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If there was one duty Kleya absolutely loathed on Hoth, it was patrolling.
Although she understood the necessity in having each member of the rank complete their fair share of patrolling the base, that didn't mean Kleya had to like it. There wasn't much to like about it either.
The cold alone was enough to make Kleya dread every patrol shift. She'd never liked it, the chill that creeped into your bones, the shivers that wracked your body. She'd always preferred the heat, even if it was humid or scorching. What made patrol even worse though was the fact that she had to ride a tauntaun while she did it. The creatures were unbearably slow, easily frightened, and worst of all, unbearably smelly.
In truth, Kleya knew the circumstances could be much worse, but that didn't mean she couldn't also hate it.
There was only one person who hated it more than her when she had to patrol though.
"Come back to bed," Mon mumbled. Her arm was stretched into the spot Kleya had just been, hand patting absently. She'd gotten into bed late the previous night, past midnight, and promptly curled around Kleya like she was her own personal heater. Now, Mon blinked sleepily up at her and called to her, a whine to her voice, "Kleya."
An unbidden smile pulled at Kleya's lips. She walked back over to their bed and grabbed Mon's hand, squeezing it gently. "I have patrol," Kleya whispered to her. She bent down and kissed Mon's palm. "I'll be back later."
"Patrol?" Mon sat up, squinting at her. She looked her up and down. "Surely you're not going out dressed like that?"
Kleya looked at herself. She was wearing the standard uniform given to everyone. It honestly wasn't warm enough for Hoth, but it was hard to imagine they'd ever be able to afford the proper gear for this climate.
"Yes?"
"And you wear this every time?"
Kleya blinked at Mon. "I wear this every day," she said blankly. Mon knew this. She saw her wear this every day.
"Inside base, you mean," Mon said. She crawled to the edge of the bed and reached out to grab Kleya's jacket. She rubbed the material between her fingers and frowned. "Surely you mean you only wear this every day when you're inside the base?"
Kleya almost laughed. Sometimes, it was so easy to forget how out of touch Mon could be to the experiences of the average rebel. She reached out and ran a hand through Mon's hair. "No, my love," Kleya said, hoping the endearment would soften what she was about to say. "This is what I wear all the time, no matter where I am. This is what I have."
"How are you not freezing?" Mon exclaimed. She stood up and cupped Kleya's face, inspecting her closely as if she expected to find evidence of frost bite somewhere. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because there's nothing to be done," Kleya replied. She placed her hands over Mon's wrists, thankful that she hadn't put on her gloves yet. She stroked the soft skin there and shrugged. "The Rebellion's funds are stretched thin as it is."
Mon pressed her lips together, but she said nothing because she knew Kleya was right. There wasn't anything to do. There wasn't enough money for everyone, and neither of them would allow their meager funds to go towards buying only Kleya extra clothing.
"Well," Mon finally said. "We'll make do."
"What are you doing?" Kleya asked as she watched Mon start digging through their things. "I'm going to be late."
"Tell them the Chancellor held you up."
Kleya rolled her eyes. "The Chancellor is holding me up."
"Hush."
After a few moments of rifling, Mon let out a triumphant noise. She walked back over to Kleya with a scarf in hand. "This will help," she told her.
"You're fussing. I have a scarf," Kleya pointed out.
"A thin one," Mon huffed. "One that hardly does anything to keep you warm." She stepped closer and started carefully winding the scarf around Kleya's neck. Kleya wanted to protest, but she ultimately let her because it really was much warmer. While the scarf the recruits got was a thin fleece, the one Mon had was made of knitted yarn.
"This is your personal scarf?" Kleya asked. "Or one that all high-ranking officers got?"
"A gift from Vel," Mon explained. "She sent it to me once she heard we were relocating to Hoth." She looked rather proud of herself as she tucked the ends of the scarf into Kleya's jacket. "She'll be glad to hear it's being put to good use." She kissed Kleya lightly on the lips then asked, "Where's your hat and gloves?"
Kleya sighed but grabbed both items and handed them to Mon. She patiently held still while Mon tucked the hat over her head and pulled the gloves onto her hands. "Warm?" Mon asked, placing her hands on her shoulders. When Kleya glared, Mon laughed and asked, "Warmer than before, I mean?"
"As warm as I'll get," Kleya answered. She placed her hand over Mon's and squeezed. "Now, go back to bed. You've barely slept."
"Now who's fussing?" Mon teased. She kissed Kleya's forehead then her lips. "I hope you have a very uneventful patrol."
"I'm sure I'll see a lot of snow," Kleya deadpanned. She waited until Mon was back under the covers before she left, the last thing she saw being the top of Mon's head.
Her patrol ended up being quite boring. The most exciting part was when her partner's tauntaun reared back suddenly, sending him into the snow with a poof. That wasn't worth the moment of amusement though because the remainder of the shift was spent with him complaining about the snow getting into his clothes. Kleya ignored him and tucked her face more firmly into Mon's scarf.
When Kleya made it back to base and let herself back into her room, Mon was just about to leave. Her outfit, in truth, was not much different from Kleya's. The only added pieces she had were an extra thermal shirt and another thin coat. Then again, Mon wasn't going on patrols outside of the base.
"Good patrol?" Mon asked.
"Good enough," Kleya said. She unwound the scarf from her neck and walked over to Mon. She looped it around Mon and said quietly, "Thank you."
"Of course," Mon replied. She cupped Kleya's face and made a face at how cold it was. "I see it didn't do much for your nose though. It's quite red." She leaned in and kissed the tip of Kleya's nose. "And cold."
"I'll wrap it over my nose next time," Kleya said.
Mon brightened. "You'll wear it again?"
Kleya's smile was small but indulgent as she said, "Yes, Mon. I'll wear it again." She adjusted the scarf on Mon. "After all, who am I to turn down something from the Chancellor of the Rebellion?"
"I'm glad you're finally learning your place," Mon said with a haughty tilt of her chin. She only lasted a moment though before she broke into a smile. She kissed Kleya's nose again then kissed her properly. "Have a good day, darling."
Kleya wrapped her arms around her and stole another kiss. "You as well."