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“What do you mean 'Indefinitely stuck here until further notice'? This mission was time-sensitive.”
Hux had his back turned to his hotheaded colleague, for which he was grateful, as he could not stop himself from closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, asking the deities he did not believe in to grant him the ability to keep hold of his self-control, which was uncharacteristically difficult only when faced with spending too much time in proximity to this man.
“I believe I can appreciate that fact a good deal more than you, and yet there is nothing for it. I cannot pull the necessary parts to repair the ship from my ass, and it will take the crew at least half a day's journey by speeder to acquire them, unless your voodoo abilities are capable of mechanical repairs.”
“You would do well to not presume so much. My mastery of the Force is not voodoo.” Ren's eyes narrowed in a way that would have cowed a lesser man, but Hux had not secured the rank of General at his age by being trepid, and he scoffed at Ren's boast of 'mastery', causing the man to bare his teeth in a way that would have been comical if it was not so pathetic. The tense silence that followed was brief, interrupted by a small explosion, accompanied by sparks and random bits of metal catapulting upwards from the floor.
“My sincerest apologies, oh great master of the Force”, he replied mockingly, his gaze flicking to a mouse droid that seemed to have spontaneously burst apart as they spoke. “Tsk. What a pity. It would seem that little droid just hadn't have mastery over the ability to stay in one piece as it passed by you.” He could feel the tensity and rage roiling off of his unhappy companion as Ren turned from him and exited the room, the door hissing down behind him and slamming into place a little louder than it should have. 'One of these days that man is going to have my neck.' The thought did not occur out of fear, nor would it deter him from seeing just how far he could go on poking Ren with a stick before he bit. With Ren gone and the only other thing close to a life form left smoking in pieces in the corner of the room, Hux allowed himself a rare smile at the thought. Although he'd take his secret to the grave, goading Ren was almost like a recreation for him, in a life that was otherwise filled with the gravest of duties and tedium and deadlines. He would just have to exercise vigilance, he thought, as he strode down the hall to his quarters, to make sure he was ready to dodge the metaphorical snapping teeth when they inevitably came.
Several hours later, he reemerged to the control room; the broken and crushed bits of the mouse droid had stopped smoking and emitting sparks, but an acrid burnt smell now lingered unpleasantly. It was nothing he wasn't quite used to at this point. The mouse droid's unwitting murderer had also returned, sitting in a chair at the console, rolling back and forth annoyingly. He held a comlink in his hand, which was beginning to show signs of shaking in frustration.
“NP-3178. NP-3178, do you copy? Captain Ingle, do you copy?”
“Ren – ”
“NP-3178!” His voice rose in volume with every syllable.
“They won't respond.”
“Why shouldn't they?” he growled, his fingers tightening over the com.
Hux delicately reached out and plucked the comlink away from him, replacing it on the other end of the console. “Don't break that, we have a limited supply of them for now. And they won't respond because they've been instructed not to unless it's an absolute necessity or emergency on either end. Time wasted communicating with you is time that should be spent locating the necessary parts to get us off this planet.”
“It's a necessity that I get a status update on their progress!”
“They've barely been gone five hours, do us both a favor and try to exercise some patience.”
Ren tightened his mouth, swiveling around to face the console pad and absentmindedly began flicking a switch back and forth. Hux barely suppressed the urge to reach out and grab his hand. “You can relax, General, I'm not activating self-destruct or sending our coordinates to the Resistance. I've known how to pilot a ship since . . .” his voice suddenly trailed off.
“I really couldn't care less about your childhood flying lessons, but would it do you harm to sit still for five minutes of your life?”
“I don't like waiting.”
“You're enough to drive a man to drink, Ren.”
“So go drink. Maybe I'll be able to think without you looming over me like a pompous wraith.”
“I'd actually like nothing better, but as preparations for this mission were hasty, well, let's just say a wet bar wasn't a priority,” he spat.
