Work Text:
Early
Ren took Hux's hands, stepping close to him. "Want to dance, your Majesty?" They always danced together when they went to large gatherings. Once a few couples were out on the floor, and others were steadily joining in, he would always ask. They hadn't been to a gala as large as this one in a while, so it would be the perfect chance before Hux was put on bedrest and then confined to the palace for recovery.
So he was disappointed when Hux didn't lean in to agree. Hux looked down at his heavy belly. "I'm not feeling up to it. The medics said I shouldn't be doing too much physical activity."
"We won't do anything too strenuous."
"I said I didn't want to, Ren. Can you go get me some water? I don't feel well." He didn't look sick at all, just tired. "Thank you." Frowning, Ren went off to get him a drink.
-
Hux could see that Ren was taking his time getting drinks, watching as he drank a short glass of some sort of brandy. If he wasn't pregnant, he would have liked to try some as well. According to the other guests, it was expensive and very strong, hence the small glasses it was served in.
He winced when he saw Ren knock back a second glass as a waiter droid came back to the table and poured a glass of water. Water hadn't been offered on the table, just alcoholic drinks. Ren had a low threshold for alcohol, and got drunk easily. With how strong these little drinks were, he'd be intoxicated soon enough.
Ren wasn't fun to be around when he was drunk. Hux had learned that early on in their relationship. He'd mistakenly believed the man when he said Force sensitives didn't get drunk easily. The opposite was true, and the night hadn't ended well. Ren got aggressive when he wasn't sober, losing his anger management, and didn't listen.
His back twinged with pain, and he rubbed it with one hand. The pain spread to his belly, and he felt miserable. Practice contractions had been wearing him down all week, and today was the worst for them by far. He'd been having them frequently the past few hours, and started to feel sick. His skin felt hot, and all his clothes felt restricting. He'd started sweating a while ago, but no one had noticed, or maybe they just assumed it was the warmth of the room combined with his jacket.
The babies kicked, and he sighed. He'd be glad once the babies were out and he didn't have to feel so awful all the time.
Ren came back with a glass of water, and he took it, thanking him again. The cool water was heavenly, although it didn't mesh well with his nausea. He ignored the sick feeling.
After a few minutes of silence between them, Ren asked, "Are you sure you don't want to dance? It'll be fun."
"I'm sure." He took another sip of water. "I don't feel well, so I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to dance."
"Don't feel well how?"
"My back hurts, and I keep getting cramps." Before he could continue, he saw Ren rolled his eyes. "What?"
"That's it? You've been feeling that way for the past few months. Haven't you gotten used to it? You're so weak, ever since you got pregnant you haven't been fun anymore. Your back always hurts, or you're tired, but you're never too unwell to boss me around or complain. It's miserable."
Well, that stung. Hux could feel a lump building in his throat, and silently cursed his hormones. "I- I see. I'm going to go sit down."
"Fine."
He hurried away as quickly as he could, and went to an empty table. The tears started falling soon after he sat down, and he bit his lip to keep from making any noise. Ren was always mean when he was drunk, but it still hurt. He knew Ren would apologize and say he didn't mean what he said later, but there had to be truth to his words, or else he wouldn't think to say it.
His belly cramped again, and it hurt even more. He held it and frowned. He hoped he wasn't in labor, it would be too early. His due date wasn't for another nine weeks, and the medics didn't want him giving birth before he hit week 36. He debated going to a medcenter, but didn't want to bother Ren with a false alarm.
"Emperor, are you alright?" Hux looked up to see that someone from the gathering had approached him, looking concerned. Multiple people were staring at him, and his face heated up. Of course everyone was staring at him, he looked pathetic, crying at a table all by himself.
"I'm fine- I... I just feel a bit ill, that's all. I just need to lie down, perhaps." He wiped his eyes, sniffling. They didn't look convinced. They seemed a bit familiar, and then he recognized her. The host's daughter. "Your father's gathering is very nice, I'm enjoying myself here."
"I'll escort you to the sickbay, Sir. It isn't very big, but we have a nice medical droid." She pulled him up, and his stomach protested at the movement. Thankfully, he didn't vomit. She led him out of the room and down a hallway. The infirmary really just was a small room, with a single bed. He sat down on it when she tugged him to it. The droid automatically turned on when they entered the room, so by the time he was sitting, it was ready to examine him, beeping.
It chirped an inquiry to the girl, and she responded, "I'm not sure. He doesn't look well, and he says he feels sick. He's expecting..."
"I just need to rest."
"Would you like me to fetch Lord Ren while Ema tends to you?" The droid had a MA-01 label on it. He'd never seen this style of medical droid, perhaps it was custom. "She'll take good care of you, I promise!" The droid scanned him.
