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There was an immense pressure between his ears as his private jet took off the runway. He closed them tightly as he swallowed rapidly to ease the pressure between them. It worked, but his stomach tightened as the plane rose higher in the skies.Planes made him nervous. Always had. Probably always would. There was just something so nauseating about being so high in the sky without a real safety net. Sure, he knew it was among the safest ways to travel, but that didn’t stop his stomach from lurching during taxiing or turbulence.“What’s it like?”“Hm?” He managed to open his eyes to see a pair of dark brown ones staring at him from the opposite seat.Kylo chuckled as he leaned forward and invaded more of Armitage’s space. His elbow tucked itself perfectly against the armrest and his own elbow as he leaned over to peer out the window. It was a shockingly intimate invasion of space that helped distract him from the plane’s ascent.“This ‘estate’? Arkanis?” Kylo repeated as he sat back in his seat, but kept his forearm pressed against Armitage’s own, “What’s it like?”Kylo Ren was gorgeous. Large and muscular in the movie-star ‘bad boy’ way, but there was a softness in those deep brown eyes that made him reach out to cup his cheek. It was an impulse he couldn’t control. Kylo didn’t discourage him, either. He leaned into Armitage’s hand like a well trained puppy and that ignited something scorching in his stomach.Was he even aware of the effect he had on Armitage? How those puppy-dog eyes had him burning to have Kylo curled in his lap with his hand petting through those dark waves of hair? How he wanted to drape those broad shoulders in the most expensive fabrics and brands instead of the faded band tee he was currently in?Probably not. Kylo was not privy to his preferences or his lifestyle as a dom. He didn’t know about Armitage’s collection of paddles or his cuffs. About the permanent restraints on his bed or the elaborate rigging system in his living room.Kylo only knew him as ‘Armitage,’ the guy he rescued from nearly suffocating himself during a weight training session last year. He spotted him on a weight bench one time and they’d been fast ‘gym’ buddies ever since. The expectations between them tended to stop and start at the gym and that was a bit of a relief for Armitage.Sure, they exchanged numbers and kept up a lengthy conversation about various movies and podcasts and recommendations for dinner, but the gym was really their true connection.For the last year, they’d kept the same Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday gym routine where they’d join the last yoga class of the day, Kylo would do a round of cardio on the treadmill while Armitage rode the bike, and they’d end at the weight bench together. He spent a lot of his time complaining about various work issues while Kylo bemoaned his chaotic family.Kylo was an artist, but not necessarily a starving one. He’d researched him the moment he had the chance and learned Kylo had real talent and a following of rabid fans. He blended traditional painting with metalworking to create fantastical and massive statement pieces. Usually, they were dark pieces. Lots of blacks and vivid reds to blend into jagged, half-broken metal pieces. Kylo liked to describe it as ‘rage art.’If he bought a gorgeous, yet monstrous, metal flower-like piece made of various computer parts to have in his office, well, that was his business. Besides, he bought it through his personal broker so Kylo would never know that his gym buddy stalked his art gallery to buy his work.It was during one of those weight bench discussions that Armitage brought up his father’s annual Christmas party.The annual obligation that demanded his attention every single year.The annual pain in his neck.For you see, Armitage Hux may have wealth and prestige, but he wasn’t above an annual holiday summoning from his father. Every Christmas Brendol Hux threw a massive ‘holiday gala’ for his coworkers and acquaintances at Arkanis, the ancestral Hux Estate. Though they were estranged, Armitage always found himself at the damned ‘gala’.For a very good reason, of course.Not because he held any lingering love for his father or because he cared to show a united front before his father’s colleagues or even because he cared for his stepmother.No, Armitage found himself at the holiday party every year because his father, Brendol Hux, was holding his mother’s memory box hostage. It wasn’t nearly as nefarious as he made it sound. Brendol would lure him to the estate with the promise to ‘hand over’ the box, but there was always a reason he left without it.One year it was because Brendol couldn’t ‘dare’ part with his beloved wife’s memories. Another year was because Armitage wasn’t ‘settled’ yet. And then, countless others, when they’d tumbled into a screaming match and he hopped the next plane out of the country.Not this year. This year he was taking his mother’s memory box and bringing it back with him. He wasn’t stopping there, though. No, he was also going to insure Brendol never, ever invited him back to his beloved Arkanis.How?Well, originally, he told Kylo he was going to bring an unannounced and obnoxious date with him. He joked about making out with this imaginary man in the family parlor or getting caught in the kitchen half-naked and ‘pawing’ at each other in front of the holiday desserts. He promised to be found in compromising positions all across Arkanis.And, without skipping a beat, dear, sweet Kylo, with his big brown eyes and crooked smile, offered to ‘assist’ in his endeavor.
