albinomilksnake | STAR WARS: possible spoiler warning

[Finn's modus operandi is to keep to himself. It makes things easier in a general sense when competition is typically the name of the game, and his bunkmates never seem to mind so long as he's not catering to Slip (it'd be an affectionate nickname if not for the fact that it stems entirely from the poor kid's proficiency at flunking just about everything). So sequestered in his own space near the back of the room it's easy to catch the click of Hux's polished shoes as he closes in, Finn's attention snapping upwards just in time to see disaster on its way.

Falls in step as he's expected to-- because of course he does-- with one uneasy glance backwards over his shoulder where Slip still stands fidgeting in his wake.] Uh, no.

[And then, belatedly correcting himself:] No, sir.

[Exams are tomorrow. Exams are tomorrow and he promised he'd help Slip finish cramming for it.] Did you need some recommendations or...

Did you have plans? [Hux is more important, that's just a fact. Totally surpasses whatever you had plans to do.]

Despite whatever you might think, I have a reoccurring issue with stalkers. It's easier to deter them if I have company. [He would tell you for his political whosits whatsits but we all know the real reason.]

You can have your night back after, if that puts you at ease.

It's fine. [It's probably fine. Even if he got back late, it's not as if Slip couldn't study on his own, right? Instructor Phasma was constantly berating Finn for his willingness to backslide if it meant acting as a crutch, but...yeah. Maybe there was at least a little truth in it, the idea that he coddled too much to be a real help.

Besides, if Hux was dealing with a more immediate problem, it wasn't exactly fair to turn him away, either.] He'll be fine.

Pre-exam jitters, right? You know how it is. [And, as soon as he says it (watching the pressed, pristine angles of Hux's appearance catch the dimmed corridor lights) he starts to think he should have bitten his tongue: Hux doesn't look like the sort of man that ever worried about an exam a day in his life-- he doesn't even look like the sort of man that's ever needed to take an exam, despite the fact that they're not entirely out of the same age range.]

[And Hux is just watching him in return. Eyes move over the faint hints inspired by stress and the youthful roundness of his face down over a body that read as well-trained to the observing eye.

The bit of smirk he has betrays the humor he finds in that, but the sigh that follows implies a sense of understanding. Confident and well-carried as he was now, he was also once a boy who felt the weight of expectation like it could crush him in any moment.

He hooks his arm into the crook of Finn's elbow, leading him out the nearest set of doors into the chilled evening air.]

I know a good trick for that.

[He could use a solid remedy right about now, and something about the idea of it (his arm only tensely bending where Hux's settles in for a second or two before it evens out) has him actually looking forward to dinner. Hux is good company-- respected company-- and Finn would be blind not to find at least a little satisfaction in the idea of being in demand when all he's done for months on end is work his fingers raw. It's recognition.

That, and he's actually hungry.] Hey, anything that works for a guy like you, I'll take it.

[The night air's cold across the tip of his nose and ears, but it's still pretty negligible this time of year. Light snow, nothing bad enough to hold up traffic or make walking an impossibility, which is good because he hasn't got a car to spare.

Unless Hux has a town car. The university sometimes provided them for special guests, and he's seen it once or twice. Still, it's not as if he goes around watching half of the inner campus workings, and he doesn't exactly expect it, either.]

[That gets the flash of a satisfied grin. He likes it when people don't question his opinion or experience, though due to his age and fairly youthful appearance still it's often an issue he faces.

Like any campus, it's a bit of trek before you even reach anywhere with parking but once they're in sight of it, he pulls out the fob from his pocket and it chirps as he unlocks the vehicle from a few feet away.

His car is excellent. A top of the line model kept in pristine condition, falling in line with the stereotype that nice cars are often used to project status. Heated seats in the front and back seats, all leather interior, satellite radio, the works.]

American, European, or Asian cuisine? [Wine, Wine, or Saké (also Wine) is what he's really asking.]

[He's trying to be chill. Honestly, he is, but he's staring a little too long at the leather interior, the polished dashboard and all its expensive looking buttons. Misses the question at first, running his palm along the door, only bouncing back a belated second later as his brain tries to catch up to the time he's already lost.]

Uh. [Good start so far.] European sounds good. Fine.

[Hux seemed like the type that was into European food, if he had to hazard a guess. Thinks, only a half-second later, that it's probably not fair of him to keep speculating like that when he hardly knows anything about him.]

[It feels pretty good actually, to have someone fawning over his car. The people he'd often been set up with - so very begrudgingly - by parents or people he could call friends if he felt so inclined, often expected the high standard and level of quality so it never went as appreciated as it was in this moment.

As if to show off further, the vehicle was a manual, which often people liked to read as an allusion to other dexterous talents and they wouldn't be wrong but also never made it even into Hux's apartment.]

European it is. Seatbelt. [Both a reminder, and also a warning. He was a very aggressive driver.

