Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CAP 1

THIS IS HOW IT ALL BEGINS

The silence inside the ship was so heavy it seemed to suck the air out.

The remains of Crait's red dust still coated the stormtroopers' boots. Everything smelled of metal, smoke... and

__failure_.

Hux thought, shifting uncomfortably as he waited for the "supreme leader" to board. They hadn't even left this hellish planet yet. His ribs ached, but what was more intense was the rage and humiliation of having been thrown like a rag doll in front of his men.

Hux sighed deeply as he mentally counted to 3, but he remained upright when Kylo finally strode in, his breathing harsh. He could barely contain the fury that followed him like a shadow; no one dared to cross his path.

He had lost. Not to the Resistance, not to a fleet, but to a phantom. A trick.

 Hux watched him with disdain and contempt from his position next to the control panel.

He didn't speak.

He didn't move.

Kylo didn't even bother to look at him as he passed by Hux. He was immersed in his own anger, defeat, and humiliation. He could kill anyone who dared to speak a word to him.

The silence was broken suddenly.

—"The Resistance escaped." —Hux's voice sounded cold, impersonal, like any military report. But the barely audible tone carried the edge of suppressed mockery.

Kylo turned slowly.

—"Do you want to repeat that?" —he asked, his voice low and thick.

Hux swallowed, but refused to stop.

—"I said the Resistance escaped, My Lord. If you had listened to me"

The words were left hanging in Hux's mouth when he suddenly felt a familiar, heavy pressure on his neck, cutting off his breath. Hux quickly brought his hands to his throat, struggling to breathe. He could feel his eyes watering, threatening to tear up.

—"Did I say you could speak? General"— Kylo growled with barely contained rage, tightening his grip on Hux with his hand extended in the air.

—"I am the supreme leader, but you," —he said, his voice low and dangerous, with a mocking tone. He felt the general's mind boiling despite the pain.

—"You, on the other hand, only serve and obey me. And if I say jump, you ask me how high. If I say speak, you speak. Until then, keep your mouth shut. For your own good, General."

With that, Kylo released Hux, letting him collapse to the ground gasping for air. Kylo turned away without looking back, abandoning the spot.

 It took Hux a few minutes to compose himself, regaining all his dignity and standing up. His body ached, and he felt like his neck was burning. He was sure it was already raw. " _I should go to the med bay at least for some painkillers when they get to the finisher. I don't have time for that, maybe not. This is degrading."_ 

He had to stay strong, he couldn't allow himself to give Kylo the pleasure of seeing him weak, of believing he'd won. " _I'll destroy him,"_ Hux thought as he entered his cabin.

He thought about at least trying to take a nap, a breather, to ease the tiredness and ache in his body before reaching the Finisher.

He took off his gloves, his boots, and his large, overly heavy coat, a cost, but it helped him hide his thinness and gave him confidence.

 He tried to sleep, but the

air from the ventilation system hummed with a strange note, a faint silver dust floating in the air—remnants of Crait's surface, contaminated with something else, something invisible.

As Hux passed under one of the vents, a small particle landed on his bare hand.

Nothing notable.

Nothing worthy of attention.

Yet.

The general shook off his uniform without realizing it and tried to sleep, but sleep never came, and it never would again, the way it had before.

Chapter Text

Hux looked at the ship's casualty and weapons loss report on his datapad for the third time; he couldn't concentrate.

His tired eyes followed the lines of data and numbers without really seeing them. Lately, he'd been having trouble concentrating.

He couldn't remember the last night he'd slept.

Maybe a week ago.

Or maybe longer.

Time had become viscous.

Overwhelmed, he put the datapad aside and looked in the mirror, trying to look presentable. His hair was in place and his uniform was as impeccable as ever, but the two black circles under his eyes were starting to bother him.

He sighed in frustration. He had succumbed to some sedatives in the hope that they would help him sleep, but it had been in vain. His skull still vibrated constantly every time he tried to sleep, keeping him awake even when he closed his eyes and felt extremely tired.

"Concentrate," he scolded himself.

 He couldn't afford weakness, especially now that a cheap replica of Lord Vader was leading the First Order.

Besides, he was General Hux, not a mere officer complaining of lack of sleep.

The First Order had to rebuild after Crait.

He had to show that there was still order... and control.

He adjusted the collar of his uniform, hiding the reddish hue of his skin beneath the fabric, and headed to the boardroom—Kylo doesn't like to wait.

The Finalizer boardroom was occupied by Council officers around the large table.

The air was cold and tense; none of the generals dared to speak, afraid their heads were rolling in the center of the table.

The screens displayed galactic maps with empty areas, dead spots. No sign of the Resistance.

Kylo Ren stood at the head of the table, his brow furrowed, his suppressed rage vibrating beneath his skin.

