#kanera modern au

[spectre83]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: A New Dawn - John Jackson Miller Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla Additional Tags: Modern AU, kind of, First Kiss, Flirting, Kanan Loves Hera at the first sound of her voice in Every Universe Series: Part 1 of Soulmates in Every Universe (YOTP 2023 Prompts) Summary:

My take on a Modern AU where Kanan is just a bartender who falls head over heels for a beautiful commercial airline pilot who happens to walk into his bar one night.

[tyquu]

Kanera week day 2! Reunion (meeting again for the first time in another life)

[voidartisan]

Modern AU: Rebels Era

Kanan and Hera met while she was in college; the official story is that they were volunteering in the same program for homeless and at-risk youth (which is technically true). Hera because it was a cause she was interested in, Kanan mostly because it was court-mandated community service after he was charged with public intoxication and disturbance of the peace.

The real story is that they met at a street race but shhhh

Hera has a degree in automotive engineering and is an off-road racing driver. Kanan works driving buses and bartending part time for his friend Okadiah

They live together but it’s kind of unclear whether they’re married. Zeb thinks they aren’t but Sabine could have sworn that Hera told her that they eloped

Kanan continued volunteering because he found the work *gag* fulfilling. And he’s pretty good at mindfulness stuff, actually (mostly thanks to being raised by Depa). Hera doesn’t have as much time anymore but she still stops by every now and then 

Sabine is a teenage runaway who crashes on their couch, but, for legal reasons, doesn’t “live” there (this is a lie) and for these same legal reasons Kanan and Hera technically have no idea who she is or that she ran away

Ezra is a homeless kid who Kanan saw attempting to shoplift directly in front of Kallus and ended up bringing to a homeless shelter because it’s better than juvie, at least. He signed up for the program that Kanan volunteered in, met Hera, and just kind of ended up not leaving after being invited over for dinner

Zeb rents out a room in Hera and Kanan’s place. His occupation is undefined but he has a tense relationship with the local constable (Kallus) and practices traditional Lasan martial arts. He could probably stop paying rent at any time and no one would care until the power got shut off

Chopper is Hera’s immortal, irritable, ugly old cat that she’s had since she was twelve and hates everyone besides her

[singswan-springswan]

Brainrot.

[kazoosandfannypacks]

summary: ezra bridger has been following online microcelebrity spectre_pheonix for years. although her online identity is shrouded in mystery, he may be closer to her than he realizes.

word count: 7309 (7974 counting alt text) 

co-authorship note: the video game sequences featured in this fic were written by my co-author, shadow-ninja-13, who also helped me figure out a few plot things and what video games to include where. he's also my teenage brother, known by some on this site as skyguy, and he's the coolest kid on the planet!a/n: After so, so, so much time working on this fic and talking it up IT'S FINALLY FINISHED!!! Shoutout to my tumblr follows for helping me out with a couple ideas in this fic! Some of this fic is told in embedded images. I have added alt text, so it should be accessible via screenreader as well. I can probably make a pdf copy of a full plaintext version of the story available if anyone needs it!

taglist: @laughingphoenixleader@accidental-spice@kanerallels  @piraterefrigerator @jedi-nurse@dootchster  @lucasbridger@redroverrider  @light-umbra   @commander-tech  @jedimandalorian@notanodinarygirl  {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

need a player 2?

 No, that definitely sounded insincere.

 Ezra backspaced the message he'd typed into the livestream chat, then typed something else.

 Duh. Too obvious. Try again.

 Perfect.

 Ezra hit the send button and waited for a response. It was very rare that spectre_pheonix responded to any of the hundreds of thousands of comments she'd get on her streams, but that didn't stop Ezra from hoping.

 Ezra watched as the player found the Warthog, and perfectly drove, splattering the Aliens that got in her way. Nearby there was a small opening, he watched the player take the truck through, by driving on the stone wall. If she flipped, it’d be all over. If not, she’d be more awesome than usual. The landing was about to happen, the anxiety was building,  and then… a hand got in between him and the phone, blocking his view entirely.

 "Hey," Ezra said, pulling his headphone off of one ear so he could yell at his roommate, whose hand covered his phone.

 "Hey yourself," Jai said, "we gotta get going; we're gonna be late."

 Ezra hadn't looked at a clock since the stream had started, which was apparently three hours ago. Somehow it was already fifteen minutes before the dining hall stopped serving dinner, and it was at least a ten minute walk down that way.

 "Shoot," Ezra sprang to his feet, "I must've lost track of time again."

 "Because you were watching that gamer girl?" Jai asked, leaning on the doorframe.

 "Maybe," Ezra said, as he reached for the nearest matching pair of shoes he could stuff his feet into.

 "What's so interesting about watching someone game, anyways?" Jai asked.

 "I think it's about loyalty now more than anything," Ezra said, "I've been watching her stream since before she became popular. It just wouldn't be right if I didn't watch her gaming sessions, especially when it's a game I love. Besides, she just has this way about her. She's so cool, so collected, so…."

 "....hot?" Jai attempted to finish for him with a smile.

 "I wouldn't know," Ezra said, "she's very good about keeping her personal life personal. I've never seen her face. No one has."

 "So she's a mystery girl."

 "She's just like any other celebrity," Ezra defended.

 "So you mean she'd be way out of your league even if you knew who she was?" Jai asked.

 "More like I haven't even considered it," Ezra said, "I'm one of millions of fans."

 "Isn't her follower count only…"

 "Enough talking," Ezra said, pulling Jai out the door of their dorm room, "I heard a rumor it's pizza night in the dining hall."

 And with that, both boys were off on a new quest: Obtain Pizza.

💜.🎮.🧡

 "I wonder how they'd react if they knew who was in the room with them," Sabine thought, sitting alone with her sketchbook in a corner of her college's student center.

 Across the room, a group of boys were having a heated discussion over their game of Smash Bros. She didn't try to eavesdrop, but she'd always been aware of the world around her, and definitely heard the words "spectre" "phoenix" and "most influential gamer of our generation." 

 "You must be trippin'," one of them said, "her 'let's plays' are nothing more than a halfhearted follower grab."

 "Oh, like you'd know," another said, "your youtube channel has, what, seventeen followers? Oh, and you just came in last place, again."

 Sabine looked back up at their game to see that the fourth-place gamer had been playing as Bowser, then watched Diddy Kong deal a crippling blow on Captain Falcon.

 Then, she glanced at the players, all of them laughing and roasting each other. One wore a t-shirt that said "official spectre spectator," and another had a hat on backwards with spectre_pheonix's logo on it. Sabine would recognize that merch anywhere— after all, she was the one who designed it— as merch for her own shop, and she couldn't say she was disappointed by how much praise its wearers spoke of her with.

 "If only they knew who I was," Sabine thought, but she quickly reminded herself she was glad they didn't. Though she was thankful for her followers and their merch money paying her tuition, she wasn't prepared to have toxic dudebros hounding her everywhere she went. And once word got out at college that she was spectre_pheonix, there would go any sense of normalcy she had. Besides, if word about it slipped back home to her parents, she'd be deeper trouble than she already was.

 So before she could do something regrettable and talk to them, she packed up her stuff and moved to a different study spot.

💜.🎮.🧡

    The Flood surrounded her. In an unexpected turn of events, the creepiest enemy in the entire Halo saga had been introduced. She fired her assault rifle at the hoards of Flood crawling on the ground. The salvo was effective, but costly. She had forty rounds plus one full clip, but that wouldn’t be enough. As she walked the character up some stairs, she found allies, and promptly borrowed their ammo. At the end of the swamp, she encountered the monitor, and watched the cutscene at the end of 343 Guilty Spark.

  "Sorry guys, gotta stop the stream for the night," Sabine said, "it's well past midnight here, and I've got an eight a.m. class."

 She watched the comment section flare up with responses. 

💜.🎮.🧡

 Ezra stumbled into class a couple minutes late, but he was sure his professor would understand. It wasn't his fault that spectre_pheonix had been streaming late last night, right? As long as he quietly slipped into the back of the classroom, no one would notice anyways.

 "Mr. Bridger," Professor Syndulla called to him as he tried in vain to hide his late entry, "so glad you've decided to join us this morning."

 Ezra turned around and tried to hide his guilty expression.

 "Of course, ma'am," Ezra said, with a dramatic salute, "I'd never miss out on one of my favorite teacher's classes."

 "Flattery gets you nowhere in my class," the professor said, "take a seat, and we'll continue."

 "Yes ma'am," Ezra said. He took a seat as close to the back of the room as he could and pulled out his laptop to take notes.

 Ezra tried his best to pay attention, but the lack of sleep was getting the better of him as Professor Syndulla's lesson dragged on.

 "Maybe I could get dad to sit in on class and take notes for me sometime," Ezra thought, "he could listen to her talk for hours."

 It was, admittedly, a little weird that his adoptive father was dating his psychology professor, but at least her letter of recommendation helped him get into this school— on the condition that he "applied himself diligently to his studies" and didn't "discredit her influence by trying to coast on it" and all that other stuff they'd told him when she'd suggested he attend Atollon Alliance University.

 "But I'm definitely not 'diligently applying myself' if I fall asleep in class," Ezra thought, the notes document before him blurring before his eyes, "and I need to do something to stay awake."

 So, he turned to the one thing he'd never be able to sleep through— one of the many videos in his "watch later" tab on youtube. After double checking to make sure his laptop's sound was off and muted— you could never be too careful— he clicked a video titled "spectre_pehonix's top FIFTY EPIC saves!!!" and watched along as he listened to Professor Syndulla's lesson, finding that all that boring stuff about psychology was a lot more interesting when he also had spectre_phonix’s abilities with some grenades against Wraiths, Hunters, and Banshees to focus on.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Class wasn't the only time Ezra used gaming videos to focus. He'd never been one for focusing on one task at a time, and usually found that if he sat down to study, he'd end up pulling out his phone and watching videos on YouTube anyways, and that it was better in the long run to start out with some gaming recap video in the background— except on days when spectre_pheonix was streaming during his study sessions, of course, and he'd watch it live, streaming Twitch in one window on his computer and whatever essay he was nearing the deadline on in the other.

 Today, for example, he had her stream of Halo in the background of a rousing essay of the themes and morals of The Octopus.

 The clock was ticking. 4:23 seconds left to go. The clock only counted down. She drove the Warthog through the groups of retreating Aliens and Flood. 4:07 seconds left to go by this point. She was told to stop, but she knew that that evac point wouldn’t help her. She’d played before, and she knew that the evacuation Pelican was shot down. She kept on driving. At max speed she used an odd floor detailing as a ramp, and jumped a whole group. The stress and tension of the final level made normal players stressed, but not Sabine. 2:25 left on the clock. The point was only about one kilometer away. She kept going, and going, and going. Nothing could stop her now. 1:22 left on the clock, she was within one kilometer away. She would make it! Unless she flipped by mistake. :44 seconds and counting! She saw the Pelican, and started running. She could take the Warthog no farther. She jumped in the Pelican at the last second. Barely beating Halo: Combat Evolved.

 "It's like my teacher always says," spectre_pheonix said, "when things are at their worst, I feel like I'm at my best."

 Ezra had only been half focusing, but this statement warranted his full attention. It wasn't as though the statement was profound or original— in fact, he'd heard it before. Abandoning his book report for the moment, Ezra expanded the Twitch tab across his whole screen, and ran it back ten seconds, thinking maybe his brain was playing some cruel trick on him.

