Chapter 17 - Reunion

Author's note: I know Hux's chambers are not typical for the fandom, but canon Brendol Hux was obsessed with flashy stuff so why not the son too? The slow burn finally pays off.

As soon as the group boarded from Ossus their course was changed from the Starkiller Base to Jakku, by way of Tatooine to refuel. While the expedition had shaken Avin, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. For the first time in many months, she felt like herself again. A few days after the mission Avin had called the Tailor Droid to her quarters and was now wearing a mix of silk shirts and comfortable trousers as well as flowing robes in Naboo style around the ship, in suitably muted colours. The paints Hux had sent her recently were being put to good use and for the first time in months Avin had introduced colour to her art again. Her quarters, once an austere lifeless box, were slowly become vibrant and warm.

She and Hux were having lunch together, when possible. The Starkiller Base seemed to take up a huge amount of his time now, with frequent shuttle trips forward and back from the main ship. They had not spoken of what happened in Ossus but had arrived at a friendly truce with each other. They had just finished their meal, five days en route to Jakku, when Hux turned to her.

"You need to know how to defend yourself." He said. She pressed her napkin to her mouth and raised her eyebrows so he would continue.

"At 1600 I will be showing you how to shoot." He said with a finality which left no room for argument. She saw the value in this and agreed, going back to the archives for a few hours before leaving for shooting practice. With plenty of time to spare she set off in the direction of the training rooms, several floors below the bridge and senior officer's quarters. She had never been here before and visual maps helped guide her through the similar black corridors. Once she had reached their arranged meeting spot, she looked around at various doors along the corridor. She was early for once and stood silently until an odd noise of staccato thrumming reached her from the training room opposite. She could hear strange noises inside and eventually her curiosity got the better of her. She opened one door to a huge hall in greys and whites on which several sparring rings were present. Coloured physical projections stood proud from the left-hand wall, some large enough to climb and others large enough to jump from to various floating platforms above her head. In the right corner of the hall, the strange noise of a lightsaber moving quickly through the air led her eyes to Kylo Ren. He spun and looped through different attack forms hitting dummies with a violent burst of energy. He was in loose fitting pants and top, without his helmet on.

"Who would dare disturb my training." He shouted, back still turned, then clearly realised who it was and pulled up short, snapping his head to face her. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "Waiting for Hux. He's teaching me how to shoot."

Ren rolled his eyes and spun through another form. His hair was slicked back with sweat and his breathing was heavy but stable.

"Good. His fear drove me to distraction on Ossus." He said, turning off his lightsaber and stepping towards her.

"Fear?" Avin asked, fascinated. So, he had finally confirmed that he could listen to minds like Snoke.

"Terrified of losing you." Ren clarified, reaching down to a metal bottle from which he took a heavy swig of water. Avin didn't have any response to this.

"You didn't come over when I invited you the other day." She said, trying to change subjects. "I assume you were too busy guzzling bugs in your quarters."

His dipped his head down quickly and she heard a very odd sound. She continued on, relieved to see him relaxed enough to joke with her.

"How are your injuries? Your headwound was-" he looked back up at her; his face oddly sad.

"Its nothing." He said curtly, eyes downcast.

"I'm glad." She said awkwardly and stepped further into the room. The training room was huge, and Ren looked small in it. Small and alone.

"Can I.. can I hold your lightsaber?" She asked. He glared at her; his mouth uncertain.

"That wasn't a euphemism, Kylo." She said, smiling. His lip quirked upwards, as if suppressing a smile in return and held out the saber to her. She walked over and took it reverentially. It was a lot heavier than it looked when he held it. Very carefully she pressed her thumb against the switch to turn it on and gasped as the red thrum of the blade vibrated down her wrist to her whole body.

"The crossguard is – how do you not lose your hands?" she asked, the heat of the blade warming her face and arms.

"The Force." Ren said shortly, watching her hands carefully. "Be careful. Snoke wants you with all your fingers."

"What is going on here?" the irate voice of Hux sounded behind her. Ren stood straighter; his face closed off again. She had not realised that it had been relaxed before.

"She interrupted my training Hux." He said dismissively, taking the lightsaber from her hands cautiously.

"That's General Hux to you." He snapped, stepping in front of Avin. She shook her head and turned to leave, assuming Hux would follow her out.

"You can come hold my lightsaber anytime you want, Avin." Ren said sweetly to their backs as they left the training hall. Hux threw him a vicious look of disgust over his shoulder and looked towards her apprehensively, clearly disturbed.

"I have told you not to speak to Ren before." Hux scolded her as they marched towards what Avin assumed was a shooting range. She shot him back a look. Who was he to order her around?

