Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to update! You'd think I'd have time during Shelter in Place, but work is amazingly just as busy from my home office as it is in "real life."
Warnings: Lots of language. Brief mentions of child abuse.
In the following days, the tension between Armitage and his neighbor eased somewhat. He no longer ignored Poe when they passed in the hallways and when Millicent went on her little adventures across the hall, he would stay to chat a bit before returning home. There was no denying he was fond of his neighbor. Somehow Poe had started to tear down the walls Armitage had built around himself. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
Unfortunately, Poe had no bearing on Armitage's work life. The last week had been hell. The firm had acquired a huge caseload, and while Armitage did his best to delegate to the junior associates, it still meant lots of late nights in the office. It was late Friday night when he finally decided he had gotten to a point in his work where he wouldn't be obsessing about it over the weekend. Upon returning home he could hear Poe and his friends next door having a grand old time doing lord knows what. As he approached his floor, Poe exited his apartment.
"I'll be right back, guys. Just gonna take this out real quick," he was wielding a full trash bag for the chute. "Hux! Hey!" he smiled widely upon seeing his neighbor.
All Armitage could manage was a tired, "Hello."
"Whoa, you okay there, buddy?" he tossed the bag down the chute, his face etched with concern.
"Just a long day at work," Armitage sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"Oof, been there," he ambled closer to Armitage. Armitage could smell the beer on his neighbor's breath. "Well, are you hungry? We've still got tons of Chinese food and beer."
Armitage was usually quite finicky about his food, opting for a healthier diet, but right now in this moment, he was too tired to care. "That actually sounds amazing," he tried to ignore how pitiful he sounded when he said that. "I'll just feed Millicent and pop back over?"
"Sure thing, door's open," Poe grinned before heading back into his apartment.
Millicent was quite incensed at the tardiness of her dinner. It wasn't the first time this week, and Armitage apologized profusely as he prepped her food. While it warmed up, he changed out of his suite into a crisp pair of jeans and a snug sweater. Once Millicent was fed and settled in for a post-dinner nap, Armitage made his way across the hall.
He hesitated at the door. Poe had said it was unlocked but should he still knock? Should he just walk in? Armitage was pants at dealing with casual, everyday social situations. In the end he decided to knock, but when he got no response, undoubtedly due to no one hearing the knock over the ruckus inside the apartment, he decided to just walk in.
"Hux!" the British girl exclaimed, clearly inebriated. "You came!" Hux waved awkwardly, trying to remember her name.
The others greeted him and welcomed him into their circle. Next thing he knew he'd been ushered into the kitchen by Poe, practically forcing food and beer onto him before returning to the living room with the others. So here he was. Squeezed between the arm of the sofa and the quiet Asian girl, balancing a plate of Chinese food and a beer.
Armitage observed that their evening had clearly started with some kind of political action, based on the pamphlets, fliers and posters strewn about, but had clearly devolved into frivolity. While he ate he watched as they played some board game he did not recognize. Once he'd finished eating, he'd reluctantly been pulled into the game, but had to admit it was actually quite fun.
He couldn't help but steal glances at Poe throughout the evening. The man was really in his element here. It came as no surprise to Armitage that Poe had such a solid group of friends. He was the type of person people gravitated toward. He was open and generous and kind. Armitage felt a warm swelling in his chest. Surely it was just a buzz from the beer.
He must have been staring because all of a sudden Poe made eye contact and grinned at him. Armitage's heart stopped for a second. He was sure his face had turned beet red. He was ready to bolt from the room when Poe released eye contact, turning his attention back to the group at large. Armitage released the breath he didn't realise he was holding.
Several beers later, it was time to call it a night. Armitage helped Poe pour his drunk friends into a taxi to get home then walked back upstairs together. As they approached their landing, Armitage suddenly felt awkward.
"Well. Thank you for tonight," he said. "It was much appreciated after the week I had."
"Anytime, man. I'd ask if you want to talk about it, but if I'm being honest, I'm exhausted."
Armitage huffed out a laugh, "Oh, me too. And I don't. Want to talk about it, I mean. Just work stuff."
"Say no more, I totally understand," Poe chuckled.
"Well, thanks again," Armitage unlocked his door. "Good night."
"Night, Armitage."
