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Hux’s pace was brisk, the fastest he could possibly go without looking like he was running. The blaring fire alarm made his harried expression appear annoyed instead of actually concerned, pulling into an understanding grimace whenever he passed someone else. The threat had been contained, nothing more than a kitchen fire on the officer’s deck, likely the result of some idiot spilling grease or oil. When Hux found out who it was, that officer would find themselves quartering on a different level entirely. Possibly a different ship.
Protocol dictated the alarms remain active until the fire crew and droids had left, and it had been over an hour since this fiasco started. Far too long, and made worse by the fact that he’d been unable to leave the bridge until now. The alarm went off in all of the officer’s quarters as well, and there was no override to shut it off. He’d set the protocol himself, and now he regretted it with every fiber of his being.
Hux dared to jog the last few meters to his quarters, punching in the code and ducking inside as quickly as possible. Nothing looked immediately out of place, at least. Taking a deep breath, Hux hung up his greatcoat, tugged at the edges of his tunic, and crept deeper into his room, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment.
“Millicent,” he called out, though no answer came. She hated these alarms, and panicked easily if they startled her out of a restful sleep. To think she’d been enduring them for over an hour… he didn’t know what state he’d find her in. “Millicent, it’s alright, I’m here now.”
She wasn’t in the common area, or the kitchenette. Hux checked under his bed, in his closet, and in the fresher. There was no sign of her at all. With a headache now throbbing in tempo with the fire alarm, Hux methodically went over every inch of his quarters two more times, calling Millicent’s name with no success.
“No need to panic,” he said to himself, sitting down on the couch. Perhaps a mouse droid had come through, and she’d escaped through the maintenance tunnels. It had happened before, which was why he was prepared for just such a thing. Pulling up the remote tracker on his datapad, he was instantly relieved to see she had not gone far. Unfortunately, her signal was right next to the other creature he kept a tracking beacon on at all times.
It was entirely likely Millicent would be returned to him, unharmed, before the end of the cycle. He could just sit right here, avoid initiating contact, and claim he felt unwell. The latter wasn’t true, but he couldn’t lie to himself: unless Millicent was here, he wasn’t going to rest.
Resigned, Hux slipped his greatcoat back over his shoulders, fixed an indifferent expression on his face that did not belong to a man who’d been looking under furniture for a cat, and stepped out into the corridor. Three doors down and across the hall was as far as he had to go, stopping in front of Kylo Ren’s quarters. Sometimes the door opened in anticipation of his arrival, but when it remained stubbornly shut, mocking him, Hux gladly punched in his override code. He swept inside, and once the door slid shut behind him, he was met with --
Silence.
Confused, Hux looked at the door behind him, then forward again. His ears were ringing from the abrupt end of the fire alarm, and a quick check to his datapad showed the crew was still active, and so was the alarm. It should not be disabled, in any room, regardless of station or rank. Kylo had clearly overridden it somehow, and that would not stand.
Incensed by the abduction of his cat, and now the blatant disregard for safety protocol, Hux stalked into Kylo’s quarters, back straight and shoulders squared. His posture immediately deflated when he found Kylo, on all fours, in front of the couch. Balanced on his elbows, the fearsome Master of the Knights of Ren was drumming his fingers on the floor in a quick staccato, while an orange paw shot out from under the couch to try and swat at him.
Stunned, Hux watched as Millicent darted out from under the couch, ran a lap around the nearest chair, ricocheted off the coffee table, jumped onto the couch, then leapt onto Kylo, who had been in the middle of standing up. Millicent wound her way across his broad shoulders, whiskers brushing his face as Kylo reached up to scratch behind her ears. Neither of them looked surprised to see Hux.
“What in the hells is going on here?” Hux demanded, once he found his voice. Kylo’s expression shuttered, though he hadn’t been smiling outright. Millicent meowed.
“You mentioned Millicent gets stressed out if the alarms go off,” Kylo said. “So, I took her somewhere quiet.”
“I don’t recall granting you, or anyone else for that matter, an override to turn off the mandatory alarm,” Hux snapped, and Kylo’s expression darkened further.
“I improvised.”
“And you couldn’t have shut off the alarm in my quarters? Wouldn’t that have been simpler?”
“You’re the one always complaining that I shouldn’t tamper with your things. Or ‘stay beyond my welcome.’”
