They’d barely gotten the main building habitable again before it was time for Finn to go back to the Senate.

“Don’t forget, no one expects miracles from you,” Jannah told him as the droids loaded up his ship.

“So expectations are low enough that I really can’t fuck it up? I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he said when Jannah moved to smack him. “But -”

“Expectations are very high, it’s just we all know what the Senate’s like. After they saddled you with Kylo Ren, we all just kind of…” Jannah shook her head. “We know what you’re up against. You’re a good politician, Finn - we don’t want anyone else. But don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“The odds of pro-stormtrooper legislation passing are insurmountably low,” Kylo said in his faded monotone.

Jannah didn’t jump, but her shoulders tightened. Finn hadn’t even noticed Kylo approaching. “Fortunately, you’re not being paid for your political acumen,” she said. “Finn, if you happen to leave your bodyguard on Naboo, we can take care of him.”

Kylo snorted, obviously picking up on the threat. Finn had to bite back a smile. “Nah. You guys have so much work to do, you don’t have time to babysit.”

He half expected Kylo to stomp off, but instead he just waited through Finn and Jannah chatting - about first steps for the next relief bill, and who might be expected to support them, and what they could do about the black mold in the resort’s store rooms. When Finn finally wrapped it up and went to board the ship, Kylo followed without complaint, a shadow at Finn’s right shoulder.

“It’s weird you’ve decided to be good at your job now,” Finn said after they’d taken off.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Following me, not interjecting - well, interjecting less.”

“We’ll be back on Coruscant within the week. There are very few people on Naboo, especially among the stormtroopers, who wish you harm. Nearly everyone on Coruscant does.”

Finn knew that, of course; how could he have missed it? But hearing it said in Kylo’s flat tone - knowing that it was undeniably true, and would be true no matter what Finn did -

Ugh. He couldn’t think about that right now; he’d go insane. “Your contract ends in six months. You should let me know if you want me to renew it.”

Kylo immediately started staring over Finn’s shoulder. “It should be obvious that I prefer a bodyguard position to returning to a prison ship.”

“I’m trying not to assume.” Or had he become selfish enough to want to hear Kylo say it, to force him to acknowledge his preference? Finn suppressed a shiver. “It’s fine. We don’t need to talk about it right now.”

“Renew the contract,” Kylo said. “Excuse me.”

The rest of the trip was lonely, but thankfully quick; even the New Republic’s least powerful Senator got a ship with a good hyperdrive. Once they were back on Coruscant, he was drawn into a whirl of activity, scheduling committee meetings and attending preliminary debates for the session’s legislation. Kylo attended all of them too, standing in the back of the room with the other protection details, never speaking out of turn or touching Finn at all. It was good, Finn told himself with a decided lack of enthusiasm. It meant Kylo had learned how to do his job. That was the point, wasn’t it? All the rest - the strange feelings, the Force moving between them - all of that was just a distraction.

Sure, and banthas could fly.

Then the social bullshit started.

“But of course, one must ask oneself what the New Republic - newly formed, destitute from the First Order and the Resistance’s militaristic tactics - owes former belligerents.”

Finn stared at Senator Rellyn and wondered, dull with old anger, if he honestly thought he was the first person to advance this argument. Maybe he’d slept through the ten or so times some asshole had said the same thing during debate sessions. “Citizens of the Republic are entitled to refugee assistance,” he said, as mildly as he could.

“Citizens! Ha! A bunch of entitled, freeloading war criminals are citizens now! Oh, don’t give me that look; I know advancing their cause is why you have a career. But you’re not like them, are you? You left.”

Somehow, that wasn’t an argument Finn had heard before. “They’re my brothers and sisters, Senator Rellyn. I’m just like them.”

“Ha! I won’t gainsay you, son. A Senator’s salary must seem like untold riches to you. But let me give you a few tips. People are going to invite you to events, and you need to be smart about the fees you charge, for you see -”

“Senator,” Kylo’s flat voice said behind him.

Cold relief washed through him. “Yes?”

“The traitor,” Rellyn whispered. But Finn had already turned to look at Kylo, putting Rellyn out of his mind as best as he could.

“You’re needed elsewhere.” Kylo’s eyes flicked to Rellyn, then away. Fury and betrayal howled in Finn’s mind in the Force. He wished he could pretend it was from Kylo.

