Work Text:
It is impossible to say when the rumors first started. Most seem to agree that it began in earnest after the attack on Starkiller Base.
Some of those that survived were taken back to the Finalizer, including General Hux and Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren, bloody and beat up and with a jagged, horrific scar marring his face. General Hux, carrying him in his arms . It was interesting, to say the least, that the General had not enlisted some lackey to hold Ren for him, instead choosing to bridal-carry him to the hospital wards after their small transport shuttle had shuddered to a stop in the Finalizer’s great hangar. From there, a great deal many odd facts arose, such as that the General had planted a tracking device in Ren’s belt, and that Ren had called on the General often to visit him in private as he lay healing in the infirmary wing.
Unsurprisingly, most had scoffed at this concept. They had seen the General and Lord Ren’s interactions, the way they spat at each other and primped and preened and tried to outdo each other in subtle ways as to be dignified for their station. But wasn’t there a delicate balance between baiting someone to annoyance and unresolved sexual tension? Social media in the First Order blew up in a matter of days, a picture of the aforementioned moment with Hux carrying Ren being reposted on nearly every possible platform.
Even Captain Phasma herself had stakes in this operation. It was a personal mission of hers, to see them get together, single-minded in the idea that a conciliation between them would mean a greater unified front...and although she would never admit it willingly, she had always prided herself on recognizing potential when she saw it. She had been the first to set up the betting pool, where troops could invest credits in the relationship that may or may not be happening behind closed doors. (Not to mention, knowing her troops’ user handles could come in handy if she suspected any of them were slacking off in their training.)
However, these recent developments did not completely “humanize” the two of them; to the First Order, Kylo Ren and General Hux remained terrifying figureheads, one of them feared for senseless destruction and the other feared for calculating coldness. Neither of them seemed to recognize the words spoken behind their backs, and thus, the discussion was allowed to flourish.
---
The entire room let out a collective breath as General Hux left the bridge, small bits of unprofessional chatter rising up out of the orders being passed around. All agreed that Hux was a fine leader, but he was young enough that it really did make one wonder exactly how much blood trailed behind those immaculately shined boots, and exactly how far one would have to go to end up part of that gory streak.
Lieutenant Mitaka let out a breath himself. He’d been kind of on the edge lately, and almost flinched when a female officer whispered his name from the seat beside him.
“So, Lieutenant?” She said, quietly enough that they wouldn’t attract any attention. She was a new employee, recently promoted to working on the bridge. She’d told him her name once before, but it was currently slipping Mitaka’s mind, rendering him too proud to ask. He nodded at her to continue, eyes still on the screen in front of him, pretending he was concentration on the task in case the General decided to return early.
“You’ve...met Kylo Ren before, haven’t you?” Mitaka suppressed a shiver and nodded; that was an experience he wasn’t likely to forget or liked to remember.
“Well, then you’ll have first-hand experience. Do you…do you think that a man like that would...you know…” Mitaka visibly flinched this time, earning him a few stares from the seats around him.
“Look, I don’t know what the rules were on your old post, but...you couldn’t pay me to get involved with that!” He hissed in her direction, turning around just in time as the clack of the General’s boots signaled his imminent return.
---
“So,” Hux said stiffly after finally managing to corner Kylo in the labyrinthine halls of the Finalizer. Kylo tried to speed up his pace and use the advantage of his longer legs to escape before he got dragged along into what would undoubtedly be a painful conversation.
But the general was nothing if not persistent. He trotted along next to Kylo, looking rather ridiculous in taking his shorter stride. “Don’t act so standoffish, Ren. I merely wished to ask you how you’ve been doing.” Was Hux...mocking him right now? Kylo didn’t think he could bear it, not after everything that had happened back on Starkiller. He stopped in the middle of the hall to face Hux, neither of them taking notice of the sudden interest of passing-by stormtroopers or radar technicians.
“You have business with me, so I’d rather you just spit it out,” Kylo ground out from under the voice-synthesizing comfort of his mask. Hux’s expression didn’t change, remaining in that schooled, neutral expression with just a hint of distaste bleeding through at the edges. “Don’t pretend you care about how I’m doing. Of all things, General, couldn’t you have picked something less transparent?”
Hux’s face twitched at the last remark, and Kylo relished in that brief flicker of defensive anger. “Perhaps you don’t know me as well as you think you do. You can read minds, but you can’t decipher my intent through mere words?”
Shit. Of course, he could have simply searched Hux’s mind as he said it. But then again, Hux was an incredibly good liar, and Kylo had only caught him that one time with the cat because Hux had no possible way of preemptively hiding it. He had also caught him off guard, which was playing dirty.
