‪kanan and hera are each other’s light and joy ‬

Nightmares

Hey queens! So this fic can also be found on my ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flying_kanery. But I didn't want to post the link to the actual fic on ao3 here on tumblr because I want to stay true to my tumblr roots lmao and I feel like if I just post the link here and the text of the fic under it, people will just immediately click the ao3 link (and I don't blame y'all haha, it's definitely what I would do😂) but I want it to be the reader's deliberate choice as to whether they want to read it on tumblr or ao3 lol. In other words, I want to give tumblr a fair chance lmao.

I really overcomplicate everything.

Anywho lol, I hope y'all enjoy some hurt/comfort! I also hope this serves as a reminder for you all that you are infinetely more than enough, but it's okay to need to be reminded of that sometimes. That is what space husbands are for, right? ;)

Here's the fic:

Inspired by this line from the amazing fic What’s Past is Prologue by IKnowWhatToSayNow (https://www.tumblr.com/iknowwhattosaynow):

“It terrifies her. It haunts her in her sleep. It tugs at her heart so heavily that Kanan can feel it as his own pain.”

~

“Ah!”

She was so cold.

Why couldn’t she find him?

He was there—but she couldn’t find him.

Something was surrounding her, clenching her body in its unrelenting fist. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

It was chasing her, but it somehow already had a hold on her. It always had a hold on her.

She started weeping.

Where was he?

Her cries got progressively louder and more strained.

It was inescapable. It was the feelings she denied herself when she was awake. It tore her apart, it was cathartic, and strangely, exhilarating.

She wanted it to stop—but she needed it to keep going.

It was an unyielding aching in her heart. A yearning, a longing, that could never be fulfilled. At least not in her dream—no matter how much, how far she kept on chasing it.

But it was chasing her. It was a cycle.

A never-ending, dizzying cycle that haunted her in her sleep and ruled her life when she woke.

There was only one thing that made it all stop. One thing that made it all make sense. One thing that gave her peace and love and purpose.

And she knew he was there.

She couldn’t find him—

But she knew he was there.

And that was all that mattered.

This couldn’t last too much longer, right?

She just had to keep going.

He’d take care of the rest.

He’d be enough.

She just had to not give up and believe in him.

He’d make it all make sense.

He’d turn it all for good

…

She wouldn’t give up.

She never did.

And that’s all she had to do.

She rolled over in Kanan’s arms

~

Kanan’s eyes opened slowly. He immediately looked down to see the woman he loved beside him. The first thing he saw in the morning—and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

She looked so peaceful asleep. Her mind in another world, her body vaguely still aware that he was holding her—at peace, despite everything. Despite the fact that she might be having a bad dream, despite the fears that could very well be preying on her as she snores softly beside him.

He tried protecting her from it.

But he knew that sometimes the best thing he could do for her was just let her sleep—and be there for her when she woke up—to remind her that it was just a dream, and that this was her real life now. That she had him and he would do whatever it takes to be everything she needs.

That he could do.

~

The next night:

CRASH

“AGH!” Kanan screamed.

“Kanan!”

“Ah,” Hera cried in her sleep.

Kanan stirred, but didn’t quite wake.

He was being crushed by the giant piece of rubble on top of him.

“KANAN!”

“Kanan!” she moaned in agony.

She sobbed uncontrollably.

He woke at that.

“Hera?” Ridden with concern, he looked down at her to find her tossing and turning almost violently in his arms.

She was still completely asleep, but something about her pain just felt so real.

They were grasping her arms. They wouldn’t let her go. She used all the strength she had, pushed with her entire body to get them off of her—but it wasn’t enough.

She couldn’t get to him. They were keeping her from running to him.

They were forcing her to helplessly watch the man she loved suffer

“Kanan,” this time the second syllable is a choked sob, “Kanan.”

This tore at his heart. Feeling like he was going to start crying himself, he held her closer and gently stroked the side of her face. Desperately beckoning her to wake from her nightmare, he pressed his lips to her forehead and softly called, “Hera.”

“Hera!” He reached out to her from underneath the rubble, screaming for her to save him,

but it was too late.

“NO!” 

She screamed, louder than she thought she’d ever screamed before.

More rubble crumbled onto him and crushed his body completely.

“NO!” she sobbed even louder.

The rubble consumed him. The rubble got him. The rubble got her. The rubble would always get to her. The rubble would be what keeps her from him.

FEAR

That was the rubble. The unnecessary trash that took up so much space in her life. Seemingly, not a big deal—seemingly, harmless—her heart hoarded it until it filled her entire body, until it brimmed the outskirts of her very being.

How could he break through that much fear? He wasn’t sure how, but he would. He would find a way—for Hera.

“Hera, please,” he begged, “Please, wake up.” He ran his hand over the top of her lek, using all the will he had to help her escape from her awful dream. All of his energy—he focused it on trying to pull her out.

He’s gone.

“Hera,” he gently shook her.

Suddenly, she jerked awake.

She breathed heavily and looked straight ahead, as if her mind hadn’t even acknowledged that he was right there next to her. As she took in her surroundings and seemed to remember where she was, she turned to face him.

She looked into his eyes and uttered his name as if it was a miracle that he was there beside her.

“Kanan?”

“Hera,” he replied softly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. She started crying again and he just held her tighter.

He kissed the top of her head, “It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re together. No one could ever take me from you.”

She snuggled in closer to his chest. Sweet Hera. She deserves none of this.

“You’ll never lose me,” he nuzzled his face in between her lekku, “You’ll never lose me.”

“I just don’t want to be alone again,” she said in a quiet voice.

“I know–”

“And it was my fault, Kanan.”

“No, no never. Never think you’re not doing enough, Hera. Never think that you’re not enough to keep me with you—to keep anyone from taking me away.”

A silent moment, then, “But I couldn’t protect you.”

Another quiet moment passed as Kanan considered his response.

“If you need to protect me, you’ll be more than capable of doing so, Hera…but you just have to trust me when I say that no one can keep me from you, okay?”

Hera hesitated, then against his chest said, “I’ll try.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he responded gently. “I’ll prove it to you. Every day.” He ran his hand up and down her back soothingly, “Okay?”

“Okay,” she said in a slightly happier voice than before. She nuzzled sweetly into his chest. He could tell she was drifting back to sleep.

“I love you,” he said against her forehead.

“I love you too,” she smiled sleepily.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed! I love you all so much<3

They called it “The Joke”.

Over the years, Kanan both borrowed and created more Dad Jokes than anyone cared to count.

But this joke. This was the one that ruled them all.

Actually, this joke didn’t even start its life as a Dad Joke. No, this one began when Kanan Jarrus was just a boy. Standing in front of a girl. Hoping she would like his waffles.

Mere seconds earlier, the warm aroma of vanilla, cinnamon, and butter made him confident that this would be his best batch ever, but Kanan froze as he set the plate down in front of Hera. Despite his best efforts to dress up the waffles with delicious fixings, he couldn’t help but notice that the boring quadrilateral shape of their recently acquired second or third-hand waffle iron left much to be desired.

As he stared at her breakfast, Hera, who was more than satisfied with someone else making breakfast for her and even more than a little bit hungry, looked up at Kanan and smiled.

“Ummm…this looks great. Thank you, love.”

At the sound of her melodious voice, Kanan met her eyes and found himself smiling back. In that moment, he would’ve given her the moon. Any moon. Of her choosing.

Oh, wait. He'd already done that.

But, anyway, on this day, all he had to offer her was waffles.

So he looked away bashfully because she’d called him ‘love’, and when his eyes came to rest on the waffles again, he saw them from a new angle.

A light went on (and never turned off).

“You’re welcome, *ahem*…Hera. But, hey, these aren’t just any waffles. Look,” he said as he rotated the plate for her, “See? I made Ghost waffles for you.”

Hera smirked because it was endearing and yet incredibly cheesey, and in response to her curious eyebrow, Kanan encouraged her to look again. She could almost see it when she squinted.

“Oooohhhh…” said Hera with a little appreciative chuckle. “So you did. Well, that was very sweet of you, Kanan. Thank you.”

Kanan chuckled in return. “You’re welcome," he replied, but he remained standing, a silly grin on his face.

“Uhhh…Kanan?”

“Yes?”

“Can we…eat…now?”

“Oh! Yeah! Right. Of course.”

