Chapter Text
Finn gasped and opened his eyes, suddenly awake. A hand reached over. “It’s okay, Finn. You’re okay.”
“Rey,” he breathed out. Finn searched the room, but no one else was there. He frowned and started trying to sit up.
“Finn, will you…” Rey rose and started trying to help him. “Could you just…” She swatted his arm. “Please be careful.”
Finn grumbled, “Fine.” He let Rey adjust the pillows and help him up. When he was sitting, he said, “Where is he?”
“Poe?” Rey frowned. “He isn’t here. He had to—”
Finn shook his head. “No. I don’t need to hear it.” Rey opened her mouth. Finn put up his hand. “If he doesn’t want to be here, I can’t force him to—”
“If you would just give me a moment, I was going to tell you that he had to go back to home to take care of some things.”
“He went back to Italy?”
“No, Finn. His home here. Yavin House. To see his father.”
“Yavin House,” Finn repeated. “To see his father.” Finn smiled, suddenly remembering the file on Poe: his father, Sergeant Kes Dameron. “The Sergeant.”
“He should be back later today.”
There was a clanging and a ding next to the bed. Finn leaned over to spy BB-8 staring up at him. She printed a piece of paper. Rey reached over and handed it to Finn.
[Maker-Poe is going to be mad he wasn’t here when you woke up.]
Rey nodded. “He wanted to put it off, but when his father heard he was back…” Rey bit her lip. “There was a very terse telegram.”
Bee dinged. Rey pulled up another paper and laughed as she read it.
“What’d Bee say,” Finn asked.
Rey handed the slip of paper over. [Father-Kes is pissed.]
Finn laughed and then immediately regretted it. “Ow,” he said.
Rey got up. “I should tell Doctor Kalonia that you’re awake.”
“Yeah,” Finn said. “That might be a good idea.”
As Rey left the room, Finn looked down at his right hand. He’d remembered the damage Ben had done, but now… It looks brand new. He tried each finger in succession—it was far quieter and smoother than he remembered it ever being before. He turned it and twisted it and as the silver metal caught the light, he realized he was looking at something so far beyond his old, clunky hand. “Bee,” he asked. “Did Poe…”
The automaton dinged and he heard a piece of paper print out. He started to lean over for it but the pain was too much. But as soon as Rey, Dr. Kalonia, and the General came in, he nodded towards Bee. “Can one of you give me that, please?”
Rey walked over and pulled the slip out, handing it to Finn.
[Maker-Poe wanted to surprise you.]
Finn smiled.
Dr. Kalonia said, “Well, I guess that means you aren’t in too much pain?”
“It’s not too bad,” Finn said.
Rey rolled her eyes. “He’s being brave, doctor.”
The doctor nodded. “I figured.” She started rummaging through her bag.
The General sat at the foot of Finn’s bed. “That’s nice,” she said, nodding towards Finn’s hand.
He suddenly remembered. He jerked it under the sheets.
The General looked concerned. “Finn, you don’t think we’re upset that you’re a cyborg do you?”
“Most people are,” he said.
Leia shook her head. “And most people are content to let groups like the First Order trample all over them. We aren’t most people.”
Finn looked up. She was wearing a warm smile. “May I see?”
Finn slowly pulled his hand out. Leia walked over and carefully took it in her hands. “Poe does good work,” she said, examining it.
Rey moved so that she could see it too. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
The doctor cleared her throat. “If we’re finished cooing over Finn’s hand, I’d like to examine my patient.”
# # # #
Finn had been dozing when he heard someone come in the room. There were muffled voices and then he could hear Rey and BB-8 leave. He opened his eyes, realizing it had to be late afternoon.
Poe walked towards the bed. “Hi, buddy,” he said. “I hear I missed you waking up.”
Finn licked his lips. “Yeah. And I hear I missed your father’s telegram.”
“Oh,” Poe chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “They told you about that?”
“Mmmm-hmmmm,” Finn said. “Bee said your father was livid.”
“I’m sure that’s not the word Bee used,” Poe said.
“Maybe not,” Finn said. He smiled. “So, you’re still here?”
“Where else would I be?”
“I had it on good authority that you weren’t back, that you were leaving as soon as we finished the mission.”
Poe shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, buddy. You got some bad intel on that one.” He smiled a sly smile. “Besides, the mission’s not finished. Ben got away.”
Finn frowned.
“Hey, hey, hey! No! I didn’t mean to make you frown,” Poe said, sliding forward. “Only meant that I can’t leave yet.”
