Work Text:
Finn opened his eyes. The deep darkness that swallowed the room informed him that it was still the middle of the night. He was lying on his back- his left arm holding Poe tight and his right one cupping the pilot’s shoulder gently.
Poe was warm and solid against him, still sleeping with his left arm across Finn’s chest. Finn could feel his steady breath on the left side of his rbs. He breathed him in and pressed a light kiss on the top of his head before he looked around.
Something must be wrong if he woke up. The room was a bit chill but they were covered in warm blankets and they were wearing their sleep clothes so it wasn’t that. He checked the clock on the nightstand to discover it was 3:07 am.
His eyes wandered around the room searching for anything that could be out of place, (thanks to BB-8’s soft light) and- bingo.
Lai’ra’s bed was empty, her blanket missing.
Finn sighed. Two years ago, there would be nothing that would get him to leave his very warm bed in the middle of the (very cold) night. Not when he was comfortably feeling his husband’s steady heartbeat. Nope- not even an invasion would make him get up- let them come, he would be glad to go like this.
But that was two years ago.
Two years before the most curious and adorable three year old girl came into their life.
Finn’s first mission after the First Order’s defeat on Exegol was to help all the children from the stormtrooper program, get back to their families.
The search lasted months and they felt so blessed when they managed to return every single child to their family… not all of them had parents anymore but they were able to track down relatives, so every child had a family now.
Well, all except one.
There was a small girl, with curly hair (a bit curlier than Poe’s), with a lighter skin that Finn’s but darker than Poe’s and all they knew about her past was that one of her parents must have been from one of Yavin’s moons.
They knew that because sometimes Poe would sing some yavinic lullabies to the children- when the mission was still going- and she knew all the words and could speak yavinic as well as basic most of the time.
Poe was treating all the children very nice and kind but Finn could see that he bonded a bit more with her… one day he found them in the cockpit of the Falcon, she was sitting on his lap and Poe was explaining some basic controls and telling her stories about his mother.
Finn smiled at the image and just stood and watched them for a while. They really looked like a family from the very beginning.
The force brought us together.
She was the last one left after they returned all the children to their families. They eventually found a friend of her father’s in Batuu that informed them of her parents’ passing.
“You know,” Poe had knelt down in front of her, “You can stay with us if you want to…”
Finn smiled at the memory. He will never forget their little girl’s face when she nodded her head and laughed just before she embraced them both with her tiny thin arms.
They had named her Lai’ra and since then, they all lived together in their house on the planet of Naboo.
After the war, Finn and Rey started rebuilding the Jedi order and they made their first- and so far only- temple on Naboo, to honor Rey’s master Leia Organa.
Finn needed to be there and Poe could easily help with the New Republic from there so that’s where they had their house.
They didn’t stay there all the time though, because Poe missed Yavin iv and his dad all the time, and Kes missed “his little beast” as he called her, very much.
Which was where they were now, in Poe's old room in his dad’s home on Yavin iv.
Well, Finn recalled. Me and Poe are in the room .
With a groan he slowly removed his left hand from Poe and then lifted Poe’s hand from his chest, praying he wouldn't wake up.
Poe shifted a bit in his sleep and hugged the pillow so Finn found his chance to get up.
He immediately missed Poe’s embrace and felt chills stub his entire body. He put on his shoes quickly, without making any noise and headed out of the room.
Lai’ra was not in the living room or the kitchen. Finn rubbed his eyes and yawned, his limbs feeling heavy and screaming for him to go back to sleep.
He kept on walking and looking around until he noticed the half open front door. Finn walked towards it and slowly opened it- trying not to wake Poe or Kes.
The moment he headed outside a cold breeze hit him that made him immediately regret not taking a jacket with him.
The front side of the house had a porch and then 3 stairs leading to the garden- and there was Lai’ra sitting on the third stair, wrapped in her blue blanket.
She was so dedicated to looking at the stars above her that she didn’t notice him at all. If Finn wasn’t freezing or tired he’d deffinatelly just sit there with her to watch the stars together.