“We’ll make him so uncomfortable, he’ll never invite you back.”
He’d protested immediately, of course.Kylo had a family and the holidays were such an important time for family. Armitage didn’t understand the love for it, but he also didn’t have a normal family nor a normal relationship with Christmas. If there were ever a holiday Armitage wanted to wipe off the calendar altogether, it would be Christmas. Sure, it was supposed to be filled with holiday cheer and the joy of gift giving, but mostly it was a time for self-important people to lorde their successes over others in a gift-buying-dick-measuring contest.Armitage only appeared on Christmas because his father suddenly remembered he had a son and wanted to ‘keep up appearances’ for the ‘gala.’ A disappointing son, of course, but a living, breathing heir to his vast fortune of dusty Rococo furniture and tattered 17th century tapestries in the dilapidated ‘Arkanis Estate’ in the Irish countryside.With the plane leveling out in the air, Armitage finally felt confident enough to answer Kylo’s question without his voice wavering. “Arkanis is..a little dilapidated. Ugly. But the grounds are gorgeous. Maybe,” he whispered as he gave Kylo’s cheek a little pat, “you’ll find inspiration for your art there.”The house was ugly as sin, but it was close to the Wicklow Mountains. In the mornings, when the house was asleep and he was in the garden with the quiet morning and the mountains before him, he could almost see himself living there once his father finally died.Almost. If it weren’t a gaping money pit.Brendol loved to talk up his ‘ancestral country home’ to his friends and underlings, but, in all honesty, he was four generations and a cousin or two away from being a direct descendant of the branch of the Hux family that onced owned the manor in its heyday.The only reason Brendol even had ownership of the damned thing was because Armitage’s mother died. He used her life insurance to purchase the manor when some second or third cousin in desperate need of cash offered it to him.He’d bought it ‘sight unseen’ and inherited a several century old home that needed desperate repairs. But, like most projects, Brendol toyed around with it long enough to distract himself from his grieving son and dead wife and never really completed it before something else could capture his attention.What infuriated Armitage the most about the damn thing was that Brendol was wealthy. He had money to toss at Arkanis. He could fix the estate up, but he actively chose not to restore or remodel the place. It was liveable, but rapidly deteriorating. Much like his relationship with his father. That house had become a symbol of everything wrong between them. When seven-year-old Armitage needed his father, Brendol fucked-off to another continent and brought back a stepmother and a new ‘social circle’ that alienated his son.Brendol just let their relationship rot, even though he had all the tools necessary to fix it. Just like Arkanis.He hated the lifestyle Brendol stepped into after he married his stepmother, Maratelle. Lavish parties and cigar-smoke filled rooms where adults made jokes that flew over his head and tormented him for existing. It had been nearly impossible to navigate the new changes as a child, but he’d gotten used to his father’s executive dysfunction and his stepmother’s aloofness as an adult.It wasn’t long after that when his father sent him to boarding school. While the academy was a test of wills in itself, he appreciated the opportunities that it provided him. He excelled in science and found a love for software engineering. He pushed himself hard in getting his education and, while he finished his master’s degree, he developed his beloved Starkiller: an AI assistant that was light years ahead of its competitors.He and his technology were the best in every aspect of the word. It netted him a rather expansive financial portfolio and the ability to enjoy his thirties a little more loosely than others his age. He was a wealthy man with a particular taste for control and domination.Not just in the tech world, either.He much preferred spending his evenings with a different pretty boy knelt at his feet or splayed across his lap. The BDSM lifestyle afforded him the stability and control he’d always desired as a child. And, well, there was just something so exciting about breaking someone down to their most vulnerable point, building them back up, and staying with them through the clashing emotions until you were both satisfied.His excessive wealth and reputation gained him access to one of the most exclusive fetish clubs in the city: the First Order.He’d spent his early years of membership as the resident brat tamer. He’d enjoyed making the most unruly subs come unraveled until they were sweet and pliant underneath his attention. He’d never met one he couldn’t handle and there had been plenty in the last decade. A long list of subs that whispered his praises, but bemoaned his noncommittal lifestyle.Armitage wasn’t sure commitment was in his future. Anytime he spent longer than a week or so with a man, he felt constrained. Choked. Desperate to leave. It was always much better for him to end things before the newness wore off.He much preferred selecting one of the unattached submissives that frequented the club to spoil for a few days. Never longer than that. Any longer and he’d give them unrealistic expectations of commitment.The First Order provided him with that outlet.He’d met his closest friend there, Phasma, and established a set of routines that fulfilled his life. The lifestyle made him feel complete. Happy. Treasured. It afforded him the flexibility that he craved and he didn’t want anything more.Truly. He had everything he wanted.