—"Not a single useful report."— His voice sounded like a loud bang against the table.

No one responded.

—"Has the entire galaxy swallowed the Resistance?" —The lightsaber lay limp at his side, but its mere proximity was enough to make everyone tense.

Hux stared at the projection.

His eyelids felt heavy.

The letters seemed to twist, to lengthen.

A dull hum, the same vibration, returned for a second in his head.

—"Focus," he ordered himself.

He straightened his back.He breathed quietly.

Kylo scanned the room, one by one. His eyes lingered for a moment on Hux.

The general looked different.

 —"It's not his posture, always rigid," Kylo thought distractedly. Now that he thought about it, the general had been silent throughout the meeting—very silent—something odd for someone with a tongue as sharp as Hux's.

Kylo frowned. —"Fine. He's learning his place," —he thought. And he looked away.

—"I want results in forty-eight hours,"—he growled, slamming his fist on the table. —"Or I'll start wondering how necessary it is to keep them alive."

With that, Kylo left the room and walked through the halls of the Finalizer, thoughts burning in his head. Why, every attempt to find the resistance or the girl failed.

Rey... he had tried to reach her again, but each attempt was in vain.

He locked himself in the meditation chamber.The lights dimmed until there was darkness.

Kylo knelt, closed his eyes.He tried to calm the torrent of fury. 

—“The Force… guide me.”

Silence enveloped him.

But even within the feigned calm, something was bothering him, something that had been bothering him for a few days.

A faint sensation, barely a flicker: an imbalance, a shadow that didn't belong there.

A weak point within his own army.

He ignored it, trying to focus once more.

After hours of attempted meditation, Kylo couldn't take it anymore and stood up impatiently—I'm wasting time—and strode forward, his cloak swirling behind him.

His attempt at meditation had failed.Again.

Calm wouldn't come.

The Force remained silent, and in its silence, rage grew.A group of pilots instinctively moved away at the sight.Each glance immediately lowered.

—"Lieutenant." —His voice cut through the air. The nearest officer straightened, stiff as a post.

—"Y-yes, My Lord."

—"Tell General Hux I want him in the command room. Now." —He didn't wait for a reply.

He turned on his heel and left, the sound of his cloak dragging on the metal floor.

The command room was vast, with screens flickering and the soft murmur of control systems.

 Kylo remained with his back to the window, staring out at the dark infinity of the galaxy as the general entered the room.

He didn't turn around immediately.

—"How much longer must I wait for results, General?" —he asked quietly.

His tone was low, but thick.

—"My men are still assessing the damage from the Battle of Crait," —Hux replied, trying to make his tone as non-accusatory as possible.— "The casualties were considerable, and the remaining divisions are still being reorganized."

Kylo turned slowly, paused for a moment.

The General looked different.

—"Pale," Kylo thought. "Has Hux always been so pale? Well, paler than usual... it seems as if sleep has become a luxury he can no longer afford."

He remembered that Hux didn't sleep either when he was overseeing the Starkiller.

He was obsessive to the point of being unhealthy.

—"Perhaps that's normal for him,"— he thought. 

—"The Resistance can't hide forever,"— Kylo growled. "I want results, General."

—"You will get them."— Hux clenched his hands behind his back, struggling to look upright; his body felt too heavy. Kylo frowned slightly at Hux's movement.

—"And your troops?" —Kylo persisted.— "Some are still not operational."

—"After the battle, several divisions were disabled. Replacements are in the works."

There was a heavy silence. Kylo took a step toward him. The air seemed to thicken.

—"We found movement on a planet in the Outer Rim," — Hux said then, his voice faintly regaining its firmness. —"It's possible the Resistance has established a base there."

Kylo narrowed his eyes, assessing the information.The glimmer of opportunity rekindled in his gaze.

—"Prepare a squad." —His voice lowered, almost a dangerous whisper. —We'll be leaving in a few hours. I want nothing to go wrong this time.

—"Yes, Supreme Leader."

Kylo watched him for a moment longer, his expression unreadable before walking toward the door.

—"And, General..." —he said quietly, pausing at the door, looking over his shoulder.

Hux turned toward the door.

—"Go to sleep." —The silence stretched on for a second too long. —"It's no good to me if you collapse before I get there."

Kylo turned away without adding anything else.

Hux remained silent, mentally cursing himself as his body slumped wearily into one of the chairs. It was bad enough that he was fighting his own weakness, and now the others were starting to notice.

He forced himself to get up from the chair; he had to set out on a journey.

"Duty first, body second."

The journey took less time than Hux had planned; the planet was a white desert. A motionless ocean of snow and wind.

The transport's engines descended with a roar that was lost in the storm, raising a cloud of ice that mingled with the mist.

