Chapter Text
Emperor Kylo Ren was smiling at the viewport on the bridge of the Supremacy. Ever since he killed Snoke and took over, he made it his mission to rid the First Order of all the post-imperial vermin who were stuck in the past and would prevent the organization from reaching its full glory. The ship they were closing in on belonged to one of the worst cases he’d seen - and after over a decade of work, one of the last ones, too. Brendol Hux had been eluding him for a long time now but seeing the tractor beam pulling his ship into the hangar bay was a satisfying end to the chase. Kylo moved there too, waiting for their prisoners to arrive, feeling the waves of panic coming from them through the Force. It was delicious.
He waited the way he always did, in full uniform, draped in his cape, with his hood drawn over his helmet. Two of his knights stood behind him on both his sides, and the praetorian guards stood behind them. It exuded the right level of authority and intimidation, he thought, and nobody really saw him without his helmet anymore. He liked it that way.
He smirked when he saw Brendol Hux exit through the ramp with an entourage nearly matching Kylo’s own. The disgraced general was of course in the middle of it but the number of men in old uniforms trailing behind him would be impressive to a lesser man. Kylo paid them no attention.
“General Hux,” he purred through his vocoder. “We meet at last. I almost began worrying you’ve been avoiding me.”
Brendol Hux fell to his knees. Fear was emanating from him, making Kylo feel waves of pleasure as it hit him. Those cherished moments made the frustration of chasing these scoundrels worth it.
“Supreme Leader,” Brendol Hux began but could not get another word in.
“It’s Emperor, General Hux, in case your absence made the news miss you,” he said. To his surprise, a new sensation underlined the fear as he said it. A discordant feeling, one he did not fully expect and therefore did not immediately recognize. It threw him off balance for long enough to allow Brendol Hux speak again.
“Of course, my apologies, Emperor Ren,” he corrected himself. “I beg your forgiveness. All these years, I was under the impression I was no longer useful and did not desire to waste your time. If you have use for my services, it’d be my greatest pleasure to grant them.”
Kylo smiled under his mask. “Ah, yes. That certainly explains all of it, your evasive maneuvers, your shooting at our fighters, and your current cowering for your life. I know very well you’d gladly see me dead. I intend to make sure you die yourself before you can make that happen.”
Again there it was - a wave of fear but with something underneath, something growing stronger. He realized it was a feeling that was quite familiar to him. Satisfaction. The realization had him take his attention away from the man kneeling in front of him to the men behind him. Was there truly someone there who was so hateful towards Hux that he’d die himself if it meant this man’s demise?
He let Hux blabber on as he tried to see if any of the men behind him were showing anything to betray them but they mostly seemed to be hiding how scared they were, some better than others.
He shut Brendol up by slamming his face into the floor, observing how his entourage would react, and then he saw it. A twitch at the corner of a lip was the only indication but that was all he needed to lock his gaze on the youngest member of the group, a striking young man, tall and thin, with fiery hair and bright, emotionless eyes. He was the only one not wearing a full uniform, instead dressed in a long sleeved black turtleneck, black trousers, and knee high leather boots. He vaguely connected this style with that of an imperial cadet, despite the man being seemingly around Kylo’s age, maybe a little younger? His face concealed his age just as well as his feelings.
“If you want to be so helpful, perhaps you should start by telling me who are the people you bring here with you,” Kylo said eventually, walking closer to the cadet he identified. “You can start with this one.”
Behind him, Brendol Hux stood up to look who Kylo was referring to and, to his surprise, Kylo could sense annoyance now coming off Brendol. Clearly no love was lost between those two.
“Emperor Ren, this is my son, Armitage.”
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Ren said. Armitage Hux did not kneel or show fear, despite Kylo being quite close now. Instead, he held his head high and stared at Kylo with defiance. A life which Kylo would hate to cut short, he decided. His self-control was too fascinating to waste in such a way. “Not very well mannered, are you, Armitage?”
“The boy is a bit dense,” Brendol interjected and Armitage positively scowled. The first emotion he showed clearly. “He should know better than this but takes after his mother. I apologize and assure you he will take every punishment you deem fit, including taking his life.”
“Now, wouldn’t that be a shame,” Kylo Ren said, using the Force to push Brendol down to his knees. “You’d sacrifice your son for a chance to save your lousy existence?” Armitage glanced at Brendol and the quiet satisfaction on the young Hux’s face made Kylo want nothing more than to learn more about him. And he came up with an idea to give himself the time to do so while helping Armitage Hux get away from a man he so clearly detested. “You may yet have a chance. I’d like to keep him.”
That had Armitage look back to Ren, his face betraying no emotions and his feelings constrained even in the Force. Kylo could not wait to solve this puzzle.
“O-of course, my Lord,” Brendol said, clearly surprised. “But I am not sure he can be of much use. He is a slow learner and shows very little promise. I tried to put him through the officers academy to get him on the military track and the boy was just helpless. He is my son so his company brings me immeasurable joy, of course, but I am not sure if the same applies to anyone else.”
“I’ve wanted a pet for some time now,” Kylo smiles under his mask. That still got no reaction from Armitage but Kylo could worry about it later. For now, he was bored with this situation and doubted he could get more out of it. The waves of fear became dull now that he indulged in them for a while. He turned around and addressed his knights.
