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[Rhys, on the other hand, has switched to the absolute peak of casual wear. Out of his usual shirt, vest and pinstripe trousers, he's now wearing an oversized jumper with one sleeve torn off to allow his cybernetics freedom of movement, and what might be actual pajama pants.]

Hey. We had plans, right?

[He flashes Hux a little grin, and hefts a shoulder bag. He's not convinced that Hux has the makings of a home cinema system, so he's taken the initiative of bringing his own.]

Oh. Right.

[in the tone of 'I've been having a private meltdown in the safety of my cabin and totally spaced that we had made plans'. Instead of turning Rhys away, however, Hux looks him up and down]

What are you wearing?

[And predictably, at his feet is Oaraao, come to say hello. Or come to say, 'what'd you bring me???]

Mrrrww?

It's late, we're not working--

[Rhys crouches to offer Oaraao the back of his hand again, before giving her a gentle little scratch behind her ear.]

You do own comfortable clothes, right? For like, late night slouching around and watching movies in?

[He probably doesn't. Rhys'll try to dig out some dark colours to lend him.]

[She sniffs a bit, before deigning that he is acceptable and turns to jump back up on the bed to lie on Hux's pillow]

I have sleepwear.

[He grudgingly opens the door, still frowning a little]

I was just unaware that sitting down to watch holos required a change in attire.

I mean, it makes no difference to me, you just might be more comfortable. I can lend you a jumper if you're working with a limited wardrobe here?

[He sidles in past Hux, and picks a likely looking counter to start setting up a light-screen.]

[A beat, before Hux shakes his head and goes to root around in his drawers for something more suitable. He comes up with a black sweater and grey pants, nominally used for exercising in. Which he absconds with to the bathroom to change]

Don't break anything.

I'm not breaking things!

[He's honestly not even touching Hux's things.
He rigs up a screen that he and Vaughn used to watch stuff on, back before their lives got complicated.

He gets it set up, and loads up the Barge's media onto it, until the screen is flashing with the bright colours of the film's title screen.

He's never heard of The Little Mermaid before, but the copy in the library was covered in glowing reviews, and he's pretty confident that Hux needs something low stress.

It looks low stress.]

[He opens the door a minute later, looking decidedly smaller than usual. Seems like when he changes clothes, he tends to also change attitude. So it's a more placid and confused Hux who drops down on the bed, frowning at the screen]

This is something you've seen before?

Nope!

[Rhys finally retrieves the last thing from his shoulder pack - a bag of pre-popped buttered popcorn - as he retreats to join Hux on the bed.]

It's from earth. But it looked relaxing and easy to watch, so I figured it was the mood we were after.

[He makes a quick gesture with his robot arm, and the film begins to play. Rhys opens the popcorn bag, and holds it over to Hux, with a lopsided little smile.]

[He mouths the title, frowning when it's clear it's an animated movie]

I think you grabbed something for children by mistake.

[Total frown at the popcorn though]

What's that?

Nah. It's a treasure for all ages.

[The box said so. He takes a little handful of the popcorn, demonstrating for Hux.]

And it's popcorn. Crunchy movie watching snackfood.

[Don't murder him. Rhys eats a few pieces to prove that it isn't poison.]

[he shakes his head, not going for the popcorn, instead choosing to keep focused]

I don't eat between meals.

[Hux reaches over to pick up the box art, reading the description. As such, he's caught offguard when the animated merpeople start singing]

C'mon, you're not gonna have another meal today. This is eating after meals, so it's fine.

[That's how it works, right? After your last meal you're allowed to snack again?

Rhys glances up at the screen as the Mermaid sisters swirl together on the screen. The colours are pretty beautiful.]

Shh shh shh.

[That sure is General Hux of the First Order, shushing Rhys, in order to better hear this movie. He's listening intently now.]

[Well, Rhys did promise not to talk. He settles down a little onto the bed, watching king Triton have the first of many temper tantrums, while making sure that the popcorn is available to Hux, between them. ]

[Hux, almost imperceptibly, is frozen by the temper tantrum being thrown on screen. He's a bit pale, a bit angry, but currently hooked on what's going on onscreen.

He doesn't reach for the popcorn at all, and only takes an audible breath when the scene shifts]

[Rhys notices that Hux is gripped by the movie, but doesn't fully put together the pieces as to why.

He, on the other hand, feels more sympathy for Sebastian, who bumps and bonks his way through the sea bed, trying to keep up with Ariel on her way to her treasure trove.

She just doesn't see how a world that makes such wonderful things... could be bad.]

[Hux, for the first time since the movie started, gives an audible snort at that line and reaches for the popcorn without looking away]

[No, stay down there. It's better. He promises]

[Rhys, as a shrine making fanboy who longed to live up on a space station when he was a child, is pretty engaged engaged by Ariel's hoarding ways, and the deeper into the song she gets, the more he's gripped.

She's him, longing to reach Helios. Sasha, longing to leave Pandora. Vaughn and Yvette, dreaming about what they'll do when they get out of the rat race--

He steals a glance at Hux, wondering if he ever longed to escape the First Order for something or somewhere better, or if the song seems alien to him.]

[Such goes the magic of Disney, really; seeing yourself in the main character. For Hux, he's more jealous of the hoarding; military cadets aren't permitted contraband and he never had stashes. But he too is watching, empathizing with the desire to escape out from under an overbearing father and go somewhere up above - on his own ship, off planet, away from everything.

He doesn't notice Rhys looking at him]

[The song ends, Ariel swims to the surface - so forbidden, but so tantalising - and far from the horrors that her father feared, there are fireworks! There's a ship!

There's a prince...

Rhys lets out a low whistle when Erik appears on screen. He sees where this is going.]

[Hux, on the other hand, looks to Rhys at the whistle, completely clueless as to these kinds of tropes]

What?

She's gonna get that.

[Partly Rhys is saying this because he was a teenager once, and right now he is Ariel.

And teenage Rhys would have at least made a compelling effort to get that.]

[An utterly blank look back]

What, the man?

[is that what merpeople do?]

He can't breathe underwater and she can't go on land. She'll dry out or he'll drown.

Yeah, it would be impossible for them to ever live together, they're from completely different worlds...

[Rhys remarks, still watching the screen.]

But look at her face. Look how much she wants him...

[Maybe he's playing a big dumb here, because Hux so clearly doesn't see where it's going.]

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