Into You •Finnpoe Stormpilot•

Chapter XIV

Finn and Poe went to a pho restaurant for dinner since they didn't have any food at the apartment they could make. It was new and Poe had picked it out since he'd tried it last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. Finn was a little skeptic since it wasn't like anything he had tried before but decided to give it a shot since Poe had been blabbering about it all week.

"Okay you have to get the soup and put like everything in it cause it'll taste really good and we can share spring rolls cause those are good too. Oh! And we can-" Poe was cut off by Finn's hand gently places over his mouth.

Finn laughed, "Just order anything for me and I'll eat it. Hopefully me trusting your judgement doesn't backfire on me."

Smiling under his hand, Poe nodded and slowly pulled Finn's hand away from his face. "Okay," he grinned.

•••

"See it's really good!" Poe beamed as he took another spoonful of the soup.

Finn smiled at his bright face while sipping on hot tea which had also turned out to be really good. "Yeah, you were right."

A waitress came up to them and asked, "Is everything good?"

Poe shook his head quickly and grinned. "It's great! My new favorite place."

Chuckling at his friend's response, Finn  gave her a kind smile and nodded, "He's been super excited to bring me here and raving on and on about it but he didn't lie, it's great."

"That's so good, you two so cute together," the waitress said waving her hands as she talked.

Poe nearly spits his soup back out before he swallows and shakes his head. "Oh- no, we're- I mean- he's-"

"Thank you, he still gets embarrassed of me sometimes," Finn said calmly as he shakes his head in amusement when Poe's eyes nearly pop out of his head.

The waitress laughs and makes her way back to the kitchen leaving Finn laughing softly and Poe frozen.

"Did- did you- why?" Poe stuttered and accidentally dropped his spoon into his soup creating a few drops to splash onto the table.

Had he just said they were together?

Finn waved at him like it was no big deal. "That's the third time we've gotten that in the last two weeks. I hate to see people feel bad about misinterpreting so it might just be easier to pretend if they ask."

With his hand still in the same form as if he was still holding the spoon, Poe lets a small high pitched 'okay'.

How else was he supposed to react to that? He couldn't believe how calm Finn was about all of it, yet Poe was internally shaken. Of course he would be terrified of the idea of Finn thinking that them being together was okay, for stars sake he was in lo- no, no he wasn't. He told himself firmly to stop and move on.

"So we just pretend? If they ask?" Poe wondered very curious about the whole idea.

Finn shrugged,"Yeah if they ask just agree. I hate the way they get nervous and regretful. Besides, you can be my bro-friend."

"That's the cringiest thing I've ever heard," Poe said stifling a laugh.

Finn waved his arm around as he took another bite of his spring roll. "Hey, I'm helping out."

Poe looked down at his soup and grabbed another spoon to fish out his sunken one. He mumbled under his breath, "Until someone starts harassing you because of it."

They were both quiet for a moment, not sure how to respond to Poe's comment until Finn speaks up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even think about it like that." Finn hung his head in shame. He had forgotten that the cruel world often ridiculed those who were different but also in every way, similar to them. It was a terrible idea to even think about, he couldn't even fathom the sickening thought of someone tormenting Poe just because of how he felt towards certain people.

"I know you didn't," Poe sighed and placed his hand on top of Finn's who's was on the table. "I'm glad you won't have to go through what I did. The disapproving stares, insults, all of it is just terrible.

Turning his hand upwards to hold Poe's, Finn gave him a somber look as if to apologize for the hatred of others and Poe responded with a half smile.

Someone had sat at a table nearby and scoffed loud enough for the boys to hear. "Look at that, how can they even manage to be in public acting like that? Disgusting," the hushed voice said.

Poe pulled his hand back and set them both on his lap looking down at them. He usually had a fire inside of him but when people voiced their opinions hatefully, that fire would dim.

Finishing the rest of their dinner in silence, Finn and Poe finally stood from the table and began to make their way out the door.

When they started past the people at the table, Finn grabbed Poe's hand and swung it back and forth proudly with his head propped up high.

Poe couldn't do anything but smile with adoration beaming from his face. He knew that it was out of spite that Finn did it but something inside of him was pulling at the pit of his stomach telling him otherwise. But he made the most of it and gripped his hand even tighter as they met each other's eyes and made their way out of the restaurant.

"You didn't have to do that for me," Poe breathed after they parted and sat in the car.

"Of course I did, you shouldn't have to put up with people like that and speaking loudly with actions only bothers them more," Finn said giving his head gave a quick nod. "Besides, it's the least I could do for you."

Poe laughed, "Aren't you giving me a roof over my head?"

"Well that too," Finn chuckled and sighed. "Still, you don't deserve that. And I won't let anyone get the satisfaction of hurting you. I've seen you go through more than enough for a lifetime."

Poe pressed his lips together tightly and placed his hands firmly on his lap. He could count on Finn. If all else fails, he could always count on Finn.

"Thank you."