Kare snickers when Finn mentions washing sheets, nudging Jess with her elbow. Jess slaps her arm, grinning. At least they don't say anything. Thank the Force, Poe thinks. He really needs to talk to them about... about what? 'Stop being friendly enough with your commanding officer that you're not afraid to tease him?'
Yeah, real winning argument there.
"'m just leaning," he mumbles around a full mouth. But he is getting awful sleepy.
Kare grimaces. "Too much mercury in the wildlife. Kivann--you remember him, right, Iolo? Koreddin. He was fine. The rest of us wouldn't have been. I would have rather dealt with poison rats."
"Lucky Kivann." He's finally slowing down, with maybe a tenth of the food on his plate left. He'll finish it, but he's willing to take a little more time--provided Poe doesn't actually fall asleep on him. The others don't look quite as exhausted, but then, they weren't wounded either. It can take something out of you.
"D'you keep emergency rations on you?" He taps his belt; three days of iron rations is a good habit to have and the sole reason he didn't die on Jakku. "Not that they're anything like real food. But they can keep you going in a pinch."
"Standard ration pack goes out with every X-wing," Poe offers. He stifles a yawn. He's definitely the tired one at the table. It's probably because he had less sleep going in to the mission. Glad his people have been getting more rest, though. Well, he can catch up if he's going to be grounded for a little while.
"Yeah, three days worth. Runs out faster than you think," Kare says.
"Especially if some swamp viper eats all yours," Iolo mutters.
Poe swallows another mouthful. "Also a pretty decent first aid kit," he adds, even if it's slightly off topic. "Close to field medic level."
"So we have the equipment to help out your ground pounders if you really get in a pinch," Kare finishes.
"A-wing's better for that than an X-wing, though," Poe says. He starts scraping his plate. He's contemplating licking it, but he's supposed to have some kind of dignity left. "Go in fast and low, and they can be stealthed. Fun times."
Finn nods, glad they have that much in common with what he's used to. "Form up on the nearest ship if we get stranded. Got it." Makes sense to him; medkits and rations aside, ships are more likely to have working comms gear to call for evac.
That's the second time Poe's mentioned an A-wing. "You have one of those before you got an X-wing? Or do you just know everything that has wings?" Probably a little of both, he predicts.
Poe's leaning is getting worse, though, so Finn quickly finishes his plate. "All right, Poe, we better get going before you fall asleep at the table. Catch the rest of you later?" He hopes they'll say yes. They seem friendly enough, and they're clearly very fond of their Leader.
"Poe was hatched knowing how to fly everything," Kare says.
Poe laughs. "I learned to fly on an A-wing. My mom owned one after she retired. Only dummy armaments on it, but it was still fast as hell and that was all that mattered." It still hurts a little to think about his mother being gone, but the good times outweigh that grief by a lot.
"Yeah, get him to bed, Finn," Jess says, all wide-eyed and innocent, and Poe doesn't buy it for one second. He knows Jess better than that.
"Shower first," he mumbles. The idea of rubbing his stink all over fresh sheets seems almost blasphemous.
"Come back after you've dumbed that sad sack of bantha shit on the garbage heap," Kare says cheerfully. "If we're not here, we're in the showers and we'll be back."
Finn makes an "ah" of understanding. If his mom taught him to fly at a young age, that would explain...basically everything. "She was a Rebel, wasn't she? Back in the War." Because there is no way Poe Dameron came from an Imperial background, and traders don't fly A-wings. Not when he ended up with General Organa.
But you ended up with General Organa, a small voice in his mind points out. Finn silently reminded the small voice that he doesn't quite fit in, even if the pilots are treating him like ofne of their own. He sees the covert glances people give him, and how much of that is because of the rumors and how much of that is because of the way he acts is difficult to tell. But even with the side-eyeing, it's still infinitely better than what he'd come from.
"Shower, toss him on the bed like a sack of garbage, meet you all back here. Got it. C'mon, BB-8, you better come with me so I don't get lost." Okay, he's not going to get lost (Poe's room isn't hard to find), but the little droid is his friend too. He waves to the others as the three of them head out.
"Yeah. She worked for the General before she even was the General. Flew with her brother, too." Hasn't he told Finn this before? Maybe not. He doesn't keep it secret, but it's also not the first thing anyone learns about him. And she'd been one of the best pilots out there, without having some kind of mystical power to back her up. He's proud of that too, always.