"I'll speak to whom ever I want Armitage." She said haughtily. He stared at her, frowning, looking almost worried. He opened a doorway and they walked into another large room, this one long and low, where different lanes contained practice dummies to shoot in the distance. They went to one such lane and looked down at the target.

"Show me what you can do." Hux said shortly and placed a blaster in her hand. She held it up like she had seen in famous holovids on Naboo, one handed and loosely pointed towards the target.

"What is this." He said and immediately pulled her hand down. Moving closer to her he gripped her fingers.

"Two handed. Always. Fingers higher. No, higher. Wrap your – yes like that. Hold with your left hand for stability. Legs further apart." He pushed and pulled her into position.

She wasn't sure she could deal with this attention and his proximity was extremely distracting. She had expected flirting, honestly, some excuse to touch her arms and guide her hips. But he was all business, which was somehow worse. She could smell sandalwood and boot polish all around her as he angled her arms better. He whacked her leg when she moved out of formation and pulled up her shoulders several times. He came up behind her and it took all her will not to lean back into his arms. He stepped away once satisfied, leaving her feeling very frustrated.

"Shoot." He ordered and she did so, flinching at the last moment with the sound of the blaster. She had missed her target completely. "Again." He said. She continued shooting, eventually feeling comfortable enough to keep her eyes open as she pulled the trigger. Several rounds later, she was exhausted from keeping her hands pointed out in front of her and concentrating on all of his instructions. However, by the end of this practice she could hit the target. He pronounced them done and they walked out together, going back to the Officer's elevator.

"You will have to come down to practice frequently." He warned her as they entered the lift.

"Perhaps we could-" Avin started and stepped closer to Hux. He stared down at her, his eyes steady, his face almost apprehensive. "Perhaps we could have a drink in your chambers?" she finished lamely, suddenly unsure of herself. She wanted to kiss him again. He sighed heavily and faced forward.

"I am expected back on the bridge Avin."

"Ah." She said, quietly.

"Perhaps another day?" he said, almost gently. When they exited the lift, they went in different directions. She thought about him for the rest of the night.

It was one such day where she was pouring over reports on Moribund that she felt a disturbance in the air beside her. She looked up to the dark mask of Kylo Ren.

"We have been summoned by the Supreme Leader." Ren said brusquely and left the archives, expecting her to follow. Wonderful, she thought, and trailed after him. They walked together into the huge, imposing hall and the projection of the Supreme Leader sprang to life. Avin hated the greasy air and cold light of this space but guarded her thoughts as strongly as possible. Even her mind wasn't a safe space in this room, she had found out some time ago.

"Ah, Lord Ren and Lady Palpatine." Snoke said, as if they had bumped into each other, out for a walk on the street.

"Supreme Leader." they formally intoned as one and kneeled down in respect.

"Well done on your work on Ossus. I am sure my apprentice will find the map we are looking for due to your insight, child." She nodded respectfully. She had noticed that Snoke referred to her as "child" although she was most likely the same age as Kylo Ren and Hux.

"How may I be of service Supreme Leader?" she asked, looking up into the Supreme Leader's cold blue eyes. He sat in contemplation for a moment and Ren looked between the two of them as if he was as confused as she was.

"I have been considering plans for our future empire as the Starkiller Base is readied." He said, almost conversationally, his deformed face twisting as he spoke. "You are not force sensitive." Snoke continued and gestured between them. "But your children might be very strong in the force."

She waited for a question after this very odd statement, already extremely nervous about where this was going. Snoke's words were beginning to sound like some of her spicier erotic novels growing up, with words like 'breeding' and 'submission' just thrown all over the place. She assumed the reality of such a scenario would be far more horrifying than titillating. Annoyingly, she flashed back to her meeting with Ren on Ryloth and felt a dull throb. She looked up again at the Supreme Leader who was watching her expectantly.

"You want Lord Ren and I to…. marry?" she ventured.

"Perhaps the General can officiate." Ren said nastily, and Snoke laughed a horribly choked laugh, like water through a rusted pipe. They were enjoying this, her discomfort. They would enjoy Hux's pain just as much if he had actually asked Snoke for her hand already.

"The Sith do not marry." Ren said disdainfully after a moment and Avin bit back her tongue. This was just incredibly, factually wrong. The droves and droves of Sith Love poetry she had had to sift through over the course of her research were obvious proof enough. Sith stories of passion, and accompanying hair-raising erotica, were a huge part of the ancient history of this tradition. Hadn't Darth Vader married Padme Amidala? Avin felt, not for the first time, that the information Ren had on the Sith was very… incomplete, at the extreme end of Sith tradition. Snoke was looking between the two as she glared at the mask.

