A/N: Okay so a long, long time ago I talked about how I wanted to write a monster AU that wasn't the typical archetypes. So, a billion years later we have the first chapter of this beast.

Mirissimus

Drumming his fingertips on the table top, Armitage Hux waited impatiently for his next tenant interview to arrive. He'd picked up a slight headache from how long he had been keeping up his glamour; concealing his triangular ears and flicking tails was mentally taxing but necessary. Exhaling slowly, he toyed with a stray selection of hairs that was drooping in front of his face. If the other interviews were any basis, Hux wasn't holding out hope that this potential flatmate would knock his socks off.

If only Mitaka hadn't turned out to be a tempermental, whiny prat. He and Hux had gotten along decently for a while. Until they didn't. Now Hux was out six-fifty a month until he could find someone halfway reliable to rent out the second bedroom in the condo.

Spirits, he had almost asked Phasma if she would consider moving back in, and she might have even done it save for her pack status being so uncertain. Making the change from a lone shifter to joining a pack was akin to rushing a fraternity; they told you to jump, you caught the frisbee. He didn't want to obligate her to living with him. Pack bonds were important to form and she was bunking at one of the Beta's farmhouses on the edge of the city to get acclimated.

So instead he was on interview number ten of the week. They were officially late now which only further convinced Hux that he might as well grab a cover for his coffee and head home before the bus got too busy. The bell over the door jingled - what a cliche - a sound that made his ears twitch. His real ears that was, not the glamoured pink things that stuck to the side of his skull like stickers.

The woman who had entered approached the counter and ordered her coffee. The slow process of her counting out her bills - yes, of course the older lady wasn't just paying with a debit card or one of the shop's frequent buyers' cards - served as Hux's sole source of entertainment. He took a sip of his own liquid caffeine and scoffed internally as the woman forced the barista to remake her drink. Of course there were "too many" ice cubes in her iced tea.

His attention was stolen by the door chime again, and he missed the final chapter of the woman's coffeeshop saga. Stalking through the glass push door of the shop was a surly, dark-haired young man. The fact that he was a walking stereotype made Hux swallow his next sip of coffee hard.

Thick, silver chains dripped along his chest with an endless array of charms. An honest-to-spirits pentagram tattoo peeked out from collar of his shirt on the side of his neck. Hux was glad that he didn't just go all-in and have "witch" plastered on his hoodie.

And, oh of course, he ordered his coffee black.

Never mind the fact that over a third of the population drank it that way - Hux included on most mornings - it still rubbed him the wrong way. The man could have made an attempt to avoid being a living cliche.

He clung to a vain hope that the young man wasn't actually the one that Hux was supposed to be meeting. Like many of his dreams and that glass table that Phasma swore could support her weight, his hopes were shattered as the barista called out his name. "Kylo!" What were the chances of another person just stumbling into the Tauntaun for coffee with a name like that?

His drink secured, Kylo surveyed the scattering of tables and booths. Hux very nearly didn't wave him over, hesitating as their eyes met. But no, that would be giving further judgement to the man who, based on their initial emails, was as good of a tennant as he was going to get in this round. Lifting a hand, Hux summoned the man to join him at the table.

"You Hux?" the man asked, one hand holding a phone that materialized out of one baggy pocket. Flicking it open and apparently reading the screen, Kylo nodded to himself. Hux nodded as well, recalling the email he'd sent giving his basic description. He'd made sure to remember the bright blue windbreaker.

Extending a hand, Kylo sat down. His palm was warm from the fresh coffee, and he had a firm handshake. That was one check mark in the "probably not unbearably wacky" column. After a quick exchange of base pleasantries, Hux cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sure that you have more things to do than to just talk about traffic, so let's get down-"

Kylo lifted a shoulder and leaned even further back in his chair. "Not really. I've got all day," he interjected.

Well. How fantastic for him. Hux licked his lips and felt his nose twitch in irritation. The round, pink nub that lurked in his eyeline stayed still. An advantage of the glamour was that he could hide those tiny quirks behind a net of illusion spells. It made him a fantastic negotiator and an even better liar. "Well that's good to know. I'll get to be as thorough as I need to," Hux said slowly.

When Kylo started on another sip of coffee and Hux was certain that he wouldn't be interrupted, he started his short script over again. "Let's get down to it. You're looking for a flat. I have a spare room. The dimensions were online, and it's slightly bigger than most of the other rooms for let," Hux explained. "You'll have full access to the rest of the building. Just leave my room alone and you'll be fine. It's a complete remodel, so they're both the same size and they've each got a bathroom."

