Title: Day 8
Author: tarotgal
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: PG
Pairings: Finn/Poe
Disclaimer: Not my characters. I wish they were mine. I definitely don’t get paid for this.
Summary: Poe comes home from a mission feeling sick.
Notes: Written for my 12 Ficlets in 12 Days in 2017-18 project project for Anonymous.

Finn had never really learned the art of patience. He was definitely more of a ‘not waiting before acting’ sort of guy. Right now, his instinct was to hop onto one of the ships in the hanger and fly it out to meet Poe. And he made it as far as the door to the hanger before he remembered he couldn’t fly a ship.

So he settled for pacing back and forth in the hallway outside the hanger, looking in every time he walked by to make sure Poe wasn’t back yet. Twenty steps in one direction. Twenty in the other. It suddenly felt like he was back in the First Order, marching, so he stopped at once. With Poe’s jacket on, he hugged his arms around himself as if it were Poe hugging him. This helped calm him for a little while, but it didn’t last.

As soon as he saw Poe’s X-wing return, as soon as he saw the all-too recognizable orange and white droid in the back, as soon as he saw the pilot he loved pull his helmet off, the fluttering in Finn’s chest threatened to overpower him. He leaned back against the doorway, trying to look casual and charming despite the nervous thumping of his heart. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Poe climb down and head straight for the door. This door. Straight for him. Without thinking, Finn lifted his chin and tried to put on a roguish smile. “Welcome back, Poe.”

Poe was moving at a quick clip but stopped in the doorway. He turned and looked at Finn, and Finn was absolutely sure Poe was about to pin him back against the wall and kiss him hello without any warning. But then Poe turned away and hurried on back down the hallway without a word.

Finn almost fell over. What had just happened? “Poe?” he called after the man, but Poe didn’t look back. Finn was about to go after him when BB-8 rolled over.

The droid came to a stop in front of Finn and the way his top moved, it seemed he was looking Finn up and down as well. Then he made a series of sounds.

Finn shook his head. “Sorry, I still can’t understand what you’re—”

BB-8 made more sounds, this time sounding more annoyed with him than anything else. The droid waited for an answer. And when he wasn’t given anything apart from a shrug, he seemed to give up entirely and roll down the hallway in the direction Poe had gone.

Finn just stood there, dumbstruck. “What just happened?”

Not knowing what to do, he went to Poe’s quarters. It was where he slept most nights anyway, even if Poe wasn’t there. But when he got there, the door was locked. The door was never locked, unless he and Poe were… Finn pressed his ear to the door, sure Poe couldn’t possibly be inside with someone else doing those sorts of things. But Finn couldn’t hear any noise through the door. Not thinking, just acting, he knocked on the door and refused to leave until he spoke with Poe.

It was almost five minutes—and eight knocks later—when Poe opened the door. Poe’s flight suit was half off—still on his bottom half, but the top half of the suit was folded back and the sleeves were tied around his waist like a belt. From the wrinkles and the smell, it looked like he’d been wearing this same white t-shirt under them the whole mission.

Finn very nearly blurted out a half dozen questions: What’s the matter? What was all that about? Why’d you blow me off? Why is the door locked? Why’d it take you so long to answer the door? Why wouldn’t you talk to me? But, when he started to speak, he found there was really only one question he needed to ask: “What did I do wrong?”

Poe looked annoyed, confused, and utterly exhausted. He dragged his fingernails against the stubble on his cheek. “Nothing,” he said, his voice strained and scratchy. “Look, Finn, I feel awful. I’m not in the mood for…” He shook his head, closed his eyes. “I’m not in the mood for anything except bed.”

“Okay,” Finn nodded. “Then let’s go to bed.” He wasn’t sleepy yet, but he absolutely wouldn’t mind holding Poe while he slept. The man looked like he was going to fall asleep standing up, so it was the least he could do to get him there safely and make him feel welcome and glad to be home.

But Poe didn’t budge. “Thanks, buddy. But I think I’d better just be on my own. I really don’t want you to catch what I’ve got.” And, with that, he began to close the door.

Finn moved to the side, trying to maintain eye contact with Poe even as the door slid shut. But Poe made it even harder to do by closing his eyes and turning away and “Kehtchoo! Kehtchhhh! Ketchoo!” sneezing.

The door closed, leaving Finn standing there, clueless and confused. What was he supposed to do now? He followed his instincts and knocked again, intending to push past and insist that he get into bed with Poe. But no matter how much he knocked now, the door didn’t open up again.

With a sigh, Finn turned his back on the door and stormed away with a destination already in mind.

* * *

When the door to Poe’s quarters opened again, Finn was standing right there. Poe gave a start, stepping back, hugging an arm around his middle and rubbing his forehead. “Finn, what are you doing here?”

“Obvious, isn’t it?” He didn’t step forward, but he did extend his arms into the room with a covered plate of food from the mess hall. “You’re always hungry when you come back from missions, ‘cause you love your ship but hate ship rations.”

