Work Text:
It’s technically after hours and Finn reasons that he’s on his personal laptop and NOT his work computer, so it really shouldn’t matter that he’s writing smut at his desk, right? He glances around. Everyone else left over an hour ago.
Everyone except Poe.
Finn groans as he looks into Poe’s office—it’s at the far end of the space with windows on two sides so Finn has a clear view of the sexiest man he’s ever met in real life. Poe freakin’ Dameron. With his tousled hair and those crinkles next to his eyes and always—ALWAYS—with just a hint of stubble. And the man can dress, Finn tells himself, frowning for just a moment at the hint of ketchup on his tie. Plus, Poe is smart and funny and…
Fuck my life, Finn thinks with a groan. I’m in love with my boss.
This isn’t a new revelation. In fact, it’s a thought that Finn’s been having for about a year now.
If he’s being honest, it’s probably a thought he’s been having for two years. Maybe longer? He bangs his head into his keyboard.
Finn came to Resistance magazine three years ago as a staff writer, and from almost day one, he and his editor Poe slid into an easy friendship. They joked at the office, they quipped with each other online, they played video games together on the weekends, but… Finn sighs. We’re friends. That’s it. Friends. And colleagues. And… He scrubs his hand over his face. And why won’t he love me?
He looks up. Right now, Poe is frowning, an adorable deep line set between his eyebrows as he reads something on his computer. Poe bites his lip and Finn wants to slide under his desk. Seriously, Dameron, you’re killing me.
Finn takes a deep breath. Just focus on the porn, Orlani. He stares at the blank document in front of him. Because what better way to get over your unrequited crush than to write about fictional characters having sex?
Finn would laugh if it weren’t so tragic.
He allows himself a moment to wallow and then unclenches his shoulders and sits up straight. Okay, I’m gonna do this.
Come on, porn. He taps the keyboard without actually typing anything.
Come on.
Anything?
He gnaws at his cheek. The cursor keeps blinking.
Maybe it’s because I’m at the office. I mean, I know I shouldn’t be doing this here, he thinks. But…
But Jess is visiting this week, and I’m trying to give her and Rey as much alone time as possible. Plus, they’d tease me mercilessly if they knew that I wrote smutty Star Wars fanfic. Besides, Finn reasons, I promised my readers an update.
Stupid update.
Stupid kriffing promises.
Gah! Come on! How hard is it to write about this?!?!?!?!
Finn frowns and refocuses on the scene at hand. Han and Leia are arguing…and flirting. This is supposed to be one of the more explicit chapters in the fic, but Finn’s written several hundred words, and so far, neither character has done more than get shot at. Why, Finn thinks. Why do I do this to myself?!?!?!?!
# # # #
Poe likes the twelfth floor at night. The soft lights from the city coming in through the windows, the relative quiet—during the day, it’s people and phones buzzing and the clatter of keyboards; now, it’s just the random sounds of people on other floors and… Poe looks out into the office. It’s all dark except for Finn’s desk. Finn, he thinks. Beautiful, hard-working Finn. He bites his lip. What are you still doing here, sweetie?
Don’t call him sweetie! He’s a professional with a name, and you are not going to lose this job because you decided to get all creepy, Dameron. Poe lets out a small whimper and tries to ignore the way that Finn’s desk light is making his eyes glitter.
In the last year, Poe has come to realize that Finn Orlani is the best writer at their magazine, which wasn’t a painful revelation. But he’s also come to realize that he is hopelessly in love with Finn, which is twisting his stomach into knots on a daily basis. Why universe, Poe asks. Why are you doing this to me?
He watches as Finn frowns at his laptop, curious to know what has Finn making that face and kriff, is he seriously biting his lip? Kill me now!
Refocus, Dameron. Poe looks over at his own monitor and blushes. He checks the office again, reassuring himself that there is no possible way that Finn can see what he’s reading. It’s bad enough that everyone in the office knows that if you pour one drink into him, you can get him to sing just about anything at karaoke, but if they found out about this guilty pleasure, the teasing would never end.
But if I can’t act on my feelings in the real world, then I’m sure as hell going to live vicariously through fictional characters.
Poe glances around one more time and clicks on “Next Chapter.” He’s a sucker for a good slow burn and FN-2187 writes the best around.
# # # #
Jess wraps her arms around Rey and lets her head fall forward as Rey starts clicking away on the laptop. Jess closes her eyes and takes in a long, deep breath. Rey smells like motor oil and lavender and it’s hard not to float away on that smell—a smell she doesn’t get nearly enough. Just one more year, she tells herself with a sigh. I’ll finish the dissertation this year and defend and graduate and then I probably won’t have a job, but I can move back here and do this all the time. Jess freezes somewhere between paralyzing fear and longing.
Rey stops typing and squeezes Jess’ arm. “One more year,” she murmurs. “Not so long. And you’re going to get a job, you idiot.” She lightly slaps Jess’ arm.
“Love you,” Jess says into Rey’s hair.
“Love you too,” Rey repeats. She moves her hand and starts typing again.
“Is it up yet,” Jess asks.
“Give me a second, would you?” Rey finishes the email and hits send. “Okay, let’s see…” She clicks onto Ao3 and scrolls. “Nothing new yet.” She frowns. Finn’s usually good about his updates. “But are you caught up?”
“What chapter is he on?”
“Fifteen,” Rey says. “Supposed to publish sixteen this week.”
“I wish that boy would just finish the smut already.”
“It’s what he gets for writing these things chapter by chapter. He shouldn’t publish until he’s at least one chapter ahead.”
Jess rolls her eyes. “Let Finn be Finn, sweetheart.”
Rey groans. “Yes, but if he did it my way, we could be reading smut right now.”
Jess smiles and squeezes her girlfriend. “Good point.”
“Speaking of which,” Rey starts. “Are you sure you want to do the thing this week?”
“Do the thing,” Jess asks with a laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
Jess groans and flops onto the bed. “Rey, they’ve been dancing around each other for a year now. Hell, for two years!”
“Three, actually,” Rey says.
“And besides, all we’re doing is giving them a nudge. The rest is up to them.”
Rey shakes her head. “I think they’re going to need more than that, honestly.”
“Well, it’s a start,” Jess says.
Rey clicks on another fic. “Oh, this one looks good.”
“Yeah,” Jess asks from the bed.
“Tentacles,” Rey says with a giggle. “Lots of tentacles.”
Jess moves back up. “I’m in.”
# # # #
Finn looks up. Poe is reading so intently that he doesn’t even realize he’s running his teeth over his bottom lip over and over again. I wish I could write porn as good as you look, Finn thinks.
And then the idea comes to him. Pretend I’m Leia and he’s Han? Finn’s eyes flick up again. It’s not like I haven’t done it before, he thinks.
Six Months Ago:
Writing fic started as a way to keep his skills sharp in-between jobs, but Finn finds that even now, with a position at the magazine, he can’t quite give up the habit. There is always something new to write and besides, fic is fun.
Currently, he's staring at a blank document trying to think of a new way to spin Han, Leia, and Luke in the present day, but absolutely nothing is coming.
He leans back on his bed, relishing the fact that it is Saturday, which means he doesn’t need to change out of his pajama pants all day if he doesn’t want to. What to write? What to write?
His brain drifts, and Finn suddenly imagines himself captured, waiting for execution in a cell on the Death Star. He smirks. I do look damn good in white.
But that means I’m gonna need a good-looking guy to come rescue me. His smirk turns into a full-blown smile. He closes his eyes as he imagines the perfect man for the job…
Prince Finn Organa sat on the cold, metal bench, chewing his lip and trying to figure out an exit strategy. The problem was, no one escaped the Death Star. Even if the Rebellion could send someone, it would be a suicide mission.
