A/N: Day six after the wedding. Same day as Dirty Laundry, which was morning. This is afternoon.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"One moment," Hux replied. He eyed Poe, reclining in the hammock, head turned to watch him. Hux sat cross-legged on a blanket on the ground. He sighed tensely and tried to relax. It was not the sort of thing most people could do under the circumstances, but Hux had long practice at it. Fighting was counterproductive as well as useless. The Force, and those who used it, was not something he could escape in his life. It was, as he'd been repeatedly told, everywhere and in everyone.

He looked down and cleared his mind, as he had for Snoke when Snoke allowed him the opportunity. He let his thoughts settle and brought his focus to his intentions here. He was aware of Poe in front of him, waiting for him to pull himself together. He concentrated, reached out with his mind as though imagining his hand was extending, and pushed aside the barrier between them.

-like this? Hux thought, with the feeling that there was only part of a thought there, even though it was his own thought. There. Can you hear me?

"Yes."

Let's do this mentally. We need the practice.

Okay.

Hux waited, not sure what to do. This whole thing was strangely easy now that he'd done it a few times. He could feel the surface of Poe's mind, which was carefully blank at the moment. Or mostly blank. The sense of his body was still there. Hux could sense, and sort of see, Poe watching him. There was the breeze playing over both of them. Poe saw it ruffle Hux's hair, the hair he'd combed this morning, a memory that was tinged with affection in Poe's mind. He was thinking he'd have to comb it again when they were done here. He was looking forward to that.

A bug was crawling on Poe's ankle. The cords of the hammock pressed into the skin of his back, buttocks, and legs. Poe was seeing Hux feel through his mind in a recursive manner. He was calm, waiting as well, intentionally letting Hux set the pace and take this as far (or as not-far) as he wanted. He was somewhat apprehensive about how this effected Hux and felt guilty about it. He wasn't sure how he felt about Hux seeing his guilt. Poe used one foot to brush the insect off the ankle of his other leg. And that was about as far as his patience went, because he had to interrupt Hux's slow survey to ask, Why doesn't this hurt?

Hux found the short attention span amusing. I'm only reading your surface thoughts. I'm not making you show me anything new. Maybe using the Force like that activates neurons artificially and thus causes pain?

Sounds possible. Like overloading circuits? Poe knew circuitry. Moments soldering and working with starfighter control chips flashed through his mind.

Perhaps. Maybe that's why Snoke was better at it than Ren. Maybe finesse is calibrating the energy you put into it to what is needed for the task?

You could probably test that with brain imaging devices. You know, if you wanted to be scientific about all of this.

That would be interesting, but I'll let someone else volunteer for that. I need to know what I'm doing first. Did it hurt when Rey would read your mind?

No. Well, sometimes. Can I show you?

I think so.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Poe realized Hux was waiting for him to do something, so he thought back to the various times Rey had read his mind. See? You're seeing this, right? (It looks like you are.)

I am. May I … direct your memories?

Sure. Poe winced at whatever Hux did initially. Hux backed off, then tried again by prompting or mentally nudging rather than digging. Poe relaxed and let the memories surface. It was like day-dreaming. Poe thought it odd that he was seeing what Hux was seeing – Rey and Ren's mind-reading didn't seem to work that way.

That's because you're seeing it in my mind, Hux told him. You're mind-reading me in return.

Oh.

Poe turned his head, staring up at the overhanging eave of the house. Various recollections of Rey drifted by, their different missions together over the preceding nine months, using mind-reading at times to communicate when words weren't appropriate. The Knights of Ren used it constantly between them. Kylo Ren had touched Poe's mind a few times as well. But it was mostly Rey. Poe liked Rey.

Hux nudged that thought and Poe felt it spiral out into others about her. Poe admired her and not just for the Force, but for the compassion and faith she'd shown Ben Solo. She had saved him, at least in Poe's mind, from what Poe had initially thought was the tyranny and misery of the dark side. His thoughts on that had evolved recently given his experiences with Hux. Maybe the dark side itself wasn't horrific, but the conditions that drove a person to it were? Poe didn't know. But he patterned a lot of how he worked with Hux on what he'd seen Rey do with Kylo.

Her patience. Her love. Her unwavering affection and support and occasional exasperation. How she touched Kylo when he was upset … that particular bit hadn't worked with Hux, but it was why Poe kept reaching out to him even if he'd at least learned not to actually touch Hux. Hux paused in his perusal to experience a snarl of incoherent thoughts and feelings about that. He wanted to give Poe advice and a simple answer about how to handle him and what he preferred, but he couldn't.

You don't know yourself, Poe thought calmly. It's okay.

I should. Something about that seemed very wrong. He wanted to argue with it, but the impulse dissolved in the face of Poe's feelings for him – a sure, steady appreciation of him no matter what. It still didn't feel right.

No, you shouldn't. Poe thought to him. It's okay.

Then Hux realized what it was. I know myself! he snapped mentally, barely restraining himself from mentally lashing at Poe in sudden rage. I know who and what I am! Do you think I do not? Would you seduce me into thinking I'm yours to define?

Poe stilled, realizing he had unintentionally hit exactly what Hux had last told him was his greatest fear concerning mental contact like this. A moment of fear went through Poe, as well as a desire to do something, anything – soothe, apologize, take things back, somehow make things better. But none of those were the right response and Poe saw through that fast. He had the reflexes of a fighter pilot, able to make critical snap decisions on the fly. He relaxed. He stilled his mind. He focused on being a smaller, quieter presence – something he'd worked on each time they'd touched minds. He let go of his fear.

