Work Text:
The streets of Coruscant were no busier than they’d normally be. In fact, it was a perfectly normal afternoon.
On the busses, people packed in, coming home from work. They filled the sidewalks and the streets too, jostling here and there to get just a little further a little faster.
City workers rushed to clean the debris from the area surrounding 43rd street.
Birds cawed overhead, watching the ruckus unfold beneath them.
In Maz’s bar, the patrons were happily watching a replay from last night’s hockey game.
All around, the citizens of Coruscant were getting ready for the night.
But there was a problem. A problem, at once, so big that no one could ignore it and at the same time, a problem that had become so much a part of their daily lives that everyone—the people trying to get home, the birds in the air, the patrons at Maz’s—ignored it: Coruscant was overrun with superheroes and supervillains. For some reason, they were drawn to the sprawling metropolis, and while in the beginning, the residents of Coruscant found the tense good-versus-evil battles that happened in their streets exciting, these days they most certainly didn’t. To the point that most people—if they could afford it—tried to find a way out.
Those who could moved as far away as money could buy, so that the nearly constant destruction and chaos in the city was nothing more than images on the nightly news. If you couldn’t afford that, the suburbs were nice: close, so that you could still go into the city for drinks or to see a show, but out of the path of the worst of the damage. Most people were stuck in the city, though, and most of them resented it.
# # # #
As the subway car jerked to the side, Finn let his body go limp, let the car carry him along, as he listened to two women, slightly older than him, complain about the problem. “You’d think that they’d figure out some way to take the fights elsewhere,” the one with a run in her pantyhose said.
“I know,” the other one chimed in. “It’s like they get off on seeing how much damage they can cause.”
Finn fought the urge to lean over and say, Well, if the Order would start their fights in abandoned warehouses or open fields, trust me, ladies, that would help. But try telling that to Snoke... He closed his eyes, fighting off the headache trying to form behind his right temple. The obvious problem with saying that—besides outing himself as a member of the Order—was that the people of Coruscant were cynical. As much as the Resistance’s Heroes tried to protect the city, after over a decade of busses being thrown across the highways and giant robots punching holes through buildings, the people had long since given up actively cheering for the Resistance. Hell, some of them actually root for the First Order now, even though we’re the bad guys. Finn winced at that.
“…don’t get me wrong. I know that the First Order is evil and all, but…”
Finn took in another deep breath and shifted in his seat. Just two more stops.
A guy with pastrami on his breath chimed in. “I mean, they have the money. Why don’t they just build a big arena or something?”
Finn gritted his teeth. Money. Yeah, right. He stared at the guy, who was now waving his newspaper at the two ladies. “I’m telling you, they like it. They’re in it with the insurance companies. Fat cats earning fat paychecks, all of them!”
Finn leaned back in his seat as a garbled announcement crackled over the intercom and the doors slid open. You really think we have money? He let out his breath and watched a wave of people rush onto the train. Hell, if I had any money, do you really think I’d still be working for the Order?
He stared down at the edge of his sleeve, a loose thread dangling near his wrist, making himself not listen as the ladies chimed back in about just how bad things were in Coruscant. Breathe, he told himself. He closed his eyes.
“Did you see the mess at 43rd street today?”
Finn squeezed his eyes tighter. Someday. Someday, I’ll leave. Get a small place. With a yard. I could get a dog, Finn thought. Maybe meet someone.
He knew that was about as likely as the Resistance building an arena for their battles with the First Order. Or him getting paid.
Finn felt the train slowing as it approached his stop and he stood, mechanically grabbing at the bar and leaning with the train as it rounded the last bend. He moved towards the door.
“I just wish they’d all leave Coruscant alone.”
Finn pressed his lips together and stifled a scream.
As the doors opened, he was the first person off the train. He darted through the evening crowds and took the stairs up to the street two at a time. Even though it was far from fresh, the air at street level was cool and he breathed deep as he got there, taking a moment to find his calm.
It didn’t work, not entirely, so he started up the sidewalk towards his apartment, trying not to replay the conversation on the subway in his head. As he passed Maz’s Bar, Finn frowned. The news was on instead of the hockey game. No. No, no, no, no, no.
Please say it’s not…
It’s my day off.
Finn took a deep breath and went in to see everyone watching the crappy tv that hung above the bar. Right now, there was an anchor on the screen reading the standard evacuation script that everyone knew by heart. “What’s going on,” he asked the closest person.
“Snoke, Hux, and Phasma versus Rey, Chewie, and Han. Over near the docks. Looks like both sides are calling in reinforcements.”
But why didn’t… Finn frowned. Subway. No reception. He grabbed his phone. The message light was blinking. Crap. He nodded and slowly walked out. Act calm.
He started running the moment he hit the sidewalk.
Thankfully, he kept a backup suit in his apartment.
Finn ran up the three flights of stairs to his place, straining for breath as he got there.
As he started stripping and pulling on his undersuit, he tried not to let his nerves get the best of him. Rey was a heavy hitter and he…was not.