To Hux's surprise, Kylo ceased his incessant flicking of the switch and turned around. “Fine. I'm sure we can get some here, I'll go.”
“No! I mean . . . it's not a good idea. It's bad enough we're stranded in this territory without drawing more attention to ourselves.”
“This isn't even a First Order craft. They --” He waved his hand vaguely, “have absolutely no idea who we are.” He had already risen to his feet and was heading for the exit. He sensed Hux on the cusp of forbidding him to leave. The General thought himself stoic, but Kylo had learned almost better than anyone how to notice a slight change in someone's eyes, minuscule little twitches of facial muscles and shifts in posture that gave away what was going on behind any facade they wore. “As much as you're used to being in control, General, may I remind you that you have no authority over me? I told you, I hate waiting. I'm going out there regardless. Now, what is it that you want to drink?”
Hux exhaled shakily through his nose, feeling defeated though he'd never admit it, and not having the gumption to argue any further at the moment.
“Anything to drown out the sound of you.”
While he had tried to remain indifferent and even opposed to the idea, the truth was that Hux was actually a little bit pleased at Ren's proposal and was looking forward to his return.
No. Not his return. Only what he brought with him.
It was nearly dusk on the sparsely inhabited, rural planet when Hux heard the hatch opening and Ren's footfalls carrying that gangly, black-robed body back onto the ship. He was grateful Ren had chosen to forgo his ridiculous mask, ironically using his actual face to conceal his identity this go round. Few people knew the somber, almost boyish visage belonged to the knight of Ren, whose reputation grew more infamous all the time. Hux rose to his full height, hands clasped neatly behind his back as said man topped the ramp, a beaten up crate filled to the edge with goods in his grasp. Kylo brushed past Hux without so much as a glance, headed with purpose towards the modest dining area that housed a small table and conservator, along with dry storage space and a stove. It had been a craft designed for pleasure and speed, certainly not for military expeditions. Not wanting to seem over-eager, Hux paused for a few moments before following, entering the room to find his companion unloading goods onto the table with the closest thing to a look of contentment that Hux had seen on him to date. It was certainly preferable to the infantile fidgeting from earlier. He pulled a large bottle of amber liquid from his crate of spoils and placed it onto the table with a slight clank, pushing it toward Hux. “Here. Now go drown.”
“Mother of Moons, Ren, for once I'm impressed. This is Chandrilan brandy,” he said incredulously, lifting the bottle to examine it.
“Your reading and observation skills astound me, General,” was the sardonic response.
Hux ignored the dig. Chandrilan was not acquired cheaply, nor had he expected Ren to have much discernment when it came to choosing spirits. In all honesty, he'd expected to have been presented with the worst swill that the seediest market had to offer, but was prepared to drink it just for the effects. A pang of dutiful guilt pricked at him now as he found himself almost glad for the ship malfunction that had stranded them here in the first place. Leisure time was almost unheard of in his position. He was startled from his thoughts by the sight of a snifter hovering eerily in front of his face before floating to his free hand. He sighed wearily.
“I'm quite capable of – ”
“Have you heard from Captain Ingle or the troopers yet?” Ren interrupted, clearly not caring what Hux was capable of.
Hux pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Here we go again', he thought.
“Prodding me with sweet gestures and liquor isn't going to warm me to your impatience, Ren. I've told you before, there's nothing for it but to wait until they come back. You would do well to cool your heels in the meantime. Powers, but you must have been an insufferable child, I almost pity your parents.”
“There's nothing remotely sweet about me, but I assure you, my parents deserve no pity. From you or anyone else.” His response was terse, but one couldn't help but notice undertones of sadness in his voice. “I just need to get away from this forsaken rock. The locals are entirely too friendly.”
Hux snorted, one corner of his mouth determinedly twitching upwards against his will as he uncorked the brandy. “You're upset that someone was nice to you? There are precious few people who do that willingly, once they know what sort of a person you are, I'd hardly say it's something to be distressed over.”