 "When things are at their worst, I feel like I'm at my best."

 "That's exactly what Professor Syndulla said in psych class today." Ezra thought, "Is spectre_pheonix in my psychology class? Does she go to Attalon Alliance University too? No, that's crazy. Isn't it?"

 His thoughts soon became a cluttered and jumbled mess, so he pulled out a notebook, flipped to random blank page, and after forty-seven minutes had constructed a list that looked something like this:

 His results were inconclusive, but he suddenly remembered the book report due in less than an hour, and the two-thousand seventy-three words short he was from the word count.

 💜.🎮.🧡

 The last decade or so had gone pretty much exactly as Hera had planned. After realizing how important it was to her to help guide young people to their place in the world, she'd set her sights on a philosophy PHD so she could teach at Attalon Alliance University. She'd graduated with honors, and soon began teaching, and it was just as fulfilling as she'd planned it would be.

 But what she hadn't considered in her plans was falling in love. When she was in college, she'd been too focused on her studies, and later on her duties as an RA in her dorm, to even consider pursuing a relationship, and by then, well, she figured there weren't a lot of single men in their late twenties interested in dating philosophy professors, so she poured herself into her work instead, and building good connections with her students as much as she could.

 But, apparently, she hadn't been entirely correct in her assessment of her prospects. There was, apparently, at least one single man in his late twenties interested in dating philosophy professors— a man by the name of Kanan Jarrus, one who'd figured there weren't a lot of single women in their late twenties interested in dating the kind of guy who'd adopted an eight year old at the age of twenty-one and now had a sixteen year-old son who spent most of his time either playing video games or watching other people play them.

 Hera had met Kanan in a chance run-in at a Wisconsin cheese festival, and though there was no denying the spark between them, it took a couple more chance run-ins before she'd agreed to a date. Their relationship progressed slowly, with Hera's career and Kanan's delicate balance of providing for and raising his son, but they'd had more time to see each other over the past year, since his son had enrolled at Attalon Alliance University.

 "Morning, Professor Syndulla," Ezra grinned, walking into class one morning.

 Though all of Hera's students may as well have been her children, she had a special fondness for that one— and took extra caution to make sure she didn't give him special treatment. Though he hadn't fathered Ezra, Kanan's influence on his life was evident through his actions. Ezra shared a lot of mannerisms with his dad, including an answer or an excuse always at the ready, and a charming smile he seemed to think would absolve himself of guilt. However, there were a lot of qualities they didn't share, and one of them was Ezra's propensity to be late.

 It was this propensity for lateness that made Hera do a double-take. Class wouldn't start for another five minutes, and Ezra was here, in class, early.

 "Good morning, Mr. Bridger," Hera said, "is there any particular reason you've shown up on time this morning?"

 "Maybe I'm finally taking this whole 'education' thing seriously?" Ezra suggested.

 "Mhmm," Hera nodded, "and maybe a certain gamer wasn't streaming last night."

 "Well, there's that too," Ezra rolled his eyes and headed for his usual seat, towards the back of the classroom.

 She watched as the rest of the students made their way into the classroom, and another one caught her attention, and not just because of her brightly colored hair.

 "Miss Wren," Hera said, "I enjoyed reading your paper last night."

 "Thanks, Professor Syndulla."

 That was the entirety of their interaction, but Hera could tell by the smile on her student's face that she had taken it to heart. One time during Sabine Wren's first semester, Professor Syndulla had complimented something she said in class, and from the expression on her face, Hera could tell that kind of positive affirmation was foreign to Sabine— and she made it her personal mission to make sure it wasn't foreign to her anymore. Though their conversations rarely went further than a compliment on the student's hard work and a thank you for the professor, Hera could tell that Sabine appreciated it, in her own way.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Ezra had had his own reasons for coming into class on time, and not just to improve his education. He hadn't abandoned his spectre search (or "wild ghost chase," as Jai had called it when Ezra explained it to him,) and his biggest evidence pointed to this class. Maybe if he actually showed up on time, he could get to know his classmates well enough to find out if one of them was her. Instead of listening to her in his headphones as their professor taught, he listened for her in his classroom as their professor took the students' questions, which didn't increase his focus on the lesson at all, but it did give him something to do in class other than watch YouTube recaps and pretend to be taking notes, so it was a nice change of pace.

 After class, he hung around a little longer than normal, standing by one of the classroom doorways to see what he could overhear.

 When only a few students remained in the classroom, Professor Syndulla approached him.

 "Alright, Bridger," she said, "what's your angle?"

 "Angle?" Ezra asked, "why do you assume I have 'an angle?'"

 "You came to class five minutes early, and instead of making a break for the door as soon as possible, you're hanging around after class is dismissed. Pardon me for being suspicious."

 Ezra didn't respond.

 "If there's ever anything you want to talk about, I'm here," she said.

 "Look, it's nothing," Ezra said, "don't worry about it."

 Ezra decided to turn heel and leave before his dad's girlfriend started psychoanalyzing him again.

 What Ezra hadn't counted on was someone else walking through the doorway at the same time, and him running into her.

 "Watch where you're going," she grumbled, as a textbook and a few notebooks fell out of her arms.

 Ezra had seen this kind of scene in movies before, so he figured he may as well pick up the textbooks for her.

 "I'm so sorry," he said, crouching down and grabbing the books off the floor, "I didn't…"

 She sighed. "It's alright."

 Her voice almost seemed familiar— no, it did seem familiar.

 "Here you go," Ezra said, getting up and handing her the books, "I, uh…."

 He stumbled over his words, because not only did he recognize her voice as one of his favorites in the world, but when he looked up at her face, he saw rich brown eyes, and hair the same color as spectre_pheonix's logo.

 "You're good," she smiled as she took the books from him.

 "I, uh," he scratched his neck, "I like your hair."

 "Nice shirt," she said, and winked as she walked away.

 He looked back at her as she left, then back down at his shirt— his favorite shirt he'd ever gotten from his favorite streamer's online shop. 

💜.🎮.🧡

 Even when Sabine got back to her dorm room after class, the boy who'd bumped into her after class was still on her mind. There wasn't anything exceptional about him, but there was some kind of awe that sparkled across his blue eyes that almost made her feel special.

 So, as soon as she got back to her dorm room, weird as it sounded, she decided to draw him— not his whole face, just those eyes that had been fixed on her, tucked between a shaggy crop of hair, and those mysterious scars underneath. It wasn't abnormal for her to draw inspiration from people she'd seen around campus like that.

 She also could tell that he must've been a longtime fan of hers. She hadn't sold the "spectre spectator" shirt on her merch site for a couple years, but he had one, and he wore it proudly. She tried to remind herself that there was no way he could've known it was her; she'd been so careful not to leave a trace of her real self online.

 Still, as she saw the awe on this fanboy's face, she wondered if that's how all her followers would respond to seeing her. Her follower count was just a number, but she wondered if that number was all awestruck and loyal followers like that one.

 So, once she finished the sketch, she went to her Twitch profile. Six-hundred, seven-thousand and eighty-three followers. Six-hundred, seven-thousand and eighty-three people, people just like the one she met today, who appreciated her with an awestruck wonder.

 She scrolled through the list of names, and noticed one near the top of the list— spectre_6, whose username she'd seen in the comments of many of her videos over the years. The notification said they were streaming Terraria, and, out of curiosity, she pulled up the stream and decided to check it out.

💜.🎮.🧡

 It wasn't very often that Ezra found himself with free time. When he wasn't watching spectre_pheonix's livestreams, or doing homework, or attempting to do both at the same time, he was usually sleeping or hanging out with his friends.

 However, today after class, he found himself with free time enough to do a little digging, and add a new page to his conspiracy:

 It seemed like a good enough list for now, so he decided that, since spectre_pheonix wasn't streaming right now, he may as well pull up Terraria and do a little streaming of his own.

 He was crawling through the pink blocks of his dungeon. Wielding his trusty Horseman’s Blade, he walked through the rough stones of this monster-ridden dungeon. He jumped down a shaft, relying on his jet pack to keep him from dying on the ground. He used the melee/range sword to promptly cut down a nearby Necromancer. He kept running through, and quickly slew several Blue Armored Bones.

 Ezra heard the blip of activity in his comment section, and glanced at the sidebar on his screen. It wasn't unheard of for him to get comments on his streams, but it also wasn't very common either.

 He glanced at the comment, then did a double take and a triple take. The color of the name was familiar. The username was familiar. There was a checkmark next to her name to show he was following her.

 Ezra's heart skipped several beats, like when your teacher calls on you in class, but in a good way, like when you're prepared for it— but he wasn't prepared for this at all, no matter how much he'd dreamed it would happen.

 Spectre_pheonix had commented on one of his livestreams.

 "OH MY GOSH!" he yelled into the mic, not noticing The Paladin behind him until it was too late. Quite frankly, he didn't care that his “Incompetence was put on display by Paladin’s Hammer” because at least being dead gave him a chance to respond to her comment.

 He tried to get back into his game, but couldn't focus, especially when she responded.

 She didn't reply to that, and he wondered if she was still even watching. Rather than just check in a normal way, he instead blurted, "spectre_pheonix, if you're still watching, wanna do a collab sometime?"

 He was mentally kicking himself in the shins for asking such a foolish question, but was excited when he saw a reply in the comments section:

💜.🎮.🧡

 The past week had pretty much been the best week of Ezra's life. Spectre_pheonix rarely collabed with anyone, but the past week they'd joined in together for Minecraft, LEGO Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Dust: An Elysian Tale, the latter of which, being single player, was just spectre_pheonix playing and spectre_6 giving commentary. Not only was this a dream come true, but it also boosted his meager follower count, and Jai had even stopped picking on him for his fantasy fanboying, instead jokingly referring to Ezra's collabs as "the closest thing he'd ever get to a date." Ezra didn't care.

 He'd also been on the lookout more and more for that girl he'd run into, Sabine. Whether or not Sabine was spectre_pheonix, he had yet to decide on, but that didn't change the fact that she was still a pretty girl who'd smiled at him at least once, which definitely kept her in the forefront of Ezra's mind.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Sabine rarely shared any information about herself online, but it was hard to plan collab information via Twitch, so she'd exchanged discord handles with spectre_6. Admittedly, he would've been as great a gamer as she was, if maybe he'd had a little more practice playing instead of just spectating. Still, collabs with him were enjoyable, and his sense of humor turned even Dark Souls into a hilarious adventure.

 As she took notes on Professor Syndulla's class on her laptop, she kept discord open in a separate tab.

 "Miss Wren?" Professor Syndulla asked, "is there something humorous about my lesson on how having traumatic experiences as a child inhibit our ability to make connections in the future?"

 "No, ma'am," Sabine said. She hadn't realized how much of a mistake it would be to message spectre_6 in class until now. Usually, the people she'd chat with in class didn't have nearly as great a sense of humor as he did. Surely that was the only reason his conversations had her giggling in the middle of psych class.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Ezra had done just enough research in class to find out everything he needed to know about Sabine. He'd positioned himself where he could see her, notice the deep gray of discord in the side corner of her computer next to the class notes. She typed in response to his messages. She laughed in response to his messages. When the teacher called her out for giggling in class, the same thing apparently happened to spectre_pheonix. She closed discord and payed attention in class at the same time spectre_pheonic did.

 Ezra was convinced now more than ever: spectre_pheonix's real name was Sabine Wren, and she'd been in his psychology class this whole time.

