Saga Conversation For Another Time (Hera/Kanan)

Title: Conversation For Another Time

Author: Jags_Scoundrel

Characters: Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, C1-10P (Chopper)

Timeframe: Anywhere from few months to a year after A New Dawn

Author's notes: DRL has kept me a lurker for what, to my horror, turns out to be almost a decade... but I saw a drawing hidden under a spoiler tag in the tenth post of http://boards.theforce.net/threads/star-wars-rebels-gif-thread.50024455/][/url] this page and this plot bunny bit me and wouldn't let go.





　

　

"Spectre Two to Ghost; prep now and take off as soon as we’re aboard!" Hera barked into the comlink strapped to her wrist. Ignoring the expected sarcastic electronic warbles in response, she continued firing her blaster as she ran. "Come on, One, keep up!" she called over her shoulder, growing concerned that Kanan's injury was not just the graze that he claimed it to be.

"Gee, take a blaster bolt for a girl, and you’d think you’d get a little gratitude," he called back, clutching his right side with his left hand and firing his blaster with his other hand.

"I’ll be grateful when we’re safely aboard the Ghost," she retorted, wishing that her ship was closer because the return fire that was whizzing past them was getting alarmingly close.

"That makes two of us!"

Hera rounded the next corner and skidded to a stop. She pressed herself against the edge of the building for an instant before poking her head and arm around the corner to lay down a volley of cover fire for Kanan, who was still lagging behind.

"It's about time, slowpoke," she shouted as he raced past.

"Not funny," he replied without looking back.

She waited for him to pull away just a little further before ceasing fire and sprinting after him. The last turn that separated them from her ship was finally growing closer. Hera had almost caught up to Kanan when the blaster fire returned. She hissed in pain as one bolt passed so close, she felt the searing heat flash across her lekku. Not bothering to try to return fire, Hera pushed herself to somehow run faster, passing Kanan as they rounded the corner. The Ghost hovered just ahead - engines hot and landing ramp down.

She lifted her comlink again. "Chopper, incoming!"

Hera leapt gracefully onto the boarding ramp with Kanan right behind her. His boots had no sooner hit the metal plating when Chopper began closing the hatch and lifting off, sending them both tumbling inside the ship.

"I swear, he does that on purpose," Kanan groused after a pained groan.

"No doubt," Hera replied as she picked herself off of the deck and moved to help him up.

He waved away her offered hand and gestured toward the cockpit. "Go. Get us out of here." Kanan paused, his gaze flicking up in the direction of the top turret. He winced slightly before adding, "Send Chop back to the tail gun; I’ll be up top."

Hera's first instinct was to refuse and tend to his injury right now, but the ship shuddered from a hit to the shields, signaling that TIEs had already arrived. "Hurry up; I need my gunner," she called over her shoulder as she quickly clambered up the ladder toward the cockpit.

Once inside, she slid smoothly into the pilot's chair and began flipping switches. "I've got the controls, Chopper; head back to the Phantom and man the tail gun."

The orange-domed astromech blatted curtly in reply.

"That wasn't a request," she barked as she threw the Ghost into a hard evasive maneuver to port. "Get back there now!"

The surly droid rolled out of the cockpit, grumbling as he went.

Kanan's pained voice burst over the ship's intercom. "Care to warn me next time you do that?"

"Fine. Rolling to starboard now," she replied as she was executing the maneuver.

He replied with a pained grunt and a sarcastic, "Thanks."

Hera quickly scanned the readouts as she cleared the upper limits of the planet's atmosphere and made a run for open space. Shields were still holding... Navicomp finished calculations... Almost clear of the planet's gravity well...

One last glance at the threat board caused her to curse loudly.

"Would someone please start hitting something?" she shouted over the com. "There's still four TIEs on our tail, and now we've got four more coming at us from the sunward side. They're going to reach us before we can jump!"

"Working on it," Kanan replied tersely while Chopper bleeped something that Hera didn't bother trying to decipher.

One of the TIEs behind them finally vanished from the display. Hera wondered which one of them had made the kill when a triumphant warble answered her question.

"Don't let it go to your head, Chopper," she warned as she continued to dance the Ghost around the laser fire from behind. "There's still three more back there and more on the way. Oh, and Kanan? Feel free to join the party and shoot a couple yourself."

