Chapter Text
Hot. This planet is much too hot.
Nobody liked a hot planet, except for his guide. Rey seemed to thrive here as well as anything. She’s from Jakku, it’s basically a sister planet to this.
As they walked through the coarse and rough sand, Hux couldn’t help himself but keep glancing at Rey’s satchel, wondering what had happened. His curiosity always got the better of him in the end, even now.
Rey had gone out with two bundles at her side wrapped in cloth, but they were both gone now. And not to mention the new, industrial looking lightsaber she had on her hilt. Hux had many questions, but he would never willingly ask them to a Jedi, much less one as oddly intimidating as Rey. To satiate his mind, he came to the conclusion that she’d left them there with someone. But then again, who would you trust two ancient lightsabers too but a fellow Jedi?
Hux sighed inwardly to himself and directed his attention to Ben, who he was walking slightly behind, not one to be comfortable around him yet. Ben was holding a light conversation with Rey, talking about Maker knows what. Probably new Jedi Force tricks I bet, Hux thought bitterly. There was absolutely no need for them to ever exist in the first place.
The heat was getting to him and he just wished they would make it to whatever building they were going to already. Tatooine or however it was called was simply another desolate, barren, sand-filled wasteland to him, and he had no desire to be there. Desert planets were easily his least favourite kind of planet to venture to, though that would easily change if he was ever forced to dock on a planet filled with nothing but lava lakes.
Hux fought against the urge to speak up, at least a little thankful that he was being tortured and cooked alive in a dry heat, so he didn’t have to be constantly wiping his face from sweat. There, he was being positive for once. Good for me, he thought sarcastically. Wouldn’t Phasma be proud of me.
“Ah, there it is,” said Rey suddenly, speaking loud enough for Hux to hear from behind her. He perked up at her soothing voice.
Hux followed her gaze towards a short- yet reasonably wide- building, seemingly made out of what looked to be clay. It had a small canopy in front of it with a single occupied table, blessing it’s surroundings with a hint of shade. Even from the outside, Hux could tell the building was reasonably filled to the brim. I guess even people who were foolish enough to settle down here need a break from the heat. Is it some sort of store?
Hux took a pace forward to stand at almost their side and squinted against the western-bound sun. Ben stepped to the side to make room for him. “What are we doing here?” he asked.
“Celebrating,” replied Rey, smiling to herself as she nudged the two men with her towards the entrance.
“Celebrating what?”
Hux never got a reply. Fine then.
He followed the two of his companions into the building, silently relishing in the shade. It even seemed to have some form of lesser air conditioning installed. Appreciate the little things, that was for sure.
Hux followed Rey and, subsequently, Ben, around the over crowded building, not letting them out of his eye sight for even a moment. If he were to lose them in here then he would be doomed. He bit back multiple angry retorts directed towards the patrons who had the gall to bump into him and took a seat next to a stone wall, Ben and Rey to his right. Three free seats in a row at a full bar in the height of the day's heat; what a miracle.
The stone next to him seemed to retain a cooler temperature then the rest of the stuffy, arid building. Hux leaned the side of his head against it and fell into a heavenly bliss. How on Arkanis is Ben not dying? he thought to himself. Rey I can understand, but Ben?
Hux sighed and looked over to his right, catching sight of the two Jedi beside him having another personal conversation. Ben seemed as awkward as a private on their first day; he was fidgeting and grinning like a maniac. Hux wanted to seethe. Such a powerful and deadly man was reduced to a babbling idiot in front of the girl who saved his life. Or was it vice-versa in the saving of lives department? Their story of Exegol was too confusing for Hux to understand; too many contradictions and unbelievable acts from Ben.
“Why don’t you tell her about the time you went on a tantrum and destroyed an entire circuit board room?” Hux dryly joked, unable to stand the idiotic side of Ben any longer. “Don’t forget the part where the entire west half of Starkiller was without heating for a day, and you know how cold that planet got.”
“Hux!” Ben chastised, looking to him with confusion.
“Stop embarrassing yourself for her sake.”
“But I’m not embarrassing myself, I’m just being comfortable and friendly,” Ben explained. “You should try and be friendly too, if you want, that is.”
“I’m not the type,” he simply answered. “When are we ordering drinks? Or am I just here to sit and watch you two ogle over each other?”
