Work Text:
The General was thirty minutes late to his shift on the bridge, his officers had begun to worry two minutes after shift started. Hux was never late to his shifts, known for being both one of the first and last individuals on the bridge each day. The man was a workaholic to put it lightly, and frankly, Kylo Ren questioned how the general was still functioning at all.
An hour later, Ren watched the officers nearly descend into a panic. He had to school his face into a straight line, always lost without their general, he nearly smirked. Turning on his heel, he set to find out just what was going on.
He stood at Hux’s door waiting for a reply, but none came. Finding himself impatient, he overrode the command code, storming into Hux’s chambers ready to give him hell for whatever his reasoning was for not showing up today. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. Hux was passed out on his desk with his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, datapad screen blank and an unused stim lying beside him.
Kylo closed the next few paces to the desk quietly, examining the stim like it was going to bite him. So this was how the poor bastard did it. Kylo couldn’t say he was surprised, but he had supposed the energy was coming from the caf, not this unorthodox use of stimulants.
Hux needed sleep. Real, peaceful sleep, not this stuff on a desk. Kylo briefly considered injecting the stim into the general’s neck, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Hux looked so delicate like this. Hair falling over his forehead and into his eyes, facial expressions relaxed. Before Kylo realized what he was doing he was setting the stim back on the desk and was picking Hux up from his chair, having to shift him awkwardly as he adjusted for his weight. He may have been skinny, but he was heavier than he looked.
“Ren?” Hux mumbled, startled, “What are you—”
“Hux, you’re delirious, sleep,” he interrupted, lying him down.
“I was sleeping, damnit, before you so generously interrupted me.” Hux nearly scowled at him, but it was lost in his sleep-deprived features. He sighed and began unbuttoning his regulation shirt and Ren helped him out of it once he had finished. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what lie underneath, eyes widening as he saw his own work marring Hux’s pale skin. Bruises could be made out from under the thin material of his undershirt, peaking out near his shoulder and around his neck. Ren reached up to trail a finger down his neck and Hux flinched back, still under the daze of sleep that threatened to drag him back down.
“Hux I—“ Kylo started, at a loss for words.
“That’s enough,” Hux replied, softly, taking Kylo’s hand away from his neck with his own.
Ren ran his hand down Hux’s arm, turning his inner elbow just so he could catch a glance at the needle marks and wholly confirm his suspicion. Of course they weren’t injected into his neck, those could be seen too easily.
“What have you done to yourself?” Ren breathed, expecting no answer.
“Nothing more than you haven’t already done,” came a mumbled reply. “I’m surviving, Ren. What does it look like?”
Kylo glanced up to meet his eyes, but they were closed. Hux was so trusting when he was sleep-deprived, allowing Ren to be this close while he had his guard down. He often wondered what was inside Hux’s head, but did not have the willpower to breach his mind.
Ren watched as sleep engulfed him once again, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him. Eventually, he rose, setting the lights to 20 percent, leaving Hux to sleep.