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The familiar padding of thick boots caused Kanan’s heart to quicken. The material sounded worn - maybe he should get her some new shoes. She deserved it after all. Then he was going to get her those goggles from the central market on Lothal, the one that had the high quality stuff. She deserved those too. He tapped the spoon against the cup before letting it fall into the sink.
The last three times Hera had come back late, she’d ignored her cabin and headed straight for the kitchen, knowing there was a likely chance Kanan would be there. He hoped it would be the same the fourth time around. The faint footsteps stalled, somewhere around the crew rooms if Kanan was really listening. His heart ticked, and he was silently suggesting to himself that maybe she was tired, maybe all those other times had been pure coincidence.
A swish of green lekku appeared in his peripheral, and then more fully, a sleepy Twi’lek woman who drifted towards him like a dreamy vision. Fourth time was a charm.
“You shouldn’t wait up for me.”
Kanan had missed her voice. He couldn’t stop the smile stretching across his face as he lifted his head to find Hera, turning towards the melodic sound that was her voice. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn, pressing a now gloveless hand over her mouth.
“Hey, how was the trip?” He asked breezily, as if he hadn’t been waiting up for several hours for Hera to return. The anticipation got the better of him, as it always did when Hera was away for longer periods of time. Unlike the crew, Kanan had never really adjusted to her absence. Zeb and Sabine missed her, but they coped without her company. Kanan felt like half of his beating heat was removed every time Hera disappeared into the Phantom, promising that she’d only been a week or two.
“Trip makes it sound like some kind of honeymoon.” She tilted her head up expectantly as she worked her way between him and the counter. Her eyes searched him as they woke up, a new alertness taking over from her lidded gaze. The long lekku over her shoulders lengthened as she lifted her face to his, standing on impatient tiptoes.
“What is it you want?” Kanan said nonchalantly, tipping his face away from her. It was terribly difficult not to kiss her. He tried to hide the grin curling into cheek, enjoying how she naturally drifted towards him, but she always got the better of him. She was always under his skin.
“Really, the teasing thing?” Hera huffed, crossing her arms. She sank back to her usual height, drawing a pout. Although she was going for the very annoyed please just give me what I want look, it was obvious how tender her gaze was on him. “I’m exhausted here!”
“I missed you, too.” Kanan placed his hand on the counter, just beside her hip. He regarded her fully, his eyes leaving the half-made cups of tea. Instead, they wandered over her, drinking in all that he’d longed for. There was a faint scent of fuel lingering under his nose and a buttery reminder of her skin, a lotion so sweet that when he’d tasted it on his lips it reminded him of a concoction of a dessert Okadiah used to make on special occasions.
The glimmer from her shiny goggles caught the light, reflecting onto the ceiling as she lifted her head up. There was a slight redness to her eyes, her promise of going to sleep must’ve fallen through, no matter how many times he reminded her via a holocall.
“Go get some sleep. I’ll bring you some tea.” Kanan’s free hand found it’s place at her cheek, his fingers stretching to cup her face. Instead of pulling her in, he leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead.
“There’s plenty of caf -“ Hera protested, her voice muffled against Kanan’s chest. One of her arms wrapped around his back with intention, the other drifted to the counter behind her, probably seeking out caf.
“No - no caf, you’ll never get to sleep.” Kanan caught her travelling hand, preventing her mission to the caf that she was desperately trying to find.
“Fine, let’s just go to bed.” She groaned into his shoulder, words fighting against the thick material of his sweater.
“Captain Hera, are you suggesting you and your favourite crewmate fraternise -“ he remarked, a sly expression on his face with matching jumping eyebrows.
“Don’t act like that,” Hera reached to poke him in the cheek - he pouted in response - her voice unwavering as she spoke “you waited up for me, and now you’re going to make it out like I’m begging you to stay with me.”
“Begging, huh?” Kanan let himself dip towards her with a wicked grin, letting their foreheads meet, “I thought you wanted to talk.”
Hera stopped at his shoulder where her chin was angled, posed at the perfect spot to rest her head, but didn’t let her forehead part from his. They were undeniably close, and while she had no argument, it was the road between backing away tersely or making the moment more blissfully intimate.
“Oh, that.” Hera’s eyes fluttered closed as she inhaled deeply, her hand came to rest on his bicep. She spoke quieter as they inched closer together. “Yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry, if it was a bit - you know, surprising. I didn’t want to scare you or anything.”
