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Armitage Hux hated idleness, either by nature or something that was drilled into him by his (thankfully) late father. That’s why, after selling Brendol’s beloved business, instead of living comfortably off the profits, he decided to take different jobs until he found something that sparked his interest.
Seasons passed, and he was still looking. He had already tried working as a waiter and bartender, but neither of these jobs was something he was suited for - too much contact with people who were, honestly, just unpleasant. What’s more, it felt like stealing - taking jobs from people who actually needed them while he was just bored (and a little unwilling to use money connected to his childhood tormentor). He started tipping more and moved on to something else.
Currently, that something else was dog walking. He always thought himself more of a cat person, but the cats didn’t need strangers to take care of them on a daily basis. Before he took the job he read everything he could about it, which - together with a low pay he was willing to accept - appeared to be enough to most owners. He never took more dogs than he could handle, so the job was quite pleasant, and he soon grew to appreciate his canine clients as well.
His current pupil was a Great Dane called Gallia, tall and full of grace in a perfect match for her owner, Gwendoline Phasma. And like her owner, she was starting to warm up to him. As per Gwen’s request, he always took Gallia on solo walks (as if he would be crazy enough to take some other dogs with this giantess) to the nearest park. Gallia was curious and patient and probably his favourite to walk and play with so far. Hux could see she craved companionship, her owner probably as busy as he used to be climbing the ladder of fame and fortune.
He didn’t miss that life one bit. Once upon a time, he thought he’d never be able to live without the adrenaline of business dealings, the rush of negotiations, late nights in the office with too much coffee and too many papers. The only thing he dreamed of back then was ousting his father from the CEO position and taking it for himself. But before he could, death took Brendol - suddenly, surprisingly.
Unsurprisingly, it found him in bed with a woman far too young and beautiful for him.
It shook Armitage to the core. Suddenly, the company was his and he didn’t know what to do with it. It all felt… empty.
He worked his whole life to show his father that he was not useless, not weak. That he was better, stronger, smarter than the old man thought.
And if he couldn’t do that, he didn’t actually want the company. He wanted to spite Hux senior, but now that he was dead, Armitage lost his purpose.
So he sold the company, ridding himself of the ever present reminder of his father. At first, he spent his time decompressing - letting all the stress, all the tension amassed over twenty years, simply wash away. But a mere week later, he was ready to gnaw the walls, the idleness driving him mad. Not willing to go back to business and not yet ready to touch his father’s money, he turned to menial jobs.
These jobs obviously couldn’t pay for his massive apartment in the wealthy neighbourhood it resided in, but he had enough savings to support himself for several years before he would need to touch any of that money .
That’s how he found himself wandering through the largest of the city parks with a beautiful beast at his side. There was a particular crisp in the air that heralded the inescapable end of summer. The weather was still nice, with clear skies and warm sun, the temperature high enough he could do without a jacket, but the smell was unmistakable: autumn has started, the days were growing shorter, the winter was (damn that TV show) coming. He could already see the leaves losing their bright green, people wearing a few more layers, birds gathering in flocks, preparing to leave for warmer climates.
Life was finally good.
He knew he would get bored with dog walking pretty soon - he’d probably need to finally decide what to do with himself by the beginning of winter. But for now, he could relish the perfect warmth of October sun, the muffled voices of the busy city that reached through the park’s lush greenery, and the warm mug of tea in his hand.
Gallia was not in the mood for play today, so they ended up wandering across the park’s countless alleys, stopping here and there to sniff trees and butts. He never suspected he would find pleasure in such a simple thing as walking around with a dog - no purpose, no pressing matters on his mind, not even a passing interest in his phone (apparently he forgot to make lasting human connections while he was focused on one-upping his father. Not that he missed that, really). The only thing to do was observing other people, who were usually rushing around, lost in their thoughts or calls, and - of course - taking care of his client.
Speaking of which, something seemed to finally pique her interest, as she started pulling him decisively to the left. A quick glance at her and their surroundings told him there was no reason to worry, so he let her choose their path. It soon became apparent what had interested the usually stoic Great Dane.
Straight ahead was a sunny bench, occupied by another human-dog duo. The man was sitting and reading a book while his dog companion was happily waddling around on short, stubby legs. Before he focused on the unusual sight the dog made, he couldn’t help but notice how handsome the man was. Dark hair, tanned skin, and a very beautifully proportioned face with a hint of scruff that somehow didn’t make him look unkempt, but rather… rogueish.
Not many people could really look good in browns, but this man clearly could - a brown leather jacket over an off-white shirt harmonized with the rest of his features. This was a man more suited to the summer beaches of some equatorial country, not early autumns of this latitude. And yet, the aura he conveyed, even just focused on reading his damn book (Armitage could just imagine that his eyes were warm and brown as well, and he suddenly felt the need to see them smiling at him), was of a person who knew exactly who he was and where he was meant to be, as if he owned the bench and probably half of the park.
With so many years in the business world, Armitage learned to judge people at a glance, to learn as much as he could about a person in seconds. It made him a killer negotiator, never allowing his opponents - or partners - to surprise him.
But never was he left with such a tumultuous mix of feelings.
Of course, Gallia was not interested in some mere human - she didn’t even spare a glance at Armitage when he missed a step upon seeing the man on the bench. No, she was much more interested in the man’s canine companion, who looked… very particular.
Forced to continue their march to the soon-to-be-new-friends (he knew how these things went), Hux focused on the other dog’s appearance. And was it a sight indeed: it looked like any other labrador in town, but set upon a corgi’s distinctly short legs. Soon the small dog finally noticed their approach and greeted them readily, which in turn made its companion raise his brown eyes, causing a strange, sudden tightness in Armitage’s chest.
