How To End a War
Poe is sitting at the top of the ramp to the Millennium Falcon, alone in the shadows. He looks tired, but content, and Finn can sense both his sadness and his relief. Finn feels similar, the heady sense of victory marred by grief for all those they'd lost in the battle over Exegol.
Finn had lost someone, but she'd come back. He is still trying to understand that, how he could feel Rey so strongly, how she came back even after he'd felt her die. He isn't sure if he wants to know more, though. It's confusing, this thing inside of him that he wants to put a name to, but is also afraid of claiming. He shouldn't be afraid, but he is: the moment he felt Rey's light disappear is not one he wants to feel again.
Finn starts toward Poe, who waves with his good hand and moves over so there is room next to him. Across the landing area, people are still coming and going, hugging and kissing and crying. Finn sits down close to Poe, pulls his knees up, their legs touching, and watches the celebration. They've done it. He still can't believe it, and he lets his chin rest on top of his knees with a sigh.
"You all right?" Poe asks, right hand squeezing Finn's shoulder in concern, sending warmth through his entire body. Finn leans into it a little, nods in response and throws it back at him.
"You?"
Poe doesn't answer right away, but Finn follows his line of sight toward where Lando Calrissian is sitting with Wedge Antilles. Wedge is leaning forward and Lando's hand is on his shoulder. Finn frowns, wondering what happened, what drew Poe's eye until, for some reason, he looks around the clearing for the other X-wing pilots. There's Jess, and C'ai and Iolo, but—
"Snap didn't make it," Finn states, feeling a sudden wave of grief, both his own and Poe's. "Did he?"
Poe shakes his head, jaw so tight it looks like his teeth might crack. Finn takes his hand—no matter how much Poe hates the hands thing, Finn is convinced that deep down he likes it—and holds tight. And this time Poe squeezes his fingers so hard Finn thinks they might break; yet better his hand breaks, than Poe. "I'm so sorry," Finn tells him.
"I watched him go down," Poe whispers, dropping his head so Finn can barely hear him. "I heard him…and having to tell Wedge…" He takes the shakiest breath Finn's ever seen, looks at Finn with eyes red and bright. "How can the best day of our lives also be our worst?"
Finn knows he should say something about love and war and sacrifice, but it's bantha shit, and they both know it. He moves closer, shoulders touching, offering comfort and support. "I don't know," he says. "But it kriffing sucks."
Poe laughs at that, wipes his eyes. "That's the best you got?" he asks, but there is a sad smile on his face. "Not that I disagree."
"It's true, though," Finn tells him. "Isn't it? This—" he gestures around them "—this is amazing. We did it, Poe. We actually did it! But getting it done? Being on that planet, fighting through that fleet—that was the stuff of nightmares."
"Yes, it was," Poe agrees. He stares at his knees before speaking again. "I can't imagine what kind of nightmares Rey must have seen," he says softly. There is no bitterness to his voice, not like some of the other times he's spoken about Rey, about needing her more in the field. Now, he can sense concern from Poe. Concern, and confusion, and something like resignation.
The feeling that's been lingering just outside his reach begins to coalesce, and after all that's happened over the last several days, Finn thinks he may be closer to understanding what's been bothering them both. He may not be right, yet somehow, he knows what he has to do at that moment. Maybe the Force isn't so bad after all. Unless he's completely wrong and it ruins everything between them, that is.
"I felt her die," Finn tells Poe, and it is a testament to Poe's exhaustion that he does not react—no surprise, no confusion, no disappointment or anger. "On Exegol. She died, and then she came back."
Poe is watching him sideways, an enigmatic look on his face, and Finn is even more convinced that what he wants to say is the right thing to say, as long as he says it the right way. Which he probably won't, as he already feels himself tripping over his tongue. "I feel things like that, sometimes," he continues. He's purposefully avoiding looking at Poe now, because somehow that will make it easier. He wants to say more, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard. And he's definitely going to mess it up.
Poe looks away as well. "You feel things," he repeats. "About Rey. That's what you wanted to tell her."
"I wanted to tell her first," Finn replies. "I figured she'd understand."
"I'd understand," Poe says, and turns toward him, the look on his face both earnest and hurt. "Finn, I want you to be happy, especially now that this is over. You're my friend, and she is too. You could have told me."
Finn gazes into Poe's eyes and realizes almost immediately that he's botched it completely because they're talking about two completely different things. He is both surprised and touched at Poe's words, and yet it makes him want to laugh inside—stars, they're idiots, aren't they? Always avoiding this one thing, dancing around everything else.
"Could have told you what?" he asks. Poe frowns, looks away again.
"Finn, I get it, I do. You should talk to her."