“Well, if I’m being truly honest, getting a holomessage from you via Chopper about the ‘future of our relationship’ wasn’t the easiest way to wake up.” Kanan said, his voice low, basically a whisper.
“You were sleeping?” Hera teased, deliberating frowning at him.
“Are you forgetting about the time difference?”
“Oh,” she traced a line up his bicep “I could’ve had better timing, I guess. I spooked you though, right?”
“Less spooky, more exciting.” He only had to move an inch to prompt their lips together, the kiss feverish and light. Kanan allowed himself to recline back enough to speak and i more, “I was surprised because it was you saying it, not me.”
“Ah,” Hera steadied her breath, sighing as she parted from the kiss “so what do you think?”
“I think I won’t get in the way of your rebellion.” He answered with a kiss to her hand, which was definitely more modest than kissing her mouth but somehow it made her heart speed up in all different ways.
“That’s not what I meant.” She replied quickly, a little flustered.
“I know, I know.” Kanan nodded to emphasis his understanding, “I want us to be the same as before, but - like - this.”
“Not that I don’t agree - because I do, I definitely do.” She queried, her lips slightly pouted, “but this is a little different than what you said before -“
“ - I know what I said before. But I feel differently now.”
“You miss me too much or something?” She said wickedly, eyeing him up.
“I want this to be - I want this to be just us, for a while.” She said after pulling back from him, “we’ve managed to be discreet so far, none of the crew have noticed - so I don’t think it’ll be too difficult to keep it that way.” “Unless you disagree?”
“I’ll do anything you want.” He said earnestly, taking her hand in his, “if you want this to be just us for a while, we can do that.”
“Thanks.” Hera said quietly, kissing Kanan one more time on the cheek. She let her hands drift away from him to begin making tea.
“No, thank you.” Kanan reclined back against the counter, tilting his head up in bliss to rest against the cupboard, “for picking me up on Gorse all those years ago.”
There was an impossible weight above her, nestling into her. Kanan’s arm was slung over her chest, curling in to trap her under him. His defined nose was pressed into her neck, nuzzling into her skin alongside his mouth that left short puffs of breath. They’d always attempted to be courteous of the cramped space, of each other, especially when they found themselves in Hera’s bunk, the tinier of the two bunks they had access to - which was more often than not.
Hera knew Kanan appreciated the frequent occurrences of any late-night activity between the two of them. He called them sleepovers and then laughed when Hera scrunched her nose up at him.
Kanan didn’t seem to mind who knew about their relationship, but followed her lead as he knew Hera did mind. It was understandable that he had his own anxieties but none of them pestered him like they did Hera. Plus, she knew his caution was diluted by their relationship expanding from just good friends to lovers. That was another thing she frowned at, when he spoke aloud a label for what they were while tangled up in his bedsheets for once, instead of hers.
“Not lovers.” Hera grumbled into her palms, her hands concealing her face. “I sound like your Twi’lek mistress.”
“What about boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Yeah, if I ever revert to the standard age of thirteen, that would be fine.”
“Well, I think it’s a little early to be thinking about marriage - not that I wouldn’t love calling you my -“
“Don’t.” Hera’s finger darted out to stop his words, pressing against his lips.
The sheets pooled around Hera as she rose to kiss him, first on the lips and then on the chin. She headbutted his mouth accidentally as she shimmied down, peppering his neck with the lightest of kisses.
“Do you think they know?” Hera murmured against his skin, still slick with sweat. The scent of him was enticing, and she could never have enough, hence the lack of comedown after their well spent reunion session.
“Zeb and Sabine? Nah. The weirdly perceptive kid? Maybe.” Kanan shivered when he felt fingers brush over his clavicle. Hera was working at freeing sticky hairs, suddenly loosened from his hair tie. The way her fingers felt against his skin made him shiver, a tiny rush of delight flooring him.
“Ezra.” Hera corrected with a chuckle, watching his reaction of his eyes fluttering and breath quickening each time her fingers glided over the smoothness of his skin.
“It’s Kanan.”
“You’re a nightmare.” She poked him in the chest, right above his heart to punctuate her words. Still, the touch was light and tender.
“How’s he getting on?” She asked after a moment, a beat of silence between them as she’d gotten sidetracked, exploring the map that was his body. Her hand drifted over his stomach, fingers tracing aimlessly.
