Saga - OT Do Not Disturb | OTP “Date Nite Gon Rong” Challenge |Kanan/Hera AU

Title: Do Not Disturb
Author: Raissa Baiard
Genre: Romance, humor
Canonicity: AU, in the Marzra-verse continuity
Characters: Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, mentions of the other Spectres, Jacen Syndulla and Lando Calrissian
Synopsis: Hera and Kanan take a romantic getaway to Cloud City, only to be interrupted by comms from their crew, who are babysitting Jacen.

Notes: Written for the OTP “Date Nite Gon Rong” challenge. My prompt was “ill-timed comm from employer or other professional associate.”

Many thanks to @Findswoman for beta-reading and encouragement:rose

----------

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea,” Hera said as the Phantom cleared Hoth’s atmosphere and made the jump to hyperspace.

Kanan reached over from the co-pilot’s seat and laid his hand on hers. “You haven’t taken any leave in over two years. The Rebellion can look after itself for a few days, General Syndulla.”

Hera made a little sound that was half laugh, half sigh. “It’s not the Rebellion I’m worried about.” Once, it would have been. Once, her primary concern about taking two days leave from her post would have been that she would miss some vital development, that she wouldn’t be there to lead her squadron when they needed her. And while that was still a concern, for the last two years, there had been something that figured larger in Hera’s mind and heart—a little boy with emerald green hair, blue eyes and his father’s smile. She could still picture Jacen kissing her good-bye and solemnly promising he’d be be good for his aunt and uncles while she and Kanan were gone. He hadn’t cried, but she nearly had. Funny how one small person could become the center of your Galaxy when you were a mother, even if you also happened to be a general.

“Jacen will be fine.” Kanan gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “He’s got a Jedi, an Honor Guard and a Mandalorian to look after him—and Chopper, too. I think they’re more than capable of taking care of one youngling.”

Hera knew he was right; the Spectres, together and separately, had fought pirates and other fringers, Imperials from run-of-the-mill bucketheads to grand admirals, and a nasty assortment of Dark Siders. Looking after Jacen overnight wouldn’t present any greater challenge than getting a rambunctious boy into his bunk at bedtime. And yet… “Why does that sound like the beginning of a bad joke: a Jedi, an Honor Guard, a Mandalorian and an astromech babysit a youngling…”

“Hera…”

“I know, I know.” Hera sighed again. Ezra, Zeb and Sabine weren’t just babysitters, they were family. There was no one else she would have trusted more with her son than them. Jacen loved them; they loved him and would never let anything happen to him. And, truthfully, she’d been looking forward to this. She and Kanan had never been able to take a proper wedding trip; their “honeymoon” had been spent on the Ghost and the wedding had been quickly followed by the evacuation of Massassi Base. Which had been quickly followed by more hasty evacuations, Jacen’s birth, and the work of establishing a base on Hoth’s frozen wasteland. Time for just her and Kanan was a rare and precious commodity.

So when she’d unexpectedly received a message from Lando Calrissian offering belated congratulations on her marriage, his wedding gift—a stay in the bridal suite in the Grand Bespin Hotel in Cloud City on Bespin which, as the city’s new Baron Administrator, he now owned—held an undeniable appeal. Even Kanan had only done a bit of token grousing about Lando and what less-than-ethical methods he’d probably used to become administrator of a tibanna mining colony before conceding that spending a night alone and uninterrupted in a luxury resort might be a nice thing for them.

Unfortunately, over the last few days, it had hit Hera that going to Bespin for a romantic getaway meant leaving Jacen behind. And while it wasn’t the first time in two years—she’d certainly had to leave him on base during Phoenix Squadron’s missions—it was the first time she’d done so for purely personal reasons. It felt entirely different, somehow, almost selfish.

“He’ll be all right, Hera, really. We’ll only be gone overnight, and we won’t even be out of the system,” Kanan reassured her. He rose, still holding her hand, and pulled her up from the pilot’s seat and into his arms. Hera leaned into his embrace, feeling his warmth and steadiness surround her. Oh, the logical part of her knew he was right, it was just a short trip, under far less dangerous circumstances than she usually left base under. The emotional part—the maternal part—still insisted she was wrong to put her desires ahead of her son’s needs.

“You’re not being selfish,” he murmured, as he brushed a kiss against the top of her head; Hera smiled wryly. Trust Kanan with his Jedi’s insight to know exactly how she was feeling. He pulled her a little closer, his lips traveling up to the top curve of her right lek. “We need this time; you need it,” he said, and his breath was warm against her skin. “Between being General Syndulla and Jacen’s mom, when was the last time you got to be just Hera?” Kanan leaned back, cocking an eyebrow at her, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Am I going have to use Jedi mind-tricks so you’ll relax and enjoy yourself?”