Finn’s alter ego was Trooper and his “powers” were telekinesis, limited flight, and power blasts. As he started strapping on his suit, though, he reminded himself, Not my powers. Yours. Everything was in the suit.
Finn sighed. He’d started building it in high school, back when he’d dreamed of being part of the Resistance, back before the First Order had essentially kidnapped him and forced him to become one of their apprentices.
It was a technological marvel, but it was also what kept him tied to the Order, and without it, he’d be a sitting duck in almost any fight against the Resistance. He clicked another piece of the white armor into place, trying not to think too hard about that, about how easily all of this could go wrong and how he could get seriously hurt.
There were two kinds of Hero and Villain in the world. Those who were born with their gifts—the innates, as they were called—and those who had specialized suits or weapons—grafters. Finn was a grafter. And while that meant that he was technologically gifted, it also meant that, on average, he was slower and weaker than the innates he faced. Finn was good—maybe the most talented grafter the Order had, but he was still much more likely to get hurt during a battle than any innate was.
As Finn clicked on the last of his armor, he took a deep breath. I’ve got this, he told himself. Before he could overthink what a lie that was, he ran out of his apartment across the hall to the back window, opened it, and flew away.
# # # #
Six hours later, Finn pushed open his apartment door, walked in, and then backed into the door, slowly sliding to the floor. He clutched his left arm to his chest, fighting back tears. The armor there was dented and singed—what armor was left, that was. His arm was almost certainly broken.
Finn took a labored breath. The Resistance had managed to win the fight, taking down several of the Order’s henchmen in the process. Hux had been severely injured, and that meant that all of the Order’s medical staff were currently trying to save him. Finn’s broken arm was low on the list of priorities. If they even get to it at all.
He leaned his head back into the door, contemplating just going to the hospital, but he didn’t have good insurance and he really didn’t want to try to explain the other bumps and bruises all over his body.
Can insurance drop you for filing too many claims? Finn didn’t want to guess the answer. I’m fine, he told himself. Phasma said that once they get Hux stabilized, then the doctors can see me. Just have to wait a few hours.
I’m fine.
Finn stayed on the floor another minute before pushing himself up with a groan. He pulled off his helmet, letting it fall to the floor, and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a sports drink and downing it in one go. He closed his eyes and pictured what his little fantasy house in the ‘burbs would look like. There was green grass and a big fluffy mutt and it was sunny and…
His phone rang. Finn picked it up on automatic. “Yes?”
“Alarm triggered at our lab on First and South Palmer. You’re the closest asset.”
“Mitaka,” he started.
“We’ll have backup there as soon as possible.”
“Mitaka, my arm—”
“As soon as possible, Trooper.”
Tears leaked from his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, hanging up and walking to the door. He kicked his helmet once before picking it up and putting it back on.
# # # #
X-Wing and Blue Three were tearing the lab apart. They were both grafters, like him, but they were still two of the Resistance’s best. Finn sighed as he walked in behind them. He took a deep breath and then yelled, “Hey!”
X-Wing turned and gave him a smile. “Thought you were off fighting Han and the others,” he said.
Blue Three snapped, “Seriously, Trooper, do you ever stop? Take a kriffing day off already.”
Oh, I wish. “I’m here to stop you in the name of the First Order,” Finn said, trying to sound more like Trooper, strong supervillain, than Finn, the tired man who just wanted to curl up and take a nap.
X-Wing stopped for a moment and cocked his head to the side, concern clear in his eyes.
Finn stifled a growl and wanted to tell him to shove it, but Blue Three was there, so he settled for a quip, “You guys going to give yourselves up or…”
X-Wing laughed. “Trooper, you really think you can take the both of us?”
Finn’s smile was genuine as he said, “I know I can.”
Thankfully, just before Finn started forward, he heard Phasma coming up the stairs to stand next to him. “Trooper,” she said with a quick nod.
“Phasma,” he said, thankful to have someone by his side to even things up a bit.
“Let’s do this,” Blue Three called out as she and Phasma started forward.
X-Wing gave Finn a wink as he turned to face him.
# # # #
The thing about X-Wing was that he and Finn shared a secret.
Or rather, they shared an address.
X-Wing was really Poe Dameron, apartment 2186, who lived right down the hall from Finn Stone, apartment 2187. They’d been living next door to each other for about three months when they’d run into each other in the hall one night, both running to the back window in full armor.
They’d stopped, sized each other up, and then both continued running.
And for two weeks, neither said a word.
Then, one night, Poe had shown up at Finn’s with two mugs of hot chocolate and a proposal: “You know who I am and I know who you are, and I figure this could get nasty, but what I’m suggesting is: when we’re here, we’re Poe and Finn, neighbors and occasional friends. When we’re out there, we’re X-Wing and Trooper, enemies. We bring none of that back here, and we ignore all of this when we’re out there.” He took a sip of his hot chocolate. “What do you think?”
Finn hummed over his mug. The truth was that up until two weeks ago, he’d had a huge crush on his neighbor, and he was still coming to terms with the fact that the sweet guy from down the hall—the guy who had brought him chicken soup when he was sick that one time and who had a pet cat named BeeBee—was a superhero. He took a sip and finally said, “Okay.”
