#zeb very reluctantly agrees

[antianakin]

I like to headcanon that Zeb/Rex are the kind of couple that probably start off as casual friends with benefits and then one day just come to the realization that actually they love each other and have been in a relationship for a few years and everyone around them knew this before they did.

Also, Rex DEFINITELY figures it out before Zeb, but he is a massive shit and so he decides to say nothing and just wait to see how long Zeb takes before he figures it out for himself.

[burnwater13]

Concept Art by Ryan Church of the Mandalorian flying the N-1 starfighter on Tatooine. Image from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 5, Return of The Mandalorian. Calendar by DateWorks.

Well, Grogu's gambit to trick his dad, uh, er… convince his dad, that they should go to Coruscant hadn’t worked. Now he was in the N-1 with his dad and they were on their way to Mandalore, while Zeb was in the comfy, spacious, fit out with a privy and a preserver, Razor Crest, heading to the Core worlds without him. Dank Farrik!

It just wasn’t fair. Zeb needed a Jedi. Grogu was a Jedi. Zeb needed him. But his dad said ‘No. Zeb can ask Luke for help. He’s a Jedi.’ Uff! Luke was Grogu’s padawan! He’d never been to Coruscant! He had no idea what was in the ruins of the Jedi Temple. What if he fell into a Sith hole? What then? He had two lightsabers. Who was going to fight him? No one. That’s who. This was work Grogu needed to take up. 

“Buddy, you are my apprentice. Not Luke’s. That’s a choice you made. A Mandalorian keeps his word and you are a Mandalorian now. Not a Jedi.”

Wow. When his dad wanted to turn on the guilt Din Djarin was really good at it. Grogu had reluctantly agreed and told Zeb that maybe he should go to Ossus and find Luke and get his help. He was only a padawan and still had a lot to learn, but Zeb was a cautious fellow. They’d be fine. Right?

Grogu just had to hope that was true. He wasn’t going to Coruscant. He was going to Mandalore. He had no idea why they were going. It’s not like they had anything like a fully functional government in place and needed Grogu, or rather his dad, to become the planet’s marshal or anything like that. It was probably something simple like Bo-Katan forgetting how to be polite to people she didn’t agree with on critical topics like which color to paint the privies in the public arena. 

Fine. If he had to go to Mandalore then he needed to pack carefully. The Mandalorians he’d met the last couple of visits had been very boring. They wouldn’t play fun games. They had no curiosity about the places that were currently considered ‘off limits’. Some of them even questioned whether he and his dad were ‘real’ Mandalorians, like that was a thing. 

To that end he collected his armor. He didn’t wear it all the time on Nevarro because he didn’t need to. Between his dad, Greef Karga, and IG-11M, anyone who came looking for Grogu had to be polite or they would find themselves very cold. Then he made sure he had the silver knob off the flight control stick from the old Razor Crest. He gathered his art supplies, his data comp, his collection of 'Diggle and Daggle, The Fish that fish’ vids, and a comprehensive collection of snacks and beverages. And a change of clothes. He hated it when the coverall he was wearing got all sweaty and covered with dirt when he wasn’t actually having fun.

When he brought all that to the N-1 his dad gave him a cross look. You know the one. He puts his left hand on his hip and tilts his head and taps his toe like he’s just about a second away from delivering a scathing lecture on the benefits of polishing beskar armor daily. Grogu shrugged and picked the pack up with the Force and tried to position it in the N-1’s cockpit. 

“Grogu, you’ve brought too much stuff. It won’t fit. Come on. Let’s go through it and see what’s taking up so much room.” 

Before Grogu could protest or even whisk the pack away using the Force, the Mandalorian had taken it and dumped its contents all over the ground near the N-1. Dank Farrik!

Grogu began to race around, collecting the things he cared about the most, while his dad began to lecture him about how a Mandalorian apprentice needed to pack only the essentials. They traveled light. They had to be strategic. They couldn’t waste time or effort like this. Blah, blah, blah. Grogu had heard it all before. 

The robes Daimyo Fett had given him were set aside. The third set of regular coveralls were set aside. More than half the snacks and drinks he’d collected were set aside. Grogu was about to protest when his dad grabbed the silver knob, but fell silent when Djarin tucked that into his own pocket.

“Listen, Grogu. I know you don’t always enjoy the trips to Mandalore. I don’t either. But I am a Mandalorian and I am trying to teach you to be one as well. So please, put your armor on. That way you’ll be able to keep the data comp, the art supplies, and your Diggle and Daggle collection. Trust me, I don’t want you to be bored during the trip. I promise you.”

Wow. Now he’d done it. No guilt. Just facts. Grogu felt bad anyway. His dad wasn’t being mean. He was being thoughtful. He understood that Grogu only had so much to do when he was there and it mostly had nothing to do with exploring, taming a wild mythosaur or becoming Mand’alor, the things Grogu had told him sounded pretty cool, all things considered. Grogu nodded, sorted the snacks by size, rather than flavor, put another coverall on the ‘stays at home’ pile and smiled at his dad.

“That’s my boy. Don’t worry. We won’t be there very long. Apparently they want my opinion on a security issue. We’ll be back here in time for the annual harvest festival and fair. I’m sure everyone will want to watch you win the frog eating contest again.”

Grogu laughed. Who would want to miss that? No one. That’s who.

[syndullqs]

jaw drop — hera syndulla

SUMMARY — hera agrees to attend a party, only to be met by your wide open jaw.

WARNINGS — gn!reader, fluff, established relationship between reader and hera

———

THERE WAS ALWAYS ANOTHER BATTLE. always another planet that needed their help. these things weren’t bad, per se, but it was exhausting. the crew never had time to recover after a battle or even just a simple mission. there was no time to rest.

you were in that boat. you were exhausted, and you were tired of fighting. you wanted to just sleep some days, but the empire was relentless and didn’t sleep, so neither did you. hera picked up on this, being as tired as she was. she tried to help, but it just was no use.

there was an opportunity for a quick detour. a quick moment just to let loose and forget about the war. an excuse to dress up, even.

ezra explained it to you this way: that the base would be decorated with lights and there’d be music, controlled by he and zeb, and everyone would have to dress up. that part of the plan made you roll your eyes.

“what? it’s gonna be great!” ezra was proud of his plan, given the grin on his face and how his arms were extended at his sides.

“not doubting that ezra. how are you going to make sure everyone joins this party?” you asked slowly, implying you would like to see hera there. it definitely wasn’t an excuse to see her dressed up, no definitely not.

“i’ll make sure hera knows she has to come, like it’s a requirement,” ezra crossed his arms over his chest and had a large grin spread across his face. you shook your head and ruffled his hair as you walked passed him.

“i’m trusting you, bridger!” you called.

“you can count on me!”

—

it’d been a few hours since you last spoke to ezra. you dressed in your best attire, did your hair in a way that wasn’t styled as it usually was. you were nervous, but why? it was just a party planned out by ezra, no doubt with the help of the other members of the ghost crew. the image of them planning a party was amusing, and it lightened spirits.

hera agreed to go, reluctantly. she was sure there was something else to do, someone else to talk to, but at the end of the day, she did need time to rest. to loosen up and enjoy the moment before it was taken away from them. not to mention she’d have an excuse to see you outside of the battlefield. even if you were fearless in the battlefield, she wanted to see you without the exhaustion of battle.

she walked out of the ghost in her best dress. she’s never worn a dress and quite frankly she hated wearing them. it was her mother’s, one of the only things she had left of her. so, she wore it, and adorned herself in a gold necklace as well as gold pieces that adorned her lekku. she’s never seen herself so dressed up, but it was only for one night, so why not make it good?

you saw her walk out and nearly did a double take. she was beautiful. there were no words to describe how she made you feel in that very moment, but it was similar to the feeling you had when you went on your first date with her.

“you look beautiful,” you hummed as she approached you, her cheeks flushing.

“and so do you,” she hummed back, looping her arm through yours. you looked down at her, your eyes filled with nothing but love for the woman you fell in love with a couple years prior.

“well, the crew did this party up for us, shall we go and enjoy it?” you proposed with a warm smile. hera shared the expression, leaning into you.

“i would love to,”

———

ok but baby girl hera 😭 anyways i have a couple more fic ideas up my sleeve for some of my favs so stay tuned for more!

[midnight-raven]

Star Wars Rebels Disney Au: We Are One

The Lion King 2 Au

Prequel

Many years after taking the throne back from the Sith, King Kanan and Queen Hera ruled over Coruscant, with their friends Zeb and young knight-in-training, Sabine Wren.

Kanan's first act as king was to banish any Sith Lords and Dark Side Wielders out of the kingdom. Anyone who had proclaimed their allegiance to the Dark Side.

