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It had started out as a joke, little more than a whim on Hux’s part. A newly conquered planet, another civilisation under the belt of the First Order, just one more meret for the General. He had already achieved so much in such a short time, he thought, and while this particular planet had been less of a military victory and more the resident government rolling over to accept new management, Hux still added it to his score sheet.
He had encountered no hostility since his landing, and so the General spent the last few hours of his visit there exploring the small yet interesting city - cultural, he thought - and perusing overfilled market stalls.
It was there that he saw her. Small and fluffy, striped with ginger and just a little white, the kitten stared up at him with big blue eyes and mewled.
Hux was a cold man. Harsh, unfeeling, and yet as soon as she opened her little mouth to show a pink tongue and tiny, pointed teeth, he knew what he needed to do. Something, some strange force, compelled him to scoop her up from the box that she shared with her littermates, holding her to his chest as she blinked at her strange new surroundings. He wondered, for a moment, whether something so tiny should truly be away from the mother, but did not ponder on it too long.
“Are you interested in this one, sir?” The stall owner, a large brute of a man with a surprisingly soft tone, shuffled over, keeping an eye on the kitten at all times. “She’s good with people that one, hand reared, like the rest of ‘em.”
“Perhaps.” Hux mused, more to himself than to the man. As he watched her, the kitten shifted in his hands, making herself more comfortable with a wide yawn. Her eyes slid closed and he could feel the light vibrate of her purr against his fingers.
Which was how Hux ended up with what he assumed must be the smallest kitten in all the galaxy nestled against his chest as he awaited docking with the Finalizer. He had bought supplies, of course; various litter boxes, enough food to last until she could be fed on actual meat, kitten-safe milk and a variety of toys for her. The trooper tasked with transporting his purchases - sans kitten, of course - looked mildly bemused, if one could look bemused behind a white helmet.
“What is that?” He had not anticipated running into Ren quite so soon after returning to the Finalizer, and Hux could not help the flare of annoyance at the sight of the other man. Still, he would not allow this to spoil his game.
“A gift.” Hux smiled, and though he had aimed for ‘sweet’ the expression bordered on terrifying, if the reaction of the approaching troopers was anything to go on. “Her name is Mrs Fluffykins and you are to care for her as though she is your own child.” He expected anger, frustration, for Ren to lash out verbally at him and storm off, perhaps destroying part of the ship as he went. Anything, in fact, aside from the reaction he received.
Ren reached out and plucked the cat from his grip, without saying a word, before striding down the hallway in the opposite direction.
For a moment, Hux considered racing after him to retrieve his kitten, oddly concerned for her welfare. What was Ren likely to do to her? She was too small, too innocent, and an odd surge of protectiveness urged him to go and fetch her.
Something stilled his hand. It could have been the missive from Phasma to state he was needed on the bridge, or some in-built sense that Ren would not harm her, he could not be certain and didn’t like to ponder on it.
He did not see the kitten again for almost three weeks. Admittedly, he had not seen Ren in that time either, but that was hardly unusual. It was not, in fact, until Ren appeared at his door, kitten in one hand and a box looking suspiciously full of vaguely familiar cat paraphernalia, that Hux was assured as to her safety.
“Snoke has a job for me, I won’t be back for a week.” Ren’s voice crackled behind his mask, and he thrust the small, wriggling ball of fur into Hux’s arms before striding off, the General unable to formulate a response. She looked up at him, and he was struck with a sense of deja vu as she mewled pitifully. A black leather collar adorned her neck, and that had certainly not been present in the supplies he had purchased for her. He wondered where Ren had managed to find it. A small, silver tag glinted in the harsh lighting, and he turned it over to see the text engraved there.
Lord Vader.
Ah, of course. Hux could have smacked himself; of course Ren would choose to ignore the name is had deliberately picked out for her, and it really should not come as a surprise that he had chosen to call her that.
Still, he was pleased to know she was alive and seemingly quite well, weighing a little more than she had when he had originally bought her and having grown somewhat.
She slept upon his chest that night, and in fact every night until Ren returned. It took a fraction longer than anticipated for the force user to complete his work and return, almost ten days in total, and by the end of it Hux had grown really rather attached to Lord Vader. Admittedly, she had wet the bed a couple of times, had clawed deep gouges in his favourite chair and there was cat fur on everything, but it wasn’t all that different to having Ren around, really. Only smaller, and decidedly quieter.
Hux quietly added lint rollers to the monthly budget.
