With a smile and a wave, Finn and Poe vanished into smoke.
They were gone for quite some time, longer than it should have taken, and they were both frustrated when they arrived back in the Underworld.
Put simply, they had been too late. Demeter had gone straight to Zeus, who refused to completely side with them. To satisfy all parties, because he was an asshole like that, they struck a deal that pissed everyone off. Rey would spend six months in the Underworld and six months on the surface in exchange for their marriage. No exceptions.
Finn had been angry initially, but there was nothing to fight against now. No, now he was just depressed. They had to break the news to Rey when they were supposed to be coming back home to a celebration. Maybe they shouldn't have gone at all or refused a deal outright. They should have more power than this, right? They could start a war.
But that's the problem. They could start a war.
He squeezed Poe's hand and silently looked over to him, not having much left in himself to do anything except feel sad and exhausted.
It had started boiling from the moment he'd seen Demeter and had only gotten worse and darker.
He'd thought - he'd honestly believed - that he'd come up with a solution. One where he could help Rey, and also do something to make Finn happy. It was a good plan. Now, still covered in black steel armour, he gripped Finn's hand tightly as they walked back into the palace, but didn't dare look at him. Finn didn't need to know the rage that was bubbling behind his eyes.
He gave a sharp whistle for BB-8, whose head immediately sprung up from where he had been taking a nap next to Rey. He gave a sharp single bark and then got up, looking in the direction where he had heard Poe, and then glancing at Rey as if to get her to follow.
Rey was still where they had left her. Time had gotten away from her, crafting, creating more things for them. Fields of various flowers, and grass--even more shrubs and bushes. Something that looked like it was plucked from the surface itself. However, in creating so much, she had exhausted herself. She knew she could push herself further, felt like she was starting to finally scratch the surface of her abilities, when a nap called to her.
She had been asleep for a few minutes at most when that whistle caught her attention. She stirred as well, looking over at Beebee to see that he was up already.
"I'm up, I'm up.." she murmured, rising to her feet and addressing her appearance a little. This should be a happy occasion, right? The pair had finally come back and now they would be fine? As much as she wanted to believe that, she was apprehensive about it. She followed the hound's lead, going back to Poe and Finn...
Her stomach dropped.
Poe was still in his armor and Finn wasn't smiling.
"...She was already there, wasn't she." Not a question, just an observation.
Finn just frowned back at her for a long moment, gripping at Poe's hand. He didn't want to say it but one of them had to.
So his shoulders dropped a little, and he tried. "He agreed to our marriage but only with terms. You can only stay with us for six months out of the year. Then-" Then she had to go back to the surface. Back to Demeter, and neither of them could do anything about it without incurring Zeus' wrath.
"Then you have to go back," he finished and didn't elaborate further.
"I'm sorry," Poe bit out, his anger and frustration clear with every word, even though it wasn't directed at the two of them. He wasn't looking at them at all, glaring out onto the horizon.
"I thought it would work. Who the hell arranges a marriage contract where the bridge goes back to her mother half of every year? It was-- I was trying to make things better and I'm afraid I made them worse."
Rey wasn't surprised. It seemed too good to be true that she found a way out of this mess. She thought she would be freed from Demeter, but she would be between two worlds for half of the year. Demeter could do a lot in six months...but there had to be another way?
"Marriage...isn't his domain though. I thought it was Hera's?" Not that she was the most sensible goddess around, but, still Zeus was King of them.
She could feel a headache forming behind her eyes and by her temples. They had created a mess, but she...she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave the one place that felt like home. Poe was pissed, and Finn looked tired form arguing, there had to be another way!
"No, I refuse. I'm not spending half the damn year with her. She can try to drag me out from here, but I won't go. She cannot take me away from both of you."
But it wasn't right. This should be Rey's choice. She should have a voice to tell them what she wanted, what she deserved from them.
He couldn't bring himself to tell Rey that it was impossible, that her trying to stay would only cause more harm. He wanted to stand with her and fight against this somehow.
Instead of saying anything, he released Poe's hand and stepped forward to close the distance, wrapping his arms tight around Rey.
"She's stripping the fertility from the land for every month you're gone," Poe said tightly, the rage brimming in his voice. His fist clenched around empty air when Finn's released it.
"I calculated it out. Six months is about the maximum that the humans can sustain themselves, without the plants growing. More than that, and the animals start dying off and there's nothing to eat. Trust me, I was - I very much wanted to spit in her face and say you were staying with us anyway, but I couldn't do it. I can talk big all I want about not giving into to that kind of manipulative bullshit, but with Zeus backing up her claim..." He trailed off.
