!

Hopefully this makes up for the long wait, if not, then I am sorry again!

But, I love you all and thank you for waiting this out with me :)

P.S. There is only one more chapter left!