Saga Sweet Nothings | (MMM Spoonfuls of Mush)

Title: Sweet Nothings
Author: Raissa Baiard
Genre: Mush, drabbles
Characters: Whoever decides to show up
Synopsis: Sweet and sentimental drabbles written for the MMM Spoonfuls of Mush challenge

Thanks to @Findswoman for beta reading

Set 1

Surprise

The muffled clamor from within the galley was Hera’s first clue that something was up. When she peeked inside, the rest of the crew was bustling around inside like a crateful of headless nunas.

“Chopper! I said 350 for 45 minutes, not 450 for 35 minutes!”

“Bwaaah! Bwa’bwah BWOP!”

“Get outta my way, kid, unless you want hot zoochberry sauce all over you. You’re s’posed to be chopping the salad.”

“No, Kanan’s chopping the salad!”

“What?!”

“He uses a lightsaber, I think he can handle it!”

Hera cleared her throat and instantly all eyes and optical receptors were on her. “What’s going on?”

Present

They’d made dinner for her, and not just the usual “if we have to cook, I guess we can scrape something together” sort of dinner. Besides the salad (which Kanan had indeed chopped), there was roast nerf tenderloin with baby topatoes and daro root, and butter pastries with warm zoochberry sauce. How they’d managed to put together such a meal without her knowing was a mystery to Hera.

And they weren’t finished with the surprises.

As Hera was finishing her pastry, Kanan stood, amid the others’ significant glances. and held out a small box. “Hera, there’s something we’d like you to have..”

Together

Inside was a bracelet, nothing fancy, just a leather thong with beads. Each was unique: a green crystal that seemed to glow from within; an orange clay bead in the shape of a Loth-cat’s face; a glass bead with a rainbow of colors swirling inside; a bead of gray stone with dark purple striations; a metal sphere, slightly dented, slightly tarnished—and in the center an intricately carved wooden phoenix painted green and orange. Just like the ones that had been on her kalikori, each bead represented someone she loved. Her kalikori might have been stolen, but her family was still together, and they couldn’t have chosen a better gift.

Occasion

Hera was speechless as she slipped the bracelet on, turning her wrist to admire each precious bead. “Thank you,” she whispered when she finally found her voice again. “It’s beautiful, perfect… but why? It’s not my birthday, Life Day is three months away…is there something I should know?”

The crew glanced among themselves. Finally, Zeb shrugged. “Aw, does there hafta have a reason for us to do something nice?”

“It’s just our way of saying thank you,” Sabine said, putting her arm around Hera’s shoulders.

Ezra leaned in on the other side. “Yeah, Hera, you do so much for us, we wanted to do something for you.”

It was all she could do to whisper “thank you” again.

Because

“You didn’t have to do all this, you know,” Hera told Kanan while the others cleaned up.

“I know. But we wanted to. You’re our heart and soul, Hera, the one who keeps us all going, and we wanted to show you how much we appreciate everything you do for us.”

“We? Or you?”

“All right, it started as my idea, but the kids ran with it. They love you too, even if they don’t always show it.”

“Mmm. I’ll be sure to thank them all later. Right now…” She pulled Kanan closer, leaning in to kiss him. “Thank you.”

 

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! And that's just for doing this thread at all! Yum! Yum! So sweet and thoughtful of everyone. Now Hera has a wonderful memory and a handmade kalikori As for all (me included) who have a warm, courageous space!mom, thank you's are well-deserved! Thanks for sharing this delicious spoonfuls!

 

Aw, thank you so much, @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

Yep, for moms of all kinds, thank yous can be few and far between and are truly appreciated when they do come. It may have taken a little prompting from Space!Dad, but the Spectre "kids" have really come through this time, because underneath all the snark and bickering, they really do love Hera.
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Today, the moose muse brings you a multitude of mush from across the multi-verse of Infinite Ezras!
Thanks to @Findswoman for beta-reading

Warm (Ezra from the Marzra-verse)

Growing up on the arid planet Merkesh, Mara had never seen snow before coming to Hoth. The sparkling crystalline landscape fascinated her at first, but now the charm was wearing decidedly thin. No matter how many layers she wore, she felt like she’d never be warm again. She rubbed her hands together in a vain attempt to restore feeling to them.

“Hey, Ace.”

She looked up from her workstation to see Ezra there, holding a mug that steamed gently and smelled deliciously of hot chocolate. “You look like you could use this.”

Mara drank it gratefully, its warmth and sweetness filling her with bliss. She put the mug down and smiled, pulling Ezra towards her. “I can think of something else that would warm me up…”

Fuzzy (A Diamond in the Rough)

“Mrow?”

Ghost hopped up onto the makeshift worktable and butted his head against Ezra’s shoulder.

Ezra put down the commlink he was stripping for parts and squinted in the dim light of the cracked glow panel. His hands were cramped and his back was stiff from sorting salvage. “Oh, all right,” he sighed, scooping up the white Loth-cat. “I guess it’s break time.” He settled the floor with Ghost in his lap, scratching behind the cat’s ears just so. Ezra smiled as an expression of rapture stole over Ghost’s face.

It was amazing how much better a warm, fuzzy cat purring in your lap could make you feel.

Sweet (Canon Ezra)

Meilooruns didn’t grow on Lothal.

It had taken quite an effort for Ezra to find one of the sweet, orange fruits that were Hera’s favorite. He’d had to sneak out of camp while everyone was busy (luckily, being a Jedi, he was very good at sneaking) and make his way to a nearby village market. The pickings there were slim, and just when he’d despaired of finding one, Ezra had spotted a single meiloorun half hidden under a pile of pallie fruit.