“Why are you up little miss?”
Lai’ra snapped her head back and looked at him with the puppy she did every time she knew she was in trouble. Finn was absolutely sure Poe taught her that.
“Come on, let’s go back to bed.” he motioned his hand for her to grab it but she just started to pout. Finn sighed.
“What are you doing here, this late, anyway?”
Lai’ra got up and wrapped both of her tiny hands to his extended arm and then led him about three feet forward.
“Look!” she exclaimed, pointing at the sky.
Finn looked and… yeah it was a night sky full of stars, nothing they hadn’t seen before.
“Uh…” he turned to her again, “help me here baby, what am i looking for?”
“Abuelito said that there would be a ‘star rain’ tonight, so i thought that if the stars start to drop from the sky, then it means that they are closer to us, and it means that it’s my only chance to catch one!”
Finn might have been cold, tired and sleepy but this was adorable. He knelt on one knee, to be on the same height as her.
“So your plan is to catch a star?”
She frowned her nose- definitely got that from Rey- and said, “well… no. Stars should be up there to light up when it’s dark and to show dad his way home when he flies. I don’t want to ruin that! What if dad gets lost?”
Her eyes went wide and Finn couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay got that. So, what are you doing then?”
She let a long sigh, looking very serious, that made Finn chuckle again.
“I want to just, maybe, touch a little star?”
Finn raised his eyebrows. “You want to touch a star?”
Lai’ra nodded her head, still looking at the sky. “But they are so very far even now!”
She started to jump up and down, her hand extended up, “Maybe-” she jumped again, “maybe i need to climb to the top of a tree-”
“Okay.” Finn got up and immediately picked her up. There was no way he would start chasing Lai’ra around trees, at three am in the night.
Thank the force she didn’t complain and immediately wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulders and her legs tight around his waist.
Finn gave her a kiss to the cheek before he started walking towards the house.
“How about we sleep now and talk about this again tomorrow, yeah?”
Lai’ra leaned her head to the groove of his neck. “Okay daddy.”
Finn held her with just one arm around her back. She wasn’t that heavy so he didn’t need to use both of them.
He got into the house and slowly closed and locked the door behind him. With even slower and big steps, he made his way back to their room.
Poe was still sleeping and had somehow wrapped himself with the blankets, like a cocoon.
Finn took off his shoes with two movements and went to Lai’ra’s bed. He adjusted the blankets a bit, before he carefully placed her on her bed and then covered her with her blue and orange blankets.
“Goodnight mija.” he kissed her forehead and she yawned, her eyes already closing.
“I just…” she started drifting to sleep, “I belong to the stars.”
That sentence right there made Finn fully wake up. He just sat there for a moment looking at her, hearing her steady breaths and that scene right there was a bit… overwhelming.
Finn smiled and adjusted the blankets a bit better before getting up.
He turned to his bed and saw how Poe was grabbing onto their blankets- like someone was gonna steal them in his sleep.
It’s like I’m raising two babies.
He sighed as he tried to take the blankets away from him, so he can be covered in them too.
“Poe, it’s me- let me-”
Poe hugged him again and mumbled “sorry” in his sleep. Finn felt warm again and he hugged Poe tight, burying his face in the pilot’s hair.
He just lied there breathing him in for some moments before he drifted to sleep.
Finn slowly opened his eyes- his eyelids still feeling heavy, and looked at the ceiling as his brain was struggling to fully wake up. He turned to the side to cuddle a bit with Poe but the bed was empty.
What time is it?
BB-8 was also gone but Lai’ra was still sleeping, her blankets to the floor and her leg hanging from the side of bed.
He turned to the night stand to look at the time: 9.03 am.
He rubbed his eyes, got up and went to the fresher to freshen up before he headed downstairs. The cold water woke him up but he still needed caf.
The fresh smell of caf and toast filled him from the top of the stairs, as did Kes and Poe’s murmurs and BB-8’s beeps.
“Goodmorning” Poe said with a smile.
“Morning” Finn replied with a rough sleepy voice as he kissed Poe quickly on the lips.