Kanan tried to hide how he sucked his stomach in, how unintentional the act was. It wasn’t a problem to admit that he was easy to fluster, especially under Hera. It was that it was still manageable after all the time they’d spent together. Even disregarding the last few months, where their relationship had levelled up in terms of romance and intimacy, Kanan had always been floored by her. When they were nothing but platonic crewmates, when the contact between them was the passing of a hydrospanner and even that caused Kanan’s heart to somersault.
The wave of embarrassment was short-lived, overtaken by a gush of excitement as Hera’s hand skirted to his hips. Soon she found the scar she loved to trace, a sunken and misshapen wound deep in his hip. Whatever way the devilish bastard had caught him with the dagger, it drew a line right from his side to his hip bone, thinning out as it ventured beyond the v-line of his body.
“Alright. I don’t know. Ah -“ Kanan caught his lip between his teeth, shucking in another breath as Hera’s hand expertly wandered across his abdomen. “- we haven’t taken in any strays for a while, and he’s been lost for so long.”
“Strays!” She exclaimed, locking eyes with him. Her travelling hand turned sharp as her fingernails grazed his front in mock alarm.
She regarded him with a cross expression, an excessive feigned pout that she only could’ve learnt from Kanan. Hera wasn’t usually playful, but when she was it was in these quiet moments between them, only behind the closed door.
Hera turned to lie on her back, taking part of the sheet with her. Kanan liked that too, how at ease she was with her own vulnerability in front of him. Now, she didn’t care if she was unclothed or if the sheets were slipping past her. Her body was unveiled to him and it reminded him of the first time, how she’d been all softly-spoken and quietly terrified of letting someone touch her.
Perhaps it was considered voyeurism, or maybe he was just interested, but Hera’s body was a secret sanctuary that he couldn’t believe he was a witness to.
“I think I’m gonna get him some pyjamas.” Hera spoke softly, drawing him out of his daydream. She giggled when she caught his dopey stare, murmuring something about an unfocused Jedi.
Kanan moved to box her in, wrap his arms around her to snuggle together. He was warm and she was warmer, he enjoyed having his own Twi’lek blanket. He was pressed into her, never actually on her besides his limbs. Hera sported the average build of a Twi’lek woman and she’d explained that it had always been difficult to put weight on with a fast metabolism. Kanan was particularly sizable for a human male; all long-limbed, lean and large. It made the squeeze into one bed more interesting.
“So, the budget can stretch to outfitting our newest, somewhat reluctant recruit?” Kanan took her new position as an invitation. He took little time to close the space between them, curling around her.
“Oh, it doesn’t matter about that.” Hera dismissed him with a wave of her hand.
“You’re the one -“
“I know what I said. It’s not excess expenditure when we make cuts.” She rubbed her fingers on his chin, poking her finger further to glide over his lips.
“And you’ve got that all figured out, of course.” Kanan grasped her hand, pulling her fingers to his mouth to kiss them. He would never tire of the light sensation looped in his stomach at every kiss and touch and anything that came from Hera.
“I do. But I’m always willing to hear your ideas, love.” She grinned, tilting her head to rest upon his shoulder.
“All this for pyjamas.” Kanan dramatically rolled his eyes as he dropped his head down to give Hera a kiss. “Here’s an idea; we forget about your pyjamas, and get him some with what we would’ve spent on yours.”
“So what am I going to wear?” She murmured, not really caring about the answer as long as he continued to kiss her. That he did, with efficiency. After a few rolls and squashes of mouths together, he introduced his tongue and deepened the kiss.
Hera clasped his face with desperation she didn’t realise was waiting to pounce. When Kanan replied with equal urgency, her smile grew fonder. She truly adored him.
It made her think of months before, when she debated even the thought of kissing him. He would always be her best friend, her favourite person. She’d never promised herself celibacy in lieu of a growing rebellion, but also knew she’d never sacrifice a current relationship to fulfil her goals. Well, that one was tricky. She still believed it, knowing that if she was in a relationship, it wouldn’t disintegrate because of her commitment to the rebellion. She wouldn’t be like her father. Even if he was the one to point out her loneliness when she insisted she’d leave Ryloth.
Right now, she didn’t have to make any upsetting decisions. She was the one that kissed him first, the one that ignited the flame between them. It was on her shoulders - although when she’d explained her thought process to Kanan, he told her he had equal ranking, that if it didn’t work, it would be because of both of them. He knew how to take her troubles away. Hera smiled again.