It had been worth the trouble, though, Ezra thought as he laid the fruit on Hera’s bunk where she could find it later. His family would always be worth it.

Cute (“Sometimes I Just Know”)

“Ezra, can you help me, pleeeeease?”

Ezra looked up from his homework to see his little sister holding out a purple-and-orange-striped stuffed tooka and a ridiculously ruffly doll dress. She stared at him with impossibly big, hopeful eyes.

He sighed and snatched the toy from Aliza, crammed it into the dress—like he didn’t have anything better to do—and thrust it back at her. She was such a pain....

Aliza took the doll with a Loth-kitten smile and threw her arms around Ezra, kissing his cheek enthusiastically. “Thanks, Ezzie! You’re the bestest brother I ever had!”

...but she was awfully cute sometimes.

Snuggle (Wolf Brother)

A cold night breeze was blowing over the prairie. Ezra huddled on his pallet. His scavenged blanket was thin and tatty, and it barely covered him. At times like this, he wished he had fur like the other members of his pack.

The padding of large paws on the stone floor let him know he wasn’t alone. Phaona, the gray wolf who was his favorite of all his brothers and sisters, curled herself around him, her bushy tail blanketing him.

She nuzzled Ezra’s shoulder. [Don’t worry, Little Brother, I am here, and I have fur enough for both of us.]

 

"Warm" Hot chocolate & Ezra ... yuppers, a delightful combination!

"Fuzzy" Aww. Ghost is an invaluable companion, giving a mood lift and warnings, as needed.

"Sweet" - how absolutely thoughtful of Ezra, spontaneously generous too.

"Cute" Aliza is cute, indeed, as is Ezra, - a great big brother for sure! (The only one BESTESTER is Zeb)

"Snuggle" How riveting this AU is Such a unique backstory for Ezra, yet, he's still himself.

 

Some people are great in writing sweet & fluffy stuff. And in making other people smile.

 

Hello— I wanted to say thank you for the wonderful comments on the drabbles. I promise I will respond to them, but we’re on the road today and I wanted to get Set 3 posted for the Monday Mush Mania Challenge. This set features AU Kanan as Space!Dad to Jacen. They’re a bit out of order chronologically: “Attentive” features Hera at 8 months pregnant, “Baffled” features infant Jacen, “Cautious” And “Hopeful” are newborn Jacen, and he is around 3 months old in “Curious”.

Attentive
“Ugh…” Hera groaned slightly as she levered herself up from the acceleration couch. At eight months along, it was painfully obvious that the Ghost’s interior hadn’t been designed with pregnant women in mind.

“Here, let me help.” Kanan was at her side with Jedi reflexes, his arm around her, steadying her.

“I’m not incapacitated,” she informed him rather testily. She was perfectly capable of standing by herself, even if she was as ungainly as a whaladon.

“I know. But wanting to take care of you doesn’t mean I think you’re weak, it means I love you.”

“Well...when you put it like that…” Hera said, turning to kiss him. “Thank you.”


Baffled
Changing diapers was not a use of the Force Kanan had ever considered before.

He laid Jacen on the makeshift changing station, frowning in concentration. Why in space were there so many snaps on an infant’s jumpsuit and how could someone so small squirm so much? Finally, he freed Jacen’s furiously kicking feet and discovered a tesh-tunic with more fiddly snaps. How many clothes did a baby need? Kanan unfastened the tunic, peeled off the diaper—sometimes Jedi senses were not an advantage! —and, with what seemed like supreme effort and focus, cleaned the wriggling infant, replaced the diaper and refastened all the various snaps in the correct order.

Another successful mission—thank the Force.


Cautious
“Hold your arms out,” Hera told him and eased the small bundle into Kanan’s arms. “There you go. Support his head...put your other hand here…” She moved his left arm so that Jacen’s head nestled in the crook of his elbow and placed his right behind the baby’s back.

Kanan held his newborn son carefully; Jacen was so tiny. Were all babies this small, this fragile and helpless? He was overwhelmed with love for the boy, and at the same time overcome by fear that he wasn’t ready for fatherhood. He didn’t even know how to hold a child, let alone raise one. Nothing in his training had ever prepared him for this.

Hopeful
He traced a finger down the curve of Jacen’s cheek, gently touching the sleeping infant’s features. “Tell me what he looks like.”

Hera put her arm around his shoulders and leaned against him. “He looks mostly Human and very much like his father. He has your mouth, the set of your chin, but his eyes are blue and his hair is green.

“Green?” Kanan paused to re-order the image he was creating of his son as he stroked Jacen’s downy hair.

He felt Hera’s smile. “Rather brilliantly green, and there’s a very slight green tinge on the tips of his ears.”

“So he’s as beautiful as his mother.” Kanan kissed the top of his son’s head. He was absolutely perfect.


Curious

The small cooing noises and rusting sounds from the crib told Kanan that Jacen was awake from his nap.He reached down to pick him up, and reached out to him in the Force...

He was astounded when his son reached back. It reminded Kanan of the way Jacen would wrap a tiny fist around one of his fingers, a half-reflexive reaction, and yet there was a spark of lively interest in the boy’s Force-presence. He was fascinated by this bright, shiny new thing he’d discovered and he gurgled with delight.

Kanan laughed, too, equally surprised and pleased, as he wrapped his arms and Force-presence around his wonderful, amazing—Force-sensitive!—son.

 

*purrs* and MELTS! I was laughing and awww-ing by turns! Beautifully sweet, funny and tender!

 

gg

 

Cute drabbles, Raissa.