Ben watched as Hux undressed, his pale limbs shucking off clothing lethargically and letting each article drop to the floor.
This had become one of his favourite parts of the day, not even the events that often proceeded the undressed state matched it.
He liked to see Hux bare; as such a powerful figure, he held himself with dignity and grace, so to see him uncovered was an invitation to take his very essence in, completely unadulterated. His slender frame with it's wiry muscles left him toned and subtly sculpted; Hux's body was on the small side it was true, but it seemed to have purpose, a sort of resolute intent which only spoke more of his strength, both as a man and as a leader.
Ben also liked the smaller things, his details: his fine, pale hairs and his unexpected freckles.
Freckles weren't common on the skin of Lords or other royalty, often they spoke of time out in the sun, hours of sweaty manual labour; not the sort of thing the ruling class busied themselves with, or indeed stooped to.
Hux was one of those rare people however, with hair like hot amber mead, or orange summer flowers, one of those rare people who were born to have freckles, regardless of how much time he spent in or out of the sun.
If freckles had a taste, Ben imagined that they would taste like honey; they were drops of dark, sweet pollen, sprinkled on his skin, nectar for the bees and indeed the ravenet himself- he had spent many a night with his tongue running over those freckles, attempting to collect each of them up.
Hux caught Ben watching him, his eyes stuck on the expression the man was wearing, "What?" he asked with a laugh, "What is it?"
"You're beautiful" he replied, reaching out to take his hand and pulling him down to join him on the bed.
The redhead laughed again and came down comfortably on the mattress, his hands finding the other's jaw and taking it up, "You're the beautiful one, like some vision of an old Eastern God", he then drew the man into a kiss, his tongue lapping at his full bottom lip and entering his warm, deep mouth.
Ben made a low, almost desperate humming noise and took one of narrow hips in hand, pulling him down further to the bed. The Lord separated their lips and instead shifted his head downwards to the man's chest, his mouth working at leaving a trail of kisses down his breastbone, as his thumbs rolled over his nipples.
"I'm meant to treat you to this sort of thing" the ravenet said softly, letting his fingers run through Hux's hair,
He glanced up from the other's navel and gave him a withering look, "We agreed remember? That we would treat each other equally"
"Of course" he replied, "I just wonder if you know what you give me, what it means?"
"It means that I wish to worship you, you beautiful god" the redhead said, now smiling again, "Even Lord's and King's still worship God's you know"
0o0o0
From between Hux's legs, Ben leant over the edge of the bed and pressed a kiss to the Lord's neck, before coming down to rest his head on his chest,
The wooden floor was hard and rough on his knees, but he was warm and tired and didn't mind too much.
Hux released a very shaky breath as though shivering, and lazily his hands came up, only to fall about the other man's shoulders, to hold him gently in place, "One of the very worst moments in my evening is when I feel empty again",
Ben smiled and turned his head a little, nuzzling his nose against the redhead's skin, "I'll fill you again if you like?"
"No, no" the Lord replied, "I'm far too tired, aren't you?",
"Exhausted" he agreed, "But you know I'd do anything for you"
"How about settling down and going to sleep?"
The ravenet chuckled, "Yes sire!" he said in a teasing sort of way, "Come on then, to bed with you", he sat up, Hux's arms falling off of him.
The man gave him a sour look, "I told you not to call me that"
"I know, Armitage. Now up with you"
He didn't budge however, "Too tired to move" he announced, "I've got no energy at all"
"Is that so?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow,
"Yes, you've drained me of it"
The ravenet shook his head in amusement and instead looked across the room to occupy himself, his eyes quickly finding the chair that his clothes were hanging from, including the Lord's jacket that he had borrowed, "I saw something odd today" he said after a moment, starting to feel very pensive all of the sudden.
