For allbingo
Apr. 12th, 2021 05:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianTitle: Paradigm Shift
Summary: A crushed calligraphy set changes Poe and Rey’s initially antagonistic relationship for the better.
Prompt: Enemies / rivals to friends / lovers
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: Went with “enemies to friends” here.
Rey doesn’t like Poe. That’s what she keeps telling herself. She doesn’t know what it is exactly, but she just doesn’t like him. Something about him bothers her, even though he’s been trying to be friendly to her, was the first one in a while to not call her nobody or nothing.
She just doesn’t like him. Hate is a strong word, but something about him rubs under her skin and can’t really get out.
That is until one day, when she’s near the workbench trying for seemingly the upteenth time to repair Luke’s lightsaber and she finds Poe trying to repair something too.
It’s a calligraphy set. It looks crushed, like something collapsed on top of it, crushed it. And Poe...he’s using the tools at his disposal to try and knock it back into shape, but it’s like trying to knock a speeder wreck back into shape.
Rey furrows her brow. “I don’t think that’s how you fix that,” she says.
“Yeah, I know.” Poe just looks so...defeated. It doesn’t seem right, actually. This is the same man who should be cracking bleak jokes about him and Rey being torture buddies. “It feels like I’m really stuck.”
Rey swallows. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, seeing him vulnerable. Somehow, that calligraphy set looks familiar. She can remember a glimpse of it over her Force Bond with Ben (and even thinking of him that way hurts), a calligraphy set being crushed.
“How did you get it?" she says.
“Friend of mine.”
And she knows what he means. It seems impossible, unlikely, but Poe Dameron knew Ben.
***
“His name was Ben,” Poe says. “Ben Solo."
Rey’s breathing hitches. “Kylo Ren?”
“Yeah.”
Rey swallows. She doesn’t know how she can comfort him, knowing his own friend tortured him. “He wasn’t completely a monster,” she says. “I mean...it’s not much, him killing Snoke or him being kind to me but...well, he didn’t bathe in the blood of Ewoks or anything.”
“It would be wrong if he did. Huh, even after all he’s done, it just feels wrong to think of him that way...” Poe sighs. “He was uncommonly kind, as Ben. Thought the best of people, including me. I...didn’t make good decisions at sixteen; let’s just leave it at that.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for things you did as a kid,” Rey says.
Poe chuckles softly. She decides she likes that sound. “But yeah. This was his calligraphy set. I just can’t get rid of it. Even if it’s ruined.”
“Can I take a look?”
Poe lets her. Rey settles her gaze on the crushed metal, the ink splatters. After all this time, Poe’s kept it. Kept it, when he could have thrown it away...
“He must have meant a lot to you,” Rey says.
Poe nods. “He meant the galaxy to me. Still does.”
They were friends. Even if Poe’s affection for him went beyond platonic. Rey can feel it, swelling, powerful, devoted.
It occurs to her that she treated Poe Dameron too harshly. He can be irritating, but he can also love incredibly deeply. Not just romantically. He can just love. It can get him into trouble, like with Holdo, but it’s also beautiful.
“Poe,” she says softly. “I’m so very, very sorry.”
She squeezes his shoulder. Over the Bond, she hears Kylo Ren, hears him say “He means the galaxy to me too”, but Poe can’t hear it, and that’s not fair.
She’ll have to tell him, one day.
Summary: A crushed calligraphy set changes Poe and Rey’s initially antagonistic relationship for the better.
Prompt: Enemies / rivals to friends / lovers
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: Went with “enemies to friends” here.
Rey doesn’t like Poe. That’s what she keeps telling herself. She doesn’t know what it is exactly, but she just doesn’t like him. Something about him bothers her, even though he’s been trying to be friendly to her, was the first one in a while to not call her nobody or nothing.
She just doesn’t like him. Hate is a strong word, but something about him rubs under her skin and can’t really get out.
That is until one day, when she’s near the workbench trying for seemingly the upteenth time to repair Luke’s lightsaber and she finds Poe trying to repair something too.
It’s a calligraphy set. It looks crushed, like something collapsed on top of it, crushed it. And Poe...he’s using the tools at his disposal to try and knock it back into shape, but it’s like trying to knock a speeder wreck back into shape.
Rey furrows her brow. “I don’t think that’s how you fix that,” she says.
“Yeah, I know.” Poe just looks so...defeated. It doesn’t seem right, actually. This is the same man who should be cracking bleak jokes about him and Rey being torture buddies. “It feels like I’m really stuck.”
Rey swallows. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, seeing him vulnerable. Somehow, that calligraphy set looks familiar. She can remember a glimpse of it over her Force Bond with Ben (and even thinking of him that way hurts), a calligraphy set being crushed.
“How did you get it?" she says.
“Friend of mine.”
And she knows what he means. It seems impossible, unlikely, but Poe Dameron knew Ben.
***
“His name was Ben,” Poe says. “Ben Solo."
Rey’s breathing hitches. “Kylo Ren?”
“Yeah.”
Rey swallows. She doesn’t know how she can comfort him, knowing his own friend tortured him. “He wasn’t completely a monster,” she says. “I mean...it’s not much, him killing Snoke or him being kind to me but...well, he didn’t bathe in the blood of Ewoks or anything.”
“It would be wrong if he did. Huh, even after all he’s done, it just feels wrong to think of him that way...” Poe sighs. “He was uncommonly kind, as Ben. Thought the best of people, including me. I...didn’t make good decisions at sixteen; let’s just leave it at that.”
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for things you did as a kid,” Rey says.
Poe chuckles softly. She decides she likes that sound. “But yeah. This was his calligraphy set. I just can’t get rid of it. Even if it’s ruined.”
“Can I take a look?”
Poe lets her. Rey settles her gaze on the crushed metal, the ink splatters. After all this time, Poe’s kept it. Kept it, when he could have thrown it away...
“He must have meant a lot to you,” Rey says.
Poe nods. “He meant the galaxy to me. Still does.”
They were friends. Even if Poe’s affection for him went beyond platonic. Rey can feel it, swelling, powerful, devoted.
It occurs to her that she treated Poe Dameron too harshly. He can be irritating, but he can also love incredibly deeply. Not just romantically. He can just love. It can get him into trouble, like with Holdo, but it’s also beautiful.
“Poe,” she says softly. “I’m so very, very sorry.”
She squeezes his shoulder. Over the Bond, she hears Kylo Ren, hears him say “He means the galaxy to me too”, but Poe can’t hear it, and that’s not fair.
She’ll have to tell him, one day.