“Yeah?” Kylo muttered as he reached up to close his fingers around Armitage’s wrist. His heart fluttered at the innocent gesture, “I brought my sketchbook just in case. I didn’t know how often we’d need to be half-dressed and scandalous and I didn’t want to get bored.”Armitage rolled his eyes fondly as he dropped his hand to the armrest. “Brendol will be very accommodating the first few days, but wound tight the closer we get to his party. He has to impress his friends, of course.”Since the plane was at cruising altitude, he unbuckled his seat and gave Kylo a gentle shoulder squeeze as he walked to the bar near the back of the plane. “Let me make you a drink and you can tell me about your newest project.”Kylo’s puppy-like eagerness was enchanting. Armitage had a feeling this week would be the death of him.—---“Welcome to Arkanis,” Armitage whispered to Kylo as his car pulled through the gate and down the long, winding driveway to the house. He’d been asleep on Armitage’s shoulder. The jetlag from their journey hit him as they drove from the airport to the countryside. He just let the other man sleep. They’d have plenty of time for him to sightsee later.Arkanis was a sprawling monstrosity in the early light of morning. The blueprints claimed there were forty-something rooms in the entire estate, but only a dozen or so were functional. The entire third floor should be condemned and the stairs to the right wing were a hazard.Brendol did have the time to update the kitchen and the first floor bathrooms before he lost interest in the estate. The bedrooms were hit or miss. Armitage’s was sequestered near the garden. It was a full wing away from Brendol’s own bedroom. He appreciated that privacy as an adult, but it did sting a little as a child.The garden view was beautiful, but his windows were not properly sealed. The room had a constant draft that even a roaring fire could not chase away. At least there was a nice soaking tub in the adjoining bathroom that helped warm him up on the cold nights.Kylo groggily groaned as he turned to bury his face deeper against Armitage’s shoulder. Something that sounded suspiciously like ‘what time is it’ was mumbled against his sweater.He chuckled as he gave into the urge to comb his fingers through Kylo’s hair. “Early,” he answered. “Think you can stumble up a few stairs?”He hummed as he finally pulled away from Armitage and stretched his legs out in front of them to wake himself up. “Are they going to greet us?”“Me, you mean?” He teased because they both knew he hadn’t warned Brendol about his ‘boyfriend.’ Kylo winked as he reached into his pocket to check his phone. Armitage spied a number of messages from a groupchat called ‘the Knights’ and another from ‘Mom’. He knew it was rude to look at his screen and quickly glanced out the window to watch the lawn as the car rolled to a stop. “Probably not,” he answered as he reached for his bag, only for Kylo to snatch it from him.Armitage’s eyes narrowed at the cheek, but stopped himself when he remembered he was not a rowdy sub. He was just being helpful. Kylo was looking at him so expectantly as he hoisted the bag into his lap. Almost as if he expected to be scolded for stealing the bag. Armitage should because it was bad manners.He carefully wrapped his fingers around Kylo’s wrist and took the strap away from him. “You should know better,” he teased with just a hint of steel in his voice.Kylo’s eyes widened as he licked his lips and gave a halfhearted shrug, “wanted to see if you were awake or not.”“I’m very much awake, brat.”Kylo grinned as he stepped out of the car and let the door shut behind him. It gave Armitage a few moments to collect himself. Everything was going to be just fine. When he finally opened his door, the brisk cool morning caused him to shiver, but it also cleared his head.No one was there to greet them. In fact, there wasn’t another car in the garage. His nose wrinkled as the door opened and the elderly woman, Mrs. White, who handled the estate while they were away, stepped forward to greet them. She hugged him tight, as she always did, and informed him that his parents wouldn’t arrive for another day.“What a relief,” he told Kylo as he led them both inside. Kylo’s attention was not on him, though. He had his phone out and snapped several dozen pictures as they walked through the foyer. It was done in the same rococo-style as the rest of the house. Hideous and opulent in a way that Kylo was sure to love to corrupt in his art. Still, he needed to lay down some ground rules. “Kylo, come here before you get too ahead of yourself.”That eagerness returned as his phone slipped back in his pocket and he practically plastered himself to Armitage’s side. “Yes?”The ‘sir’ correction was on the tip of Armitage’s tongue, but he refrained. Kylo was not his sub, he reminded himself. “The third floor is condemned and off-limits. Do not use the backstairs, either. Our wing,” he pointed through the ornate doors to their right, “is that way. It should be fine, but be careful while you’re exploring. We can do a tour of the kitchen and parlors once we’ve rested a little.”