An answering smile curved her own lips. “You wouldn’t.”

“I might.” Kanan’s smile widened. He leaned in again, waving his hand in a dramatic arc in front of her face.

Hera laughed, smacking him playfully on the shoulder. “You’re terrible, Master Jarrus,” she said, though the idea of her Very Serious Jedi husband doing something as improper as seducing her in the Force was absurd—and it wasn’t as if he’d ever needed to resort to such a means in the past. “No.” Hera reached up to kiss him. “That won’t be necessary.”

And it wasn’t.
——-

“I had no idea Lando liked us this much.” Hera glanced around the Grand Bespin Hotel’s bridal suite in astonishment. When Lando had claimed he owned the most luxurious hotel in Cloud City, she’d taken that for typical Calrissian hyperbole, but this…

The suite was enormous, with a spacious conversation circle, the gracefully curved sofa upholstered in rich suede in the same shades of red and orange as the sunset clouds visible through the panoramic picture window. The dark, glossy caf table followed the flowing lines of the sofa; there was a bottle of Lothalian currant wine chilling in a burnished bronze bucket and a fruit basket with gold-orange meilooruns and midnight-purple jogan fruit. On the far side of the circle was a curtained arch through which a bed with a tall headboard of the same dark wood as the caf table was visible. The plush sunset-colored coverlet was sprinkled with snowy white flower petals. It was a far cry from the captain’s cabin on the Ghost where she and Kanan had spent their wedding night.

“I knew he liked you,” Kanan commented drily as a nattily uniformed Squib brought in their luggage—a battered spacer’s case and threadbare garment bag that looked more like they belonged in a seedy spaceport’s lost and found than an opulent hotel room—and deposited it in the bedroom before disappearing with an elaborate bow. “Lando did say in his message that he owes his good fortune to us...and a puffer pig. Maybe he’s finally trying to make up for trading you to Azmorigan for that pig.”

It wasn’t the Jedi way to hold grudges, or at least so Kanan said, but he’d never quite forgiven Lando for his scheme of “selling” Hera to the repulsive little Jablogian crook in exchange for a mineral-sniffing puffer pig. And more than that, Hera suspected Kanan still couldn’t get past Lando’s shameless flirtation towards her during that first encounter or his oh-so-charming (Kanan would say smarmy) demeanor every time he’d spoken to her since then. Hera shook her head, stifling a smile and trying not to roll her eyes because somehow, Kanan would be able to sense it. “If he is, he’s certainly going all out for it. Did you have a chance to look over that ‘Visit Scenic Cloud City’ holo-brochure he sent?” she asked, by way of changing the subject. There were things she’d much rather talk about than Lando’s possible motivations; one didn’t look a gift fathier in the mouth, after all.

Kanan shrugged. “A little—it was mostly over-the-top casinos and high end shopping, and I doubt we have either the credits or the inclination for those.”

That was likely true on both counts. Military service, especially for the very unofficial and highly illegal Rebel forces, was not a well-paid profession. And while they’d managed to put together a few credits for this trip, it was unlikely that it would purchase a single sequin in the swank SkyCenter Galleria. As far as casinos, Hera had never been one to gamble; she preferred to save whatever allotment of luck or good fortune she might have for important things like missions, and Kanan, of course, didn’t believe in luck at all. There had to be more to do in a city this size, though. Certainly there had to be some charming club or bistro that was within their range. “Why don’t we look at it together and see if we can find something less expensive and more respectable to do, then?” Kanan looked unconvinced that such a thing could be found here—my staid Jedi master, Hera thought with a smile—so she took his hand and led him to the conversation circle, tugging him onto the sofa next to her.

They sank into the sunset-orange cushions like they really were clouds; caught off guard, Hera found herself half-reclining against the sofa’s plush arm. Kanan slid an arm around her waist, but instead of helping her up, he leaned towards her, a roguish smile on his lips. “We could always stay in, you know,” he suggested, and, as if to bolster his case, he kissed her--a kiss that took full advantage of the fact that there were no younglings or inconvenient crewmates to walk in on them.

Ah, my not-so-staid Jedi master, apparently... He would suggest something like that. And while the idea wasn’t entirely unattractive—this palatial room was undoubtedly more comfortable than their shared bunk aboard the Ghost—there was a whole beautiful, exotic, romantic city out there, and experiencing new worlds just for fun wasn’t something they got to do, either. Hera propped her elbow against the sofa arm and sat up as best she could. “Don't you think we should at least find somewhere to have dinner?”

