Star Wars Rebels: Hera & Kanan

Chapter Two

(Another shorter chapter that immediately follows the previous one. Hera shows Kanan around her ship.)

Hera could feel Kanan's eyes on her as he followed her down the corridor of her ship, towards the cockpit. She suspected that he was admiring the view, too. Appreciative gazes rarely bothered her; she was used to leering eyes, and she refused to expend the extra energy getting angry about it. Let him look, she thought. At least he was young and handsome- a pleasant change from the crusty, dirty spacers and smugglers she was used to.

She stopped in front of her own cabin, turning to look at him. His blue-green eyes twinkled, and up close, Hera could see light gold-brown freckles dusted across the bridge of his nose and cheekbones. She blinked, feeling her cheeks grow a bit warm. He was handsome, but it wouldn't do at all to get distracted by that.

"This is my cabin," she said in a businesslike tone, gesturing to the door on the left. Then she pointed to the door across the corridor. "That's yours."

Kanan grinned- he was still in very good spirits, despite Chopper's recent attack on his leg- and pressed the button that opened the cabin door. He poked his head inside and peered around, looking positively gleeful.

"This is going to be a really nice change from sleeping on the floor of The Asteroid Belt," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "More often than not, you wake up sticky...and you don't know exactly why, either."

Hera found herself enjoying his exuberance. "You can have one of the other two if you want," she told him, "but this one is a little bit bigger."

He turned to look at her, and a sly smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "No, this is perfect. It's right across the corridor from yours."

Her eyebrows shot up and her lips pursed as she internally braced for more of his shameless flirting.

Kanan rambled on, undeterred by her expression. "It's a straight shot, just in case you need me in the middle of the sleep cycle for an emergency...or, you know...some company." His eyes sparkled, and the devilish smile he gave her had surely beguiled many a woman across the galaxy.

Hera planted her fists on her hips, arching one eyebrow and twisting her mouth into a skeptical smirk.

"That's a really nice offer, but I think I'm going to have to pass," she said, barbing her words with icy spikes of sarcasm. She wondered (and probably not for the last time) if she had made a mistake in bringing this ostensible scoundrel on board her ship. If he was indeed a Jedi, it was clear that he'd long ago parted ways with the ascetic teachings of his youth.

He grinned, not looking the least bit disappointed. "The offer is on the table, in case you change your mind."

"Don't hold your breath."

Kanan shrugged. "Suit yourself, Captain," he said, as his attention was suddenly caught by the closed door at the end of the corridor. His eyes lit up. "Is that the cockpit?" he asked, pointing at it. For the moment, his attempt to flirt with her was completely forgotten.

She nodded and pressed the button to open the door, her lips quirking into a little smile that he didn't see. He was already through the door.

As he started exclaiming with delight, Hera caught herself grinning. Maybe he was a scoundrel- or maybe it was all an act, designed to better hide his true identity- either way, she knew that having him on board would never be boring.  

Notes: 

The original plan for these shorter chapters was to turn them into comics, but it didn't work out (if there are any artists out there who are into it, feel free to contact me). I figured I'd just write them out fully and add them on to the beginning of this fic, and I think it worked out pretty well. I never intended to have a single plot, or to follow any kind of overarching story with this fic, but instead to have it be more like a series of vignettes or one shots with some smaller story arcs. Ultimately, I'm writing what I want to read, and that's not going to work for everyone...but for those of you who are reading and enjoying it, thank you!