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The Finalizer is full of motion and noise, even more so than usual. People are walking from place to place almost frantically, bustling and shuffling through the corridors of the ship. It is irritating. Their minds are a jumble of thoughts, emotions and nonsense, and Kylo has to actively keep a mental block up in his own headspace. He rarely ever does that, so it is not an easy task. He takes some satisfaction in the drastic dampening of their emotions when they see him however, quieting down in apprehension.
He strides through the corridors of the Finalizer, quite pleased with the fear he seems to evoke in the crew. But even that is not enough to slow his pace. Kylo has questions, and only one man can answer them.
Hux is hunched over some blueprints on the table in the command centre, speaking in sharp, low tones to one of his commanders. His thoughts are a mess too, Kylo can feel the dissonance in him from five feet away but well. Tough.
“General Hux,” he says, making sure to dip his voice so it sounds even lower with the help of his vocal distorter, “I wish to speak to you.”
The general’s head snaps up, greatly displeased. He schools his expression eventually, but he is nowhere near amiable, “I’m occupied with our plans for the moment, Lord Ren, I’ll be with you in a moment.”
Kylo doesn’t hesitate, “By our plans, do you mean our next step to catch the droid? Because I have not heard any news pertaining that.”
Hux stops himself from speaking quite obviously, and Kylo can hear him counting in his head. One, two, three, “We are simply waiting for intel about the droid. The very moment we receive it, we will dispatch the necessary amount of men to retrieve it. You will be informed of its whereabouts as soon as we find out, Ren. You know this.”
“You expect me to sit and wait, General?
“I don’t expect you to do anything!” some of the crew turns to look at Hux in surprise, and the General lowers his voice, hissing in agitation, “You are not chained to this ship. You are free to do as you please, as long as you are not wasting resources or going against Snoke’s orders.”
Kylo scoffs, the noise turned uglier by his mask, “By resources, you mean your mediocre army? Snoke’s orders was for you to assist me with what I need to do. You have done no such thing.”
“I’m not your babysitter, Ren! I have a ship to run, a weapon to build.”
Stop being irrationally needy, Kylo hears as Hux lost slight control over his thoughts, and he is getting progressively angry himself.
“Finding the droid is vital. And Starkiller Base is nothing but grandiose masturbation, your excessive planning on it is a shameless display, Hux.”
Hux’s eyes blazes like blue flame when he’s angry. It reminds Kylo of a lightsaber’s electric blue, the lightsaber of his old mentor. The similarity infuriates him.
“How dare you. The base is the key to the First Order’s success. And somehow you think your obsession with an old Jedi lost somewhere in the cosmos is more important than the victory of the First Order?” Hux steps forward, gets right into his personal space, “You have issues, Lord Ren.”
“Shut up,” Kylo spits, more than irked by now.
“You shut up!” Hux shoots back, and Kylo jerks his hand up, causing a pile of datapads on a table to fly wildly through the command centre. They crash into walls and monitors as the crew dives to the ground for safety. Glass shatters into pieces like rain.
Kylo is ready to dive straight into a shouting match with the General, but Hux takes a step back, glancing over at his staff. Kylo can feel Hux’s effort to calm down.
“Lord Ren,” Hux says through gritted teeth, “Cease this. We are in the midst of one of the most important projects for the First Order. You will get your map. I simply ask you to be patient just a little longer.”
His eyes are glittering with hatred, even if his words are meant to placate. Kylo wonders what Hux would look like if he is choked, blue eyes all bulging out of their sockets. He decides that he could see it some other time.
Kylo Ren doesn’t say a word, he just turns around and leaves.
//
Hux feels like he is flying. He has to make sure he is still walking on the ground in his usual fashion, has to school his expression into something professional. The Starkiller Base has been an amazing success and the destruction of the Hosnian System will be his magnum opus (for the time being) at the age of 34. The battle with the Resistance on Takodana has caused them some losses, but it is nothing that would impair his army. Everything had gone very well, and Hux feels victorious.
Lord Kylo Ren is suspiciously waiting by the door to his quarters in the ship when Hux reaches it, and he vaguely remembers their fight from earlier. He supposes that it doesn’t matter. All he has to do is keep a clear head and a calm disposition, and Ren will simmer down eventually. Nothing can kill his high right now.
“Ren,” he nods as a greeting.
It could have been his imagination, as it is hard to tell with Kylo Ren’s ridiculous mask, but the Force user seems breathless, “I watched you wipe those planets out. It was very impressive, General.”
“Thank you,” Hux says automatically, smiling just a little, “It felt impressive.”
“As it should be. We have the girl, the one who had joined FN-2187.”
Hux raises an eyebrow, “And the droid?”
“No. The girl has seen the map, it would not be difficult for me to extract it from her mind. We will have to report to the Supreme Leader soon enough about our findings. We are very close to our goals, Hux.”
“We certainly are,” Hux can’t quite rein in his excitement, considering his co-commander also has an excited air to his voice, even if it is hard to tell, “The Republic is finished, and the Resistance cannot hold on its own. The First Order will dominate. You will have the last piece of your map and find Luke Skywalker. We will succeed.”
Kylo Ren does nothing but watches him for a while, and Hux might be dreaming, but the man laughs quietly, the noise warped but distinguishable. Then Lord Ren lifts his hand to place it on Hux’s shoulder, and Hux is sure he is either hallucinating, or Kylo Ren is going to finally kill him.
“Victory looks very good on you, General.”
It is an extremely odd thing coming from Kylo fucking Ren, but Hux finds himself to unable to say anything, the hand on his shoulder suddenly rooting him to the spot. He just stares.
They are silent for a while, before Kylo Ren jerks his hand back as if burned, like he doesn’t know what came over him. Then he coughs, before straightening up and looking down at Hux with what little height advantage he has. Hux is insanely jealous of his mask, right then. Hux doesn’t even know what kind of expression Hux has on right now.
“It’s time to interrogate our captive. Congratulations on your success. I shall take my leave.”
Ren walks away, and Hux belatedly goes, “Yes. Yes, my Lord.” He wants the ground to open up and swallow him, simply because his skin is crawling with how awkward their situation had been, and how clueless he feels about everything concerning Kylo Ren at the moment. They certainly don’t like each other, they only tolerate one another.
Hux is beginning to doubt that, somehow.