Chapter 45: Aftermath

*Comes out of hiding* I hope you guys don't hate me too much for the last chapter. I know a LOT of you are hardcore Team Poe fans and want Lyra to return home to our boy as soon as possible, but Lyra's love for Hux was always something that I wanted portrayed to the max in this story, the good, the bad, the explicit, and everything in-between. But how is Poe, how is he holding up thinking his beloved is dead? And how will Lyra feel post Hux hook-up? Well... let's see. Happy New Year as well readers, the end of a decade! I can't believe 2010 was ten years ago, holy shit! The Star Wars franchise and fandom has come a long way since then! As always, I hope you enjoy this little New Years gift in the form of a new chapter.

Armitage watched her sleep by his side, her face and neck flushed in a flattering afterglow. After around half an hour, Lyra's eyes fluttered open.

The General smiled at her, running his hand down her side slowly. "Hello there" he whispered.

"Hey" she replied quietly.

"Do you want some water?"

She shook her head, turning her head to kiss his arm cradling her head.

"I'm sorry" she spoke softly.

He scoffed. "What in the galaxies would you have to be sorry for?"

She chewed her lip as she looked down. "For hitting you before. And for, well, I'm sure when you pictured us doing that again, it wouldn't be in your office on your desk."

He shrugged. "I thought it was rather nice actually."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Scrap that, it was wonderful Lyra, more than wonderful, it was perfect."

She gave him a small smile, she couldn't fight it either, lying with her husband once more had been wonderful. Like the strongest sense of nostalgia and release of tension together.

"Just out of curiosity though, why did you hit me? Why were you so angry?"

She reached out to trail one of her hands down his chest. "I've been spending months pining over a man who I don't even know loves me anymore, who has probably moved on with someone else and has made no attempt to contact me in months. I've spent so long trying to find reasons to keep you at a distance, to try and hate you so it would be easier to choose Poe over you. But it's you who is always there, you've been there from the start, even after everything I put you through. And then Ren, he's had these visions of us having a child together. Maybe, maybe the life I thought I wanted with the Resistance isn't the one for me. I don't know who I am anymore Tij, I haven't for a while now, but the one constant is you. I've had enough of fighting that fact."

He searched her face. "And that made you angry?"

She noted his pained expression and stroked his face slowly. "No, I was angry because I thought if I could get you to hate me, if I could get you to be mean to me, then I could hate you too. Then it would be easy to choose. I know, it sounds strange now, but I suppose nothing over the past few months has made sense."

Armitage shook his head slowly. "No, that makes sense I suppose."

She shivered as she looked up at the ceiling.

"We should go back to our rooms" he said.

She frowned slightly. Leaving his office would mean going back to reality and facing up to what she had just done. Her betrayal to Poe. She didn't want to face that fact.

"I don't ever want to leave this room" she told him.

He smirked, laughing to himself quietly.

"What's so funny?"

"I find it odd, of all the years we have been married, of all the time we have spent on the Finalizer and we have never made love in my office."

She laughed along with him. "I suppose it is odd. But then, you were so busy with all of Ren's orders, we didn't have much time to make love anywhere on this ship."

He stared down at the space between them, reminded of how much he had neglected his wife before she had left with the Pilot. The General moved closer to her, cupping her cheek before leaning in to kiss her, his tongue lazily connecting with her own.

He nipped her lower lip between his teeth playfully before pulling away. "Well, I won't be making that mistake ever again my love. I plan to show you just how much I've missed you, in as many rooms as you desire, in whatever positions you desire, for however long you desire."

She blushed as one of his hands went to her rear and cupped it, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her once more. His other hand that cradled her head reached up to stroke her hair from her forehead softly.

"I'd forgotten how it felt to be so happy" he whispered to her.

She looked down at the ground, feeling awkward about how much Armitage's happiness relied on her. Outside his office the world waited, consequences for her actions waited, the uncertainty of her situation with Poe waited, and she wasn't ready to deal with any of it. Choosing to ignore the voice in her head telling her what she was doing was wrong, she leaned up onto her side, trailing her hand down her husband's torso, drawing a sharp breath from him.

After Ren had shown her once more that he held such power over her, Lyra couldn't help but relish the power she held over her husband, how in control she felt seeing his responses to her touches, how eager he was to be with her, please her.

"You are a minx, bewitching me so all I can think about is you" he told her as her hand trailed down to his hips, her fingertips playing with the wispy red hairs protecting his manhood, bringing it to attention once more.