"... Hera wouldn't plead for us. Of course she wouldn't. She's as happy to pretend we don't exist as the rest of them are."
Rey was trying to stay strong, she was trying to bury her sadness, her frustration down in her being. She wanted to fight, she itched for a fight, to scream and shout how unjust all of this was. But they couldn't let the mortals take the blow for it. They couldn't let them suffer because of their--Demeter's selfishness.
As hard as she tried to bury those feelings, Finn's presence caused her to unravel. He held her, and she felt her world slipping from her fingers. Her heart ached, crying out for the wrongness of it all.
"Then I'll fight her!" Rey yelled, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
"I will not go back to her and have her talk down to me. I'll make Hera listen and negotiate my own damn freedom!" It was completely irrational for her to say she would make the Queen of the Gods listen, but she was damn willing. She would move the heavens, the earth, and everything else to have her own freedom.
Finn couldn't foresee any of this going well. What power did Hera hold over Zeus, really?
"If you go, then I'll go back with you," he answered, leaning back to hold her arms. "But Demeter has the upper hand. Hera may not be able to get her or Zeus to listen..."
There just wasn't much he could offer for all this. He was at a loss, already bled out all of his anger and still trying to think, only to continue hitting walls.
"If you go now, you'll annul the entire thing," Poe said, his voice dark and low even in the face of her anger. He was glad she was angry. So was he. But there was nothing either of them can do.
"We have six months. We can - we can figure out how the hell to fix this in six months. If you don't want to be here at all - - Look, Rey, I know this isn't what we promised you. Or what we offered. And if it's not enough, then I get it. I'll open the door to Olympus and you can go yourself. You can even take Finn. But I won't be able to open the door back up again."
Her hands held onto Finn's chiton as her anger threatened to consume her. She wanted to lash out, open the earth and let the worms, bones and debris come up to wrap around Demeter and hold her down. No good would come of it, but it would make her feel better. To inflict such pain onto someone else, onto Demeter, and bring them down to her level....it was so damn tempting.
But, there was nothing she could do now. Poe, as angry as he was, had a point. They had six months to figure things out. Six months for them to come up with a plan with cooler heads, and....do something. What that something was, she wasn't sure.
Tears spilled from her eyes, but she couldn't lash out at them. She couldn't lash out at Finn or Poe, but she wanted to scream. Her tongue wouldn't stay still, so she bit down on it, hard enough for the metallic taste of blood to bloom in her mouth.
"Six months...we have time...we have time.." she finally whispered after a long stretch of silence. She bowed her head, shutting her eyes tightly as she pressed her forehead to Finn's shoulder.
Finn, at a complete loss, pressed a kiss into her hair and just held her. "We'll figure this out."
All he could do was fall back on comforting his lovers but there wasn't much he could do in the way of comfort. He couldn't fix the problem, had probably just made it worse... No, he'd made everything worse, that was for certain. "I'm so sorry, Rey."
"I'll raise a whole damn army if I have to," Poe muttered, mostly to himself. It was an empty threat, and he knew it. He'd caved when Demeter had put the humans at risk. He'd thought himself stronger than that, but he couldn't let her condemn them to death. He'd have to figure something else out.
The armour flaked off him, falling like dry, crisp leaves, until he was only in his usual chiton. He couldn't look at Rey while she cried. Couldn't face how fully he'd disappointed her.
He should just leave them, for a while. Finn was always better at this kind of thing than he was. Comfort was worth so much more than useless, unenforceable judgement. He started stepping away, leaving them to their embrace.
No, no, she wouldn't risk more lives than her own. As badly as she wanted justice, and her blood was singing that she should, she couldn't leave Finn's embrace. She couldn't put what they had, as strained as it was, at stake. She wasn't disappointed in Poe, or in Finn. She was disappointed in Zeus, in Hera, and the Fates themselves for letting Demeter do this.
For pushing them into this corner and expecting them to simply cave. They wouldn't. They would figure something out.
In the mean time, Rey hugged Finn back, shifting slightly so her head could rest on her shoulder. She saw Poe turn to walk away from them, and that didn't settle with her either.
"I need you too...please.." she murmured loud enough for him to hear while holding Finn. If they were going to make this work, they would need to be there for each other, and Rey...she needed both men.
"It's not...it's not either of your faults. I'm wish I was stronger to have stood up to her sooner..."
"You were strong to endure her," Finn mumbled into her hair, trying to find reassurances where he could.