Hux was already flushed with frustration, but now his face felt burning hot. How dare he? “Yes, so kidnapping Millicent was somehow the logical conclusion you arrived at, then?”
Kylo snorted, then reached up to pull Millicent off of his shoulders. Rather than hiss and claw at him, which was what she usually did, she allowed herself to be manhandled until Kylo was cradling her like a baby. Kylo looked down at her, expression serious while he scratched her belly. “I told you he’d be ungrateful.”
Before Hux could respond, Kylo turned his back on him and walked away. Hux dithered for a moment, then realized he’d been left alone in the room with that creepy Darth Vader effigy, and hurried after Kylo. He had retreated to the kitchen, where he set Millicent down on the counter. She trilled at Kylo, tail high and whiskers twitching towards him. Had she even noticed Hux was here?
“It’s not that I’m ungrateful,” Hux started, watching as Kylo turned away from Millie to tend to something on the stove. Unbelievable. The entire level was on alert because of a kitchen fire, and here was Kylo Ren, doing everything that went against protocol. As usual. “You can’t seriously --”
“Are you hungry?” Kylo interrupted, looking at him over his shoulder. “It’s those noodles you like.”
Millicent meowed again, and Hux realized she had been staring at him, standing at the edge of the counter with her tail swishing back and forth. Well, this wasn’t going to get any weirder, he supposed.
“Yes, I - I am hungry,” he said, reaching out his hand and letting Millie push her face into his palm. She pawed at him, and he picked her up, holding her against his chest as she purred. “I’m surprised. Is all.”
It was a flimsy excuse for an apology, but Kylo had done worse. Way worse.
“By what?” Kylo asked without looking, straining the noodles before transferring them back into the pot.
That you cared about Millicent. There had to be more to the story, and there almost always was when Kylo Ren was concerned. For right now, though, he didn’t care to know it.
“Well, you two have never gotten along.” It was one reason they often took their private business back to Kylo’s quarters. For all of Ren’s magic powers and physical prowess, it had only taken one incident with Millicent’s claws to sour Ren against her. She’d only been defending Hux from what she thought was a violent attack, and Hux couldn’t possibly be angry at her about it. Kylo, on the other hand, had taken it as a personal offense. As annoying as it was, watching Kylo immediately about-face and demand they take their business elsewhere when Millie was already sitting on the bed was entertaining.
“We came to an agreement.” Kylo had mixed in the sauce and the spices, and measured out equal portions into two bowls. He set them on the counter between them, so Hux bent to let Millicent down onto the floor. She stayed close, sitting by his feet with her tail wrapped around his ankle.
“I sincerely hope that doesn’t mean you had to meddle with her brain,” Hux said, spinning some noodles onto his fork and lifting them up to let them cool. Kylo had stuffed a forkful of noodles into his mouth already, rendering him unable to respond, so he just glowered at Hux. Apparently Kylo was in the mood to exchange barbs, but only he was allowed to be offended by them, and Hux was wrong to even say anything.
Swallowing and wiping his mouth, Kylo said: “A lot of animals are susceptible to Force suggestions and control. Millicent is not one of them.”
Hux absolutely could not resist a smile at that, beaming down at Millicent, who was now rubbing herself against his legs. He should have known that, considering the way Kylo shied away from her if she spotted him and puffed herself up, ready to strike. Feeling proud and smug, Hux finally took a bite of his noodles, and barely suppressed moan.
Kylo was definitely up to something. He’d saved Millicent from anxious torture, and now he’d made Hux’s favorite dish. Besides rations and the colorless paste they served in the mess, Hux occasionally rewarded himself with these noodles, ordered from the officer’s kitchen. Once Kylo had figured that out, he’d started making them, but he made them so much better. His travels were evident in the collection of spices he kept, and whatever else he added just made the flavor exquisite.
When he went in for another bite, he caught the look on Kylo’s face, which was equally smug.
“While I am grateful, despite what you think, I’m still suspicious,” Hux said, blowing softly on his noodles. Kylo stared at Hux’s pursed lips for longer than might be socially acceptable. At least it distracted him from being offended by whatever Hux said.
“I’d ask why, but I’ve seen your mind. No good deed goes unpunished, according to you.” Kylo shoved more noodles into his mouth, chewing loudly like the barbarian that he was, an animal to the very end.
