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Poe took a deep shaking breathe as he carefully shut down his X-Wing, clicking it off slowly. As it began to cool down, he removed his helmet with a wince and dropped it onto his lap, letting his sweat matted hair falling into his face as his thoughts raced.
That was it.
It was over.
It was finally over.
They had done it.
They had taken the fight to the First Order and had beaten them before they could even get off the ground of that terrible planet.
The galaxy could finally breathe again and start rebuilding itself out of the shadows.
Taking another breathe to steel himself, Poe carefully readjusted his sling back into place, his left arm flaring with pain. Groaning softly, he opened his cockpit to the sound of cheers and whoops as friends, lovers and families were reunited in victory.
Dropping from the ladder, he nodded at a few passing comrades and patted their shoulders in celebration, careful not to let anyone jostle his already hurting arm. He carefully moved through the celebration, never letting his eyes stop moving while he looked for the one person he needed to see the most.
He knew Lando and Chewie were able to get there in time but his unease wouldn't go away until he saw him with his own eyes. Poe had just stepped into an empty area when he heard his name being called. He turned, needing only a moment to realize it was Finn who called him, studying him quickly in relief before he smiled widely.
Finn's words were lost on him as the two pointed at each other before Poe tightly gripped the back of Finn's neck with his good arm to get the younger as close to him as possible.
Finn wrapped his arms so tightly around Poe that the elder felt like he couldn't breathe and it put pressure on his injury but the happiness he felt was worth it. They pulled away but stayed close enough that Poe could still keep his hand on Finn's shoulder as the younger did the same, careful with the sling.
He looked at him up and down before he shook his head in relief, "I'm so glad you're okay, buddy."
Finn laughed, dropping his hand to Poe's waist to keep him close, "Me too. How's your arm?"
"Stings like a kriff but I'll live," Poe shrugged.
The grip Poe had on Finn's arm tightened as they locked eyes again and he whispered, "You really scared me out there, Finn."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Do you?" Poe's eyes watered slightly as he shook Finn's shoulder, "Do you know that when I tried to call for you and Rose told me you had stayed behind, my heart sunk?"
Finn's grip on Poe's waist tightened as he brought him closer, resting their foreheads together as he whispered, "I'm sorry."
Poe closed his eyes and let out a shaking breathe, "I tried to get to you. You know that? I needed to get to you to make sure you were safe. I knew I wasn't going to make it but I wasn't going to leave you behind. When Lando commed in and said he got you guys, I was so thankful that I felt like I could breathe again."
"I'm sorry. I promise I won't worry you again."
Poe pulled away before he sighed, "You'll always worry me, Finn. You're too selfless and that'll get you into trouble that I gotta follow you into."
Finn gave him a sheepish chuckle, "Well, with our General positions, I can't really promise that I won't worry you again. How's this? I'll promise not to do anything stupid with your permission."
Poe laughed and smacked Finn's shoulder while the younger lightly swayed them side to side to enjoy the moment of freedom and not having the First Order breathing down their necks.
"You are so lucky I love you, Finn," Poe muttered quietly, tentatively breaking their happy silence.
Finn gave him a bright smile, his free hand cupping Poe's cheek to make him look up, "I know."
Poe shook his head as he studied Finn's dark eyes, "You're so cheesy," and caught Finn in a soft kiss.
The cheers of the Resistance fell away as Poe gripped Finn's collar and Finn's arms wrapped around his waist. Finally, he felt that he could breathe again. Feeling Finn's arms around him and his heartbeat under his palm, put Poe at an ease he didn't know he needed.
Finn pulled away and whispered against Poe's lips, "I've been wanting to do that for a long time."
"No one's stopping you here," Poe whispered, his lips brushing against Finn's until he tugged the other man back.
Finn's chuckle was muffled by their kiss, pouring his love into it before he broke it with a couple of gentle pecks. Poe chased him for a moment, able to steal a few before Finn took a full step back to smile at Poe.
The elder pouted at him, keeping his arm around the younger's neck, "Why'd you stop?"
"As much as I'd like to stand here and kiss you all day, we can't. You need to get your arm checked out because I know you can't pilot with one hand. I'm exhausted, filthy and starving and I wanna make sure Rey got back okay. No one picked her up."
Poe nodded, "Okay. Let's go."
Finn stole another quick kiss before he wrapped his arm around Poe's shoulders and carefully led him through the crowd to find their friend.
The war was over.
They had done it.
But the future wasn't going to be easy.
The rebuild will be tough and taking down the stragglers from the First Order will be another battle of its own.
But they had each other.
They had freedom.
They had love.
They had family.
But most importantly, they had hope that is strong enough to shine light across the galaxy.