Finn leaned back with a sigh, trying to accept his fate. At least he hadn’t given up the location of the hidden Rebel base.
The door hissed open and he instinctively shuddered, still apprehensive after Vader’s interrogation and fearing that this was the end. Instead, he was startled to see a lone Stormtrooper standing in front of him.
The trooper seemed jumpy.
Finn wanted to make a quip—‘Aren’t you a bit short for a Stormtrooper?’ or something—but nothing came.
The Stormtrooper stepped forward. “Listen carefully. If you do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here.”
“What?”
Then, the Stormtrooper did the unimaginable. He took off his helmet.
For a moment, Finn blinked in surprise. This Stormtrooper had to be the prettiest man he’d ever seen.
The Stormtrooper leaned towards him. “This is a rescue. I’m helping you escape.”
“You with the Rebellion?”
“What? No, no, no. I’m breaking you out.”
But if you aren’t with the Rebellion… “Why are you helping me?”
The Stormtrooper had these big, earnest eyes and he sounded so sincere as he said, “Because it’s the right thing to do.”
Finn was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat at that, but in the next instant, he realized it was all for naught. “There’s no way off this thing.”
The trooper wore a huge lop-sided grin. “There’s a two-person TIE in the hangar.”
“We’d need a pilot.”
“I am a pilot.”
Finn broke into a huge smile as he stood. “We’re gonna do this.”
“Yeah,” asked the trooper, suddenly bashful.
Finn nodded. "Yeah." He took the trooper’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
The plan was simple. The Stormtrooper would “escort” Finn to the hangar and into one of two-person TIEs. Then, they’d take off before anyone realized the Prince was missing.
As they slid into the TIE, the trooper asked, “Can you shoot?”
“Blasters I can.”
“Same principle,” the trooper said before rattling off instructions.
Finn looked down and did his best to figure the controls out while the trooper worked to get them out of the hangar. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to shoot. The less noise they made escaping, the better.
The trooper released the tether and the TIE lifted off. As they flew out of the Death Star, Finn couldn’t help his smile. Maybe this is gonna work?
But, it shouldn’t work. “Hey, why aren’t they firing? What about the tractor beam?”
He could hear the smile in the Stormtrooper’s voice as he said, “I deactivated the tractor beam before I came to your cell, and I don’t think they’ve spotted us yet.”
“You were that sure I’d say yes?”
“You want to get executed?”
“Good point.” Finn stared out the cockpit waiting for the inevitable group of TIEs to descend on them, but nothing happened as they zoomed away from the space station. He felt himself relax. “Hey, what’s your name,” he yelled over his shoulder.
“P-O-1156.”
“P…what,” Finn asked.
“That’s the only name they ever gave me,” the trooper said, and Finn’s heart broke.
“Well, I ain’t using it. P-O, huh? Poe, I’m gonna call you Poe. Is that all right?”
“Poe, yeah. Poe. I like that.” Finn could hear the trooper’s smile.
“I’m Finn. Finn Organa.”
“Good to meet you, Finn.”
“Good to meet you too, Poe.”
Of course, their luck didn’t last—TIEs came screaming out of the station, but Poe was one hell of a pilot and Finn was good enough with the guns to keep them safe. Eventually, they were able to make the calculations to go to lightspeed.
Poe let out a loud whoop as they dodged one last blast from a TIE and white streaks of light overtook them.
“YES,” screamed Finn. “Did you see that?!?!”
Poe laughed. “I saw it.”
Finn was floating. He had no idea why this crazy Stormtrooper decided to escape the Empire with a Rebel Prince, but he was so glad he did.
They didn’t speak much during their hyperspace flight, but soon, they landed on an Outer Rim planet. “We’ll need to ditch the TIE before they trace it,” Poe said, pushing up out of the cockpit.
Once they were out of the ship and on solid ground, Finn pulled Poe into a big hug. “We did it!”
Poe’s eyes were bright and his smile was blinding. “Yes, we did, buddy!”
And Prince Finn didn’t know why, but he found himself pulling the Stormtrooper closer. His eyes fell shut as he pressed his lips to the other man’s. The trooper gasped, but then he was grasping the back of the Prince’s head, pulling him even closer and…
…Wait, wait, wait! They just met! That wouldn’t work.
Shut up, Finn, he tells himself. It was just getting to the good part!
Finn opens his eyes. Damn.
Why can’t it be real?
Finn sighs. “Okay, I can’t write that.”
Well? Maybe?
No, Finn, you are not going to create an original Stormtrooper character based on your dreamy boss and then self-insert so you can bang him.
Finn turns on the tv. So, what do I write? He flips through the channels for thirty minutes before an idea comes to him.
FN-2187’s Star Wars / Prison Break crossover becomes one of his most popular fics on Ao3.
# # # #
Now:
It worked then, Finn thinks to himself, sparing a quick look at Poe, who is smiling at something he’s just written. Well, actually, it didn’t, Orlani. You fantasized about Poe and then wrote an entirely different story.
Shut up, Finn, Finn thinks, glancing up again and dying because Poe is smiling so big he’s got those eye crinkles he gets. Damn. He’s too cute.
Use it.
Finn purses his lips and tries to imagine Poe Dameron as Han Solo. Hmmmmmm…. Finn can’t help his smile as he imagines Poe in the black vest. Poe-as-Han pressing Finn-as-Leia back up against the Millennium Falcon and…
Finn hears a ding on his laptop and glances down to see an email notification: Comment on Rebel Lives. Finn usually likes to wait until he’s home, reward himself at the end of a long day, but he can’t help himself.
BlackOne left the following comment on Rebel Lives:
UUUUUGH! You’re killing me here! When are they going to talk already (among other things)!!!!!!!
Finn breaks into a huge smile. BlackOne.
BlackOne is one of those wonderfully devoted readers. The kind that comment on every single chapter—the kind that make him want to finish this stupid scene so he can update (and get even more comments). But more than that, BlackOne has become one of his best friends in the fandom—the sort of cheerleader that keeps him going when Finn starts to doubt his writing. I love you, BlackOne, he thinks out to the universe. Thank goodness someone is reading this thing.
Finn types out a quick response. Then, he looks up to see Poe packing up for the night. Crap! He slams his laptop shut. “Going home?”
Poe smiles as he wanders through the cubbies. “Yeah. No more left for me to read.” Why won’t you update, FN-2187?!?!?! “How about you?”
“Uh, yeah,” Finn says, scrambling to put his laptop into his messenger bag.
“Cool. We can walk down together.”
Finn quickly gets his things.
“No jacket?”
Finn frowns. “No.” I forgot it was supposed to cool off today. Crap.
Poe stops and puts his bag down, shrugging out of his leather jacket. “Here.”
“Poe, I can’t take your jacket.”
Poe shrugs. “No worries, buddy. I run warm.”
“Poe,” Finn protests.
Poe shakes his head and slings his bag back over his shoulder. “Take it.” Take everything I own. Really.
Finn reluctantly shrugs on the jacket, hating how warm it feels and how good it smells. He fights the urge to close his eyes and just drown in the sense of warm Poe-ness enveloping him right now.
Poe smiles a dazzling smile. “It suits you.”
Finn looks up and can’t help his grin. “Yeah?”
Poe nods, suddenly at a loss for words. Damn, Finn.
For a moment, they lock eyes and both of them have butterflies in their stomachs. They each realize that all it would take is one movement, one glance, and this could turn into so much more.
