Chapter Text
The smell of sweat and alcohol was disgustingly potent over the thrumming of the amps on stage. Hux sighed and ordered a cherry seltzer, nursing the glass in sweaty palms. It had been a while since he’d been to a show like this and silently cursed Phasma for dragging him there. Skin tight leather molded together to create a sea of undulating black clothing, and Hux embarrassingly stood out through it all with his pink sweater vest and bright ginger hair. He’d gotten a few judging looks but they were all cut short by the icy glare being shot through their skulls.
It was all a bit too much, Hux mused as he bitterly sipped his fizzy beverage. The lights, the noise, the proximity to too many people with too many hormones rushing through them. He’s lost count of how many drunken couples that have been kicked out because of indecent exposure that Hux sorely wanted to see punished for the crime against his eyes.
This was not what he wanted to be doing this late at night.
His ideal night consisted of lazing in bed with a book, his tabby cat curled on the pillow next to him as he occasionally read out loud to her flicking ears. As it was though, Millicent was at home, eagerly awaiting his arrival. The ginger cat always complained when he left for long periods of time and would often chitter until she thought she got her point across. Thick lips twisted into a soft smile at the thought of his furry companion, but loud cheering snapped him out of it.
Another band was setting up on stage, and Hux could recognize that platinum blonde hair from miles away. He didn’t know how she did it-and most likely never will, but she held herself with such elegance that it put him to shame. Phasma sat at her drumset, shirt a metallic silver and tight leather pants clinging to her sculpted thighs. Hux was sure men, women and others were drooling over her from the moment the built woman stepped on stage.
The rest of the band shuffled to their places, tuning their guitars idly as if they had been doing it since they were able to pick the instrument up. Chord after chord were played before the band seemed to float into place. A man with thick black hair and even thicker arms took place behind the mic, tapping on it as if to see if it was still on. Pale green eyes fluttered to the electric guitar that man held in his giant hands, admiring the gleam of the finishing in the bright lights. If only…
“My my, what a crowd.”
The air left his lungs at the purring voice that left the man’s mouth. Eyes snapped up to the face of the lead singer, jaw slack and cheeks coloring. It took embarrassingly long to snap himself out of it, to stop studying the crooked nose and sinfully luscious lips that curled into a seductive smirk.
“My name is Kylo Ren and we are the Knights of Ren. Let’s have a good time tonight!” The man raised a hand to greet the crowd, and Hux couldn’t help but follow the movement as if it were a flame and he was a moth. Thick fingers on strangely swift hands strummed his instrument for the introduction of the band’s first song. The hairs on Hux’s arms rose as if he were suddenly soaked in ice cold water, but it was quite the opposite. The amber eyes suddenly flicked to him, staring through half lidded eyes as the man- Kylo - licked his lips, mouth parting as he sang the first verse.
If Hux thought he couldn’t breathe before, now he was absolutely suffocating. The smooth timber morphed into the best of raspiness that seemed to be hitting parts of his ear that he never knew were there. It’s as if the teasing melody grabbed him and swaddled him in absolute sin and the ginger was all too eager to drown in it. For once, Hux was grateful for the dimmed lights so his burning face would be played off as a trick of the eye.
Emerald eyes slowly slid away from the entrancing golden ones staring through his soul to icy blue that was looking at him in amusement. Hux scowled and crossed his arms as if in defense, could practically hear his best friend’s laughter over the amps that carried the sound across the sea of people.
Song after song, the hauntingly enrapturing voice cut through each one of Hux’s senses and left him feeling bare and exposed. The ravenette would scan the black mass of people, now drenched in sweat, his long, thick hair starting to stick to his angular face. Those deep amber eyes would always pause on him for a bit too long, as if he could dress the ginger down with his gaze. His Adam's apple bobbed as he nearly downed half the bottle water provided to him in between songs, leather jacket discarded about halfway through to expose well toned biceps. Hux would have thought the black on black outfit would be ridiculous if the beast of a man didn’t look so damn good in it.
“Ah, it’s that time.” Kylo purred into the mic, a mock of solemnity surrounding him. The crowd seemed to understand what that meant and started to make noises of discontent, a few loud people shouting at the Knights of Ren for an encore. Hux became swept up in the wave of sweat and leather, being shoved and jostled as the eagerness rose in volumes. A smooth chuckle reverberated the tiny room, and Kylo licked his lips as he leaned into the mic.
“This is our last song for the night.” The ravenette ran a hand through his waves and winked. Phasma hit her drumsticks together before the guitars screamed in accompaniment. This song was a bit more slow than the rest- Hux felt as if he were being serenaded and he shuddered at the growl from the giant lead singer emitted. Every nerve felt like it was on fire at each sultry vowel that floated through the air.