"I have no interest in children." Avin said, turning back to Snoke, trying to find a diplomatic answer to a question that hadn't quite been asked yet.

"You will submit." Snoke imperially, brooking no argument.

Ren's mask suddenly dipped as if he was just as unhappy with this as she was.

"Yes, Supreme Leader." They intoned as one after only a second of hesitation.

"And child?"

"Yes, Supreme Leader?"

"Inform General Hux that his latest request was denied. Immediately."

She glanced Ren's way as the projection disappeared and they left the huge auditorium, their feet clicking against the hard floor of the hallway.

"You know if we have children together Kylo, you'll have to show me your face regularly." She quipped, trying to relieve tension. They had been friends on Ossus, surely that wouldn't change so quickly, she thought. Without warning she felt an invisible force grip and push her against the wall.

"I am not cattle to be bred." He seethed at her, completely enraged. She stared at his black mask, eyes open wide with her head crushed sideways to the cold metallic wall, she couldn't speak.

"My master is testing me." He shouted at her. "He is testing my call to the light."

She felt the pressure holding her against the wall increase and her heart was hammering in her chest. Was he going to kill her? With a force of will she did not know she possessed, she pushed against the horrible pressure holding her head against the wall to pull her head forward and speak.

"Stop it now, Kylo." She shouted. For a split second the pressure increased, becoming painful and then it was gone. She collapsed to the floor and choked out a few breaths. Once her heart stopped hammering, she stood back up, trying desperately to retain some dignity in front of this hulking black figure.

"As I said in the chamber, I am not interested in having children. With you. Or anyone."

"Not even the great General Hux?" he venomously hissed, his voice dripping with disdain.

"This is becoming a stupid conversation. I'm done." She shouted back, losing her temper.

"You are weak, pathetic." He roared, fists clenched, and legs splayed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Stormtroopers march around the corner and slowly back away out of his line of sight. Avin had no idea where the man that had walked with her through the ruins of the Great Library was anymore. She had no idea what he meant by a 'call to the light'. More skewed Sith nonsense in her opinion. Sure, they had slept together on Ryloth, but being tied permanently to some creature in a mask was a completely different thing. She remembered her parent's bickering, their disagreements but they had loved each other completely and utterly. Even in their last holovid as the air strike rained down and they told her they loved her, they clung to each other. Avin's parents had been partners, complete equals. She would never have this with this Kylo Ren.

"Well, you can have the pleasure of telling the Supreme Leader that this is not happening." She snapped. She was so angry; she was losing vision. How dare the First Order try to take away her choices again? Without warning he turned and stalked away.

"And Kylo?" she called after him, and he turned back sharply to her. "You are beneath me. I will never submit to you." She said coldly.

She made it to a small weapons alcove before bursting into shaky tears. Avin had never personally experienced violence before, it brought some of the horrible things she had seen on Ossus back. She knew what her work was for and how it was used, but she stayed firmly above it all away from the messy reality of skirmishes and death. She had only swept into Daxam IV once the fighting was completely over, and blood had been hosed from the palace floor. She was untouchable. She thought she was untouchable. For just a moment, Avin remembered the look of bitter disappointment on her mother's face during her graduation and she felt pathetic, a complete hypocrite. All her confidence fractured. She had no real power here, just another sad puppet on a string for the Supreme Leader. A small squadron of Stormtroopers marched past, and she tried to school herself, wiping evidence of tears from her face. After a few more tries, as tears threatened to keep coming back, she was calm enough to continue on. She made her way to Hux's quarters.

She pressed the entry button to Hux's chambers to signal she was outside.

"Yes." She heard him state harshly.

"The Supreme Leader asked me to report immediately to you, General Hux."

There was a very long, heavy pause.

"Come in."

She entered his chambers and was completely surprised by the interior. Unlike the spartan lines of his childhood bedroom and the rest of the ship, this space was classically luxurious. Rich brown leather seating was scattered around the living area, while a large wooden desk was placed against a large viewing panel similar to her own. There was various work on the desk as well as a golden ancient device seafarers had used on Arkanis. On a side table there was an ornate crystal decanter and glass drinkware in Naboo style. Unlike his teenage bedroom, personal artefacts were placed tastefully throughout the room including a large watercolour of Arkanis Academy. An artificial fireplace burned to her left, giving the room a cheery glow. His chambers looked more like her father's Naboo study than the cold starship they were on. It was the very last thing she was expecting to see, particularly as she had definitely seen his Spartan chambers while they kept up their communications earlier in life.

