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My little darling, my little darling...
Hux hummed along with his radio, the corners of his lips upturned and the wind ruffling in his hair.
He was finally free.
Sixteen years of waiting had culminated in this moment - and wasn't it perfect? It was just as Hux had imagined, if not better. He allowed his broom to dip lower and reached down with his left hand, skimming the leaves beneath his fingers lightly as flew over them. The weather was warm, despite the speed that Hux was flying at, and the full moon was bright enough for Hux to see without using his lamp. He bopped his head to the music of his small radio as he rose up higher again, not wanting to risk collision with a particularly tall tree.
Hux had been counting down to this day for as long as he could remember. Arkanis was a small town, a very... archaic one, and Hux had never been able to go anywhere without being recognised. It was bad enough to be known as the Commandant's bastard son everywhere he went, but it was even worse when people knew he had strange powers. Witches weren't all that common anymore, not since the Great War. So when a little redheaded baby and an old broom were left on the Commandant's doorstep sixteen years ago, rumours spread like wildfire about what Brendol Hux really did during the war. They were all but confirmed when he took in the baby and raised him. Until now.
The problem wasn't his father himself. Brendol had always treated his son well, even though he constantly made attempts to discourage Hux's witch training. It was Arkanis that Hux longed to escape from, hopefully to someplace that might accept him.
"Prrrrrp," Millicent poked her head out of Hux's satchel and rubbed her head along his hip, leaving a trail of orange hairs on his black skirts.
"Millie," Hux chided. "I'm restless too, but we have to make a good first impression when we get there. Your fur shows too much on this colour."
The cat mewled at him before retreating back into the bag. Sighing, Hux reached in and scratched her ear for a moment before returning his attention to the actual flying of his broom. It was a night of firsts for both him and his only friend; it was the first night of his freedom, but it was also first time they'd flown for such a long period of time, and Millie's first night not spent entirely on the ground.
Once Hux had found out about his powers and coaxed the truth about his heritage out of his father, he'd studied any and all books about witches that were in Arkanis (he would have tried to get more, only there was a severe lack of delivery service between villages in the northern regions). Hux was always a good student, one of the only things besides his appearance that he'd inherited from Brendol, and he learned fast. That was how he learned what few spells he knew, and that he had to leave home at age sixteen to complete his training. He'd even found out that the wood in his broom was that of a tree native to the south, and not found in the colder north.
Hux had his destination immediately after reading that. Hosnian Prime, the largest city in the south, would surely be the best place to settle down, complete his training, and search for answers about his mother.
As the next song buzzed out of his precariously dangling radio, Hux and Millicent continued their long flight south.
***
The ocean smelled as good as Hux always imagined it would.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled the salty air as another gust of wind picked up around him. Millie teetered along the stone wall in front of him, relieved to be stretching out her legs after their long flight. Hux pulled a bar from his satchel, breaking off half and leaving it in front of Millie while chewing on the rest himself.
Their long journey finally over, Hux allowed himself to enjoy the moment before he got to work. He was tired from flying all night and he'd almost caused a traffic accident trying to land, but all thoughts of exhaustion and embarrassment had evaporated the moment he encountered the sea wall by the beach. He'd been standing there a good twenty minutes already, soaking up the sun and enjoying the view.
"We made it, Millie," he whispered as he scratched her head.
"HEY!"
The loud shout was wholly out of place on the serene oceanside, and Hux almost choked on his bar out of surprise.
"HEY, YOU!"
He looked up from the ocean, towards the source of this yelling. A teen, probably around his age, was running at him - and apparently had been for some time, given the red flush on his cheeks and heavy panting. The boy wore a pink and white striped shirt, jeans, black-rimmed glasses, and a black jacket tied around his hips. His dark hair was up in a bun, though a few strands had come loose because of his running.
The boy halted next to Hux and keeled over with his hands on his knees for a moment. He managed to get only one word out while trying to catch his breath. "You."
"Can I help you?" Hux asked.
