He hesitated, gripping the letter and frowning at it, not quite willing to read it.
"... Thank you," he murmured, pressing it to his chest without opening it. He knew there couldn't be a lot in it - it was hardly going to be a will. None of them had expected her to actually die. But it still felt like she was stretching her hand out from death.
"Does it feel strange, to find things you wrote? Can you remember writing them?"
Finn just stared down at his own piece of parchment, griping it but unwilling to read. Perhaps later, in private, he could make himself get it over with. Right now, he couldn't grieve Rey while she stood in front of him.
He stepped forward to wrap her in a loose hug, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Thank you. I'm sorry we didn't find them." Sorry that he had put her in this position now. Sorry for so many things he couldn't possibly begin to list.
Rey didn't shy away from Finn, returning his embrace, trying to keep the guilt and sadness she felt to herself.
"You don't need to apologize. It wasn't your fault." For what happened. For not going into her room. They didn't know she would die. Hell, Rey didn't know what caused her to die to begin with, but that was for another day. One thing at a time.
"It felt nostalgic to be here...wisps of memories, and glimpses of them. I.." a bitter smile came over her face, lowering her head to press into Finn's shoulder for a brief moment.
"I can remember having the quill in my hand, writing it out and then trying to decide how I wanted to seal it." With wax, or maybe wrap it with a ribbon. The silliest, smallest mundane details came easily, but the bigger events were still a blur.
Finn didn't want to leave the hug but he didn't hold Rey to him so tightly anymore either. The close proximity was enough. What he did clench, though, was his letter. There was a fear in the back of his mind of damaging it but the rest of him didn't care. Rey was here now. What did it matter anymore?
"Maybe you'll remember soon," he offered quietly. "Whatever happens, we're here for you. Anything you need." Especially overly long hugs.
Though he hadn't forgotten her scars or anything else over the past 24 hours. She still had a life without them that couldn't be ignored. If only he knew how to begin addressing it.
It was a thought, a very strong possibility that her memories were coming back. Possibly sooner than anticipated. Which, wouldn’t be a bad thing. It would make things easier and allow her to be closer to both men, and give into the desires that Poe had.
But an overly long hug was something she needed right now. She nodded her head to Finn, not caring about anything else at the moment.
She let out a deep breath, pulling herself together before pulling back from Finn.
“Maybe....it would be helpful, but are you two okay?” With the letters, with her and enjoying themselves?
“Did you want me to make breakfast or go on that tour?”
Finn pulled away from Rey as well, getting a good look at her to make sure she was okay, too. "We're okay." Now that she's here with them again, they'll find a way to be okay.
He tucked his own letter away and gave a small smile towards Poe. "Yeah, the tour sounds perfect." A good way to get them all to stop thinking so much and enjoy the present. He looked again to Rey. "Wherever you want, Poe and I can get you there."
Poe’s reply almost made Rey want to ask again, but she reframed. She didn’t want to push. She was trying to hide her own feelings about it. No need to make either of them worry. They had a tour to do—and Rey had a snack bar or two to munch on. It would be fine.
“I don’t know where to start. You two choose, I need to change.” Because trying that trick again probably wouldn’t work and she wasn’t in the mood to try.
Rey moved away from the pair, turning her back to them as she went to her small bag, fishing out her clothes and placed a snack bar on her old bed. She didn’t mind changing in front of them again, but the faint scars Finn saw earlier would be visible to Poe—if he looked at her.
A few seconds later she was in denim pants and an old college shirt. Ordinary, normal, nothing to make her stand out.
Poe gave Finn a glance. His desire for a tour had less to do with the upper world and a lot more to do with Rey's view of the upper world. He didn't know where to start because all he wanted was to see the world the way that she did.
"Where she grew up, maybe?" He asked in a quite voice while she was changing. "In case there's something special about the location?"
Yeah, he was still clearly thinking about Ares. He would be for a while. Especially when he stole a glance over at her and noticed the scars.