His eyes were on Poe, though, walking away from them likely to stew in his own anger and sadness. "Don't go," he called out softer than Rey, not wanting any of them to be alone for even a moment right now. "They want to split us apart."
He was angry enough that he almost resisted it. That his own desire to stoke his rage and fume on his own almost outstripped his need to be close. But in the end, he could not deny them. Either of them. And after several long seconds where he held in place, unable to move forward, he finally tuned back towards them, eyes lowered and brows knit.
"Sorry," He murmured to them both. "I'm right here."
Tonight was supposed to be joyous. Tonight, they should have been exchanging their wedding vows. He'd even already wrote his. I promise you freedom and all the happiness its in my power to bring you. Except obviously he'd managed neither.
Tonight was supposed to be a joyous one, where they could make so many memories to rewrite the ones Rey had. She hadn't time to think of vows, too busy working on bringing as much life as she could into their garden. A place for them to come together and simply be.
She took in Finn's reassuring words, hugging him tighter for a moment. Her eyes didn't leave Poe's form, begging him to come back to them. He needed this as much as she did. All of them needed to be close. They had something special and the rest of them wanted to tear it apart.
Fuck it, if he wasn't coming to them, she would.
Rey dried her eyes, and pulled away from Finn. She didn't completely break contact though. Her hand stayed in his, and she made both of them bridge the distance to Poe and promptly held him too.
She didn't know if she was as calming or soothing as Finn, but damnit, she needed to hold Poe too.
It didn't take much urging for Finn to follow if any. He was already there to wrap his arms around Poe and Rey as soon as she embraced him.
He hadn't written any vows either. Hadn't even thought about it in the haze of happiness he'd been in. He could at least mourn their night together, feeling it ruined already, just like the others wanted.
"We still have six months for now. We can find happiness in that time. I know it." Otherwise, what was the point? They shouldn't be miserable for all this time they had together.
and then I did fall asleep and had class this morning lol
There was no way of describing the relief that flooded him, when both pairs of arms circled tight around him. His heart thumped, a deep longing, and he ducked his head to bury it against Rey’s throat, an arm looping tightly around Finn’s waist and pulling him in tightly.
“I already found my happiness,” he mumbled against Rey’s neck, his grip on them both tightening. He pressed a kiss against her skin, his fingers tight in Finn’s clothes.
“But damn if I don’t want to throw Zeus and Demeter in a river for trying to keep it from me.”
Relief mingled with sadness flooded her. The three of them embracing and holding onto each other. They needed this, a moment to simply be and hold one another. Touch was so important, helping to establish those memories and feel like she belonged to something.
Rey didn’t realize how badly she needed to be held until Poe and Finn entered her life. They wouldn’t deny her for a hand to hold or arms for her to embrace.
The kisses seemed to have strengthen the bond developing between them. A strong current of energy weaving through them.
“I’m more inclined to lock both of them up...” Rey murmured, trying to picture both gods bound in chains...but it was just a thought.
“We’ll make the most of this and figure things out. We’ll be okay...we ha e each other.”
"Our wedding night, huh." He mumbled it, a little bitter. It was not the sort of wedding night he would have pictured.
But...
"We should have a proper one. Tomorrow." He pulled back a little, just so he could actually glance at each of them in turn. "It doesn't have to involve anyone else. Just - just something for us."
Wedding night? Oh, yes. It was their wedding night wasn’t it? Though no vows were officially exchanged, they had all eaten a piece of the pomegranate. They were connected in a way. Though, Poe had a point. They could do something tomorrow.
“Yes, we should. Something for all of us...” ahh, but maybe she should set some expectations?
“I...I’ve never been intimate with anyone and I..” fuck was she blushing? Yes.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for anything beyond...kissing.”
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He gripped the man's hand tightly, black and purple smoke curling around him until he was once more dressed in the armour he'd gone to see Rey in.
He had a reputation to uphold, after all.
"I'm ready."
timeskip time!!
They were gone for quite some time, longer than it should have taken, and they were both frustrated when they arrived back in the Underworld.
Put simply, they had been too late. Demeter had gone straight to Zeus, who refused to completely side with them. To satisfy all parties, because he was an asshole like that, they struck a deal that pissed everyone off. Rey would spend six months in the Underworld and six months on the surface in exchange for their marriage. No exceptions.
Finn had been angry initially, but there was nothing to fight against now. No, now he was just depressed. They had to break the news to Rey when they were supposed to be coming back home to a celebration. Maybe they shouldn't have gone at all or refused a deal outright. They should have more power than this, right? They could start a war.
