The Last Kingdom imagines

modern AU Finan imagine

The fanfic trope requested was: 'fake dating'.

Warnings: hurtful family dynamics

When you had decided to become a lawyer you had somehow imagined it as a glorious, almost heroic job with which you could earn a lot of money.
But once you graduated from law school you immediately realized that you could either earn a lot of money, or be a good and earnest person and receive just barely enough money to survive through it.
You obviously opted for the latter, finding a small environmental law firm that accepted you, and though it was very hard work you loved it there.
You found friends immediately, they were all male, but since Uhtred, your boss who had insisted on you calling him by his first name, Finan, Sihtric and Osferth were all open and easygoing you immediately loved them.
They had the strange but lovable tradition that they, after working over hours each day, would go collectively to a pub nearby, where they would eat and drink, and you quickly became part of the group.
You would usually sit in between Osferth and Finan, since you were Osferth's age rather than anyone else's, but Finan was undoubtedly your favorite.
It was an unspoken rule that people should never have favourite people, but in your opinion everyone broke that rule, if only subconsciously.
Finan was your favorite because he was kind, charming, attentive, funny, incredibly muscular and good looking, and you had a considerable crush on him.
You knew though that you he would never come close to liking you, people like him never did.
He was too perfect in your eyes, the way he was paying more attention to you than to the guys also showing that he was a perfect gentleman.
Over the months of working together you grew more comfortable, getting to know the guys more and more.
Finan came from a rich family, even though he didn't entirely look the part, his family lawyers as well.
They had their own law firm, a very renowned one at that, but when Finan had decided to go into environmental law they had basically kicked him out, his younger brother Conall becoming the new heir to the family.
When you one evening sat next to Finan he was more serious than usual, almost on edge.
When Uhtred asked him what he had on his mind Finan took a big sip from his beer before nervously glancing at you.
"My family invited me over for dinner next week", he told you, and he was answered by an eery silence that settled at the table.
"They probably want to tell me about a great success they had or something, that's why they asked me over. The problem is that... well when my mother asked if I'd bring a date... I said yes", he gulped audibly, and you could see how much it troubled him that he had to go back there, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.
"It's just that I... well I don't want to go back there alone", he explained and you nodded, setting one of your hands on top of the ond that was holding his glass of beer, to calm him.
"I was thinking maybe you could come with me?", he asked after facing you, and you needed a moment to realize that he was indeed talking to you.
After a moment of shock you took your hand back to your lap, watching him carefully.
"You mean... as a friend, right?", you asked him, and at the way his eyelids fluttered you knew that the opposite was the case.
"I mean... well yes, if you want?", he asked, but the tone of his voice showed that he was uncomfortable again.
After a bit of silence you looked back at him.
"Or does she expect... an actual date?", you asked softly, and Finan chuckled awkwardly, nodding.
"I'll go with you", you smiled at him, and you felt like reaching for his hand to comfort him again, though you didn't do it.
Over the week Finan awkwardly tried to feed you information you would need for the visit, also explaining that you would have to stay over at the house for the night before you would be able to leave in the morning, and you agreed to everything he had said.
The day before you would go with Finan to stay with his parents over the night he brought a bag to work for you, a dress inside you wouldn't have been able pay for if you took your pay for an entire year together.
You didn't like the fact that he had bought you a dress, a much too expensive one, only to impress his parents, because you were going to wear something that certainly wasn't you.
Nevertheless the next day you wore the dress when he picked you up, and you packed your most expensive clothes for the next day to wear as well.
You had tried your best with your makeup and hair, and when Finan picked you up, wearing a tailored suit that made you weak in the knees, you caught him raking his eyes over the whole of your body before he got back to your face, a relieved smile on his lips because he wasn't going to have to go back to his family alone.
The drive was silent, you weren't sure if he had rented the incredibly expensive car of if he simply never used it, but you kept quiet.
After the drive that lasted a few hours you finally reached a closed gate which opened after Finan announced his arrival into a microphone at the side of the road and he continued driving.
It was a giant garden, and a luxurious way that led to a house that looked more expensive than the Buckingham Palace.
When you glanced over you saw that Finan had his jaw clenched, and you set your hand on his that was holding the gearshift.
You were dressed up ridiculously, at the fanciest wedding you had been at they hadn't worn this expensive clothes, but you didn't dare say anything.
As soon as you set your hand onto his he moved his thumb on top of your hand, caressing your fingers carefully.
"It's going to be fine", he whispered out reassuringly, if to help ease your mind or his you didn't know.
Once he stopped driving you already saw a man stepping outside the house, dressed in another ridiculous suit, and when you moved to open your door Finan set his hand on your thigh, gesturing you to wait.
He opened his door and moved to your side, opening your door for you and holding his hand out for you to take.
You did so, making sure your dress was sitting perfectly before you linked arms with Finan.
