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*"Kallus." Captain Syndulla places a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him with a warmth that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Welcome aboard".
"Thank you, Captain." Kallus replies, wary of how her hand twitches reflexively at his voice. "I'll be sure to work hard for this Rebellion".*
"Alex, the kids are making cookies and they want you to help them." Hera sighs, rolling her eyes as Ezra squawks from somewhere in the kitchen. "And I want you to help them so they don't make a mess of my ship".
"With all due respect, Hera, that is a mess and a half already and I will not be a part of it." Alex doesn't look up from where he's working on Lio, struggling to hide a smirk as the clatter of several bowls puts a wince on Hera's face. Still, the scowl that follows is impressive enough to cause his blood to run cold, if only for a brief moment.
"I know you're not giving me attitude on my kriffing ship." She utters, strutting away with all the grace of an angel.
"No ma'am, I'm most certainly not." Alex gets to his feet quickly, now completely determined to stay on her good side. "I'll keep an eye on them".
"Please see that you do." Hera nods at him, her expression warm as he wanders into the kitchen.
There's flour everywhere; it's on the floor, the walls, the counter, it might even be on the ceiling. And Sabine and Ezra are covered in it.
*"If you hurt anybody while we're gone I will gut you." Sabine growls, her blaster dangerously close to Kallus' face.
"Duly noted." He replied, if only to get her weapon out of his face. She nods, then storms off.
He turns to find Bridger behind him, glaring.
"If you do anything while we're gone, I'll kill you." He utters, his hand solidly locked around his saber, though it mercifully remains on his belt.
"I've been warned".*
"Alex, help!" Sabine groans, yanking Ezra to his feet from where he seems to be pinned by the bag of flour that so obviously fell on him. Ezra flips about, his body limp as he struggles not to laugh.
"I'm deeeeeeead!" Ezra groans, throwing his head back dramatically.
"Mmm, pity." Alex learns against the doorway, smirking as Sabine swears under her breath. "And here I was going to help you make cookies".
"You are?" Ezra sits up suddenly enough that he smacks his head against Sabine's, groaning as he makes contact.
"Oh, I suppose." Alex sighs dramatically, winking at Ezra as Sabine laughs. "Since I've nothing better to do".
He pulls the bag of flour off Ezra, and opens it up to find plenty of the grain left, and promptly begins measuring out cups into bowls, only becoming aware that he’s not sure which recipe they’re using until he’s already got at least four cups in the bowl. Ezra cracks an egg into the bowl, double checking the recipe as Sabine grabs the sugar out of a cabinet next to them.
“What are we making?” Alex asks, his question promptly answered when Ezra smacks down the biggest bag of chocolate chips Alex has ever seen. “Ah. I see”.
“Chocolate chip.” Ezra pulls out a single piece of chocolate, showing it to Sabine. “Chip of chocolate”.
“I think I just took psychic damage trying to process that statement.” Sabine grabs the piece of chocolate, popping it in her mouth as she slaps down a can of baking soda. “Floofers!”
“Floofers!” Ezra pops open the can as Alex starts searching for the bottle of vanilla he knows they have, even going so far as to climb onto the counter and stick his head in one of the upper cabinets.
“Where is the vanilla?” He asks, his arm swiping the back of the cabinet as he rummages around.
“Bottom drawer, left side. Next to the salt.” Sabine replies, suddenly coughing violently for no apparent reason. “That’s not sugar!”
“That’s salt, ‘Bine.” Ezra snickers, flicking Alex’s ankles. “You’re gonna fall!”
Alex turns to fire back a reply, to snark that of course he’s not going to fall, but then he takes a bad step and he’s falling, a stupid, preventable error that could have been avoided with even the smallest bit of foresight, the pointless injuries he’ll suffer likely to be less painful than the horrible teasing he’ll endure once it’s been revealed he’s alright. He flinches, bracing for impact.
It doesn’t come, at least, not the way he expects; instead of the hard floor of the Ghost, Alex hits something soft and squishy, something that bends under his weight but doesn’t buckle, something that’s surprisingly purple, all things considered.
“Whoa, there!” A rough voice rumbles out, vibrating against Alex’s back where he’s pressed against the larger being’s chest, his body settling as his registers he’s no longer falling. “Careful, floor’s harder than you’d think”.
Alex looks up, his face flushing as he locks eyes with his friend, who is really very worried if his twitching ears are anything to go by.
“Apologies, Garazeb.” Alex stutters, his breath still catching up to him; maybe if he’s lucky, he can blame his breathlessness on getting the wind knocked out of him. “I’ll be more careful next time”.
