#jacen syndulla week

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

I didn’t manage to get as much writing for this week done as I wanted, but I had to do something, so here’s a little fic for Jacen Syndulla Week Day 2: Jedi!

...

Jacen Syndulla was a late bloomer.

Those were the words being tossed around all the time now, and they had started to define most of his conversations. He had been the first one to use them, so he supposed he didn’t have the right to be annoyed. When his mom had come into the galley to find him lifting his cup across the room to his outstretched hand, and she’d staggered back, gasping.

I thought you didn’t have it.

I guess I’m just a late bloomer.

And that’s what she said to Sabine and Zeb when she’d sat Jacen down before them and he’d lifted Sabine’s helmet off at her request. That’s what she’d said to Luke, when she talked to him about enrolling Jacen in his academy. That’s what he heard Ezra saying now, the Jedi’s voice through the Ghost’s walls holding a distinct lilt of doubt. Jacen couldn’t see why— the words were perfectly plausible. They’d satisfied everyone else. 

But one look at Ezra when he walked through Jacen’s door told him the jig was up. 

“All right, Jacen, tell me,” Ezra said, perching on the chair beside his bed without a hello or any other merciful small talk. “How long have you really been able to use the Force?”

“I lifted a cup for the first time last week.” 

Ezra just raised his eyebrows. Jacen sighed. 

“When I was five, and I accidentally kicked my tooka doll out of my bunk, I lifted it back to me.”

Ezra’s flat stare dissolved, and Jacen shivered. He’d known Ezra for three years, and this was the first time he’d seen him look really rattled. 

“You’ve known you could use the Force for seven years?”

Jacen shrugged.

Ezra took a deep breath and blew it out, splaying his hands over his knees. “Okay,” he said, his voice an octave higher than usual. He cleared his throat, and his next words were much more normal. “Talk to me. What am I missing here?”

Jacen shrugged again, but he couldn’t quite disguise the anger that Ezra had to ask the question in the first place. “Being a Jedi killed my dad.”

Ezra’s head dropped, just a little bit. “I know.” Then he raised it again. “And I miss your dad every day. But I couldn’t let his loss stop me from using my powers the way they’re meant to be used. If you just—“

“No offense, but I don’t really want to get kidnapped by purrgil, either.”

Ezra paused. To his credit, it really seemed like that made him think. 

The silence dragged on for long enough that Jacen started kicking his heels against the edge of his bunk. He’d never been good at sitting still— which made having to hide how fast he could run and jump a pain, but which, he thought, would make meditating all the time like Ezra excruciating.

“You know,” Ezra said finally, quietly, “that my parents were taken by the Empire when I was seven, and killed when I was a few years older than you.”

Jacen nodded. He’d known that for as long as he’d known about Ezra, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it today, it had made him feel like Ezra would understand. The ache that came with losing someone who was part of you— literally— before they could even really know you, and the absence that came with knowing them through stories more than memories. 

“They were taken because they stood up to the Empire, and that made me hate it, but it made me fear it too. Before our first really big mission, I talked to your dad about it.” Ezra took a shaky breath. “And he told me that loss is inevitable. It’s something that happens, whether you want it to or not, no matter what you do. But we can’t let that stop us from taking risks. We have to move forward.”

Jacen snorted. “That’s easy to say. It’s not so easy to do.”

Ezra smiled. “I said the exact same thing. And your dad told me it wasn’t easy for him, either. That he didn’t understand when his Master taught him— he only understood trying to teach it to me. I’m not asking you to understand it yet, Jacen. All I’m asking is that you learn. This part of yourself, it isn’t something you can run away from. It’s part of you, and sooner or later, you’ll need to embrace it if you want to truly know who you are.”

“And what if I’m not a Jedi? What if I don’t want to sit in fields listening to the wind or the wolves or whatever? What if I don’t build a good lightsaber? What if I don’t want to… what if I don’t want to be like my dad?”

“Then you don’t have to,” Ezra said simply.

It was Jacen’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Really. That’s part of why I was talking to your mom. I’m not really sure an academy setting is the right fit for you. I wondered if you’d like to learn with me instead.”

“You want to teach me?”

“I want to learn with you. Just like your dad learned with me. Those questions you asked— they’re all valid, Jacen. They’re all good. But how will you ever know the answers if you don’t try?”

Jacen blinked, a little caught off-guard. Ezra wasn’t wrong. He’d always assumed that being a Jedi was a yes-or-no question. That once he said yes, he’d be on that path forever. But Ezra was the best Jedi he knew. If Ezra said he had choices, Jacen believed him.