He tensed visibly, and found himself staring for several seconds before forcefully averting his gaze. Instead, his eyes found Finn's, his expression dark.
When she turned around, however, he forced a smile to his lips. It wasn't even that hard. She looked... well, cute, like this.
"I'm ready," He said easily, pulling his concentrating and focus into the room, preparing to make a door. "Where to?"
Finn didn't look, knowing what he'd see, but his gaze did stay on Poe. He watched as the other figured it out, too, which was a shame. Finn wanted to be the one to tell him, to try breaking it to him easier than this. Instead, he didn't turn away from the darkness in his eyes, just projecting back sadness and understanding. He should have found time to say something...
But he managed a little smile when Rey appeared again, his eyes darting to Poe for a split second. "If you don't mind, Poe and I were wondering if we could see where you grew up."
“You want to visit London?” Not exactly where she grew up, but close enough. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, though some of her classmates in London...if they saw her, they might question what she was doing there. Considering she should be in Greece but, the chances of her running into someone were very low.
“I grew up in the lower side of it, nothing fancy, but..okay?” Gods, would the old place she grew up in...was it still there? A tiny shack of a place that Unkar barely kept together or visited.
“Ah, you may want to have a jacket, it could rain. It happens sometimes.”
Finn's attire also shifted to a thicker coat, producing a long purple one for Rey as well. Didn't seem like she had any overly warm or waterproof clothes with her?
He also easily picked up on what Poe was really looking for and was almost hoping they wouldn't find it. Not while Rey was with them. Finn wanted to seek vengeance, of course, but it would do nothing if it drove Rey away from them. Then who won?
But the sentiment remained the same. "We want to know everything." His eyes flashed purple, already finding a way between the Underworld and this part of London she was talking about. "We missed you. If you never remember, we still want to be a part of your life." If she'll have them... but he couldn't bring himself to voice the chance of rejection at this point. Bit dark of him, he knew, but it was what it was.
The neat trick both men managed to do was still so fascinating to Rey. Hopefully, she would learn how to do it again. For now, she was more than grateful for Finn producing a thicker coat for her. She had a thick jacket of her own stuffed in her small duffel bag, but the one Finn gave her felt so much nicer.
"There's not much to know...?" she sounded sheepish there, if only because her life seemed so...mundane compared to their's. But, they wanted to know, and she was more than willing let them see her world. Maybe even take them to a bakery she frequented when she was younger.
"I mean, nothing that's really interesting, but, it's....it's not home, just where I grew up." It didn't feel like she had a home until now. It didn't feel like anything until she had their arms around her, holding her as she slept last night.
"This is your home," Poe agreed, as if she could read her mind. He couldn't. He would have said the same thing even if she didn't feel that way. As far as he was concerned, this was, would be, and always had been her home.
"But you're wrong about it being interesting." He twirled the umbrella in one hand and then turned around to yell a booming "Beebee!" down into the corridor. A second later the massive dog appeared, slobbering excitedly as it ran up to Poe, and by the time he reached the man he was small enough to leap into Poe's arm. Lapdog. The mortals wouldn't notice that sometimes it looked like it had extra heads - they never noticed those sorts of things.
"Alright, let's see how London looks these days." He pulled Beebee up against his chest, kissed the dog's head, and then started up the stairs.
Finn smiled at the display, happy that the dog was coming along but still worried about what Poe might do on the surface if confronted with something awful... Hell, he was worried about what he himself might do.
"We think everything about you is interesting," he said in explanation, offering his elbow to Rey before they followed Poe up the stairs.
It would all come back to her, eventually. She would be able to remember the halls, their history, the garden, and so much more. It would come back in due time. For now, she would have to muddle through and share this new part of her to the two people who loved her so much. Plus, having Beebee along would certainly make the trip more fun. Though, her mind, set in its mortal ways, hoped no one would bother such a cute dog.