"You... you're a real life witch?" He gestured vaguely at the broom resting next to Hux. "You were flying over the city with this?"
Hux said nothing, only raising an eyebrow at the boy and his awful manners.
"What am I saying, of course you are." The boy seemed to have recovered, standing upright and leaning against the sea wall casually. He was a few inches taller than Hux, but this close Hux could tell the boy was definitely not older than him. "Who else carries a broom around in the street and wears all black? Duh, that was you in the sky."
Hux sighed, turning his attention back to the ocean.
If the boy noticed Hux's disinterest, he didn't show it - he just pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued rambling. "Besides, I'd recognise that shock of red hair anywhere. I thought it might be a red hat at first, Poe thought so too, but then I realised it was your hair. Though now that I can see the red bow too I totally get why I thought it was a hat first."
Would the kid ever stop talking?
"Anyway that's really cool that you can fly." The boy reached down to pet Millicent, who had been sniffing at him (the traitor).
"Obviously you didn't see me landing," Hux quipped, still not looking at the boy.
"Nah, we saw you really briefly, when you flew by the clocktower. That was why I was so winded when I found you, that was quite a run to get here from there."
Hux finally looked at him. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah! See, my cousin was all like 'Ben, you can't find that witch, if that even was a witch.' But I showed her. I'm good at finding people. I just sort of sense where they are." He shrugged. "Anyway, I'm really into flying. My dad and uncles were pilots. My cousin and I are members of Aviation Club at school, and but what my cousin doesn't know is that I'm also in the Magical Studies club. We call ourselves the Knights. So, basically, meeting you is doubly cool for me, as a fan of flying and magic."
Hux just stared at the boy - whose name he didn't even know - dumbfounded.
"Anyway, you should come into our meetings sometimes. Either club, or, both clubs. Hey! Maybe you could take me flying sometime!"
That was the last straw.
"Listen, kid, I don't even know your name or know who you are. I don't know what manners they teach you down south but not introducing yourself is no way to ask for a favour!"
The boy smirked, an entertained look rather than the intended annoyance flashing in his dark eyes. "Geez, from your accent I guessed you were a northerner but from your prissiness now I know!" He pushed of the wall, ignoring Millicent's complaints as he pulled his hand away from her and stretched it towards Hux to shake his hand. "Let's start over, I want to make a good impression because I really do wanna go flying with you sometime. My name's Ben, and I'm turning sixteen in three months so I'm not a kid."
Hux looked down at the outstretched hand, and, feeling irrationally more peeved than he was before, ignored it. Instead, he elected to scoop Millie up from the wall and hoist her onto his shoulders so he could grab his broom and walk away from this Ben kid.
"Alright, witch, I'll see you around then! Remember, I know how to find people!"
If Hux had rolled his eyes any harder they would have popped right out of their sockets.
Millicent mewled watching Ben grow farther away as Hux walked. Hux was sad to leave behind the beautiful ocean, but he had to find a place to stay and hopefully find something to eat - his supply of snacks he'd packed was dangerously low. He hoped he had enough money to sustain him until he found a way to use his powers for his livelihood.
The first two diners had refused him because of the cat sitting on his shoulder. Despite stowing her away in his satchel, a restaurant also turned him away because he was alone and he 'didn't meet their standards.' The sun was beginning to dip lower and his legs were growing tired by the time he stumbled into the pub with a faded wooden sign that read Takodana Cantina.
A tall man hurriedly exited the pub just as Hux entered, almost sending him onto the floor. He apologised quickly and left equally fast, leaving Hux behind in a daze.
"Oi! Calrissian!"
An old woman, oddly sprightly for her apparent age, came charging at the entrance frantically waving an envelope in her hands. Assuming she was after the man who'd just left, Hux opened the door again and looked down in the direction the man had headed - only he was gone. He was definitely in a hurry.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, he's gone." Hux shut the door again.