Poe smiled. “Good.”
Finn frowned. “Aren’t your bosses going to be mad?”
“Aren’t yours?”
Finn shrugged.
Poe took another sip. “Look, we can always claim we didn’t know.”
Finn snorted and took another drink. “Right.”
“Let’s not worry about that one tonight, then, okay?”
Finn nodded and looked over at Poe, who opened his mouth and then closed it.
“What,” Finn asked.
“I just…what makes you…I mean,” Poe closed his eyes and breathed out an exasperated sigh. “Why go evil?”
Finn laughed. “Who says I’m evil?”
“Ummmm.” Poe raised his hand.
“There are a lot of reasons one joins the Order.” Or gets forced into serving them. “Doesn’t mean we’re all bad.”
Poe rolled his eyes. “Last month, Kylo Ren created a death ray. You don’t see a lot of good guys making devices with death in the title.”
“Fine, yes. That guy is evil, and yeah, so is Hux and Snoke. But most of us, we’re…” Finn sighed.
“You’re?”
Finn said, “How about a deal? No shop talk when we’re Finn and Poe. I don’t have to justify my choices and you don’t have to justify yours.”
Poe frowned. Finn could see him fighting against his better judgement. “Fine,” he finally said, holding out his hand.
“Good,” Finn said, shaking it.
# # # #
Phasma and Blue Three were both using their suits to float somewhere above the lab, screeching as they fought. Trooper and X-Wing were still in the vault, and by the sounds of things, both the First Order’s henchmen and the Resistance’s assistants had arrived and were fighting it out on the ground floor. So far, both Trooper and X-Wing had mostly been circling each other, trading barbs, but as the sounds from downstairs got closer, they both realized they were going to have to fight.
Trooper took a breath and squared his shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
X-Wing surged forward—using his suit to send blasts flying in Trooper’s direction. Trooper moved to meet him, laughing as he sidestepped the shots. He pounced, catching X-Wing’s right shoulder. X-Wing yelled and pushed them both into a wall, Trooper taking the brunt of it with an oomph. “That all you got,” Trooper taunted.
X-Wing grabbed at Trooper’s arms to throw him off, and Finn yelped as X-Wing twisted his left hand.
X-Wing immediately dropped it, his eyes going wide.
Trooper clutched his arm to his chest, panting, and then looked up at the other man.
X-Wing had taken a huge step back and was staring at Trooper’s arm. “Finn—”
“No,” Trooper said, far too vehemently. “The rules.”
X-Wing took a step forward, whispering, “Finn?”
“No.” Trooper’s voice trembled.
“Did I?”
Trooper shook his head. “Chewie. Earlier.”
“Is it?”
“Broken,” Trooper said. He then turned. By the sounds of things, the henchmen and assistants would be in the lab at any moment.
X-Wing moved quickly, grabbing Trooper from behind. “Sorry,” he whispered into the other man’s ear and suddenly, the two of them were flying up through the hole Phasma and Blue Three had made earlier.
Trooper started thrashing. X-Wing ignored him, flying back to their apartment building and bringing them both in through the second-floor window. Before Finn could move towards his apartment, though, Poe grabbed his shoulder and pulled him toward his place, only letting go when they were inside. Poe pointed to his couch. “Sit.”
Finn made a move towards the door, so Poe barked, “Sit.”
Finn knew that technically, he was still on the clock as Trooper, but as much as he wanted to yell at Poe or tell him how he’d broken the rules of their little arrangement, his arm was screaming in pain and his whole body was shaking. He was so drained.
“I said sit,” Poe said again.
Finn sat.
Poe then started pacing in front of him. “What are you doing in a freaking battle if your arm is broken?”
“Oh, like you’ve never gone into battle hurt before, X-Wing.”
“It’s Poe when we’re here, and that’s different.”
“Like hell it is,” Finn said, pulling his arm in a little closer. It was throbbing now.
Poe’s pacing became more frantic and he seemed to be talking to himself more than Finn. “I mean, you were already in the fight down at the docks with Rey, and that had to be a rough one. I mean, I know that you’re the best kriffing supervillain the Order has, so—”
Finn snorted.
Poe stopped and stared at him.
Finn said, “I’m a low-level grafter, Poe. No delusions of grandeur here.”
Poe cocked his head to the side. “I…that…” He pulled off his helmet, staring at Finn. “What?”
“I’m a grafter, Poe. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Kriffing hell, Finn, is that what you think?” Poe licked his lips, clearly searching for the right words. “No, you see,” he let out a long breath, “Jess was right—”
“Jess? Is that your cute girlfriend or something?”
A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Poe’s mouth. “No. Blue Three, her name is Jess, and she was right about you. Back in the lab. You never stop. Ever.” Poe shook his head. “Hell, Finn, I’ve never seen you back down in a fight, not once. You just keep going and going and…” Poe looked down, suddenly shy. “You have more heart than any other Hero or Villain I know.” He looked back up. “It’s fragging intimidating, man.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Kriff, Finn, you’re amazing! Don’t you know that?”
