Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There weren’t many quiet moments for the members of the Ghost . 

Any kind of peaceful, serene, and restful moments were few and far in between for them and their rebel compatriots. With everything going on around them, with everything that they needed to do in order to build a better future for the galaxy and all of its inhabitants, there was little time for them to relax. Every day there was something, a new mission, a new threat, a new hope; there was always something to keep them on their feet and off a couch or a bed. 

So when Zeb walked onto Base One to find Kallus sitting on one of the very few couches Yavin IV had to offer, scrolling away at his datapad, one leg crossed over the other, he knew he had to take the opportunity the galaxy was presenting to him. 

“I see you’re back,” Kallus greeted when Zeb plopped down next to him with a loud groan, both to announce his presence and express his relief at finally getting back from his recon mission. He didn’t even glance at Zeb, eyes locked onto his datapad as he continued to scroll, undisturbed by Zeb’s sudden presence. 

Zeb only muttered grunts of acknowledgment in response, draping a hand over his eyes as he leaned into the couch, propping up his feet on what looked to be a supply crate that was sitting in front of them. He was a little too tired from walking around, avoiding troopers, and gathering intel all day to really give Kallus a proper response, but Kallus seemed to understand. 

“I take it that the mission went well?” Kallus asked, still keeping his eyes on the information he was scrolling through on his datapad. 

“‘S well as they usually go,” Zeb grunted, sounding both pleased and disappointed in his response. That kind of response usually implied that the mission was successful, but not without a few minor discrepancies or mishaps that were more of a pain in the ass rather than a major inconvenience. 

“That bad, then?” Kallus chuckled quietly, shaking his head. He finally looked over at Zeb, pausing just briefly in his scrolling to analyze just how well the mission went. From Zeb’s slumped-over posture and his still draped arm over closed eyes, Kallus, without a doubt, could tell it had indeed been one of those missions and he was internally grateful he wasn’t requested to go along with Zeb. 

Sure, things got boring around the base from time to time and Kallus was first and foremost an agent with lots of experience out on the fields, but every once in a while it was nice to be excused from fieldwork and free to analyze any new and incoming data, transmissions, or information that was being picked up on by other rebels and spies. It beat being shot at, of course. 

Zeb huffed something in response, something that seemed intended to be inaudible, but Kallus was able to put together that it was some kind of curse in Lasat. In response, Kallus only chuckled once more, turning back to work on his datapad and leaving the two in some well-needed silence. 

After a minute or two of the two of them sitting side by side, listening to the faint surrounding sounds of the growing rebellion around them, Zeb lifted his arm and tilted his head towards Kallus, peeking over his shoulder to look down at the datapad Kallus was scrolling through. Even while squinting, Zeb couldn’t make out what Kallus was looking at, so he leaned over, resting his head on Kallus’ shoulder to get a better look. 

The motion made Kallus tense up, of course, caught off guard by Zeb’s sudden movement and even more so thrown off by the fact that Zeb’s head was so close, but soon he was able to relax once he saw that Zeb was just curious about the things on the datapad. 

“What are ya lookin’ at?” Zeb asked, pointing down at the pad while one of his ears twitched in curiosity, brushing past Kallus’ hair and ear, tickling him just slightly. 

“Information about potential rebel cells that might join us soon,” Kallus explained, turning the datapad so that Zeb could get a better read of what he was scrolling through, “Captain Andor just sent this over and I thought to look over the cells to see what they could provide for us.”

“Oh, that’s good…” Zeb muttered, eyes scanning over the text and pictures, “we’re going to need all the help we can get anyways.” 

Kallus nodded, “Yes, I agree. Some of these cells are rather promising but others…” he trailed off, frowning, “others seemed more aligned to Saw Gerrera’s band of rebels…” There was an unreadable expression on his face; fear, anger, and disgust twisted in narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw at the mention of Saw. Zeb frowned in response, understanding the expression on Kallus’ face.

“Well, ‘s long as we’ve got a common enemy, I wouldn’t be too worried about it,” Zeb assured, casting an optimistic look over to Kallus while he pulled away so that he was back in his previous position. Only this time, instead of an arm draped over his face, he draped it on the back of the couch, behind Kallus, his fingers picking at existing holes in the fabric of the couch. 

“How long have you been sittin’ here scrollin’ on that, anyways?” Zeb asked, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked over Kallus, wanting to read his reaction as much as he wanted to hear a response. 

It was common knowledge amongst the rebels that Kallus was a bit of a workaholic and that if you gave him a datapad with something on it he could sit and scroll for hours upon end, just reading through and analyzing information or anything that came through. It was lesser known knowledge that the reason why Kallus did that was because doing so took his mind off things and that by drowning himself in work he didn’t have to ruminate about his twisted past or worry about the uncertain future. 

On top of that, very few people knew that Kallus immediately threw himself into work after the loss at Atollon because it gave him an excuse to cut himself off from the world and a reason to busy himself to the point where his brain and body were simply too exhausted to even think about everything and anything he’d ever felt guilty over. Not many knew this was a bad habit of Kallus and an even more terrible coping mechanism, but Zeb knew. 

As tempting and inviting as Kallus sitting on a couch was to the very exhausted back-from-a-mission Zeb, he knew that he needed to make sure Kallus wasn’t overdoing it again. Besides, it was always nicer to relax when Kallus didn’t have a datapad in hand. 

Kallus didn’t answer Zeb, which was the first red flag. Instead, he kept scrolling, acting like he didn’t hear Zeb or was thinking of an excuse, his shoulders tense and his leg bouncing just slightly. All signs pointed to the answer, “Way too long.” 

“Alex,” Zeb muttered, eyes narrowing further as he nudged Kallus’ bouncing leg with his knee, “Did you hear what I asked? Or are you going to keep pretendin’ like you didn’t?”

“S-sorry, what?” Kallus stammered, immediately responding but not looking at Zeb or changing anything about his posture aside from his bouncing leg. “Did you ask something?” 

“How long have you been sittin’ here and workin’?” Zeb repeated, his voice both slightly threatening but caring all the same. The kind of tone that Kanan normally used on Zeb whenever he found him wandering the base late at night. 

Kallus hesitated, his finger hovering over the datapad screen before he quickly muttered a response of; “Not long…” 

Zeb raised an eyebrow, not believing it. 

“Oh really?” He questioned, leaning forward to get a better look at Kallus’ face. Even still, Kallus didn’t look at him, instead, his eyes stayed trained on the screen, unblinking, a silent determination on his features to not give Zeb the true answer. 

“Really,” Kallus responded with a sharp nod. 

Zeb snorted, shaking his head as his ear twitched in disapproval, “You know, you may have once been an ISB Agent but you’ve become shit at lying.” 

“Thank you for that observation, Captain Orrellios,” Kallus sassed, glancing over at Zeb before going back to work. 

Zeb frowned, studying Kallus before glancing down at Kallus’ crossed leg. It was the same one he’d broken back on Brhayn and Zeb knew that it just wasn’t the same afterward. Because of this, Zeb knew that whenever Kallus stayed sitting or standing in certain positions for long periods of time it would seriously damage and hurt his leg. Kallus would always get so distracted with what he was doing that he’d forget about the leg and then after several hours of work he’d come to find he was walking with a limp again or the pain would be so unbearable he wouldn’t even be able to walk. 

Kallus seemed to know what Zeb was thinking though, or had seen the concern on his face as he looked at his leg because the next thing Kallus did was move his leg, showing Zeb that it was alright. 

However, he had been sitting in that position for quite some time, to the point where there were pins and needles all throughout his leg so when he moved it, he got a sharp pain all over and hissed out in pain. All of which did not help his case at all. 

“What happened?” Zeb exclaimed, scrambling up in response to Kallus’ cry of pain, eyes wide with concern, his ears twitching anxiously as his hands hovered over Kallus’ leg, unsure what to do. “Is your leg alright? What did you do?” 

“It’s fine,” Kallus assured, gritting his teeth and waving his freehand at Zeb, motioning him to relax and sit back down. “It just fell asleep, that’s all,” he clarified, slowly setting his leg back down so that he was now sitting with both feet planted on the ground. 

Static still shot up his leg, making it feel like a bad transmission with a shotty connection, but the pain would eventually ease into a slightly pleasant bubbling feeling before disappearing entirely. Then, hopefully, that would be it for his consequences of sitting down too long with a hurt leg. 

“You sure?” Zeb asked, still looking just as worried as he did before. 

Kallus assured him with a nod, but it wasn’t enough to convince Zeb. He frowned, glancing down at the leg before he got an idea, and bent over to pick up the supply crate he’d been resting his own feet on earlier. He dropped it right down in front of Kallus before kneeling down and gently taking Kallus’ bad leg and propping it up on the crate while Kallus watched in confusion with lots of questions along the lines of; “What are you doing?” 

“There,” Zeb announced, standing back up and dusting off his hands, “if you keep it elevated it should be alright.” 

Kallus frowned slightly, moving his elevated foot side to side, the static feeling in his leg slowly disappearing and being replaced by a tingly numbing sensation that seemed to congregate around his knee. 

Zeb sat back down, satisfied and Kallus slowly smiled, grateful. He picked his datapad right back up, propping up his other leg onto the crate so that both his legs were elevated. 