"Damn, always in a hurry to get from one business to the next." She tsk'ed. "Always too busy to carry these letters for me. Even though he promised." She finally turned to Hux, a smile on her face. "Well, nevermind. Welcome to the Cantina, child. What can I do for you?"
A thought struck Hux. "Actually, I can do something for you. Would you like me to chase after that man and deliver the letter?" He gestured at his broom. "I'm quite fast."
The old woman looked at Hux curiously for a moment before a knowing smile settled on her small mouth. "Well, I'll be damned. You'd do that for me, child?"
"Sure," Hux smiled back at her. Something about the old woman was very calming, reassuring. He held his palm out for the letter, which he tucked into his satchel when she handed it over.
"And if you'll be flying, you can take the letter directly to its recipient instead of to lightning-fast-Lando. The address is written on the envelope, but it's a little house just outside of town. North. By the largest tree out there, you can't miss it. Give it to the man named Chewbacca. And when you're done, please do come back so I can compensate you for your troubles."
"No, that won't be necessary. I'm glad to help."
"Hush, child. I insist. When you come back, ask for Maz. I want to thank you, even if it's just a meal."
***
Three weeks into living over Maz's pub, earning rent by working shifts there and making pocket money through his delivery service, Hux's afternoon delivery was disrupted by a familiar voice.
"Hey! Hey, witch! Remember me?"
Electing to ignore Ben, he moved away from the shop window that he'd been distracted by and continued down the road. The delivery was only a street over from the Cantina and the package was just a basket of supplies, so there'd been no need to fly. Hux was regretting that decision now.
A black car slowed next to where Hux was walking and matched his pace.
"Hey! So that really is your delivery service that you're running from Takodana? Nice way to use your powers to make money. Smart."
A different voice from the car spoke. "Ben, stop wasting time. He isn't interested and he's not a real witch - he's obviously still in training. We'll find a real witch and convince them to come to our meetings."
"Besides," came another voice. "What a drab dress he's wearing. And the red bow?"
"Jaina!" Ben scolded. "You're wearing black too!"
"Yeah, but at least it's not outdated like that dress. I- Ben where are you going?"
Hux looked up at this point. Ben was climbing over the backseat of the ridiculously full car and jumped onto the sidewalk. The remaining six people in the car (who were, ironically enough, all clad in black) stared at Ben as if he'd grown another head.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll meet you there okay?"
Someone barely managed a "whatever, Ben" before the car was driving away.
Hux stared at Ben for a long moment.
"Hello?" Ben asked as he took his glasses off to clean them.
"Your friends aren't very nice," Hux mumbled as he started down the road again.
"Them?" He put his glasses back on and fell into step beside Hux. "They're not really my friends. That's just the Knights. I was only in the Magical Studies club to learn about magic but, well, who needs them if I can just ask you, right?"
"Why do you want to learn about magic?" Despite himself and his annoyance with Ben, Hux was genuinely curious.
Ben shrugged. "They say my grandfather was a witch. He died in the Great War, so I didn't know him. My mother doesn't talk about him much. I'm just curious I suppose."
"Your father won't tell you either?"
Ben remained quiet for a long moment as they walked, and Hux almost regretted asking.
"Dad was a pilot. There was an accident a few years back, so he never got to teach me how to fly. Uncle Luke is also a pilot, but he's away so often that he's never around to show me and Rey anything."
Hux definitely regretted asking.
"I'm sorry I mentioned it, Ben." An idea struck him, and he reached into his satchel. "Here," he said as he placed Millie on Ben's shoulders.
"Hey!" Ben giggled as the cat rubbed against his neck. "It's okay, you didn't know. That's why I'm in the Aviation Club and the Magical Studies club. But, now that you've met the Knights, you probably understand why I'd rather learn about magic from you."
Hux hummed in the affirmative.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Ben stood beside Hux as he dropped off his delivery and collected payment.
"Thank you, Armitage," the old man said as he handed over the money. "Greetings, Ben. Say hi to your mother from me."