But that's the problem. They could start a war.
He squeezed Poe's hand and silently looked over to him, not having much left in himself to do anything except feel sad and exhausted.
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It had started boiling from the moment he'd seen Demeter and had only gotten worse and darker.
He'd thought - he'd honestly believed - that he'd come up with a solution. One where he could help Rey, and also do something to make Finn happy. It was a good plan. Now, still covered in black steel armour, he gripped Finn's hand tightly as they walked back into the palace, but didn't dare look at him. Finn didn't need to know the rage that was bubbling behind his eyes.
He gave a sharp whistle for BB-8, whose head immediately sprung up from where he had been taking a nap next to Rey. He gave a sharp single bark and then got up, looking in the direction where he had heard Poe, and then glancing at Rey as if to get her to follow.
lets do the time wrap again?
She had been asleep for a few minutes at most when that whistle caught her attention. She stirred as well, looking over at Beebee to see that he was up already.
"I'm up, I'm up.." she murmured, rising to her feet and addressing her appearance a little. This should be a happy occasion, right? The pair had finally come back and now they would be fine? As much as she wanted to believe that, she was apprehensive about it. She followed the hound's lead, going back to Poe and Finn...
Her stomach dropped.
Poe was still in his armor and Finn wasn't smiling.
"...She was already there, wasn't she." Not a question, just an observation.
"...what did Zeus say?"
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So his shoulders dropped a little, and he tried. "He agreed to our marriage but only with terms. You can only stay with us for six months out of the year. Then-" Then she had to go back to the surface. Back to Demeter, and neither of them could do anything about it without incurring Zeus' wrath.
"Then you have to go back," he finished and didn't elaborate further.
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"I thought it would work. Who the hell arranges a marriage contract where the bridge goes back to her mother half of every year? It was-- I was trying to make things better and I'm afraid I made them worse."
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"Marriage...isn't his domain though. I thought it was Hera's?" Not that she was the most sensible goddess around, but, still Zeus was King of them.
She could feel a headache forming behind her eyes and by her temples. They had created a mess, but she...she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave the one place that felt like home. Poe was pissed, and Finn looked tired form arguing, there had to be another way!
"No, I refuse. I'm not spending half the damn year with her. She can try to drag me out from here, but I won't go. She cannot take me away from both of you."
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But it wasn't right. This should be Rey's choice. She should have a voice to tell them what she wanted, what she deserved from them.
He couldn't bring himself to tell Rey that it was impossible, that her trying to stay would only cause more harm. He wanted to stand with her and fight against this somehow.
Instead of saying anything, he released Poe's hand and stepped forward to close the distance, wrapping his arms tight around Rey.
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"I calculated it out. Six months is about the maximum that the humans can sustain themselves, without the plants growing. More than that, and the animals start dying off and there's nothing to eat. Trust me, I was - I very much wanted to spit in her face and say you were staying with us anyway, but I couldn't do it. I can talk big all I want about not giving into to that kind of manipulative bullshit, but with Zeus backing up her claim..." He trailed off.
"... Hera wouldn't plead for us. Of course she wouldn't. She's as happy to pretend we don't exist as the rest of them are."
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As hard as she tried to bury those feelings, Finn's presence caused her to unravel. He held her, and she felt her world slipping from her fingers. Her heart ached, crying out for the wrongness of it all.
"Then I'll fight her!" Rey yelled, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
"I will not go back to her and have her talk down to me. I'll make Hera listen and negotiate my own damn freedom!" It was completely irrational for her to say she would make the Queen of the Gods listen, but she was damn willing. She would move the heavens, the earth, and everything else to have her own freedom.
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"If you go, then I'll go back with you," he answered, leaning back to hold her arms. "But Demeter has the upper hand. Hera may not be able to get her or Zeus to listen..."
There just wasn't much he could offer for all this. He was at a loss, already bled out all of his anger and still trying to think, only to continue hitting walls.
I FORGOT WHAT ORDER WE WERE IN
"We have six months. We can - we can figure out how the hell to fix this in six months. If you don't want to be here at all - - Look, Rey, I know this isn't what we promised you. Or what we offered. And if it's not enough, then I get it. I'll open the door to Olympus and you can go yourself. You can even take Finn. But I won't be able to open the door back up again."
LOL ITS OKAY.
But, there was nothing she could do now. Poe, as angry as he was, had a point. They had six months to figure things out. Six months for them to come up with a plan with cooler heads, and....do something. What that something was, she wasn't sure.
