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It really shouldn’t have surprised Zeb that Kallus had never eaten cake.
“Or at least, not that I can remember,” Kallus said, peering at the array of confections through the display window of the bakery with a curious eye.
“Desserts were a luxury we couldn’t really afford,” he explained. “My mother would sometimes make pryaniki for special occasions…” A soft look fell over Kallus’ face. Then he shook himself a little and turned back to Zeb. “I remember seeing cakes in holos though, and wanting to try it.”
Zeb gestured to the bakery door. “Come on then, let’s get something, my treat.” He held up a hand to cut Kallus off before he could get a word out. “No, no, it’ll be worth it to see the look on your face when you taste it.”
Zeb herded his friend into the shop, waving at the friendly greeting from the Ithorian behind the counter. After some deliberation, they settled on a small white cake topped with strawberries. Some might’ve called it plain, but Zeb didn’t want to send Alexsandr’s brain into a complete sugary overload. Besides, there was something a little romantic about the cake and… alright maybe Zeb’s motives for insisting they check out the marketplace weren’t merely surveillance based. The small Imperial garrison had fled the planet as soon as they’d realized the comm tower connecting them to the Star Destroyer one system over had been sabotaged, and they now had a crowd of long-abused townspeople marshaling outside their gates. They weren’t likely to come back anytime soon and Zeb figured he and Kallus had earned a free afternoon. Dragging Kallus away from his report had been the hard part. A sugary reward for their efforts was just the thing to take his mind off work.
They took the cake to a nearby park, now free of stormtrooper supervision and once again filled with people enjoying the sunny day. Zeb sat them on a bench and opened the box, folding the edges down into a tray shape. Zeb cut out a slice with a small disposable knife from the bakery and held it out for Kallus.
“Go on, this is gonna be magical, I promise,” Zeb said. Kallus smirked at his theatrics and shifted the slice onto his napkin. With no fork, he opted to hold it gently from the bottom and take a bite.
Zeb watched Kallus’ eyes go wide as he chewed. The human let out a shocked cheeping noise that sounded so much like a Lasat that Zeb nearly dropped the rest of the cake into his lap.
“It’s amazing!” Kallus exclaimed. He licked strawberry filling from his lips and Zeb felt his knees go wobbly.
“Hah! I told ya, didn’t I?” Zeb beamed. He took a bite of his own slice and hummed in pleasure as frosting and strawberry covered his tongue. He glanced over as Kallus laughed beside him.
“What?” he said. Kallus lifted his hand towards Zeb’s face and wiped his thumb across part of Zeb’s bottom lip.
“You’re going to get sugar stuck in your fur,” Kallus said. Then, because Zeb’s heart wasn’t beating hard enough already, he sucked the remaining frosting off his thumb.
This was it. Zeb was going to die. He wondered if anyone else had ever gone into cardiac arrest from being too in love with someone.
Kallus seemed to realize what he’d done and his face turned bright red. He became suddenly engrossed in the park’s scenery as he finished eating his cake. Zeb rushed to think of something to break their flustered silence.
“Earlier you said your mom made “pryaniki” when you were little? What is that?” Zeb asked.
“Oh, it’s a spiced cookie with jam inside.” Kallus played with his napkin nervously. “If I can find the right ingredients I could see if I remember the recipe if you want to try it.”
“I’d like that,” Zeb said with a smile. Feeling emboldened he added, “I could make that roast nuna I was telling you about too.”
“Is this your way of asking me to dinner?” Kallus joked. But Zeb was all sincerity.
“Yes.”
Kallus’ mouth snapped shut, opened again, then closed with a swallow until he managed to say, “Oh. Well I— I would enjoy that very much.”
Zeb chuckled internally at the overly formal response.
“Next time we have a night off then, it’s a date,” he said. He sounded much more composed than he actually was. The minute he was alone he’d be jumping for joy and thanking the Ashla for giving him a boost of bravery. For now, Zeb refolded the cake tray into a box and tried to will his neck ruff flat.
With the tray no longer between them Kallus eyed the empty space for just a second before scooting closer to Zeb. Their hands were close enough for Kallus to stretch his pinky out and nudge Zeb’s in a silent question. Zeb answered by flipping his hand over and pulling Kallus’ into it, interlocking their fingers. Here they were, two seasoned warriors who’d been to hell and back and survived more battles than they had any right to, smiling and blushing at each other like children from something as innocent as holding hands. Whatever, Zeb thought; let the rest of the world think what they like.
The blue sky and bright sun shown down on the happy pair, chasing away all thoughts of war and history and leaving them, for the first time in a long time, excited about the future.