Millicent woke up exactly three minutes before Taj's return. That gave her enough time to groom her slightly mussed fur, quickly rinse her mouth with water and take her position on the shelf by the door. It was part of their routine and Taj wouldn't dare to be late. He might be Armitage Hux, Snoke's right hand and closest advisor, but she was his goddess.
When the key clicked in the lock, she was ready and purred loudly in greeting.
But something was wrong. Taj entered the house, reflexively stroking her head in passing, closed the door and slumped down. He sat on the floor, hugged his knees and murmured in hushed tone, "Snoke is dead."
He looked up, into Millicent's golden eyes and explained, "Kylo and his girlfriend, Rey. There was a shooting, I think. Snoke probably discovered that she was a cop and he wanted Kylo to kill her. But he underestimated them." Hux's voice shuddered. "Millicent. Snoke is dead. We are free. And I... Millicent..."
She could not fathom what she was witnessing. Her strong, steadfast human was sobbing. His heart was pounding in some unnamed, chaotic rhythm. The muscles hidden under the wool suit were trembling. Although their relationship was based on logic and radical respect for boundaries, this wasn't her Taj... Millicent made a decision.
She deftly jumped off the shelf and approached Taj. She rested her forelegs on his knees and licked his white-knuckled, clasped hands. Then she climbed up and nestled her head on his rough cheek, bumping him with her head once, twice, purring calmingly. When Taj looked at her, shocked at the sudden emotional outburst, she touched her nose to the delicate, damp skin just under his green eye.
Taj uncertainly touched her copper fur with trembling fingers. When Millicent did not stop cuddling and kissing him, he embraced the cat more firmly. It was not the most comfortable position, and Millicent didn't plan to allow this for too long, but Taj's long fingers were clawing spasmodically along her spine and his jerky breath told her that the crisis was not over yet. She let him caress her a little bit longer, and after a while his breathing finally leveled out. It seemed that the worst has passed - for now, anyway.
"Thank you, my beautiful." Long fingers dipped into her soft fur again, and Taj gently lifted the cat and put her on the floor. "I will change and we can celebrate a little. What do you think?"
They went towards the closet. On an ordinary day, as soon as Taj went into the bathroom, Millicent would generously cover his absurdly expensive suit with fur. But not today. Today she let him hang the suit in the wardrobe as she kept rubbing her head against her human's legs. He was not alone. As long as Millicent was there, he would never be alone. She was even determined to cuddle, if it was to help her Taj.
"How about beef, my beautiful?" Hux asked as he took the cat's meal from the fridge and a box with dinner for himself. He poured himself a glass of wine and, still somewhat distracted, stroked Millicent's back as she ate. Suddenly, she was struck by the absurdity of the whole situation. They had known and lived with each other for almost five years, but this was the first time they were so physically close. They always lived side by side, keeping distance and respecting each other's boundaries. Neither she nor Taj needed constant displays of affection. When both of them were home, they stayed close to each other, lying or sitting in peaceful proximity, and every now and again Taj would stroke Millicent, and sometimes she would knead his chest with her paws. But they never cuddled or interrupted each other's meals. Well, at least he never bothered her while she was eating. Sometimes the contents of his plate needed investigation - this was her house, after all.
She looked at Hux and listened for a moment to the rhythm of his heart. It was steady, even if it was not quite calm, within the perfect staccato there were occasional single skips, dissonances, but he finally seemed to be himself again. She nodded to herself and finished eating.
"Nyyyau?"
"Me? I'll eat on the couch today, if you don't mind."
She jumped off the kitchen counter and went into the living room. Taj was eating in silence, a full glass of wine, smelling of fruit and bitterness, sitting next to his plate. She climbed Hux's knees, offering quiet support and love.
It was nice in its own way. Taj's fingers immersed in her fur, his nails lightly scratching the skin. Her purring and their hearts beating in different but harmonizing rhythms. Millicent felt herself relaxing. Lazily. Slowly. Inevitably.
The doorbell rang suddenly and loudly, destroying their peace. Taj went to the door and reluctantly opened it.
A man unknown to Millicent was leaning against the door frame. He was full of brown, this human. Brown leather jacket, dark brown hair that looked like it was only combed by rushed fingers, warm brown eyes that studied Taj thoughtfully. His tanned skin that even from that far away smelled of sunshine and lazy afternoons spent sleeping in a sunbeam. Millicent would be interested, if it were not for Taj. He froze motionless, clearly unpleasantly surprised.
"Captain Dameron." If she had not been a cat, Millicent would be fooled by the nonchalant inflection of Taj's greeting. "I was expecting someone from your division, but I did not think you would honor me personally."