Then, Poe’s brain screams, You’re his boss, Dameron. “Uh, should we?”
Finn feels his heart break just a bit. “Oh yeah.” As they start out, he asks, “What did you think about the article on the ramifications of federal spending cuts on free clinics?”
Poe smiles. “Finn, buddy, you know it’s good.” He puts a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Actually, I forwarded it to Maz.”
“Maz? Maz Kanata? As in our boss, Maz Kanata?”
Poe laughs. “Yeah, that Maz. Anyway, I know she’s trying to put together a team for this new pet project of hers and…”
You want me to quit working for you? Finn’s face falls.
“Buddy, what did I say?”
“Oh, I just…” Finn’s voice is tiny. “I thought you liked having me here.”
I do, but it’s torture. “Finn, you’re probably the best writer on the whole magazine. I just figured you’re due for an advancement.”
“Oh,” Finn says.
“Seriously, at the rate you’re going, one of these days, you’re gonna be my boss.”
Finn chuckles as Poe thinks, and if you’re no longer working for me, I can finally ask you out.
# # # #
The apartment is dark when he gets home, but Finn can hear giggling from Rey’s room, so he quickly makes his way to his room. Finn lets his bag fall to the floor and goes to take off Poe’s jacket. He stops for a moment and closes his eyes, just letting the deep, warm smell of it seep into his brain.
He opens his eyes. No one here to see me.
He grins and keeps the jacket on as he falls into his bed. After a moment, he pulls out his laptop and pops on his headphones. Time to write some smut. He closes his eyes and enjoys the feeling of the jacket again. Might as well try writing Poe as Han. Can’t hurt. He rubs his cheek against the leather. Especially as I have extra inspiration tonight. He searches through his playlist for something appropriately sexy. He frowns. There’s good stuff here, but none of it is…Poe.
And it’s not like I can just text my boss and say “Hey, what songs get you in the mood?”
Finn presses his lips together and starts making a new playlist.
Ten minutes later, Finn looks up, smiling. It’s eclectic—with everything from Toni Braxton and Ginuwine to Al Green, Prince, and George Michael—he’s mixed in a bit of classic sexiness with some cheese, but it has a certain “Poe” vibe to it. Plus, Finn’s been able to put off writing the dreaded smut scene for a few minutes, so there’s that.
Okay, time for smut.
He starts the playlist and then stares at the blank page on his laptop.
Come on, smut.
Come on.
Any time now…
Please?
Anything?
Smut?
He opens up tumblr and scrolls through his feed and then pops over to check to see if anything new has posted in the Chirrut/Baze tag on Ao3. He logs onto Discord to see if any of his friends want to play something.
A message pops up on his tumblr dash.
BlackOne: Some of us are dying, waiting for you, you know?
FN-2187: Patience. You can’t rush good smut.
BlackOne: Sometimes fast is better. ; )
FN-2187: Is that what passes as flirting?
BlackOne: shrugs. Is it working?
Finn hears a message ding on Discord.
PDamn: Is Jess still around?
Finn: Yes, but she’s “occupied” at the moment. ; )
PDamn: BUDDY! What are you, five?
Finn laughs.
BlackOne: But seriously, how is your week going?
FN-2187: Good. You?
Finn: If I have to suffer, everyone has to suffer with me.
PDamn: Need me to rescue you?
Finn: No, just trying to drown out the noise.
PDamn: Well, I wanted to see if she was free for dinner tomorrow night. I haven’t seen her at all this week.
Finn: That’s what you get for introducing her to Rey.
BlackOne: Just work. Nothing special. Well, and waiting for a certain author to UPDATE THE FIC ALREADY.
FN-2187: Pushy. If you aren’t careful, I won’t update at all, just leave you hanging. Remember that one fic I NEVER UPDATED?
BlackOne: Nooooooo!
BlackOne sends a Darth Vader gif to punctuate his point.
PDamn: Tell her to call me when you see her.
Finn: *If* I see her.
PDamn: Seriously!
FN-2187: Sleepy. Gonna call it a night.
BlackOne: Goodnight, FN! Sleep well!
Finn can’t help but smile at that.
FN-2187: You too!
PDamn: And get some sleep, Orlani. You’ve got work in the morning.
Finn: Yes, boss.
Finn has that heady, breathless feeling you get when you’ve been twirling on the dancefloor. He logs off all his accounts with a satisfied sigh.
Any night that ends saying goodnight to Poe is a good night.
Plus, there’s BlackOne.
Finn chews his cheek. He’s been friends with BlackOne on tumblr for over a year now; they bonded over their love of Star Wars and typically, they chat at least once or twice a week, but Finn knows next to nothing about him.
Well, not nothing. He leans back in his bed. Male. Gay. Same time zone. Loves Star Wars fics. Ships Han/Leia and Han/Luke/Leia and is obsessed with Rebels. Finn shakes his head. Could be eighteen and could be eighty. Although I seriously doubt he’s eighty, and some of his pop culture references make me think he’s at least in his twenties. Maybe thirties? He stops chewing his cheek and considers how much it brightens his day to hear from BlackOne. How he smiles just thinking about him. How they’ve been doing this playful, banter thing for months now.
No.
It’s not a crush.
I like Poe.
Finn slumps a bit. Yeah, I like Poe and he just sees me as a valuable asset.
Who he’s trying to get rid of.
Finn shakes his head. No. Come on. He’s trying to help your career.
GAH, Finn leans back against his headboard. He takes a deep breath. Forget about Poe. And BlackOne.
Smut. I need to write some smut.
Finn groans as he looks at the blank page.
The cursor is laughing at me.
Finn sighs. His mind drifts to Poe’s smile and then to that cute thing BlackOne said last weekend.
Fine. I’ll think about them just a little. He puts his “Poe Dameron” playlist back on and starts writing…
Han was pacing the shack, his fury barely contained. “You could’ve been killed out there! What in the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that they had stunned you and were getting ready to lop off your stupid, oversized head, you overgrown nerfherder!”
Han stalked towards Leia. “I had things under control, your worship.”
Leia snorted. “They had a knife to your throat!”
Han took a step forward. “It would have been fine.”
Leia rolled her eyes. “Headless, but fine.” Han growled and Leia crossed her arms. “You don’t scare me.”
“I bet I could,” Han muttered.
“What,” Leia said, stomping right up to Han and fixing him with her harshest stare—a holdover from her days in the Senate.
“And you don’t scare me either, Princess.”
They both stood there, fuming. “I don’t need a keeper,” Han bit out.
“We should ask Chewie about that,” Leia answered. She shook her head. “Why you have to be so hard headed about accepting my help—”
“Because I don’t need it!”
“You nearly died! What am I supposed to do if they kill you?” Leia’s carefully crafted façade fell just a bit and suddenly, Han realized they weren’t just arguing about the ambush.
“Princess?”
Leia spun and walked to the other side of the small space.
“Leia?” He groaned and walked over to her, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around.
“Don’t,” Leia started, but before she could say anything else, Han had her in his arms.
“When I thought they’d hurt you, I wanted to kill every last kriffing one of them,” he whispered.
Leia’s stare softened. “So, you know how it feels?”
Han nodded. “One of the worst moments of my life,” he said quietly. He leaned forward and closed his eyes, pressing his lips onto Leia’s…
“Finn,” Rey yells. “You home?”
NOOOOOO! It’s just getting good! Poe is about to kiss me! No, I mean BlackOne is… KRIFF!!! I mean Han is about to kiss Leia! Gah. “Yeah, peanut. I’m in my room.”
