The Ghost is quiet, no one says a word as the crew just stares at Kaanara. Zeb gives her a warning look, considering he is the only one that knows about Kaanra’s ties with the Hutts. “Well, if it helps. I know where they took Chopper” she plainly states. Kanan gives her an exasperated look and Hera narrows her gaze. “How would you know?” Ezra asks, crossing his arms. Kaanara just shrugged, “when you work for Maul, you know a lot of things. Trust me, I know where he is” she looks at her father. “Where?” Kanan and Hera say at the same time. “Cantonica, Canto Bight to be exact. The Hutts love to make high-stakes bets and bring their stolen goods to the casino to make a few credits” Kaanara said.
Try not to give too much information, Kaanara she thought to herself.
“What an awful place for Maul to take a child” Kanan spits and shakes his head. “Kanan we can’t go there. I mean, how are we going to get in?” Hera asks, leaning against the wall if her arms crossed. Kaanara observes the two and looks very at Ezra and Sabine trying to figure her out. Kaanara looks away from them and to the floor. “The city accepts everyone that has credits. No questions asked. We can get in undetected and undercover. From the Ghost, you guys can access the control panel. I have the codes memorized. We came here a lot” Kaanara said grabbing a datapad, punching in a series of digits. Zeb observes her face and she types. It is as if he can read every emotion on her face for each digits she typed. As if a memory replayed in her head and onto her facial expression as she typed. Like a muscle memory. Zeb flinched and growled slightly.
“I dont like this. Going into a casino, a place of your past Kaanara. It’s not a good idea. Kanan” Zeb said sharply. Kanan stopped talking to Hera and looked at Zeb and shrugged. “I would’ve rather Chopper be on Naboo but that is not really the Hutt’s fancy” Kanan joked. Zeb was n*ot* having any of it. Kaanara finished typing and told Kanan and Hera how to tap into coms, security cameras, everything as Zeb broods over her shoulder. “What about us?” Ezra asked, referencing to him and Sabine. “We all go inside and find Chopper” Kaanara shrugged. “We pretend we are paying costumers and see what kind of information we can get”. The crew exchange glances and add their own ideas. Kaanara listens to their additions to the plan when a large hand grabs her by the arm. She spins around and faces Zeb and pins him with a look.
“What gives, Kitty?” She groaned, rubbing her arm. “You’re not walking back to the Hutts” he says, almost a whisper. She gives him a look and crosses her arms. “I know that place like the back of my hand. I know how to find Chopper and I will not sit back and let him get his circuits pulled out when I know I can do something about it” she spat. The chatter from the lounge got silent. “So either you’re with me and you trust me throughout this mess or you stay on the ship” she said looking into his eyes. Zeb stared down at her for a moment and his ears flattened against his head as he let out a slight sigh. Kaanara observed his face, the furrowed brow and the lines that etched his forehead because of them. “Um, guys?” Ezra said, breaking the staring contest. Zeb looked over her shoulder at Ezra and then back to Kaanara. Zeb began to all around Kaanara but stopped and leaned down to whisper into her ear. “I will always trust you. It’s the Hutts that I’m worried about” he whispers and walks in the direction of his cabin. Kaanara lets out a breath and spins on her heel to face Ezra. “Everything’s fine” she shook her head and returned to the lounge, Ezra following behind her. “What were you and Zeb talking about?” Ezra asked as Kaanara slid into the booth.