A relationship or not, they were certainly doing all the relationship things. Hera didn’t know what to call him, she did know that she felt deeply for him. There simply had never been another soul she was willing to acquaint with.
She didn’t know what lonely was since Kanan had been around. He was kind, attentive and it certainly helped that he was ridiculously good looking.
“Well, there’s a thought,” Kanan broke away breathlessly, “what would you wear if you didn’t have any -“
“- oh, I should’ve seen that coming!” Hera huffed, catching her breath. She let Kanan coax himself into her arms, and very slowly he relaxed against her. He left a trail of light kisses over her chest and shoulders, murmuring sweet promises into her skin.
“You know, I’ve always found it weird that you don’t wear anything here.” Hera said after a few delightful moments. She brushed a hand through his hair, feeling the soft and slightly damp tresses tickle her fingers.
“Is it?” He asked after making a little pleased noise at the movement of Hera’s fingers through his hair.
“Like a cap or scarf, something…” she drifted off, thinking about Ryloth once her father’s words echoed around her head. She smirked too, thinking of her colony’s reaction to a broad-shoulder, wide and high human ‘boyfriend’. With long hair.
“And your body is different, too.” She said, her gaze dropping with her hand to his chest. Kanan’s eyes fluttered open, scowling at the sudden lack of attention on his hair.
He cocked a rather amused brow as he puffed out his chest, “Oh really?”
He watched as Hera’s eyes drew to his naked torso admirably, a deep blush across her cheeks and nose.
“I know we’re talking about the differences between humans and Twi’leks, but surely you’ve met a man before…” Kanan teased, tempting Hera further by rolling onto his side, provocatively posing.
“I have,” She trailed her hand back up to his face to poke him in the cheek, then continued further down to draw shapes around his chest, “it’s just different, like here - Twi’lek men aren’t as defined here. No matter how tough or strong they are.”
The touch from her was indescribable, easy to get lost in.
“Do you have to…like - wear something?” She asked with a fluster, then gestured with her hand aimlessly before turning her fingers inward to her chest.
“Like -“ Kanan tilted his head as he followed the line of her hand, resting at her bra that was slowly making its way down her torso. His eyes widened when he realised what she was asking, and bit back the laughter building in his throat.
“I don’t know!” Hera’s cheeks became a whole new shade of green. She shuffled back against the bed, cupping her face.
“No, I don’t.” Kanan had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop his laughter overtaking his speech, “I can wear an undershirt, but I’m pretty sure you’ve stolen each one from me.
“This is a very long-winded way of trying to ask about my underwear, Captain Hera.” Kanan chuckled after a moment, reaching out to grab Hera’s hands from where they covered her face.
“That’s not what I’m doing!” She whined, reluctantly revealing her flushed face.
Kanan nuzzled into her cheek, thrusting upwards to collapse on top of her. He squeezed her tightly, mumbling against her earcone, “first, my head, then my chest - places you keep covered because -“
“- well, I can’t exactly walk around with my shirt off -“ Hera tried to shimmy out of his embrace, one of her arms pinned. Kanan fought off her nimble attempts at freedom easily, wetting kisses against the tender kiss on her lekku and more eagerly, sucking marks on her neck.
“No, but you know - you cover your head like it’s a third place for underwear.” He said between kisses.
“Yeah, but that’s because no-one should see any of those places.” She sighed, her eyes fluttering closed, “It’s different.”
“True. But, you know, between people like us - people in relationships and all, regardless of species, usually see everything.” He said, and then realised how that sounded. He stopped what he was doing and shook his head, adding, “Only if you want to, of course.”
He gave her a goofy smile, he was always tripping up around her. Although he’s already seen her undressed, completely naked, the most beautiful sight he could witness, he didn’t want to be presumptuous and act like there would be more.
“Yeah,” she gestured to her lekku, tchin and tchun, “you’re the first. For me. Besides my parents and my brother.”
“I’m honoured.” Kanan said lightly, leaning in to touch one lek with his lips. He was cautious, aware of her reaction. The first time he’d done it, Hera had screamed and almost woken the rest of the crew. The next morning Kanan had a great time making up a good excuse to Zeb about that.
“You should be. Lekku are very special.” Now when he touched them, they grew elated and satisfied. He knew how to kiss them, too. They loved him just as much as he loved Hera.
“That they are,” He said softly, kissing her right lek gently before moving to her mouth, “just like you.”