Hux had a stomachache. 

He often had a stomachache nowadays.

He couldn't bear to hear the sound of Ren plunking the decapitated head onto the table. The wet noise was enough to send his stomach twisting further. What little breakfast he had managed to eat threatened to reappear.

"We have a spy in our ranks," Ren said, walking around the long black table that seated the highest ranking officers of The First Order. "Who just sent a message to the Resistance. Whoever this traitor is... won't stop us."

Hux felt a pair of eyes on him. General Pryde. Of course. He nearly sneered, but he merely glared back at the old man. The man that had caused him so much pain in his life... the man that struck his cheek as a child, punishing him as a father might his son. But Pryde wasn't Hux's father, although he feared him as if he were.

"With what I've seen on Exegol... the First Order is about to become a true Empire."

Hux stared at the back of Ren's head. For the first time in weeks, his face was covered by his old mask. It had been pieced together absurdly; red cracks flowed from every space from the crown of his head to the line of his jaw.

Ren turned slowly. "I sense... unease about my appearance, General Hux."

Hux stiffened. "About the mask? No sir. Well done."

"I like it," the woman next to him said. 

Luckily for Hux, someone else decided to foolishly open their mouth. "Forgive me, sir, but these allies on Exegol... the sound like a cult. Conjurers and soothsayers." 

Pryde glared. "They've conjured legions of Star Destroyers. The Sith fleet with increase our resources ten-thousandfold!" He looked back at Hux. "Such range and power will correct the error of Starkiller Base."

"We'll need to increase recruitments. Harvest more of the galaxy's young."

"This fleet," Quinn said, "what is it, a gift? What is he asking for in return?"

Hux could sense the distaste that Ren had for these questions. He was glad that it was someone else and not him that was now choking on his own words, gripping his throat as he grasped for a hand that he could not feel. He barley flinched at the sound of the man's back slamming against the ceiling. 

"Prepare to crush any worlds that defy us," Ren said. "My knights and I are going hunting for the scavenger."

The scavenger again, Hux thought as he left the room upon dismissal. He wanted to express his distaste for the Supreme Leader's obsession with finding this Jedi scum, but he knew that would only get him where Quinn was currently. Besides, it wasn't as if Hux wasn't suffering from a mere woman. 

Some people might think that he was in love with ___, the woman that had left him behind and betrayed the First Order and joined them without a second glance. Some people might think that he was in love with her, but those that knew Hux best knew that he hated her for what she had done. He was now a fool. No one took him seriously anymore, and it all started when you left him. His life had slowly but surely crumbled, and now here he was, giving out top secret information, just to give the Resistance a slight reason to trust him one day --- just maybe --- and when he saw you, he would use his last breath to make sure you wouldn't be taking in another one, either. He would kill you with the palms of his hands. 

And then he would die peacefully.

/ / /

"I've never been to Pasaana," you said.

"Remember crashing on Jakku and getting trapped for hours?" Poe asked, handing you your blaster. You nodded. "Well, it's a lot like that, only about ten degrees hotter. You're gonna hate it."

You grinned, a laugh slipping past your lips. "Thanks." 

The stunning grin he showed in return was enough to set your heart beating faster. Jeez, sometimes you couldn't stand how gorgeous he really was. "Just being real with you, babe," he said. 

"You know, it wasn't so bad on Jakku," you said. He looked confused. "I was with you, so..."

"Cute." He smiled, then took in a deep breath and cupped the side of your face. His thumb stroked up and down your cheekbone. "I had no idea you liked Jakku so much. You know, I'll add it to the plans I have for after."

"For after?" you asked, placing your hand on his. 

"Yeah," he said. "You know, after the war and everything, when I've married you and we can be normal for once. We have to honeymoon somewhere, right? We'll just go to all the desert planets and see how long it takes until we dehydrate and die, just like our first date."

You froze. "Hold on. Our --- our what?" 

He grinned and patted your cheek. "We'll be landing on Pasaana in a few minutes. Make sure you're ready."

"Poe," you said, but he was rounding the corner, heading back to the cockpit. You swallowed hard. Your face was hot, your eyes stuck widened.