Rey opens the door. “You hungry?”
Finn looks over the top of his laptop. “It’s one in the morning, Rey.”
“And?”
He smiles, saving his story and shutting his laptop. “Sure.” As he gets up, he pulls on some sweatpants and calls out, “And Jess, call Poe when you get a chance. He wants to see you.”
“Yeah, he left me like ten messages,” Jess says from the living room. “He call you too?”
Finn shakes his head. “No, we were chatting earlier.”
“Oh really,” Rey asks from the kitchen. “Do tell.”
Finn rolls his eyes. “He asked me about Jess. That’s all.”
Jess snorts. “These two.”
“I know,” Rey says, moving back into the kitchen.
“Care to elaborate,” Finn asks, sitting down next to Jess.
Jess says, “You’re in love with him, right?”
“Rey!”
“What,” Rey calls out from the kitchen. “She’s my girlfriend! We share.”
“Other people’s secrets,” Finn asks.
“Um, actually she didn’t have to tell me, Finn. You’re sleeping in his jacket.”
“I wasn’t sleeping!”
“Oh, that’s so much better.”
“I just…I just forgot that I was wearing it.”
“Yeah, right.” Jess clears her throat. “As I was saying, you’re in love with him. He’s in love with you.”
Finn chokes on nothing. “What?”
“You didn’t know that?”
“I haven’t told him yet,” comes Rey’s voice from the kitchen.
“What,” Finn repeats.
“Oh yeah, Poe’s been in love with you since day one,” Jess says.
“It’s true,” Rey calls out.
He loves me!!!!!!! Finn is sitting there dumbfounded. “Now wait, is this true true or you two guessing true?”
Jess shrugs. “What’s the difference?”
Finn groans. “One is based on Poe saying I’m in love with Finn to you and the other is based on you and my roommate being meddling busybodies who think you’re mind readers.”
“He loves you, trust me,” Jess says.
Finn puts his head on the counter. “So you’re guessing.”
“Trust us,” Rey says. “We know about these things.”
“Yeah, right,” Finn grumbles.
Rey asks, “Who here is in a steady, committed, healthy, happy relationship and who here buries his feelings writing Star Wars fan fiction?”
Finn’s head pops up. “You know about that?”
Rey rolls her eyes. “Yes, Finn. You’ve left your laptop open a few times and—”
“SNOOP! Betrayer! You looked on my laptop?!?!”
“You left it open in the living room with a document titled ‘Luke and Wedge do it.’ Of course, I took a peek!”
Finn stands, thoroughly horrified. His mouth is open but he doesn’t know what to say.
“For what it’s worth,” Jess says. “I thought it was hot.”
Finn shakes his head. “I’m gonna go die now.” He heads back to his room and flings himself on his bed.
A moment later, there’s a soft knock on his door. “Finn?”
“Go away,” Finn calls out from under one of his pillows.
“Finn, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Rey opens the door. “Lots of people write fic.”
“I can’t believe you found that document,” he says. “I’m gonna have to move, get new friends…” He buries his head back under the pillow.
Rey comes in and sits down next to him. “Finn, stop being overdramatic. So you write smut in your spare time? Who doesn’t have a hobby?”
Finn makes a distressed noise.
“Would it help you to know that Maz has a fetish site?”
“No! I don’t want to know that about her!”
Rey laughs. “All I’m saying is, we all have our side interests. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Yeah,” Finn says resignedly.
Jess yells from the kitchen, “Hey babe, I think this is burning!”
Rey jumps up. “Finn, it’s not that bad.” She pauses at the door. “And Poe is definitely into you. You should see the way he lights up around you.” She runs back into the kitchen.
“Yeah, right,” Finn grumbles, sinking back into his bed. He wraps the jacket a bit tighter around himself, wishing he could just disappear.
# # # #
Testor: Instead of just you and me tonight, what about you and me and Rey and Finn?
Poe: Sounds good.
Testor: And maybe during dessert, you can tell Finn you love him?
Poe:
Poe:
Poe: I can’t find an emoji to appropriately convey my feelings right now.
Poe: so just imagine a very irritated smiley face emoji staring at you.
Testor: how can it be smiling and irritated?
Poe: sigh
Testor: just tell him, Poe.
Poe: I’m his boss, Jess.
Testor: Loan your jacket to all your writers?
Poe: It was cold.
Testor: So you had an extra?
Jess waits three full minutes for a response.
Testor: Poe?
Testor: Poe, you still there?
Testor: He wore it all night.
Poe: He did?
Testor: Ha! I knew you weren’t dead.
Testor: He likes you too!
Poe: He told you?
Testor: No
Testor: but Rey and I have been watching him
Poe: No.
Poe: stop right there.
Poe: NO MORE MATCHMAKING.
Testor: You’re going to die alone, Dameron.
Poe: At least I won’t be fired for sexual harassment!
Testor: Dinner at La Vita at 8pm?
Poe: Sure
Testor: Hugs
Poe: Hugs
# # # #
Finn stares around the table and can’t help but feel a bit blessed. Three years ago, when he’d first come to D’Qar, after leaving First Order publishing, he’d had no one. But soon enough, he’d met Rey through a random craigslist ad looking for a roommate and they’d clicked, and then Rey’s yoga instructor, Iolo, introduced him to Snap, who helped him get hired at Resistance. That had thrown Poe into his life. Then, two years ago, Poe’s best friend, Jess, had come to town and swept Rey off her feet, and now, the four of them are here, laughing over dinner.
Finn shakes his head, grinning at his luck. I love my found family.
“Earth to Finn,” Poe says, waving a hand.
“Oh no, we’ve lost him,” Rey quips.
Finn blinks and rolls his eyes. “What?”
“Jess asked if you were going to finish your potato thing,” Poe says.
“Oh,” Finn looks at his plate. “No,” he says, shoving it towards her. “Enjoy!”
“What were you thinking about,” Poe asks.
“Is there a dreamy guy in the restaurant,” Rey asks, looking around.
“What? No,” Finn says quickly. Not in front of Poe! “I was just thinking how grateful I am that we’re all friends.”
“Awwww,” Rey says.
Jess rolls her eyes.
“I think it’s cute,” Poe says to her.
“You would,” she mutters. Poe kicks her under the table.
“So,” Finn says, desperate to change the subject. “What do you two have planned for tomorrow?”
Rey smiles. “I’m taking the day off and we’re going to get an early start to the weekend.”
“Yeah,” Jess says, “Karé is letting us use her beach house for the weekend.”
“Nice,” Finn says.
Rey stretches and sighs. “A whole weekend of sun and swimming.”
“And sexy shenanigans,” Poe adds, chuckling.
“Ugh,” Jess groans. “You are the worst.”
Poe reaches over and hugs her. “You know you love me.” He kisses the top of her head.
“Not in public, Dameron!”
Rey turns to Finn. “That means you’ll have the apartment to yourself.”
“Yeah, you won’t have to worry about us finding your porn or anything,” Jess says.
Finn blushes and chokes on his water.
Poe laughs, slapping his back. “You okay there, buddy?”
“Yeah, I just…” He looks down at his wet tie. “I should go… Um, I’ll be right back.” Finn rises and practically sprints to the restroom.
“Jess,” Rey hisses.
“Sorry, I thought everyone knew.”
“Okay, what am I missing,” Poe asks.
“Nothing,” Rey says, giving her girlfriend a stern look.
“Nothing,” Jess grumbles. “I just wanted to see how uncomfortable I could make your boy.”
