Disrupting Routine

Often times you awoke in a bed with the shared occupancy of only yourself and Millicent nestled in the crook of your legs. Even through your groggy haze, you would sweep your arm across the cold satin at your side, searching for the warmth that hadn't been there in quite sometime. When the heavy veil of sleep finally lifted from your eyes, you always found the adjacent spot pristine, meticulously smooth and tucked tightly enough that even your fitful slumber didn't disturb the sheets.

You laid there awake, gliding your hand across in practiced motions over the sheets, creating a visible trail where your fingers once were before you blurred it out with quick swipe. Millicent roused at that point, chirping a greeting when you peeked down your body at her. She was always a far less considerate than yourself and readily trotted across the sheets towards your face, bumping her head against you.

As tranquil as the scene was, you only wished for Hux to be there to treasure those sweet moments with you as well. But, you were well aware entering your relationship with the General that it would be rather unorthodox. He wouldn't be there to hold you as you jolted awake from your night terrors, screaming and trembling, utterly afraid. There weren't many opportunities to see him during the day, either.

Hux was a man constantly in motion, he seemed like a machine that could run forever on willpower and his priorities towards the First Order. Always aiming to be the epitome of perfection, sometimes you found the satisfaction of being in his presence just by observing his morning routines. If you didn't know any better, you would've believed it if someone told you that you were constantly reliving the same scene every day.

There were a few occasions when you had caught him looking at you from where he stood in front of the mirror, smoothing his hair into position or fastening the front of his uniform dexterously. Your gut would do somersaults, your heart would drum a deafening beat.

You were an absolutely pitiful sight. Worse yet, you held firm to the notion that in those moments there was a detectable flash of conflict on his face. His lips twitched, pulling into the slightest frown while the lines between his eyes seemed to deepen more. Surely, there was a part of him that wished he didn't have to live by his commitments to the Order. Wouldn't he be happier if he didn't have follow routine that smothered him?

Wouldn't he be happier if he could spend the morning with you in his arms?

It was those thoughts that clawed around your mind until the following night. They pervaded your mind, serving as a distraction even when your back was pressed flush against the wall, Hux's lips meshing roughly against your own while he stripped away layers of your robes. The doors to his quarters had yet to fully shut.

Your thoughts were considerably less coherent as the night went on, lost in the white fog in your mind and the hushed cries, the ragged breathing, how the sheets made a sound and wrinkled with your rhythmic movements. The high dissipated and your body went lax as you pressed against him, threading your legs together.

You were still awake when he drifted off, resting your head below his chin as you listened to his quiet breathing and traced delicate patterns across his chest. He was always a far more agreeable man during the late hours, once the stress anchored on his shoulders melted away. The lines between his brows and the firm line in which he kept his lips firm were far softer, he was less intimidating as he slept.

In a way, it filled you with a sense of pride seeing him this vulnerable when few others ever had. It was a luxury reserved for you alone. Selfishly, however, you wouldn't give anyone else that privilege.

The languid motions of your fingertips met a brief pause as Hux's throat rumbled and he called out your name, grasping your hand beneath his to press the palm of your hand flat against his stomach. You lolled your head to the side, angling your gaze to see his face where he did the same.

"Sleep," he said it simply enough, groggily, but not at all irritated. You felt gooseflesh rise under his touch as he traced a hand up the length of your body and rested his arm above your head. He turned on his side towards you, hot puffs of breath fanning across your face.

You slipped into slumber like that, hoping that it would be enough to keep him there with you longer.

Of course, it wasn't. The stretch between the night and the morning felt too short for your liking. Time worked far too seamlessly and Hux cooperated with it to an extreme. The sheets next to you were bare yet unkempt and warm, and there was still rustling about in the room.

"Hux!" you launched upright on the bed, clumsily fussing with the sheets while furiously blinking away the sleep over your eyes.

"It's unusual that you're awake by your own volition." Hux's voice carried your eyes towards where he stood across the room, a pair of pants hung loosely around his waist while he examined one of his uniforms. You couldn't discern if your agitation was from the fact that he wasn't even looking at you, or if you woke up out of a dead sleep at an absurdly early hour–but you were finding it difficult to resist throwing a pillow in his direction.