 She was a very private person, and someone finding out who she was definitely wasn't on her radar with how careful she'd been about personal details, so he knew if he brought it up, he'd have to breach the subject very, very carefully.

💜.🎮.🧡

 "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

 Sabine looked up from her notebook with a start, intending to stick around after class so she could apologize to Professor Syndulla, not so that some random peer could slam his hands on her desk and yell ungrounded accusations at her.

 But to her surprise, and in some ways her delight, the student she saw in front of her was the boy she'd bumped into last week, with the same soft blue eyes, the same dark, shaggy hair, and the same purple and orange shirt she'd once sold on her shop.

 "What do you mean?" Sabine asked, beginning to pack up her things in an attempt to make a hasty exit.

 His voice lowered. "I know you're spectre_pheonix."

 She tried to keep a cool head, not to show her abject terror. She knew of a lot of bad things that had happened to celebrities when a crazed fan found them, and couldn't let this one know the truth.

 "Who?" she asked, "I'm sorry, I, I don't know what you're talking about."

 "I think you do," he said.

 "What makes you so sure?" she asked, trying to stall just a moment as she quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder and turned to leave.

 "Because I'm spectre_6."

 She stopped dead in her tracks and turned back to look at him, sizing it all up in her mind. He'd clearly been a longtime fan of hers, just like spectre_6 had. Now that she thought about it, his voice sounded familiar, too. He'd also mentioned sitting in class, right when she was, and that the same thing had happened in his class that happened to her.

 Still, she needed confirmation.

 "What?"

 "You started laughing in class today because of my joke about tax evasion," he said, "and then decided to 'sign off and lock in' so you could keep your grades up. Last night after you finished your collab with me, I messaged you a gif of Master Chief saluting and saying "goodnight," and you called me a total dork— that was a high honor, by the way. And then the day before that…"

 "Okay, okay," she said, a little quieter, afraid of the few students still in the room overhearing, "I'm convinced. But how did you find out it was me?"

 "You quoted Professor Syndulla in your stream a week and a half ago," he said, "and then you complimented my shirt last week, the same shirt I'm wearing now— and yes, I have washed it between then and now— and your hair matches your logo, and, I was watching you today in class— not, like, watching you, watching you. Like, not in a stalker way— oh kriff, am I a stalker? I am so sorry, that's really creepy now that I think about it. Anyways while I was hopefully maybe definitely not stalking you, I noticed that you reacted to every message I sent spectre_pheonix, and my suspicions were confirmed."

 And Sabine's suspicions were confirmed when she heard him ramble, the same way spectre_6 always did when he was nervous in-game.

 "Nice deduction, spectre_6," she said, feeling so much more comfortable now that she knew that this stranger was a friend she'd already met.

 "Call me Ezra," he said, extending a hand to her, "Ezra Bridger."

 "Sabine," she said, taking his hand and shaking it, "it's nice to finally meet you."

 "You have no idea," he said.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Being roommates with Ezra Bridger meant you had to be prepared for anything. Walking into the dorm room and thinking you're alone only to find your roommate under his desk, watching vines, and claiming both those things were for "emotional support." Listening to the most insane rumors and conspiracy theories about your teachers and classmates. Helping hide that stupid orange cat he'd smuggled in. Waking up at 2am to the beeping of a microwave and the smell of pizza rolls. All of this came with the territory, and Jai was professional in handling the insane force of nature that was Ezra Bridger.

 But none of it could prepare him for what he saw when he walked into his dorm room one day after lunch and found Ezra cleaning. For someone whose laundry was piled higher than his loft bed, and who acted like he'd never seen a bottle of windex in his life, Ezra sure seemed to have purpose as he rushed around the room, putting away clean clothes while also tidying up the cluttered pile of papers and funko pops that he claimed were hiding a desk.

 "May I ask what the occasion is?" Jai asked.

 Ezra didn't even turn to look at him as his tornado of tidiness swept across the dorm room.

 "Surprise."

 "Surprise what?" Jai asked, "like, 'you can't tell me' surprise, or 'you wanted to surprise me by cleaning our room' surprise or 'your dad is coming for a surprise visit' surprise?"

 "The first one," Ezra said.

 "I'm not even gonna ask," Jai said.

 "Good," Ezra said, "because you wouldn't believe me."

 There were a lot of things Ezra could do that were unbelievable, but he was pretty sure just cleaning up the room was enough to suspend his standard of disbelief.

 Jai sat down at his own desk and pulled out his laptop, figuring he may as well work on his history homework while he waited for the inevitable Bridger surprise.

 About ten minutes later, Jai thought he heard a knock on the door, followed by Ezra yelling out "I'M COMING!" and bolting for the door, picking up the last bits of trash off the floor on his way.

 Jai watched his roommate fumble to open the door with the trash still in his hand, then toss it into a corner where it wouldn't be seen and pull the door open.

 "Sabine," Ezra said, "come on in."

 "Alright," a girl's voice said.

 A girl?

 Ezra Bridger had never talked to a girl in person in all their time at Attalon Alliance University, so naturally Jai was surprised when a beautiful girl followed Ezra into their dorm room.

 "Oh, Sabine," Ezra said, "this is my roommate, Jai."

 "Nice to meet you," Sabine said, with a smile.

 "Pardon the disbelief on my face," Jai said, "I didn't know Ezra even knew how to talk to girls who weren't on his computer."

 Ezra looked a touch embarrassed, but his new friend spoke up for him, with half a giggle.

 "We met through his computer," Sabine said, "he may have mentioned me. Spectre_pheonix?"

 "You mean the Wild Ghost Chase wasn't just another ungrounded conspiracy theory?" Jai asked.

 "Wild Ghost Chase?"

 "It's called The Spectre Search," Ezra defended, "and yes, as I predicted, spectre_pheonix is, in fact, another student in my psych class."

 "I came over to do a collab in person today," she said, "it's a lot better than trying to voice chat over Ezra's grainy mic setup."

 "Hey!" Ezra said.

 "She's got a point," Jai said, "and I guess my prediction was right too."

 "What prediction?" Ezra asked.

 "I told you if you ever met her she'd be way out of your league."

 "Hey!" Ezra said again. "Don't you have a history report due?"

 "Relax, I'm just messing with you," Jai said, "besides, this one's an easy A."

 And with that, he turned back to his computer and let Ezra and Sabine have the illusion of privacy for their first in-person edition of "the closest thing Ezra would ever get to a date." Jai put on his headphones and went to his favorite research material: opening Spotify and resuming where he'd last left off in Hamilton: An All American Musical.

💜.🎮.🧡

 It wasn't uncommon after that for them to stream in Ezra's dorm room, or in Sabine's when Jai was busy with homework he couldn't risk interruption in. This time was one of those days, because, as Jai cited, "Lin Manuel Miranda didn't write us a musical about algebra," so Ezra found himself on the floor in her room, leaning his back against her bed, while she sat on her bed, her legs dangling off the side next to him.

 While they waited to connect on their college's laggy internet, Ezra filled the silence.

 "So, how do you think you'll do on that psych test next week?"

 "Not too bad, I hope," Sabine said, "you?"

 "I just hope dad has room on the fridge for another D-," Ezra said.

 "Maybe I can put in a good word with the professor for you," Sabine said, a bit of a laugh in her tone. "She and I have a fairly good rapport."

 "If only you knew," Ezra thought.

 "Unfortunately, this is one area where I think I do have you beat," Ezra said.

 "Are you crazy?" Sabine asked, leaning over the edge of the bed so she could see if his expression was sarcastic, "she's clearly got it out for you. I've never seen her go so hard on any student."

 "And why do you think that is?" Ezra asked.

 "Because you don't apply yourself in any of your classes and she thinks you're wasting potential?"

 "Well, yeah," Ezra said, "but I'm not the only one who does that, and she singles me out anyways."

 "And why do you suppose that is?"

 Ezra sighed. Professor Syndulla had never mentioned having a boyfriend, at least, not in any of the classes Ezra had been in, and if she had, no one besides Jai would've known it was Ezra's dad. It was a touchy subject for him, so he didn't bring it up much.

 But somehow he could tell Sabine would understand.

 "She's dating my dad," Ezra said.

 "She— what?"

 This wasn't normal information for students to know about their teachers, so he understood her confusion.

 "How do you think I even got into this school, what, with my grades?" Ezra asked, "if not for her glowing letter of recommendation, I wouldn't even be here right now."

 "So your dad is dating your professor so you can get into college?"

 "What, no?" Ezra said, "They've been together for years, and I wasn't even thinking about college until long after they met. But dad always thought college would be good for me, and Professor Syndulla offered to help me get in and found me some scholarships."

 "So our psych professor is hard on you because she's dating your dad?"

 "Yeah, lots of psychology to unpack there." Ezra said.

 "How do you feel about it all?"

 Ezra paused. He hadn't answered that one honestly in a while, not even when his dad asked him last saturday.

 "Do you really wanna know?" Ezra asked.

 Sabine slid down off her mattress and sat down next to him, and her presence was already familiar enough to inspire honesty.

 "Yeah," she said.

 "It's weird," Ezra said, "I guess I never really grasped the idea of having a mom again."

 After a moment of silence, Sabine asked another question. "Can I ask what happened to your mom?" 

 "The same thing that happened to my dad," Ezra said, "my real dad that is— I mean, my birth dad. I don't wanna say Kanan's not my real dad. He raised me for more than half my life, anyways, after my parents went on a missions' trip and never came back."

 "Oh."

 "It's alright," Ezra said, not letting her waste time on awkward sympathy. "No, no it's not, and to be honest it really sucks, but there's nothing any of us could've done to stop it. And Kanan, he was always there for me, even before my parents left."

 Sabine didn't answer, but it felt nice to talk to her about it anyways, so he hoped she didn't mind that he continued.

 "They're getting married," he said.

 "What?"

 "Professor Syndulla and my dad," Ezra said. "Well, she doesn't know it yet, and maybe she'll say no again, but I don't think so. Dad's proposing at dinner on Friday."

 Sabine nodded again, clearly trying to process everything he'd said.

 "I'm sorry," Ezra said, "I didn't mean to make this a pity party."

 "Don't be," Sabine said, "this is what friends are for."

 "Friends?" Ezra thought, with a smile. Two months ago he'd been her fan, and she hadn't even known he existed. And now they were friends? He could get used to this.

 "But just so we're clear," Sabine said, "I don't pity you."

 "What?"

 "You have a dad who thinks the world of you," Sabine said, "and I'd kill to have a mom like Professor Syndulla."

 "Why?" Ezra asked.

 "Because I know what it's like to have a mom who's not like her," Sabine said, "a mom who's not proud of you. A mom who doesn't compliment the sketches you draw in the margins of your notes. A mom whose biggest dream is for you to drop out of your art major so you can join the family business instead."

 "I, I'm sorry," Ezra said.

 "I don't need your sympathies either," Sabine said.

 Ezra put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, trying to find the words to say. Someone whose whole persona was built on a mask of online secrecy had just shared something so personal with him, and he didn't know what to say.

 "You're getting them anyways," Ezra said, "do you want to talk at all?"

"What's there to say?" Sabine said, "that family business always came before family? That even my own brother thought it was more fun to game with his friends than his sister? That my parents wouldn't give a single dime for my tuition, and if it wasn't for my merch money and some massive scholarships I wouldn't even be here?" 

 "Do you wanna come to dinner on Sunday?"