"Trying to..." he replied, the strain evident in his voice.

That's it? No smart-mouthed retort? She shook away the concern trying to worm its way into her thoughts - there was no time for that now. What she needed was a plan to get clear of these blasted TIEs so she could make the jump to hyperspace.

The other four TIEs were almost within firing range when an idea sprang to mind. A wicked smile curved her lips in the fraction of a second that it took to think it through. That's just crazy enough to work.

Hera gently angled her ship directly at the oncoming fighters. Another sly grin quirked her lips as the three TIEs from behind remained right on her tail. She narrowed her eyes in concentration as laser fire began splashing off the forward shields.

"Hera..." Kanan began in a tone of voice that perfectly conveyed the what are you doing that he didn't get to finish.

"Hang on!" she shouted as she thrust the Ghost into a spiraling dive. As she hoped, the TIEs scattered away from each other to avoid a collision. Quickly, she oriented the ship back on her escape vector and was rewarded with the green light from the navicomputer that she had been waiting for.

"Jumping now," she called as she pulled the lever to engage the hyperdrive. The pinpricks of starlight surrounding the cockpit stretched into lines, then blurred to the familiar blue swirl of hyperspace.

Hera slumped into her seat, all of the tension and adrenaline draining from her body with one long exhale of breath. Well, that didn't go exactly as planned. Then again, when was the last time anything had gone exactly as planned? She patted the pocket that contained the datacards that they had just pilfered. Hopefully, the information they contained would be worth all of the trouble.

As eager as she was to pour over the data, her first priority was Kanan and his injured side. She deftly set the controls for autopilot, then left the cockpit to intercept Kanan.

To her surprise, she found Chopper at the base of the ladder to the top turret, his mechanical arms gesticulating wildly as he hurled electronic insults up at Kanan, who remained in the gunner's seat clutching his side and doubled over in pain.

"Kanan, what are you still doing up there?"

"Just admiring the view," he replied, his attempt at nonchalance failing miserably.

Hera turned to Chopper, whose incessant tirade was accomplishing nothing but working on her last nerve. "Chopper, please go run a diagnostic and fix any damage that you find."

As he rolled away, Hera received a series of rude-sounding noises in response that made her chuckle. It was the closest thing to concern that she had ever heard from the cantankerous droid. "I will do the same for Kanan. Thanks for the suggestion, Chopper."

"What did he just call me?" Kanan asked with a touch of incredulity to his voice.

Hera smiled. Apparently, Kanan was beginning to catch onto some of Chopper's electronic ramblings. "Never mind. Just come down and let's get you patched up."

With his right arm cradled against his injured side, Kanan slowly made his way down the ladder. When he finally reached the deck, Hera drew up beside him and looped his left arm across her shoulders to help him. She was startled by how heavily he leaned on her for support. Once again, she tamped down the concern welling up within her and kept her focus on helping him to his cabin and carefully seating him on his bunk.

"Don't move," she admonished before sprinting from the room, returning momentarily with the medkit. As gently as possible, she helped him remove his tunic, and she winced every time he made a pained sound.

Finally able to inspect his wound, Hera frowned at the sight: it was not the long slash of a graze, but instead was the ugly spherical burn of a more direct hit. Hera quickly unpackaged a cloth that was soaked in an antiseptic/numbing solution as an inexplicable knot of fear twisted her in gut. With surprise, she noted that her hand was trembling as she gently held the cloth against his side. Obviously the wound was painful and certainly had caused some internal damage, but unless it was left untreated - and Hera would fly through a supernova before she would let that happen - it was hardly fatal. So why wouldn't the cold twisting in her stomach dissipate?

Kanan gently placed his hand on hers, and the tender touch made her stomach flutter in a different way. Startled, she jerked her head up to meet his gaze.

"Hera, I’ll be fine," he assured quietly.

"Are you sure?" she asked in a voice so hushed, the words that were intended to be a sarcastic quip sounded more to her like a breathless plea.

"I am. I think I remember how to put myself into a Jedi Healing Trance."

She was just about to tease him about how hard it was for her to share his confidence when he used words like I think I remember how, when the full realization of what he just said hit her. "Jedi?" she asked in wide-eyed astonishment.