A wry smile slid onto Kylo's face. "That's good. I hate cleaning hairs out of the shower," he said with a chuckle.

"Quite," Hux murmured before returning to rote. "There's a flatscreen in the living room. I don't care if you watch whatever, play whatever. The basement's small, but finished. I work from home down there most of the time. Do you need any office space? I have a second desk in a storage unit." Mitaka had used it for a month before insisting he'd rather pay to rent space at a co-working unit rather than putting up with Hux's quirks.

Kylo shook his head. "My work is either going to be in my own room or outside the home. I don't think you'd really want me cluttering up your neat little office with my things," he replied. That smile reemerged with a quirk of his lip. He was laughing at his own joke again.

"I don't like to do the money talk right off, but since we're talking about work we might as well get it out of the way," Hux said. His internal checklist of questions to ask worked best without jumping around, but he'd make do. Plus if Kylo wasn't going to be able to afford the rent, then there was no point continuing to explain parking spaces and visitor policies. "I need to see those paystubs that I mentioned in my last message. I noticed that you didn't attach them with your reply."

Leaning somehow even further back in the chair, Kylo's face twitched in an apologetic wince. From the same pocket that his phone had come out of he retrieved a money clip. There was a stack of bills, a single quarter about to fall out, and a folded check. "I don't exactly have the 'nine-to-five' situation going on," he said. "So it's not a stub. But I do have one client booking me continuously, sort of a patron of the arts agreement. This was his last check, and if you give me a bit I can forward you a printout of the last one I cashed."

Hux flipped open the check and eyed the amount. There was plenty to cover a single month's rent as well as enough that he didn't worry about having to feed Kylo from his own cash. He shuddered internally at the memory of one of his first borders, before the remodel. Half of Hux's own spending money had gone to food that constantly vanished from the fridge before he had the ghost of a chance to eat it himself.

Rubbing the anti-fraud marks found the check to be genuine, too. And he couldn't smell any illusions placed on the paper. It all checked out, so to speak. Hux chewed on the tip of his tongue as he ran out of genuine reasons to send this man packing right now. Kicking him out due his his appearance alone was foolish, no matter how much all the black and silver grated on his eyes.

"I'd appreciate the printout. Just for peace of mind, if you don't mind. Once that's dealt with we can wrap up the last few details to iron out, unless you'd like to see the property today?" Hux said. His ears twitched and head throbbed when the bell over the door rang out again. A familiar scent came in with the draft.

Platinum blonde hair and a spitfire attitude strolled up to the counter. Phasma was one of Hux's few genuine friends, and he wasn't surprised to see her in this shop. However, he didn't care for how she trudged over while waiting for her order despite the not so subtle glare he sent her way. "Huuux," she drawled his name as she draped herself over his shoulders for a quick hug.

At least she didn't smell like wet fur this time. Hux waited out her embrace and picked at the peeling edge of his coffee cup. "Who's your friend?" she demanded. One hip leaned on the table and a hand went out to grasp Kylo's. The witch studied her curiously - much in the same way he'd regarded Hux initially - before his lips stretched into something of a smile.

"A possible roommate, if he'll have me. Kylo," he introduced himself. "Charmed to meet you."

"Charmed? Oh it's been awhile since someone was charmed by me. Unless I'm just spending too much time with grouch-o here," she teased. "Seriously, make sure you can deal with his unbearable wit. His words bite worse than his teeth."

Phasma turned to look at Hux, some new torment on the tip of her tongue. He was saved from the continued irritation as the barista called out Phasma's pickup order. "That's me and I can't stay. I'm sure I'll see you around." She was a whirlwind, sniffing up trouble and scurrying away to the next interesting thing. Her fingers went to her forehead in a mock salute before she picked up two stacked trays of coffee.

Hux pinched the bridge of his nose. If they'd been alone he would have asked her if she was acclimating well with her new living situation, or if the coffee bitch role was given to every new pack mate. That just wasn't possible when he was trying to wrangle his train of thought back on track through a now solidly blossoming headache.

"She's cute." It was somehow innocuous and utterly aggravating that that was the statement coming from Kylo's mouth. Hux leveled a withering glare at him.

"You're not really her type. Sorry," Hux insisted quickly. It wasn't a lie, but it didn't properly describe how out of place the witch would be in Phasma's hierarchy of potential mates.