“We could do it now?” Kylo asked hopefully, but he was already shaking his head in disagreement. They would need to be well-rested for the next few days.“Sleep now. Explore later,” Armitage insisted as he swatted Kylo’s ass to steer him towards their accommodations for the week. “We’ll have all night and most of the morning before Brendol and Maratelle arrive. Plenty of time for uninterrupted exploration.”Kylo was sated with that explanation and followed him into their wing. There were a few new patches of dust along the baseboard and cobwebs on the lighting and deterioration in the draperies, but the stability of the first floor remained sound.“Are we sharing a room?”“We have to. Only a few rooms are furnished.” Armitage told him as he bumped the door to his rooms open with his hip. The guest rooms near his father’s wing were the most thoroughly furnished and up-kept in comparison to everything else. “My bed should be big enough for us to share.”His room looked the same as the last time he was there. The main sitting room had a wall full of books and a seating area near the massive windows. It was far too cold to sit near those windows without a roaring fire and a sweater. Furniture there was a little sparse, but it felt comfortable. The second door opened to reveal his actual bedroom. He bought himself the king-sized bed as a graduation gift over a decade ago.None of his personal effects were there except a few copies of pictures he had in his own home. Mostly they were of him and his mother. Even here, it looked the same as he left it. Except someone had stoked a roaring fire in the fireplace. His room was a little less dusty than the hallway and fresh linens were on the bed. He assumed that was the work of the housekeeper.Beside him, Kylo whistled. “Not too bad.”He wanted to argue that this was just the most decent room because of his own influence, but the plane ride and the jet lag were catching up to him. Armitage tossed his bag onto the nearest ottoman and began to strip down to his boxers and tank top. “You can continue to admire the dust, but I’m going to bed.”He looked up from folding his travel clothes to find Kylo staring at him with a shy, almost sheepish look. Was he uncomfortable with his lack of clothing? Armitage began to feel a little subconscious as he soothed down his tank top. He cleared his throat, which seemed to snap Kylo out of his stupor.“Uh, yeah, me too.”Armitage turned away so he wasn’t watching Kylo undress. It gave him time to turn off the lights and draw the curtains together to wash the room in darkness. By the time he turned around, Kylo was already curled underneath the thick blankets. He wasn’t asleep yet, though. He was watching Armitage so intensely.Armitage found himself blushing.Him. Blushing.Stars, what was Kylo doing to him?He double-checked the curtains and shivered at the slight draft before he crossed the room and climbed into the bed beside him. For a few moments, he didn’t really know how to get comfortable. This wasn’t the first time he’d ever shared a bed with someone, but it was the first time he’d shared a bed with Kylo.He sighed softly as he turned on his side to face the other man. Even with the fire and the blankets, it was cold in the room. He could see the shiver of Kylo’s shoulders because of it. That wouldn’t do. He held his arm up and nodded his head as the younger man scooted over until they were pressed together.It was the best sleep he’d ever gotten at Arkanis.—-----Armitage woke first.It was darker in the room than previously, but he assumed that was from the storm roaring overhead. The rain and thunder made the room colder and he found himself curling against the warmth of his bed partner.Kylo was still asleep. He hated to leave such a lovely bed partner, but he needed to do a bit of work while he waited for Kylo to wake up. He slipped from bed and dug his laptop case out of his suitcase along with a change of clothes to take it into the sitting room. There was another fire roaring in the sitting room and he made himself comfortable in an armchair.After he dressed, he worked for an hour or so until Kylo stumbled out of the bedroom and collapsed into the chair across from him. “It’s really fucking cold.”Armitage hummed as he pulled a blanket from a nearby basket and tossed it to the brunette. “I did warn you to dress warmly.”Not that he’d heeded his own advice by sleeping in boxers and a tank top. But, he’d been jet lagged and the chill had been a little refreshing. Now it was nearly an unbearable cold in the room, even with the fire.Kylo eagerly wrapped the blanket around himself and tucked his legs underneath him. Anything for a smidgin of warmth. He looked rather cute curled up like that. “Does it rain like this often?”“It does,” Armitage answered as he shut down his laptop and placed it on a nearby side table. “Winter here is usually rainy. The mountains get snow, but we mostly get rain.” Which was a terrible outcome for such a drafty place. “Did you enjoy your nap?”Kylo nodded as he let out a short yawn, “I could have slept the rest of the day and night.”He could have, too. It was better for them to wake up in enough time to discuss their plan for the next few days. “Brendol and Maratelle will be here tomorrow. I’m assuming they’ll arrive sometime after lunch.”