Stunned, Poe took the plate. “True, but—”

Finn grabbed a bottle of water he’d also picked up and handed it over as well. “Anything else you need?”

Poe shook his head. “No, I was…” He turned his head and pressed his face into his bicep. “ehhh… ehhh-KTChhhhhhh! K’tchhhh!” He shook his head, snuffling. “No, I just sniff! Sniff! I just wanted a meal. Thanks.”

Finn leaned against the wall, trying again to look casual. “You’re welcome. I—“

But Poe was already sliding the door closed.

Finn sighed and leaned against the door.

* * *

It was a few hours later when the door opened again, but Finn was still right there waiting. He was starting to get a little better at this patience thing. He gave Poe a smile and also gave him a tissue box.

Poe stood there, a bewildered expression on his face. “Fidd?” The congestion almost overwhelmed him.

“You could probably use these.”

“I could… how…”

“You’ve been sneezing a whole lot, right? I didn’t want you without something to sneeze into. Other than your shoulder, I mean.”

Poe tore open the box and pulled a few out. He wiped his nose and closed his eyes, an expression of absolute bliss on his face that Finn had seen a number of times before.

“I found some soft ones. Do you like them?”

Poe nodded, cupping them to his face. “hehh… ehhh-K’TShhhhh! Kehhshooo!” He rubbed and blew his nose. Then he sighed. “Yeah, Fidd. They’re great. Thadgs.”

“How great?”

Poe sighed, which made him cough a little. “Fidd, I really feel awful. Every bit of be aches add by throat is sore add I’b sdeezig dodstob. I feel horrible, but I’d feel eved worse if you caught this frob be. You udderstad?”

Finn nodded and, once more, found himself with the door closing in his face. With his back against the door, he slid down and sat on the floor. If this was the closest he could get to Poe, this was where he was determined to stay.

* * *

Finn lay on the floor, the jacket draped over him like a blanket. There was a blanket he’d found for Poe that he was using as a pillow. He was sore and uncomfortable, but he was right where he wanted to be. Besides, he’d slept in worse places when he was with the First Order. And it had its benefits, because he was right there when the door opened again, waking him from a restless sleep.

“hehhh-KITCHhoo! Uhhh… Fidd?” Poe sounded like he’d only just woken up himself.

Finn pulled himself to his feet and leaned against the doorway in order to keep upright. He was so sleepy he felt like he might nod right off again. “Yep. Right here. What do you need? More tissues? Painkillers? A blanket?”

Poe hesitated.

“I’ll get you anything you want.”

Poe reached out and poked Finn in the stomach. “You. I wadt you.”

Finn’s heart began to race. “Are you sure? What you said before about…”

“I’b sure. Heh… heh-KIHTchoo! Kehshooo! Sniff! As lodg as you dod’t care if you habbed to catch this bug.”

His face brightly lit with a smile, Finn lept at the chance. “Of course I don’t care! Why do you think I’ve been here this whole time?”

“Be-because ehh-KEHTshoo! K’shuhh! Sniff! Sniff! Because you’re ad idiot who dever thidks thidgs through. You get ode thought id your head add rud with it.”

“Maybe I do. But I still want to be with you.” He didn’t care if it meant he might get sick, because there was also a chance he might not. And either way, he’d be with Poe. And he’d know for sure if he were making Poe feel better. He took a step into the room and was thrilled that Poe didn’t stop him this time. The door slid closed behind him. “It’s nice to be on this side of things.”

“Dod’t look so bleased with yourself. We’re dot goig to… I bead… I feel awful…”

Finn placed a soft kiss on his lips. “I know. Just tell me what I can do to help, and I’ll do it.”

“I cad’t lie dowd,” Poe explained. “Every tibe I do, the codgestiod fills by head add bakes be cough so buch I gag. But I cad’t get cobfortable edough to sleeb sittig ub.”

“Ah.” Finn nodded. “I see where I come in. Leave it to me.” He slipped his jacket on then wrapped the blanket around Poe. After a lot of maneuvering and adjusting, he managed to sit up in bed with Poe lounging against him and the covers up to his neck. Finn wrapped both his arms around Poe in a tight hug. “How’s this? Do you think you can fall asleep now?”

“I… I… deed to hehhh! Fidd, I… kehhh…”

Finn had been so caught up in getting Poe situated in bed, he hadn’t actually thought about what to do if Poe sneezed. Finn pulled his arm free and searched for the tissue box. He found it, and even though it was running low, he pulled out a tissue, intending to hand it to Poe.

But Poe couldn’t wait. He pitched forward. “Katchoo! Hahshoo! K’shhhhhhhh!”

Without thinking about it, Finn rubbed and wiped Poe’s nose for him. “Feeling better?” he chuckled.

“Thadgs,” Poe said again, closing his eyes and not the door this time. “This is all I wadted frob the bobedt I got back to base. I’b glad you waited out there add did’t listed to be.”