Chapter Text
“Alright,” Poe gestures grandly with his free arm toward the brightly-colored metal rising up from the field in front of them. His other hand is curled tightly into Bea’s. The same excited boyish grin has been on his face since he came to pick Finn up in his beat-up Honda after checking that morning if Finn minded if Bea tagged along on their date.
That particular line of questioning makes a lot more sense now. “So I know it looks like it might give you tetanus,” Poe is saying, almost nervous as he bumps his shoulder into Finn’s, “or fling you into the sky or something but this is actually one of the safest fairs in the country.”
“It’s a fair,” Bea protests from Poe’s side, bouncing in her tennis shoes. “Fairs are safe! It’s in the name! Fair means good!”
“I dunno, I don’t want to be flung out into the sky,” Finn says seriously, fighting to keep down his smile.
“You won’t!” Bea insists, and Poe laughs and tugs her close against his side.
“Alright, baby, let’s get our wristbands and get going.” He glances up at Finn, eyes glittering. Finn hoped that once they got together and it was no longer one-sided that his heart might start behaving around Poe, but it seems to be worse. When Poe picked him up, he thought they’d be getting lunch or something else simple and easy, but Bea bounced in the backseat, grinning just as big as her dad. A fair just outside of town that he’d mentioned once in passing is exactly where Poe would take him. “What d’you wanna hit first?”
“Is it too early for bumper cars?” Finn asks to cover-up the way his eyes linger on Poe’s lips, instead straying over the bright, colorful rides spread out across the field.
Poe’s grin widens. “It is never too early for bumper cars.”
“I wanna be with Finn!” Bea declares as she darts up the ramp to the ride with one new free-for-all band wrapped bright pink around her wrist.
Finn glances back at Poe as he follows, raising an eyebrow. “Is she already sick of you?”
“Apparently!” Poe whines, and turns his saddest eyes on Bea. “You know, Bea-Bea, that really hurts. Right here.” He presses one hand over his heart and tries to look pathetic. “I might need Finn to kiss it better.”
“No, you don’t,” Bea snorts, and reaches out to grab Finn’s hand, bouncing once they reach the back of the line. The line, this early in the day, consists of a few excited-looking teenagers and them.
“I guess I’m claimed for this one. You can be with her on the ne xt ,” Finn says, his fingers sliding over the back of Poe’s hand. His eyes stay on Poe’s face even as Bea talks excitedly about the differently colored cars and which one she wants. She lasers in on a bright blue one.
“You’re just too popular, Bea-Bea,” Poe tells her, laughing, and leans into Finn just a bit as the operator opens the gate to let them in. “Thanks for this. We’ll have a proper date sometime too. Promise.”
“What about this isn’t proper?” Finn asks, but he can’t get an answer with Bea dragging him over the the blue car. He glances back at Poe before he hops in, helping Bea in after him.
Poe grins brightly at him and slides into a fittingly orange car. The ride hums to life underneath them, tinny rock music suddenly echoing louder from the speakers, and Bea laughs and reaches around Finn to grab the looping seatbelt. “Buckle up!”
Finn keeps one hand on the wheel, but lets Bea steer it, her foot pressed over his on the accelerator. “He’s right there!” Finn shouts, squeezing her tight.
“Get him!” Bea shrieks, whipping the steering wheel so they swerve toward Poe, who puts his hands up as they ram into him. He hasn’t stopped laughing since the ride actually started up and he’d pointed two fingers at them in a clear you’re going down. Bea’s been focusing on chasing him, and opportunistically smashing them into the teenagers when she gets a chance.
“I see how it is,” Poe calls over to Finn as they bounce away. He whips his little car around with way more accuracy than a bumper car should possess and, laughing breathless and loud under the music, jolts after them. Bea yelps and tries to get away, but Poe is too fast and manages to catch them in a corner, slamming into their blue car on Finn’s side with delighted, victorious yell. Finn closes his arms around Bea, keeping her from hitting the back of the seat even though she’s already leaning forward to chase after Poe.
“Mean! Cheater!” Bea calls out, and whips them around again to chase a taunting Poe across the arena.
“All’s fair in love and bumper cars, baby!” He calls over his shoulder, and neatly sideswipes a teenaged couple driving together.
Finn lets Bea drive, his eyes straying to Poe, watching his hair bounce whenever he’s hit or hits someone else. His heart swells. There’s a part of him that can’t quite believe that this is real. That he’s included in this. They feel like a family again, but now it’s one he has permission to be a part of, one where Poe and Bea want him there.
He’s brought back to himself when Bea slams their car into Poe’s again , sending him spinning away laughing. “You’re going down, buddy,” he calls over his shoulder, does a U-turn that doesn’t look possible, and pins Bea and Finn into a corner again in one smooth move.
Then the ride shuts down, leaving Poe grinning brightly at them. “Think that means I win.”
Finn groans and helps Bea untangle herself from the seatbelt. “I think he might be right.”
“Rematch!” Bea demands, and stands up on the seat to clamber out of the car. Poe gets up at a much more sedate pace, slowly unfolding himself to get free.
“You sure, baby? ‘Cause I think,” he glances up at Finn, “I think I saw a sign for funnel cake.”
Finn brightens up instantly, his hands landing on Bea’s shoulders. “I love funnel cake,” he breathes, edging closer to Poe.
Laughing, Poe leads them all out of the ride, throwing his hands up once they get back into the sunlight to stretch. The ride’s music starts up again behind them as the operator shuffles in a new batch of people, and vague thrilled screams echo overhead from one of the looping rides. Poe leans briefly into Finn’s shoulder, patient and warm and smiling.
“What d’you think, Bea—" he starts to say, but she interrupts him with a gleeful cry of “Funnel cake!”
Following her arm, pointing at a bright stall that smells like heaven and fried dough, Finn's mouth starts to water. “Funnel cake first,” he says, staring at the attendant as she hands someone a bright cake dusted with fine powdered sugar. “Then more rides.”
“I like the way you think,” Poe tells him, laughing, and tugs Bea close to lead them over through the dusty field. She curls her other hand into Finn’s to tug him after her. The sun is just starting to really warm everything up, pushing out thin noon shadows underneath them as they walk. Stands are scattered everywhere between the rides, selling so many colorful things it’s hard to keep track of them all. Finn sees a giant neon panda, a small army of Pikachu toys, and what looks like stuffed emoji plushes just on the way over to the funnel cake stand. There’s no rhyme or reason to the way they stands are laid out, like massive gilded mushrooms sprouting up at random out of the grass.
The closer they get, the sweeter the air smells, until Bea is practically bouncing at Finn’s side, skipping ahead until Finn tugs her back.
“They have— they have chocolate!” Bea gasps, and whirls around to walk backwards with wide round eyes. “Dad, can I get chocolate on mine? And strawberries?”
“You can get strawberries,” Poe tells her, smiling. “You had cocoa puffs this morning, that’s enough chocolate. What do you want?” He brushes his knuckles soft against Finn’s hand.
“I can buy my own,” Finn says, caught suddenly in Poe’s eyes. It takes him a second to pull himself out of them and their deep, soft brown. He wants to kiss Poe, but they’re in public and Bea right in front of them, bouncing along and somehow not tripping . Aside from the park, they’ve only ever kissed in Poe’s house or Finn’s apartment. It feels like a step he’s not sure he can make.
Poe snorts at him and waves a hand, already tugging his wallet free from his jeans. “No way. This is a date, and that means I get to buy your fried stuff for you. Think I’ll just go classic. Powdered sugar.”
"Okay,” Finn smiles, swaying a little closer to him, “yeah. I’ll get the same then.”
“You know you can get more,” Poe offers quietly. Finn slips his hand into Poe’s, feeling light and easy. Everything Poe does makes him feel how he never really has. He notices things, he remembers things, and he can bring a smile to Finn’s lips with just a look.
“That’s really all I want,” Finn answers quietly. Poe smiles softly back at him and squeezes his hand.
“Keeping it simple, huh?”
Poe is so close. It would be so easy, a soft press of lips on lips. Instead, he breathes with his eyes on Poe’s mouth, “yeah.”
And then, just as Poe’s eyes flick down to Finn’s lips, too, it’s their turn in line and Bea bounces up to the window, puts her hands on the counter, and demands, “A cake with strawberries!”
“Manners, mija,” Poe says quietly. Bea blinks, then stretches up on her toes.
“Can I get a cake with strawberries?” She tries, looks back at Finn who nods to her to continue, and then looks back at the boy. “Please?”
Poe beams. It crinkles the corners of his eyes. “Better. Hers, and two regular ones, please.”
Sugar sticks to Finn's fingers as he futilely tries to wipe them off on a napkin. The cake sits in his stomach uncomfortably, but he can’t bring himself to regret it, not when the funnel cake is fresh and warm and the sugar is sweet on his lips. Poe finished with his in about four seconds, smearing powdered sugar all over his mouth. Now he leans back on the bench with a content smile and a bit of sugar sticking to his lips, watching Finn and Bea finish theirs off. Red juice trails down Bea’s chin. Poe has collected a small army of napkins for her at his side.
His eyes, though.
His eyes are on Finn.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah.” Poe’s voice is very quiet. The pads of his fingers trail from Finn’s cheek to his temple to the back of his skull, tugging a bit until he’s closer. “Got a little more,” he says, meeting Finn’s eyes. For a moment, he hesitates—there’s sugar still at the corner of his mouth, smeared a bit across his bottom lip—and then Poe smiles and leans into kiss him, soft and sweet. Finn freezes, still under Poe’s lips for a second. Bea sits right across from them, can see them. In fact, Finn can feel her eyes on him and he almost looks over, but if Poe is kissing him in front of her, then he must be okay with her seeing. He must have accepted this part of their relationship, and Bea may have as well. Slowly, he relaxes and presses into the kiss.
Poe is smiling. He slides one hand slow up Finn’s arm, pulling him closer for a few seconds before he pulls back to laugh breathlessly, and pushes another wet kiss to the corner of Finn’s mouth. “Got it.”
Finn snorts and shoves at him, face burning. He avoids Bea’s eyes. “You just want more sugar. I saw how fast you ate yours.”
“Rude,” Poe snorts, but his eyes are glittering and he ducks into kiss Finn one more time, quickly before Finn can do anything about it. “Only honorable intentions. First date, y’know.”
Finn ducks away from Poe even as he grips his thigh tight under the table. Bea stares at them, brows knitted, strawberry juice sliding down her chin. Guilt curls in Finn’s gut. He nods at her with a slight jerk of his chin. Poe’s eyes follow his motion over to Bea. She stares unblinkingly back.
Poe bites at his lip. “Baby, I told you this was a date with Mr. Finn, right?”