“You’ll make a good teacher,” he grumbled finally. “You’re tricky enough to be one.”

He tried to hold his pout, but the way Ezra was beaming at him made it impossible.

“All right, Master. I’ll try.”

[kanerallels]

Finally, I have a fic worth posting for @jacensyndullaweek! (although I do have one thing that I'm gonna end up posting late that I want to share)

Prompt: Culture/Heritage

Rating: G

Read here on AO3!!

1. Sabine

“Are you sure Ezra’s gonna be okay with this?” Jacen frowned at Sabine as they headed into the cockpit of the New Dawn.

“Rule number one of art as a Mandalorian,” Sabine said. “Never ask. Just do. Unless it’s Hera’s room. Then you ask. Besides, the Dawn needs a little brightening up. No ship should be entirely gray.”

The boy wavered for another second, then grinned. “Okay, cool! Where are we starting?”

“That’s more like it.” Sabine paused, turning in a circle. “That wall,” she said, pointing. “You start there, and I’ll start on the other side.”

“What should I paint?” Jacen asked as she passed him the box full of small finger paint cans she’d bought just for this— it was a good place to start for a beginner.

Pulling out her paint guns, Sabine said, “Whatever you want. If you don’t know, start with a feeling. Or something you know. Just don’t hesitate. When you’re doing graffiti, you need to be confident. Got it?”

Jacen nodded, his eight-year-old face screwed up into a serious expression as he pulled out green and blue paint. “I got it.”

“Good. Let’s get started.”

2. Zeb

“Okay,” Hera said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Zeb recognized this expression— she’d worn it about a thousand times while lecturing him and Ezra back in the day. “Run it past me one more time. How in the name of the Force did you break your arm, Jacen?”

Wincing, Zeb said, “It was an accident, I swear.”

“It was!” Jacen agreed earnestly, struggling to push himself upright in the hospital bed and wincing slightly. Hera pressed her lips into a straight line— never a good sign.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Kanan offered from next to Hera. His expression was serene, and he brushed a gentle palm against Hera’s arm, which seemed to calm her a little bit.

“Right,” Zeb said. “So, I was talking to the kid about some of the old sports they had back on Lasan.”

“And there was this one where the greatest warriors would jump from rock spire to rock spire, show off their climbing skills,” Jacen said, his eyes gleaming. “So I asked Uncle Zeb to show me—”

“—and he asked to try it out—”

“—and I fell,” Jacen concluded.

Throwing her hands in the air, Hera said, “And you didn’t even think about the fact that Jacen could get hurt doing that?”

“Well, Lasat cubs usually didn’t,” Zeb offered. “I guess I forgot that humans have more fragile bones. No offense.”

Kanan let out a choking noise that Zeb immediately knew was a snort of laughter, and hastily disguised it as a cough. Hera shot him a sideways glare, but her expression softened a few seconds later as she sighed.

“Thank you for trying to teach Jacen, but you do need to be careful. Next time, maybe start with something a little easier? Or make sure Kanan or Ezra are there to catch him?”

“Absolutely,” Zeb agreed. 

As Hera turned to talk to the approaching doctor, Jacen leaned towards Zeb. “Can we try it again when my arm gets better?” he whispered.

“Only if you get better at not falling,” Zeb whispered back. “I don’t want your parents to skin me alive.”

“Deal!”

3. Kanan

“Hey, Dad?”

Kanan lifted his head, pulled out of his meditation trance by his son’s voice. Tracking him to the doorway to his and Hera’s room, he waved for him to come in as he said, “What’s going on, kiddo?”

He heard Jacen move into the room and drop down into a similar posture in front of him. “I’m doing this school project— we’re doing family trees,” he explained. “And I need your help.”

Kanan chuckled. “With this family, I’m not surprised. Where’d you get tripped up? Miss an aunt or uncle?”

“Nah,” Jacen said, his matching grin clear in his voice. “Grandparents, actually. I got Grandpa Cham and Grandma Eleni on Mom’s side, but I don’t really know any on your side.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Kanan said, “Well, you and I are in the same boat there, actually. I never knew my biological parents.”

“Okay— so should I just leave it blank?”

Kanan frowned, stroking his beard. “You could,” he said slowly, turning the question over in his mind. It might have been easier just to leave it that way. But the point of these family trees— he assumed— were that the kids didn’t forget where and who they’d come from. The people who’d shaped their lives before those lives had even really begun. “Let me show you something,” he told Jacen, getting to his feet.