Tears spilled from her eyes, but she couldn't lash out at them. She couldn't lash out at Finn or Poe, but she wanted to scream. Her tongue wouldn't stay still, so she bit down on it, hard enough for the metallic taste of blood to bloom in her mouth.
"Six months...we have time...we have time.." she finally whispered after a long stretch of silence. She bowed her head, shutting her eyes tightly as she pressed her forehead to Finn's shoulder.
"I won't go back to her....not without a fight."
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All he could do was fall back on comforting his lovers but there wasn't much he could do in the way of comfort. He couldn't fix the problem, had probably just made it worse... No, he'd made everything worse, that was for certain. "I'm so sorry, Rey."
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The armour flaked off him, falling like dry, crisp leaves, until he was only in his usual chiton. He couldn't look at Rey while she cried. Couldn't face how fully he'd disappointed her.
He should just leave them, for a while. Finn was always better at this kind of thing than he was. Comfort was worth so much more than useless, unenforceable judgement. He started stepping away, leaving them to their embrace.
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No, no, she wouldn't risk more lives than her own. As badly as she wanted justice, and her blood was singing that she should, she couldn't leave Finn's embrace. She couldn't put what they had, as strained as it was, at stake. She wasn't disappointed in Poe, or in Finn. She was disappointed in Zeus, in Hera, and the Fates themselves for letting Demeter do this.
For pushing them into this corner and expecting them to simply cave. They wouldn't. They would figure something out.
In the mean time, Rey hugged Finn back, shifting slightly so her head could rest on her shoulder. She saw Poe turn to walk away from them, and that didn't settle with her either.
"I need you too...please.." she murmured loud enough for him to hear while holding Finn. If they were going to make this work, they would need to be there for each other, and Rey...she needed both men.
"It's not...it's not either of your faults. I'm wish I was stronger to have stood up to her sooner..."
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His eyes were on Poe, though, walking away from them likely to stew in his own anger and sadness. "Don't go," he called out softer than Rey, not wanting any of them to be alone for even a moment right now. "They want to split us apart."
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"Sorry," He murmured to them both. "I'm right here."
Tonight was supposed to be joyous. Tonight, they should have been exchanging their wedding vows. He'd even already wrote his. I promise you freedom and all the happiness its in my power to bring you. Except obviously he'd managed neither.
last post before bed! I'll tag in the morning <3
She took in Finn's reassuring words, hugging him tighter for a moment. Her eyes didn't leave Poe's form, begging him to come back to them. He needed this as much as she did. All of them needed to be close. They had something special and the rest of them wanted to tear it apart.
Fuck it, if he wasn't coming to them, she would.
Rey dried her eyes, and pulled away from Finn. She didn't completely break contact though. Her hand stayed in his, and she made both of them bridge the distance to Poe and promptly held him too.
She didn't know if she was as calming or soothing as Finn, but damnit, she needed to hold Poe too.
sleep would be amazing ;; gnight!
He hadn't written any vows either. Hadn't even thought about it in the haze of happiness he'd been in. He could at least mourn their night together, feeling it ruined already, just like the others wanted.
"We still have six months for now. We can find happiness in that time. I know it." Otherwise, what was the point? They shouldn't be miserable for all this time they had together.
and then I did fall asleep and had class this morning lol
“I already found my happiness,” he mumbled against Rey’s neck, his grip on them both tightening. He pressed a kiss against her skin, his fingers tight in Finn’s clothes.
“But damn if I don’t want to throw Zeus and Demeter in a river for trying to keep it from me.”
:hugs:
Rey didn’t realize how badly she needed to be held until Poe and Finn entered her life. They wouldn’t deny her for a hand to hold or arms for her to embrace.
The kisses seemed to have strengthen the bond developing between them. A strong current of energy weaving through them.
“I’m more inclined to lock both of them up...” Rey murmured, trying to picture both gods bound in chains...but it was just a thought.
“We’ll make the most of this and figure things out. We’ll be okay...we ha e each other.”
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He held them both tight, unwilling to pull away, too. Touch seemed to be a comfort for them and that was at least something he could provide.
"We're still married. It's still our wedding night. They shouldn't ruin that." They can't. They shouldn't be able to ruin any good thing that have.
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But...
"We should have a proper one. Tomorrow." He pulled back a little, just so he could actually glance at each of them in turn. "It doesn't have to involve anyone else. Just - just something for us."
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“Yes, we should. Something for all of us...” ahh, but maybe she should set some expectations?
“I...I’ve never been intimate with anyone and I..” fuck was she blushing? Yes.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for anything beyond...kissing.”
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