Tempest
Summary: Just a short and hopefully cute Rey/Leia one-shot.
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to…ugh. Well, at least Disney isn't outright homophobic, despite the de-canonization of okay let's not go there.
Pairings: Rey/Leia
Author's Notes: I can't stop shipping this. Send help.
Leia knew it was a terrible idea. Mon Monthma had once cautioned her against the danger of being an integral part of the Rebellion (and, now, she would likely say the same about the Resistance) keep her from expressing—and from feeling—love. She no longer believed that. There had been too much death. So many of her pilots. Greer Sonnel, three years ago, who had died in her arms, finally succumbing to bloodburn. Korr Sella, who had been on Hosnian Prime when the Starkiller Base's attack came. And now Han.
She wasn't the only one who had known people in the Hosnian system, who had known people who died on Hosnian Prime. Celebration wasn't the only reason that homebrew hooch was flowing freely that night. Nobody even bothered to hide it from her. Not that she gave a damn anyway as long as everyone was sober when they were on duty. She knew she should be concerned about the people she witnessed mixing high-octane caf with hooch, but she couldn't be arsed to be concerned. She had a certain capacity for having emotions and it seemed inaccessible to her.
But she had to be feeling something, because Rey was orbiting her like a satellite. Leia could tell it was because Rey was sensing something from her that made her want to hover. Leia kept up a front of being prickly and unapproachable until that got tiring and she finally thought Oh, just get over here. Rey felt it and sidled up to Leia. She knew without asking that it was all right to wrap one arm around Leia; Leia rested her head on Rey's shoulder. She felt strangely soothed, the same way she had when Rey had walked off the Falcon and into her arms. Rey's presence was pure and bright, an unspoiled walking embodiment of the Light Side, and being near her was immensely calming.
Rey shifted so she was behind Leia and interlinked the fingers of both her hands just above Leia's belt buckle. She was so tall (and Leia was small enough) that her chin rested on top of Leia's head. "Shall we go?" she whispered.
Leia might not have heard her if she didn't also sense the question. She knew the right thing to do was to tell Rey that if she wanted to leave, she could go alone, and that in the future, she should keep physical contact to a minimum. But instead, Leia touched the back of one of Rey's hand and murmured, "Yes".
Undressed, Rey was both beautiful and not beautiful; beautiful because she naturally had a lovely slim, muscular body with an elegant neck and amazing bone structure, and not beautiful because she has not had enough to eat in over a decade and she looked so fragile and wasted that Leia was afraid of breaking her.
"Do you still want me?" Rey asked as Leia used her fingertips to trace the hollows on Rey's arms where sinew should be.
"What do you sense?" Leia pulled Rey into her arms.
Rey was quiet for a moment. "It…feels like you do."
"You don't have to do this, Rey." Leia's voice is quiet.
Rey kissed her. "You want to. So, so do I."
Leia smiled thinly. "I know you aren't especially experienced in these matters, but that isn't the way it works."
"It is if I say yes, isn't it?" Rey pressed her face into Leia's hair. "I can tell how much you need this. Please let me do this for you. With you."
Leia closed her eyes. "Okay."
There wasn't much to say after that. They had a close enough connection to each other through the Force that words mostly stopped being necessary. Rey could tell that this was something of a relief for Leia, and considering her lack of vocabulary in such matters, it was a bit of a relief for her too.
It turned out that Rey, with her natural disinterest in physical intimacy, couldn't experience much pleasure unless she could sense that her partner was feeling it. That somewhat limited things, especially considering it was Rey's first time and Leia wanted to take things slowly for her sake, but they managed.
Rey dozed, her head pillowed against Leia's chest. "Was that what you wanted?" she mumbled.
"Something very like it," Leia sighed.
"But you're satisfied?" Rey edged.
Leia draped an arm over her new lover. "Yes. I was teasing. But I suppose you have been cut off from people for long enough that you aren't used to teasing."
"I can do haggling, but not teasing," Rey agreed sleepily. "May I stay the night?"
Leia kissed Rey's hair. "Stay as long as you want."
In the morning, when Leia woke, Rey was already awake and was enthusiastically snuggling up to her.
"Morning, Rey," said Leia groggily.
"Hello." Rey gave Leia a tight squeeze. Still drowsy, Leia draped an arm over Rey. "I can't believe it," Rey whispered.
"Can't believe what?"
"You're Leia Organa. I slept with Leia Organa!" Rey giggled.
"I hope it wasn't just for the bragging rights," Leia sighed, and Rey sobered instantly.
"No, of course not!"
"Teasing. I was teasing."
"Oh. Right." Rey nuzzled at Leia's neck. Leia sighed and squirmed so she was underneath Rey, who kissed her throat and shoulder.
"Rey?"
"Hmm?"
Leia slid her hands up and down Rey's back. "Are you up for making love again?"
"I am if you are!" Rey kissed Leia hard. Before the previous night, Rey had never kissed anyone, but she thought she was getting the hang of it. She certainly wasn't hearing or sensing any complaints from Leia.
Leia was still wearing her undergarments, having not felt ready to take them off the previous night. Rey toyed with the fastenings on the unfamiliar garment that restrained Leia's breasts, tacitly asking for permission.
"At this age, I'm nothing much to look at," Leia demurred.
Rey kissed Leia between her breasts. "I think you are. Please?"
Leia made a low noise in the back of her throat and arched her back so she could reach underneath herself and undo the fastenings. Rey helped her take the thing off and covered Leia's breasts with kisses. Leia made a noise that was almost a whimper and wrapped her hands around hanks of Rey's hair. "Rey…."