It’s Poe’s turn to choke. “He’s not my boy. I mean, he’s a boy, of course. Well, really a man, but he’s not mine…”
Rey can’t help her laugh. “Why don’t you just tell him?”
“Tell him,” Poe squeaks.
“Tell him you’re in love with him.”
“Not you too, Rey. As I’ve explained to your girlfriend,” Poe says, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’d like to wait until it isn’t sexual harassment.”
“You wait too long and he might get scooped up,” Rey says with a smile.
“Wait, what?” Poe goes pale. “Is…is there? Is he seeing someone?”
“Well,” Jess says, with an evil grin, “There is this guy online.”
Fuck, Poe thinks. Fuck. No! I’ve waited too long.
# # # #
As the rest of the evening goes by, it’s clear to Finn that something’s wrong with Poe.
He’s embarrassed about the porn. Probably thinks I’m a big ol perv. Crap!
He keeps opening his mouth to try to explain to Poe, but nothing comes out, and then, all the way home, Finn berates himself…and the girls. “I am so gonna pay you back, Jess,” Finn grumbles as he flops onto his bed.
It’s at that moment that he realizes what he’s wearing. Great! I’m a big ‘ol perv who is still wearing his jacket. GAH!!!!
He turns on his laptop. A new message pops up on tumblr.
BlackOne: Buddy, you around?
BlackOne: Having a crap night.
FN-2187: Me too. Must be an epidemic.
BlackOne: Sorry! Want to talk about it?
FN-2187: No, it’s okay. Just
FN-2187: shakes head
FN-2187: embarrassed myself in front of my boss tonight
BlackOne: ouch. That’s worse than mine.
FN-2187: ????
BlackOne: found out that my crush is dating someone else.
Finn feels a moment’s pang of jealousy, but he’s already typing.
FN-2187: there’s no way mine’s worse. that sucks!
BlackOne: it really does.
BlackOne: it’s my own fault though
BlackOne: I waited too long
BlackOne: never said anything
Finn sighs.
FN-2187: been there. done that.
BlackOne: so what’s the cure?
FN-2187: I don’t know. Wish I did.
Finn leans back onto his bed. Man, I wish I did.
# # # #
Poe has managed to avoid Finn for most of the day, and as he glances at the clock on his wall, he sees that he only has about fifteen more minutes before everyone leaves. I can do this, he reminds himself. We’re adults.
He looks over to Finn’s desk. And I love you.
Kriff, he thinks, looking away. How could I fall in love with him?
Poe looks back up to see Finn listening as Kaydel tells a joke. Poe can feel himself melting as Finn’s smile gets bigger.
How could I not fall in love with him?
# # # #
Finn frowns at his computer screen and sneaks a glance at Poe’s office. Poe sees him and quickly looks away. All damn day, Dameron.
Finn closes his eyes. It’s about the porn comment.
Damn you, Jess!
Finn takes a breath. Better face the firing squad. Almost everyone else is packing up to leave for the day. It’s Friday and no one wants to be here any later than they have to be. So, Finn does the same: he packs up his desk, puts on the jacket, gets up, and walks to Poe’s office.
“Um, Poe,” Finn leans in Poe’s doorway, and Poe has no idea why Finn is looking so bashful and forlorn. If he’s here to quit, I’m going to curl up and die.
“Finn, buddy, what is it?” Oh my goodness, he’s still wearing the jacket.
Poe is suddenly very jealous of a jacket.
“About last night,” Finn starts.
It’s like someone has dumped a cold bucket of water over his head. No, please do not tell me about your sexy new online boyfriend. “No worries, Finn,” Poe says way too cheerfully.
“Really,” Finn asks, looking up. “You weren’t weirded out by…”
“No, why would I be weirded out?” Why is my voice so loud?
“I just didn’t want you thinking I was some sort of porn fiend or anything,” Finn says.
Poe can’t help the laugh that escapes him. “Porn fiend?”
Finn blushes. “Yeah, Jess’ comment last night?”
“OH, that!”
“Yeah, what did you think I was talking about?”
You’re an idiot, Dameron. Poe shakes his head. “Nothing.” He motions for Finn to take the chair across from him. “Seriously, buddy, you were worried about that? I learned a long time ago not to listen to anything Jess says.”
Finn looks relieved. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Poe says, and then because he can’t help himself, “So, are you a porn fiend?”
Finn laughs and leans back in his chair. “Well, I guess that would depend on your definition of fiend.”
# # # #
Finn is whistling as he gets home. Things are smoothed over with Poe. Rey and Jess are at Karé’s beach house, and he has the whole weekend ahead of him. He toes out of his shoes at the front door and starts stepping out of his pants as he walks down the hall. He crashes onto his bed with a happy sigh.
“I think it’s time to write some smut,” he says to himself.
He pulls up the Poe Dameron playlist on his laptop and the smut just seems to flow…
# # # #
BlackOne: Update?
FN-2187: Seriously! You are way too demanding!
BlackOne: You love me. You know you do.
FN-2187: Maybe.
BlackOne: Definitely.
FN-2187: How’s your weekend shaping up?
BlackOne: Way to change the subject.
BlackOne: Good. I’m going to go visit my pa and eat all his food and dodge all my aunties’ questions about why I haven’t settled down yet.
FN-2187: Why haven’t you settled down yet?
BlackOne: groans.
BlackOne: What about you?
FN-2187: I’m going to make some fish tacos, which my roommate hates, but she’s not here. I’m going to sleep and maybe, just maybe, I’ll finish and post the chapter.
BlackOne: Woo-Hoo!
BlackOne: And who doesn’t like fish tacos?
FN-2187: I know!
# # # #
It is Saturday night and Finn is smiling as he throws a piece of popcorn into the air and tries to catch it in his mouth. It hits him in the eye, but he doesn’t care. He’s finished the chapter. Edit tomorrow. Post Monday morning. Finn throws another piece up in the air with a flourish. Because that’s how we do it.
He thinks about sending off a quick message to BlackOne and then stops.
That was definitely flirting last night, right?
Right?
But what about Poe?
Finn’s smile falls a bit. What about Poe? He looks over at the hook next to the door where Poe’s jacket hangs.
It doesn’t mean anything.
His mood is about to falter completely when he hears a text notification.
# # # #
Rey: Goodbye dinner tomorrow night 7pm @Mozalini’s.
Poe: I’m in.
Finn: Me too.
# # # #
Rey calls out, “They’re in.”
Jess cackles with delight. “Okay, so if the direct approach didn’t work, and neither did making Poe jealous, then it’s time to move to phase three.”
Rey rolls her eyes, but she secretly can’t wait to see the guys squirm.
# # # #
Finn puts down his phone. This is silly. He turns on the tv. Just forget about the boys. Enjoy your damn weekend, Orlani.
He sighs as he starts flipping through the channels.
Just forget about the two boys you’re crazy about.
Finn groans. “It sounds like a bad fic,” he says to himself.
# # # #
The evening goes fairly smoothly. Until dessert. Rey and Jess are sharing a chocolate lava cake. Poe is devouring a piece of pecan pie and Finn is sipping coffee.
“You’re so boring, Finn,” Rey says between bites.
“Speaking of boring,” Jess says with a sly smile. “It’s been a fairly calm outing so far…”
Poe groans. “No. Whatever it is, stop now.”
Jess laughs. “Really? You have no idea what I was going to say.”
“Fine.” Poe closes his eyes. I’m going to regret this. “What were you going to say, Testor?”
“I was just going to comment that we’ve all been friends for at least two years now, but we don’t really know each other.”
Finn tenses. They’re up to something. He looks over at Poe, who is clearly coming to the same conclusion.