A few months later, a new prince was presented before the kingdom; Prince Jacen Syndulla-Jarrus. Kanan was understandingly very protective of his son, and only asked that he remained with the castle walls.

Years later, when the boy was eight-years-old, he began becoming adventurous, much like his father. So he decided to sneak away from his protective family for a day, and venture outside of the kingdom walls.

However, his adventure turned dangerous when Jacen fell off a nearby cliff, clinging onto a tree root to prevent from falling into treacherous waters.

Just as the tree root was about to snap, a mysterious boy dressed in a cloak appeared and saved the boy. The boy had electric blue eyes and hair.

Afterwards, the boy returned the young prince to his family, and introduced himself as Ezra. A young orphan scavenger traveling the lands until the next ship back to Lothal.

Grateful for having saved her son, Hera offered for Ezra to stay in the castle with them until he left. 

Kanan was a little more hesitant about letting the boy stay, as he sensed there was something off about him but Jacen had insisted as well, having grown attached to the boy who saved him.

Reluctantly, Ezra agreed to the offer.

However, little did the family know was that Ezra was secretly the young apprentice of the exiled Sith Lord, Darth Maul. Before his banishment, Maul had found the young orphan alone, and decided to raise him as his apprentice.

Now, Ezra is on a mission by his master to steal an ancient holocron from King Kanan and bring it to his master so he could seek revenge on an old enemy.

However, as Ezra is slowly accepted by the family, his alliance to Maul begins faltering and he wonders who he could be.

Or if he could ever escape Mauls clutches.

[darlingandmreames]

My Greatest Works of the Past Year: The Tag Game

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose five of your favourite works you created in the past year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in the past year. Tag as many artists/writers/etc. as you want so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I got tagged by the lovely @oceans-foundfamily​ ! Thanks for the tag!

Different Languages (But I Understand You All the Same) - 2k, G

Extraction was full of broken people. But perhaps, every once in a while, their broken edges were less like shards of glass and more like puzzle pieces

This is my favourite fic I’ve written so far this year, mainly because I’m an absolute sucker for the whole “broken people finding refuge in each other” trope. I also really like character studies, and it was fun to try and make Arthur and Eames’ perspectives compliment each other.

Blurring the Lines (So Tell Me What You Want) - 7.5k, E

Eames looked around the room as Fischer motioned for one of the servers, eventually turning his attention to the young man sharing the couch with them. He was obviously there for entertainment rather than business; a mesh crop top with barely enough fabric to even be considered a shirt, leather pants tight enough to leave very little to the imagination, and hand resting on Fischer’s inner thigh made that very clear. It certainly wasn’t unexpected, Fischer’s plethora of boytoys and side pieces was far from a secret, but Eames was a little surprised to find one at a business meeting. “Didn’t realize we’d be having company with us tonight.”

“Mm, nice, isn’t he?” Fischer tightened his grip on the man’s ass slightly before trailing his hand up the man’s side and up to his face, tilting his chin with his fingers. “Say hello to our guest.”

The man peeled himself back from Fischer’s side reluctantly and looked over, Eames’ eyes widening slightly as he finally caught sight of his face. When Arthur had said he’d be undercover as well, Eames had assumed he’d meant as another business associate not a bloody rentboy.

Another Arthur/Eames fic, this is probably the dirtiest thing I’ve written so far and it was quite a bit of fun 😅 Spy AUs are always fun and the setting gave me a lot of room to play around. This is also the fic that inspired me to start drawing again because the image of Arthur in a mesh crop top was too good to pass up asdfsjgkd

Carry Me Like a Secret - 6k, T

Arthur kept his arm wrapped around Eames' shoulders and rested his head in the crook of Eames' neck, trying not to wince as Eames ran. It was certainly better than running himself, but the slight jostle every time Eames took a step set off a flash of pain nonetheless. He did his best not to focus on it, but he also wanted to avoid focusing on the feeling of Eames carrying him if possible. He could already feel his face starting to burn, and he had no desire to make that any worse. This was an embarrassing enough situation as it was and he had no doubt Eames would tease him about it when they woke up, he didn't need to give Eames something else to tease him about later too. After a moment he settled on simply focusing on the sound of the projections behind them, trying to gauge how far ahead they were; it seemed like the safest option.

Another Arthur/Eames, I had a lot of fun with the character dynamics in this one. I’m a sucker for vulnerable Arthur and it was fun creating different situations where Eames would have to pick up/carry Arthur for this fic, and trying out slightly different tones for different situations

Up the River (But At Least We Have a Paddle) - 6k, G

Eames pulled back slightly, giving Arthur a quick once over to look for obvious injuries. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I-I don’t think so.”

Eames nodded. Arthur’s eyes were wide and his breathing was rapid and uneven as he gripped the sleeves of Eames’ jacket with white knuckles. Eames couldn’t see any blood though and Arthur didn’t look overtly injured, so he was willing to take it. He could check in again later to make sure, but right now the first priority had to be getting Arthur into something warmer and drier. “Do you think you can walk alright?” Arthur nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay, my pack’s just a little upstream. Let’s get back to it and get you into some dry clothes before you freeze half to death.”

I’m a huge fan of bed-sharing fics, so this one obviously had to end up on the list. Yet another Arthur/Eames fic (anyone sensing a pattern here?), I really enjoyed the hiking setting of this one. The character interactions were really fun to write, and I got to have some good ol’ pining in the mix too.

Worth the Trouble - 21k, G

After a moment Zeb reached over, scratching Bagsvana lightly behind her ears and earning a small, contented chirp in return. "You're really just going to sit here until she decides to get up on her own, aren't you?"

Kallus raised an eyebrow. "Would you make her get up?"

Zeb chuckled. "We're not talking about me."

"You'd do the exact same thing and you know it." Kallus frowned as Zeb looked over at him with a grin. "Don't you dare call me a softie again."

Zeb's laughter was loud enough that Bagsvana's head shot up, alert. "You are though. You're the biggest one I know, without a doubt. All business and gruff looks until you're around this little womp rat, and then you won't get up because she's sleeping and you don't want to disturb her." He leaned in slightly, nudging Kallus with his shoulder. "Admit it, Kal, you're a softie."

Kallus could feel himself getting red and looked down. "Stars, I hate you sometimes."

"No ya don't."

Kallus laughed quietly. "No," he agreed after a moment, "I don't."

My only non-Arthur/Eames fic of the year so far asjhfdgs. I had a lot of fun with this one- the idea of Kallus begrudgingly adopting a loth-cat is very funny to me and I loved being able to draw on my experiences with my own cats was really fun. I also really enjoyed being able to write the progression and build-up and Kallus and Zeb’s relationship. And learning another person’s language as an act of love and intimacy? We love to see it

I’m tagging @hazelestelle , @finelydressedspacemen , and anyone else who’s interested!

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Ashla’s Will chapter 6- Safe and Sound

Soooo sorry about the massive delay in updating, my sister is getting married in a week so things have been insane at my house. I hope you guys enjoy the new (but sadly shorter) chapter!

Read it on AO3

Once the Ghost was safely in hyperspace, everything happened in a blur. Kallus was whisked away to have his injuries tended to. Ezra desperately wanted to go with him, but Hera gently reminded him it wouldn’t be a good idea to crowd him, Ezra hated it but reluctantly agreed. It was agony waiting for Hera to finally finished patching him up so he could see him, to tightly hug him and assure himself that he was really there and wasn’t going to leave him like his parents did.

Sabine did her best to try and help him keep his mind off of it, but it was clear Zeb was also distracted, constantly glancing in the direction Kallus and Hera had went. It was obvious Zeb cared about his father a great deal, though Ezra did not have the emotional willpower to sort out how he felt about that.

He wanted to asked Zeb about how he had met his dad, and what he meant to him, but before he could work out the words, Hera finally returned saying,

“He’s all patched up and resting. He’ll need plenty of rest and a few good meals to help him get back on his feet, but I don’t think there where any injuries we need to worry about.”

“Can I see him?” Ezra asked.

“Just don’t wake him up,” Hera said, “It looks like he could really use the sleep.” Ezra didn’t waste time with a response, instead he ran past her into the room Hera had brought Kallus to, freezing in the doorway as he watched his dad sleeping peacefully. When was the last time he was able to get a good night’s rest? Too long. Moving slowly as to not wake him, Ezra made his way over to where he was resting and sat down on the ground next to the bed, carefully taking his hand in his own, clinging onto it, afraid that if he let go he would disappear again.

“I’m sorry dad,” Ezra mumbled to his sleeping form. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.” Kallus didn’t respond, and even though Ezra didn’t expect him to, a part of him wished he would. “I hope you don’t hate me.”

What would happen to them now? The Empire knew his dad was alive and would probably hunt him down with a vengeance. Would there be anywhere in the galaxy they would be safe from the Empire? Maybe they could stay on the Ghost until the heat died down….would it die down? Would they even be allowed to stay with them?

