Chapter Text
Striding forward, Rey felt her confidence flowing with every step she took. After she had willingly come aboard the Finalizer to receive teaching from Kylo Ren, it had taken a long time for her to feel anything. Well, anything other than apprehension and fear.
Rey thought back to her life before the First Order; she remembered how lost and alone she felt at the Resistance base, with nothing to do since Luke Skywalker had refused to teach her. He had said that he felt far too much darkness in her, and Rey knew that he was thinking of Kylo, and what had happened after he had been seduced. Rey didn’t want to blame him, but with distance and time, she found that she did. She hated the way he dismissed her. She hated the way he presumed to know her.
But most of all, she hated the fact that he was right. She could feel the Dark Side of the Force, calling to her, begging that she submit. It also didn’t help that those she once considered friends were terrified of her. After all, if the legendary Luke Skywalker was too afraid to instruct Rey, there must be something wrong with her.
After weeks of frustration and being blocked from doing anything remotely productive, Rey had had enough. It had only taken a few days, before her plan was both devised and executed. Stealing a small, sleek ship from one of the hangers at the base, Rey had left in the middle of the night, headed for a planet she knew the First Order had a small base stationed.
She hadn’t thought about that day in a long time - hadn’t needed to - but now, as she stalked the halls of the Finalizer, she felt her mind drift back. She recalled the confusion of the Stormtroopers and the petty officers. She remembered her heart beating uncontrollably at the sight of Kylo Ren’s ship descending onto the landing platform a couple of days later. However, the Knight of Ren wasn’t the first person she saw disembark from the vessel. Instead, it was the General.
General Hux, the third most important member of the entire First Order, strutting across the platform of a minor, and until now, useless station. Rey had felt her confusion bubbling; from the stories, she had assumed that he would be far too busy for something like this. But her assumption was proved wrong; apparently her surrender had made waves, and thus here he stood before her. Rey recalled thinking just how regal the man appeared, with his long coat flowing elegantly behind him, his stature poised and professional.
He had introduced himself, and Rey had found herself entranced by his accent, one that was incredibly similar to her own. She was also startled by his bright, sparkling green eyes, and the way they seemed to cut into her, almost like he could see right through her. It was his eyes that she would remember most of all.
Rey had quickly realised, however, that he was not the only one to arrive. Behind him stood Kylo Ren himself, staring down at her through his mask. Kylo waited until Hux had barely finished with the introduction, before essentially pushing the man aside and stepping into Rey’s personal space.
Rey had naively believed that that would be the last time she would speak to or even see the General. How wrong she was. The man seemed to be constantly on the fringes of her life, observing but never quite engaging. Sure, they had had a few brief conversations here and there, but they were always when Kylo was present.
Despite this, Rey had quickly come to realise that the man was far more involved in her life than she was first led to believe. She always noticed the small things he would do for her, when he thought that he could act anonymously. She knew that he was concerned about her, and not because she used to work with the Resistance. No, Rey mused, it was simply because he cared. Rey couldn’t imagine why, at first, but over the last few weeks she had begun to observe the subtle way he looked at her when he thought she couldn’t see. She observed every gesture, every touch.
In the end, Rey conceded that Hux was very much attracted to her.
Rey had no idea why, or for long he had been. All she knew was that was attracted to him as well. She could never pinpoint exactly why, but there were plenty of small reasons that seemed to combine to form a genuine attraction. His soothing voice, his sarcasm, his bright red hair. The way he subtly teased Kylo in order to get a reaction. The way he always succeeded, and looked to her with a knowing smirk while Kylo angrily destroyed whatever was around him. The way he helped her from the shadows, never taking credit for all the nice things he provided for her.
Rounding another corner, Rey felt her heart rate elevate slowly as she made her way closer to her destination.
Yesterday, during her training, Rey had gotten too confident when sparring with her Master. After beating Kylo during the first round, she had let her success go to her head, and as a result make a beginners mistake in the second round, leaving her with another small scar from the training weapons they used. Rey could still feel it sting slightly across her shoulder, but she pushed the pain aside like she always did. At first, Kylo had insisted that she use her pain to fuel her power, but after they realised that it instead made her wild and sloppy, he had instructed her to ignore it and learn to keep a level head.
As punishment for her egotistical display and subsequent injury, Kylo had given her the lowly task of getting the General’s signature on a few documents. Rey knew that Kylo believed the task to be beneath her, and that he thought he was humiliating her by giving it to her. And while that was technically true, Rey wasn’t upset. On the contrary, it finally gave her the chance to speak to Hux alone. She had no idea what would happen, if anything, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling slightly flustered at the prospect.
Stopping in front of the General’s door, Rey took a deep breath before knocking resolutely on the metal.