“You’re right, Jess,” Rey adds and Finn wants to roll his eyes. You are so bad at this, peanut.
“Just get it over with,” Poe says, shaking his head.
“Why? Whatever do you mean,” Jess asks.
“You two have something cooked up, so just get on with it.” He cocks an eyebrow and leans back.
Jess leans forward. “Fine.” She looks from Poe to Finn. “What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”
Poe throws back his head and laughs. “Easy. Sophomore year of college, I streaked across campus…in February.”
“Ouch,” Finn says, knowing Poe went to school in Boston.
“You have no idea, buddy.”
Rey says, “I once danced on a table at a party, and I ended up taking my top off.”
“Fuck,” Jess says, a bit too loudly. “Sorry. Sorry,” she says to surrounding tables. “How did I not know about that?”
Rey shrugs. “There’s still some things you don’t know.” She winks at Jess.
“Fuck,” Jess says under her breath.
Finn refuses to look up as he tells his story. “I was terrified to face my boss when I was ready to quit my job at First Order, so I might have had a beer or two at lunch—just to fortify myself—and it worked. I marched up to Phasma and told her I was quitting and why, and it felt good, and then Hux came out of his office and I walked over, and I was going to give him a piece of my mind, but instead, I threw up all over his shoes.”
The entire table erupts into laughter.
“Finn, buddy, I’ve met Hux and trust me, that’s not embarrassing, that is freakin’ awesome,” Poe says, slapping Finn’s back.
“So, what about you, Jess,” Finn asks.
She shakes her head. “My parents were supposed to be gone at church choir practice, so I snuck my girlfriend over and we were in my bedroom and…”
“Oh no,” says Rey, laughing.
“Oh yes,” says Jess. “I mean, they knew I was gay, and they were cool and all, but they came home early and Dad heard me moaning in my bedroom and thought something was wrong and…” She buries her head in her hands. “I couldn’t look him in the face for a week.”
Poe wipes his eyes. “Okay, that would be the worst.”
“You have no idea, Dameron,” Jess says.
Rey leans forward. “Okay, I’ve got one. What’s your guilty little secret? What’s something you do that you love, but you wouldn’t want the rest of us to know about?”
“How kinky do you want us to get,” Finn asks.
“Finn,” Rey slaps his arm. “Keep it PG-13. I don’t need to know about your sex life.”
Poe asks, “So we’re talking?”
“Guilty pleasures, stupid hobbies. I don’t know. Maybe you take a hula-hooping class at the YMCA?”
“Oh, I know Poe’s,” Jess says, eagerly.
Poe raises an eyebrow. “I seriously doubt that, Testor.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Poe reads fan fiction, and not just any fan fiction. His favorite genre, if it even is a genre, is…” She looks around the table, waiting for the anticipation to grow. “Tentacle porn.”
Finn nearly spits his coffee all over himself.
“It was the one fic that one time, Jess!”
“So, you admit that you read fan fiction?”
“Yeah,” Poe says. “And you read it too, Testor! Or don’t you remember college?” He turns to Finn. “This one is desperately in love with Hermione Granger.”
“Because she’s got taste,” Rey adds.
Finn giggles.
“And Poe’s in love with Dean Thomas,” Jess adds.
Finn nods. “Because of Dean and Seamus, right?”
Poe laughs. “Yes! See,” he says, turning to Jess, “Finn gets it.” He leans back towards Finn. “Jess and I bonded in school over Harry Potter and after a while we started reading fic.” Poe turns to Jess. “So, what’s the big deal? How is that embarrassing?”
“What about you Finn,” Rey asks before Jess can respond. “Do you read fic?”
I hate you Rey Kenobi. “Yes,” he says sheepishly.
“Oh really,” she asks.
“Yeah,” he says, “there’s some really good stuff out there.”
“Especially if you’re into tentacles,” Jess mutters.
“It was one time, Testor,” Poe grumbles.
“That we know of,” Jess says. Rey kicks Jess, hard. “Oh yeah, anyway, so what do you like to read, Finn?”
“Uh,” he says. Lie. Lie! Do not say Star Wars! “Star Wars mostly.” Crap.
“Really,” Poe says, instantly happier. “Me too! Original trilogy, prequels, or the new stuff?”
Rey and Jess have satisfied grins on their faces. You planned this, you evil space witches, Finn thinks at them. Rey keeps her eyes wide and innocent. Jess gives him a small shrug and wraps an arm around her girlfriend. Finn just barely keeps from rolling his eyes at them. Instead, he turns to Poe. “A bit of everything,” Finn says. “You?”
“Mostly original trilogy. Oh, and Rebels? You into Star Wars Rebels?”
“Uh, I have a friend who has suggested I check it out,” Finn says and by “friend,” he means BlackOne.
“Oh, you should,” Poe says, leaning forward. “It is so good.”
Finn can’t help himself. He leans forward too—Poe looks so eager and excited.
“Who do you ship,” Poe asks.
I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with my editor. “Uh, I don’t know.” He shrugs, taking a sip of his coffee. “I’m a multishipper for the most part. I mean, I have a soft spot for Han and Leia, but—”
“Oh man, me too. Have you read anything by FN-2187?”
Finn nearly chokes on his coffee yet again. “Who?”
“FN-2187? They write the best stuff. They have this one multi-chapter right now. It’s a slow burn focusing on Han and Leia, and it’s just… You okay, buddy?”
“Yeah, I just… You read FN-2187?”
“Yeah, you know them?”
“I’ve read one or two things.”
Rey and Jess look supremely satisfied.
At that moment, the check arrives, and Finn insists on paying just to change the subject.
# # # #
Outside the restaurant, they’re all standing around—it’s turning cooler and Finn notices Poe rub his hands together. Why isn’t he wearing a—oh crap, I’m still wearing his jacket!
Finn starts to shrug out of it. “Sorry,” he says. “You must be freezing.”
Poe stops him and pulls the jacket back onto Finn. “No, keep it. It suits you.” Poe’s hand lingers on the lapel and the two of them have another one of those moments—their eyes lock and they both feel light and tingly. They both know if one of them would just step forward and take the initiative, they could be kissing.
Rey laughs at something Jess says and the spell is broken.
“Yeah,” Poe says, stepping back and rubbing his hands together again. “I should get going.” He gives Jess a big hug. “Take care of yourself, Testor.” He kisses the top of her head. “I’ll see the two of you later.” Poe walks to his car.
As soon as he is far enough away, Finn hisses, “Okay, spill! How long have you known?”
“What? About Poe,” Jess asks. “Like he said, we used to read fan fiction back in college. I’ve known for years that he’s into it.”
“And this is just coming up now? Why?”
“Because you two are crazy about each other and we’re tired of you skirting the issue,” Rey says, taking Finn’s arm and looping hers through it.
“And you thought we’d just confess our love after bonding over our shared love of fic?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jess says.
“Rey, Jess, he doesn’t feel that way—”
Rey groans. “He does feel that way!” She shakes her head. “You just won’t listen.”
“But why fic? How is that going to help us declare our undying love for each other?”
“We just thought you two would bond over one more geeky interest you share,” Jess says. “I mean seriously! Who likes puzzles?”
“Puzzles are fun,” Finn says defensively.
“Yeah, I know. I hear that from him all the time too.” She shakes her head. “You both love puzzles. You both love Star Wars and Star Wars fic. You both play the same video games; you’re both writers, and you both moon over each other. Seriously, why aren’t you and Poe together yet?”
“Um,” Finn says. Because… Finn’s spiraling.