Hux's boots sank into the snow up to his ankles as he barely touched the ground outside the ship.

His stride became stiffer and more labored. The snow reached almost to his knees as they advanced toward the base, which wasn't far from where they had landed. But for Hux, the journey seemed too long; each step seemed like a struggle against his own body.

He could occasionally feel Kylo's gaze on him, but he ignored it, concentrating on not falling. But his foot betrayed him, and the snow gave way beneath him. Hux braced himself to fall, but he felt someone roughly grab his wrist.

 Kylo closed his hand tightly around the general's wrist. The contact was brief. Kylo frowned slightly. The general's wrist was too... "thin... almost fragile, too much." That thought struck him with strange discomfort.

Then he abruptly released him.

—"Walk, General." —His voice hardened again. —"We're not here to stumble."

Hux nodded, composing himself, though his breathing was becoming more ragged, his chest beginning to ache.

—"Empty," —one of the stormtroopers said as they reached the base; it seemed abandoned.

Kylo clenched his fists.

Anger was rising in him.

—"They're gone," —he muttered, more to himself than to the others. —"They escaped again."

The stormtroopers stood still, waiting.Hux approached, his breathing ragged, his skin so pale it almost blended with the snow.

 He tried to maintain his composure, hands behind his back, chin up.

—"They must have been alerted,"— he managed. —"Someone warned them before we arrived."

Kylo spun around him with a sharp movement.

—"Useless!"— he roared, and the scream echoed off the metal walls.

The stormtroopers stiffened. Behind him, Hux tried to say something, but his voice cracked.

A sudden dizziness made him stagger.

Everything was beginning to spin around him. His limbs were heavy, The air was thin, his throat burned.

Then the cough came, a violent cough. He squeezed his eyes shut and collapsed to the floor, coughing on his knees. He managed to place one hand on the snow and the other covering his mouth. He opened his eyes slowly and froze at the sight of the blood staining the snow and his gloved hand. He stared at the ground, afraid to meet everyone's gaze.

The stormtroopers and officers around him remained motionless.

The silence fell.

Kylo looked at him, not moving at first, his expression unreadable, then he approached andtook him by the arm, lifting him effortlessly.

Hux's body was lighter than he thought, and the general could barely stand. Hux kept his gaze lowered, barely conscious.

—"Enough." —His voice came out low, controlled but warning. —"This is over." —He looked back at the soldiers.

—"Back to the ship. Everyone. The show is over."

No one dared to reply.

Then he lifted the general in his arms and carried him to the ship.

 "It's over," Kylo repeated, more to himself than to himself. "We're returning to the Finalizer."

Chapter Text

CAP 3

The ship traveled in complete silence back to the Finalizer.

Hux was unconscious or semi-lucid, on the stretcher in the med bay.

—"There is no known infection, no recognizable toxins,"— one of the medical droids examining the general reported in a metallic voice. —"Vital parameters are unstable, but we don't detect common agents. However... his nervous system shows abnormal hyperactivity. The subject does not enter deep sleep. His brain remains... awake."

Kylo watched from afar, his arms crossed. He didn't understand why he felt discomfort (a mixture of anger, curiosity, and...). Kylo quickly shook his head, dispelling any unwanted thoughts.

The doctor tried to explain that the general's neural levels were altered, as if his brain never rested, as if he couldn't enter REM sleep.

—"Awake?"— he repeated softly.

—"As if his mind couldn't rest,"— the droid added.

 Kylo clenched his jaw.

His eyes flicked briefly to Hux's half-exposed neck. It bore marks of greenish and purple bruises; he had no idea they'd been so severe.

He looked away, feeling something, a pang, as fleeting as it was intolerable.

—"You were the one who broke it. And now it bothers you to see it broken."  The thought slid into his mind, uncomfortably, like an ill-sheathed knife.

He didn't admit it. He couldn't.

—"We'll take the general to the med bay for observation."

—"No," —Kylo interrupted, his voice low and sharp, as the droids were already preparing the general. —"As soon as we arrive, take him to my quarters. I'll keep an eye on him."

—"No... I don't need anyone's care," —Hux muttered with difficulty. He tried to sit up, but the droids prevented him.

Kylo's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't expected the general to be fully conscious. Although, judging by his appearance, he seemed more delirious than awake, he assumed from the barely contained hostility and hatred in his gaze that normally accompanied him that Hux was 100 % conscious.

—"I'm not looking after you, I reckon. I have no use for a dead general," —Kylo replied coldly and as indifferently as possible.

He could see Hux's mouth tighten into a thin line, suppressing any offensive comment. That gave him some satisfaction, finally seeing Hux swallow his pride. He stared at the general for a few more minutes, his smile faltering. Despite the fact that Hux maintained his odious, arrogant attitude even in death, he looked too tired, too... "weak."