“Does that mean we’ll need to be making out on the couch when they arrive?”Armitage wanted to immediately say ‘yes,’ but he scolded himself for being greedy with his friend. “We should lay down some ground rules, first. I am very grateful that you’re willing to do this, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”“Armitage,” Kylo groaned loudly, “I understood what you needed from me when I volunteered. We don’t need ground rules. I have the backstory memorized and all the important details down”“We do.” He insisted with a sharp glance at Kylo. They’d come up with a backstory for their relationship, but this wasn’t about that. It was about consent. “Everything requires negotiation. I don’t want to ruin our friendship because something goes wrong.” The idea of losing Kylo in his life sounded worse than spending the rest of his life locked away in this estate.Kylo’s eyes softened as he slowly stood from his chair and sweetly dropped to his knees before Armitage. He took his hand to hold and give a gentle squeeze, “you’re not losing me. I know what I signed up for. I know what I want.”Armitage’s mouth was already dry because Kylo looked fantastic on his knees. It was the epitome of everything he’d ever fantasized about his friend. He licked his lips as he reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his ear, “do you? What do you want?”“To help you,” he said earnestly. “To be in your corner. You shouldn’t have to do this alone.”Stars, Kylo really was going to be the death of him. He rubbed his thumb over the man’s cheek before he released him. “I find it hard to rely on others, you know.” He grabbed another blanket and tossed it onto Kylo’s kneeling form. He could feel how cold the other man was just from touching his cheek. “You need a safeword. Something that you can use if our pretend dating goes too far.”He didn’t even take a second to think about it. “Red.”“Red it is, then.” Armitage agreed as he watched Kylo maneuver himself out from underneath the second blanket.“What’s yours?”Now he was taken aback. Doms had safewords, of coure, but he didn’t expect Kylo to even consider it. “Halt,” he said slowly, as if he were tasting the word on his tongue.“Now we’re official,” Kylo teased as he wrapped the second blanket around his shoulders and returned to his chair. “I’m okay with petting and kissing, Armitage. I like being touched.”“Even by me?”“You act like you’re some kind of disgusting monster,” Kylo said with a roll of his eyes. “You’re handsome and a good person. Who wouldn’t want to be touched by you?”The talk between them lapsed into a comfortable silence. It was almost humorous how Kylo kept surprising him. He sighed softly, “you’re sweet, you know that?”He gave a little shrug as he tucked his feet back underneath himself. “You’re the only person that has ever called me sweet.”“Only because they see the motorcycle and muscles first,” he joked as the wind picked up outside. Kylo flexed in front of him to show off those muscles. Silly boy, he thought fondly as he stretched his legs out in front of him. “Get dressed and I’ll give you the grand tour.”Kylo hopped up immediately and disappeared into the bedroom to dress as Armitage folded the blankets and placed them back in the basket. By the time he was done, Kylo reappeared with a thick sweater and jeans on him. He walked over to helpfully adjust the collar of Kylo’s sweater before he gave him a quick nod.“Do you have your…”“Got it,” he interrupted as he pulled out the sketchbook. “I’ve been looking forward to this since I volunteered.”He didn’t see the appeal of the estate, but he wasn’t an artist. Kylo’s work proved that he saw the world in a different way. “Follow me, then.”Even though he warned him against it, Armitage did take Kylo through the hazardous staircase and to the more stable areas on the third floor. The second was being cleaned because that's where Brendol’s guests would stay for the party. Kylo spent a lot of time sketching the crown molding. It wasn’t in the same style as the rest of the estate so Armitage assumed it was added later by a distant relative. That was on par with most of the house itself. Different owners added new styles as the years slipped away.None of it warmed Armitage to Arkanis. He was sure it was charming, in its own way, but he just saw the deterioration and the rot.By the time the storm stopped, they’d doubled back to the kitchen and found an offering of hearty stew from the housekeeper. They thanked her profusely and sat at the small table in the kitchen to eat. Once Brendol and Maratelle made it there they would be expected to dine in the main dining room. For now, he enjoyed the intimacy between them.It was like they were stuck in their own little world. He wished he could keep it this way. Them stuck together without outside interference.“Should we practice kissing?”Armitage nearly choked on his stew. “I..I’m sorry?”Kylo swirled his spoon around his bowl with a little shrug, “should we practice kissing? It has to be believable, right? We should practice.”He swallowed thickly as he looked between Kylo’s eyes and his lips. “I..I think…yeah, we should.” It had to be believable, right? Kylo was right about that. “After we get ready for bed? We’ll practice.”“Sounds like a plan.”Armitage felt no relief or calmness as they finished their meals, cleaned up, and prepared separately for bed. He showered first, but then had the joy of sitting in his chilly bed until Kylo finally finished in the bathroom.He shouldn’t feel this nervous about a little kissing. Armitage was an experienced dom. He took a different partner every few weeks. He knew he was good at intimacy, but this thing with Kylo made him nervous.He didn’t want to mess it up.Kylo retained the whole ‘movie-star-bad-boy’ vibe, but he looked so soft in his matching pajamas. Even with his hair wet, he looked delectable. He smelled fantastic, too.