for_everyone | (no subject)

Hera couldn't be blamed for checking her chronometer again. Or at least, that's what she was telling herself. There was down time, but it was precious, and somehow the lack of any contact on her comm was what made her even more inclined to keep being sure they were still well within that down period. The Ghost was locked down in the most recent bit of Garel spaceport they'd managed to claim, and Chopper was on guard duty while most of the organic members of the crew were resting after an extremely eventful day. Hera had been surprised when, after they'd finished their debrief with Sato, Kanan had passed his own cabin to follow her.

She left the doors locked, but slid down the volume of the music she'd put on. There wasn't much privacy on a fully-manned freighter, but if the other crew had noticed anything, or cared, they hadn't mentioned it, and Hera would rather let them raise it if they wanted to. It probably wasn't the most responsible way to handle it, but – there was so much else to think about. But it was so much easier to let one thing be uncomplicated, even if she knew it wasn't.

Her boots are by the door, her gloves and goggles on the shelf in the aft wall of the cabin. Her chronometer leaned against her gloves, and she set the music player down next to them, leaving these where they were for the moment and moving back toward the cot.

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"I do."

She pats his hand, and then slowly moves to rise from the cot.

"I just - I don't know. I worry about what I'll become like this."

He sits up again, swinging his own legs closer to the side. Then he reaches out to take her arm, in case she tries to move too far from the bed.

"You've always been our captain. But -- I'm here for you. If you want to talk."

Because it sure sounds like she does. And he wants to be there for her.

She doesn't try to pull away, but glances sideways down to him.

"I'm not sure this is going to make much sense."

Kanan quirks his mouth up at one corner, and his gaze is fond.

"That's all right. I'm pretty sure I don't make a lot of sense half the time, and you deal with that pretty well."

He can only return the favor, right?

"All right."

Hera leans back against the bunks, shifting her arm in his grasp to take his hand again. "I, um..."

She takes a breath, and then makes herself articulate it. "I worry about - becoming like my father."

So. There's that.

Of all the things Kanan was expecting to hear, somehow that was not it. But at the same time . . .

"Giving everything for the mission?"

"Given... everything."

Her eyes are down, and she idly presses her fingers into his palm. "And I know I am like him, I know I will be, I just -"

She leans her head back against the bunk. "I hope I learned anything else from him."

"Hey," he says, swinging her hand back and forth gently.

"You're more than just the mission, and I know you know that we are, too."

"You sure about that?" she asks, turning her head down to look at him. "I just told you I don't always have time for your needs."

He looks back up at her, huffing out a rough breath.

"Sometimes I don't have time for my own needs, so -- "

What are you going to do?

"But no. That's always going to be a hazard of this work. Even if you weren't in charge, if we were both reporting to Sato directly, there'd still be times we'd have to focus on work first and not . . . "

Everything else.

"You're right." She gently tugs up on his hand, motioning for him to stand.

"But maybe help keep an eye on me?"

He moves obligingly at her gesture, resisting the impulse to tug her back down instead.

"I can do that," Kanan says, leaning forward to press his lips against her temple. "You're not in this alone."

She slips her arms up around his shoulders, and for a few moments, holds her close to him.

Then -

"Okay." Her grip loosens. "I need to go talk to Sato.

"And in twenty minutes, you're scheduled to sleep."

Kanan makes a disgruntled noise.

"I'd rather be on your sleep schedule."

Except hers is crazy, so this is probably better. Just --

"Trust me, you don't."

She picks up her chronometer and puts it back on her wrist, before reaching for her gloves. "And we have different things we need to be awake for."

There goes that disgruntled noise again.

"I know. I should probably find something productive to do in the meantime, though."

Right?

Even though he's already in a bunk, and it's comfortable and warm and . . .

"Check in with Chopper until I can replace him on the guard shift?"

Yes, she'd planned for that, too.

"You're lucky I love you," Kanan says, groaning a little as he shoves himself forcibly out of bed.

Chopper is a menace!

"Chop needs a break, he gets the longest guard shifts of any of us."

Though that is because he doesn't need to sleep.

Kanan looks up at Hera, one brow arched.

"It's like you want to provide him opportunities to cause trouble."

Hera, you've met your droid!

"He acts up more when he's overworked."

Or at least, he certainly doesn't act up less.

Kanan opens his mouth to rebut her comment . . .

But then he thinks about it.

And then he thinks about the compressed power of Chopper's crankiness if he were kept at his post for weeks at a time.

"I don't know about overworked, but something like that. Sure. No, you're right."

Hopefully Chopper isn't anywhere within sensing range of this conversation, or someone's going to get zapped. (Kanan.)

Given Chopper's talent for getting out of work, Kanan's probably right, too. But Hera keeps that to herself for the moment.

She leans down next to the still locked door, picking up her boots with one hand and Kanan's in the other, before tossing Kanan's to him.

"I'll come rescue you when I'm done with Sato."

Edited 2020-03-04 01:47 (UTC)

"My hero," Kanan says, reaching up to catch his boots without any Force-using, thank you very much.

(He's not kidding.)

"I look forward to it."