“Yet?”
Poe stared up at the ceiling. “I can’t win with this one!” He looked back at Finn. “Fine, what do you want?”
“I want to know if you’re back to stay.”
“The General reinstated me this morning,” Poe said.
“Why,” Finn asked.
“Why did she reinstate me?”
“No, Poe,” Finn said. “Why are you staying?”
Poe chewed on his lip. Finn tried not to find that too distracting.
Finally, Poe said, “I’m staying because Ben’s still out there and we need to stop him, and I’m staying because there are good people here who need my help. And because I think Leia needs people here who disagree with her, people who don’t think all of this is a clear-cut black-and-white issue. And…” He looked down at his shoes. “And because I’d like to believe it wasn’t my fault.”
“It wasn’t, Poe,” Finn said. He really wished he could reach out and pull Poe towards him.
After a moment, Poe wiped his eyes and turned to Finn. “So, how is the new hand?”
“Great,” Finn said, flexing his new fingers. “It’s beautiful,” he said softly, and then catching himself, “And, uh, it’s far more responsive than before.”
“Good,” Poe said. “I was hoping you’d like it.”
They stared at each other, smiling, until it turned awkward.
Poe felt it first. He blushed and then rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “So, ummmmm….” Say something, you idiot! Anything!
Finn watched him expectantly. Say something, you idiot, he begged Poe in his mind. Anything!
“Ummmmm,” he said. Oh kriff. “Maybe I should go?” Poe started to rise. Tell me to stay, Finn!
“Uhhhh, okay. I guess?” Finn watched Poe get up and start for the door. “Or?”
“Or,” Poe repeated quickly, spinning back towards Finn.
“Or you could stay?”
Poe broke into an easy smile. “I’d like that.” This time, he sat much closer to Finn.
Finn grinned up at the inventor. “So tell me what happened with your father.”
“Oh,” Poe said. “That is quite a story.” He leaned forward…
# # # #
Rey stared through the crack in the door.
“Anything,” Jess asked.
Rey shook her head and then turned back. “He’s talking about his trip to Yavin House.”
Snap chuckled from his spot across the hall. “I bet Kes harangued him within an inch of his life.”
“No,” Karé said. “The Sergeant is more the type to use disappointment and guilt.”
Iolo tried to imitate Kes Dameron’s voice: “Poe, it’s not that I’m mad. I’m just disappointed.”
Jess laughed. “Yep. That’s it.” She turned back to Rey. “Anything?”
Rey shook her head. “These two are clueless.”
“So, we’ll have to help them along,” Snap said, pushing off from the wall and walking towards the stairs. The others started to follow. “Any ideas?”
Jess pulled Rey from the door. “Don’t worry. We’ll come up with something,” she said, entwining her fingers with Rey’s.
Rey smiled, staring at their hands, as Jess pulled her down the staircase.
# # # #
A week later, Dr. Kalonia allowed Finn to leave bed. He was supposed to take it easy, but after a week cooped up in his room, he was ready to run as far away from the main house as possible. Dr. Kalonia had insisted on a wheelchair, though, but Rey and Poe had immediately turned up their noses at the wicker one she produced. So, a day after Finn was cleared for light exercise, they unveiled their automated wheelchair.
Finn worked hard to look sufficiently impressed. “Thanks,” he said tentatively. That thing is going to kill me.
“Finn,” Rey said. “It’s not that bad!”
“Yeah, buddy. I promise, it’s safe,” Poe said, maneuvering the chair to the side of Finn’s bed. Finn gave him a questioning look. “I promise, Finn.”
Finn nodded and moved into the chair. Rey pointed out what all the buttons and levers did and a few minutes later, Finn was navigating the chair out of the room.
At the top of the stairs, he paused. “Um, Rey, Poe, stairs.”
“We know,” Rey said with a peculiar glint in her eyes.
“Press the button on the side of the chair,” Poe said.
Finn turned to look at them with a frown.
“Press it,” they said.
He did and the chair began to hover a few inches. Finn let out a yelp.
“Now, just go down as usual,” Rey said.
“Usual,” Finn managed. “Right.”
He somehow made it down the stairs, promising himself that he’d never do that again. Then, he pressed the button on the side of the chair and it floated back onto the ground. “Never ever tell me how you two managed that.”
“Well actually,” Rey started.
“Never ever,” Finn repeated.
Poe laughed. “Come on, let’s go outside.”