Swallowing thickly, Ezra leaned against the bed, trying to get as close to his dad as possible. He was so tired, but terrified if he fell asleep he’d wake up and find he was alone in the cave again. But he wasn’t, he was safe, his dad was safe, it was okay. Ezra told himself this over and over again, trying to convince himself it was true. As Ezra leaned closer to the bed, something sharp pressed against his side. Confused, Ezra reached into his pocked to pull out the strange cube he stole from Kanan’s room. Seeing the cube filled him with a mixture of anger and guilt so strong, Ezra flung the cube away from him as hard as possible before turning back to the bed, pressing himself as close to it as possible, tightly squeezing his eyes shut, focusing on taking slow deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

Every so slowly the strange cube started to open and a message started to play.

This is Master Obi Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic, have fallen with a dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place.

Confused Ezra reluctantly turned away from the bed, staring at the holo image coming out of the strange cube.

This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in The Force. Do not return to the Temple…that time has past. And our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged. Our trust. Our faith. Our friendships. But we must persevere. And in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you, always.

“Dev, what was that?” His father groggily asked, staring at him with fear in his eyes.

“I-I don’t-“ Before Ezra could formulate a response, the door opened to reveal Kanan who calmly reached down to pick up the cube. “What is that?”

“A Jedi holocron,” Kanan calmly said. “Something only someone with the force can open.”

“What is the forc-“

“No,” Kallus firmly said. “No, he does not have the force and you nor anyone else will train him!”

“We can’t keep denying it any longer,” Kanan said. “Dev is very strong with the force, he cannot just hide and pretend it isn’t there, believe me I tried for a long time.”

“If he trains, the Empire will relentlessly hunt him down,” Kallus said as he shakily got to his feet. “I will not let you so recklessly put him in danger!”

“This isn’t your choice to make,” Kanan said, “He needs to make this decision.”

“I’m his father,” Kallus snapped. “And he’s just a child!”

“He can’t ignore his abilities forever,” Kanan gently said. “He needs to learn to control his abilities to avoid detection by the Empire-“

“No! He-“

“Did you know all this time?” Ezra asked.

“What do you-“

“Did you know I could use the force whatever is it-“

“It’s everywhere,” Kanan said, “It surrounds us, penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together and it is strong with you Dev. It’s the only way you could have opened the Holocron.”

“Did you know?” Ezra repeated.

“I….I had my fears after you told me about your nightmare after Lasan-“

“Why?”

“You had a vision, you saw what happened on Lasan.” Kanan explained.

“I-….wow….” Ezra said, struggling to process the information he was being flooded with. “If you knew for all these years why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, that you were just a normal boy who needed help,” Kallus reluctantly admitted. “I thought there was no one to teach you and that you would be better off not knowing the truth.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make-“

“You were just a child!” Kallus snapped. “I was not about to burden you with that kind of information especially so soon after learning your parents were missing. I tried to do what I thought would keep you safe. You can hate me for it but if I could do it over again I would do it the same.”

“I don’t hate you,” Ezra mumbled. “I-I can’t hate you.”

“I just wanted to keep you safe,” Kallus whispered. “I can’t lose you-“

“You won’t,” Kanan assured. “Family protects family. We won’t let anything happen to your son.”

“Besides,” Hera added, appearing in the doorway, “You can join us if you’d like. Regardless, you will be staying until you fully heal.”

“Something tells me that wasn’t a request,” Kallus deadpanned.

“You catch on quick,” Hera said with a smirk.

“This is Dev’s choice, not mine,” Kallus said. “If this is what you want to do, I will be behind you, one hundred percent.”

“Really?” Ezra asked.

“Of course,” Kallus said. Ezra looked between his father and Kanan, a part of him realizing he already knew the answer, before Kanan even asked the question. He could be what his parents were before his parents were before the Empire took them. He wanted to be able to help the people he loved so the Empire could no longer hurt them.

“I want to you to train me,” Ezra said.

Kanan beamed at Ezra before saying, “Let’s get started then.”

[antianakin]

Zeb brings Rex to Lira San at some point to introduce him to the people there, both the Lasat who had already been there as well as the two Lasat survivors from Lasan. I have to assume that the culture on Lira San is significantly different from the culture that had developed on Lasan. Lira San is literally thought of as a LEGEND on Lasan from what we know which means it has been so long that these two cultures have probably developed in very different directions over time. So while there's probably stuff that Zeb IS familiar with on Lira San, there's going to be so much that he's being introduced to for the first time, as well.

Zeb is so excited to introduce Rex to his people, his culture, but he hasn't really ever spent any time on Lira San himself. He went down quickly to get the other two survivors settled there the first time they arrived and, for security reasons, doesn't go back until after the Empire is defeated. So he's not quite prepared for what it's actually like there. He tries showing Rex things he remembers of his culture, but everything is off or wrong somehow, and he ends up feeling like he doesn't know ANYTHING about these people or this culture and instead of being fun, it's just frustrating and devastating for Zeb, especially since Rex seems genuinely impressed by everything anyway, no matter how wrong it is. Eventually, he just snaps because he can't take it anymore and storms off.

Rex follows and Zeb tries to tell him to leave because he'll never get it and Zeb can't begin to understand. Rex says that Zeb's right, he'll never get it, because his people won't ever have something like this. Rex is never going to find some hidden enclave of the clones somewhere that have been safely and peacefully developing their culture on their own. It's just him and Gregor and Wolffe now, as far as Rex knows and it always will be. So Rex will never understand the pain that Zeb is currently going through by being confronted with a culture that feels like it SHOULD be familiar, but isn't quite. He'll never be confronted with an entire culture that manages to simultaneously bring him so much joy and relief as well as endless pain and devastation.

But this puts him in a unique position of being able to see the Lira San culture through the eyes of an outsider, without the pain it causes Zeb. He offers to show Zeb what HE sees when he looks at Lira San, to let Zeb explore this culture through Rex's eyes instead of his own. Zeb agrees, reluctantly, but it actually works. They go back through the market, the landmarks of this city they're staying in, the surrounding landscapes, the people, the language, the music. And instead of being frustrated at what he CAN'T see, he starts just enjoying being able to listen to what Rex CAN see. He can't always see it himself, he knows that it might take him a while to see it for himself and that sometimes he might NEVER see it, but for now, it's enough that Rex can see it and enjoy it and tell Zeb all about it.

They try a bunch of new foods together, they spar together and practice both the fighting styles they already know as well as try to learn local Lira San styles, they take a lot of trips out across the planet to see its different flora and fauna, they go see performances. Rex and Zeb just... spend a long time experiencing everything Lira San has to offer. And Zeb recognizes the irony in Rex having to sort-of introduce Lasat culture to him instead of the other way around, but he loves Rex so much for giving him this. He already knew how much Rex meant to him, he wouldn't have brought Rex to Lira San otherwise, but this is the moment he realizes he's going to spend the rest of his life with Rex.

In return, Zeb tries to ask Rex about the clones as much as he can. He asks Rex to talk about Wolffe and Gregor, but also about everyone he's lost. He asks about the 501st, and learns about Fives and Echo, about Hardcase and Dogma, about Tup and Jesse and Kix, about Appo and Denal and so many others. He asks about the other captains and commanders and hears about Cody and Fox and Ponds and Bly and Gree and Doom and Monnk. He asks how the clones chose their names and hears so many stories about the different ways clones got their names, some choosing them for themselves and some being given them by other clones, some naming themselves after something they loved and some naming themselves something that sounded cool at the time. He asks about hair and tattoos and learns about whether Rex ever wanted to dye his hair a different color and what everybody's tattoos meant and how the clones learned to tattoo each other when they left Kamino and started to see tattoos on other species.

And Zeb doesn't just ask for these stories so he alone can hear them, he sometimes asks when they're just walking around the marketplace and have picked up a gaggle of little Lasat kids who think they're cool and are perfectly happy to try to follow along with the stories Rex tells about his people. Rex always makes sure those stories are funny or heroic. He saves the sad ones for when he and Zeb are alone.

It turns out that the Lasat also had a tattooing culture of its own. The people of Lasan had had their own styles of course, but the practice itself had been brought there from Lira San, so Zeb asks Rex if he would want to teach the clones' style of tattooing to the tattoo artists on Lira San, so that the style at least could live on even if the clones themselves did not. Rex needs a few minutes to get himself together enough to try to teach anyone anything, but he is more than happy to work with the tattoo artists and pass along what he knows of his people's tattoo culture. Afterwards, Zeb asks if Rex wants to get tattooed with him, something they could share. A piece of both of their cultures, linking them together.

Rex says yes, because this is the moment HE decides he's going to spend the rest of his life with Zeb.

