2: An Outfit

Hux stared blankly at one of the mirrors in the window of the shop he was standing in front of. He had reserved exactly half an hour, and his appointment started in just a few moments.

He sighed deeply, pocketing his notebook, and strode powerfully into the shop.

A chromed C3 droid waddled up to him, its magnetic arm covered with pins.

"Good afternoon, sir, are you my next appointment?"

"If your next appointment is the Emperor, then yes."

The droid's eyes flickered as it buffered.

"I am sorry, sir, I don't recognize that title. I am only a service droid."

Hux sighed carefully. It was just a droid.

"You're looking for Hux."

"Ah. Yes. Follow me, please, we'll start by taking your measurements."

"I'm not here to get anything for myself." He scoffed suddenly, looking around himself at the displays of floor-length gowns, robes, and other pieces that were more glitter than fabric. "I have the measurements you'll need here. I-I don't know anything about fashion, but he's got dark hair and pale skin and-and lovely...lovely dark eyes…"

Hux cleared his throat suddenly, typing Kylo's measurements into the keypad the droid opened on its chest. "Whatever colors will look good with that, I don't care."

The droid buffered for a bit, and then hobbled away.

Hux crossed his arms, closing his eyes.

The door behind him opened, the bell on top of it ringing, the new customers chatting calmly.

There was a sudden gasp, and the conversation behind him fell silent.

Citizens were always terrified of him.

He opened his eyes, rubbing his temple as he turned.

He froze, hand still at his forehead.

Kylo Ren was standing in the doorway, a travel cup of caf in one hand.

Hux stared. He stared and stared and stared.

Kylo was wearing minimal makeup, gentle eyeliner wings and full-lipped lipstick, which for him, seemed like nothing. His hair was pulled back into a messy, haphazard bun, loose strands at his neck and near his face, a pair of sinfully tight beige leggings that disappeared into fur-topped, soft-bottomed booties under a white tunic, with tight sleeves past the elbows and the rest of the garment loose, hanging casually from his frame, making him look much smaller than he really was. The collar of his tunic had a large cowl, again, but his knuckles were red, bruised, and raw, clutching his cup, and his minimal makeup couldn't hide a soft and faded bruise under his jaw.

He had walked in arm-in-arm with a brunette woman in similar dress, whose eyes turned furious the moment they locked onto Hux.

"Kylo?"

"Hux!"

"What are you doing here?!"

The woman stepped in front of Kylo like she was trying to block Hux from even looking at him, and sure enough, Kylo quickly tucked his hands into the sleeves of his shirt, knuckles out of sight.

"Rey...please, it-it's alright."

Rey looked darkly at the queen, but stepped aside anyway.

"Why-why are you here?"

Kylo suddenly went timid, eyes cast down to his drink.

Hux flushed. Hard. He went redder than his hair, and couldn't say anything. His brain felt fuzzy, so fuzzy he didn't even know what he was supposed to say.

Rey turned back to Hux with the same look of surprise on her face as Kylo.

"You. I mean-I'm-you-you're here-shopping-I'm here-I- I'm here shopping for you!"

He spluttered.

Kylo went red too, his shoulders limping.

Hux stepped forward, clearing his throat desperately. He extended his hands awkwardly. "I-I meant to say…what I meant to say was, your mother gave me a very specific set of instructions, and I intend to follow them, and I'm meant to give you gifts of courtship, and- I thought I would get you an outfit. I just-I just thought-"

Kylo chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

"My mother never even followed those rules. I should have known she'd set you up to it. That was what those plants were about, too, then?"

Hux smiled suddenly.

He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled sincerely, and Kylo seemed surprised too.

"I still intend to follow through on it, your majesty."

Kylo smiled too, sort of blankly, before he shook himself and went back to being a statue.

"I think our most important goal should be actually planning a wedding. We have to make it look good, you know."

Hux laughed suddenly, a sharp, barking laugh, and he watched Kylo flinch from it.

It gave him a jolt, some kind of rush, that the grand being was frightened of him, even if for only a moment.

"I know perfectly well. It's all about the posterity."

"The image makes the man." Kylo agreed, taking a gentle sip of his drink.

Rey scoffed, shoving herself up against Kylo and taking his arm again.

"I think we should leave the Emperor to his work. He seems to be very busy." She practically spat. "It'd be a real smack in the face if we threw off his schedule."

She tugged Kylo with enough force to pull him slightly off his feet. He sullened, and flipped a loose bit of hair away from his face.

"Goodbye, Emperor." Kylo murmured, pulling his sleeve over his hand again. "I look forward to seeing what you choose; this is a personal favorite store of mine." He added as an afterthought.

The bell rang again as they left.

Hux grinned. His entire face seemed to contort gleefully, and the weight of stupidity on his mind seemed to lift.

The droid brought back four outfits. Hux bought them all, looking each over only once. As the droid scanned in the order, Hux pulled his notebook out again.

2: An Outfit

He made a short check mark, and smiled again briefly.