Kylo shrugged one shoulder. "No worries. Never hurts to look," he said. Hux realized that the money clip was back out from Kylo's pocket, bouncing between his knuckles with a dexterity that shouldn't have been possible. Showoff. Hux shook himself mentally. Best to get back to the checklist. He just wanted to get home and grab a nap before making dinner.

Glancing down at his coffee, Hux weighed the odds swiftly. He needed the rent money sooner rather than later. And Kylo was at least part of the community, even if he practically advertised it with his horrendous styling. "You know what, fuck the rest of the song and dance," Hux sighed. "I'm not worried that you're gonna kill me in my sleep, and you've got the money. Let's skip the rest of the bullshit, figure out the walkthrough, and if you're still interested we can sign the papers."

Genuine surprise colored Kylo's face. He disguised it poorly with a gulp of his coffee. "I had one other place on deck to talk with," he said. The tips of his ears flared red. He didn't have a glamor to hide his tells. Still, Hux wasn't going to be an ass. The empty cup crumpled in his fist and Hux stood. The ceiling fans sometimes threatened the tips of his ears in this building if he didn't pay attention. He flicked them backwards, pushing on his already thready connection to his glamour. Spirits, he wanted to be home.

"I'm heading there now if your day's still wide open. I do understand if you want to talk to your other guy first. Just get me those check scans and email me a better time," Hux said in dismissal. The ball was in Kylo's court.

Kylo lunged to his feet as well, now thoroughly on the reactive side. It helped Hux to tell that the man was genuine in his insistence that now was perfectly fine.

"Great," Hux said with a shrug of his coat. "I'll send you the address and you can follow my car."

Inside the apartment, Hux ached to drop his glamour. He'd disclosed in their first few email conversations about his identity - just as Kylo had - but there was still an element of politeness that held him back. Kylo was strolling through the kitchen for the third time, one hand buried in a sweatshirt pocket. Checking for wards or curses or some other nonsense, to be sure. Hux was swallowing his irritation for witches. They made for the worst victims because they were just so bloody paranoid.

Mitaka hadn't checked the flat for magic, Hux mused sourly. The reminder of renewed income kept him from acting on his poor mood.

"I don't care about dividing up the fridge. Just… no body parts," Hux said. Anything to break the silence that stretched between them. He failed to get a rise from Kylo; the man was intent on his examination of the countertops. Since entering the apartment, Kylo's quickfire tongue had stilled.

Hux closed his eyes and cursed his impulsivity. They'd really only spoken for five minutes. Maybe Kylo was trying to find an excuse to get out of the freakish kitsune's apartment. He'd have to give the man another opportunity to duck out of the rooming situation to be sure. It wouldn't benefit him to deal with the move in process only to lose the tenant in eight weeks.

"Upstairs is the bedroom?" Kylo asked quickly. That one hand remained glued to his pocket, and his chin jutted out towards the stairs. "Left or right?"

"I'm on the right. Door's usually locked, but yours should be open," Hux answered. Kylo's head bobbed as he slunk up the stairs.

Honestly, Hux didn't think that there was anything to complain about in the apartment. The kitchen took up most of the back half of the main floor. There was a huge closet by the front door for coats and the living room was separated by a half wall. And, as he'd told Kylo, the room he was renting out wasn't some tiny spare thing. It was just as nice as his own.

Hux could hear the man shuffling around the upstairs. His boots made the floorboards groan and whine. Alright, so Hux's contractor had gotten cheap flooring. That was a small price to pay for decent square footage.

He hated sitting around waiting for Kylo's final judgement, but Hux really didn't want to push the envelope by hovering just behind him. The pipes gurgled as Kylo tested his sink and shower. Then, there was silence. Hux swiveled his ears, straining to hear if that rumble was speech or a truck passing through the cross street.

Boots thundered down the stairs. Kylo had a spring in his step and he rubbed his palms together eagerly. "I'm more than satisfied," he crowed. "Do you have the lease papers or-?"

Hux blinked and nodded. The turnaround on Kylo's emotions was like living through whiplash. "I have a copy from my lawyer downstairs. Do you care about seeing the basement, too?" he asked. "I can show you when we grab them."

"No that's fine. A basement's a basement, and I don't care about your little office nook. No offense," Kylo backpedaled from fully embracing the dig. Hux didn't give a damn either way. Hurrah. He had a new roommate.

Lurching to his feet, Hux headed towards the stairs. "I'll be right back, then."

Kylo moved in with an eerie efficiency. One morning the room across from Hux's had been empty and by the time that Hux emerged from the basement to fix himself a late lunch, the door was closed. That was it.

