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For Poe, it all starts with a feeling of alarm, which quickly morphs into disbelief. Then it becomes a mixture of panic and acting on instinct. Meanwhile, Hux’s eyes might be wide, and his stun-cuffed fists are clenched, but there is a smirk on his face. Combined with the blood trickling from his mouth, it makes him look insane. When Poe releases him from the binders, shouting at him to act as co-pilot, Hux flat out refuses. Swearing, Poe tries to stabilise the ship on his own.
Those fucking asteroids. They appeared out of nowhere, yet he should have been able to dodge them. This was his most important flight yet; escorting a captured General Hux to the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss.
In the end, Hux gets what he wants: Poe has no choice but to re-enter the atmosphere. They crash into the small, indistinctive planet they were trying to leave.
Poe’s ship is wrecked, and so is his subspace radio. Which means they are stranded. Great. They’re extremely lucky to only have sustained superficial wounds, making it easier for them to do things like build a temporary shelter and hunt for food. Most of Hux's injuries were sustained during his capture and not their crash. He did not go down easy—came very close to slitting Poe’s throat, too—and Poe respects him for that.
They’re the only ones here. The planet is uninhabited and the two troopers who accompanied Hux to the surface of this planet did not survive Poe’s blaster fire. Poe really hopes his last known coordinates will make it easier for the Resistance to locate him. If they can spare the time and resources for a rescue mission, that is. He tries not to think about spending the rest of his days here, with only General kriffing Hux for company. Of course this had to be one of the rare occasions where he didn’t bring BB-8 along… Just his luck. At least BB-8 is still safe out there. A small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.
The planet is beautiful; a small untouched gem in a faraway corner of the galaxy. Reported to be very rich in kyber crystals, which is what Hux had been checking. He had hoped to be the one to confirm it and bring Supreme Leader Snoke the good news. However, in his need for covertness he made himself vulnerable to an ambush. His ship had been spotted by a Resistance-affiliated party, who had contacted General Organa.
As luck would have it, Poe had been the Resistance member closest to their location. He’d been thrilled to get the opportunity, eager to prove himself. And he was doing great, until those stupid asteroids. There had been so many of them all of a sudden… Oh well, no use in crying over spilled blue milk, right?
It’s strange, waking up in paradise when he knows there is a war raging out there. And it’s stranger still to share this paradise with one of his biggest enemies. They’ve agreed to work together until one of their factions comes and rescues them. When (if ) that moment arrives, their careful armistice will be over.
Since they're both trained in survival, they encounter few difficulties, apart from being stuck together on a deserted planet. As the days go by, their biggest struggle ends up being plain old boredom.
Instead of talking to each other, they pass the time by swimming in a clear lake surrounded by large rocks and several waterfalls—after Hux has deemed it safe. It also becomes the spot where they rinse out their clothes. They make sure to give each other lots of privacy, carefully keeping their distance and averting their eyes. They never make conversation during these activities either. Poe has never been prudish, but when it comes to enemies the rules are different, apparently.
Today is washing day. After rinsing, they hang their wet clothes to dry over the rock formations around the lake, a comfortable amount of meters away from each other. While Poe contemplates whether he wants to go for a swim or take a nap in the shade underneath the trees, his gaze wanders over to Hux. Who is still meticulously arranging his black uniform and undergarments over the rocks, every part of his front visible to Poe. It's weird seeing him like this. He looks so human...
“Has nobody ever told you it’s impolite to stare?” Hux suddenly snaps at him. He covers himself up by easily cupping his crotch with one pale hand.
Poe startles.
“I wasn’t staring! Not at- uhh, not at what you think, anyway! I was looking at your belly button, I swear,” he stammers, feeling like an idiot. He wants to explain further, but it might make him sound like even more of a weirdo.
“Right,” Hux says, incredulous. The hint of a blush sits high on his cheekbones, above his newly grown facial hair. "I'm sure you're thinking of having a big laugh about this with your Rebel scum friends after they rescue you. Well let me tell you something, you immature flyboy. That will never happen, because you won't live that long."
