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The Resistance had been found. Any minute, the First Order would descend on their base and attempt to wipe them out. The base was a flurry of activity as everyone prepared for evacuation and fighter pilots rushed to their x-wings to defend the unarmed shuttles. Finn and Rose were loading up the last of the supplies onto their shuttle, when suddenly someone was calling his name. Finn turned to find Poe jogging over.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Finn said. “Shouldn’t you be in your x-wing by now?”
“Yeah, I’m on my way there,” said Poe. “I just, uh… I needed to see you first.”
There was something odd about how he was acting. He seemed subdued. Almost sad.
“Is everything okay?” Finn asked.
“Yeah, of course,” Poe said quickly. “I mean, apart from having to evacuate, but you know. I just… I wanted to give you this.”
He reached under the collar of his flight suit and pulled a long silver chain over his head, then held it out to Finn. Dangling on the end was a ring, a simple band, silver like the chain. Finn hesitated a moment, then reached out and took it.
“It was my mother’s,” Poe explained. “It’s, um… for luck.”
Finn looked up from the ring to stare at Poe.
“I can’t take this. It must be all you’ve got of hers.”
Poe half-smiled and Finn got a sense of that almost-sad something again.
“I’ve gotta go,” he said, taking a few steps back. “May the Force be with you, Finn.”
Then he turned and ran off to his ship. Finn just stared after him, the chain still clutched in his hand. Just then, Rose stepped back out of the shuttle.
“Come on, Finn, what are you standing around for?” she said.
Finn turned and held up the necklace.
“Poe just gave me this.”
Rose’s eyes went wide and she came closer.
“Is that….? That’s his mother’s ring.”
“He said it was for luck,” Finn said.
“He doesn’t think he’s coming back,” Rose said softly.
“What?”
“He’d never part with that thing. If he gave it to you, then he thinks he’s gonna die out there.”
Finn’s heart skipped a beat and he stared at Rose in horror. Then he turned on his heel and started to run after Poe.
“Finn, what are you doing?!” Rose shouted after him. “We’ve got to go!”
“I’ll be right back!” Finn called over his shoulder.
He ran as fast as he could, but by the time he reached Poe’s x-wing it was already lifting off. In the cockpit, he could just see Poe glance out the window and double-take as he noticed Finn. They locked eyes, Finn’s heart sinking as the ship rose into the sky, each of them shrinking away from each other.
Trying to ignore the terrified nausea swelling up inside him, Finn ran back to the shuttle. Rose was waiting in the doorway, looking anxious. As Finn approached, she stepped back and he jumped onboard, then they closed the door.
“Alright, let’s go!” Rose called to the pilot.
They lifted off and Finn went to an empty seat, sitting down with a heavy sigh.
“You didn’t catch him, did you?” Rose said, her tone gentle, sympathetic.
Finn shook his head. He looked down at the necklace in his hand. The metal caught the low lights in the cabin, glinting faintly. It was probably the nicest thing Poe owned, and his mother’s to boot, and he’d just given it to Finn.
“Are you sure about what you said?” he asked quietly. “He really doesn’t think he’s gonna make it?”
Rose came and sat next to him.
“Look, I’m not Poe’s best friend, but I have known him for a while,” she said. “Long enough to know that he’s never parted with that ring. If the chain ever broke, he got a new one, regardless of whether he could afford it. He was a kid when his mother died, I’m pretty sure that’s all he’s got left of her, except pictures and a few fuzzy memories. If he gave that away…”
“Shit…”
Finn closed his eyes and hung his head. The nausea from before rose up again, bringing with it tears that stung behind his eyelids and made his throat ache. He let out a long, shaky breath and opened his eyes again.
“I’m sorry, Finn,” Rose said. “I know how much you care about him.”
Finn just nodded. He didn’t think he could speak right now, not without breaking down. He always worried about Poe when he flew off in his x-wing, but if even Poe was convinced he couldn’t get out of this one, then Finn was damn near out of hope. With an aching heart, he slid the chain over his head and let the cold circle of metal hang against his chest.
***
The shuttle touched down and Finn lifted his face from his hands. It had been a grueling escape, but most of the shuttles had made it thanks to the fighter pilots. But there had been no word on just how many casualties the squadron had suffered. Rose took Finn’s hand and gently pulled him to his feet, coaxing him out into the hangar of their new hideout. It was an old Alliance headquarters, as so many of their bases had been, mostly out of the need for a ready-to-go military facility.
Finn didn’t have the heart to look around. He let Rose’s hand fall from his and walked to the edge of the hangar. Reaching into his shirt, he clasped the ring in his hand, holding it against his heart as he stared out at the sky, waiting, hoping. The rest of the shuttles were coming in, including the Falcon, but not a single x-wing. Surely he would have heard about it if the entire fleet had been taken out.
A hand touched his shoulder and he turned to find Rey beside him. She looked up at him, concerned.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Finn said, forcing himself to sound relaxed. “Just… waiting for Poe.”
Rey nodded.
“I’m gonna help unload,” she said. “Don’t stand out here too long, alright?”
“Yeah, of course.”
But Finn knew he’d stand here until they had to physically drag him away if there was even the slightest chance of Poe coming home. Rey gave his hand a squeeze, then went off to help the others. Finn turned back to the sky and his heart leapt. A cluster of x-wings had materialized out of the cloud cover. The lead ship was trailing a thin stream of smoke, and there were several fewer ships than had left the old base, but they had made it. As they came closer and soared down into the hangar, Finn recognized Poe’s ship and his heart raced anxiously – his was the one trailing smoke, and as he came down for a landing, the starboard engine caught fire.
