Author's Note: Trigger Warning - mentions of abuse in this chapter. Nothing graphic, but there nonetheless.
UPDATE: Noticed a tiny detail somehow got deleted when I published, so I've added it back now. Props to you if you caught it.
Poe let out a deep sigh as he fumbled with the keys to Hux's apartment. It had been a long day. His buddy and colleague, Finn, had caught whatever plague was going around the school, so Poe had offered to fill in for him as coach for soccer practice after school. Boy, had that been a mistake. Finn was a good deal younger than Poe, and while Poe was in decent shape for someone pushing forty, keeping up with the Stormtroopers was a bit more than he'd bargained for that day.
Pushing through Hux's front door, Poe was greeted by a rather loud meow. "I know, girl," Poe commiserated, "me too." He lay his satchel on the entryway table and closed the door before bending down to scoop the orange tabby up. She immediately started purring and headbutted his chin. "Oof, good to see you too. Shall we see what's for dinner tonight?"
He ambled into the kitchen with the cat and opened the fridge to find Millicent's dinner. Hux had organized and labeled all Millicent's food, so Poe didn't have to think much about what to feed the cat. He grabbed the container labeled with "Tuesday. Dinner." and set it on the counter before depositing the cat onto the floor so he could prepare her food by filling a bowl with hot water and setting the container in it to warm up. It would be at least ten minutes before he could feed the dish to her.
Letting out another heavy sigh, Poe leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "Well, how was your day?" Millicent merely blinked at him expectantly. "That good, huh?"
It had been a few days since Hux had departed so abruptly, leaving Millicent in his care. Poe made sure to follow the man's cat care instructions to a T, as he got the impression Hux would not be pleased if there were any derivation to the care his beloved cat received. It did feel a bit strange, though, to spend so much time in his neighbor's apartment sans said neighbor. Hell, Hux was practically a stranger. Still, curiosity was getting the better of Poe, and he couldn't help but wonder about the tightly wound but extremely attractive man who normally inhabited these four walls. "If these walls, could talk, eh, Mills?" he smirked at the cat before ambling into the next room.
Millicent followed Poe, occasionally rubbing her chin against his legs, as he slowly took in the surroundings. He perused the bookshelf in the living room, noticing for the first time the number of law books on the shelves. Poe wondered if the books were there because Hux simply took an interest in the topic or if it was because he actually worked in the field of law. He was more interested, though, in the other books on Hux's shelves. There were several classics, including a Complete Works of Shakespeare, several Dickens novels, a well worn copy of The Prince by Machievelli, as well as some children's classics like the Chronicles of Narnia. The man was certainly well read.
Feeling brave, Poe decided to push his exploration a little further, into the dining room. He was shocked to find that unlike the rest of Hux's impeccably clean and orderly apartment, this room was in a state of almost disarray. Moreover, it was clearly not used as a dining room. There was a small dining table, but it was covered with a paint-splattered tarp, an accoutrement of paints, rags, sponges and paint brushes littering the surface. There were a number of canvases around the room, some on easels, others simply leaning against the walls. They were all covered with fabric, so Poe had no idea what was on the canvases. He stepped over to one of the easels, noticing the bottom right corner peeking out from the fabric with what looked like a signature of A. Hux on it. He reached out to lift the fabric to peek at what was underneath when he was startled away by a feline paw swatting at his ankle and yowling at him angrily.
"Okay, okay, geez," Poe stepped away from the canvas with his arms raised as though he were at gunpoint. "It's private, I get it." He stepped out of the dining room and back towards the kitchen. "Let's get you fed before you try and eat me." Millicent followed him eagerly, her tail straight up and twitching. Poe fed her then settled onto the couch where Millicent joined him after she'd eaten. Poe flipped channels while Millicent purred on his lap. His attention wasn't on the TV, though, but rather on a tall, ginger man on the other side of the pond, a man who was becoming more intriguing by the minute.
Armitage was exhausted. It had been a gruelling two weeks. While there was no love lost between him and his recently departed father, he'd had to put on appearances as the dutiful son at the memorial and other associated gatherings. This was made all the more difficult by the disdain his father's wife had shown toward him. Maratelle hadn't even bothered to hide it, not that she ever had. She despised Armitage as he was a constant reminder that she could never bear children, that her husband had bedded a common kitchen wench to produce an heir.
Granted, that was never Brendol's intention. However, that didn't stop him from taking the poor woman to court to gain sole custody of the boy once he learned he was the father. As such, Armitage never really knew his mother, having been taken from her at such a young age. He only knew the pain and cruelty that was growing up in the Hux household. Brendol wanted full custody, not out of any kind of affection for Armitage, but so that he would have an heir to mold how he saw fit. He was not a kind man and Armitage suffered years of abuse at his hand. Maratelle turned a blind eye, leaving Armitage feeling ashamed and alone.