Bea swallows her last bite of funnel cake. “No.”
“Oh.” Poe shifts a little closer. “This is a date. That alright with you?”
Bea narrows her eyes. There’s strawberry juice on her shirt. Neither she nor Poe seem to notice. “Is it a date with me, too?”
Poe’s brows lift. He glances at Finn with amusement crinkled in the lines at the corners of his eyes. “I dunno. Finn, you on a date with Bea, too?”
“Uh,” Finn looks between them and swallows. Their identical eyes stare back at him, Poe’s amused, Bea’s serious. “A different kinda date, but, yeah.” He smiles a little, reaching out a hand for Bea. “I gotta impress you too if I’m gonna date your dad.”
“Impress me?” Bea repeats. She curls sticky fingers into his and scoots closer. “You’re gonna have to work pretty hard to impress me.”
On Finn’s other side, Poe snorts and drops his head, shoving one hand over his mouth.
“Yeah?” Finn squeezes Poe’s thigh harder, but aside from that he stays completely focused on Bea. “What would impress you?”
Bea lifts her head, pretending to think for a long minute with exaggerated hmmm noises that have Poe slowly cracking up behind his palm.
“More funnel cake,” she finally announces.
“That’s not really my call,” Finn says seriously. He lets go of Poe to start cleaning off Bea’s hands with the mountain of napkins. Bea spreads her fingers to help, humming happily.
“Then I guess you can’t impress me.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” Finn shakes his head and reaches up to wipe the juice off her face. “I really wanted you to like me.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Poe says, grinning. He shoves himself up from the bench to kneel down in front of Bea with a few more napkins, which he swipes ineffectually over the strawberry juice on her shirt. “She really likes you. Right?”
Giggling, Bea turns her face so Finn can’t get to the other side. “No!”
“Y’know, if you’re okay with me dating Poe, then I can cook for you more often,” he points out with a quirking smile. Bea pauses in her struggle to make his task harder.
“Can you make good macaroni ‘n cheese?”
“The best,” Poe tells her, and gently wipes the last bit of juice off her chin. “And I’m not just saying that.”
Finn shrugs and sits back on the bench. “Guess you’ll never get to taste it.”
“I wanna taste it!” Bea gasps, and Poe laughs and nudges her toward Finn.
“Better give him your blessing, then. Is that gonna be alright? For macaroni?”
For a second, Bea just stares up at Finn with those wide dark eyes of hers.
Then she nods. “For macaroni.”
Smiling gently, Finn squeezes her arm. “Thank you.”
Poe smiles up at them both and leans in to smear a kiss over Bea’s cheek until she shrieks and squirms away. “We’ll talk about it tonight, alright?”
“Kay,” Bea agrees easily, and bounces up. “Can we play a game?”
They wander from game to game, Poe explaining to the both of them what each one is as the attendants call out to them. Poe holds onto Finn the entire time, letting Bea and Finn veto game after game until they find one that involves shooting at little duck-shaped targets. There's a giant dolphin hanging from the ceiling of the stall and Bea stops in her tracks, staring up at it. Finn tugs Poe back to stand behind her, a smile soft on his lips.
“You need to complete your mammal collection, right?”
Bea nods furiously. She’s utterly transfixed by the dolphin, and by the giant stuffed shark dangling beside it with its plush jaws locked open in a silent snarl.
Poe lets go of Finn’s hand to curl an arm into his instead, tugging him close. “You ever play one of these?”
Finn shakes his head, eyeing the guns resting on the table. “Nah. Didn’t get to play these kinda games much."
“Not even as a kid?” Poe tugs at him until Finn looks at him for a second. His eyes are wide and incredulous.
“Nope,” Finn picks up one of the guns and hefts it a little. He looks at the woman running the game . She sways a little to the frantic music spilling from unseen speakers . “How many ducks to get the dolphin?”
She barely even looks at him. “T en, unless you get all five in a row. It’s five bucks for five shots ,” she drawls and vaguely gestures toward the stuffed animal prizes.
Poe leans over his shoulder and smiles. “You wa nna give it a shot?”
Finn stares at him for a second, then elbows him in the gut. “Just for that, you’re going first.”
He holds the gun out for Poe, digging in his pocket for his wallet. Poe flashes him a smile, wraps his fingers around the toy, and aims it right at Finn’s heart.
“Bang,” he says, and both he and Bea burst into ridiculous giggles until the girl behind the counter starts to cough and Poe has to compose himself. "Alright, alright,” he waves the gun a bit and saunters up to the counter, leaning one hip on it with a lazy smile. “I’m not promising all five, but I’m not bad,” he warns the girl, who looks appropriately interested for about three seconds. Bea bounces up and down.
“I’m gonna name it Dolphie! Or Sharkapus! Dad, I want the shark, it has teeth!”
Finn laughs and slips a five across the table. “You can do it, Poe. Do it for Sharkapus.”
Poe’s laughter echoes through the booth as the girl starts the game up and the frantic music ratchets up in pitch. Machinery clatters and whirs, shaking the entire booth and all the stuffed animals for a second as ducks start to rotate jerkily across their little platforms. “You get five shots. Only counts as a hit if you knock it over,” she recites in a monotone. Poe grins, hefts the gun, and winks over at Finn.
Poe gets three of the taunting yellow ducks: two on the top, one on the bottom. When he misses the last one, he throws his hands up and laughs good-naturedly as he hands the gun back to the attendant.
“Do I get anything for three?”
The girl lifts a brow, reaches up, and plucks a tiny stuffed fish. Poe blinks bemusedly at it, then whirls and presents it to Finn with a flourish. “For you.”
Finn stares down at it, warmth blossoming in his chest. He takes it with a laugh, petting over its soft fur. Eyes bright, he very quickly presses a kiss to Poe’s cheek. “Thanks.”
“I guess technically you got it for you,” Poe turns his face and steals a proper kiss, quick and sweet through his smile. “Those things are pretty hard to hit.”
“Let’s see,” Finn takes out a ten from his wallet and hands it to the girl. With a wink at Bea, he picks up the same gun Poe used and levels it with the ducks. The game turns back on, tinny music spilling cheerfully from the speakers. Bea perches her elbows on the table to watch, tapping her toes on the ground.
Leveling the gun, finger on the trigger, Finn sights the first duck and fires ,knocking it back with a plastic bullet straight in its heart. It’s just like target practice with the ROTC, only smaller.
And, well, ducks.
He gets the second one, to his left, hitting it in the head. The third and fourth are in the middle, one high, one low. Bea vibrates excitedly beside him, focused completely on the little ducks. He smiles as the sights the next one.
After that, it's all easy shots, and Finn gets into the rhythm of it. By the time all ten he’s paid for are done, there are no ducks still standing. He lowers the gun and lets out a breath.
The counter girl blinks at the ducks with her mouth open. Poe and Bea are both staring at him instead, wide-eyed, and Poe has a shocked little grin on his face that explodes as he throws his arms out, practically jumping on Finn.
“Finn! That was incredible!”
Finn catches him, arms tight around Poe’s waist, face pressing into Poe’s shoulder. His heart flutters erratically and being encompassed by Poe’s scent doesn’t help. “I was the best shot in my class,” he mumbles into Poe’s flannel shirt. Laughing, Poe pushes a few kisses to his ear where he can reach, squeezing Finn close.
“Damn,” he breathes, soft and impressed.
Thoroughly embarrassed, but with a pleasant heat rising in his cheeks, he pulls back, one arm still around Poe. The stall girl gives them a strange look, half a grimace, half something else.
“I think that means I can have both?” Finn asks, pointing up at the shark and the dolphin.
The girl rolls her eyes. Pressed to Finn’s side, flushed and warm and clutching tightly to him, Poe beams.
Bea dances down the path with a sea creature under each arm, a giant grin on her face. They’re both nearly as big as she is. Finn leans closer to Poe, their hands locked together, “was that bad? Getting her both?”
“Bad?” Poe echoes, grinning wide. “How can that be bad? That was like, the coolest thing. Ever.”
“Okay,” Finn smiles, ducking his head against Poe’s shoulder. “I dunno. Don’t want to contribute to her getting spoiled or anything.”
With a soft smile of his own, Poe leans in and pushes a kiss to Finn’s temple, lingering there for a moment. Bea chatters excitedly to no one in particular about where the stuffed animals are going to go in her room (above her bed, maybe, or on her bed like pillows, or under her lamp to read with her, or—)
“She deserves a little spoiling right now,” Poe murmurs. His eyes are soft as he watches her spin around with both animals stuffed under her arms. He kisses Finn’s cheek. “It’s, uh. Awesome that you’re thinking about that.”
“Yeah. I guess she does,” Finn murmurs, watching her as she looks back at them. “So d’you, you know.”
Poe laughs. “What, deserve to be spoiled? Gonna earn me another giant stuffed animal? Monkeys are pretty great, for the record.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of our just-us date,” Finn says quietly. “I think. Yeah. Let me plan it.”
“Oh,” Poe says, a little quieter, and ducks his head to hide the rapidly-growing smile crinkling up his eyes and nose. “You sure? I have a couple ideas. Places you’d like.”
“We can have more than one,” smiling, Finn pauses where Bea is, in front of the teacup ride.
Bea whirls around, animals in arm, and marches back to them just as Poe mumbles, still pink-cheeked, “Right, definitely—"
“Dad!” Poe glances at her.
“What’s up, baby? You wanna ride the teacups?”
She thrusts both animals out toward him at once. It involves a whole-body arch to get them both facing Poe, and he grins down at her.
“What? Am I holding these for you? They don’t want to go on the ride with you?”
“I want to go with Finn,” she informs him seriously, and wriggles both creatures. “And they don’t want to ride, so you have to hold them.”
“I’m sensing a pattern here,” Poe says dryly, though he’s already inching closer to take the animals. “I thought I got you on the next one.”
Bea shakes her head. “You can have me on the one after. C’mon, you have to babysit them! They need a dad!”
“They are a little young to ride,” Finn says seriously. He lets go of Poe’s hand and moves next to Bea, a hand gentle on her shoulder. “This one?”
“Yup!” Bea wriggles the animals again until Poe concedes with a laugh and hefts them both into his arms. He looks ridiculous with them piled on top of each other, barely peeking over the top of the pile of fake fur.
“Go easy on Finn, alright?”
“I will!” Bea's already dragging Finn toward the ramp. “Come on, come on!”
Finn looks back at Poe with an apologetic smile before following her, up the ramp and into an orange teacup with a purple trim. She tugs him down so he’s sitting across from her, her arms folded on the wheel in the middle. The ride rumbles patiently under them, waiting for a few people to filter on.
