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To say that Cody was tired would be an understatement, unbothered by the constant buzzing by his phone. Overnights were always a pain in the ass, but he took solace in the fact that he was home by noon. Everyone else in class meant he was free to nap, dead to the world until Obi-Wan came home from class at 3. It was a good system, honestly, even if his back tended to protest the nap on the couch.
The nap that he, apparently, wouldn't be taking today.
"It's bullshit that you two know how to make them and I don't." Garen's arms were crossed, an angry look fixed on his face as he watched Obi-Wan and Bant work on the griddle. Korkie was sitting on the counter next to him, entranced by the solar system taking shape in front of him.
It had started when they first saw Spirit take off, Garen and Obi-Wan both so excited that they counted the days until Opportunity launched. The boys checked constantly for updates, knowing that it would be months but not wanting to miss a second of the Mars Exploration. Bant had always been fascinated with the mirror opposite, the depths of the ocean, but she would be remiss if she didn't say that she adored the little rovers as well. Part of her love stemmed from the fact that her father, Kit Fisto, was a middle school science teacher and would take any excuse to talk about the stars. It was Kit who started the landing day party, a tradition that lapsed when the trio was separated during Curiosity 's landing but was immediately revived the moment Garen and Obi-Wan watched Perseverance launch into orbit.
A crucial part of the landing party was the pancakes, intricately made to resemble different planets and constellations. It required an inordinate amount of food dye, tiny dishes, squeeze bottles, and patience, but also Kit's incredibly top secret pancake recipe. The one that Bant, his daughter, and Obi-Wan knew.
"In my defense," Obi-Wan hummed, not looking up from his careful construction of Ursa Minor. "Kit only told me because he thought that I would like to make them for Korkie." the answer made Garen scoff, as if Kit hadn't practically adopted him years ago and would make him anything he wanted. Obi-Wan simply ignored him and continued on to Ursa Minor as Bant wordlessly created Venus.
The front door opened and Korkie all but shot off the counter, the four year old in a dead sprint towards the newcomer. He was carried back into the kitchen by an exhausted looking Cody, who looked around the house in a hazy sort of confusion. "I missed something." he deadpanned, trying to figure out why his boyfriend and friends were out of classes and why the sneaking suspicion was starting to creep in that a nap was no longer in his calendar.
"Landing day!" Korkie cheered, words echoing back in his tiny space helmet.
"...Landing day." he repeated the tiny astronaut's words, the crease in-between his brow only growing. Cody looked at his boyfriend with pleading eyes, only to be ignored for a pancake.
Bant didn't look up from her pan either, but she did decide to be the only helpful one. "The new Mars rover, Perseverance , is landing today, and the boys are excited about it." the boys in question nearly vibrated in agreement, beaming at each other.
"One of these days NASA is gonna shoot me up there." Garen said, a wistful though as he slumped against the backslash. "Light-years away from Earth, finally among the stars...and if I crash, it's Obi-Wan's fault!" he laughed even through the swift retaliation of thrown batter, a blue smatter across his cheek.
"I assure you that it'd be your own." Obi-Wan snorted, transferring the finished pancake to the pile. Finally he turned to smile at his boyfriend, at least trying to look apologetic. Typically they were much better at the whole communication thing, but Obi-Wan's new research job had proved to be much longer hours than his previous one at the bookstore. He was happier though, and that's all Cody truly cared about. Plus, how could he be mad at him when he looked as happy as he did now - flour streaks in unkempt hair and on his glasses, still clad in pajama pants.
"Sorry, darling." a kiss pressed to his cheek as Obi-Wan took Korkie back, absentmindedly fixing his son's mock flight suit. "We can be quiet," a look shot at Garen "we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to have our first landing day party again."
Before Cody could give in, Ahsoka burst through the door. "Did I miss it?" The teenager was panting, bangs stuck to her head with sweat as she slumped against the wall.
"I thought Anakin was supposed to drive you home today?" Obi-Wan's attention turned to his sister, suddenly concerned.
"He was, but he got pulled in for some screening for that clinical study so he had to go into the city. Don't care, doesn't matter, did I miss the landing?"
