Music And Silence- A Reylo AU

Chapter 1- Introductions

Ben Sullivan sat at the high bar table that overlooked the dance floor of his favourite club, nursing a whiskey on the rocks. He and Huxley Andrews were loyal patrons and knew all the staff well; the resident DJ Mike was a friend. They had been coming here for years. The scene was dark, dingy and in the daylight almost certainly dirty; somewhere you would not want to go because, in the light of day it was, he had to admit, shitty. Ben and Hux had been coming here since they were teenagers and it was their kind of place; alternative music and cheap drinks, nothing fancy or pretentious precisely the way they liked it. This table was always reserved for them, not with a sign but everyone silently knew it was there's and it gave the best view over the whole club- the dance floor, the main bar, the entrance everything but the bathrooms. That's why Ben liked it; he enjoyed watching everything from above.

Always a bit of a loner, Ben knew perfectly well his strengths and weaknesses. He knew Hux's too. He and Hux were unconventional. Both very tall, though Ben was the taller of the pair. Neither considered attractive by conventional standards. Hux was very skinny, though Ben had never met anyone who ate as much as Hux did. The man was someone girls would hate because his incredibly slim physique was all genetics. A metabolism that meant the man was always eating. Ben had also never met anyone who could drink as much, he might be a slight man, but he was not a lightweight, he was the perfect drinking companion. Hux used this all to his advantage; his clothes were tight-fitting, showing off his big feet and taut muscles. Yes, he had an incredible metabolism, but he and Ben liked to exercise. Neither was much for team sports but mountain biking, rock climbing, winter sports, water sports, skateboarding and swimming they did them all and mostly together. Every inch of Hux was muscle; you couldn't drink as much he did and not work out if you wanted to wear clothes as tight as he did. Hux also sported a mane of bright auburn hair, sun-bleached in places but mostly just ginger. He kept it long and well-groomed, as well as the full perfectly trimmed beard. He wore his unconventional look with pride, and it worked. Far more confident always in his physical appearance than Ben had ever been.

Ben was imposing physically, taller than Hux by well over an inch he towered over everyone he ever met, and it made him awkward. On top of being well over 6ft, unlike Hux he was broad as well, giving the appearance of being even more enormous than he was. Ben's hair was raven black, and long. It hung in waves occasionally covering a lot of his face along with his dark goatee, but his dark eyes and broad nose were distinctly visible. The individual features of his face he knew were all prominent and large. Everything about him was big. His ears stuck out, his mouth was full, and his nose was rather significant. On a smaller man, it might look ridiculous, but on him, it worked. He'd been informed on several occasions he was handsome. Like the Renaissance men of old, chiselled and attractive- not pretty. Though on many occasions Hux had said his eyes were just too pretty to be in his face although Ben was quite sure his friend was joking. Like Hux, his body was taut and firm pretty much all over; shredded some might say and again just big. Thankfully for Ben, his physical appearance and wardrobe choices, flattering but all black or very dark blue or grey, and his brooding look meant people generally left him alone. He appeared intimidating, scary even, and that was fine with him because his one real weakness, other than his lack of confidence, was talking. Small talk specifically, that compulsory ability to start a conversation with a stranger kind of talking. He'd say something random or weird or where the only response he'd managed to muster was so short the conversation ended abruptly, and then he was lost, and so he avoided it. His lack of interpersonal skills, his self-consciousness regarding a childhood stutter and his poor ability to converse by normal standards meant Hux was his only real friend; but what a friend he was.

They'd met in school, day one. They were both highly intelligent and hard-working; the way they'd stood out as kids, intelligence, and education had to be the go-to. You couldn't look weird and be stupid! Hux changing schools and going to different universities hadn't altered how close they were. If it weren't for Hux, their joint friendship with Poe might never have flourished. The three had created their company, New Order Advertising, together after university. All were the brain, but Ben took strategy, Poe art, and Hux was the frontman, a charmer with the words and a fast wit with killer sarcasm. Ben let Hux do the talking in almost all situations and was happy to let him take the limelight while he stood back silently. He was the ideas guy, the business-minded grafter, which was why their friendship and business worked so perfectly.