And thus began Armitage's awkward foray into having a social life. At least once a week he found himself hanging out with the group in Poe's apartment. He'd even been roped into a few of their Indivisible meetings. He was frankly indifferent to their little cause, but would still find himself engaging the group, mostly to play devil's advocate and point out the holes in their plans. Rey and Finn would argue with him, and Rose would accuse him of being negative. But more often than not, Poe would just smirk at him, letting the debate go on for a bit before interrupting to declare both sides had good points and incorporating some of Armitage's suggestions into their plans.
It was after one such meeting that Armitage took note that the group had left Poe's apartment in a state of total disarray.
"Here, let me help you clean up," he grabbed some of the plates left on the coffee table and followed Poe into his kitchen.
"Thanks, man."
Together they silently fell into a rhythm. Poe packed away the leftovers into the fridge while Armitage started filling the sinks to wash the dishes.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. Just leave them," Poe rushed over to the sink to take over dish duty.
"Nonsense. It's the least I could do. Besides," he continued, "I've seen both our places and rest assured, these dishes have probably never been so clean as they will be when I'm through with them." The statement was haughty, but he made sure to make it clear he was teasing.
Seeing the twinkle in his neighbor's eye, Poe guffawed. "Fine, but I'm drying."
"If you insist." Once they got their washing and drying rhythm down, Armitage noted, "They're rather naive, aren't they? Your friends I mean."
Poe shrugged. "They're young. But don't worry. One day they'll be old and wise like us."
"Speak for yourself. I for one am in the prime of my life."
Poe laughed again. Armitage really liked the sound of it. He wanted to hear more of it.
"Alright, fine. You're in the prime of your life, it's just me who's old and wise."
"Your words, not mine," Armitage smirked.
"Just because they're naive doesn't mean they're wrong, though. I mean, sure, sometimes they don't look at things from all angles, but that comes from experience. I mean, I clearly support the same causes they do. Can you blame me?"
"If I'm being honest, I just don't get it all. Certain things, sure. Bigotry and misogyny are obviously bad. Lord knows I've caught the brunt of more than a few homophobic attacks myself, but all this business about corporations being the root of all evil? Whatever happened to people working hard and, what is it you Americans say? Pulling themselves up by their bootstraps?"
Poe paused. "Can I ask something? And I don't mean to pry, I'm just honestly trying to understand… Did you grow up in a wealthy family?"
"Well, I suppose so, yes. I never wanted for anything material, but we weren't nobility rich. My father may have been an evil prick, but he worked hard to build his empire from the ground up."
"I guess that's maybe why you don't get it. See, my parents worked hard too. Mom was a pilot in the airforce, dad was a cop. We were comfortable enough, but definitely lived paycheck to paycheck. When mom died, her pension helped some, but dad would volunteer to take extra shifts whenever he could. I started working as soon as I could to help out. Mowing neighbor's lawns, delivering newspapers, babysitting, anything. But even with the struggle to make ends meet, we were good, ya know? I'm still privileged to a degree, but I know there are those who have it so much worse. They don't have options or opportunities. That's why I do this. I do it for them."
Armitage felt equal parts shame for what he'd said and awe at the man standing next to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't know," Poe grinned, trying to break the tension. "How can you know something you don't know?"
"Well, all the same, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I've got no complaints, I've had a good life. We might not have had a bunch of fancy cars but we had each other and that's really all we needed at the end of the day. You know how it is."
Armitage silently returned to his dish washing. He honestly didn't know how it is. He never knew his mother, his father abused him, and his step-mother barely tolerated him. He'd been an outcast at school, making very few friends. Even now he had few friends, and he wouldn't call any of them close.
"Armitage? Hux? You okay?" Poe interrupted his thoughts.
"Yes, fine."
"You sure? Seemed like you went somewhere else there for a minute."
"It's nothing, I assure you." He'd just finished the last of the dishes so proceeded to drain the sinks and dry off his hands. "Well, if everything is in order, I'll be going."
Poe was eyeing him suspiciously, but must have decided to drop it. "Sure, Hux. I've got it from here."
"Oh come on!" a distinctly feminine voice hollered from the hallway. She pounded on the door again. "Hello? Poe!"
"I do believe he's out," his neighbor drawled from his own doorway.
"Bloody hell," Rey cursed. "He knew I was going to come over at 3:00 and now it's," she glanced at her watch, "3:15! I swear that man has no concept of time. Do you know when he left?"
Armitage was mildly amused by his new acquaintance's display of temper. "How should I know? I'm not his keeper." She sighed in response. "Well, if he was expecting you, one should assume he'll be back soon. Would like a cuppa in the meantime?"
"Only if I get to see Millicent."