Maybe he was just trying to get to you, you weren't really sure. But the thought of having a future with him --- like a real future with him, with marriage and trips and normality --- was enough to send your heart in a frenzy once again. Of course, you never really imagined him leaving you or ending what you had. It was more than a relationship. You felt like this was your entire life, like the moment you rescued him and escaped the First Order a year and a handful of months ago, you were born as a new person.

But now you had a real future, and it was clear and it was all coming together now.

You put the blaster in your holster and then grabbed your staff from where it leaned against the wall. You slipped the strap over your shoulders and situated it. Finn and Rey laughed from the cockpit. You smiled to yourself as you heard Poe's voice join in.

A real future. 

* * *

Despite what Poe had told you, Pasaana wasn't as hot as Jakku, but it was still awful. You walked alongside Poe, trailing slightly behind Rey as she lead the way. The mountains were steep, the sands were finding ways to get underneath your clothes and into your boots, making you itch. You were already miserable, and the trip had barely begun. 

"Are you sure this is it?" Poe asked. 

"These are the exact coordinates that Master Luke left behind," C-3PO said. 

There was a mysterious sound of gunfire as you rounded the corner, followed by a loud roaring cheer from a crowd. Your friends came to a slow stop as you heard the blasting of music and saw the colorful kites soaring into the air. 

"What is this?" Poe asked. 

"The Aki-Aki Festival of the Ancestors!" C-3PO announced happily. "This celebration occurs only once every forty-two years!"

"Well that's lucky," Finn said sarcastically. 

"Lucky indeed!" the droid said. "This festival is known for both its colorful kites and its delectable sweets!"

Everyone turned and looked at C3P-O, who stupidly glanced behind him, wondering what everyone was looking at. 

"The kites are beautiful," you said to Poe. In the middle of the festival, it was almost overwhelming, how happy everyone was. Their smiles were contagious. "And what are they chanting? They sound so happy."

He staggered to a stop as a couple of children ran in front of him, cutting him off. He sighed. "Yeah, but right now isn't really the time to be sightseeing."

Poe was probably the only one incapable of smiling. 

"I've never seen anything like this," Rey said, grinning with you. 

"Me neither," you said. 

"I've never seen so few wayfinders," Finn muttered. 

"There's always random First Order patrols in crowds like these," Poe said. He looked behind him. "So keep your heads down. Let's split up. See what the locals know."

You didn't have to ask Poe; you knew that he wanted you with him. After what he had told you last night, about being unsure of what the First Order had prepared for you if you were ever captured, you didn't want to leave him alone. Surely he would be distracted by the thought of what could possibly be happening to you. 

"I know you're busy being grumpy," you said, "but would it hurt to just let yourself enjoy what you're seeing?"

"I'm not grumpy," he said, turning and putting his hands on his hips. He glared at you. You raised your eyebrows, eyes shifting to the position of his hands to the look of annoyance on his face. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm not... okay. Whatever. Maybe I'm a little annoyed that we have things to do in a matter of time before we all die, and there's this stupid festival going on!"

"Poe," you said, "I'm not asking you to stop, I'm asking you to enjoy what you're seeing in front of you."

He smiled; he couldn't help but smile. "I am enjoying what I'm seeing in front of me," he said. He put his arm around you and kissed your forehead.  

"Poe," Finn said. "Come here." 

You and Poe approached Finn, Chewie, and BB-8, who were standing with someone. Finn began to fill you in on who he was and what he might know when Rey came running over with fear in her eyes. 

"Poe! We have to go," she said. 

"Why?" Finn asked. 

"It's Ren."

Poe cursed and nodded. "Alright, let's go. They'll find us in minutes."

The air had grown impossibly hotter and heavier as you now rushed through the large crowd. You kept your eyes out on the horizon every now and again, afraid of seeing one of the familiar First Order ships coming in. They would kill everyone in search for you and your friends. They wouldn't stop now.

"Freeze!" 

"Gah---" Poe came slamming to a stop, his arms spreading to stop you and Finn both. He kept his arm in front of you, pushing you slightly behind him as a stormtrooper raised their blaster and pointed it directly at you. 

"I've located the Resistance fugitives," he said. "All units report --- ah!"

You jumped as an arrow lodged itself in the face of its helmet. They fell over in a heap on the sand. 

You turned. A man hidden underneath a strange uniform stood at the entrance of a tent. He glanced around. 

"Follow me," he said.