Once they're both belted in, he starts up the car with the press of a button (one of those models that didn't even need the key to be in the ignition, ooo), allows a moment for Finn to appreciate the beauty of the dash all lit up, and then peels on outta that parking spot quicker than you can say Fast and Furious 7.]

Oh shit-- [Heaved out under his breath as his back flattens against the seat, fingertips curling to try and find a grip. He's not panicking, not even afraid, but there was nothing about the sheer force that car was packing under its hood that Finn was expecting, or the way its driver decides to jam down on the pedal. Board meetings and politics, suits and ties and quiet drinks - that's what he thought Hux dwelled in. This? This is--

His feet find the floor, his shoulders round out, eyes fixed on the road in wonder under the heated pulse carrying adrenaline through his veins. He's starting to grin and he has no idea when that happened.] Oh, shit.

[He doesn't even try to hide the look of satisfaction on his face. Once they've reached a long strip with no immediate need to change lanes, he kicks one knee up to support the steering wheel from the underside and rips off his tie, undoing the top button of his shirt. There's a content sigh as he tosses it in the back and then places his hands back where they are supposed to be.]

Don't need that thing anymore. [Ties were not really his thing, even if they were considered a staple of formal attire. Oh well. Appearances to keep and all that.]

Having fun yet?

Like you wouldn't believe.

[He says it because it's true, even with his grip still locked down over the handle, he's smirking like an idiot, attention flicking back and forth between the road ahead as it streaks past and Hux's deftness with the steering wheel (his knees?? the man's using his knees as he's tearing off his own tie??). Wants to laugh but it's pitched, scooting forward in his seat to get a better view of everything.]

You're-- [Finn scoffs, wildly amused.] not what I expected, you know that?

[There's a quick look over at Finn before his attention is back on the road. Or at least directed in that general area.] This is the only place where I don't have to live up to anyone's expectations of me. Depends on who I have as a passenger but you seem like the kind of person I could be honest around.

[There's a reoccurring theme, of course, to not place expectations on people but he's observed his company candidly. There's a basis of understanding what kind of person he is.

An honest person, at the very least. No manipulation, no double-sided nature to play games for the most money or better numbers.

So he feels inclined to ask, curious:] What were you expecting, precisely?

I...almost feel like an ass for thinking it. [It's hard, having a conversation at nearly 70mph in traffic, but he manages it pretty decently from where he's still half-gripping his own door. Flashes a smile at nothing in particular (that's meant for Hux) and then he's swallowing dryly over the taste of his own spit.]

I don't know, just, you know. Nice car, chauffeur, maybe a little classical music or something just as stuffy.

[Stops, nearly swallowing his tongue.] Did I say-- did I say stuffy? Because that is not the word I was aiming for.

[It takes everything in him not to completely laugh about that, because it's so true to what most people think and he can't even be offended with the way Finn says it and then regrets his word choice.

But there's a devil of a grin on his face. Not the kind of thing perhaps you'd want to see from someone who's already driving like a maniac.]

Well, you're only right about one of those things - though I do have a chauffeur forced on me when I visit my parents. Their stomachs turn just thinking about the way I drive.

[Family is family, but they deserve it. The fear, the unease it brings.

And then he flicks on the radio (defaulting on CD), which seems calm enough at first with the fade out of crickets chirping from the last track on the album before moving on to the next one.

Which is definitely not nature sounds or classical.]

[He laughs, wide and stupid as anything once that track hits home, attention flicking away to settle on some distant point far off in the distance. No, Hux isn't at all what he'd expected, but the more time he spends with the man, the more he appreciates that fact. Makes him think that dinner won't be half as awkward, that maybe they can take it all down a peg and chill. Talk about life instead of learning, which is the only difference Finn has ever found between textbooks and the feeling of his hands--

Well.

It's different, doing something for real. Being real.]

[At first he'd been thinking about steak and wine but watching Finn out of the corner of his eye, he reconsiders where would be a fun place to go for dinner. Initially he'd entertained the thought of watching the younger man squirm awkwardly in some Too Elegant fine dining establishment, but ultimately he can see that this time is better spent in something more natural, more genuine.

So, in equal parts re-routing his course and showing off, he drifts wildly yet expertly around a corner, rubber audibly peeling on the pavement as he does so.]

I know a place that serves the best fish and chips I've ever had. [your body is not ready for what lies ahead.]

[~~Is that a challenge, Hux?~~

Finn wheezes out a strained little yelp of 'yo' as Hux sends the car skidding on some predetermined course, the vibration of tires catching rattling up to his jaw in a way that makes him feel more alive than he has in weeks.]

Now you're speaking my language, buddy!

[And he likes that, the idea that they could in the first place.]

STAR WARS: possible spoiler warning

oh my god I can't believe you

aha your first mistake! crams this in as fast as possible before work!!

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