Hux was bored. His tasks of late had been mildly entertaining at best but for the last week he had been given virtually nothing to do and it was making him restless. Two weeks had passed since his incident with Ren on the balcony and for the most part he had been able to put it out of his mind while he concentrated on the meager tasks he had been assigned. But now he was bored and his attention was being pulled back to that event but before he could start planning revenge however, he needed to be certain of one thing.
Turning to one of his captains he ordered, "Where is Kylo Ren currently located?" The seated mans hand instantly started to dance around his keyboard as he searched the base.
"Current location is the training facility in sector two." The man responded evenly. Nodding his head in recognition, Hux made a plan quickly The training facility in sector two was a private facility only open to those in the higher ranks of the First Order. Perfect. He could confront Ren with an almost impossible chance of being discovered since there were no other generals present on the base at the moment. But first he had to change.
Making a quick detour to his private quarters to pick up the necessary equipment, Hux changed out of his usual black attire into his training clothes before placing his long black jacket over the ensemble and closing it up. It would not be acceptable for any of the underlings to see their General in anything less than his usual garb and it was only a two minute walk to the training facility anyway. Making the small journey in haste, he arrived at the doors of the training rooms and typed in his password to the keypad, causing the doors to open before him.
The first thing he noticed upon entering was Ren. He was sitting on the floor on one of the mats and he appeared to be meditating silently, causing Hux to frown. He had hoped that Ren would have been doing actual physical training which would have made his plans much easier to put into action. Now he had to quickly rethink. Placing his bag on the side, he started to unbutton the coat before pulling it off and folding it neatly beside the bag. Pulling out two rolls of tape, he quickly taped his hands to prevent any damage before heading for the nearest punch-bag. Physical exercise was a mandatory part of his training and although he much preferred to train alone, today he had elected to make an exception.
He tested the bag with a quick punch to make sure that it would be suitable for his uses and out of the corner of his eye he saw Ren shift slightly as he became aware of his presence. Continuing to warm-up by giving the bag some steady blows, he kept Ren in his peripheral vision and watched as he started to stretch out from his seated position before opening his eyes and looking at the man who had interrupted him. When Rens' eyes landed on him, Hux did not see any change of expression but he did note that his stretching had momentarily halted as he took in the sight of his eternally fully-covered general in nothing more than a white vest and black training bottoms.
Fighting to keep the smirk from his face, Hux continued to pound at the punching bag as Ren continued to watch him. There was an odd tension in the air as Hux waited for Ren to speak or make some comment. But nothing came. Eventually, after realising that Ren had been watching him for over five minutes without any obvious sign of movement, he stopped his attacks on the bag with one final kick and turned fully to the still-seated man. "Do you have something you wish to say Ren? Or are you watching me in a futile attempt to gain some of my skill?"
Scoffing lightly, Ren stood before moving to the small bench which sat a few feet from Hux. "Skill? You are mistaken. Your form is entirely off-center and it would not take more than a simple manoeuvre to have you thrown to the ground and defeated." He stretched out his body again and Hux could clearly see the defined muscle which his thin long-sleeved black top did very little to hide. They were both wearing a similar type of trouser though and as he looked at him, Hux could see the amusement in his eyes. He's testing me, Hux thought and he instantly had the perfect idea as to how to test his precious theory.
"Fight me then." Hux challenged as he spread his arms wide. "If I am such a poor fighter then prove it. Right here and right now. Just you and I. No weapons and no use of the force on your part." He paused for a moment before going for the kill shot. "If you feel you are unprepared then I will allow you some time to gather your strength." A feeling of victory warmed him as Ren instantly stood up before moving two of the mats into the center of the room.
Drawing himself to his full height as the stood on the mats, Ren asked. "And what are the parameters of this fight?"
"First to have the other pinned on the mat wins. Again, no use of weapons or the force. Aside from that there are no rules." Hux replied as he tensed his hands.
Ren stepped back slightly to put a small piece of space between them before smirking. "I can live with that." As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly swept out with his foot in a vain attempt to end the battle almost as quickly as it had begun. Anticipating this move, Hux, jumped backwards slightly before ducking as Ren had followed up with a well-aimed punch as his head. This was not the first time which they had fought but it was the first time they had somewhat agreed to it. But Hux was happy to allow Ren to go on the offensive as he tactfully noted the mans' preferred style of attack. He blocked another attempted blow to his head but was not fast enough to stop the punch which handed on his left shoulder and sent him spinning to the mat.