“What? No! I was just thinking about how strange it is, the idea of you as a baby, attached to your mother..."
Hux’s mouth opens and closes again. For once, he seems at a loss for words. This time it's Poe who can feel himself turn red. Only he could find a way to make an already awkward situation even more awkward.
It doesn’t take long for Hux to find his voice again.
"I never thought about it in that way," he murmurs, looking down at himself and delicately touching his navel with his free hand. As if burnt, he yanks his hand away and straightens up.
Poe sits down on a rock, somewhere in the middle of where they started out. The sun-warmed surface is almost painful on his bare skin. He stares into the tropical foliage, rustling in the breeze.
"My mom was amazing. She was a pilot too, you know. An A-wing pilot to be precise, and a damn good one,” he says.
When he turns his head in Hux’s direction, Hux is staring back at him with an unreadable expression on his sunburnt face. His arms hang limply at his sides. Looking away at the trees again, Poe keeps reminiscing. While he talks, Hux walks closer to him, eventually seating himself on a nearby rock.
"When I was very little, she and my dad were off fighting battles, so I didn't get to see her as much as I wanted. I think she was torn between her obligation to the galaxy and her family. Eventually they returned home though, and we were reunited. She actually taught me how to fly." The memory brings a smile to his face.
"My mother was a kitchen worker."
Poe looks at him in surprise. Hux has been tight-lipped and reticent about anything other than what they needed in order to survive. He’s avoiding Poe's eyes, his back straight and his hands flat on his thighs.
"She and my father had an affair. That's the official record, at least. Knowing my father, he most likely forced himself on her."
Poe wants to say something, but stops himself and lets Hux finish speaking.
"I have no recollection of her. Of course I always knew my father's wife wasn't my mother—they never let me forget it—but it wasn't until I was older that I heard my real mother had been working in the kitchen that fed me when I was a child."
"Have you tried looking for her?" Poe can't help but ask, curious.
Hux gets a vacant look in his eyes. The lines around his mouth tighten. "I looked into it a few years ago. She’s gone. Dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
Hux pushes himself to his feet. “I’m going for a swim.”
“I’ll join you.”
“Okay,” Hux says, walking into the crystal clear water of the lake.
Something has changed between them. It’s an invisible but noticeable shift. They start doing things like sitting side by side around the fires they build and holding swimming contests. (Hux is the fastest between the two of them and better at holding his breath. Poe can make the biggest splash.) They stop being Commander Dameron and General Hux, and become two people who appreciate each other’s company.
The tentative feeling of camaraderie changes into some sort of loaded tension. Poe blames it on being isolated together. Anyone would go a bit crazy. There is nothing odd about finding the person you’re stuck with attractive. Hux is just a tall guy with a striking hair colour, that’s all.
There is a moment where Poe thinks they might kiss, their faces hovering close together after reaching for the same skewered piece of meat. But it passes and nothing happens.
That first day, they built two separate sleep shelters. One sleepless night, the idea of entering Hux’s shelter comes to mind. He quickly shakes the thought out of his head, not particularly eager to dodge another blade to his throat.
The unspoken tension hangs heavily between them, until the sounds of approaching starships fill the air instead.
Their rescue arrives simultaneously, giving them an equal chance of survival. Neither rescue mission is properly equipped for heavy combat, so they both end up retreating instead of engaging. The asteroid field has shifted and poses no problem this time.
Seeing the star-dotted blackness of space again feels like waking up from a dream.
After his joyful reunion with BB-8, Leia steps up to Poe and asks him about his time with General Hux. Poe answers truthfully. He learnt nothing of interest to the Resistance. And Hux hadn’t been bad company, really. But he is glad to be back. Leia looks at him for a long moment, before moving on to her next question.
Many, many parsecs away, Hux tries not to scream in agony as he is publicly punished for his failures. While enduring the blinding pain, he hopes that somewhere, Poe Dameron is suffering too.