“None of your business” Kaanara spat. Kanan looked at her, then to Ezra. “Kaanara” Kanan warned, his voice low and sharp. She rolled her eyes and looked at Kanan. “What?” She asked, swirling a spoon around in a cup of caf. Kanan looked at his daughter across the table and made a gesture for the rebels to clear the room. Kanan walked closer to the table and looked down at her. She raised her head to meet his stare. Their faces like a mirror, they just stared at each other. “I sense unrest in you. What’s going on?” He asks, sitting in the booth with her. She scoffed, “what, did the Force tell you that?” She mocked, rolling her eyes. He just stared at her, waiting. She looked over at him and sighed. “My bodyguard is a brooding, over exaggerating, aggravating-“ the caf mug in front of her flew across the room and Kanan caught it with the Force before it shattered against the wall. Kaanara sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Have you always been this, angry?” Kanan asked, placing the mug back on the table, away from Kaanara. Kaanara let out a deep laugh, “yes, yes I have” she looked at Kanan once more. “You need to control it. I can feel it and you’ve done a great job in your training by redirecting it. I told Zeb to be your guard because he sticks to orders. Clearly, this plan bothers him in some way, so instead of getting angry at him. Maybe just use your words and ask” Kanan stays, standing from the booth. Kaanara opened her mouth to respond and Kanan cut her off, looking at her over his shoulder, “without yelling at him” he gave her a smirk and walked to his cabin. Kaanara let out a scoff, her upper lip curling and she shook her head, sliding out of the booth.
Kaanara walked down the hall and stopped at her and Zeb’s door. Her fist raised to the door, it hovered there, mid knock. She dropped her hand to her side and sighed, lifting it once more. She knocked twice and then stepped back from the door. The door hissed open and Zeb held a towel in his hand and flipped it over her shoulder. His armor was gone and the Lasat stood in just a simple grey colored shirt with matching pants that stopped just above his muscular calves. Zeb stared down at her and moved to the side so she could enter the small common room that separated their rooms. She walked into the room and the door hissed shut. Kaanara turned to look up at Zeb as he began to walk to the refresher. “Zeb” she said quickly, looking at the floor. “Yes, Jarrus” Zeb said, stopping just at the door, his hand resting on it. “I’m sorry” she winced. “For snapping at you” her head remained down as she spoke. She could not see it, but a small smirk played on the Lasat’s lips and then schooled his features just as she looked up at him. “Kaanara” his voice was low, a deep rumble that made every hair on her arm stand still. He stepped closer to her and tilted his head to the side. “You don’t need to apologize for expressing your feelings. Even if it is anger. I’m sure Kanan lectured you about already, so I won’t bore you with that” he waved his hand in the air. Kaanara watched him closely and nodded. He slid the towel off his shoulder and pressed his hand on the door to open it. Kaanara watched him and walked to her room. “I can change the plan, if it makes you feel better” she said. The door to the refresher closed, but Zeb remained in the common room. “I won’t push the limits. I’ll stick to the plan” she rambled. Zeb walked over to her and placed a hand on Kaanara’s shoulder, “you don’t need to change anything”. Kaanara turns to face him as his hand falls from her shoulder. “I should trust you by now” he admits. She looks up at him, “and why don’t you?” Zeb’s eyes darted from her eyes, to her lips, then to her eyes again until he closed them slowly. “Because I don’t trust myself” he said opening his eyes to meet hers. “I’ve never been given the responsibility of protecting someone like this. That fact that is it for Kanan. I just don’t want to mess anything up.” Kaanara listened and nodded. She could understand how that could be a heavy task. “And I don’t want Kanan to rip my head off if he finds out your ties with the Hutts and he finds out I knew about it” Zeb nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. Kaanara gave the Lasat a small grin, “well then let’s work together tonight to make sure the Hutts never know I’m there” she winked. Zeb dropped his arm and looked at her once more.
BANG BANG
The two jumped slightly and Kaanara sighed, walking to the door. “I got it” she said. Kaanara heard the refresher door open and close before she opened the common room door. Sabine stood with a hand on her hip and a smirk. “Sabine?” Kaanara said with a teasing glare. Her eyes glanced from over her shoulder, back to her. “Where’s Zeb” she asked. Kaanara looked into the room then back to Sabine. “The refresher I guess. What’s up?” Kaanara asked. “You can’t go into the casino looking like that” she gestured to Kaanara’s casual clothes. “You’re right” she shrugged. “So what did you have in mind?” Kaanara asked, mischief danced in her eyes and Sabine’s matched hers. “Come on, I’ll show you” she leaned forward to grab Kaanara’s arm, loping their arms together as they walked to Sabine’s cabin. Inside her room was graffiti central. Different colors and designs painted the walls and all told a story in some unique way Kaanara was sure of it. Sabine walked into her closet. The sound of clothes rustling on hangers made Kaanara peer over Sabine’s shoulder. “Oh, this is the one” she stood up fast and Kaanara backed up as Sabine turned to face Kaanara. Her jaw dropped and Sabine laughed.
