Lord Hux felt more relaxed that morning than he had any other morning, during the entire stretch of the long, long campaign.
He walked the halls stiffly as he always did, but beneath his layers of clothes, the formal cottons and practical leathers, his muscles were loose and lay without tension; Ben had given him a truly incredible massage.
They had woken in the early hours, too slumber laden to move, but too awake to go back to sleep. After exchanging passing jokes and grinning at one another for perhaps an hour, the sun finally began its ascent across the sky, and Ben sat up. The offer of a massage had come with a teasingly raised eyebrow, and to his own surprise, Hux was cast under the other man's charm immediately.
The redhead could tell already that he could very quickly become accustom to a morning activity such as that.
He practically breezed into his council chamber, and all but smiled at seeing his map, covered in dozens of markers depicting his own kingdoms territory,
Phasma was stood by the window, looking out over the surrounding gardens.
"Good morning captain" he said, easing himself into the most comfortable of chairs, his own,
The way the leather gave beneath his untensed muscles was heavenly.
She turned and nodded to him, looking a little surprised by his tone, "Good morning my Lord"
"Any news from the western battle field?" Hux asked, lazily pushing about a few documents that he had left on the table for himself the night before,
The western battle field was to be today's concern, it was the largest battle currently taking place, a battle which was also showing the least movement of the line.
"Not yet sir, but soon I imagine" Phasma frowned, shrugging her shoulders, or perhaps just tensing them,
"Oh well" the redhead said with a sigh, "I suppose we can't expect military precision from the ravens",
His captain looked shocked once more, but nodded her agreement, even wondering if she was expected to laugh,
"Sit Phasma, please" Hux said with a shake of his head.
She complied and took a seat opposite him, her hands folding awkwardly before her on the table,
"I think it only right, that I should-" Hux cut himself off and considered his next words carefully, "-extend my gratitude to you",
The blondes brow raised, "Gratitude my Lord?" she asked,
"Yes, for many things" he nodded, "Of course, you are my closest advisor, most trusted fighter and captain. But at current, I refer to your more recent efforts. I am grateful for your expression of concern for my wellbeing, for the way in which you carried out the duties I assigned to you, and for your discretion in the matter" he concluded.
"Ah" Phasma said with a nod, "I wonder my lord, if I might ask-?"
Hux quirked an eyebrow and opened his arms in welcome, "By all means, please do"
She swallowed thickly and licked her dry lips, avoiding his gaze, "Am I right in thinking that Ben was acceptable company?",
The redhead sat up a little and clenched his jaw for a second, before cocking his head to the side, "Yes, in fact acceptable is not the word I would use" he said, reaching out to follow the curves of a territory marker with the tip of his finger, "I would say that Ben was excellent company, and I'd like to thank you again for finding him for me", he looked up, meeting her eye, "He's perfect",
Phasma's cheeks reddened a little and she nodded, "You're very welcome my lord, anything for our cause",
"Yes" Hux nodded, and he finally let a smirk twist his lips upwards, "Of course, our cause"
What was sure to become a comfortable silence was split before it started.
The council door opened, and Phasma stood from her seat, knocking the table slightly in her haste- she had thought in that moment that the scene would perhaps look too familiar to anyone who might enter, and thought better of it.
A man dressed in floor length brown robes stood in the doorway, a tangle of a paper scroll dangling from his stuttering hands, "My Lord?"
"What news?" Hux asked, turning his head just a little way towards him, indicating that he was listening,
"We have- we've lost ground my Lord" the old man said, extending his arms towards him,
Phasma regarded him first however, skirting quickly around the table and snatching the message from his hands. Her eyes looked over the scroll several times, reading and rereading,
"How much?" Hux asked, still refusing to turn towards the conversation,
"One hundred and eighty feet my Lord" the blonde answered, holding the scroll out to him,
He sighed and stood suddenly from his seat, taking up the message as he went and skimming the hastily written words,
"Phasma, gather my war council, drag them out of their beds yourself if you have to-" he said curtly, crumpling the scroll into a ball, "-or the beds of whatever brothel they prefer. Anyone who isn't at the table by the hour is to be struck off" Hux could feel his shoulders tensing, twitching even, as anger once again returned to him, "It's down to their wise council that we've lost so much land, and I would very much like to know why"
0o0o0
The 'unpromising' news was met with shock at the war council,
Although Hux immediately doubted its sincerity, as something like paranoia was getting the better of him by now.
His regularly cool disposition was regained, and when the war council, which had stretched on for hours, had ended rather inconclusively, he was furious.
By the time he made if back to his chambers in the evening, he felt just as he had the night before.