As they became more comfortable with each other - and ate waffles more often than Hera ever thought she would - that original joke was dropped, mostly at Hera’s request, since he made mention of it, well, almost every time they ate waffles. Which was a lot.

So it was forgotten.

Until they started picking up new crew members.

Then it became a sort of initiation. The Joke.

Every time it was pretty much the same - Kanan delivered the plate. Then he swiveled the plate. There was squinting, a weak chuckle, groaning/smiling/nodding/eye rolling depending on who was present.

After a while, when there weren't any more new initiates, but Kanan still threw the joke out there most of the times that he made waffles for the crew. He even began a campaign to get everyone to call them Ghost Waffles.

It never took off.

He had to finally give up on The Joke when his beloved, four-square waffle iron bit the dust. For Life Day, the crew pitched in and got him a new one.

It was Alderaan-style, the crew insisted, because they just wanted to switch to the fluffier version with the deeper syrup pockets. Kanan knew the truth.

The Joke was over.

Unfortunately, while the round shape of the Alderaanian waffles DID give him some new ideas, there was no way Hera would even let him attempt to joke about assembling Millennium Falcon waffles.

So again, The Joke was over. And the war was on. There was very little time or resources to put into waffles then, and, eventually, everyone went their separate ways. Life moved on.

One day, several years later, it was late afternoon, and the Swaffle House was closed for the day when the Wafflemaster (as he was known then) served his six-year-old son a plate of waffles.

Jacen was bouncing up and down on his high stool from the way his legs are swinging excitedly beneath him. At the delivery of his sweet treat, he looked up and grinned widely at his father behind the counter, and Kanan smiled at him in return.

Then he swiveled the plate.

“Check it out, Jacen! I made GHOST waffles!”

Jacen abruptly stopped bouncing. As he scrunched up his nose, his pointed ears twitched slightly as he tilted his head. Then the boy looked down at his waffles and then back up again, glaring suspiciously at his father.

“Daaaaad…waffles can’t be GHOSTS!!”

“No! That’s not -“ Kanan sighed and gripped the counter as he hung his head. Even though he wasn't sure it was going to be worth the effort, the lad still seemed confused. So…do or do not…commit to the bit, that is.

"No. Jacen. Look," said Kanan as he removed a small holoprojector from his apron pocket. "Not ghosts. THE GHOST! Mama’s ship! Look - see how they're the same shape?"

Kanan outlined the shape of the Ghost in the hologram, and then he did the same for the waffles. Jacen followed along, and the same light that lit up Kanan all those years ago lit up his son, too.

"OOOOOHHHHH! GHOST WAFFLES!!"

A great, big belly laugh erupted out of the small boy, and Kanan couldn't help but join in.

“Dad, you’re HILARIOUS!” Jace said between giggles.

Kanan beamed. It might’ve been his best day ever.

Then suddenly, Jacen stopped laughing.

"But, wait! Dad! Waffles don't flyyyyyyyy!"

Kanan smirked. "Oh, they don't, huh?"

Jacen's dad, a Hero of the Rebellion, one of the few remaining Jedi, and a survivor of Order 66, reached out his hand, and made his son's waffle fly.

Kanan's son did the same.

It was short time later, amongst the "pew-pew-pews" and "vroooooms" and "I need more firepower", that the Syndulla-Jarrus men were halted by a distinctive, female "AHEM".

Cold waffles dropped suddenly to the floor.

Hera, who had entered the building by way of the kitchen's back door, had witnessed much of the Ghost Waffles event from behind the pass-through window. Pushing through the swinging door, she emerged just behind the counter where she paused for a moment to look like she meant business. But instead, as she studied the father and son who wore the same sheepish grins, Hera thought that besides the mess and the fact that Jacen probably hadn’t eaten yet, she was the luckiest woman in the galaxy. Her stoic commander face quickly melted into a slow smile. She couldn't wait to tell them the news.

But first, that mama-to-be was hungry.

"So, what's a General gotta do to get some of her own Ghost Waffles around here?"

Kanan and Jacen exchanged a look and a big sigh of relief, and they both let off some nervous laughter. Making haste towards the kitchen and his wife, Kanan scooped up the trashed waffles as he went.

"Coming right up, General Hera," said Kanan, kissing her emerald cheek as he passed by.

"Mama!" cried Jacen as he hopped down from atop his stool (where he'd been standing) and ran around the counter to grab her in a fierce hug.

Hera looked down and ruffled his green head. "You'll probably want to get Jacen some fresh ones, too," she called to Kanan. Jacen nodded eagerly at his mama.

"Already on it," Kanan called back.

Hera lifted Jacen in her arms, resting him on her hip so that they could both see Kanan in the pass-through. "Thanks, Love. Oh, and hey," she said while he gathered ingredients. "I was thinking…maybe you should change the name on the menu, too." Hera looked between her guys, reveling in their joy-filled faces. “You know, since the Ghost Waffles are so popular and all.”

Kanan beamed.

"Yeah…yeah, I’d like that. If you’d like it" he said. When she nodded in agreement, he whooped and high-fives his son through the window. "Ghost Waffles for everyone!" Kanan said as he retreated happily into the kitchen to prepare a late lunch (or was it early dinner) for the people he loved the most.

No longer a joke, Kanan’s Ghost Waffles officially became a part of their family history, and they shared them with the galaxy. To this day, when you take your date to the Swaffle House in the early morning hours, you can still read about them next to a sketch of a VCX-100 on the back of a sticky menu.

(Inspired by @kanerallels Steve Miller AU! And her love of waffles.)

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: mentions of broken bones and internal bleeding, car crashes Characters: Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger Summary:

Kanan’s hunt through the woods intersects with Hera’s late-night patrol—quite painfully. She mistakes him for a wolf and rushes his furry shebs to the animal hospital. Luckily, Intern Ezra is there to help. Hopefully they can make up a lie to explain what’s going on; otherwise Hera might question what or who exactly she’s hit.

~

wow look at me, I went and wrote something for my dumb werewolf au. also first rebels fic! *aggressively twirls a handkerchief above my head*

§

§

On Ryloth it was both understood and encouraged that people express passion for life in different ways. Of these many types of people in the world, Hera Syndulla had once observed that there were two complete opposites in her immediate family.

First, the quiet and studious type. Most who know them might not perceive the intensity they feel, for outwardly you see nothing but the gentle turning of pages which barely makes a sound. Hera’s uncle Inele was this type. He could sit in the corner of the library reviewing a document with such intense attention that the building could fall down all around him and he wouldn’t even notice.

Second, the bright and sunny type, who wear their energy on their sleeves. Hera’s mother Eleni was like this, with a free laugh and song on her lips. Sometimes she was just humming absently while she did some chore or errand, but music was present within her and could not help but make itself known.

Music was such a big part of who Eleni was that she had made a career out of it, before troubled times made that impractical. After the siege she joined her husband’s cause and she let her former career fall into obscurity for the sake of Rebellion. She still sang when she put her children to sleep, and if they had time to be romantic, she sang for her husband while they watched the stars together.

OH THIS IS GOOD. THIS IS REALLY GOOD

More thoughts under the cut cause they're long and spoiler-y for followers who haven't read this yet!

Inquisitor!Kanan imagine

I’m not sure how the numbering system works for the inquisitors but I’ve seen two prevailing theories: one, based on first come first serve so whoever was inducted into the order earlier on gets a lower number, OR two, the more powerful or respected the inquisitor, the lower the number. I’m inclined to believe it’s simply the former because it’s easier to keep track of them that way and also newer members could be coming in all the time so that could put the number system in constant flux depending on how powerful the new recruits are. Plus Reva was stated to be the Third Sister in Obi-wan’s show but she was consistently treated like lesser than other inquisitors with higher numbers and didn’t seem to outrank any of them. either way, Kanan would have to be a lower number like three or four because he is considerably powerful, but he was also a padawan during the war and would have joined the order earlier than anyone who might have been recruited without first going through Jedi training.

