"Poe, I'm not sure about this!" Finn called to the Resistance pilot as he slid down the snowy wall of the crater. Keeping his balance seemingly effortlessly, Poe turned around and beckoned up at Finn to follow him.
"Come on, buddy! You trust me right?" Poe's voices echoed slightly around the frozen crater.
Finn bit his lip worriedly but carefully began to inch down the side of the crater. It wasn't steep but the compacted snow was dangerously slippery and Finn wasn't known for his spectacular balance either. Sure enough he only managed to make it halfway down before one foot slipped out from under him and he let out a startled cry. Poe instinctively darted up to try and catch him but that was a bad idea. As Finn fell over he took Poe's legs out from under him and the pair went rolling down the side in a flurry of snow.
They came to a halt in a tangle of limbs, both panting and Poe laughing loudly into Finn's ear. The pilot pushed himself off Finn but Finn quickly grabbed hold of his coat and tugged him back down. Taking it in his stride – as he did everything – Poe met Finn's lips in a hard kiss and eagerly accepted the ex-Stormtrooper's tongue invading his mouth. He could feel the other shivering against him and he became aware how cold his ears suddenly were, his hat having been knocked off in their fall.
"Finn," Poe pulled away, smirking as the younger man whined in disappointment, "It's too cold to do that here."
Looking up at the beautiful man above him, his dark hair wild, framed against the dancing aroura, Finn wondered how he had managed to get this lucky.
"Poe..." He said slowly, his teeth beginning to chatter with the cold, "I –"
The pilot cut him off, leaning back down and kissing him. He pulled back after a moment, saying tenderly, "I know, me too."
Finn smiled, relieved. As a Stormtrooper to express such emotions, particularly to voice them, was severely punished. Despite having turned his back on the New Order, Finn still found it difficult at times to overcome the years of repression.
They helped one another to their feet and brushed the snow off their clothes. Poe kissed Finn's cheek once more before he bent over and unzipped the bag laying on the ground. Pulling out the skates, Poe put his own on and Finn stared in disbelief as the man stood on the blades without any problem.
"Here," Poe said, helping Finn into his own, "Put your hand on my shoulder for balance."
Finn wobbled on one foot as Poe bent down, took off his boot then quickly put the skate on. The moment Finn lowered his foot down and the blade touched the ice, it slipped backwards and he would have fallen down if he hadn't been gripping onto Poe's shoulder.
"Careful," Poe chuckled, "take you time, it's all about balance."
After a few more tries, Finn succeeded in standing with the skate. The second was more difficult to get on, he virtually clung to Poe as he wobbled on one skate as the pilot put the second on his other foot.
"Hold on to my hands," Poe instructed and Finn unsteadily obeyed. His legs shook as he concentrated on trying desperately to keep his balance.
"Calm down, Finn," Poe reassured him, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of the younger's hands, "I've got you, you don't need to be so frightened."
"I'm not," Finn retorted, frowning deeply as he forced his legs to stop trembling and to take a deep breath.
"Your face says otherwise," Poe teased, pulling Finn towards him slightly so he could kiss him chastely, "It's easy, I promise. It's all about finding your centre of gravity."
Poe patiently waited until Finn had found his balance, his posture tense and legs far apart. As he slowly got used to the feel of the skates, he straightened and drew his legs closer together. When he was standing straight and breathing calmly, Poe said, "I'm gonna let go of your hands now, don't panic, don't wave your arms around, it will unbalance you."
Finn nodded, not trusting himself to speak at that moment. Poe slowly removed his hands but kept his arms outstretched, ready to catch Finn. To his disbelief, he didn't fall flat on his face. He looked up from his feet to Poe and smiled in excitement.
"Great," Poe beamed, "Now, watch what I do."
And off he went, skating across the frozen water. Finn was in awe, Poe moved with such grace and strength, gliding across the ice on the two metal blades. Finn had watched him fly his X-Wing countless times, watched him conquer the sky, it reminded him of that. With huge sweeps, he weaved from side to side, twisting around and skating backwards. He glided back towards Finn and circled him, laughing at the younger's incredulous open-mouthed expression.
"How – You're incredible!" Finn exclaimed reaching out and catching hold of Poe's arm.
The older man stopped in front of him and winked, "Ready to try?"
"I don't have to spin around or go backwards, do I?"
Poe shook his head, "No, of course not, we'll take it slow."
"I swear you're doing it on purpose!" Poe accused half an hour later as Finn slipped and fell onto his arse for the seventh time.
"I'm not!" Finn shouted back as he struggled back up onto his feet. He waited for Poe to skate over to him and plant the encouraging kiss on his lips that had followed after the six other times he had fell. Finn wasn't sure himself whether he was doing it on purpose or not, sure he liked the kisses Poe bestowed upon him when he hit the ice but was it worth the bruises? Finn groaned into Poe's mouth as the pilot took his bottom lip between his teeth tugging it, then sucking it. Yeah, it was totally worth it.
"That was your last," Poe proclaimed, sliding just out of arms reach, "I'm not kissing you if you fall again. If you want another kiss you'll have to catch me."
"Poe!" Finn whined as the Resistance pilot skated off. Sighing heavily but smiling, he focused all his attention on not falling over and moved slowly but steadily after Poe. He pushed himself across the ice with soft clacking of the blades, he kept his arms by his sides, raising and dipping them to help balance himself when he curved after Poe. The pilot was skating backwards again, grinning like a fool, dark hair sticking up in every direction. He was going slowly to give Finn a chance of catching up to him.
Together, they skated around the inside of the crater filled with ice that sparkled like diamond, beneath the sky of dancing colour, bathed in the mixture of amber sun and silver moon light.
Finn reached Poe and collided into him. They fell down in a heap with Finn on top of Poe. Gasping for breath, Poe raised his hand and cupped the side of Finn's face.
"I knew you'd catch me," he said, stroking his thumb across his cheekbone, eyes alive and bright.
Finn felt his cheeks heat up and he turned his face so he could nuzzle Poe's gloved hand, murmuring in reply, "Always."
"You're amazing, Finn," Poe told him, his eyes shining with so much love it make Finn's throat close up, "From the moment I first saw you, when you pulled off your helmet, I knew...I never wanted to let you go."
"I never want you to either," Finn whispered, leaning down and kissing Poe with everything he had. He might not yet be able to tell the pilot that he loved him, but he could definitely show him.
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