“Lead the way,” Finn said. His voice only shook a little.

They made it out of the conference room and up three floors before Finn thought to ask, “What am I needed for, exactly?”

Kylo gave him an unimpressed look, then went into their apartment, checking the area before waving Finn in. “Nothing. You looked upset: it’s my job to look out for you. You have another hour before you’re due to meet with the Senators from Naboo and New Hosnian.”

Another hour. Finn closed his eyes as the door whooshed shut behind him and took deep breaths, one after another, trying to think through the morass of rage Rellyn had provoked in him. “Tell me what you think of the bill.”

A loaded pause. Then: “What I think of the bill?”

“Trust me, you can’t possibly have a worse opinion than Rellyn, and I have to be able to talk about it in an hour.”

He could tell Kylo wasn’t buying it, but at that particular moment he didn’t care. Kylo might not feel bad for his egregious crimes, but Finn was completely sure he wouldn’t bring up speaking fees, and he needed to be able to talk about this with a clear head.

“You’re not asking for enough,” Kylo said finally.

“Ha. Pull the other one.”

“I’m serious.” Kylo folded his arms behind his back. He looked ridiculous in a Senate security uniform, standing in the middle of Finn’s cold, borderline-unfurnished living room. “You ask for a small stipend and permission to form a city-state on the estate on Naboo. This will be whittled down in committee to permission, with no economic aid at all.”

“Refugees are entitle to resettlement funds.”

“But your bill barely acknowledges that. You heard Rellyn. You’ll be argued out of stormtroopers being legally considered refugees before the bill even comes to debate. And of course, when it’s passed, it will be positioned as a victory, the magnanimous New Republic granting a tiny corner of the galaxy to its most-abused inhabitants.” Kylo shrugged. “Meanwhile, your people will starve, or at a bare minimum spend generations trying to raise their standard of living above abysmal poverty. By the next Senate session, their plight will be old news. There will be no traction for another bill.”

It was all stuff Finn already knew, details he’d already considered, but something about the casual way Kylo discussed it filled him with helpless anger. “What exactly do you think I’m supposed to do, then?”

“Demand thrice the standard refugee stipend as recompense for time spent enslaved and drop the permission to resettle entirely. You can negotiate with Naboo directly.”

That was the political maneuvering of a despot. “What makes you think they’ll agree to it? They’re a sovereign planet, why would they agree to it?”

“You’re settling on private property. They gain more to agree to your settling, enriching the planet with infrastructure and taxes paid, than they do trying to fight it.”

Right. They were settling on Kylo’s dead grandmother’s private property. “About that. Are you dumping assets to avoid taxes, or -”

“I have no use for agrarian land in a planet distantly connected with relatives I never met and have long since forsworn,” Kylo said coolly.

Because his evil grandfather had killed his wife. Finn really hated Skywalker drama. “Okay. Well. I guess I’ll run your idea past the Senators when they get here.”

“Excuse me?”

“My meeting.”

“You’re telling them the details of the bill?”

“I have to. I don’t really have allies currently.”

“Rey. Rose. Poe.” Kylo scowled, hands curling into fists, and opened his mouth again. “Not to mention -”

Finn spoke quickly, mostly because if Kylo decided to berate him for some imagined political misstep, Finn was going to lose his mind. “Allies who are also Senators.”

“Fine,” Kylo gritted out. “You’re a charismatic speaker.”

“Are you saying you have faith in my abilities to persuade people? You know I won’t use the Force for it.”

Kylo shrugged, sullen. “I’m saying if you fuck it up it’ll be bad for your people. But you know that already.”

There was something going on here that he didn’t understand, something he was missing. Kylo’s cheeks were red, his hands moving minutely against his pants. He looked restless and irritable. What are you trying to say? Finn imagined asking - but of course, Kylo wouldn’t be honest with him. He might not even know himself.

It wouldn’t matter if he stepped forward and caught Kylo’s hands in his own. The moment they touched, he’d know exactly what Kylo was thinking and feeling. There would be no more misunderstandings, no confusion.

And of course, Rey would then know all about Finn’s boner, and his dumb impulsive choices. Right. “I do know that,” he said. “Thanks. I’m going to - go get ready.”