He knew the layout of the room well by this time, and it was a matter of ease to step over to the shelf nearby and pull down one of the holodisks stacked there. Turning it on, he let it rest in his palm and held it out to Jacen. “What do you see?”

“Um, two people— a man and a woman. Looks like they’re posing for a picture,” Jacen said. “The woman has braids, and she’s laughing. The guy’s more serious, but he’s smiling a little. He’s taller and bald, looks like he has darker skin than the woman.” He paused, then said, “They’re both wearing Jedi robes. Are these—”

“The woman is my master, Depa Billaba,” Kanan said, turning off the holodisk. “And the man is her master, Mace Windu. A friend recovered this holo for me a year or two ago. It’s the only thing I have left of them.” Reaching out, he pressed it into Jacen’s hand. “They are as close to family as I ever had.”

Jacen was silent for a moment, and Kanan waited, knowing his son was thinking. “Thanks for showing me, Dad,” he finally said.

“Any time, kiddo.”

4. Ezra

“Why are we going here again?”

Ezra glanced at Jacen, who was bouncing on his heels with impatience. “I thought you said we were going to do Jedi stuff,” the fifteen year old pointed out.

“We are going to,” Ezra said truthfully. “We’re just making a stop first.” Looking both ways, he started across the street, keeping one eye on Jacen as he followed him. The kid had finally outgrown his habit of forgetting to look before he leapt— mostly. At the very least, he looked both ways before he crossed the street now.

He was still willing to throw himself headfirst into situations, though, not unlike both of his parents. That included Jedi training, and Ezra knew that he should be just as excited as Jacen was for this.

And he was, really. He was just also pretty sure Kanan had chosen wrong, and that his old master should be training Jacen himself. 

But that wasn’t the point. Right now wasn’t actually about that. Right now was about visiting somewhere he hadn’t been since he’d gotten back from the Unknown Regions, and showing Jacen a new piece of Lothal.

Turning a corner, he spotted the old warehouse. Even just the outside looked different than it had in the years during the war— no guards, and the door was wide open.

He looked at Jacen. “Did your mom and dad ever tell you about this place?” When the boy shook his head, Ezra explained, “During the war, this was where the main black market congregated, particularly around Life Day. I used to come here all the time— mainly when I was by myself, but I came with Kanan and the others a couple times.”

Starting towards the entrance, he continued, “But Lothal doesn’t really need a black market any more— so now it’s just a regular one. One of Lothal’s hidden treasures. I thought you should see it.”

They stopped at the entrance together, and Ezra took in the familiar sights. He recognized some faces— the elderly owner of the stall selling woven blankets, the Gotal who pretended not to notice when he’d stolen a few kebabs every now and then— and noticed others missing. 

The war had changed everything, but they were putting it back together, slowly but surely.

He looked at Jacen, who was taking in the place with wide eyes. “So. Lunch, then training?”

“Sounds good,” the boy said with a grin.

5. Hera

“And you’re sure you’re ready for this?” Hera checked as she, Kanan, and Jacen headed towards the small building awaiting them.

Her son gave her a grin. “Mom, we’ve talked about this like twenty times now. I’m seventeen— I’m ready. You got your tattoos way younger than this.”

Wincing at the memory of the needle’s sting, Hera said, “I know. That’s why I’m checking. I don’t want you to do it just because someone said you couldn’t, like I did. It was terrifying—”

“And you were like eight,” Jacen pointed out. “Of course that would be terrifying. But trust me— I want to do this. I already got Dad’s looks, and I want to honor your side, too.”

Kanan, who’d been silent thus far, spoke up. “He’s right, Hera. Besides, he’s almost eighteen. Even if you put your foot down, he’d only be delaying it for a couple months.”

Letting out a sigh, Hera said, “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

“Nope!” Jacen said cheerfully. “Besides, you let Dad get the tattoos.”

“Your father is a full grown man,” Hera said. “And incredibly stubborn, I might add.”

Kanan let out a snort. “I think we all know who the stubborn one is in this relationship, Captain Hera.”

Grabbing the door handle, Jacen said, “Yeah, I know better than to get involved in this argument. Come on— Ivri’s already inside!”

Hera followed his nod to where Jacen’s friend, the half-Mirialan boy with a perpetual smile, was waiting for them next to the Twi’leki tattoo artist. “Alright,” she said reluctantly.

“Go ahead, Jacen,” Kanan told him, catching hold of Hera's arm. “Your mom and I will catch up with you in a minute. Don’t choose anything obscene or too embarrassing while we’re gone, okay?”