"I don't know what you mean? I haven't done anything to warrant such behaviour" she smirked.

Without warning, Armitage moved to lay in-between her legs, spreading them before entering her again, his dominance causing her to gasp, he had never been the commanding presence he was on the bridge in the bedroom and the newfound confidence excited her.

"Your behaviour has been questionable my love, causing a commanding officer, a General no less to lose his composure" he told her, shifting inside of her enough to warrant a soft moan from her.

"I'm sorry General, will you forgive me and my bewitching ways?"

He gripped her hands and held them above her head as he thrust into her quickly.

"I'm not sure, such behaviour shouldn't go unpunished my love" he growled.

Lyra bit her lip at the antagonising, sweet and slow pace Armitage was taking with her.

"How best to punish you? Tie you up and teach you a lesson? Deprive you of the release you crave? Spank you until you beg me to stop? So many choices" he whispered seductively in her ear, nipping it between his teeth slowly.

He pulled away from her so that he was barely inside of her, causing her to roll her hips towards him, but his grip on her body kept her firmly in place.

"Please Tij, don't tease me" she sighed.

He traced his tongue along her collarbone. "Why shouldn't I? Your very presence teases me every single day, I think it's about time I did some teasing of my own. What do you want Lyra? What do you need?"

She licked the shell of his ear before whispering to him. "I need you to fuck the pain away Tij, all of it."

She whimpered as she leant up to kiss his neck, running her tongue along his neck, feeling his quickened pulse, drawing her legs around him as she squirmed beneath his torturous pace. He kissed her again, her lips still swollen from all the kisses they had already shared together in their passion and as Armitage was lost in her mouth, she used the distraction to gain the upper hand, using her grip on his legs to flip them over and sit on him. His hands flew to her hips, gripping her as she began to roll her hips against him, watching him as he moaned and squeezed his eyes shut in bliss. Lyra's hands trailed along his chest, pushing him down so that he was subject to her pace.

He gained some control back as he drew one hand over her navel and down to her clit as he circled it, smirking as his soft touches caused her to throw her head back and cry out in pleasure.

Their lovemaking was a power play now, two people woven together through years of familiarity, who had unravelled away from one another, that had experienced suffering as the other experienced happiness and vice versa, who had both suffered at the hands of a common enemy, often clinging to one another by a mere thread, but clung together they had, found their way back to one another, lost control of their lives and here they both were, unravelled once again, but this time, unravelling in a different way entirely, completely, in a way that couldn't be unspun once done.

Armitage sat up, keeping her locked in place in his lap, pulling her legs either side of him as they continued to make love. She moaned again when his fingers found her clit again and she gripped his hair as her other hand rest on his, guiding him to where she needed him most.

"Tij, I'm, I'm close" she said, her voice breathy as she could barely get the words out, approaching her peak quickly.

"Cum for me my love, cum for me again" he ordered her, his fingers circling faster. She used one hand to support herself as she leaned into him further, the hand in his hair gripping so tight he might have found it painful if he wasn't so deep in his own joy. She came hard, crying out as she did so, and as she tensed around him, he caught her as she slumped against him, coming down from her own high.

He lowered her down so that he lay between her once more and it wasn't long until he found his own high, finishing inside of her as she stared up at him.

They went on like that for hours, making love and sleeping long enough to gain enough strength to do it all over again, until they finally fell asleep on the ground together, Lyra's head on Armitage's chest as his arms closed around her.

After a few hours of sleep, Armitage tried to rouse her from sleep in an attempt to get them back to their rooms but she was so tired she barely noticed her husband's attempts to wake her other than making an annoyed little groan.

He giggled at her stubbornness before he dressed himself and placed his greatcoat around her naked body, covering her before lifting her up into his arms and taking her back to their chambers as the majority of the ship's crew slept.

He placed her in their bed before taking a step back to look at her, asleep, naked in their shared bed, a sight he never thought he would see again. Not wanting to ever be without her again, he climbed into bed with her, cuddling in close to her, smiling when she instinctively turned to rest her head on his chest once more.

That night they both slept soundly.

XXX

Poe sat at his desk with the Resistance plans sprawled out beneath him. His eyes red from crying and lack of sleep. He rest his head in his hands, looking at the radio in-front of him. He had recorded over 50 messages for Lyra already, hoping if she was still alive she would somehow get access to the transmissions he had managed to send to the Finalizer. But he had heard nothing back. Not even static. Nothing.

Finn knocked on the door before entering the room. "Poe, I know you're suffering man, I really do, but you have to sleep."

