Chapter Text
For their third date, Kanan drove them out to the woods. Tonight was supposed to be a new moon, which meant the stars would appear brighter. Hera had never experienced that phenomenon, of course, considering Ryloth’s three moons hadn’t aligned in that way in centuries. She categorized it away as another one of Earth’s small wonders.
Their car came to a stop at a seemingly random spot, and she followed her boyfriend’s lead as they began walking.
“Where exactly are we going?” she questioned.
“An old spot Cal, Merrin and I used to train at,” he explained. “Though I’m pretty sure they snuck out here a few times to make out.”
“Ah.” She nodded, understanding better why he chose this spot. She wouldn’t complain in the slightest.
A minute or so more of walking, with their hands intertwined the entire duration of the trip, the trees opened to a small clearing. It was near the edge of a cliff, which looked out to the city and beyond. The soft grass beneath provided a perfect spot for the blanket Kanan had brought, and the seclusion allowed Hera’s disguise to run out without the fear of being spotted. And the sky above them boasted far more stars than could be seen at either of their homes.
“Love, this is perfect.”
He smiled from where he was laying out their supplies. “Glad you think so.”
They settled into comfortable small talk as they ate their dinner, which was simply burritos they picked up on the way here. They discussed what the kids might be up to, if leaving Chopper unsupervised for the night was a danger to society, and how long they thought it would take for Zeb and Kallus to get together. During it all, Hera’s eyes kept on drifting up to the galaxy above them, her heart aching to return to them. Kanan joined her in her stargazing, comfortably wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“How much of the galaxy have you visited?” he asked in a whisper.
“Not enough.” She sighed. “Just a handful of systems.”
“Well that’s more than me,” he pointed out. “Maybe someday you can show me some of it.”
The thought of galavanting through the stars with Kanan sent butterflies into her stomach. “I’d like that. I’d have to show you Ryloth first, though.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “What’s it like?”
“Desert, mostly. A tropical equator that I’ve never been to.” Her thoughts drifted away to memories of her home. “It’s hotter than here. We have to live underground. Well, my family’s estate is carved into a mountain, but same idea.”
“Fancy.”
“Perks of royalty, I suppose.” She shrugged. “That mountain is the center of our province. All of my friends lived on the lower levels, and I used to sneak out to visit them. I don’t really know anyone from the other provinces. They’re all too far away to visit without a political reason. You either had to take a spacecraft or a blurrg.”
He cocked his head. “What’s a blurrg?”
“These animals, I can’t even describe what they look like. But we ride around on them like you do with cars. I have one, and he…” she drifted off, reality catching back up. “He’s probably dead.”
Kanan pulled her closer. “You don’t know for sure.”
She shook her head. “Who would take care of him? His attendants have probably become slaves by now. Like so many of my people.”
“Hey.” He turned to face her completely, softly wiping away the rouge tear and keeping his hand against her face. “It’s not your fault.”
“I should be doing more for them,” she protested.
“Right now, the best thing that you can do for them is stay alive,” he reassured her, slowly rubbing his thumb across her cheek. “One day, we’ll go back and free them.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, on the tender spot between the lekku that were now uncloaked. “I promise.”