“Hey,” Kylo greeted as he slipped underneath the blankets beside Armitage.“Hey.” He reached out to fiddled with a wet strand of Kylo’s hair. “You smell good.”“You like it? I picked it out for this trip.” Kylo’s cheeks reddened as he scooted closer to Armitage’s side. “I hoped you’d like it.”All those nerves remained a flutter in his stomach, but it was so easy to fall into the scent and beauty of this man beside him. He cupped Kylo’s cheek, “I do. It suits you.”The brightness of that pleased smile was blinding. “I’m glad. I..that means a lot to me.”Armitage could have continued down that path. Could have continued complimenting Kylo until they were both too tired to do anything else, but he couldn’t let this opportunity escape him. He tightened his grip on Kylo’s cheek and slated their lips together.Kylo’s were chapped, but he gave the softest of sighs the moment Armitage’s lips connected with his own. Heat licked at his spine and rumbled in his stomach as Kylo scrambled to hold onto his shoulders. His hand slipped down to curl around the back of Kylo’s neck as he deepened the kiss. Using those soft little sighs to give him an advantage. He didn’t fight for dominance, as he feared he would, but simply followed Armitage’s lead.Kylo pulled back first. He plopped back against the pillows and let out a loud huff of air. “That was good. Really good.”Armitage laughed as he leaned back against the headboard. “Liked it?”He watched as Kylo rolled onto his stomach and nodded his head slowly. “Again?”Again? Why not? They had to practice, after all. He rolled Kylo onto his back and settled over him. “Okay?” He asked as he laid between his legs and caged his head between his arms. Kylo nodded eagerly as he soothed his hands up and down Armitage’s side. “Good.”He kissed Kylo again. Much deeper this time, not the exploratory kiss from before. He kissed Kylo like he kissed all his pretty boys. Messy and rough where it always took them by surprise and overrode their senses. Kylo loved it, if the pleased moan was anything to go by.He pulled back from his lips and nibbled his way down Kylo’s neck to suck and lap at the junction of his neck. Kylo’s hips jutted up to rub against his and it suddenly snapped Armitage back to reality. He pulled away and flopped onto his back as Kylo whined softly at the sudden change.“I think we’re convincing enough.”Kylo breathed out again, “yeah.” Armitage braved a quick glance behind him to where Kylo was resting against the pillows. “That felt real.”He sat up long enough to turn the lamp off to bathe the room in darkness. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll only have a few hours to ourselves before they make an appearance.”“Good night, Armitage.”“Good night, Kylo.”—----Brendol and Maratelle arrived with all the fanfare of a raging bull in a glass shop. Loud. Messy. An utter disaster. There was little time for Armitage and Kylo to do anything besides greet them. They’d have to plan a scandalous encounter later.At least Kylo had the forethought to grab his hand and intertwine their fingers as his father stepped into the foyer with a huff. “Damn weather,” he cursed as he handed his bags over to the haggard housekeeper. “When’s the rest of the staff arriving? I thought they would be here by now.”The housekeeper looked overburdened and confused so Armitage cleared his throat to bring his father’s attention to him.Brendol Hux was on the downside of sixty at this point. His extravagant life had caught up to him around the waist and gave him a ruddy appearance. He’d overindulged in rich food and alcohol for far too long. Maratelle was beautiful at forty-something, but she was always cold and distant. She barely looked towards him as she disappeared to her part of the estate.Brendol’s eyes landed on their intertwined hands, but he only frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a…friend?”“My partner, father,” Armitage corrected, “You didn’t say I couldn’t bring someone.”He waved his hand away, as if to swipe away his argument. “A warning would have been nice. You’ll keep that,” he pointed between them, “to a minimum.”Kylo gave his hand a squeeze, but Armitage wasn’t afraid of Brendol. He didn’t care about his opinions. He returned it as he took a step back from the man to let him pass into the main sitting room. “I’ll try my best, but really, Father, look at him. He’s lovely.”Brendol huffed as he barely spared Kylo a glance before he stomped into the sitting room. The sound of his complaints was loud even with the separated rooms. He didn’t want to, but he knew he needed to follow his father into the sitting room.Kylo hadn’t dropped his hand yet.He gave him a little encouraging smile as they walked into the sitting room. Armitage chose the seat furthest away from his father, who decided to plop himself in the chair nearest the fireplace. He turned to offer Kylo the seat beside him when the younger man climbed right into his lap.Oh.“Okay?” Kylo asked as he situated his ass between the arm of the chair and his thighs. It was perfectly fine. Armitage wasn’t totally focused on the feeling of those thick thighs over his lap at all. He certainly wasn’t eager to curl his hand around them.He leaned forward to press a kiss to Kylo’s cheek just as Brendol turned to look at them.“We have other seats, Armitage.”