I think he was definitely coerced into joining and didn’t willingly fall. Yes, he had a lot of doubt and fear after 66 but he was also a very bright, pure-hearted soul that never turns to the darkness in canon despite having these negative influences. It would make a lot of sense if he was forced to turn himself in to save someone like a friend or group of innocents. I like the idea of @kanerallels where he works with Kasmir for a while but I think it’s out of character for him to get too close to someone what with the fresh paranoia idk. maybe it’s a Cal kind of situation. yada-yada, saves someone with his powers, starts a rumor, gets yoinked by the order. They offer him the choice of joining or dying; he refuses stoutly at first, of course, but they probably torture him enough that he loses track of up and down and he’s… still a kid at that point, so he accepts the training. Vader and One were hesitant to kill him anyway because they needed some minions STAT and actually the survivors weren’t as easy to find as they thought. a handful of living jedi were collected from the purge; they’re still working on Cere, and there’s a mortally-wounded youngling that can use the conditioning room after Caleb when he’s done. (He was actually going by Kanan when they found him, but his real name is the one they make him forget).

Eventually he becomes a very efficient Inquisitor. Mans could probably buy a vending machine with his body count. His fighting style is elegant but ruthless, and he still has a subtle preference for Form III—though he can’t remember why. Not that it matters. He gets results, and he doesn’t fail often. Vader sends him to do stuff when they want a quick, quiet job, or intimidation. Secretly tho, Kanan likes the chaos of a good shootout, and speeder chases are always fun. He doesn’t outwardly emphasize what seems fun. This man put so much effort into building an image of a fierce, serious, menacing dark-sider mystic, if only to protect the small side of him that likes to snark and banter and relax and be easy that’s also buried very deep beneath his layers of cold rage and bitterness and trauma and itchy indignation. Putting himself above others is habit now, but that doesn’t mean his knee-jerk instinct to protect and defend and care (and be a space dad) is completely off the table.

Constant torture is something of a philosophy for the Inquisitors and also that makes the yummy angst soup so something about Kanan needs to be subjecting him to perpetual pain other than the crystal in his saber. It could just be the bonds that shackle him to the Grand Inquisitor and Vader and the others that make his brain a thorn field. If you want to branch out with the creativity, you could do something like a chip implant in slaves from the concept of this post, though Vader and GI Hoe would probably not rely on technology to dole out punishments. They’d probably just do ouchies straight into the mind of the inquisitor they happened not to like. Either way, they’ve designed an inquisitor’s existence to be a living hell, for the dual purpose of giving them an endless power supply and also for discouraging any thought of insubordination.

Kanan’s done all the bad stuff over the years. Still hates clones, feels betrayed by them, may or may not have murdered Grey and Stiles himself depending on how angsty you want to make this. Has certainly rearranged a few planetary governments. Definitely bled a crystal (took more than all of his strength to accomplish. Vader worked it into his torture. Caleb’s saber is hidden somewhere on Kaller still, so they gave him Depa’s crystal because that’s angsty and forced him to bleed it red. he used to think of her crystal as having such a sweet, melodious voice, full of soothe and courage and music. Now it just screams at him. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day, agony like nothing else. His ears drip blood if he listens too hard, sometimes his eyes and nose too. But that’s fine. He draws power from the pain). Can’t tell you how many stormtroopers he’s killed or injured for being an inconvenience or for failing. He’s often sent to check up on officers who are suspected of underperforming. Or as reinforcements against rebellious activity. I think he should meet Hera that way, actually.

Picture the chaos on Gorse. Picture annoying Count Vidian (or not, if you don’t feel brave). picture the incompetency, and the bad reports collected by local intelligence. Palpatine’s council is not pleased with the way things are progressing. He tells Vader to dispatch an agent for resolution. Kanan actually volunteers (in an appropriate way, of course), because he’s bored. He flirts with Sloan a bit, also out of boredom. He looks down his nose at Vidian, presents everyone his most imposing demeanor—his most chilling death stare—snaps a few necks because ugh peasants.

But then like stuff starts blowing up and what the kark why are politics also involved? Kanan has to jump into the action (oh boohoo *in a sarcastic voice*). This person’s getting lots of babies, that person’s infiltrating a ferris wheel spaceship, this person’s a deranged psychopath conspiracy theorist with half a set of working teeth, that person is too old to be getting up to crime and shenanigans and desperately needs a new hoverbus, this and that, everyone’s all over the place. Kanan has to contemplate in the bridge with his hands on his hips for a second before deciding where his presence would get the most crap done. he eventually hops over to the ferris wheel harvester space ship where vidian is getting his but kicked by mom, dad, grandma, and the weird uncle they keep in the basement. the floor is covered in acid and multiple things are exploding/on fire. Kanan is mildly pissed that vidian tried to blow up the moon because the play is totally petty and political (plus subconsciously Kanan would hate to see such a natural beauty go; not that he’d ever admit a thing like that aloud). Anyway Kanan emerges into the fray as dramatically as possible (Vader trained him well), materialized from the shadows and ghostly chemical firelight. He has a helmet that obscures his face and makes him look really scary. Everyone is scared when they realize he’s there. He doesn’t exactly make the situation better, because the ship is condemned by the time he sets foot on board, but he manages to get a monologue of vidian’s evil plan with his holorecorder thing to show his boss and also kills a few storm troopers for shooting at him by accident and also stabs vidian in the throat on the way to the control room to download some other evidence proving that vidian’s endeavors in the system are sabotage. on the way back to his shuttle he spots Hera and the gang making a break for it, pursued by troopers. something something, blah blah, catwalk falls and Kanan catches it before it can crush them. He was going to super-jump over there and lop that twi-lek’s pretty head off since obviously she’s the leader of this mad operation, but she yells something over the noise (maybe a solid “holy kark, what is that?” while pointing at Kanan’s spooky form half-visible through the smoke and flames) and he freezes where he is because… because… she’s already out of range and he should spend the ship’s last few seconds in one piece to escape rather than waste time tracking down a handful of radicals (or at least, that’s what he put in his report anyway. privately, he knows it’s because her voice… her voice is the most beautiful, blissful thing he’s ever heard, and for half a second she made the pain go away).

but seeing Hera isn’t immediate sanctification. Kanan goes back to his agonizing life, after what his superiors deem a successful salvage on his part; he goes back to hunting children and tracking rumors of surviving Jedi and growing colder and more bitter and darker in the Force (and tired. very tired of it all, but he’s not allowed to say that so he doesn’t). I think his personality would reflect Dooku’s a lot actually. He’s cold and uncaring, vicious in a frighteningly professional way, composed and refined, steadfast. He does maintain that spark of pizzas and goof, but it rarely manifests itself outwardly as he’s learned to conceal his true reactions. And even when he does express that he’s amused or flamboyant or chaotic, it’s always tainted by his bitterness. He hasn’t laughed in years.

The funny thing is that Hera took one look at this piping hot mess of a man and said I can fix him send tweet. 

I’m keeping Okadiah alive fight me. he joins her crew after helping her save Cynda, makes excellent friends with Chopper, and acts like a warm fatherly figure when she has her doubts or when the exhaustion creeps in. He trusts her judgment, even when it comes to Kanan. despite, you know, inquisitor!kanan being a terrible person with lots of blood on his hands.

by the time Gorse happens, it seems to me that the inquisitors are a mostly mystical legendary sort of gig that people tell ghost stories around campfires about and not a tangible organization that logically parallels the ranks of the imperial military. that being said, Kanan should be the first inquisitor that Hera’s seen. She mentions his presence to Fulcrum the next time they talk: the way he dropped the room’s temperature just by being there, the way the darkness dragged at him, the way he caught a catwalk with his mind, saving his own life and hers by chance, and the sleek lightsaber that swung on his hip whose color she’d never seen a Jedi wield. She knows he couldn’t possibly be jedi because those were imperial insignia slashed in angry white on his armor, and the empire slaughtered all the jedi. Fulcrum very solemnly warns Hera to never engage such an individual. if she encounters one again, she is to run, and run like she’s never run in all her life; Fulcrum has heard rumors of a new order of sensitives, and she knows painfully well what they are capable of. She can guess what it is they’ve been trained to do. No amount of resolve on Hera’s part could hope to resist one such… inquisitor, as they’ve learned to call them. if she were ever captured, they could easily extract her secrets. her only hope if she sees Kanan again is to book it and pray he doesn’t give chase.

Unfortunately, Hera takes that advice with a grain of salt.

Not to be mistaken, she has a healthy appreciation for the danger that the inquisitors pose, but she’s always been a stubborn one, kark it, and no amount of intimidation ever slowed her down. I haven’t decided yet if I want them to meet again over the next few years. while that would be funso, it wouldn’t make a ton of sense. Either way, Kanan’s redemption doesn’t fully start until Ezra comes into the picture, since that’s when he begins hunting them full-time.