Kanan rolled his eyes. "Come on, I know you had that figured out back on Vidian’s ship at Cynda."

"Yes, but you’ve never admitted that aloud to me before."

An enigmatic smile slowly spread across his face. "Hera, there’s a lot that I haven’t admitted aloud to you," he began slowly in a low, quiet tone.

The fluttering in her stomach was persistent now. The depths of his aquamarine eyes seemed to pull her under and rob her of breath. The need to feel his lips upon hers was flooding her thoughts and drowning her fears. Just as she was about to surrender, a look of regret flashed across his face and stole his smile. Kanan blinked, and the spell was broken.

"But that’s a conversation for another time," he finished as he pulled his hand away from hers.

Hera stared blankly at her hand for a moment as echoes of his touch still danced upon her skin. She gave her head a gentle shake and was finally able to come to her senses.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked, then glanced up to gauge his reaction.

He paused, then one corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile for just an instant. "The blaster burn? No. It's fine. You can finish bandaging it now."

Hera nodded in reply, then returned her attention to cleaning and dressing his wound.

The silence stretched on between them as she worked as carefully and gently as possible. She picked up a roll of binding cloth to wrap around his torso to help hold the bandage in place and give the area some added stability. On her first pass around, her fingers grazed across his abdomen. Kanan inhaled sharply and she felt his muscles tense underneath her touch. "Sorry," she replied automatically. "Are you okay?" she asked as she glanced up at him.

His eyes were squeezed shut and his voice was oddly hoarse as he replied, "I'm fine. Just finish up, okay?"

The silence returned, punctuated occasionally by small, sharp intakes of breath by Kanan that Hera did her best to ignore as she finished binding his injury. "There. All done," she announced as she secured the end of the binding. "Does it feel any better?"

Kanan nodded. "Yes. Thanks, Hera."

She turned away for just a moment to close the medkit and when she glanced back, Kanan was leaning forward and grimacing in pain. "Oh, no you don't," she said firmly. Hera placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back upright. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking my boots off and lying down, if that's okay with you." he ground out through gritted teeth.

"And undoing everything I just did? No, that's not okay with me. Let me help you."

"You know," he began as she worked to unfasten and remove his boots, "I've often dreamed of you undressing me in my bed... but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Hera rolled her eyes as she set the boots at the foot of his bunk. "Keep dreaming, Slick."

His only reply was a toothy grin.

She heaved an over-exaggerated sigh. "Shouldn't you be doing your healing trance thing now?"

"Yes, I should. Would you help me lie down?" He paused for a moment, then added, "Gently, please."

As requested, she carefully helped him swing his legs up on the bunk. With a gentle tug, she removed the band that held his hair back in a ponytail, then helped him ease down to lie on his back.

Kanan stared up at the ceiling for a moment, thinking. "How long before we drop out of hyperspace?" he finally asked.

"A few more hours," she replied.

He nodded. "That should be a good start. I'll probably have to repeat this many times to do any real good... but I can't afford to be connected to the Force and out of action for as long as it would take to do this in one shot. I'm going to need your help, though."

"My help?" she asked, surprised.

A rueful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "While I had quite a few opportunities to practice putting myself into a healing trance -"

Hera bit back a chuckle. Why am I not surprised?

"- I could never quite master bringing myself out of it. Before we revert to realspace, I'm going to need you to come back and say a code phrase to bring me out of the trance."

"Does it have to be something specific?"

"No, it can be whatever I choose." He turned his head toward her, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "This is what I’ll need you to say to bring me out of the trance: Kanan can fly the Ghost."

Hera crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "Just because you’re going to make me say it, doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen."

He smiled. "I know. But just hearing the words from your lips will do for now."

She gently shook her head and smiled in return.

Kanan turned his head and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath through his nose and exhaling it slowly. He repeated the process again and again, each breath a little shallower than the last, until his breathing finally settled into a soft, steady rhythm, detectable only by the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Hera watched over him for long moments. She cocked her head to one side as she studied his face. With the lines of worry smoothed away from between his eyebrows and around his eyes and his unbound dark hair billowing around his head on the pillow, it was the first time that she had seen Kanan look truly at peace.

Hera Syndulla, you are such a fool.