"Oh?" the other man asked, his eyes now shut lightly as though he were moments from sleep,
"Yes, some men standing in a corridor talking, some men in brown robes"
"Old were they? Sounds like members of my council. What's so strange about them having a conversation in a corridor?" Hux said, stretching his shoulders beneath him,
The other man shrugged, "They looked like they were swapping secrets, one of them at least, and I can't help but think that I'd seen him before too"
The redhead sighed and finally hoisted himself up from the bed, his arms taking Ben's shoulders once more and his head coming down against his, "I wouldn't think on it too hard, old men know that there are things they shouldn't say, and so they whisper them to each other in the dark instead"
He frowned and slid his hands about the man's waist, "I don't know, it looked as if they were conspiring even. If they're members of your council, don't you worry they might seek to sabotage you?"
"As members of my council, they should seek to advise me in directions that will win me the war- that outcome would leave them with the most to gain"
The ravenet blinked, he really didn't have the head for politics, and it was never something he sought to understand. Everything Hux was saying made sense, but he couldn't help but feel that something was very off, "There was something about that man I saw, the one I recognised, although I can't think why he would be so familiar to me"
The Lord sighed, "As much as it disturbs me to think about it, I hear that men of that age, unmarried and often indebted to a church or ruler, become frequent visitors of brothels. Could that be why he was familiar?"
"I-" Ben cut himself off, wincing, "No. I don't think so" he concluded, quite certain in his answer.
The man kissed his cheek and kneaded his shoulders, "Perhaps it will come to you in the morning. But please, don't worry about it" he then swallowed, trying to soothe his sore throat from a day of meetings and intense field practise. He began to shuffle his pale thighs on the mattress, attempting to scoot away from the ravenet's body, "I really must go to bed now Ben, I'm falling asleep in your arms"
The other smiled at the idea, briefly forgetting his concern at what he had seen, and with a wobble he stood, his hands joined with Hux's for balance and so that he could help him from the bed too.
The redhead leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth, his eyes still closed in his tired state,
He took the man's cheek in hand and returned the gesture, lingering in the contact for a moment before he pulled away and spoke, "Go to sleep Hux, I'm just going to have a drink and then I'll join you"
He made a noise of agreement, turning and clambering back onto the bed, finding an opening in the covers quickly and crawling in.
Ben watched him with a fond smile, but moved away after only a short pause, his anxious thoughts flooding back to him. He collected a cup from the dining table and filled it with wine as red as blood, before stepping over to the window to look out across the grounds.
The garden below reminded him of the one they had once had at his family home, a place now full of soured childhood memories. With one eye he saw the happy days of collecting wildflowers and ripe fruit with his mother, with the other he saw the huddled figures of the men who gathered in the garden to talk and conspire against her. Even now he could recall her screams of rage as she was extracted from her rightful rule and banished from her home- at the very thought that Hux might go through that, he shuddered, and he turned once more to the suspicious scene he had witnessed, sure that he had crossed paths with the man he had seen.
0o0o0
In the morning, Hux left in a hurry, talking about new reports from the field as he dressed, and as such Ben was left mostly to his own devices from sunrise. He picked at the fruit and fresh oat biscuits which were brought up for his breakfast, but in truth his heart and indeed his appetite weren't in it, he then dressed slowly, miss-lacing his shoes more than once in his distracted state.
When he had finally gotten to bed that night, he slept poorly, that was, once he finally got to sleep at all, which was a hurdle in itself.
He was too caught on placing the old man he had seen, and he knew it. It was like trying to remember why you entered a room after forgetting your intentions seconds after stepping in- he knew he had reason, specifically he had the awful feeling that he had reason to worry. But nothing got him any closer to knowing why, if anything the answer got further away the harder he tried, as if the memory didn't want to be recalled.
The ravenet left the bedroom after an hour or so had passed, and set about searching through the rest of the castle- he had discovered the day before that the place was big enough to need one more day of exploration.
He was beginning to find that the side passages and concealed stairs made him feel claustrophobic, and as such he mostly kept to the main corridors, even if they did leave him feeling watched,
Ben had been watched all his life in one way or another though, and so he was almost used to it.
After hours of skimming room after room, he found himself heading to the kitchens just as lunch ended, and being on good speaking terms with a few servants, he managed to get some dried meats and bread loaf ends to eat- it wasn't much, but his appetite still hadn't returned, so he didn't mind all that much.
Once he was done, he decided that he had had enough of the grey castle walls for the day, and leaving through the service door, he made his way into the gardens.