“The old lady who sold me the brandy wouldn't stop touching my face and saying how much I looked like her dead grandson and then the Togrutan girl at the food market kept making eyes at me. I was embarrassed for them, it was pathetic.”
“Given that their object of their affections was you, Ren, I'm also embarrassed for them.” He poured a moderate measure of brandy into the short-stemmed glass, closing his eyes as the aromas reached him. “But still, you should probably just take a compliment when you can get one.” Kylo glared at him before pulling a knife and platter from one of the storage compartments and unwrapping a block of cheese. He pushed this, too, towards Hux, without looking at him. Hux let out a resigned sigh, turning round to retrieve another snifter from the cabinet and had just poised the brandy over it to pour when Kylo's hand shot towards it, the end of his finger stoppering the opening just before its contents could come sloshing out. He tilted it gently but firmly upright again, and merely shook his head slowly.
“Bad memories of that brandy.”
Hux couldn't help but smirk. “It makes you ill.”
Kylo leaned in almost threateningly, their faces inches apart. “No. It doesn't make me sick.” He removed his finger from the opening and brought it to his mouth to lick the brandy off, pulling it from his lips with a wet smack and making an unpleasant face at the taste. “Just. Bad. Memories. We can leave it at that.” Hux raised his hands in surrender. He was hardly fond of the man in front of him, but he knew that this particular wound was one that would not be amusing to poke, not in the least. Even he could understand the desire to not be bothered about certain topics from one's past, even if some small part of him did wonder how a simple drink could loosen an emotional scab so easily.
Kylo had turned away, continuing to slice and arrange cheese on the platter just so. If Hux had thought of being impressed again at the man's uncanny ability to pair food with spirits he wouldn't even drink, they were dashed as he watched him unceremoniously tear open a box of fancy chocolates and dump them haphazardly over the platter as well, deft fingers immediately snatching up the ones that rolled pell-mell off of random cheese slices and onto the counter and steadying them again. The General's eyes widened further when Kylo pulled the last of the contents from the crate: a tall, thin bottle containing liquid of a poisonous green tint.
“Ren . . .” he began cautiously. “Are you quite sure that's a good idea?” Ren's face had caused his voice to fade on the last word, but then the man's normally melancholy expression gave way to an awkwardly uncharacteristic, but endearing smile.
“No.”
“I have to agree. Although I wonder, was it that sweet old lady who let the ghost, or doppleganger of her dead grandson, or whatever the hell you are, buy that particular poison?”
Kylo shook his head as he poured said poison into his glass. “She claimed to have never even heard of it. A lie, I know it was.”
“You got into her head.”
“She touched me”, he shrugged. “I guess you could say I made us even.”
“You have a strange logic about you, but I suppose I can't really disagree. Are you really going to just drink that?”
“What? It's cold. It might surprise you to learn that I'm quite aware it's supposed to involve sugar and ice water and a fancy little spoon, I'm not so uncultured as that. But as you said, the Order's priority was not to provide us with a wet bar. Or even a ship that can work properly, apparently”, he quipped, a hint of bitterness creeping back. “Which reminds me, I thought that I, what was it? 'Drove you to drink'. That you wanted to 'drown out the sound' of me. Perhaps you've grown to enjoy the sound of my voice, and all it took was a little brandy? What a thought.”
“Hardly. Thank you for reminding me”, Hux said dryly. “I'd forgotten I was looming over you like a pompous wraith, I'll take my leave. Cheers.” He raised his glass in mock salute and turned to leave. Halfway down he hall that lead to the small den of sorts, Kylo shouted after him.
“Take your revolting beverage with you!” The bottle of said beverage was hovering in mid-air just beside his ear. His gait did not falter as he fluidly reached out to grab it and kept walking, stopping only to press the control panel by the door that would bring it hissing shut behind him.
