Into You •Finnpoe Stormpilot•

Chapter XV

"I got it," Poe said quietly as he set down the phone.

Finn looked up from his newspaper and tilted his head curiously. "What'd you get?"

The facial expression on Poe wasn't easily readable from the side but when he looked at Finn with a bright eyes and a wide smile, he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I got the gig, buddy," Poe grinned and put a hand on his forehead out of sheer excitement.

Two weeks ago Poe had asked a cafe near their area if they were looking to hire a musician since they had a small stage but when he went, there was never anyone playing. They said they were looking into it but asked him to play for them so they had an option.

After waiting for a while and thinking he wouldn't get it, Poe finally got the call. It might not have been much or too steady of a pay but it was enough. It was enough to help with rent and groceries and a start to a dream he'd been imagining since he first picked up a guitar.

Finn leaped up from his stool and rushed to meet Poe in the middle with a large hug that was equally excited from both sides.

"I knew you'd get it! There's no way someone wouldn't love your voice, although I am a little biased," Finn rambled as he pulled back and held Poe's shoulders with both arms.

Poe tried his best not to blush but a faded pink spread over his cheeks. Finn just smiled at him before turning back to grab his wallet off the counter and called out, "I'm gonna go meet Lily for lunch again but I'll be back by five so we can watch that new episode coming out."

"Alright," Poe said with a nod. "I'm gonna make myself some lunch and clean up a little. But I have my first session tomorrow at eleven at the cafe so that works perfectly since you and Lily are going to the beach. Are you guys staying the night?"

Finn cocked his head back in surprise, "No, we shouldn't be. We're gonna be back around nine."

"Oh okay, I just thought..." Poe trailed off not sure what words to say to finish the sentence without saying something he didn't want to.

Finn raised a brow, "You thought?"

"Nothing, I just- since I stay here with you, you can't..." he couldn't spit out the rest, he barely even knew what he was saying. He didn't want to intrude, though, on their intimate time together.

"Oh- no that's not a reason why. Not that we've even- I haven't- it's not a problem for you to worry about, don't worry," Finn babbled as he leaned onto the door exasperated at himself.

How come he couldn't talk? He usually knew what to say but this. This was unusual. The idea of Poe bringing up...

He hadn't even thought about it. But what if Lily had? What if she was expecting something? He'd never done that before. It was an entirely foreign subject for him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your relationship like that," Poe stammered just as choppy and nervous as Finn.

"No it's fine, really. But I should, I should get going," Finn said rubbing his forehead as he walked out of the apartment still stunned by the outcome of a few words.

•••

"Do you expect us to have, you know..." Finn asked in the middle of silence on the drive to the beach.

Lily nearly coughed on her bottle of water she had been drinking. What on earth had gotten into Finn's head to ask a question like that so abruptly?

"Not right now, of course," Lily paced out. "I'm sure when we feel it's appropriate-"

"When is it appropriate?"

"Well," Lily started as she stared out past the windshield, "when the time feels right or if we're in love or something-"

Finn nearly swerved the truck into the opposite lane, no one was driving towards them thankfully. He questioned, "Love?"

"Yes- are you okay Finn? You're not usually like this," Lily asked worriedly. She wasn't sure if he was starting to get sick or something but there definitely was something bothering him.

He took a breath and looked ahead at the starting ocean on the horizon. "Yeah, of course."

•••

Poe carefully plucked each string making sure that they were each tuned properly. He didn't want to make a fool of himself for the first time he was playing in front of people.

Nervous wasn't a sufficient enough word to describe himself but excited was. Although he was a good mixture of both, his overwhelming joy washed over his nerves as he told himself that this was what he'd been wanting. It wasn't much but it was a start.

He took a deep breath in and out and began to play. And for the first time, for people to hear.