Witches. So long as he hadn't forgotten to close a portal, Hux couldn't bring himself to care about how he'd done it. An unclosed portal was like candy to him; he never could stop the itch to see where it lead. Hux had to swallow the urge to slip into Kylo's room when he was out working for his "patron" just to check and see if there was one there. It would only lead to him leaving behind some small trick in his new flatmate's room.

Mitaka hadn't appreciated the finer art of trickster magics. Hux had tried to keep his tendencies lowkey, but there were always the usual suspects to implement. After that first roommate, all of his leftovers would mysteriously taste solely of cardboard rather than their intended flavorings. Hux's room was also protected from unwelcomed visitors. Any time that someone opened the door without Hux's express permission, they'd find themselves walking back into some other room in the flat.

Hux chewed on his sandwich and frowned. Maybe that was more of a dick move than he'd anticipated. Still, it served Mitaka right for trying to sneak around into Hux's private space. And it was more amusing than a simple lock. Hux remained dedicated to the newfound opportunities that would come from sharing common areas with Kylo. Vanishing remote controls, overgrown planter pots tapping on one's shoulder, and frothing over beer bottles were best served on unexpecting company.

He wouldn't get too many chances to stretch those mental muscles though; Kylo kept to himself for two long weeks. They'd pass one another as Kylo was heading out to his work, or Hux would get a text asking if he would eat cheese pizza only to come upstairs to an open carry-out box in an empty kitchen.

It was weird, even for Hux's normal friends.

Phasma wandered by one evening, mercifully unattended by her pack mates. She handed Hux a six pack of hard ciders, laughed at how his fur was matted on his tails from his desk chair, and invited herself upstairs to freshen up. She availed herself to his bathroom as he cracked open one of the ciders. As an afterthought, he popped open another and started up the stairs.

He rapped the tip of the bottle against the door. "Kylo?" Hux called out. He knew the man was home for once - the shower had seemed to go on for ages just an hour ago - and Hux was determined to extend an olive branch of socialization. Muffled sounds eeked through the wood, and Hux heard Kylo tell him to wait a moment.

Tapping his heel, Hux bided his time. The sounds continued, causing him to prick his ears to try and determine just what the witch was doing. Drawers opened and slammed shut roughly, for sure. Something also might have been dragged on the floor? It was difficult to tell. Idly he shifted the bottles into one hand to comb out the fur on one of his tails. Phasma had been right about them being a royal mess.

Finally the door opened a few measly inches, and Kylo stuck his head out. "What?" he said sharply. Hux blinked, his smile slipping from pleasant to forced.

"I was about to order take out. Phasma - you met her at the coffeeshop, if I recall - is over and we were going to watch a film. I didn't know if you were interested in joining us," Hux said.

Kylo stared blankly at him for a few painful seconds. Hux's heel twitched twice until he stilled it once more. He'd all but forgotten the ciders in his hand. "There's cider, too," he added as he shoved one bottle towards his roommate. The urge to tip it into Kylo's shirt was strong, but quellable.

"I- Thank you but I was about to start something up here," Kylo finally said. One eye closed as he winced. Hux heard his bathroom door open and close with quick snaps. "Actually I'd just started and it's the sort of thing that…" Kylo started before trailing off.

Phasma leaned on Hux's shoulder after she emerged from his room. "Hey again," she greeted Kylo with an earnest wave of her hand. "Good to see you again."

"Good to see you again," Kylo replied automatically. He shifted to lean against the doorframe, inching the door open more. Hux could start to see shapes in the dim lighting. He resisted the urge to just start chugging his cider as Kylo only now appeared to consider the offer. He'd hoped that perhaps his offer would start to iron out their odd interactions, but apparently the man was only interested in ogling the platinum blonde next to him.

Kylo crossed his arms over his chest as his attention now locked on Phasma. "I hear you guys are about to watch something?" he asked. He couldn't possibly have forgotten what Hux had said less than a minute ago.

She nodded earnestly. "Yeah, I found out that this one hasn't seen Alien. And it's the right time of year to watch something tense and unnerving. You should come down and join us whenever you're done with your thing," she said. Hux took some small amount of joy in the fact that Phasma didn't mind sharing their hang-out time with a relative stranger. She was pretty easy to please in that regard.

As Kylo shifted again, Hux caught a whiff of recently snuffed out candles seeping from Kylo's room. It could mean nothing at all and wasn't any of Hux's business, but his damned curiosity was now going into overdrive. Hux could just spot a half-covered mirror, a package of chalk, and a bowl filled with dried plants on the dresser. Everything else was blocked by the door or the brute standing by it, clearly by intention.