He’s assigned to investigate rumors of a sensitive boy on Lothal who seems to have aided a local rebel cell. the mandate—as with every other encounter involving sensitives—is recruit or neutralize. Kanan’s never failed to deliver. But there’s a first time for everything.

To be fair, he’s caught off guard by seeing… that twi-lek again. He’d managed to carefully tuck the memory of her into a box in his mind and bury her deep where she won’t be a distraction, but it all comes rushing back the moment he hears her ethereal voice over his shoulder, and he turns and there she is, somehow more lovely and beautiful than he recalled. She’s staring at him in hard determination, pointing her gun directly at his visor: a gesture so bold and foolish that no one’s ever attempted since he donned the uniform. He’s momentarily intrigued.

The twi is sharp and fun, meeting him quip for quip. she’s smart, strategic, really an excellent leader all around, and her plans to evade him actually provide an engaging challenge. She’s protecting his target with a vicious ferocity he’s never seen before—(has he? hasn’t he? he could have sworn he’d seen this before: a woman protecting her child with everything she had to give. hasn’t he seen that? somewhere? but she told him to run, and not look back, so there’s no way he saw it at all because he did what she said like a coward and—he can’t remember). She’s willing to sacrifice herself to keep Kanan away from the boy, which is quite impressive, he thinks. Some parents lose hope too quickly. They don’t stand a chance resisting. This twi is nothing like them.

Of course, Ezra and Kanan are fated to share a bond in the Force, so as soon as they meet, Kanan’s immediately like hey that’s my kid and a banner pops up at the top right of the screen that says “child acquired” and the Force tapes a straw to both their brains so now they’re Connected. neither of them notice at first, between the general chaos of the Ghost crew, the obligatory deja vu, Ezra’s unchecked powers going haywire, and Kanan being a jerk/trying to kill them all. It’s the first time Kanan had to report failure on such a significant assignment.

The Grand Inquisitor was pretty pissed about it but didn’t punish him right away for some reason (wait until your father gets home kind of vibes), so Kanan gets distracted with scheming and trying to find ways to capture Ezra and regain his honor sort of before Vader whoops his shebs for letting such a powerful sensitive get away. 

Ezra starts to catch on. Eventually, the crew meets Ahsoka in person, after she learns that he’s sensitive. while she’s in the process of finding someone to train him fully, she teaches him the basics and they do a lil jetti osik together. she helps him realize that the inquisitor got inside his head somehow. Shocking, mildly terrifying, cause for great concern, but they can’t tell to what extent or how to get him out, so they continue with their lessons for as long as they can. The full scope of the bond doesn’t make itself obvious until Kanan is subjected to Vader’s failure beat-down. 

Kanan has trained himself to be very closed off, especially to the Force unless he actively needs it, so he doesn’t feel Ahsoka of all people poking around on the other side of his fledgling bond with Ezra and doesn’t notice it’s there at all. He also doesn’t bother shielding himself much except to mask his presence from Vader so when the mind rape starts stabbing his brain with hatred and fear and anger and lava it kind of… gets transmitted across the bond and um. poor Ezra.

squad is just chilling, laying low on the Ghost. Okadiah’s making Ezra some space waffles, Zeb’s losing miserably to Chopper in a game of dejarik, Sabine’s painting in her room ig, Hera’s off doing paperwork and Ahsoka’s reading a book that Rex recommended on the sofa. They’re just doing normal things, not thinking anything of it. But then one second, Ezra’s standing to the side halfway through an off-hand comment, the next second he’s on the floor thrashing and clawing at his head. His incoherent explanation is punctuated by broken sobs and mostly unintelligible, but the rest of the crew can just barely piece together “it’s him! it’s the inquisitor!” from between Ezra’s agonized screams. Ahsoka is by his side in an instant, along with everyone else who all happen to be in various states of panic. Ahsoka takes a second to steel herself before plunging into the Force in Ezra’s mind and pushes through undeniable torture before rallying her strength and closing the bond as firmly as she can.

(across the galaxy, where Kanan is doing his best to keep the discomfort from his face to prevent showing any weakness in front of Lord Vader, he vaguely notes that part of him is shut down somehow, like there’s a kink in the system and it feels kinda wrong)

As Ezra slowly recovers, Ahsoka gravely admits that the bond is stronger than she thought, and she also reveals that she doesn’t have the power to sever it because it runs too deep between their minds and was forged by the will of the Force. Ezra had been trying to shield himself like she taught him, especially from the inquisitor, but it wasn’t enough to counteract the tight connection or the severity of the torment. But Ezra is pretty sure that it wasn’t the inquisitor who was trying to hurt him, rather the inquisitor who was in pain. This assertion is met with varying degrees of skepticism, especially when Ezra says that he’s also pretty sure he wasn’t experiencing the full thing even after it completely incapacitated him.

No matter what, one thing becomes clear to the Ghost crew. they can’t allow the inquisitor to cause their teammate any discomfort. They have to do something about it.

In classic chaotic fashion, they settle on the most obvious course of action: kidnapping the inquisitor. Ahsoka pulls some strings and gathers her resources to track down where he’s stationed. Obi-wan said Nur was a pretty safe bet but don’t get your hopes up because they’re still doing repairs on the two separate underwater tunnels that got yeeted when certain individuals broke in and out. I think just for funny’s sake they should bust into fortress inquisitorious and snatch Kanan and break another underwater tunnel as they escape hehehe. You know, just to uphold tradition.

Sabine begrudgingly poses as an imperial officer to sneak Hera and Ahsoka in while Zeb and Okadiah babysit a very begrudging Ezra who’s practicing more of his shielding on the Ghost and actually stays put for once since it’s Okadiah getting the job done lol.

Ahsoka, who survived the Citadel, is very unimpressed with the level of security on Nur. they get in and out without trouble and even spend a sad moment of silence with the trophies in the basement. But they are also disaster gang. so they did break a tunnel and flood the facility again :)

Kanan has been stunned within an inch of brain damage.

When he wakes up in the interrogation room he sees Hera like four times and some untainted part of him is actually really happy about that. he’s chained to the wall with Force-suppressant handcuffs and throws a fit about it when he realizes (read: acts like a petulant child). Just over his head is a window to the observation room where Ahsoka is watching Hera bust this hoe up and also Ezra was allowed to sit and watch so they’re watching and chatting. Okadiah left them with a big bowl of popcorn because he’s nice like that.

Somehow in the scuffle when they kidnapped him from Nur Hera found a lightsaber for some reason and accidentally slashed Kanan’s helmet while Ahsoka was fighting him (alternatively you could just have her shoot him in the helmet but lightsaber is more random and more fun) so he had to rip that kriff off to avoid getting burnt + regain his visibility and look all I’m saying is that I want a Kylo Ren Disney Prince moment where Hera realizes that the monster that’s been chasing them is actually… a person, with a face and a soul, and admittedly very handsome features haha

Hera’s been able to appreciate these features fully in the moments while she waits for him to wake before interrogation. Ezra’s keeping the helmet and adding it to his collection.

anyways Kanan’s really toned down the murder obsession now that he’s on timeout at whatever base they’re currently occupying, and Hera’s presence is soothing in a way because he’s also half conscious. She manages to lay down the ground rules. No torture, no manipulation, hurt my crew members even a little bit and you will be cleaning the fresher every day for a month. Kanan objects at first but he’s finding it increasingly difficult to resist this frustratingly captivating twi and he won’t say it outright but he doesn’t really want to go back. hasn’t wanted to for some time. this might be a good way to bow out, since there’s a high probability that these rebels will kill him for the things he’s done. So he puts up a bored front and drawls on about the order and tells Hera about his duties and responsibilities as a Force-sensitive lackey of the Emperor, and maybe he doesn’t put enough emphasis on him being a terrible person? because instead of wanting to execute him, now this insufferable twi is giving him a really funny look and it’s annoying as all balls because he can’t tell what she’s thinking because he’s still on the suppressants. To his absolute befuddlement, they decide to put him on probation and just tote him around like a side hoe instead of killing him to solve their problems, which they easily could have done; he was so distracted by Hera.

