Chapter Four

Finn's leg gives out as they hurry away from the house, and they both fall to the ground, breathing heavily. Poe lays on his back and stares up at the sky, trying to calm his racing heart. It is black as night, and the silence is almost deafening. He frowns, trying to figure out what's wrong with both of those facts, when he notices something else.

His shoulder doesn't hurt.

Sitting up, Poe gingerly touches his shoulder. There is no hole in his jacket, no blaster burn, no blood. He reaches out toward Finn, finds the lightsaber he's still clutching in one hand. Takes it and ignites it to see in the dark.

There is nothing. His shoulder is normal; Finn's leg is unharmed.

"Finn," Poe says softly, then gently shakes the other man's shoulder. "Hey, buddy. Sit up. You're okay. Everything's okay." Finn opens his eyes and Poe holds the saber up so Finn can see better. "Look, my shoulder—it's fine, and so is your leg. Nothing there."

Finn looks confused as he sits up slowly. Examines his leg, glances up at the dark sky. Poe feels a flash of deep concern.

"Finn, are you all right?" he asks, moving closer and laying his hand on Finn's arm. "Did something else happen in there?"

Finn turns toward him and raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, you shot me!"

Poe backs off, hands in the air. "I was trying to hit the fake me! I wasn't aiming for you—you jumped in front of my shot!"

"Because I was trying to save you," Finn replies.

"It wasn't me," says Poe. "How could you not tell it wasn't me?"

"You thought I was bleeding out on the floor," Finn points out. "How come you didn't know he wasn't me?"

"Okay, fine—we were both conned." Poe takes a deep breath. "The point is, we're okay now—but how? I shot you. And it sure felt like I got shot."

"It was nothing but smoke and mirrors," Finn says. "Tricks and mind games. I saw some strange and terrible things in there…" He trails off, clearly affected by whatever he experienced inside. Poe nods in agreement, remembering what he saw in the basement, flickers of the past and the tragedy that destroyed the village.

"Me too, buddy," he says softly. "I'm sorry I shot you. I was trying to stop whatever was messing with us."

Finn reaches out, takes his hand and holds it tight. Poe feels much calmer, like it really will be okay now that they are out, safe and together. He has questions, though. So many things he doesn't understand, might never know. Opening his mouth to ask, he is stopped by the agitated shouting of Rey and Chewbacca, running toward them with BB-8 chirping shrilly. Poe looks at Finn.

"All right?" he asks one more time, knowing they are about to be hit by a wave of questions, many of which he has no answer for. Finn nods.

"I'm okay," he says. They stand as Rey comes to sliding halt before them, looking both terrified and astounded.

"What's wrong?" Poe asks immediately. "Did something happen? Are you all right?"

She stares at him. "What? Am I all right? Are you? Where have you been?"

"What do you mean, where have we been?" Finn asks. "We went to check out the house."

"But we looked everywhere for you!" she exclaims, and Chewie echoes her concern. "You didn't respond on comms, and we finally went back to the ship and tried to scan for you, only there was no sign of you anywhere!"

"Wait, how long have we been gone?" Poe asks, exchanging a look with Finn. It seems they may add another layer to the mystery.

"Poe, it's been six hours!" she exclaims, and his stomach drops a little with the realization. What couldn't have been an hour for them was much, much longer for Rey and Chewie. "Were you in the house the entire time? Why didn't we see you? I couldn't even sense you." She exchanges a look with Chewie. "What happened in there?"

Poe exchanges a look with Finn. "I'm not really sure," Poe tells her. "But I think we should probably go now. There's nothing else to see, and I'm ready to get out of here." BB-8 butts him in the knee, and Poe crouches down to rub his dome. "We're okay, pal. Honest. And of course we'll tell you. I'd rather do it back on the ship, though, and not out here."

Finn nods in agreement again. "Okay," Rey says, still radiating concern. "But tell me one thing. Where did you get a lightsaber?"

Finn glances down at the silver handle in his hand, then looks to Poe. "Good question. Where did I get a lightsaber?"

"I found it in the basement," Poe tells her. "There was a woman who lived here, a Jedi. It was hers."