Grinning, Jacen said, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

As he ducked inside, the door swinging shut behind him, Kanan lifted an eyebrow at Hera. “What are the odds of him listening to that?”

“Well he has your genes, so about fifty-fifty.”

“Harsh.” Kanan paused, then said, “You okay about this?”

Unable to hold back a wry smile, Hera said, “You know me well, love. But… yeah, I am. Mostly. It’s just…” she looked through the window where Jacen and his friend were chatting with the Twi’lek. “Our little boy is growing up,” she said with a sigh. “It’s strange.”

“You’re telling me,” Kanan said with a sigh. “At least he’s less likely to shoot himself into the Unknown Regions than the last one is.”

Hera snorted with amusement. “He’d better be, or we’ll be having words.”

“I believe it.” Offering her his arm, Kanan said, “Shall we?”

Taking a deep breath, Hera looped her arm around his. “Okay. Let’s do this.” She let him lead her into the tattoo parlor, trying not to think about just how much her son was growing up.

We’re proud of him, though, she thought with a twinge. And he’s still our son. 

+1. Trill

(set a few weeks before the last chapter of Disproving The Love At First Sight Theory)

Jacen sensed it as soon as Trill woke up. Generally speaking, he wasn’t terribly skilled at sensing living beings— not the way his dad or sister were, and definitely not the way Ezra was. His master was one with the living Force in a way Jacen never had been.

But this didn’t seem to be true for Trill, for whatever reason. Jacen could always sense it when she woke up, and could track her pretty easily throughout the ship. It was like he was attuned to her, more than he was to anyone else.

Sometimes he wondered why that was, but since he was currently living in close quarters with not only her, but also the galaxy’s nosiest Kalleran, he decided not to spend too much time on it.

It was about ten minutes after she woke up that she made her way into the New Dawn’s kitchen. Stifling a yawn, she said, “Morning— what’s that smell?”

“Good morning,” Jacen said cheerfully. “Remember that mysterious package I… picked up on Cantonica yesterday?”

Trill arched an eyebrow at him. “You mean the one that you stole from the hotel and smuggled out under your poncho?”

“That’s the one,” Jacen said. “But the people there are corrupt and tried to kill us like four times, so it doesn’t count. Anyways— behold! Our new waffle maker!”

He flourished a hand at the maker, which stood on the counter, emanating the delicious smell of cooking waffles. Trill frowned at it, then directed the expression at Jacen. “You stole a waffle maker?”

“You’re focusing on the wrong thing here,” Jacen told her. “Remember, they tried to kill us. But also, yeah. Now we can have waffles for breakfast!”

Settling at the table, Trill swept her loose hair out of her eyes, and Jacen tried to pretend like his gaze hadn’t followed the movement, and lingered for just a moment. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s so important about waffles?”

The iron beeped, and Jacen turned towards it. Rolling up his sleeves, he flipped it open and started to remove the waffle with a fork, responding to Trill’s question as he did.

“It’s a family tradition. My dad makes the best waffles in the galaxy— Uncle Zeb makes the second best, tied with me. We always used to eat them whenever my mom would get back from a dangerous mission, or before Ezra and I would leave, or any special occasion like that.” Maneuvering the waffle onto a plate, he slid it towards Trill. “And I guess… I wanted to share that with you. If you’re interested.”

She looked surprised, in that way she always did whenever Jacen said something like this. It was the kind of surprise that made him think maybe, just maybe… she’d stick around. 

For a minute, Trill held his gaze, then offered him a smile. “I— I am. Thank you.”

Don’t read into it, Jacen ordered himself, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at her smile. Aloud, he said, “Good. Cause I have a feeling Kasmir’s gonna be here soon, and he’ll be hungry. So you’d better get started on that waffle.”

“Will do,” Trill said, hopping up to grab a fork. Turning back to his work, Jacen felt himself grinning. Starting out a day with waffles and Trill? It really couldn’t get much better than that.

[jacensyndullaweek]

Behold, the complete prompt list for Jacen Syndulla Week 2023!

Feel free to combine the prompt pair or only use one prompt! And be sure to tag @jacensyndullaweek so we can reblog your posts - art, fics, gifs, or anything else you can dream up. :)

[lena-hills]

Finally finished the fluff fic for @jacensyndullaweek ! G, no warnings apply.

A little bit of fluff and humor as Jacen applies for college!

Now I can get started on my Kanera Regency Romance AU!