Rey bumps Finn with her shoulder and gives him a soft smile. “So, FN-2187, huh?”
Finn comes out of his tailspin and smiles.
“And he doesn’t know it’s you, does he,” Rey asks.
Finn shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”
“You have to be kidding me,” Jess says. “Are you seriously telling me that he recommended you to you?” She turns to Rey. “How does that happen?”
“It’s fate,” Rey says, with a knowing smile.
Finn wants to groan and tell her there’s no such thing, but right now, he’s starting to wonder.
# # # #
Finn looks over everything one last time. He hates to admit that he didn’t give this chapter the extra rounds of editing he usually does—he really wants to just get it out there already, and sure, if a certain BlackOne just happens to read it and find it hot, well…
Not to mention Poe.
Finn is ready to click on “Post” when he suddenly remembers that Poe reads FN-2187’s stuff too. I wonder what Poe will think?
Only one way to find out. Finn takes a breath and clicks on “Post.”
Kaydel comes into the offices. “Why are you here so early on a Monday?”
“Had something that needed taking care of,” Finn says, closing his laptop. “What’s your excuse?”
Kaydel shrugs. “Trying to impress Poe so that maybe he’ll consider putting in a good word for me for one of the new positions.”
“What new positions?”
“You didn’t hear,” Kaydel says, leaning on Finn’s desk. “Maz is hand-selecting a team to work on the new magazine. I don’t know all the details, but I can’t imagine what it would be like to work with her personally.”
Finn leans back in his chair. It would be freakin’ amazing.
# # # #
It’s been a crazy hectic day and now it’s 3pm and Finn hasn’t even managed to check his phone once. He looks up from his screen and sees that there is something happening on the other side of the offices, which Finn opts to ignore. Did Jess get to the airport okay, he wonders, reaching into his pocket. As he pulls his phone out, he pauses. It’s blinking. He swipes past the lockscreen and sees his personal email notifications. Yay! Comments!
Finn’s staring at the screen as he hears Poe come out of his office and say, “Okay everyone, Maz’s called a meeting up on fifteen, so close up whatever you’re doing and let’s go up there.” There’s a general rumble of voices as everyone tries to figure out what’s going on.
Finn is about to slip his phone back into his pocket when he realizes that it’s not just one or two comments, which would be normal. No, there are sixteen email notifications, all comments on Rebel Lives. What in the hell?
He quickly saves the document on his work computer and swipes to open the first comment notification in his email.
He’s about to get up and go to the elevator when he reads it. The commenter mentions Poe.
Wait, what?
It doesn’t make sense, so he opens the next one, which also mentions Poe.
What in the hell?
Then, memories of the weekend come rushing back to him. He’d started imagining Poe as Han again and…
Please tell me I didn’t write Poe instead of Han.
He clicks on the link to the fic from the email and waits. Come on. Come on. Load already.
“Finn,” says Snap from across the way. “Meeting. You coming?”
“What?” Finn looks up—the offices are nearly empty.
Snap shrugs. “The big announcement?”
Finn scowls at his stupid phone. Just load the fic already! “Yeah, sure,” he says, starting forward.
Finn keeps his phone in his hand as he and Snap ride the elevator up and then navigate the fifteenth floor. It looks like everyone from Rebellion Publishing is here, he thinks. He looks at Snap, who shrugs again.
They find seats at the back of a huge conference room and Finn keeps glancing at his phone. The fic finally loads, but then Mr. Tekka starts the meeting. Finn tries to pay attention to what the man is saying, but he can’t help it. He starts scrolling through the fic, scanning it for anything that would explain why…
OH FUCKING HELL.
OH FUCKING HELL, NO!
OH PLEASE TELL ME I’M NOT SEEING THIS.
Finn wants to jump up, run out of the room, and go delete this cursed fic right now, but suddenly everyone’s applauding and Maz Kanata is coming to the front of the room.
“Dude,” Snap hisses and Finn puts his phone down.
“As most of you know,” Maz begins, “I’ve been wanting to put together a new magazine under the Rebellion banner for several years, and I’ve been working with some of the editors to try to find a team from within the family that can head this new venture. I’ve been reading your writing, looking at your photos, and otherwise been trying to get a sense of who I think would be a good fit for what I think will be a very exciting new project. And in the coming weeks, I’m going to be meeting with some of you to see if you’d like to become a part of the team. But today, I thought I’d get things started by talking about who is going to be leading this new endeavor.” She smiles out at the crowd. “I’m going to take on the role of managing editor,” she says with a chuckle. “At least until we figure out how things are going to work. But I’m pleased to announce that my second in command will be U.O. Statura.” The older gentleman stands and there is a bracing round of applause. “Directly under him, I decided to go with someone with no editorial experience whatsoever.” Maz shrugs. “It’s my magazine. I can do that.” There’s laughter in the room. “So, I hope everyone will join me in welcoming Finn Orlani to the team.”
Everyone turns and starts applauding. Finn freezes. She didn’t just say… He looks at Snap, who mouths stand up. Finn does and gives a weak smile and a wave. Maz keeps talking as he sits back down, but Finn doesn’t hear it. He looks to Snap, who has a huge grin on his face. “Congrats, Finn,” he whispers.
The rest of the meeting happens in a blur and when it’s over, there is an impromptu party out in the main office area. Maz quickly finds Finn after people start leaving the conference room. “I’m sorry if I sprang that on you, Finn,” she says, taking his arm and leading him towards the party. “I’ve been talking to Poe about you for a while now. I’d thought about making you his number two over at Resistance, but he really pushed for you to have this position, and I think he’s right. You’re going to do exciting things on this new project. I know it.”
“I…um…thank you,” Finn says, still a bit flustered by everything that’s happened.
Maz gives him a generous smile. “Enjoy the party, and tomorrow, come up here and we’ll sit down and have a real discussion about this. Figure out titles and raises and all of that.”
“Of course,” Finn says, as someone pushes a drink into his hand. As Maz walks away, he’s dazed, and suddenly, people are slapping him on the back and congratulating him, and Finn is laughing and having the time of his life.
# # # #
Testor: Read the latest chapter. NOW!!!!!!!!
Rey: I take it you got in safe?
Rey: And enough exclamation points, honey?
Testor: Read the damn chapter and then CALL ME!!!!!!!!!!!
Testor: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rey smiles and goes to her computer. She opens Ao3 and finds that Finn has, indeed updated Rebel Lives. She starts reading the chapter.
Not bad, Orlani.
She starts blushing. Not bad at all.
And then, she gasps. What the fuck?
She grabs her phone and dials Jess, who picks up on the first ring. “What the fuck,” Rey says.
“You read it?”
“I’m reading it right now,” Rey says. “Is it just the one time or…” She starts scanning the chapter.
“Nope. He does it for most of the rest of the chapter.”
“Oh man, this is bad.”
“It is so the opposite of bad,” Jess says. “Now, they’ll have to talk.”
“Poe doesn’t know that Finn wrote it,” Rey says.
“Oh,” Jess says. Then, a beat later. “So, enlighten him.”
“Finn would kill me.”
“Or he might thank you,” Jess says.
Rey ponders this for a moment. “You’re a bad influence.”
Jess chuckles. “I miss you, sweetie.”
“Me too.”
They hang up with promises to call back later and Rey stares at the chapter on her screen, frowning. “This is why you need a beta, Finn.”
She picks up her phone and sends a text to Poe. Please say this works.
# # # #
Poe is watching Finn schmooze with the higher ups at Rebellion Publishing. Of course, he’s a natural. He takes a sip of a surprisingly good Riesling and is just about to go talk to Snap when his phone buzzes. He slips it out of his pocket and frowns.