“Sabine you’re joking right?” Sabine nods her head and smirks, slapping her shoulder, “just don’t bend down, k?” Sabine leaves the room as Kaanara stands in the center of Sabine’s room, holding the silk fabric in her hand. “Knock when you’re done!” Sabine called out from the other side of her door. Kaanara holds the dress out in front of her and then lays it on Sabine’s bunk. She peels off her clothes, undergarments and all and slipped into the tight silk dress. Kaanara walked to Sabine’s mirror and she flatted down the fabric over her hips. The dress was a rich emerald green and was cold under her fingertips. Sabine was two sizes too small for her curvy body type, so the green satin fabric hugged every possible curve. Kaanara walked to the door and knocked. Sabine immediately opened the door and her jaw dropped. “Dank Farrik, Kaanara” she whistled and Kaanara grabbed her tunic and pulled her into the room. “Shut it” she said, laughing despite the tight dress. “Sabine I cannot wear this” Kaanara said walking over to the mirror again. Sabine went to her jewelry box and pulled out a few diamond pieces, observing them in her hand. She walked over to Kaanara, “hold up your hair” she said. Kaanara did so and watched Sabine put a necklace over Kaanara’s chest, dangling slightly on her breast. the jewels were cold and but Kaanara ignored it. “There” Sabine whispered and squeezed Kaanara’s shoulders. “Now let’s do something about this hair” she grinned and Kaanara just rolled her eyes. Sabine combed through her long brown hair and put it up, then braided it, and sighed. “Sabine you can just leave it down” Kaanara laughed. Sabine sighed and nodded. “Yeah you’re right. It looks better this way anyways” she smiled. “Don’t forget the shoes!” Sabine called as she strapped hers on. The sparkly, strappy death traps laid next to her bed and Kaanara picked them up and observed them. “Oh do not give them that look. They’re stunning and they’re going to make that outfit pop” she smirked, walking out of her closet in her deep purple gown. Kaanara took the shoes and stood from Sabine’s bunk and walked to the door. It opened with a hiss and as she exited the room. She picked at her nails as she walked down the hangar.
“Quit doing that you’ll get a hang nail” a brooding voice chirped. She lifted her head at the sound of Zeb’s voice. He leaned against the wall, a loose linen tunic was tucked into some brown pants that cuffed above his calf. The shirt was two buttons undone as Zeb attempted to adjust the collar behind his neck. The shirt pulled taught on his biceps. He couldn’t reach. His eyes glanced up at her and his ear twitched, looking up at the ceiling as he attempt to grab the collar again. Kaanara smirked and walked over to him. “Let me help you” she laughed and walked behind him. “Hold these” she passed him her shoes and he took them, pinching them with two fingers. “What are these? Death traps?” He grumbled. Kaanara laughed and nodded as she lifted her hands, hovering over his shoulders. She stood on her tiptoes as she gripped his shoulders for balance. Zeb began to crouch down. She playfully flicked his ears, “don’t do that. I’m fine” she slipped her hand under the tucked collar that was under his neck. He shivered slightly at her touch. His fur was soft and not corse like she expected it to be. “You don’t dress up that much huh, Kitty?” She said, pulling the collar out and flattening it. “No, this would be a first for me. I’ve been to some casinos but nothing like at Canto Bight” he said. She stepped back and patted his arm. “Canto Bight was a regular stop for me with Maul. That’s why I know the ins and outs so well” she didn’t mention the Twins in the hallway, she knew Zeb knew. Zeb turned to face her and she dropped her hand from his arm to reach for the shoes. “Sit” he commanded, pointing to a crate. Kaanara put her hands on her hips, “why? Give me my shoes Orrelios” she said as Zeb took his hand and shoved her shoulder gently to sit on the crate. “Can’t have you rip that dress and make it shorter than it already is” he said as he took her shoes and knelt in front of her. This wasn’t the first time he had tied her shoes for her, but still, the sight of the Lasat on his knees in front of her made something in her stomach flip. She swallowed hard and realized, *stars, what did he say?