"Sounds good! C'mon, let's order our food. I'm going to die if I wait much longer," Phasma said. She looped her arm through Hux's and dragged him down the stairs. He staggered after her, cursing himself for zoning out on the rest of their conversation. Kylo's door snapped shut behind them. He was still holding both drinks. Kylo hadn't taken his.

Phasma gave him a withering look before throwing herself onto the loveseat. Hux pretended not to notice as he dug around in the coffee table for the take out menus. "Don't do it," Phasma said.

Hux huffed as he flipped through the restaurant options. He sat back on the larger couch; Phasma always took up the entirety of the other one, even when she wasn't shifted to her other form. "Don't do what?" he bandied back.

"Leave his space alone. Give the guy some privacy. Then maybe he'll stick around," she said.

He exhaled heavily, trying to ignore just how on the nose she was for his behavior. His attention remained on the goal of food. The local sushi bar did delivery on large enough orders. Witches made potions with eye of newt; Kylo would probably like raw fish and rice. He held up the menu to get Phasma's nod of approval.

"I'm not going to do anything," Hux insisted as he fished out his phone. They had a usual order and he'd throw in an extra soup and some shrimp tempura in case Kylo was a picky eater. Making the call distracted Phasma enough as she lurched forward to point violently at a specialty roll she wanted. Hux considered his mental calendar; the full moon was approaching. She needed the extra fuel.

They whiled away the half hour delivery time by making bets on how long it would take Phasma to surpass the beta she was living with in the pack order. She was underestimating herself; Hux thought she'd be challenging the alpha before fall rolled around again. She was never one to just accept her given position.

Deep in their conversation on pack dynamics, neither noticed the approaching footfalls of Kylo. He slumped into the opposite end of the couch and turned his attention to the television screen without a word of greeting. It wasn't until the stock art that had been floating around the screen changed suddenly a grinning Xenomorph on the movie rental page that Hux noticed their new companion.

"Spirits when did you get here?" Hux hissed.

Kylo punched in his login, surprising Hux as Kylo paid the rental fee. "Somewhere around 'TK will crumple like a wet napkin' if Phasma were to challenge him. You're a shifter? I hadn't realized," he asked.

She bobbed her head in acknowledgement. "And you're a witch from the smell of you. What is that, sage?" Phasma replied.

"Yes. And thanks for not calling me a warlock. You wouldn't believe how many times people get that wrong," Kylo said.

Hux watched their interactions, the tips of his tails flicking. Phasma was the last person he should be possessive over and yet he couldn't shake the irritation he felt watching Kylo focus entirely on her. He downed the rest of his cider and thunked the bottle onto the coffee table.

"Warlocks are such posers," Phasma lamented. "What, you bought a couple wands and can sense ley lines. Big whoop. Learn how to lay in a spell then come see me." Kylo cracked a wide grin. Witches loved getting their egos stroked.

Hux eyed the second cider - the one he'd offered to Kylo originally - on the coffee table. He could drink that one or he could get up and retrieve the six pack Phasma had left on the kitchen island. And maybe take a peek into Kylo's room. He'd promised to not do anything. Well, looking wasn't doing anything.

He slid the open cider across to Kylo's side of the coffee table and stood. Neither of them noticed particularly, excitedly dissing the warlocks they knew in their lives. Hux rolled his eyes and slipped behind the island. He wasn't in either eyeline - the couches faced the wall with the television - and it allowed him to tap his foot twice before taking a step backward.

His feet landed on the creaky hardwood of Kylo's bedroom floor. The room was dark, the only light coming from city light that filtered in through half-drawn blinds and a blue-lit alarm clock. Hux blinked several times to coax his night vision into play. Everything took on a grey tone save for the alarm clock, but he could now make out the soft curves of Kylo's blanket-riddled bed, the low wooden dressers, and a carefully draped sheet.

Hux squinted. Hadn't that been where the mirror had been? He couldn't reach, not without making the floor creak anymore than it already had. His nose twitched. Sage. Of course Phasma had smelled the herb on Kylo. It filled the air here. Hux could only guess what its purpose was; he knew less than the warlocks they were criticising what was useful for magical arts. Kitsune had an innate magic that didn't need the same structure that witches crafted. It was also a lot less versatile.

One thing he could do, however, was curl his fingers just so and coax the sheet into the air. It hung there, suspended over the mirror. Hux smirked. So he had been right.