Kylo laughed softly, his gaze lingering where the door had hidden the General from his view. He idly picked up one of the cheese slices, glancing down at another mouse droid that had roamed into the kitchen. It recoiled and rolled backwards at the sight of him, bumping into the wall with a clack. “Do you know?” he mused, “I think I might have hurt his feelings just now. Let's go find out.”
Hux was halfway through his glass when he finally started to feel at ease. He half-wondered if his comrade was doing some mischief someplace, but he was enjoying his rare solitude so much that he couldn't bring himself to care. The sofa was obscenely comfortable and his feet were propped on an equally plush ottoman, his boots carefully discarded in a far corner of the room. He'd undone the clasp on his collar to massage his neck beneath it when his heart sank at the noise of the door sliding open. Kylo Ren came ambling in, glass in one hand, bottle in the other, and a piece of cheese held lazily between his lips. The platter of haphazard slices and chocolates floated along in front of him and came to rest gently on the low table in front of the sofa. A lesser man than Hux might have cried.
“Ren,” he began wearily. Kylo let himself unceremoniously sink into the other end of the sofa, stretching out and then wriggling against it before settling in, like some overlarge dog.
“Ren.” Hux let his feet drop from the ottoman and pulled himself up, rubbing his face.
“Oh, don't get up.” Kylo wore a disturbing, but not at all convincing look of innocence on his face. “I brought the cheese, it looked like you wanted some and you didn't take any.”
“I don't need your cheese.”
“It goes well with that brandy. Try it, you'll like it.”
“I know what it tastes like, Ren! Powers, why are you even here? I thought I was bothering you. And don't say it's because you wanted to bring me dainties.” He took a superfluous gulp of his drink, a sour look heavily clouding his pale visage.
Kylo paid him no mind. He nodded towards the quickly-emptying glass in Hux's hand. “You wanted something to drown out the sound of me and seemed pleased with my choice. How else will I know if it works unless I'm here talking to you?”
Hux's face grew more lax as realization settled in upon him and his mouth twisted into a wry smile. Instead of pacing like a caged animal or pointlessly flicking switches, Ren had turned his attentions to him. 'So be it,' he thought. 'Two can play this game.' He turned to look at him, pushing back the urge to reach out and slap that look of smug, feigned innocence from Ren's stupid face. “Fine”, he conceded. “Stay there and see if I care.” He took an excessively generous swig of his drink.
“It wouldn't matter if you did,” Kylo replied flippantly, talking around the chocolate he'd just popped into his mouth. Hux cringed. “Are you quite sure, General,” he went on, “that we can't pull the replacement parts for this pile of rubbish from your ass? I've always gotten the impression you had something large and uncomfortable jammed up there.” He took a bracing sip of his green drink.
“I'm not even going to dignify that with a response, Lord Ren,” Hux sneered, before draining his glass and already reaching for the bottle to fill it again, this time not stopping until the amber liquid was dangerously close to spilling over the edge. He knew that he had been brought up better than to display such shameful greed, but he found that at the moment, he simply didn't give a damn.
Kylo shrugged, taking another slice of cheese. “You're the one who jumped to the analogy of things stuck up your posterior, not me.”
Hux no longer even bothered concealing his disgust as he gaped at Kylo's eating habits, the way he didn't completely close his mouth as he chewed, or how he didn't bother to swallow the cheese before palming chocolate in behind it. “You chew loudly,” he said, his lip curled in distaste.
“You think loudly.” Kylo turned to meet the General's glowering stare of disapproval, taking another swallow of the potent liquor. “Consider yourself lucky in that regard. I could drink this whole bottle and still not block out the sound of your tedious little thoughts.”
“I daresay you're wrong. If you drank that whole bottle you'd be dead. I doubt you would hear me in such a state, even if I screamed until I was blue in the face.”
“Maybe I would.” His stare was eerily unsettling.
“And how does a dead man hear the living, pray tell?” He knew what the answer would be, but he was pleasantly warm and comfortable and felt he could do with some amusement in his newly relaxed state.
