AN: Ok, Monday was kind of heavy so I decided to be a little (kind of, relatively) lighter and fluffier. Also, special thanks to The Gnomist for consistently leaving reviews/comments, feedback means a ton and having someone spend their time to leave a comment really is the best complement an author can get.
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Lori hadn't left the generals suite.
The afternoon stretched into the night and they shared conversation as much as they did several heavy silences. The liquor cabinet went undisturbed. Both were in an emotional state, and neither thought they could hold themselves together against the weight of the past and the rush of a drink.
As it were, each of them only managed to keep it together because they had the other to lean on. One tale of the past lead to another, and another, and another.
When the chrono ticked over from one day and to the next, Lori had just finished telling Hux the story of her mother. Enlisted in the imperial navy, she had deserted to wild space after the destruction of the Death Star. There she had met Lori's father, the relationship burned bright and hot, but quickly. Lori had one memory of her mother. She was no older than three when her mother collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath against a stab wound to the chest. No one came to help, and the young Lori was left wrapped in her mother's arms as she died.
Lori had no idea who had done the stabbing.
When she had finished and the new day had only just begun, Hux told her what he knew of his mother. A so called 'kitchen woman' she had been a servant in his father's house. After Brendol learned of what had come of his one night of debauchery, he fired the woman and expected to never speak of her again. It was only after Armitage was born that the obvious family resemblance and the pressure of rumors forced Brendol to take him in. Brendol's wife never let Armitage forget that he didn't belong in her home, and his real mother never tried to take him back.
He assumed they both died as a result of the battle over Arkanis, and he didn't much care if that wasn't the case.
The conversation drifted on, sometimes digging up deep scars of the past, and sometimes being about things no heavier than their favorite songs. They spoke of politics and of the news and of history. They traded stories that had sustained them through their darker years.
Hux told Lori about the tales of dashing imperial officers who had single handedly saved their whole fleets, or had brought entire systems into imperial space. He told her about the wise and cunning Grand Admiral Thrawn and about the shrewd politicking of Grand Moff Takrin.
Lori told Hux about the mythic exploits of bounty hunters from across the galaxy. She told him about the legendary prowess of mandalorian warriors and of the thrilling but near suicidal pod-racers that scattered the outer rim.
While they talked, the chrono crept on. Their conversation had taken them from the kitchen counter, to the window side table, and then to the couch in the center of the room.
Sinking into cushions that rarely saw visitors, they asked each other dark little things.
Would you do it again?
Did you enjoy it?
"What did you do afterwards?" Hux asked Lori.
There was no space between them, neither physically nor metaphorically. She tiredly thought back to life nearly fifteen years ago.
"I ran away, stole a med kit from my nearest neighbor and hopped the first ship going off-planet that I could find," she stifled a yawn, "haven't been back since."
"The pilot just let a wounded fourteen year old onto their ship with no questions asked?" Hux had slouched down in his seat.
"That would be irresponsible. No, they didn't even know I was there."
The general's head nodded with fatigue. This time yesterday he had just been waking up. "Not as irresponsible as smuggling yourself off-planet."
"Eh, it worked out in the end," her head leaned against the general's shoulder.
"I suppose it did." he said back after a long pause.
He waited for another comment from the bounty hunter. After that he had one final thing he wanted to say before calling it a night. The moment stretched out and when Lori said nothing back, Hux realized that she had fallen asleep.
Going stiff at the realization, he considered sliding out from under her and retreating to his bedroom. The thought didn't last long before he realized that he could take solace in the presence of another person.
Happy with his situation for the first time he could remember, Hux rested his head against Lori's.
Sleep came quickly.
