Missing Piece

32. Everything was going to be alright

  I got suspended for a month and now had to do all kinds of cleaning stuff.
  I was currently mopping the floor together with some others who had been suspended.
  We never spoke and only looked at the floor as we did our task. That was, until this newbie came, an optimistic one.
  She had tried to start conversations with the others, but everyone ignored her. Which is why I decided to talk back.
  "You're (Y/n) right?"
  I looked up from the floor, the girl had curly brown hair and chestnut eyes. "Ehm yes. Who are you?"
  A smile covered her face, happy that she could finally talk to someone. "I'm AG-143, but you can call me Angel."
  I stood up straight and stretched my back. "AG-143 hm, are you a trooper?"
  Angel tilted her head, slightly. "Not exactly. I do have the uniform and everything, but I only guard the cells and its prisoners."
  I took my mop and returned back to work.
  "Why did you get suspended?" Angel asked curiously.
  "Well... just a little accident with an invention of mine... involving a certain General."
  "Oh yes, I heard something like that. I got suspended for giving extra food to the prisoner and maybe I chatted a bit too much and-."
  But I no longer listened, my mind was wondering about Armitage. I hadn't visited the hospital wing to see him. The closest I got to him was by listening to the rumours about his health. Some said he was deathly ill and others said he was already better. Perhaps Hux had already been released from the infirmary.
  I felt so guilty about what happened. He wanted to help by testing my invention with as result needing to be taken to the infirmary. And I didn't even have the guts to face him... Armitage was probably furious with me.

  I got pulled from my thoughts by Angel, pointing to a familiar red-head and his army of officers. "Isn't that General Hu-."
  "Shhht," I placed my finger in front of my lips. "I don't want him to see me."
I tried to hide behind Angel. In vain.
  Someone tapped my shoulder, and who else but Armitage could it be?
  "Ahem, I heard the Head Technician (Y/n) got suspended. Do you know where I can find-."
  I turned my head, allowing him to see it was me. "Found me." I didn't dare to look straight at his face, instead I found the wall behind him to be very interesting.
  "(Y/n)?"
  I gazed up at Armitage's eyes. I expected them to be hard and unforgiving like stone, perhaps angry even. Instead I was met with the temptation of tender blues and greens of a peaceful forest, relief adorning his features.
  Armitage placed a finger underneath my chin, tilting it up so I'd have to face him. No chance of looking away.
  "I understand if you're angry. I violated your trust. I accept it if you never want to see me again-."
  What Armitage did next was against all my expectations. He made me shut up by kissing me, in front of everyone.
  I had never experienced such delicate longing. He offered me a sweet taste of what could be reality. Armitage's lips moved with such expertise and elegance, it was almost addicting. After the kiss, his mouth lingered on mine like an invitation, all I had to do was give in.
And I did. My lips moved in sink with his. I wanted this to be reality, not all the trouble I was in. Even if sinful paradise lasted for nothing more than a heartbeat.
Wait, what am I doing again?
It felt wrong, but in desperate times like these, wrong felt right. He was able to make all my problems go away, and as of now, I had a lot of those.
I knew I had to pick a choice, to continue this or not. But right now, I simply couldn't.
Armitage sealed the kiss, a minty promise with the sharp edge of expensive liquor. He stepped back before I had to make the decision. Something for later worry. "That was pleasant," he whispered with cheeks the same shade as his hair.
I awkwardly scratched the nape of my neck, a habit I'd copied from Matt. "So you're not angry with me?"
Armitage took my hands in his. "I could never. It was just an accident."
I smiled a genuine smile. "I'm sorry that I didn't visit you in the infirmary. I was just... too afraid for what I might have done. I'll make sure that when I reclaim my prototype, I'll  find out what was wrong with it."
Armitage soothingly caressed my hands with his thumbs. "You don't need to be concerned about that, or anything else for that matter. First I want to take you away from this... this junkyard. I can't believe you got suspended and had to do this filthy job. The one who assigned you this will personally-."
I shushed him. "It's alright. I made a mistake and have to put it right. I'm already grateful that you're up and about."
Now it was Armitage's turn to send me a toothy grin. "What you wish, genius."
I felt Angel's and the others' gazes tear holes in my back. Not that it mattered to me, everything was going to be alright after all.

It wasn't part of Armitage's plan to kiss (Y/n), he had to distance from her for goodness sake. But when he saw how lost and stressed she was... not even a General's tuition could help him.
Nothing in his life had ever felt so right.

On our way to who knows where Armitage had wanted to take me, someone stopped him.
"General, I have the order to retrieve (Y/n)."
My heart dropped, if Armitage didn't know about this, it couldn't be something good.
Hux switched personalities within an instant, eyes turning harsh. "Why." It wasn't a question, it sounded more like an accusation.
"Ehm, sir, she needs to face court. Her position is high enough for a fair trial instead of immediate execution."
Court? Trial? Execution?!
"Trial? Trial?!" Hux's voice raised with each word. "What trial?! I dropped all charges against her. The accident has been removed from all records," he exclaimed shrill.
"We got an anonymous tip about her past."
I was officially doomed.