“The Force”, Kylo answered calmly.
“Ah, yes, the Force. Enabling the dead to have ears and being useless at mechanical repairs since the dawn of the galaxy. How could I forget?”
Kylo nearly forgot about his game, the habitual anger that had become a part of him slowly bubbling to the surface again. It was the odd way that Hux was laughing softly now, clearly pleased with himself, that stopped him from acting on it. He thought it may have been the first time he'd seen the man laugh without the usual sardonic arrogance; it, was strangely endearing. His face must have said otherwise, as Hux took one look at him and attempted to compose himself. He did it poorly, but it was a valiant attempt nonetheless. Bits of his hair had started to come out of place. Kylo merely stared at him, brows knitted in curiosity, as if he were some strange creature at the zoo.
“You have weird eyes”, he deadpanned.
“What?” Hux hissed, the last traces of his laughter twisting into a scowl. “My eyes are the same as anyone else's.”
“They were blue when you took the comlink away from me. Green when I gave you the brandy. Now they're almost brown”, he stated. “They're weird.”
“You have all the subtlety and tact of a tauntaun attempting ballet, Ren, and about as much grace as one, too.” Hux shook his head in amused disbelief. “They've always done that. Have you really been unaware of hazel eyes until now?”
“No. I just never noticed . . .” his voice trailed off. “Why aren't you eating?”
“I told you, I don't need your cheese. Stop that!” A slice of cheese was levitating in front of his face now and he impulsively slapped at it, sending it flying across the room. “Why can't you just use your hands like a normal person?” Ren wasn't even looking at him, he simply stared straight ahead, nursing his drink in a distant kind of way.
“Have you really been unaware that I'm not a normal person until now?”
Hux tried to ignore the little pang of guilt that nagged at him just now; Ren almost looked hurt. Why should that bother him? He sighed and reached for the platter, figuring he might as well eat the bloody cheese. It was good, and he had wanted it, he had to admit, although not out loud. Not that he needed to, Ren was probably probing around his thoughts right now, unintentional or not. “I have been starkly aware of that since first I met you.” he said quietly.
“Everyone is. It's always been like that.”
“Even as a child?” Hux inquired. “I've found children tend to overlook the faults of others with more forgiveness than when we're grown. Even I had friends. For a while.”
Kylo shook his head. “No. I heard voices in my head. I thought everyone could hear people when they weren't talking. It scared the other children when I answered their thoughts. It made me angry when I started to hear what they really thought of me, what they thought I would do to them. And so I decided to give people a reason to be afraid.”
Hux found that his heart was beating just a bit faster than it should have been. While Ren's story had been fascinating, there was nothing particularly surprising about it. Maybe it was the experience of actually hearing it firsthand instead of having it dictated or reading a record. Kylo turned to him, the hints of a dark smile playing at his mouth.
“You're not afraid of me, General. You never have been.”
“No, Ren, I'm not. There is very little that I fear, you least of all. A pointless emotion that was snuffed out of me at a very early age.”
“Did they do they rest of them before or after?”
“I'm sorry?” Hux asked, bemused.
“The rest of your emotions, when were those snuffed out?”
Hux rolled his eyes. “You presume too much. If you're trying to hurt my feelings, it won't work.”
Kylo barked out a sudden laugh. “Case in point.”
A good portion of time had gone by when Hux realized they had been sitting in remarkably comfortable silence and he wondered if Kylo was actually drunk. Half of the fluorescent liquor remained in his glass, but he hadn't exactly been wanton with it, either, which was surprising in itself, given his usual nature. Hux couldn't say the same for himself as he sat up and stretched, realizing he was in uncomfortable need for the refresher, the remaining contents in his half-full second glass sitting tauntingly in front of him, reminding him of his greediness in the attempt to shut out Ren, to make him forget about the disastrous delay in their mission. He stood up and padded from the room in his socks, rubbing at his eyes, wondering if he would regret it in the morning but still feeling the calmest that he had in ages. Kylo was also sitting up when he returned, elbows on his knees, hands clasped languidly together. Hux swayed ever so slightly as he sat back down and Kylo smirked; his falter had not gone unnoticed.