Millicent jumped up onto the counter, the bell on her collar making more noise than her movement. Anticipating her intentions, Kylo picked up his bowl of noodles and held it out of her reach when she moved in to investigate.
“Did you feed her?” Hux asked, pressing his lips together to keep from smiling as Kylo raised the bowl above his head, and Millie put her front paws on his chest. If she had her claws out, Kylo didn’t flinch, though Hux knew from experience just how many layers Kylo wore.
Kylo shook his head. “I don’t know where you keep her food. Besides, getting a spooked cat to eat wasn’t the first of my priorities.”
Hux reached across the counter and pulled Millie off of Kylo, bending to set her down on the floor again. She mewled unhappily, running around the counter to wind between Kylo’s legs, likely looking for another opening.
They finished their standing dinner in silence, and Hux was content, for once, to let his suspicions lie. Kylo Ren had taken care of his cat and fed him, without any sign of ulterior motive. Moments like these were rare enough without him interrogating Kylo and his intentions. They’d reveal themselves before long. They always did.
Millicent made it up onto the counter again at the same time Hux’s datapad chimed. Hux set down his empty bowl, and Millicent crept closer, whiskers trembling as she stuck her whole face in there to claim her prize. Finding very little to lick up but leftover sauce, she turned her attention back to Kylo.
“The fire crew is finished.” Hux swept the notification off of his datapad, pocketing it and reaching for Millicent. Kylo was in the middle of licking his bowl clean, somehow managing both that and picking up Hux’s bowl, taking them to the sink. With Millicent in his arms and nothing to stop him, Hux decided they ought to make their escape now. “I’m certain Millicent’s worked up quite an appetite after the day she’s had. Best to get that sorted now.”
“I’ll walk you back to your quarters,” Kylo said, stepping after him.
“Why?” Hux asked, and Kylo faltered, looking as though he’d been caught red-handed. Hux realized Kylo was likely providing some sort of social custom from his Republican upbringing, and reminders of his past life sometimes snuck up and hit him hard. Now was not one of the times Hux intended to throw it in his face. “Nevermind,” he said quickly. “Let’s go.”
Hux turned and walked through the door without looking back, assuming Kylo would follow. After a few steps he heard the door close, and was relieved to hear Kylo’s heavy footfalls behind him. The corridor was blessedly empty and silent for the short walk, and Millicent jumped out of his arms as soon as they were inside Hux’s quarters. Hux could feel Kylo looming into his space, and then the heat of his hand on the small of his back. Hux licked his lips; apparently they were coming to the part where Kylo really did expect reciprocation.
Before Kylo could presume to take control of the situation, Hux spun around to face him, hands immediately latching onto Kylo’s biceps. He easily rebuffed Kylo’s attempt to kiss him by pushing him away with his nose, and Kylo huffed, tipping up his chin as though he were giving Hux permission to do as he pleased. They were so close now Hux could see the pasta sauce Kylo had failed to wipe off of his face, and he leaned in to drag his tongue under Kylo’s lower lip to lick it off.
Kylo’s lips parted, then closed around Hux’s tongue on the next pass. Hux dug his fingers into the meat of Kylo’s biceps, deepening the kiss, and Kylo’s hand had just settled on the curve of his ass when he heard the growl, and felt Kylo twitch.
They broke apart and looked down. Millicent had both paws on the shin of Kylo’s boot, claws out, leaving little indentations in the leather. Her tail lashed back and forth, indignant. Kylo sighed, then looked back to Hux. “Goodnight, general.”
“Goodnight, Ren,” Hux said, letting his arms drop as Kylo backed away. Millicent set her paws back on the floor, then sat primly next to Hux, watching Kylo until the door closed behind him, and he was gone.
Millicent meowed in protest when Hux picked her up, but she accepted it with grace nonetheless. He carried her into the kitchenette and set her on the counter. She watched him sort through the pantry until he came back with her food, purring when he scratched her head as he set her food dish down in front of her.
“You’re up to something, same as Ren” he said, as she tucked in, tail curled high over her back. That she’d tolerated Kylo for over an hour was telling. He trusted her judgement more than he trusted Kylo, but this little incident may have added a few points in Kylo’s favor. Millicent paused in her meal, looking up at him with luminous green eyes. “But for you, I won’t question it.”