She took Finn's arm, walking up with him up the stairs towards the top where the door to the mortal realm was.
"It may have changed somewhat, depending when you last saw it. Interesting to tourists, but not so much to a local." And honestly, she kept more to herself than anything. Maybe visited a pub here and there, but she wasn't a patron to any specific one.
Once they opened the door and walked outside, the sky opened up and poured down on them. Bad weather, but nothing to really worry about. Rey popped the collar of her coat up, trying to keep herself from protected from the rain. People were walking quickly, umbrellas in hand and a briefcase or bag in the other. Cars honking their horns because of traffic and a lot of people trying to get to their final destinations.
It hadn't changed...though Rey had only been gone for a few days, she wasn't expecting anything major.
"This way..." she began to lead down a street, heading towards the place she grew up.
He followed her out into the rain, though oddly enough, every time a drop would hit him, it just seemed to vanish. Regardless, he opened up his umbrella for appearance's sake, too. He followed behind the two greatest loves of his life, watching them arm in arm, but also watching everyone else on the street. His eyes scanned anyone who even happened to glance at them. It was as if Rey and Finn were in colour and the rest of the world was grey. He scanned it for dangers but otherwise let his heart follow them and care only a very little bit about anything else.
"The whole world changes quickly," Poe murmured as they walked, eyes barely glancing over the traffic as it passed. "There are places I haven't seen since electricity was invented. But it's hard to avoid London for too long, considering how much of our dwindling worship is centered here."
Way too many people into tarot or astrology - which was where the greek pantheon tended to find it's casual followers, these days. And the British Museum stored so much art of them that he could probably feel where it was, from here, even if he closed his eyes. The awareness that it caused--
Finn raised and opened the umbrella that hadn't been in his hands mere moments ago, but the mortal wouldn't notice that. They didn't notice much these days. Though the rain didn't seem to touch him either, he certainly didn't want Rey getting soaked. What if she got sick? Could she get sick? Would she always be somewhat mortal in that way?
He pushed his fears to the side for another day.
Poe was right. He could still feel their worshippers here, just like he used to be able to nearly everywhere he stepped before. The familiarity of that and Rey's arm in his was almost too overwhelming. "You know, this place is beautiful." It was something about the hustle and the people and architecture and the achievements- It was something about it.
"What did you do for fun when you were younger? Did you walk down this street just like we are now?"
A few raindrops did fall onto her coat, and into her hair, but she didn't pay much attention to it. She was used to braving the weather, but soon nothing was touching her. No rain drops thanks to the umbrella Finn had in his hand. Suddenly summoned, nothing out of the ordinary. No one paid attention, though some might look over at Finn or Poe and smile, caught off guard by their handsomeness.
Rey didn't pay attention to that, only focused on where she was going, and holding onto Finn's arm. She didn't feel the few and casual followers they had. As though there was something blocking her connection to them? Or, maybe it was lingering in the back of her mind, and she learned at a young age to simply ignore it.
"It is beautiful, and I enjoy the rain. There's a smell to it that makes me feel nostalgic, calm even." Just as she had all those years ago.
"Fun?" she repeated, eyebrows knitted together as she thought it over.
"I was usually running down the street, trying to get back to my guardian's home. Had to get home from school to work, if not with him then with any odd job I could find. The free time I had..." It seemed so long ago, but it wasn't.
"I made a little doll out of odds and ends, played with that...pretended.." a sad, little smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Pretended to go on adventures together, looking for my parents--somewhere in the world, or out in space."
"You've always been a creator," Poe murmured fondly as he watched them.
Though the mention of parents...
Damn. Should he report this to someone? Olympus was empty, these days, but he was fairly sure the other gods were around somewhere. Should he tell Demeter...?
No.
No, she had proven long ago she didn't actually care about Rey's happiness. So Poe didn't care about her.
