Taking Command Book 1 (Kylux) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Thirty Five: Goodbye

Hux PoV

Near the end of my day, I walked down to the hangar to meet Kylo before he left. I hoped that he would be alright and come back to me the same. But I was so scared he would not. I did not doubt Snoke's ability to turn people into weapons of his own creation. I knew he would not hesitate to do that to the man I loved.

Kylo was getting into his personal shuttle when he saw me standing a few meters away watching him. He walked over to me, looked around, then took off his helmet.

His hair was everywhere and he looked paler than usual. He hugged me close then kissed me lightly on the lips. "I'll be back, Hux. I promise. Nothing will change. I will never stop what we have. We can change the world for good, but we can still have our love." He held my hand in his for a split second longer than normal, then let go and put his helmet back on. He got into his ship and flew off without a word.

I stood in the docking area for a little while, just staring into the darkening sky. Then I walked back into the Base, already wishing Kylo was home.

Two months later

It had been two months since the man I loved had flown off to answer the summons of his dark master. Two months that I had waited for him to come back and hoped that he had not been changed and twisted by Snoke.

I was summoned to Snoke's chamber on the first day of the third month he had been gone.

"Kylo Ren is returning to the Base." Were the first words to come out of Snoke's mouth.

I struggled to contain the adulation I felt about this. I had been waiting for that news for months now. "When will he arrive, Supreme Leader?" I asked, struggling to maintain my composure.

"He arrives tomorrow night. He has learned much from his time with me. I look forward to the benefits his training will have on the First Order as a whole."

"Excellent," I replied,"I eagerly wait the return of my fellow commander."

"Do not be fooled into thinking that Kylo Ren will still have feelings for you when he returns. That is a false hope. He has been emptied out and is brimming with new knowledge and power. There is no room for that relationship you had that so clouded the vision you both possess. Dismissed."

I walked out of the room full of apprehension and terror. What if Snoke was telling the truth? What if he had managed to destroy Ren's feelings for me? What if he had manipulated the love and turned it into something darker?

No, I thought, he would never do that. Kylo would never turn against me. He promised. I hoped that that was true. All of my heart rested upon that hope.

I spent the next day fretting about Kylo's return. When the time came for him to land, I had the platform cleared and was waiting when Ren's shuttle touched down. The hatch opened, and  Kylo walked out and passed by me wordlessly.

"Glad you are back safely, Kylo Ren," I said politely, walking close behind him.

"It was a beneficial time. I learned a lot about the Force, about myself." He kept walking. "How is the Base?" He asked me.

That was not like Kylo. He had never cared about that kind of thing. Now he did.

"It is going well," I replied, greatly disheartened.

Kylo seemed to detect my distress and turned to look coldly at me. "You want something. What." He sounded tense and angry.

"I want to know if you kept your promise to me. You promised Snoke would not change you." I was trembling, ready for the wrath.

"I can not say I kept my promise. I have changed. I am stronger. I have purged my weaknesses and my overreliances. Especially upon you." The words were harsh and cut me to the core.

"And what does that mean?" I asked him, letting some ice creep into my voice.

"My affection for you was a crutch. It made me weak, susceptible for the Light. Supreme Leader Snoke -"

"SHUT UP!" I heard myself yell. I felt like I was watching and hearing this from a different viewpoint. "I don't want to hear what Snoke did to you to warp and change you! I loved you, Kylo! I can't listen to this!" I ran away from him, ignoring the looks of those I ran by.

I had said goodbye to Kylo Ren two months and one day ago. I had never known I would be saying good bye to the man I loved as well.