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It had all began, as many things tended to these days, with the children.
Kallus had been telling the tale of his initial defection from the Empire to a group of younglings too small to partake in Zeb’s self-defense class. They’d ooh’d and ahh’d at all the right spots, gasped and squealed when he’d used a seedpod to simulate the crash on Bahryn and then, as soon as he’d come to the bit about Zeb finding the life-saving meteorite, erupted into giggles.
“What?” He asked, trying to sound curious instead of defensive. Children or no, he wasn’t too keen on being mocked. A young girl with dark face markings clapped her hands over her mouth for a moment, calming herself down.
“He gave you a rock?” She asked, squeaky-voiced and excited. Kallus glanced up, looking down the few yards to where Zeb was showing a pair of children how to get out of a headlock. They escaped, immediately pouncing on him, which caused the rest of his flock to follow suit. Even from beneath a dozen Lasat children at this distance, Kallus could hear Zeb’s deep, booming laugh. A smile crept onto his face, unbidden.
“Yes, a meteorite he’d found in the cavern. It gave off light and heat, which essentially saved my life.” The giggles intensified, and the girl turned in the direction of the class, cupping her hands around her mouth.
“Big brother gave Kal a rock!” She yowled, loud enough for every set of ears in range to perk up. Laughter and playful punches rocked the swarm, as Zeb climbed to his feet. He was still shaking off a few enterprising clingers, the rest following him, as he walked to the tree where Kallus and his children sat.
“What have you been telling them, eh?” He asked, leaning down to allow the girl to leap onto his arm, scurrying up until she reached his shoulder.
“Our adventure on Bahryn, of course.”
“Of course.” Zeb echoed, as the girl whispered into his ear. “Jayi, enough.” The girl, Jayi, puffed her cheeks out in displeasure.
“Is the rock significant in some way?” Now Kallus was legitimately intrigued. The Lasat had different ways of saying things than he was used to, with the majority of them coming in the form of action or gifts. Zeb immediately turned his head to frown at the young girl, who responded with a laugh, jumping down into an older girl’s arms.
“It’s sort of like...a present?” From the tone of Zeb’s voice, it was clear he didn’t want to try and explain in front of a group of children. Having them around, however, would most likely keep Zeb honest. Kallus raised a brow.
“Good present, that. It saved my life.” One of the older boys snickered, elbowing Zeb in the side.
“You could have just held him, big brother.” He offered with a grin, and Zeb’s ears flattened against his head.
“Okay, that’s it! Class dismissed, everybody get lost!” The older children scattered instantly, grabbing for younger siblings almost as an afterthought. Only once he was absolutely sure that their audience was gone did Zeb flop to the ground, resting his cheek on Kallus’ good leg. The bad one he coaxed out of its bent position, rubbing the feeling back into it. Though the weather on Lira San was mostly mild, his leg assured him that the rainy season was nearly upon them. “Sorry ‘bout that, they’re all nosy little buggers at that age.”
“Mm. Though I do wonder, why all this fuss over a rock?” Without the children around to tease him, Zeb allowed himself to look as flustered as he felt.
“It’s a...cultural thing? Back on Lasan, when you were interested in courting someone, you brought them something from your family’s land. It was a way of saying that you uh, that you wanted them to come home with you, to join your family.” He mumbled these last words directly into Kallus’ knee. Kallus laughed.
“Well, I do suppose it worked. I joined the Rebellion after Bahryn, after all.” And I kept the meteorite, until I was caught, he didn’t say. Not that he needed to; Zeb already knew all of that. Thrawn had kept the only things that he’d considered personal, after all. His bo-rifle and the meteorite. “And then you brought me here, so all in all, good job. I’ve been successfully courted.” Zeb shook his head, sitting up.
“Not exactly. There’s a second part that-” His sigh was loud and long, tapering off with a low growl. “Karabast. It wasn’t time. Why did I decide that I wanted to work with kids?” He jumped to his feet, helping Kallus up a bit slower, mindful of his leg. “C’mon.” He said, once Kallus felt steady enough to walk.
Lira San was a highly advanced world, for a planet so deep in uncharted space. The Lasat had the power of spaceflight, advanced communications systems, modern weaponry...they simply chose to stay away from the rest of the galaxy. Isolation had kept them safe for millennia, after all. Zeb and Kallus had decided to settle down away from the larger cities, and were graciously gifted a home in a much smaller farming community. They had a simple life, but frankly, after the hell the war had put them through, simple suited them just fine.
Kallus removed his shoes at the door, then allowed himself to be steered into their living room. “Zeb, what’s going on?” He was pushed, gently, onto the large sofa that took up a good portion of the room, then abandoned as Zeb dashed out of his line of sight and up the stairs. He reappeared a few minutes later, holding a large box.