Finn felt like he’d been punched in the gut, but in a good way. He stared up at Poe.
Poe made a frustrated noise and moved forward, kneeling in front of Finn. “Seriously, buddy, why in the kriff did you think you needed to go into your second battle of the night with a broken arm?”
Finn suddenly felt tears streaking his cheeks. “We’re down to one doctor and Hux…” He shook—whether in anger or in pain, he couldn’t tell. "It's my job," he growled.
“Why didn’t you just go to the hospital,” Poe whispered, putting his hands on Finn’s knees to steady himself. His eyes were wide with concern.
Finn closed his eyes. Please stop looking at me like that. With his good arm, Finn pulled off his helmet. Poe hissed as he spied the welts on Finn’s cheeks and closed his eyes, muttering an expletive.
“And tell them what, Poe? That I got mugged? That I tripped and fell in my apartment? Besides, it’s not like my insurance is any good…”
Tears filled Poe’s eyes and he rubbed at them. He then stood and punched a number into his phone. “Luke? Yeah, it’s X-Wing. Remember that favor you owe me? I’m calling it in. My house. Ten minutes.” He hung up the phone. “Come on. We have to get the suit off of you before he gets here.”
Poe picked up Finn’s helmet and led him to his bedroom, throwing the helmet onto his bed and then helping Finn with his armor. When it was off, Poe looked around and grabbed a robe. “Here,” he said. “It’ll cover the underarmor.”
Finn nodded and gingerly put it on.
Poe led him back out. “Don’t talk to him. I’ll tell him…” He shook his head. “I’ll tell him something.”
A few minutes later, Luke—one of the most powerful innates in the Resistance—materialized in Poe’s living room. Poe nodded at the man in long grey robes before turning towards Finn. “This is a friend. He ran into some trouble tonight and I need you to heal his arm.”
Luke gave Poe a strange look. “Ummmm, Poe, are you sure this is—”
Poe’s voice was cold and calm as he said, “I seem to remember saving your life back in Athens and you saying that you owed me. I’m calling it in.”
Luke’s eyes bored into Poe’s for a moment before he closed his mouth and approached Finn. “Which arm?”
Finn held up his left arm, trying hard not to recoil from the legendary hero.
Luke held his hand over it and hummed. “It’s broken in several places,” he said.
“But you can fix it,” Poe asked.
Luke nodded. He then closed his eyes and started moving his hands back and forth above Finn’s arm. A green light started radiating from his fingers and Finn flinched as his arm began to feel warm. “Stay still,” Luke said, holding Finn’s arm in place.
Finn nodded.
Luke started muttering something under his breath and Finn could hear the sound of bone sliding against bone. He closed his eyes and whimpered as his arm heated up.
After a moment, the sensation stopped. Finn opened his eyes to find the other man stepping away. “He’ll need to keep it immobile for a week or two, but the bones are set.”
Poe nodded. “Thanks.”
“Of course,” Luke said. He spared one last strange look at Finn before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Poe walked back over to Finn. “How does it feel?”
Finn shrugged.
Poe said, “Um, I’m gonna…” He started towards his bedroom. “Just wait right there.”
Finn clutched his arm to his chest and leaned back onto Poe’s couch.
# # # #
Poe came back in with a blanket in one hand and a makeshift sling in the other. “I’ll go to the pharmacy in a bit and get something better, but for now…” He handed it to Finn, who carefully slipped it on.
“This is fine,” Finn said.
“No,” Poe insisted. “I’ll get something better. And I’ll see if they have any air casts or anything.”
Finn shook his head. “I can’t afford that.”
“I’m buying it.”
“Poe,” Finn started.
“I’m buying it.”
Finn huffed out a breath and after a moment said, “Not this paycheck, but the next, I’ll pay you back. If I don’t get fired for missing today, that is.”
“Fired?”
Finn nodded. “Yeah, from my day job.”
“Day job?” Poe closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. “You have a job besides being in the Order?”
“Yeah,” Finn said. “Almost all of us do.”
“What?”
“Almost all of us do.”
“The Order doesn’t pay you enough to—”
“The Order doesn’t pay us at all,” Finn said, and then, “You really think most of us would be working for them if we weren’t…” He trailed off, avoiding Poe’s eyes.
For a moment, Poe looked confused and then, the color drained from his face. “Kriffing hell, Finn, are you saying that they’re forcing you to…”
Finn closed his eyes, squeezing them against his tears.
“Finn?”
He couldn’t speak, so he nodded.
“Kriff,” Poe said. “But how—”
“Poe, I really don’t want to talk about that right now.”
Poe fought the urge to reach over and pull Finn into a hug. Instead, he draped a blanket over Finn’s lap. “Ummmm, what do you want to eat? I’ve got some pizza or some leftover meatloaf or…”
“Pizza’s fine,” Finn said. He sounded hollow, defeated.