“Kaanara?” his voice purred as his fingers danced around her calves, tying each strap. She cleared her throat and looked down at him. “I’m sorry what?” He chuckled and tapped her other leg. Her foot slid into the shoe with ease. “I said, your dress is too short” he finished tying the last knot securely on her right calf. “Yeah it’s Sabine’s and we aren’t exactly the same body type” she joked. “No kidding, you look like you’re about to rip a seam” he said and he finished tying and stood up, holding his hand out for her to take. She took it as she stood in the wobbly heels. She gripped his forearm as she stood straight and tall. She still finally could reach to the height of his chin with the heels on.
“Well, shall we?” Kaanara said, gesturing with her chin to the open hatch. They just landed at the casino. Zeb glanced down at her hands still resting on his arm, her other hand gently laid in his palm. Footsteps behind them caused them to pull their hands from each other and Kaanara looked over her shoulder. Sabine and Ezra walked in. Ezra wore a tailored suit and Sabine had the most beautiful floor length gown, as if the galaxy was pulled from the sky and decorated her body. Kaanara smiled and Sabine winked at her, her eyes darted to Zeb and Kaanara quickly but the knowing look was there. They walked off the Ghost and everyone took their stations. Kaanara looped her hand through the crook of Zeb’s arm and looked up at him.
“Let’s go lose some credits and save our droid, Orrelios”
chapter 8 of among the stars is coming soon I promise. I’m sorry I didn’t know ppl read this fic I feel like I failed the Zeb community 😭 currently editing and reuploading ch1-7 on ao3 tonight <3
would anyone be interested in reading an oc fic with G1 Hot Rod? Lots of lore, like 2 books worth? Sam Witwicky’s daughter oc? lmk bc ppl on tiktok want it but idk where to post it
okay it’s official. when I get home I’m opening the ancient texts (my hand written transformers fic) and uploading it bc a lot of ppl on tiktok have requested it. I knew Zeb would be a niche character to write a fic for so I’m prolly going to leave the story incomplete.
If you want the fic still, dm me and I’ll keep writing it I don’t mind because I still love my oc for that story :)
Photocards set I did for TFCON Chicago a while last year :D
This was the first set, second set was already posted.
Planning on doing at least a TFP sometime!!
I've watched the movie a week ago, but I remember Zeb mentioning there possibly a uniform that could fit Rotta. Soooooooo I drew Rotta in a uniform designed purely for him because I don't see enough fanart of this guy.
hey… when writing fics, do yall prefer reading it in like one paragraph (obviously properly punctuated, etc.) or like in sections? I read somewhere that it’s annoying to read a fic separated/spaced out. I thought it looked better than in one paragraph?
I’ll go edit my fic if that makes it easier to read??
Idk I’m prolly overthinking it, but figured I’d ask the ppl o7
summary: reader gets trapped with an injured Zeb in a cave, and they come clean about their feelings.
relationship: Zeb Orellios x GN reader
warnings: mention of injury, blood, age gap i guess?
word count: 3.6k
A/N: i loved zeb in rebels and lost my marbles when he appeared in the mandalorian. and statistically speaking i can’t be the only zeb girlie (gender neutral), right? so this one goes to all of you out there, wherever you may be <3
(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)
— — —
It has been some time since you joined the Ghost crew, and you’re happy to say that you get along with everyone (except maybe Chopper at times). They had kinda taken you in like they ended up letting Ezra stay, though you were no Jedi. So the running joke was that Kanan brought “strays” on board. But you did and still do try your best to pull your weight around. You’re extremely thankful they decided to let you stay and considered you skilled enough to keep around.