“I’m sure the hotel has room service.” He leaned in for another kiss.

“Kanan!” She laid a hand in the center of his chest and pushed him back slightly, laughing. “I didn’t bring my wedding gown all the way from Hoth so it could stay in the garment bag all night!” It might have been a bit odd by the standards of the Civilized Galaxy to use one’s wedding dress as evening wear, but it was really the only thing she owned that was fancy enough for Cloud City nightlife. And it was a fabulous Sabine Wren original. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said, letting her hand wander up his chest to his neck and up to trace the line of his jaw. “I'll go get dressed, you find someplace romantic for dinner. Maybe someplace with music...dancing...We’ll go now and come back early…”

Hera half expected he’d need further convincing, but Kanan seemed to find this a reasonable compromise. “I think I can handle that.”

“I’m sure you can.” She stood and kissed him, not quite as thoroughly as he’d kissed her, but more than enough to let him know that coming back early was not something she objected to.

Hera took the worn garment bag with her gown in it into the suite’s ’fresher, a room that was larger than her entire cabin. The floor and counters were shining cream-colored marble; so was the bathtub which looked large enough to fit a full-grown Lasat—or two Human or near-Humans—quite comfortably. She looked at herself in the oval gilt-framed mirror, feeling a little shabby amidst all the grandeur. She hadn’t worn her rank patch, or anything else that would identify her as a Rebel officer, but her goggles and coveralls unmistakably marked her as a pilot, and not one with a high-end ship. Hera spotted something on the shoulder of her vest and realized with a sigh that it was mealgrain cereal from Jacen’s breakfast. Marked unmistakably as “Mama”, too…

When was the last time you got to be just Hera? Kanan’s words in the Phantom came back to her as she took off her goggles and slid off her pilot’s cap, shaking her lekku. When had it been? Before Jacen was born? Before she held a formal rank in the Rebellion? Or even before that, when had only been her and Kanan? She wondered if she still knew how to be just Hera, but tonight she was certainly going to enjoy trying.

Hera felt like a different woman after she’d exchanged her fightsuit for the vinesilk gown and goggles and cap for a headpiece of tooled white bantha leather. She even pulled out the small bag of cosmetics she suspected she hadn’t used since her wedding. Kanan wouldn’t see the eyeshadow or lip gloss, but she took the extra time for herself; it made her feel less like “General Syndulla” or “Mama”, and more like Hera.

Kanan was waiting for her when she was finished dressing, sitting on the edge of the velvoid-covered bed. He was wearing his wedding finery as well: a knee-length robe of forest green wool with a wide leather belt at the waist over a tunic the same gold as the pattern of vines that embellished Hera’s gown. The scent of pomade with a faint undertone of leather polish told Hera she hadn’t been the only one who had put a little extra effort into appearances.

He looked up as soon as he heard her step. Kanan had tried to explain to Hera what her presence in the Force was like, and how he perceived her now that he was blind, but he’d never really been able to do so to his satisfaction. It seemed to involve all his senses and none of them at the same time, or possibly senses for which no Basic words existed. But whatever he sensed at that moment made him catch his breath. He stood with an astonished smile and took both her hands. “You’re radiant,” he breathed, pulling her towards him. “But, then, you’re always radiant…” He stood for a moment as if drinking in her presence, and then seemed to come back to himself. “We have reservations at the Floating Fish, rated Cloud City’s most romantic restaurant—impossible to get into, but no problem, the concierge assured me, for the Baron Administrator’s special guests.” He cocked an eyebrow, his smile taking on a wry twist. “I suppose knowing Lando has its perks after all. There’s a speeder cab waiting for us downstairs. Are you ready?”

“Absolutely.”

And then her commlink chimed…

-------------

Notes:
Lando, Azmorigan and the puffer pig

Cloud City locations:
Grand Bespin Hotel
SkyCenter Galleria
Floating Fish

 

Superb as to Kanan's insistent persuasiveness - the tone of gentle teasing. Hera's feelings about being "selfish" are understandable and RL-istic, but she and Kanan have totally earned them-time.

The suite sounds exquisite, absolutely luxurious! Just the details are relaxing.



~~



The Spectres are stalwart and resourceful so why did her comlink have to go off, just then?

