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It feels colder than usual as your black boots clank against the unnerving silence that is an empty hallway.
The Finalizer has never been a warm ship, by any means, but it seems especially cold now. Perhaps that’s all down to the fact that you are currently on a march straight to the General’s office, per his request.
You try not to shake as you turn down yet another long hallway. You wonder why he bothers to visit your station so frequently if it’s this far across the ship.
Ever since your accidental meeting with General Hux two nights ago you have been on edge. You thought it strange at the time how he had not punished you for being in a restricted area, but you know realized he was just putting it off until his schedule allowed for it. He was a busy man, after all.
But now it seemed his schedule had cleared up enough to find a suitable punishment for you, as nearly ten minutes after you had clocked into work you received a message on your data pad.
That’s weird. You thought. Usually messages are only sent to your superiors and then forwarded to you through verbal orders. Perhaps it was data correlating with the new base that was soon to be unveiled.
You shook your head and opened your inbox, only to see a message directly from the General himself. Shocked and now nervous, you opened it.
Lieutenant. Report to my office in 30 minutes. Do not be late. -General Hux
Breaking from your trance and looking down at your data pad, you saw that you had ten minutes to spare before you had to report. Given that the General’s office was right around the corner from you now, you decided to take a moment to collect yourself before facing what had to be your imminent doom. Perhaps you would be sent to the planet that would soon be destroyed by whatever weapon was on the new base. You’d heard whispers of it, and it did not sound pleasant.
Hands clasped around your data pad with arms folded into your chest, you managed a few deep breaths before footsteps approached from the corner you had just rounded. Quickly relaxing your posture and straightening your uniform, you turned and continued walking, but were stopped in your tracks by some kind of force.
Kylo Ren. You had narrowly escaped his presence before, and it seemed like a blessing. Now you realize it was a curse. The universe was waiting until the worst possible moment for you to encounter him for the first time.
“Good Morning, Lieutenant,” Ren’s mechanic voice drawled, “where are you headed?” His words were not at all sinister but the pressure holding you in place and the well-known ill-temper of the man had you shaken to the core.
“Reporting to the General’s office, sir.” you responded, desperately trying to keep the shake from your voice.
“A personal meeting with the General? You must be in for a treat.” he chucked with the modulated voice you had heard so much about. People regaled the tale of meeting him with great exaggeration, saying how he growled like a dog. It wasn’t hard to understand where that sentiment came from now that you had heard it, but you supressed the thought in case he was hearing your mind. You didn’t quite know how the force worked but it was better to be safe than dead.
“I won’t kill you, Lieutenant.” he said. Then he circled to the front of you, keeping you still. He towered over you and if you were in control of your body you would’ve craned your neck to look him in the eye. He, however, seemed intent on keeping you looking down the hall as he observed you like an artifact in a museum.
“How about I escort you to the General’s office?” he said and released your body from the force, turning swiftly to walk down the hallway. You quickly walked to catch up to him, about to open your mouth to politely decline, saying that you didn’t want to intrude on his schedule, but he held up a hand.
“I’d like to know what you did to get called in so early in the day.” he simply said, then continued walking with you at his heel. In only a moment that seemed to last for days, you were standing in front of the General’s office, Ren pressing his comm.
“General, I’ve got a surprise for you,” he teased. Already frightened, you didn’t appreciate his condescending manner but you doubted Kylo cared in the least.
“Not now Ren, I’ve got a meeting in a few minutes,” Hux said, clearly annoyed.
“Just let me in,” Kylo responded.
“Fine. But only for a moment,” the general sighed, the door buzzing and sliding open.
You hung your head low, eyes trained on the floor, as Ren practically pranced into the room. Knowing that he was excited to hear your reprimand and subsequent punishment made you all the more terrified. Kylo was a known sadist and his apparent delight in seeing your downfall didn’t leave your spirits in the best place.
Hux sat at his desk, looking at his data pad. No messy hair this time, you noticed. Raising your hand in a salute to the general as he looked up.
“Ren, you can leave now.” Hux stated. You remained in salute but Hux waved your hand down as Ren laughed.
“No general, I intend to see this meeting. I’d like to know what Lieutenant Cherrip did to deserve a special meeting with you on this fine day.” the commander said while making his way to one of Hux’s chairs in front of his desk. You followed, sitting quietly with your hands in your lap in the other.
“I’d really rather you didn’t, this meeting between Lieutenant Cherrip and I is private.” the general stated.
“Well if it’s so private I’d at least like to kno-”
“Get out Ren.”
“Fine, fine, General,” Ren sighed, “have fun, Miranda.” With a sarcastic wave to you, he strode out of the room and you were left with General Hux. Alone. As much as you were scared of Commander Ren you partly wished he had stayed so you were not the sole focus of the general’s focus. And anger.
Hux sighed and turned to you. A beep came from his data pad but he quickly swiped it away and looked back up at you. You wondered if he could see how nervous you were. First Order staff were notorious for being stone faced and calm in any situation but General Hux always had a way of breaking your facade.