As Poe walked to his kitchen, Finn called out, “They’re going to wonder where I am.”
“So what?”
“So…”
Poe poked his head out and said, “X-Wing kidnapped you and eventually, you’ll get away.”
“And X-Wing miraculously fixed my arm?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Poe!”
Finn could hear the other man opening and closing drawers. A moment later, Poe came back with a glass of water. He squatted in front of Finn. “Just relax for now and we’ll worry about that in a bit.”
“Poe,” he started again.
“Finn, please. Just drink the water and eat the pizza and then we’ll figure something out, okay?”
Finn nodded, not trusting his voice.
# # # #
He’d eaten two pieces of pizza before Poe insisted that he try to rest. He’d curled up on Poe’s couch and fallen asleep almost instantly.
When Finn awoke, he could hear Poe speaking in hushed tones on his phone. “No…No, General.” Poe sighed. “No, what I’m saying is that not only are these guys not getting paid for this, some of them—if not the majority of them—are being coerced into doing it.” Poe huffed out, “Because I know, General. I have it from a reliable source and—” Poe started pacing. “That’s not important… Fine, yes. He’s here…No, he’s fine. He’s resting. Rey did a number on his arm and…” Poe froze. “I don’t see what that has to do with—” Poe’s voice was barely a whisper when he said, “What do you want me to say, General? Fine. Yes, I like him. I’ve liked him for years and… No, I—” Poe nearly growled as he said, “You know, I can still quit, right?”
Finn opened his eyes to see Poe standing near the windows, his hand on his forehead as he paced a tight little circle back and forth. Finally, Poe let out a long breath. “Yeah, fine. Set it up. Bye.” He clicked off the phone and looked at Finn. “So, how much of that did you hear?”
Finn blinked and swallowed, trying to sit up.
Poe walked over, helping him, refusing to meet his eyes.
“You told your people I was here?”
Poe nodded. “The Order was getting antsy, started doing searches of X-Wing’s known hideouts, and my people were pissed, so…” He sat down next to Finn. “Your boss is supposed to call me and—” As if by magic, the phone rang.
Poe gave Finn an uncomfortable smile and answered. “Hello?” He listened and nodded. “Hello, Phasma. I’m Poe Dameron, better known as X-Wing.”
Finn’s eyes went wide. Phasma wouldn’t hesitate to use that sort of information against him.
“Yeah,” Poe said. “He’s right here. Want to talk to him?” Poe handed over the phone.
“Hello?”
“Trooper?”
“Yeah, Phasma, it’s me.”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.” He could almost see Phasma’s frown from across the city. “Really. Poe got my arm fixed and fed me and—”
“Poe?”
“Uh, yeah, ummmmm, we’re neighbors?”
“Of course,” Phasma hit something on her desk. After a moment, she said, “You want us to get you out of there?”
“I’m fine.”
“Yes,” Phasma said. “Fine.”
Poe motioned for the phone.
“Ummm, Poe wants to talk to you.”
“Right,” she said, her voice so exasperated Finn feared she’d do serious damage from all the eye rolling he could sense her doing.
Finn handed the phone over. Poe said, “Ummm, Phasma, look, I know this isn’t an ideal situation, but I was hoping that you and my boss, the General, could meet here at my place in a few hours and talk.”
Finn couldn’t hear exactly what Phasma said, but it was loud enough that Poe pulled back from the phone a bit.
“Ma’am? Ma’am. Ma’am!” Poe stood. “Look, you can be mad and everything and feel free to scream at me all you want, but that doesn’t change the situation, and…and I’d like to talk to you and the General about…” Poe sighed. “Just be here in two hours, okay?”
Poe listened for another moment before nodding and shutting off the phone. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.
“They’re coming here,” Finn asked.
“Yeah, in two hours.”
Finn nodded, pushing up off the couch. “I should go change.”
Poe reached over. “You okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, giving Poe a small smile.
He smiled back.
For a moment, Finn was lost in it. Then, he shook his head. “Um, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Sure,” Poe said, stepping out of his way.
Finn got to the door and paused. Without turning back around, he asked, “Did you mean it?”
“Mean it?”
“What you told your boss about me?” Finn held his breath.
“Yeah,” Poe said. “I did.”
Finn smiled. “I’ll be back,” he said, pulling the door open. He likes me.
# # # #
Finn was pretty certain that he was witness to what might have been the most awkward gathering of beings ever assembled in their tiny apartment building on Jakku Street. On one end of Poe’s dining room table sat the General, world famous superhero and leader of the Resistance. She was tiny, but she radiated power and poise. At the other end, sat Finn’s immediate supervisor, Phasma, a six-foot tall woman who was dressed in full chrome armor complete with helmet. While Finn couldn’t see her eyes, he knew they were glaring at the assembled company.
On the General’s left sat a man by the name of Statura, who Finn figured was a Resistance administrator of some sort. He was furiously scribbling notes onto a tablet. On Phasma’s right sat Mitaka, one of her underlings, who had been trying for years to get clearance to become an actual villain out in the field. He was furiously typing into his phone. Poe and Finn sat opposite Statura and Mitaka, and after everyone had gotten settled, Poe reached under the table and grabbed Finn’s good hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
For a full minute, no one talked.