Finn glanced back at Poe when she mentioned what little free time she had and how much she worked from such a young age. Not to mention the topic of parents. Should they tell Rey about Demeter? Would she want to meet her?
They could figure that part out later, though, since Demeter was hardly anyone Finn cared to include.
He squeezed Rey's arm and said nothing for now, intent on this leisurely walk in the rain with his lovers.
"Have I?" Rey asked, looking over to Poe as he walked with Beebee. It was such a cute sight. One of these days she would have to take a picture--no, not just a picture, but multiple ones. Poe and Beebee. Poe and Finn...all of them together. Something for her to look through, something she could hold and maybe make a picture book for...or something.
They might view it as a mortal thing, but it was sentimental to her.
As for where her guardian lived...Rey took a deep breath and inclined her head towards the right. They headed down another street, moving away from the hustle and bustle of the city to the outer area of it. Where the buildings looked worn down, and hadn't aged well. The roads weren't as well maintained as the others.
Further and further out until they were in a more industrial area of London where a small building was located next to old, broken down cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. A mechanic's garage was located three spaces down. A home smack between a junkyard and a smarmy car shop.
"I was brought here when I was ....six? Maybe seven. Wasn't much, but it was a roof and four walls."
The further they walked, the more grim Poe's expression became, the tighter he hugged Beebee to his chest.
He couldn't help but think of it like a desert. The buildings all sheer stone cliffs, the streets all sand that had been pressed together as hard as rock. An exile, and a cruel one. Maybe he was being ridiculous - he wouldn't feel this way if they were only thinking about humans - but he couldn't help it.
Rey should have reawoken to life in nothing but love. She should have known kindness from the very beginning.
They should have found her, the moment she was born, and took her home.
A weird nagging thought at the back of his mind made him wonder if maybe it was always meant to be like this. Maybe Rey couldn't be herself until someone had seen her suffer. Maybe the only reason he and Finn called to her soul was to fill the loneliness the world pushed on her. It was a dark thought, and he tried to push it away, but couldn't.
"Who was your guardian?" He asked, trying to keep his tone neutral.
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no subject
"... Thank you," he murmured, pressing it to his chest without opening it. He knew there couldn't be a lot in it - it was hardly going to be a will. None of them had expected her to actually die. But it still felt like she was stretching her hand out from death.
"Does it feel strange, to find things you wrote? Can you remember writing them?"
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He stepped forward to wrap her in a loose hug, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Thank you. I'm sorry we didn't find them." Sorry that he had put her in this position now. Sorry for so many things he couldn't possibly begin to list.
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"You don't need to apologize. It wasn't your fault." For what happened. For not going into her room. They didn't know she would die. Hell, Rey didn't know what caused her to die to begin with, but that was for another day. One thing at a time.
"It felt nostalgic to be here...wisps of memories, and glimpses of them. I.." a bitter smile came over her face, lowering her head to press into Finn's shoulder for a brief moment.
"I can remember having the quill in my hand, writing it out and then trying to decide how I wanted to seal it." With wax, or maybe wrap it with a ribbon. The silliest, smallest mundane details came easily, but the bigger events were still a blur.
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He carefully took the scroll and slid it into a pocket of his leather jacket, the parchment disappearing.
“That means it’ll all come back, we just have to be patient.”
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"Maybe you'll remember soon," he offered quietly. "Whatever happens, we're here for you. Anything you need." Especially overly long hugs.
Though he hadn't forgotten her scars or anything else over the past 24 hours. She still had a life without them that couldn't be ignored. If only he knew how to begin addressing it.
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But an overly long hug was something she needed right now. She nodded her head to Finn, not caring about anything else at the moment.
She let out a deep breath, pulling herself together before pulling back from Finn.
“Maybe....it would be helpful, but are you two okay?” With the letters, with her and enjoying themselves?
“Did you want me to make breakfast or go on that tour?”
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“Just need some air, is all. So let’s go above and have that tour of yours.”