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Tales of Lira San- Nightmares

Kallus has trouble sleeping his first night on Lira San, but Zeb is their for him.

Read it on AO3

The smell of smoke and fire filled his nostrils, screams of agony tearing across the blood soaked land. Lasan. Faceless Stormtroopers mercilessly slaughtered the fleeing Lasat, merciless against even the children. Kallus stood amongst the chaos, frozen, unable to do anything but watch the chaos unfold around him, his mind screaming at him to do something anything to stop it, but unable to do a thing to stop the massacre.

 A loud growl startled Kallus out of his stupor, whipping around to see a faceless Lasat charging at him, swinging his bo-rifle. Kallus started firing his blaster at the Lasat who continued to charge at him, swinging his rifle down at Kallus who just barely dodged the blow. The Lasat swung again, bo-rifle charged but Kallus was able to grab it and jam one of the charged ends at the Lasat, making him drop to his knees, Kallus continued to press the charged end against him until he collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap.

 Kallus finally brought himself to look at his face, gasping in horror when he saw that it was in fact Zeb.

 “No….” Kallus whispered, collapsing to the ground next to him, “No, no please no, please-

 “ZEB!” Kallus shouted, sitting up in his new bed in his home on Lira San, chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

 “K-Kal what’s wrong?” Zeb groggily asked as he sat up, glancing over at him in concern. “Why are you crying?”

 “I-I’m sorry it’s nothing,” Kallus mumbled, starting to climb out of bed, but Zeb gently grabbed his arm and said,

 “It’s not nothing if it’s upsetting you-“

 “I should never have agreed to stay!” Kallus shouted, Zeb letting go of his arm in shock, ears flattening against his head. “I don’t deserve to be happy.” He softly added. Monsters like him didn’t deserve a happy end with someone like Zeb who loved him so much. He had too much blood on his hands to have this.

 “What are you talking abou-“

 “I was on Lasan during the massacre!” Kallus snapped. “I was their- I-I helped I-“

 “Kal, I’ve told you, I’ve put it behind me-“

 “Well you shouldn’t have!” Kallus shouted. “I helped destroy your home! I-I’m a monster Zeb-“

 “You are not that man anymore Alexsandr,” Zeb firmly said, making him freeze. Zeb always preferred to call him Kal… “You risked everything to help us, you stayed behind when we offered you a way out because you thought you could do mor-…Kal why did-“

 “I didn’t deserve it,” Kallus whispered. “I didn’t earn it, I still haven’t-“

 “Kal….I thought we worked past this,” Zeb whispered, reaching for Kallus who angrily stood up from the bed, Zeb doing the same, concern etched across his face, concern for him. Concern he didn’t deserve.

 “Zeb, just stop please,” Kallus begged, unable to look him in the eye.

 “No, I won’t stop,” Zeb said, walking around the bed and firmly grabbed his shoulders. “Kal look at me.” Kallus turned his head away, refusing to look him in the eye. No, he couldn’t. He didn’t deserve Zeb’s kindness and love, or his people’s acceptance- Zeb tenderly cupped his face and forced Kallus to look him in the eyes.

 “Zeb-“

 “Kal,” Zeb interrupted, pressing his forehead against Kallus’s. “You can’t change the past, you can only move forward and become a better person which you have. I see it, my family sees it, everyone but you sees it. Let go of your guilt and move on.”

 “Zeb-…I-I can’t-“ Kallus whispered.

 “Well I’ll be here for you until you can,” Zeb assured. “I’ll love you enough until you can love yourself again.”

 “Zeb-“ Kallus began, finding he didn’t know what to say in response to Zeb’s kindness. He didn’t feel worthy of it, but he would do everything in his power to make himself worthy of it.

 "I know," Zeb whispered, squeezing his hands, “Now come on let’s go back to bed and get some sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning-“

 “O-okay…” Kallus reluctantly mumbled, trying to move away from Zeb, but Zeb firmly held onto his hands and led him back over to their bed, gently pulling him down.

 “Zeb-“

 “You are my boyfriend and we are sharing our very comfy bed,” Zeb said laying down, Kallus reluctantly laying down beside him, Zeb wrapped his arms around Kallus and cuddled him close, a soft purr escaping from between his lips. Kallus involuntarily relaxed against Zeb, some of the tension leaving his body. A part of him wanted to sleep and forget about all of this, but another part was terrified the nightmares would return, he simply lay there, praying for oblivion to take him.

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Ashla’s Will Chapter 4- Waiting

Hey guys! Sorry about the long wait, the next chapter is finally finished though and I hope it was worth the wait!

Read it on AO3

“We need a plan, we can’t just charge in unprepared!” Kanan exclaimed.

 “Since when do our plans ever work?” Zeb grumbled.

 “We still need to have some sort of plan-“

 “But if we wait too long the Empire might- t-they might…” Ezra cried, voice cutting off, unable to say the words. “Please we have to do something.”

 “And we will,” Hera gently assured, “But Kanan’s right, we need to have a plan or we risk failing.”

 “If we keep waiting it will be too late!” Ezra snapped.

 “Ezra, maybe you shouldn’t be in here,” Hera gently suggested.

 “Why not!” Ezra cried. “It’s my dad we’re rescuing!”

 “Exactly, you’re too emotionally involved in this,” Hera explained. “We need clear, calm heads to come up with a plan.”

 “Fine!” Ezra snapped, standing up and storming out of the common area, fury filling him as he aimlessly stormed through the halls of the ship. Why couldn’t he help? This was his father being held captive by the Empire. If they knew who he was, there was no telling what they were doing to him. He should be helping them. Not sitting out like a child!

 Through the rage and anger that filled him, Ezra felt a gently tug in his conscious, like something was calling out to him, begging him to reach out and take it. Despite the fury that still filled him, Ezra found he couldn’t resist the pull of the strange call and found himself unconsciously following its pull, leading him to someone’s quarters. The door was locked, but that wouldn’t deter Ezra, he needed to know what was calling him.

 Smirking, Ezra pulled out a device to help him unlock the door, ignoring the droid that rolled past him. Sure, his dad didn’t approve of him breaking into people’s homes or rooms, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him…thinking about his dad reminded him of the danger he was in, making his heart ache.

 The small thought opened up the floodgate, a rush of emotions overwhelming him and almost bringing him down to his knee’s from the force of it. He may never see his father again. No, he couldn’t think like that. He would not cry, not when there was still a chance they could save him. He wasn’t dead yet, so he wouldn’t treat him as if he were. He would be strong, that’s what he would want. Instead, Ezra focused his energy on opening the door, trying and failing to shove away the memory from when his dad caught him stealing,

 “Dev, you’re better than this, we don’t need to steal to survive.”

 “But you’re not eating because we don’t have enough food!” He shouldn’t have to starve to ensure Ezra ate. He was the one working deep in the mines all hours. He needed the food more than he did.

 “The people you’re stealing from are probably struggling as much as we are,” His dad patiently explained. “I once thought stealing from the citizens for the greater good was okay…I had to learn the hard way how wrong I was.”

 “We’ve stolen from the Empire though! How is this different?” Ezra had demanded, he couldn’t see the difference then, and still didn’t really understand now.

 His dad sighed heavily, the bags under his eyes seeming the get heavier. “I don’t like stealing…but when we steal from the Empire, they still at least have plenty of food left to feed everyone…when we steal from the people, they don’t always have enough food to feed themselves. If we have to steal…at least steal from the Empire that can afford to lose a few meiloorun’s.”

 Ezra angrily shoved the memory away as he unlocked the door, slipping inside. When they broke his dad out they would have to move again, and they would need some credits to do so. Besides, whatever was calling him wanted him to have whatever it was…right?

 Almost like he instinctively knew where whatever it was, Ezra made his way over to the bed and opened the panel beneath it. The first thing his eyes landed on was a small gold cube with a blue diamond on each of its sides.

 He knew immediately it wasn’t the thing that was calling him, but it was probably worth a few credits at least so he slipped it into his pocket, trying to ignore the voice that sounded like his dad scolding him for stealing from the people trying so hard to help him. They wanted to help him, so they wouldn’t mind him taking a few things to sell for some much needed credits. That’s what he kept telling himself anyways.

 The next object he saw, he knew it was it, whatever it was. The moment his fingers brushed the handle, the strange calling silenced. Ezra carefully picked it up, what was this thing? Curiosity getting the better of him, Ezra raised the weapon, gasping as a soft blue light filled the room emanating from the blue blade that appeared.

 “Whoa….” Ezra gasped, experimentally swinging the blade, grinning as he raised the blade, freezing when he heard the door opening behind him.

 “Careful, you’ll cut your arm off with that.” Kanan slowly said, Ezra turning to face Kanan, Hera, and the droid he saw earlier, the droid almost mockingly beeping at him. Ezra glared at the droid before looking back up at Kanan and slowly saying,

 “Look, I know you’re not gonna believe me but its like this things wanted me to take it.”

