Chapter Text
“Finn, love, are you home,” Poe called as he closed the front door behind him. Except for the small lamp on the side table in the foyer, the first floor was dark. Poe shrugged out of his coat and hung it in the small coat closet before heading down the hall. He paused briefly, looking over the neat stack of letters left on the table from him. Two bills and a letter from Rey, who was back in Rome for the next month. Poe continued on, heading down to the kitchen and what would be the servant quarters if the Dameron-Skywalkers had any.
The kitchens were dark except for a single candle burning low. Frowning, Poe looked around, knowing his husband wouldn’t have left a lit candle. A muffled sniff behind him led Poe to the butler’s pantry, and he pushed the door open further open and peeked in. Finn was perched carefully on a three-legged stool, head resting on a cabinet door. Poe squinted around, taking in the rag loosely grasped in Finn’s hand and the row of forks arranged on the shelf to Finn’s right.
Poe heaved a sigh as he squeezed into the small room. He gently pulled the cloth out of Finn’s grip before placing a hand on Finn’s shoulder and squeezing. “Wake up, my love.” Finn grumbled and made to shift away from whatever was disturbing his sleep but Poe quickly brought his free arm around Finn’s waist, bringing Finn flush against his chest. “Come on, love. This can’t be comfortable.”
“Not…that bad,” Finn mumbled, lazily rubbing a fist against his eyes before leaning fully against Poe, head resting over his husband’s heart. “Hello.”
“Hi,” Poe smiled, scratching his short nails against the tight curls of Finn’s hair at the base of his neck. “Everything okay?”
Finn grimaced, hoping Poe didn’t see it. Finn looked over the forks he had been polishing before he had dozed off. “I was bored.” Poe nodded slowly but before he could say anything Finn continued, “I made dinner. It’s stew; I just need to warm it up.”
“I can do that later,” Poe said quickly. “You must be tired if you can fall asleep sitting up. Let’s get you to bed.”
“If you’re not hungry, that’s fine, but I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Why not?” It was nearly 2200 hours.
“I was waiting for you,” Finn shrugged, pulling away from the embrace and standing, stretching.
“You shouldn’t have. I told you I was working late,” Poe frowned. He was sure he told Finn he had to stay after hours to help with the books, since Iolo was taking the week off to visit his sister in Belgium.
“I know, I know,” Finn waved it away as he into the kitchen. “I just wanted to have dinner with you tonight.”
Poe followed, racking his mind if there was anything important about February 20th. He leaned against the counter as Finn set to work lighting the stove under the large covered pot Poe hadn’t noticed before. “Any reason in particular? Not that I don’t love spending time with you,” Poe added in a rush, eyes going wide.
Finn laughed brightly at his husband’s catch. “Relax, you didn’t forget anything. I don’t know—I guess it’s been a bit lonely around here.”
“Yeah, it’s a big house,” Poe agreed, trying to keep his tone relaxed. “You know, I wouldn’t have minded if you had gone out tonight. Just give me a call or leave me a note.”
“I know that,” Finn sighed, lifting the lid and stirring the chicken and vegetable stew. “There wasn’t anyone to go out with, and I didn’t want to sit in a bar or café by myself so…”
“I didn’t think Thursday nights were so busy,” Poe said lightly.
“Here, you can slice this,” Finn said, passing a loaf of bread to Poe and pointing towards where the knifes were kept. He watched Poe select the correct one (two months of marriage and Poe could now slice bread correctly) before turning back to the stew. “Well, Rey’s away. Bastian and Maz have been spending a lot of time together. Papa and your dad were going out for drinks tonight--,”
“To be a fly on that wall,” Poe chuckled.
“They’re probably talking about us,” Finn smiled, testing a potato for doneness.
“Oh God,” Poe groaned playfully. “That’s all I need, Luke knowing more embarrassing stories about me.”
Finn hummed. “Well, I don’t want Kes to hear about all the dumb things I did either.”
“You’ve never done a dumb thing in your life, love,” Poe replied confidently and got a laugh in response.
“I crawled into a fireplace because I was cold.”
“Was there a fire in it,” Poe asked, alarmed.
“Of course there was,” Finn shot him a confused look. “Why would I crawl into a cold fireplace to get warm?”
Poe blinked. “Flawless logic, love.”
“I was two or three,” Finn rolled his eyes. “Anyway, my nurse caught me before I got too burnt. Papa was apoplectic.”
“That’s not fair,” Poe scowled, angry on behalf of his husband. “You were a baby!”
“Oh, he wasn’t mad at me. Although he did make sure grates were installed at every fireplace. No, he was mad at the nurse. Aunt Leia says Papa went through nurses for me like handkerchiefs.”