He was out of uniform in softer black clothing, long shirt and loose trousers, and the glow of the fire warmed up his skin to something far healthier than she had seen in meetings over the past few months. They stared at each other for far longer than normal people would. She stepped further into the room, to explain when a colour out of the corner of her eye took her attention. Without turning her head, she could see, in pride of place on the mantel, her graduation photo with him in periwinkle blue Naboo dress. She was beaming in the photo while he maintained what would become his classic First Order pose. She could also see, closer to a door which led to another chamber, a hanging of a charcoal sketch of a military boot signed with a rather flamboyant A.S. Another portrait was placed beside that, an inverse to the awkward portrait of Armitage and his father outside of Arkanis Academy he had kept in his bedroom on Phelarion. This slightly older boy was standing with a tall dark complected woman in Admiral military dress, and they stood proudly together, her hand on his shoulder as they smiled. A name came to her. This must be Admiral Rae Sloane. A piece of a very complicated puzzle dropped into place for Avin. From her complexion and face, Admiral Sloane could have been Avin's mother.

"You finally came." He said hesitantly. She hadn't given away that she had seen the framed pictures and art. This was too much for her, the emotional entanglement of all this too complicated and growing more complex by the minute. She made a terrible decision, as she always did when it came to Hux. She was so lonely and desperate for contact after their escape from the planet, after kissing him in the cage. The memories of her parents had only made this worse. She couldn't leave it alone. She had to follow it through, at least once.

"I need something from you General." She said, looking him in the eye.

"What?" He said, looking genuinely interested.

"I need you to agree to my change in course."

He eyed her warily, completely distracted by her tone rather than what she was saying. She took the final plunge and kneeled in front of him.

"What would you like in exchange General Hux?" she whispered. He was suddenly gripping on to a datapad like he was going to snap it half. She could very visibly see the effect this had had on him through his light fabric trousers. His eyes searched hers, the typical scowl on his face a faint ghost. He was clearly warring with himself and losing.

"What are you doing?" he snapped. She sat and waited patiently, staring up at him silently. He looked her up and down until some kind of decision had been reached.

"Remove this." He ordered, gesturing at her black shirt.

She did as he asked immediately and slowly undid her bra for good measure. She made sure to cup each breast as it was released from her bra. The artificial fire warmed her back as she knelt in front of him. He sat in silence and gazed at her chest, eyes roving over her large breasts as the chill air made her nipples peak.

"I want you to say it, General." She said, urging him. "Say what?" he whispered back. She raised her eyebrows expectantly at him and looked down at his obvious erection. He glared back at her, too proud to take the final step. She gently pulled down his trousers and allowed his cock to spring up. She leaned forward so that her mouth was glancing off him.

"What am I General?" she whispered against his sensitive skin, already hearing him gasp as she rubbed her lips against the shaft. She waited for him to answer and when he didn't, she took the initiative again.

"I'm yours General." She whispered looking him directly in the eye, making sure her lips and breath were ghosting his cock. She licked a wet line up from his balls to his head and heard him moan loudly. She moved to his head and rolled her tongue over his tip, trying to suck him just like she had seen in holovids. This was fun for a few good minutes as his moans progressed and Avin rubbed her thighs together to try to ease how turned on she was. They had said these very things to each other over Comms just over a year ago as sexual fantasies. She finally picked up the courage to do what she was really keen on and tried to take as much of him in her mouth as possible while continuing to suck.

"Yes. Suck it." He snapped, finally giving in to her. "Give me what I want." He panted as he pulled at her hair to push her mouth further down onto his cock. He thrust up weakly into her mouth, gagging her slightly.

"You're just a helpless woman and I'm going to fuck you. I'm going to take what I want. I'm going to have you Avin and no one else ever will." He moaned out, eyes screwed shut, completely locked into the sensation of her tongue and mouth on his cock.

She pulled him out of her mouth and tugged on his shaft as she sucked on his balls one by one. He moaned even louder, clearly a fan of this. She could see the muscles tensing and shifting in his stomach from where his shirt had rolled up. She could tell he was close by how blotchy his neck and face were getting. She took him back in her mouth and deepthroated him as far as she could go, gagging around his cock as he shallowly thrust into her. The thrusts and moans continued to deepen and suddenly he pulled her off him and gripped his dick as he came all over her full breasts. She rubbed the liquid all over her chest as he panted, dick still in hand. She dipped a finger in and tasted his salty cum on her tongue while staring directly into his half-hooded eyes, lazy from sex. He leaned forward and grabbed her breasts, making sure to spread the come all over them.