“Better?” Zeb asked, sitting his arm back around Kallus, resting it on the couch’s top.

“Mmh,” Kallus hummed, nodding in response as he leaned into Zeb’s side a bit, “much better, thank you.” 

Though he was glad Kallus’ leg wasn’t in any sort of pain anymore, Zeb was still a bit disappointed to see that Kallus went right back up to scrolling through his datapad. Though he appreciated that Kallus at least got a little more comfortable by leaning into Zeb and sorta resting his head on Zeb’s chest, it still wasn’t enough. 

“How long are ya gonna keep scrollin’?” Zeb questioned with a frown, his ears flickering in disapproval at Kallus’ continued action. 

Kallus took a few seconds to respond, biting the insides of his cheeks before he sighed, casting a quick glance at Zeb and cringing inwardly in guilt over Zeb’s concerned expression. 

“Most likely for a while longer,” Kallus answered quietly. He glanced back at Zeb once more, wanting to see his reaction; a frown and a flicker of his left ear. 

“You should just rest,” Kallus urged, changing the subject with an awkward cough, “don’t mind me.” 

“ You should rest,” Zeb countered, poking Kallus in the chest with the hand that wasn’t currently resting around Kallus’ shoulders. 

“I have been resting,” Kallus insisted with a huff, eyebrows furrowed. “You’re the one who actually went off-planet today,” he reminded, “I’ve been here all day.”

“So you have been sittin’ here all day, then?” Zeb enunciated, a teasing smile creeping onto his features at Kallus admitting that he hadn’t done anything else during the day. 

Kallus tensed. Karabast . 

“Look, I know you like to drown yourself out in your work-“ Zeb reached down and plucked the datapad out of Kallus’ hands, earning an exclamation of protest and confusion from Kallus, “but you’ve gotta rest every now and then, Kal.” 

“I was resting, Garazeb!” Kallus insisted, leaning over Zeb to try and get his datapad back. 

Zeb held the datapad up in the air, away from Kallus and out of reach from him unless he decided to get up. Unfortunately for Kallus, and fortunately for Zeb, Kallus was far too comfortable to really move enough to snatch the datapad back and he was confident that if he moved his legs again they would undoubtedly start to hurt again. 

Besides, at his quick reaction, Zeb had shifted his other arm back around Kallus to gently push him back down and firmly hold him in place. Usually, Kallus could handle Zeb, they had their fair share of sparring sessions with Kallus coming up on the top on several sessions, so it wasn’t that Kallus couldn’t take the datapad back. If he really tried, he could. 

But then again…

Zeb was soft, he was warm, the couch was also surprisingly comfortable and Kallus had been spending a little too much time working and his eyes needed a break or he was sure they’d roll out of his head. 

“C’mon,” Zeb grinned, still holding the datapad up, “take a nap with me.” 

Kallus snorted, raising an eyebrow, “Take a nap with you?” 

Zeb nodded, “You know how rare these things are and you need the rest.” He moved the arm holding Kallus down to flick Kallus in the forehead as if he were trying to emphasize the importance that it was Kallus who needed the rest. 

“Ow,” Kallus muttered, making a face though the flick hadn’t done much other than mess with some stray bangs. 

“C’mon,” Zeb whined slightly, “then afterward you can get back to whatever you were doin’.”

Kallus huffed, thinking and avoiding Zeb’s gaze. He knew that if he looked up at those pleading green eyes, he’d give in. He was a sucker in that way, unable to say no to Zeb sometimes, so the best way to at least answer without bias was simply not to look at Zeb’s big, green, begging eyes. 

“Okay, how about this,” Kallus started, finally shifting his gaze from the datapad to Zeb, “let me finish this one thing, and then I’ll take a nap, okay?” 

Zeb raised an eyebrow, his pleading smile fading slightly in suspicion. “How long will this ‘one’ thing take?” He asked, slowly lowering the datapad. 

“Not too long,” Kallus promised, “Just one more cell to go over.” 

“Just one?” Zeb questioned, eyeing Kallus to try and read him, “You sure it won’t take long?”

“I’m sure, Garazeb,” Kallus answered with the fond roll of his eyes, holding out his hand for the datapad. 

Zeb sighed, setting the datapad into Kallus’ hand. Just like Kallus, he was a sucker when it came to saying no to the other, but unlike Kallus, Zeb had made the mistake of looking at Kallus and therefore fell under his spell. 

“Alright,” he huffed, “s long as it doesn’t take long…” 

“Thank you,” Kallus hummed in a sing-song voice, grateful for his datapad back. 

Zeb muttered something in response, setting his arm back around Kallus’ shoulders and pulling him closer to his chest. 

Kallus bit his lip, pretending to occupy himself with his work once again, but his mind was wandering as he found it tended to do whenever Zeb was around. Especially when Zeb was around and was expressing his concern over Kallus in one way or another. 

Kallus had never really known the feeling of being cared for, hadn’t known about the warm feeling that settled at the bottom of your stomach, slowly spreading throughout your body until you couldn’t help but bite down grins of gratitude and giddiness. It was such a wonderful feeling, Kallus was starting to realize, which was partially the reason why he overworked himself so much. In greedy hopes that a certain Lasat might come along and ask him to rest. 

So part of him felt guilty, guilty over stressing Zeb out and pretending to have to continue work just so he could feel cared for by someone else. However, he eventually thought of a way to make it up to Zeb, and even more, it would be beneficial to him as well. 

With a smile, Kallus shifted himself at an angle, keeping his feet elevated for a few more seconds before he slowly dragged his boots off of the crate and propped them up onto the sofa. Then with hardly a warning, he plopped his head onto Zeb’s lap, giving the Lasat little to no time to react. 

“Ah, yes, that’s better” Kallus muttered, holding the datapad up, Zeb’s surprised expression just barely peeking out from the top of the device. He couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at Zeb’s wide eyes and open mouth.

He went back to scrolling, reading up on one of the newest cells, now feeling a lot more secure and comfortable than he’d been before. Now the task at hand seemed less like work or trying to drown yourself out in information and more like some kind of leisurely activity like reading the daily Holonews or a book. It even felt more so like that when Zeb did the very thing Kallus was aiming for when he laid his head down on the cushion that was Zeb’s lap and thighs: playing with Kallus’ hair. 

Of course, when Zeb first started out, it was awkward and hesitant, as if Zeb didn’t know whether or not Kallus liked what he was doing. He knew Kallus was very picky with his hair, so he wanted to make sure it was okay first before he really tried anything. So when Kallus didn’t react but instead responded with a relieved sigh and quiet hum, Zeb found some confidence and continued to fiddle with Kallus’ soft hair while Kallus scrolled away, the two of them enjoying each other’s touch, company, and silence. 

Kallus hid his smug smile behind his datapad, the guilt from earlier slowly leaving with each surprisingly gentle stroke. If there was one thing Kallus valued more than knowing he was cared about, it was knowing he was cared about through physical touch such as this. Even despite Zeb’s much larger fingers, he still managed to run his hand through Kallus’ hair, his other arm stayed draped over the top of the couch though his hand dangled far enough for his fingers to brush against Kallus’ arm. 

Though Zeb wished Kallus would put the datapad down and get some actual rest, he didn’t mind it too much now. He could tell that Kallus was a lot more relaxed compared to earlier when Zeb found him sitting on the couch, and he was a bit distracted by Kallus’ incredibly soft hair to really pay attention to what Kallus was doing on the datapad. 

In fact, the repeated motions, quiet hangar, comfy couch, and the gentle occasional hums from Kallus played together like a sweet lullaby, coaxing Zeb to the land of dreams. Everything around him lured him right to sleep and soon Zeb was dozing off, hand still in Kallus’ hair. 

Kallus had started to notice that Zeb was slowly falling asleep from the slowing motion of his stroking and combing hands until eventually the motions finally stopped. He glanced up over the datapad and smiled softly at the sleeping Zeb, eyes closed, head tilted to the side, ears flat against his head. With a growing smile, Kallus held up the datapad and took a quick picture of the sight, knowing that Ezra would love to see it. 

Satisfied with his picture, Kallus went back to the last stretch of his work, silently finding it amusing that Zeb had nodded off to sleep before Kallus had. He figured that much though, considering that Zeb had been out on the field all day working recon and Kallus had just been doing meager, mind-consuming tasks around the base until Zeb found him. 

Not long after, Kallus finally finished his work and switched off the datapad with a sigh. He set it down on his chest, making no sudden movements to get up, in fears of disturbing Zeb, and instead stayed laying there with his hands folded on top of the datapad, his eyes tracing shapes in the brown, rusty ceiling above him. 

It wasn’t until he heard quiet but definite snoring from Zeb that Kallus finally started to shift around. As comfy as Zeb’s lap was for a pillow, the rest of him wasn’t all that happy about the position. He needed to move his legs again, not wanting them to fall asleep, and his back was hurting from the small dip in the couch caused by the uneven weight distributed between the two of them. 

After two minutes of snoring, Kallus slowly lifted Zeb’s hand out of his hair, setting it down on his lap, replacing his head as he carefully sat up, moving his legs around the end of the sofa and down onto the ground as he did so. He kept one of his hands on top of the hand he rested on Zeb’s lap, fingers curling around two of Zeb’s fingers, as he held his breath and shook out both legs before propping them back up on the supply crate Zeb had placed in front of him earlier before. 