 “You’re right, I don’t believe it,” Kanan said, “now hand me the lightsaber.”

 “Lightsaber!” Ezra gasped, lowering the blade. A lightsaber was calling him? “Wait isn’t that the weapon of the Jedi?”

 “Give it to me, and get out,” Kanan said in a tone that told him he wouldn’t ask again. Ezra reluctantly deactivated the lightsaber and wordlessly handed it back to Kanan before slipping out of the room, smirking as he pulled out the strange cube out of his pocket. At least he could sell this for a few credits…if the crew was still going to help him rescue his dad after catching him stealing that is. Well, if they wouldn’t help him, he’d just do it himself.

 “You’re not very good at following directions are you,” the girl from earlier said with a raised eyebrow.

 “It’s not like you guys told me very much,” Ezra grumbled. “What’s the plan to save my dad?”

 “We’re going to wait until dark to strike,” Sabine said. “Less civilians will be there and hopefully fewer guards.”

 “Not true,” Ezra growled. “The Empire has been making the miners stay well past dark.”

 “Really?” The girl asked.

 “Yea, it’s been really hard on everyone…especially my dad…” Ezra informed her, growing somber.

 “Must have been hard on you too,” the girl gently said. “…does he look a lot like you?”

 “Oh um…he’s not my biological dad….he and my mom where taken a long time ago…he took me in….loved me like I was his son- he saved my life…I-I can’t lose another parent…” Ezra trailed off, swallowing thickly. He didn’t know what he’d do if his dad died.

 “You won’t,” She assured, “Not if we can help it. Come on, we need to talk to Kanan and Hera.”

 “Right,” Ezra agreed following her. “By the way, I don’t think I ever caught your name.” He should probably know the names of the people helping save his dad’s life.

 “Sabine,” Sabine said. “and you’re Dev right?”

 “Right,” Ezra said. “Nice to meet you Sabine…and thank you.”

 “You’re welcome,” Sabine said as they entered the common area. “Hera, Kanan, we may have a problem.”

 “What?” Hera asked.

 “Dev told me that the workers have been working through most of the night as well now,” Sabine explained.

 “Meaning the whole area will be crawling with troopers and civilians,” Kanan groaned.

 “Knew this plan wouldn’t work,” Zeb grumbled.

 “What makes you think my dad’s being held at the mines?” Ezra asked.

 “Not at the mines, in a compound close enough to the mines we’re afraid civilians will get hurt in the crossfire,” Hera began.

 “Or worse, cause a cave in,” Sabine added.

 “The mines have been getting more and more unstable,” Ezra agreed. “It’s been a few weeks since the last cave in everyone’s waiting for another to happen any day now…”

 “And we would rather avoid causing a cave in, but we would rather the mines be mostly empty just in case,” Hera explained.

 “Nighttime would also give us some cover,” Sabine added.

 “The mines are only empty for a couple hours,” Ezra informed them. “From about midnight to just before dawn.”

 “We’ll only need a few minutes,” Sabine assured.

 “But will my dad last that long?” Ezra worriedly asked.

 “He’s tough,” Zeb firmly said. “I’ve seen it first-hand. He’ll make it.”

 “Why are you guys risking so much to help us?” Ezra asked. “I mean I’m grateful but…why?”

 “Because we help people who can’t help themselves,” Hera firmly said.

 “Besides….I can’t in good conscious leave him…not what after he did for my people…” Zeb said.

 “What do you mean?” Ezra asked.

 “…I owe him, that’s all,” Zeb said, clearly not ready to talk about whatever it was his father had apparently done. Ezra was curious, he wanted to push, but something told him Zeb would only further push him away if he did. And with him being the only link he had to his dad at the moment that was the last thing he wanted to do.

 “We’ll wait for the civilians to leave and then we’ll strike,” Kanan declared. “I know it’s not the greatest plan, but you dad wouldn’t want us to risk hundreds of civilians in a rescue attempt.”

 “I know,” Ezra dejectedly sighed. “I just hate waiting….”

 “I know waiting’s hard, but it’s the best chance we have to save him,” Kanan gently said.

 “….alright,” Ezra said. Kanan placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezed it before following Hera out of the common area. Desperate for something to help take his mind off of the long wait ahead, Ezra turned to Zeb and asked,

 “Were you and my dad close?” It was clear Zeb was uncomfortable answering the question, but to Ezra’s relief he said,

 “Not really…I mean…we only spent a day together…”

 “Must have been some day,” Sabine said, smirking at Zeb.

 “Shut it you,” Zeb grumbled, lightly punching her arm.

 “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ezra curiously asked.

 “He’s been talking nonstop about this mission since we got the call from your dad,” Sabine said, ignoring the glare Zeb threw at her. “He also is almost constantly cleaning your dad’s bo-rifle even though it never gets used.”

 “My dad has a bo-rifle?” Ezra asked, confused.

 “…he earned it on Lasan,” Zeb said. “He thought it would be a bad idea to keep it with him though since it’s very obviously a Lasat weapon and he didn’t want to draw attention so he asked me to hold onto it. It’s no big deal! Cleaning it is just something to help pass the time!”

 “He cleans it more than he cleans his own,” Sabine loudly whispered to Ezra.

 “No I don’t!” Zeb shouted, clearly embarrassed. “It just looks cleaner since it never gets used!”

 “You keep telling yourself that big guy,” Sabine teasingly said.

 “I’m going back to my room,” Zeb angrily grumbled, standing up.

 “Let me guess, you’re going to clean Kallus’s bo-rifle again?” Sabine asked.

 “Shut up,” Zeb said, stomping off, leaving a laughing Sabine behind.

 “So….” Ezra awkwardly began. “What do you do to pass the time?” He needed to do something to take his mind off of the long wait ahead of him.

 “Come on, I’ll show you,” Sabine said, standing up and leading him through the ship, back to one what he assumed was her quarters. “I’m an artist.” She added as she opened the door to reveal her room.

 “Wow,” Ezra gasped, looking around the painted room. “This is amazing!”

 “Thanks,” Sabine said. “If you ever visit Lothal, you’ll see my art everywhere!”

 “Lothal?” Ezra gasped, “Y-you guys go to Lothal?”

 “It’s basically the planet we live on,” Sabine said, “they’re a world that needs our help…why?”

 “Lothal was my home world,” Ezra informed her. “my dad and I had to leave for our safety over seven years ago.”

 “Wow,” Sabine said. “That’s crazy.”

 “I wonder how much Lothal has changed….” Ezra mumbled, deflating slightly. How badly had the Empire destroyed his home? Despite having been gone for so long, Lothal was still his home, it always had been and probably always would be. A part of him had always wished he could someday return home to his home world, the place he felt closest to his birth parents….

 “Tell me about it,” Sabine said, sitting down on her bed, patting the space beside her.

 “What?” Ezra asked.

 “Tell me about the Lothal you remember,” She repeated. “I want to hear all about it.”

 “Um…okay,” Ezra agreed, sitting down beside her, words tumbling out of his mouth. He told her about the planet and how it was like before the Empire really started having a strong presence on the planet, he told her about his birth parents and how they would speak out against the Empire and what they did, about the horrible day the attacks happened and how Kallus found him and saved him. When he ran out of things to tell her, she opened up and told him about Mandalore and about her family, her parents and her brother. She was in the middle of a story about the day she crafted her armor when Kanan came in saying,

 “Come on, its time.” Making Ezra’s heart race.  Hold on dad, I’m coming for you. 

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Safe and Sound

((Just a little Kalluzeb ficlet I thought you guys would enjoy))

Every direction Kallus looked was in complete chaos. Rebel and Imperial ships flew through space above Scarrif, firing and dodging in increasingly tight quarters, all desperately trying to stay alive. He had long since lost sight of the Ghost as Rex piloted the Phantom II through the chaos, Kallus tried not to think about how long it had been since he’d spotted the Ghost in the fight, refused to let his mind go to the dark and dangerous places imaging the horrors that might have befallen the ship. He needed to focus on keeping himself and Rex alive. He couldn’t worry about Zeb right now. Hera was a great pilot, he would be fine. Or so he kept telling himself.

 “They better get those plans soon!” Rex exclaimed as he maneuvered around a tie fighter, Kallus shooting it down as they flew past.

 “I hope they do,” Kallus agreed, praying to Ashla he spotted the Ghost flying past them out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t turn to look properly, but for his own sanity he pretended it was. Without any warning, the command ship sent out an order for all ships to jump to Hyperspace.

 “Don’t need to tell me twice!” Rex exclaimed as he maneuvered the Phantom II away from most of the fighting so he could make the jump.

 “We’re not going to attack back to the Ghost?” Kallus frantically asked.