Upon reaching the finalizer, he ordered the general to be taken to his quarters. Satisfied, he went to meditate, and then perhaps he would cut off the heads of more than one officer. The resistance had escaped again. It had all been a waste of time, and now he had a sick general.

Hours later, Kylo returned to his quarters, hoping that Hux would still be half-conscious, or asleep if possible. He opened the door and paused in the threshold.

Hux is awake (which is only natural).

He was sitting on the large sofa, with a datapad on the table and a nearly empty bottle next to it, perhaps reviewing reports as usual.

His uniform was unbuttoned at the neck. His hair was disheveled.

Kylo forced himself to look away; it was a rare sight to see from someone like Hux, someone who always seemed perfect to the eye.

—"I thought you'd be asleep by now," —Kylo said, his voice trailing a tone somewhere between mockery and tiredness.

Hux looked up, his eyes dull, but still sharp.

—"I can't sleep. In case you don't remember, Supreme Leader." —The comment left a trace of irony on his lips.

Kylo took a step forward.

—"I see you drank my liquor too," —he replied with a hint of icy mockery.

—"I needed it more than you did," —Hux replied without hesitation, trying to hide the weakness of his breathing.

Kylo looked at him for a few seconds, then let out a short, humorless laugh.

—"Perfect. A sick general... and now, an alcoholic one."

Hux clenched his jaw, but didn't respond. He just looked away, and a long silence fell.

Kylo came closer until he was a foot away from him. He looked at him for a few more minutes in silence, struggling internally, and then took something from his cloak pocket: a small metal tube.

—"Take it," —he said, unceremoniously throwing it onto the table.

Hux looked at him, uncomprehending.

—"What is this?"

—"For your wounds," —Kylo replied, his tone almost impatient. —"From your... neck." —He added this last in a low voice, almost clumsily trying to appear indifferent.

Hux stared at him, astonished, and then something dark crossed his gaze.

—"I don't want them." —He pushed the tube away, letting it fall to the floor. The thud resounded.

Kylo's impatience reached its limit, and he moved in an instant to the sofa, grabbed him by the arm, and lifted him up forcefully, hard enough that Hux stumbled as he stood.

—"Enough,"— he growled softly, filled with suppressed anger. —"You're testing me, don't you see I'm trying to... I'm your Supreme Leader! You'll do as I say."

—"How ironic,"— Hux spat, not looking away. —"You're giving me a remedy for wounds you yourself inflict me."

Kylo stopped.

His breathing deepened.

—"I could end your pathetic existence right here," Kylo murmured, his voice bordering on menace. —"I don't know if it hasn't dawned on you yet, General, but the first order is mine now. Everything here, including you, belongs to me, and I can do whatever I want to you."

Kylo tightened his grip on Hux's arm, and it became painful when Hux tried to move away defensively. Instead, Kylo pulled him closer. Hux could feel Kylo's breath on his face, which annoyed him. He took a few steps back reflexively, but the edge of the couch stopped him. 

—"Snoke is gone. You no longer have protection, General." Kylo's voice turned into a dark growl. —"Now, for your own good, General, when I say something, you obey." —He quickly releases the general's arm only to grab him by his shoulders. Before Hux can react, he crashes his lips roughly against Hux's.

Hux tenses for a moment, perplexed, his mind going blank as he closes his eyes, but it's short-lived when he feels Kylo's tongue trying to invade his mouth.

His confusion turns to rage, and with his remaining strength, he tries to pull away, but Kylo's grip tightens, keeping him in place as he invades his mouth and pushes him down onto the couch, deepening the kiss.

Kylo looms over him, and Hux can feel his mind beginning to dizzy from the lack of air, until Kylo's lips decide to abandon his mouth to trail over his jaw and neck.

—"Enough!" —Hux manages to say, breathing heavily.

Kylo stops dead in his tracks, frozen as if coming out of a trance. He jerks away as if he's about to be burned.

There is a long silence as Kylo gathers his thoughts. He rests his eyes on Hux again. The general's gaze could turn the entire resistance to dust at this moment. Anger simmers in his eyes, but he also looks ashamed. His face is flushed, his lips are swollen and red, and his hair...

Kylo clears his throat.

—"You can use my bed," —he finally says, his voice raspy and controlled. —"I don't want you to pass out on the floor."

He doesn't wait for Hux to respond; he turns and leaves the room. The door closes behind him with a sharp click.

Hux doesn't dare move. What had that been all about? "It was... humiliating."

 Then, when he calmed down, he let out a slow, tired exhalation.

His gaze shifted to the small metal tube on the floor..

Chapter Text

Hux had returned to his duties, though he couldn't really say he was present. His mind—always so sharp, so precise—seemed to blur into empty seconds. Documents, reports, strategies… everything slipped through his fingers and disappeared as soon as he tried to concentrate.