Mirrors, much like sage, were used by witches for… well, something. Hux leaned forward to try and make out further details in the frame around the rippling silver surface.

Wait. Rippling?

Hux turned his attention to the mirror itself. He hadn't realized at first that the image presented there wasn't quite right. His reflection looked back at him, filling the entire mirror. He wasn't that close. It shouldn't have looked like that.

His mirror self tipped his head. Mirror-Hux tipped his head in the same way that Hux did when he was puzzling something out. It wasn't right. Fear, pungent to Hux's nose, replaced the sage in the air. Hux flexed his palm open, releasing his hold on the sheet. His mirror self laughed silently, his hand still curled. The sheet remained in the air.

Hux surged forward. He didn't understand why, but he knew that the cover needed to return to the mirror. It would protect him from the thing that had twisted his face into a cackling approximation of him. As soon as his fingers touched the fabric, the spell was broken. The sheet dropped, covering the mirror once again.

Chest heaving, Hux could only stare at the white sheet. What was Kylo doing with this thing? His head wanted to tell him this was a prank, like his own magics. That was easier to accept. His gut didn't agree. It took him a minute to collect himself. He just barely heard Kylo's steps on the landing of the stairs. Hux's time was up. Phasma was chatting with the sushi delivery girl. His roommate wasn't distracted anymore, and Hux had probably made some noise rushing over to the mirror.

Another two steps let him conjure himself into his room rather than Kylo's. The door opened across the hall and Kylo called out Hux's name. Running his hand through his hair, Hux tried to will away his newfound paranoia. He'd keep an eye on Kylo. That was all. Just watch him.

He shook his head to get rid of the memory of his rebel reflection. There was something unsettling about watching one's reflection refuse to cooperate. He summoned a casual, unaffected expression to wear as Kylo called his name once more. Then Hux left his room to go watch a terrifying monster. Movie. Monster movie.

Tauntaun Coffee was busy and bustling. Hux relished in having gotten his coffee before the rush came in. He could sit by the window and nurse his simple black French Roast while everyone else ran around like crazy.

He wasn't alone. He'd been joined by a young brunette girl with freckles on her cheeks and a world-weary expression to match his. Hux couldn't remember how long they'd been seated together. At least for the past few minutes, he was certain. Perhaps longer.

"Horrible when it's this cluttered," Hux commented. She nodded along with him. "We need another plague. That worked out last time, didn't it?" His ears flicked with distaste as that wretched bell tinkered. He stared at the window, not looking through it and instead focusing on his reflection.

Oh spirits below, he'd forgotten his glamour. Pursing his lips, he smoothed away his beautifully groomed coat, flattened his pointed ears, and tucked his tails away. He extended a hand in pure habit to check that they were still there behind the illusion. Empty air greeted him.

Horror surged in his stomach before falling away to acceptance. He was glamoured to be human. This was normal, clearly. He turned back to his companion. "Sorry if that was confusing," he apologized. "I must have been more tired that I'd thought this morning."

She smiled blithely before sinking back to her morose expression. Hux bobbed his head, continuing their one-sided conversation. "I don't know what I had been thinking. So sorry," he apologized once again.

Her lack of a reaction didn't bother him. That in and of itself started to bother Hux. He sipped at his coffee. Why didn't he mind this strange woman? He'd already found his new tenant. He narrowed his eyes and regarded her again. Just as before, he slipped into pleasantries rather than question her presence at his table. "Will you be here tomorrow? Perhaps we can do this again," he felt himself say.

He also saw Kylo a few feet away, watching them. Hux frowned at the man and turn once more to the woman. She was watching Kylo as well, her face twisted in a snarl. Hux saw himself stand, saw himself drop to one knee to begin shifting back to his true form.

It was that moment of double vision, of feeling himself do something he hadn't intended, that cued him in finally that this-

Piercing, obnoxious beeping pervaded the air, louder even than the damned coffeeshop chimes. It shattered the dream, pushing Hux into miserable consciousness. He blearily swiped at his alarm clock. It beeped on and on as he missed the button. Finally he silenced it.

Rolling onto his side, Hux glared at the offending clock. He'd been mid-dream. A weird one. Even now, though, the pieces were running away like sands in an hourglass. He recalled an earlier dream where he'd eaten three pizzas and laughed at Phasma for only eating one. And before that, there'd been that falling one which had woken him at two bloody AM.

He couldn't recall what he'd just been dreaming of. All he wanted was a damn cup of coffee. Black, please.

A/N: Fair warning, this is a Kylux (and eventually Reylux) endgame fic.