Then Poe leaned forward and smiled. “So, who talks first? Do I? You,” he asked, looking first at Phasma and then at the General.
The General sighed. “You called us here, Dameron, so I think that means you’re in charge.”
“Fine,” Poe said, gulping in a deep breath before leaning back and saying, “Finn and I were facing off in the lab tonight when I realized that he was injured, pretty severely actually.”
“It wasn’t that—” Poe raised an eyebrow at Finn, who sighed, “Fine. It was bad, but like I said, medical resources are tight at the moment and—”
“You told them that,” Phasma asked.
“Yeah,” Poe answered, “he did. After I kidnapped him and asked him why in the hell he’d go into battle with a broken arm.” Poe’s eyes dared Phasma to challenge him. She remained quiet, so he continued, “And besides the fact that medical staff is limited, there is also the troubling news that Finn and several of your other associates aren’t paid—”
“What,” Statura demanded, shock clear in his eyes.
“Yeah, they aren’t paid; they’re working day jobs so that they can get insurance—”
“What,” Statura said, putting down his tablet. He turned to the General. “Did we know this?”
“Not until Poe called me a few hours ago.” Her eyes were on Phasma, who was remaining silent and still.
“What’s more,” Poe started.
“There’s more,” Statura said, still clearly in shock.
Finn groaned.
“Yeah,” Poe said. “There’s more. It seems that some of them are being coerced into fighting for the Order.”
Finn looked down at the table. He could feel Phasma’s eyes on him.
Phasma turned to Mitaka. “Go wait outside.”
“What,” the young man said.
“Go wait outside.”
“But my orders are—”
“Your orders are what I tell you they are. Now, go!”
The man scrambled up from the table and quickly crossed the apartment, slamming the front door as he left.
Phasma then took off her helmet and sighed. “You haven’t made things easy for yourself, Trooper.”
Finn shook his head. “I didn’t tell him anything.”
“You told him enough,” she said.
Poe frowned. “How about instead of threatening Finn, you tell us about all the beings you’ve forced to work for you over the years?”
Phasma shook her head. “I haven’t forced anyone to work for the Order.” She closed her eyes and whispered, “In fact, I’m in much the same position as Mr. Stone here.”
“You mean,” Poe asked.
“Precisely,” Phasma answered.
“Kriff,” Poe said, leaning back into his chair.
“How are they compelling you to work,” the General asked.
Phasma and Finn shared a look. Finn nodded and said, “The Order found out about my suit and they threatened to kill my parents if I didn’t come work for them.”
Poe made a strangled noise and squeezed Finn’s hand again.
Phasma said, “They have my daughter. If I make a move against them, they’ll kill her.”
The General nodded. “How many of your active agents are being blackmailed into working for the Order?”
“About ten percent,” Phasma said. “Mostly it’s with threats towards loved ones. They also have a few hostages.”
“Do you know where,” Poe asked.
Phasma nodded. She shared a look with Finn, who said, “We can’t tell you that.” He frowned. “We’ve probably already told you too much.”
The room fell into an awful silence.
Then, Poe pounded the table with his fist. “No!” He looked at the group. “There has to be a way to get you guys out of this and keep your families safe.” He said, “Who would we have to take out for the whole thing to come falling down?”
“Poe,” Finn started, “there isn’t just one person. I mean…” He slumped back into his chair.
Phasma closed her eyes and whispered, “Snoke. Snoke and Kylo Ren.” She looked to the General. “With Hux out of commission and the two of them gone, things would quickly descend into chaos.”
“But you’d also need to hit the main communications system as well as our headquarters,” Finn added.
“And there’s no way to guarantee any of the hostages’ safety,” Phasma said, looking nearly sick with worry.
“How long would we have to plan something before they got suspicious,” Poe asked.
Phasma shook her head. “They’re already suspicious.” She sighed. “An hour? Two tops.”
Poe looked to the General, desperate. “We can’t just let this happen. We have to help.”
The General and Statura shared a look. She rose. “You’re right,” she said, “but two hours isn’t a lot of time to plan something like this.”
“So we better get started,” Poe said, rising.
“Are you serious,” Finn said, standing. “Are we really gonna do this?”
Poe shot him a blinding smile. “Yeah, we’re gonna do this.”
# # # #
Finn opened his eyes to see a bright-eyed girl with a mop of dirty blonde hair staring at him.
She frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”
Finn swallowed and thought of about a hundred different things he could tell the girl, but settled on, “I fought a supervillain named Kylo Ren with a broken arm and won.”
The girl considered this for a moment and then cocked her head to the side, studying Finn. “Shouldn’t you be happy?”
Finn sighed. Not until I know my parents are safe.
And Poe.
He opened his mouth, then shut it. Then, he shook his head. “Some of my friends are…” He sighed, rubbing his free hand across his face. “I’m waiting to hear back about some people, make sure they’re okay.”