“Regardless, we will be landing in a matter of days, and if Supreme Leader Snoke wishes for you to continue your training, you will have to be in optimal condition. You have guessed correctly: asking how you feel was merely a courtesy call.” Hux stared at his mask with those green eyes, as if daring Kylo to prove his intentions otherwise. Surprisingly enough...there did seem to be something behind those words that Hux had never had any intentions of revealing, whether via masterminded manipulation or otherwise. Kylo didn’t particularly feel like pressing that point at the moment, however, and instead opted to flick on his lightsaber and hold it precariously at his side. Hux’s face lit up from underneath in bright red, but Kylo had failed to elicit another flash of emotion from him.
“If you don’t feel like answering my questions currently, come to my quarters later. I had hoped we could have this discussion en route, but as you don’t seem to have any intention to follow me…” There was a muffled noise as a stormtrooper walking by stumbled over his feet as he finished uploading the footage to his Snapchat story. Kylo didn’t say anything, merely closing his lightsaber with a satisfying whoosh , and stomping off down the opposite direction from where he knew Hux’s quarters to be.
---
Kylo had once sworn to himself that he’d rather be found dead than use one of the public refreshers of the Finalizer. He rationalized this current disregard of that silence promise as invalid, because he didn’t come in here to actually use anything inside. At least he was sure that Hux wouldn’t follow him in here.
He removed his helmet and put it gingerly on top of the trash receptacle, running his gloved hands through now-freed wavy, thick hair. How could a person be that infuriating? He gave the door a satisfying bang with the palms of his hands, leaning against it as if someone would try to break in at any moment. Does he even have emotions besides “slightly annoyed” and “extremely disgusted”? Show me something , damn it! Kylo’s internal dialogue abruptly ground to a halt as two voices--two minds --entered his hearing range in the hall outside.
“What do you think about him ?” The first voice said. Kylo could just barely hear it, but from the direction their thoughts were going, Kylo would definitely want to hear all of it.
“Him?” The second voice. Not clueless, just playing dumb.
“Who do you think?” The first voice dropped off into a whisper, but Kylo knew what was coming next. “ Kylo Ren .”
“Oh, him ,” Kylo clenched his teeth. What was that supposed to mean. "I hear he's some kind of royalty...but somehow got roped in with Snoke and the First Order. Got some weird force-powers, right?”
“I’m just pissed that he didn’t even have to crawl his way up the ranks,” snorted the first voice again. “I’ve been here for pretty much all my life and I spent a good third of it in sanitation, while he gets to sit pretty next to Captain Phasma and General Hux. Now, those two, they know how hard it is.”
“Fuck, you’re right. What’s so good about him anyway? A few force tricks aren’t that useful,” Shuffling from the other end. Kylo stayed perfectly still, frozen in the position from earlier with his palms on the cool metal of the door.
“About that…you see, I’ve heard rumors.” One hand slid down and gripped the doorknob. “That Kylo Ren has been keeping General Hux…” Kylo undid the lock and twisted the knob.
“... company at night.”
The refresher door slammed open.
---
Kylo Ren had ended up coming to Hux’s quarters regardless, lightsaber still on and blazing a trail of charred metal as he dragged it behind him all the way up to the door. Hux let him in, and Kylo immediately made his way to a couch set up on the right side of the room. Hux leaned back on his desk, watching as Kylo sprawled across the couch and deactivated his lightsaber to throw it across the room, where it impressively lodged itself between two bookshelves. Before Hux could open his mouth to speak, Kylo found himself starting the conversation.
“Rumors. Have you heard them.” He said through clenched teeth, lying down with an arm thrown over his eyes.
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
“Don’t pretend you haven’t heard. The rumors that you and I are…”
“Oh. Well, yes. I didn’t give them much thought, however. It doesn’t seem to be negatively impacting the view my subordinates have of me.” Hux said in a clipped tone, one that could pass for nonchalant, but Kylo had the advantage of surprise this time, and thus the full control of his mind-prying ability. Something about it was driving Hux to a nervous tic, that much he could tell.
“It’s disgusting. This kind of rumor is the worst.”
“Well, if it becomes true, then it’s no longer a rumor.”
Hux froze. Kylo’s eyes widened under the cover of his arm, and a good fifteen seconds were spent in that position before Kylo sat up on the couch with a sudden, jerking motion, snapping Hux out of his reverie as well.
“WHAT?”
“I merely p--” Kylo interrupted Hux, snapping out his arm and twisting his hand until the powers of the universe were at his fingertips, which he then used to drag Hux towards him, neck-first.
Hux made this interesting little breathy noise as Kylo held him an inch above the ground, dangling him with the combination of the force and Hux’s jacket collar.
“If you’re going to make hypotheticals like that, you might as well carry through.”
“I can’t exactly do that with a hunk of metal staring me in the face, can I?” Ugh. Using his other hand, Kylo popped open the release mechanism and threw the helmet onto couch. “Much better.” And without the hindrance of the helmet’s two-way mirror, Kylo could appreciate the array of fresh emotions on Hux’s face, his quick favorite becoming Hux’s current teasing, almost-smile of an expression.
Kylo made it his new resolution to kiss it off of him.