They still make him wear some kind of Force-nulling device but they let him free roam as long as Hera is there to babysit and this man for real is not going anywhere let me tell you. She also makes him change out of that hideous uniform, unceremoniously tosses him a new sweater and some space jeans. She lets him pick out the boots. He’s so salty about it but in spite of the outwardly lax handle they have on him, they know better than to keep anything but a tight lock because everyone remembers what happened to Ezra and everyone wants to protect the beeb.

You can probably guess what happens next. after quality time with the gang, Kanan slowly finds his place in their motley crew. it starts with Hera sharply addressing him as “inquisitor” and him snapping back that he has a name and it’s… it’s… (he can’t remember his name, actually. Vader made sure of that. but it’s okay because he had some time to think of a new one between 66 and Falling, and it’ll do because he isn’t who he was when he still knew what sounds to identify by) “it’s Kanan. Jarrus.” he tells them, trying not to seem defensive and entirely sure that he is failing. The monster seems even less like a monster now that he has a name.

We graduate to rough banter. Then backhanded advice. Then begrudging compliments and so on. Somewhere along the way they get comfortable enough that Kanan walking into a room doesn’t cause the temperature to drop, and they can sit on the same couch without having aneurisms. 

Sabine hates him at first. He’s given them countless headaches, he’s almost killed them all on multiple different occasions, and he poses a current and direct threat to Ezra—who may be an idiot but like that’s her idiot come on. Kanan is the enemy. there’s no way Sabine is playing nice, no matter how sternly Hera looks at her. She leaves little “presents” for Kanan everywhere he goes: little inconveniences that border on dangerous that he could easily avoid if the Force wasn’t being held hostage from him, so it’s getting a little maddening. He tries to snipe Sabine about it but according to Hera that’s a childish thing to do and he should gain Sabine’s trust instead and just ignore her jabs in the meantime. which is ridiculous because Kanan doesn’t want to gain their trust he just wants to kill all of them. sort of. not totally. he’d rather not but he is getting frustrated with the circumstances.

Unlike Sabine, Chopper does not hold back. He’s outright attempted to murder Kanan before.

Zeb is mostly hyper cautious. he’s always on guard and tracks Kanan every time they’re in a room together. they don’t argue and fuss like Kanan and Sabine, but Zeb does glare at him and gets passive aggressive. Shoulder checks. “if the captain didn’t feel so bad for you, you’d be sitting pretty in a shallow grave” “then kill me, coward”. poisons his caf. Kanan takes personal offense at that one because caf is one of his few untainted respites in life and the poison that Zeb picked this time is totally kriffing with the flavor.

Okadiah has always been civil. As was mentioned earlier, he trusts Hera’s judgement, having known her for so long, and doesn’t give Kanan any grief. He does keep a close eye on him, especially around the kids, but he comes to the quick conclusion that Kanan isn’t a threat at the moment and could probably use some kindness. He teaches Kanan to use the space waffle iron. I am in love with @kanerallels for introducing the space waffle master Kanan Jarrus to me first, btw, so Kanan makes the obligatory space waffles in a shockingly domestic peace offering between him and Okadiah (which Hera happens to walk in on and definitely snaps a few pictures). Kanan and Okadiah have some nice, quiet conversations late at night. Kanan can’t hate the man and feels warm and safe around him but tries very hard not to think about why. He ends up confessing how he feels about his role being an inquisitor, about how he questions it sometimes, and wishes he didn’t always have to kill the people who thought differently than him. He’s also come close on a few occasions to admitting that he’s afraid of his masters and would rather die than face their full wrath if he escapes this dumb rebel hostage situation alive.

Ahsoka confiscated his lightsaber when they kidnapped him and has been reclusive the past few weeks, purifying the crystal. She vaguely recognizes it as belonging to Depa Billaba: a member of the Jedi High Council in its final years. I headcanon that crystals can reveal their own vivid memories when being meditated upon as deeply as is required during purification, so Ahsoka is able to see glimpses into Depa’s time with it, including the significant moments when it was used to save the life of her apprentice, ending with its retrieval by the Commander. She doesn’t see the scenes where it was bled by that same apprentice—neither does she want to. But she does know to some extent that Kanan has a personal connection to the crystal and is safe keeping it until she’s certain she can return it to him without him kriffing it up a second time. 

They rarely interact. They see each other at a distance on occasion, but Kanan doesn’t know who she is, despite the feeling that she might be vaguely familiar, and his painful knowledge of her acute skill with a lightsaber. They take a walk one day through the garden space of the latest property they’re crashing on. Something about it tickles the back of Kanan’s mind, but he shoves it down like always. Ahsoka doesn’t say anything at first. and something tells him that it’s unusual for her (why would he assume that? why would he think that?). Eventually she pauses by a fountain that looks like a fountain he should remember and asks “you were a jedi, weren’t you?”. Lots of things click into place at once. Ahsoka. Her name is Ahsoka Tano. He does know her. how could he forget her? She was shorter, all those years ago, just as deadly with a blade in hand and cooler than any padawan he’d ever met. She liked wearing red, back then. She was funny and bright and her laugh carried down hallways, and she was always chasing after… the Hero with No Fear. She was an inspiration to Kanan, before things went to kriff. He can only blink at her, and feel raw. She understands. They don’t say anything else.

The first time Ezra sees him again face to face, he crosses his arms with a scowl and demands to know whether Kanan has any plans of causing trouble. Kanan scowls right back, gives an ambiguous answer about being held against his will, but eventually relents and admits that no, he won’t be hurting anyone because he doesn’t want to clean the fresher for a month. Ezra just narrows his eyes and walks away. some days later, Ezra decides to test him with the most reliable testing system, then promptly unleashes a lothcat named Chubs into the room while observing quietly from the vents above. Chubs and Kanan eye each other dubiously, and they may or may not hiss at each other a few times, but Chubs eventually decides to advance. to Kanan’s horror, Chubs stalks right over and plops down in Kanan’s lap. He sleeps there for six hours. Kanan is furious but he can’t move so he just sits there fuming with the tooka on his lap contentedly purring away and he can’t push it off because he may be an evil, hardened inquisitor, but he knows better than to trifle with the fundamental laws of the universe. Hera bursts out laughing when she finds him there (which makes the ordeal much more tolerable, though he’ll never admit it) and takes more pictures. Ezra trusts Kanan almost completely after that, despite everyone being hugely skeptical and wary. According to Zeb, he takes too many liberties with the homicidal psychopath child-murderer but Ezra doesn’t care and quickly assimilates Kanan into his found-family, whether everyone else likes or not. Kanan is very indignant that this happened. he’s also a little offended that he’s not as intimidating to Ezra as he wants to be, because that’s his target, he’s supposed to be hunting the kid, and he’s supposed to scare him into joining the inquisitors so that he can train him to be powerful and cool and dark not friendly and sunshiny kriff. but since Kanan is still on the suppressant, he can’t use the full spectrum of his abilities to spook Ezra so he’s completely at this kid’s mercy. Ezra’s constantly pestering him with questions and he can get pretty obnoxious but he’s also rapidly growing on Kanan to the point where Kanan is getting possessive like if someone so much as looked at Ezra funny Kanan would be ready to slap that hoe into wild space.

of course Hera is Hera. Kanan is gone on her before he even realizes he wants to defect from the order. it helps that they end up spending a lot of time alone together. Hera’s rebel responsibilities didn’t get put on hold simply because she had a prisoner to personally escort everywhere. She does a lot of paperwork while sitting quietly beside Kanan. At first he was annoying on purpose and griping about everything but after a while his favorite pass-time is being in her presence because he’s hopeless like that. She has him make a few meals for her while she works and it starts out with him sabotaging them by burning stuff or screwing up the texture irrevocably out of spite but he can’t keep doing it because Hera will just look at it sadly and throw it away and not eat anything and WAIT he doesn’t want her to be sad! Kark! Nonnonoonoonononno it’s chewing at his soul. He must remain strong! but Hera works so hard, and she at least deserves a nice meal. He eventually tells her bluntly that he doesn’t know how to cook (it’s not like he’s ever needed to learn anyway. between getting served at the Temple and eating rations on the battlefield and every aspect of his life being hell with the inquisitors, he’s never truly been exposed to a proper home-cooked meal) Hera’s expression softens and she takes the afternoon off to show him how to make one of her favorite dishes (her mom taught her) a variation of munch-fungus soup. no, those are NOT tears in Kanan’s eyes as he tries his first few bites—that’s just the color finally changing back to blue from yellow. Huh?