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He tucked his own letter away and gave a small smile towards Poe. "Yeah, the tour sounds perfect." A good way to get them all to stop thinking so much and enjoy the present. He looked again to Rey. "Wherever you want, Poe and I can get you there."
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“I don’t know where to start. You two choose, I need to change.” Because trying that trick again probably wouldn’t work and she wasn’t in the mood to try.
Rey moved away from the pair, turning her back to them as she went to her small bag, fishing out her clothes and placed a snack bar on her old bed. She didn’t mind changing in front of them again, but the faint scars Finn saw earlier would be visible to Poe—if he looked at her.
A few seconds later she was in denim pants and an old college shirt. Ordinary, normal, nothing to make her stand out.
“Ready when you are.”
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"Where she grew up, maybe?" He asked in a quite voice while she was changing. "In case there's something special about the location?"
Yeah, he was still clearly thinking about Ares. He would be for a while. Especially when he stole a glance over at her and noticed the scars.
He tensed visibly, and found himself staring for several seconds before forcefully averting his gaze. Instead, his eyes found Finn's, his expression dark.
When she turned around, however, he forced a smile to his lips. It wasn't even that hard. She looked... well, cute, like this.
"I'm ready," He said easily, pulling his concentrating and focus into the room, preparing to make a door. "Where to?"
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But he managed a little smile when Rey appeared again, his eyes darting to Poe for a split second. "If you don't mind, Poe and I were wondering if we could see where you grew up."
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“I grew up in the lower side of it, nothing fancy, but..okay?” Gods, would the old place she grew up in...was it still there? A tiny shack of a place that Unkar barely kept together or visited.
“Ah, you may want to have a jacket, it could rain. It happens sometimes.”
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"We want to see all of it," He added. "We missed everything until now. We want to catch up."
Maybe utterly destroy whoever gave her those scars, but. Who was keeping track?
HI SORRY HELLO HI
He also easily picked up on what Poe was really looking for and was almost hoping they wouldn't find it. Not while Rey was with them. Finn wanted to seek vengeance, of course, but it would do nothing if it drove Rey away from them. Then who won?
But the sentiment remained the same. "We want to know everything." His eyes flashed purple, already finding a way between the Underworld and this part of London she was talking about. "We missed you. If you never remember, we still want to be a part of your life." If she'll have them... but he couldn't bring himself to voice the chance of rejection at this point. Bit dark of him, he knew, but it was what it was.
<3 I MOVED AND I SOBBED SO MUCH
"There's not much to know...?" she sounded sheepish there, if only because her life seemed so...mundane compared to their's. But, they wanted to know, and she was more than willing let them see her world. Maybe even take them to a bakery she frequented when she was younger.
"I mean, nothing that's really interesting, but, it's....it's not home, just where I grew up." It didn't feel like she had a home until now. It didn't feel like anything until she had their arms around her, holding her as she slept last night.
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"But you're wrong about it being interesting." He twirled the umbrella in one hand and then turned around to yell a booming "Beebee!" down into the corridor. A second later the massive dog appeared, slobbering excitedly as it ran up to Poe, and by the time he reached the man he was small enough to leap into Poe's arm. Lapdog. The mortals wouldn't notice that sometimes it looked like it had extra heads - they never noticed those sorts of things.
"Alright, let's see how London looks these days." He pulled Beebee up against his chest, kissed the dog's head, and then started up the stairs.
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"We think everything about you is interesting," he said in explanation, offering his elbow to Rey before they followed Poe up the stairs.
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She took Finn's arm, walking up with him up the stairs towards the top where the door to the mortal realm was.
"It may have changed somewhat, depending when you last saw it. Interesting to tourists, but not so much to a local." And honestly, she kept more to herself than anything. Maybe visited a pub here and there, but she wasn't a patron to any specific one.
