nofootprintsinsalt:

The Supreme Leader paced his chambers. Meditation and sleep eluded him since the message arrived from General Hux a few hours earlier.

Confidential meeting re developing comradeship within F.O. command.

The only other information was a location (Hux’s chambers) and time (tonight).

Hux’s suite did contain a meeting room, so it was entirely possible that the general wanted to discuss strategies for getting the ex-imperials and the young First Order officers to stop sneering and sniping at each other across the bridge. For just a second, Kylo was entertained by the mental image of Peavey, Yago and their like drifting into space with silent screams on their faces and moisture evaporating into the vacuum from frozen-open eyes.

He read the message again then sent a reply.

Does this issue concern anyone else? Should I bring a scribe?

A reply pinged only two minutes later.
Absolutely not. Treat this matter with utmost secrecy.

Kylo smiled and a little of the tightness in his shoulders eased. Perhaps Hux was also unsatisfied with the pace of their… relationship? Could he even call it that, when he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he’d admitted Hux to his chambers very late, indulged in soft murmurs and kisses, led him to bed only to see him fall asleep, then listened to him leave long before his usual shift started? It wouldn’t do to be absent from my usual duty pattern, Hux had explained when Kylo grumbled on the third bleary morning. Not with Peavey’s sharp eyes on my back.
Kylo had replied that Hux had a solution for Peavey hidden up his sleeve but Hux had only laughed and left.

A few hours later, Kylo walked into Hux’s chambers and halted abruptly.
“Armitage?”
“Ah, Kylo. Good. You’re here.” Armitage appeared from the doorway that led from his semi-public reception room to his private suite.
“Did I misunderstand?” Kylo frowned at the table set up for a meeting. “I thought—“
“Oh! No,” Hux laughed. “Cover story in case you were not interested and came with your retinue.”
“Not interested?” Kylo’s face relaxed. “In what?”
Hux smiled and held out his hand. “Come and see.”
Kylo followed Hux into his private sitting room. There was another table set, but this time with only two chairs and place settings for a meal.
“Have you eaten already?” asked Hux. “I hope not. I chose a time earlier than you usually order your meal. I thought it would be nice to spend some time… getting to know each other. We have been working together for over five years but all I know is that you’re useful in a fight and you have anger issues.”

Kylo sat on the chair Hux pulled out for him. Hux sat opposite. A service droid set a range of covered dishes between them and trundled out. Hux removed the covers and Kylo closed his eyes, inhaling the mingle of smells of the herbs and spices of real food. When he opened his eyes, Hux was grinning at him.
“I know it’s frivolous and ration packs provide optimal nutrition but they get so dull. I had Opan bring back a few things from Cantonica. You can get almost anything there. I have no idea what you like to eat so I made a few different things. Cooking is such an indulgent hobby, don’t you think?”
Kylo stared from dish to dish, hand coming up to his mouth in case he was visibly salivating. Hux was pointing at bowls of fragrant, dry spiced meat and caramelised chunks in rich red sauce and herb-coated braised vegetables, describing each one. After a while, Kylo realised Hux had fallen silent and was looking at him.
“Sorry, what?”
“I said,” said Hux, “what would you like to eat?”
“Everything,” replied Kylo.
Hux laughed, speared a chunk of firm-fleshed fish from its sauce and held it out. “Well then, let’s start with Arkanis cuisine. So my military record fails to impress you, but my formative years spent following my mother around Brendol’s kitchens does?”

Kylo ate slowly, savouring every mouthful Hux fed him, listening to Hux describe how each dish was made and how he’d be allowed to watch the kitchen staff if he’d promise to sit in the corner and not get in the way, how he’d sneak the big recipe manual from the shelf with hands barely strong enough to hold it and commit to memory lists of exotic-sounding ingredients.

“Of course,” added Hux with a shrug, “I didn’t get the luxury of my own kitchen until I made general. Just before you were delivered from Snoke’s care into mine.”
Kylo laughed, surprised. “Me? In your care? It was the opposite!”
“What are you talking about?” said Hux, leaning back with a forkful of some green vegetable that Kylo would never have believed could be made to taste so good held tantalisingly out of reach. “Snoke said he was sending some young force user to me and I was to see to it that you were allowed to train undisturbed and kept safe.”
Kylo made a lunge across the table, grabbed Hux by the wrist and captured the fork. He hummed with pleasure at the flavour, swallowed and touched his lips.
“Snoke told me he was sending me to be his representative on The Finalizer because the young, hot-headed general needed someone to keep him in check. I remember complaining bitterly at the time, stepping off the shuttle, seeing you and thinking…”

Kylo went quiet. Hux fed himself a sliver of the dry spiced meat and followed it with a sip of rich red wine. He watched Kylo and asked, “Thinking what?”
Kylo smiled. “Thinking I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” He took Hux’s wrist again, leaned across the table and kissed him. He dropped his voice to a murmur. “I still wonder.”