He was much different than the gentle and fun loving Finan you knew, staring at the house with a serious expression that could have been carved out of marble.
When the butler reached you Finan nodded at him as a greeting, and the butler responded with a charming smile that you were sure was fake.
"Mister Finan, it's a pleasure to see you again", he said with a voice that was sweet as honey, and Finan nodded.
"Likewise, George", he said and after greeting Finan the butler turned to you.
"It's a pleasure...?", he trailed off before you told him your full name, and the butler chose to repeat your last name as a greeting.
You were led into the house and through rooms that grew more and more pretentious, before you reached a salon of sorts in which the rest of the family, an elder couple and a young man, Finan's younger brother, were waiting.
As soon as you entered you drew all their attention towards you, the mother's eyes raking over you in distaste, one of her eyebrows raised slightly and her mouth almost puckered.
She didn't make any effort to get up from her chaise and you didn't move forward, exchanging words of greetings that were colder than ice.
Finan's brother kept quiet while his father boasted about their successes, and his mother made sniping comments about Finan and you, which led Finan to pull you closer towards him.
Only when you reached the dinner table did they ask for your name, and they began to ask about you.
It were invading questions, where you studied, how much money you earned, where you lived.
When they asked how you and Finan had found each other he told them you had met at work, intentionally telling the truth while openly taking your hand and resting your conjoined hands on top of the table for everyone to see.
You made conversation over hours, them asking questions that made you quite uncomfortable, and making aggressive comments when the answer wasn't quite satisfactory.
As soon as it was acceptable to excuse yourself to go to bed Finan did so, earning a sharp glare from the people he was related to, but you were escorted to your rooms by George.
You were obviously supposed to share a bed, but the rooms you shared were almost an apartment, being a bedroom, a livingroom and a bathroom that seemed to be larger than your home.
Finan was silent as he shrugged off his jacket and tie, opening his dress shirt partially and aggressively going through his neat hair to make it messy, before he moved to a table, retrieving a glass and a decanter of what looked like whiskey, pouring himself a large glass and opening the door to the balcony before letting himself fall onto one of the couches there.
He seemed very unlike the Finan you knew, whereas he usually was kind and caring he looked angry and distraught, but with all the poking and prodding his relatives had done you understood him completely.
The first thing you did was getting out of the dress, loosening your hair and putting the old oversized shirt on you had brought with you as sleepwear.
Once you had done that you looked far more like yourself, and after smiling at yourself in the mirror you moved to sit next to Finan.
He was staring into the distance sipping his whiskey when you sat down next to him, to which he didn't even bother to lift his head.
"Don't mind them", you said softly as you sat down next to him, placing a hand onto his back carefully.
It was silent for a while before he sighed.
"I know it hurts, but you've got us! Uhtred, Sihtric, Osferth and me...", you tried to reason but he chuckled bitterly.
"Yes, I know, but... but this is my family. They're supposed to love me", he told you and you felt your eyes water at how hurt he sounded.
"You can think of us as your family", you tried weakly, and you earned an honest but small smile from him.
"I do. Or at least... for the guys I do", he answered, still looking forward, not facing you, and your heart sank at his reply.
You had tried your best to fit into the group, but he apparently didn't want you to.
"It's just... I don't feel like you're family. I don't feel about you the way I should about a family member", he explained and you frowned, taking your hand off his back as he turned to face you.
"No, it's not an insult, the opposite really", he chuckled before he swallowed loudly, shaking his head as if to shake off all the negative feelings from today.
He looked at you properly for the first time that evening, a smile appearing on his face as he saw your used sleepwear and messy hair.
He seemed much more comfortable, and you were happy about it.
"Might as well say it, now that you've come to meet my parents and all...", he whispered, and it seemed funny to him because he smiled ironically, but it simply confused you further.
"I brought you here because I wanted to have someone with me I fully trust, and who I feel more than comfortable with. The truth is that I took you with me because I... well, I wish you actually were my girlfriend", he explained and your breath left your body at once. 
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, but I only thought it was fair that you knew about my feelings for you", he added, and you stared him in surprise.
There was a small silence before you found the right thing to say.
"I like you too, Finan!", you answered him, and the look of hopeful surprise alone was worth having said it.
You continued sitting together, talking to each other in honesty about yourself and your feelings before you went to sleep.
The next morning after waking up you went into the bathroom to get ready, greeting Finan with a gentle 'good morning' as you came back into the bedroom.
He looked sad again, and you knew that it was because he was going to have to face his parents and brother again.
You felt sorry for him, and when he came back out of the bathroom ready to leave for breakfast you moved towards him, wrapping your hand around his before he opened the door.
You followed the corridor to the dining hall, but before you reached it you stopped walking.
He was taken by surprise, looking at you when you sent him a supportive smile.
"It's going to be fine", you whispered, repeating the words he had uttered before coming here, as you moved closer towards him, before embracing his lips with your own.