"About what?"
Now Poe looks annoyed. He purses his lips, open them to say something, then stops and blows out a breath, deflating right before Finn. He pats Finn on the knee, and it feels as if he is saying goodbye. "Find her. Make sure she's okay." He stands to leave.
Finn grabs his hand and holds tight. Something must show on his face, or maybe Poe feels it too, because instead of pulling away, Poe stops and looks down at him with concern, not irritation. "What's wrong?" he asks. "Finn, this should be easy, especially now that it's all over."
"Yes, well, you're making it a lot harder," Finn tells him, and this time Poe bristles in defense and pulls his hand away.
"I'm making it harder?" he asks, his voice low, almost cracking. "Finn, buddy, you have no idea what—" He stops himself, standing up straighter. "I should go."
"You should sit down," Finn tells him, then looks up and softens his words. "Please."
"I need to—" Only there's nothing to do right at that moment, and Finn knows that. The battle is over, and the camp is a free-for-all. Maybe they should take charge and impose some order, how how?
"You need to sit down," Finn says, gentler this time. "Because I need to talk to you, not Rey. Why do you think I'm sitting here? It's not particularly comfortable on this ramp, you know."
Poe sits down slowly, reluctantly, though with more distance than before. To Finn's surprise, he apologizes. "I'm sorry," he says. "I don't mean to be a bad friend, a bad person, it's just…" He waves his good arm around. "Been a hell of day."
"Yeah, it has." Finn takes Poe's hand again, and this time he gets the eye roll. It makes him smile, as well as determined to get it right this time.
"Feeling clingy?" Poe asks, his voice dry.
"Maybe I am," Finn tells him. "We lost a lot of people today and I don't want to lose any more. This makes it easier."
Poe's lips curl into a funny smile. "You just said I was making it harder, and now you're holding my hand."
"Maybe I don't want you trying to run away again. You didn't let me finish what I was saying."
Poe looks ready to protest, then stops himself and nods. "Fair enough. Go ahead. You feel things."
"Exactly," says Finn, impressed that Poe picks up right where they left off. He doesn't stop to breath, to think, he simply says it. "I feel things through the Force."
There is complete silence from beside him, and Finn is afraid to look at Poe, terrified at what he'll see. But then he relaxes his shoulders and takes a deep breath and all he feels is a sense of wonder. There is no doubt that it's from Poe, it practically glows in the air around them. Wonder and joy, relief, and something else along the edges Finn is beginning to recognize in himself.
"You're Force-sensitive," Poe murmurs. "Like Rey."
"I'm nothing like Rey," Finn huffs. "But I think…no, I know it's the Force. And that's what I wanted to tell her, so she could help me figure this out."
Poe is quiet once more, but he hasn't let go of Finn's hand, so that's a good thing. Finn squeezes his fingers, to remind Poe that he's still here. Poe squeezes tight again.
"You'll figure it out," he says. "You're…you could be a Jedi! Kriff, Finn… that's the most amazing thing I've ever heard!"
"Seriously?" Finn asks. He is ashamed of his surprise and unabashedly relieved that Poe has not reacted badly; he easily could have, given his experiences with Kylo Ren. "You don't think it's weird? Me, a former Stormtrooper, using the Force?"
Poe turns to him in disbelief, his eyes crinkling with warmth and sincerity. "Not one bit, buddy. I think it's incredible. And you shouldn't think it's weird, either. You should tell Rey. What are you waiting for? She'll be thrilled."
Finn shrugs. Suddenly it doesn't seem nearly as important as it did every other time he wanted to tell her, and he is so glad he told Poe first. "I bet she already knows. It can wait."
"Then thank you for telling me," Poe says, and he means it. Finn feels like the tension hanging between them since Pasaana, and even before, has evaporated with his one, life-changing confession. It wasn't easy, and yet…it was. He's Force sensitive, and he's okay with that, and so is Poe. Nothing's changed, and yet everything feels different.
Now the silence is comfortable, and Finn wants to lean in closer, but doesn't. They're not quite there, not yet. But Finn is determined to get them there. He wants more than acceptance.
"So what happens next, General?" he asks.
Poe lets go of Finn's hand, rests it on his knees and looks out at the crowd. "I have no idea, General. I still can't believe this is real."
"Thanks to you," Finn murmurs.
"Thanks to you," Poe returns. He sighs. "There will be a lot of cleanup to do, to start with. We're going to need to work with the New Republic forces on this now. We did the heavy lifting, but it's time they step up. There's no looking the other way after something like this. Not like they did after Starkiller."
Finn nods slowly. "But we're not going to let them go back to the way things were, right? Because that's how the First Order snuck in, you know."