Your homeworld had been brought to near extinction, similar to how Zeb’s planet got destroyed, so now you have no place to go back home to either. Hence why you got along with him from the start. He seemed gruff on the outside but you could see through it; that was the façade of a man who lived through pain and regret. But you know beneath it lies a rather charming personality and a caring friend.
A friend you like a little bit too much perhaps. A friend you find yourself drawn to constantly, torn between pushing your feelings aside and letting them out into the world.
That’s a problem for later though, because right now, you find yourself running for your life next to Zeb.
The latest mission brought the team to a wild jungle on some desolate planet, and you and Zeb got separated from the group. With the Empire hot on your trails, no less, because why would you have a normal, relaxing day? That would be boring.
You trip over a root peeking out from the ground littered in leaves, but catch your step just in time to keep running. The vegetation is dense, and you can’t really see much ahead of you except for splotches in several shades of green. Your legs are carrying you as fast as they can, but you can feel their stamina draining rapidly as your lungs burn, begging for a break.
From somewhere above you, you can hear the unequivocal engine of a TIE fighter, and you instinctively duck. You call out to Zeb, who’s a couple of metres ahead of you.
“They’re getting closer!” you scream at him.
“Then run faster!” he retorts over his shoulder.
“Well that’s easy for you to say!” you tell him between your breaths. “Look at your legs compared to mine!”
Suddenly, Zeb disappears from your view, swallowed by a dense bush. You do hear him cry out in surprise though.
“Zeb!” you call for him, worried.
Without lowering your speed, you take the last couple of steps to reach the point where he was, pushing the leaves out of your way, when your foot suddenly lands on air instead of the ground. Imitating the Lasat’s earlier scream, you also fall, as the vegetation had hidden away the very abrupt stop the cliff came to, the edge ending at a nearly perfect 90 degree angle, which sent you tumbling downwards.
On the way down, you feel yourself hit the side of the hill with an “oomph!”, then continue rolling down, protectively holding your arms over your head however you can, given the speed you’re spinning at.
When you finally make it to the ground, you hit a dead trunk with your back. For a second all air is knocked out of your lungs as you come to a sudden stop, and you need a second to recover your breath. Everything is still spinning, you hold your head, and all you can see are blurs of greens, yellows and browns.
After taking a moment to reorient yourself, you call out to Zeb. The only response you get is a pained groan from a little further away. You get to your feet, ignoring the pain that shoots up from your knee to your hip. The contents of your backpack got strewn around, so you go around hurriedly collecting everything before looking for Zeb. Following the sound of his grunts and heavy breaths, you find him leaning on a rock. You almost drop your pack when you notice the thick branch impaled in his side. He must have hit a tree on the way down.
You approach him quickly, kneeling down at his side.
“Hey, hey,” you say, waving your hand in front of his face. “Stay with me!”
“Ugh…” is all the response he can muster.
You check your comm; it’s busted.
“Where’s your comm, Zeb?” you ask. He paws at his leg with a groan.
You rummage through his pockets and take out the device, which is all but flattened. Great.
“We have to find shelter somewhere,” you say, getting up to your feet.
Taking a look around, you realise it all looks the same. The trees are so dense that you can’t even properly see the sky. Turning back to Zeb, you catch him just in time how he’s about to pull out the branch stuck in his abdomen. You fall back to your knees and swat away his hand.
“Leave it!” you order. “If you pull it out now you’ll bleed out.”
He growls, but doesn’t fight you. Taking in his state, you suddenly feel lost and small and helpless.
“Don’t you dare die on me, Zeb!” You try to sound threatening.
“‘Tis but a flesh wound,” he says with a chuckle that quickly turns into unpleasant sounding coughs.
Great, he's delusional.
“Did you break anything?” you ask him, checking for injuries. “Can you move your arms, legs, fingers?”
He first moves his ankles around, then slightly lifts one leg. With the other one he inhales sharply as it is the one on the side where he got hit.
“How about your hands?” you continue.
