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Finn finds out early on that Poe likes holding hands.
They’re on the way to another meeting, following after BB-8, when Poe suddenly takes Finn’s hand and pulls him to the side.
“I just realized—sorry. I forgot the files General Organa needs,” Poe says apologetically. “Go on ahead. I’ll just be a few minutes late.”
“No, I’ll go with you,” Finn finds himself saying. “Better the general yelling both our heads off instead of just yours.”
Poe grins. “Misery loves company, huh?”
“Especially if the company is someone as great and remarkable as I am,” Finn says, smiling right back.
Poe rolls his eyes. “Careful, if your head gets any bigger, it might not fit into a helmet.”
“Hey! Yours still fits and you’ve got the biggest head I know of,” Finn counters.
“Touché,” Poe says, grinning. Then, he holds Finn’s hand even tighter and pulls. “Now come on. We’re late enough as it is.”
And Poe doesn’t let Finn’s hand go. Not when he’s opening the door to his room, or when he nudges his messy sheets away to get to the datapad underneath them. Not even when they’re already at the meeting, panting as they apologize to General Organa for the delay.
Finn—well, he doesn’t mind in the least.
Poe wants to make a tradition of Zhellday movie nights. It starts like this.
“No.”
“But Poe,” Finn says, “it sounds so amazing.”
“Your first movie is not going to be this garbage,” Poe says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Then we’re setting the standard low,” Finn reasons. He really wants to see zombie beavers bite off people’s limbs.
Poe narrows his eyes in consideration. “Fine. But I’m picking the next one,” he relents.
“Awesome,” Finn says, grinning as he starts the movie.
“And you can’t blame me if you want to punch something ten minutes into this shit,” Poe adds. “Also, don’t punch me.”
Finn rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to punch you. I’d much sooner punch Chewie and that might actually get me killed.”
“I’m still taking precautions,” Poe says, reaching out to take Finn’s hand in his own. He keeps their hands tucked between his chest and his knees.
“What are you doing?” Finn asks.
“Making sure you don’t punch me,” Poe says simply, and Finn leaves it at that.
Finn loves the movie of course, in the sense that he wants to make Rey watch it just so he can see her suffer as well. He doesn’t mind, though, because he gets to hold Poe’s hand all the way through.
Finn holds Poe’s hand tightly as the movie leads swim in a zombeaver-infested lake, holds it as Poe begins to fall asleep, his head resting against his knees and his breath ghosting over the back of Finn’s hand.
When Finn inevitably has to disentangle himself from Poe so he can carry Poe to bed, his heart aches just a tiny bit.
Finn carves himself a place in the Resistance. He becomes a gunner, a lieutenant, a valuable voice in meetings, and for all these roles, he stands beside Poe.
“Hey, you did great today,” Poe says, wrapping an arm around Finn’s shoulders in half a hug.
“You did great today,” Finn says, throwing his hands up in excitement. “Did you see the way you maneuvered between those two TIE fighters? Incredible.”
“Did you see the way you shot those stormtroopers about to blast a house?” Poe says. “You’re incredible.”
BB-8 bumps into their legs, beeping about how they’re both amazing and that everyone gets it already.
“Shut up, BB-8,” Finn says.
“BB-8’s right, you know.” And, kriff, it’s General Organa. “Are you going to tell me to shut up too?”
“No, General, of course n—”
“Yeah, we are,” Poe says, cutting Finn off. “Shut up, General. I’ll sing Finn praises if I want to.”
“Maker help me,” Finn mutters. Then, louder, he says, “Yes, shut up.”
General Organa laughs, and honestly, it always surprises Finn when he hears her laugh, always feels like it’s the first time that it’s happened.
“Go and clean yourselves up, will you? And hurry up. I want to see you two right after,” General Organa says.
“Yes, General.”
As they watch the general leave, Poe takes Finn’s hand.
“I wonder how many times she’s going to let our antics go before she finally cuffs us on the head or something,” Poe muses.
Finn groans. “I really don’t want to find out.”
“Oh, come on. Why are you so scared of her?” Poe laughs, squeezing Finn’s hand as he does. “She might look terrifying but she’s just like the rest of us heathens.”
“Listen, I used to work for the First Order. I’ve experienced terrifying. But General Organa?” Finn says, shuddering. “I really don’t want to disappoint her.”
“Well when you say it like that—” Poe stops, sighing. “Listen, you’re a good guy, Finn. I know that, and she knows that. As long as you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re in her good graces.”
Finn doesn’t reply right away, bowing his head and pursing his lips.
“Hey,” Poe says softly, bumping his shoulder against Finn’s. “You’ll be fine. She loves you. Everyone around here loves you.”
“Including you?” Finn says—but no. He didn’t mean to say that, so he looks at the ground in front of him, anywhere but at Poe.
Finn can feel Poe staring at him, though, and it only makes his heart beat faster, louder in his ears.
Eventually, Poe has mercy, pulls Finn’s hand closer, says, “Of course,” and Finn breathes a little easier again.
Despite everything they’ve been through, Finn and BB-8 still argue 70% of the time they’re together.
“You’re not that funny,” Finn says, rolling his eyes. He’s lying on Poe’s bed, talking with BB-8 while they wait for Poe to finish his shower.