“You owe me a new chair.” He didn’t mean it, not really; the old one was still perfectly serviceable, even with the scratches. Ren simply ignored him, striding into his room and scooping the kitten up into his arms, cuddling her. Hux shut the door behind him; it would not do for his men to witness the fearsome sith lord showing such weakness, after all.
“I’m sorry I’m late, there were...complications. Did you miss me?” It took a moment for Hux to realise that Ren wasn’t addressing him at all, but rather the kitten that was presently nuzzling at his chin, and just when had Ren removed his helmet? It didn’t matter, he reasoned, levelling a scowl at the back of the man’s head.
“You cannot simply leave your cat with me whenever you please.” He growled, glaring at the helmet-mussed black waves.
“I hadn’t expected you to be the type to shirk parental responsibility, General.” Ren replied, and Hux was certain he caught a hint of amusement in the man’s voice. He was, for the moment, struck dumb, not quite expecting that particular rebuttal. “Come, Lord Vader, Snoke requests our presence.”
Our presence? Hux had heard nothing from the Supreme Leader in weeks, and now he was requesting the presence of a kitten in place of his own? The joke was, it seemed, entirely on him.
Hux should not have cared as much as he found he did. It wasn’t only the Supreme Leader’s apparent apathy towards him of late, but it seemed Ren much preferred spending time with the tiny ball of ginger fluff than seeking out confrontation with the General. It gave him more time for himself, meant that he could better concentrate on the ever-growing mountain of paperwork that came hand in hand with commanding a Star Destroyer, and not a single piece of machinery had been replaced since Lord Vader’s arrival.
Ridiculous name for a cat.
He wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself that he actually missed Ren’s attention.
“Lord Vader, on the bridge!” The crew stood to attention, and Hux could feel a vein throbbing in his forehead, tension in his jaw causing an ache to form behind his eyes as he stared out into the vast expanse of space. Behind him, he could hear the heavily booted footsteps of Kylo Ren, and the accompanying jingle of a tiny bell as Lord Vader darted past the Master of the Knights of Ren. She made a beeline for Hux’s legs, offering up the same plaintive meow she had when he had first laid eyes upon her, deeper and louder than it had been those weeks and months ago, but still very much her. He felt her headbutt his calf, before winding around his legs, leaving a trail of ginger and white fur on the black fabric as she went. It took everything he had to keep staring straight ahead, rather than lean down to pick her up as she mewled up at him again, knowing he could not show such weakness in front of his men, even as the traitorous swines followed Ren’s orders over his own in announcing the cat.
“Lord Vader wishes to be picked up.” Ren had moved to stand at Hux’s side, leaving enough room for the cat to weave between them, chirping as she did so, yet still entirely too close for Hux’s own comfort.
“I am well aware.” Hux snapped in return, turning to glare at the Force-user at his side, noting the suspicious absence of cat fur on Ren’s own black robes.
“She does not appreciate being ignored.” Kylo’s tone, while deep and distorted from his mask, remained conversational, though there was a note of warning there. Hux might have scoffed at it, given chance, yet at that precise moment Lord Vader decided she would demonstrate just how much she disliked being ignored, by digging her claws in and climbing his leg.
Hux howled, Ren ignored him, the remainder of the bridge crew simply stared. Or, tried not to stare, as Lord Vader continued her leisurely climb up to the General’s hip. He could not shake her off, not without looking utterly ridiculous, and he could not risk harming the cat. She had seemingly attached herself to his heart just as soundly as she now attached herself to his hip and thigh.
“I did warn you.” Ren grunted at his side, and the following crackle might have been laughter. Hux scowled, plucking the cat from his fur-covered pants and holding her to his chest, much as he had when she had been no more than a tiny kitten. “Lord Vader seems to think that you are her mother.”
“So does that make you her father, then?” Hux snorted, ignoring the cat as she began headbutting his chin.
“Perhaps.” Ren agreed, and Hux could not help the surprised splutter that burst from his chest. “I will see you in my quarters, twenty-one-hundred hours, sharp. Bring Lord Vader with you.”
“What for, a family dinner?” He replied with a sneer, doing his best to goad Kylo into a much-needed argument, missing their confrontations somewhat and needing to divert attention from the increasingly awkward conversation they seemed to be having.
“Yes.” Silence fell for a moment, Hux left momentarily speechless once more by the man, his officers doing their best not to appear to be eavesdropping and failing miserably at it. Ren was gone before Hux could find it in him to reply, leaving the General with Lord Vader, who had started batting at his chin with a soft paw.
Hux sighed to himself. He didn’t need to be a Force-user to know just how quickly those particular rumours were going to spread.