Once back in his original position, Kallus let go of Zeb’s hand and sighed in relief over not feeling any pain in his legs and over Zeb not waking up despite all of Kallus’ moving about. 

“Guess that goes to show how tired you were,” Kallus chuckled, casting a teasing look towards Zeb (though he knew he’d never see it) before settling down into Zeb’s side. 

Once situated, nestled securely next to Zeb, head rested on his shoulder and his datapad set down to the side, Kallus let out a satisfied sigh, letting his eyes close and his shoulders relax. 

It was a position much like the one they shared during the night on Bahryn, only Kallus was on the left this time and Zeb’s arm was wrapped around him. Like the time on Bahryn though, once again Kallus was engulfed in Zeb’s safe warmth. An encapsulating feeling that settled over Kallus like a blanket and eventually coaxed him down a gentle river of sleep. 

He was finally resting and he had Garazeb Orrelios to thank for that. 

Chapter Text

Things were drastically different for Ezra nowadays. With an actual Rebellion taking its roots and his Jedi training seemingly, yet slowly, coming to a close, Ezra found that he had a lot more responsibilities on his hands than what he’d started with. The earned titles of Jedi and Lieutenant Commander hung heavy around his head wherever he went, a constant reminder of everyone who was counting on him, everyone who trusted and held faith in him to finish what his parents had started. 

It was exhausting . 

Everything around him was so terribly new and so terribly exhausting that, at times, Ezra and close adults would have to remind him that he was just a kid. That what he was experiencing wasn’t normal for the average teenager and therefore justified his constant weariness and confusion over things. 

Things like military protocol, being the leader on primary missions, and being surrounded by pilots and large ships were never something Ezra had to deal with. Things like people respecting him, acknowledging him, and having faith in him were just about exhilarating and gratifying as they were paralyzing and alarming. Things like having a family, having friends, and being accepted and welcomed somewhere were more than Ezra could have ever wished for, but it came at the cost of being so terrified to lose all of that once again. 

Everything he went through, everything he’d experienced; defeat, loss, wins, hopes, all of that to get to this point here on Yavin IV with the Rebellion alongside his new family. He only hoped he could see it through to the end. 

Through his seventeen years of life, he was sure he’d seen and experienced it all. He was sure he wouldn’t be surprised by anything else he could possibly bear witness to. Of course, though, he knew it was childish to think so highly of his previous experiences, though they were many. There was no doubt going to be times and things that he’d experience for the first time in the future. 

Things like finding Zeb and Kallus cuddled next to each other on one of the recreational couches, both of them deep in sleep. 

“No way,” he muttered, eyes wide, mouth agape in shock at the sight. He rubbed at his eyes, blinking in disbelief at the sight of Zeb looking so relaxed for once and Kallus actually resting instead of busying himself with his datapad. 

“This isn’t some weird Force vision, is it?” Ezra asked aloud, his eyes wandering along the ceiling as if reaching out for an omnipotent god who was hovering around his head. 

He knew that it wasn’t the case, from his other Force visions, this one was far too temperate and domestic to really qualify as an “Ezra Bridger Force vision.” Unless though, the galaxy was trying to do him a favor and get him some credits in his pockets. If this was indeed some future vision then Ezra needed to start making bets around the base about whether or not Zeb and Kallus would stop dancing around each other and finally cut to the chase with the other rebels.

“If this is something like that,” Ezra muttered aloud, “I owe you one.” He saluted the air around him before quietly walking over to the couch, wanting to get a better look. 

Kallus was to the left of Zeb, his head resting on Zeb’s shoulder while Zeb’s own head rested on top of Kallus’, the both of them using each other as a pillow of sorts. Some of Kallus’ fingers had curled around Zeb’s hand, as if he were hesitating over fully committing to holding Zeb’s hand or it was simply a result of Kallus’ hand slipping while he slept while Zeb’s other arm was wrapped around Kallus, holding him close. The final thing Ezra noted though was that Zeb had his feet planted on the ground, while Kallus’ feet were propped up, making him frown just slightly in concern over the Captain’s notoriously bad leg. Despite it though, both of them seemed to be unbothered, both in a well-deserved restful bliss, with placid smiles and relaxed postures. 

“I need to get a picture of this, Sabine would never believe it,” Ezra muttered, grinning widely at the thought of what Sabine would say. 

He reached for where he usually kept his commlink, but when he patted his pocket and found nothing, he cursed silently. Chopper must have taken it again as some kind of prank or he’d misplaced it (again) but Ezra was wanting to believe it was the former. 

However, he was quickly saved when he spotted a datapad sitting next to Kallus. A datapad that was no doubt Kallus’ and shockingly not in use or in Kallus’ hand, which worked to Ezra’s benefit. 

Quietly, Ezra stepped to the side of the couch, watching both Zeb and Kallus carefully, in case either of them stirred awake and he had to either duck and take off or come up with some excuse over why he was creeping around the couch. 

Thankfully, neither of them woke up and Ezra successfully swiped the datapad with ease, his skills from his time as a Street Loth Rat continuing to prove themselves once again. 

He sighed in relief, datapad in hand, as he stepped away from the couch and walked back to where he’d been previously standing right in front of the couch. That way, he could take a picture of the whole scene in front of him for Sabine to see. 

With a grin, Ezra held the datapad up in front of him, opening its camera setting and focusing it onto Zeb and Kallus.

“Say cheese,” Ezra chuckled under his breath as he snapped a picture. 

He checked it as soon as he took it, wanting to make sure it was sufficient and when he found it to be so, he took a few more pictures just for the fun of it. 

He took a few more pictures of the both of them; zoomed in candids of Zeb and Kallus’ faces, a couple of video recordings of Zeb snoring, and several selfies where he tried multiple poses next to the two of them, with most of those selfies being blurry as a result of him shaking, trying to hold in his laughter. 

“Oh man,” Ezra muttered, looking through the pictures and sitting down on the floor, his back to the couch to the right of Zeb. 

He snorted slightly at a picture of him standing in front of the couch, the datapad camera raised above his head so that their faces were weirdly distorted. In another photo, his head peaked from the corner, eyes wide as he pointed at the two, his finger angled in such a way that it looked like Ezra was poking Kallus’ eye. There were, of course, several other photos; there was one selfie where Ezra was pretending to eat Kallus’ head, in another, Ezra was out of frame, only his thumbs up at Kallus and Zeb visible in the middle of the photo, and there was a super blurry photo that was the result of Ezra nearly dropping the datapad. 

For good measure, Ezra took a few very unflattering selfies of himself for Kallus to find later and hopefully be terrified and caught off guard by sometime in the future. He thought about doodling on a few of the photos, just to add some pizzazz, but decided against it when he realized there was no reason to draw mustaches on either of them because they already had some. 

“Now just to send these over to me…” Ezra muttered with a hum, scrolling through Kallus’ contacts to find himself. When he didn’t find his name he frowned, having sworn he’d given Kallus his information. 

Well, actually, Ezra himself had taken those matters into his own hands just a few months ago because Kallus never asked him for his contacts and when Ezra mentioned it, Kallus made no moves to add him. So one day, Ezra swiped the datapad and put himself into Kallus’ contacts solely because he felt left out and he wanted to send Kallus pictures of animals around Yavin IV just because Ezra knew Kallus liked animals. Okay, that and terribly cursed photos he found on the Holonet. He liked to keep Kallus on his toes. 

“Why aren’t I in his contacts?” Ezra frowned, scrolling over the ‘E’ names for the fifth time. “Is this alphabetized by last name?” He questioned aloud, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, Kallus was like that, but when he scrolled through the ‘B’ names, he still didn’t find his name. 

And then he saw it. 

Jabba.

“Oh you, sleemo ,” Ezra murmured in amusement, shaking his head with a chuckle. Kallus had changed his contact name after Ezra so graciously gave Kallus that information to that old nickname Ezra had used several years back. Figures. He should’ve known. 

After confirming that it was indeed him and not the actual Hutt slug (a picture of a woolamander on top of Chopper being the last photo sent by him), Ezra sent the pictures he’d taken to himself, that way they’d transfer over to his own datapad and he could show Sabine. 

“Success,” Ezra beamed, the final photo going through and allowing Ezra to clean up his tracks by deleting all the photos of Zeb and Kallus on the datapad. He kept the selfies he’d taken of himself, wanting Kallus to find them later, and debated whether or not to make things easier for Kallus by making one of the photos into Kallus’ wallpapers with the words “ Hacked ” drawn onto it. 

Deciding otherwise, Ezra got back up from his spot on the floor to put the datapad back down, doing so carefully and quietly because Zeb’s ears had been twitching an awful lot and Kallus had shifted a bit in his sleep while Ezra had been sending himself the pictures. 

The datapad wasn’t in the same position as Ezra had found it (he’d forgotten it was right side up and left it upside down), but Ezra got his pictures and managed not to wake the two or crack Kallus’ datapad, so he saw this little mission as a success. 

The next part of his mission would have been to head back to the Ghost and download the photos before running off to find Sabine or Rex to show them what he had stumbled upon. Sabine most likely wouldn’t believe him and Rex would probably lecture him about taking pictures of sleeping people, but would still be rather shocked over Ezra’s findings. Then they could go around and start making bets with everyone else and earn a few credits. He just knew he could make some money off of Antilles, he just knew it. 