"Hey," you slurred, finally reeling his attention away from the uniform. "Come back to bed for a while, love. It's too early yet."

Once again, he was fixated on the black garment, dismissing your request as easily as that. You weren't surprised by it in the least, but it was still disappointing he wouldn't be that easily persuaded. "Please, Hux. There's nothing wrong with staying in bed a little while longer."

"Absolutely not," he replied hastily, plucking away stray cat hairs. "Shouldn't you consider getting up? Don't you have some rather important commitments today, Senator?"

You clicked your tongue and leaned back onto your elbows, peering up towards the cold, black ceiling. He wasn't wrong. "Maybe, but none of that is until later today. I could sleep another six hours before anyone even comes in to help me dress."

Hux emitted a grunt in dissatisfaction, otherwise apathetic towards your attitude and undeterred from removing Millicent's hair off his uniform. You glanced towards the orange feline grooming herself at the end of the bed. This was a blow to your confidence, but you weren't ready to relent just yet.

"Well," you started, wringing the satin sheets between your fingers and then smoothing a hand across them. "You could always help me dress, y'know. I wouldn't be opposed."

"Don't be absurd. I don't have time for something as trivial as that."

With a slight crane of your neck and furrow of your brows, you retorted, "This coming from the man pulling cat hair off his clothes."

Hux's eyes darted in your direction, gaze hardening and those deep lines in his brow became prominent. If you were a regular affiliate of the First Order, surely he would had put you in your place by this point. After all, creating conflict with superiors was as good as considered heresy.

"This isn't a debate," he seethed out your name.

You rolled your neck and shrugged. "It's not, but what's wrong about wanting to spend time with you? We're not giving the chance very often."

At this point, Hux was nearly in complete uniform, his fingers worked steadily to fasten everything. The only consolation he offered you was a single word, spoken quickly, preemptively even, "Tonight."

A rush of air was forced from between your lips. In your exasperation, you flopped around on the bed and pulled a datapad from the nightstand. It was one word, but it was enough to throw your brain into a frenzy of emotions and witty comebacks that you just couldn't will to your tongue.

In the end, you spoke your mind and spoke it pathetically. "Hux, you always say that. It's always 'tonight'. Why can't it be right now? Just for a little while."

You were walking a line where you didn't know whether you were being unreasonable or your complaints were justified. While sitting in a seat with the senate, you could hold your own with unmatched ferocity yet in cases of your heart and personal feelings, you were nothing but a puppet. Moments such as these made you realize just how much of your trust you had handed to Hux. Perhaps this was the vulnerability that he saw in you that you saw in him while he slept.

"You knew from the start that it would be this way." The bed dipped slightly as Hux sat near you, though with a cautious distance between you both. You heard Millicent chirp excitedly and bounce over to him, nuzzling her head beneath his hand before rearing up, latching her claws into his glove and gnawing on it. Hux was hardly perturbed by the cat and gently scratched her belly while she kicked ferociously.

Forcing back a smile, you slowly faced him and Millicent, pulling the satin sheets up to your chin when you found yourself under his intense gaze.

"Will you at least be early enough for us to eat dinner together?" You thought that request was more sensible one. But, you felt the urge to groan bubbling up in your throat with the look he was giving you. Lips curled downward, eyebrows pushing inward–that was as good an indication that you needed.

"I will see to it that we eat in a timely manner," he said, resolutely. "I will also see that... tonight you are a priority. Will that satisfy you?"

To say that you were surprised would be an understatement, but it wasn't something you let yourself dwell on. With a smile, you grabbed the sides of his face and lowered his head closer to yours for a kiss which he eagerly returned. You felt the cool leather of his glove press into the back of your neck, drowning you deeper into the kiss.

In the end, you delayed Hux's start of the day for well over half an hour. This was thanks in part to the kiss, and the fact that he couldn't wrench Millicent off his hand.