 

What a great story so far! Boy, I can relate to the guilt of going out and leaving your little one behind. It’s so hard for a parent to let someone else take over floor a little while! I like the detail of her beautiful “Sabine-original” gown with the whole tooled leather cap, and Kanan’s handsome outfit. They must have been a beautiful pair. The part about how Kanan read her beauty as “radiant” - how she feels, what she appears like to others - was a lovely touch.

And then, the com link goes off? Uh oh! Something tells me that date night is going to have to wait...

 

I´ve been watching quite a bit of rebels lately and Kanera is defenetly a great pairing(also love the fact their son is named after my favourite character ) so its nice to see them in this story. Like how you incooprorated their run in with Lando and the debts the "administrator" has for his actions back in season 1. Curious who is on the comlink and how it will impact their planned date night, great story.

 

Aww I loved this so much!! The playful, loving banter, the deep emotion, the amazing detail and pure, irresistible romance make this story completely perfect And... I know this is somewhat about her escaping it for a little but i am loving Mama Hera

.... Gonna need to find out where I can get some Sabine Wren originals...

Can't wait for more!!!!

 

This is great.

What an well matched pairing you have here, with great background details and world building.

Just feels so natural to read Hera's thoughts about her team, Lando's past schemes, Kanan's suspicion of him - I was smiling at the thought of Lando's "charm" whenever he chats to Hera; he's definitely a ladykiller - and the little guy back home.

This was a great exchange:

I loved your description of the hotel suite and fresher (and how it compared to mine), forgotten words that had dropped from my fic-writing lexicon.

Oh yeah, headboards!

*Makes mental note of 'coverlet'*

I think I remember from the Under-represented Challenge, discussion of Kanan's blindness; his condition is completely not apparent here till he witnesses Hera's change into her wedding gown.

Nice that she took the time to do the lip gloss and eye...stuff. I actually thought that the aside that he wouldn't see it, was down to him being a man.

I really enjoyed reading this.

Very, very good story.

 

They really have earned the time off, especially Hera, who, like many moms and space!moms, takes care of everyone else first--kids, space!kids, spouse, squadron, you name it. She's got a lot on her shoulders, and it's hard for her to get out of mom and general mode and just relax, harder than it probably is for Kanan, who was trained as a Jedi to be mindful of the moment.

Because this is Date Nite Gon Rong

Aww, well, thank you so much! That new parent stage is so awkward, isn't it? You're just getting used to having this small being who's totally dependent on you, and when you get a chance for a break, and you're torn between being glad to have that time and the feeling that you still need to be there with Small Person. You're so right that ultimately taking that break is good for mom which is in turn good for the kid(s). (And yeah, often times the kids are like "buh-bye, Mom!", especially when they get to stay with fun relatives).

I saw a meme of Lando and Han in Cloud City, where Lando wasa gesturing around and the caption said "I owe this all to some Rebels and a stolen puffer pig" It's only fair that he should pay some of that good fortune back to said Rebels (especially given that he did basically trade Hera for that pig, whether he knew she'd get out of it or not.) And Lando is king of the extravagant gesture. That bit of luxury is something very different for Kanan and Hera--neither of them has really experienced anything like it in their lives, but as Hera notes as she transforms herself from General Mama to evening-gowned Hera, it's going to be fun to try it. Kanan's senses and abilities really do get glossed over, don't they? All the indication we get of how he does what he does is that one brief lesson with Bendu and the krykna, which makes it plain that he can't see in any physical sense (and kind of implies he just can't use the Force to "see", either). Jedi do seems to be able to enhance their senses, so it seemed logical that Kanan's using enhanced senses to compensate, plus sense that are unique to Force-wielders like being able to sense life in the Force.

Oh, you know it's them, because space!kids. As for what they want...that will shortly be revealed.

Thank you! They really are one of SW’s best couples in my opinion; they have such a reciprocal, caring relationship. I like the fact that Filoni included a nod to the EU with Jacen’s name, too. When I was trying to come up with someplace they might go for a romantic getaway, the meme I mentioned came to mind and it was just too perfect to be able to do a callback to that episode with Lando.

Thanks! Yep, I’ve been there, too, and no matter how much you trust and love the person who’s looking after your kiddo, there’s still this nagging feeling that a good parent would be there instead of off having fun (which is silly, of course.) Hera’s gown is based on one that my Sims version of Hera wears as her “formal outfit” and it was so pretty on her I decided to use it as the basis for her wedding gown in “And They Lived Happily Ever After” (no poofy white wedding gowns à la Union), and yes, she and Kanan must have been a handsome couple all dressed up in their finest. And Kanan can sense that inner beauty that shines within her, her character plus that extra added bit of self confidence that can come when you take the time to do something special for yourself and feel good.

