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It’s only the beginning of October, but it’s approximately negative eighty degrees outside, and the wind’s howling something awful, and Finn really wishes he’d worn a jacket. He wraps the light sweater he’s wearing closer around him and shoves his hands in his pockets, rubbing them against his jeans briskly to try and keep the cold out.
Finn glances at the school doors. Football players and bystanders alike are entering the school or taking the path right to the field, but the person he’s looking for still hasn’t shown.
Anxiety creeps in. Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe Poe’s already in the locker room, prepping for the game, and Finn's been waiting outside the gym doors for- he checks his watch- thirteen minutes for absolutely no reason. Maybe he should just head over to the field already and forget this whole thing.
But then he remembers talking to Poe earlier today, as they’d walked together in the hallway before parting, Finn heading to Chemistry and Poe to Calculus.
“I’ve got a game tonight,” Poe had told him, after Finn had asked him how the team was doing and admitted he’d never had any reasons to keep up with school sports much (well, truthfully now he’s got a reason, but that was something he did not admit). “You can come watch if you’d like! Only if you want to, of course, it’s cool if football’s not your thing.”
“It’s not my thing, but I’ll still try and come,” Finn had replied, because Poe had been smiling at him so enthusiastically and, who was he kidding, he’d been curious to see Resistance High’s best running back in action for quite some time.
And Finn wants to let Poe know he’d honored his invitation and showed up. He really does.
He just wishes it wasn’t so damn cold.
“Finn!”
Finn turns toward the doors to see Poe practically running toward him, cheeks pink and wearing an even bigger smile than he’d had this afternoon.
“I’m really glad you made it!” Poe says, skidding to a stop in front of Finn.
“Yeah, I made it!” Finn repeats. Real smooth. He clears his throat and pulls his iceberg hands out of his pockets, attempting to look casual. “Good luck out there today. I know you’re gonna do great.”
“Aw man, thanks,” Poe says, beaming at Finn. “Let’s just hope I don’t freeze. It’s supposed to be cold as hell, and I know running will keep me warm, but…” He stops, and stares at Finn. “Finn, you’re wearing a sweater.”
Finn isn’t quite sure what Poe’s getting at. “Yeah, I am.”
“Shit, I mean…” Poe clears his throat, and then pauses, seemingly searching for the right words. “Aren’t you gonna be cold? You don’t even have a jacket.”
“Yeah, I guess that was bad planning on my part.” Finn shrugs. “My fault for still thinking it’d be a reasonable temperature in October. But I’ll be okay.” Huddled against his seat with his arms wrapped around himself for the entire game, maybe, but okay.
Poe’s still looking at him. With one fluid movement, he takes off his orange and white varsity jacket and offers it to Finn. “You know what? You can take my jacket. It’s super warm, and I’m not gonna need it while I’m playing.”
Finn freezes. “Oh, no way, I couldn’t. It’s your jacket.”
“That I don’t need during the game,” Poe says. “I’m serious, you’re free to use it.” He pauses and bites his lip. “If you want to, that is. Did I just make it weird? I’m sorry if I made it weird.”
“No, don’t worry, you didn’t,” Finn says quickly.
He mulls things over for a moment, still hesitant to accept the jacket. Part of him feels like he’s imposing for taking it; truthfully, no one’s offered him anything in what feels like an eternity.
And part of him’s reluctant to take the jacket because then he’d have to acknowledge how Poe’s smile seems to brighten thirty watts when he sees Finn, how Poe always goes out of his way to talk to him when they run into each other in the hallway, how their senses of humor seem to be in sync and they always make each other laugh to the point of snorting.
The...thing that he and Poe might have is completely new to Finn. It’s exciting, but also scary, and some days Finn just wants to put his feelings on the backburner and avoid thinking about it at all costs.
But Poe’s still looking at him questioningly, and Finn’s hands still feel like blocks of ice.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll take it,” Finn says, and Poe’s responding smile makes the anxiety Finn had faced instantly worth it. “Thanks, Poe. Thanks so much.”
“No problem.” Poe laughs. “I invited you here, the least I can do is make sure you don’t freeze to death.”
Before Finn can grab the jacket, Poe takes a few steps forward and wraps the jacket around Finn. Finn shivers at the touch of Poe’s hands on his shoulders, and this time he doesn’t think the cold is the culprit.
“There you go,” Poe says, giving Finn a pat on the shoulder. “That feel warmer?”
Finn nods, wishing Poe's hand had lingered a little bit longer. “Yeah. It really does. Thanks again, I mean it."
“Don’t mention it!” Poe looks at Finn, again looking like he wants to say more, but can’t seem to find the words. Finn’s about to cut in, maybe ask Poe what his chances of beating his opponent are or something like that, when Poe furrows his brow and takes his phone out of his pocket. “Shit. I gotta get going. We’re supposed to be out on the field soon.”
“Oh, man, okay. Don't be late.” Finn shoots Poe the best thumbs-up he can muster with ice-cold hands. “Good luck out there! Score that hole in one. Make that basket. Get three strikes in a row.”
Poe’s laugh is instantaneous and contagious, causing Finn to smile as well. “Will do,” he says. “I’ll talk to you later!”
With that, he sprints back to the gym doors, arms crossed to block out the cold, and disappears.
Finn’s left staring at the closed doors for a moment. Slowly, he pulls his arms into Poe’s jacket, one after another, grateful that the jacket’s sleeves are a bit too long and he can scrunch his hands comfortably in them. He examines the orange-and-white material, outlines the large capital “R” emblazoned on the left-hand side of the front of the jacket, traces the name “Dameron” embroidered on the right. It’s a jacket for a school he’s still fairly new to, a school he’s never really felt like a part of until now.
And just the thought that Poe’d been willing to give him his jacket without hesitation, that Poe cares enough to make sure he’s warm during the game...well, that makes his heart beat way faster than it usually does.
Finn slowly starts heading to the football field, wondering what Rey will have to say about this and hoping she’s saved him a seat. The frigid wind’s still blowing in his face, but at least he can bury his hands in the sleeves of Poe’s jacket.
The jacket’s definitely keeping the cold out, that’s true. But it’s nothing compared to the heat rising in his cheeks, and the warm, funny feeling that Finn had felt in his chest ever since Poe’d wrapped the jacket around his shoulders.