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Poe had been born and raised in a war zone. In the middle of a rebellion he was born and he spent his formative years running around a rebel base. His home was the home of the rebels, the home of the heroes. His parents were rebels and his parents were heroes and he loved them. His parents did everything in their power to make sure that he was safe and that he always knew he was loved.
Even after his mother died he knew that she always loved him and always would.
Maybe that’s why he took her jacket. So that he would have a reminder with him always of all that his mother had been. The wonderful person that she was. The beautiful and courageous fighter and mother she had been. He wore her jacket so that he was always reminded that he was loved.
That’s partly why he told Finn to keep the jacket. Stormtrooper Finn had never known love or affection. He couldn’t remember what it felt like. So Poe let the former Stormtrooper keep his jacket. He let Finn keep the most precious thing he had so that Finn always knew that he was loved. That he had people who would fight for him and take care of him.
Poe found out later that Finn gave Rey the jacket. Just for a minute, just in the cold, so that she could be warm. Poe always used to imagine, back when he was little when his mother used to gave him the jacket before she left him, that it was like getting a hug from her whenever he needed it. It was a warm comfort when he needed it. He didn’t mind that Rey had worn the jacket. She deserved it just as much as Finn. She deserved to have everything it symbolised just as much as Finn.
They both deserved to be loved and have a family and be wrapped in warm hugs. They both needed to be reminded that they were loved.
Poe decided much later that he was going to make sure that they never went another day without knowing just how much they were loved.
It was much later, after Finn’s recovery and Rey’s training when he took it upon himself to make sure that the two of them knew exactly how loved they were and would always be.
He gave Finn flowers that he found. Beautiful, exotic flowers from far off planets that bloomed for months in bright colours. Finn loved how much life they had, how new and wonderful they were. He put them in little pots around their room and made sure to water them every couple of days.
He let Rey fix up his X-Wing. He trusted her enough to let her tinker away and brought her food and water before she forgot again. He gave her the space she needed to work but gave her the company she needed when she wanted to work side-by-side. Those were the best days, when they worked together on fixing his X-Wing.
He made sure that they both ate often. They were both so used to not eating much or not eating anything interesting that he made sure that everyday they could they would all have at least one meal together. He went off and would new foods, some he had never tasted himself, so that they could try them.
He gave them a family. He loved them and made sure that they knew it.
Sometimes he got his jacket back. Finn did occasionally give it back it him, if Rey didn’t steal it first. Poe never worried about his jacket being lost. He could safely assume that Rey had stolen it again. She did that sometimes but he didn’t mind. She probably just needed a reminder that she was dearly loved some days more than others. They all needed that. That’s when he got his jacket back. On the days that he needed it most.
He didn’t need to hide in his jacket like he had when he was a child. He didn’t need to have it on him when he felt lost or alone anymore. He had Rey and Finn for that. But when he did get his jacket back it felt warmer than the best hug he had ever gotten from his mom. The jacket was the epitome of his family: both past and present. It was a hand down from his mom, a loving reminder of the family who had raised him through the rebellion. Now it was also apart of his new family. It brought them together and now it was a reminder to himself that he was loved by them, as much as they were loved by him.