They were darker than Hux expected, but as warm and open as he had suspected. Upon seeing them, the man’s whole face lit up in an inviting smile while his hands carelessly closed the book, putting it down on the bench (without a bookmark!). Just to be safe, Armitage grabbed the leash lighter, though he didn’t expect any danger - Gallia was a perfect lady, she was very careful when dealing with smaller dogs (which really meant most of the other dogs in her life) but he always preferred to be safe than sorry.
They stopped a few feet from the other pair, Gallia sitting down and letting the other dog decide how their introductions will go. While the small one was sniffing them, Hux looked at the other man who was observing them curiously with a small smile.
“Hello,” said Armitage, returning the smile shyly.
“Hi! I’m Poe, and this is BB,” he said waving at his oddly shaped companion.
“Armitage. And this is Gallia.”
“A real lady,” said Poe, nodding with appreciation. “Not all big dogs know how to behave when they meet smaller four-legs.”
Armitage laughed softly.
“Yeah, she’s really amazing with smaller dogs.”
“I have heard great things about Great Danes, but it’s the first time we met any in person. We don’t come to the city often.”
“If you don’t mind,” Armitage asked, reminded about the more pressing matter, “what breed is BB? I haven’t seen a dog his shape… probably ever.”
Poe laughed - freely and carelessly, with a knowing look in his eyes.
“He’s a corgidor,” he said with an expectant look on his face.
Hux’s brain stopped for a moment, trying to grasp at the weird name.
“A… corgidor?” he asked, confused, making Poe laugh again.
Armitage wouldn’t mind hearing this laugh more often. Actually, he could spend a lot of time just listening to it.
“Yes. Half corgi, half labrador. A corgidor.”
“Huh,” was the only answer Hux could find.
In the meantime, the dogs finished their initial introductions, and BB started jumping around Gallia barking expectantly, while the bigger dog looked inquisitively at her human.
“I think they’re ready to play. Do you mind if I unleash her?” he inquired, looking at Poe.
“No, of course not. Would you like to join me on the bench while they have fun?” The other man offered after Gallia was set free to run with the corgidor.
Armitage nodded, and they sat down.
“You have a beautiful dog”
“Oh, she’s not mine. I’m a dog walker,” Armitage explained.
Poe glanced at him with a frown.
“Don’t get me wrong, but you don’t look like a typical dog walker,” he blurted.
Armitage was clearly taken aback.
“How so?”
“Well,” Poe gestured at him, “you wear nice clothes, and um, this is a job taken by desperate college students, not…” he stopped, unsure how to put it.
But Armitage only laughed.
“Not thirty year olds, is that what you wanted to say?” He combed his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I know, I get that a lot. I’m more… between jobs right now, and this,” he looked at dogs playing in the field, ”This is nice. Relaxing. I used to work in investment.”
Poe looked a little baffled at his answer.
“Okaaay. So, like, instead of taking time off and travelling the world or moving to the Bahamas for half a year, you’re walking dogs?”
Hux shrugged.
“Yeah, basically. I just don’t see myself returning to that world, and I am fortunate enough not to have to decide what to do instead immediately. But I hate not having work, doing nothing stresses me almost as much as the office work did.”
That wasn’t exactly true, but he found out being jobless was stressing in a completely different way than the meat grinder his father’s company was. After so many years of struggling to prove his worth, having no purpose or use was… torture. Starting these ‘in-between’ jobs saved him from the persistent self-doubt, kept his father’s haunting judgements at bay.
Gallia’s low, playful bark brought him out from his reverie and he realised he’d been silent for too long. But fortunately it didn’t seem to bother his companion, who was peacefully watching the dogs. Armitage shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind.
“Anyway,” he started lamely, “you mentioned you don’t come to the city often?”
Poe looked back at him with a warm smile.
“Yeah, I live and work on the outskirts, by the D’Qar airport. It’s usually the city people that come to us - I teach flying and take tourists up sometimes - but today my mechanic needed transport to the city, so we made it a group adventure. There aren’t many doggies at D’Qar, so BB gets lonely sometimes. We were at the dog park, but he got overwhelmed pretty fast, so we moved here to rest a little.”
Armitage couldn’t help but smile. Not only because of the fondness he heard in Poe’s voice when he talked about his dog, but he could just imagine him in the plane’s cockpit, a dashing pilot…
“Wow, that’s amazing!” He couldn’t stop himself from saying.
And good thing he didn’t because he was rewarded with the other man blushing.
“Ah… thanks. You like flying?”
“I… don’t mind it? It’s an efficient way of travelling, I suppose. I only took business trips, so it’s not exactly…” He stopped, embarrassed.
“It’s not the same, I know,” Poe finished, with a knowing smile. “Yeah, I actually trained for some time to fly the big ones, but it’s not for me.” He waved his hand dismissively. “No, I prefer it to be me, one or two passengers, and clear skies. That’s the real fun!”
There was so much passion and wonder in his voice, face, and smile, Armitage couldn’t stop himself from returning it.
“You should visit us sometime, I’ll show you what I mean!” The other man exclaimed excitedly.
Hux gaped at him, surprised.
“I… I couldn’t…”
“Nonsense! I actually have free time this Sunday. You could come by and I’ll fly you around. What say you?”
Armitage regarded the other man for a moment - his open face, hope in his eyes, soft smile.
He spent too long denying himself everything, especially letting someone get close. But that time was over and now - now it was a new chapter in his life. He could do anything, so why couldn’t he try this? Whatever this was, it felt good - he hadn’t felt a connection with another person for so long, so even if he just met this man, maybe it was time to try and see.
He might get a friend out of this.
He might get… more.
“I’d love to,” he answered truthfully and was rewarded with a smile he wouldn’t mind seeing for the rest of his life.
And the rest, as they say, is history.