Poe shook his head. "I can't Finn. I can barely breathe, I can't rest until I know the truth, until I know she's safe, or I know that sack of shit Hux was telling the truth, in which case I won't rest until I kill him for taking her away, for causing her to, shit, I can't even say it. I need to see her. I need the truth."

Finn sighed, approaching the desk. "Poe, we've been gathering allies for the last few months, we're almost there, but if you charge onto the Finalizer now with the limited manpower we have, you could ruin all the progress we have made. Besides, if we lose you, we lose the Resistance, you're the leader we need Poe, the leader Leia wanted you to be. You know she wouldn't want you to risk your life so carelessly, you know Lyra wouldn't want you to risk your life so carelessly. We'll find a way to that ship Poe, I promise, you just have to wait for the right moment."

Poe tensed his wrist. Finn was right, but Poe was losing his sanity, and if he didn't act soon, he would be lost to the darkness completely.

XXX

The next morning, Hux woke to his alarm for work. He switched it off promptly as always, not wanting to wake Lyra. She was still asleep on his chest and signed contently when he kissed her forehead softly, moving her to the side as he shifted away to sit on the edge of the bed, stretching out.

He shivered when he felt Lyra's hand on the nape of his back, stroking softly. When he turned to look at her, she was gazing up at him sleepily.

"Good morning" he whispered.

"It's much too early for that" she replied.

He took her hand in his own, kissing it gently. "I have to go to work my love, I'm sorry."

She sighed again. "Don't go to work yet, stay and cuddle me for a while."

It was a conversation she had experienced with him many times before in their marriage. She would beg him to stay with her in the morning and be met with a reluctant no, a promise he would pay attention to her later. She expected the same response this time. Still, it was always worth a try.

He stared at her for a moment, stroking her fingertips softly before laying down next to her again once more, pulling her in close to him. She grinned at him. "What are you doing?"

"Staying here and holding you, just as you wanted. Have you changed your mind?"

She shook her head as she stroked his face softly. "No, no of course I want you to stay, it's just, you always used to say no."

He kissed her forehead again. "Well, I'm sure I can think of some excuse for Ren, but for now, think no more of it my love. Just relax."

She smiled as she settled in against his chest once more, feeling content as she felt her husband draw lazy circles on her back. There was something about the special intimacy she had always shared with her husband in moments like this, in moments of comfortable silence, with the two of them just enjoying each others embrace and company quietly, making the world around them disappear.

He kissed her hair as her eyes felt heavy, calling her to sleep again. "If I can't concentrate at work today due to exhaustion, I'm blaming you, I hope you know that."

She smiled sleepily, kissing his chest gently. "I think you'll find General, that I wanted to sleep after our third round, so you have nobody to blame but yourself."

He chuckled. "As if I could keep my hands to myself around you even if I wanted to."

"How will you explain such things to Ren?"

Armitage's lips trailed across her ear slowly. "Fuck Ren."

She laughed at his boldness before falling back asleep on his chest and only when Armitage was sure she was fast asleep again, he left her to rest and returned to work.

When Lyra woke an hour later, she felt a strange sensation run through her body, like energy pulsed through her. She felt every beat of her heart, every beat of her pulse, she watched the small hairs on her arm stand up as she focused down at them and as she stood up, she felt stronger than she had done in months, like she had a new lease of life.

After unsettling Ren with her power's the day before, she decided to try something and held her hand out in the direction of one of Armitage's whiskey glasses on the other side of the room.

The glass shook and for a moment she thought it might just smash, but she concentrated harder and within a few moments, the glass flew to her hand, causing Millicent to scurry away.

Lyra smirked as she thought of the power she possessed. Ren was nothing now, no threat to her now, and a husband who loved her unconditionally. Perhaps Hux had been right in the first instance, perhaps together they could rule the galaxy and bring about peace. With Ren gone, nothing could stop them.

She went into the bathroom to freshen up, splashing her face with water but when she looked up in the mirror, she noticed something odd. A glint of amber flashed across her eyes and when she leaned closer to the mirror to take a better look, she noticed a yellow tint in her eyes. She washed her eyes again before taking another look and it was still there.

Lyra squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, rubbing them as she tried to get rid of the odd tint in her eyes. Finally, her eyes seemed to return to normal and she tried to brush off the unsettling moment as a trick of the light.

As the day passed, she grew restless on her own, Millicent seemed intent on staying away from her after she had displayed her force abilities in-front of her.

No longer scared of Ren's power over her, she decided to see Armitage on the bridge. After all, he was eager to please her nowadays.