It felt like cowardice when he ran into his room, locking the door behind him.

During that meeting, Finn made his capabilities very clear.

He likely imagined Kylo wasn’t listening. Kylo was sure Finn would lock him in his tiny room if he thought he could get away with it, but Kylo’s own job description would never permit such neglect, any more than his own sense of curiosity would allow him to ignore the Senatorial ramblings.

Naboo and New Hosnian were good choices. Naboo, of course, had already permitted stormtrooper settlement on her lands. New Hosnian had powerful antipathy towards the First Order. Despite that, it was an uphill battle. Finn began by discussing the stormtroopers’ current achievements, then segued smoothly into listing out the challenges created by a lack of funding while trying to build and improve on their land. It was persuasive rhetoric, but Kylo already knew what the Senators’ response would be before Naboo said, “I have noticed, Senator, that you haven’t mentioned the source of your funding.”

“It’s not particularly interesting,” Finn said. “We’ve been granted use of an old estate.”

“By Kylo Ren, I understand.”

“By the estate of Leia Organa,” Finn said. “It’s true that Kylo Ren had to sign off on it, but he has a vested interest in my continuing to be a Senator as well.”

How interesting to hear the public portrayal of events, and how fascinating to be so wholly ignored. He might as well be an armchair. Or a stormtrooper.

They continued speaking over him, Finn doing the dance of impotent diplomacy that inevitably resulted from refusing to use the Force to enhance his natural persuasiveness. It was a self-imposed limitation that Kylo neither understood nor respected, but Finn somehow managed to work past it. By the end of his appointment, he had sincere promises from both Senators to support his bill in debates.

Not that you could trust Senators to keep their word - but it was still more than Kylo had thought Finn would secure.

“That was well done,” he said after they’d left.

Finn barely glanced at him. “Thanks.”

“Of course, they could still renege on the deal.”

“If you’re trying to goad me into touching you, it’s not going to work.”

Kylo blinked. When the world failed to right itself, he blinked again. Finn still stood there, arms crossed, staring at Kylo with a skeptical look on his face. “Excuse me.”

“You know I don’t want your - commentary.”

“My support was offered in good faith.”

“Right, right.” Finn let out a slow breath. “Look, just drop it, okay?”

“Obviously they wouldn’t renege if you used the Force to persuade them to keep their promises.”

“Drop it.”

But Kylo didn’t want to. Something drove him forward, a madness centered around the furrow in Finn’s brow, the calm way he’d talked the Senators around to his side. “I wonder that you think it’s unfair, to use your own power to hold someone to their promises. You’re flinching even now; you clearly think it’s cheating. But -”

Finn launched himself forward, quick as a blaster bolt. He stopped a breath away from Kylo, his hand trembling next to Kylo’s neck, face screwed up a furious glare.

Sparks danced between them, the Force thirsty for another conduit.

“Do it,” Kylo said.

“No.”

“You want to. You think I can’t tell, even as I am now?”

“I think you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Finn said, and gripped Kylo’s neck in a firm, furious hand.

They both gasped at the contact, indistinguishable from one another. To Kylo it felt like easing himself into a cool pool of water after a day spent in the desert. He could feel Finn inside him -

That’s the worst possible phrasing for this.

Finn shuddered and dropped his hand, but Kylo grabbed his wrist before he lost the Force, pulling Finn towards him. “No. Please. Just…” He took a deep breath, his lips just barely touching Finn’s temple. “Just one minute. Just one.”

For a moment, he thought Finn was going to step back anyway, and he had the stomach-turning realization that he was willing - he would beg. He’d go down on his knees. He’d do anything to keep being able to feel this.

“Kylo,” Finn breathed, and stepped back.

The Force disappeared. Rage descended upon him.

“These rooms aren’t really private,” Finn said. “Just…I’ll be in my bedroom if you need me.”

“I think I’ve been plain about the extent to which I need you,” Kylo said. He made his voice as cold as possible, but his weakness shone through anyway: he was trembling head to toe.

Finn half smiled. He looked sad, of all things, as if he pitied Kylo. Perhaps he was just sad about his own inability to take what was on offer. “Yeah, I know. I’ve got back to back appointments all day tomorrow, so try to get some rest, okay?”

