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Finn wrung his hands, looking out the car window at the rows of unique Victorian houses that formed the historic district of Poe's hometown. Kes and Shara, Sebastian, Illiana and…. Shit what was the other sister's name... Eleanor? Elizabeth? Elisa? You can't keep forgetting, dammit.
"Elena," Poe said, jarring Finn from his thoughts.
"How did you-"
"You were muttering a bunch of E names, I guessed from there." He reached over, pulling Finn's hands apart and flitting his eyes between the road and the crescent marks where Finn's fingernails had dug into his skin. "Relax, you're going to be fine."
Finn relaxed, only slightly, the tension in his shoulders easing a bit as Poe brushed his lips against each mark. He closed his eyes and surrendered to his other senses, focusing on the sound of the radio, the smell of the air freshener, the touch of Poe's calloused hands against his. Deep breaths and reassuring thoughts rendered him somewhat more collected than he had been, although the jeering of his insecurities persisted in the depths of his brain. Finn did his best to push them away, looking at the house they were pulling up to.
It was a large Victorian with a quaint front porch, painted pale yellow with accents of rich green and white on the shutters and porch beams, respectively. A large oak tree took up most of the front yard, providing shade for the picnic table there. If Finn closed his eyes he could almost see Poe as a child, swinging on the tire swing attached to one of the sturdier branches, or chasing fireflies around the yard in the dim light of dusk.
Poe pulled into the driveway which sat to the left of the house, following it all the way to the back gate of the white picket fence and parking in the shade of a small storage building. The backyard was just as quaint as the front, a little trellis arch covered with flowering vines sitting just behind the fence gate.
As he went to step out of the car, Finn took one last deep breath in, steadying himself. Poe must have heard him because he reached over to take Finn's hand once more, squeezing it tight.
"They're going to love you," he said, voice sure.
"You don't know that," Finn mumbled, looking down at his shoes.
"Self depreciation isn't a good look on you, honey," Poe said softly, "and I do know, without a doubt in my mind, that they will love you."
"How?"
"Simple," Poe smiled at him, the kind that made the corners of his eyes crinkle just a little. "Because I love you."
"Sap," Finn muttered, but he smiled and leaned over to kiss Poe, deeply touched by his words. He cupped Poe's cheek, stubble tickling at his palm, and whispered, "thank you."
"No problem sweetheart. C'mon, we can leave our bags in the car for now," Poe smiled, hopping out of the car and coming around to lead Finn under the trellis and up the pathway.
They stepped into a little mudroom, equipped with a washer/dryer set, a coat rack, and a bench that served to hold shoes. There was still a door between them and the rest of the house, and Poe bumped their shoulders together affectionately. "You ready?"
"Yeah."
Poe stepped through the door and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Mami! Papi! I'm home!"
Finn found himself in a little sitting room, a foyer of sorts, with a couple of chairs sitting astride a bay window looking out on the little garden in the side yard. A large staircase was straight ahead, with a doorway to the kitchen to its right, and an opening leading to the living room to its left.
"In the kitchen mijo," a woman's voice came from further within the house, but before they could go to check it out Poe's youngest brother came hurtling down the stairs, slamming into him.
"Poe!!" The little boy- Sebastian, six years old, he remembered- wore spiderman pajamas and little frog socks, slipping on the hardwood floors.
"Sebastian!" Poe grinned, ruffling his hair and balancing a little tray of finger foods in one hand as Sebastian clung to his legs. "You're getting tall, squirt."
Sebastian nodded, running over to the wall beside the staircase. "I am! See?" he pointed at the little pencil marks.
Another set of footsteps thundered down the stairs, and he saw one of Poe's two sisters- Elena, thirteen, he thought- come into view. She skipped the last two steps and stopped right in front of Poe, taking the tray of finger foods from his hands with a devilish grin. "These look great!" she exclaimed, running off (hopefully to the kitchen) with them.
Finn heard the third and final sibling- Illiana, eighteen, he reminded himself- before he saw her. She was upstairs shouting down to Poe, something about a video game. "Oh my God dude I FINALLY beat that zombie boss dude in Earthbound," she said, prompting a high five from Poe.
Finn stood back, away, off to the side. He felt a little awkward as Poe reunited with his siblings, but he reminded himself to breathe, Poe's words coming back to him. "Simple. Because I love you." It came as a reassurance as he watched them, a small smile on his face. Elena was grinning wide, showing off the new color of her braces, Illiana was recounting the events of the game she had been playing.
Finn felt a sticky little hand tugging at his own and looked down to see Sebastian staring up at him. "I like spiderman," he said, and pointed at Finn's Avengers shirt with one chubby finger. "Who do you like?"
Before he could answer though, Elena noticed him. She gasped loudly, "ohmygosh, is that Finn!?" She looked him up and down in the terrifying way that only a thirteen year old could, her eyes glancing over his worn out converse high tops, cuffed jeans and tee shirt before settling on the leather jacket around his shoulders. "And is that Poe's jacket!?!"
Illiana perked up at that, looking up from her phone, deep brown eyes studying him. It reminded him a lot of Poe. "Oh my god, it totally is!" She knocked her shoulders against Poe's and said something in hurried spanish that made Poe turn as red as the Nikes he was wearing.
"Illiana, I heard that!" A man's voice came from the direction of the living room that Finn got glimpses of, just past the stairs, and now it was Illiana's turn to blush.
"Sorry Papi!"
"Mis queridas," a woman appeared in the doorway that presumably led to the kitchen, dish towel slung over her shoulder. "Leave the poor boy alone, won't you?"
"Mami!" Poe turned and crushed her in a hug.
"Oh, mijo, let me look at you," she said softly, holding Poe at arms length and tipping his chin up. Poe wore a proud smile, standing almost at attention.