[flying-kanery]

Storytime

Hey guys! So apparently having a job is a lot harder than I thought it would be lol😂but I was able to finally squeeze in some time to write and post this very late submission for Jacen Syndulla week following the prompt father/family. I'll put the link for it on my ao3 right here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48378895. But I wanted to post the whole fic here too to sTaY tRuE tO mY tUmBlR rOoTs lol. I hope you enjoy!<3

Also, quick shoutout to to @jacensyndullaweek for organizing this whole thing and for the amazing prompts! You slayed!<3

Fic rating: G

~

“And that’s how your mom defeated an entire Imperial fleet!”

Jacen looked up at his father with wide, awe-struck eyes and his mouth agape. Hera couldn’t help but laugh internally. It definitely wasn’t an entire Imperial fleet.

She watched in the doorway, not yet noticed by either of them. She loved the way Kanan placed his arm around Jacen, how sitting down he was barely taller than Kanan’s forearm, the way he sat so comfortable, so small, chubby little limbs relaxed on the bed.

“Wowaw,” Jacen said, “Den what happen, Daddy?” Hera couldn’t hold back a laugh this time.

At that, Kanan glanced up at the doorway knowingly, a grin spreading across his face. Jacen still didn’t see her, completely encapsulated by his dad’s story.

Well then, your mom met with some of the biggest leaders of the rebellion—well, she technically wasn’t invited to the meeting,” another mischievous glance at the doorway, “but she knew she should’ve been in the meeting because it involved someone in her family. Can you guess who?”

“Uuuuuuhhhhhh…ou,’ Daddy!”

“No,” he shook his head and laughed.

“Uuuuuuhhhhh,” he tapped his little finger on his dimpled chin, as if deep in thought. Her boy was so beautiful, both of her boys were. Her smile widened at the thought.

“Ahbine!” he said. Kanan chuckled.

“Sah-bine buddy, there’s an s, ssss,” he pointed to his mouth and then Jacen’s, trying to show him how to make the sound.

“Thhhhhhh,” Jacen tried to imitate his father, “Thahbine!” he exclaimed.

“Close enough,” Kanan shot a quick look back up at Hera, silent laughter exchanged between them. “But that’s still not who it is.”

Jacen was growing more frustrated, “Den who is it?” he said, throwing out his arms in exasperation.

Kanan smiled down at him. “Ezra.”

Jacen gasped in excitement. “Ezzy!” he squealed.

“Yes,” Kanan laughed.

“So did mommy get dem to help wit Ezah?”

“Yes,” Kanan replied, gazing into Hera’s eyes, “she did. Because she never backs down when it comes to the people she loves.”

“What ou’ wookin’ at, Daddy?” Jacen turned around to face the door frame. “MOMMY!” he squealed with joy.

“Jacen, sweetheart,” she laughed, “I was only gone for about twenty minutes and I was right in the other room.”

“I know dat. But I stiww miss ou’!” He began trying to get his tiny body off of his bed in order to run to her.

“No baby, it’s okay. I’ll come to you.” she said, walking towards him and scooping him up in her arms. She sat on the bed and leaned up against Kanan with Jacen snuggled to her chest.

“Did you get the stain out?” Kanan asked.

“Yep,” she held up Jacen’s tiny onesie with little tookas all over it.

“Yay!” Jacen clapped and took the onesie from his mom.

“Now Jacen, the next time you want to paint something, just let us know so that we can keep this from happening again, okay?”

“Okay, mommy,” he said, giving her a big hug. Hera ran her hand over his emerald hair and kissed his forehead. Kanan held her closer.

“Mommy?” Jacen asked.

“Yes, baby?”

“Do you have any stories about Daddy?”

She immediately looked up at Kanan who wore an amused and slightly scared expression.

“Oh boy, do I,” she laughed, “but that’ll be for another night.”

“Awwww,” Jacen whined.

“Your mom’s right, kiddo. You need to get some sleep.”

“But I not tieword.”

“Good, that means my story wasn’t boring,” Kanan replied.

Jacen paused for a moment, considering his father’s words, “I guess dat’s twue. Buh can I wear da tooka jammies pweeeease?”

Hera smiled, “Of course, sweetheart.” They got Jacen dressed for bed and tucked him in, pulling the covers all the way up to his chin.

They knelt down beside Jacen’s bed, preparing to wish him their nightly “I love yous.” Hera placed a kiss on Jacen's forehead, “Goodnight, baby.”

“Nigh nigh, Mama. I wuv ou.’”