"Will do, San Tekka!"
Ben continued to walk beside Hux as he made his way back to the Cantina.
Halfway down the road, Ben huffed. "Armitage?"
Hux frowned. "I prefer Hux."
Ben laughed. "Can I call you Armie?"
After pondering a moment, Hux nodded. "That's better than 'witch,' I suppose."
***
Summer passed at an increasing pace after that. Hux's business started truly picking up - between his shifts at the Cantina and his delivery service, Hux was kept on his toes daily. He couldn't complain, because with all the flying he was doing he had improved drastically. Hux learned even more about magic in his spare time, most of which was spent with with Ben. Ben brought him countless books about magic, which they pored over together, and they spent many mornings on the beach or in the park discussing magic. Ben was also constantly bringing his cousin and her friends to the Cantina with him, pulling Hux into conversation for long enough to earn Hux a stern look from Maz every time.
"I'm sorry I can't come to your birthday party tonight."
Ben nonchalantly shrugged from his laying position in the grass. The park was cool enough at this time in the morning for them to lounge around without feeling hot. "It's fine, it's more for my mother honestly. Besides, today Maz's pub is always super busy. She's never been able to come to my birthday because my birthday is on Life Day."
Hux smiled. "Still, I am sorry."
"Don't be," Ben grinned as he sat up. "I actually have something to show you." Ben reached over to turn down the volume on Hux's small radio before shoving a hand into his jacket pocket. He struggled to pull out a folded piece of paper that he'd somehow managed to squeeze into the small pocket.
"What's this?" Hux frowned. Ben's surprises were not always fun.
"Finn likes trees. He knows a lot about them. Threepio, my tutor, keeps lots of maps - he used to be a translator and travelled a lot. I got Finn to identify where the wood of your broom comes from, and Threepio circled the closest villages to that forest on the map. So," he handed Hux the paper, "here. I know you were thinking about finding your mother."
Hux had to look away for a solid two minutes so he could keep the tears out of his eyes.
"Armie?"
"Thank you, Ben," he managed as he turned back.
"Oh, that's no problem at all."
Ben's tone was so casual, as if he hadn't just handed Hux the key to finding his mother, as if he hadn't just given Hux what he'd wanted for sixteen years, that Hux couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What? Armie? What's wrong?"
"You... you..." Hux could barely breathe between fits of laughter.
When it finally subsided, Ben looked at him curiously. "Armie?"
Hux threw his arms around Ben's shoulders, hugging him tightly. "You're funny, Ben."
"Okay...?"
They stayed like that for a few minutes, Hux too overcome with emotion to do anything else. Ben seemed to relax into the hug and loosely wrapped his arms around Hux's waist. Even Millicent wanted in on this; she nuzzled her way in between the two and settled there, purring. The radio and the light breeze were the only sounds around them until the clocktower chimed, letting Hux know that he had to leave for his deliveries. He only broke away after the bell stopped chiming, quickly collecting his things and putting Millie on his shoulder.
"Have fun tonight!" Hux called over his shoulder as he mounted his broom and kicked off of the ground.
Ben's reply was so low Hux thought he imagined it. "I won't without you."
***
"Armie?"
Ben looked startled, obviously having just come upstairs to his room after the party.
"What are you doing here?"
"Maz let me leave early," Hux grinned. He was floating on his broom just outside Ben's window, Millicent mewling excitedly on his shoulders at the sight of Ben.
"You missed the party. Not that you missed much."
Hux nodded. "I know, sorry again I couldn't make it."
Ben grinned. "Doesn't matter, you're here now."
"And I've got a special present for you."
"You do?" Ben's eyebrows shot up and he glanced behind Hux, checking to see if Hux was hiding a present behind his back.
"Do you trust me?"
Ben looked Hux in the eye, all playfulness forgotten in the seriousness of his tone. "With my life."
Hux smiled broadly at Ben before making room in front of him. He held his hand out to Ben.
"Let's fly."