You talk to him in an attempt to keep him conscious. Meanwhile you rummage through your backpack for a rope. Zeb tries moving his arms but with his right one he groans in pain.
“Think i’s broken,” he says through gritted teeth, then his face starts relaxing, his eyes about to close shut.
“Hey, no no no. Look at me,” you demand, waving your hand in front of his face again; no response. “Hey!”
You slightly slap his cheeks, and his eyes snap open to shoot you a half-glare. Then you look down and see he’s losing blood, fast.
“Dank farrik, Zeb!” you curse, looking around again. Your gaze falls on the Lasat one last time before you run in the opposite direction you fell from, looking for some sort of shelter. Not far, you luckily find a cave.
Running back to him, you fall to your knees at his side once again.
“Wake up! I can’t carry you alone!” you demand, desperation starting to creep into your voice.
But he’s too weak to stand up, so you pass the rope you had under his armpits and back, throwing the ends over your shoulder, and pulling with all your might to drag him. He drifts in and out of consciousness but tries helping you with his legs and good arm.
It takes you what feels like an eternity and a full workout to drag him into the cave, and just in time. Of course, it has to start raining. You wonder how the water even gets down here when the trees seem to have built a solid roof over the whole place.
Once you have Zeb in the cave, you take a moment to shake some life back into your limbs. Don’t fail me now! you plead with your arms and legs, and you get to work. Using some wood you found on the way here you build a makeshift splint for his broken arm. Then you prepare some bandages, bacta patches and bacta gel. You’re glad that you weren’t carrying anything in glass vials in your backpack that could have broken; all supplies survived the fall.
You kneel at Zeb's side, whose forehead is now covered in a thin layer of sweat; he’s probably running a fever. You exhale slowly through your nose, trying to calm yourself for what you’re about to do.
“Zeb, I’m gonna take it out now, okay?” you warn him, pointing to the branch he got impaled with. “This is gonna hurt… I’m sorry.”
“Ugh… Just- just do it,” he replies with shallow breaths.
“Okay,” you say more to yourself than him, and place your hands around the splintered branch. “One, two, three!”
As you pull out the piece of wood, Zeb clenches his teeth with a groan, and blood comes gurgling out of the wound. You’re quick to generously apply the bacta gel to disinfect the area, put a bacta patch on top and some gauze over it all to stop the bleeding. It takes a little bit of effort on both sides to get Zeb to lift his back enough so you can wrap the bandage around him, but it works.
Now that the most critical part is taken care of, you inspect him further. He’s got a couple of scratches on his arms and face. You take a clean piece of gauze and step to the cave entrance to dampen it in the rain, then come back inside and start cleaning the dried blood and grime off him as best as you can. He tries swatting you away with his good arm a couple of times.
“‘S okay. Take care of yourself first,” he speaks through heavy breaths. But you insist.
Once you're sure you cleaned him up to the best of your abilities and minimised the risk of something getting infected given your precarious situation, only then do you repeat the process for yourself. You also got a couple scratches all over you, and you're sure your back and hip are gonna bruise because of that rock earlier.
Once you're done cleaning yourself up, you sit back and heave a deep sigh. For a moment, the cave is silent save for Zeb’s laboured breathing and the patter of the rain. You take a moment to think about what the next best course of action is. You need water, food, and you have to find a way to contact the Ghost.
From your backpack you take out your busted comm. Zeb’s one got absolutely obliterated, but yours seems in better condition.
“Hey, do you think that we could fix this and send some message to Hera at all?” you ask.
Zeb is struggling to keep his eyes open, trying to focus on the device you’re holding in front of him.
“Do- d’you know how to… rewire?”, he asks.
“Not really… but you can talk me through it?” you offer.
It takes several attempts, but through broken sentences and you having to shake Zeb awake a couple of times, you actually do it. You manage to more or less recall your coordinates given your last known position before the fall, and send that plus the fact that Zeb is hurt. You couldn't fix it enough to know if it actually got through or if you received a response. But you hope and pray to the Force and every other deity out there that Hera and Kanan got the message and come to find you soon.
