Love

It was a rare quiet day on Ajan Kloss. Rey and Leia rarely found time to meditate together. More often than not, when she wasn't actively training Rey, Leia was far too busy to spend any kind of quiet time with her apprentice. But today was an unusually slow day for the members of the Resistance that were on base, probably because the majority of the beings that called this secret part of Ajan Kloss home were off world. Those that remained were waiting patiently to either hear back from those on specific missions or waiting for their return.

As often happened when a great majority of her teammates were off doing something important while she stayed behind, Rey became agitated and moody. If Leia was busy, she would send Rey out to run the training course, or give her some other chore to do to keep her occupied. Today, Leia decided she had the time to meditate alongside Rey.

While the meditating was helpful in controlling her anxiety, these moments also allowed Rey to ask her master questions that weren't that important to her training, but were still of great interest to her. Today especially Rey seemed to have one specific question burning up inside her, and Leia wondered if she would be brave enough to ask it.

"Rey, you're about to explode," she said calmly, giving the younger woman a smirk. "I can feel it."

Rey's cheeks turned red. While she was usually very good at hiding her emotions in the Force, some days she just couldn't.

"You know you can talk to me about anything," Leia continued.

Rey took a deep breath. "You were already married with a baby when you started training with Luke, right?"

Leia nodded. "Yes."

"When I was reading in the most recent text, the only one I didn't need translated, it stated that the Jedi Order didn't allow their members to marry and have families. Is that true?"

Leia nodded again. "It was true for a very long time, but I don't think it became a mandate until late in the Order's history. I guess they believed that the Jedi needed to focus completely on those they served, and that a family would distract them."

"Do you believe that?"

"I think it depends on the person," Leia answered.

Rey looked at her for a long time, and Leia could still feel anxiety churning within her.

"Rey," Leia raised an eyebrow at her. "Just ask."

"How do you know when you're in love?" Rey blurted.

Leia was startled by the question.

She looked inward briefly as she contemplated the question, then she focused on Rey again. "I know you love the color green," she waved her hand around, indicating the green jungle and grass they were sitting on. "I know you love to fly. I know you love your friends. How do you feel when you think of things you love?"

Rey thought for a moment. "I feel happy," she said. "I feel content. I feel that I'm not alone."

Leia nodded. "Being in love is the complete opposite of all that."

"What?!" Rey gasped.

Leia smiled. "Okay, maybe not the complete opposite, it just feels like it in the beginning. You feel uneasy. You aren't always happy. Sometimes you're even angry. And you often feel very alone." She paused. "But then something amazing happens. You discover the person you love, loves you. And then everything falls into place. You're happy, content, not alone. And of course, through it all, the good and the bad, is passion."

Rey paused for a long moment. "So, how is being in love different from say… friends with benefits?"

Leia chuckled. "There's no real passion in that kind of relationship," she explained. "If there is, then they are fooling themselves. Passion is different than physical desire," she continued. "It's more than physical. It's a combination of sexual attraction and emotional attachment. It's intangible, almost spiritual."

She tilted her head. "So, to answer your question." She took a deep breath. "You want to be around them all the time and you want to know everything about them. You want to see them happy and you want to do everything in your power to make them so. But at the same time, because your emotions are heightened around them, you sometimes become a bit out of control; lose your temper easier, laugh harder, cry more. You can imagine a future with them, and when you're with them, you feel like you can do anything." She smiled slightly and looked at Rey. "Unfortunately, you also get jealous easy, although that becomes less so as trust is developed." She nudged Rey gently with an elbow. "That trust thing happens faster when you fall in love with a friend, like I did."

Rey smiled at Leia's words, but Leia could see she was still apprehensive.

"What if the person you're falling in love with… doesn't feel the same?" she asked nervously. "What if he only thinks of you as a friend?"

"If that's true, then you need to move on. You can't make a person fall in love with you." She looked intently at Rey. "But make sure that's true. Because sometimes people feel things they don't want, and hide it, scared to let anyone know. Especially the one they are in love with."

"So…so you think he could feel the same way?" Rey stuttered.

"Rey, if it's a 'he' we're talking about, then I can think of more than one person that most likely feels the same way." She shrugged. "I guess we best hope one of them is the one you want." She raised her eyebrows in question.

Rey looked away, biting her lip.

"You don't have to tell me," Leia said softly. "But I promise I won't tell anyone else, especially him, unless you want me to."

Rey shook her head. "There's no way he could look at me like that," she continued. "I'm not even on his radar."

"Rey…" Leia started.

"Poe."

Leia stopped short, her mouth forming a little 'o' before widening into a full smile. "Oh, Rey. You have no idea, do you?"

"What?" Rey asked, her eyes wide. "That he's already secretly engaged to some beauty back on Yavin IV?"

Leia laughed, shaking her head. "No." You have no idea how much that man does everything in his power to make you happy, even though you usually end up making him lose his temper. You have no idea how jealous he gets when he sees you laughing with others, wishing it was him making you laugh like that. You have no idea that he works so hard here, not just because he's trying to make me proud, but because he wants to be worthy of you.

She didn't say those words out loud; that would mean betraying the trust of the man she considered her second son. But she did say, "You have no idea how much he cares for you, do you?"

Rey stared at Leia, her eyes hopeful but fearful. "Really?"

Leia nodded decisively. "Really." She leaned into the young woman one more time. "But don't tell him I told you," she whispered.

"How..?" Rey started, her brows furrowed. "How do I let him know how I feel?"

"Just spend time with him. Let him know that you enjoy being with him. I think things will flow fairly easily from there."

"Did it for you?"

"Hell, no!" Leia snorted. "Han and I had to go through our own storm before things became easy for us." She looked at Rey. "Please, don't fight it like I did. Don't waste time, Rey. Life is too short."

The sound of a starship entering atmosphere made them look up. They watched as the dark spot far above formed into the shape of an X-Wing as it came closer. An orange and white X-Wing. It sailed smoothly above the trees, then disappeared behind them as it came down gently for a landing.

"Now's your chance," Leia said softly. "Go get him."