“Caf?” Asked Kes and Finn nodded and mumbled “thanks”
He sat on the kitchen table next to Poe and opposite to Kes and he yawned for the dozenth time since he woke up.
Poe raised an eyebrow “You still tired?”
Kes motioned him a cup with caf and Finn drank almost half of it in one go.
“Your daughter, kept me up.”
Poe huffed a laugh, “How is it, that every time she does something stupid, she’s my daughter, and every time she does something extradinery, she’s your daughter?”
Finn looked at him annoyed and dead serious.
“Sounds about right, anyways” Kes said drinking from his mug.
“Ha. Ha. Very funny, dad.” Poe rolled his eyes and then turned his attention back to Finn.
“So, what happened?”
“What happened was that, abuelito here,” Finn looked pointly at Kes, “told her, that there would be a meteor fall, or to quote Lai’ra, ‘a star rain’, so” he looked back at Poe who seemed to be amazed, “she went outside when we were sleeping. I brought her back, around three am.”
Finn drank from his mug again before adding, “apparently, she wanted to ‘touch a star’ which, don’t get me wrong is adorable, but I repeat, it was three am and I was cold.”
Poe’s jaw dropped.
Kes touched Finn’s shoulder’s and looked at him sympathetically. “Finn son, I feel sorry for you.”
Finn never got the chance to ask what he meant because Poe jumped from his seat and said in one single breath: “She wants to be a pilot.”
Finn almost choked on his caf. “Wow now, wait a minute-”
“FINN OUR DAUGHTER WANTS TO FLY.”
Poe jumped up and grabbed Finn by his shoulders to kiss him. It was so sudden and hard that Finn had to grab the table to not fall over.
Poe released him and Finn put the mug back on the table.
“Now wait a minute, we never agreed that-”
“Oh come on Finn, it’s not like she wasn’t in the pilot seat with me on the fal-”
“Yes, Poe. The falcon. And if i remember correctly, she wasn’t flying there.”
Poe looked on the floor, his arms behind his back.
“Well…”
Finn looked deadly serious. “Poe Dameron, you did not let a three year pilot the falcon, right?”
“It wasn’t-”
“I’m gonna have a heart attack.”
“No Finn it wasn’t-”
“Actually. I’m gonna kill you first. ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
Kes chuckled in his mug and Finn turned to him again.
“HOW IS THIS FUNNY?”
The older man looked at him apologately, “No, Finn, don’t get me wrong, what my son over here did, was extremely irresponsible.” he shook his head, “but, i can’t help it. It’s exactly what Shara did with him, so trust me when i say, i’ve been in your place.”
Finn looked at Poe again, “why couldn’t you be more like your dad?”
“Finn, listen to me.” Poe sat next to Finn again, having him face to face, and took his hands into his own.
“I would never, ever, do something that would put her into danger.”
Finn sighed. “I know, i know, it’s just” he tried to find the right words, “i just…”
“Finn. I wouldn’t take her up, if you didn’t agree to it. Even if I really want to. Like really really really-”
“Okay got it.”
Poe was looking at him with pleading eyes. Finn knew that if he said no, Poe would respect it but also ask again next year. It was important to him.
“Finn,” Kes spoke again, “speaking from my experience, you can’t really cage what belongs to the sky. All you have control over, is ‘when’. Shara wanted to take him up, when he was three, and I convinced her to wait till he was at least five.” He shook his head again, “They went up on his first flight, when he was four.”
Finn saw Poe smile at the memory. He took a deep breath and started talking again.
“Okay, i guess you can take her on your X-Wing tonight, to see the stars, BUT” he gave emphasis when he saw Poe getting excited in a matter of seconds.
“She will wear a helmet.”
“Obviously.”
“You will not, even THINK, about giving her the control of the ship.”
“Okay Finn, yes-”
“And you won’t leave the atmosphere.”
“But-”
“That’s the deal Dameron.”
Poe was about to protest but Finn gave him the ‘don’t fuck with me Dameron’ look and Poe bucked away.