"You didn't, Percy should be landing within the hour though. They just got through with the final readiness check." Obi-Wan felt a hand rest on his shoulder as he spoke, face flushing when he met Cody's eyes. "Sorry, dear, like I said, we can be quiet."
Cody shook his head at the weak smile, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's temple. "I've never watched a rover land, and I think this is a pretty good time to do it." he earned a brilliant smile from his boyfriend at that, and a hug that Korkie squirmed his way out of.
"Alright, that settles it then." the redhead grinned, giving a quick once over to the room. "It's now two people's first landing day. We need more pancakes."
"I can he-"
"Absolutely not. Thank you, Garen."
The living room had been turned into outer space by the way of blackout curtains and star projectors, a single dimmed lamp allowed near the table to showcase Bant and Obi-Wan's colorful pancakes. Garen's lone contribution glittered in a pitcher in the center, a Mars mocktail that was simply fruit juice he had been allowed to dump luster dust into. The two astronomy majors were now clad in matching crewnecks from their spring break stint at space camp, answering every question that Korkie came up with while they waited for the rover to enter the atmosphere.
"I'm secretly glad that I'm not the only person here anymore that's not insane about this," Bant chuckled softly as she watched her friends talk animatedly about the whole history of the cosmos to anyone who would listen (read, Korkie and Ahsoka). "Like, I do love the little rovers, but this may be a bit much."
Cody nodded, a dumb smile on his face as he watched the pair start to argue over some fact or another. "This was just never a thing growing up, like none of us were really into the whole space thing?" Bant nodded in agreement "It's cool though, that they're excited. It's a nice break from...everything all the time?" the two of them laughed to themselves at that, still largely ignored.
"We're in the atmosphere!" Garen's yell caught their attention again, the strange sight of him and Obi-Wan standing on the couch completely enraptured by the television.
"Status update?"
"It means seven minutes until touchdown." Obi-Wan was practically vibrating when he answered Cody, no effort made to look at him. "Guided entry! We're almost there!"
"Is there a chance that this ends terribly?" his voice is barely audible when he addresses Bant, one eyebrow raised "I need to know if there's a version of today where I watch my boyfriend's heart get broken over a spacecraft."
"There's always the possibility. If you ever want to see his heart break though, ask him about Curiosity . Better yet, wait until he's drunk and then ask about Curiosity ."
"Fuck the heat shield!"
"Language, Garen!"
"Two minutes!"
Korkie's standing impossibly close to the tv when Perseverance cuts free from the parachute, causing a panicked yell. "Dada! Percy's going to crash!" The toddler ran to his father, immediately scooped up into waiting arms.
"It's a good thing! Watch, there goes the jetpack! Percy's gonna land any second."
The next few moments feel like forever, but the cheering when the wheels touch down is incomparable. Laptops are logged back into, phones are left open as Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Garen wait for the first photos to come in. There are honest to god tears being shed when Percy gives their first look of their forever home, someplace that Obi-Wan explains as the Jezero Crater. There's serious questions asked about where the parachute went and how feasible the 300 million mile trek would be to go visit their new friend. Ahsoka asks hopefully about a trip to the space center - "the one on Earth, Korkie" , and there are promises of a trip sometime soon.
Things start to wind down as life's obligations trickle back in, work and classes and homework. Eventually it's just Cody and Obi-Wan left in the living room, Cody curled into his cyare 's side as the redhead reads every article he can on the landing. "You know, there's a perfectly good bed for you to take a nap in." Obi-Wan teases, turning to look at his boyfriend. His heart stammers in his chest as Cody looks up at him, half-asleep with stars projected across his face.
"There's a perfectly good you to take a nap on."
"You, my love, are insufferable."
"I know. Now, put away the laptop and take a damn nap with me, there's like seven hundred more days for you to obsess over this."
"...Six hundred and eighty seven." Obi-Wan corrects him just to watch the look on his face, laughing when he gets up and heads towards their room. "I'm joking! I'm right, but I'm joking!"
"And I'm going to bed." Cody isn't laughing, no matter what the grin on his face says.