“Hey,” Finn smiles, his hands loose on the wheel. Her eyes narrow a little. Slowly, creaking, the ride starts to move. Bea doesn’t even appear to notice except to cling to the wheel and lean toward him.
“Are you gonna leave again?”
Finn stares at her for a second. He swallows. “I don’t want to leave again,” he says honestly.
Slowly the teacup picks up speed, timed to the music and a few flashing lights around the edges of the ride. It’s clearly harder for Bea to keep her face serious and straight with it swinging around. She fights a smile. “Why did you the first time?”
Finn never thought he’d have a serious conversation with an eight-year-old on a spinny ride. He fights to keep his eyes on her while the rest of the world spins around them. The truth bubbles to his lips before he can think better of it. “I wanted to date your dad, but he couldn’t, then.”
Bea glances out at the other riders—only a few other teacups are spinning—and turns back to Finn, still fighting her grin. She doesn’t even seem to notice when they suddenly whirl around. “Why not?”
“He couldn’t,” Finn starts, but then they swing around and he grabs onto the wheel tightly. That makes them start spinning in a tighter circle, his weight pulling them around. Bea shrieks with sudden, bright laughter and clings to the wheel with all her strength and then they're whirling going faster than anyone else on the ride. Bea's laughter echoes loud even over the whine of the engine.
“You already,” she starts, trying to talk through her laughter, “said that and yes he could, he asked me about it,” they spin again, which sends her into another stream of giggles.
“He did?” Finn asks, trying to stay with the conversation, but her laughter is contagious. He can feel a grin spreading over his face, and he tugs on the wheel to push them even faster. The force of it sends Bea tumbling into his side, still laughing. She tries to push herself up, fails under the weight of the spinning cup, and gives up with a snort.
“Yeah!” she says, craning her head back so she can still stare at Finn. The music swells up under her voice. “He asked if it’d be okay, and I said it was, and I think it is but you can’t leave again!”
Finn wraps an arm around her, asking as quietly as he can to be heard over the music, “when did he ask you that?”
“Um,” she has to think for a second, “I think when he asked if it was okay if you came with us for Christmas.” Bea curls a little closer to him.
Letting go of the wheel, Finn hugs her close, resting his head on hers. “Wish I’d come with you. Promise I won’t leave unless, I dunno, something happens with me and your dad. But, Bea,” he shifts up a little, his head spinning with the teacup. “You get a say in this too, okay? If you don’t want me around, you can say something.”
“I want you around!” Bea insists with a frown. The teacup is slowing down a little. Bea twists to look at the other ones, then whips back around to tug at their wheel again. “As long as you’re nice to dad. Mom wasn’t.”
“I will be,” Finn smiles, letting her run the wheel. He leans back, his head spinning. “I love your dad.”
Bea narrows her eyes at him. “You do?”
“Yeah,” Finn squeezes his eyes closed, shutting out her suspicious gaze, dizziness pressing down on his temples.
A second later, Bea is pressing into his side again, ignoring the wheel as they whirl around. “Good,” she says softly, and laughs as the ride suddenly switches directions and starts to speed up again. “I love him too!”
“I know you do,” Finn laughs, his arms closing around her again. “Thanks for your blessing, Bea-Bea.”
“I didn’t bless anything!” She protests as their teacup whirls madly to one side. Everything is a blur of color and sound, and Poe is just visible every couple seconds as they turn past him, overstuffed with the two animals Finn won and laughing at them both before he’s gone again.
“Ugh,” Finn grips the teacup tightly, praying that the ride ends soon. “No, you, you did. Right?”
“Nope!” Bea shouts gleefully into the air, and throws both arms up as they spin faster, almost hitting Finn in the face. She stays there, laughing and screaming, until they finally, mercifully, start to slow down again. Then she wriggles away, apparently not dizzy at all, and levels Finn with another serious look. “When you stopped coming over Dad was really sad even though he pretended he wasn’t, and I was really sad too. And you’re the only person that dad has ever even asked me about, because before that he just said I was all he needed but I think that isn’t true.”
Finn tries to take in everything she’s saying, his ears ringing painfully. His stomach roils, but he manages to stay still and finally focus his gaze on her. He’s glad when the ride comes to a stop. “I made a mistake,” he says quietly. “I should have talked to your dad about, about everything. I didn’t and I left you both and I made you sad. I’m sorry that I did that. I want to be here, now, with both of you. Will you forgive me?”
Bea bites at her lip.
For a moment she looks so much like her father it’s like seeing Poe in miniature.
When she grins at him and bounces up, it’s even clearer. “Yup! I wanna go on the rollercoaster.” Bea squints at him and sticks out her hand. “Are you okay? You look kinda dizzy.”
“Just need a minute,” he says, letting her pull him up to his feet. He leans on her shoulders, waiting for the ground to settle under him. “Thanks.”
“Finn doesn’t like spinny rides! Finn doesn’t wanna spin,” Bea announces to Poe as soon as they’re down off the ride, and the ground has mostly settled under them. She bounces on the balls of her feet, giggling at her own joke like she wasn’t even on the same ride as Finn. “So you have go with me next time. Can we do the rollercoaster now?”
Poe’s shoulder is more solid under him when Finn leans against his side, head resting next to Poe’s. “I’ll hang out with Sharkapus,” Finn offers weakly.
“Someone’s gotta keep him company,” Poe agrees with an easy smile. He loops a supportive arm around Finn’s waist, keeping him upright. “Bea, go easy on him, alright?”
Bea just laughs and goes back to clinging to her stuffed animals.
Poe turns his head until his lips brush the shell of Finn’s ear. “You okay?”
Finn makes a soft affirmative noise, fingers gripping Poe’s shoulder. “Bea forgave me.”
Poe’s breath puffs warm and damp over his skin. “Forgave you for what?”
"For Christmas,” Finn says, holding him closer for a second. “But I had to promise not to leave you again. So I guess you’re stuck with me.”
“Oh no,” Poe drawls, laughter in his voice. “That’s just unfair.”
Laughing softly, Finn noses against his cheek. “Knew you’d hate that.”
With a grin, Poe tugs him closer and turns so he’s pressed up against Finn, wrapped all around him with his hands spread flat on Finn’s back. His eyes glitter, and his voice is low when he says, “What am I gonna do?”
He leans in, very close, and his breath fans hot over Finn’s lips. His eyes are very dark. Finn swallows and leans in to steal a kiss.
Poe sucks in a sharp breath, a little half-smile curving his mouth. “I can do that.”
Finn lets out a breath and matches his smile, resting his head on Poe’s. It’s unlikely that Poe would have said no, unless he really did want to take this slow, but every touch teases Finn’s skin and he needs to feel Poe’s mouth on him again, feel his skin stretch over strong muscles. “Can’t wait.”
Poe grins and leans in, just a soft brush of lips on lips, and lets him go to reach out for Bea’s hand. “Rollercoaster?”
Sharkapus and Dolphie are surprisingly good (and massive) company, sitting with Finn while Poe and Bea ride what seems like every ride at the fair. Once, he and Poe are squished together in a rollercoaster cart, Bea in front of them with her arms in the air. Even after all the time they spent together in that one month, touching Poe still makes him want more, still sets fire to all his nerves when they brush together. Finn yells as loud as both of them as they careen down the path, and Poe looks thrilled and rides it again by himself with his hair streaming behind him and a massive smile on his face.
“I love this stuff,” he tells Finn when he gets off again. His cheeks are flushed and his eyes are bright with adrenaline. “Like flying. Closest thing.”
Finn links their hands again, Dolphie sandwiched between them against Poe’s side. “Think you’ll ever get back in the air?”
“I hope so,” Poe says, wistful, and squeezes his fingers. “I really miss it. Was gonna join the Air Force, once.”
“Yeah? What stopped you?” Finn asks softly, keeping one eye on Bea who skips a few feet in front of them.
Poe snorts and jerks his head at Bea. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I don’t resent anything about it. It would’ve been great, but.” He smiles softly at Bea’s bouncing head, at the tiny little song she’s making up under her breath. She’s a constant whirlwind of noise, like a fair ride contained in one tiny, energetic person, getting less tiny before Finn’s eyes. “Then I wouldn’t have her and I wouldn’t’ve met you. I was in the process of enrolling when Alicia showed up at my door.”
“Wish you could’ve had both,” Finn leans over to kiss his cheek. Smiling, Poe turns to catch him in a proper kiss, stopping just long enough to draw it out , soft and sweet.
“Thanks,” he breathes. “But I’m pretty damn happy.”
Heat creeps up Finn’s cheeks . His laughter pushes into the damp space between their lips. “Me too.”
Eventually Bea does wear down. It’s getting close to evening. The shadows of the rides stretch out long and cool over the grass. Poe tugs her against his side, glances at Finn, and says, quiet, “Why don’t we go on the ferris wheel and then head home for dinner, huh?”
“Yeah,” Finn breathes, eyes locking with Poe’s. Even to just sleep in Poe’s bed again, with Poe wrapped around him, nosing against his shoulder like he did each night when Finn lived with him, even that would be perfect.
Bea’s so tired that all she does is nod and lean into Poe’s side as they make their way through the line, though she perks up a little when they climb up the steps to get into a bright pink cart. She wants a bench to herself, but the cart lists dangerously with Finn and Poe tucked together on one bench. Laughing quietly, Poe has to tug her onto his lap instead, sitting across from Finn with a soft smile. He wastes no time stretching out to tangle his feet with Finn’s as the ride, glowing bright and colorful in the growing darkness, lurches into motion and tugs them slowly upwards. Crickets chirp in the field below in time with bright little fireflies winking just above the grass. Bea gasps when she sees them and twists in Poe’s arms with an awed “ Look!”
Poe smiles and kisses her cheek. She doesn’t even protest.
They stop right at the top.
Bea squirms away just enough to look over the edge with Poe’s arm secure around her waist.
“Can you see our house?” He asks softly, and points it out over a copse of trees when Bea doesn’t see it. A fe w thin stars wink overhead.
“Where is it?” Finn asks quietly, nudging Bea’s calf with his toe.
“Over those trees,” Bea says happily, and clambers over to the other side of the cart to stand on her knees next to Finn, peering off in the other direction. She turns to Finn. “Is that the town behind us all glittery?”
“Nah,” Finn says, his fingers trailing down her back. “It’s the Christmas village. But you can only see it from here.”
Bea’s eyes go wide and then narrow in the span of a second. “…no it’s not!” Poe shoves a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Finn glances at him, but then looks seriously back at Bea.
“No, I mean it. But it’s a secret. You can keep a secret, right?”
Her mouth drops open. Her head whips around so fast it shakes the cart. “I can keep a secret!”