Now that that is taken care of, you go through your mental list again. Next up: water and food.
You give your past self a pat on the back for packing so much stuff when everyone said the weight would just slow you down. You could really never know when you’d need all this.
You find your emergency light; it's like a bag filled with gel that emits both light and warmth. You hit it in the right spot to activate it and place it next to Zeb, who’s starting to tremble slightly, you now notice.
Your water canteen is a bit banged up but still usable, so you step to the cave entrance to collect some rainwater. While you're here you focus on any sounds of ships or blasters, but you only hear the jungle around you.
You take a couple of swigs from the bottle, then fill it back up. With a sigh, you go back into the cave and take out one last thing from your backpack: ration bars. Not the yummiest but enough to get out of a pinch.
You offer Zeb some water, which he accepts. After he’s done drinking, he leans his head back down with a groan. It must be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, you didn't bring any shock blankets or anything. In fact you don't even have a jacket because of the planet’s tropical weather.
You look up at the cave’s roof again, ticking off the items from your mental list. Now that everything is taken care of, there’s only one thing to do: wait. And hope for the best. Your nose crinkles at the thought. Waiting is the worst part.
Zeb’s shuffling as he moves around trying to find a comfortable position to lie in catches your attention. You grab your blaster and move in between him and the cave wall.
“Here,” you say softly and carefully lift his head to sit down, so he can use your lap as a pillow while you lean back onto the cave wall. You prop up your hand with the blaster on your other leg, aiming at the cave entrance. “You rest up now. I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”
He groans, trying to get comfortable, and then silence surrounds you two.
You’re trying to keep watch but your eyes keep drifting back to the Lasat on your lap. His breathing is evening out, so you assume he’s trying to fall asleep. You take a moment to roam over his face, his meiloorun shaped head, his big ears, his beard. You notice the wrinkles between his brows, a testament to his almost constant scowl, and you have to gather every ounce of self control in your body not to smooth out the skin with your fingers.
“I can feel you staring,” he remarked suddenly, startling you. He opens his eyes and looks up at you.
“Sorry…” you apologise with a sheepish smile.
He holds your gaze for a second longer than you’d have deemed necessary, then closes his eyes again and turns his head slightly away from you.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he says, softer this time.
“Huh? Like what?” you ask.
“Like a sad, lovestruck Loth-pup.”
Heat rises up to your cheeks, and you turn your face away as well, but then realise that you don’t care anymore if he sees you. You knew that at some point you had developed a crush for the guy but you’ve been trying your hardest to push the feelings down, and evidently failed. It did occur to you that lately things seemed to have changed; but you didn’t want to get your hopes up. So you weren’t imagining it after all, the lingering looks and quick glances your way when he thought you weren’t looking.
And if he really decides to bring this up in a cave in who knows where, then so be it. You might as well have the conversation you’ve been procrastinating on right here and now, since he can’t really run away either.
“That’s not how I would describe it,” you start. “But I can’t help it…”
“You can do better,” he says, still not looking at you.
“Try me,” you retort.
He hesitates for a second, considering if he should give in to this or not. For an instant you think that’s it, and are about to keep watch again, but then he speaks.
“I’m old, and scarred,” he tries to convince you.
“You’ve lived through a lot of things, and yet you kept your kind soul,” you counter, ready to disarm any argument he gives you.
“I get angry easily.”
“You have a strong sense of justice.”
“I’m stubborn.”
“So am I,” you say with a chuckle.
He sighs deeply, and finally turns to face you.
“Why? Why me?” he asks and you can tell he’s genuinely wondering.
“Do I need a reason?” you ask, slightly shrugging your shoulders. “When I’m with you, I feel safe, and understood.”
“Who knew the bar was so low,” he teases, and you playfully nudge his shoulder.
“I’m serious. You’re someone I know I can confide in, someone who can read the room and differentiate playtime from ‘time to be serious’. You get things done. You’re loyal. You know what you want and what you fight for,” you recount. Then with a smile and a poke to his cheek, you add, “And for all it’s worth, I do think you’re rather handsome.”
