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“Please, Hera.”
“Where would we even go?”
Kanan took her hand. “I don’t know. Someplace nice.”
Hera cocked an eyebrow. “You got the credits for someplace nice?”
Kanan faltered a bit, and Hera nodded.
“That’s what I thought,” she said, but then her tone softened a bit. “I appreciate it, love, but I don’t need to go on a big date anywhere. I’m happy to just be here with you.”
Kanan took her hand gently, and his eyes met hers (Force, she always loved his eyes). “How about a small date, then? We’re near the Rion moons, right?”
Hera leaned over to look at the navigation panel on the Ghost ’s console, not letting go of his hand.
“Yeah.”
“They’ve got some cafes and small restaurants there. And it’s all cheap, from what I’ve heard.”
Hera shook her head. “I don’t know, Kanan…”
He smiled that blasted, charming smile of his. “Please. You deserve it. And Chopper will be here to watch the ship.”
Hera blinked at him few times, and then sighed. “Fine.”
His face lit up, and Hera felt the urge to kiss him. Luckily enough for her, he moved in first, and kissed her quickly.
“It’ll be our first date,” he said, pure joy in his voice.
Hera felt butterflies in her stomach at the declaration, and couldn’t help but smile wide back at Kanan.
Kanan came back to the table with two cups of steaming caf, and set one down in front of Hera. She was looking out the window that their table was next to. It was raining outside, which gave the lights a nice glow through the window. She smelled the caf, and looked across the table as Kanan was sitting down. She lifted the mug to her nose and sniffed it. It didn’t smell quite like the caf she normally made on the ship.
“This is caf?”
Kanan nodded. “Spiran caf,” he said. “You’ve never had it before?”
She shook her head, and took a slow sip. She saw Kanan watching her over his own cup with a smile on his face as she tasted this. Her eyes widened in delight.
“Wow.”
“Like it?”
Hera nodded and took another drink, downing about a quarter of the mug, and Kanan laughed.
“Good, because I’m getting some packets of this and throwing out the poodoo you’ve got at home.”
If the caf wasn’t so delicious, Hera would’ve spit it out, but instead she swallowed it and twisted her face in offense.
“Poodoo?”
“This stuff is better and you know it.”
Hera narrowed her eyes and folded her arms.
“Maybe. But I bet my ‘poodoo’ is cheaper.”
“Not that much cheaper.”
Hera shook her head and took another sip of the caf, but Kanan just smiled and nodded. “So, I know we just got here,” he said. “But I just wanted to get caf. There’s a diner across the street that’s got some food if you’re hungry.”
Hera took another sip of the caf. “Works for me.”
Kanan stood up slowly, and Hera followed him. They got to the door, and Kanan started to pull his jacket off. Hera stopped abruptly.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s raining outside.”
“Yeah, and most people keep their jackets on when it rains.”
Kanan pulled his arm out of the sleeve and offered the jacket to her, and Hera’s jaw dropped just a little.
“Oh. Kanan-”
“What?”
She shook her head. “You need that. I’m fine.”
Kanan nudged her with the jacket. “Listen, I don’t know when I’ll get an actual date with you again,” he said, evoking a snort from a woman at a nearby table. “Just let me do this.”
Hera shook her head. “But-”
“Please?”
“I already have a jacket.”
Kanan blinked, and looked her up and down. They’d both agreed they weren’t dressing up for this, so Hera had just gone for a comfortable pair of pants, shirt and jacket with her boots. Embarrassed, he slowly put his jacket back on, while Hera stifled laughter. She rubbed his arm gently.
“I appreciate the thought, dear.”
“Mmhmm,” Kanan mumbled as they stepped out into the rain. They both ducked and quickly crossed the street into the diner. Hera was immediately hit with a smell she could only describe as questionable for a restaurant, but she followed Kanan to the front counter. The waiter took them to a booth in the corner of the restaurant. It was about half-full, mostly with older humans, many of whom watched them as they walked by. Hera tried to wave to one man sitting a few tables away from them, but he just grunted and returned to his datapad.
She and Kanan slid into their seats across from one another. The waiter haphazardly tossed two menus onto the table and left, returning a few moments later with glasses of water. He left without another word, and Hera looked at Kanan with a raised eyebrow.
“He was… nice.”
Kanan chuckled quietly and nodded. “Yeah, nice . And…” His voice lowered. “Do you smell something?”
Hera nodded. “Yes!” she whispered. “What is that?”
“I have no idea,” Kanan said with a sigh. “Guess this isn’t too romantic, huh?”
“Hey,” Hera said, shaking her head. She put a hand on the table, which Kanan took in his own hand. “It’s fine. I’m actually having a good time, and isn’t that more important?”
Kanan smiled sheepishly at her across the table. “I guess so.”
“Although,” Hera said. “If this place gives me food poisoning, you’re cleaning the bathroom.”
Kanan laughed. “Deal.”
Hera pulled her hand away to pick up the menus on the table. She frowned as she flipped through the pages.
“Do you really think they’ve got the best burgers in the system?”
“Only one way to find out,” Kanan said with a sideways grin. Hera smiled and set the menu down.
“I guess so.”
The waiter came back a few moments later, and Kanan ordered two of the burgers for both of them. The waiter took the menus from the table and left again. He came back in only a few minutes, with two burgers that he put in front of them, leaving without another word. The burgers seemed to match the smell that had hit them when they first walked in, and Hera wrinkled her nose as she inspected the burger, before sending a look to Kanan.
“How much are we paying for this?”
He shrugged. “Not enough for me to worry about it.”
He promptly picked up his burger, and took a bite. Hera looked down at her own, and shook her head. She was too hungry not to give it a try. She lifted the burger and slowly bit into it, chewing and swallowing. Something about it was definitely off, it wasn’t like any kind of food she’d ever had before, and she’d had some really questionable meals in the past.
Kanan started laughing, covering his mouth to avoid spewing crumbs everywhere.
“What?” Hera asked.
He put a finger up to pause while he swallowed. “I’m guessing you don’t think it’s the best burger in the system.”
Hera furrowed her brows. “Well, it’s just… interesting.”
“Mmhmm,” Kanan said, clearly suppressing a smile while Hera took another (smaller) bite. “What’s the likelihood that I’ll be on bathroom duty when we get home?”
Hera swallowed. “About ninety percent.”
Kanan laughed, and Hera went for another bite. He raised an eyebrow.
“You’re still eating it.”
She stopped herself and lifted her head a bit. “I skipped lunch, Kanan. I’m starving.”
“I can get you something else.”
Hera shook her head. “Nope, this is the place you chose for our first date.” She took her next bite, and Kanan shook his head while he returned to his own burger.
Kanan rubbed Hera’s shoulder gently as she leaned against him and groaned.
“I am so sorry,” he said. “I should’ve picked a better place.”
Hera nodded, her stomach feeling like it was doing backflips. “It’s fine,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t have eaten the whole thing just to get back at you.”
He laughed. “Yeah, maybe not.”
“You’re still cleaning the bathroom, though.”
“I figured that.”
She rested fully against him, and he gently wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. She laughed quietly.
“Did you at least have some fun?” Kanan asked, his voice soft.
Hera nodded. “Besides the food poisoning? Yeah, I had a great time.”
“Will I get to take you out on a date again?”
Hera shifted a little bit. “I don’t know. You’re not taking me to a diner again, I know that much.”
She could feel Kanan’s laugh through him, and smiled.
“At least we got that Spiran caf.”