However…

Ezra turned, looking at Zeb and Kallus once again. Zeb and Kallus who were both smiling in their sleep, looking comfortable and relaxed, taking a break from everything that was going around them. Zeb and Kallus who looked out for Ezra, Zeb who cared for him for years now, and Kallus who just recently began to do the same through small encouragements and words of affirmation that reminded Ezra to relax every now and then. 

Words that came to Ezra now, as he watched the two of them, slightly jealous now at the sleep they were getting instead of that amused glee he felt earlier over the sight of them. He was tired too, exhausted even, not only from the tasks he’d done around the base (organizing supplies with AP-5 was probably the most taxing task) but from everything else. From the tiles, from the formalities, from the war . 

Stubbornly and childishly, Ezra had a desire to plop right on down next to Zeb and take a nap of his own. He wanted to close his eyes and rest, to enjoy the company of his older brother figure and…whatever Kallus was to him. He wanted to make everything stop, if only for a few minutes, like he’d done back on Atollon with Zeb, just before his trip to Malachor. Just before everything started to go terribly and horribly wrong. 

He knew it was probably rude to intrude and insert himself into this rather domestic scene, but on another hand, Ezra felt like it was his duty as the younger brother figure to do exactly that. Besides, they were probably both so deep in badly needed sleep that they wouldn’t even notice if Ezra added himself to their little napping session.

Deciding to risk it, Ezra walked himself around the back of the couch to the free spot next to Zeb and sat right down. He did so quietly and carefully, eyes nervously glancing over at Zeb every now and then as he situated himself, afraid Zeb would wake up and say something about what Ezra was doing. 

He knew deep down that if he explained himself to Zeb, Zeb would let him stay and sleep because that’s just who Zeb was, but with Kallus on the other side of the couch, Ezra felt like it might not be the case. He didn’t want Zeb to get flustered or anything over Kallus being there, as amusing as it would be to see, and he certainly did not want to get threatened by Zeb merely because Ezra was now a witness to Zeb’s slowly growing relationship with Kallus. Either way, Ezra simply just didn’t want to wake Zeb or Kallus up, he’d just wanted to sleep. 

Now situated, and with no one waking up, Ezra sighed in relief and sunk into the back of the couch. He grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it tightly, bringing it up to his face so he could bury the bottom half of it into the top half of the pillow. It smelled faintly of freighter exhaust and was patched up in several places, but Ezra held onto it, closing his eyes and trying to ease his racing mind. 

Slowly he felt himself being drawn to sleep, his shoulders relaxed, his mind went quiet, the grip on the pillow loosened, and every now and then Ezra could feel his head nod off towards Zeb, waking him up just briefly before he’d slip off to sleep again. 

Until, finally, finally , Ezra lost himself to sleep, his head dropping onto Zeb’s arm, using it as a pillow, his mouth open, his pillow close, everything going dark. 

Chapter Text

“Hey, Chopper, have you seen Ezra or Zeb recently?”

Sabine looked over at the C1 droid with a frown, concerned over the whereabouts of her brothers. Zeb should have been back from his mission by now and Ezra had been missing all morning despite having chores to do and neither of them were responding to her on their comms, so she feared that something was up. 

Chopper turned his orange top towards Sabine and warbled, giving a shrug with his two make-shift arms, I don’t know. But who cares?

“I care,” Sabine countered, motioning to herself with the roll of her eyes. “If I can’t find Ezra, I might get stuck with his chores.” 

That was partially true, if Ezra didn’t show up and clean out the Ghost, Sabine was sure Hera would give the task to her instead. However, she was also genuinely worried, something she found herself being a lot rather recently. Though she knew it was silly to be so worried about them since the ship Zeb had left in was here on the tarmac and Ezra was most likely just avoiding his chores by exploring the surrounding forests, so there was no real reason for her to be worried.

So why was she?

Currently, the two of them were strolling down the open hangars of Base One, having just left the Ghost after eating a quick lunch. Even though the base had a makeshift cafeteria available for all the rebels, Sabine felt a lot more comfortable eating on the Ghost, and Chopper had decided to join her, going on and on about a mishap with a woolamander monkey the other day. 

“Where do you think they could’ve gone to?” She asked as they walked, her question somewhat of a ‘thinking out loud’ type beat, but Chopper answered it anyway. 

Again, no idea.

Sabine sighed, shaking her head at Chopper. “You’re no help, Chop,” she grumbled, casting a glare at the droid who only giggled in response like he had something to hide. 

“What is it?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion towards Chopper’s giggling. She stopped in her tracks, folding her arms as she waited for an answer from the astromech. 

Chopper rolled past her a bit before spinning around with a grumble.

I have Ezra’s datapad , the droid confessed, reaching into one of his several storage compartments and pulling out a scratched-up datapad to hold it up for Sabine to see. It was indeed Ezra’s, with cracks going up from the left side of the datapad and with the doodle of loth cats in Sabine’s paints on the back of the tablet.  

It buzzed a few minutes ago with messages from someone , Chopper explained, handing the datapad reluctantly over to Sabine who was holding her hand out expectedly. 

“And you didn’t tell me this because…?” Sabine sighed, taking the datapad and turning it over to the right side up, casting a slightly threatening glare at Chopper. 

I dunno Chopper lied with a shrug. 

“Why’d you have Ezra’s datapad, Chopper?” Sabine pressed as she turned on the tablet and was met with a picture of her, Ezra, Chopper, and Zeb posing for a picture that Hera took in front of one of her propaganda mural artworks on Lothal. A project that they had all worked on together, each of them getting their own little loth cat to color. She smiled down at the tablet. 

Sabine then punched in Ezra’s password (Ch0pperstinks17) and repeated her question to Chopper, “Why did you have Ezra’s datapad?” 

No reason.

“Chopper.” 

Chopper made noises equivalent to groans and a sigh before he finally answered, I wanted to change the password…

Sabine raised an eyebrow at Chopper, not quite believing it, but from his dejected posture, it was very lucky that Chopper was telling the truth. With a quiet chuckle, rather amused over Chopper’s reason for taking Ezra’s datapad, she rolled her eyes at Chopper; “Very funny…” 

He warbled back, insisting that it was going to be really funny, and went ahead on a rant while Sabine went to Ezra’s messages to see who’d been messaging him. When she clicked on the messaging app, to her surprise, she saw that Kallus had been the one messaging Ezra and he’d done so no longer than thirty minutes ago. 

Respecting Ezra’s privacy she closed the app, not checking what Kallus had sent, and turned the datapad off, tucking it underneath her arm. 

So who was it? Chopper asked, seemingly done with his rant. 

“Kallus,” she answered with somewhat of a frown, “So if we find Kallus, we might be able to find Ezra.” 

And probably Zeb , Chopper added, saying what Sabine had thought of but wasn’t going to say aloud. 

She sighed and nodded, heading towards Command, “Yes…and probably Zeb too.” 

Silently, she hoped that Kallus would be at the Command Center, if not him, then maybe Zeb. Or better yet, the both of them, which, like Chopper was insinuating, would be very likely. 

In all honesty, Sabine wasn’t quite sure what was going on between the two of them. Whatever it was, platonic, bromantic, romantic, friends with benefits, it was strange and rather awkward at times. She really didn’t try to think about it too much, considering it wasn’t her business and there were a lot of other things to worry about other than people’s relationships, but yet again, she couldn’t help it. 

Maybe it was just her little sister's instinct to be worried over Zeb, as she knew him rather well thanks to all the time he and she had spent together on the Ghost before Ezra came into the picture. If anything, she couldn’t really imagine Zeb in a relationship, let alone in one with Kallus of all people, but that really wasn’t her problem and the two of them could sort things out themselves. 

If anything, if there was something happening between the two, she was happy for them. Granted, she didn’t know Kallus all that well as compared to other members of her family, but she knew Zeb deserved it. Deserved to be loved and cared for by a partner, whether or not it was Kallus still remained to be seen, but Sabine wished the best for them, either together or individually. 

Slipping away from her thoughts about Zeb and Kallus, Sabine started to ponder over other things as her eyes wandered across the vast Base One, looking into the starfighter hangars or out past the surrounding trees that went on for miles and miles. It was so much different from Atollon, there was so much green and much more flora; the nights were humid instead of dry; there were no large, terrifying spiders; and there were a lot more rebels from all the different cells that had managed to make it safely to Yavin IV after suffering such great losses on Atollon. 

It wasn’t home, Sabine thought with a slight frown. It wasn’t Mandalore and it wasn’t the Ghost, but it was where she decided she’d plant herself and stay, until the war was finally over. 

Since coming back from Mandalore, so many things had changed for Sabine and things seemed to be happening so fast that she couldn’t help but wish for either time to slow down or for time to go back to the way things used to be. 

Don’t get her wrong, there were a lot of things that had changed that Sabine had appreciated, such as her reunion with her family and facing her past, but there was so much else that she wished hadn’t happened to both her and her family. Things were just so different now, now that a real Rebellion was setting foot in the oppressive, looming shadow of the Empire and she only prayed that it would mean something in the end. 

Shaking the doubts from her head, Sabine finally reached the Command center and began to scan the several faces dimly lit by the neon teal glow from the maps and holographs displayed all over the room. 