“Now that sounds like Luke,” Poe laughed, offering a slice of bread to Finn, who stuffed half of it in his mouth. “Speaking of Leia, what about visiting her and Han?”
“What, tonight?” Finn retrieved two bowls from a cabinet and brought them over to the stove. “They’re in Switzerland, remember? Skiing in the Alps.”
Poe’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I don’t remember that conversation at all.”
“Yes, you do,” Finn answered, ladling stew into the bowls. “I wanted to have Baby this week, but Han said she wanted to play in snow, so he took her to Switzerland.”
“God, that’s right,” Poe snorted, accepting the bowl Finn held out to him. Finn placed his own bowl down before heading into another small room and returning with two wooden chairs. “We could eat in the dining room,” Poe offered as he ducked into the butler’s pantry for soup spoons.
“Too much walking,” Finn shrugged, putting the two chairs near the candle. Poe carried both bowls over, the slices of bread precariously balanced in the crook of his elbow. Finn grabbed his bowl in one hand and took the bread with his other, placing it on the counter between them.
“Again, flawless logic,” Poe winked. “Would you like some wine,” he asked, already heading towards the small trap door in the floor that led to the cellar.
“Is there any white,” Finn called, grabbing the candle and kneeling next to the door as Poe climbed down. Poe reached up and Finn handed the candlestick over.
“Yeah, we have a bottle of Liebfraumilch,” Poe replied. “It’s not exactly a dinner wine, but who’s here to judge us?”
“No one,” Finn smiled widely, receiving the bottle and candle that Poe passed up. He waited until Poe climbed up before moving back to their makeshift dinner table at the counter. Finn put the candle back down and Poe took the bottle and quickly worked the cork out with a corkscrew. He gestured for Finn to take a seat as he went back into the pantry for wine glasses.
“Now, what should we toast to,” Poe asked, pouring out the wine and sliding one of the glasses over to his husband.
Finn grasped the steam and tilted his head in thought. “To late night dinners?”
“To not being alone,” Poe countered with a smile.
Finn’s smile softened. “To not being alone.”
**Next Day**
“To what do I owe this pleasure,” Luke asked cheerfully as Artú closed the study door behind Poe. Luke stood up from his seat and stepped around his desk. Poe met him halfway and the two men shook hands.
“I wanted to discuss something with you,” Poe answered, shifting his weight slightly as Luke raised an eyebrow.
“Indeed? Please, have a seat. Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you. I have to get back to work soon,” Poe said, dropping into one of the leather armchairs by the French door windows. Luke lowered himself into the armchair opposite Poe’s and laced his fingers together in his lap. “It’s about Finn.”
“I assumed as much,” Luke smiled and inclined his head slightly. “Is he well?”
“Yes, he’s fine, but he’s alone in the house a lot—and I know that’s partially my fault. But when I encouraged him to take fewer classes this semester, I thought it would help with his stress—I didn’t think it meant he would be bored and lonely.”
“I see,” Luke nodded. “As you know, I fully supported my son’s choice to ease his workload. You needn’t blame yourself for any part you played in Finn’s decision.”
Poe ran a hand through his hair. “He’s started polishing the silver.”
Luke blinked. “Does it need polishing?”
“I don’t know, but I do know he’s trying to distract himself. Because he’s home alone for most of the day and he has nothing to do.”
“Yes, he has never been comfortable without a task of some kind,” Luke agreed. “I’m not entirely certain I can help with that. I’m happy to have him come here, but he knows that.”
“I was thinking…maybe if he wasn’t alone in our house,” Poe said, haltingly. Luke pursed his lips in curiosity. Poe sighed. “Maybe if there was someone else in the house.”
“A valet perhaps,” Luke suggested. Poe shifted uncomfortably.
“We don’t need one,” Poe replied slowly.
Luke tilted his head. “A valet would ease some of the household burdens. It would not be an unnecessary luxury, particularly in house of that size.”
“A valet would be helpful but I’m not sure how Finn would feel about it.”
“Poe, are you trying to convince me or am I convincing you,” Luke asked bemused.
“I’m hoping you’ll convince Finn,” Poe said with a sheepish smile.
“Oh, so I’m to be the overprotective father who will rest easier at night knowing my son isn’t alone in his house,” Luke scowled.
“You play the role well,” Poe shrugged, before leaning forward. “I’ll take the bullet next time, I promise.”
Luke sighed, glancing out the window. “Very well. I’ll present Finn with suitable candidates next week. However,” Luke continued as Poe sunk back in relief, “I shall hold you to your word. Next time.”
“Absolutely,” Poe grinned. “Thank you, Luke.”
Luke waved the thanks away. “I am always happy to be of service. Now, you should be on your way. Will we see you for dinner on Sunday?”
“We’ll be here,” Poe said, standing.