Poe's face burned with the half-formed emotions which he sought in vain to subdue. The manner in which the other man regarded him appeared fraught with the scrutinizing judgement of one immune to human passions, or so it seemed to Dameron, who had cast him thus in the realm which he reserved to thoughts he dared not lay bear even before himself.

It was to this very distance between them that Poe attributed the greater part of the force that had been stirred within him. The cold and unnatural world in which he saw Hux held a fascination for him, so unthinkable it was for him to imagine a man like himself trapped between the labyrinthine walls of the First Order. To be able to sustain a noble spirit upon such meager fare seemed impossible to one who still retained some semblance to humanity. It was only by a form of a powerful delusion that They existed, so mused the pilot. He could only piece together fragmented visions of those who had so devoted their lives, as he remembered their aircrafts combusting into smithereens with a bittersweet pleasure, intermingled with the occasional bout of apprehension at taking an eye for an eye. There were times when he too was obliged to dehumanize, turning multitudes into a homogenous Enemy. Only after the ashes had fallen and the adrenaline in his veins subsided could he truly think of them as men or women, each with their own desperate passions and frailties. Only then was he able to remove the mask that was upon the, the Us and the Them.

He imagined, too, a withered soul - a thing pitiful and lowly. He thought of an expressionless automaton, stern and obedient, feeling nothing as it carried out it allotted work. The methodical and speechless General Hux bowing over a blue screen, scrutinizing it with crow-like eyes, striding back and forth in gray hallways with his hands behind his back and an air of feigned authority. A form of sycophant who, having reached the ceiling of his ascent to power, was still hopeful that patience would have its rewards – unawares that his masters have long grown weary of him.

Then he saw a ruthless man, more cunning and cruel than the prior - one who merely went through the motions of submission, meanwhile toiling at schemes and deceptions which would allow him to climb the ladder over his peers, a pit of serpents and devils differing from one another only in capacity and opportunity. A Cassius searching for his Brutus.

Then he envisioned an ordinary man, at times disgruntled, at times rising to anger, hope, or remorse- knowing not where else to go, certain that his life is held in a firm grasp.

Then, the enthusiastic disciple and fanatic, believing and obeying all that had been taught to him with the ardor of an esoteric revelation, desiring no more than to be useful to the cause which had given him life and purpose. Yet such a mask fitted poorly on the phantasm before him: the thin figure which seemed to have trembled in his grasp, whether in fear or in pleasure, or in barely suppressed disgust – he could not tell which, yet above else it shamed him to know that he would not have so easily released him if the other had somewhere to escape to.

Of all of these figures that could have been Hux, his mind had preferred two; he who is vulnerable, pitiful and pure and he of moderate courage and much patience, who would one day bite the hand that long had fed him. Initially, it was only the first that Dameron thought that he could love, yet even the second could be cast in a different light – as the shadow of one afraid, who sought to run away through a series of conquests aimed to appease what he lacked the power to overcome, and thus again becoming one who is vulnerable, a shivering spirit in his arms.

Of his world Poe resolved to ask him all, to imagine his waking days in all of their monotony and search for the signs of a secret longing which he did not doubt existed in the still human heart. He wished to love and be loved by one who had never felt amorous pangs for another man or woman, within the confines of a methodical sterilized world, cruel and abstracted. So unlike their present abode, which seemed to magnify their every feeling. Nor had Hux yet experienced love's betrayals and its falsehoods – from this too the object of Dameron's fascination had been safeguarded, and was therefore free of the knowledge of such arts other than as they were applied in the realm of politics. Certainly, Armitage's heart was one subdued and hidden behind cold eyes and stern lips, full of masquerading desires that Poe sought to draw out and tend to, savoring every transformation.

All of this was read to Dameron in a soft hurried whisper, as though spoken to a confessor through a lattice wall. He did not doubt the truth of these strange and poignant words, trusting in the sincerity which the prison induced between Hux and himself.

Hux had hesitated when Dameron had had him in his grasp and to this fleeting memory Poe would hold onto. He would place it among the morsels of evidence which would feed his continued belief that he would possess Armitage Hux.

Those inscrutable eyes, he wondered if they knew. Poe gazed at the other man for a long time, hoping that his own careless smile, maintained by much inner force, did not likewise betray his own beating heart. He cursed himself for not knowing which words to speak, and the longer he regarded Hux, the more he felt him to be untouchable. The pilot, amidst his churning emotions, was able to extinguish the light once more, if only to place a shadow over himself and prevent the eyes of the general from seeing him clearly.