Hux felt his wrath spill through him in an angry, inarticulate storm that unraveled almost as quickly as it formed. There was nothing he could get a grip on in Poe's mind. Poe wasn't resisting him or fighting back. Hux couldn't put words to his anger, not even mentally. It wasn't really anger. It was terror. His heart was hammering; his fists clenched. He cut the mental connection to spare Poe from having to weather something so obnoxiously disgraceful. He covered his face with both hands. They were trembling. He focused on breathing.

When he finally lowered his hands, Hux said, "I want to go to you and fling myself on you."

Poe gave him a confused look. "You think taking a few swings at me would help?"

Hux blinked in confusion. "No! I meant to hold you," he said as soon as he worked out that he'd been misunderstood. "An embrace. Like before. I'm insecure, that's all." He swallowed and worked his mouth, trying to get the waver out of his voice.

Poe smiled at him gently and shrugged a shoulder. "Then what are you doing over there? Come here and hug me."

Hux looked skeptically at the hammock, although he had few doubts it would support them both. "I don't want to go to you," he said petulantly. At least his voice wasn't shaking. "Which is ridiculous because I know I make you be so careful-"

Poe rolled smoothly out of the hammock and knelt next to him on the blanket. They hugged. Poe kissed his neck and swept one hand up and down his back.

"I'm afraid of disappointing you," Hux said. "Of not being what you want. Of you realizing that as you see more of me."

Poe smiled and kissed Hux's bristly cheek. He didn't say anything, which Hux thought was the wisest thing he could do under the circumstances. Poe was not dumb.

Hux sighed. "Stupid fears, aren't they?"

Poe smiled tightly. The corners of his eyes crinkled merrily. He leaned forward slowly toward Hux's face, eyes on his nose. Hux stayed where he was. Poe touched their noses together and made a few short strokes with the tip of his nose. Poe moved back.

Hux rubbed his shoulders. "Let's try again."

"Again?" Poe asked.

"Yes, again." He regretted the way he snapped the moment the words left his mouth. "I'm sorry. You don't deserve that tone. But yes, again."

"Sure," Poe didn't respond to the other part, which left Hux uncertain – apology ignored due to cultural norms or ignored because it was not accepted? Poe went on, "But can I ask you a few things first?"

"Yes?" Hux was glad of the reprieve from the Force, even if he was the one trying to move things forward at the limits of his endurance for it.

"You coasted through my thoughts there, getting a lot more than just what I was thinking on the surface. Is that what you're concerned about me doing to you?"

"No, not really. There is a deeper dive than that which can be done."

"Which is what Kylo Ren did in interrogations, right?"

"Yes. Or so I assume. I had it from Snoke. Never from Ren."

Poe nodded and made a vague gesture with one hand like he was trying to make sense of something. "Okay. So what we just did – what you did with me, prompting my memories, kind of going with the flow – that didn't hurt. It didn't bother me. Are you saying that wouldn't bother you if I did it back somehow?"

"No, it would not. I don't think so. Not if I could see what you were taking as you could with me."

"Okay. And the reading of your surface thoughts, like talking to you in your head, that's okay?"

"Yes."

"And what we talked about at lunch – and I know this is repetitive but bear with me, I need this to be simple for me to understand it – what we talked about at lunch, catching thoughts, reading emotions – that's all okay with you?"

"Yes."

Poe shuffled back to kneel at the corner of the blanket. He put his hands together and loosely laced his fingers. "Okay. So … it's this deep dive thing you're concerned about?"

"Yes. And … the iterative experience of my mind. You're getting to know me on a level you didn't before. It's unavoidable. I'll live with it."

"It's not unavoidable."

"Don't argue with me, Poe." Hux rolled his eyes.

"I'm not arguing with you."

Hux gave him a level look. "What are you doing right now?"

Poe opened his mouth, shut it, then said, "Okay, I'm arguing with you." He sighed. "So this iterative thing-"

"Iterative means repeated."

Poe grinned. "That's cute, but I actually know that word. Thank you, dear."

Hux smiled back broadly, deeply amused that Poe had skewered him right back. "Good. Good. I'm impressed." He swallowed his chuckles. "You were saying, when I so rudely interrupted you?"

Poe waggled his brows once, then went on. "The iterative part of this is something you're going to deal with. But you want me to stay away from the deep dive. Right?"

Hux sighed, returning to seriousness. "I don't know. Perhaps it would be easier if you just got it over with. I dreaded it the whole time with Ren and maybe that was harder to take than if he'd simply done it."

"That sounds like … not the right answer. Somehow. I'm trying not to argue." Poe kept smiling cheerfully. "I'm trying really hard. I think Ren might have been onto something there. Maybe?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"How about we go ahead and do it again like you want to, but only do the things you're comfortable with?" Hux considered that. Poe added, "What you're okay with is a much bigger list than I'd realized. I thought everything was bad. But now that we're doing this together and it's not a surprise, you're dealing with it pretty well."

"Every time so far has ended in tears or some kind of fit. That's a strange definition of 'pretty well'. But I agree it's getting better."

Poe shrugged. "So we end this one on a lighter note."

"Which would involve what?"

Poe looked down, staring at the blanket for some long moments. "How about this? I'll tell you a story. It won't involve any of the things that set you off. You just follow along with my thoughts and I'll show it to you as we go. It's practice. Okay?"

"A true story?"

"Yeah. From back when I was a teenager, subadult, whatever. Before I joined the Alliance. It wasn't in my file unless you interviewed everybody I ever talked to. And even then, the main one was L'ulo, and he's not around anymore. So I don't think you've heard it."

"I'm interested."