*“So… ya made it”.
Alex looks at his bruised hands, his bloody undershirt, his disheveled hair falling into his face. He looks up at Garazeb, his worried face, his halting movements, his open hands. How badly Alex wants those hands to hold him.
He shakes the thought away. He’s not so broken as to be desperate for a hug.
“I suppose I did.” Alex mutters, turning away. “Let’s see how long it takes you to decide that was a mistake”.*
Zeb lets him down slowly, and Alex turns, quickly enough that he can catch Zeb wrist and yank him into a hug. Zeb chuckles, the sound rumbling in his chest, and Alex smiles. He likes the hugs that Zeb gives, likes that he can take them whenever he wants. He’s worked hard to earn that trust, and he’s proud of it.
“You’re helping.” Alex declares after a moment, and Zeb snorts a laugh.
“Not if you want those cookies to be fur-free, I won’t.” Zeb pulls away, and Alex frowns, shivering at the sudden lack of heat. “You alright?”
“Cold.” Alex mutters, reaching for his jacket. “Don’t like it”.
“It’s five billion degrees out, how are you cold!” Ezra whines, throwing his body against Alex dramatically.
“And it’s humid as all shavit.” Sabine points out, handing Alex a spoon full of cookie dough. “Taste test”.
“I grew up in the lower levels of Coruscant, next to the factories. If it isn’t ‘five billion degrees’ down there, something’s wrong.” Alex exaggerates the wording, making air quotes the way Ezra is so fond of doing. His next snarky response is interrupted by the absolutely amazing cookie dough he’s been tasked with trying.
“Oh, so you like it hot.” Ezra nods, completely serious as he turns away. “I’ll get you a blanket while the cookies are baking”.
“Thank you.” Alex replies, sitting down as he finishes his bite of cookie dough. “Why is this so good?”
“Sugar.” Sabine laughs as Alex frowns, handing some of the dough to Zeb. “Try this. Do it or I’ll be sad”.
“Why are we making cookies?”
“Because.” Sabine replies, and Alex supposes that’s good enough an answer for him.
There’s quiet now, the silence settling as Ezra returns with a blanket that he promptly throws over Alex, as Zeb sits next to him while he plays card games on his datapad, Sabine and Ezra periodically pointing out various strategies as the cookies bake. Alex eventually finds himself sprawled against Zeb, Sabine and Ezra pinning down his legs as they point out shapes in the flour on the ceiling. They'll probably have to clean that up soon.
The oven beeps, signaling the cookies are done, and Sabine gets up to pull out the first batch and put in the second, Ezra staring at the tray with all the subtlety of a begging tooka.
"Cookies…" he whines, practically drooling; not that Alex can blame him, they smell fantastic.
"Ooooo, those smell good!" Hera saunters in, grabbing a cookie and immediately dropping it, wincing as she waves her hand. "Ow, hot!!!"
"Yeah, they just came out." Sabine sets the tray down, and Hera turns on the sink to let the water run over her newly acquired burn. "Let them sit for a minute, they should be ok".
Hera returns from the sink, sitting at the table next to Zeb, laying her head on his shoulder, seeking comfort. Zeb responds by putting an arm around her, giving her a hug, even as his other arm is draped over Alex's chest. He is a part of this family, he's earned his place here. And he’s loved, despite everything he thought he knew, he is still loved.
“Thank you.” He says, basking in the warm scent of cookies. “Thank you for being here”.
They don’t have to ask what for. They just say “you’re welcome” and let him be.
The cookies are really good though.
~~~~~~~~
P.S. here’s the recipe I use for Chocolate Chip Cookies, courtesy of Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book, copyright 1963
2/3 cup of shortening(part butter or margarine)[I just use butter]
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla(vanilla extract)
1 & 1/2 cups gold medal flour(PS if you use the self-rising kind you don’t need baking soda or salt)
1/2 teaspoon soda(baking soda)
1 package(6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate pieces(about 1 cup, but feel free to use more if you want!)
Heat oven to 375(fahrenheit. It’s about 190 celsius). Mix shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla thoroughly(trust me, do it exactly like this). Measure flour by sifting or dipping method(that’s dipping the measuring cup directly into the flour container, which is what I do). Stir dry ingredients together and blend in. Mix in chocolate pieces. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls(balls about a half inch in diameter) of dough about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until delicately browned(my family says GBD; gold brown and delicious). Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet(do this or they will fall apart instantly).