“Okay, fine. Deal.”
Finn started eating his breakfast again, already anxious about this. I can handle this, i can handle this, I can handle this.
As in cue, a yawn was heard from the top of the stairs and they turned to see Lai’ra, her hair sticking out to every possible direction, rubbing her eye with her right hand and holding her blanket with the left one.
That blanket needs cleaning, Finn thought.
He noticed that she wore her dark blue pajamas, with ships all over it and thought that maybe that’s who he should blame.
“Goodmorning, starlight, '' Poe said as Lai’ra made her way down the stairs, still dizzy from sleep and climbed to Kes’ lap.
She always went straight to him whenever there was food involved.
Kes gave her a gentle kiss to the top of her head and started to put her hair out of her face so she could eat. Poe gave him one of the dozens of hairlastics he always wore on his hand, because her hair was so messy and untamed. That and also Poe loved braiding and taking care of his daughter’s hair.
Kes gently put her hair in a loose ponytail and brought a glass of orange juice and a plate with eggs and toast in front of her.
“Can I get some bread with praline instead pleaaase?”
“Whatever my pilot wants” Poe said but Finn dragged him back down just as he got up and he raised his eyebrows, “Miss, you’re gonna have a bunch of chocolate throughout the day, no need to add it to your breakfast.”
He looked at Poe again. Don’t push your luck.
Poe understood and quickly turned to his little girl again, “Eat your eggs and drink your juice nena. Pilots need strength to fly.”
She crossed her arms to her chest. “But i’m not a pilot yet.”
“Well,” Poe said innocently, “I was thinking of, taking you on my ship today, but since you don’t want to…”
Finn saw Lai’ra’s eyes go wide and her jaw drop. He had to admit again, that this was extremely adorable.
“ARE YOU SERIOUSLY SERIOUS?” She screamed with a shocked face.
“I sure am, so you better get all the strength you can ge-”
Lai’ra started eating her eggs as fast as humanly possible.
“Easy there nieta,” Kes laughed “no one is taking those eggs from you.”
Finn just sighed and finished his breakfast.
Poe was ecstatic to say the least. His daughter wanted to fly. To fly.
He spent the rest of the day preparing black one, checking to see if everything works perfectly and if it had fuel.
He got so caught up that he forgot to go to the market and buy a kid-size helmet.
“Well,” he had said when Finn asked him about it, “She’ll just wear one of my old ones.”
Finn opened his mouth to protest, but Poe cut him off, “Yes, I know it’s not how helmets work, or very safe, but it’s better than nothing. And i promise we will be up for 30 minutes tops, so no need to worry about it”
Finn mumbled something about ‘easy for you to say’ and didn’t pressure the matter further.
When the sun was setting, Lai’ra wore a white pair of pants and shirt, her brown sweet boots and then Poe braided her hair into a french braid.
“Okay, seems like we’re ready.”
Lai’ra was jumping up and down from her excitement and as he looked at her, Poe wished his mother would be there with them.
He smiled and gently took her hand to lead her outside. Finn and Kes were sitting on the bench next to the front door. Finn got up and kneeled in front of her to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“You make sure those stars are in the right place, okay?”
Lai’ra nodded, looking as serious as Poe has ever seen her. Finn gave her a wide smile and sat back on the bench next to Kes.
“Have fun nieta!” Kes shouted but Lai’ra paid no attention, as she was dragging Poe forward, trying to get to the ship as fast as possible.
“Easy there nena, we have all the time we want.”
Poe remembered being a kid and getting excited about everything, also wanting to do every single thing right that moment.
They got in front of the x-wing’s ladder, and Poe turned to her again.
“Okay ace, listen carefully.” He was actually about to say something serious, but he still said it in a playful tone. Lai’ra straightened up and mimicked the look of one of the pilots she saw in a holo cartoon earlier.
“I’m gonna go up and get into the cockpit, only after i’m up, you’ll start climbing the ladder, okay? Until I can catch you and lift you up.”
“Okay commander” Lai’ra tried to make her voice deep and rough and Poe couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Dad! Don’t laugh at me, i’m trying to be serious!”