Kylo didn’t dignify that with an answer.

Finn needed to learn more curse words. The ones he knew just weren’t doing the job right now.

He’d let his anger get the better of him, like he was Kylo Ren smashing a control panel or Phasma beating one of the new recruits. He’d felt darkness rising in him, and instead of dealing with it, he’d done what he wanted: he’d reached out and touched Kylo, skin on skin, the Force howling from their shared satisfaction at the touch.

Yes, Kylo had wanted it - but that didn’t really matter, did it? Finn hadn’t stopped to consider little things like what Kylo wanted. He’d only acted on his darkest impulses.

He hoped Kylo would avoid him after this. He didn’t want or need his commentary, his approval or disapproval. Really, he didn’t want Kylo’s acknowledgment at all. Thinking of the land in Naboo and his brothers’ and sisters’ plans for it made his head hurt, because he knew their stability depended on Kylo’s sufferance and he just hated it.

There had to be a long game, some reason Kylo was doing it. There had to be some trickery behind the money, the land, the endless goading. The alternative was just too much to consider.

And yet, it was still easier to think about, or think around, than the meeting he’d just had. Hearing Kylo belittle his attempts at politicking had sucked almost as much as the meeting. He’d been furiously restraining himself as the Senators, who should hate the First Order and care about justice at least as much as Finn, equivocated over the right to resettlement funds, the right to independence, and the Republic’s shitty treatment of ’troopers.

Bliobius of New Hosnian had even said, “After all, didn’t we all do things we regret? No one saw the First Order coming. The stormtroopers’ lot in life is pitiable, to be sure, but what right do they have for special consideration?”

Every right, was the answer, and Finn had choked back furious shouting, had restrained the darkness in him that rose when he heard people dismissing being kidnapped, brainwashed, beaten and abused, as some kind of action they’d taken. He could dress the whole Senate down and it wouldn’t matter, wouldn’t get Jannah what she needed to build them all a home. He had to play the game.

He hated it. He hated it. He hated it so much that Kylo Ren’s shitty commentary, his flat refusal to apologize, seemed almost more honest than anything anyone else had to say.

That’s just him being a familiar evil, said the Rey-voice in his head. She wasn’t wrong, but -

But. It had felt so good to give in and touch him.

Finn groaned and put his head down on his desk. Maybe he could just opt out of everything, quit his job and move to some uninhabited moon. It had worked for Luke Skywalker, hadn’t it? For awhile, anyway.

He dreamed he was in the Senate chamber, the last words of his speech for ’trooper rights still echoing through the speakers. Kylo stood behind him, arms clasped behind his back. “Well done,” he whispered as the first murmur of reaction broke out across the chamber.

He was suffused with warmth, connected to the Force with a strength he’d only felt a few times before. The chamber was full of doubt and anger, rage and concern, but underlying all of that was a powerful sense of possibility. He hadn’t used the Force to persuade, not in the way Kylo kept telling him to try, but he had been connected. He’d felt more than he’d ever felt before, and he saw his efforts reflected in the thoughtful nods and urgent motioning of the Senators around him.

In the dream, he had the power to effect change, and he used it.

But of course, reality was more complicated. For starters, his bill had to make it out of committee.

“Given the extensive legislation required to maintain a recovery fund, surely the Senator from -” the senior senator from Carida paused, a flicker of delicate malice passing over her expression. “I’m sorry, where do your people claim, now?”

“I still represent the ’trooper diaspora of Kef Bir.”

“Mm. Well, surely the Senator can recognize that some amendments are inevitable.”

“Of course,” Finn said. His voice didn’t shake; he told himself it was an achievement in itself to remain calm and rise above the petty digs at his people. “And I anticipate plenty of amendments and changes to the text of the bill itself. But Senator, I’m sure you recognize that a rider preventing dispensation of funds without a two-thirds Senate vote for its allocation will prevent the fund from being used.”

“Senator! It sounds like you think I want to ruin your bill. I assure you, I want nothing of the sort.”

He thought about mentioning what he knew of her: that her family were staunch Empire loyalists, that Kylo recognized her personally from his time doing diplomatic work under Snoke, that he’d read her book arguing that a strong Senate worked best under a powerful Emperor. He’d known already that she’d try to undermine him; nothing she was saying came as a surprise.