When Armitage was bullied at school, his father simply told him he needed to be tougher. So Armitage tried. It only got worse, though, as he got older. As a teenager he realised he wasn't particularly inclined toward the opposite sex. The teasing and taunting at school worsened as a result. When Brendol found out, he was particularly harsh on the boy, and to this day he never accepted his son's sexuality.
Over the years, Armitage had taken refuge in his books. When he went to uni he discovered a particular passion for art and had started to dabble in painting. His father would not allow for him to formally pursue studies in art, however, instead forcing his son into the same path to corporate law that he'd followed. Knowing he wouldn't win this argument, Armitage had reluctantly followed his father's instructions and went on to earn his degree in law.
Not looking forward to working in the same firm with his father, Armitage jumped at the chance to intern in the States for the Palpatine, Skywalker & Snoke firm his father sometimes collaborated with. Over the years, he'd risen steadily in the ranks, having proven to be quite a good lawyer.
It turned out to be a good thing he had excelled at law, as Maratelle had tried every under-handed trick in the book to undermine his inheritance. Not that Armitage was particularly attached to such inheritance, it was just the principal of the matter. In the end, since he had no intention of returning to England, he'd allowed for Maratelle to remain on the Hux properties, though he retained ownership and rights to sell when she passed or otherwise vacated the premises. As for his father's business, he agreed to sell his father's shares in the firm to his partners, Rax and Sloane, rather than take his father's place in the firm.
Now here he was, jetlagged and completely knackered, but finally home. He couldn't wait to see his Millicent in the flesh again. He was fortunate that, though he hadn't specifically asked him to, his neighbor had periodically sent him photos of Millicent. It started with just cute photos of Millicent sleeping, but as the days wore on they became increasingly silly, including selfies the man had taken with the cat. When Armitage responded asking him not to suffer his cat such indignity, it seemed to only encourage him and they became sillier and sillier. Armitage would never admit that receiving these photos in the midst of tense negotiations with his stepmother brought a smile to his face.
He was surprised to find the lights on when he opened the door, and even more surprised to find not only Millicent, but his neighbor, one Poe Dameron, asleep on his couch. Armitage froze. By some miracle he hadn't woken Millicent, who continued her slumber stretched out across Poe's broad chest.
Armitage blamed his fatigue as the reason his breath caught in his throat and his pulse quickened at the sight of Poe. In this state of rest it was easy to forget the man's more obnoxious tendencies and simply focus on the chiseled features of his face and the hints of defined muscle peeking out through the neckline of his shirt. Feeling a blush rise to his cheeks, Armitage turned away quickly toward his bedroom. In his haste, the strap of his duffle bag latched onto the lamp on his entryway table, bringing it crashing down along.
"Shit," Armitage hissed as both Poe and Millicent abruptly woke from their slumber.
"Whoa! Where's the fire?!" Poe turned wildly in the living room to locate the source of noise before spotting Hux wrestling with both his duffle bag and the lamp in the entryway. "Oh hey," he smiled lazily before making his way over. With one hand he easily grabbed the lamp and the duffle bag in the other, separating them and setting the lamp upright again.
By this time, Hux's normally pale complexion was beet red. "Sorry," he muttered, "didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't worry about it, I didn't mean to fall asleep, but this little fuzz bucket here wouldn't let me up," Poe indicated Millicent who was now circling Hux's feet, purring.
Armitage sneered at his baby girl being referred to as a fuzz bucket, but he was too tired to argue. He set his duffle back down and picked the purring cat up, giving her a kiss on her head. "Thank you. For watching her, I mean." He dug his wallet out and pulled a handful of large bills out and offered them to the other man.
Poe's eyebrows shot through the roof. "Oh hey, it was my pleasure. You don't have to pay me."
"Please, I insist."
"Well, I refuse," Poe gave Hux a cheeky grin and shoved his hands in his pockets. "This is what neighbors are for, man. We look out for each other."
"You can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am."
Hux sighed. "Look," he shoved the bills back in his wallet and slammed it down on the table, "I'm too tired to argue right now, but rest assured once I have my wits about me we will be revisiting this question of compensation for minding my Millicent."
"I'll look forward to it," Poe smiled softly. "Here," he grabbed Hux's free hand, placed the spare key he'd been using into his palm and closed his fingers around the taller man's hand. "Welcome back, Hux."
And with that he exited the apartment, leaving Armitage in a near apoplectic state at the sensation Poe's touch sent coursing up his arm.