"'m not a sack of garbage," he mumbles as he pries himself out of his seat. Someone's turned up the gravity on this moon, he's sure of it. Well, doesn't hurt to sling an arm around Finn's shoulders and lean on him a bit, just to steady himself. Totally benign.
Stop looking at him like that, Kare. He can smell the trouble brewing, just looking at her grin. Sometimes he wonders if he'd be better off if he could just force choke people like Darth Vader and put the fear of Poe into them. (No he doesn't. Ever.)
"Showers first," he says, as they exit the mess. Showers aren't private even for commanders; it's just not efficient. And once they're there, it's a relief to get his flight suit unzipped, revealing the tight black t-shirt beneath. He leans against the wall of the locker room outside the showers to start unlacing his boots.
(You should have stopped at your room first.) BB-8 points out.
Finn whistles appreciatively. "Right in the middle of it. Did you get a lot of stories growing up?" He's aware that his version of the fall of the Empire is...probaby told very differently than the version they tell here.
Once they get to the showers, Finn bats around the idea of a quick sonic shower himself (no water on his back for another week, doctor's orders) but decides to hold off until later. Poe might, despite his promise, need a hand afterwards to get to his bunk.
He looks dubious at Poe's pronouncement, though. "Are you allowed to be in the hallways with only a towel? Cause I can run and get you a set of scrubs or something."
(Or your pajamas! I could show him where those are!) BB-8 adds helpfully.
Later, he promises. He'll talk about mom and dad and the few stories they did tell him later. He doesn't have a sharp enough brain right now to do any of them justice, and he doesn't have that many. His parents had always been very close-mouthed about what they did, though he understands it now. It's one thing to be shooting drek with your fellow pilots, another entirely to tell them to an impressionable kid who is still convinced war is glorious.
He finishes untangling his boot laces and toes his boots off while he's pulling his shirt over his head. His bruised muscles protest, and he ignores them. "It's not that long of a walk back to my room."
(No he's not,) BB-8 offers helpfully.
"That's not true," Poe says. "I'm not allowed to streak back to my room. And that was just the one time when Kare got us all drunk."
(Pajamas, Poe,) BB-8 insists.
Poe flaps a hand. "If you guys are that concerned... do whatever you want. I don't care as long as I'm not wearing this stuff any more." The shirt goes down the laundry shirt, trailing almost visible lines of stink. He throws the boots in after it--they get cleaned too--and starts pulling off the rest of his flight suit.
Finn laughs at the mental image of a bunch of pilots streaking through the halls, because who wouldn't? "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. Come on, BB-8, show me the way. Poe, we'll be right back. Don't fall asleep in the water."
It's said jokingly; he knows Poe is better than that, even this tired. So he follows a whirring BB-8 out and down the hallway, which really isn't that far away. Officer's privilege, he's sure. "All right, where do I look?" Poe seems to organize in that 'pass military inspection by the skin of his teeth' way.
(It should be over in this drawer! It's not, but you should look here anyway, I know Poe wants to show you this stuff.)
"All right, let's see if--" He slams the drawer shut, feeling heat on his face, and Finn gapes for a moment. "Uh. Hey. Uh. Where else--that wasn't, uh. His pajamas."
(My bad! They're over here with the other clean laundry.)
"You're laughing at me, BB." Finn snatches the pajamas and rushes back to the showers, hoping the mortification on his face dies down before then. Or if it doesn't, that Poe's still in the shower and doesn't see it.
Poe mumbles an acknowledgment that sounds vaguely like Aye, sir as he strips the flight suit off completely and Finn leaves.
Naked, he wanders to the showers, turns one on as hot as it'll go, and leans against the wall, just letting the water run over him and drip from his hair. He does get that washed, at least, he's quick and efficient even if he's not moving his fastest. But then he just leans, since there's no point in getting out of the water until the clothes come back.
"Poe? We got your pajamas out here when you're ready." Sure is steamy in here. Finn can't wait until he can take a nice, hot shower again - sonic showers are fine but it's just not the same, and the heat feels good on his back.
He doesn't mention what else he saw in Poe's room, though. No, he is not going to think about it when Poe is this close and naked. Definitey not.
...It's a very good thing he won't be walking down the halls in just a towel, Finn concludes.
He barely hears Finn over the spray of the shower and the drone of his own heartbeat, but the sound is welcome, even if the idea of turning off the water isn't. "Okay," he calls. Water off, he shivers and grabs a towel, wrapping it loosely around his hips before stepping back into the locker room. "Thanks for getting those," he says, smoothing his dripping hair back with the hand not currently holding the towel in place. "Both of you."
