It's over, it's done. it's finished. But was it fieldwork or reformatting this story that finally did me in? (it was fieldwork) (gradiometers are flipping heavy and so are resistometers) (my arms are going to be so hench now)

Inside his wardrobe, the heap of reject presents were clearly visible, like a blaring neon sign at some dingy Outer Rim diner proclaiming 'Look at us! Look at us! Look at how pathetic and hung up on you your co-commander is!'. Hux cringed.

'Kylo…'

'Hux? Are these…?'

'Kylo… it's…'

Kylo had walked towards the cupboard and crouched down by it. He gingerly picked up the amulet, visibly snapped in half in the box Hux had stowed it in.

'Hux. This is my grandfather's amulet.'

'Yeah.' Hux could only whisper around the lump in his throat. 'I'm sorry it broke. I wanted you to have it but- ' His voice cracked, and the rest of his sentence came out watery. '-It broke and I messed up again.'

'Again? Hux, are these all…?' Hux couldn't look at him. He nodded, a sharp jerk of his head, half turned away from Kylo. The paper bag up his sleeve was pricking his arm. He drew it out. Might as well unearth everything at the same time. Hux walked on legs he could hardly believe supported his weight, and shakily placed the little cat on his heaping pile of mistakes.

'That's all.' Kylo was silent for a long moment. Hux sat down on his bed. He could feel the rush of his pulse in his ears – it felt like all the blood in his body was pounding in his head.

Hux watched Kylo stare at the pile. It felt like hours before Kylo stood up and came to sit beside Hux. Hux braced himself for Kylo's reaction. Being slammed into the wall again, or being force-choked, maybe.

Instead, he felt his hand squeezed and a pair of chapped lips pressed haltingly against his own. It only lasted a second, but Hux could still feel that pressure even after Kylo pulled away.

Hux had been wrong. All the blood in his body hadn't quite rushed to his head when Kylo found the presents. He knew that because now it definitely had.

'You went through all that for me?' Kylo punctuated his question with another gentle kiss. Hux couldn't reply. He opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish. Kylo's brow furrowed.

'That is what we were leading to, right? Have I completely misread this? Oh, Force, I have, haven't I? I'll go now, I'm sorry-' Hux caught Kylo's hand before he could get up. Steeling himself, he leant forward to initiate a kiss between him and Kylo for the first time. Kylo's lips were chapped, yes, but the more he kissed them the more familiar and endearing the sensation was.

From the moment he pulled away Kylo was talking again.

'So why all the presents? Was there something wrong with all of them? Can you show me?' Kylo pulled Hux up and towards the cupboard. 'You got the amulet from the ruin yesterday, but the others?'

'Well, um. The cat I found today because I didn't have anything else.' Kylo picked it up carefully.

'It's the same colour as you!' He held it up to Hux's hair. 'You could be siblings. Damn, Hux, this is really soft.' Kylo placed it in his lap.

'The socks… they were from the other day.'

'When I screwed up?'

'Yes.'

Kylo laughed.

'I'd probably have been happy to get the socks, really. You wouldn't believe how many pairs I get through. Can't stand wearing socks with holes in them.'

'Did no one ever teach you to mend your clothes?' It was standard for Exiles to wear the same clothes for years on end, merely fixing whatever broke in them until they disintegrated. Old habits died hard. Hux's socks were more darn than sock.

'Nah. I can jimmy an old starship control pad until it can fly across the galaxy but I'd have to do it in ripped clothes.'

Hux laughed.

'I should teach you.'

'Maybe you should.' Kylo smiled, and placed the socks beside him. He reached out to touch the bottles of lotion and bubbles from Hesperidium.

'Yes. Those. You rather put a wrench in my plans when you told me you didn't like that kind of thing.'

Kylo barked an exasperated spout of laughter.

'Only as much as you put a wrench in mine by saying you didn't like that kind of thing!'

'You had plans? What plans?' Kylo looked jumpy.

'…no matter. Nothing important. A-anyway, I do actually quite like that kind of thing.' Kylo lightly placed his hand on Hux's knee, trailing it upwards then letting it fall away. 'If we both like it, maybe we could try it together some time…' He leant close to Hux again, stealing another kiss, his hands starting to roam- before he blushed heavily, and sat back again. However nice steam-flushed Kylo looked, the actually blushing version was even nicer.

Kylo carefully pulled out 'The Imperial Handbook' next. He whistled low as he flipped through the pages.

'What was so bad about this? It looks pretty handy to have around.'

'It should be more useful than that.' Hux opened it to the spot where the pages were missing. 'See? Someone's pulled out some of the pages. There were flowcharts that walk you through every step of loads of important Imperial customs and protocols but they're gone.'

'You got this for me when I was worried about proving myself.' Kylo squeezed Hux's hand. 'Thank you.'

Hux dragged the droid out of the wardrobe next.