"She was killed by a dark Jedi," Finn adds. "He killed them all, the entire village."

Rey turns gazes into the night. "That's what we all felt, then," she murmurs. "But why couldn't I sense you in the house?"

"I don't know," Finn admits, and does not say any more. Rey turns to Poe.

"Don't look at me. I don't understand half of what happened. But I think it's over, so let's go."

Poe can't wait to leave the entire moon behind. He takes Finn's elbow and starts walking back toward the ship. There is no reason to stand around in the dark trying to understand what happened to them; there will be time for that later. He asks Rey what they found while searching the village, and they clearly experienced none of the strange events that he and Finn did. Which is both a relief and a mystery. Why them? Was it the house? Or was it something more?

They reach the Falcon and Poe pulls Finn to a stop at the bottom of the ramp. "You go ahead, get the ship ready," he tells the others. "We'll be right there."

"Everything okay?" Rey asks, and BB-8 echoes her concern. Poe nods, glancing back at the forest.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just need a minute."

Rey nods and walks up the ramp with Chewie, BB-8 following reluctantly. Finn crosses his arms over his chest. "Need a minute?" he asks. "You sure everything is okay?"

"I don't know," Poe admits. He feels unsettled, nervous. He suspects he won't ever completely understand what happened to the dark Jedi who destroyed the village, or what happened to him and Finn in the house. But there is one thing he does know, and he needs to say it before they leave. He opens his mouth, but his nerves get the better of him, and something completely different comes out first.

"What the hell happened in there?"

Finn sighs, wondering when Poe would start asking questions. The problem is, Finn doesn't have any answers. Only vague impressions and feelings. Like the ones that started it all and brought them there.

"You probably know as much as I do," Finn tells him. "Since it sounds like you saw parts of the story, too."

"I did, down in the basement," Poe tells him. He stares off into the distance. "I saw a woman, who put away her lightsaber and lived a peaceful life here. She was married and happy and…"

"And then the dark Jedi found her."

"He loved her," Poe says, sounding as if he can't believe it.

"But he had already turned. I think she left to get away, and hid here."

"And that's why he killed her, and her husband, and everyone else. Love and betrayal." Poe runs a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. "Like some sordid holo-drama, only it really happened. Here."

Finn nods. "And it was so terrible, the echo of it remained."

"In the Force?" Poe asks. "Or like a ghost?"

"Both, maybe." Finn doesn't have all the answers and waits for Poe to continue. He knows there's more—more questions he won't be able to answer.

"How did you do it?" Poe asks after a long silence. "How did you stop it?"

"I don't know," Finn tells him, wishing he had a better answer. "I mean, I used the Force, I know that. And I couldn't have done it without that lightsaber you found."

"Maybe that's why I found it," Poe murmurs. He holds out his hand, takes the elegant weapon and examines it. "Do you think you'll keep it?"

Finn looks at him in surprise. "What? Keep it? But it's not mine!"

"What else are you going to do with it?" Poe asks. "Dump it somewhere? Sell it? Take it apart and put it back together?"

"Well, maybe—" Finn had been thinking that was exactly what he'd do, but Poe stops him. Steps forward and presses the weapon back into Finn's hand.

"I think you should keep it," he says. "Because you earned it. Whatever it was in there—evil spirit, Force ghost, echo of the past—you stopped it. You finally put this place to rest."

"You think so?" Finn asks, not sure whether he had actually done what Poe thinks he did, or if he deserves a lightsaber before he has completed his training.

"I do," Poe says. "I think whatever stuck around is gone now, because of you." He takes Finn's hands in his. "You're going to be a Jedi, Finn. You're a good man, and you'll need a good weapon. This might be it."

Finn is speechless. He glances down at their hands, at the weapon between them. It does feel right, somehow. As if perhaps he was meant to find it. Or, in this case, that Poe was meant to find it for him. Maybe that's why he was drawn here. Maybe that's why they experienced what they did in the house.

Finn suddenly realizes something else about their time in the house. What he needs to do, to say, only it's much harder when Poe is standing across from him, alive and uninjured. It's ridiculous, yet true. It was much easier to say something when Poe was unconscious. He takes a deep breath to try now that they are both safe and alive.