"No problem, Poe." Nobody raised in a military environment is shy about showers, but Finn does take a moment to covertly check out his friend's body - and sees with relief his injuries are in fact all minor (though the bruises are starting to get rather spectacular). "Feel better? I can already tell you smell better."
Well, no, not really, but it's the kind of thing you say in situations like this. Besides, he looks better, even if he's still not as coordinated as he is when fully awake.
"Yeah, I think I can stand being in the same room as myself now."
He sees no reason to be shy, just dries himself off as briskly as he can manage and then slips on his pajamas. Shoes can wait. "Thanks for waiting. Really."
Because he probably would have fallen asleep in the shower if Finn hadn't. "Okay, bed for me, and then you can get back to that pack of animals that calls itself my squadton. Don't let Jess and Kare mess with you too much."
Or trust anything they say about me. Tempting, but too suspicious.
He's still got to get back to his bunk before Finn will consider it a success, but Poe at least looks like he'll be able to make the walk. He'd better escort him anyway, not that BB-8 can't handle it, but--that's what you do for friends, isn't it? So he starts walking back with Poe.
"They're all right. You got a good crew watching your back. Does Jess really keep a stuffed reptavian in her ship?" Gossip about the pilots is wild, and he doesn't believe more than half of it. Some of it is probably based in reality, though....
Poe probably could make it back just fine on his own, but since Finn is there, well... Can't blame a guy for wanting to lean on his buddy, right? Nice, warm buddy in a cool hallway.
"Got a lot of good people at my back." Including Finn. Well, at his side right now. "Yup. Under her seat, for good luck. And if you tell her I told you that, I will steal it and make sure she finds it in your closet."
Can't blame a guy at all. Not that Finn likes how physical Poe gets with him or anything. Not that Poe is the entire reason he even has this new life to begin with. Not that he's trying very, very hard not to think about what exactly was in Poe's underwear drawer besides underwear.
Definitely not.
"So, uh, let me know when you get your new orders? And if you think it'll help, I can put in a word with the General that you'd be all right with some downtime." Because, amazingly, the General actually values his opinion. He'd be loyal to her for that alone, even if she wasn't already a legend in her own right.
Poe's been careful about not being too physical, but Finn has always seemed to really be in for hugs. Probably needs them, and Poe's more than happy to supply them. (Though that's why he's being careful about boundaries, since he's betting Finn hasn't gotten a whole lot of... anything... from a young age.)
Orders? Oh. Finn, already thinking ahead. "You bet," he says. "What? Nah. I'll ask her if I can have some down time." He hates to feel like he's leaving anyone in a lurch, but he also knows himself well enough to know that he needs some off time if he can be spared.
He probably shouldn't... nah. Finn had said he wanted to have leave together. "You should put a word in for yourself though, right? Since we kind of made plans and all."
Just two friends hanging out on leave. Nothing more than that. Buddies do it all the time.
A whole lot of any kind of physical contact? Not at all. They were designed to be loyal to the First Order above all - even above their own squad. Leaving a friend behind would never happen, because there were no friends.
"You first," he says, though he starts to grin. "If you get the time off, I'll ask. No guarantees, though. I haven't been here long." Even though he's pretty sure he'd get it if he asked. He's still on light duty thanks to medical anyway.
It would be nice to go on leave with Poe, though. He knows how it all works.
"Okay, okay, have it your way," Poe says, chuckling. "I'll let you know what the General says tomorrow." He's pretty sure Finn will get the time off if he asks. Finn shouldn't even really be working right now.
And here they are at his room. He doesn't need to lean on Finn this much, but he's going to do it anyway as he gets over to his bed. He drops into it with a long sigh.
"All right." His main problem is that he gets antsy if he's not helping somehow, not doing something. Even light duty is enough to keep him busy - and besides, to learn how to fit in he has to try. Luckily, learning how to go on leave properly counts as both doing something and fitting in.
He helps Poe down to the bed and gives him one last hand-squeeze. "You get some sleep, Poe. I'll see you when you wake up."
It's a problem both of them share, which is why Finn trying to get Poe to take leave is particularly funny.
Just squeeze his hand, dummy. Don't get weird at him, Poe tells himself sternly. But it's nice. He gives Finn's hand a squeeze in return and then squirms under his blanket. "Goodnight, buddy," he mumbles into his pillow, eyes already closed even though he's half out from under the blanket. "'night, BB-8."