To her disappointment, she didn’t find Kallus nor Zeb like she’d hoped and expected. Very clearly she could tell that Zeb wasn’t there (he tended to stick out amongst everyone else) and it seemed like Kallus wasn’t there either. 

“Do you see Kallus?” Sabine asked Chopper as they walked through the Center, both of them looking over the faces and acknowledging any that might have waved, smiled, or nodded in their direction. 

Nope Chopper replied almost immediately, making it seem like he wasn’t looking at all. 

Sabine sighed, shaking her head. She couldn’t find Kallus anywhere, so it would make sense that Chopper wouldn’t find him either. Sabine just had hoped maybe Chopper could scan the area or something, but she was pretty sure he didn’t quite have the modification for that. 

“Dank farrik,” Sabine cursed underneath her breath, standing out of the way from everyone else who was in the room. She stood by an exit, arms folded, her foot tapping impatiently as she scanned the room once more, deciding to wait and watch the entrance just in case Kallus walked in or passed by. 

Chopper warbled next to her, bumping into her foot to get her attention. 

“What?” She questioned, narrowing her eyes just slightly as she glanced down over at the droid. 

Why don’t you call Kallus? Chopper suggested. 

Sabine blinked, also wondering why she didn’t also just do that. She didn’t respond to Chopper though, instead, she silently reached for her comm and tried Kallus’ channel. Once…twice…nothing. 

She frowned, “He’s not answering.” 

First, her brothers not answering and now Kallus…Something had to be up. But what could involve those three? What had them so preoccupied that they weren’t answering her?

Nothing good, she concluded. Zeb and Ezra were worrisome on their own, despite Zeb’s older age he always seemed to act like half of his actual age whenever he was sent off to do something with Ezra. If Kallus was with them, she only hoped that he would be the voice of reason and prevent them from whatever prank or trouble they might get themselves into. 

Well kark, Chopper deadpanned with a shrug.

“I’m going to find them,” Sabine insisted, putting the comm back and handing Chopper Ezra’s datapad, emphasizing it was for safekeeping and not for Chopper to continue to have afterward and change the password later. 

Before she could take off again though, the exit door she’d been standing next to slid open, stopping her in her tracks just in time to see the large former Imperial KX security droid named Kay-Too walk right into Chopper with a loud - clunk!

Chopper immediately spun around, shouting obscenities at the much taller droid, waving his hands around wildly and creating quite the distracting scene for everyone else in the room. 

“Chopper!” Sabine snapped, nervously glancing at all the turning heads and curious eyes that were now fixed on them.

Chopper didn’t listen, still spewing off the worst curses any being could ever utter while Kay-Too looked completely unphased at the small, cursing orange C1 unit who’d been sitting right in front of the exit, as if he were just asking to be run into. 

“Oh, you’re in a mood,” was all Kay-Too said to Chopper, his head tilted down to stare blankly at Chopper before he stepped over Chopper, not giving him a second thought. 

“Sorry about that,” Sabine apologized to Kay, frowning as she strained her head up to look at the droid. He looked back at her with an expressionless look, his dimly-lit eyes just boring into her, still ignoring Chopper who was now cursing and hitting him repeatedly in the leg with his arms. 

“You were not the one who I bumped into,” Kay pointed out, tilting his head just slightly, “I don’t know why you’re apologizing.” 

Sabine made a face, one of puzzlement and slight offense, Kay’s tone of voice sounding a lot more condescending than confused. Then she remembered what Captain Andor had told her about the droid and his programming and her expression slipped away into understanding with a careful smile. 

“Right,” She coughed, nodding sharply before turning to Chopper and glaring, “Chopper, stop that.” 

Chopper stopped cursing but continued to hit Kay in the leg with one arm now, turning his head to shake his other hand at Sabine and insist that this was Kay’s fault despite him standing in the middle of the walkway with intentions to trip over whoever walked through the door. He just hadn’t expected it to be the seven-foot-tall security droid, he’d hoped it would’ve been Ezra. 

“Is…something going on here…?” A head poked out from behind Kay, seemingly coming out of nowhere until it was joined by the rest of the body. A body that didn’t run into Chopper and one that belonged to Captain Cassian Andor, aka one of their other Fulcrums.

“Oh! Captain Andor!” Sabine exclaimed, eyes widening. She’d just begun to wonder where he was. Normally where Kay-Too was around, Captain Andor wasn’t far behind. 

“Please, just call me Cassian,” Captain Andor, Cassian, insisted with a humble smile. 

“Right, uh,” Sabine nodded, clearing his throat, “Cassian, I apologize on my behalf,” She motioned to herself, “because I know Chopper isn’t going to apologize.” She then motioned to Chopper who finally quieted down, glaring just slightly in the way one might at a sibling.

“It’s alright,” Cassian assured, waving a hand in the air, “No need to apologize, right Kay?” He turned to his droid. 

“That’s what I said,” Kay responded, “No apology was needed, I don’t know why she insists.” His head lowered to look at Chopper who continued to hit him in the leg, even with Cassian now there. If Kay-Too was irritated or annoyed by Chopper’s antics, he didn’t express it. If anything, Chopper was like a pesky fly that Kay-Too easily swatted away with a stiff kick that knocked Chopper over. 

Sabine and Cassian both watched with wide-eyed blank stares, unsure of whether or not either of them should interfere. 

“Ah, they’ll figure it out,” Cassian dismissed, waving a hand in the air and turning away from the scene of Chopper shouting angrily at Kay-Too who just stared down at the droid, saying; “I don’t know why you’re mad.” 

He gave a nervous chuckle and turned back to Sabine, who was starting to slowly look away. Occasionally, she would glance over just to make sure Chopper didn’t torch Kay or anything, but her main focus was on Cassian. 

“So, are you two here for a briefing?” Cassian asked, striking up a conversation with Sabine, “or something along those lines?”

She shook her head in response. “Not this time around, no,” she answered, “We came looking for someone.” 

Cassian raised an eyebrow, “Who are you looking for? Maybe I could help you look for them.”

Sabine gave him a grateful smile, thankful for the potential help from Cassian. “Yes, that would be great!” She nodded, thanking him.

“We came looking for my brothers,” she explained, “You wouldn’t happen to know where Ezra and Zeb are?”

Cassian raised an eyebrow; “Commander Bridger and Captain Orrelios?”

Sabine hummed, nodding. “Zeb was on a mission and should’ve been back by now but I haven’t seen him anywhere,” she frowned, nervously blowing her bangs out of her face, “And Ezra has some chores on the Ghost he needs to take care of. I don’t want to get stuck doing them.” 

Cassian chuckled lightly at the last comment, understanding where she was coming from. However, like Sabine, he hadn’t seen either of them around the base.

”Well, I wish I could offer more help but…I’m afraid I’m also not sure about their whereabouts,” Cassian muttered with a frown. “I haven’t seen either of them all morning. Kay?” He turned to the droid, who was now facing them both, ignoring Chopper repeatedly running into the back of his legs.

“I saw Lieutenant Commander Bridger with AP5 three hours ago by the loading docks,” Kay answered, “I did not see the big furry cat man though.”

Sabine snorted, biting back a smile at Kay’s description of Zeb. He seemed to be the only one on base who didn’t think he shared any similarities between himself and a tooka cat. 

However, as funny as the comment was, unfortunately, Cassian and Kay-Too seemed to know just as much as she did. She’d seen AP5 earlier, he’d been the one she checked with first but unfortunately, all AP5 knew was that one moment Ezra was there, helping, and then the next he suddenly disappeared. Typical. 

“Sorry about that,” Cassian apologized with a frown, turning away from his droid to Sabine, “Wish we could be of more help.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “No, it’s alright,” she assured with a smile, “I’ll find them one way or another.” 

“Well, good luck,” Cassian chuckled, knowing quite well the kind of trouble the two of them could get into if left unsupervised. 

Sabine opened her mouth to thank him when she paused, getting another idea. 

“Actually,” she started, “You wouldn’t happen to know where Captain Kallus is, would you?” She tried not to sound too helpful, speaking both to Cassian and Kay. 

Cassian thought for a bit before he snapped his fingers in realization and nodded. 

“Oh, him I did see actually,” he replied, “If you want to find him you should check the recreational hangars. I sent over some information on new cells looking to join on his datapad earlier today, but he hasn’t sent back anything in return.”

“Meaning, he’s probably still there, huh?” Sabine questioned, frowning slightly. Classic workaholic Kallus…they really needed to stage an intervention of sorts. 

“Most likely,” Cassian nodded. 

“There is a ninety-seven point seventy-five percent that Captain Kallus is still in the hangars,” Kay-Too confirmed, kicking Chopper away once again, “If you hurry now, you will likely find him there.” 

“Thank you, Kay-Too,” Sabine smiled, nodding towards the droid, appreciating his stats. In some ways than not, Kay-Too reminded her a lot of AP5, just with less of a droning tone, and his sarcasm was never really intended. 

“And thank you,” Sabine added, turning to Cassian, “Sorry, again, about Chopper.” She motioned over to the droid who switched over to silently cursing Kay-Too out instead of physically assaulting him. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Cassian assured with a chuckle, waving a hand in front of him. He leaned forward, talking in a low voice so that the two droids couldn’t overhear them, “I’ve seen what that droid can do, I’m glad he’s just cursing and hitting Kay. Kay’s tough, hardly anything gets through to him, so I’m just grateful Chopper isn’t trying anything crazy.”