"True," says Poe. "And because we didn't pay any attention to what was going on past the borders. I mean, how does a dead guy build a fleet of hundreds of ships, with thousands of people, and no one notices?" He shakes his head. "I'm no good at politics, Finn. I want to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"How?" Finn asks, but somehow, he knows what Poe will say, and he knows his own response.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to get eyes out there. I will start my own branch of the navy even if I have to do it the way Leia did, underground. We need people at the borders, and beyond—watching and listening. So that rumors don't remain rumors, secret fleets don't remain secret. And I'm going to be out there, making sure that the rest of the galaxy pays attention this time."
"And I'll be right there with you," Finn says, the words falling from his lips without any thought. "Side by side, making sure nothing gets past us this time." Poe tilts his head curiously.
"What about the Force?" he asks. "What about Rey?" Finn rolls his eyes.
"What about Rey?" he retorts. "Look, I know what you were thinking about me and Rey before, and you were wrong. And if you're still thinking it, you're still wrong. It's not like that, Poe, and it never will be. Because I—"
He is stopped by lips pressed against his, the scratch of stubble rubbing against his chin, the touch of callused fingers caressing his jaw. It's a short kiss, firm yet gentle. When Poe pulls back, he looks terrified, but why? It's the most perfect thing the world, this kiss.
"Because this is what I want," he finishes, and wrapping his hand around the back of Poe's neck, he pulls him forward into a deeper, longer kiss. Poe makes a little sound, his good hand pulling Finn closer, and Finn melts into it, running his other hand through Poe's hair and wondering why it had taken him, both of them, so long to do finally do this.
Because it's amazing, and Finn can't imagine not doing this again. He's more sure than anything it's what he wants, what their future is supposed to be. Since the moment they met on a Star Destroyer above Jakku, they've been hurtling toward this moment. A victory not just for the galaxy, but for them, personally. The war is over, and they can be together now—still protecting the galaxy, but together as more than generals.
There is a sound behind them, a muffled grunt of surprise followed by a familiar, "Oh my." Finn's instinct is to pull away, but Poe's hand holds him tight, and he takes his time finishing the kiss—kriff, he's good—and ends it looking more happy and relaxed than Finn has seen him for days.
"Hey, Chewie," Poe practically drawls, and the Wookie says something about taking it inside. Poe grins up at Chewbacca and C3-PO and is about to answer when Rey walks up behind them with BB-8.
"Chewie, where are the—" She trails off when she sees Finn and Poe sitting on the ramp, bodies turned toward one another, hands touching, Poe's hair disheveled, and not from his helmet. It's pretty clear what's happened even before Chewbacca clearly delights in telling her.
"Really?" she exclaims. "But that's brilliant. Finally!"
BB-8 trills a question at Poe, who ducks his head and laughs. "Yeah, buddy, you heard Chewie right. We did. Finally." The little droid zooms up and down the ramp, whistling happily. He bumps into Poe, who rubs his head, and then into Finn.
"You did what?" asks Jessika Pava, showing up at the bottom of the ramp and propping a knee up. C'ai is Threnalli behind her, grinning in his Abednedo way. "Because if you did what I think you did, Threnalli owes me ten credits."
"They did," says Rose Tico. She appears at the side of the ramp with Beaumont Kin and Kaydel Connix. "I saw it. It was very romantic."
"Romance?" croons a low voice, and Lando Calrissian is there, hands on his hips. "Now that is the way to end a war!" R2-D2 beeps in agreement next to him, and Wedge Antilles nods in approval, a sad smile on his face as he puts an arm around Karè Kun.
Poe is starting to look flustered at all the attention for what had been a rather special and private moment, but Finn squeezes his knee and feels him almost instantly relax. Poe raises his eyebrows, asking a silent question, and Finn nods, even though he's not sure what he's agreeing to. Poe's smile is blinding as he grips Finn's hand tightly.
"If that's how we end a war, then this war is over!" he says, and leans forward for a devastating kiss.
Everyone around them whoops and cheers, and between Poe's kiss and his friends' love and support, Finn has never felt more joy in his life than he does at that moment. The war is finally over, and Finn is ready to move on and start a new life—in more ways than one, and with Poe by his side.
Author's Note:
Well, clearly this is "the moment" for Finn and Poe in fanfic – that kiss we didn't get at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, but would have been so easy and so perfect. So yes, I'm going to write it as many times as I possibly can, no apologies! And Finn being Force-sensitive, as well. This one was inspired by the image of everyone sitting/standing on the ramp of the Millennium Falcon, kind of like the scene at the end of The Return of the Jedi when they are all together in the Ewok village. Thank you for reading!