“Okay, okay sorry!” He took a deep breath to force himself to stop laughing, “okay let’s do this.”
Poe turned and started climbing the ladder. As soon he settled in the cockpit, he turned to see Lai’ra already half way up.
“Someone’s in a hurry” he said and two moments later she was at the top of the ladder. He gently lifted her up and placed her on his lap.
“First things first,” he already had his helmet on and proceeded to put one on Lai’ra as well.
“Dad, this is very big.” She struggled a few moments to adjust the helmet, because the truth was, it was more than ‘a bit’ big.
“I know baby, but this is only for today, okay? I promise you tomorrow morning we’ll go together in the market, to buy whichever helmet you like.”
She adjusted it a bit more before saying, “Okay.”
They spent a good hour talking about the controls of the ship, as simple as possible and she actually enjoyed it very much.
But she was still a kid, so she started demanding to ‘make it fly’.
“So bossy” Poe said and started bringing the ship to life.
“Okay, try not to press anything while the ship is moving or flying, okay?”
“Yeap.” She said and grabbed the sides of the pilot chair to steady herself.
The black and orange x-wing took off, and Poe tried to go as slow as possible, given the fact that they couldn’t figure out a way to put on seat belts (x-wings only have one seat).
“Wanna give your dad a heart attack?” Poe asked and Lai’ra nodded enthusiastically.
Poe laughed and did a full loop, practically feeling Finn yelling at him from the ground.
Lai’ra laughed again and again and it was the best sound in the world. They started to fly faster, making a few tricks and then he slowly stopped, and they looked at the sky.
“Wow” Lai’ra said and extended her arm to touch the glass above them.
It was dark and they were as high as Finn allowed, and the stars were shining bright on them.
“Like it?”
“Can i please take this off, for a tiny moment?” She pointed on her helmet.
“Okay, fine but only for five minutes and we’ll keep it a secret, okay?”
“Okay.”
Finn was going to kill him if he found out.
She carefully took it off and held it in her embrace, her eyes never leaving the stars.
“Which one of them is abuelita Shara?”
Poe froze for a moment. He once told Lai’ra that “abuelita Shara is on the stars” but he didn’t believe she remembered… It was two years ago.
He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
“She’s the brightest one, nena”
Lai’ra immediately started searching for the brightest star in the sky.
“Which one? So i can tell her goodnight?”
Poe looked up and pointed at the one in the north.
“That one.”
Lai’ra touched the glass again, at the place where she could see it.
“Good night abuelita. Te quiero much ísimo”
Poe smiled sadly and caught himself also looking at the star.
Te quiero much ísimo mamá.
Finn was next to the ladder the moment the ship landed.
Lai’ra took off her helmet and started climbing down the stairs, then Finn caught her in the middle of it and embraced her tightly.
“So, how was it?”
“Dad! It was so great and fast, and then the ship did a vrooom” she motioned a circle with her hands, “and then dad did a groouuthm” she extended her arm to point out that they went fast, “and then the stars were super duper big and shiney and then-”
As Lai’ra continued her magnificent explanation, Poe came to stand next to them, crossing his arms on his chest and smiling.
“And then, and then, and then I got to say goodnight to abuelita Shara!”
Finn frowned his eyebrows and looked at Poe.
“I’ll explain later,” the pilot said, still smiling.
“And then dad said we will buy a new helmet tomorrow!”
Finn laughed and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you had fun, mija. And yes, we will absolutely buy a helmet, since i’m afraid this will be a regular thing.”
Lai’ra nodded her head a few times before adding, “can we also buy a lightsaber? But a pink one, for me?”
Poe’s jaw dropped the same time time Finn widened his eyes and said in a low, shocked voice, “Poe, our daughter wants to be a jedi”
“Finn! She’s five years old, there’s no way she’s gonna have a lightsab-”
“Poe come on, she will be with me all the time! What could possibly go wrong?”
In the background Poe could hear his father laugh, and at that moment, he knew exactly how Finn felt this morning.