The green space was walled off from the wild part of the forest and was decidedly more vibrant in colour. The verdant trees and shrubs were cut into fine, clean shapes and all of the dull weeds had been pulled, leaving only the brightest, cultivated flowers, even the developing fruit on the trees looked perfect, not one piece of produce was malformed or discoloured.
Ben appreciated all the care that had been taken with the place, and indeed the results of all the effort. Although the garden was not entirely natural to this normally cold western isle, it felt not just real, but magical; it was as though the sun shone a little brighter between the four walls, as though nature wanted it to thrive.
He found somewhere to sit once he made it to more or less the centre of the garden, and he smiled at the feeling of warmth hitting his face.
The man was sat amongst the lush leaves and golden flowers of one of the bigger bushes, some branches obscuring him and casting him in shadow, but keeping his face in the sun for the most part.
The sun shaped flowers reminded him of the plants that filled his family's garden- his mother's favourite colour was yellow, and as such she saw that most of the greenery that was planted there bloomed yellow; Ben was quite sure that the shrub he was sat in now was a plant from the isle he hailed from, it looked just the same and the smell brought on more memories.
After a moment, the man found himself frowning however. He had not expected this place to ever bring back so many long forgotten, or indeed long ignored memories. He didn't like thinking on his past, because it no longer seemed to apply to him- he wasn't anyone of importance anymore, he was just a person like any other.
One thing he couldn't deny on the other hand, was his parentage. Everyone had parents, whether they knew them or not, and Ben for one did know who birthed him.
His mother was wonderful although often very serious and a little too busy to pay him mind. He saw her as a very strong person, she was probably the strongest, most fearless member of their family and as such she had done all she could to regain their standing.
His father in opposition was less family orientated; he was very charming and confident, although likely more cocky than his position really allowed. The ravenet didn't see much of his father in himself, apart from perhaps some stubbornness, although that was a trait shared by both of his parents.
As the man began to think further on his family, even considering his many uncles that made appearances in his home constantly, he was interrupted by voices drifting through the garden like bugs. There were three or four men moving slowly through the greenery, locked in serious conversation as they moved.
Ben shrunk amongst the leaves, trying to not draw any attention to himself- it didn't seem to matter though, as all the men seemed to be entirely engrossed by the one that was leading them, far too distracted to notice Ben amongst the plants.
They came to a stop in a clear space not far from where the man was sat, and he peered over at them, committing their faces to memory. Unsurprisingly, the one leading the charge was the old man he had recognised the day earlier, and he was talking to them all in a similar, hushed tone.
The ravenet couldn't hear anything that was being said, and without thinking about it, he leant closer towards them, disturbing the branches around him.
One of the members of the congregation frowned and turned, meeting eyes with Ben almost immediately, "Sir!" he said sharply, catching the leader's attention.
They all turned, their gazes falling on the man- they were all wearing expressions of nervousness, all but one, the one that he recognised,
That man looked angry, "Solo!" he hissed, eyes widening.
He faltered at first, confused by the idea that he knew who he was, until recollection finally dawned on him and his eyes widened too. Ben jumped up from his seat and hopped out from between the leaves, heading as quickly back into the castle as he could without actually running.
0o0o0
"Solo" the ravenet yelped, crashing into the council room.
Hux was stood over the large table map with Phasma at his right and another general on his left. They each frowned at the interruption and shot confused expressions at the man as he stood, chest heaving to catch his breath,
"Ben-" the Lord began, stepping away from the table slowly, "-what are you doing here?"
He shook his head and approached him, taking his hand and holding it tightly, "The man- Tarkin- he knows me"
"You know Tarkin?" Phasma asked, joining the conversation,
"Not only that, he knows me" he repeated, "The man I recognised yesterday, it was Tarkin, and just now in the garden, he recognised me too. He called me 'Solo', he called me by my family name"
Hux gave him a look that told him that he didn't entirely understand what he was saying,
"No on here knows my family" Ben said, going on, "So Tarkin must be from across the Narrow sea. I know how I know him now-"
"He helped to usurp your family" the redhead said quickly, cutting him off, "And he's conspiring against me now, isn't he?"