When it was all over, and the band was making its final goodbyes, Hux shoved his way through the crowd and ordered a shot of tequila. As the bartender poured one out, Hux turned back to the stage. His eyes locked with amber ones immediately and the ginger swallowed hard, pretty sure the click was audible to the entire room. Slim fingers grasped the shot glass and knocked the alcohol back, the electric feeling of the drink and eyes on him making his skin feel like it was on fire.
Phasma made a subtle motion for him to meet her backstage and he quickly shuffled over to the door labeled “Staff Only”. A security guard was there, crossing his arms over his chest and moved in front of the said door. Hux let out a huff and quickly rattled a text to Phasma in case this got stupid.
“Move aside, I’m a friend of the drummer of the Knights of Ren.” Hux said as he gathered his intimidating height to try and get the guard to fold. Instead of doing what he wanted, the man gave the ginger a once over and just smirked.
“Yeah and I regularly fuck her- a guy can dream right?” The man shrugged, his ugly yellow teeth making front stage as his smirk turned into a full on grin.
Hux bristled at the way this man talked about his best friend. How dare he say such vulgar things about the one person he cared about-
“Yes, and please tell me how that’s going for you?” A flash of platinum blonde hair caught the attention of green eyes as the security guard whipped around in a startled state. Short cut nails tapped against the frame of the door as the imposing form of Phasma loomed over the relatively short man in front of her, giving Hux satisfaction when she grabbed his face and pushed him to the side.
“Do yourself a favor, find a room and go fuck yourself.” Her smooth accent lilted in amusement as she let Hux through, wrapping an arm around his thin shoulders. She led him to her band’s lounge room, plopping on the couch next to Hux as he made himself comfortable.
“I was right.”
Hux blinked up at those crystalline blue eyes, his lips pressing into a thin line. Of course she was right, he did enjoy himself tonight.
“Well, don’t be so humble about it.” He scoffed, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he thought about bulging muscles and deft fingers over an absolutely beautiful electric guitar. Kylo was so enthralling in the limelight and Hux couldn’t bear to look away, the way those brown eyes sucked him into their chocolate void. The rumble of his voice reached parts of his ears that he wasn’t even sure they had, the way that sinful tongue curled around each syllable. Hux shuttered, sucking his lower lip between his teeth at the fresh memories.
“Oh god, gay malfunction.” Phasma teased, poking her finger into his ribs harshly. The ginger grumbled as he shoved her hand away, grabbing a bottle of unopened water from the table in front of him. He took a few sips, trying to calm his racing heart to be able to look at her properly without having his organ beat out of his chest.
God, it was so loud.
“Phasma! Ap’lek bought drugs, again!”
The other guitarist rushed in, seeming as if she had run all the way to the lounge. The blonde turned to the girl, seemingly nonchalant. The large woman sitting next to him crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“So? How is that my problem, Vic?” Phasma huffed, watching the girl try to catch her breath. She was small but toned, long hair braided into two sections and wearing all black like three out of the four band members. Phasma tended to choose silver, calling herself the one outlier of the Knights and deciding to dub herself with the nickname ‘Captain’. Hux thought it fit her, being the tallest and broadest one in the band-not to mention she could flip monster truck tires without batting an eyelash, he was sure of it.
“It’s your fuckin’ problem because he took all of them in one go and is now creating chaos in the audience.” The girl, Vic, growled as she wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. “Kylo’s trying to get him to calm down but you know none of us are as strong as you.” She pleaded, clapping her hands together as if she were praying. Phasma’s posture changed immediately as she took in the information and growled, looking at Hux briefly.
“Fuck.”
“No thanks.”
“Shut the hell up.” The platinum blonde laughed, standing. “Be a good boy and stay there.” Before Hux could protest or open his mouth to defend his pride, she was gone.
He was alone now, awkwardly cradling his bottle of water on the black couch as his green eyes bore holes into the door as if it would bring his friend back. Hux grumbled, letting his water down with a ‘tunk’ and decided to snoop around a little.
Not much was going on here- a few desks to put makeup on, a couch, a coffee table, a rack for costumes and a couple of stands for instruments- but there was one thing that caught his eye. Sitting on a stand, still hooked up to an amplifier, was a red and black electric guitar. Hux felt his fingers twitch as he stared at it, hands longing to grab the instrument and admire it up close. A cursory glance over his shoulder told him that no one was there to see or hear him.
Gently, he picked the sleek guitar up and whistled lowly at the mechanical looking paint job on the body which led up to the entirely red neck of the beautiful instrument in his hands, the crimson paint looking as if it was glowing. The nut of the guitar was elongated on both sides, a custom piece if Hux ever saw one. Swallowing thickly, Hux lifted the strap around his shoulder and let the weight of it settle. It had been so long since he held such an instrument.