She cupped his tiny face, “I love you too, little tooka.” After giving him one last kiss on his nose, she stood up and returned to the doorway, watching Kanan say his goodnight.

Kanan hugged his son and gently kissed his cheek, “Good night, kiddo. I love you so much.”

“I wud ou’ too, Daddy,” Jacen’s eyelids were growing heavy and by the time Kanan joined Hera in the doorway, he had completely nodded off to sleep.

She leaned up against him as he wrapped his arms around her, “He’s perfect,” she sighed.

“He is,” he whispered against her temple. Pulling away to look at her he shrugged, “But I mean, he’s our kid so, makes sense.”

She laughed. “C’mon, we should probably get some sleep too. We have to cut a bunch of orange slices and get Jacen new shin guards tomorrow morning before his soccer game.” She grabbed his hand and turned to start pulling him towards their bedroom, but he stopped her before she could.

“Woah, hold on there, Captain. First, you need to tell me what ‘crazy stories’ about me you were referring to earlier,” he said with an amused grin.

Hera turned back around to face him, wearing a similar grin of her own, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the time you fell off a building?”

“I did not fall. I used the force to land safely.”

“I literally caught you.”

“Yes, but…I used the force to make sure I landed safely in your arms,” he smiled.

She moved closer to him and placed her hands on his arms, “Okay, well then it was my speed plus the force, since I had to run over there in time to catch you.”

He laughed, “You really are the hero of my story.”

A quiet moment passed. Then Hera replied, “You’ve always been my hero. Even when you couldn’t see it in yourself, I always could���Jacen sees it too,” she pushed a lock of hair behind his ear, “He looks up to you so much, love. I know we joke that I’m his favorite, but I think it’s more like I’m his comfort and you’re everything he aspires to be. That’s why the real story I had in mind was when you saved me from Pryce on Lothal.”

Kanan’s eyes were alight with awe—awe of how much she loved him, how much she trusted and believed in him, how she saw him worthy of being the father of her child and raising him alongside her. When he kissed her, deep and sweet, it told her how grateful he was to be that person for her, how grateful he was that the beautiful life he was living now had all stemmed from the amazing woman standing before him.

He broke away only enough to whisper, “I love you,” and place his forehead against hers. “And you’re right. That would explain why he’s always trying to copy whatever I’m doing.” He smiled fondly, “Like in the morning, when I drink my mug of caf and he’ll ask me to put his orange juice in a mug too. And then he’ll try to hold the mug the same way as me–”

“And when you scroll through your datapad, he’ll get out his little chalkboard and start ‘scrolling through it’ too,” Hera laughed and Kanan joined her, loving how they could just stand there and marvel at their son’s cuteness together.

She let out a yawn, “Let’s go to bed now, love. I’m starting to doze off.” She tried pulling him back towards their room, but he stopped her again, realization hitting him. 

“Kanan, what is with your aversion to me getting any sleep tonight?” she rolled her eyes as her hands came to rest on her hips, a hint of a smile still in her expression.

Hesitantly, he said, “Is Jacen ready for that story?”

Hera remained quiet for a moment, thinking over his question. “I think he is. We don’t have to get into too much detail, but I think he deserves to know how we ended up where we are today and everything you’ve sacrificed for me and for him.”

“Everything we’ve sacrificed, my love,” he cupped her face, “You’ve given up so much too.”

“Well, it’s like you said. I never back down when it comes to the people I love—and neither do you. If Jacen’s going to keep trying to be just like you, I want him to know that you’re selfless and compassionate,” she smiled. “Plus, that story did have a happy ending, right?”

“The absolute best of happy endings,” he said, moving closer to her.

“Agreed,” she took his hands in hers. “Now, c’mon,” she said with an overexaggerated pull of his hands, “I have to appease 15 pretentious soccer moms tomorrow. I need sleep.”

“Okay,” he laughed, finally following her to their room. “I understand, even though you’re technically a soccer mom yourself,” he added with a smirk.

“Watch it,” she poked his side, “I meant those kind of soccer moms.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he laughed.

Once they got into bed, Kanan pulled her to his chest and she snuggled against him.

“Kanan?” she looked up at him.

“Yes, Hera,” he smiled down at her.

“I hope Jacen grows up to be as exceptional of a man as you are,” she mumbled sleepily.

“He will be. He has you for a mom,” he replied, warmth in his eyes as he looked down at her. And with that, her head returned to his chest and they drifted off to sleep together, forever happy in the new life of peace they created for themselves and their son.