 "What?" Sabine asked, apparently shocked out of her despair.

 "I always go to my dad's for a family dinner on Sunday afternoon after church. Professor Syndulla does too. We're probably gonna be celebrating the engagement, and then she's gonna beat us in our weekly game of Ticket to Ride. It's incredibly boring, but if you wanna join us anyways…"

 "I'll be there," Sabine said with a smile.

 And instead of returning to her normal seat, she stayed next to Ezra as they remembered why they were there in the first place and began their game together.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Sunday ended up being one of the most enjoyable days Sabine had had in a long time. She ended up tagging along with Ezra that morning when he went to church, so he wouldn't have to drive back to the school to pick her up. It was a new experience for her, but he didn't seem to mind. Afterwards, they went back to Ezra's dad's house— Ezra's house, technically— for a family dinner, along with Professor Syndulla, who was absolutely beaming as she showed off her engagement ring. Another one of Kanan's family friends, whom Ezra referred to as "Uncle Zeb," was there as well, along with the professor's cat, Chopper, who couldn't be trusted to stay at home alone for a whole afternoon without destroying the place. The game of Ticket to Ride that came out after dinner only had enough pieces for four players, but Ezra and Sabine teamed up so everyone could play— and even with their combined mental resources, they were still no match for Professor Syndulla.

 As they drove back to school, Sabine reminded herself why Ezra had done this. Not a single person at that dinner was related to each other— and yet, they were family— and Ezra wanted Sabine to be part of it too. 

 Maybe this "friendship" thing wasn't so bad after all.

💜.🎮.🧡

 Spectre_pheonix and spectre_6 had been doing collaborative streams for most of the past month. Her fans really enjoyed his commentary on her skills, often leaving comments about how well her dry wit complimented his whimsical sense of humor, and how well they worked together. Both of them gained more followers because of it, which Ezra thought was almost impossible, because how could there have been people on Twitch who weren't already following her?

 "You ever read the comment section?" Ezra asked one day as they were playing Minecraft.

 "Not often. Why?" 

 "Look at these," Ezra said, then read a few of them out loud.

 "That last one is true, at least," Sabine said, and it would've been harsh if he hadn't seen the twinkle in her warm brown eyes.

 "That last one was my roommate," Ezra said, glaring across the room at Jai, who smiled innocently. 

 "Oh, but this one isn't," Ezra said, reading off the latest comment:

 He smiled at Sabine.

 "That's a great question," Ezra said, into the mic so the commenter could hear. "Hey, spectre_pheonix, wanna go out on Friday?"

 Sabine looked at him and smiled. "Sounds like a date," she said.

 "Great," Ezra said, then turned back to his mic, unable to hold back an enormous grin as he said, "Yes, yes we are."

 💜.🎮.🧡

 By all accounts, it should've been weird for them to go out on a date instead of just hanging out and playing video games. It should've been weird when Ezra showed up at Sabine's door, wearing a nice button down shirt instead of her merch, holding a bouquet of purple and orange roses instead of his custom gaming controller. It should've been weird as they sat down to eat something nicer than dining hall pizza or a bag of doritos that ended up half-strewn across the dorm room floor as they blasted away at each other in Halo. It should've been weird when Ezra put on a playlist in the car of the cringiest but most endearing love songs she'd ever heard, and even more so when they found themselves singing along, and it should've been weird when Ezra put his arm around her during the movie and she leaned in closer, and it should've been weird when they walked out of the theater and he put his coat over her bare shoulders without her even needing to tell him she was cold. It should've been weird when, instead of ending the evening with, "so, Terraria tomorrow?" it ended with a couple "I had a great time"s and a delicate first kiss.

 It should've been weird, but it wasn't. It wasn't weird at all that they had more in common than their love of video games. It wasn't weird at all that conversations with him came naturally and being in his presence felt like breathing. It wasn't weird at all that, as soon as she was alone, Sabine found herself leaning back against her dorm room door and sighing dramatically like the heroine of a cheesy romcom.

 It wasn't weird at all. In fact, it was perfect.

[jessicas-pi]

Also because I'm totally predictable, Kanera in a investigating the existence of paranormal creatures/beings au? But only if it sounds fun, otherwise feel free to skip it! I won't be offended at all

ok SO I am still working on the first ask you sent but I got ran over with the steamroller of inspiration on this one so i'm doing it first! pay no mind to the fact that this is three months late

---

Kanan was, by far, the worst fey-hunter the world had ever seen.

He considered that an accomplishment.

After all, if he could manage to lose every thread, disappear every clue, and snuff out each hint of an otherworldly presence, and people still kept bringing him tips on possible fey... well, that meant his glamour was working, then, didn't it?

The fact was, it had become a dangerous world for Fair Folk like himself. It hadn't always been that way. A thousand Earth-years ago, the wicked fey had been banished from the Winter Court, and the peaceful members of the Unseelie race had flourished. For much of his youth, Kanan had lived with his adopted mother in the Winter Court, making occasional sojourns into the human realm—missions of mercy, lending their extraordinary help to the ordinary humans who most needed it.

Then, the Dark Unseelie returned, and bathed the Winter Court in blood. Kanan had barely escaped with his life. He tried, first, looking for safety in the Summer Court, but unlike the Unseelie—who needed no prompting to act, whether for good or evil—the Seelie operated on the strict principle of tit-for-tat. And the Summer and Winter courts had been feuding since the death of the only king they shared, with plenty of bad blood on either side.

Needless to say, the Seelie were not inclined to foster a pathetic, half-dead Unseelie whelp.

Especially not when it would earn them the wrath of the new Emperor of the Winter Court.

So, Kanan did the only thing he could—he left his Name far behind, and he did his best to lose himself in the indulgences and dissipations the human race had to offer.

For ten years, that was his life.

Then, he met Hera, and everything changed.

She'd pulled him out of a pit of despair he hadn't known he'd fallen into. She brought light and hope back into his miserable existence. She gave him a new life.

She also stubbornly refused to believe in the Fair Folk.

And she was married to one of them!

But nothing could convince her. Not Kanan's inability to tell lies. Not the many encounters with people who looked a little wrong—strange patterns on their skin, or ears that were too pointed, or teeth that were too sharp. Not the neighborhood kid who slept on their couch sometimes, a boy with eyes that were paranormally blue and an instinctual aversion to telling anyone his real name.

Even the fact that said boy vanished into the mists one eerie morning—with no clue left behind except a cryptically-worded note that implied he would be attempting to contact the Fair Folk—left her dubious at best.

"There has to be a rational explanation for this," she insisted, swinging her flashlight back and forth through the trees. "He can't have vanished into thin air. He just can't have. That's not how this works."

"It's exactly how this works," Kanan replied grimly, working hard to keep down his panic as he marched through the woods a pace ahead of her. "Ezra's been taken by the Fair Folk."

Hera frowned. "I don't believe it."

Kanan shook his head at her persistent doubt and proceeded onwards.

The fact was, whether the fey who had taken the kid belonged to the Summer Court or the Winter Court—it didn't matter. Ezra's life could be in danger in either place. Kanan could only hope to find the divide in the misty veil that separated the realms from each other, go in after him, and maybe—maybe—bring him home safely. And that was only if Ezra hadn't eaten anything, accepted any gifts, thanked anyone, or made any binding agreements.

"There!" Hera cried out suddenly, flashing her light at the ground ten feet ahead. "Footprints!"

She broke into a sprint, following their path, and Kanan darted after her. After all, there was a chance they weren't too late—they might be able to get to Ezra before he encountered any fey.

A strange feeling prickled up his spine, the only warning he had before they burst into a small clearing in the woods. He skidded to a stop and snagged Hera's arm, yanking her backwards, before she could go any farther.

"Kanan, what—"

Hera broke off as she saw the thing Kanan had feared most.

The tracks ended abruptly—with no trace of where Ezra could have gone—on the border of a circle of mushrooms.

"So," Kanan said grimly. "Believe me now?"

---

part one || part two || part three

[kanerallels]

My first contribution to Spring Fling, run by @monthly-challenge!

Day 2: Green

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Pairing: Kanan Jarrus x Hera Syndulla

Had it been any other person, any other encounter, any other voice, Kanan probably would have just brushed it off and moved on.

Bumping into some stranger in the hall of the VA? That was normal enough. Getting around with about 75 percent of his vision gone was something he was still getting used to, and the building was pretty full on an average day.

So when he bumped into someone while leaving a meeting he’d been at, Kanan caught himself quickly. “Sorry,” he said, stepping back to let whoever it was by.

“No worries,” they said— she said. It was a woman’s voice, and the very sound of it rooted Kanan to the ground, speechless.

He’d been alive for 25 years, fought in a war, lost people he loved, and made a variety of highly questionable decisions. And in that time, Kanan had seen and heard a lot, both ugly and beautiful.

This voice? It blew all of them away. Both gentle and firm, with a musical quality that sent warmth through his bones and made his heart skip a beat. It was absolutely exquisite, and Kanan knew, without a doubt, that he absolutely had to know the woman it came from.

She was already walking away, towards the elevator, by the time Kanan recovered enough to come to this conclusion. And by the time he’d started to move or speak or do anything, the elevator door was already sliding shut.

All he’d seen, with what was left of his vision, was a bright, vibrant flash of green.

From a shirt or a scarf, or something else entirely? Kanan didn’t know. All he knew was that the color was burned indelibly into his memory, and that he definitely needed to find out who that woman was.

He took the stairs, but when he made it to the lobby a floor below, the woman was long gone, leaving behind the memory of her voice. Kanan bit back a frustrated growl. Don’t worry, he told himself. If she was at the VA, it was for a reason. Which means I might bump into her again.

So he stayed calm, and headed out. Unfortunately, he was late for lunch with his friend Zeb thanks to his searching. The burly man was waiting in the usual booth at their favorite diner when Kanan made it.

“Oh, thanks for bothering to show up,” he said as Kanan slid into the seat across from him.

“Sorry,” Kanan said with a grimace. “I didn’t think I was going to be that late. But I— got distracted, and then the cab had to take a detour thanks to some accident. Did you order already?”

“I waited like ten minutes, but then I got bored,” Zeb said with a good-natured snort. He wasn’t the type to hold a grudge over one being late. “What exactly distracted you so much you forgot about lunch with your best mate?”

“I didn’t forget,” Kanan corrected. “I just got distracted, like I said.” The waitress approached, and Kanan ordered. He and Zeb had been coming to the diner since long before he’d lost his vision, and the menu was ingrained in his memory.

As were the staff, for that matter, and Kanan frowned as the waitress walked away. “We don’t know her, do we?”

“Nope,” Zeb said, slurping from his drink. “Some Russian kid Quinlan picked up. Now, are you being evasive, or am I going nuts?”

Kanan hesitated, then admitted, “You’re not going nuts. I was distracted by… someone I met. She and I bumped into each other in the hall—”

“Ohhh,” Zeb said, and Kanan didn’t need to see him to know a smirk was stretching across his face. “She?”

“It’s not like that!” Kanan protested, then paused. “Well… it is a little. But it’s not like I had enough time for anything to happen.”

He recapped the incident for Zeb, lingering just a little on what he remembered of the woman. Especially her voice— he probably lingered a little too long on that.

“Right,” Zeb said as the waitress reappeared, carrying both of their meals. “So you fell head over heels for this girl you met one time, and you’re gonna do what about it?”