"Where was I…?"

His thoughts stopped, fragmented. He remembered reading a report on the supply transports… or maybe it was about the TIE squadrons. He wasn't sure.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second. The faint burning on his neck had lessened; he found himself, reluctantly, mentally thanking Kylo for the salve he had left. A thought that irritated him more than he would have admitted.

He hadn't slept that night either, after the humiliation —yes, the humiliation —Hux thought because there was no further justification for what had happened last night. After Kylo left, he waited impatiently for him to return and cut off his head.

But Kylo didn't return.

And that, to his own bewilderment, unsettled him even more.

Every so often, a dizzy spell forced him to lean back on the desk.

No one should notice. No one should see weakness.

—"General, Squadron Seven is awaiting route confirmation..." —said an officer nervously, holding a tablet.

Hux looked up, his eyes dull.

—"I've already approved it."

—"No, sir... not yet,"— the officer replied, uncertain.

Hux's brow furrowed. For a second, he thought he had. He remembered reading the report, but he didn't remember signing it.

"What's happening to me..."

He said nothing more. He took the tablet, signed with a brusque gesture, and the officer vanished like a specter among the metallic shadows of the bridge.

Inside him, an icy weight dragged. The disease, or whatever it was, was eating away at his concentration. Was it more serious? His mind or his memory? Perhaps he was slowly dying and hadn't realized it. Restlessness and fear were beginning to take over his body.

Kylo Ren was anything but calm.

His temper, already volatile, had become a constant flame.

Officers walked more quietly around him; droids moved out of the way before he even looked at them.

Two commanders had been thrown against consoles that same day. One for giving a late report, the other for the simple mistake of mispronouncing his title.

But none of that calmed the feeling gnawing at him.

The events of the previous night bothered him in confusing flashes: Hux's labored breathing, the way he had remained still at first, and then that look. That look of fury and shame that he could still feel etched into his skin.

 “What the hell did I do?” he thought, clenching his fists.

He'd crossed a line, and he knew it. It was a reaction, a way of asserting control.

It irritated him to admit that he found Hux attractive. He always had been, the crew thought so too, and it made him uncomfortable. There were also rumors that the general had used this to his advantage to quickly rise through the ranks, but Kylo never believed them.

And although the general was attractive, his personality completely ruined him. Always so arrogant, annoying, and irritating.

But he needed Hux.

He was the only one who knew how to keep the First Order running smoothly.

And now, with Snoke dead, with the weight of command on his shoulders, he couldn't afford to lose him.

Or let him fall apart.

When Kylo entered the medbay, the air smelled of disinfectant and cold metal.

Three stormtroopers lay on stretchers, motionless, some trembling slightly.

 The medical droids worked in silence, their metallic voices echoing with identical reports.

—"No identifiable toxins. Nervous system exhibits excessive activity. Lack of neuronal rest. Pattern similar to General Hux's."

The words were repeated over and over, like a mechanical echo.

Kylo frowned. What was it, was it a disease or a virus? What did these stormtroopers and Hux have in common?

—"Isolate them," —he ordered. —"No one enters or leaves this bay."

—"Understood, Supreme Leader."

As he left, an idea flashed through him.

If what Hux had was a virus... or something else... he needed to keep an eye on him.

Hours later, he found Hux in the command room.

The general stood erect, though his gaze was distant at times.

Kylo paused to observe him from a distance before approaching.

—"General." —The deep voice interrupted the murmur of the consoles.

Hux tensed slightly, but didn't turn around immediately.

—"Supreme Leader," —he replied neutrally, but there was a tension of discomfort. —"I didn't expect to see you here."

—"It seems so."— Kylo looked at him with forced calm. —"I need to speak with you. In private."

The officers in the room glanced at each other, uneasy. Hux straightened with the stiffness of a soldier about to be confronted by a firing squad.

—"Of course," —he said in the coldest voice he could muster.

The conference room was empty and dark, lit only by the pale glow of the space beyond the viewport.

Kylo stood for a few seconds, without speaking.

Hux clasped his hands behind his back, impatient.

—"What is it now? Are you going to punish me for drinking your liquor?"— he quipped, his lips barely moving.

Kylo ignored him.

—"Your condition. It's not common. There are three stormtroopers showing the same symptoms. It could be a virus."

—"Wonderful,"— Hux replied sarcastically. —"Maybe it's spread by shouting."

Kylo stared at him, his jaw tight.

—"I could help you."

Hux raised an eyebrow.

—"Help me? With the Force?" —He gave a dry laugh. —"Forgive me if I don't trust your definition of 'help.'"