But what he hadn’t expected was the anger. No, it was stronger than that; it was rage, simmering hot under his skin. He’d learned to deal with this kind of thing early on as a Senator, but this time, with the memory of Kef Bir’s collapse - Jannah’s terrified face - his own impotent grief -

It was unbearable.

He took a deep breath, his expression unchanging. When he was confident he could speak without shouting or crying, he said, “I know perfectly well that this law doesn’t align with your views, Senator. For the sake of not wasting time, I’d appreciate it if you’d acknowledge it.”

“I simply am of the very popular opinion that stormtroopers, existing outside society as they do, given very little education and frequently plucked from barely-sentient groups of farmers, are not the best people to determine how to spend an unusually generous refugee stipend.”

“That opinion is legally discriminatory under the Galactic Constitution,” Finn said. “Kylo, were you recording just now?”

“Yes.”

Carida reared her head back. “Are you implying you intend to blackmail me?”

“No, I’m implying I intend to file a formal complaint. I know you’ll be fine, but it’ll be a pain, and in the meantime I’ll be busy funding your challenger. With my own money, I assure you.”

“Well said, and appropriately identified,” Senator Bliobius said. “Carida, you’ve lost this fight; sit down. No one else here will vote for such a draconian amendment anyway. We barely get time off as it is. Now, let’s move on to Amendment 3A: resolved that the Senate shall create a trust, which access is granted -”

“Don’t move.”

It wasn’t a blaster pressed against the back of his head, nor was it a lightsaber - obviously, or he’d be dead. It was a simple knife, rough-hewn but sharp.

Finn said, “Should I hold up my hands, or did you mean -”

“Don’t move,” hissed his assailant. “You too, Kylo Ren.”

Strange. Kylo had been sentenced in public, but his face had been obscured per New Republic privacy laws. Was this another ’trooper? A First Order loyalist? A Resistance veteran? Too many people had too many reasons to know his face. “Hey, what if instead of stabbing me in the spine -”

“The knife would enter your skull and sever your brain stem. You’d be paralyzed for approximately five minutes as you bled out.”

“Great, thanks, I’d rather not, though,” Finn said. “What if, instead, we talked about this?”

Bliobius’s expression twisted with annoyance. “Finn! You cannot negotiate with terrorists!”

The low hum of a blaster sounded just before Finn felt heat near his skin. “Don’t think I won’t shoot you both for interfering,” his captor said.

In, out. In, out. Finn breathed carefully, so carefully, thinking of Jannah and Khajee, of all the ’troopers, of his hopes for the future. Of Rey, so sure he’d be good at this. “I don’t want to die. Are you going to kill me?”

“Depends on what you do.”

Whoever this person was, it really didn’t seem like they’d taken many hostages before. “So tell me about the option that lets me live.”

“Senators,” his captor sneered. “You’re all the same. You aren’t even a real Senator, but you’re just as self-serving as any of them.”

“Finn is straightforward and honest and cares about his people,” Kylo said. “You’d know that if you were one of them, of course. Which means you must be someone else. I wonder who.”

Finn managed not to vocalize his annoyance - barely. “Not really the time, Kylo.”

“Kylo?” muttered Bliobius.

“I’m dealing with a lot of competing interests, here,” Finn told him, trying his best to sound reasonable. “So, how about we just -”

Kylo reached out, quick as a spark of Rey’s lightning, and grabbed Finn’s wrist.

The Force rushed into him, and his rage wasn’t banked. It was sharpened, honed, directed by the Force, filling him with bright and pure intent.

He knocked Bliobius and Carida out first, to eliminate witnesses, then raised a hand and sent the Force to grip Finn’s attacker. “Let him go or I’ll crush every bone in your body.”

“You’ll accept the threats of a First Order attack dog?” the attacker asked Finn. “What a cowardly reversal from the savior of the stormtroopers.”

“The Senate assigned me a bodyguard. He’s doing his job. Let me go.”

“Or don’t,” Kylo said. “It’s been so long since I killed someone. They keep me very well leashed. It would be wonderful to kill you.”