“Good. ‘Cause the Christmas village has to stay secret so the elves can make toys for Christmas,” Finn nods at her, his arm secure around her waist.
“Wow,” Bea whispers, awe-struck, and leans as far out as Finn will let her.
The sun rides low on the horizon, rose-gold at the end of the day that fades quickly into a soft, deep blue. It lines the edges of Poe’s hair as he smiles at Finn.
“Thanks for coming with us today,” he says softly.
“Of course,” Finn reaches out one hand for him, “thanks for taking me. Best date I’ve had in… a long time.” Poe’s smile quirks up as he tangles their fingers together. Bea’s head is pillowed on Finn’s shoulder.
“Yeah?” Poe squeezes his hand. “Me too. Guess we’ll just have to do it again.”
“Next weekend?” Finn asks hopefully. Poe laughs and slides his foot up Finn’s calf.
“Next weekend. You know, I actually,” he swallows, and glances away. “Never actually went on a date like this one.”
“That was all you,” Finn says, then tacks on with a wink, “.” Poe’s mouth drops open for a few startled, silent seconds.
He bursts into laughter, throwing his head back.
They lurch slowly, steadily toward the bottom again. Poe’s breathless laughter fills the air. Just as they reach the midpoint Poe darts up out of his seat to lean across and kiss Finn, still laughing. Finn grins against his mouth and brings him in closer. It feels so natural, kissing Poe and holding Bea close. Like the family he always wanted. The cart sways and creaks in protest but Poe stays right where he is, braced against Finn’s bench beside him.
Then someone clears their throat and Poe jerks back, grinning unashamedly despite his pink cheeks. They’re at the bottom, somehow, and being stared down by a very uncomfortable-looking ride operator with his hand still curled around the lever. Bea curls closer into Finn and he hugs her close, hefting her up with him. He smiles at the operator, his face hot.
“Thanks,” he mutters, carrying Bea out of the ride. She mumbles something into his shoulder.
Poe sticks close to him as they walk back toward the edge of the field. Slowly, the bright music and glittering lights fade into the distance.
“I can take her, if you want,” Poe says after a few minutes of walking. “It’s kinda far to the car.”
“That’s okay,” Finn murmurs, hefting Bea in his arms. She’s fast asleep now , still full of food from lunch (pizza and fries and all kinds of other unhealthy things). “We’d wake her up if we traded.” Poe smiles quietly at him, leans in to push a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, and doesn’t stop holding his hand for the whole drive back to the house.
Nerves bubble in Finn’s gut, ever-present and jittery as he sits on the edge of Poe’s bed. It’s the first time he’s been back in Poe’s house since they fought, since Poe asked him to leave. The bed, the mess, the model airplanes. Even the socks Finn forgot here lie untouched next to what was his side of the bed. The room has that slightly musty scent when Poe hasn’t spent enough time here, off at work or, now, with Bea. And it smells like Poe, a musky, heady scent that’s buried itself into Finn’s memory, bringing with it the pleasure he feels in Poe’s arms, and the pain that this house left him with. He rubs his palms on his jeans.
The door to Bea’s room clicks shut .
Finn glances up, his breath caught in his throat.
“That was easy,” Poe says quietly as he ducks into his room and presses the door shut with a soft click. His eyes are on Finn. “You alright?”
“Yeah,” Finn breathes, giving Poe a quick smile. “Just, um, catching up. I really thought this was over and now it’s, it’s just not.”
Poe nods and wanders closer to Finn, though he stays a few feet away. “Take your time,” he says quietly. “Pretty weird, having you back here.” He winces a bit and shifts on his feet, toes curling into the carpet. “Uh. Not in a bad way.”
“Yeah,” he says again. The distance between them feels like a mile, the expression on Poe’s face twisting and sad. Finn reaches out his hand for Poe. Poe’s eyes skitter from the tips of fingers and up until he meets Finn’s eyes.
For a second, Finn’s own nervousness is reflected back at him in soft brown.
Then Poe smiles, brilliant and bright, and curls their fingers together. “I missed you, Finn. So much."
Finn’s own smile is softer, smaller, and he wants to forgive and forget everything that happened before now, but he can’t shake the past, not even with Poe right in front of him, smiling like he’s the most beautiful person in the world. He swallows around a lump in his throat. “I missed you too. I,” he drops his eyes and pulls Poe’s hand toward him, covering it with both of his. “I have to ask you something.” Poe comes after, taking a few quiet steps until he’s standing right in front of Finn. He pauses, bites his lip, and moves to sit down next to him instead.
“Go ahead,” he says, soft and earnest as he meets Finn’s eyes. “Anything.”
It’s the honesty in Poe’s expression that makes Finn believe that this can work. That he isn’t about to make yet another mistake with this relationship. He takes a breath and looks down at their hands, fingers tangled together on the rumpled duvet. “I want,” he starts, then shakes his head, forcing himself to meet Poe’s eyes again. “No, I need you to tell me what you’re thinking. Especially when it has to do with me and what you think I want. I don’t want to have to guess or for you to guess and end up, well, like before. I’m serious about this, about you and Bea and trying to make this work, and I know this isn’t a first date kind of talk but this is a big deal, at least to me. I,” he stops himself there and takes a quick breath that fills his throat uncomfortably, “can you promise me that?”
For a while, it’s just their breath between them. Poe is silent, and that’s a little strange, because Poe is usually a fountain of words like his daughter, like a whirlwind of motion and energy.
Now, though, he sits and lets his hands rest in Finn’s and watches him, biting thoughtfully at the corner of his mouth.
When he finally does say something, his words are slow and even, and his eyes never leave Finn’s. “I dunno. I can,” he pauses, sucks in a steadying breath. “I can’t promise that I’ll get it right, at first, but I can promise that I’ll try my hardest not to make you guess about anything. You said yourself. It’s not… gonna be perfect,” and his eyes flick down, eyelashes dipping to brush the tops of his cheeks. “I’m pretty damn far from it, and you probably know all the reasons why, by now. But you,” he glances back up, and all his face is full of feeling, in the lines around his eyes and the soft nervous curve of his mouth and the shiny bit at the corner where he keeps biting over and over, pulling his lip between his teeth. “You’re worth everything, Finn. I hope you know that.”
It’s nearly impossible to stop himself from kissing Poe, but he holds himself back, the nerves slowly receding into the blossoming happiness that’s threatened to overtake his good judgement. Instead, he takes a breath and nods with a tiny smile. “I do now. And that’s really all I can ask. Is to try.”
“Every damn day,” Poe swears immediately, and tightens his fingers. “As long as you’ll give me the chance to.”
“Hey,” Finn leans in enough to rest his forehead on Poe’s, “I’m not saying I’m perfect either. I just. Want you to try. I’ll try too. I’ll try really hard because I love you and I don’t wanna imagine my life without you in it.”
Poe smiles softly. “I love you. So much. I,” he sucks in another soft breath, “I’m sorry that you even have to ask that. I’m not just feeling sorry for myself, but I don’t think I said it enough. I should’ve at least told you why I made you leave, but I was so caught up in my own shit that I freaked out, and you suffered a lot for it.”
Finn can barely breathe, Poe’s words washing over him and it takes him a minute for him to comprehend them. He knows, intellectually, that Poe loves him, or else none of this would be happening. But hearing the words on Poe’s lips, pressed soft between them, like a secret just for them, is so much more real. His voice is ragged when he says, “I love you. And it. It’s not fine, but it’s done and that’s okay. We made mistakes. Let’s just not, not repeat them, okay?”
“Okay,” Poe murmurs, and pushes a soft, tentative kiss against his cheek, just at the corner of his lips. “I wanna say, let’s give it a shot,” he smiles, and his nose bumps into Finn’s and he smiles wider, “but I’m planning to give it a hell of a lot more than that. Like, a whole army’s worth of shots.”
Finn blinks at him, then snorts a laugh. “Yeah, okay. I’ll take your army.” Finn rubs his thumb over Poe’s hand and, eyes flicking over his face, finally seals their lips together in a soft kiss. Poe makes a soft, breathless sound and turns his entire body into Finn’s, letting go of his hand just to reach up and smooth his thumb over Finn’s cheek. A shiver runs down Finn’s spine and he leans into the touch, his hands dropping to Poe’s thighs, gripping tight. The tense desire that’s underplayed every single touch they’ve shared in the past few weeks snaps like fine thread. With a soft groan, Finn pushes closer, his lips parting, tongue pressing against Poe’s lips.
Poe breathes his name, sharp and soft, and curves his thumb over Finn’s temple and lets his lips part all at once, leaning into him with a tiny groan trapped somewhere low in his throat. He tugs Finn’s lower lip between his teeth, nipping soft and sharp and sliding closer until they’re pressed flush and twisted to fit together, side-by-side. Finn gasps and pushes himself forward, hooking a knee on the bed. Each place Poe touches him feels like sparks trail from his lips and fingers, tingling against Finn’s skin. “Love you,” he breathes again, then one more time for good measure, his hands sliding up Poe’s sides.
“Love you too,” Poe gasps against his mouth, and pushes even closer like he can’t help himself. H is other hand slides up Finn’s arm to brace on his shoulder. It gives him just enough leverage to shove himself up so he can straddle Finn, tilt his head, and slide his tongue along the seam of Finn’s mouth.
A needy groan presses into the damp space between their mouths. Finn thinks it might be his. He palms Poe’s ass, pulling him flush against Finn’s body. He sucks on Poe’s tongue and forgets everything except for the words Poe said. They’re the ones that matter. They’re not need, not necessity anymore. They’re words that mean love, real love that can grow between them like wildflowers spreading over everything, through every aspect of their lives. Finn thinks that, finally, their love might be enough.
“Bea told me,” he starts, words pushed against Poe’s mouth, “she told me you asked her, about me, at Christmas.”
“What?” Poe gasps, breathless, and slides a few wet kisses up Finn’s jaw to his ear until the words sink in and he pulls back, flushed and dark-eyed and still braced on Finn’s shoulder. “Oh—she told you about that? When?”
“Teacups,” Finn smiles, leaning back on his elbows. “God, Poe. If I’d known that you wanted to, y’know, be with me all the way back at Christmas. We could have avoided so much of this shit. I wish I’d asked.”
“I wish I’d told you,” Poe breathes. His eyes flick rapidly over Finn’s face for a second before he settles back on his heels, braced on Finn’s shoulders. “ ” he pushes another kiss to the shell of Finn’s ear, nips at the sensitive skin until Finn groans and clutches at him. “You’re amazing.”