"Hux." Brown eyes glistened with hidden laugh. "May I come in?"
Taj pulled away from the door, gesturing welcome to the stranger. Poe walked into the apartment, looking around curiously.
"I'm not here on business. Not today, Armie. Today I am here as an old friend."
"And why would I believe it? You have been following my every step for years, and suddenly, when your girl kills Snoke, you appear in my home? As a friend? I haven't seen you in ten years, Poe. And even then we were hardly friends."
"Armie, damn it!" Poe grabbed Hux's arm. That was too much for Millicent. Taj was nervous, anxious, his heart was throbbing hastily, he smelled with sadness and tears, and this... this... Labrador! Touched! Him!
Millicent slowly emerged from behind Taj's legs, almost inaudible rumbling in her chest. Hackles raised in rage, ruffled crest along her spine, her tail stiff and puffed. Her forelegs were rigid and tingling with sheathed claws, her hind legs slightly bent and ready to pounce, to attack, to claw, to mangle. Her voice went from grumbling to a low, menacing growl as she took two more steps.
"Millicent! No!" Taj's voice broke her focus and she sat abruptly, still focused on the danger clad in brown leather. "Millicent, please, don't do it." Taj kneeled next to her, forcing her eyes on him. "Sweetheart, no."
A sudden gasp made her and Taj look at Poe.
"This is Millicent?!" The policeman was clearly taken aback. "Oh my god! We have rooms full of manila folders with every single detail about every single person who passed you in the hall for the last five years. Every fucking single one! You know what we have for Millicent?" He ranted. "First name: Millicent. Probably female." He took shaky breath and sighed with incredulity and wonder. "Highest fucking priority. And she's a cat! A cat!" Now he laughed openly.
"Not a cat. The cat." The amusement in Taj's voice was transparent.
"Yeah, no doubt about that. You two are impossible." Poe's cocky smile slowly morphed into something more honest, more intimate. "Armie, can we talk? Like we used to. Before your father messed everything up. Please?"
Millicent heard Taj's heart skip a beat.
"Why, Poe? Why now?" He whispered, hiding his face in Millicent's copper fur. But the silence must have sung with some answers, because after a moment, he straightened up and stated, "Come, I have some wine left." Still with Millicent in his arms, Taj took another glass from the cabinet and sat on the couch.
Poe stood in the hallway for a moment longer, uncertain, hesitant to move and disturb their truce. And then he sat next to Taj, took the bottle and refilled the glasses.
"To all the dead capos di tutti capi!" He raised his glass.
Taj shot him a look, then clinked his glass softly, "To all the dead mob bosses, indeed."
They drank in silence, but Millicent felt the tension building between them. She laid on Taj's knees and started to knead his thighs. It worked like a charm. Taj started to unwind, his breath coming easier and slower. Poe began to smell more like sunshine, less like danger. Millicent purred and slowly moved to lay between them.
"I need more time, Poe." Taj said between sips. "I must be sure that your kids don't get involved with all of the vendettas and power struggles."
"My kids?" Poe repeated, unsure of what Hux meant.
"Please, don't play stupid. Finn, Rose. Rey has Kylo, so she's safe. But Finn? Whose brilliant idea was to suggest him as enforcer? He doesn't have the guts or the skills! He's enforcing with puppy dog eyes! Puppy dog eyes, Poe. And I'm sure as hell that during the raid at Canto Bight he gave his watch to a stable boy. Finn is an embarrassment to the police force as a whole."
During his ramble Taj moved his fingers away from Millicent's fur. "Rose, however, is vicious. Yes, she may be small and adorable, all easy smiles and as clumsy as a newborn foal, but that doesn't fool me. She is the force."
Dameron only hummed, poured another glass and gestured, letting Hux know that he was still listening.
"It was your idea about Finn!" Taj slurred a little. "Leia would never let this kid harm himself."
"Holdo."
"Holdo?"
"Leia caught a bullet in drive-by shooting. She's ok, you know her, but now she's mad as hell that she's chained to her desk."
"Yeah. She is something."
After they both had another glass, Millicent moved to the door. She sat in the threshold for a moment, watching the easy banter between the two men. How brown eyes smiled warmly into green ones. How the two of them sat closer with every glass. How Taj didn't even notice her departure.
She watched them for a second longer, and then walked into the closet and started making a nest with the absurdly expensive wool suits and silk ties. When she laid her head on her forepaws, she thought that maybe she wouldn't be the only one cuddling Taj to sleep that night.