It takes a while, but eventually Kanan falls in love with Ghost crew and basically adopts all of them. This officially happens before he explicitly realizes, of course. Like he’s at the point where he would die for any given one of them without a second thought, and they’ve started to trust him in return, and there are still a few kinks to work out but it’s working. He fits in perfectly, and he’s started to help them on missions. At first it was just off-hand nuggets of advice, then Hera started bringing him with because she was tired of not being able to leave the ship, then trusting him not to disappear or alert the Empire to their plans, and then they finally gave him a blaster as the biggest show of trust, which he was a little nervous about breaking. He’s still got some bad reflexes (bad as in like potentially harmful) and his habits will take a while to wear down. but he’s made up for trying to kill them by saving their lives a few times and everyone eventually puts their faith in him it really does wonders for the soul. His eyes never go back to yellow after that. Ahsoka returns his crystal.

Mans gets bad nightmares that got worse after being kidnapped. He’s constantly confronted for what he’s done as an inquisitor and starts to feel some crushing guilt about it the longer he goes without Vader and the Grand Inquisitor breathing down his neck so his dreams start getting increasingly vicious. He usually wakes up in a cold sweat. He thrashes in his sleep and sometimes yells. The ones about getting punished by his masters are usually the easier ones to handle because when he answered to the base on Nur he couldn’t afford to react in his sleep and that was his only concern anyway. but with the Ghost crew he feels safe enough to be vulnerable. Hera’s the one to wake him up most of the time, since he has to sleep in her room. She’s always kind and gentle which confuses the kark out of him the first few times it happens but he quickly grows to find comfort in her soft words and light touch. She’s never seemed threatening to him before, and it’s such a stark contrast to his masters. She cares. in fact, they all do. It’s so unfamiliar but at the same time like a dream of a past life, back when all the Jedi were his family.

Eventually they decide to take away the Force suppressant because Kanan has been on good behavior. He definitely cries when he gets the Force back and spends the whole day just sitting outside, enjoying the ability to feel all the life surrounding him. Being cut off from the Force for so long admittedly ate at him a bit, but it was like a reset button because now he can feel the Force so clearly and it just naturally flows through him in ways it never would have complied when he was still doing inquisitor atrocities. Ezra feels their bond immediately sing with promise. he goes out to sit next to Kanan and they just quietly meditate together for the rest of the day. Ahsoka feels bad that she deprived him of the Force for as long as she did. She does have lots of empathy after all. But at the same time she knew she had to protect Ezra and Kanan didn’t have a good relationship with the Force as an inquisitor. it wasn’t a mutualistic connection; he was using it entirely for personal gain, as he was trained to do, and it was very unhealthy for both of them. Now he’s able to come with a new, humbled perspective and listen to it with respect. Kanan also finally realizes that Ezra and he share a bond and is a little disturbed by this. He wants to rush for reassurance that he didn’t hurt the kid because that would honestly probably gut him but he’s also emotionally constipated still and has trouble asking. Ezra assures him that it only hurt for like a few minutes and then after that Aunt ‘Soka slapped a suppressant on him so it was mostly like radio silence no worries. (Kanan is very much worries).

and there is still so much progress to be made. Vader wasn’t playing games when he broke Kanan down and built him back up into a tool of the Empire, so the damage will have lasting consequences, some not quite as benign as nightmares. there are still times when Kanan shuts down and falls back on old survival tactics to hide, or times where he lashes out in annoyance and hurts someone, but he’s regaining his humanity bit by bit and getting stronger for it. He still lets fear get away from him sometimes. he really wants to do right by his space son Ezra and be the teacher he needs but he’s terrified of failing or teaching him something wrong. It’s going to take lots of healing for him overcome that. Also it’s going to take a lot of growth for him to come off the possessive rebound where he was obsessively fretting over Ghost crew and trying to protect them from everything possible. He’s constantly trying to shield Ezra with their bond so that he doesn’t have to be exposed to some of the nastier things Kanan has seen. His heart found a good place to settle, but he still has a lot to learn about following the will of the Force and not being greedy about his family.

Hera was right tho. She did fix him. that tweet deserves a reblog.

btw everyone lives happily ever after and Jacen gets a bonus having Okadiah as his cool grandpa you’re welcome.

OH my stars I LOVE THIS

Kanan having to bleed Depa's crystal is SO FEELSY and SO PAINFUL and SO GOOD

And of COURSE Kanan falls for Hera the minute he hears her voice, he's so reliable like that. I kinda adore the way you phrased Kanan adopting Ezra it's hilarious, and I love that the whole crew immediately decided to kidnap (or if you prefer, surprise adopt) Kanan when they find out about it. The different ways they reacted to Kanan were all VERY accurate-- I love Okadiah adopting him, and I love the waffles reference I'm so very honored!!!

And then Kanan taking care of Hera my most beloved of tropes it's so GOOD I adore that he'll do it even in aus where he's a little evil. This whole post is AMAZINGGGGGGGG I LOVE IT VERY MUCH THANK YOU FOR TAGGING ME

Voice

Hey queens! Soooooooo this is my first time ever posting one of the many fics I've written and it honestly feels surreal lol. Anyways, any and all writing advice is more than welcome! I'm so glad to finally be actively participating in the little kanera community on tumblr! I hope you guys enjoy the fic and that it brings even just a little smile to y'all's faces :)

Notes: This fic is the first part of a five-part series I'm planning to write. Each chapter is going to be inspired by one of the five love languages (words of affirmation, physical touch, gift giving, acts of service, and quality time). I guess you could say that it’s a late response to the Kanera week prompt “love languages” although I’ve actually been working on it for a while lol. This chapter is inspired by words of affirmation, thus the title: Voice.

Everyone in the fandom, myself included, seems to really like the idea of Hera singing. So I've wanted to write a fic about what singing means to Hera for a long time and here it is!!!

I actually started writing this fic on my birthday in early August (stay with me I promise this is significant lol) and I always pictured that Hera was a Leo like me (I'm definitely not projecting). So anyways, I picture this fic taking place soon after her birthday, which is why it starts with Kanan kind of reminiscing about when she was younger and thinking about how much she's grown as a person and stuff. Just wanted to explain my thought process there lol ;)

Anyways, here's the fic (rating: G):

Hera was twenty now, so they had been together for about a year and a half.

He remembered it. Meeting her when she was eighteen. It was such a different time. She was so light and airy, as if she didn't have a care in the world somehow–even though clearly she did. She cared about everyone. She was always more in touch with the pain of others than she was with her own emotions. She was alone, not taking into account the company of her droid of course, but she didn't seem bothered by it. She never lost hope in people, despite the fact that no one had believed in her enough to join her cause yet. That was the thing about eighteen-year-old Hera. She could connect with and understand just about anyone, but no one could really understand her.

She was always magnetic. Eyes and smiles followed her wherever she walked. But the thing that captured all kinds of people, the thing about her that made the air in the room become arid and still, as if the wind itself was stopping to listen--was her voice.

It didn't matter who was listening. Whether it was thugs with nowhere better to be or a wealthy rogue senator over a transmission or even a disillusioned ex-jedi who had used up all of his strength to bury and suffocate the love inside of him. When Hera spoke, you listened, some of the thugs even nodded, and everyone obeyed.

Her voice was the first thing that captured him the second that they met. But it wasn't just the sound of her voice. It was the soul behind every vibration. He just knew there was something more. Something deep inside of her, yearning for him to pull it out--set it free.

Of course, he didn't realize that that was the reason he loved her voice, at first. He just thought it was beautiful--and he wasn't wrong. It's just that now, he realized there was so much more to her voice.

Now, what he had always known had been fully realized: the reason that he couldn't help but follow her and eventually get completely and permanently swept up in the storm of sound she created every time she spoke.

Now, he realized that her voice had always been calling to him because her voice was his calling. Hera's voice was one of the biggest ways she expressed herself and exposed her soul to the world. However, as open-hearted, expressive, and brave as Hera was, she still kept so much of her soul private--which, at this point, meant between the two of them.

He knew that there was so much of her soul that only he got to see--as if that part of her was made just for him. He was the only person who got to see and love and be a part of all of her.

He was beyond honored and ecstatic to be that person--the one who got to love everything she is.

But there was still one part of Hera that not even he had fully experienced yet.