On the bridge, Armitage was busy shouting orders at his me/n. She watched him for a while, observing the power he held over his men, how they listened to him, respected him, despite Ren and Snoke's constant attempts to undermine him. He was a force to be reckoned with in his military uniform and leather gloves and his commanding presence.

When he noticed her stood there, he made his way over to her, his hands behind his back in his usual military stance.

"Darling, is everything alright?"

She nodded, running her hands down the front of his uniform, smoothing it out. "Yes, I just wanted to see you, do I need an excuse? I'm sure I can think of something."

He leaned down and kissed her, drawing a surprised gasp from her. He had never been a great lover of public displays of affection, least of all on-board his ship. When he broke from the kiss, he took her hand and kissed it. "Follow me" he told her, leading her out from the bridge to a little alcove in one of the hallways, barely hidden away from anyone walking by.

"What are you doing Tij?"

Before she could tell him about the incident before with her eyes, he kissed her again, pushing her against the wall, away from any prying eyes.

She grinned up at him as his hand trailed down her body, his fingers toying with the waistline of her pants. He leaned down to kiss her again, nipping at her bottom lip enough to open her mouth and allow his tongue entrance. When his gloved hand dipped into her pants she pulled away and looked up at him.

"Tij, what, what are you doing? Someone could see us?"

Lyra bit her lip as she felt the cold leather reach her clit, circling the sensitive bud slowly.

"Then you had best make sure you stay quiet my love" he whispered, smirking down at her.

Lyra's breath caught in her throat, she was so not accustomed to Armitage being so carefree with her, when he slid one of his gloved fingers inside of her, she couldn't help but moan, her hands gripping the arm that touched her forcefully.

"Shh my love, wouldn't want anyone to find you here in such a questionable position now, would we?"

She bit her lip in an attempt to stay quiet and leaned her forehead against his arm as he continued his assault on her senses. He watched her face carefully, watching her breath quicken, her brow furrow as she tried to stay quiet, everything about watching her in the throws of passion was maddingly enticing to him. Knowing he was the one who was bringing her joy and happiness was something he had never gotten his head around, it was still as pleasing to him as it had been when he first married her.

Armitage quickened his pace and Lyra quickly came, throwing her head back and failing to stifle a moan as she did so. His free hand went to her mouth, gently enough to stop her from making too much noise as he grinned at her, loving watching her come undone as a result of his actions. He removed his hand from her, bringing it up to his mouth as he licked her release from his gloved fingers.

"Sweeter than any dessert in this entire galaxy" he told her quietly before leaning down to kiss her again.

She watched him in disbelief before breaking out into a quiet laugh, looking out at the side of the alcove to see if anyone was out there watching. Luckily, they were alone.

He removed his gloves, placing them in his pocket before he took her hand in his own and walked with her back towards the bridge.

"General Armitage Hux."

The two of them turned to see a tall, imposing man dressed in First Order uniform. A man Hux recognised immediately.

"General Enric Pryde, it's… it's been a while" Hux said, reaching out to shake the man's hand.

"It has. And this, this must be your wife, Lyrasanna, famed traitor to the First Order" Pryde replied.

Lyra scowled at the man as Hux took an instinctive defensive stance, half shielding her from Pryde's intense gaze.

"I'd thank you to leave my wife's past where it belongs, in the past. Lyra, this is General Pryde, I knew him back when we oversaw the Stormtrooper program together back in the early days of the First Order."

"It's Allegiant General now actually, Ren brought me in to oversee the First Order and the preparations you are making to destroy the Resistance, he believes you have been rather lax in your efforts to crush our enemies as of late, but after seeing this, I understand why. A warship is no place for housewives General, I can already see Lyrasanna here proves a distraction to you."

"Captain" Hux spat out.

"Beg your pardon" Pryde replied.

"My wife possesses the title of Captain, and you will do well to show her respect" Hux told him, stepping closer to Pryde as he took an equally intimidating stance.

Lyra, wanting to show just how intimidating she could be without the help of her husband concentrated on the floor beneath Pryde hard enough to break the metal grating apart and cause Pryde to step aside.

She frowned at Pryde as she walked past him, deliberately shoving him as she went by, her husband close behind her.

As they gathered enough distance from the new General, she turned to Armitage.

"Great, another threat we now have to steer clear of" she frowned.

She noted Armitage's scared expression and ran a hand through his hair comfortingly.

"Oh my darling, that man might be even more of a threat than Ren is right now".