“You and me both,” Sabine whispered back in a nervous chuckle.

Cassian smiled and pulled away, his voice going back to normal. “Well, this is where we part ways then. Good luck finding your brothers. And Captain Kallus.” He held out a hand. 

Sabine took it, giving it a firm shake as she smiled and thanked Cassian once again. Then, letting go, she thanked Kay and said goodbye, before calling Chopper to follow her as she headed out of the Command Center and to the recreational hangars. 

On her way there, she started to think up backup plans for if Kallus wasn’t there or if he didn’t know where Zeb or Ezra were. If he wasn’t there, then she could maybe ask around the hangar to see where he would’ve gone or she would’ve gone and waited at his barracks for him to return. If he was there though and didn’t know about where her brothers were, then she’d drag him along on her goose chase so he could show her all the places where Zeb might be. 

That and he made for decent company, considering Chopper was still bitter over his run-in with Kay-Too and wouldn’t stop muttering in Binary about it. Even though Chopper and Kallus did get along rather well (Ezra often said it was a little too well and the concept of two Choppers was a nightmare), she’d appreciate it if he tagged along. 

Besides, since arriving at Yavin IV, she hadn’t spent much time around the Ex-Imperial. After all, she’d been on Mandalore for a few weeks and he was usually busy with whatever he kept himself occupied with, but the chances they did get to spend together had been memorable. 

Especially the time when Kallus made it his duty to individually apologize to each member of the Ghost crew for all the trouble, pain, and trauma he’d caused them during his time as an ISB Agent. Admittedly, Sabine didn’t want to have any conversation with him when he came knocking on her door, but she gave him a chance and hadn’t regretted it since. 

They’d shared similar backgrounds, defecting from the Empire, doing terrible things in the name of the Empire, suffering so much brainwashing and trauma at relatively young ages, so they were able to bond and understand each other on a level she hadn’t quite experienced before. 

Kallus knew about the terrible cafeteria food, about the early mornings and excruciating training sessions. Then when talks of their past became too much and laughing about Imperial trousers, they talked about art. Surprisingly, Kallus loved art, he loved Sabine’s art, and really anyone who enjoyed her art was a friend in her eyes. Especially if they could appreciate it as much as Kallus did. 

It was nice to have him around. He’d done a lot for them during his time as Fulcrum, had risked and sacrificed so much, and she was so grateful for his change of heart. Whatever Zeb had done (she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know) worked like a charm. If only he’d stop being such a workaholic at times and relax. 

“Ha,” she muttered to herself, running a hand through her hair, “I’m one to talk…”

Sabine could use a rest, she could use one badly. From Atollon, to Mandalore, to Yavin IV; to almost losing both her families, to giving up the Darksaber, to staging a fully-fledged Rebellion, Sabine needed nothing more than some rest. 

And actual rest at that, not mindlessly drawing or painting on something until she passed out, some actual, good, peaceful rest. 

So when she finally reached the hangar and saw the sight awaiting her on one of the couches, she was maybe a little more jealous than she was shocked. 

“No. Way .” 

The three people she was looking for were all gathered together on the ratty, red couch. All sleeping soundly without a care in the world, content smiles on their faces. Ezra was on the right of the couch, her left, using Zeb’s arm as a pillow, mouth opened as he drooled all over Zeb’s fur, long leg stretched out on top of the couch. In his arms was a tattered pillow, slowly slipping out of his grip, resting on his lap. In the middle was Zeb, one arm around Kallus and the other being held hostage by Ezra’s head. He was snoring as he usually did, head tilted to the side, resting a top of Kallus’, his ears twitching in between snores. Finally, there was Kallus. Datapad at his side, eyes closed, one hand in Zeb’s and his head on his shoulder, snuggled up into Zeb’s side, looking the most relaxed Sabine had ever seen him. 

I’m going to wake them up. 

Sabine’s eyes widened as she whipped towards Chopper, the initial shock and slight jealously suddenly leaving her once Chopper started rolling forwards towards the three of them, arms extending like he was going to pinch them awake. 

“Chopper!” Sabine exclaimed in a harsh whisper, grabbing the droid by the sides of his orange top, “Don’t you dare. ” 

Why not? Chopper whined, turning his top to look at Sabine.

She raised an eyebrow, “Really, Chopper?”

He groaned, letting out a long, dramatic sigh, Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine . 

She let go of him, casting him a threatening glance in case he tried to do anything to wake them but Chopper held his hands up in surrender, insisting that he wouldn’t wake them. Instead, he pulled out Ezra’s datapad and handed it to her, 

At least take a picture of them. 

Sabine frowned in slight confusion, taking the datapad from him, “Picture? Why would I want to do that?” 

For reference, Chopper replied, clasping his hands together excitedly, and so I can make fun of Ezra and Zeb later. 

“And there it is,” Sabine sighed, rolling her eyes in amusement at Chopper’s last statement. She’d figured he’d want that, being Chopper and all, but she also was in favor of taking a picture of them for future references. It would be a nice mural to paint in the Ghost’s common room with the sofa and the dejarik table after all. 

Quietly and carefully, Sabine stepped closer to them, putting a finger to her lips to signal Chopper to be quiet as she took pictures of the three of them. She was incredibly relieved to find them safe and alright, instead of causing trouble or getting into trouble like she previously thought they were. It was nice to see Ezra and Zeb both get some well-deserved rest after everything that had happened, she knew that they both needed it. She was even pleased to see Kallus resting for once, instead of on his feet and with a datapad in hand, busying himself with anything he could to both distance himself from everyone and try to prove his usefulness in the growing Rebellion. They all deserved some rest. Even if it was only for a moment, a quick nap on a couch, they could take all the rest they could get. 

Speaking of which…

“I think that’s good,” Sabine determined, swiping through the pictures she managed to take. They were enough to satisfy her and would prove to be helpful as references for her new project (provided she ever got the time to actually paint). She sent them over to herself so that if Ezra saw them, he couldn’t delete them forever, and then handed the datapad back to Chopper. 

Now what? Chopper questioned, the tone of his voice not at its usual volume, but not exactly a whisper either. 

“Now…” Sabine trailed off, hand on her chin as she thought about her options. 

She had come to find them just to make sure that Zeb was alright from the mission (from what she could tell he seemed fine, just reasonably tired) and wanted to make sure Ezra knew he still had chores to do on the Ghost . As for Kallus, she went looking for him in hopes that he would know where Ezra or Zeb were, but now that she found all of them? Taking such a peaceful nap on a couch that probably wasn’t all that comfortable to those who weren’t exhausted to the point of not caring? Waking them up was definitely out the window, but she didn’t exactly want to just walk away either. 

"Now, I hink I’m going to take a nap too,” She decided with a firm nod of her head, dropping her arm down as she started to walk over to the right side of the couch where Ezra was sleeping. 

What? Chopper exclaimed, throwing his hands up, What do you mean, ‘take a nap?’

Sabine gently nudged Ezra’s leg off of the couch, carefully moving it so that she didn’t wake him, but so that she could sit down on the couch as well. As she sat, she made sure to watch the others, wanting to make sure she didn’t wake them, until she was finally settled, leaning on the armrest and propping her head up with her elbow. 

“Means I’m going to take a nap,” Sabine repeated, sighing softly as she stretched out her legs and closed her eyes.

Chopper rolled on over to her side, muttering something about organics before tapping on her arm to get her attention, Then what do I do? Just sit here?

“You can,” Sabine replied, opening one eye, “So long as you don’t wake any of us up.” 

Boring , Chopper responded with his verion of a raspberry, That’s no fun . 

“Your loss,” Sabine shrugged, smiling softly. 

Chopper let out another exaggerated sigh, but didn’t say anything more. Instead, he simply pat Sabine’s leg, debated about whether or not to smack Ezra’s leg and run over Zeb’s toes before he decided otherwise and started off back to where they had come from. He wasn’t really one to stick around these sorts of situations, if he was being honest with himself, and he knew Hera might start wondering where everyone else was sooner or later. He’d better go find her in case she started to worry about everyone’s whereabouts.

As he left, waving goodbye behind him, Sabine watched him leave until her eyes drooped closed. Normally, she wasn’t one to fall asleep out in the open in a place such as this, being as exposed and vulnerable as she was, but the past weeks of fighting had worned her down to the point where she didn’t mind this resting spot all that much.

On top of that, like she had observed, the couch was far from comfortable; with it’s torn apart leather, hasty sewn on patches, and lumpy throw pillows, but in the security of Base One, on Yavin IV, sitting alongside people she trusted, she never felt more comfortable.

Chapter Text

The last thing Hera needed to happen to her today was for her children to suddenly go missing after she specifically told them to clean out the Ghost and go through all the supply crates they managed to intercept from an Imperial transport just last night. 

The crates were still in the hull, there were things on the floor in the hallways of the Ghost , Ezra left some helmets in the turrets, and someone didn’t sweep out all the sand the Phantom II brought back from their quick run to Ryloth. 

“Where are those two?” Hera muttered, picking up a half-painted pilot helmet from the floor before she started towards Ezra’s room, calling for the boy to come and get his stuff. 