“We’re fine, father. Kylo gets cold here.”He huffed loudly and Armitage was sure he could hear some grumbling about his ‘audacity,’ but it only made him grin. He turned to hide his smile against Kylo’s shoulder. It was a small annoyance now, but Armitage was sure they’d find plenty of ways to drive Brendol crazy over the next few days.—--Kylo was charming. Not that he was surprised because he knew that about the man. He’d sat with him three days a week for the last year, after all. He just didn’t expect him to be able to charm Maratelle. Dinner that night was a cold affair until Kylo managed to draw his stepmother into a discussion about her favorite fashion designer. Brendol ignored all of them and spent the entire dinner drinking. On brand for him, of course.Maratelle was pleasant, though. So pleasant that he was surprised when Kylo talked her into ‘assisting’ with decorating for the party. He’d never seen her do anything except approve the decorations from Mrs. White.Yet, after dinner, Kylo and Maratelle walked around the bottom floor and talked with the housekeeper about wreaths and holly and all the festive decor they had shoved in a closet somewhere. He followed behind them at a snail’s pace to watch Kylo work his charm.He was giving his opinion about the proper placement of mistletoe when Brendol stomped into the sitting area and demanded Armitage ‘join him’ for a drink. As if it were a choice. He walked over to Kylo and pressed a kiss to his cheek before he followed his grimacing father to his office.He made his way over to the small bar and prepared himself a drink. Brendol already had one. Probablyhis fourth of the night. “Did you need something?”His father huffed as he sat down in his office chair. “Who is this Kylo Ren? Where did you pick him up?”Was his father trying to relate to his relationship? Surely not. “We met at the gym.” They decided it was best to keep their ‘relationship’ story as close to the truth as possible. It would prevent either of them getting confused.“The gym,” Brendol huffed as he narrowed his eyes at Armitage and took a big swig of his drink. “And he has a job and a steady income?”He glared at his father, “Kylo can support himself. Is supporting himself. Can Maratelle say the same?”“Watch your tongue, boy.”Armitage swirled his drink around his tumbler, “you’ve never cared about my partners before. Why the sudden change?”“You’ve never brought one home before.”“This isn’t home,” Armitage said as he tightened his grip on his glass. “This is just some side project you started after Mom died.”“She’d hate to hear you say that.”He exhaled sharply as he glared at Brendol again. “She never saw this fucking place.” He wanted to scream and yell, but he wasn’t a child anymore. He knew that wouldn’t work on Brendol. It would just give in to his holier-than-thou ego. “I’m taking her things with me at the end of this.”Brendol didn’t acknowledge him. Didn’t even pretend he heard his only son. He just finished his drink quickly and stood to make himself another. “Be on your best behavior for this party.”“As long as you’re on yours,” he snarled as he stalked out of the office. He needed to clear his head and slipped out into the garden. It was quiet there. Still chilly, but a little wet from the previous rain. But, it was quiet and he could spend a few moments alone.He sipped his drink as he stared up at the stars until a part of warm arm wrapped around him. He jolted for a few moments, only to settle down once he realized it was just Kylo. “We’re alone. You don’t have to…”“I want to,” he insisted as he rested his chin on Armitage’s shoulder. “Rough talk?”“Brendol’s a dick.”“So you’ve told me before,” he muttered as he squeezed Armitage’s shoulders. “We could leave.”“And then he’d win and I wouldn’t get my mother’s things.”Kylo hummed as he held him tightly, “where does he keep them?”“Fuck if I know,” Armiage cursed as he drained the rest of his drink and tossed it into the garden. It was childish, but it felt so damn good to get it out of his system. “I hate him. I hate this place. I hate this holiday. I wish I were home.”They stood there in silence for a few moments before Kylo released him and tugged him towards the door. “It’s freezing out here and you don’t have a jacket. Let’s go to bed.”So they did.—----He fell asleep with Kylo wrapped up in his arms. For warmth, they both insisted. Armitage should have slept well into the morning with such a pleasant arrangement, but he woke around midnight to find the bed empty and Kylo nowhere to be seen.He waited for a few moments to see if he’d just slipped away to the bathroom, but there was no telltale sound of the faucet from the nearby bathroom. He hoped Kylo hadn’t decided to go exploring in the middle of the night.Armitage grabbed a robe and went in search of him. It didn’t take long to find him. Kylo hadn’t gone to the restricted floors, but straight to the kitchen. He found him in front of the stove humming a soft tune as he made a kettle of boiling water.“Can’t sleep?” He asked.Kylo jolted at the sudden voice and whirled around ready to fight. He relaxed once he saw it was just Armitage. “You scared the fuck out of me,” he hissed as he stumbled back to plop into one of the chairs in the kitchen.Armitage laughed as he walked over and gently soothed Kylo’s face with the back of his hand, “I apologize, dear. I thought you heard me.” He watched as the younger man leaned into his hold. Seeking it out like an eager pup. “Trouble sleeping?”Kylo hummed in response, “I tried not to wake you.”“You didn’t.” Armitage promised, “the cold bed did. You’re like a personal furnace.”Kylo grinned in response as he stood up to remove the kettle as the whistle sounded. “Want some hot chocolate?”