"Good evening my lord" Ben said with a smile as the door closed behind Hux, and he stripped his jacket from his body,
The other man lay naked amongst the covers once again, propped up on one elbow and watching the redhead with enthusiastic anticipation,
"Good evening, Ben" he replied with a sigh, pulling open the fastenings of his trousers.
The ravenette's expression became one of concern as he heard the lords low tone, and he sat all the way up on the mattress, gathering the covers around his hips, "My Lord? What's wrong?" he asked softly,
"It was a- a long day" Hux replied, opening his shirt,
"I see" Ben nodded, looking downcast, "I'm sorry to hear that"
The redhead sighed once more and meandered towards the bed, coming down to sit on it heavily, his head in his hands.
The other man moved behind him, getting out from under the covers. He pulled on a pair of black leather trousers that lay neatly folded on a side chair, and then clambered back onto the bed, coming to kneel behind the lord,
Ben softly placed his lips on Hux's right shoulder, and laid kiss after kiss across his skin until he got to the other one, following freckles like a trail.
"I don't suppose I could get a massage?" the smaller man asked, his words muffled behind his hands,
The ravenette smirked and wound his arms around his waist, hugging him close for a moment, "Of course my Lord, lay on your front" he whispered into his ear.
After a minute of moving across the bed, Hux was laying on his front as he had been told to and Ben was straddling his hips, his hands working against the muscles of his back in tight concentric circles,
The redhead grunted and let out a long sigh of pleasure, "This is what I needed",
"Well this is something I can do" Ben said with a chuckle, briefly stooping down to plant a kiss at the centre of his spine, "I'm at your disposal my lord",
"You enjoy it though, don't you?" he asked from beneath him, nuzzling his head into his own folded arms.
The other man shrugged, "Usually no" he admitted, his brow creased, "But it's different with you",
Hux laughed dryly, "I bet you say that to all your clients"
"Believe me my lord-" Ben said with a shake of his head, "-I don't. Honestly, I've never had such an easy time of it",
The redhead's brow quirked, "Easy?"
"Don't misunderstand me my lord, easy is nice, easy is enjoyable" he replied, his hands now working the curves of the other man's shoulder blades, moving in unison.
"And so, you enjoyed last night?" he asked, wearing a small, private smile,
"Greatly my Lord"
Hux's face fell into a wince immediately, and he shook his head, "No, no- stop"
"Oh" Ben said, quickly retracting his hands, "I- I'm sorry, did I do something wrong my Lord?" he asked, climbing off of the man as swiftly as his slightly clumsy, long limbs could move him. He scooted back across the mattress and hung his head, keeping his eyes down,
"No, no, it's not that" the redhead said turning over and propping himself up on his elbows, "I just-" he paused and let out a long, frustrated sigh, far more frustrated with himself than anything else, "-we're going to be spending a lot of time together- I think… if that suits you?"
Ben blinked and looked up, surprised by the question, "It does my Lord" he answered, nodding.
"In which case, I can't have you calling me that anymore"
The ravenette faltered, "What- what my Lord?"
"That" the smaller man replied, "Don't call me 'my Lord'"
A deep flush spread across Ben's cheeks, and he hung his head once more, now in embarrassment, "B-but you are" he said softly, "You are my lord, my Lord"
Hux frowned and shook his head, almost scoffing at the sentiment. He rose himself up from the bed and shifted across the covers, getting close enough to reach out to Ben, and then closer still. His hand went out without hesitation, and took up the other man's cheek, tilting up his jaw up and connecting their eyes, "In here, we are alone. At each other's mercy at every moment. I make myself vulnerable, and- and naked for no one, and yet here you are. You lie beside me, and sit atop me, your hands travel my skin and all I want in those moments, is to have the sensation tenfold. In here, you hold the power as much as I do, you are in many ways the lord of me"
Ben looked almost in awe of him, not the reaction Hux wanted to insight, he desired quite the opposite. He wanted satisfaction, or even, he wanted Ben to be humbled. Not because he should feel smug to have the power over him that he did, but because he trusted Ben to be humble in the face of that. To be humble immediately in reaction to any compliment, to never feel the arrogance of praise.
"So please-" he said continuing anyway, "-call me anything but 'my Lord'"
The ravenette finally let a smile slip, "Then what would you have me call you?"
Hux nodded, "Hux if you wish", he then shrugged, "Armitage if you'd prefer"
His smile became a beam, and his hands took hold of the lord's hips, "We'll see-" he said, pulling him closer, close enough to press his lips to his ear, "-Armitage" and with that, he opened his mouth wider, and nipped at the redhead's earlobe, squeezing it between his teeth,
The other man jumped, but smiled, caressing the smooth skin of Ben's arm as it moved around him, "We shall, my lord"