# # # #
They made their way to a small pond at the back of the estate where Jess, Iolo, Snap, and Karé were waiting. They’d set out a blanket and a picnic.
Finn’s face lit up. He turned to Poe. “A picnic?”
Poe looked confused. He turned to Rey. What is this? “I’m just surprised as you are, buddy.”
“We thought it would be fun,” Rey said.
Poe lifted an eyebrow. In his short time back with the Resistance, he’d learned that Rey was just as sneaky as Jess and the others, and he didn’t trust how innocent she looked right now.
When they got to the blanket, Poe helped Finn off the chair and onto the ground. “How are you feeling,” he asked.
“Great,” Finn said.
“Really?”
Finn chuckled. “Yes, mother. I promise.”
Poe turned to ask Jess if there was a second blanket. This one is awfully small. When he looked around, though, he discovered that everyone else had disappeared. “Oh you sneaky, little—”
“What is it, Poe,” Finn asked.
“We’ve been abandoned.”
Finn looked around. “Hey, where did they go?”
Poe shrugged. He nodded towards a wooded area just to their left. “Probably hiding in the trees.”
“Hiding?”
He shouted, “Yes, hiding because they can’t come out here and face me like men…or women!”
“Am I missing something,” Finn asked.
Poe blushed. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He picked up a decanter. “Something to drink?”
“Poe,” Finn said. “Don’t change the subject.”
Poe sighed. “Damn you, Testor. I am going to pay you back for this,” he grumbled.
Finn raised an eyebrow, waiting for a coherent response.
“Fine,” Poe said. He gestured to the picnic and the lake. “They’ve set us up.”
“Set us up?”
“A romantic picnic just for two?”
“Oh,” Finn said. And then, “OH” as it sunk in. They know? How do they know how I feel about him? Oh kriffing hell. That’s why he’s so mad. “Look, Poe,” Finn started.
“Finn,” Poe started at the same time. Poe laughed nervously. “You first.”
“No. No, you first.”
Poe’s blush deepened. “Look, buddy. It’s nothing. Just a trifle. I’m sure these feelings will go away in time. I mean…” He looked down at the assorted fruits and cheeses laid out upon the blanket.
Finn’s heart sank. Of course, he isn’t interested. Why would he be? I’m just an injured cyborg and I don’t even know how to fly. He stared out at the lake. “I understand,” he said, picking up a rock and flinging it into the water.
“Look, don’t worry,” Poe said. “I won’t bother you.” He dusted off his pants. “I won’t make it awkward. I’m sure this will all go away in—”
“I understand, Poe,” Finn said, with just a bit too much force. “You aren’t interested. You really don’t have to keep telling me—”
“Wait, what?”
“I said, I understand that you aren’t interested in me and that—”
“Wait, what?”
“Poe,” Finn growled. “Do not make me say that again.”
“What do you mean I’m not interested in you?”
“That’s what you’ve been saying for the past few minutes, and I get it. Really, I do,” Finn said, throwing another rock at the water.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been apologizing for my feelings for you.”
Finn stopped breathing, and for a moment, the whole world stopped moving. Then, he licked his lips and slowly turned towards Poe. “Wait, what?”
Poe burst into a huge smile. “I’ve been apologizing for my feelings for you.”
“Your feelings for me?”
“Ummmmm-hmmmm,” Poe said, leaning forward. “My horrible, soul-crushing, all-consuming feelings for you.”
“Me,” Finn repeated, leaning towards Poe.
“You,” Poe said. They were practically nose to nose.
“So I should probably stop apologizing for my hopeless, paralyzing, all-consuming feelings for you,” Finn whispered.
“Probably,” Poe said, closing the gap between them and pressing his lips onto Finn’s.
Finn closed his eyes and his entire body lit up in flames. His hands found Poe’s jacket and pulled him in. Poe moaned as the kiss turned from light and sweet into something decidedly more insistent.
Neither of them heard as the others tramped back over to the picnic spot and spread out a second blanket.
“Told you our plans are good,” Jess said, bumping her shoulder into Rey’s.
Rey smiled, popping a grape into her mouth and sitting down.
“Commander,” Snap said. “Commander! Are you two coming back to us anytime soon?”
Poe reluctantly pulled away from Finn. “Snap, just eat your food, would you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Finn tugged at Poe as the rest of the group dug into the picnic basket. “Good to have you back, Commander,” he whispered against Poe’s lips.
“Good to be back,” Poe murmured as he pressed in for another kiss.