#anyway there's no way that bacara's family didn't learn at least a little bit of his dialect to talk with him in

[hastalavistabyebye]

Holos #5

Ao3 version

Loving Ponds was easy. One of the easiest things Bacara ever did. 

Sure, the days could be long and lonely, especially when traveling from one warzone to the other, or just after a cease fire when it was time to count the losses and try to erase their presence as much as could be in a destroyed landscape, battered in black, brown and white. During those times, in front of his waiting paperwork or while keeping his troops focused and organized for that hard last stretch, Bacara sometimes longed for the familiar warmth of his lover. How many times did he wish to discuss plans with Ponds, to ask for his opinion ? The Lighting Commander had a knack for strategy, his mind sharp and logical, always seeing the broader picture in more details and reading it more precisely than anyone else. Sometimes Bacara would have given anything to rely on his lover and his hindsight. How many times did he hold on to the memory of Ponds’ smiling eyes, on the knowledge that he’ll see him right after this unending campaign was over ? Pushing through was so much easier with the promise of getting back to his cyare at the end of it. 

But that was just the way of the Marines. As much as he could curse the distance between each of their leaves, he didn't mind much. 

Especially not when his comm chimed familiarly in rapid succession, distracting him from seeping his energy drink. He fetched it from where it was lying next to his freshly completed report. His hope of having news from Ponds, who was the usual culprit for spamming his comm like that, was sidetracked by his surprised happiness at seeing Neyo’s name displayed. He loved receiving messages from his little brother just as much. It was rare to get so many messages in so little time from him, though. Even more surprising was the discovery that it was mostly holos. Did the two 91st Commanders mix up their commlinks ? Bacara knew they were supposed to be in a joint mission at the moment, so it wasn't as improbable as one could think. 

A little bit perplexed, he opened the conversation and was met with several pictures of Ponds without the top of his armor and bucket, followed by the message “You sure you really want that one ?”. It was definitely Neyo who sent them to him then, most likely during one of their breaks, going by the way Ponds was dressed. 

In the first pictures, the Lighting Commander was crouching in front of a green snake with hirsute scales. They were looking at each other steadily, practically nose to nose. Ponds had that light in his eyes. Bacara wasn't surprised at all to see him reaching to try and coerce the reptile like one would do with a tooka, in the following holos Neyo had taken. Ponds could be just as bad as a Jedi when it was about befriending any random wild animal that had sparked his interest. He thankfully wasn't prone to take a particular liking to beast bigger than him. (Which was admittedly not the case of High General Windu.) 

The Marine Commander huffed fondly at the rest of the pictures. Ponds had somehow managed to get the snake to coil around his arms. He had stood up and was visibly cooing down at it before beaming up at the holocamera. He was glowing like a star, eyes crinkling at the sides and dimples in full display. Some cloud high above was casting shadows on his side, not reaching his face yet. Bacara could have swear it’d never darken his skin, not when Ponds was shining stronger than the sun as he was. 

The Marine was smiling softly down at his comm, soaking up the sight of the holos, when he noticed how close to Ponds’ neck the head of the snake had crept. 

“Please tell me it’s not venomous.” He sent to Neyo right away, a defeated weight settling down at the bottom of his stomach, heavy like durasteel. 

“You know I will never lie to you, ori’tat.” Was the quick answer, thankfully followed a few instants later by : “The Generals are supervising.”

Bacara closed his eyes with a deep sight. At least the Jedi were around. 

Loving Ponds was one of the easiest things Bacara ever did, as effortless and paramount as breathing. But sometimes he deplored falling for a member of the Shebse batch. 

The snake is a Hairy Bush Viper.