Kanan shrugged. “Find her, I guess? Thanks,” he added as the waitress set his sandwich in front of him, along with his drink. “How hard could it be? I just need to talk to all the women in Lothal City until I find one that sounds—”

“Like an angel from your dreams?” Zeb said, snickering as he took a bite from his burger.

“I was going to say familiar,” Kanan said, scowling at him.

The man chuckled. “Sure, mate. Well, you’ve got the VA to start with. Maybe ask Piett. He and Veers know everyone around there, and if they don’t know her, they’ll know someone who does.”

“Good point,” Kanan said, his heart lightening a little. Veers was his former CO, and between him and his best friend Piett, they had a handle on pretty much everything that went on in both the VA and Lothal City. (Although it helped that Piett’s sister in law was a state senator.) After their meal, Kanan headed home planning to speak to them the next day.

He didn’t have to wait that long.

While he knew it made him something of a stereotype, Kanan liked to stop at the same diner every morning before work. He’d been going there for years, and the owner, Quinlan Vos, had been close with his mother. So he could usually count on cheap— or free, depending on if Vos’s wife was there— coffee, and a decent breakfast.

What he hadn’t counted on, however, when he stepped inside, was finding someone in his usual booth. In fact, Kanan had been expecting it so little that he’d sat down before he realized someone was sitting across from him.

“Oh— sorry,” he said, starting to slide out of his seat.

“No apologies necessary.”

Kanan froze. That was the voice— warm, slightly amused and curious, and stunningly gorgeous. And, as he gave her a proper look, there was the green. Her hair, by the looks of things. It was unexpected, and fit her well. Really well, he thought.

“Do we know each other?” she asked, her voice thoughtful. “You look familiar.”

For a moment, Kanan couldn’t speak. A long moment, as it turned out, because she asked, “You speak English?”

“Words fail me.”

There was no mistaking her smile, gentle and wry, as she said, “So they do.”

Recover, Jarrus. Pull yourself together. “Um.” Not a strong start. “We, uh, we actually met the other day,” he told her. “Bumped into each other at the VA— literally.”

“That’s right,” she said. “Which is why you sat down next to me?”

Kanan couldn’t help himself— he laughed. “Believe it or not, this is a complete coincidence. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it happened. But this is my favorite spot, at my favorite diner.” 

It’s almost like fate, the unhelpfully romantic side of his brain whispered.

He elected not to say that part out loud.

“Well, you may as well stay, then,” she told him serenely. “I’m Hera.”

“Kanan.”

“Nice to meet you, Kanan.”

A smile crossing his face, Kanan said, “Trust me, the pleasure is all mine.”

[autumnwoodsdreamer]

You took that one moment

So much more than alone then

We were out on our own then

Till you took me in

🎶 Yours Truly — Paradise Fears 🎶

Kanera Week Day #1: Stolen Moment

(Process pieces and so forth under the cut)

The “stolen moment” is supposed to be she’s leaving on a train and he’s rushed down to the station to see her off and give her flowers. I don’t know. I just got this whole modern AU rom-com idea for them from that prompt

I did some digging to get some nice flowers with cute meanings ☺️

Daffodil: they also mean “I’ll be there for you no matter what”. They also symbolise rebirth, honesty and forgiveness.

Iris: These beauties symbolise royalty, intelligence, and valour… blue irises are symbolic of hope and faith.

Lilac: this flower's namesake and primary colour represents the power of first loves.

[accidental-spice]

My one and only (and very late) contribution to Kanera Week, day 3: Free day!

This is a scene from @kanerallels Kanera Week fic from day two, which I absolutely had to draw, and you can find here!! It's a semi modern AU and also a high school reunion and it is GLORIOUS

[spectre83]

Chapters: 7/? Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla Characters: Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Married Couple, Married Life, Married Sex, Kitchen Sex, Bathtub Sex, Pregnancy, Food Sex, Oral Sex, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Wake-Up Sex, Medical Conditions, Mentions of Cancer, Family Planning, Family Issues, Death of a Parent, Father-Daughter Relationship, Strained Relationships, Marital angst, Car Sex, High Risk Pregnancy, discussion of pregnancy risks, Medical Jargon, Medical Procedures, Medical Trauma, Semi-Public Sex, Baby Shower, Hospitalization, Traumatic childbirth, Premature Babies, so much parental angst, Father-Daughter Slow Burn Reconnection Series: Part 14 of Now That I’ve Found You Summary:

Getting married was the easy part.

[hcoct8xfi]

Alright, late night flare up and I have a bone to pick with some Kanera fanfiction....

Remember, if you write in your fanfiction that Kanan does not die in the oil tank explosion, he's still blind. I commonly see fanfic writers write in their fanfic that Kanan does not die in the explosion and he can miraculously see again. You have to remember the whole reason Kanan could see again for a few split seconds was because he was going to die and the force allowed him to see again. It annoys me when writers will have Kanan miraculously healed or worse, completely write his blindness out of the story without any explanation because it's 'easier' to not have any disabled characters (And this is after the Maul incident). Like yeah, you can write whatever you want, but, it feels lazy honestly. If you're going to write out a characters disability that significantly impacts them throughout the show, at least come up with a reasonable explanation.

I know some people will say, "Well, Kanan could see through the force so he really wasn't blind in the first place." Yeah, no. A lot of people seem to think that if you have any accommodations for your disability that help you function on a daily basis, it means that you are no longer disabled. At the end of the day, Kanan is still blind, whether he can see through the force or not.

I've seen the same thing happen with Echo. Some writers will not write in his prosthetics or any of his disabilities. Even in modern day AU's.

There is a lot of 'healing' in shows and amoung characters. I honestly find it sad that some writers do this. I totally understand that approaching the topic of disability and writing disabled characters is not easy at first. If you are curious on how to better write your disabled characters, research their disability, ask disabled writers for advice and some sort of guidance.

(Also, if I got anything wrong or incorrect in this, please educate me.)

[ladyanidala]

Masterlist

Hello hello!

Welcome to my fledgling masterlist, the place where you'll find just about everything I have written over on AO3. Below, you'll find my works, request guidelines, and anything I think of after I publish this. Enjoy!

LadyAnidala

Ships

Reader Insert

Masterlist

Anidala

Masterlist

Obitine

Masterlist

Rexsoka

Masterlist

Sabezra

Masterlist

Kanera

Masterlist

Rebelcaptain

Masterlist

Merrical

Masterlist

Alternate Universes

(Eventually this section will be updated with individual chapters and more masterlists, but as of 5/7/2024, I can't be bothered)

We're Not Needed Here

General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Grand Army of the Republic, Jedi General of the 212th Battalion, has had enough.

Series link is here.

Her Step Forward

In the galaxy far, far away that we know and love, Anakin Skywalker fell to the Dark Side, leaving destruction and death in his wake.

In another galaxy slightly closer, yet still far, far away, the wife of Anakin Skywalker took a step forward on Mustafar, not backward.

Series link is here.

Letting Go

Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi have kept Duchess Satine Kryze alive. The mission is complete, and they're heading back to Coruscant for a well deserved rest.

They never make it back.

Series link is here.

And With A Cry, My Chains Are Gone

It is the eve of the Fall of the Republic, and Anakin Skywalker is terrified of losing his wife.

The Force isn't having it.

Story link is here.

Oya'la

This story centers on Olyssia, a young woman with amnesia who finds herself aboard one of the Venators belonging to the 501st. The only thing she can remember is the order to kill Palpatine.

What Once Was Lost, I Have Found Again

Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala were dead. His corpse stayed behind on Mustafar, while hers was on a backwater planet, trying to survive for the sake of her children.

Commander Thorn had defected. There was nowhere in the galaxy he could go, and he wanted out. He was tired of fighting.

Story link is here.

Event Participations

Obitine Week 2023

The series can be found here.

Miscellaneous

Fox

Left on Read - based on a prompt found in the wild on Tumblr. Fox goes home to surprise his brothers, and none of them see him. Modern AU.

My Time Has Come (Brother, Let Me Weep) - Fox finds out about Ponds' death from the shiny grapevine. Soldiers can't mourn, and so he doesn't.

Ahsoka

Seeping Through My Memory - Ahsoka can't stop seeing death when she closes her eyes. She ends up at Anakin's quarters, desperate for comfort and life to go back to normal.

The Bad Batch

You Weren't There (Brother, I'd Hold You To The End) - Crosshair can't handle living after everything he's done. He sends a final message to the Batch. Written before s3 aired.

Jedi Survivor

Ghost Star, Are You Very Far? - Two times Kata gets to hear a story about her parents.

Request Guidelines

So you found your way down to the bottom of the abyss- ah, the masterlist. Welcome! I can only assume you're either curious about what I'll write, or you want to request something yourself. Either way, happy to have you here!

A couple rules...

I will not write smut or suggestive content. I don't feel comfortable writing literary porn whatsoever. Any requests asking me to write smut will be deleted. (If you're ever interested as to why I won't write it, feel free to send a message/ask! I don't mind talking about it!)

I will not write clonecest or same sex romantic pairings. Again, these are things that I'm simply not comfortable with. Any asks for these will be deleted.

Beyond those two things above, go wild! I love a challenge, and am down to write platonic and romantic pieces.

[singswan-springswan]

Chapters: 1/3 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Summary:

Hera gets flashbacks from time to time. It's to be expected, especially when you've experienced a traumatic abduction at the hands of the serial killer you're supposed to be incriminating. To avoid interfering with work, she takes a break with Kanan, hoping it will clear her head.

~

@kanerallels

[jessicas-pi]

Writing Prompt Ask Game!

Hera and Sabine

Literally anything. lol. You are so creative. In any time or au, Sabine points out the obvious to Hera, and Hera is the one who gets flustered.

Oh, fun fun fun! This one turned out longer and idk if it's quite what you were thinking of, but... it's what happened when I started writing? anyway, this is set in a modern AU!

“Hera, I am not blind!” Sabine said, shoving her bagel into her mouth. “You adore Kanan. Kanan adores you. You’re always together! Would you just stop beating around the bush and propose already?” Hera looked, frankly, flustered. “Sabine, you know Kanan and I are taking this slow—” “You practically live in each other’s houses! And you’ve been together for going on… six years? How slow are you going to take it?” Sabine demanded, loudly, but keeping her voice low enough that only about half the people at Panera heard them. “Consider: just get married already. There’s tax benefits, one rent to pay instead of two, and Ezra can stop dying of mortification every time he accidentally calls you mom.” “Sabine,” Hera insisted, giving her a look that said pipe down! “This is not a discussion we are having.” Sabine was not going to be deterred. Hera and Kanan were basically married already, and the only reason they weren’t actually married was because they both had generational trauma that made them afraid to truly commit. Sabine, being kind of an expert on generational trauma herself, was going to fix this problem. “Your anniversary is coming up this summer,” Sabine pointed out. “Why don’t you two go somewhere nice for a week? You can pop the question then.” Hera looked like she was going to object, so Sabine threw her hands in the air. “If you’re worried about where to put the kid while you're away, just leave him with Zeb. Or even at my house!” “Sabine—” Sabine clasped her hands together in a slightly-exaggerated way. “Please. Hera, I am actually offering to let a fifteen-year-old boy, and not just any fifteen-year-old boy, the world’s most insufferable fifteen-year-old boy, stay in my family’s home, where he would annoy the crap out of me, give me horrible secondhand embarrassment with every word he said to either of my parents, and Tristan would probably dare him to steal my diary or do some other unforgivable thing that would turn us into eternal mortal enemies. It would be a mess, and I am begging you to consider the option. I am that desperate for you and Kanan to just get this over with.” “Why?!” Because if Kanan and Hera weren’t honeymooning in less than three months, Sabine was going to owe a lot of money to Zeb, but she wasn't going to admit that.