BB-8 is offended, of course, beeping about how Finn should be thanking and not insulting them.
“What?” Finn splutters. “Thank you for what?”
BB-8 is mindful of the thin walls, at least, and lowers their beeping about how Finn can’t be more obvious in liking their Poe.
“Well, I can’t exactly help it,” Finn says, not bothering to deny it because BB-8 might just go off on a very loud tangent about how Finn is a bad liar.
So instead, BB-8 goes off on a quieter tangent about how Finn and Poe should get themselves together and kiss.
"I do want to kiss him," Finn says. "The question is, does he want to kiss me?"
BB-8 makes a noise akin to a sigh, tired and long-suffering. They look like they're about to say something, but then the water in the bathroom stops running and BB-8 is forced to let it go.
"So I was thinking," Poe is saying when he walks back into the room, but then he stops when he sees BB-8 and Finn sitting close to each other and, for once, keeping quiet. "Is something wrong?"
"No, of course not," Finn reassures, though he may have done so too quickly because Poe doesn't look like he believes it.
So Poe walks over to them, lays one hand on BB-8's head and another on Finn's hand, and asks, "Are you sure?"
"We're fine," Finn answers before BB-8 can say anything else, and he's not exactly lying. He's fine; he's also just pining rather obviously for Poe.
"Okay," Poe says, smiling reluctantly and obviously still worried. Finn avoids his eyes, suddenly afraid that Poe might know what's going on in his brain just by looking at him.
Finn withdraws his hand from Poe's, makes a show of going to the bathroom and freshening up.
It's the first time Finn feels relieved at the loss of Poe's touch, but it doesn’t last long. It’s replaced by guilt instead.
Word about Luke Skywalker's return spread quickly. Finn only really cares about seeing Rey again.
"She's great," Finn says while they're waiting for Rey to come out of General Organa's room. "You'll love her."
"Yeah, BB-8's told me all about her," Poe says, fidgeting with his sleeves. Curious, that, because Poe usually looks comfortable in any situation.
"She's nice. She'll like you," Finn insists, and he really hopes she does because he just wants the people he likes to get along. BB-8 seems to agree though, with the way they’re beeping excitedly beside Poe.
"I hope so," Poe says. Then, shakily, he says, “Hold my hand?”
Finn wastes no time and complies, taking Poe’s hand and intertwining their fingers easily, firmly. “You’ll be fine,” Finn says, squeezing Poe’s hand comfortingly.
Poe smiles, gaining a bit of confidence again. “I’ll be fine.”
Then, Rey is walking out of the room with Chewbacca in tow. Her smile still looks as lovely and infectious as it did before.
“Finn!” she says when she spots him, and immediately they’re running to hug each other.
“I missed you,” Finn says into her hair, and suddenly Chewie’s also in on the hug and it makes Finn feel all nice and warm and content.
“I missed you too,” Rey says, and then she’s disentangling herself from them and kneeling down to ask how BB-8’s doing and if they’ve been taking care of Finn.
Finn takes the opportunity to go back to Poe, who’s been standing off a bit awkwardly to the side, and hold his hand once again.
“Finally found someone to hold your hand, huh?” Rey says when she finally gives BB-8 a pat and stands up. Her eyes crinkle in that way of hers when she’s considering someone, while Poe smiles his usual charming smile. “Poe Dameron, right?”
“And you’re Rey,” Poe says, nodding. “It’s nice to finally meet you properly.”
“You’re a pilot?” Rey asks.
“Best in the Resistance,” Poe says, shrugging. “I’ve heard that you’re not so bad yourself.”
“Really?” Rey laughs. “Well, I guess I’ll have to show you sometime.”
“Tell me when and I’ll get us the ships we need,” Poe says, and there’s a grin on his face and another on Rey’s and it’s just so overwhelming that Finn’s friends are finally interacting and actively liking each other.
“I will,” Rey says. Then, when Finn least expects it, she says, “So, BB-8 tells me you’re both being idiots?”
“You traitor,” Finn hisses, glaring at BB-8.
At the same time, Poe says, “BB-8’s just being dramatic.”
Rey sighs. “You know what? I changed my mind. You two can sort this out. Come talk to me when you’re done.”
And she walks off, just like that, Chewie and BB-8 following after her. Finn and Poe are left alone, and Finn kind of wants to run away right now, but he also doesn’t want to stop holding Poe’s hand.
It’s Poe who speaks first.
“Did you already know? And just didn’t want to let me down? Is that why you called BB-8 a traitor?”
“What?” Finn says, because that didn’t really make any sense. “Have I really let you down by having unrequited feelings for you?”
“I—what?” Poe’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “You have unrequited feelings for me?”
“Yes?” Finn says, also confused.
“Ah.” Poe sighs. “They’re right. We’re both idiots.”
“Right.” Finn nods. Then, he says, “And we’re idiots because?”
“Because we both like each other, but we’ve been dancing around it because we both thought our feelings were one-sided. Or, at least, I hope that’s what they meant,” Poe says, and he doesn’t let go of Finn’s hand either, doesn’t try to hide the hope in his eyes or in his tone.
“Oh,” Finn says. “Well, they’re not wrong.”
Poe laughs, and his sigh of relief disappears into Finn’s mouth when they finally kiss.
Even then, they don’t stop holding hands.