It was then that the floor began to sink beneath them as though melting under the heat of an ember, the general's body descending into what could almost be a grave. Through the darkness, Poe watched in horror, wondering at the meaning of the force which acted upon the construct of their prison. He knew that there was no time to conjecture, getting up and struggling to lift him out of the cavern while he was still barely within reach.

Dameron lowered himself down onto his stomach before the edge of the growing chasm and grabbed onto Hux, straining to haul him up as the chasm continued to deepen. It was unnerving for the pilot to see the abyss below, as though it ended in nothing short of death and damnation, the abode of some subterranean beast. It troubled him in equal measure that the other man did not stir, as if here were still caught in a dream even after the rough handling which he had received as Poe had tried to rescue him from the ever-changing dimensions of their cage.

The man listened to the other's heart which still seemed to beat rapidly, yet to all other appearances the general may have been a senseless body. Dameron tried to call his name, shouting into his ear to wake him but there was no sign that Hux had heard, so heavy was his apparent sleep. He tried shaking him next, and even this proved ineffectual. His apprehensions rising, the pilot checked his breathing and found that there was no sign of it. At this, he rose suddenly and began to pace, not knowing what to do. Only the sound of the other's heavy coughing and the sight of his startled eyes brought him any sense of relief.

"What happened to you?" Poe knelt down beside him and helped him to rest his head upon a makeshift pillow made of his well-worn jacket.

"I wished to escape from what you would have done to me. I imagined the earth engulfing me, while leaving me insentient," Hux answered, his voice caught between cruelty and remorse. "But perhaps I was mistaken as to your character and these twisted thoughts are a ruse to make enemies of us once more."

"Mistaken?" he tried to smile blithely in affected ignorance while his heart beat faster in dread of shame and rejection.

"Yes - mistaken about your intentions towards me," said the other, turning his face away and then looking up again at Poe, wondering how much he ought to speak of it."I can feel how you feel, Dameron."

"What is it that I feel then?" Poe's smile subsided as his face burned at the ignominy.

"A carnal desire fed by the novelty of being with someone so different from what you have always believed as worthy of love," Hux endeavoured to show no emotion in his voice as he spoke, wishing to say what he said merely as one would state a matter of fact. "A strange fleeting attraction. You must know that I would die before you are able to defile me."

"Why is it strange to you Armitage that someone might care for you? You are however mistaken if you think that I would hurt you or force myself upon you; we only have each other here – perhaps there is a reason why we were brought together in this place. Surely it was not to destroy one another," he sought to comfort Hux and appease his doubts. Furthermore, with a childish joy, he took delight in merely speaking the other's name, as though it implied a familiarity between them - even if such a connection had yet to form.

Yet the words which Hux had spoken had stung deeply, to be thought of as a brute that would carry out the odious act which was implied. Poe himself did not fully know the full strength of his romantic emotions or how long they had existed yet his noble heart and morality strongly bound him. Poe recalled that throughout the years during which he had known of the general's existence there had long been a growing spark of interest as well as vague fantasies of good and evil entangled, yet never did he think that he would have an opportunity to speak to the other in private or be close to him other than in battle. It pleased Dameron to be able to study the features of Armitage's face, with its subtle expressions of emotion, his soft hair and gentle lips.

There was a delicacy and softness about Hux's body that contrasted with his sombre uniform, in this too he found satisfaction, thinking of the man's slender white hands in black leather gloves, removing them one by one with a certain self-assured smile. Yet these were only trifling thoughts without the substance of the other's character, his true self - whether this too he was able to love, whether he could see it clearly for himself and reach beyond glistening imagination. He loathed the thought that he had reduced love to a base fetish or novelty – that the other's accusing words had hit their mark. Poe's desire was to care for Armitage in his entirety, to know his faults and his virtues, discovering all aspects of the man.

"There is little that is pleasing or good in the image that you have of me, is pity the most that you could adorn me with?" Hux struggled between his wish to draw away from the other and a fear that by doing so he would give himself much cause to regret in the silent hours that awaited him – even beyond the confides of their surreal abode.

"I feel sorry for you, I wish that you would not fight against your own hopes; I feel what you feel too. I believe that you are aware of it yet you only turn to see the lowest aspect of what it means to have someone feel affection for you," Poe held the other gently by the shoulders and then lowered his forehead to lean against Armitage's.