 “No time!” Rex exclaimed as he quickly made the calculations. “Hera won’t wait around for us.” Kallus knew Rex was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch as they left the rest of the fleet behind before jumping into Hyperspace, glimpsing the Star Destroyers that appeared as they entered hyperspace.

 “I hope the fleet got away…” Kallus mumbled.

 “Hey, Hera’s one of the best pilots in the Galaxy, if anyone got away, it’s her,” Rex said, guessing what Kallus was really worried about.

 “I can’t argue with that I suppose,” Kallus sighed. “Should we try and contact them?”

 “Definitely not,” Rex said, “The Empire might intercept it.”

 “They might not,” Kallus argued.

 “I don’t want to take that risk,” Rex said.

 “Alright fine, how long till we get back to base?” Kallus asked through gritted teeth.

 “Depends on how many stops we make,” Rex said with a shrug.

 “Stops?” Kallus asked, eyes wide.

 “We need to make sure we’re not followed so we need to make at least two hyperspace jumps to cover our tracks, and if the rest of the fleet is smart they’ll do the same.”

 “With the fleet having gone in all different directions to try and get away it will make it even harder for the Empire to track us down,” Kallus reluctantly agreed, slumping back in his seat with a heavy sigh.

 “Can’t be too careful, especially after what happened today,” Rex said.

 “I know, trust me.”

 “We’ll be back on Yavin before you know it,” Rex assured.

 “I doubt that,” Kallus muttered to himself, ignoring the pitying look Rex sent him. This was going to be a long journey home.

 ----------------------

 Four Hyperspace jumps later, the Phantom II finally returned to Yavin.

 “About time,” Kallus grumbled as the Phantom II flew over the base.

 “Hey, no one followed us,” Rex scolded as he landed the ship, Kallus scanning the ships trying to spot the Ghost.

 “We’re probably the last ones to return,” Kallus snapped. Rex merely smirked as he landed the Phantom II Kallus wasting no time getting off the ship. He needed to find the Ghost, to find Zeb and make sure he was alright. It didn’t take long for Kallus to spot Zeb in the crowd, being the tallest person on base and being purple made one very easy to spot.

 “Zeb!” Kallus shouted, catching the other man’s attention, a wide grin breaking across his face when his eyes landed on Kallus. “Zeb!” He repeated, running across the terminal towards Zeb.

 Kallus couldn’t care less that he probably looked ridiculous running towards Zeb, shouting his name over and over again. Zeb was alive and at the moment that’s all he truly cared about.

 “Kallus!” Zeb shouted, racing over to meet him, a wide grin on his face. Kallus wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he reached Zeb, but he didn’t expect Zeb to wrap his arms around Kallus’s waist and lift him off the ground in a tight bear hug, spinning him around, laughing hysterically.

 “Zeb! Put me down!” Kallus cried, unable to contain the laughter that started to bubble out as he wrapped his arms around Zeb’s neck.  

 “No!” Zeb said, continuing to laugh, Kallus laughing with him. They looked absolutely ridiculous but he couldn’t care less. They were alive and together and that’s all that mattered.

 “I’m glad to finally be back,” Kallus breathed when Zeb finally stopped spinning him around.

 “Me too,” Zeb breathed, his expression softening. “You both took so long we were afraid you didn’t make it….”

 “Rex insisted on making four hyperspace jumps,” Kallus breathed, unconsciously leaning in closer to Zeb.

.

“Sounds about right,” Zeb whispered, pressing his forehead against Kallus’s.

 “I was worried,” Kallus admitted, hardly noticing the others staring at them, they had to have been quite a sight, two grown men hugging and laughing, one holding the other in the air but he could care less. “We lost track of the Ghost in all the chaos and I didn’t see you when we jumped….”

 “We’re all safe, that’s all that matters,” Zeb whispered, leaning in closer.

 “Yes,” Kallus agreed, leaning in as well. He didn’t think as he finally closed the distance, brushing his lips tentatively against Zeb’s before pulling away slightly, uncertain. Zeb however eagerly pressed his lips against Kallus’s in another kiss, Kallus melting into the touch, a soft sigh escaping his lips. When they finally broke for air, Kallus pressed his forehead against Zeb’s, a wide grin breaking across his face, weakly laughing,

 “I can’t believe it took me so long to do that.”

 “Me neither,” Zeb agreed, grinning back at him as Kallus leaned down to kiss him again.

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Breaking Point

((So I can’t find the post but someone mentioned wanting Kalluzeb where Kallus is the one comforting Zeb so here it is!))

Fire and smoke surrounded him, the terrified screaming of his fellow Rebels filled his ears as the base burned around him. Zeb’s feet refused to move to do anything to help stop the needless deaths around him, he was sure on of the many Imperial forces running past him would quickly finish him off but it never happened.

 Through the smoke and fire, Thrawn calmly made his way over to him, the rest of the Ghost crew standing around him, weapons drawn.

 “Captain Syndulla,” Thrawn cooly said, “I will now accept your surrender.”

 “Never!” Kanan roared, charging at him, wilding swinging his lightsaber, only to be gunned down by Thrawn’s death troopers. Thrawn merely smirked at Hera.

 “Now, now captain, surrender and the rest of your crew can live-“

 “I would rather die!” Sabine cried, shooting at Thrawn, Hera following suit with Ezra charging to kill Thrawn. All three where quickly shot down, their bodies crumpling to the ground, lifeless.

 “Now it’s your turn Lasat,” Thrawn growled, the death troopers aiming at Zeb.

 “NO!” A voice shouted, throwing themselves in front of Zeb as the troopers fired. The person was hit with a hailstorm of blaster bolts, their lifeless body hitting the ground infront of Zeb. It was then that he was able to look at the person’s face to find Kallus’s dead eye’s staring up at him.

 “NO!” Zeb cried, bolting up, heart hammering in his chest. Zeb glanced around, desperately looking for his fallen lover.

 “Zeb? Are you alright?” A voice groggily asked, Zeb whipping around to see a very alive but groggy Kallus sitting up, running the sleep out of his eyes. He wasn’t on Attolon, he was safe on the Ghost in his shared room with Kallus. They where safe. Zeb told himself this over and over again, but couldn’t seem to convince himself that the man sitting beside him was alive. “Zeb? Are you alright?” Kallus gently asked.

 Wordlessly, Zeb latched onto Kallus, body shaking as he reached up to comb his hands through Kallus’s hair, desperately trying to convince himself this was real, they were all safe.

 “Did you have a nightmare?” Kallus softly asked, gently petting the base of one of Zeb’s ears.

 “It’s stupid, don’t worry about it-“ Zeb mumbled, burying his face in Kallus’s neck,.

 “Zeb if it’s bugging you it’s not stupid,” Kallus gently said.

 “Other people have been through worse….you went through worse….” Zeb mumbled, reluctantly peeling himself from Kallus’s embrace, his eyes drawn to the scares on Kallus’s body.

 “Hey,” Kallus firmly said. “I cannot imagine how hard all of this has been for you, to see people you care about killed in front of you, especially since you’ve had to endure it once-“

 “Exactly! I-I’ve gotten through this before, I should be able to handle this!”

 “I would hope death wouldn’t get easier to handle,” Kallus said.

 “Why?” Zeb cried, stunned.

 “If a death is easy to handle, that would mean that the person who died didn’t mean all that much to you,” Kallus said, shrugging. “If it hurts, it means their life mattered…it means they meant something too you. If death never hurts, it means that theirs never someone all that important in your life.”

 “That’s….an interesting way to look at it…” Zeb mumbled. It didn’t exactly make the pain any easier, thinking about Atollon and everyone who’d died and all they’d lost still hurt like hell, but Kallus had a point in his own odd way, the pain he felt was a reminder of what he was fighting for, who he was fighting for. It didn’t bring anyone back or make the pain any easier, but it was something that helped him remember to keep fighting.

 “Sorry, I’m terrible at this,” Kallus said, nervously running a hand through his hair.

 “It’s alright,” Zeb mumbled, wrapping his arms around Kallus and pulling him close to his body. “You’re trying, that means so much.”

 “Shouldn’t I be comforting you? Not the other way around?” Kallus gently asked, pulling away from Zeb to look him in the eye.

 “Cuddling makes me feel better,” Zeb said, pouting.

 “I wasn’t referring to the cuddling,” Kallus corrected.

 “You’re doing fine,” Zeb assured.

 “If you say so,” Kallus said, shaking his head with a weak chuckle.

 “I do,” Zeb mumbled, tightly wrapping his arms around Kallus, protectively curling around him.

 “Zeb…did something else happen in the nightmare?” Kallus gently asked. Zeb considered lying or saying he didn’t want to talk about it, but Kallus deserved to know.