Finn watched as her eyes scanned Poe's face, analyzing them. Those eyes, deep brown and filled with kindness, with love. Poe had his mother's eyes. The same gentle expression, the same crinkled corners when she smiled, and oh, that smile. Poe had his mother's smile, proud and just a little mischievous. He had her curls too, and her nose, her posture, her unwavering gaze. Poe was his mother's son through and through.
"And you must be Finn," Shara turned that kind, motherly smile towards Finn, and he suddenly felt very warm.
"Yes ma'am," he nodded, holding out his hand for her to shake.
Shara waved her hand dismissively, instead going in for a hug. "None of that formality mijo, call me Shara."
Oh. He looked briefly at Poe over her shoulders, and he flashed Finn a grin and a thumbs up before Finn gave in to the hug. Shara smelled like Jasmine, sweet and comforting.
When she pulled away she looked Finn up and down as she had dine with Poe. "You are a very handsome young man," she said softly, "and there is kindness in your eyes."
Finn felt himself blush and ducked his head, "thank you."
She gave a short nod, then turned back to her children. "Now go, go," she shooed them out of the foyer, "I have cooking to do."
The living room was large, with a couch, two arm chairs, a coffee table and an entertainment center, along with some end tables and another bay window, facing out towards the front porch. Against one of the open walls sat a long, thin table with tall backed stools, almost like a bar. A man sat on one of the stools, his jaw set in the same determined way Finn often saw on Poe. He was focused on a puzzle, the box propped up against the wall displaying the picture, a bunch of marvel comic book characters from the big names to the lesser known ones.
"Come look!" Sebastian grabbed Finn's hand, pulling him over to the table. He scrambled up to get in the chair beside his father, "papi! Show him the puzzle!
Kes helped boost him up then slid the seat closer to his own. "Alright, alright," he ruffled Sebastian's hair, who was excitedly rattling off the names of all the superheroes he knew.
"That one's spiderman! And that one's Miles, he's spiderman too! And that's Gwen, she's spiderwoman! And there's Captain America and Iron man and Black Widow, and Thor!" He turned back to Finn, a wide smile showing the dimples on his chubby little cheeks.
"That's really cool," Finn said, mirroring the boy's infectious smile.
Kes slipped out of the chair and crushed Poe in a bear hug while Finn studied the puzzle, resisting the urge to fit some of the pieces in. He felt Poe tug at his hand, fitting their fingers together perfectly, and Finn turned around to face them.
"This is my boyfriend Finn," he said, introducing him. "Finn, this is my dad Kes."
Kes smiled, a familiar kindness in his eyes, and reached out to shake Finn's hand. "It's nice to meet you Finn. Do you like puzzles?"
Finn chuckled softly, "do I? Yes, I love them," he replied, glad that talking with Kes felt so easy.
"Good, come help me with this one, it's kicking my ass." Kes returned to his chair, pulling one out for Finn to join him.
Finn turned to Poe, who grinned widely and placed a kiss on his cheek, "love you," he murmured.
"Mm, love you too," he whispered back.
* * * * *
As the evening sun slipped lower in the sky they all sat around the dinner table, chatting over desert.
"So Finn," Illiana started, sitting down her fork, "what are you studying?"
"Illiana," Poe warned, reaching out under the table to take Finn's hand.
"Relax, it's not an interrogation," Illiana smiled, "just a friendly question."
Finn squeezed Poe's hand as if to tell him it's okay, and took a breath. "I'm an art major," he replied. It was terrifying to say it out loud, Finn never knew how people would react.
But Shara smiled, Kes squeezed her shoulder, and Illiana nodded. "Cool man, she's an artist too," she said, nodding to Shara.
"Really?" Finn turned to her, intrigued.
Shara nodded, pointing to a painting that hung on the wall opposite them. "That's one of mine. Do you have any pictures? I'd love to see your work," she said, her kind smile washing away any doubts he had.
Finn took out his phone and opened the camera folder of his art, handing it over to Shara. She squinted at the images for a moment before Kes grabbed her reading glasses from the counter and handed them to her with a kiss on her cheek. Finn watched in anticipation as Shara swiped through the pictures, a gentle smile on her face.
"These are lovely," she remarked. "Your parents must be so proud."
Finn froze, and Poe placed his hand on Finn's knee. It hurt, the thought of his parents, but Finn could get through it. He wouldn't let their opinions dictate his life. "My, uh," he swallowed thickly, "my parents don't exactly approve of my choice to pursue an art career, or my other, um, lifestyle choices for that matter," he said, feeling the tension grow in the air.
Shara reached out over the table, taking his hand. "Oh, mijo, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Finn replied, "I've come to terms with it."
Shara nodded, squeezing his hand once before letting go.
That night they headed up to Poe's old bedroom, where they immediately fell into bed.
"It's just a full," Poe said, pulling Finn flush against his chest. "Hope you don't mind."
Finn leaned back into the curve of Poe's body, his hand finding Poe's where it rested on his stomach. "Don't mind at all," he murmured. He felt Poe's lips brush against the nape of his neck in sweet unhurried kisses, breathing in deeply.
"Told you they'd like you," he said, and Finn could feel the slightly smug smile on Poe's lips against his skin.
"Yeah yeah, you were right," Finn admits, turning his head back so he could kiss his boyfriend properly. He reached up to card his fingers through Poe's hair, smiling when he let out a soft, content hum.
"I really think they like you," Poe whispered against his lips.
Finn kissed him a little while longer, happy with the gentle slide of Poe's lips against his. When they pulled away, he reached up to brush curls away from Poe's forehead. "I like them too. They're a little strange, but I like them."
"Strange," Poe chuckled, "yeah, they are. Just wait 'til you meet the rest tomorrow."