Rey glanced at him from across the counter, seemingly unaware of Hux’s growing annoyance- the key word being seemingly. “I was just waiting for the tender to be free. What would you like?”
“Water,” Hux said, feeling more and more crabby.
“... I’ll just have what you’re having,” Ben added quietly, not wanting to flare up Hux anymore than he already was with a dumb order. Anything could set that man off.
Hux went back to leaning against the wall while waiting for his- most likely- lukewarm pond water. Yes, that would be just good enough for a man like him. Every single thing about desert dominated planets was horrid, even down to the little bit of liquid they were graced to have. Do they have moisture farming as a business here? They must, seeing how I haven’t seen a single sandy puddle or slough since we got here.
Rey stifled a laugh and Hux bit back an annoyed groan. He hadn’t even needed to come on this “mission” really- but he didn’t exactly have a choice. Rey had no reason to drag him along besides the fact that Ben had asked for him to accompany them. He still wanted to be friends and make up for their past wrongdoings. Hux secretly hoped that he would never get out of his “suck up and apologize to be forgiven” phase. It was incredible to be treated like a higher up when he was now some mix of a prisoner and Resistance recruit, especially when the man giving him respect was his old superior. It was definitely splendid.
Hux couldn’t help but sneak a side eye at Ben, noticing that not only were their drinks all being passed out, but that he was yet again acting like a fool for Rey. I couldn’t have acted like that in my attraction, could I? Hux thought. Or is that just how I wanted to act? Realizing how stupid that sounded, Hux cursed himself. He dropped his train of thought and began to sip at his drink, noting that it wasn’t exactly half bad. Though, it was just plain water. Pretty hard to mess that up.
He just wanted to go back on the ship and to his holding cell. It was cool and lush on that pretty planet, and the company was just slightly better than what he was currently getting. At the very least, he knew he could rest assured that Millicent was being well cared for. Poe Dameron nearly adopted her right out of his own arms. He could understand. Millicent was an excellent cat; much more sophisticated and proper than other felines he’d met. That’s what you get when you raise a cat with manners.
Putting his glass back down on the counter, Hux tugged on his collar. It was muggier inside the building than out, and uncomfortable sweat was beginning to build up around his neck. He stole another glance around the parlor and decided to stand up and clear his head. His mouth was no longer dry and he felt less moody already, why shouldn’t he have a look around? Despite his predisposed opinions on this planet aside, it was always interesting to learn about foreign cultures. It made them easier to deal with later on.
“I’m not leaving,” he said to either Ben or Rey before he turned around. “I’m just having a wander.”
Neither of them responded. Hux pulled his hand back and rested it by his side, stalking off to explore. Explore- now that was a childish word. No, he wasn’t exploring, he was doing reconnaissance for the benefit of the doubt. There, that sounded better.
Hux kept a disinterested look on his face and raised his shoulders. He was not afraid of the tenants of this backwater bar, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. The Resistance hadn’t yet found out about his hidden knife compartment in his great coat sleeve, and luckily for him, he never seemed to go anywhere without it. That coat was part of his new identity, both figuratively and very literally. He still felt impressed by Poe’s sewing job.
Not many creatures paid him mind as he perused them. Tatooine was certainly no stranger to diversity. There were even some species here that Hux was not entirely familiar with; he made note to research them later. He quite liked having the ability to explain almost anything to someone. There were quite a few other humans lounging around as well. Makes sense. Only we’d be idiotic enough to colonize a wasteland such as this.
Lost in his thought momentarily, Hux stood against a wall in a more secluded corner of the building. The public board was fine to lazily gaze over, at least until he got to the right end of it. He was only faintly aware of the gazes transfixed onto him. He didn’t care for them; they would only become important in a few minutes, which was definitely not important in the present. Hux stared at the slips of worn paper opposite to him with a evident disdain.
It was obvious what the cluster of posters used to be, but it still gave Hux a sick reminder that made his throat itch. Most of them had faded by now, littered with graffiti, marker, unidentifiable liquids, and the likes. Outlines of spaceships and men dressed in white armour and black coats invaded his eyes and Hux fought to keep looking. In the center of the flyers stood a relatively clean and fresh poster, bigger than the others and more defined with an unmistakable face. His face.