“At 3 o’clock in the morning?” Kylo gave him a look that screamed ‘yeah, so?’ so he removed two mugs from the cabinet. “Why couldn’t you sleep?”Kylo poured both of them a mug of hot chocolate before he sat beside Armitage at the small kitchen table. “Just in my head about a few things.”He reached over to take Kylo’s wrist and rub his thumb over the back of his hand to soothe him. “You can tell me.”“I can’t.”“You can.”Kylo sighed as he tightened his grip on the mug. “I’ve been lying to you about a few things and seeing how upset you were about being here made me feel like an absolute dick.”His eyebrows furrowed as he stared over at Kylo’s crumpled face and the way his muscles tightened from the grip he had on his mug. “Tell me,” he said simply in the same tone of voice he used on his most unruly subs.Kylo swallowed thickly as he ducked his head to hide behind his curtain of dark hair, “the first time we ever met wasn’t at the gym. It was at the First Order club. I’m new, really new, to the scene and I was visiting with a friend and you came through and I was just mesmerized by everything you did. You moved like a work of art. Like it’s a dance. You didn’t even speak to me or look at me, but I had to meet you. I already had the gym membership, but I used to go in the morning and I saw you had the same gym bag so I flirted with the receptionist and was able to see what your most common time was and just started going then to meet up with you.”This should bother Armitage. It should infuriate him in a way that boiled his blood and ignited fury in him. It didn’t. He couldn’t let it go unpunished, though.“This entire time you knew who I was,” Armitage said slowly as if to let the words seep into Kylo’s brain, “and still behaved like a brat.”He peeked through his curtain of hair at Armitage with wonder and curiosity in his eyes. “Sir?”“Oh? It’s ‘sir’ now?”Kylo’s face flushed with color. “Then when we started talking and exchanging numbers I just…I valued you more as a friend. I didn’t want to lose your friendship for a week or so of….something more.”Armitage was quiet as he watched Kylo cycle through staring down at the table and glancing up at him. “Go on.”“But I’m weak, Armitage. When you mentioned wanting to bring a fake boyfriend I knew it had to be me. I thought I could kiss and play and,” Kylo sat up straight at this, as if he rediscovered his confidence, “and then I met your family and I saw the way they treated you and I couldn't keep being selfish. This was never about me getting to play pretend. It was about you getting your mom’s memory box.”At the end of such an impassioned speech, Armitage found himself in a flood of emotions. There was a little bit of anger at being manipulated, but there was so much relief. He liked Kylo in a way that he’d never liked anyone else. He knew about his lifestyle and eagerly accepted it. He was perfect, just as Armitage always expected he would be.“C’mere,” he said as he pushed the table away and tapped his lap. When Kylo hesitated, he snapped his fingers at him. “Now Kylo. I won’t ask again.” Kylo jumped to his feet and crossed the short distance between them to delicately lay himself across Armitage’s lap. “Good,” he praised as he soothed a hand down the sweatpants covering his ass. He wiggled underneath the attention, but a quick pinch to his hip had him stilling again. “You are devastatingly handsome and clever, but I fear you know that. You are absolutely perfect, but such a little brat.”Kylo glanced over his shoulder at Armitage and gave him a weak smile. He rested his cheek against his leg. Armitage could feel his breath through his pajamas. He knew they needed to have a long, hard conversation about a million little things, but that would come later.“What should I do with you, hm?” When Kylo didn’t speak, he hummed as he rubbed his hip again. “You may speak.”“Punish me, sir?”“Oh, that’s a given,” he teased. “Twelve swats for now. One for every month you withheld something from me. Count each one.”Kylo nodded against his leg as he steeled himself for the first smack. Armitage could have made this a lot worse on him. Could have tugged his sweatpants down and smacked bare skin, but that would be for another time. He knew there would be another time.*Smack*“One, sir.”*Smack*“Two, sir.”Armitage was going easy on Kylo, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the guilt of the entire year of deception was enough of a punishment for now. Each carefully placed hit across his ass seemed to have a ripple effect through Kylo’s body. He shivered after each one. His legs curled just a bit until Armitage tapped the back of his thighs for him to place them back on the floor.“Last one,” he soothed as Kylo whined against his leg.*Smack*“Twelve, sir.”Armitage helped Kylo to his feet and tugged him back into his lap. He curled into his embrace and tucked his face against his neck. “Anything else you need to confess while we’re here,” he joked, only for Kylo to squirm in his lap again. “Kylo.”He tipped his head up with a sheepish grin, “I broke into Brendol’s office and found your mother’s memory box.”Armitage did the only thing he could think of doing at that moment.He kissed Kylo soundly.—----They left that night. Packed up their belongings, hailed Armitage’s car, and they were in the air before daybreak.If Kylo spent the first half of their flight home with Armitage’s cock in his mouth, well, that was their business.