Once they opened the door and walked outside, the sky opened up and poured down on them. Bad weather, but nothing to really worry about. Rey popped the collar of her coat up, trying to keep herself from protected from the rain. People were walking quickly, umbrellas in hand and a briefcase or bag in the other. Cars honking their horns because of traffic and a lot of people trying to get to their final destinations.
It hadn't changed...though Rey had only been gone for a few days, she wasn't expecting anything major.
"This way..." she began to lead down a street, heading towards the place she grew up.
no subject
"The whole world changes quickly," Poe murmured as they walked, eyes barely glancing over the traffic as it passed. "There are places I haven't seen since electricity was invented. But it's hard to avoid London for too long, considering how much of our dwindling worship is centered here."
Way too many people into tarot or astrology - which was where the greek pantheon tended to find it's casual followers, these days. And the British Museum stored so much art of them that he could probably feel where it was, from here, even if he closed his eyes. The awareness that it caused--
Not the focus of today.
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He pushed his fears to the side for another day.
Poe was right. He could still feel their worshippers here, just like he used to be able to nearly everywhere he stepped before. The familiarity of that and Rey's arm in his was almost too overwhelming. "You know, this place is beautiful." It was something about the hustle and the people and architecture and the achievements- It was something about it.
"What did you do for fun when you were younger? Did you walk down this street just like we are now?"
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Rey didn't pay attention to that, only focused on where she was going, and holding onto Finn's arm. She didn't feel the few and casual followers they had. As though there was something blocking her connection to them? Or, maybe it was lingering in the back of her mind, and she learned at a young age to simply ignore it.
"It is beautiful, and I enjoy the rain. There's a smell to it that makes me feel nostalgic, calm even." Just as she had all those years ago.
"Fun?" she repeated, eyebrows knitted together as she thought it over.
"I was usually running down the street, trying to get back to my guardian's home. Had to get home from school to work, if not with him then with any odd job I could find. The free time I had..." It seemed so long ago, but it wasn't.
"I made a little doll out of odds and ends, played with that...pretended.." a sad, little smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Pretended to go on adventures together, looking for my parents--somewhere in the world, or out in space."
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Though the mention of parents...
Damn. Should he report this to someone? Olympus was empty, these days, but he was fairly sure the other gods were around somewhere. Should he tell Demeter...?
No.
No, she had proven long ago she didn't actually care about Rey's happiness. So Poe didn't care about her.
"Where was your guardian's home?"
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They could figure that part out later, though, since Demeter was hardly anyone Finn cared to include.
He squeezed Rey's arm and said nothing for now, intent on this leisurely walk in the rain with his lovers.
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They might view it as a mortal thing, but it was sentimental to her.
As for where her guardian lived...Rey took a deep breath and inclined her head towards the right. They headed down another street, moving away from the hustle and bustle of the city to the outer area of it. Where the buildings looked worn down, and hadn't aged well. The roads weren't as well maintained as the others.
Further and further out until they were in a more industrial area of London where a small building was located next to old, broken down cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. A mechanic's garage was located three spaces down. A home smack between a junkyard and a smarmy car shop.
"I was brought here when I was ....six? Maybe seven. Wasn't much, but it was a roof and four walls."
no subject
He couldn't help but think of it like a desert. The buildings all sheer stone cliffs, the streets all sand that had been pressed together as hard as rock. An exile, and a cruel one. Maybe he was being ridiculous - he wouldn't feel this way if they were only thinking about humans - but he couldn't help it.
Rey should have reawoken to life in nothing but love. She should have known kindness from the very beginning.
They should have found her, the moment she was born, and took her home.
A weird nagging thought at the back of his mind made him wonder if maybe it was always meant to be like this. Maybe Rey couldn't be herself until someone had seen her suffer. Maybe the only reason he and Finn called to her soul was to fill the loneliness the world pushed on her. It was a dark thought, and he tried to push it away, but couldn't.
"Who was your guardian?" He asked, trying to keep his tone neutral.
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