“Been a while, General?” he crooned.
“Speak for yourself, you've been staring at the way the light reflects through what's left of your drink for the past twenty minutes.”
“So? I thought you wanted me to be quiet.”
Hux buried his face in his hands. “Swear to gods, you are impossible.”
“Or maybe,” he continued, “I was right. You do enjoy the sound of my voice.”
“I loathe the sound of your voice, Ren,” Hux groaned. “Both of them,” he added, thinking of the stupid helmet and reaching for his glass once more. He leaned back into the sofa and closed his eyes. “It would take me too long to even begin to list the overabundance of unpleasant noises that I would prefer to your voi –” His eyes snapped open as something abruptly prodded at his lips: a piece of chocolate. He had almost raised his free hand to swat it away as he'd done before when he realized that it was not floating, but was instead held delicately between Ren's fingers.
“Hands. Like a normal person,” Kylo said, barely above a whisper.
“Powers, Kylo, when did you get so close?” he breathed, The chocolate still pushed up against his lips as he spoke.
“I haven't moved, you sat here,” he answered softly.
With a sense of dread, he glanced slowly to his left, his former seat was indeed vacant. Ren loomed over him, one arm behind him on the back of the sofa while his other was occupied with hand-feeding him; his face held an almost indecipherable trace of pleading. Unsure of exactly what else to do, Hux loosened his jaw allowing Kylo to slowly, gently push the chocolate into his mouth, running the ends of his fingers over Hux's lips. Hux sat there, absurdly letting the sweet melt, suddenly too aware of how it felt to breathe to remember how to chew. It didn't help that Ren was closer than ever now, that piercing gaze trained on him and watching his every move and expression. Somehow he finally recalled how his mouth worked and managed not to choke.
“Gods, Ren,” he sputtered, sitting up and letting out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. “What the hell was that?” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, digging his fingers into his hair and causing it to fall even further out of place.
Kylo was wearing that infuriatingly superior look again. “Still so sure you're not afraid of me, Hux?”
Hux froze and forced himself to calm his unsteady breathing, whatever strange feeling that had just been coursing through him now mingled with a quiet and steady fury.
Kylo let out a quiet breath of laughter. “How many other supposed non-existent emotions can I pry out of you tonight, I wond – ”
“Ren, what is it going to take to get you to SHUT UP?” he raged. Kylo had no chance to retort, and Hux was pleased with the way he gave a startled jump when he took his head in his hands, grabbing fistfuls of black hair and pressing their lips together firmly but not in a way that was ungentle. Even in his current state of slight inebriation, he was not as brash as all that, waiting until the other man had relaxed just a bit before kissing him more insistently, trying to get the lips of that wretched smart mouth to part and let him in, fingers tightening into the dark hair and pulling hard when he was successful. Only when they were both in need of breath did Kylo pull away.
“That's one way,” he panted, slipping his arms around Hux's neck, his expression holding the slightest trace of surprise, but mostly amusement and more than a bit of lust.
“I truly do loathe you, Kylo Ren,” Hux said, his voice low and husky, pulling him in for another slow, wet kiss. “You are abhorrent.” And another. “Crass.” He dragged his lips along the angular jawline. “Ill-tempered – ah!” Kylo had bitten his earlobe. “Self-important, reckless. But I do not, nor will I ever, fear you. Do not forget it.”
“Are you done insulting me?”
“For now.”
“In that case,” murmured Ren, “You're stuck-up. Narrow-minded. Foppish. And obsessed with power.” Hux was almost too distracted by the strange sensation he was experiencing to pay much attention to the words; the fastenings of his uniform seemed to be coming undone of their own accord, in time with the halfhearted insults, but he managed to comprehend most of them, anyways.