[kanerallels]

But You Walked In The Room And I Knew At Our First Glance, With You I Wanna Dance

@kaneraweek day 2: reunion!! I went with a unique take on the prompt, and it ended up kinda long. Hope y'all enjoy it!!

Taglist: @accidental-spice @day-to-day-thots @auroramagpie @opalknight @cassie-fanfics @ana-cantskywalker @nyxlotl (DM me or send me an ask if you want to be added or removed from the tag list!

Read on AO3!

Hera remembered her high school years fairly well. It was strange to think that it was already ten years since she’d graduated. She definitely didn’t feel old enough for that—although some days and late nights at work made her feel twice that old.

To be fair, she was a year younger than most of her classmates. She’d been a smart kid, smart enough that they’d moved her up a grade when she graduated to high school, and kept up with the other kids easily. It was those smarts that had gotten her through college if not easily, at least fairly smoothly.

And here she was, ten years after the whole experience, about to go to a reunion of her graduating class. And dreading it immensely.

“It can’t possibly be that bad,” her roommate, Omega, scoffed from where she was sitting on her bed, watching Hera get ready in the adjoining bathroom. “I mean, it’s a bunch of your friends. Aren’t you excited to see them again?”

“Some of them,” Hera admitted as she carefully applied mascara. “Lucy—she’s the one who organized the whole event—was always sweet. And it’s going to be very satisfying to see if Gabby brings Matt. They had the biggest crushes on each other back then, and now they work together.”

Omega grinned. “Nice. So what’s the big deal?”

Hera grimaced a little. “Well…”

Her friend held up a hand. “Ah, right. That guy you hate is gonna be there. I still don’t get why he’s so bad.”

Capping the mascara brush with a little more force than strictly necessary, Hera tossed it to the side. “That’s because you never met him.”

“I may as well have,” Omega remarked. Clearing her throat, she imitated Hera’s voice. “‘Kanan Jarrus was an arrogant, wise-cracking jerk who thought he was sooooo much better than all of us. I’d be glad if I never saw his stupid face again, no matter how cute I found it.’”

Shooting Omega an offended look, Hera said, “I did not find him cute.”

Omega shrugged innocently. “You talk about him an awful lot for someone who doesn’t find him cute.”

Sighing with annoyance, Hera turned back to the mirror. It was true, she’d ranted about Kanan a time or two to Omega. But in her defense, he was an obnoxious little jerk.

He’d been two years older than her, but thanks to a late birthday and homeschooling most of his life, he’d stayed back a grade. Hera’s first year of high school had been his first year as well, and they’d immediately clashed.

In her defense, he’d acted like he knew everything and took nothing seriously. And worst of all, despite seeming to ignore all the school work they were given, Kanan had matched Hera at every test and quiz. It had infuriated her, and she’d done everything in her power to defeat him at every turn.

This had continued throughout high school—to their friend’s dismay—and into the first year of college, when they discovered they’d gone to the same school. But then, a few months into her sophomore year, Hera’s mother had fallen ill. Hera had raced home, just in time to say goodbye.

It had been hard to go back after the funeral. But she’d forced herself to, regardless. The thought of Kanan getting ahead was a keen motivation.

But then she’d come back, and Kanan was gone.

At the time, she’d simply thought, good, and moved on. Later, she’d thought to wonder where he’d gone—but schoolwork and life was all consuming. Hera didn’t have time to look up someone who’d annoyed her most of her life.

(not all of it, she had to admit, if only to herself. There were times when Kanan had been…not awful. But she didn’t spend much time dwelling on that.)

Finishing her makeup, Hera turned to face Omega and spread her arms. “Well? How do I look?”

Her friend scrutinized her, taking in her outfit—a soft orange dress that contrasted her green skin beautifully, with a full skirt and wide sleeves that hit just above her elbows, one slightly off the shoulder. Nodding in approval, Omega said, “I’m so glad you let us convince you to wear a dress.”

Grimacing, Hera said, “I’d better not regret it by the end of the night.”

Omega headed with her out into the main room of their apartment, where Hera slid on her boots and grabbed her purse and a jacket. As she pulled it on, she told Omega, “If I text you the code phrase, call me and make up some excuse to get me home.”

Laughing, Omega said, “I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Have a good time.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Hera muttered darkly as she headed out the door.

~~~

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look this nervous.”

Kanan glared at the grinning face of his friend, Kelly Severide. The other man looked far too amused about this situation. “I’m not nervous.”

This was a complete lie. Kanan was definitely nervous, and they both knew it. They both knew exactly why. Severide had been a year ahead of him in their high school, but they’d been pretty good friends. He’d even been there when Kanan had realized—

Enough of that. The more you think about her, the more nervous you’ll be.

“I can see you trying not to think about it,” Severide observed. “You know, I’m not exactly a great example of working through your feelings, but if you want to talk about it—”

“I’m fine,” Kanan cut him off. “Remind me why you’re coming to this event again? This isn’t your class.”

“Cause Lucy invited me. And I’m invested,” Severide added, wiggling his eyebrows. Kanan chose to ignore it.

The two of them were driving together, in Severide’s Mustang, to the event center where the Lothal City High School’s Class of ‘15 Reunion was happening. It was going to be a great event, Kanan was sure of that. Lucy, the organizer, had always been good at that kind of thing.

That wasn’t why he was nervous. He was nervous because he was about to see, for the first time in years, someone who was…important seemed a strange word for it. Hera Syndulla had shaped so much of his formative years, pushing him to work harder than he would have otherwise.

He’d kind of hated her for a couple years. She’d seemed so obnoxiously sure that she knew everything, and Kanan hadn’t been in a great place when he’d had to leave his peaceful existence as a homeschooler to head into high school. So he’d pushed back, and found that irritating her was an outlet. One that turned out to be kind of fun.

But also, just because he’d been homeschooled didn’t mean he was going to let some prodigy school him. Kanan had been ahead of almost everyone in their school, with the exception of Hera. They’d competed fiercely for the three years they’d been in school together.

And yet, that last year, things had felt different. Kanan hadn’t really been able to put a name to it for a while. Certain friends of his (namely, Severide, and his best friends Matt and Andy) had claimed that Kanan had a crush on Hera. Kanan had scoffed and ignored the commentary.

And then they’d wound up at the same college, with Hera the only familiar figure in a school full of strangers, and Kanan had started to wonder if there was a reason he listened more closely when she raised her hand in class, or why his eyes always managed to find her in a crowd.

He really hated it when Severide was right.

But just as he started thinking about it, things had changed.

(He’d seen Hera slip out of class ten minutes before it finished, and headed after her, figuring he’d offer her his notes and maybe a few teasing comments. See if he could make things a little less tense between them.

But then he’d found her in an empty hallway, clutching her phone with a death grip and staring at the wall. And the look in her eyes…Kanan knew it all too well. He’d felt it, seen it in his grandfather’s face when he’d gotten the news about Depa.

“Are you okay?” he asked, throwing aside any pretense as he approached.

Hera looked up, and for a moment Kanan wondered if she was going to punch him. But then her face crumpled and the tears spilled forth. “It’s my mom,” she whispered, choking back a sob.

And Kanan, despite their animosity, despite how much he knew she didn’t like him, felt his heart break a little for her in that moment. Stepping forward, he’d pulled her into a hug, and let her just cry.)

Hera had left the school to go see her mother. She’d only been gone for a few weeks when Kanan found himself leaving the school behind, too. And he was leaving for good—the fire academy he’d taken a test for had accepted him, and he needed to be there ASAP. So Kanan had left, finishing his associates degree online, and went to become a firefighter.

Overall, it turned out well. He loved what he was doing now, and he probably wouldn’t have had the patience for three more years of that school. But Kanan had never seen Hera again, and there were many times he wondered, with a twinge, what would have happened if he’d stayed. He knew vaguely where she was at, thanks to mutual friends, but they hadn’t seen each other in nine years.

And, as Severide pulled into the parking lot, that was about to change.

They parked, and Kanan bailed out of the car before Severide could start joking about being his wingman or something like that—he really needed to remember to not tell Severide about things like this—and headed toward the building. The nervousness built in his chest, but he wasn’t about to give in to it.

The curiosity was stronger, anyway. For the most part. He stopped at the door and glanced back to see if Severide was keeping up. He was only a few steps behind him, and was wearing a decidedly obnoxious grin. “In a hurry for some reason?”

“I just didn’t want to be stuck in a car with you anymore,” Kanan informed him, pulling the door open. “Ready to go?”

“Absolutely. Hey, you want me to talk you up in there? I can be a great wingman—”

“We both know that is absolutely not true,” Kanan told him. “So don’t even think of it.”

Severide laughed, and then they were inside.

The room was tastefully decorated, with hanging lights, a “Class of ‘15” banner hanging from the ceiling, and tables surrounded with folding chairs clustered here and there. A long buffet table outlined the far wall. There were already quite a crowd of people here, and Kanan vaguely recognized some of them. He hadn’t been close to many of the people in his grade, though.

“There’s Matt and Gabby,” Severide said, and Kanan followed his gesture to where the couple were standing by the buffet table, arm in arm. “How many people do you think have said “I told you so” about the dating thing so far?”

Kanan started to answer—and then his words stuck in his throat as he spotted the two women talking with Matt and Gabby.

The first he vaguely registered as being Lucy, the woman who’d set up the whole reunion. She’d been friends with almost everyone in their grade, despite not being the most popular among them, and had stayed more connected than anyone else.

And then next to her, in an orange dress that lit up like a sunrise against her green skin, was Hera Syndulla.

She was…different. Taller, and looked stunningly elegant and self-assured. The warmth of the smile she directed at Lucy was enough to stop Kanan dead in his tracks and…kriff. Even from a distance he could hear her voice. There weren’t enough words in the galaxy to describe that voice—like the song of a violin’s strings, pulling him toward her.

He was pretty sure Severide was laughing at him from next to him, but suddenly, Kanan wasn’t sure he cared. “You okay?” his friend asked.

Words fail me. “Fine,” Kanan said, tearing his gaze away from Hera. Come on, Jarrus, get it together. Just because she’s beautiful doesn’t mean she doesn’t hate you. And maybe she’s a terrible person now, who isn’t smart and witty and passionate about what’s right.

And maybe I’m about to sprout wings and fly out of here. “If I start to say anything too stupid,” he told Severide, “hit me.”

Grinning, Severide said, “You got it, buddy.”

Taking a deep breath, Kanan headed toward the group across the room. Here goes nothing.

~~~

So far, the event actually wasn’t that bad. It was good to see some of her friends again—Matt and Gabby were adorable together, and Lucy was busy regaling them with horror stories from her job. Hera was finally starting to relax and enjoy herself.

And then. A voice that was familiar and yet…not. Older and deeper, without any of the cracks of youth.

“Hey.”

Hera spun around, and her heart jumped into her throat. She’d recognize that smile anywhere, no matter how much the man wearing it had changed.

And he had changed a lot. Kanan had used to be her height, maybe a little taller. Now he was at least as tall as Matt, dark hair swept back in a ponytail. He had a goatee, and was wearing a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. And he looked…good. To Hera’s absolute mortification, she felt herself blush, and prayed it wasn’t obvious.

