Chapter Text
Finn stepped off from the ship that he had been on as exhaustion washed over him. He carried a small bag over his shoulder with a change of clothes and he wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and fall asleep for months. However, he had received a message from Dr. Firn that he wanted him to attend one of the support group meetings that night.
Finn made his way down the hallway with his eyes slightly closing tiredly. He forced himself to snap back into reality and where he was walking when he accidentally walked into the wall. He shook his head to clear it as he found Dr. Firn's room where the group was being conducted. Finn tapped his fist against the door as he took a step back, his feet shuffling.
The door opened to reveal a large Kel-Dor standing in front of him. No matter how tired Finn was, he was always pleased to see the members of the group that had helped Poe so much. "Hey, Ri-Tun. It's so good to see you," Finn gushed.
Ri-Tun took a step to the side as he motioned for Finn to come in. "It's good to see you too! How was your mission," he questioned.
"It was good," answered Finn almost dismissively as he set down his bag beside the wall before heading forward to see the group already sitting in a circle, chattering away while Dr. Firn finished up some observations in his notebook.
As Finn drew closer, Poe looked up from where he had been joking with Jasp, his eyes slightly drawn closed as he laughed. He realized that Finn was standing there and Poe immediately rose to his feet and surged past Morry and Naylo.
The two quickly embraced with Poe burying his head into Finn's neck, savoring the feeling of the strong ex-Stormtrooper against him. Finn hugged him tightly in relief to feel Poe’s heartbeat beating strongly against him. The two slightly pulled back once they shared a passionate kiss. The rest of the members in the group laughed and clapped in excitement.
"Get a room!"
Poe smiled through their kiss as he reluctantly pulled away, panting for breath. He settled for gripping Finn's hand surely and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Finn and Poe walked hand in hand over to the seats and the two settled beside each other.
Dr. Firn clapped his hands a bit to draw everyone’s attention. "Alright, alright, let's do this as quickly as possible. It's late and I know that you all have work in the morning."
Finn couldn't help but yawn at the thought of work the next morning. It was the last thing that he wanted to do, however, he knew that he had to pay attention to whatever was going to be said. He wouldn't be there if it wasn't at least somewhat important.
"What happened while I was gone," Finn dared to ask.
Poe instantly looked down in embarrassment, shoulder hunched while Naylo leaned over to whisper in Jub's ear. Jasp looked to the ceiling while Morry tapped her foot impatiently. It was Mhina who finally spoke. She explained everything that happened from Poe's panic attack thanks to the sound of the bowling and how he had hid in the fresher. She talked about how Mhina and Morry went to find Poe and had talked him down from it. The rest of the group had been more than willing to leave bowling early and they decided to have a movie night. Something light with a lot of cheap comedy had been just what they all needed and wanted.
After hearing Mhina tell what had happened, Finn felt almost sick. His eyes closed as he took in a heavy breath. "I was worried something like that would happen. I knew that I shouldn't have gone!"
Poe stiffened as he looked even more down if that was possible. His eyes squeezed shut even though his hand was still clutched tightly with Finn's.
"Wait a moment, Finn," broke in Dr. Firn as he lifted his hand patiently to halt Finn before he could become too caught up in his own thoughts. "I think that there are some of us in here that may have something to say before you decide something so rash."
Finn looked like he had already made up his mind when Naylo shifted first before looking to Finn. "Yes, we had a little problem. We knew that it could happen, but this was different this time. When he came back from the fresher, he was timid and a little sullen, sure, but we expected that. He was able to snap out of it and enjoy the rest of the night. That's pretty admirable if you ask me."
Finn was slightly surprised. He had never really had a conversation with Naylo before. He spoke to Mhina the most out of the group, which was saying something since Mhina was so timid, especially of anyone who was male. The fact that Naylo would speak to Finn about what happened spoke volumes for his conviction in the matter.
Mhina shifted almost uncomfortably as she leaned forward. "Morry and I went into the fresher. Poe was a little combative, rightfully so. It took him a little while to deal with it, but he did with Morry and I's help."
"It was all Mhina really," broke in Morry with a smirk on her face as she nodded to Mhina. "I was just guarding the door. She was in there."
Mhina rolled her eyes. "Poe helped himself more than any of us could’ve.”
"What we're getting at," broke in Jasp. "Is that Poe did have a panic attack. He had fierce symptoms because of the sound of bowling. Not ideal, right? What is good is that he was able to help himself and talk himself out of it. Now that is what we should be taking away from this."
Finn was still skeptical. He looked to Dr. Firn. "And do you think that this is a good thing that he had a PTSD episode?
"A good thing? No. However, I do know that there is progress and that's what you need to see. Whether or not you feel comfortable leaving is up to you. You have a right to feel what you feel. Just don't let your fear stop Poe's progress."
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Finn heard Dr. Firn's words echoing in his ears as he brushed his teeth. He could hear Poe in their bedroom, whispering to BB-8 and D-O the way that he usually did before any of them went to charge for the night. Finn looked at himself in the mirror and saw how tired he looked. He grunted as he leaned forward and spat into the sink before rinsing out his mouth with water he had cupped with his hands from the sink.
He then splashed some water on his face before coming back into the bedroom after closing off the light in the fresher. He hung back to watch as Poe bowed his head and kissed the top of BB-8's dome. If anyone would ever ask, Poe would deny showing his droid so much love. However, it was a ritual they did every night and Finn knew how much each enjoyed it.
D-O rolled up next with a giddy excitement about him. He had grown a lot more comfortable with Poe, especially when it came to trusting him. He also wanted anything that BB-8 had, not that Poe would ever call him on it. Poe lowered down and kissed the top of D-O's head. The green and white droid enthusiastically rushed around in a tight circle before following BB-8 to their respective charging stations.
Finn came over to Poe quietly, slipping around him affectionately. Poe looked up slowly before turning so that he could pull his legs onto he bed. Finn climbed behind him and flopped down heavily. Poe reached over to turn off the light as he rolled onto his side, facing away from Finn.
Poe nearly jumped when he felt skin lightly graze his. It took a moment until he felt Finn lean against him and trail light kisses up his neck and then to his cheek. He wrapped his arms around Poe's waist as he held him close. "I missed you," Finn mumbled into the back of Poe's neck.
A rumble of pleasure rolled in Poe's throat in agreement. "I missed you too. I wanted to be with you so much."
"You won't have to worry about that anymore. I don't think I'm going to be leaving for a while," Finn breathed softly, stirring Poe's hair.
Poe whimpered as he suddenly rolled over to face Finn. The former Stormtrooper blinked his eyes in surprise as Poe met Finn's gaze. "I didn't want to worry you. I know that I'm getting better. I got myself out of it for the most part."
Finn tipped his head upward and kissed the tip of Poe's nose. "I know. This isn't about you. It's more about me. I'm proud of you and I'm not upset. It would just make me feel better to be with you for a little while. Is that such a bad thing?"
"I guess not," replied Poe distractedly.
"This is a good thing. A very good thing," Finn replied as Poe rolled back to his side so that Finn could pull him close. Poe felt comforted to have Finn beside him but he couldn't help but feel a trickle of dread that Finn didn't trust him to be on his own. He knew that he would just need to continue to prove to Finn that he was working on making himself better so that one day Finn would no longer to afraid to leave him. Until then, Poe was going to soak up every moment that he spent with Finn that he possibly could.