Oh, how he’d enjoy it. The dark side fairly sang with his desire. It would take so little effort like this, with his and Finn’s power both flowing through him.

And why shouldn’t he? They were threatening Finn. If Finn died, Kylo had failed in his mission and he’d be sent back to prison. More importantly, he’d lose his new access to the Force. It felt better this way than it ever had when he was alone. No rage, no pain, could compare to the sheer visceral satisfaction of feeling his and Finn’s powers combined.

“Kylo, no,” Finn said in a low voice. He felt the concomitant tug at his mind, Finn’s discomfort and - ugh - worry coming through clearly.

Don’t do this, Finn said through their link. Kylo felt the Force wrapping around himself, Finn’s care and determination overpowering every other sensation. It was disgusting that he could use the Force like that, to dominate through pure good intention. It made Kylo want to lash out, to throttle him, to -

Drop to his knees. Give Finn whatever he wanted. Find benediction with his mouth, his hands.

Everything happened at once during that hazy moment of disconnect. Guards rushed inside, apprehending Finn’s would-be assassin. Kylo dropped his hand from Finn’s wrist, severing his own connection to the Force out of fear someone would realize what he was doing. Finn gave the newly awakened Bliobius a hard look and said, “We’ll discuss this later.”

In altogether too short a period of time, Kylo and Finn were alone in their rooms.

“I’m not going to apologize,” Kylo said, anticipating the same tedious moral lectures he always seemed to get from light-siders.

“I wasn’t going to ask for an apology,” Finn said. “Actually, I was going to call you an idiot.”

Finn watched Kylo process his statement. For a moment he hoped for violence. His whole body felt like a too-tight coupling, ready to blow.

The dark side still coursed through him. It was - wrong, but wrong in a very specific way, feeling the aftereffects of Kylo inside of him. It felt exactly as dirty as that description sounded.

“I’m not an idiot,” Kylo finally said, sounding more like a sulky teenager than anything else.

“You are,” Finn said. “You almost let the dark side pull you in, and for what? To do your job?”

“Some of us don’t abandon our posts the first time things get difficult.”

His words were cold, intended to hurt - but they hit their mark. Finn thought of Slip, of his terror and anger and despair. He thought of the Senate, adamantly opposed to dealing honestly with the ’troopers. And he thought of Kylo, every ’trooper’s nightmare and arguably the only reason Finn was alive right now.

“Fuck you.”

“Try it.” Kylo took one step forward, then another. “Try it, and see what happens, Finn. Take advantage of this situation. Seize power, and use it.”

He was tall. Finn didn’t care. He’d faced down plenty of tall, evil people in his life. “Fuck off.”

“Fuck me, fuck off…you can’t decide what you want, can you?”

Before Finn could answer, Kylo kissed him.

It felt almost predictable. Almost right. Kylo’s skin was fever-hot and his hand shook when it cupped Finn’s jaw. The Force flowed between them, through Finn, bright and glass-sharp. Finn felt desperation and knew it was Kylo’s, but the horrible feeling sparked a twin in Finn’s chest, need and want and anger all tangled together.

It was Kylo who broke the kiss, stumbling back, his face contorting on itself as their connection blinked out of existence. He opened his mouth - Finn braced himself for caustic comments -

Kylo left, stomping to his little closet of a room, the door swishing shut behind him.

Finn walked on wobbly legs into his own bedroom, not sitting down so much as finally letting his knees give out. He had half an erection and his whole head was spinning. He felt like Kylo had reached inside him and - fuck. Fuck, he wished he had.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

There was an incident report to review and sign. There were interviews to give. Kylo was inspected by a judge and a med droid to ensure he hadn’t given the would-be assassins information.

(“I didn’t,” he told Finn, his expression indicating he thought Finn might call him a liar.

Finn rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. I was with you in the Force, remember?”

And then it had been too awkward to keep arguing, because of course, they both remembered. That was the whole problem.)

Finn was kept so busy during the lead-up to the floor vote that he barely had time to think about the assassination attempt. Technically he didn’t have time to think about Kylo, either, but he still managed it, a bit. More than he wanted to.

Then the Senate convened for a vote. Finn gave a speech beforehand. Both senators from Naboo and New Hosnian lent their support.

The vote failed by a 20-point margin anyway.