“So?” His smile was cold and complacent. His smugness was repaid with teeth at his neck, and for a while their voices were silenced, the only noise in the room that of Hux's breath, gasping and panting, and the wet sounds of Kylo's lips on his exposed skin. Somehow they had both managed to lie down, with Hux on his back and Ren kneeling over him, hands on his shoulders, all but crushing him into the plush cushions beneath them. Perhaps stemming from realization at the absurdity of it all, Kylo began laughing softly, lowly, and did not stop. Hux managed to stop his head swimming for a moment and opened his eyes to find the laugh, almost a giggle now, accompanied by a roguish grin that was infuriatingly pleasing to the eyes. 'Such a child', he thought. He sighed, wriggling out of Ren's grip just enough to scoot upwards just a bit so that his head was propped on the arm of the sofa. The other man now lay sprawled, an arm on either side of him, still wearing that stupid smile.
“I'd be fascinated to learn what has you so amused, Lord Ren,” he said laconically.
“Brandy and chocolates,” he chuckled. “Brandy and chocolates was all it took, and well, I'd say that makes you an easy date, except that Chandrilan wasn't cheap.”
“I'm not your date, Ren. Don't be delusional. Nonetheless, thank you for the brandy, I needed that. And . . .”
“And what?”
“Never mind.”
“This?” Ren leaned forward and kissed him slowly, gently nudging his mouth open and licking into it, their teeth scraping and clicking together now and then. Hux pulled away after a few moments, his normally stony face almost set in a pout. Kylo leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. “Come now, General. Now you know the secret to making me be quiet, although it works the other way around, too. ” He took a moment to rearrange himself to where he was nestled snugly with his back against the sofa and his front against the pretentious redhead that lay beside him. Against all reason as well as his better judgment, Hux once again buried his fingers in the mess of dark curls, gently pulling the other man's head to rest on his chest.
“You're an impertinent ass.”
“I could break you if I wanted to, you know, without even touching you.”
“I do know,” he replied calmly, internally horrified but unable to stop himself when he realized he was combing through the soft black locks with his fingers.
“And yet you still have no fear of me.” Kylo yawned, slipping one arm beneath Hux's neck and slinging the other lazily over his torso.
“No, Ren, I don't.”
“That's what I like about you, Hux,” he slurred, barely above a whisper.
Hux opened his eyes. “What?”
The only response was a rhythmic and steady breathing, and the ridiculous arrangement of overlong limbs and muscle and stupidity and virile rage that was Kylo Ren lay dead-weight on top of him, sleeping as soundly and as peacefully as a child, which seemed fitting as he so often behaved like one. Hux sighed, letting his head fall back against the armrest as he stretched his arm towards the table beside them, barely able to hook a finger around the stem of his glass, scooting it closer to him until he could comfortably grasp it. He'd already had too much, evidenced by his current predicament, but it would be a shame to let it go to waste, and it wasn't exactly as if he was going anywhere anytime soon. He could always wake Ren; this position was not conducive to a productive sort of rest, but disturbing him would put the blessed quiet in danger and besides, despite the day's stress, his stiff uniform crumpling and wrinkling against him where he lay half-smothered beneath Ren, he couldn't remember the last time he felt quite so at ease. He continued to casually throw back the rest of his brandy one small, thoughtful mouthful at a time, hoping it would pull him into a careless slumber as well; for as comfortable as he was, his tireless mind would not let his body sleep. The last thing he remembered was looking down at his chest and feeling slightly disgusted with himself as one of his hands was still fisted in Ren's hair, but in his now heavily inebriated state of mind, he felt that he was sure that if he unclenched his fingers, they would both fall from where they lay and tumble into some unknown abyss.
“I can't let us fall,” he mumbled ludicrously as he finally drifted off to sleep, a surge of warm energy coursing through his body as he felt Ren's arms tighten around him.