BB-8 bumps Finn slightly and then extends his manipulator arm to try to tug the corner of the blanket over Poe's leg.
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Yeah, real winning argument there.
"'m just leaning," he mumbles around a full mouth. But he is getting awful sleepy.
Kare grimaces. "Too much mercury in the wildlife. Kivann--you remember him, right, Iolo? Koreddin. He was fine. The rest of us wouldn't have been. I would have rather dealt with poison rats."
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"D'you keep emergency rations on you?" He taps his belt; three days of iron rations is a good habit to have and the sole reason he didn't die on Jakku. "Not that they're anything like real food. But they can keep you going in a pinch."
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"Yeah, three days worth. Runs out faster than you think," Kare says.
"Especially if some swamp viper eats all yours," Iolo mutters.
Poe swallows another mouthful. "Also a pretty decent first aid kit," he adds, even if it's slightly off topic. "Close to field medic level."
"So we have the equipment to help out your ground pounders if you really get in a pinch," Kare finishes.
"A-wing's better for that than an X-wing, though," Poe says. He starts scraping his plate. He's contemplating licking it, but he's supposed to have some kind of dignity left. "Go in fast and low, and they can be stealthed. Fun times."
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That's the second time Poe's mentioned an A-wing. "You have one of those before you got an X-wing? Or do you just know everything that has wings?" Probably a little of both, he predicts.
Poe's leaning is getting worse, though, so Finn quickly finishes his plate. "All right, Poe, we better get going before you fall asleep at the table. Catch the rest of you later?" He hopes they'll say yes. They seem friendly enough, and they're clearly very fond of their Leader.
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Poe laughs. "I learned to fly on an A-wing. My mom owned one after she retired. Only dummy armaments on it, but it was still fast as hell and that was all that mattered." It still hurts a little to think about his mother being gone, but the good times outweigh that grief by a lot.
"Yeah, get him to bed, Finn," Jess says, all wide-eyed and innocent, and Poe doesn't buy it for one second. He knows Jess better than that.
"Shower first," he mumbles. The idea of rubbing his stink all over fresh sheets seems almost blasphemous.
"Come back after you've dumbed that sad sack of bantha shit on the garbage heap," Kare says cheerfully. "If we're not here, we're in the showers and we'll be back."
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But you ended up with General Organa, a small voice in his mind points out. Finn silently reminded the small voice that he doesn't quite fit in, even if the pilots are treating him like ofne of their own. He sees the covert glances people give him, and how much of that is because of the rumors and how much of that is because of the way he acts is difficult to tell. But even with the side-eyeing, it's still infinitely better than what he'd come from.
"Shower, toss him on the bed like a sack of garbage, meet you all back here. Got it. C'mon, BB-8, you better come with me so I don't get lost." Okay, he's not going to get lost (Poe's room isn't hard to find), but the little droid is his friend too. He waves to the others as the three of them head out.
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"'m not a sack of garbage," he mumbles as he pries himself out of his seat. Someone's turned up the gravity on this moon, he's sure of it. Well, doesn't hurt to sling an arm around Finn's shoulders and lean on him a bit, just to steady himself. Totally benign.
Stop looking at him like that, Kare. He can smell the trouble brewing, just looking at her grin. Sometimes he wonders if he'd be better off if he could just force choke people like Darth Vader and put the fear of Poe into them. (No he doesn't. Ever.)
"Showers first," he says, as they exit the mess. Showers aren't private even for commanders; it's just not efficient. And once they're there, it's a relief to get his flight suit unzipped, revealing the tight black t-shirt beneath. He leans against the wall of the locker room outside the showers to start unlacing his boots.
(You should have stopped at your room first.) BB-8 points out.
"I'll just wear a towel."
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Once they get to the showers, Finn bats around the idea of a quick sonic shower himself (no water on his back for another week, doctor's orders) but decides to hold off until later. Poe might, despite his promise, need a hand afterwards to get to his bunk.
He looks dubious at Poe's pronouncement, though. "Are you allowed to be in the hallways with only a towel? Cause I can run and get you a set of scrubs or something."
(Or your pajamas! I could show him where those are!) BB-8 adds helpfully.
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He finishes untangling his boot laces and toes his boots off while he's pulling his shirt over his head. His bruised muscles protest, and he ignores them. "It's not that long of a walk back to my room."
(No he's not,) BB-8 offers helpfully.
