The front door chime sounds and Poe lazily looks at his chrono. Rey doesn't even open her eyes when she says, "It's Maddix. BeeBee will let her in."
Poe hums a response and flips to the next page of his holonovel. Rey's head is in his lap and her hands curl lightly around his knees while she closes her eyes and casually meditates. He runs one hand through her hair gently, tangling his fingers in the messy strands.
BeeBee chirps behind them as he rolls to the door and both Poe and Rey laugh. Poe tosses over his shoulder, "BeeBee, you're definitely not getting too old for this. Rey just spruced up your processor last week."
"It's like it's 40 ABY for you all over again, BeeBee," Rey chimes in, giggling. The droid chirps again, practically indignant, before unlocking the door and letting it hiss open.
"Hello, BeeBee," Maddix greets and without having to look, her parents know that their middle daughter drops to her knees to scratch the orange and white droid's round lower half. It's a habit all of their children adopted, learned from both parents. BB-8 is spoiled by all the attention.
The aforementioned droid whirrs happily and rolls back to his charging port when Maddix stands up.
"Hi mom, papá," she greets them quickly and then tries to scurry past them towards her bedroom. Poe looks up briefly and catches a flash of - something.
He squints and holds up his hand, bringing a couple strands of Rey's hair with him. She winces and reaches up to untangle them. "Hold it. What's that?" he asks.
"What's what?" Maddix asks innocently, too innocently. She shifts her weight and crosses her arms across her chest.
"That!" Poe jabs his finger at Maddix's face before turning his hand and waving the same finger in a circle around his own nose. In his excitement, Poe's glasses slip down his nose and he squints at the teen standing in front of them. Rey sits up and tucks her right foot under her left knee - this could get interesting.
Maddix rolls her eyes. "It's nothing, papá," she huffs. "Don't get so excited."
"I'm not excited," Poe snorts, looking at Rey. "Are you excited?" he asks her rhetorically, not waiting for an answer before he turns back to Maddix. "I'm upset, not excited. When did you do that?"
Rey watches as their daughter wrinkles her nose and then winces at the soreness from her new piercing.
"I'm 16," she retorts and oh, wow, is that the wrong thing to say. Poe jumps up from the couch, his knees creaking a bit, and gestures wildly.
"Sixteen! You're not of age and you still live with us," he says, voice verging on a hysterical shout. "Piercing your nose like - like - like a Gamorrean!"
Maddix drops her bag to the floor and plants her feet and Rey senses the change in her signature, the anger. She sighs and watches her husband and daughter get into it - both hotheaded, their arguments are legendary in the Dameron household.
"It's one piercing, papá!" Maddix says back, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. "I already have a few!"
"Yeah, in your ears, like a normal person," Poe rolls his eyes. "You're taking it out."
"No I'm not," Maddix snaps. "Paige has one."
Poe rolls his eyes. "Rose and Finn let the twins do whatever the want. Besides, if Paige decided to jump off a bridge, would you?"
Maddix smirks. "Jumping off a bridge wouldn't do anything to me. I can just -" she breaks off and wiggles her fingers, referring to her Force capabilities.
Sighing, Rey chimes in, "The Force insulates you, but it's not going to protect you from serious harm. Or do you not remember Bey and the Great Speeder Crash of 57 ABY?"
"See?" Poe gestures behind him at Rey. "You're not invincible and you're taking that kriffing piercing out of your nose, rapidamente!"
Maddix lets out a noise from the back of her throat that's a combination of a shriek and a growl. Stomping her foot, she shouts, "You'd let Luna! You never let me do anything!" She shrieks again and runs off for her bedroom, the door hissing shut violently.
Poe stands in the middle of the living room, looking around like he'd just been hit in the head. "What just happened?" he asks Rey, a little shellshocked.
"That," Rey sighs softly and reaches out for Poe's hand, "was our first real battle with teenage angst."
"A nose ring," Poe laments dramatically. "My little girl, ruining her face."
"It's really not the end of the galaxy, Poe," Rey giggles at his antics. "She'll get tired of it eventually and take it out. But now that you've kicked up such a fuss, forget about it. She's wearing that thing for the foreseeable future."