A grim reminder of his ever so recent past was what they were. The First Order was no stranger to propaganda in any sense. They were always tiring out their poster star men with photoshoots showing his glorious the Order actually was- glamorizing and lying all about it in an effort to radicalize more and more unsuspecting citizens. Of those men, Hux had been the star. Seemingly a strange job for a man of his stature, but with a small bit of thinking, it was plain to see why Snoke had handed him the job, and Ben let him keep it.
A man such as the old Ben, Kylo, would have been a foolish choice, even with him being arguably one of the most powerful figures in the First Order. But a man like Hux, now that was an excellent choice. You couldn’t well and go out having the incredibly terribly known and murder happy monster being your poster boy; it just wouldn’t appeal to the people’s tastes. You needed a cold, tactical looking man who had just enough looks to draw the viewer in. They needed to look like the common man as well, as that would convince a weak mind that they too could become a General. Bantha-brains, the lot of them. Only I could have succeeded like I did.
Hux bored into his own eyes, disgusted and embarrassed. He tightened his fist and ripped the paper down, ignoring the bright red text plastered over it in all kinds of languages. ‘Murderer’. He flushed despite himself. How immature.
A murderer he was- he accepted that fact very easily- but he would not have anyone refer to him as if that’s how he still was. Rey was making her own honest effort to help him. Against his usual self, he respected that, and he respected her as well. She would help him make up for at least the smallest percentage of what he did in his life; try as she might, nothing could ever truly redeem him. Nothing at all. That didn’t matter to him in the big picture though.
He gripped the ludicrous propaganda tightly in his fist, ripping it into split shreds unintentionally. Hux steadied his breathing and stuffed the paper into the front pocket of his pants, lent to him by Dameron. I would have thought they’d be ecstatic at the fact w- the First Order was dead and they could take these things down, he thought to himself, feeling sick to his strong stomach. He had to get back to Ben and Rey lest he make more of a scene.
Hux kept his gaze low and began to walk back to his companions before he was nearly tripped onto his front by a stray leg. He whipped around to reprimand whoever had done it, not frightened by the fact that two larger figures stood behind his half-assailant. They glared back at him, clearly unhappy.
“You a dumbass or what?” asked the front man, a smaller framed blue humanoid with piercing red eyes.
Hux immediately identified him as a member of the chiss species, though definitely undersized. I’ve never seen a chiss besides Grand Admiral Thrawn, he thought, a little awe-struck. “A what?” he answered.
“A dumb-frickin-ass,” the chiss boy repeated, accentuating each syllable. He was clearly annoyed, thought his short stature made it harder to take it seriously. “What you do that for?”
“Do what?”
“Take the poster down, idiot! Are you a sympathiser to those dead criminals or what? We don’t like First Order sympathisers on Tatooine.”
“I assume they aren’t liked anywhere.”
The chiss boy smirked and made a strange hand signal to the tall armoured figure behind him. “You’d assume right. Look, we have that poster up as a reminder that murderers get what they deserve. The whole lot of them are dead, you better not be next.” As if on cue, he caught notice of Hux’s similarity to, well, himself. He stood up as tall as he could and watched Hux warily. “What’s your name, and why are you here?”
“Rax,” Hux immediately answered, “and I’m here on personal business with friends. They’re waiting for me, I just thought I’d fix the eyesore before I got back to them.”
“I’m sure they won’t mind missing your company for a few minutes longer, Rax. That’s a funny name, it doesn’t seem to suit you.”
What an observation. Hux was beginning to feel annoyed by the chiss boy and made a great effort to conceal it. “Then I don’t suppose I can have the pleasure of knowing your name as well?” he asked through a veil of curiosity. He couldn’t give a Loth Cats ass about this kid.
“It’s Lendor.”
Must be the abbreviation of his full name. Chiss have a very unique naming system. Hux tried to smile warmly but his irritation was biting at his heels. He nodded to Lendor before pushing past him- he took a quick moment to revel in how much larger he was than him- making his way back to Ben and Rey. By now they really would be wondering where he was. You didn’t just let a Resistance prisoner leave your sight for more than a few minutes. In fact, Hux thought he could hear Ben’s heavy footsteps already.
He stiffened as he felt a hand grab his shoulder. I’ll kill them and prove them right, he angrily thought, ignoring the fact that he was trying to not murder people anymore. Every life he spared would count to one in the late Hosnian system, so maybe he should wish to kill people more often and then not act upon it. Hux held his tongue and turned around, relishing in the fact that he didn’t have to rip Lendor’s hand off of him himself- the chiss had already done that. He shook his hand as if it were dirtied and scowled.