Oh, thank you so much! I love writing Hera as “Mama”, too. She’s had lots of practice with Ezra and Sabine, but having a toddler is a whole ‘nother challenge. She’s totally up for it, though, and brings all the skills she’s picked up as Space!Mom and General Syndulla to bear (and I bet there’s a lot overlap). I’d love to have a Sabine Original, too. You just know it would be a fabulous, one-of-a-kind dress More coming right up.

Thanks! I think Kanan and Hera are the best matched of SW on-screen couples. They have such a supportive relationship and really are partners through everything, even when they disagree with each other, you can still see how much they care. And Lando—yup, he’s one of those men who can’t not flirt with any and every woman he meets. Heck, he was even flirting with Sabine and she was like 16 at the time (dude, seriously? No wonder Kanan dislikes you, trying to put the moves on his girl, and his space!daughter all in the same day.)

Kanan’s got his number, though it’s not like it took a Jedi to figure that out

Fanfic boosts vocabulary! (I picked up “transverberate” and “ineffable” from one of @Findswoman’s stories—now I must find a suitable place to use them)

That’s one of the things that can be a little odd about Kanan’s depiction; he often acts as if he’s still sighted—not that I think he should “act disabled” or something like that, but it can be a little strange when he starts swinging his lightsaber and kicking Imperial butt as if he can see perfectly. So I just chalk it to super Jedi senses and move on Though being a man, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the make up if he was sighted. Hopefully, he would have noticed there was something different about her and told her she was radiant though.

Thanks again! Always glad to get your perspective

Wow, thank you; that’s quite a compliment! I do think Rebels gave us an ending that was dramatically appropriate (and I am glad that Hera has Jacen, not as a consolation for losing Kanan, but because the two of them look so happy in that tiny scene of them together) but this is the ending I wanted for them, together with their who.e space!family.

That was definitely one of those times where life inspires fic. I remember feeling the way Hera does when the Youngling was itty-bitty and Mr. Baiard and I went away for the first time. You want to enjoy the time to be Not Just Mom, but your mind keeps returning to the kiddo... And I bet Jacen’s aunt and uncles spoil him as much as the can—as much as Hera will let them

They certainly do deserve the time to be together and enjoy each other’s company, to be a couple instead of parents or Rebel leaders for a night. And Kanan is quite the smoothie here, isn’t he? He wouldn’t really do it, of course, but he got a smile and a kiss from Hera—and got her mind off What Might Go Rong...at least for the moment.

Kanan’s definitely got Lando figured out, but again, he didn’t really need to use the Force for that particular insight. Lando can be be generous and he is a good friend, at least when Vader’s not breathing down his neck. I don’t know if the Legends story of Lando winning Cloud City at sabacc (of course. Everything comes back to sabacc) still applies now, but if it doesn’t, you can bet the new story is just as wildly improbable.

Aw, thanks. I knew Kanan wouldn’t gamble, Very Serious Jedi that he is, but I couldn’t see Hera playing cards either. She’s just got better things to do with her time

Fashion as art, art as fashion! Sabine would have to design Hera’s gown; she would never let her wear some drab thing for her wedding! I’ll have to see if I can post the screenshots of my Sim Kanan and Hera in their finery, because her dress really is perfect.

And that is why I love Hera so much. I give Dave Filoni and all the writers so many kudos for creating a female who is multi-dimensional, who is strong and nurturing—and whose maternal nature is portrayed as one of her great strengths. She’s mom, but but she’s a person in her own right, not just someone who exists in relation to Kanan and the kids. And yes, though she loves her family more than anything, it is a rare treat to be able to do something for herself and Kanan.

[/quote] Thank you very much! The next part is coming right up!

 

Thanks to @Findswoman for beta-reading
————
Part 2

A klaxon alarm announcing a squadron of incoming TIE fighters, the Star Destroyer Executor and the Emperor’s private shuttle all at once couldn’t have jolted Hera more than the commlink’s quiet twitter. Oh, no… Jacen… What was wrong with Jacen? Was he sick? Hurt? Lost? Some horrible combination thereof? Whatever it was, it had to be bad if the others were comming her here and now. She thumbed the commlink on with a growing sense of dread. “Yes?”

“Hey, Hera. How’s it going?” Ezra’s voice crackled over the encrypted connection, but she thought she heard the note of sheepishness to his voice that she’d learned from long practice meant he’d done something he wasn’t supposed to, with predictably disastrous results, and was now being forced to tell her about it.

“What’s wrong?” Hera demanded. When it came to her son, she wasn’t in the mood to beat around the bush.

