Chapter Text
Poe sat on his ass in stunned silence as Rey fled. She was strong, so much stronger than she’d been even a day ago now that she had full access to her powers.
He probably shouldn’t have goaded her like that, what with the new powers wreaking havoc on her body, but he’d wanted to see what she would access if he tried. He would have guessed wind, but it had been a full blast of raw power that sent him sprawling across the floor.
So, definitely not in control.
Before he could even start to beat himself up for pushing her, someone else did it for him.
“What the hells did you do?” came a far too familiar voice from the doorway.
Poe looked up to find Leia standing there, leaning on the cane she’d started to use recently, a rather disapproving look on her face.
He took the opportunity to get to his feet - a little gingerly. It had been a long time since he’d been bested quite like that, and it showed. He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You may have to be more specific than that.”
“I just saw Rey take off out of the castle like a bat out of hell, not even a minute after feeling a strafe of power so strong it rattled the windows.” She fixed him with a look. “So I repeat, what the hells did you do?”
Great, just great. Now the whole castle knew that he and Rey had a little lover’s spat. Well, not lovers. Mate’s spat? He shook his head at the ridiculousness of it. This day just kept getting better and better. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face again. He was several centuries too old to be playing will they or won’t they with a woman. Check yes if you like me…
Well, he certainly knew the answer to that question. And he would not be receiving a check in the yes box.
“I may have goaded Rey into using her powers.”
Leia’s brows shot up toward her hairline. “So you have a death wish?”
Poe chuckled at that. It wasn’t the first time that question had been lobbed at him and it likely wouldn’t be the last. Though in the future, he’d hope it wouldn’t be in relation to his fated mate. “Yeah, I may not have thought that one through.”
“Ya think?” She stepped forward, leaning heavily on that cane. So it was a bad day. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to the sight of his mentor so old and feeble. Leia was both ancient and revered among the fae, her power a rival to that only of her father before her. And here she was, looking downright elderly. It was disconcerting to say the least.
Leia had experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows known to faedom. After nearly a thousand years, and against all odds, she’d found her mate. Married as she was to the cause and her people, it had taken a while for her to realize it. But there he was. There was only one catch.
He was human.
How lucky she’d been to find him, and unlucky now to know him. Because like all humans, he’d live just long enough to destroy her when he died. So Leia did the unthinkable and surrendered her powers - and that long life - to live out the rest of her days with her love.
And they’d been happy for a while. Blissfully so from what Poe understood, though at the time they’d retired from public life. Had a son, the light of their lives. And he was strong, too. Stronger than anyone had expected, especially being only half-fae.
But with Leia’s gifts hampered by her own new humanity, she had done the next best thing for her gifted son.
She sent him to her brother.
“So?”
Poe blinked at the expectant look on Leia’s face. Right, they were having a conversation, weren’t they?
Trying to scroll back through his memory to remember what the hells they were talking about, Leia took pity on him.
“So, what did she do?” There was more than just normal interest on her face. Almost a hunger. Though Poe trusted Leia implicitly - she was his General, his Queen, after all - there was something about that look that gave him pause. The slightest of hesitations as his internal loyalties shifted.
He shook it off.
“You felt it. She hit me with a burst of raw magic.”
Leia appeared to be contemplating that. Perhaps contemplating someone else with those same talents. “A little unexpected, but not a bad sign. She needs work, of course, someone to help her channel all that power, but it’s a fine start.” Then, remembering, “What did you say to her, by the way?”
Poe looked down at the floor, unable to keep the guilt off his face.
“Poe…”
“I may have mentioned that she’s technically the Queen of Fae,” he said, marking Leia’s wince. Gods, that wasn’t even the worst part. He steeled himself for her reaction. “And where her father was currently residing.”
Leia’s eyes went wide for a second before settling into his least favorite expression: disappointment. “Gods, what were you thinking sending her to Luke?”
“I obviously wasn’t. I didn’t think she’d immediately go running to him.”
Leia gave him a long look. “And you’ve met our Rey, have you?”
Something thrummed in him at her use of “our.” Something primal and not a little possessive. Mine , his blood seemed to thrum, not ours .
He pushed the strange instinct down, just as he had for the last however many years. If there was one thing he knew about their Rey, it was that she wouldn’t appreciate that particular brand of possessiveness. Especially from him.
“Yes, yes, I know.” He shook his head, staring at the door she’d practically sprinted out of to get away from him. “I suppose I should go after her.”