A breath bursts from Finn’s lips and he collapses back on the bed, dragging Poe’s shirt up his back. “Then we have a lot to make up for,” he grins. Poe pushes back into his hands and scrapes a few biting kisses down the column of his throat, pressed down hard along Finn’s body.
“Thanks. For today,” Finn manages to say even as he struggles with Poe’s shirt, the flannel hot under his hands. “I really. Loved it. Love hanging out with you and Bea and Sharkapus. And the dolphin, I guess. Shark is better. Guess you really convinced me there. Y’know,” he smiles, tilting his head to look at Poe, “’m not really that scared of sharks.”
“ What ,” Poe gasps in mock horror, shoving one hand into the bed so he can shove himself up over Finn. “Finn. Buddy. I said I would punch a shark for you, and you’re telling me you don’t even need me to do that?”
“I’d love if you did that,” Finn grins and works his hands in to Poe’s hair again , “And it worked. Y’know, you’re a sucker for taking care of people.”
“Are you really telling me this right now?” Poe snorts, and drops back down on his elbow until their lips barely brush together. “After basically holding me together for a month? Thanks for that, by the way. I don’t think I ever said that. I don’t want you doing it again, but I appreciate you staying so close that whole time. Kept me sane. Mostly.”
Finn brushes a soft kiss over his lips with a slight smile. “You’re welcome. But I. I meant it, the whole thing. I’m still so, so stupidly in love with you. Letting you go, twice, was horrible.”
Poe sucks in a very sharp breath and kisses him harder, letting his arm drop around Finn’s waist. He tugs until Finn is pressed against him and their legs are tangled together. Poe’s lips are soft and easy on his, and he still tastes a little like sugar from their second, shared funnel cake as the kisses trail into two and then three, and Poe gasps, “God, I love you so much.”
A deep, low sound builds in Finn’s chest. His arms clench around Poe, heat and tension burning through his gut. Suddenly, he can’t get enough air, but he can’t stop kissing Poe either, wrapped around him with arms and legs and too much cloth between their bodies. Poe isn’t making it any easier, sucking Finn’s lip into his mouth and nipping at it with sharp teeth, shoving his thigh in between Finn’s legs to get as close as he possibly can. Poe gasps something that tries for a second to be words, but trails into a sharp groan.
As soon as the moment breaks, Finn grabs at Poe’s shirt again, pulling it up his back. He sucks on Poe’s tongue, barely moving away enough to bare his stomach. Poe shivers against him, a full-body thing that shakes through Finn’s hands. Groaning into Finn’s mouth, Poe winds fingers into the back of his shirt to tug there, too, pushing ineffectually at the fabric.
Impatience gets the better of Finn. He grabs at the front of Poe’s flannel, unbuttoning it just enough to shove the fabric down his arms. He breaks the kiss to trail his mouth over Poe’s arching throat and down his chest, hands sliding down to his jeans. Poe’s arms are stuck behind him, trapped in his shirt. He whines a little in his throat and presses up into Finn’s mouth as he slips down. “Holy shit,” he breathes out sharply as Finn’s teeth scrape over his nipple. “Finn, god, we should—”
“What?” Finn asks, moving Poe’s belt out of the way to press into his pants, a hand cupping around his cock. He pauses there for a second, breathing heavily against Poe’s chest.
“Talk about this, or something,” Poe mumbles, and throws his head back with another low groan. His hips twitch up against Finn’s palm. “You’re gonna kill me.”
Poe makes a frustrated sound and lifts his head. His eyes are very, very dark.
“Didn’t have a particular topic in mind,” he drawls, breathless. “No, just, this okay? Doing this again? You just said you were adjusting, is all,” he shifts a little, still trapped in the sleeves of his shirt. “Just wanna make sure it’s okay.”
Finn stares at him, then swallows with a firm nod. “It’s okay. Probably stupid and way too fast, but, fuck Poe. You love me. I love you. We've done everything wrong and I still want you. Do you, do you want this? If not, that’s okay. Really.” With a breathless laugh, Poe drags his foot up Finn’s calf, pressing him back down again.
“We really have done everything wrong, huh,” he mumbles, and shoves himself up just enough to smear a kiss over Finn’s jaw. “How’d I get so lucky? Get back down here, ‘m stuck.”
Laughing, Finn follows him, sliding his shirt the rest of the way off his arms to drop on the floor behind him. Finn holds his gaze, firm and bright as he trails his hands down Poe’s chest. Poe’s eyes stay locked on his face, bright and warm and full of affection. He wraps both arms around Finn now that he’s free, stares for a second, then yanks him into another hard kiss.
A gasp bursts from Finn. His muscles don’t listen to him and he drops back to the bed, pulling Poe on top of him with hands over his ass. Poe’s answering groan is lost in the press of their lips as he rolls his hips down. “Finn, I can’t,” he gasps out, pushing the words against Finn’s chin. His fingers curl into Finn’s shirt and uncurl again, useless. “Off.”
With a groan, Finn peels it off over his head, stretching underneath him. He doesn’t take his time or try to tease, too desperate to feel Poe against him, all skin and muscles and curling hair. He shoves Poe’s pants down his thighs, sliding underneath Poe to push them down, his hands distracted by Poe’s cock, hard and hot against him. Sucking in a sharp breath, Poe shoves impatient fingers into Finn’s jeans, pushing at them until he can snap the button open, but that’s as far as he can get with Finn so far down the bed.
“You’re not making this easy,” he murmurs, and rolls his hips a bit so his cock slides on Finn’s belly, now bare. Finn laughs breathlessly and shifts up, the duvet scrunching under him. Poe’s hair falls over his eyes, shadowing them as he looks at Finn.
“Never said I was,” Finn teases, blunt nails dragging down Poe’s sides. Poe shivers under the slide of his fingers and yanks at him, palming at Finn’s ass to try and drag him back up to the top of the bed.
“Tease,” he huffs out, laughing, and ducks to nip sharply at Finn’s throat. “Get you in my mouth, see who’s laughing then.”
Finn’s breath catches, staring up at Poe. He arches up under Poe and kicks his pants off the rest of the way, then shoves down his boxers to follow them. He stops then, cheeks hot. “Uh,” he starts, but his eyes trail up Poe’s body, his thighs straddling Finn’s, his smile soft in the dim light. “Not me. Nope.”
Poe’s mouth curls slow and hot, full of promise as his eyes trail down Finn’s body and back up. He dips his head to murmur, “That’s what I thought,” letting each syllable drag on Finn’s lips. Finn shudders and shoves his fingers into Poe’s hair, pulling him down into a deep kiss. With a shaky groan, Poe sucks Finn’s tongue into his mouth, curling hot and wet in a promise of what he’ll do elsewhere. Finn’s hands tighten in his hair, curls wrapping soft around his fingers. He brings his knees up to press against Poe’s ass.
Poe rocks down against him with a quiet whine, sharp and sudden like he can’t help himself. He breaks the kiss just to matter a ragged “God, I wanna suck you off so bad,” against Finn’s lips, and then kisses him again hard enough to bruise, rolling down until their cocks slide together.
The sound that bursts from Finn’s lips would be embarrassing if he were with anyone else. It’s close to a whine, high pitched and drawn out. He yanks on Poe’s hair and tells him, “better do that then.” Poe whines right back, drops his head into the hollow of Finn’s throat and stays there for a second with his hips moving in tiny desperate jerks against Finn’s.
Then he laughs, and it washes wet-hot over Finn’s skin, trailed by open-mouthed kisses. “Love you so much,” Poe tells him as his lips brush over Finn’s collarbone, and then he’s slipping down Finn’s thighs. His tongue slides over Finn’s , edging into biting kisses that just skirt around his cock.
“Poe,” Finn gasps, hands following him, threading through his hair. His hips twitch but all he wants to do is kiss Poe. Three weeks is too long without Poe’s lips on his, sweet and soft and caring.
“Yeah, ?” Poe’s breath trails damply along his skin. He looks up at Finn under his lashes, pausing just over his erection to lick his lips. “What’s up?”
A choked off keen bites the air. Finn stares at him, chest heaving. A slow, small smile tugs at his lips and he says, “love you,” softly into the warm air.
Poe grins lopsidedly back up at him and drops a kiss to the tip of his cock. It starts soft, just a press of Poe’s lips around the head, slick with precome, and then his tongue flicks out and Finn jerks. With a quiet groan, Poe opens his mouth like he’s kissing Finn wet and messy, and slides his lips down the shaft and back up again with a bare scrape of teeth.
“Christ,” Finn gasps. His thighs tense, hips twitching. Poe’s mouth is hot and wet, but loose around him and he’s thought about this at least twenty times today, between soft kisses and holding hands and gentle touches. Poe is groaning, fingers tight on Finn’s thighs as he slips down and Finn’s cock nudges against his cheek, slick and sliding, and then Poe opens his lips around the head of his cock and swallows, tongue rolling against him as he slides down with a low, deep sound.
He inches his hands around, behind Finn’s ass, and pushes.
Finn chokes. “Oh my God.” He follows Poe's lead, thrusting up into his mouth. His cock hits the back of Poe’s mouth and Finn would apologize but Poe’s fingers are only digging into tighter, urging him on while he thrusts uselessly against the bed beneath him. He lets Finn thrust deep into his mouth, opening his throat around his cock, and Finn does, addicted to the slide of Poe’s tongue over his cock.
Finn barely remembers to stifle the noises coming from his throat. When it was just the two of them, they were as loud as they could be, moaning and cursing and thumping the bed against the wall. But Bea is asleep in the next room, exhausted and quiet, and Finn has to squeeze his eyes shut. Still, he manages to quietly say Poe’s name over and over, timed with the thrust of his cock between Poe’s lips. Poe groans around him louder than he probably should, but he’s braced on Finn’s legs and moving with him, sliding down every time Finn pushes up like he still remembers exactly how to make Finn lose his mind with the curl of his tongue.
“Fuck,” Finn gasps. He jerks on Poe’s hair, eyes shut, and he doesn’t want to come, not yet. Shoving himself up, he stares down at Poe and says, “stop. Fuck. Too quick.” Poe pulls off him with a , breathing shallowly as he stares up at Finn with heat-dark eyes, and Finn starts to slide his hand free to pet down Poe’s shoulders but Poe’s head jerks up.
“No," Poe gasps, eyes wide. "K eep your hand there. Please,” he turns his face a bit to push a wet kiss to the soft skin on Finn’s thigh.
“Okay,” Finn breathes, pressing his fingers further into his hair, massaging over his scalp. Poe shivers and pushes into Finn’s palm as he shoves himself up with Finn’s cock sliding slick on his skin.
Hovering over him for a second, Poe sucks in a tiny breath.