“Nothing’s wrong, really. It’s just...Jacen’s not allergic to tok nut butter, is he?”

This seemed like an odd non-sequitur. Hera wracked her brain trying to come up with a reason that tok-nut butter could lead to the kind of hideous, catastrophic accident or illness that would necessitate Ezra calling her now. “No...why?”

“Well, we were playing hide and seek and he kind of ate half a jar before we found him hiding in the cupboard.”

“Half a jar?!” Not out of the realm of possibility for Jacen, who had an inordinate fondness for the gooey paste (he’d picked that up from Ezra, whose go-to snack, meal or diversion when minding Jacen was a tok-nut and beebleberry jam sandwich). But still, the nut butter came in half kilogram jars… Did even Zeb eat a quarter kilo of it at one time? “How long was he hiding in there?”

“Umm…” The sheepish tone was plain in that single, abashed syllable.

“Ezra, you’re a Jedi and you couldn’t win at hide-and-seek against a two-year-old?”

There was an offended pause. “I couldn’t use the Force to find him; that would be cheating!”

Hera sighed. Jedi… Sometimes she just couldn’t understand them. “To answer your question: no he’s not allergic, and there are bismuth tablets in the medkit in the ’fresher cabinet in case he has an upset stomach.”

“Okay, great, thanks,” Ezra said, his tone brightening, probably glad he hadn’t inadvertently poisoned his small charge and didn’t have to worry about trying to Force-heal some sort of dire reaction. “Hey, how’s Bespin? Are you guys having fun?”

“We were just about to go to dinner,” Hera answered, unable to keep a touch of asperity out of her voice.

“Oh, right. Well, talk to you later.”

You had better not talk to me later, Hera thought, clicking the commlink off rather more firmly than was required.

Kanan, who had of course heard the entire conversation, chuckled. “Half a jar of tok nut butter? That sounds about right for Jacen.”

Hera swallowed half a dozen replies along the lines of “what were those four thinking?”, “I can’t believe they called about that”, and “how many sandwiches has Ezra fed him, and he still has to ask if Jacen’s allergic?” No, she decided, she wasn’t going to dwell on this. It was annoying, but it was just a hiccup; she and Kanan still had a wonderful evening ahead of them. Instead, she made herself laugh as she slipped the commlink back into her clutch purse. “Doesn’t it, though? I’m sure he won’t be wanting any dinner tonight, but I do.” She took Kanan’s hand again. “Let’s not keep our cab waiting.”

—-

The Floating Fish restaurant was attached to a small but elegant casino of the same name. The restaurant was decorated in shades of blue and green, with subtly shifting lighting that made it seem like it was underwater. Ornate columns in the shape of twining water plants ringed the dining room, and between them, floating globes of water with brightly colored fish swimming inside. A large globe with a miniature reef inside was the restaurant’s centerpiece, and an arch of smaller globes, each containing a different Naboo scalefish hovered over the bandstand where a group of Mon Calamari and Quarren musicians played swing-bop on gleaming gold horns.

A young Sullustan waiter led them to a table in a secluded corner, hidden behind pillars draped with diaphanous blue curtains. The lights in this part of the restaurant were dimmed and bioluminescent fish swam in a glittering school in the water globe suspended overhead. The waiter pulled out a chair for Hera, swept a napkin into her lap, and handed menus to her and Kanan. Although the menus were capable of displaying holos of each offering and reciting their contents in six major Galactic languages, the Sullustan carefully went over it with “sir and madame”, making suggestions and offering opinions in an impeccable, if rather incongruous, Coruscanti accent. Compared to the limited offerings Dex served at Echo Base’s mess hall, the extensive bill of fare, full of delicacies from every corner of the Galaxy, felt like an embarrassment of riches. With some difficulty, Hera decided on a mixed kibla green salad, crystal mushroom soup, and pan-seared burra fish with roasted spring celta.

The salad was served on a gilt-rimmed porcelain plate with hand-painted fish swimming around the edge. Slices of blum fruit fanned across the kibla greens, the bright red color and sweetness a counterpoint to the bitter, slightly earthy greens, and it was all so carefully arranged that Hera almost hated to take a bite and disturb a work art that Sabine would have approved of. Everything here was so perfect, so far removed from tok-nut butter sandwiches and mushroom noodles on mismatched plasti-form plates, that it might as well have been in a different Galaxy.

She must have sighed a bit or shifted in her chair, because Kanan reached across the table to touch her hand. “Are you all right? You seem a little quiet.”