The first and only time he had ever heard Hera sing was in the middle of the night when he was half-asleep, just waking from a nightmare, eyes so blurred with tears that he could barely make out her face right above his. But he could hear the melody she was singing and it was like nothing he had ever heard before. It felt like a dream, but when he woke up the next morning, remembering what he had heard the night before, something inside of him just knew it was real.

He often replayed that memory of her singing to him and it always made him smile, but a part of him just wanted to hear more.

He was just replaying that favorite memory of his while making repairs in the cargo bay when suddenly, he heard it.

"Hold me close and hold me fast."

He stopped his work.

"This magic spell you cast."

He climbed up the ladder to the lounge, his mind solely focusing on her voice.

“This is la vie en rose.”

When he reached the top, he moved through the lounge as quietly as he could towards the cockpit, where the singing was coming from.

Luckily, Hera couldn’t see him, even though he was standing right outside the open doors to the cockpit, because she was lying on the ground positioned beneath the Ghost’s control panel.

“When you kiss me, heaven sighs”

”And though I close my eyes–”

She looked up to reach for another tool and right as she did, Kanan side-stepped so that his back was against the durasteel wall right by the doorwary.

She grabbed the tool and layed back down.

“I see la vie en rose.”

He peeked his head into the doorway and continued to watch her sing—entranced by the way the song spoke to his heart.

The way he could sense the happiness radiating off of her told him who she was singing to—even if she didn’t know that he was actually listening.

“When you press me to your heart, I’m in a world apart–a world where roses bloom”

He relaxed against the doorframe, letting her voice wash over him.

“And when you speak angels sing from above. Everyday words seem to turn into love songs.”

He felt an overwhelming sense of calm. Peace flowed through him with every breath he took, as Hera’s song filled the air.

“Give your heart and soul to me and life will always be la vie en rose.”

As she continued on with her work, she began humming the melody of the song.

Kanan wanted to stay and listen to her all day, but he knew she would get suspicious if she found that at the end of the day he hadn’t finished all of his repairs. So he walked back down to the cargo bay, still listening to the sound of her hums as he went.

~

That night, as he pulled Hera close to his chest, he whispered against her forehead,

“Can I ask you something?”

Hera lifted her head to look at him, “Yes, love.”

Kanan laughed, “Okay, well…It’s just kind of a random question.”

She smiled, “Aren’t they always?”

He paused for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said laughing.

“So what is it?”

Another moment passed as Kanan wondered how he should go about asking this question. Slowly and simply he said, “Do you like to sing?”

What?

Hera was dumbfounded by Kanan’s strange question. She also couldn’t seem to verbalize any kind of response to it, which she wasn’t used to. However, as of late, it was becoming more and more common for her to be at a loss for words, specifically in situations involving Kanan. That man never ceased to surprise her.

Kanan just patiently waited for her to respond. She could tell by his expression that he was open to hear any answer she gave him. That always made her feel safe—the fact that she could just look into his eyes and know that there was never any pressure for her to do any certain thing or act any certain way. She could just be herself. She didn’t have to try around him at all. She could just be.

Letting that feeling of safety surround her is how she managed to finally get a few words out, “Uh…yeah, I do actually. Just not really in front of other people–well, I’m just kind of shy about my voice.”

“Oh,” he nodded. “I understand…Why are you shy about your voice?” he asked, tilting his head a little like an adorable puppy.

How could she not open up to that?

“I guess I just…I don’t know. I just–don’t wanna draw attention to myself? Even if it’s just one person’s attention. I just feel so vulnerable when I sing, you know?”

Kanan nodded once again as a silent moment passed.

“My mother used to sing to me a lot…She would always tell me that when you sing, you open up your soul to other people. You put a piece of your heart into the words you’re singing for all to hear…I just struggle with being that open I guess.”

Kanan smiled, “That makes sense.” He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. “You deserve to feel safe.”

~

When Kanan woke up the next morning, Hera was already  awake propped up on top of him, her face right above his.

“Good morning, Hera,” he grabbed her face and kissed the space between her eyebrows.

She laughed, “Good morning.”

A tense moment of silence passed as Hera’s expression suddenly changed to one of worry. He could tell there was something she wanted to say—no, not necessarily say, but something she had to let out.

She rested her head on his chest. Another quiet moment and then,

“Wise men say, only fools rush in”

He looked down at her, awe in his eyes. She nervously fiddled with the hair on his chest.

“But I can’t help falling in love with you.”

His heart felt like it was going to explode. He smiled wide and kissed the top of her head, urging her to go on.

“Oh, shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can’t help falling in love with you.”

He held her closer, cherishing this moment. Soaking in this piece of her heart—this part of her—that she was finally sharing with him.

She moved to face him again as she continued.

“Like a river flows surely to the sea, darlin’ so it goes, some things are meant to be”

She moved a few stray hairs behind his ear, and their noses touched.

She touched his hand as she sang,

“Oh, take my hand”

Their fingers interlocked.

“Take my whole life too.”

“For I can’t help falling in love with you.”

She smiled, a big wide, genuine smile.

“Oh, I can’t help falling in love with you”

He lifted her face so that her lips met his. When they finally broke apart, they pressed their foreheads against each other and just sat there, happily looking into each other’s eyes, a quiet understanding between them.

He pressed her to his heart again.

After a moment, she popped right back up and with a wry smile said, “So when do I get to hear you sing?”

He laughed. “You hear me sing all the time! When a song I know comes on the radio, purposefully loud to annoy you, or embarrass you if we’re in public–”

“No, Kanan,” she laughed. “I mean, like actually sing.”

“Actually sing?”

“Like, actually try to sound good.”

He paused for a moment, “Hera, that is my actual singing voice.”

Her eyes went wide as she tried to hold back laughter.

“Guess I’m just a terrible singer,” he said sarcastically, but unable to hold back his laughter.

“I guess you are,” Hera laughed.

Thank you so much for reading<3xoxo

This is so sweet!!! I love the way you wrote Kanan being head over heels for Hera's voice, and the songs you chose are awesome-- I was just thinking that "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" was an amazing song for these two! Thank you so much for sharing, this was a great fic!!

Thank you @autisticassassinbird and @andiinaraethtash for blindly choosing option 2.

the options were Holding out for a hero and Annie’s Song

Wednesday (Sept. 21): On A Mission

Au where instead of finding Luminara’s corpse, it’s Depa Billaba’s or Mace Windu’s.

Based off this post

Their First Place - Epilogue

This is a continuation of another fic, Their First Place, but it features Kanan and Hera.

Kanera Week prompt:

Tuesday (Sept. 20): What If / Fix It

His light, agile footfalls sounded surprisingly loud as he walked up the ramp and through the halls of the freighter, but there was no one around to hear them.

Zeb and Chopper were on duty on base somewhere.

Ezra and Sabine were...wherever they were these days.

But Kanan thought not of their empty cabins as he passed them by. As usual, there was one Spectre in particular he was longing to see, and he knew, crew or not, where she would be.

Caf in hand, he approached the door, and with a flick of his fingers, it whooshed aside. There he found her where he always found her, emerald lekku swaying over the back of her well-loved chair as she hummed a little tune.

It was her office, her command, her sanctuary: the cockpit of the Ghost.

He could tell she was deep in thought, so without a word he passed her the mug with her favorite brew, which she accepted without looking and immediately sipped. Kanan eased into his place in the co-pilot chair next to her to wait. Sipping his own caf, he attended to the bustling base in front of them.

Yavin was certainly a step up in intensity from Atollon. There was a constant buzz of activity, as if they had moved to the center of a city. The rebellion really was happening all over the galaxy. More people were joining their cause every day, and there was no shortage of work to do. Even though their little group, their family had officially joined the rebellion when they linked up with Sato a few years ago, moving to Massassi base now, the hub of the Rebel Alliance, was an important step up. The final leg of their journey.

Everything Hera had been working toward, even before they met, was finally being realized. He was so proud of her, and he was grateful to have been on this journey with her, even if that meant, every day, they were edging closer to all-out war.

Long ago, Kanan had told Ezra that they were going to take more losses before this all was over, and the words echoed oddly in his mind all of the time.

But as he always did when those fears and anxieties crept up on him, he let them go. Kanan reminded himself of some other words he'd said to his padawan, to be present in the moment. Hera was here now, they were together, and that’s what was truly important.

Besides, they were so rarely alone. This time together was a gift.