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you thought of it! All the love to my mutuals<3

(I also might be posting another Jacen week fic sometime soon hehe;))

[incorrectpizza]

Updates: The dates for Jacen Syndulla Week 2023 have been set!

Mark your calendars for June 18th-24th!

And, of course, stay tuned for prompts and further details.

[accidental-spice]

For Jacen Syndulla week day three: Movie/OC friends

Jacen and Trill on a date, stargazing!!

(For anyone who doesn't know who Trill is, I highly recommend checking out @kanerallels fic, Disproving The Love At First Sight Theory. It's amazing)

[strigeart]

#spectreweek

Jacen with his mom and dad, who of course is alive, is doing fine and is the best dad in the galaxy. I will die on this hill!

@spectre-week

#spectre7 #Jacen Syndulla

[singswan-springswan]

Kanera week - Day 5

Prompt: Anniversary

[jacensyndullaweek]

In the meantime, write some Jacen fic or do some fanart!

It would be cool to see him again.

[monsieur-kazzle-dazzle]

my heart can't take it anymore

[kanerallels]

Question: is it excessive to have two fics where they're a bunch of little snapshots? And if so, does it help that one of them is a 5+1 fic?

[jacensyndullaweek]

We’ve got just one week left until the start of Jacen Syndulla Week 2023!! You can check out the complete prompts list here. We’re so excited to see what you create!

[heartofroses112]

After discovering the truth about the chips, Kix was captured on Count Dooku's orders. When next he woke up, he was fifty years in the future, all he had known gone to dust.

Months later, he wanders a distant planet, trying to rediscover his place in such a unfamiliar galaxy. And here he encounters two Jedi, men who's names he has heard, men who both have ties to his past. He joins them in a fight against the First Order, finding along the way that he is not quite as alone as he believed...

[fandomforg]

jacen syndulla but said to the tone of the ‘JASON DERULO~’ vine

[incorrectpizza]

@jacensyndullaweek is pretty much over - thank you so much to ALL the creators and commenters who made the week fun!

I didn't write as much as I would've liked but I have added quite a few entries to "First" and am calling it complete - for now. If anyone has any ideas for more entries, I'd love to continue it someday.

Fic under the cut for anyone who prefers to read here on Tumblr.

"Dada"

Hera drops the dish she’s washing the first time she hears Jacen say “Dada!”

The plate, made of child-proof plastoid, doesn’t shatter.

Her heart does.

Jacen’s sitting at the table when he says it, playing with the Tooka cat Sabine had made him out of one of Kanan’s old shirts.

Hera stares, watching every movement of Jacen’s tiny fingers. As she analyzes her son’s burbling noise, she wonders if she had heard him correctly.

Then Jacen points at the cat and exclaims “Dada!” again.

It’s all she can do to stay standing.

She inches along the wall from the kitchen to the common room, bracing herself with one hand.Sinking down onto the bench next to Jacen, she rubs the back of his hand and strokes the tooka’s ears with her fingertips.

After over a minute of excruciating silence, she tries to make sense of Jacen’s new word.

“Your tooka is made out of Dada’s shirt.” The raw truth. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Did Sabine tell you that?”

In response to her rhetorical question, Jacen nods while burbling and babbling “Dada” and “Mama” both several more times.

Using the Force

The first time Hera sees Jacen use the Force, she breaks.

She's suspected it for a few weeks - how else could Jacen have retrieved the plushie he tossed from his crib? - but she hoped, prayed she would be wrong. Having a normal child would be easier. Safer.

She wouldn't have to worry about him getting delusions of grandeur and going off to fight a war single-handedly, or dying on some backwater world protecting a few innocents. But watching his favorite green Tooka flying across the room, she can picture a lightsaber hurtling to his hand someday, in some stupid, noble act.

She snatches it away from him, and holds it tight, but he wails and pulls at it again, harder. She can feel the toy pulsing, and it’s one of the strangest sensations she’s ever felt. She loosens her grip and the Tooka returns to Jacen, who immediately returns to giggling.

Seeing his smile only makes it worse. She can’t breathe, can’t stay. Stumbling into Kanan’s old cabin, she clutches one of his shirts and sobs into it. Praying and ranting to her Ryl gods and the Force itself, she pleads for her son and mourns her dream of a peaceful life for him. 

Flying the Ghost

“Mom, mom, can I fly?” 

Hera has absolutely no recollection of the first time Jacen asked her, begged her , to let him take the pilot’s chair. He was no more than three, and in subsequent months and years, the question seems to echo throughout the Ghost every day, whether they’re together or apart.