—"I could lull you to sleep." —Kylo insisted, his tone lower.— "In unconsciousness, your brain needs it."

—"And so do my ribs, after your previous attempts," —Hux murmured sourly. —"Besides, I don't think making me faint is the same as sleeping peacefully."

Kylo leaned slightly toward him.

—"Then propose another solution," —he said with a hint of threat in his voice. —"Because if you keep making mistakes, I'll have to replace you."

The silence that followed was as thick as a vacuum.

Hux held his gaze, not responding. His pride burned, but his body had no energy to argue.

—"Fine," —he said finally, through gritted teeth. —"Try it."

Kylo nodded slowly. He led him to the far couch.

They both sat down, leaving a barely symbolic space between them.

The silence stretched uncomfortably.

—"Close your eyes," —Kylo ordered.

Hux looked at him suspiciously. —"I won't kiss you again, General,"— Kylo added, his tone dry and with a hint of icy humor.

Hux glared at him. Still, he obeyed.

Kylo closed his eyes as well, reaching for Hux's temple.

He tried to enter his mind, but came up against a firm, cold wall, built by the general.

—"It won't work if you don't let me in," he murmured.

Hux gritted his teeth.

—"Make it quick."

Kylo took a deep breath, concentrating. The barrier gave way. But what he found behind it wasn't the respite he was looking for.

Images, like shards of glass, seared themselves into his mind. A red-haired boy, barely five years old, cowering in a corner. A voice calling his name. A crash. Water spilled on the floor. Fear. The cold.

Kylo shuddered. He couldn't pull away. The pain ripped through him as if it were his own.

—"Hux!" —he screamed mentally. —"Enough!"

But the general was trapped too. Memories had swallowed him. Kylo felt the air escape from his chest, his heart pounding.

With an inner roar, he broke the bond. The pull of the Force separated them.

They fell to the ground, panting, drenched in sweat. For several seconds, only their labored breathing could be heard.

Kylo looked up.

Hux watched him from the ground, his eyes open, his face pale, barely trembling.

Neither of them said anything.

—"What did you do?" —His voice came out shaky, but filled with suppressed rage. His eyes, his eyes burned with a mixture of fear, fury, and shame.

Kylo didn't respond immediately. His breathing was ragged; his mind was still spinning between overlapping images: the boy, the blow, the father's voice.

He was... stunned.

He had never felt anything like this in someone's mind. It was as if he'd plunged into an icy abyss filled with broken echoes.

—"I..." —he stammered, his voice lower than usual, —"didn't do it on purpose."

—"Bullshit!" —Hux spat, trying to get up from the floor. But the movement made him stagger; a dizziness hit him suddenly, knocking him off balance.

Kylo, ​​without thinking, gripped him tightly by the arm and back.

The touch was rough, instinctive, but his fingers lingered a second longer than necessary.

Hux gasped angrily, trying to move away, but his body wouldn't cooperate. Kylo held him until he placed him back on the couch.

Only then did he seem to realize what he was doing, and he immediately stepped back, straightening with unusual clumsiness. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

—"The man in the memory... was he your father?"

Hux tensed. His hands gripped the edge of the couch.The answer was a simple:

—"Yes."

Kylo nodded once, not daring to say more.

It wasn't just the father he'd seen. There were other figures: officers, uniforms, faces he vaguely recognized. Some he knew were dead. Others who now served under him. Among them, one stood out: General Pryde.

Had Hux eliminated them? One by one? It was a possibility, it didn't surprise him.

He realized something: he himself had returned Pryde to command... just to spite Hux. To see him upset, and now he understood—halfway—the real reason behind that hatred.

His gaze returned to Hux, who had remained still, his face tense, his hair somewhat disheveled, and his skin paler than usual. For the first time, Kylo didn't see arrogance.

Only exhaustion.

Without saying anything, he walked to the table, took the bottle of liquor, and poured two glasses.

Hux looked at him suspiciously. Kylo handed him the glass.

—"Take it," —he said with a strange calm.

The general accepted it, somewhat defensively, but said nothing.

He took a slow sip, the alcohol burning his throat, giving him back a bit of warmth. Kylo sat on the other side of the sofa. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

They just stared out the large cabin window, where the vastness of space unfolded like a dark sea.

 Then, a flash crossed the horizon: a bright line that vanished in seconds.

A shooting star. A comet traveling silently through the blackness.

Hux looked up, following it with his eyes. Kylo noticed.

—"Do you like shooting stars?" —he asked, his voice deep but curiously soft.

Hux looked at him for a moment, surprised by the question. Then he smiled slightly, a small, barely perceptible smile.

Kylo watched it, motionless; he couldn't remember ever seeing him smile, a genuine smile. And something inside him shifted, a faint tremor he couldn't recognize.