As soon as he landed, he rolled away to avoid Ren who had swooped down in an attempt to pin him. Maybe it was time for a change. Switching from defense, he lashed out with a kick which connected harshly with Rens' ribs and caused the taller man to gasp in pain. What Ren did not know was that while Hux was in training at the academy, it was a tradition for officers to organise private fights which would be gambled on by the others. It was a no-rules, non-stop brawl which would only end when one contestant was unconscious. Hux was the only one of his training squad to take the winning title twice. He may not look like a fighter, but that was the folly of his enemies as they underestimated him.
Giving Ren a small moment to recover from the blow, he soon launched into another attack as he kicked the back of Rens' leg which caused him to sink to his knees before he latched on to the dark hair and pulled his head down while simultaneously dragging his knee up until it collided with Rens' chin and sent him sprawling to the ground in a daze. Unprepared by the surprise onslaught, Ren lay on the mat in mild shock. Hux was not supposed to be a fighter, his basic training should not have allowed him to be able to do this. He felt his mouth fill with blood and realised that Hux had also split his lip open quite severely.
"You son of a b-" Rens' words were cut off by Hux dropping down smoothly onto his stomach and placing a wrapped hand around his throat, squeezing lightly in warning. The terms of the fight had been met and Hux was the winner.
"Do you yield?" Hux breathed and his eyes shone with his apparent victory as his body vibrated slightly with the excess of adrenaline which was coursing through his system.
Staring back defiantly as he licked a small trickle of blood which was threatening to escape his lips, Ren moved his head upwards as far as he could before the hand around his throat stopped him. "I will never yield." He spat.
"And yet I have still won." Hux gestured with his hands as he pointed out the position they were currently lying in. "Now what I am going to do with you." He instantly felt a small pressure inside his head and he realised the Ren was trying to skim his thoughts. Using all the techniques which he had become proficient at, he threw up his mental barriers and instantly the pressure disappeared. Irritated by the attempt, he used his free hand to slap lightly at Rens' cheek while keeping the pressure on his throat even. "I thought we agreed no use of the force. Besides, my training also included being able to protect my mind from outside interference, training given by Smoke himself. One of the perks of being a top general with much sensitive information i suppose."
Beneath him, Ren narrowed his eyes as he listened to the explanation before a small pout made itself apparent on his lips as he realised that he had been defeated by his own underestimation of the arrogant redhead. Noticing the pout and unable to resist claiming his win properly, Hux yanked Rens' head forward and ducked down until their lips met for the second time. There was nothing romantic about this kiss however. It was clumsy and marked with a desire for dominance which was fuelled on as the taste of Rens' spilled blood became apparent in both their mouths. At the coppery taste, Hux brought his hand to Rens' hair and tugged harshly at the strands, causing Ren to gasp slightly and allow Hux better access to his mouth as he continued the forceful kiss. As he enjoyed his win, he noted vaguely in his mind that Ren was not attempting to throw him off, in fact, he was actively participating as he bit down on Huxs' own bottom lip.
Breaking away as suddenly as he had started, Hux had to wipe away a small drop of blood which had collected at his own mouth as he stared down at his opponent. Rens' dark eyes were lidded as he stared back at his general and the desire that was burning from within them was obvious. Hux smirked as his theory was proven correct. Kylo Ren was definitely attracted to him and that was all the confirmation he needed. Just to be certain though, he ghosted his hand down the lean body and over the obvious bulge in Rens' crotch which matched the one which Hux himself was making no effort to conceal.
"Well isn't this interesting." Hux muttered loudly as he removed his hands fom both Rens' crotch and neck. "I had no idea that you felt this way Ren." He said mockingly as he used the other mans chest to support himself as he jumped up to a standing position.
Without missing a beat, Ren answered. "It would appear that the feeling is mutual." He gestured to the obvious arousal which Hux himself was showing. Shrugging in a careless fashion, Hux grabbed his coat and started to it.
"Since that event on the balcony I had a suspicion that you harbored some ill-fated attraction to me and it would appear that I am correct." He shifted his arms into the coat and buttoned it up fully as it was when he had previously entered. "Today was a test, set up to determine the extent of this attraction. A test which you passed with great enthusiasm." He moved to stand beside the exit. "As much as I am physically tempted to take this further, I find your attitude and childish behaviour to be far too unappealing to sully myself." He opened the doors and made to leave.
A snort of disbelief came from Ren, who had returned to the meditation position he was enjoying before Hux arrived. "Until next time then, General Hux." Ren offered in a voice which was pleasant enough but the underlying tone of it sent shivers down Hux's spine. He had a sneaking suspicion that since they were both now fully aware of the desire of the other that life would now become more interesting as they continued to play this sordid game of theirs. As he mused on all that had just transpired he realised that it was now Rens' move and as much as he tried to deny it to himself, he was eagerly awaiting the response.