“You don’t quite seem like an honest man, Rax,” he said.
Hux idly held his greatcoat sleeve in one hand, itching to grab his hidden dagger. But the opportunity never came. Ben threw himself in front of him in an instant, blocking his view. “What’s happening?” he asked.
“Are you his friend?”
“I’m his companion, yes. Why are you bothering him?”
Lendor laughed. “Bothering him? We’re not bothering him. He’s bothering us! Why don’t you tell your buddy to give us the paper back so we can get our message clear, alright?”
“What paper?” Ben asked stupidly. Hux grudgingly handed the crumbled sheet to him and watched as he scanned it over. As predicted, Ben grew nervous at its sight as well. “You don’t want to have this up in the first place anyways,” he said slowly. “It should be banned. Nobody wants to see the First Order anymore… at least not us. And especially not propaganda.”
Speak for yourself, Hux jabbed. “I don’t need you to defend me. Leave it to me.”
“I’m not-”
“Yeah! Let me and Rax fight this out ourselves. I think he’s dying to punch my lights out,” Lendor squeaked. His two silent companions stayed exactly that way, not moving an inch- thought they did exchange a hungry look between each other. Hux itched for his knife.
“Ra…? Uhm, Rax isn’t the fighting type. I know that. We’ll be on our way if you don’t mind. We won’t bother you any longer,” Ben said, pushing Hux further behind him like he was protecting him.
Hux felt shame rise to his cheeks, giving the already burning redness of them a new vigour. Ben was stretched in front of him like an endless pillar with no way around. A pillar blocking his way. He tensed as an overflow of emotions hit him at once. He’s pitying me. Nothing good ever came out of pity.
“I think that I can quite handle myself on my own, Ben,” he snapped as he harshly shoved Ben aside. The man staggered sideways at the suddenness of it and nearly tumbled over, using the quickest of reflexes to balance himself again. At the last moment, he tripped on the air and fell down anyways- dropping the paper near Hux’s feet.
Hux froze in surprise and looked down at him, unable to hide the apologetic and confused look on his face. Ben kept his gaze and stood back up. “I’m just cautious,” he said, and, turning to Lendor and his friends, he added, “and we will be leaving. Excuse us.”
Ben gently nudged Hux as he passed him. Hux nodded briefly and slammed his boot down on the poster, rubbing it until it ripped in half. He glared down at Lendor and got an equally contemptuous look back. Grand Admiral Thrawn got my hopes up about the greatness of his people, he thought with aggravated venom. I would have thought we’d get to spill a little crimson on these dusted floors.
Hux quickly followed Ben, ignoring him and instead looking around for Rey so she could fly them off this miserable planet. She was there, waiting by the entrance to the building, seemingly having paid for everyone’s drinks. Lucky for Hux. He didn’t have a single credit to his name anymore.
She smiled as she saw Ben and headed out. He made a motion to catch up to her but stopped himself and stepped in pace with Hux. Hux held his breath. He was still absolutely appalled- not to mention embarrassed- by Ben’s act of “generosity” at saving him. He didn’t need saving! He didn’t need anyone’s pity. He never did and never will. Hux huffed with annoyance, just wanting to be back on the ship and on the way to Millicent again. This whole celebration Rey planned was awful and unnecessary. She hasn’t even told him why they came here, though, he suspected he’d never know. Why would she?!
“Rax?” Ben asked.
“What?”
“The name you told that blue man. Why Rax?”
“It’s just the name of someone I used to know.”
“Who was he?”
“It’s unimportant.” Hux grit his teeth and sighed. The shame was finally leaving his cheeks, only to be replaced by the sun yet again. His pasty skin was finally getting some colour after years in an air conditioned metal sphere.
He asked a question out of necessity. “Did you suddenly become as weak as a fletchling private or did I just catch you off guard for the first time?”
Ben only shrugged his shoulders, clearly confused as well. Hux carefully watched him with a curious eye. He tossed it off as Ben being too preoccupied with protecting him from the idiot chiss boy to be aware of him. I’ll never need you to defend me, he mentally said to Ben, knowing in his mind that the man was listening in. He hadn’t needed it before, and he would most definitely not need it now.
And don’t even begin to think of me as weaker, he thought with a disgusted taste. We’re both too smart for that, aren’t we, Ben? You know that. That’s the one think I like about you.