“Am I? I suppose it’s because I’m not quite sure what to say. This doesn’t seem like the place to discuss the pipes freezing in the south corridor, Jacen’s ’fresher training progress or any of the things we’d be talking about at home.”

“I guess it is a bit fancier than what we’re used to, isn’t it?

“You could say that.” You could also say that Hoth was a little chilly. The only decor in the Ghost’s galley was Jacen’s latest fingerpaintings on the conservator and whatever he’d splattered on the walls that day. And the white and gray striations of the ice cavern that served as the mess hall were even less inspiring. “Maybe we should consider installing a few floating aquariums in the commissary to give it a bit of class.”

“Between the temperatures and Rogue Squadron, I’m not sure the fish would ever have a chance.” Kanan chuckled. He took her hand and nodded up at the aquarium that hung over their table. “Describe it to me. It’s strange to sense all the fish swimming above our heads and not have any idea how they’re staying up there.”

Hera laid down her salad fork and considered this. “It’s beautiful; each of the aquariums is perfectly spherical, so it looks like the fish are swimming in suspended drops of water. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the same kind of impermeable membranes the Gungans use to build their cities, with the polarity reversed to keep the water in. There’s no visible means of suspension, either; repulsor tech, perhaps? I don’t know where half the fish are from, but there’s an entire spectrum of colors, and the way the aquariums are lit, they’re like living gems…” She smiled at her own description, technical considerations mixed with aesthetics. Living with an artist for the past seven years had clearly had an effect on her. “Sabine would love it. She’d have had her sketchbook out as soon as she walked in the door.”

“And Jacen would be climbing the pillars to get to the fish.”

That led them into fond recollections of their son’s latest exploits: his “art lessons” with Sabine that left them, the dejarik table and a good part of the common area covered in paint. The day Ezra, who held the unenviable position of lead tauntaun wrangler, took Jacen riding on patrol with him, and they’d both come back red-cheeked and laughing. Zeb’s impromptu smashball game in the hangar, during which Jacen had beaned Princess Leia’s fussy protocol droid in the head. (“Kid’s got a great arm,” Zeb had said over C-3PO’s complaints.)

Perhaps it was inevitable that the conversation would turn to their family, because whatever glamorous topics the beautiful people of Cloud City preferred to discuss, family was what mattered most to them. It might not have been the kind of witty, flirtatious banter couples exchanged in holo-romances, but it was the heart and soul of their relationship, of who they were. And, really, the best thing about being here with Kanan was just having the opportunity to talk to him without a small voice interjecting “Mama!” every other sentence, or having emergencies from equipment failures to wampa sightings cropping up at inconvenient times. What was important was that she and Kanan were together, and Hera savored that feeling more than the gourmet food or the romantic atmosphere put together.

And then, just as the waiter whisked away their entree plates, her commlink vibrated, shaking her tiny, beaded clutch (another Sabine original) so hard that it nearly fell off the table. Now what?

The wail of a distraught two-year old poured out of the commlink when she switched it on.

Hera was instantly on the edge of her seat, heart pounding. “What’s going on?!”

“We can’t find Fluffles, and we’ve looked everywhere!” Sabine sounded harried and more than a little desperate, definitely not her usual Mando-in-control self. “Under the dejarik table, in the galley, all the storage lockers in the cargo hold, the cockpit…”

Hera didn’t know whether to laugh or groan at the reason for this latest comm; this, at least, almost counted as a Crisis of Epic Proportions. Fluffles—or, rather, Fuff-o, as Jacen pronounced it—was a purple-and-green-striped stuffed tooka, and Jacen took him everywhere: to meals, on outings, to bed—especially to bed. Unfortunately, in the course of their adventures, Jacen frequently set Fuff-o down in odd corners of the ship and left him there when the next Really Cool Thing beckoned, resulting in much wailing and gnashing of tiny teeth when Fuff-o was nowhere to be found at bedtime. Hera had lost count of the number of times the whole crew had had to frantically scour the Ghost to find the missing tooka, and she’d quickly learned which nooks and crannies Fuff-o could usually be found in. “Did you look in the gunner’s turret?”

“Which one?” Ezra called over Jacen’s rising howls. “Upper or lower?”

“Both.”

“But Hera,” Sabine protested, “he’s too little to climb up to the…”

“Check. The. Upper. Turret.” Hera knew her own youngling. Jacen might be small, but he could climb like a monkey-lizard. Between his natural curiosity and whatever incipient Force-skills he had, no height was too high for him to try to scale—in fact, the higher, the better.

“But…” Sabine began again, only to be cut off by Ezra’s shout, “Found him!” and Jacen’s glad cry of “FUFF-OHHHHHH!”