“Have the boy brought to a holding room on board the ship. Throw Brendol Hux in detention and keep him there. The rest you can kill, I honestly do not care, so long as you make sure the place is clean afterwards.” He began walking away without waiting to see his orders followed. He knew his knights were very diligent and the chaos and screams of executions, not to mention the sudden and painful absence of life, was far from something he cared to witness.
Once it was all sorted and he was assured Armitage was given his quarters, Kylo decided to give him a bit of time to get acquainted with his new surroundings. He did take a peek through surveillance footage and saw him inspect his room, checking the door, looking for anything inside to either use or occupy himself with. He noted how different he held himself when alone, how his shoulders relaxed, how his face showed curiosity or frustration. Kylo initially thought maybe he would need to teach this young man to properly experience his emotions but it seemed Armitage experienced them just fine and merely held them back. Kylo was fascinated.
He came into the room hours later, at a time to serve the final meal of the day. He brought Armitage his portion but none for himself. Eating would require removing his helmet, after all, and it was neither the time nor the place for such a gesture.
“I hope your accommodation is agreeable to you,” he said and took a seat. He noticed immediately how Armitage changed his body language around him and became more stiff and restrained. Kylo found it somewhat disappointing now that he saw what he was like when alone.
“More than I expected,” he said, the first words Kylo heard from him echoing in the room. “I would say I owe you my gratitude if I did not expect this to be some sort of extended torture at my father’s expense.”
“And you think using you would hurt him?"
"I think you may be under that impression," he replied. "Aren't you?"
"I'm not," he said. "You intrigued me all on your own and I just decided to keep your father alive in case you care for him. Which I doubt." And yet, Kylo himself had yet to go after his parents. He knew these matters can be complicated.
"And what was so intriguing about me?"
"You're not afraid of me. And you must know how few people who disrespect me get to live."
"I was under the impression you were going to kill us no matter what we did. I knew that would be the case the day that fool started running."
"And you were still not afraid? Knowing you would die? Are you not afraid of what I will do to you?"
Armitage Hux looked at him closely but did not answer. Kylo began growing annoyed. What was one supposed to get from such a demeanor? He was interesting but without getting more answers out of him, all curiosity was turning to frustration.
"You could at least show some gratitude for sparing your life," he said. "And bringing you food all by myself."
"I don't recall asking for either."
"Would you rather have me kill you then?"
"I don't think you will," Hux replied. "If you were going to, you'd do it already. So you must be keeping me here for a reason and I will find out what that is."
That had Kylo riled up more than it perhaps should. He stood up, moving in closer. Hux didn't move. "Are you intending to investigate me? Do you think you're in a position to be so flippant to me?"
"I think if you truly were ready to get rid of me, I'd be dead by now. I'll take my chances."
The lack of a reaction, lack of expression on his face, even lack of emotional vibrations in the Force pushed Kylo over the edge. With a quick arm wave and a strong Force push, he sent the food tray flying across the room and into the room wall. Hux flinched slightly but Kylo was too far gone to notice such subtleties. He made his way to his prisoner and grabbed his jaw in a gloved hand, Kylo’s mask getting close to Hux's face.
"You will learn to behave yourself."
"I would rather die than be your playing, Emperor Ren," he hissed back. Kylo let go of him and stepped back to the door.
"You just might if you don't change your mind," Kylo said and left the room, locking the door behind him and leaving the food scattered across the wall and floor.
"The visit did not go well then?" Vicrul Ren asked, watching him leave. Kylo shrugged.
"The brat is stubborn," Kylo growled. "But he will break for me. They always do."
"Why did you keep him?" Vicrul pressed, following Kylo when he began walking towards the bridge. "Is he special? Does he have the power?"
"That's not it," Kylo said. "There was something about him. He felt pleasure from watching me toy with his father but showed nothing. I think he may be a person whose company would be good for me."
"In what way?"
"I'm not yet sure. But first, he needs to learn some humility! I know he didn’t respect his father but seeing him disrespect me makes me doubt if he can be good for anything after all."
"We can take care of him for now, if you'd like, master," Vicrul offered. "Teach him good manners for you."
Kylo nodded. "I think that might be a good idea." The last thing he wanted was to kill the young Hux in anger and he knew his knights would not do such a silly thing. They knew better than that. “Make sure he knows what we can do and what’s at stake. I want him to keep me company and be engaging and agreeable. I want him well guarded but let's try and give him a room he likes.” Kylo left without wasting more time. He trusted the thing to be done.
The next few weeks were truly frustrating. Kylo focused on his work and visited Hux every other day, with each visit concluded similarly. Hux was disrespectful, ungrateful, and closed off so Kylo kept losing patience within minutes. Nothing seemed to work and it did not seem to matter if Kylo was pleasant or threatening, if Hux was kept in a room with a pleasant view of the stars or one with no windows at all. No matter what Kylo tried and despite his knights’ efforts, Hux remained hostile and Kylo decided to keep his distance.
He tried to busy himself with work but found it hardly engaging. How could he focus on conquests and battle planning when there was a handsome, fierce man refusing to allow him to get close?