'It's a cleaning droid. I thought it would be useful for you, considering all the debris you create on a daily basis, but then I saw you punt that cleaning droid off one of the gangways and I realised it wasn't such a good idea.' Kylo laughed.

'I'm sorry I put you though that.' He traced a hand over the markings on the droid. 'It's really cute. I love it.'

The cleaning kit earned a lot of laughs. 'You forgot I lost my helmet?!' Kylo guffawed.

'I was stressed! I thought it would be a sensible gift!' Kylo cut off his protests with another kiss.

'You're sweet.'

Kylo went very quiet when Hux explained the blaster. His fingers traced the designs, finding the fingerprint key, feeling the smooth planes.

'I'm sorry I undermined this. Giving me a weapon when I didn't have one is a big deal for me, Hux. Thank you.' Kylo laughed softly. 'I feel like every other word out of my mouth is 'thank you'. You've really outdone me here, Hux.'

Hux ducked his head, smiling.

'And what's this?' Kylo reached for the Arkanian box. Hux froze.

'That's- nothing! It's not important! You don't have to open that one!'

'Open it? You mean there's something inside?'

'Yes, the box is from my home planet. It's really not important, though-' It was too late. Kylo had opened the box. He pulled out the bracelet carefully, his eyes slowly taking in the colours of the fabric and the shiny clasps.

'What is this?'

Hux buried his face in his hands, his fingers cool against his hot cheeks. He reached around to unfasten the canister from around his neck, pulling out his mother's letter and handing it to Kylo wordlessly.

He could only hear Kylo's quiet breathing while he read. He knew it was way too soon to have made the damn bracelet.

Kylo's hands wrapped around his wrists, pulling Hux's hands away from his face. Hux didn't have time to judge Kylo's expression before he was once again being kissed, far more passionately than before. Kylo's tongue was in his mouth, Kylo's hands were in his hair, Kylo's body was half on top of his own.

When Kylo pulled away, he leant forward to mumble into Hux's ear.

'Help me put it on.'

Hux showed him how to centre it neatly, holding half the clasp to the back of his hand and crossing the fabric over each side until there was just enough to fasten the two clasp halves together. Kylo turned his wrist from side to side, watching how the metal caught the light.

'I love it. Thank you so much.' Kylo kissed him again. 'Thank you for caring.' He kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him. Hux's knee had ended up between Kylo's legs before Kylo suddenly pulled away again.

'I… Present. For you. I have one too.' He reached behind him and picked up a large parcel from where it had been tossed unceremoniously to the floor.

Hux looked up at him. Kylo had got him a gift, too? With all the stress and turbulence surrounding the day, he'd completely forgotten that one received gifts as well as gave them.

He quickly unwrapped it, pulling out a large, soft, black and red blanket.

'I know it's not very original, but I thought you might like it?' Kylo looked worried. 'To be honest, I went through a similar process to you when trying to find a present. 'Cept I shoved all the bad stuff in the vents.' Hux didn't know why, but he found that hysterical. Muffling his laughter in the blanket, he gasped out.

'You're telling me… that those blockages we spent all that time mapping and worrying about… were failed presents for me?!' Kylo nodded sheepishly. 'That's incredible. Incredible.' Hux leant up and kissed Kylo again. 'Thank you. For the blanket. And for caring.' He added. He pulled the blanket around Kylo as well.

'Do you know, Hux, I suddenly feel like I can't make the party after all.' Kylo's hand had made it back to Hux's leg.

'You know what, Kylo, I think I know what you mean.' His hand was trailing upwards again, but it wasn't falling away this time.

'I think I feel like some other festivities…' Kylo nestled his face into Hux's neck. Hux squeaked when he felt Kylo's lips touch his neck.

'On the bed, please. I already can't feel my legs.'

'Oh really? What a shame.' Kylo's hand was moving rather a lot higher now. Suddenly he was in Kylo's arms, then on his soft duvet with Kylo above him.

Kylo pressed their foreheads together.

'Thank you for my presents.' He whispered to Hux, breath hot on his lips.

'Thank you for mine.' Hux replied, wrapping his arms around Kylo's neck.

When they kissed, Kylo's taste getting more familiar every time, Hux finally felt as though he'd found his place.

Obviously, Kylo keeps all the presents Hux tried to get for him. He upgrades the cleaning droid to an extremely cleanly personal guard by duct-taping a knife onto it and christening it the AnkleFucker 9000. Tales of caution are whispered throughout Rebel bases after tens of soldiers are carried back, yelling about their Achilles. No one knows what would happen should it get into a fight with BB-8, but it is predicted that a battle as monumental as that between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader would erupt. All live in fear of that day.

It's a good thing all the action takes place in Hux's room in this fic, otherwise Hux would have come to the revelation that Kylo's room is a complete fucking mess. Instant ramen pots with their own ecosystems, folks. He's that guy.

If you enjoyed this story, please review! I'm always an open ear for prompts/fills/concrit/declarations of undying love!