Her husband lets out a dramatic groan and drops back to the couch, his arm coming up to drape over his forehead. He disturbs his glasses and looks adorably askew, so Rey leans over and presses a sweet kiss to his cheek. Poe grumbles and leans into her touch.
"What were you and Mad fighting about now?" Ana's voice interrupts Poe's moping. He opens his eyes to see their youngest daughter looking at him curiously. She's got a book on Yavin IV's indigenous plants clutched to her chest and her dark curls escape from a messy braid. Even though she's twelve, her round cheeks and big eyes make her look even younger.
Poe stands and pulls her into a hug - Ana squeaks in confusion - and mutters, "Never grow up. Please, I can't take it anymore."
Under Poe's arm, Ana looks at Rey, furrowing her brows in a silent question. Rey rolls her eyes and laughs, mouthing, "Papá's crazy," at their youngest. Ana shrugs in agreement and pats Poe's shoulder.
"I'll try my best, papá. I bet if I stopped eating veg I wouldn't grow anymore," she says sneakily.
Pulling back, Poe keeps his hands on Ana's shoulders and laughs. "Nice try, princesa. I haven't lost my mind completely."
Ana shrugs. "Worth a shot. Papá, can you take me to the plant nursery? I need to get more Yavinese soil."
"Of course, grab your shoes," Poe replies and Ana slips off back to her room. Poe turns to Rey and pouts, "I miss when they were all little and nice."
"I'll still be nice to you," Rey teases, leaning up on her knees and pulling Poe down into a kiss. His hand cups her cheek as he deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding over her lower lip, until -
"Oh gross!" Cassian and Ana chime together, Cassian making gagging noises as Ana giggles.
"Gross?" Poe pulls back from Rey and they're both laughing too. "It's gross that I still love your mom and think she's the most beautiful person in the galaxy?"
The twins speak together, "Yes!"
Poe waves his hand at the door, "Oh go on, you womp rats. Cassian, you're coming?"
The boy nods and wrinkles his nose. "Maddix is playing her stupid music and I can hear it through my wall," he rolls his eyes. "She's so dramatic. I can't listen to 'Death on Dathomir' again. That album gives me nightmares." Cassian shivers dramatically, shaking his head.
Poe catches Rey's eye over the twins' heads. She nods at him - she'll talk to Maddix while they're gone. Poe scrubs a hand over his face and sighs. "Come on then. Maybe we'll pick up some ice cream for everyone on the way back," his suggestion is met with excited shouts and Poe follows the twins out the door. They're waylaid by the door hissing open and Bey and Luna running in.
"What -?" Poe yelps at the sight of them. Rey jumps off the couch and hurries forward.
Their two oldest children and covered in soot and part of Bey's curly hair is singed on top. Luna coughs and sticks out her tongue at the acrid taste of smoke.
Holding up his hands in the galaxy's acceptable sign of surrender, Bey looks remarkably like Poe. "It's fine! We're fine!" he exclaims quickly. "Just, uh?" he looks sheepish and scratches at the side of his neck, his eyes dart down to his sister. Luna winces at him and shrugs.
"We kind of set the speeder on fire," she says bluntly.
"Oh for Sith's sake!" Rey curses. "Not the speeder BeeBee and I just fixed?"
The silence from their children is answer enough. Rey grumbles and beckons to BB-8 before stomping off to the garage. The orange and white droid rolls after her, chirping something about ungrateful, terrible mechanics.
"He's got to stop spending time with Artoo," Bey mutters even as an amused smile plays on his lips.
"And you two need to stop blowing up speeders," Poe exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. "Are we made of credits?"
Luna chimes in, "It wasn't blown up, just a little charred."
Poe groans and gestures vaguely over his shoulder. "Please, spare an old man. Just...just watch a holovid for the rest of the night?"
They saunter off, bickering about the speeder and Maker knows what else. Poe looks down at the twins. They peer back up at him with matching hazel eyes.
"Please stay normal," he implores them, "you're my only hope."
a/n: meet the twins! cassian and ana (named for leia -orgANA)
so much chaos in the damerey household as the kids get older - so much fun to write! let me know what you think and if there's anything in particular that you'd like to see me write about with these guys :)