She does, however, always treasure and remember the first day she finally relents to his pleas. He’s five years old and inquisitive as ever.  They’re taking a joyride after the victory at Endor, a rare reprieve from the fight. Hera has seen enough to know it’s not over - and might not be in her lifetime. But the joyous atmosphere has permeated her so thoroughly she lets herself imagine, for one night, that it is.

When Jacen asks once again, “Can I have a turn, mom?”, she tells him,  “Yes, but you have to be careful, love.” She lets him clamber up on her lap, and he shrieks and giggles. After he’s over his little fit of joy, she lets him “fly” - gently placing his hands above her own.

She loosens her grip, letting him steer the ship. He circles and spins and she gulps down bile for as long as she can before gently retaking control of the Ghost.

"Does this mean I'm a pilot now?" 

She rustles his green hair and places a light kiss on top. "You still have a long way to go, love." 

Date

Jacen goes on his first date when he’s sixteen. Hera gives him a ride to Ryloth to spend a quiet evening with a girl he’s been friends with since the first summer he spent with Cham. 

Hera doesn’t know her well, but she’s heard all about her from Jacen. 

Her name is Melyni, but her friends call her Mel, and she’s seventeen, with purple-pink skin, a few light freckles and a bubbly laugh. She just graduated from high school, early, and she’s leaving Ryloth soon for university. 

Hera walks with Jacen as far as Central Square. From a nearby shop, she watches as he knocks and waits and shakes Mel’s father’s hand. They walk hand-in-hand down to a traditional Twi’leki restaurant, then disappear. She buys a few meilooruns and walks a few blocks to Cham’s little cottage on the outskirts of town. They spend the evening reminiscing of their own young loves.

When Hera makes it back to the Ghost , Jacen’s still not there. She and Chopper wait up until dangerously close to curfew. Jacen comes back with a glint in his eyes she remembers from Kanan’s youth - and a smudge of red on his lip.

She offers him a napkin and he stares at it for several seconds before blushing a brilliant green.

Steps

Jacen’s first steps are not from mother to father, but mother to droid. He’s been testing his legs for weeks, hands gripping onto ledges and chairs. Hera gives him her hands and he wraps his fist tight around two fingers.

And then he takes his first wobbly, independent steps.

Chopper’s on the other side of the Ghost ’s common room, waving his manipulators and beeping some concerns about the ship. Jacen glances over at the droid and wriggles free of Hera’s grasp. He toddles precariously a meter or so, then leans up against Chopper, hands on his dome, and looks back at her, grinning. 

Hera swears she feels a presence beside her, light and joyful, and looks over, half expecting to see Kanan standing there. There’s nothing, of course, but, somehow, she knows he’s watching. Turning back around, she watches as Chopper waves his manipulators, and Jacen claps and shrieks. Jacen’s excitement causes him to grow unsteady again, and he falls flat onto his bottom.

Hera scoops him up, tickles him, and praises him. And for once, she doesn’t cry, doesn’t mourn, just laughs and enjoys her son.

Meeting Ezra

Hera’s sons meet for the first time when they’re six and twenty-four. Ezra returns home with little fanfare, just a hastily-thrown together family dinner. He’s shocked to discover Jacen, but delighted. No longer the baby of their ragtag family, he scoops Jacen up in his arms as Hera tells him that yes, he’s Kanan’s son - a last gift to them from lover and father and friend. 

After the initial surprise wears off, Ezra swiftly steps into his new big brother shoes.

The years have made him more confident. He walks with a bit of humble swagger - not the childish attempt he’d done at fourteen, but real charm. He and Sabine laugh and joke and Jacen begs to see his new lightsaber, which Ezra wisely locks in a cabinet on the Ghost after briefly showing the boy how it lights up. They spend the rest of the day playing games, sparring with practice sticks and meditating.

At the end of the night, they all gather around the common room in Ezra’s tower, Ezra telling story after story from the last six years. Jacen sits scrunched between Hera and Zeb, neck craning over to watch Ezra until his head finally flops onto Hera’s lap. Sabine grabs a tie-dyed blanket and stretches it over him before returning to her seat at Ezra’s side.

“And then, Thrawn said-”

Hera feels herself slowly drifting off to sleep as Ezra’s words blur together. Zeb’s arm creeps around her and he offers Hera a sympathetic grin, inviting her to rest her head on his shoulder. She surrenders, unwilling to disturb Jacen - or leave her family, just this once.

In her last moments of wakefulness, Hera hears a distant wolf howl.