When no reply came she frowned, the door sliding open to reveal an empty (and messy) room. With a dejected sigh, she walked in, set the helmet down on the table in Ezra and Zeb’s room, kicked some clothes on the floor into the corner, and left, muttering under her breath. 

“Woah, you should watch what you say around the kids.” 

A voice suddenly appeared next to her once she exited the room, slightly startling her and making her eyes go wide in surprise. 

“Kanan!” She exclaimed, putting a hand over her chest as she looked at the grinning man leaning against the side of the door, “Don’t do that, love, you startled me.”

“Sorry,” Kanan apologized, not looking all that apologetic about it, but rather, more amused. 

With a huff and fond, gentle punch to Kanan’s shoulder, Hera shook her head and walked past him. “No need to watch my tongue,” she called over her shoulder, “none of the kids seem to be around.” 

Kanan frowned, hand on his shoulder as he turned back around, “Not even Zeb?”

Hera shook her head, stopping at the end of the hallway and turning back around to face Kanan with her arms folded, lips pursed in slight frustration. “Not even Zeb,” she confirmed, “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s somewhere with the kids.” 

“Ah, well, in that case,” Kanan pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Hera until he was just a few steps in front of her. He offered her a small, reassuring smile, to which she returned, and pulled her in for a hug, letting her rest her head on his chest, “In that case, there’s no need to worry.”

“I’m not worried,” Hera insisted, countering a little too quickly. She pulled away from the hug just slightly, just so that she could tilt her head up to look at Kanan’s milky eyes, “I just want to know where they’ve run off to now.”

Kanan tilted his head down to face her, feeling her move away slightly. He couldn’t see her, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see her. But it didn’t mean everything was loss, he could hear the concern in her voice, he could feel her tense shoulders; she was worried. 

“It sounds like you’re worried,” Kanan chuckled, bringing up a hand and gently running the back of it against Hera’s cheek. He felt her sigh on his skin and her shoulders slump slightly as she leaned into his touch. 

“I’m not,” she defended, voice quiet, bringing her own hand up to Kanan’s to give it a squeeze. 

Kanan hummed, nodding slowly to act like he believed her when he very well didn’t. Ironically, he worried about her, which wasn’t new, but it was more now since their loss at Atollon. Every passing day, Kanan could sense Hera overworking herself and trying to shoulder a burden meant to be carried by several others and not just herself. He understood her need to make sure that things went right, that supplies got brought to the base, that people were saved, and that the galaxy had hope for a better tomorrow, but he just wished that Hera would slow down ever once in a while. 

At Kanan’s quiet reponse, Hera sighed, folding with a dejected “tsk” and shake of her head.
“Alright, maybe I’m a little worried,” she admitted, “but after what happened with Saw and the kids…I just…” she trailed off, resting her forehead on Kanan’s shoulder. 

“Wherever they are, I’m sure they’re alright,” Kanan assured, giving her hand a squeeze while his other hand now rubbed slow, comforting circles into her back, “They know how to take care of themselves.”

“They’re all grown up now, aren’t they…” Hera smiled sadly, her voice barely above a whisper, “Time went by so quickly it feels like just yesterday we found Ezra on Lothal…” 

Kanan chuckled softly, nodding in agreement. “Sometimes I wish they didn’t grow up so quickly, but I feel honored to have experienced the young adults they’re turning into.” He paused before jokingly adding, “And it’s more like we caught Ezra…stealing from us on Lothal.” 

Hera laughed, a beautiful sound, as she nodded her head. “Alright, yeah, we caught Ezra stealing from us, but he’s turned out to be a wonderful kid and an even better Jedi.”

“Better than me?” Kanan quipped with a lopsided grin.

“Mmmh,” Hera hummed, a smile tugging at her lips, “debatable. Though, last time I checked, you didn’t have a blaster in your hilt.”

“That first saber was pretty unorthodox,” Kanan replied, “I think half of the Masters on the Jedi Council would have fainted if they saw that creation.”

“It’s still cool,” Hera grinned. 

Kanan sighed and nodded, smiling, “Yeah, it was cool.” 

“We’ve been through a lot together as a family, haven’t we?” Hera suddenly asks, her smile fading and her voice uneasy and quiet, “Both the good and the bad.”

“I really wouldn’t have it any other way,” Kanan assured, bringing Hera’s hand up to place a gentle kiss atop her knuckles. 

She watched sadly and when Kanan pulled away, she let go and gently cupped the sides of his face, tenderly brushing her thumbs over his cheeks.

In response, Kanan just held her wrists, looking back with furrowed eyebrows and a reassuring smile. There was sorrow on his features, but above all of it was an unyielding love for the woman in front of him. He wished Hera could - would - see it. 

“Kanan I-“ 

Looking at him, holding him, Hera wanted to tell him that in any universe and every universe she wanted to be by his side. She wanted to experience the galaxy with him, every single bit of it, from the Inner Core worlds to the Unknown Regions of Wild Space. She wanted to be with him every second of every day, having his back like they’d been doing these past years. She wanted to let him know that after everything they’ve been through, all the pain and the hurt they suffered, she’d do it all again in a heartbeat if that meant being with Kanan again. Kanan and the others, Kanan and Chopper, Kanan and Zeb and Sabine and Ezra. She wanted to let him know she loved him. 

Then the worry took over. 

The fear and anxiety over losing him, over this war never ending, of being burdened to carry the weight of so many peoples’ lives and expectations came rushing in waves until everything she wanted to say to him in that single moment was washed away, drowned and buried, deep in her thoughts. 

A different day, she decided, another time. Not here. Not right now.

“Kanan, I want to thank you,” she said instead, trying not to sound broken, “I want to thank you for everything…I’m reminded in times like this how much you care about me and I’m…” she glanced between his eyes, her thumbs slowing to a stop, “I’m forever grateful for it.”

Kanan smiled, a small, weary, somber smile that made Hera fear Kanan knew she had intended to say something else, but if he knew, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply squeezed her wrists and shook his head lightly, 

“No, thank you. You’re the one who saves our asses most of the time, you offered your home to me,” he let go of her wrist to motion to himself, “you fight every day to ensure a better future for the galaxy. You’re the one who deserves thanks.” He moved his hand from his chest to Hera’s face, cupping it softly.

“You deserve so many good things, Hera. You deserve a happy ending after all of this, you really do. I admire how hard you fight for it and refuse to let anyone snuff out that light in you, but you need to rest. You need to take time off to care for yourself, not just others,” he gently stroked her cheek, “Even if for a little bit…Your worry and fear consume you, please just rest.” 

For the first time in a rather long time, Hera truly felt like she did in fact deserve the rest. Whether it had been because she had reached a breaking point or if it was because Kanan was asking, suddenly she was in desperate need of a break. 

“Y’know…I might just-“ 

Helllooooooo!

Both Kanan and Hera turned, Hera quickly pulling her hands away so that they were now simply holding hands instead of holding each other, and they watched as Chopper rolled up towards them, waving a hand in the air. 

“Chopper,” Hera smiled softly, letting go of Kanan’s hand to kneel down and pat the top of the droid’s head, “what a pleasant surprise.” 

Kanan made a noise of disagreement, getting a smack in the knee by Chopper in response. 

“Chopper!” Hera chided while Kanan exclaimed and jumped up, holding his leg as Chopper threatened Kanan, 

Do something like that again old man and I’ll take your kneecaps!

“Chopper!” Hera redirected, putting herself in between Kanan and Chopper, her eyes narrowed at her droid while Kanan cursed and glared over her shoulder. 

He was asking for it. 

“Regardless, you can’t go around hitting people,” Hera lectured, pointing at her droid with a disappointed frown. She stood back up, turning to apologize to Kanan who shook it off, still holding his leg, before she turned back to Chopper with her arms folded across her chest. 

“Now, Chopper, you usually don’t come looking for me unless something’s up,” she noted, raising an eyebrow, “Spill.” 

Chopper looked between Kanan and Hera; Kanan was rightfully glaring at him (though his clouded eyes did little to scare Chopper) while Hera had her usual look of disappointment about her (which did convince him not to laugh at Kanan), before he sighed and began to explain why he was there. 

I came to tell you where the kids are, Chopper explained, the mention of the kids making Kanan and Hera both perk up in interest. 

Y’know, before you both get so overworked over them. 

“We don’t get overworked over them,” Kanan denied, though he was lying. 

Chopper ignored him, looking up at Hera, Why don’t you get overworked about me?

“Never mind that,” Hera shot down, waving a hand in the air at Chopper, “where are the kids? Are they all together? They didn’t go off on some mission by themselves did they?”

She was already heading down the hallway and out of the Ghost , asking her questions over her shoulders as she walked with long strides, a determination about her despite the concern in her voice. 

You won’t believe me if I told you, Chopper responded, turning around and following after Hera. 

“Is that a good or bad thing?” Kanan asked, following after the two of them despite not really wanting to. He’d rather let Hera rest and go after the children himself, knowing that Chopper would be cryptic about their whereabouts just to be irritating and dramatic, but Hera was already out the door. 

You’ll see. 

“Chopper, that better be a good thing,” Hera warned, shaking a finger at the droid, “I don’t think I can handle another ‘bad’ thing.” 

