Ginger Gears

Electricity

The next day was quite slow, Rose felt even more tired but she had to admit that she was looking forward to the evening. Apart from being a prime opportunity to gather intel, the work on Hux' little project was actually stimulating compared to the menial tasks she had to perform during daytime.

"Evening," she said when she entered the lab.

Hux was pouring himself a tea, he nodded at her. "Evening."

She noticed that he looked even wearier than usual, there were dark circles around his eyes and his hair was a little mussed up. He seemed to notice her gaze; he stroked through his hair. She also noticed that his lower lip was split; there was an angry red line on his mouth.

Should she comment on his appearance? She wanted to, but she wasn't sure if it was appropriate. She hesitated for a moment, then she decided to follow her gut. "Are you alright?"

He continued to pour the hot water in his mug without looking up. "I am," he said after a while, "it's nothing."

There had been no fighting as far as she knew. Who would've dared to strike a powerful man like Hux? There were only two people she could think of – Kylo Ren and Snoke himself.

Was Hux in trouble? She cleared her throat. "Back on Hay Minor I used to carry an electro-shock prod with me, just in case ... it came in handy from time to time. Say the word and I will zap this 'nothing'."

-o-

Hux stared at her, she looked determined. Suddenly he had little doubt that she would follow through – the thought of her sneaking up behind Snoke and shocking him with a little device was so preposterous that that he started to laugh.

"Hey, I may not look like it but I'm a nasty fighter! Plus I'm so short that people hardly ever notice me." She put her hands on her hips.

He handed her a cup of tea. Her fingers brushed his as she took the cup. The touch gave him goose bumps. He could feel heat crawling up his cheeks. She didn't seem to notice the effect she was having on him; she just smiled at him and started blowing into the hot tea.

A strand of her non-regulatory hair fell over her face, she looked absolutely striking, soft, warm – even in the harsh light of the lab she ... No. He wasn't supposed to think that way. He gulped ... he wasn't supposed to notice how pretty she was. No, no he had to pull himself together. He was just exhausted. The events on the Supremacy had taken their toll.

She suppressed a yawn.

"You're tired," he said.

"Just a little."

"You know you don't have to work with me every evening." Come to think of it, why was she with him? "I meant it when I said that this isn't an official assignment."

She tucked the strand of hair behind her ear. The gesture was mesmerizing. She looked him straight in the eye. Her brown eyes reminded him of dark honey... He averted his gaze and pretended to check the hot water.

"I know, but I like working on these projects. You were right, it's relaxing to work on them and to be honest ... they're much more interesting than my daily work," she said.

Of course she was here because of the work. It made sense. That was the reason he had invited her to the lab in the first place. He felt somehow disappointed. What had he expected? That she liked spending time with him? He was embarrassed by his own thoughts. Silly. Weak.

He felt uneasy. "Perhaps we both should take a break tonight."

He could hear her exhale and looked up. She leaned against the holo table with her arms crossed. "Never thought that you would ever take a break. Are you sure that you're alright?"