More Armitage Hux/Iliad Kahlas (OC) | fluff | no warnings | 816 words
Hux is standing with some of the other members of the Supreme Council, all of them old Imperials who still think the Order is theirs when it's the young officers with their strict, unforgiving training who keep the whole thing going. They're blathering endlessly while not letting him get a word in, as if "little bastard Armitage" was still just a cadet sent by his father to take note.
He hates them and their self-important, self-adulating talk, and would rather be in his office where work is piling up on his desk, but if he doesn't suffer these chats, he won't know what the others are planning. So he stands there, posture straight, shoulders back and hands clasped behind his back, feigning interest.
Hux spots him then - Iliad Kahlas, coming down the corridor. It's the end of his shift and he's making his way to the habitat deck or maybe the mess. Walking with others from Hux’s crew, they're chating animatedly, the stoic professionalism from the bridge giving way to amused laughter.
Envy fills him as he watches Kahlas playfully slap another officers shoulder. They're so casual, so close. It's a show of genuine camaraderie, these men and women have grown up with each other.
Hux, on the other hand, can never be seen with him like that. Their interactions are defined by the different rungs in the hierarchy they both inhabit. General and major - what else can they talk about than their duty if they don't want to risk raising suspicion. A casual conversation on the way to the turbolift, a meal at the mess together, impossible. Gossip would immediately spread, if not rumours, then at least talk about him playing favourites. Too much is at risk to let his emotions win over his rationality.
The group passes, greeting their superiors loudly. Hux simply nods curtly, but his eyes are on Kahlas. He has drilled the other to be just as careful as he is, one of many conditions he set before agreeing to their arrangement. As such Kahlas’s eyes didn't linger when their gazes briefly meet, but that brief, fleeting moment is still enough to make Hux lose track of the conversation he's struggling to be part of.
He forces his attention back to Engell's tedious prattling, not allowing himself another glance as Kahlas disappears around the corner. Instead, he makes another suggestion that goes ignored, then grits his teeth, silently seething, when the conversation shifts to the drinks the old Imperials plan on having later. Without him, of course. A deliverate slight, he doesn't miss Pryde's sardonic smirk, but at least that means they don't expect him to serve them.
Hux is despondent by the time he trudges to the turbolift to take him up to the deck his office is located on. The intentional slights rankled, fresh salt in old wounds that just wouldn't heal. He's chewing the inside of his lips, fidgeting with his fingers behind his back, his mind full of scenarios in which he has those krifing bastards on their knees begging him for mercy. A mercy that he would never give.
Lost in his fantasies of revenge, Hux nearly walked past the figure tucked into the corridor’s nook without noticing. "General!" a voice tears him from his thoughts, making him jump.
He whirls around, hand flying to his blaster. He's ready to fight for his life or just snap at whoever dared to startle him like that, but as recognition dawned, his anger immediately vanished.
"Apologies, sir!" Kahlas says hurriedly, ducking his head apologetically.
"What are you doing here?" Hux asks, his voice low as he scans the corridor for anyone who might see them. Only when he’s sure they’re alone does he relax incrementally.
"I thought I'd wait for you," Kahlas replies. He's becoming bold, a bit too much for Hux’s taste, but at the same time, he can't complain. If not for Kahlas’s initiative, they'd see each other even less.
"Come then," Hux invites him, already setting off again, eager to get somewhere private. "I still have work to do, but I'm sure I can spare you a few minutes."
It will be more than that though, he knows. Somehow Kahlas knows just how to make him forget about his many responsibilities, at least for a while. In the quiet moments that they share all his worries seem so far away.
By the time he taps the code into the panel to unlock his office door, a giddy anticipation has already taken hold of him.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'll make us some tea," he says after the door has slid shut behind them and they're alone.
However, he doesn't get far. Shooting him a mischievous smile, Kahlas grabs and pulls him close so that he can kiss him.
Outrageous, Hux thinks, still stunned by the sheer audacity, and gives himself over to the sensation.
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