—"I find them tragic," —Hux said finally, his voice low and thoughtful. —"They're beautiful when they appear... but the moment doesn't last. One second you see them, and the next they're gone. And you never see them again."

 Kylo remained silent, staring at the spot where the light had faded. "Tragic." Yes, he thought. Like everything that burns too brightly in its own fire.

After a long moment, he rose from the couch. His voice, when he spoke, was firm again, though with a different tone.

—"You'll sleep in my quarters tonight as well,"— Kylo said, trying to sound nonchalant. —"And... don't worry, I won't disturb you tonight, General."

Hux frowned. —"And you?"

Kylo turned toward the door, without looking at him.

—"I have something to do,"— he replied simply.

The door opened with a hiss, and Kylo disappeared down the corridor.

Hux re-entered Kylo's quarters that night. He was alone, as Kylo had said.

For a moment, he considered pouring himself another glass of Kylo's liquor just to irritate him.

But he didn't. 

Instead, he turned on his datapad and began reviewing reports.

His tired eyes moved slowly over the lines of text, but his concentration was slowly returning.

Then, a notification lit up the screen. A message from his aide:

“General Hux, by order of the Supreme Leader, General Pryde has been removed from his duties and sent into temporary confinement.”

Hux read it twice.

His lips curved into a silent, almost imperceptible smile, and he continued reviewing the reports.

Chapter Text

Kylo returned to the medbay.

The air there always smelled of metal and disinfectant, an almost funereal silence hovering among the gurneys. It made him uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but return. If he hadn't been able to do it properly with Hux, he should at least try with the sick stormtroopers.

He closed his eyes, concentrating his breathing until the Force enveloped him. He entered the troopers' minds, one by one, trying to induce sleep. It worked—or so he thought—it rendered them unconscious. He had fainted them, but it was almost the same as putting them to sleep. This was progress; he had to serve with Hux.

He left the medbay in silence and returned to his quarters.

For several days, Hux had slept there, by his orders. Kylo had told him it was to keep him under observation, but in reality it was so he could see him from time to time, even if Hux didn't notice. He checked the cameras, made sure he was breathing regularly, and when he couldn't stand the anxiety anymore, he went to the door, just to listen.

Kylo, ​​meanwhile, slept in the meditation room, feigning concentration as his mind revolved around a single thought: Hux.

No longer a resister, no longer a scavenger, just Hux, although Kylo would never admit it, not even to himself.

When he entered that night, he found him as usual.

The general was sitting by the table, surrounded by reports and holographic screens, with a (again) half-empty bottle of liquor at his side.

—"I told you to stop drinking that," —Kylo muttered, crossing his arms.

Hux raised an eyebrow, without looking up from his report.

—"And I told you I need them more than you do,"— he replied, his voice dry, though without the hostility of before.

Kylo gave a half-smile. The tension between them had changed. It was still there, yes, but now it felt different.

He walked over to the bed and sank down, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

—"Come on, lie down here," —he said, without looking at him.

Hux looked up, surprised.

—"Excuse me?"

Kylo turned his face, an amused grimace curving his lips.

—"Don't get it wrong. I'm not going to do what you think."

—"I wasn't thinking that," —Hux lied, sitting up a little.

—"Of course. Come on, General," —Kylo insisted.

Hux sighed, exasperated, and finally gave in. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, stiff as a statue, before leaning back somewhat awkwardly. Kylo watched him silently, studying his gestures, his breathing, the way he tried to hide his discomfort.

—"It worked with the stormtroopers," —Kylo finally said.— "I can put you to rest, too."

—"It won't work with me,"— Hux replied tensely. —"My memories... they don't go silent. And I don't want you to be a gossip, digging into them."

Kylo leaned toward him, closer than Hux expected.

—"You know... I can make you think about something else while I enter your mind. Something to clear your thoughts."

—"And how would you do that?" —Hux asked, looking at him suspiciously.

Kylo didn't respond. He just gently took the general's wrist and pulled him toward him. He felt Hux's breathing stop for a second. Then Kylo kissed him.

Their lips touched with unexpected slowness. It was a tenuous touch, almost reverent. Hux's hand rose hesitantly and rested on Kylo's chest, not pushing him, just being there. Kylo thought it was surprisingly tender, almost fragile, especially when the general wasn't ordering the destruction of entire planets with some fascist speech.

Hux's lips felt warm, like that night. He remembers how he'd become so lost in the sensation that it nearly suffocated the general as Kylo lost himself in them like a drug. This time, it wasn't going to take his breath away.

In that instant, as the kiss lingered, Hux's mind cleared. There were no barriers, no memories, no voices from the past. Just silence.

Kylo took advantage. He entered his mind.

For the first time, everything was calm. He pulled a cord in Hux's mind, and the general's consciousness faded.