It was foolish of her to think that she could simply slap a restraining bolt on her feelings to keep them from changing and growing - running deeper than she thought possible. Her sole focus needed to be her fight against the Empire. Changing that was not an option. But neither was sending Kanan away. She couldn't imagine doing this without him now. Somehow, she was going to have to find a way to balance her feelings for Kanan without sacrificing her sworn mission. She chuckled quietly. Easy, right? From what Kanan had said, at least she was going to have a lot of time alone to think about it while he healed.

She noticed a light blanket wadded up in the far corner of his bunk. Carefully, she straightened it out near his feet and gently pulled it up to cover him. As she drew it up his chest, the fingertips of one hand accidentally grazed his skin. Hera stilled, fearful that the touch may have disturbed Kanan's trance. She watched intently for any sign, but his breathing never wavered from its light, steady rhythm. Satisfied that he would not wake, she tugged the blanket up to his shoulders.

Impulse struck, and she acted before she could change her mind. Bracing herself on the edge of the bunk, Hera leaned forward and gently touched her lips to his in a brief, tender kiss. She smiled as she straightened up. Yes. That is definitely something I will have to try again when he is awake. Well... someday.

Quietly, she turned to leave the room. Pausing in the open doorway, she glanced back once more at his still form. "Get well soon," she whispered.

I have so much more than that to say to you, Kanan… but that will be a conversation for another time.

 

This is awesome!! You just made my day. Your characterization is right on for all characters.

I enjoyed your illustration of how they both feel something for the other. I look forward to more as your muse strikes. BRAVO!!!

 

Hi there! Like this on the brink of the unspoken but mutual stuff between Hera and Kana. Also like your user name. LOL

 

They are SO space married. Lovely fic.

And here's hoping that things turn out well for them next Monday...

 

Thank you! Unfortunately, to say my muse is fickle is quite an understatement. I do have another idea for a little viggie, but at the rate that I write... I might have it finished by the end of Season 2. Thanks again for reading!

Hi! Thank you! And though Jag will always hold a special place in my heart, with the new EU, I've moved on from a dark-haired green-eyed pilot to a dark-haired green-eyed Jedi. Thank you for reading!

I know, right? Thank you! And yeah, I'm rather nervous about tonight's episode. Thank you for reading!

 

Jags_Scoundrel I don't mind mind waiting --- I am just so excited that someone has finally written a fic about Kanon and Hera.

 

Yay! I don't see much Rebels fanfic. I love this!

 

Was waiting for you to chime in on this one. I knew you would love it.

 

Great viggie! Nice to see some Rebels fic.

 

Excellent! This was so sweet and romantic, but it kept the pace and excitement of the series at the same time. You've captured the emotional states very well here, and the promise of further " conversation."

 

I'm hoping to see more Rebels fanfic, too. I'm so glad that you liked mine. Thanks for reading!

Thank you! And thanks for reading!

Oh, thank you so much! And thank you for reading!

 

I like this missing moment from their early days. Really cute, and it does well at connecting AND Kanan and Hera to their Rebels counterparts. (And I also am thrilled to see Rebels stories cropping up. I love that show waaaaaaay too much. )

 

I'm so glad that you liked it. (I simply adore Rebels, I'm also glad to see more Rebels fanfic starting to pop up. ) Thanks for reading!

 

Nice work! I especially like your description of the jump to hyperspace (I know, I pick out the oddest things) and this part here:

"The depths of his aquamarine eyes seemed to pull her under and rob her of breath." Really nice imagery

 

Thanks! I love it when readers pick out little details that they like.

I think I rewrote that part about 5 or 6 times until I got it where I wanted it - I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for reading!

 

I found this image and immediately thought of your story!



It's by Lorna Ka. Here's the link in case you're interested. http://r2smuse.tumblr.com/post/108697528744/lorna-ka-dont-look-at-me-idek

 

You should - that's the image that inspired me. I haven't taken the time to figure out how to post images yet , so I had just put a link in the author's notes to the thread where I came across it. Thanks for the larger version and the link!

 

So what if I'm TWO YEARS late to the party. I love this story to bits, and wanted to leave a note to say so. The 'voices' are true to the characters, and the story is a lovely read.

 

I enjoyed this too. Thanks for digging it up, Darth Breezy.