"You're a filthy woman." He said as he played with her nipples. She closed her eyes and sighed with the attention, sending her thoughts in another direction.

"Maybe you should punish me General?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He immediately picked up the cue for another fantasy they had engaged in when she was on Daxam IV.

"Take off your trousers." He ordered and she complied immediately, shimmying out of them quickly and peeling off her soaking wet thong. She was so excited she started to giggle. She leaned over his lap, ass up in the air with ankles crossed.

He slapped her hard, the sound echoing in his warm chambers. She felt her backside wobble from the impact and knew there would be a red handprint. He slapped again harder, once, twice, three times. The pain and pleasure of it were competing but the feeling of being naked in this powerful man's lap was incredible. She had touched herself for years to this fantasy. He spanked her again and kept his hand there this time, rubbing her ass cheeks before dipping lower, feeling her wet pussy as he ran his finger beneath to her sensitive nub. She mewled with the contact, arching her back as she realised just how close she already was to climax. It didn't take long to orgasm in his lap, and she moaned as loudly as she pleased. She could feel the growing erection poking into her stomach as she came down. She stayed leaning over his lap, the afterglow fading, and awkwardly looked him in the eye from her extremely compromising position. She was completely naked on this lap, while he sat fully clothed with the day's work still open on a screen beside him.

"Well." He said neutrally, as if she had just spilled a cup of tea in Port Tarkin and suddenly they were both laughing hard, great gulping laughs, clinging to each other.

Without thought, she pulled herself up to sit back on the couch and kissed him gently. His eyes darkened and the kiss deepened. She straddled his lap again; a strong sense of déjà vu hitting her and very carefully rubbed her pussy against his hard erection. He was gripping her undulating hips tight enough to bruise, and she continued to tease his cock mercilessly.

"We should stop. We have to stop." He groaned.

"Yes, we should." She whispered back, grinding sensually against the head of his dick.

"Just let me be inside you for a moment. Just once." he gasped out, his face red and straining, all sense gone as she ground against him.

His mouth was open, and she kissed him deeply while she deftly pulled him back out of his trousers and lined his cock up with her entrance to sit down onto him, sliding him right into her soaked pussy. They moaned loudly together, and she picked up the pace of her rocking hips and continued to kiss him. His cock was long and hard, she struggled to push down onto the full length and the feeling of being too full was overwhelming. He pulled his hands up to her face and slowed down her kiss and hips so that she could really feel them moving together. She pulled away slightly so they could look at each other. His meticulously gelled back hair was mussed, and his face was fully open to her. His hand moved in between them and began to massage her clit again as she rode him, she could feel her core fluttering around him as he brought her closer to orgasm for a second time. She leaned back slightly while she continued to move on top of him to give him better access to her nub, with a low moan she came again her whole body tensing against the sudden incredible pleasure.

"I love you Avin." He shouted as he came after her, pulling her down on him and thrusting hard into her in erratic bursts. She felt him come inside her with a strangled gasp, a sticky warm pleasant feeling. They slowed and finally stopped, and she leaned forward to kiss him again while he was still inside of her, lacing her fingers in his hair and putting in all the emotion she had felt for years.

"I love you too Armitage."

They had kissed and lazily made love in Armitage's bed for most of the night. Avin fell asleep at some point. She woke up in the morning with her hair a mess of curls spread out over the pillow and Armitage breathing deeply beside her, his face softened in sleep. She was unsure what had woken her up until she heard the scratching again and a rather plaintive squeak. She rolled out of bed and clicked the door to his study open, to find a purring ball of fur at her feet.

"Hello Millicent." She whispered as the adult ginger cat stalked confidently into the room, her tail up in a question mark as she made her way to her owner. She stood back and watched as the cat hopped onto the bed and confidently started licking Armitage's forearm, snuggling into his side. He had started to wake up and looked down at the cat.

"I'll feed you in a moment, Millicent." He said automatically, half-asleep and only woke up when she came back to bed. His hair had been flattened by the night's activities and his pale narrow chest was showing above the bed covers making him look like a different person than the sharp man she usually met. She took the other side of the bed and curled around him and Millicent. He looked at her with a smile playing on his face and ran her hair through his fingers. Avin reached out and pet the purring cat, curling her finger around her chin to give her a good scratch like Bubbles enjoyed when she was a young girl. This is such a bizarrely domestic scene, she thought with a pang, they could have had this years ago.

"Last night, you said the Supreme Leader had a message?" Hux asked as Millicent hopped down from the bed, in search of food.

"It was just an excuse to come see you." Avin lied. This was her life and her body. She would make the choices she wanted; Supreme Leader be damned.