"What's on your mind, Love?" asked Hera, feeling more alert thanks to the caf and ready to emerge from her stack of to-dos.

"You," he replied simply. His grin inspired one of her own.

She chuckled a little and shook her head.

After all of this time, he didn't have to flirt with her, but he still wanted to.

"That sounds like maybe you have something else on your mind, Love," Hera replied. It wasn't an objection, just an observation.

"Weeeellll...now that you say that, I did notice that we're alone. In fact, it sure has been quiet in here a lot lately," he said.

"Yeah, that's usually why I end up working here instead of in the office they set up for me on base. Down there, it's too noisy, too many distractions, too many people..." admitted Hera.

"It's funny you should mention that," Kanan said with a good-natured huff. “Because there actually seems to be a significant lack of people here on the Ghost."

It’s not that Kanan minded being alone with Hera on the Ghost, but the frequency of it lately had started to become suspicious. It was normal for Zeb and Chopper to be occupied elsewhere on base, but there had been a rather noticeable absence of Spectres Five and Six.

"Oooh?" she responded coolly, aware as she was of his lead-ins. "Well, I can assure you that they are all out on official Rebel Alliance business."

"What kind of business?" Kanan inquired innocently, setting down his caf and folding his arms.

"Oh...you know...picking things up, dropping things off...official Rebel Alliance business," she pointedly, indicating that that was the final word on the matter. Setting her caf down, she pretended to take her work back up again.

But Kanan was not to be denied. Clearly there was more going on here.

"Hold on there, General. Milk runs? Did you just say Ezra and Sabine are doing...milk runs?" he asked in an amused but incredulous tone. "That kinda seems like a bit of a waste of both a Jedi and a Mandalorian, don't you think?"

Kanan waited for her answer, but she didn't seem to be going along with the joke. Something was off about this.

"Hera..." he said softly.

But Hera didn't reply right away. Instead she gave up on her work and stared out the viewport, watching the hustle and bustle of a people at war. Her thoughts on this particular issue were compounding and emotions were getting the best of her, so her nervous hands found the mug of caf again, fingertips fiddling with the edge of the lid as she considered what to say. Then Hera took a deep breath.

"They're so young, y'know?" she said suddenly, gaze still on the base, voice cracking just a fraction.

With a sympathetic smile, he nodded along. "Yeah," he said, sighing. "Yeah, they are young."

"And they've been through a lot. Even before they met us, and ever since then, all we've done, all they've done, is fight. Live from one mission to the next. And..."

Hera paused, gulping some caf to swallow the lump in her throat.

Kanan waited.

Sighing heavily, Hera changed tracts. "I can see a lot from up here, you know? The whole base, really," Hera continued. "And I kept seeing them, orange and purple standing out amongst crowd. After Mandalore, I was just so happy to have you all back, I didn't really think much about what I was seeing. But then one day it hit me - I wasn't just seeing them. I was seeing them together."

Kanan smiled and said with a laugh, “I told you they were doing that! Remember what I said about Krownest? They were inseparable!"

"I know!" she said, laughing in turn. "I know. But I hadn't really thought about it. I hadn't seen it happen. And I kinda thought that that would've just been a Mandalore thing - Ezra being nervous around Mandalorians and sticking close to Sabine out of self-preservation."

"No," said Kanan, shaking his head. "No, that's not what it was like."

"Yeah, well, I get it now, Love. And it wasn’t just that. They were always together on base but they were never…here…anymore either,” she said.

“Mmhmm,” hummed Kanan, knowing exactly why.

"One day, I was looking for Sabine for something, so I went over to the gauntlet. Just before I went inside, I heard them. And..." Hera paused and looked over at Kanan.

"And...?" Kanan asked with a raise of his eyebrow behind the mask.

"And," she continued, "they just sounded so...happy. Laughing and carrying on. I know that they did that here, too, it was just...different. Just the two of them without anyone else around. So I snuck away."

"Uh huh. So then...milk runs?" asked Kanan.

"Yeah. I just thought - with this down time, if you can call it that, as we get assumed into the Alliance - that they deserved...a break. A chance to just be on their own for a while."

Hera paused. Looking down at her cup again, she said quietly, "They're just kids, Kanan. We're asking so much of them, and they're just kids. They haven't even gotten to do anything yet! They're nearly the same ages that we were when we first met and..."

Kanan reached over and slid his hand into hers, entwining their fingers and giving her a supportive squeeze.

"I just wanted to give them some time," she said with a sniff. "Like we had. Even if it was just for a little while."

Kanan smiled. "We did have some fun, didn't we?"

Chuckling through the tears, Hera squeezed his hand back. "Oh, yeah. From the obnoxious flirting, to the bickering over ship duties and mission strategies, leaving my droid behind, more than once..."

Kanan raised his hands defensively, "Hey hey hey! First of all, some people had a very difficult time learning how to have a crewmate that wasn't a droid. And, speaking of, that droid got himself left behind on at least one of those occasions, and one more thing..."

"What?" she asked with brow lift of her own.

He smiled cheekily at her. "Don't knock the flirting because I'm pretty sure that worked," said Kanan, leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Hera laughed. "Oh, that wasn't the flirting, Love. Definitely not. That was just you being..." she turned to meet him face to face and kissed him. "You."

Kanan smiled on her lips and kissed her back, pulling on her hand in his to re-seat her in his lap and wrap his arms around her.

Pulling away to remove his mask, Hera then rested her forehead on his, softly tracing the lines of his beard.

“I want them to have a chance at a better life, Kanan,” said Hera quietly. “Better than what we’ve given them so far…something more than…this…”

“I know,” said Kanan gently, rubbing her back. “I know. Me, too.”

Then he smiled. “That’s why we’re doing this, right? Why we’ve always done it? So that people are free to live their lives?” She nodded. “Maybe it’s hard to believe right now, but…hopefully, someday, that will mean all of us, too.”

Hera nodded, an unsure little half smile gracing her lips as she absently looked to where her hand lay on his heart.

"Love...do you ever think...what if..." Hera started.

"No," he said firmly, shaking his head.

"No?" she repeated.

"No," said Kanan. "I love you, Hera. I love every minute we've spent together, the perfect ones and the...less than perfect ones." They both chuckled a little, and then Kanan said, "Every step we've taken together from Gorse to Yavin has had a purpose, and I don't regret anything about it. This is our life, Hera, unconventional as it may be, but it's ours." Kanan leaned in and kissed her again.

Hera beamed, doubt melting away in his arms.

"Thank you, Kanan," Hera whispered, sparing a moment just to be grateful and content with him.

But then, her thoughts merged in a new direction, so she said, "Well…for now then…did you happen notice that we are alone on this ship? Just like how we used to be?"

Kanan chuckled, tightening his embrace. "Yes, in fact, I did notice something like that. Do you have some time, General Hera?"

"For you, Love," said Hera, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close, "tonight, I've got all the time in the world."

Kanera sweetness with a side of mentioned Sabezra cuteness 🥰

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus & Bail Organa, The Ghost Crew & Bail Organa, Bail Organa/Breha Organa, AP-5 & C1-10P | Chopper Characters: Bail Organa, Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Jacen Syndulla, C-3PO (Star Wars), Alexsandr Kallus, C1-10P | Chopper, AP-5 (Star Wars) Additional Tags: POV Bail Organa, Kanan Jarrus Lives, Bail Organa Lives, Bail Organa & Kanan Jarrus as space dads who love their wives and kids, Fix-It, Ghost Crew Are Family (Star Wars), Kanan Jarrus Has PTSD, Parental Kanan Jarrus, Battle of Scarif (Star Wars), Echo Base (Star Wars), Destruction of Alderaan (Star Wars), Kanera Week 2022, Kanera Week 2022 Day 3 Prompt: Fix-It, kaneraweek2022, Found Family, Humor, Light Angst, Domestic Fluff Series: Part 1 of Kanera Week 2022 Summary:

One of the hardest parts of organizing a rebellion was that the people who signed up to overthrow an interplanetary government were rarely the same people who loved to fill out conventional paperwork.

Six stories of Bail’s dealings with the chaotic antics of the Ghost crew, from Atollon to Hoth, and the surprising similarities (and friendship) between two men seeking to protect the families they love.

Written for Kanera Week 2022 Day 3: Fix-It, because our A+ Star Wars dads deserve everything good