Drinking games

[for_everyone]

It was supposed to be an easy repair, fiddly but relatively straightforward. But then the stored replacement part was bad, every shop in town was out except for one, which was broken, and the repair to fix that made it an uphill slog to even fit it in the Ghost, due to Chopper and Zeb getting into a fight and leaving at least two drill bits where drill bits did not belong.

And since it was meant to be easy, everyone but Hera and Kanan is out at the cantina enjoying themselves and the two of them are here, exhausted, dusty, and covered in grease. The smell of welding torch is heavy in the air.

Then Hera rolls to her feet, shaking her head a little to clear it.

"You know what? This calls for a drink, and I've just remembered where I left some."

Comments

[notallofus]

"That's good to hear," Kanan calls after her, brushing dust out of his hair. "It'd be nice if one thing today could go right."

[for_everyone]

"Now you've done it," Hera mourns. "I'm going to drop the bottle now, I just know it."

(She doesn't.)

[notallofus]

"We haven't even started drinking yet!"

He has faith in you, Hera.

[for_everyone]

"That's what you think."

Maybe she slipped out some time during the great scouring of the repair shop's storeroom.

Her voice gets softer as she moves away, but it isn't too much longer before she's back, bottle and two cups in hand.

"Here, you pour."

His hands are at least somewhat less filthy than hers.

[notallofus]

Kanan takes the bottle from her, staring at the label for a moment.

"Hey, this is decent stuff."

As in, low-end-of-the-high-end decent. "How long've you had this?"

[for_everyone]

"You know . . . "

She looks down at the bottle, caught up for a moment in the answer to that question.

"A couple-three years? We got paid in this and a few other odds and ends. I kept the bottle. The market was bad . . . and then I forgot I had it. Lucky us."

[notallofus]

"Lucky us," Kanan agrees, a little grimly, as he breaks open the bottle.

"But Zeb's not going to be happy that we left him out."

Given that Kanan is pouring pretty generously into the glasses, he doesn't seem overly worried about this.

[for_everyone]

"Maybe, but he would have been even less happy to be on repair detail, so . . . "

She picks up one glass and takes a deep swallow.

"I think he'll get over it."

[notallofus]

"Well," he holds out his glass toward hers. "The ship is still flying."

[for_everyone]

"From your mouth to the galaxy's ears."

Hera tips her own glass toward Kanan's, clinking the rim against his.

[notallofus]

He takes his own deep sip from his glass.

"Yeah, haven't had a drink like that in a while."

[for_everyone]

"If we ever make more than marginal profits, maybe we'll get the chance to have it again."

Or something like it. Maybe if they rescue a princess . . .

[notallofus]

He shakes his head.

"I think I only drank like this when I was friendly with the cantina owner."

[for_everyone]

"I hate to tell you this, but there are no cantinas here."

Which was the point of this whole finding-alcohol endeavor.

"Never say I skimp on my friends."

[notallofus]

"I know I've never said that."

He takes another sip from his glass. "And we don't usually stick around long enough to get friendly with the locals."

And even if they did, it was a lot safer for said locals when he was only a transport pilot, or whatever job he'd picked up at the time.

[for_everyone]

"Maybe someday," Hera says, more softly than a moment ago.

"When this is over."

If that's in their lifetime, that is. But you've got to try.

Her smile is a little crooked.

"I think we'd make excellent local farmers."

[notallofus]

Kanan leans back in the seat.

"Right," he says, sounding a little wistful.

And then, "You would be so bored."

[for_everyone]

"I'd end up running for mayor," Hera agrees, because Kanan is not wrong.

"What would you do?"

[notallofus]

"I don't know."

In his entire life, he'd only had one stationary 'home,' and even then, Jedi weren't really meant to settle down.

"Can I be the cantina owner in this scenario?"

[for_everyone]

"If you promise to save at least a little bit of your top shelf for me, and your lowest shelf for Zeb, sure."

She will allow it.

[notallofus]

"I'm not sure how much business sense it makes," he says, lifting his glass again, "but I think I can arrange it."

[for_everyone]

"Excellent!"

She toasts him with her cup again, then pauses meditatively.

"I'd run away to the hyperspace lanes again eventually, though."

Hera knows herself pretty well, by now.

"I hope you wouldn't mind being kidnapped on my way out of the system."

[notallofus]

"And give up my cantina?"

He doesn't think on this that long. "Yeah, I'd be okay with that."

[for_everyone]

"Leave it to the wild nerfs and banthas."

Clearly.

[notallofus]

"From what I've seen, it's not a great job, anyway."

A lot of cleaning and dealing with rowdy, drunk patrons. After long enough he might prefer taking on a squad of stormtroopers.