"Please do not be afraid of me," Dameron continued. "I will love you and care for you in a way that is more about giving than taking. I shall try to bring you happiness if I can. I will wait for your desires to be as mine are, if ever they might be so – I hope that you can feel safe in my arms. You shall have my friendship and my protection, if this is all that you may accept from me. Let it be as you wish it, let it take what shape it will with the passage of time. I know that there may be strong differences between us yet I believe that any two human beings could love one another if they are unwavering in their resolve and faithfulness. So long as they wish to give one another happiness and take away each other's pain along the path of life, forbearing with patience each other's faults and cherishing what is good and noble in one another. This is my philosophy of love which I had learned to believe in after much heartbreak. Years have passed since I have thought of giving my heart again to one who is a stranger, but perhaps this place is the environment which would allow me to realize my hopes and ideals, that is to say, you and I have only each other here. Perhaps here we could learn to be true to ourselves and one another," he was afraid that the words sounded naive and cloying in the other's ears even as he spoke them. Dameron felt frustrated that he could not adequately convey how he felt. All that he could do with certainty was wrap his arms around Armitage and hold him close.

Gently he ran his hand along the other's back in a soothing motion, feeling comfort in the awareness of Armitage's breath against his skin as he exhaled, his eyes half closed in submission. In adoration, Poe moved a stray lock of hair from the man's forehead, his fingers brushing along the soft pale skin of his neck while their limbs intertwined, their bodies reclining upon on the cold floor. He could feel Hux's breath become as irregular as his own as he exhaled deeply, as though finding it hard to breathe. Hesitatingly, Poe kissed his cold hand and held it in his own.

"May I?" Dameron spoke in barely a whisper. "Is this wrong?"

For a long time Hux said nothing, stopping himself each time he was about to speak, afraid lest he should regret his words. He was embarrassed of his arousal while at the same time felt sufficiently moved by Dameron's romanticized views to endeavour to trust, allowing himself to share with Poe a state of emotional vulnerability. Previously, the calculating part of him had imagined the odds of resisting Dameron and had reconciled himself with the conclusion that he would not easily be able to overpower him without a weapon. Yet it were his emotions more than his reason that led him when he submitted to the other's timid caresses, so cautious of offending or repulsing the unsuitable object of his affections.

The most painful of Hux's thoughts was of another kind however. There was doubt in Armitage that it was by virtue of their situation that Poe had resolved to love him honorably or otherwise and that if circumstances were different, the man would not have hesitated to kill him as their two sides vented their wrath upon each other's ships and soldiers. Yet even with this cynic's apprehension, he could not prevent himself from accepting the attentions paid to him, so rare were such shows of kindness and tenderness, Armitage did not hope to find a like opportunity if he were again re-established as General Hux of the First Order.

"What are you fearful of? I can feel that you are afraid," Poe closed his eyes, still holding the other's hand.

"That my ignorance would make a fool of me. I am afraid of the pain that comes from fleeting affections," Hux regretted the accusation which he made for an answer yet it was the manner of response which came naturally to him. Nevertheless, it was not without relief that he got the venomous words off of his chest. "When novelty expires, when we are no longer in this strange world of ours."

"It hurts me to hear you say so, my hope is still that with time I might earn your trust and that perhaps you too would one day care for me," Poe looked at general Hux searchingly for some sign of satisfaction with the response.

"I do not know what you expect from me truly. If it is bodily pleasure then there is –"

"Even if we were the last two beings in existence, I am not so depraved as to force myself upon you, I have told you as much already have I not? I know what you are referring to and you must understand that people do not act on or even want everything they might daydream about," Poe could not help but feel upset that the other repeated the implications of the meaningless vision which he had had, glimpsed and uncovered to Hux from the recesses of intimate fantasy by some force enabled by their prison. Yet part of him was afraid of himself even as he reassured the one he sought to love purely, wondering if in anger or in frustration he would lose his humanity. It could not be so, he felt that he would rather not be alive if he had so little control over himself. "Please do not mention it again," Poe said at last, his hurt emotions visible upon his face.

"Could you not find a better candidate than I amongst your own people for what you call love?" Hux went on, compelled to satisfy his doubts fully.

"There have others with whom I tried to find love but in the end we had parted ways" said Poe, wondering how he could explain and justify to Armitage something that he could barely reconcile in his own heart.

"Did you abandon this person?"

"She had abandoned me."

"Where there those whom you abandoned."

"Yes," Poe answered with reluctance.

"You do not wish to speak of them I suppose?"

"I would like to tell you everything about me, but in this moment I want to know that I can hope that you might in time care for another in an affectionate way, that you are open to genuine friendship and would not scorn sincere love."

"Your words align to my ideals of love but your actions make me hesitant," Hux answered him forthrightly.