“Remember Endor?” Zeb asked, and Kallus shuddered. He’d been part of the ground troops on Endor, while Zeb had been Hera’s gunner. There had been a moment, more than one, if he was being honest with himself, where he was sure he’d never see Zeb again. Time after time he’d only had his wits and a blaster to keep himself safe, and it never seemed to feel like enough. “Sabine was on Lothal, so I rode with Hera. She must’ve told me to switch assignments with someone a dozen times before the battle, because ‘he needs you’. She was wrong. You’re one of the most competent warriors I’ve ever known, Alex.” Alex. So, this was to be a serious conversation. Zeb used his given name rarely, preferring to call him Kal, or some silly pet name.
As he spoke, Zeb fiddled with the clasps on the box. It was more of a case, long and flat, and colored in a way that would make it almost invisible if hidden in a dark place, such as the back of their closet. He was curious about it, but not so much that he’d interrupt what seemed to be a speech months in the making.
“After everything, on our last trip to Lothal, Sabine gave me something she’d found. It was beat to hell, bent and dented and just...all but destroyed. But she saw it, and she knew what it was, so she kept it. For me. For you.” Kallus’ heart leaped into his throat. Zeb couldn’t mean...there was no way that could be...
Zeb turned the unlocked box towards him and with shaking hands, he opened it.
His bo-rifle was more of an off-black than the shined state he’d usually kept it in, and there were still several dents on the handle and body. It was obvious from the state it was in that it would take a lot more work before it could ever be fired again, but that didn’t matter.
“I never thought I’d- Zeb, I was so sure that it had vanished with Thrawne and the rest of the Chimaera. Thank you. I don’t know what else I can, I just. Thank you.” His voice almost gave out on him, and Zeb chuckled.
“It’s still all...yeah. I still had work to do on it. But then those kids had to go and- aah, it’s all as the Ashla wills it, I guess.” He was stumbling on his words, stalling for time. “But, you asked about the rock.”
“The rock?” Kallus asked, finger tracing along the deep dents near the firing mechanism. He looked up, focusing on Zeb instead. “Oh, yes! The rock. Tell me about the rock.” Zeb took a steadying breathe, letting it out slowly.
“I didn’t intend it at the time, but when I gave you that meteorite, I asked you to join my family. You took it, and kept it, and in time, joined the family I’d made for myself. Now I, I uh,” Zeb hunched forwards slightly, as if cowed by Kallus’ intense staring. Without making a great show of the act of supreme sacrifice this really was, Kallus placed his bo-rifle back in its case, laying a hand on Zeb’s wrist.
“I’m listening.” He said softly, and Zeb relaxed.
“Alexsandr Kallus, I offer you this gift as a token of my eternal devotion. You have been a part of my family for many years, and now I ask you to become a part of me.” He sank to his knees, taking Kallus’ hands in his own. “Will you do me the honor of being my mate?” Oh.
Oh.
“Not to ruin the moment,” he said, blinking back a tear. “But I do believe that most assume we’ve been married for quite some time. Wedge even used to refer to me as your wife, which-”
Before he could launch into a tirade about disrespectful youth, Zeb had pulled him onto the floor with him, going from a kneel to a sprawl in seconds.
“Who cares what everyone else assumes, I’m asking because I want it to say, on record, ‘this weird fleshy thing from another world is definitely beloved by and mated to the dashing and charming Garazeb Orrelios’. Officially.” Kallus laughed, turning so that their embrace was more of an actual embrace, and less of him just laying atop Zeb like a furry mattress.
“Fine, but I want it to say something more like, ‘the weird fleshy thing from another world, beloved of the shedding nightmare of Lasan’.” It took a moment to recognize the contented rumble from Zeb’s chest as a purr. “Oh, like that one, do you?” Zeb leaned down, tapping their foreheads together.
“Can you believe I thought you might say no?”
“You’re joking.”
“It’s a big commitment!”
“I moved to the secret Lasat homeworld to be with you.”
“You-” Zeb paused, thinking it over. “Karabast, you did, didn’t you?”
There were so many things Kallus wanted to ask. Was there some kind of ceremony they’d have to perform? Would he be expected to take Zeb’s name? Was that even a thing in this culture? Would there be enough time to send word to Sabine and Hera? What if-
“I love you.” Zeb said, quiet and secretive, even in the privacy of their home. “I’ve loved you since that night on Yavin, when the stars made you glow. You are so much more than I ever thought you could be when we first met, and I’d do it all again, every last fight and encounter, if it meant that we’d end up back here each time.”
Zeb was so much more eloquent than most people thought he could be, so used to hiding behind the title of ‘the muscle’. He was a man of a million secrets, and Kallus was looking forward to unlocking them all over the course of their shared life.
“I think I’d change a few things, if only so we’d be able to get here sooner. But yes, I love you too, Garazeb.”
With a loud chuff, Zeb rolled them over, nuzzling Kallus’ face and neck until he was certain the children would be able to smell their elder on him more potently than usual. Kallus gave as good as he got, though he was certain his less powerful scent wasn’t going to stay for long.
They could call their family in the morning. They could do anything, everything that wasn’t basking in their enjoyment of each other in the morning.
For now, this was all they needed.