At whatever his expression told her, Leia’s face softened. “I can’t imagine that meeting going well. I know my brother, unfortunately. She’ll need a friendly face.”
Poe barked out a laugh. “Then maybe it shouldn’t be me.”
“You’re her mate, whether she likes it or not.” Poe flinched at the plain words. “It will comfort her to have you there.”
He knew that. Deep down he knew it, the same way he knew that Rey was meant for him. Er, they were meant for each other. But still, the years of denying that fact were too ingrained for him to flip over.
“She’s young. So young for one of our kind.” One hand came up to brush through his hair, Poe still getting a shock at finding so little there.
“And when will she be old enough in your eyes? 50? 100?” she asked, her dark eyes seemingly boring into his very soul. “You can’t put this off forever. If you ask me, there’s never a good time for fate and destiny to knock at your door. But we must answer, nonetheless.”
A lead weight dropped into his stomach at how easily his former master read him. Year after year, he told himself the same thing. That she wasn’t ready yet, that she deserved to live her life without the worries of a fated soulmate to weigh her down. That he’d reassess in 10, 20 years. They had time. Hundreds of years, in fact.
First, he’d justified it by saying she’d just settled. She was new to this life, and needed time to adjust. Then, she was training toward her goal. And she deserved to do it without the distraction of the soul bond and everything that came with it. And now she was newly promoted, worried about making her own contribution to their ranks.
Excuse after excuse after excuse. And so it went until they were standing here.
“I won’t force this on her. That’s not who I am.” That was the nature of the bond, unfortunately. He wanted her happiness above all else. Even if that meant it was without him. “She should have a choice in her life.”
“And you don’t think by not telling her everything, you’re making a choice for her? Taking away her ability to choose this for herself.”
Poe blinked. He hadn’t thought of it that way.
“I see that logic sinking in,” she said, not bothering to hide the knowing smile on her face.
Poe shook that logic right out of his head. “It’s better this way.”
Leia’s face rearranged into something resembling pity. “You’ll only cause pain - for you and for her - if you try to deny it.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Imagine if she finds someone she wants to be with. Physically. How is that going to make you feel?”
Well just the mere insinuation of it had his blood boiling, every instinct to attack, defend what was his jumping to the forefront. But Poe was stronger than whatever his instincts were screaming at him.
“I don’t delude myself into thinking Rey has been living untouched all this time,” he bit out the words, each syllable tasting bitter on his tongue. “And neither have I. We both have pasts. She’s been with men before.”
“Yes, when the bond wasn’t fully snapped into place. When it hadn’t been sealed by blood.”
Almost unconsciously, Poe’s hand went to his neck, where the two puncture marks sat perfectly preserved. A mark he would likely carry for the rest of his days. And a reminder of who he belonged to.
Leia’s sharp eyes missed nothing. “You and I both know that neither of you will feel complete until that final step is taken.”
Oh, he did. And how he wanted to take that last step. Hells, it was all he thought about from the moment her lips closed around his neck. But it made him feel like a dirty old fae when he so much as thought about it. He had trained her. Worked side by side with her for years. Watched her become the warrior she was today.
“But there are other ways to utilize the bond that don’t involve… that.” His face heated against his will. He was over 500 years old and he couldn’t say “sex” in front of his mentor.
“If you say so.” Leia smirked at him. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re too noble for your own good?”
“You. Every damn day.”
“Then you should listen to me. I know a thing or two about these things.”
Poe waved her off, already heading for the door. He’d have to make up some time if he wanted to catch Rey at the monastery. “I’m doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.”
“If you say so,” she repeated. Then louder as he made his way out the door. “You need to be honest with her!”
“Sorry, can’t hear you!” he called back over his shoulder as he started to run in earnest. The echoing bark of Leia’s laugh echoed down the hall after him.
When his feet hit the grass outside, he opened up his gait, letting his muscles feel it as he turned toward the path that would bring him to the old monastery. He used to make Rey run these paths daily as “punishment,” though he knew that it was actually the quickest way to get her to focus, calm down enough to learn. It cleared her head and made her happy. Once he realized that, of course he was going to make her do it daily.
Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone, least of all Rey herself.
Though even he was male enough to admit there were things he regretted. About the way he’d trained her. How he made her hate him.