“Er...he was in the upper turret after all,” Sabine admitted in uncharacteristically subdued tones. “Um, thanks, Hera. Good night.”

Was this how the whole night was going to go—one overwrought, overblown totally-not-an-emergency comm after another? A Jedi, an Honor Guard, and a Mandalorian, and they couldn’t handle hide-and-seek or keep track of a stuffed tooka? What were they going to do about bedtime? Breakfast? Or, the Force help them all, ’fresher training? Hera dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her temples. “Maybe we should just head back…”

“They’ll be fine, Hera.” Kanan reached across the table again and took both her hands in his. “Trust me, I’d know if something had really happened to Jacen. I haven’t felt so much as twinge all night.”

Hera pursed pursed her lips; she didn’t need Kanan giving her false assurances just to calm her down, thank you very much. While she could accept that he could somehow sense it in the Force when Jacen was about to take a header off the dejarik table from the next cabin, how could Kanan possibly tell anything from another planet?

Except that there was nothing disingenuous about Kanan’s expression, his voice, the touch of his hands. Even though she couldn’t read his emotions in the Force, she knew him. Whether or not he could actually sense anything from half a system away, he believed that he would. She sighed. “I hope you’re right about that…”

He smiled and squeezed her hands. “Have I ever been wrong?”

“I’m your wife,” Hera replied with a laugh, raising an eyebrow at him. “Would you really like me to answer that?”

The timely arrival of their waiter, bearing a tray of dainty pastries, slivers of pie and cake, dishes of custard and tiny soufflés saved Kanan from having to answer. “Would sir and madame care to order dessert?”

“Yes,” Hera told him. “Yes, I believe we would.”
———-
To be concluded....

 

I enjoyed reading of the "crises". Very much real to life.
It says a lot that Kanan almost couldn't talk Hera out of rushing home again but (relieved sigh) he was able to.



I absolutely adored the details of the restaurant! Beautiful and romantic indeed!

I was also struck, most of all, by the everyday talk Hera and Kanan indulged in. A couple might think: Gracious alive, can't we come up with something warm and romantic to talk about/say? But Hera has hit upon something insightful and profound ... Talking and reminiscing about everyday silly moments with their family is definitely crucial to who they are, how they define themselves and find pleasure.
Beaning the oh-so-proper 3PO? Totally hilarious and reading about Zeb and Jacen in any context is adorbs!

 

Oh, this is delightful! I just read both chapters and I'm sitting here smiling now.

You write Kanera SO PERFECTLY. And your descriptions are so vivid and gorgeous. Reading this I felt like I was watching an episode of Rebels. And I just love the idea of Lando giving them the trip to Cloud City as a wedding gift!

I adored the whole kissing on the sofa scene.

And then Hera getting dressed up (in her Sabine Wren original gown - )! First, I have such a weakness for makeovers and clothing descriptions. Give me ALL THE DETAILS of the clothes and makeup and hairstyles the characters wear on their fabulously glamorous dates! So this was so much fun to read just on that level.

But there's so much more to it, too. I'm not a mother, but I can relate to Hera's struggle (I'm not entirely sure that's the word I'm looking for, but I can't think of anything else) to be herself amongst all these other roles she has. And appearance can definitely play a part in that. So I loved this scene for that, too.

This line in particular really struck me on a personal level. Because sometimes doing that little bit extra just for yourself helps when life is rough, too.

And Kanan's reaction was wonderful, and so beautifully written!

And of course it's Ezra calling over some relatively mundane thing. This is the way.

There were so many hilarious lines in this chapter, but this made me laugh so hard! Like, actual real laughter.

More fabulous descriptions! And it just has such a Star Wars-y feel. Again, I feel like I'm watching all this. Your writing really brings it all to life. I love how Hera describes the aquariums to Kanan, too!

This is beautiful. It really is those little day-to-day moments and stories and being able to share things that matter to you that make conversations and relationships meaningful.

And then of course that commlink interrupts again.

Crisis averted!

I hope Hera and Kanan can enjoy their dessert and the rest of their evening in peace, but I have a feeling things won't be that simple.

And wow, that's a lot of rambling but I'm not going to go back and change it all or I'll be here all night.

This is an amazing Kanera story with perfect characterizations all-around and I loved it so much. I really needed something fun and fluffy and this was just what I was looking for. Awesome work, and thank you for sharing!

 

Definitely like Ezra and feel that Rebels didn't give us everything. You did an incredible job with Hera and Kanan as well and I really liked their love story as well.