"You're beautiful, Leia," Rey murmured.
Leia closed her eyes. "Thank you."
Rey sensed an undercurrent of disbelief from Leia. "I mean it."
Leia sat up on her elbows and covered Rey's face and hair with kisses. When she lay back down, Rey kissed her from her shoulders to her waist. Leia writhed beneath her, pulling lightly on her hair. "Rey?"
"Hmm?"
"I want your fingers in me. Please."
Rey thought of the various scavenging-related tasks her hands had performed in recent years. "I don't want to hurt you," she murmured.
"I trust you. You've been gentle so far." Leia sat up to wrap her arms around Rey and whisper in her ear. "Please."
Rey kissed Leia's cheek. "All right."
Leia lay back down. Rey took her time kissing and stroking Leia's hips and thighs before carefully working one hand into her lover's modest dark blue underpants. Leia let out a low cry as Rey slid one finger into her. Rey shuddered. "You're so…tense…are you all right?"
"Yes," Leia sighed. "You can try two fingers, just…slowly."
Rey crossed her index and center fingers as tightly as she could and pushed them into her lover, wincing as she felt Leia's inner muscles squeeze her fingers. She didn't sense any pain from Leia, but she felt compelled to ask. "Does that hurt?"
"No." Leia arched into the contact, forcing Rey's fingers deeper. "Ohh, Rey…"
This was different than anything they had tried before, less instinctive for Rey. She decided to voice what she was thinking. "Can you tell me what you want me to do?"
"Slide your fingers back and forth."
Rey obeyed; Leia laid her head back, calling out for Rey. Rey leaned over and left kisses all over Leia's collarbones. She traced the notch at the base of her neck with her tongue and Leia moaned. "Faster."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't." Leia dug her fingers into Rey's shoulders. "Faster. Please, Rey."
Rey nipped at Leia's neck as she did what Leia asked. Leia's hips rocked helplessly in time with Rey's caresses. Rey could feel pleasure rolling off of her like golden waves. "You like that? Is that good?"
"Oh, Maker," Leia moaned. "Yes." She arched off of the bed, just her shoulders and heels remaining on the mattress for a moment, and fell back down, trembling. "You can stop."
Rey gathered Leia's limp body into her arms and kissed her hair. "I'm glad I could…please you."
"You make me feel so good," Leia murmured against Rey's shoulder.
"I wish I could stay with you every night," Rey sighed.
Leia closed her eyes. "The galaxy needs you, Rey."
"So do you." Rey's voice was barely above a whisper.
Leia was quiet for a moment. She had always prided herself on being a bastion of strength when others crumbled, the spaceport in a solar storm where her loved ones could take shelter. But she had never before felt the way she did now. That thought led her to hold Rey tightly, as if the other woman's closeness could keep her from the hairline crack in her from spreading and breaking her into pieces. "You can find my brother. You might be able to persuade him to help the Resistance. I felt the moment Han died, and…the dark side of the Force awakened in my son. The galaxy needs a Jedi, and you might be able to bring Luke home."
"I can feel how afraid you are just saying that," Rey murmured. "What are you afraid of?"
Leia pressed her face into Rey's chest. "I've never felt so…fragile before. I feel like I might fly to pieces when you get on the Falcon and take off in search of my brother."
Rey stroked her lover's back. "You're stronger than that. But I can stay with you for a while."
Leia kept her eyes closed, but the tears leaked out. "Three days. You can stay for three days. Only because the First Order is still debilitated from the destruction of Starkiller Base."
Rey lovingly traced the curve of Leia's hip with one hand. "I look forward to it."
Rey stayed the three days. On those days, General Organa retired early and rose late. Most of the base knew what was going on between her and Rey, and most of them knew enough not to discuss it but were secretly glad that the general had found someone.
The morning Rey left, Leia held her for at least an hour, not bothering to try holding back her tears. Rey rocked Leia and kissed her hair, knowing that the feelings Leia could sense from her were likely much more comforting than any clumsy words Rey could come up with. Eventually Leia kissed Rey and let go, then silently set about getting dressed.
"That's a beautiful dress," said Rey softly as she helped Leia zip it up.
"Thank you," said Leia with both softness and coolness in her voice. Rey could tell she was working to hold herself together. "Today is an important occasion."
"You wanted to look nice for me?"
"Yes."
Rey leaned over and kissed Leia's cheek. "You always look beautiful to me."
Leia helped Rey dress in her freshly cleaned clothes and a jacket that had been hanging in Leia's closet for years but now belonged to Rey. Leia cupped Rey's face in her hands. "You look wonderful." She paused. A sensation of melancholy longing radiated from her.
Rey leaned forward and kissed her. Leia kissed her back hard, saying more with the gesture than she could with words.
They went out to the Millennium Falcon holding hands. Leia adjusted Rey's jacket one last time, and Rey headed toward the Falcon, but something she sensed from Leia made her pause. She momentarily turned back.
Leia stood like a small, poised pillar of strength. The sight of her made Rey smile. "Rey?" said Leia gently. "May the Force be with you."
A/N: Apparently I wasn't done writing Rey/Leia. And I'm pretty sure I wrote this at least partially as a giant "fuck you" to people who body- and appearance-shame Carrie Fisher. I was also definitely inspired by this quote: "The image reminded Han that people … were swept through life by forces they could not understand, that in the tempests life threw at them, they could control nothing but their own reactions. That was something Han tended to forget when the winds ran against him, and it was one of the things he loved most about Leia–the way she never flinched in a storm, the way she always stood firm while those around her were being blown off their feet." - Troy Denning, Tatooine Ghost