“Hey, Kanan,” Matt said, giving him a wave. “Hera, Lucy, did you know Kanan’s working with us now? Transferred over to our station…when was it?”

“About two months ago,” Kanan said. He looked as infuriatingly at ease as he always had, and Hera felt a reassuring spark of annoyance. That’s more like it. “Pretty sure Severide had something to do with it, though.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny that.” Hera’s gaze flashed to his companion—Kelly Severide, who’d been a year older than them and close friends with Kanan. His trademark grin, which exuded both cockiness and a friendly demeanor, was in place, and he was dressed more casually than anyone else in the building.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re here?” she said. “Considering this isn’t your actual graduating class.”

Severide shrugged. “You guys are more interesting than anyone else in my class. No offense, Casey.”

Matt laughed. “None taken. I’d rather hang out with you guys anyway.” Hera saw the way Gabby settled a little closer to him at his words, and held back a grin. Almost automatically, she exchanged a look with Kanan—who she’d never been friends with, but everyone in their class had bemoaned Gabby and Matt’s cluelessness over the years.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Hera forced herself not to look away. Don’t back down now, Syndulla. There was no way to get out of it without actually talking to him, unfortunately. “I never knew you were planning to be a firefighter,” she told him. Harmless enough.

“Never came up, I guess,” Kanan said with a shrug. “I never would have made it without you there pushing me, though.”

Well. That’s…unexpected. Why was he acting so…humble, almost? Not as prickly and overly confident as he had been as a kid, always interrupting in the middle of classes or getting on her nerves.

Maybe because he’s not a teenage boy with a chip on his shoulder, a more reasonable side of her brain whispered. He’s grown up. Into a man—one who’s not exactly terrible looking, either.

Oh, none of that, she scolded herself. Maybe this wasn’t her reasonable side after all.

Before she could even think of something else to say, the lights went out, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.

~~~

As darkness dropped over them, startled voices rang out and Kanan bit back a groan. This is so on brand for our life. He heard Severide curse, and a few seconds later a phone light flashed to life, nearly blinding Kanan.

It illuminated Hera’s face, a deep frown twisting her face. “Lucy, tell me you were allowed to plug in all those lights.”

“I…didn’t ask.” Lucy admitted. “I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“Probably just a blown fuse, in that case,” Matt guessed. “Kanan, go check that out. We’ll try and keep things from blowing up down here.”

“On it, Lieutenant,” Kanan told him.

“I’ll go with you.”

Hera’s voice was the exact last one he’d expected to hear, and Kanan threw her a startled look. “Um…”

“I went to school for mechanical engineering,” she told him with a touch of irritation that was so familiar Kanan almost laughed. Only almost, because that would get him punched in the face. “Whatever happened, it might be helpful to have someone who knows what they’re doing.”

“Fair enough,” Kanan said, deciding it really wasn’t worth a fight. “Okay, we’ll be right back. Uh—Lucy, where’s the breaker box?”

“The place is only one floor, so…somewhere on the south side of the building?” Lucy offered. “I didn’t see it when I took the tour, so it’s somewhere out of the way. It’s not that big, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

“Got it,” Kanan said. Pulling out his own phone and switching on the flashlight, he remembered a doorway on the far side of the room he’d spotted earlier and started toward it.

And then stopped, realizing Hera wasn’t following him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw her talking to Gabby, frowning fiercely. Finally, she gave a quick nod, and turned to head after Kanan.

Interesting. Kanan briefly contemplated asking what that was about, but decided to not push his luck. Instead, he waited for her to catch up with him. “Ready?” he asked.

“Ready,” Hera said, and they headed through the crowd to the far side of the room.

Things were already a mess—people panicking, pushing into others. Kanan had to stop multiple times to calm down a few people. Hera helped with that, and Kanan was surprised at how quickly people listened to her. Her calm, authoritative tone pulled many a former classmate out of a panicked state by the time they’d made it to the far side of the room.

“I’m officially impressed,” Kanan told her as he tried the door. It swung open, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Where’d you learn crowd control like that?”

“The military,” Hera told him, stepping through the door he held open for her, and Kanan’s eyebrows shot up.

“I…didn’t know you were interested in that,” he said, following her through the door and into an empty, dark hallway. “Back in high school, anyway.”

Hera shrugged, holding up her phone to illuminate the hall. “It helped pay my way through college after…well, I needed the free tuition. And I always wanted to do something to help people.”

“That, I remember,” Kanan said, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as memories whispered through his mind. “With the amount of actual physical fights you got into, I’m shocked you were the valedictorian.”

“Not for lack of trying on your part,” Hera quipped as they kept moving. “You were certainly motivated to get there before me.”

“Nah, not valedictorian,” Kanan said. “I definitely didn’t have what it took to make a speech in front of everyone. You were way better for that. I just wanted to beat you at everything else.”

Hera laughed, and Kanan felt like his heart could take flight. He’d never made her laugh before, and he suddenly thought he’d do anything to hear the sound again. “Oh, is that all?”

“That’s all,” Kanan agreed, pausing to squint at a door. Satisfied it wasn’t what he was looking for, he kept going, adding, “I rarely succeeded, though.”

He heard Hera make a soft, thoughtful noise. “You’re so much less—you’re different than I remembered.” 

Kanan couldn’t quite hold back a snort of amusement as they turned a corner. “You mean less obnoxious, don’t you?”

“I didn’t say that,” Hera said. “But now that you mention it…”

“Oh, thanks,” Kanan said, unable to hold back a grin. “But you’re not wrong, I was kind of a pain when I was a kid. Especially then. I was ticked off about being shoved into the public school system and being looked down on just because the way I had learned was different than everyone else. You…kind of happened to be an easy target because you were just as ready to pick a fight as I was. And after a while it got kind of fun.”

He heard Hera let out a scoff. “Oh, very flattering.”

“Hey, you just called me obnoxious,” Kanan pointed out. “Fair is fair.” He paused at a new junction, pointing his phone light toward a nearby door. “Huh. Utilities—that could be it.”

“Let’s check it out,” Hera agreed.

The door turned out to be locked. But Hera dug through her purse and produced a mini tool kit. With the contents, they managed to pick the lock.

“I still can’t believe you carry a tool kit with you everywhere,” Kanan said, pushing the door open. The room inside was dark, but he lifted his phone, illuminating the wall, and—bingo. Breaker box.

“Let’s just say I’ve learned it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Hera told him wryly. “And as a firefighter, you should know it’s smart to be prepared.”

“Oh, I do,” Kanan assured her, pulling open the panel and shining his light on it. “I just don’t expect everyone else to be. I should have known better when it comes to you, though.”

“You should have,” Hera agreed. “Do you actually know what you’re doing over there?”

“More or less, yeah.”

“That’s reassuring,” Hera quipped. “Move over, I’ll take a look.”

“All yours.” Kanan shifted to the side, keeping the light on the interior of the panel as Hera slid into the gap, inches away from him as she studied the controls. Inches that Kanan found himself suddenly all too aware of.

~~~

There was absolutely nothing to think about being inches away from Kanan Jarrus. It was simply a fact. There was nothing particularly unusual about it, about being able to sense him breathing, his arm brushing against hers every so often.

Focus, Syndulla, Hera told herself, studying the panel. The sooner the lights came back on, the better. That was all that was throwing her off balance, the darkness. Not Kanan, or the fact that he actually turned out to be kind and friendly and made stupid jokes at his own expense.

And now he was talking again, and Hera pulled her attention back to him.

“So, you’re in the military,” he said. “And a mechanical engineer? Are you secretly a superhero in your spare time? Dance fighter, maybe?”

Hera couldn’t hold back a laugh. “No—and I’m not on active duty,” she said. “I’m currently working at a local mechanic shop for the time being, but…I’ve got my eye on something else. We’ll see how it works out.”

“Busy as ever,” Kanan said, and she could all but hear his grin. “Maybe it’s a public school overachiever thing.”

Scoffing, Hera said, “I like to think it’s uniquely me. Why did you ever join public school if you have such disdain for it?”

“I don’t have disdain for it,” Kanan corrected her. “I just think that there are some big issues with—you know what, I’m not going into this rant right now. Anyways, it wasn’t really my choice to go to public school.”

“I think I’ve got it,” Hera said, reaching up and flipping a few switches. “Why did you have to go, then?”

He went quiet, and Hera wondered what she’d said, if he’d even heard her. Then the lights finally burst to life, and she could see his face. Serious and…sad, holding an old grief that Hera instantly recognized.

“My mom died,” he said. “And my stepdad had a full time job, and my grandpa was working as a sergeant in the LCPD back then, so…there was no one else to teach me. So into public school I went.”

Hera stared at him, shock slicing at the inside of her chest. “What—how did I never know about this?”

Shrugging, Kanan switched off his phone flashlight, pocketing it. “We weren’t exactly close back then—and I didn’t really know what to expect in public school. That first year, I…didn’t really tell anyone. Believe it or not, Severide was the first person I told.”

“What did he say?” Hera asked, finding herself dazed in the wake of his words. All this time… Looking back, she remembered him bringing his stepfather or grandfather to school events, but never his mother. And the day she’d found out that her mother was dying…he was there. This is why.

Kanan’s smile was bright, but still sad. “Offered to buy me a beer. We were seventeen at the time, as I recall.”

Hera snorted. “Sounds about right.” She paused, rallying the words she wanted to say. “I’m so sorry. That I didn’t know, and that—that I was so awful to you back then.”

Kanan laughed, and it was a real laugh. “I mean…a little, yeah. But I was awful, too. Such is the way of being a teenager sometimes. And having an archnemesis really helped take my mind off everything. So seriously, don’t worry about it. I’ll just be happy if we can be friends now.”

Friends with Kanan Jarrus. Somehow, it…didn’t sound terrible. Hera of an hour ago would scarcely have believed it, and yet? “Friends it is,” Hera agreed.

“Good,” Kanan said.

They closed up the breaker box and headed out of the room and back into the hallway. Even from a distance, Hera could hear relieved voices and the sound of music starting up. “Looks like everything’s up and running again,” she observed. “We should probably get back to the others.”

“Yeah,” Kanan said, and Hera knew the tone in his voice. She’d heard it a hundred times in high school, when he’d been about to pull some insane stunt, when he was about to figure out some way around the rules in the classroom. It was a tone that tended to herald mischief and ignoring the rules.

Spinning around, she squinted at him suspiciously. “What?”

“Nothing,” Kanan said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Just—honestly I don’t really want to go back to the party. Severide’s been driving me crazy, and I’m just…” he trailed off, and Hera saw the smallest flicker of the sadness from earlier cross his face in a heartbeat. “Not in the mood for it all,” he finished.

“Fair enough,” Hera said. “Do you have any better plans?”

Kanan’s startled gaze flicked up and met hers. “Are you saying you’re in?”

“Are you saying you have a plan?” Hera countered.

The corner of his mouth tipped upward. “I’m saying I have a mechanical engineer with a tool kit, and…” he trailed off, pointing at a nearby door.

Hera glanced at it, reading the sign on it. Roof access: employees only. “You’re crazy.”

“Maybe a little,” Kanan said, his grin widening. “Well?”

Kriff. How was it that over the course of an hour or so, the idea of hanging out on a roof with Kanan Jarrus had somehow become appealing? But…she wanted to spend more time with him. Ask him more questions, see him smile more.