As if possessed, Hux’s slim fingers strummed over the strings.
The scream of the guitar made his adrenaline levels rise, his heart soar as he continued to pluck at the instrument to play one of the melodies in his head. Muscle memory kicked in as he felt his eyes close, the flawless sound reverberating off the walls of the small room. He was so lost in the music that it was too late when he felt a heat behind him.
Hands overlapped his on the guitar and Hux let out a startled gasp, eyes flying open as he dropped the instrument. It hung on his shoulder, the amp still singing the last note he had strummed.
“My my, what a talented fox.”
Hux startled again, knowing that rumbling voice near instantly. Looking up, green eyes met soft amber orbs.
Oh god, it was Kylo Ren.
The ginger could only stare dumbly, but the split second was over as soon as he realized that he was basically being engulfed in the ripped man’s arms. The smaller man quickly broke from the hold and turned, one hand resting on the instrument hanging neglected in front of him.
“I see you like my guitar, little fox.” Kylo smirked, hand resting on his hip as he gave Hux a once over.
Gears turned as the ginger struggled to catch up, berating himself for the lapse in brain power. Then it struck him.
‘My guitar’.
Oh fuck.
Hux quickly put the instrument back on the stand as if it had burned him, stepping away like it would spread its fire to swallow him whole.
“My apologies, I was just admiring it. I meant nothing by it.” Came the fumbled words, and the ginger wanted to kick himself for sounding so flustered. However, a deep laugh came from the man in front of him. It seemed as if the lead singer was enjoying himself watching Hux bury himself six feet under.
“No need to apologize. You’re really good.” The ravenette fisted his hair behind his head and pulled a hair tie seemingly out of thin air. He put it between his teeth as both hands came up to futz with the long locks of onyx. Kylo put it into a messy bun, a few strands escaping the style to frame his face.
Hux couldn’t handle this, good lord.
Just as the ginger was about to make up some excuse to make his escape, the hulking figure started to make its way towards him. Out of instinct, Hux stepped away but Kylo matched him for each one until he had the smaller man crowded against the wall. Breath caught in his throat, the pallor man could only stare up at the beast caging him in. Kylo’s gaze was scrutinizing, but it made Hux’s skin set aflame. The small smirk that graced plush lips made Hux want to press himself flush to the toned torso and crash their mouths together.
“Join our band.”
Hux’s lashes fluttered as he snapped out of whatever daze he was just in, taking a moment to comprehend the demand. Him… join a band? Laughable. The ginger frowned, pushing at Kylo’s chest so he would back up. The broad man got the message and stepped away as the pallor man walked to the couch again, now taking a long swig of water to calm his overheated nerves.
“No.” The word was so simple, but Hux didn’t care. A small huff made the ginger turn and see Kylo with his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised as if that wasn’t the answer he was expecting. He was surveying Hux again, as if calculating his next move.
“You should.”
“Yeah, no.”
“Don’t you mean you’ll think about it?” Kylo was now making his way back over to Hux, but the smaller man cleared his throat and pressed his water bottle to the man’s giant chest. They were soft and toned and god Hux wanted to bury his face in those soft pillows-
The ginger shook his head as the lead singer automatically took the container and that was all the time he needed.
“Well, thank you for this weird encounter, but I must be going.” Hux rushed, retreating to the door as Kylo stared at him in dumb shock.
“Wait!”
The pallor man took that as his cue to run, dashing past Phasma as she dragged a limp man backstage and out to the audience. Kylo was in pursuit, if the thumping footsteps behind him were any indication. The ravenette seemed to realize his mistake as he crossed the threshold of the ‘Employees only’ door. A mob of fans rushed to greet him, and Hux took it as the opening that it was.
Slowing, the ginger tried to catch his breath from the short mad dash and ran a hand through his hair. The parking lot was spotted with fans who were hanging behind to smoke or to give last goodbyes to their friends for the night.
As Hux entered his car, he couldn’t help but sit there for a little while and worry his lip between his teeth. Kylo’s proposition echoed in his head like a broken record.
‘ Join our band.’
A scoff filled the quiet space of his car. Him in a band?
Memories came back, him in his mid teenage years actually smiling. It filled a sense of longing in his gut and almost made him go back in to accept the offer. The car started up, and he pulled out of the parking spot before his body could follow that traitorous feeling. Green eyes observed as the fluorescent lights got farther and farther away, the emotion still as strong as it was in the parking lot.
Stopped at a red light, the ginger could do nothing but smack his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. It seemed proximity didn’t associate with the yearning in his head.
Oh well…. At least he’ll never see this Kylo Ren ever again.