He barked out a laugh. "Of course, though I make no guarantees as to her receptiveness to visitors." He extended his arm to welcome her into his abode.
Naturally, Rey found Millicent in a matter of seconds. The ginger cat was lounging on her cat tree and seemed to be tolerating Rey's attention while Armitage put the kettle on.
Once the tea was prepared, he returned to the living room with two mugs of tea, handing one to Rey, who had made herself comfortable on his couch. She was clearly leaving a voicemail for Poe as he approached.
"...fortunately, Hux has taken pity on me, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook, you wanker. This is Rey by the way. If I don't see you within the hour I'm calling for a search party. Piss off."
Armitage quirked an eyebrow. "If that's how you talk to your friends, I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies."
Rey smiled brightly. "You have no idea."
They sipped their tea in silence for a moment. Millicent was still grooming herself, presumably to wash off Rey's touch. She was a very finicky cat, obsessed with cleanliness. It was part of what had drawn him to her.
"He likes you, you know," Rey interrupted his thoughts.
"Pardon?"
"Poe. He likes you. Like, likes you, likes you," she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Don't be ridiculous," he muttered into his mug. He could feel his cheeks grow warm and cursed his complexion for making his feelings so obvious.
Rey chuckled. "Oh come on. It's pretty obvious the way he flirts with you."
"He does not flirt with me," Armitage scoffed.
"Oh my god, he soooo does! How can you not see it?" Rey was practically cackling with mirth.
"Poe is an extraordinary man," he bit out firmly. "He is unwaveringly kind and generous to everyone he meets. If it seems he's overly friendly to me, well…there's no reason for that, is there. I'm not exactly a good person. You're seeing something that's not there. There is no logical reason someone like him would want," his breath hitched, "would want someone like me."
Rey seriously considered him. "You really think that, don't you?" she asked softly.
Armitage turned his gaze on her. For once, she wasn't smiling or joking. She seemed sad. "I don't need your pity," he snarled, slamming his mug on the coffee table and standing up. Rey's eyes widened. Before anything else could happen, there was a knock on the door.
They both froze until Armitage grumbled, "I'll get it." When he opened the door, he was faced with the object of their conversation.
"Hey," Poe huffed, clearly out of breath. "Is Rey still here?" Armitage silently opened the door wider to reveal Rey behind him in the living room. As if sensing the tension in the room, Poe's brow furrowed. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah!" Rey lied easily. "We were just waxing nostalgic for life across the pond and you startled us."
"Right," Poe wasn't entirely convinced. "Sorry I'm late. You ready to go over those plans?"
"I've been ready for over an hour," Rey rolled her eyes, grabbed her things and stalked out into the hallway.
"Sorry," he apologized again, tossing her his keys. She let herself into his apartment. He turned back to Armitage. "Thanks for taking care of her. I know she can be a bit much sometimes."
"Because you're not," Armitage teased.
Poe chuckled. "Never said I wasn't."
"Dameron! Get your arse in here!" Rey bellowed from his apartment.
"Well, that's my cue," Poe winked and scrambled across the hall at his friend's behest.
Armitage closed his door and let out a breath.
"Mrowr?"
He looked down to see Millicent gazing up at him in that knowing way of hers. He scooped her up, burying his face in her fur. As they settled into the couch together, Armitage blinked back unshed tears.
He'd been trying so hard to resist the growing feelings he had for his neighbor. That stupid bint had just rubbed salt in the wound. Why had she said it? He knew it was a mistake to try and make friends. They were all clearly taking the piss out of him behind his back. Rey was just bold enough to do it to his face.
There was no way Poe was interested in him in that way. Poe was a genuinely good person, one of the only Armitage had ever met, and he was gorgeous too. When Armitage looked in the mirror, he knew he didn't even compare. Too pale. Too ginger. Too skinny. "Thin as a slip of paper and just as useless," he heard his father's voice in his head.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but next thing he knew, Millicent's fur was soaked with his tears. His darling cat didn't seem to mind though. She simply purred as he held her.
"Oh Millie," he kissed the top of her head. "At least we have each other. I don't know what I'd do without you."
A/N: Before anyone gets all up in arms, I just want to go on the record to say, I do not think Rey is a stupid bint. Neither does Hux, really, he's just angry and confused so he's lashing out. This chapter got a bit heavier than I'd intended, but the characters kind of took over and forced me to write it. More angst ahead, but rest assured, there will be a happy ending!