The girl nodded and crawled into his lap. “My mother said that they got all of the hostages out. That’s what I was.”
Finn had a sudden realization. “Your mother wouldn’t be Phasma, would she?”
The girl’s face lit up. “Do you know her?”
Finn gave her a soft smile. “Yeah, I do.”
The girl nodded and then said, mostly to herself, “She’s amazing.”
“Yeah,” Finn agreed, “she is.”
Phasma had volunteered to infiltrate the building housing the main computer server at Starkiller base. She lowered the shields so that the Resistance could attack. She had then led a group of First Order operatives—who were all being coerced into working for the organization—in a successful raid of the building holding most of their hostages. According to early reports, they’d managed to free every one of them, with minimal losses to personnel.
While she’d been doing that, a group of Resistance Heroes, led by their most powerful innate, Rey, had gone after Snoke. Finn had led another team against Kylo Ren, while Poe led the main attack on Starkiller.
It had been a brutal battle—Finn was wounded and working on no sleep, after all—but even though Kylo Ren was a powerful innate, he had a terrible temper, and Finn knew he could outthink him. He just had to pick the right moment, so Finn had started taunting Ren and when Ren’s temper started to flare, Finn took a shot that connected, downing the other man long enough to give some of the Resistance Heroes a chance to sweep in and neutralize him.
Ren, along with a host of other First Order Supervillains, were now in custody. And while Phasma and her group had managed to disable the First Order’s computer network and virtually paralyze their remote operations, there was still no word on non-local targets like Finn’s parents.
Plus, Poe had gone down during the battle at Starkiller Base, and Finn was still waiting for word on him.
He’d wanted to stay out on location, but the General had insisted he come back to the Resistance Base and see a doctor. Now, he had a cast on his arm and was waiting for news.
Finn frowned. They’d put him into some sort of reception area, but there was no one around. He could hear chatter and footsteps in the distance, but it felt eerily quiet.
The little girl started poking Finn’s chest, tearing him from his thoughts.
“Yes,” Finn said.
“What’s your name?”
“Finn. What’s yours?”
“Jyn.”
“Nice to meet you, Jyn.”
“Nice to meet you, Finn.”
“Do you know where your mother is,” Finn asked.
The girl shook her head. “She told me to wait in here with you, that she’d be back when she had word on the other de…de…defactors?”
Finn chuckled. “Defectors.”
“What’s a defector?”
“Someone who leaves one job and starts another.” It wasn’t the best definition, but he was tired.
The girl considered this for a moment. “Are you a de…”
“Defector? Yes. So is your mother.”
“Is that good?”
“Very good.” Finn frowned, wondering just how much Phasma had told her daughter over the years and then deciding to just be honest with the little girl. “Some bad people were making us do things we didn’t want to do, and we went along with it to protect the people we loved, but then we figured out a way to rescue those people and stop working for the bad people.”
The girl nodded. “Mom said I wouldn’t have to go to Mr. Hux’s school anymore.”
“Nope,” Finn said.
“I’m glad about that.”
“We all are,” Finn said, giving her a quick hug.
Phasma came into the room, murmuring into a cell phone.
“MOM!” Jyn scrambled off of Finn’s lap and ran to her mother, who smiled and put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion.
Jyn nodded.
Phasma said, “Yes, he’s right here. Just one moment.” She handed the phone to Finn with a smile. “For you.”
As Finn took the phone, Phasma picked Jyn up and said, “Let’s give him some privacy.” She carried her daughter out of the room.
“Hello,” Finn said tentatively.
“Son? Is that you,” a familiar voice said.
“Dad?” Finn nearly dropped the phone. “Dad, are you okay? Is Mom?”
His father chuckled. “A group of Resistance people came to our house a few hours ago, insisted on taking us to a secure bunker. They said it was for our own safety and then, about twenty minutes ago, they said they were going to move us, and…” His father started whispering, “What’s going on, Finn?”
“Oh Dad, that is a long story.”
“Well, we’re riding in a van and they tell us we still have another few hours before we get wherever we’re going. Honey,” Finn heard his father say, “It’s Finn.”
“I know it’s Finn,” Finn’s mother said in the background. “You’ve been saying his name for three minutes now. Hand the phone over.”
“Finn?”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Don’t you hi, Mom me. What is going on?”
Finn sighed, but there was still a huge smile on his face. “You’d better put the phone on speaker so I don’t have to repeat anything.” He took a deep breath and started telling his story.
# # # #
Finn held the key out to open the door to his apartment. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so tired…or so happy. His parents were due to arrive at Resistance Headquarters in another hour or so, the General had told him that Poe had been injured but that it wasn’t life-threatening, and by all reports, the First Order was in tatters.
Statura had promised to call Finn the moment his parents arrived, but had then insisted he go home, eat something, and shower—perhaps even take a nap. Finn pushed open his front door. “Like I could even think about sleeping,” he muttered.