 “I saw you die,” Zeb mumbled. “Seeing the others die was horrible but seeing you go down I-I can’t even describe it. You died trying to protect me.”

 “I would do anything to protect you Zeb,” Kallus admitted, “Even if it meant dying.”

 “No!” Zeb cried, tightly grabbing Kallus’s shoulders, their gazes locking. “Please, don’t. I-I can’t lose you-“

“And I can’t lose you,” Kallus desperately said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

 “Kal-”

 “I was nothing before I met you,” Kallus interrupted. “I was a soldier who blindly followed orders no matter how questionable and hurt innocent people- I was a monster Zeb, but you, you helped me see the truth, helped me find the piece of myself that died on Onderon. You saved me in every way possible, and I can never thank you enough for that.”

 “You don’t need to thank me,” Zeb awkwardly mumbled.

 “Yes I do,” Kallus firmly said. Zeb pressed his forehead against Kallus’s and mumbled, “We’re quiet the pair aren’t we?”

 “Yes we are,” Kallus agreed with a small laugh. “I’m sorry I’m supposed to be comforting you but I fear I’ve only upset you.”

 “It’s alright,” Zeb assured, tilting his head up to kiss Kallus’s forehead. “You’re here and safe and that’s the important thing.” Kallus hummed in agreement, softly pecking his lips saying,

 “We should try and get some sleep.”

 “Yea,” Zeb agreed, shifting so he could lay down again, Kallus laying down once Zeb was settled. Zeb however tightly wrapped his arms around Kallus to cuddle him close with a content sigh. “There, much better.” Kallus warmly chuckled, nuzzling close against him, both falling into a peaceful sleep.

[kingdomheartsloversstuff]

Voiceless

So I finally wrote the fic for my Mute Kallus AU! It is the first part in what I hope is several parts. I already have a few other ideas that I’ll be working on over time if people enjoy this one! Anyways hope you enjoy it!

Read it on AO3

@heartbreakerninja

Kallus couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. Grand Admiral Thrawn summoned both Kallus and Lyste for a meeting, saying it was urgent. Had something happened? Had the Rebels attacked an Imperial station? He hoped not, that would have been incredibly stupid of them. A dark part of his mind wondered if Thrawn had discovered he was Fulcrum but pushed the thought out of his mind, if Thrawn knew he was Fulcrum he would have arrest him….right? Kallus calmly walked into Thrawns office, surprised to find he was not studying art as he usually did.

 “Agent Kallus,” Thrawn calmly greeted. “I’d imagine you’re wondering why I summoned you here today.”

 “Yes,” Kallus admitted. “Do you have information on Rebel activity?”

 “No, I have found something even better,” Thrawn said.

 “Something better than the rebels?” Lyste asked.

 “Yes, I have discovered the identity of the Agent known as Fulcrum,” Thrawn calmly said, startling both Lyste and Kallus. “But you already knew who he was Agent Kallus, didn’t you?”

 “I don’t know what you’re-“

 “You are a traitor to the Empire Fulcrum.” On instinct, Kallus turned to run out of the room, but found his way blocked by two Stormtroopers who grabbed him and shoved him down onto one of the chairs

 “So…are you going to kill me?” Kallus spat.

 “Oh no,” Thrawn calmly said as a medical droid entered. “No, that would make you a martyr and we cannot have that. No, I have something much better planned for you. Something that will send a clear message to any who would think to speak out against the Empire.” Kallus’s eyes widened in horror as his head was roughly pulled back and the medical droid starting pulling out tools.

 “W-what are you d-doing?” Kallus gasped, heart hammering in his chest.

 “Silencing you,” Thrawn said as Lyste watched in horror as the droid proceeded. “Permanently.”

 ------

 Lyste couldn’t tear his eyes off of Kallus’s unconscious form as he was dragged out of the room, having passed out part way through the….procedure. Lyste shuddered as he thought of Kallus’s screams of agony that where brutally cut off, leaving the former agent only able to whimper in pain, tears streaming down his face.

 “Is there a problem?” Thrawn cooly asked, startling him.

 “….was it necessary to not sedate him at all?” Lyste nervously asked.

 “Yes,” Thrawn said, “This was his punishment for his crimes against the Empire. He is a warning against those who would think to betray their Emperor.”

 “I see,” Lyste uncertainly said, doubts filtering through his mind. Treason was a serious crime, but this…this was inhuman…They had to be harsh on traitors though, right?

 “You are dismissed.” Thrawn said.

 “Yes sir,” Lyste said, fleeing Thrawns office, his mind swirling with dangerous thoughts. His mind still couldn’t fully process that Kallus was the traitor. Yes he did have access to highly classified information but he was loyal to the Empire above anything else. The more Lyste thought about it however, the more he realized as of late Kallus had been acting….differently. More willing to give up the chase, less likely to jump on anything that hinted at Rebel activity, more willing to speak up to injustices the Empire committed.

 So…maybe he was the traitor, and if he was a traitor he deserved this punishment…. Lystre tried to convince himself of this, but it didn’t sit well with him. No one deserved to go through such torture. And even if someone did…someone as loyal as Kallus defecting seemed wrong. They knew they did questionable things at times to keep peace, but the Rebels where terrorists, they had to do these things to keep peace. But if Kallus had defected despite that…he must have found something absolutely vile the Empire was doing….but what? What could be so terrible that would convince him to leave? He needed answers, now.

 Determined, Lyste found a datapad and made his way to Kallus’s cell, the guards letting him in without any question thankfully. Thankfully, Kallus was awake, curling up in the corner of his cell, eyes glossy, body hunch, like he was trying to protect himself from further harm.

 “Why did you do it?” Lyste asked, Kallus not even having the decency to look at him. “Answer me.” Kallus gingerly tubbed his bandage covered throat, a look of pain crossing his features. “With this.” He added, holding out the datapad for Kallus to take. “Go on, explain yourself!” Kallus however wouldn’t take it, continuing to state at the wall, rubbing his neck, his body trembling.

 “Maybe you did deserve this you traitor!” Lyste spat, freezing when Kallus weakly nodded his head, curling in on himself. Lyste had expected Kallus to try and defend himself or at least villainize the Empire for what they did to Kallus. But this…this was unexpected and a little unnerving. “So you agree you deserved this for betraying the Empire-“ Kallus shook his head, his gaze distant. “What do you mean no? You are a traitor to the Empire!” Kallus tiredly looked at him for a moment before looking away, expression defeated. “Fine, rot in here for all I care!” Lyste snapped, turning and leaving the cell without a second glance back.

 Kallus deserved this, he did this to himself, he probably just wanted power or something. Lyste told himself this over and over again like a mantra, but no matter how many times he told himself this, he couldn’t convince himself.

 ----

 Of course Lyste wouldn’t understand, couldn’t understand. He didn’t know the horrors the Empire had committed, that he’d committed in the name of the Empire. He couldn’t see that Kallus deserved this not for treason, but for not committing treason sooner. He’d let so many innocents suffer and die in the name of justice, he deserved punishment for that. Of course, the rebels might not think that this was enough, they probably would make him pay with his life. A part of him hoped they would, he didn’t deserve to live, not after all he’d done.

 Kallus shivered weakly, curing up in a tighter ball in an attempt to warm himself but to no avail. Why did they have to take the meteor? It was warm and it couldn’t do anything useful in this cell. He wished Thrawn had just killed him, but no that would have been too merciful of him. No, Thrawn wanted him to suffer a long and miserable life so he could slowly suffer for his crimes. All he could hope was that the Rebels wouldn’t attempt to break him out and leave him to rot. It was what he deserved.

 ----

 Something was wrong, it had been weeks since Kallus had sent them any messages and it was starting to worry Zeb. Even if he didn’t have any information, he would have usually at least sent them a quick message to assure them everything was alright. He’d never been silent for so long before…

 “I don’t get why you’re so worried about him,” Ezra said as he watched Zeb pace. “He’s done a lot of terrible things to all of us, especially you.”

 “He’s trying to be better now,” Zeb firmly said. “That’s what’s important, not what he’s done in the past.”

 “Seems important to me…” Ezra grumbled.

 “Zeb’s right,” Kanan said. “Besides he does give valuable intel for us.”

 “Well….yea I guess…” Ezra reluctantly agreed.

 “And he’s risked his life several times not to help us,” Zeb added.

 “Besides, I do recall you weren’t exactly a model citizen when you first joined the crew,” Hera added with a smirk.

 “But I was stealing from the Empire!” Ezra cried.

 “You stole from us,” Zeb corrected.

 “Okay but that’s not trying to kill you.”

 “Yea but some of our own slaughtered his unarmed and injured men,” Zeb said. “He had his reasons to not trust as but now he realizes not all Rebels are like that.”

 “What do you mean?” Hera asked. Zeb cringed, wishing he hadn’t said anything; this was not his story to tell. Thankfully, a messenger saved Zeb from having to respond.