“I take it you know why you are here today, Miranda?” Hux asked.
“Yes, sir.” you replied.
“When we’re alone from now on, feel free to call me Armitage.” he said. You nodded, confused by his friendly tone. Weren't you in trouble?
“I never thought I would have to have this conversation with you, but I suppose it was inevitable,” Armitage chuckled. It was true, you had never been trouble with the general throughout all your years at starkiller. You were disappointed in yourself for getting into this situation.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t intend to make your job more difficult. My violation was unprofessional and irresponsible and I will never make such a mistake again.” Words fell out of your mouth like a waterfall, without your control.
Hux raised his eyebrows in question.
“What are you talking about, Miranda?” he asked.
“When you caught me in a restricted section of the ship two nights ago, sir.” you said.
“Really, you can drop the titles Miranda. And that is not the reason I called you into my office today. I told you there was no need for a punishment.” he sighed, rubbing his face with a gloved hand.
“Oh.” you said. Suddenly you felt very stupid for assuming that’s what this meeting was about. But if it wasn’t that incident, you had no clue why you were here.
“Then why am I here, si- Armitage?” You asked, looking down at your fiddling hands in your lap.
“I thought surely you had noticed.” he started. You looked back up and shook your head.
“Noticed what?” you asked.
“Miranda, I come to your station nearly everyday. You must have noticed that I tend to stare at you quite often, though I’m not proud to admit it. Even your subordinates have noticed, gossip spreads around this ship faster than a plague and it must have gotten back around to you, you really can’t have ignored all of the-” Armitage was rambling and you felt rude interrupting but he still hadn’t answered your question.
“Sorry to interrupt, but can you please just tell me directly?” you fought off the urge to call him sir once again.
“I have developed romantic attraction to you, Miranda.” Hux stated, making very intense eye contact with you.
“Oh.” you said. Your mind was a blank. It seemed like an eternity before you could even begin to think of a response, and the general was already talking again. You had never heard so much nervous babble in your life.
“I apologize for the shock, Miranda. I had mistaken that you returned the feeling towards me so I decided the best course of action would be to tell you directly, but I see that was a mistake now. I should not have taken the gossip for the truth and I am sorry if I have made you uncomfortable in admitting-”
“I have romantic attraction for you, too.” You said. Interrupting the second time felt less rude than the first but still made your heart jump as you confirmed your crush, or romantic attraction, to the general.
Armitage sat wide-eyed, and silent, just staring at your face. Though he had just admitted the same to you, it seems as though your confession had caught him off guard. Perhaps he had prepared himself for rejection and hearing the opposite had put him in a state of shock.
You stared back into the generals blue eyes, his gaze unwavering but not uncomfortable. He finally came back to his senses, blinking hard a few times and letting out a quick sigh.
“I must admit, I did not expect you to return the sentiment.” Hux said.
“Ditto,” you laughed lightly.
Armitage smiled, and you swear it was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, far more beautiful than any galaxy or planet. It was quickly wiped off of his face when his data pad made its presence known again with a loud ping. Hux looked over it quickly and gave a frown, turning back to you with a disappointed face.
“Unfortunately, my general duties call. However, will you do me the honor of joining me for dinner tonight in my quarters?” He asked while standing from his desk.
“Of course, Armitage.” You replied, also standing.
Hux retrieved his greatcoat then walked around his desk and grabbed one of your hands, kissing the back of it and winking at you. You blushed profusely and smiled. Following him out of his office, you couldn’t resist your temptation.
“Armitage?” you called.
“Yes?” he replied, turning towards you and slipping his great coat over his shoulders.
You built up all of the courage you had in your body and leaned in, closing your eyes and giving Hux a quick kiss.
When you opened them again he had the same wide eyed expression from earlier, and you wondered if you had taken it too fast but before you could even think about regretting it Hux’s arms were around your waist and his mouth was on yours again.
Reacting quickly, you grabbed the front of his coat and pulled him even closer. His lips were incredibly soft, yet the force behind them was strong. His tongue was prodding at the entrance of your mouth and you gladly let him in. One of your hands slid back to his neck as you continued to make out with Hux and you began to slither it up into his hair when he pulled away.
“Can’t have you messing up my hair, now can we?” he asked, face flushed, “Not yet at least.”
“I suppose not.” You smiled and let go of him, and he did the same for you. Hux’s face was red from the lack of oxygen and his lips were slightly swollen. If he looked so disheveled from a little making out then you wondered what he would look like when- you had to cut your own thought off. Now was certainly not the time to fantasize about Hux, though maybe you would answer a few questions tonight.
Hux straightened out his coat and gave you a smile, turning to walk out of his door.
“8:00 sharp, Miranda.” And with that, he was gone. Leaving you to regroup before heading back to your ship. Oh how you were glad you got called into this meeting after all.