Sure, it had started out as a defense mechanism, a way for him to hide the truth from her long enough for her to become the warrior he knew she could be. But it quickly became something to hide behind. A way to push her away before she had a chance to do the same to him.
Look where that had got him.
He slowed as the stone walls of the monastery came into view, a familiar enough destination. Though the Fae King wished to be left alone, he was too important to leave completely unguarded. More than once Poe had passed a long shift in these woods, senses on high alert for any sign of danger.
But the First Order was either unaware of the exiled King’s whereabouts or they didn’t care. Because in all the years since his “disappearance,” not a single soul had come looking for him.
Well, Poe supposed, until now.
It was just as he last remembered it, the path lined with trees so overgrown they practically touched the ground. He supposed they were pretty in their own way. Weeping Maidens, they were called. A funny choice when you remembered they were tended by a group of celibate males.
Though he didn’t have much room to talk. At least not recently. Which for him would be… oh the last 30 or so years.
Sure, it sounded like a wicked dry spell, but when you’d roamed these lands for more than 500 years, it was little more than a drop in an ancient bucket.
And no matter what his traitorous brain was saying, it had nothing to do with Rey. Hell, she was barely 30 after all. And he’d only known her for 20 of those. Pure coincidence of course.
No, he’d lost his taste for casual liaisons long before Rey had come in to his world. Though, he’d spent his wild, younger years enjoying all the pleasures the fae world had to offer. You see, their kind weren’t constrained by the same moral high ground that humans so seemed to enjoy. When you lived for hundreds of years, there was no point in not enjoying yourself, and a good tumble between soft sheets was one of the most enjoyable things he could think of.
Until it wasn’t.
Sure it was still enjoyable, if a little transactional by the end. An exchange of pleasure and a mutual appreciation at parting. But it left him feeling empty. Yearning for something… more .
He didn’t have a name for it. That is, until he met Rey.
Suddenly, more made a lot of sense.
But he hadn’t let himself so much as think about it in the intervening years. Until now, of course. Godsdamn Leia and her questions. He needed to be focusing on Rey. Her training for what was to come, not worrying about how to make her come.
They didn’t need any distractions. Not with the First Order on the move.
As if he’d conjured her by his thoughts, Rey appeared at the entrance to the old monastery. No, appeared wasn’t the word. More like ran from at full speed.
Shit, shit, shit, he’d been so worried about the last time he’d gotten laid (fucking Leia) that he’d nearly missed her.
He wasted no time in following, trailing her scent into the surrounding forest. It was just under the tree cover that he found her, shoulders slumped as she leaned heavily against a tree. He watched for several seconds in silence, Rey obviously not aware that she wasn’t alone. Making a note to once again hammer in the importance of being aware of your surroundings, he moved forward.
Poe deliberately stepped on a twig, announcing his presence to Rey. At the sound - like a gunshot in the silence of the woods - Rey whirled on her would-be attacker, dropping into the defensive positive, blade already in hand.
Good girl.
Poe advanced slowly, hands up to signify no threat. “I’m just coming to check on you.”
“Of course it’s you,” she practically spat out, her eyes red rimmed as he got closer. “Are you happy now?”
It was obvious that she had been crying, something Poe hadn’t seen her do in earnest since that first day in the fortress. Seeing her like this, distraught, maybe a little broken, it didn’t just affect him. It destroyed him. So much so that he was genuinely confused by her question.
“Why would I be happy?”
“Because you’re right!” she all but screamed. Thank the gods he knew for a fact that these woods were empty. He added another refresher lesson to his mental roster. “You’re always fucking right.”
Those last words were said with the type of venom reserved for murderers or people who tortured puppies.
They stood, several feet apart, frozen. For the first time in several hundred years, Poe had no idea what to do. Did he comfort her? Give her a little tough love? He feared that if he so much as breathed wrong that she would dart away like the forest spirit she so reminded him of.
“He wanted nothing to do with me,” she said, so quietly he would have missed it even with his superior hearing had he not been paying so close attention to her. “Nothing to do with our cause. Go ahead, gloat.”
He could feel her heartbreak as acutely as if it were his own. That dull ache in his chest. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to take that pain away. He took a step closer.
“That’s not what I want to do.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then what? What do you want from me?”
It was a question for the ages. One that even 10 minutes ago, he wouldn’t have been able to answer. But now, as he looked into her eyes, emerald green in the current light, the answer came to him.
“This.”
And then, he was kissing her.