He somehow made it to the shower, wrapping his new cast in a garbage bag before getting in and standing under the hot water for a full two minutes before reaching for the shower gel. As he was rinsing the soap from his body, he leaned his head into the cool tile and started crying—nearly eight year’s worth of tears came flooding out of him and his entire frame shook as he sobbed in anger and then in relief.
Eventually, the tears stopped. He shut off the water and got out.
As he was toweling off, someone started pounding on his front door.
Finn sighed. “Okay. Just a minute.” He wrapped the towel around his waist and jogged over, throwing the door open and then letting out a surprised yelp. “Poe!”
Poe stood there, leaning against a pair of crutches, his right leg in a cast up to his thigh. “Hey, buddy!”
Finn surged forward, nearly knocking Poe down, wrapping the other man in his arms and giving him a bear hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“Oumph,” Poe breathed out. “You too.” Poe’s eyes traveled the length of Finn’s body, lingering on the towel.
Finn stepped back and followed Poe’s eyes, realizing he was practically naked. His hands moved in front of his chest. “Oh. Ummmmm… Just a second!” He rushed back into his apartment, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweater and pulling them on. He could hear Poe hobbling in. “Make yourself at home,” Finn called out.
“I hear that our people found your parents,” Poe yelled.
“Yeah,” Finn said. “They should be at Resistance HQ in about an hour.”
“Good.”
Finn came back out into the living room. Poe was leaning against his crutches, studying a picture of Finn and his parents when he was younger. “Is this them?”
“Yeah,” Finn said, walking over and staring at the photograph. He smiled. “This was after I won the 6th grade science fair.”
Poe chuckled. “So you’ve always been good at tech?”
Finn nodded and then pointed to the couch. “Yeah.” He helped Poe get settled. “What about you?”
Poe shook his head. “I didn’t start building the prototype for my suit until college and even now…” He shrugged. “I think Leia brought me in more for my heart than my engineering skills.”
“Leia?”
“The General,” Poe said. “I kinda grew up with her.”
Finn thought about that. “So you always wanted to be a member of the Resistance?”
Poe nodded. “My parents were, so—”
“Wait, your parents?”
Poe smiled. “My father was Pathfinder and my mother was—”
“Shara Bey is your mother?”
“Yeah,” Poe said, blushing and ducking his head.
“Kriff,” Finn whispered. “That’s…that’s a lot to take in.”
“Well, it’s not like you,” Poe said.
“I know,” Finn breathed out.
“No, I mean. I sort of inherited it. You, well, I mean, you built that suit from scratch. And, and, and…” His blush went even deeper. “I think that’s kind of amazing.”
Finn looked over at the other man. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Poe said, suddenly wishing he could just sink into the couch.
“I always wanted to be a part of the Resistance,” Finn said.
“Really?”
“Yeah, that’s why I was building the suit.” He sighed. “But the Order got to me first.”
“Kriff,” Poe whispered.
They both leaned back, thinking about all the ways it could’ve gone differently.
“You know, I’m not supposed to mention it yet. Give the young man some time to process, she said. But I’m pretty sure Leia is going to offer you a job.” Poe looked up. “If you want it.”
Finn closed his eyes for a moment. In the last few days, his world had been turned completely upside-down. He’d gotten out of the Order; he’d managed to help take down Snoke and Ren; his parents were free; the General herself was going to offer him a job. And then, there’s Poe, he thought, looking over into the eager eyes of the man sitting next to him.
Finn smiled. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.” Poe’s smile was blinding, all eye crinkles and teeth. Finn couldn’t help but laugh, his eyes locked onto Poe’s. “Of course…”
“Yeah?”
Finn held up his left arm, still in a cast. “I’m gonna be wearing this thing for another week or two.”
“Well,” Poe said, nodding towards his leg. “I’m officially grounded for at least a month.” He shook his head. “What a pair!”
Finn turned and scooched closer to Poe. “So, we’ll have to figure out something to do while we recuperate?”
Poe turned and scooched closer to Finn. “Yeah. Have any ideas?”
Finn pressed his lips together, pretending to think. “Not a one. You?”
Poe bit his lip and considered. “Well…”
“Yeah?”
Poe’s eyes flicked down from Finn’s eyes to his lips and then back up again. It was a question.
Finn’s smile grew in answer.
Poe whispered, “Yeah?”
“Yeah, flyboy,” Finn whispered. He closed his eyes and leaned forward and suddenly, he was soaring.
# # # #
The streets of Coruscant were busier than normal that day. On one side of the city, the remains of the First Order stronghold, Starkiller Base, lay smoldering. On the other side, the General was leading a press conference outlining the Resistance’s plans, moving forward, now that they had dealt their enemies such a decisive blow.
On the subway, an old man complained about all the ruckus the Heroes and Villains were causing, and another man nodded along in agreement.
In Maz’s bar, the patrons were happily watching a replay from last night’s hockey game.
And in a little apartment on Jakku Street, Finn Stone and Poe Dameron were happily discovering each other—lips pressed against lips, fingers trailing across skin, names hummed like prayers out into the fading afternoon light—and for one brief moment, in Coruscant at least, all was right with the world.