 “Captain, we received a transmission from an Imperial.” The messenger uncertainly said. “He insisted we let him speak with your crew.”

 “Who?” Hera asked.

 “Lieutenant Lyste.”

 “Why would he want to talk to us?” Ezra hissed.

 “Seems suspicious,” Kanan agreed.

 “Put him through, but make sure he can’t see us.” Hera ordered.

 “Yes Captain,” He said, doing as she asked him. Soon Lyste’s holograph appeared and Hera asked,

 “What do you want?”

 “I’m only sending you this message as a courtesy,” Lyste said. “Kallus was revealed to be Fulcrum and has been captured.”

 “What?” Zeb cried. “How could this happen?”

 “Why are you telling us this?” Hera suspiciously asked. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?”

 “I am no fan of your rebellion but….what Thrawn did to Kallus was….vile and wrong-“

 “Done to Kallus?” Zeb asked, “What did he do to him?”

 “I’m sorry I have to go, good luck,” Lyste said before ending the transmission.

 “I don’t know about you but this doesn’t sit right with me,” Hera said.

 “Me neither,” Ezra said.

 “I think he’s telling the truth,” Zeb said, “We haven’t heard from Kallus in way too long.” Chopper eagerly beeped and Hera said,

 “Sounds like Chopper agrees with you.”

 “His vote doesn’t count!” Ezra cried.

 “Why not?” Hera asked. “He is a member of the crew.”

 “What do you two think?” Zeb asked.

 “…I don’t trust Kallus but….I do trust your opinion so I think we should go.”

 “I agree,” Kanan said. “If we leave Kallus after all he’s done to help us, we’re no better than the Empire.”

 “I guess we’re going on a rescue mission,” Hera said, smiling at Zeb.

 ----

 Kallus had long since lost track of how long he’d been in his cell. His cell didn’t get any sunlight and food was sporadic at best. Not that Kallus really ate much when anything was brought. Swallowing anything was agonizing, his throat throbbed at even the thought of trying to swallow anything. He knew he needed to eat, but that didn’t make it any easier for him.

 Maybe he could just stop eating and waste away to nothingness….Kallus almost immediately shoved the thought out of his mind, the Empire would just find a way to force feed him the nutrients he needed to survive. He had to live as an example after all. An example of what though? Absolute hatred by every living creature in the universe? The Empire saw him as a traitor, and the Rebels saw him as nothing but Imperial trash. Even if they didn’t, it there was no way they could rescue him…

 Kallus tiredly looked up at the door at the sound of muffled shouting, what was going on? He heard the familiar sound of blaster fire with even more shouting. Where the rebels here? Why would they come here? Surely not for him….distantly he heard the familiar sound of a bo-rifle firing and realized Zeb was here. If Zeb was here…that meant the Rebels had come, for him of all people. A small grin rose on his face at the thought, someone cared enough to rescue him, the smile quickly fell off of his face though when he realized they probably only came to get intel that he did not have and could no longer give even if he had any. He was completely useless to everyone now. What would they do to him when they realized what the Empire did to him?

 The door to his cell opened, Kallus tensed half expecting it to be Stormtroopers, relaxing when it was in fact Zeb standing there.

 “He’s in here guys!” Zeb called out, relief spreading across his features. “Are you alright.”

 Kallus nodded his head, a small smile on his face despite everything. It was odd, knowing that there was actually someone in the Galaxy who cared about his wellbeing and was actually happy to see he was alive. He wasn’t sure he could exactly call themselves friends, but maybe someday he could. If they both survived. His smile quickly fell when he realized Zeb probably didn’t actually care about him, just the information he thought Kallus had.

 “Kal, is everything okay?” Zeb asked.

 “Now is not the time for small talk Zeb!” The young Jedi, Ezra, exclaimed. “We need to move!”

 “Can you walk?” Zeb asked. Kallus nodded, shakily getting to his feet making Zeb frown. Wordlessly, he reached out to help Kallus out of the cell.

 “What? No thank you?” Ezra grumbled, rolling his eyes. Kallus instinctively rubbed his throat over the bandages, wincing. How was he going to let them know he couldn’t talk anymore? Zeb stared at Kallus’s face, his eyes trailing down to the bandage wrapped around his throat, eyes widening in horror.

 “I…I don’t think he can….” Zeb breathed.

 “What does that mean?” Ezra snapped.

 “We can talk about this later!” Kanan exclaimed, “We have company!” Kanan’s words spurred the group into action, Zeb carefully leading Kallus down the halls towards where Kallus assumed they were keeping their ship with Kanan and Ezra at the rear, thankfully meeting very little resistance as they raced back to the ship.

 “Sabine’s diversion must be working,” Ezra commented.

 “Maybe a little too well,” Kanan nervously said.

 “She’ll be fine,” Ezra assured as the ship came into view, the Mandalorian girl Sabine running towards them.

 “Let’s move it!” Sabine cried, the group running onto the ramp.

 “Spector two this is Spector one, we’re all aboard!” Kanan said into his comm link.

 “Come on, let’s get you to the medbay,” Zeb softly said, Kallus tiredly nodding in agreement as the Ghost flew to safety. He was safe.

 -----

 “Zeb was right,” Hera sighed as she stepped out of the medbay, “Kallus can’t speak.”

 “How? What happened?” Ezra asked.

 “According to the meddroid, his vocal cords where removed,” Hera said, jaw clenched.

 “That’s horrible,” Ezra cried.

 “It’s going to be hard adjusting to this,” Hera agreed, eyes flashing, “We gave him a datapad with a translator for him to use to talk until we find a better way for him to communicate but he’s not talking much.”

 “In which sense,” Kanan asked with a smirk.

 “You know what I mean,” Hera sighed. “All he’d say is he didn’t know anything of use to us.”

 “Maybe I should try talking to him,” Zeb offered, “I’m sort of a friend so maybe he’ll open up to me?”

 “I think we should give him a little space, he’ll talk when he’s ready.” Hera said.

 “I’m not so sure….” Zeb mumbled.

 “He’s been through a lot, just give him some time,” Hera firmly said. “In the meantime we’ll hunt down the bastards that did this to him.”

 “Alright…” Zeb reluctantly agreed, praying to Ashla Hera was right.

 -----

 A week later, Kallus was released from the med bay and was given his own room on base. Though Commander Sato and others urged Kallus to share any information he had, Kallus remained silent. Despite his continued silence, Commander Sato found some useful information for Kallus to learn sign language so he could communicate more easily with everyone on base, but according to him, Kallus hadn’t touched anything given to him.

 Enough was enough, something was wrong and Zeb was going to get to the bottom of it. Ignoring Hera’s plea’s to give him a little more time, Zeb made his way to Kallus’s room, knocking on the door before stepping inside. Kallus glanced up at Zeb, looking surprised for a moment before grabbing his datapad and typing out, a robotic voice speaking as he typed the words,

 “Hello Zeb I am surprised to see you.” Sitting up from his position on the bed.

 “Sorry I didn’t come sooner,” Zeb said, walking over to the bed. “Can I join you?” Kallus eagerly nodded, scooting over to make room for him. “Thanks.” Zeb said, sitting down.

 “Don’t be sorry I know you’re busy,” Kallus quickly typed out.

 “Not really, Hera said I should give you some space but I heard you haven’t really been talking to anyone and….I wanted to make sure you where okay.” Zeb admitted, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Kallus froze, his face falling.

 Kallus started to type something several times before quickly erasing it before the translator could start to translate it before eventually typing, “I know your friends don’t believe me but I swear I have no useful information. The only thing I know for sure is Imperial protocol but your friend Sabine already knows most if not all of that.”

 “I believe you,” Zeb assured. “But I more meant just….talking or even practicing that sign language stuff.”

 “Oh.” Kallus said, pausing to think of what to say before typing, “No one on this base knows it, so what’s the point of learning?”

 “How do you know no one knows?” Zeb curiously asked.

 “It took a week for Sato to find what he did, don’t you think he would have just sent someone who knew it already if there was someone on base who could?” Kallus typed out, sighing heavily, rubbing his throat.

 “I…I honestly didn’t think about that….”

 “I don’t think anyone did,” Kallus typed.

 “Well that’s not right,” Zeb said.

 “Hardly anything is.” Kallus typed. “Besides, no one here really wants to talk to me anyways.”

 “I do,” Zeb firmly said.

 “You do?” Kallus typed, surprise etched across his features.

 “I do, we are friends right?” Zeb asked.

 “I yes I suppose so,” Kallus typed, a small smile on his face.

 “So I’ll learn with you,” Zeb said. “Might make it easier that way since we both can practice with each other.” Kallus beamed and Zeb and typed,

 “Thank you Zeb.” Before pulling up one of the files Commander Sato sent him.