, he pushes a tentative kiss to the corner of his mouth, then drops with a ragged breath to grind their cocks together. Groaning sharply, Finn thrusts up against him and , pushing his face into the crook of Finn’s shoulder as he rolls his hips down to meet Finn.
“I want,” Finn says, voice rough. It takes him a moment, skin sliding slick together, to figure out exactly what it is that he wants. Poe above him, moving, lips locked on Finn’s throat, Finn’s hands pressed deep into his hair, fill him with a deep curling desire in his gut. He yanks on Poe’s hair again and says, firm,
Poe’s breath stutters in his throat. He makes a low, sharp sound and shoves his head up to kiss Finn, rocking against him. “Please,” he repeats, almost laughing. “Yeah. Fuck, yeah, whatever you want.”
“Gotta. Gotta let go of your hair to do that,” Finn mumbles against his lips. Poe makes a breathless sound of protest and pushes his head up, into the press of Finn’s fingers.
Finn grins at him, petting through his hair, fisting his hands at the nape of his neck. “Or I can just keep them here.”
“Keep them,” Poe breathes, and mouths slowly along Finn’s jaw. “Got an idea. Grab the lube. Bedside,” his breath hitches as Finn tugs a bit, “ah, table, fuck, you remember, yeah?”
“Hard to forget,” Finn mumbles against his lips, kissing him messily before letting go with only one hand, reaching across the bed to fumble with the drawer. He tugs Poe’s hair in the opposite direction. Apparently determined not to help at all, Poe drags his mouth along Finn’s throat, nipping at the skin as Finn tries to find the little tube. He rocks his thigh against Finn’s cock and presses up against him until Finn can drop the tube into Poe’s palm.
Finn can feel every twist of fingers, every slide of Poe’s wrist as he fingers himself open and slick. His body drags on Finn’s cock as he moves, groaning Finn’s name breathless against his mouth until he finally says “enough” and slides his fingers free to wrap around Finn’s cock instead.
A gasp rips from Finn. The bed squeaks in protest as his back arches. He bites down on his knuckles and stares up at Poe.
“Bea probably heard that,” Poe murmurs, watching him with wide, fascinated eyes as he does it again, twisting his hand around Finn as he pushes up into Poe’s palm.
“Do you want her to hear?” Finn hisses even as the bed squeaks loudly under the thrust of his hips. Poe’s thumb slides over the head, slick with precome. When the bed whines again Poe winces and drops his head into the crook of Finn’s shoulder.
“Gotta do something about that, shit,” he groans a little too loudly, and pushes his thigh up between Finn’s leg instead, rocking in tiny desperate thrusts. “Finn—"
“Get up,” Finn says hoarsely, finally letting go of his hair, his hand trailing over Poe’s cheek. Poe shoves himself up on his elbows without hesitation, blinking hazily.
“What’re you thinking?” He breathes after a second, eyes flicking over Finn’s face.
“,” Finn smiles, following him with a soft kiss to his cheek. Poe turns to catch his lips, kissing him hard and quick, and then shoves himself up onto his knees so his cock bounces up off his belly.
“Finn, ,” he breathes, smile growing. “ ”
Laughing breathlessly, Finn’s hands drop to Poe’s hips and he slides them both off the bed, pulling Poe against his chest once they’re on their feet. “Tell me again,” he murmurs, words pressed against Poe’s cheek.
“How gorgeous and brilliant you are?” Poe breathes, and pushes a kiss to the shell of Finn’s ear as he steers them toward the wall. “How much I love you? I can do that all day. Night. God,” Both of Poe’s hands slip down Finn’s spine to grip his ass. “So much.”
Finn grins against his cheek, happiness bubbling bright in his chest. When Poe’s back hits the wall, Finn leans in to kiss him, slow and deep and full of the feelings that have kept him here for months. Having them returned might be the most perfect thing he’s experienced. Poe fits perfectly against him, all the planes of his body aligned with Finn’s. He pushes off the wall until they’re pressed together and Finn’s cock drags against his hip and Poe groans, low and desperate, and twitches toward him.
“Better be,” he starts, panting, “better be an end to this idea , or I’m gonna go crazy,”
“But I wanna keep kissing you,” Finn gasps, his thumbs finding the joint between Poe’s hips and thighs.
“I’m flexible,” Poe breathes, and squeezes Finn’s ass again, yanking him closer to grind them together. “We could pull it off.”
“Yeah,” Finn thrusts shallowly against him and nips at Poe’s lip before he lets go. “Turn around,” he orders quietly, stepping back to find the condoms Poe keeps in the beside table. Poe obeys with a soft, strained laugh, bracing his hands on the wall. Finn turns again to find Poe peering over his shoulder to watch Finn with bright eyes.
“God,” Finn’s eyes flick over his body, over the tattoo dark against his skin, stretching down his spine. He’s traced the lines with his fingers and his tongue, asked Poe about each part, and now he’s drawn in, kissing each wing of the plane before his lips find the nose, just below Poe’s neck. Poe shudders under his mouth, dropping his head back so his curls brush over Finn’s forehead. Then he twists just enough to push a kiss against Finn’s temple and grins when his mouth collides with Finn’s skin.
“Told you,” he breathes, “kiss me all you want.”
Finn raises his head to do just that, taking Poe’s lips in a deep kiss as he rips open the condom wrapper. He drops it on the floor, sliding the condom onto his cock. Finn’s mouth stifles Poe’s groan as he pushes up against his ass, nudging past slick skin. It’s lucky because even pressed to the opposite wall far away from Bea, .
He bites down on his voice a second later, licking into Finn’s mouth with a slow deep sigh and arching back to push against his cock. One arm locks around Poe’s waist and the other guides his cock, pushing slowly into Poe. Finn meets Poe’s tongue, lips sliding easily together in a kiss that matches any they’ve shared before. With a soft moan, the only way Finn can tell him ‘I love you’ without letting his lips leave Poe’s, Finn pauses with Poe still pushing up against him.
“Finn,” Poe gasps into his mouth. His thighs tremble, pressed back against Finn while he waits for Poe to settle. “Yeah, god,” he breathes out, and Finn has to kiss him again to make him be quiet and even then Poe just groans against his lips and says, low, “feels so good, fuck,” in a ragged voice. Finn grins and sucks Poe’s lower lip into his mouth, a hand landing on the wall in front of him, bracing them both there.
“Just hold on,” Finn whispers between them, his chest pressed against Poe’s back. He’s tight around Finn’s cock, and hot, and he thrusts back in tiny twitching movements that make Finn burn. Poe’s fingers lock around his on the wall, squeezing hard as he rolls his hips onto Finn’s cock with a low, drawn-out groan that shakes through them both.
“Go,” he gasps a moment later, and bites at Finn’s lip. “Ready, Finn, please—"
“Yeah,” Finn says, slowly dragging his cock out just to hear the thin moan it draws from Poe. “Yeah, Poe,” he drops his head to Poe’s shoulder as he thrusts into him, sharp and hard, pushing them both against the wall. Poe bites his lip and tries to keep himself quiet this time, fingers wrapped tight in Finn’s. He shoves his other arm against the wall beside his head and uses the leverage to shove himself up onto his toes so that Finn slips deeper.
A breathy groan presses against Poe’s shoulder. Finn slides a hand around his thigh to keep him up. His eyes flutter shut, body moving in deep, steady thrusts.
Poe manages to keep himself silent for another few, trembling moments before he’s spilling over into a litany of Finn’s name, knocked out of him every time Finn slams into him, and it’s like they haven’t been apart for a month at all, the way Poe moves exactly with him and rolls his hips back to meet Finn and arches into him. Finn kisses him as much as he can to keep him quiet, but the sound of his name on Poe’s lips sends warmth through him that has nothing to do with the sex. It has everything to do with the day spent with him and Bea, ending up in Poe’s arms at the end of it.
His hand wraps around Poe’s cock, stroking him short and sharp.
“I’m not,” Poe breathes, and shoves himself back hard with a high gasp as Finn rocks into him again, “not gonna last long, like this,” and he pushes the rest of the words into Finn’s mouth, twisted around as much as he can be to keep their lips pressed together.
“Do you wanna come?” Finn asks on a breath, hand pausing on him. Poe whines at the loss and thrusts forward into Finn’s hand.
“Not yet,” he pants, and twitches back again with a quiet groan. “But, fuck, yeah, I dunno—"
Finn laughs softly and his hand finds its way into Poe’s hair again. His thrusts are slow and lazy, fighting the building need in his own gut. Instead of helping Poe come, his fingers tighten around the base of his cock. Panting, Poe lets his head be tugged back until he’s braced on Finn’s shoulder, rocking between his cock and his hand wrapped tight around Poe. He moves until the desperate jerk to his movements disappears and his breath comes slow and steady, hitching every now and then when Finn’s cock brushes over his prostate. “You’re so,” he breathes, voice brimming with affection, “Just. Missed you, ah, there, please ,”
“Yeah?” Finn breathes against his throat before he bites down. His hips thrust hard, angled the same way as often as he can. Sweat trickles over his brow and he feels too hot, a quiet desperation building in his gut. “Here?”
“Finn ,” Poe shoves himself back as hard as he can to meet Finn’s thrusts, something high and desperate in the slide of his breath. “Right, right there, perfect, yeah ,”
Finn presses another groan against his skin, fingers gripping Poe’s hair tighter as his hips snap. Slow and sweet has its place, but now he has Poe back in his arms and Poe loves him and the future looks so vast and bright that Finn can’t hold back anymore. He moans, “I love you,” and takes Poe’s lips in another kiss, pounding into him with desperate, quick thrusts. Poe curls his fingers tighter into Finn’s where he’s braced on the wall, pushing panting wordless breaths against Finn’s mouth in between kisses.
“Poe, ” Finn gasps, biting at his lips, breath coming in hard bursts. “Poe, I’m, I’m gonna,” he breaks into a thin moan, stifled as well as he can in Poe’s mouth.
“C’mon,” Poe groans, and kisses him again with a tiny desperate sound, “Want to feel you come, c’mon, Finn, love you so much,” and that’s all it takes. Finn lets go of Poe’s cock to hold him tight, an arm around his chest, face squished against Poe’s, body shuddering. Blankness presses over his eyes, pleasure curled tight inside of him, Poe hot and solid against him. Poe pushes a kiss to the corner of his lips and stays there, hips twitching as Finn comes. He murmurs through it, telling Finn he loves him over and over with soft warm breath, clinging tight.
Finn smiles softly , grip loosening around him. Without opening his eyes , he kisses Poe, tongue delving between his lips. Poe is still clinging to him, still tight around him and moving back onto Finn’s softening cock in tiny thrusts like he doesn’t realize he’s moving.