"Poe, I—"

He doesn't get very far, for Poe steps forward and kisses him, hard. And it feels different, somehow—with an edge of desperation, touched by something else. Finn kisses him back, yet before he can lose himself in the moment, Poe pulls away, still holding both of his hands tight.

"I love you," he says, almost blurts, and Finn's eyes widen in surprise. He opens his mouth, but Poe shakes his head, stops him. "No, no—don't say anything yet. I'm not telling you this because we almost died in there, or because I shot you, but because I mean it." He takes a deep breath to slow down. "Because I thought you were dying in there, and I realized I couldn't lose you without saying something. So I said it, but it wasn't you, and I'm sorry."

"Poe, it's—"

"No, wait. Now it's actually you, and we're alive, and I can't leave here without telling you. I am so in love with you, and I don't want anything to happen without you knowing how much." He blows out a long, nervous breath. "Okay, that's it. Sorry."

Finn pulls Poe closer, bringing the other man's hands to his chest, resting them against his heart. "Poe, you don't have to apologize for anything. You know why?"

"Why?" Poe looks nervous, worried.

"Because I did the same thing. When I found you upstairs with a blaster hole through your chest."

The corner of Poe's mouth quirks up. "Did what, exactly?"

"Dying confession—you were dying, so I confessed." Poe's smile widens, and his eyes crinkle in that way Finn loves so much. He feels his heart melt a little, and suddenly—it's easy. "I love you, too," Finn says, his voice cracking slightly. He clears his throat. "Have for a while."

"Huh," Poe says, looking sort of stunned. "I honestly wasn't sure…I hoped, but…"

"But we're a pair of idiots," Finn finishes for him. "Because we could've have said it a long time ago and had this the whole time."

"Well, now we do." Poe kisses him again. "Thank you for saving my life and not dying in there."

"I couldn't have done either without you," Finn tells him. It's true. He needs Poe by his side, always.

"That's because we're a good team. Officially." Poe grins and takes his hand. "Come on, let's get out of here. Because I'm pretty sure—"

There is a disgruntled growl from the inside of the Falcon, and BB-8 comes rolling down the ramp, whistling at them to come inside already.

"—someone is gonna start yelling at us to hurry up," Poe finishes. He motions at BB-8 to head back in and follows him up the ramp. "Didn't think it would be you, though, pal!"

"I sent him," Rey calls from the cockpit. "You owe me that story, especially after that kiss!"

"What?" Finn exclaims. "You were watching?"

Chewie rumbles that he looked away; Rey counters by telling them Chewie was the one who saw them first. Poe laughs, and Finn rolls his eyes as he starts toward the cockpit. He is stopped by a hand, pulling him the other way, toward the main hold and the crew quarters. BB-8 follows them.

"Where're we going?"

"We just had a moment," Poe says. BB-8 trills in surprise. "I'm not ready for it to end."

Finn grins. "You mean…"

"I do." Poe stops and pulls him into another kiss, longer and growing more heated. "I love you. I thought I'd lost you. We deserve a moment."

The shriek of surprise from BB-8 sends them both into fits of laughter. The little droid swivels his dome between them before he turns and takes off for the cockpit, no doubt bursting to tell Rey and Chewie what he heard. Finn feels the ship take off, shooting through the atmosphere toward home. He leans in for another kiss.

"I love you, too, you know," he murmurs.

"I know," Poe replies. Finn nips playfully at his lips in reply, and Poe pulls him closer, hands wrapped tightly around Finn's waist. Their moment is ruined, however, by a shout over the comms.

"Better come up here quick," calls Rey. "We're about to run into trouble."

"Didn't we just leave the trouble behind?" Poe mutters against Finn's lips, and Finn sighs. The moment is over. There is no rest for the weary.

"We'll be right there!" he shouts into the air, then gives Poe a sly grin. "We're leaving it to them if it's another haunted house, though." He takes Poe's hand, and they head up front, to whatever adventure is waiting for them next. Together.

Author's Note:

The End. Thank you for reading!