When he pulled away, Hux's head fell gently onto his shoulder. He was asleep.

 Kylo stared at him for a long moment, unsure why he felt a lump in his chest.

He shook his head, tucked him into the bed, and quietly retreated, letting him rest.

The next night, he returned.

Hux was already waiting for him, sitting on the bed with the half-read reports. When Kylo sat down, the general simply followed him, silently. There was no more resistance. It was a routine, an unspoken agreement.

And so the days went by.

Sometimes they talked. Sometimes they drank. Kylo began to find peace in those moments.

During the day, he made excuses to talk to Hux or interrupt him "on command matters." He found himself making sure he didn't overwork, monitoring his health, worrying.

One afternoon, however, he almost lost control.

One of the lieutenants got too close to the general while he was briefing him, his smile too confident. Kylo, ​​curious, read his mind and found thoughts that enraged him. Before he could think twice, he used the Force and threw him against the console.

—"You can't throw my men around like rag dolls!" —Hux yelled, indignant. 

Kylo didn't respond. He just watched him. He wondered if all of this was really working. But Hux... Hux was smiling more. He seemed in a better mood.

Maybe it was healing him.

That night, before going to the quarters, Kylo decided to stop by the medbay first.

The stormtroopers were gone. That just meant they'd been discharged.

—"When were they discharged?" — Kylo demanded in his usual cold tone of voice.

—"The subjects are dead, Supreme Leader."

The world stopped. For a moment, Kylo didn't breathe.

—"What did you say?"

The droid repeated the sentence, but before he could finish it, it was cut in two, then three, then four, until it was shattered by Kylo's lightsaber, just like the rest of the medbay.

When Kylo finally caught his breath, everything was in ruins. And the silence was unbearable.

He walked to his quarters, staggering, feeling dizzy; some of the hallways were confusing.

Upon entering, he found Hux waiting for him on the bed, a datapad in his hand. The general looked up, puzzled by his expression.

—"Are you going to stand there all night?" —he asked.

Kylo didn't answer. He watched him, still, his throat tight.

—"How are the stormtroopers?" —Hux asked with a small smile. —"I suppose they must be better now. I've been feeling more energetic lately. What you're doing... seems to be working, and I thought your true calling was to destroy the ship."

Kylo looked at him blankly. The hope in Hux's voice burned hotter than any saber.

He forced a smile.

—"Yeah... they've been discharged. They're fine. Soon you will be too."

Hux looked relieved.

He began to talk about strategies, new plans against the Resistance, as enthusiastic as he hadn't been in a while. Kylo sat beside him, listening.

He told him they were brilliant ideas, that they would end the Resistance.

 And then, in a low voice, he added:

—"You're an excellent general, Hux."

The redhead looked at him suspiciously.

—"Are you making fun of me?"

Kylo shook his head.

—"No. I mean it."

The silence stretched until Hux sighed.

—"You don't need to do anything tonight. I'm sleepy. Maybe I'm healing."

Kylo nodded.

—"Maybe I am,"— he said with a broken smile. But he didn't leave.

—"So what do you do now?" — Hux asked, half-drowsily.

—"I can stay here. Just to make sure you don't choke on your own vomit," —Kylo joked in a muffled voice.

Hux glared at him, but eventually relented. It was Kylo's bed, after all.

They lay down. Silence filled the room.

 Before closing his eyes, Kylo leaned in and kissed him deeply.

—"And that?" —Hux asked, half asleep.

—"Because I wanted to," —Kylo replied.

None of them said anything else.

After a while, Hux approached slowly, hesitantly. Kylo smiled to himself and wrapped him tightly in his arms, while the general murmured something inaudible.

For the first time in a long time, Hux fell asleep peacefully, breathing easily, his body relaxed. Kylo felt his own heart calm as well, and he closed his eyes.

That was the last memory he had of Hux.

The last time she saw him sleeping.

A month had passed.

Kylo sat on the couch in his quarters, holding a bottle of liquor. It was the last one. The only one Hux hadn't drunk and had left for him.

The silence was heavy. The First Order felt empty. In meetings, her gaze always ended up straying to the empty seat where Hux used to sit.  In the hallways, in the command room, everywhere, there was an echo of him.

Kylo got up slowly, walked to the bed, and looked down at his.

He could swear his scent still lingered on the sheets. For a moment, he thought he smelled him there, breathing beside him.

He walked over to the window.

Space stretched out in front of him, dark and endless.

Then he saw it: a comet, crossing the blackness with a bright, beautiful, and ephemeral flame.

 He followed it with his gaze until it disappeared.

—"In the end... you were my shooting star," Kylo murmured, barely a whisper in the darkness.

The comet's reflection faded in the glass, and with it, the last spark of light in his eyes.

The end.