Finn rushed forward as Poe emerged from his x-wing and climbed down the ladder. A few rungs from the bottom, he slipped, falling just as Finn reached him. Finn caught him and helped him get steady on his feet, then looked him over, feeling nauseous once again. The right side of Poe’s face was covered in blood, still trickling from a wound somewhere along his hairline, and his eyes were glazed over. He struggled to focus as he stared at Finn, grimacing at the effort.
“We need to get you to the med bay,” Finn said.
He took Poe by the arm and started to lead him away, but Poe stumbled, nearly falling again. Finn put an arm around Poe and let him lean against him in support. By the time they reached the medbay, Finn was all but carrying him. The med bay was in disarray, most of the equipment still in boxes, people hurrying to set up so they could help the injured.
“I need a medic!” he called out.
He helped Poe onto a probably unstable old bed left over from the Rebellion. A doctor came over and started examining him, and Finn took Poe’s hand.
“I’m fine, Finn, ‘m okay,” Poe mumbled, his words slurred.
“Shut up,” Finn said, then looked up at the doctor. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Just a concussion,” the doctor replied. “A nasty one, but he’ll be fine.”
Finn let out a sigh of relief. The hand that wasn’t gripping Poe’s like his life depended on it, drifted back up to the chain around his neck.
***
Finn had helped unload and clear up the med bay while the doctor tended to Poe, then came and sat beside him while he rested. He idly rolled the ring between his fingers as he watched Poe sleep, feeling an overwhelming combination of relief and melancholy. He was sure he’d start crying the second Poe woke up, he wouldn’t even be able to get out the words he wanted – no, needed – to say.
He’d nearly started drifting off himself when Poe groaned softly and opened his eyes, wincing at the bright lights. Finn reached out and took Poe’s hand, and Poe turned to him, smiling tiredly.
“Hey buddy.”
Finn smiled a little, a lump forming in his throat. Dammit, he couldn’t cry right now, but fuck if he hadn’t been convinced he’d never hear Poe call him ‘buddy’ again… He took a deep breath and steadied himself.
“Hey,” he said softly. “How’re you feeling?”
“Like a meteor crashed into my skull,” said Poe. “Did the evacuation go okay? The details are a little fuzzy…”
Finn shrugged.
“Most of the shuttles made it, but the fleet took some losses.”
Poe sighed heavily, his eyes closing for a moment. When he opened them again, he turned to Finn and smiled.
“Glad to see my good luck charm worked at least,” he said.
“Yeah, about that,” said Finn, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the chain, letting the ring dangle. “What the hell did you think you were doing, giving me this? And don’t try and play dumb, I know you never take this thing off.”
Poe bit his lip, glancing between Finn and the ring.
“I… didn’t want it to get lost.”
“What, if you died out there?”
“… Yeah, I guess.” Poe sighed again. “Finn, you know what it can be like, how dangerous it is.”
“You’ve flown into battle with this on dozens of times,” said Finn. “What made this time so different?”
“I dunno, I just… I had this feeling in my chest, you know? And… if anything happened to me, I… I’d want you to have it.”
“It was your mother’s.”
“Yeah. Her wedding ring.”
Finn stared for a moment. Rose hadn’t told him that.
“Why would you want me to have your mother’s wedding ring?” he asked.
He had a strange feeling that he already knew the answer, but he didn’t dare hope. Poe gave him a small smile.
“I don’t wanna be presumptuous,” he said. “But I’d hazard a guess it’s the same reason you came running after me when I gave it to you.”
Finn swallowed hard. His heart was racing again, but no longer in fear, or at least not really. He leaned in, faster than he meant to, stopping very suddenly mere centimeters from Poe’s face. He was so close, he could hear Poe’s breath hitch, could practically hear his heart racing just as fast as Finn’s was. Then, slowly, tentatively, Finn closed the gap, pressing their lips together. Poe’s lips were chapped, but still soft against Finn’s and they parted in response to Finn’s movements, welcoming him in but letting Finn set the pace. Finn was sure he could have kissed Poe forever, but after a few seconds, he pulled away. For a moment, they just hovered there in each others’ space, breathing the same air.
“That was what you were guessing, right?” Finn asked.
Poe grinned.
“Yeah, I just… I didn’t expect you to just go for it.”
Finn grinned back.
“Hey, we could’ve died today. Why wait?”
“Good point.”
Poe leaned up and captured Finn’s lips again. Finn sank into the kiss, reaching up to cup Poe’s cheek, his fingertips brushing the edge of the bandage wrapped tight around his head. This kiss lasted longer than the first, and when Finn broke away again, he was a little breathless. Poe smiled up at him and pecked a fleeting kiss onto the tip of Finn’s nose. Finn blushed and ducked his head. A flash of silver caught his eye and he noticed the ring swinging between them. He caught it in his fist and paused a moment.
“You should have this back,” he said.
He went to lift the chain over his head, but Poe caught his hands.
“Keep it,” he said softly.
“Poe, it was your mother’s…”
“I know. And now it’s yours.”
“Poe…”
“My father gave that ring to my mother as a token of their love,” Poe said. “Now it’s my turn.”
Finn inhaled, lips parted, but no words came. Slowly, he let his hand close around the ring, then tucked it reverently under his shirt, pressing it against his heart with the palm of his hand.
“I’ll take good care of it,” he whispered – you, he thought. “I promise.”
“I know you will,” Poe said.
He smiled, soft and warm, his eyes full of adoration, and Finn knew that Poe knew what he meant.