Chapter Text
"Supreme Leader," the storm trooper tries unsuccessfully. "The General will be out in a minute..."
"I don't have time for this!" Kylo throws the door open with the Force. He doesn't have time to wait for Hux to finish cleaning his boots or ironing his uniform, or whatever he's doing.
Kylo has never before set foot in Hux's quarters. Actually the personal life of the man, if he even has one, is pretty much a mystery to him. But that is probably vice versa.
"What is that?" Kylo asks incredulously.
Hux gives him a harassed look. "It's a mammal commonly found on Arkanis." he explaines matter-of-factly as always. "It's farmed primarily for it's wool."
"I see." Kylo replies measuredly, while still staring at the large fluffy plush toy sitting on Hux's bed.
"My mother gave it to me." Hux adds tersely.
And now Kylo sees it. The traces of use that show the age of the stuffed animal, the fur slightly matted and knotted by age and washing.
"Well then, General." There are so many things he wants to ask.
"I'll be at the bridge in a minute."
*
The first time he does it, it's a joke. Not to mention that the poor guy running the store nearly died while the Supreme Leader of the First Order riffled through his assortment of plush toys.
"It's a mammal common on Chandrila." Kylo tells Hux, mimicking his terse and professional tone. "Farmed mostly for it's meat."
Hux looks, for a moment, as if he's going to explode with anger. Then he schools his features, gripping the plush animal that Kylo just tossed him, tighter and speaks perfectly poised, "That seems wasteful. Unless this model is widely embellished, it seems only prudent to also use the fur."
Kylo watches with amusement and grudging respect as Hux walks out, the animal under his arm as if it were his uniform hat, and none of the soldiers even dare to gawk.
*
The next time it's simply an itch he gives in to.
"It's a carnivorous predator." He throws Hux the sabertoothed, orange furred fluffy toy. "It's not farmed for anything. It's not even hunted. Reminded me of you, General."
*
There's a murderous grin on Hux's face, as he quickly bows, one hand behind his back, and then takes a few strides towards him.
Kylo catches the item thrown at him with the Force.
"Since you deigned to bestow me with tokens of your esteem," Hux says through his teeth. "Here's a token of my respect... Supreme Leader. It's a–"
"I know what it is!" Kylo hisses, grabbing the plush BB-8 model out of the air, while wondering if their subordinates consider them mad by now.
The thing is though, he kinda likes it. Picking the BB-8 model is a low blow. But still... Kylo has a soft spot for droids. And it is... cute.
Instead of ending up in the garbage it finds a spot on Kylo's desk. And he doesn't feel quite so alone anymore when he returns to his quarters at night.
*
He gives Hux a rock creature next, covered in grey fur, with glittery huge eyes that do not represent it's natural image at all. He gets a plush wookie in return. And that of course is a dig at his parentage.
*
They go overboard a little, after that. Kylo has a mobile custom made, with a deathstar in the middle surrounded by smaller planets. If switched on, other than spinning, the deathstar sends lightbeams to each of the planets in turn. Not that Hux will ever know, since the thing will probably go straight to the trash.
*
Hux isn't intimidated, and in turn gives him a music box made with actual kyber crystals where a Jedi and a Sith fight when you open it, while a rather jovial song plays.
*
The next time Kylo enters Hux's quarters is after he's had a vision of an assassination attempt on the general. What he finds, besides the dispatched assassin and Hux only in his underwear, are... the assorted plush animals he gave him, in a neat row against the headboard of Hux's bed.
What follows is a standoff of staring at each other. Hux wins, he doesn't even blink, face perfectly expressionless, standing there beside a bed full of fluffy creatures who smile at them with huge eyes.
Kylo accepts his defeat, for now. When he goes to look for first aid supplies for the wound Hux sustained, the other tries to stop him when he's about to enter what, according to the layout, would be a supply closet. According to Hux's mild hysteria he expects plans for a coup d'etat. What he finds, though, is the mobile hanging from the ceiling.
Hux tries to push him out but instead hits the lightswitch with his ellbow. Immediately the mobile starts spinning, sending tiny flares of light to the respective planets.
They stare at each other again.
"I think my wound is more severe than initally thought." Hux says, head held high. "I consider it necessary to go to med bay. You should leave."
*
"What makes you think you could anger me with these things?" Hux asks snidely. "Maybe I love them."
"Do you?" Kylo replies, equally snide.
"Of course." Hux says both cold and gleeful. "Each of those gifts is a priceless token of appreciation."
"Well, then I'll keep giving them to you." Kylo retorts voiced like a threat. "It's the least I can do for my most treasured subordinate."
They glare at each other for a moment longer.
*
"Supreme Leader!" Hux rushes into his room.
Kylo actually gawks, because he's deep in his sleep cycle and also chewing on his plush wookie as it turns out. He feels vaguely out of sorts as he sits in his bed, only in his sleep clothes, trying to spit out wookie hair as subtly as possible while Hux stands there in full uniform.
"What is it, General?" he asks, coughing slightly.
"We received a transmission you should take a look at."
Kylo makes haste to get up, but instead knocks the music box off his bed side table, which starts playing immediately, uncaring of the general awkwardness in the room.
"You do me too much honor, Supreme Leader." Hux states with a somber face, before spluttering laughter breaks out of him. That takes Kylo more by surprise than anything before.
He feels like he should say something vaguely threatening or derisive, instead he starts laughing too.
*
"Are we still enemies?" Kylo asks out of the blue.
"I couldn't say." Hux replies at a loss.