Ren would probably have plenty to say about him being in the medbay for nothing. Although his husband was usually a comfort, Hux didn't feel like having more reason to cry. "No, leave him be." There was another cramp, and he held back a grunt. He hated how long they lasted, almost a minute.
The droid beeped its diagnosis, and Hux's heart dropped. "I can't be in labor!" It beeped back that he was dilating and experiencing contractions. "I'm not due for nine weeks!" He panted, still in pain. Premature labor, the droid corrected itself.
He could feel the tears coming back. He shouldn't have listened to Ren, he should have stayed home and taken bed rest like the medics kept recommending. They had told him twins were prone to early births, and had supplies ready in case. This infirmary didn't even have the supplies for a normal birth.
"There's a full medcenter nearby, Ema, can we take him to that?" The droid beeped affirmatively at her, giving her praise for the great suggestion. "Ema, you call the medcenter and tell them to prepare, I'll go get one of the guards to fly you there!" There were stormtroopers posted around the building, replacing the usual security.
Although he trusted his men, he didn't really want one ordinary trooper to be tasked with flying him. Because he would be in a room with a lot of people, his top security came with him. Phasma would be in the main hall, most likely already looking for him. "Get Captain Phasma," Hux told her. "She's in chrome armor, in the hall."
She nodded, and darted off. The droid finished sending a message and cooed at him, telling him to lie back and relax. A message pinged, and the droid checked it. The medcenter would get a room for him when he arrived.
The droid took his vitals as they waited, giving small chirps as reassurance. It moved out of the way when Phasma arrived with two of her men. Much to his dismay, Phasma lifted him up when she came in. He hated when Ren did it, and it turned out he hated it even more when anyone else did.
She put him down when they got to the speeder, and the two troopers hopped in the back. She drove, and Hux didn't like that her flying was almost as reckless as Ren's. Vaguely, he recalled that she and Ren had used to fly together on missions. All he could do was focus on breathing, not panicking, and keeping a tight grip on the seat.
"Alert Lord Ren of the Emperor's location," Phasma told her troopers as they landed.
He tried not to pay attention to what was happening around him until he was being set down on a bed. Public medcenters made him uneasy, and he didn't want to see people staring at him. Calming down was easier once a doctor was tending to him, putting an IV in his arm.
"Has your water broken, sir?"
"No."
"That's good. We should be able to stop the contractions without any difficulty, then."
"Will my babies be alright?"
"I'll have a droid scan them. They should be fine. Just relax, and don't push or move too much."
-
The contractions had stopped, and the medical droid said that the twins were perfectly healthy, not at all bothered by the fact they'd almost been born early. He was exhausted, physically and mentally. Ren had shown up, according to a medic, but he wasn't allowed to have visitors yet, especially not intoxicated ones. He'd been disappointed to hear that. Ren, even drunk, wouldn't try to insult him if he was genuinely not well, so he wanted to see him.
"Stay as still as possible for the rest of the day, and alert the medical staff if you feel any more contractions. You'll need to take bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy, Emperor. No lifting anything heavier than a stylus until told otherwise, and you may only get up to use the refresher, and I recommend you have your husband or a droid help you."
"Is Ren still in the waiting room?"
"Yes. He's disturbing the peace of the area, but won't leave. Somehow, he knows the basics of why you're in here, despite us not telling him. Would you like me to give him the full report?" He nodded. Hopefully, that would calm him down.
"Tell him to be quiet if he comes to see me, I'm very tired."
"You're not allowed visitors yet."
"That's not going to stop him once he knows my treatment is finished." He still had the IV putting medicine in his arm, but once it was done he'd be completely finished.
Still not convinced, the medic left. Hux sighed, closing his eyes. He put a hand on top of his belly. The twins were squirming around. Ren had said they could sense how he was feeling, so Hux wondered if they were so calm because they knew he was tired and wanted to rest. It would also explain how Ren could get them riled up so easily.
He was just starting to doze off when the door slid open. Not wanting to be fully awake just yet, he kept his eyes closed. There were footsteps, and then someone gently took his hand. "Hux?"
Finally, he opened his eyes. Ren was looking down at him, worry etched in his features. One of the twins kicked. "I haven't been cleared for visitors."
"Are you alright?"
He wished he could sit up, but knew he wasn't supposed to move. "Yes, I'm just tired." He couldn't wait to get home and be back in their bed. It was far more comfortable, and Ren would be able to lie next to him. The medcenter bed was okay, but it was narrow and not as comfortable.
"Do you need anything? I could get you something from the vending machine." Although Hux appreciated the thought that Ren would use the Force to pull a snack from the vending machine, as he once confessed to doing, instead of just putting in some credits, he wasn't hungry.
"No. Just stay with me."