"Everyone other than General Hux is dismissed."

Hux could feel the sigh of relief going around the conference room table. I survived another meeting with the new Supreme Leader, they were all thinking. Technically, Ren hadn't actually killed or even seriously injured anyone in a meeting yet, which was really surprising if you thought about it, but it was only a matter of time. Hux remained in his seat, staring straight ahead and trying to take deep, calming breaths, while the others removed themselves from the room with almost supernatural efficiency, slamming the door behind the last of them like a quarantine lock. He had no idea what Ren wanted this time, which made his situation even more dangerous than usual.

Ren got up from his seat at the head of the table and moved around to take the one directly in front of Hux. Hux continued not to meet his eyes.

"General," Ren snapped, as he always did at this point, "look at me."

As he always did at this point, Hux obeyed. It had become incredibly difficult, meeting Ren's eyes. Every time he did, he felt a pulse of jealousy and desperation so fierce it made him ill.

"General," Ren said, "I've decided to designate you as my successor in case anything happens to me."

This was so unlike the sort of thing that normally came out of Ren's mouth in Hux's direction that Hux took several seconds to parse the sentence, then several more seconds trying to remember how one went about speaking to Ren when he was not insulting you. Finally he settled for "I would have considered the throne mine anyway."

"Yes, but you, unlike me, cannot protect your claim with the Force. I thought an official decree might be beneficial to the stability of the First Order."

Hux stared. "That...is very forward-thinking of you, Supreme Leader." Who are you and what have you done with-

"I am Kylo Ren," Ren interrupted the unspoken jibe, "and I'm tired of you underestimating me, General."

Underestimate Ren, indeed. Something was definitely wrong. A vine of fear began to wind around Hux's stomach. "But...why now?"

"Better late than never."

Liar. Liar liar liar. "You-are you thinking about running off and doing something stupid and dangerous? Is that what this is? Another duel with Luke Skywalker?"

"Luke Skywalker is dead," Ren said irritably, "and don't question my plans, General." Which was not a denial.

Hux stood up. "The scavenger, then," he hissed. "You've figured out where she is and now you want to run off and confront her alone? To prove a point?"

The air grabbed Hux by the throat and yanked him up and forward, bashing his knees into the edge of the conference table. "I said. Don't. Question. My. Plans." Ren said as he got to his feet. He yanked Hux further, sliding him over the table and dumping him onto the ground in front of him. "And no, I haven't tracked her down yet."

"But you will." Hux barely noticed the pain in his knees and throat, or the fact that starting a fight with the Supreme Leader over the latter giving him a promotion was surely the most irrational thing he had ever done in his life. He was panicking. "And this-this is your plan, when you do-" He tried to get to his feet, but he was shaking too much. This was much worse than Luke Skywalker. This was-

"This is the only way. I've come to see that. She is a symbol. If I merely defeat her with overwhelming force, she will become a martyr." Ren stared down at Hux, looking confused. "Why are you objecting? It only benefits you if I don't return. This is very unlike you. Did you pick up a brain parasite on Canto Bight?"

Why was he objecting? Because he was afraid of-of-"it does not benefit...the stability of the First Order...you could destroy everything..."-especially if she influences you, and we all know how prone you are to influences-

"You are underestimating me again." Ren yanked Hux to his feet with an invisible hand and stared into his eyes, causing another pulse of desperation to go through him. "You are also-lying-oh!" Ren's own eyes widened. He seemed to have had an epiphany.

"What?" Hux sputtered. He grabbed at the back of a chair for support. Ren was acting as if he had seen something incriminating in the waves of emotion roiling behind Hux's eyes, even though they had become too wild and complex for Hux himself to distinguish them.

A look of exultation came over Ren's face.

"What?"

Ren kissed him.

Oh.

Everything makes sense now.

Kissing Kylo Ren was like drawing the first lungful of air after being released from a Force-choking. Kissing Kylo Ren was like finally shooting down a fighter that had pursued your ship relentlessly when you were almost out of fuel. Kissing Kylo Ren was like bringing down the New Republic after decades of seemingly futile struggle and sacrifice.

Kissing Kylo Ren was almost like defeating him.

When they broke apart, Ren was shaking too. "Arrogant general," he murmured. "All the time I've spent looking for your weakness...the flaw in your programming...I never imagined..."

"That was a foolish thing to do," Hux whispered, "after everything Snoke said about using weaknesses as weapons." His eyes narrowed. He grabbed Ren by the shoulders. "You. Will NOT. Run off and endanger yourself unnecessarily at the enemy's hands before I make up my mind about whether I want you dead. Or else."

Ren sighed. "If you say so, General." He pulled Hux toward him. This will not go well, Hux thought, before he stopped thinking about anything other than Kylo Ren's skin.