“You’re so,” he murmurs, and drags Finn’s lip between his teeth, “gorgeous, you know that?”
“Thanks,” Finn mumbles on a breath, petting Poe’s hair out of his face. Slowly, he pulls out of Poe, a hand sliding down his back, inching over the bumps of his spine. His fingers slip inside of Poe, easing against his prostate. Poe’s breath hitches at the easy slide of Finn’s fingers. The sound tips into a desperate breathless laugh, and his hips sway back, pushing into Finn’s hand with his cock pressed flush and leaking to his belly.
Finn’s lips slide over Poe’s jaw, brushing sharp stubble, then down his throat and shoulder. Knees hit the floor and he noses against Poe’s hip, biting down hard just above his ass . Poe almost shouts, only just slamming a hand over his mouth as he jerks back against Finn. His head thuds against the wall. “Ohfuck,” he breathes out, and sways a little on unsteady legs and gasps, low, “ Please.”
“Turn around,” Finn says again, voice low and rough. There’s a deep red mark where he sucked on Poe’s skin. Shakily, Poe obeys, flipping around to collapse against the wall with his eyes locked on Finn. He laughs unsteadily and reaches out to brush a thumb over Finn’s cheek, for once strangely wordless. Finn’s seen him like this once before, on a night when everything relating to the case had been too hard to deal with, and Poe, who usually can’t shut up, had been quiet and laser-focused as he fingered Finn through a second orgasm. Meeting his eyes, Finn smiles, reaching up to press a thumb to his lips. “I love you,” he says, the only sound in the still house.
“Love you too,” Poe gasps, and pushes a wet, messy kiss to the pad of his thumb.
He twitches forward off the wall, swaying closer to Finn with a desperate sound. His cock jerks against his belly as Finn’s thumb presses past his lips. Finn’s smile widens and he leans in to lick a strip up Poe’s cock. He watches Poe the entire time, fingers keeping pulsing pressure inside of him. Poe makes a tiny shocked sound in his throat, shoving his head against the wall with a ragged groan. “You’re gonna,” he breathes, and doesn’t finish the thought, too focused on pushing himself toward the heat of Finn’s mouth, down onto Finn’s fingers twisting inside him.
Nodding, Finn’s lips slip around the head of his cock, sucking gently, tongue lapping precome off his slit. Finn’s eyes flutter shut and he takes a deep breath before he slides forward, taking Poe’s cock deep into his mouth and back into his throat. Hazy after his own orgasm, his throat opens easily and he starts a steady pace, punctuated with his fingers.
Poe whines, high and sharp in his throat and rocks forward in tiny thrusts, caught between Finn’s mouth and his hand. His thighs shake under Finn’s palm, barely keeping him up as he pushes up onto his toes, braced on the wall. One hand slips through Finn’s hair and down to the nape of his neck, not holding but pressing there like Finn’s the only thing keeping him standing. Finn probably is. All Poe can do is let out shocked little gasps, over and over like he’s trying to say Finn’s name but can’t quite summon the breath to do it.
Finn hums, low and soft, his free hand sliding down Poe’s leg through curly black hair. Happiness bubbles in his gut and he opens his eyes to experience Poe’s face, flushed and twisted in pleasure. It sends a thrill through him and he’d smile if his lips weren’t tight around Poe’s cock. After a moment Poe wrenches his head off the wall, opening his eyes just to focus dark and hazy on Finn.
“I,” he bites out, and then “Finn ” in a voice choked with desperation as his thrusts turn sharp and short, rocking into Finn’s mouth. “Gonna come,” he manages to gasp, eyes still locked on Finn. “Soon, Finn, ohgod,”
The noises Poe makes, the keen of his voice, wash over Finn like music. Another soft noise presses between his lips. He stays still to let Poe thrust however he wants. Holding Poe’s gaze, Finn pulls Poe’s ass toward him. Poe’s mouth drops open, shocked and silent and breathless as he thrusts into Finn’s mouth, erratic, and clings to his head and stumbles back against the wall, shoving himself down onto Finn’s fingers as he comes with a soft, overwhelmed groan of Finn’s name.
Swallowing around him, Finn relaxes, sinking down on his knees, hands on Poe’s thighs. He moans softly, looking up at Poe with hazy eyes, sucking gently until he’s spent. Poe shudders after a moment of this and pushes clumsily at Finn’s head. With a soft laugh, Finn drops his head down against Poe's thigh.
“Love you,” Finn murmurs, kissing at the seam of his hip . Poe mumbles something unintelligible and slides his fingers down over the nape of Finn’s neck, petting softly as he slips down the wall. Finn settles between Poe’s knees, kissing his cheeks, lips, and neck.
“You killed me,” Poe murmurs, and turns to nose against Finn’s temple as his breathing settles. “Dead. Love you too.”
Finn settles against his shoulder, relaxing against Poe’s chest. “Better come back to life by morning.”
Poe lets his arms settle around Finn’s waist to tug him close. “Staying?”
“Yeah,” Finn sighs, curling up next to him. “That’s okay, right?”
“’S more than okay,” Poe pushes a messy kiss to his ear. “Definitely stay.”
Finn smiles into his throat. “Mm, good. Missed your bed.”
“Missed you,” Poe tells him, and drags him even closer. It’s comfortable here, with Poe’s chest solid against him, sweat cooling on his skin. The room is dark and the house is quiet and Finn closes his eyes.
He never wants to leave again.
Finn shifts under warm blankets, Poe’s old T-shirt tight around his chest and arms, muscles aching sweetly down his hips, thighs, and jaw. He smiles, burrowing against the pillow that smells like Poe, in the bed that smells like Poe, in a house that reminds him of family.
After a minute, something prickles at the back of his neck. He peels his eyes open, peering over the top of the blankets. Large brown eyes stare back.
Bea inches just a little closer, braced on her elbows on the edge of the bed. “Good morning.”
“ Morning,” Finn says, voice low and hoarse . H e’s glad that he borrowed some of Poe’s clothes before they collapsed in bed together. Pushing himself up a little, Finn covers a yawn with his fist. “What time is it?”
“It’s time for breakfast!” Bea chirps, grinning at him. Finn pushes himself up a little and glances at the clock across the bed on Poe’s bedside table. It’s nearly nine and the smell of breakfast makes his stomach growl.
“ ” Poe says from the doorway where he’s nudging it open with his hip. “Gonna come help me carry this?”
Bea shakes her head and clambers up onto the bed beside Finn. “Nope!”
Poe snorts and nudges at the door a little more.
A tray full of food balances precariously in Poe’s arms, piled to the edges. For once, it doesn’t smell a thing like pancakes.
Poe watches him with a soft smile on his face. Finn’s breath catches and his own smile widens, untangling himself from the blankets on Poe’s bed.
“That smells amazing,” he breathes, an arm dropping behind Bea’s waist. Bea giggles and clambers up beside him, still in her pajamas covered in rockets and stars. Her hair tickles the bottom of his chin.
“Breakfast tacos,” Poe tells him proudly as he walks carefully toward the bed, his pajama pants trailing loose around his heels.
“And they’re not burnt?” Finn asks, raising an eyebrow with a secret smile at Bea.
She grins, delighted, and squirms up to whisper in his ear, “I watched to make sure!”
“She did,” Poe confirms with a snort. “Bea-Bea, you gotta scootch over or I’m gonna spill tacos all over you.” He tips the tray threateningly, making Bea shriek and clamber over to Finn’s other side.
Laughing, Poe slides the tray down onto the bed first, then sits on the edge, careful not to actually spill it. Coffee steams on the edge of the tray closest to Finn. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Finn says quietly, staring at Poe with a soft expression. He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out and instead he reaches out a hand to curl around Poe’s. With a grin that crinkles up the edges of his nose, Poe leans over to brush a soft kiss over Finn’s mouth. He tastes like eggs, like he’s been sampling everything as he cooks it like Finn taught him to, to make sure it all tastes alright. Whatever tension that was running through Finn’s body dissolves and he leans into the kiss, a soft remnant of last night.
He would keep kissing Poe except for Bea’s annoyed, “Dad!” which makes Poe pull back, just a little, grinning sheepishly.
“Right. Bea-Bea and I made you breakfast. Hope you’re hungry.”
“I poured the juice,” Bea tells him seriously, and sits up against his side. “Isn’t that dad’s shirt?”
“Yeah,” Finn says, looking down at the cartoon of hot sauce on the shirt. “I think it looks better on me,” he kisses Poe’s cheek before surveying the food. “Did you guys already eat?”
Poe laughs and leans in to kiss him one more time. “Stealing my shirts now, too? We were waiting for you. Can’t be an all-of-us breakfast without all of us.”
Bea shifts a little closer to the tray and gladly accepts the glass of orange juice Poe holds out for her. “You take so long to wake up!”
“Poe’s bed is really comfy,” Finn admits to her, picking up a taco. A taco shouldn’t bring up this many emotions for him, but he can’t help the giant grin on his face. “Thanks, for this,” he says and takes a giant bite, closing his eyes as the flavors wash over his tongue. It’s not perfect, the eggs a little overcooked, the beans a little wet, but Poe made it for him and Poe watches him, his hand still on Finn’s arm.
“Good?” He asks, almost sounding nervous. He slides his other foot onto the bed and picks up a taco for Bea, wrapping it up tight before handing it to her.
“So good,” Finn mumbles once he’s swallowed, grinning at Poe. After a second’s hesitation, he leans over to place a kiss on Poe's cheek. “Thanks.” Poe smiles like it’s the best compliment he could have gotten, pushes a kiss against Finn’s temple, and finally starts to eat his own.
Bea doesn’t stop until her entire taco, and half of another one, are gone, and then flops against Finn’s side with a contented sigh. “That’s what you taught dad how to make first,” she murmurs. “Remember? That was a long time ago.”
“I remember,” Finn smiles at Poe, bringing his coffee to his lips, “he’s definitely improved. Does he make you dinner more now?”
“Right here,” Poe snorts, and reaches over to ruffle Bea’s unrestrained hair. “And yeah, I do, thanks to you.”
“Glad it paid off,” Finn watches them, flopped against Poe’s many pillows with Bea heavy and warm against his side, and lets himself believe that he can be a part of this family.
“Finn!” Rey cries from his tiny phone screen. “It’s so good to see you!” Her cheeks are wide and crinkled with the force of her smile, and sun streams in brightly behind her, softer in the late afternoon light two timezones over. “Hi, Poe.”
“Hey, Rey,” Poe waves at her, chin resting on Finn’s shoulder. “How’s it going?”
“Brilliant,” Rey breathes. “I’ve only just started classes— I asked if I could start early— but I’m already learning so much and Luke is such a wonderful professor, he has such amazing ideas and listens to mine. I miss you, though. I miss you both. And Bea.”