"I understand," Poe met the other's steady gaze with a troubled heart. "Among our kind there are many weaknesses to which I am not immune. I can only vow that what I have said is what I aspire to and hope that the strength within me is enough. There will surely be times when I shall let you down, when I am not the person who I seek to be, yet I hope that when you account for all that I do and all that I am, you will find that I have been true to you and worthy of your love. That on a grand scale, we may trust in one another. Again, perhaps it is only with time that this trust will come."

"I am human, as much as you are, and amongst our people there are few such romances akin to what you have described– those that I have heard of do not last long," Hux replied, trying to reconcile Poe's promise to that which was known to him.

"What happens to them?" asked Poe.

"They are demoted and often sent to warring planets as front-line soldiers, or else used for heavy labor in inhospitable climates. Their lack of commitment to the First Order rarely goes unnoticed - and never goes unpunished. The least severe punishment that I have heard of was to send erring women to nurse children taken into the Order."

"Are you always watched then?"

"That is the impression that we are meant to feel."

"Have any romances of this kind ever led to a child being born?"

"That is impossible," Hux said with some embarrassment. "Our bodies are altered to prevent it."

"What do you mean?"

"Our reproductive organs are removed, although sometimes those cells are used to create embryos in a laboratory setting, implanted in prisoners who would carry them to term. I suppose that you might find this sordid," said Armitage, somewhat taken aback by the transition which their conversation had taken, yet he could understand Poe's curiosity.

"Do you remember when it happened to you?"

"When one comes of age, that is usually the time for the operation," Hux answered him.

"I-I am sorry that you lived in such a place," Poe felt that his words could mean but little, still wishing to convey his compassion. He held Armitage closer as a gesture of comfort and protection, the other smiled at him slightly, as though to say that such concern was unnecessary but appreciated.

"It means little to me, perhaps it was for the best even," Hux admitted to him. "Such desires would have made my life more difficult I believe - more prone to manipulation, blackmail, frustration or distraction."

"Were you... are you content?"

"I cannot say that I am, yet it is not due to that particular loss, It was more the sense of isolation, as you have felt," said Armitage, finding it strange how much he was willing to reveal to Dameron. At the same time it felt as though a weight was to be lifted from his chest. Pressing Poe's hand, he sought to tell the other that he was in some ways glad of the feelings that were awakening within him.

"We shall have each other now, you do not have to feel alone," spoke Dameron, smiling kindly at him, grateful that he too was not isolated in the prison without his companion.

"I would rather always be alone than be deceived into loving and trusting one who is false. I suppose you cannot promise me that you will not change your mind about this," Armitage bowed his head, feeling sorry for his inability to shake his cynicism. "You must understand that I have always been averse to uncertainty and risk."

"I will do my best to understand. Only I wonder, why is there so much suspicion in your heart?"

"What I had heard and read regarding love is of this nature -," Hux endeavoured to explain. "That it is a fleeting and fickle emotion, and that one partner always loves more than the other, and he who loves more is the weaker of the two, the one more likely to take the greater share of the pain and sense of loss –"

"It is not always so, but I shall not deceive you that there are times when heartbreak takes the place of love. Yet if you and I are of a like mind, as two beings who would treasure one another through all turmoil and difficulty, then perhaps we might trust in each other's loyalty. I could forgive you all if only I knew that you loved me. I understand that you are afraid however, to willingly make yourself vulnerable in this way."

:"Yes, I believe it is best to be cautious in such matters, yet even now I feel that I have already given you more than I would wish to give."

"You are safe with me and need not be afraid," Poe kissed his forehead and gazed into the other's eyes, beseeching him to look into his heart to know that his words were spoken with sincerity.

"Your reassurances are of little comfort, yet when you hold me as though I were but a child I feel the absence of something in the previous decades of my life, I dared not to hope for this fragment."

"I believe I understand. You may know that it shall always be like this between us, or that is my hope, that I would hold you like this in the decades to follow and that it would make you as glad - I will comfort you as pleases you most Armitage, you need only tell me what your wishes are," Poe whispered into his ear, leaning over him to kiss his cheek lightly.

"You are so eager to please," Hux smiled at the other man. "If only I could hold you like this in my arms and feel your warmth then that is all that I need to have joy of you. I wish to believe in the noble feelings which you profess. I hope that you shall not betray me."

"I am glad that it is so, I hope that you are likewise sincere in what you tell me," Poe answered, enjoying the silent peacefulness which passed between them as they rested in each other's arms. It felt blissful and some time passed before their hearts beat less quickly from the thoughts and emotions which stirred within.