She’d definitely lost her mind. “Let’s do it.”

~~~

The roof of the building wasn’t too far off of the ground, which did cut down on the appeal a little. But when Kanan finally got the door open, a fresh breeze cut across his face and it was worth it.

(somehow, having to admit what had happened to his mother had locked iron bands around his chest, and Kanan couldn’t bring himself to go back to laughing and joking with the others. He needed to breathe, to be away from everyone else.

Well. Almost everyone else.)

Crossing her arms, Hera shivered a little as she stepped out onto the rooftop behind him. It was already getting dark, the last of the sunlight bleeding away behind the horizon. “Remind me why I went along with this plan?”

“Well, you never went along with any of my plans in high school,” Kanan pointed out. “Consider this an opportunity to make up for all that.”

“I still think most of those plans were nuts,” Hera said, pulling her arms tighter to herself as another breeze whisked past them.

Snapping his fingers, Kanan said, “I knew I should have worn that suit coat after all. Could have done the chivalrous thing and given you my jacket.”

“And I knew I should have worn the jacket I actually brought with me,” Hera quipped. “And yet it’s sitting safely inside where I don’t need it.”

“We all have regrets,” Kanan said, and Hera rolled her eyes at him. “Come on—I bet we can get out of the wind over there.”

The roof was crisscrossed with big silver vent shafts, and they headed to the far side of one, settling on the roof behind it to shelter themselves from the wind. Letting his head drop back against one, Kanan squinted up at the sky. “Shouldn’t be too long before the stars come out.”

Hera dropped down next to him. “Why in the name of the Force did I think it was a good idea to wear this dress?”

Kanan couldn’t quite resist a glance toward her— skirts tucked around her legs, one of her lekku resting on her bare shoulder. How could she look so perfectly at ease, yet stunning at the same time? “You look amazing.” The compliment slipped out before he could think better of it, and he didn’t really want to.

She flicked a glance at him, and Kanan’s heart skipped a beat. Then she rolled her eyes. “It’s too cold for me to deal with you making fun of me.”

She wasn’t wrong about the cold—it was early autumn, but there was already a nip in the air that promised frost on the way. Even in long sleeves, Kanan was cold. But it was worth it, in his mind.

“Just think,” he mused. “Ten years ago around this time of year, we were probably already a month or so into school. Determined to destroy each other at all cost. Those were the days.”

Letting out a snort of amusement, Hera shifted a little closer to him. When Kanan glanced at her, she scowled at him. “You’re warm, and it’s freezing out. Don’t judge me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kanan said, holding back a laugh. “You’re yelling at me—now it really feels like high school.”

Hera scoffed. “Oh, we never would have hung out like this back then. Not without me trying to toss you over the edge of the building.”

It’s true, Kanan thought. They never would have sat like they did now, arms brushing, Hera’s fingers nearly touching his. Suddenly, he didn’t miss high school at all.

“So,” Hera said. “I don’t think I ever heard why exactly you just disappeared from our college.”

“And you must have missed me so much,” Kanan teased, and Hera rolled her eyes. Turning serious, Kanan explained, “I got into a really good fire academy I’d applied to across the country. It was leave for the training sessions then or wait for the next class, so I went. Finished my degree online, got certified as an EMT when I was done with that.”

“You’re an EMT, too?” Hera said, raising an eyebrow.

“Not professionally, I’m just certified.”

Shaking her head, Hera said, “Between the two of us, we might have enough random skills to fix the world.”

“Nice,” Kanan said. “Now we just need a friend willing to take over and put us in charge.”

Hera laughed. “Brilliant plan. Oh—look, the first star!”

For a moment, they fell silent, watching the stars slowly flicker to life in the darkening sky. Kanan felt Hera shiver next to him, and, after a moment of indecision, lifted his arm and slipped it around her shoulders.

He felt her stiffen a little, and paused. “Is this okay? I just thought—”

“It’s fine,” Hera assured him, settling a little closer to him. Kanan felt his heart skip a beat, then start pounding harder than ever as her head settled right next to his shoulder. “I grew up where 60 degrees was cold, and I’ve never really been able to shake that,” she told him, letting out a sigh. “Not exactly convenient.”

“I can imagine,” Kanan said, unable to tear his eyes away from her. Even in the dim light, he could see the patterns on her lekku, could smell her soap. “Hey,” he said. “Remember like an hour ago when you hated me?”

He felt the warm chuckle Hera let out before he heard it. “Yeah, well, you’re warm and this rooftop isn’t. So don’t read too much into it.”

“I wouldn't dream of it. You want to go back inside?”

“Not yet.”

The sky grew darker, and the stars multiplied. Staring up at them, Kanan said, “Remind me, you had an astronomy phase, right?”

“You could say that,” Hera agreed. “Why?”

“Just wondering if you remembered any of the constellations. My mom taught me a lot of them,” he told her, wondering why even as he spoke. As a rule, Kanan talked about Depa to exactly three people—Mace, Gray, and his therapist. But here he was, reliving memories with a woman who’d hated him for years. A woman who he found it all too easy to talk to. “We borrowed a telescope from a family friend once, and looked at all of them, at the moon. I dropped it when we were bringing it inside, and broke the lens. But Mom—” Kanan stopped, feeling his throat tighten. “She said it was fine. Told the friend she broke it, so I wouldn’t feel bad. She always had my back, even if she made me help pay for it.”

Letting out a shaky laugh, he pressed his eyes closed against the blurring stars. “Sorry. I don’t know why—you’re easy to talk to, I guess.”

Hera didn’t say anything for a moment. “I get it,” she said quietly. “It sneaks up on you. My mom’s been gone since college, but I—I still miss her. I still want to tell her everything. I’m not really as close to the rest of my family—my brother’s been in Europe for a long time now, and my father is…difficult to get along with. I miss having someone I can tell anything to without worrying I’ll be belittled or made fun of.”

“Anyone who belittles you is out of their mind,” Kanan said heartfeltly. “You can and always have done everything you set your mind to. Except beat me in that math final.”

“Don’t make me rethink being friends with you,” Hera warned him.

“Oh, we’re friends now?”

“Not if you keep pushing it.”

“Understood.”

They fell silent again, watching the stars for a while. “Thanks for listening,” Kanan finally said. “I don’t…really talk about my mom with people that often. Most of my coworkers and friends didn’t know her, and I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse. I don’t think I’ve even told my grandfather that story.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Hera told him, and Kanan smiled.

“Thanks, Hera.”

“Anytime,” she said, and there was something in her voice that Kanan didn’t quite understand. 

Glancing at her, he squinted, trying to read the emotion on her face in the darkness. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Hera said. “Just—oh, kriff, I cannot believe I’m telling you this.”

“Telling me what?” Kanan asked slowly.

Her grimace was obvious even in the shadows as she squared her shoulders. “I’m thinking about applying for a job at NASA.”

Kanan’s eyebrows shot upward. “NASA?”

“Yeah,” Hera said. “I originally applied to be an aerospace engineer, but I…okay this is stupid. But when I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut and it still sounds like it would be an incredible career, and if you’re going to laugh at me just get it over with—”

“I’m not laughing,” Kanan told her immediately. “You’re talking to the guy who grew up to become a firefighter, remember? Being an astronaut sounds incredible, and you’d be amazing at it.”

Hera sent him a skeptical sideways glance. “You just saw me again for the first time in eight years, and you already know that?”

“You’ve always been good at whatever you set your mind to,” Kanan told her, hoping his sincerity came forth in his words. “Even back in high school. Except, of course—”

“Do not bring up the math test.”

“Shutting up now.”

Hera laughed, and was silent for a moment. “I haven’t told anyone about this,” she told him. “Not even my roommate, Omega. I don’t know why I told you.”

“I’m glad you did,” Kanan told her, and caught the flash of white that was her smile.

They stayed like that for a while longer, watching the stars and just…talking. Catching up on pieces of the past eight years, and slowly getting to know each other as friends. Not enemies, not teenagers bent on destroying the other.

Just friends. Mostly. Because when they got up to go inside, driven in by freezing cold wind and a dozen increasingly dramatic texts from Severide, Kanan offered Hera his hand, helping her to her feet. And when she took it, she didn’t let it go until they finally reached the door and stepped inside.

~~~

Usually, Hera hated it when she was wrong. Generally it was for work stuff, and she had to redo something she’d been working on for days now.

But right now, heading into the parking lot with her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket, she was more than happy to be wrong.

It turned out Kanan wasn’t an insufferable jerk. Not any more, at least. He was…a friend. Who’d encouraged her, teased her, and maybe made her blush a little bit when he told her she looked nice.

If younger me could see me now, Hera thought wryly. She was okay with that, though. After all, what was growing up but readjusting your perspective time after time? Now Kanan was in her life again, even as a friend, and—

Wait.

He was in her life. But how exactly were things supposed to stay that way? She knew he worked at the same firehouse as Matt, Gabby, and Severide, but not how to contact him. She certainly didn’t have his phone number, and it was shocking to admit that she wanted it. And a little embarrassing.

But sometimes you had to be a little embarrassed for a good cause.

Turning, Hera stared across the parking lot. The gathering had broken up not long after they came in, and she’d lost Kanan in the crowd. If she remembered right, he’d come with Severide. You’d think I could spot one ridiculously tall firefighter in a crowd…

But there was no sign of him, and Hera pushed back an unreasonable pang. She could always reach out to Gabby or one of the others if necessary. It certainly wouldn’t be eight years again, not if she could help it.

Pretending she wasn’t still looking for any sign of him, she turned and headed toward her car.

She’d made it to her car, and was digging for her car keys when she heard a shout behind her. Instinctively, Hera spun toward it, her hand slipping into her purse—and then someone crashed into her.

She stumbled, nearly toppling backward, but a strong arm around her waist caught her, pulling her upright and face to face with Kanan. “Sorry,” he said, breathing hard. “Thought I was gonna miss you.”

“So the solution was to barrel into me at top speed?” Hera asked, lifting an eyebrow and pretending like a smile wasn’t struggling its way to the surface.

Kanan must have been able to tell, though, because he grinned back. “It worked, didn’t it?” He seemed to realize he was still holding her, and let go, stepping back a little. “Look, last time we went our separate ways, we didn’t talk for eight years. I don’t know about you, but—”

“I don’t want that, either,” Hera told him, and a brilliant smile spread across Kanan’s face.

“Good. Then, uh, can I ask for your number?”

“After all that, I think it would be heartless to say no,” Hera said dryly, digging inside her purse. Producing her wallet, she pulled out one of the business cards from the mechanic shop she worked at, and a pen, and scribbled down her number. Presenting it to him, she said, “Try and use it wisely.”

“I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise,” Kanan said gravely, accepting the card. The smile he wore and the way he studied the card undercut the tone somewhat, and Hera couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“It was good to see you again,” she told him, and meant it.

“It was good to see you, too,” Kanan said, and smiled at her in a way that made her heart flutter. You really are crazy, Syndulla. First astronaut school, now this.

But who knows? She thought as he strolled away, a spring in his step. Stranger things have happened.

[kyoshiwarrior1997]

I'm interested in the Spring Break wip, could you pls tell us about that one?❤️

Sure thing!

It's based on my Sabezra Modern AU. Basically, the Ghost crew decides to go on vacation during their college Spring Break. It will have Sabezra, a little bit of Kanera and the crew spending time together.

Thanks for the ask!