"That's not true," Poe says. "I'm not allowed to streak back to my room. And that was just the one time when Kare got us all drunk."
(Pajamas, Poe,) BB-8 insists.
Poe flaps a hand. "If you guys are that concerned... do whatever you want. I don't care as long as I'm not wearing this stuff any more." The shirt goes down the laundry shirt, trailing almost visible lines of stink. He throws the boots in after it--they get cleaned too--and starts pulling off the rest of his flight suit.
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It's said jokingly; he knows Poe is better than that, even this tired. So he follows a whirring BB-8 out and down the hallway, which really isn't that far away. Officer's privilege, he's sure. "All right, where do I look?" Poe seems to organize in that 'pass military inspection by the skin of his teeth' way.
(It should be over in this drawer! It's not, but you should look here anyway, I know Poe wants to show you this stuff.)
"All right, let's see if--" He slams the drawer shut, feeling heat on his face, and Finn gapes for a moment. "Uh. Hey. Uh. Where else--that wasn't, uh. His pajamas."
(My bad! They're over here with the other clean laundry.)
"You're laughing at me, BB." Finn snatches the pajamas and rushes back to the showers, hoping the mortification on his face dies down before then. Or if it doesn't, that Poe's still in the shower and doesn't see it.
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Naked, he wanders to the showers, turns one on as hot as it'll go, and leans against the wall, just letting the water run over him and drip from his hair. He does get that washed, at least, he's quick and efficient even if he's not moving his fastest. But then he just leans, since there's no point in getting out of the water until the clothes come back.
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He doesn't mention what else he saw in Poe's room, though. No, he is not going to think about it when Poe is this close and naked. Definitey not.
...It's a very good thing he won't be walking down the halls in just a towel, Finn concludes.
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Well, no, not really, but it's the kind of thing you say in situations like this. Besides, he looks better, even if he's still not as coordinated as he is when fully awake.
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He sees no reason to be shy, just dries himself off as briskly as he can manage and then slips on his pajamas. Shoes can wait. "Thanks for waiting. Really."
Because he probably would have fallen asleep in the shower if Finn hadn't. "Okay, bed for me, and then you can get back to that pack of animals that calls itself my squadton. Don't let Jess and Kare mess with you too much."
Or trust anything they say about me. Tempting, but too suspicious.
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"They're all right. You got a good crew watching your back. Does Jess really keep a stuffed reptavian in her ship?" Gossip about the pilots is wild, and he doesn't believe more than half of it. Some of it is probably based in reality, though....
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"Got a lot of good people at my back." Including Finn. Well, at his side right now. "Yup. Under her seat, for good luck. And if you tell her I told you that, I will steal it and make sure she finds it in your closet."
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Definitely not.
"So, uh, let me know when you get your new orders? And if you think it'll help, I can put in a word with the General that you'd be all right with some downtime." Because, amazingly, the General actually values his opinion. He'd be loyal to her for that alone, even if she wasn't already a legend in her own right.
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Orders? Oh. Finn, already thinking ahead. "You bet," he says. "What? Nah. I'll ask her if I can have some down time." He hates to feel like he's leaving anyone in a lurch, but he also knows himself well enough to know that he needs some off time if he can be spared.
He probably shouldn't... nah. Finn had said he wanted to have leave together. "You should put a word in for yourself though, right? Since we kind of made plans and all."
Just two friends hanging out on leave. Nothing more than that. Buddies do it all the time.
He is in so much trouble.
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"You first," he says, though he starts to grin. "If you get the time off, I'll ask. No guarantees, though. I haven't been here long." Even though he's pretty sure he'd get it if he asked. He's still on light duty thanks to medical anyway.
It would be nice to go on leave with Poe, though. He knows how it all works.
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And here they are at his room. He doesn't need to lean on Finn this much, but he's going to do it anyway as he gets over to his bed. He drops into it with a long sigh.
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He helps Poe down to the bed and gives him one last hand-squeeze. "You get some sleep, Poe. I'll see you when you wake up."
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Just squeeze his hand, dummy. Don't get weird at him, Poe tells himself sternly. But it's nice. He gives Finn's hand a squeeze in return and then squirms under his blanket. "Goodnight, buddy," he mumbles into his pillow, eyes already closed even though he's half out from under the blanket. "'night, BB-8."
BB-8 bumps Finn slightly and then extends his manipulator arm to try to tug the corner of the blanket over Poe's leg.