Kanan caught up with the both of them, Chopper taking the lead, his collected, lazy pace making it seem like whatever the kids were up to wasn’t too bad. Or Chopper was just trying to make it seem that way, just to work up Kanan and Hera or to stall for the kids, should they be doing something dangerous. Either way, Kanan could sense it didn’t settle Hera’s nerves. 

“Dear,” Kanan called out, putting a careful hand on her arm, “I’m sure whatever it is, they’re alright.” 

“I need to make sure,” Hera muttered, glancing over at Kanan with a tired look, “So much has happened to them lately and I just get so…”

“Worried?” Kanan supplied with the slight raise of his eyebrow. 

Hera sighed and nodded in confirmation.

“I understand, but I think you know how capable all of them are, despite all the changes that have happened to them and to us,” Kanan soothed, “and most of those changes have been for the better. I mean-“ he motioned around them, “all of this…everything.” 

“Oh, I don’t disagree,” Hera replied, shaking her head, “there have been some good changes.” A nervous hand shot up to her captain plaque pinned onto her pilot’s jumpsuit. 

“Ezra seems so much comfortable with everything, Sabine’s faced her past, Chopper even made a friend,” Hera listed, Chopper piping up at the mention of his name, turning his orange top to look at them. 

“And Zeb’s still…Zeb,” Kanan added with a shrug.

“Don’t sell him short, Kanan,” Hera interjected, poking Kanan’s chest, “he’s had some changes too.”

“Oh, I know,” Kanan chuckled, raising a hand in surrender, “I’m just teasing.” 

“I’ll never really understand how Zeb managed to get Kallus to switch sides,” Kanan went on, changing the subject just slightly to get the feeling of Hera’s judgemental stare off of him. 

“Me either,” Hera agreed with a sigh, “but I’m grateful for everything Kallus did for us as Fulcrum.”

“Oh, me too,” Kanan nodded, “and we’ve got Zeb to thank for that. A lot of that intel saved our asses several times over.” He left Kallus risking his life to save them whenever they found themselves trapped in Imperial bases to himself though, he could only give Kallus so much verbal praise. 

“I wonder what happened though…” He muttered, feeling Hera slip her hand into his, pulling him along. From the way they seemed to be slowing down, it seemed like they were nearing wherever Chopper was leading them too. From the sounds, Kanan concluded they must have been approaching the hangars dedicated to recreational activities, an observation that left him a bit confused. 

“Who knows,” Hera responded with a shrug. From her voice, Kanan could tell that she wasn’t invested in the conversation as much as she was earlier, as if she were now looking around a room for their kids. 

“That’s their thing.” 

Kanan frowned slightly at Hera’s response, a weird, uneasy feeling settling in his gut. A sort of tingling sensation that made him slightly nauseous, a feeling that made him want to take Hera up into his arms again like earlier and ask, “Do we have a thing?” 

Unfortunately, Kanan doesn’t get to answer that question because Chopper announces their arrival, and soon after, Hera gasps, making Kanan immediately tense in alarm. 

“What?” He asked, “What is it?”

Hera muttered something in Ryl, something so soft and tender that left Kanan blinking in confusion, unsure if he should be tense or not. What had she seen? Was it good? Was it bad? What was going on?

Through the Force, he could sense that nothing seemed wrong. So why the gasp? What sight had Hera stumbled upon?

Reaching out further, Kanan began to investigate. He could sense the presence of the rest of his family; Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra, but there was another, a steadfast and conflicted presence that Kanan had no doubt was Alexsandr Kallus, though the fact surprised him. 

Even more surprising though was the aura that surrounded the four of them, echoing off of them like the quiet hum of a lullaby; gentle and sweet, precious and comforting. The kind of aura that surrounded one who was at peace, who was mediating or resting, perhaps even sleeping or napping. It was an aura he hadn’t felt in quite some time. 

“Oh my goodness, Kanan,” Hera finally spoke, her voice nearly a whisper, further cementing Kanan’s belief that they were indeed all sleeping. 

“What?” Kanan questioned, “It’s a good sight, right?”

Hera nodded, “Yeah…It is.”

She couldn’t believe her eyes. This was probably the last thing she would’ve expected to find when Chopper came looking for her with the intention to show her just what the others were getting up to. Hera expected much different from such a peaceful and domestic sight that made her heart swell but this beat out any other possible scenario. 

Sabine, Ezra, Zeb, and Kallus all sat, sleeping on a single ratty, red couch in that order. Sabine had her head propped up by her elbow, which rested on the armrest, a small smile on her features as her bangs covered closed eyes. There was some space between her and Ezra, but her legs were stretched out in such a way that their boots were touching, with hers on top of Ezra’s.

Meanwhile, Ezra used Zeb’s arm as a pillow, both arms wrapped around Zeb’s arm, his face nearly buried into Zeb’s fur. There was a pillow at his feet, discarded, no doubt what Ezra had been holding prior to Zeb’s arm, but Zeb didn’t seem to mind. Both of their faces wore expressions of contentment, Ezra was knocked out so badly he was drooling and Zeb was so tired he was snoring. 

Then there was Kallus, at the other end of the couch, also using Zeb as a personal pillow, cuddled up to his side, Zeb’s arm wrapped around him securely. His head rested on Zeb’s shoulder, while also acting as Zeb’s pillow, and his legs were both propped up on a supply crate in front of him. One hand in his lap, and another wrapped around Zeb’s, Hera couldn’t help but smile at the serene expression on his face, an expression that screamed security. 

It was a sight that reminded her of what they were fighting for. It was images like this, family napping on a couch, safe and happy, that every day was spent risking their lives to try and beat impossible odds. It was little moments like this that made Hera realize that there was so much worth fighting for. No matter how exhausting it got. 

Hera described all of this to Kanan, wanting him to experience the same thing she was seeing. As she did so, she could see Kanan slowly relax, releasing that what she found wasn’t anything to be worried about, but rather quite the opposite. It was a sight he wished he could see, but as Hera tugged him along, it seemed like he’d get something more than just that. 

“C’mon,” Hera whispered, “but shhh!” She looked at both Kanan and Chopper, the latter who gave a dramatic sigh in response. 

“What are you doing?” Kanan asked in a low voice, holding out his free hand to ensure he wouldn’t bump into anything. 

“You said I need rest,” Hera reminded, “but so do you.” 

She let go of Kanan’s hand to gently move Sabine’s leg out of the way before carefully and quietly clearing out the space between her and Ezra so that there was just enough room for her and Kanan to sit. All her past experiences with moving Ezra or Sabine to their room whenever they fell asleep in other places on the Ghost seemed to come in handy for moments like this because soon enough, she and Kanan were both sitting down on the couch without waking a single person. 

Ezra might have mumbled something about waffles in his sleep and Kallus might have stirred a bit, but none of them woke up from the small shifts, the two newcomers, or from the confused, harsh warbling from Chopper who was waving his hands in the air at Kanan and Hera. 

“You can join, Chopper,” Hera informed with a fond roll of her eyes, “you can sit right next to the couch. No reason to keep complaining.” 

Chopper groaned, muttering something about rolling his eyes if he had eyes to roll. Nonetheless, he rolled on over next to Sabine, situating himself in front of the couch’s armrest, retracting his arms and giving another aggressive sigh, like it was painful for him to engage in “family activities” such as this. 

“See?” Hera chided, “How hard was that?” 

Difficult, Chopper huffed.

Kanan and Hera both chuckled before letting out relieved sighs, both of them finally completely relaxing into the back of the couch. Kanan sat by Sabine, who had magically moved her head from its previous position to on Kanan’s shoulder once Kanan sunk into the back of the couch, a wider smile on her sleeping features than what was previously there. Kanan didn’t mind this at all, it made him smile to know Sabine trusted him that much to get that close; yet another reminder of how much she had changed. 

Next to him, of course, was Hera who later did take to resting her head on Kanan’s once she got comfortable enough. Kanan wrapped an arm around her, similarly to how Zeb had his arm around Kallus, and Hera took Kanan’s hand into hers, pulling his arm ever closer to her. With her other hand, she held onto Ezra’s hand, the teen’s head still on Zeb’s though he traded off his drooling for a smile similar to the one Sabine now wore. 

“Funny how the universe works,” Hera whispered, glancing up at Kanan, “bringing us together.” 

“On this couch specifically or in general?” Kanan quipped, raising an eyebrow and chuckling at his own statement. 

“Chopper brought us to the couch,” Hera reminded, rolling her eyes fondly, “I don’t want to get it into his programming that he’s somehow the universe or fate.” 

“Ah, good point,” Kanan mused, nodding his head slightly, “but I know what you mean…The Force does work in mysterious ways.” 

Hera yawned, closing her eyes as she moved closer to Kanan, “That it does…”

Kanan smiled, head tilted down towards Hera. He leaned forward slightly, pressing a gentle, barely-felt kiss to the top of her head. 

“Get some rest, dear,” he whispered, pulling away and resting his head atop of hers, “get some rest…” 

There, in the sparsely decorated hangar, on the surprisingly big enough couch, the pillars of the revolution rested as the rebellion continued to grow around them.

Time was precious in situations like this, when you didn’t know if time was on your side, if you didn’t know how much time you had left before your luck or supplies ran out, or if the time for victory would ever come, but time needed to slow down just barely for moments like this. 

Moments spent with loved ones to remind each other what they were fighting for.