Rey doesn’t usually text. Not unless…Jess! She was supposed to land a few hours ago, right? Oh no, if something happened… He opens the message and then blinks in surprise.
Rey: You should read the latest chapter of Rebel Lives.
Huh?
He starts typing in a response when it dawns on him, I never told her the title of the fic I was reading.
He sighs and looks around. No one is going to miss him if he slips out for a few minutes.
Poe wanders to the elevators and presses the button. As he rides down to the 12th floor, he starts biting his lip. Okay, we know that Jess and Rey are trying to play matchmaker. Hence all the fan fiction crap last night, but why does she care if I’m reading this particular fic?
And how does she even know about it?
Poe wakes up his computer, goes to Ao3, and opens the fic. He starts reading.
He smiles as he settles into his chair, and as the smut warms up, he temporarily forgets about Rey and Jess and their meddling.
Then, he sees it.
Poe.
The author has typed “Poe” instead of Han.
Poe leans back in his chair, re-reading it to make sure he isn’t imagining things. No, that says Poe.
He keeps reading. It happens again.
And again.
And again.
By the time he gets to the end of the chapter, he’s starting to piece the puzzle together. He tents his hands and stares out into the empty office at Finn’s desk. His leather jacket is hanging on the back of Finn’s chair.
What are the freakin’ odds?
He calls Rey.
“Poe?”
“So, you’re saying that for the last year, I’ve been flirting with him online as BlackOne—”
“You’re BlackOne?”
“Yeah?”
“What does BlackOne even mean, Poe?"
"It was the name of my first car," he says sheepishly.
Rey rolls her eyes before saying, "I can't believe you're his online crush too. Jess is going to lose it.”
“Crush?” Poe can’t help his smile. “He said that?”
Rey rolls her eyes yet again. “What have Jess and I been telling you?”
“Well, um… I mean…”
Rey laughs. “The two of you are hopeless.”
“Well, I don’t know about—”
“Poe, neither of you is as smooth as you think you are. You've both been flirting with each other forever. Even if you can't see it, you're going to have to trust me on this. And, Finn may be blind when it comes to how you feel about him, but no other sentient lifeform is. If you don’t believe me, I dare you to ask any other person who works with you.”
Poe blushes, thankful that Rey can’t see him. “Fine,” he mutters. “I may have flirted a bit.”
“Thank you.”
“But I’m still not convinced he’s been flirting with me.”
Rey sighs. “Poe, darling, he just wrote you a very public and very steamy love letter. What more do you need?”
Poe’s eyes drift to his jacket at Finn’s desk and then move back to the computer screen where he sees his name repeated over and over again. “So, you’re telling me that for the last year, he’s been writing smut while thinking about me?”
Rey pauses. “To be fair, I don’t think all of the smut was about you…”
Poe chuckles and shakes his head. “But…”
“Jess and I have been telling the two of you and you wouldn’t listen.”
“I’m listening now.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Poe sighs. “I’m not sure.” He frowns. “He’s gonna freak out.”
“Oh yeah, that’s a given. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t noticed all the comments yet.”
“Comments?”
“You didn’t make it that far,” Rey asks.
“No, I didn’t look.”
“Everyone’s jealous of this Poe person,” Rey says with a laugh. “Finn is going to be mortified.”
Poe chuckles. “Guess I should leave a comment too.”
Poe can hear Rey’s smile as she says, “Do that. And make it a good one.”
“Love you, kid,” Poe says. “Say hi to Jess when you talk to her.”
“Love you too,” Rey says. “Now, go talk to Finn.”
As he hangs up, Poe thinks very carefully about just what BlackOne should say.
# # # #
Finn is laughing at one of Artoo’s jokes when he feels his phone buzz. He pulls it out to see an email notification: Comment on Rebel Lives. Finn’s brain suddenly starts screaming, you didn’t edit the fic! It still says Poe!
“Um, will you excuse me for a minute? I need to respond to this,” he says, walking out into the hall. Finn opens the message to see:
BlackOne left the following comment on Rebel Lives:
Wow! That was one of the hottest things I’ve ever read. I’ll admit, I’m a little bit jealous of Han and Leia, and this Poe person, whoever they are.
Finn feels a moment of sadness—crap. Now, I’ve ruined things with you too.
Then, he remembers that Poe is going to leave the party sometime soon, and when he does, the latest update to Rebel Lives is going to be waiting for him. Finn looks around. Poe is nowhere to be seen.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. Finn is running to the elevators. One slides open and he presses the button for twelve five times in quick succession. Come on. Come on. Move already. His laptop is in his bag under his desk. I’ll just pull it up, make the edit, delete the comments, and that will be that. He gets off the elevator, runs into the Resistance offices, turns the corner, and finds Poe Dameron perched on his desk. Oh crap.
He stops. “Poe.”
“Finn,” Poe says.
“I didn’t see you leave the party,” Finn says, slowly walking forward.
“Yeah, I ducked out about thirty minutes ago. Got a text that…” He holds his phone out to Finn.
Finn’s puzzled but he takes Poe’s phone and reads the text.
Rey: You should read the latest chapter of Rebel Lives.
Nooooooo! Traitor! Finn’s hand is shaking as he hands back the phone. “You left the party to read a fic?”
“Last night, I didn’t tell you guys the name of the fic I was reading. I was curious how she’d figured it out. Then, I read the chapter,” Poe says.
Crap. Finn is staring at his shoes. He can’t help himself. “What did you think?”
“Read the comments,” Poe says.
Finn’s head jerks up. “What?”
“I left a comment.”
“Which… Who?” Finn has never been so hopeful in his entire life.
Poe smiles. “BlackOne,” he says.
“You’re BlackOne?”
“And you’re FN-2187.”
Neither speaks.
Somewhere on the street below a truck rumbles by.
“Why didn’t you say anything,” Poe asks.
“Last night?” Finn shakes his head. “I was freaked out. Jess and Rey love to make fun of me, and it was sort of overwhelming to know you were reading my stuff.”
“So, the whole thing with my name…”
Just go for it. “Poe, I’ve been crazy about you from the moment I met you, so yeah, sometimes when I’m writing smut, I like to imagine it’s you and me instead of the characters and urghmph…” Poe’s lips crash into Finn’s.
Finn smiles and moves his head to get a better angle on the kiss. When Poe lets out a breathy little moan, he knows he’s found the right spot.
When they finally come up for air, Poe says, “Sometimes when I read your smut, I imagine it’s you and me too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Poe says.
“And BlackOne has totally been flirting with FN-2187, right?”
Poe laughs. “Yeah, buddy. For the past few months, when I started to think I didn’t have a chance with Finn, I decided to start making my feelings known to FN.”
“So, you…you like me?”
Poe laughs. “Finn, I’ve been waiting for Maz to promote you for a year now so I could ask you out.”
Finn shakes his head. “So now that I don’t work for you anymore?”
“Would you like to go out with me?”
“Yeah, I would,” Finn says, pressing his forehead into Poe’s.
“And then maybe…” Poe bites his lip.
“Maybe?”
“Well, it just seems to me that if you went to all of the trouble to imagine this scenario between us…”
“Poe, are you suggesting we reenact one of my smut scenes?”
“No, I’m suggesting we reenact all of them.”
Finn shivers and then can’t help himself. “I actually have this scenario I wrote once and never published. It’s a scene between Prince Finn Organa and the sexy Stormtrooper who breaks him out of the Death Star…”
Poe laughs, wrapping his arms around Finn. “Tell me more, your worship.”