Zeb makes a sound between a snort and a mock-offended gasp, averting his eyes from yours. You could swear his ear just twitched as well. Is that his tell-tale sign for when he’s flustered? Cute.
He remains silent, looking back to you with a soft gaze that holds something else, maybe resignation, or a little bit of sadness.
“But, you know, now that we’ve established how I feel, I do wonder about you,” you point out. “You don’t have to answer now, though. In fact, you don’t have to answer at all if you don’t want to–”
“That wouldn’t be fair, now would it?” he cuts you short.
“Then, do you have anything you want to add?” you ask, hopeful.
He thinks about it for a moment, then gives you an apologetic look.
“Whatever it is I want to say, I don’t think I could properly put it into words right now,” he says, gesturing to himself. “Let’s continue this conversation when I’m… not on the possible brink of death?”
“Right,” you answer, only slightly disappointed, but you try not to show it.
“And hey,” he calls for your attention, and you look back at him. “Thank you.”
“You would have done the same thing for me,” you smile back at him, thinking he means treating his wound.
“Not just for patching me up”, he remarks. “Also for… For your words. And honesty. I can’t deny it’s nice to have someone like you looking at me the way you do. Hopefully I can be half as eloquent as you.”
He then takes your hand with his good one, bringing it to his chest. Once again, you feel your face burn. Zeb Orellios is holding your hand. While his head rests on your lap no less. With that little spurt of courage you just got from his gesture, you lean down and place a gentle kiss on his forehead. He squeezes your hand lightly at that, sighs, and closes his eyes.
You lean back up, resting your head on the hard cave wall behind you, but you don’t mind. You’re on cloud nine right now.
Just as you remind yourself that you’re supposed to be on watch, you hear some rustling from outside. Quickly you lift the blaster, pointing at the entrance. It sounds like someone is approaching. You aim, and–
“Found them!”
It’s Sabine.
You slump back onto the wall, lowering your weapon, letting go of the breath you were holding.
“Are you guys okay?” she asks as she approaches you.
“I got away with just a couple bruises, but Zeb got essentially skewered, and I think his arm is broken,” you explain, turning to show her the wound on his abdomen and tell her how it happened, when you realise Zeb is still holding your hand.
You stop mid-sentence, your eyes meeting Zeb’s, who’s looking at you with a cheeky smirk. That little–
“What happened? Are you okay?” Now it’s Ezra’s turn to step into the cave.
You let go of Zeb’s hand to carefully remove yourself from under him and stand up. You manage to get up but are a little wobbly on your legs, since you’ve been sitting for so long. Sabine quickly helps to support you and guides you outside.
Kanan is the last to get into the cave. With Ezra they try their best to support Zeb to walk but he’s still too weak to get up, so they decide to essentially fly him just outside of the cave by means of the Force, where the Phantom is parked. Zeb did not like that one bit.
– – – – –
Bonus:
Once Zeb is in his bunk on the Ghost with fresh bacta patches and bandages, you give him one last once-over to check if he’s comfortable.
“Anything else you need?” you ask him, packing the remaining gauze and bacta you didn’t use into the first aid kit.
“I think a ‘get better kiss’ would help,” he says matter-of-factly.
You jump a little, his comment having taken you off-guard.
“Well I’m no doctor, but let’s see what I can do,” you try saying as nonchalantly as possible, but your flustered cheeks betray you.
You gently hold his face as you kiss the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes.
“Uhm?!” comes a startled noise from Ezra who’s standing at the now open door. Oh right, for a second there you forgot they shared the room.
“Is this gonna be a thing from now on?” the boy asks, pointing between you and Zeb.
You don’t really know how to answer because you haven’t had the second part of your conversation yet, but the Lasat chuckles and folds his good arm under his head.
“You better knock from now on,” is all he says and proceeds to close his eyes to nap.
“But it’s my room too?” Ezra looks at you for help, but you just shrug with an apologetic smile.
Walking past him, you go to your own bunk, trying to calm your pounding heart on the way.
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