“Miss you too,” Finn says, his hand curling in Poe’s. “Not the same without you here. But good. Really good.”
“Of course it’s not,” Rey laughs. “Poe, you’ve got to remember to make him be social at least once a week. He’ll get rusty. And take him on regular walks.”
Poe makes a strangled sound and buries his face in Finn’s shoulder, laughter shaking his body.
“Uh, that’s not really a problem anymore,” Finn grins brightly and calls out “Pepper!” A yip comes from Bea’s bedroom and Pepper, on her stubby little legs, yips and trots across the hall. She’s got the bat ears and stature of a corgi, with enough spots and gray patches to hint at something else, and she spends most of her days tripping over her own paws, puppy-big and mismatched with the rest of her.
She pauses in the door with a soft woof, ears perked up. Finn twists the phone to show Rey. “Poe might’ve gotten me a puppy.”
A puppy, and an offer of a bigger place for the puppy (and Finn) to live: Poe and Bea’s house, which has a yard, a kitchen bigger than the closet, multiple rooms, and Poe and Bea.
It was a very easy offer to accept.
“Oh my god!” Rey’s squeal echoes down the stairs. “She’s so cute! Look at her little legs!”
Bea’s head pops out of her room. “Is that Miss Rey?” Without waiting for an answer, she darts over, grabbing the phone from Finn’s hands. “Hi Miss Rey!”
“Hi, Bea,” Rey’s smile is audible even from down there. “Are you helping Mr. Finn take care of his puppy?”
“She’s my puppy too! Her name is Pepper and she’s eight weeks old and she lives with us!”
“Really,” Rey’s voice curls up very interestedly. Poe lifts his head over Finn’s shoulder, biting at his lip. “So is Mr. Finn living with you, then?”
Bea beams and bounces on her toes. “Yeah! He just finished moving in! He has half of dad’s dresser and they had to throw out all the dumb shirts dad had and now there are weights in the living room that I’m not supposed to touch but Finn says we can use them to make forts and watch movies!”
Finn grins sheepishly, ducking into the picture. “I was about to tell you that. Thought Pepper could use a bigger house.”
“That’s the reason, huh” Rey says. Her eyes glitter warmly. “What are you doing with your apartment?”
“Got someone to take over the lease,” Finn nods, his arm looping around Bea’s shoulders. She’s grown over the summer, an extra inch at least, bringing her to over four feet tall. Bea cranes her head back to look at him.
“What’s a lease? Miss Rey,” her head drops again, “can you come visit us? You have to meet Pepper! She isn’t a bunny but she has ears like a bunny and really short legs so she kind of hops!”
Finn snorts a laugh and pulls Bea over toward the bed with him. “Rey, you’re still gonna come back for Thanksgiving, right?”
“Of course I am,” Rey says fondly. “And I’m making Uncle Luke come as well. Where did Poe go?”
“I’m here,” Poe says, and shoves himself up off the wall where he’s been watching them to flop down beside Finn and Bea. “What’s up?”
She grins at him on the tiny screen. “Just thought your text meant ‘within the next few months,’ not ‘I’m going to ask him this week.’ I still would have said yes, of course.”
Poe’s smile goes sheepish. “I couldn’t wait?” She snorts at him.
“What?” Finn looks at Poe, his smile dropping a little. “You asked Rey what?” Poe glances up at him, slow under his lashes, and smiles like he’s trying to be charming. It always works.
“Whether she thought you’d want to move in with us?” he offers while Rey’s grin gets wider and wider on the little screen.
“Oh,” Finn blinks at him, then his smile is back, brighter than before. “You thought I wouldn’t? C’mon, Poe,” Finn lean s over and kisses him soundly. He stays there for a moment, enjoying the warmth of his skin, and, oddly, sharing this with Rey. For the years they’ve known each other, she never liked someone he’s dated enough to speak her approval out loud. And Poe asking her like that is sweet, but also solidifies his determination to tell Poe how much he loves him every day.
“Gross,” Rey laughs at the same time as Bea, who squeaks and dives out of the way.
“Stop kissing all the time! You already kissed enough today!”
Finn grins down at her and surges forward to plant a wet kiss on her cheek. “I have plenty more where that came from.” Bea shrieks, squirming backwards far enough she almost falls off the bed, except for the long-honed reflexes of Poe who grabs her before she can and hoists her back up.
“Alright, baby,” he says, soothing, and when Bea huffs and settles again he darts forward and pushes a kiss to her other cheek until she yells and tumbles backwards off the bed to go chase after Pepper.
Poe bursts out laughing and drops his head onto Finn’s shoulder. “We miss you, Rey. Glad to hear things are going well. You invented a new kind of rocket yet?”
Rey grins. “Nearly. You know, all the other students don’t seem to know what to do with me.”
“Yeah? Why?” Poe leans down closer to the screen. “Cause you’re a pretty woman and they can’t handle that?”
“I dunno. I was like that when I met Rey and I got over it,” Finn says, leaning back against Poe’s chest.
“Maybe you’re just intimidating,” Poe offers. “In a good way.”
“I don’t want to be intimidating!” Rey protests, and then cocks her head. “Well, maybe a bit, but I want friends.”
“You’ll find them,” Finn says confidently. He reaches back, fingers pressing into Poe’s hair. He smiles at Rey, “I know you will. You’re way better at making friends than I am.”
She grimaces. “We’ll see. No evidence of alien life yet, either,” she directs this at Poe, who grins lazily back, “but I’ll work on that. Promise.”
“Report back in six months,” Poe tells her, smiling. “You gotta come see us before Pepper gets bigger. She grows faster than Bea does.”
“Of course I will,” Rey says with a quiet smile of her own. “You both look happy.”
Poe glances up at Finn again. His hair is still damp from his shower that morning, curling up at the edges of his ears. The summer’s put a bronze sheen on his skin that fades at the edges of his eyes and his wrists.
He smiles at Finn like he’s the only thing in the room. “Happier than I thought I could be,” he says, just loud enough for Rey to hear. Finn’s breath catches and he stares at Poe for a moment before his own grin is back, bright and wide. He pushes Poe’s hair behind his ear. A few of the curls drop against his cheek.
Just as he’s about to speak, Pepper hops up onto the bed with huff, nudging between them. Finn laughs, ducking his head as he reaches down to pet her. “I am,” he tells Rey sincerely and he leans into Poe’s side, ignoring Pepper’s indignant noise at being squished between them.
“Good,” Rey says in a soft voice. “Glad to see it. Miss you both.”
Poe makes a quiet, choked noise and turns away from the phone. “Come see us. I mean it.”
Finn squeezes his hand and turns back to Rey, fighting back the need to drag Poe into his arms. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?"
“Gotta finish unpacking,” Poe says. “All three things Finn owns gotta fit somehow.” Rey bursts into easy laughter, waving her hands at them.
“Alright. Say bye to Bea for me. Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Talk to you tomorrow,” Finn echoes and grins at her before hanging up. Turning to Poe, he tackles him to the bed, Pepper yelping and hopping back to the floor. “Three things!”
Poe goes tumbling back into the pillows, his laughter vibrating right through Finn. “Right, yeah, sorry. I meant two.”
“Oh my God,” Finn crawls up his body, looking down at Poe with bright eyes. “Didn’t you say mi casa es su casa? So by that logic, this is my house now. Which has a lot of things.”
“It has the right number of things,” Poe argues, and yanks at Finn’s arms with a grin. Pepper yips at the foot of the bed. Poe ignores her and turns to push a kiss against Finn’s shoulder, the only bit he can reach. “Good pronunciation. You’re learning.”
“I’ve got to keep up with you and Bea-Bea,” Finn drops his head to the crook of Poe’s neck.
Laughing, Poe turns to kiss his temple instead, lingering there with his arms wrapped around Finn’s waist. “I’m still trying to keep up with Bea-Bea.” Pepper yips again, high and insistent. Poe snorts. “Think she wants up again.”
“I thought we said she’s not allowed on the bed,” Finn mumbles, too content to move.
“But,” Pepper whines again, high and sad, and Poe makes a tiny little sound in his throat, shifting under Finn. “C’mon,” he pokes at Finn’s ribs, wheedling. “She’s so little. She won’t even remember. We can train her later.”
“That’s not how this works,” Finn shoves himself up to grin down at Poe, “I’m amazed Bea has so much self control.”
Poe grins back. The corners of his eyes crinkle up with the force of it. “What d’you think I asked you to live with us for?”
“I thought it was for my cooking,” Finn murmurs, hovering low with his lips nearly touching Poe’s.
“That too,” Poe agrees easily, and slips his palms warm up under Finn’s shirt. Finn’s smile brushes his lips and he sinks down into the kiss, arms folding behind Poe’s back. Poe is warm and solid against his chest, the room bright with the noon sunlight, and Finn can’t quite believe how lucky he is to be here. Poe isn’t perfect, but he’s proved time and again that he wants to try. He tries to be a good father, a good pet owner, and a good boyfriend. To Finn, he’s better than good. He knows Poe will never stop trying.
Pepper huffs. The house settles with a soft, drawn-out creak. There are still boxes scattered around Poe's room, half-unpacked, full of Finn's books and his pots and pans and spices that somehow made it into the bedroom boxes. As Poe tilts his head and bites at Finn’s lip, settling back into the bed, Bea’s voice filters up from downstairs.
“Dad! Finn! I’m hungry! Where’s Pepper? Can we have lunch?”
Finn drops his head to the pillows with a breathy laugh. “Duty calls.” Poe shakes with quiet laughter underneath him and squeezes him close.
“You get to make lunch,” he says.
“So you get to play with the puppy?” Finn nudges Poe’s head with his own. “Unfair.”
Poe’s grin widens. He pushes a quick, hard kiss to Finn’s mouth and scrambles up. “Caught me,” he says, just as Bea calls out for them again, her voice closer this time. Poe scoops Pepper, squirming and whining, up into his arms. Finn rolls over to watch them, Pepper stretching to try and lick Poe’s face .
“C’mon,” Poe tells him, so Finn groans and shoves himself up to his feet.
“You’re only getting sandwiches, ” Finn mutters on the way out of the bedroom. Poe snorts.
“Your sandwiches are better than most things I try.”
Rolling his eyes, Finn follows behind him, waving at Pepper when she looks over Poe’s shoulder at him. Bea bounces impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for them with a smudge of chalk on her cheek in her overalls that are getting too small for her already.
Poe nudges Finn’s hip as he edges past. He stops to hand Bea a still-squirming Pepper, who immediately starts trying to lick every inch of Bea’s face.
