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]

Kanan holds up his hands for a minute, in a 'I'm not saying anything' sort of gesture, and refills her glass.

Then, of course, he says something.

"Yeah, I know."

Anyway.

"Next up is you."

[for_everyone]

Hera looks back at him, biting her lip for a moment.

"You've cheated at sabacc."

[notallofus]

"Define cheating."

Does sensing other people's nervousness or excitement through the Force count?

[for_everyone]

"I think that's an answer, Kanan."

But hey, she's smiling again.

[notallofus]

"Fine, fine."

He grumbles as he takes his drink, but since making her smile was the point . . .

"You are good at counting cards."

[for_everyone]

Hera pauses, but does drink.

"But I've never done it for money."

[notallofus]

"Yeah, well." He huffs out a meditative breath.

"It was a good way to get enough credits to get out of town fast, back in the day."

Anyway.

"I guess it could still be true. Uh, not that I'm planning on trying it or anything."

They must never, never tell Zeb.

[for_everyone]

She raises an eyebrow, but doesn't press it.

"I just watched a lot of card games growing up."

Her father's fighters, clones, smugglers, pretty much anyone would get bored at some point, and counting cards as she watched had come naturally to her. And maybe she it had been one of her tactics to get aboard ships, but. That doesn't count as 'for money,' right?

"You were quiet as a kid."

[notallofus]

Kanan can't quite help it, he barks out a helpless laugh, shaking his head.

Give him a minute.

"Uh, yeah, no. I'm pretty sure my friends would have paid me in cold, hard credits to stop asking every question under the sun. My -- "

The memories hurt, they always hurt, but maybe for this thin slice of time he can push that aside without taking the rest with it.

" -- teachers would have doubled it, easy."

[for_everyone]

Hera grins, at first.

It fades slightly as he speaks, but she closes her eyes, lifting her glass to drink again. Under the table, she brushes her foot against his.

"Your turn."

[notallofus]

He nudges back, gently, while thinking about what to say next.

"Every morning, when I wake up and stumble in to get my first cup of caf, you are incredibly grateful that Twi'lek are an essentially hairless species."

Kanan knows he has bedhead for days, okay? He is well aware.

[for_everyone]

"Yeah, that's not only true in the morning."

But she takes another drink anyway.

[notallofus]

Kanan is not pouting into his drink. Really he's not.

Seriously.

"I thought the ponytail worked pretty well."

[for_everyone]

"I don't have a problem with how it looks."

Really.

She does not.

"But I'm glad I don't have to deal with it."

[notallofus]

"Believe it or not, the goatee makes it easier to deal with, too."

He doesn't have to depilate his entire face every morning.

[for_everyone]

"All right," she says, shaking her head.

"But you're just as glad you don't have lekku."

[notallofus]

"You've got me there," Kanan says, taking a swallow of the good stuff.

"If my skin were less fleshy pink, maybe. That is really not a good lekku color."

He stops talking for a second, thumb rubbing up and down the side of his glass.

"Though, on second thought . . . it would be kind of nice to really share a language that nobody but us could speak, or really understand."

Wow, this alcohol sure is powerful stuff. Yeah. That.

[for_everyone]

"Well, wait until the first time someone tries to grab one of them."

Because it hurts. A lot.

[notallofus]

Kanan winces.

"Yeah, that's . . ."

Horrible.

"Just for that, feel free to have another drink."

[for_everyone]

She takes him up on that, before reaching up and rubbing slightly at the back of her head. Just the thought of it...

"I think it's your turn."

[notallofus]

Kanan's shoulders give a sympathetic twitch of 'ugh' when she rubs the back of her head.

Because 'ugh'.

"Right."

Uh.

"You hate cheap caf, but you drink it anyway because it gives you a strong sense-memory of the good stuff, so you have to hit up your stash less often."

[for_everyone]

She drinks again, emptying her glass and sliding it toward Kanan again, though her movements aren't quite as fast and easy as they were before.

"I think you're overthinking me a little."

[notallofus]

Kanan catches it -- and doesn't fumble it, thank you, pours about half of a refill, and carefully slides it back.

"Maybe."

He exhales heavily.

"It just feels weird, hitting you up with the same kind of vague generalities I used in cantinas."

[for_everyone]

Hera shrugs.

"I hate cheap caf because it's bland. But I like to know I have something with a little more flavor."

Even good caf is really more for humans, while Twi'lek tastes tend to run to the extremely bitter.

[notallofus]

Maybe Kanan can pick up some bitter melon from Earth, sometime. Once he learns about it.

"Next payout we can hopefully scrounge a little more of the good stuff?"