Imagine: Zeb and Kallus have been sparring regularly for months. It has become their thing and something they both look forward to and treasure. But lately Zeb has noticed that Kallus seems to have picked up a handful of sparring buddies that he regularly spar against on top of his usual matches with Zeb. Of course Zeb assumes he must not be enough of a challenge for Kallus. And really it shouldn't hurt as much as it does. It's not like he has a claim on Kallus as a sparring buddy.
In reality, Kallus realized that Zeb was starting to gain the upper hand more often than not during their spars. Which made him worry Zeb would eventually get bored of their matches, as he wouldn't actually face much of a challenge in Kallus. So, Kallus set out to hone his skills to remain a worthy opponent.
Anyway, this is obviously an easily resolved misunderstanding, BUT I do think it's fun because it forces Zeb to consider why in the world Kallus sparring with others feels like some kind of violation of their bond. Like what had he actually been reading into their sparring sessions besides friendly competition?? The whole thing forces Zeb to reevaluate feelings he had previously tried to ignore xbxbx
Meanwhile Kallus is definitely overexerting himself for the sake of trying to improve his skills. He's being a bit of a competitive idiot who does not at any point even stop to question why it matters so much to him xD
Yeeesss!! I'm imagining it and I'm loving it!
Love how they both hold their sparring matches so dearly! So much so, that they're worried about the other replacing them T^T
Honestly the fact that Zeb sorta takes it as Kallus cheating on him has me cackling XD Especially if Kallus was hiding the fact that he had the other sparring partners??? I love that so much, lmao. What about your warrior's bond Kallus??? 😤😤😤 How could you????
Gonna put all my thoughts under a cut cause I think they got too long ;^^
But oouugghh, Zeb thinking that he isn't being enough of a challenge for Kallus. Next time they spar he gives it his all, round after round he beats Kallus, trying to demonstrate that he doesn't need those other sparring partners (all without actually telling him anything or maybe he makes a bitter comment about it/tells Kallus that he found out about it).
Meanwhile Kallus interprets it as him falling behind! Which of course makes him believe that he needs to practice/work even harder! Which, as time goes on, has him exhausted and sore and makes him lose even more of their matches. I could see him explaining away his extra sparring partners as needing to practice against average sized people XD After all, him and Zeb are big guys! It could throw off his fighting in a life or death situation! He tells Zeb that maybe he should find some other sparring partners too (the moment Kallus says this, he hates that he did). And Zeb is offended at the suggestion.
And maybe what really sends Zeb over the edge is that Kallus ends up with a Wookie sparring partner. Him fighting other humans? That stings sure, but nothing Zeb can't get over eventually. But a Wookie?? Surely that means Zeb isn't enough for Kallus anymore, he's getting replaced. He thought Kallus and him were on the same page about how they felt about being sparring buddies, but clearly Kallus doesn't hold it as dearly as he did.
And yeeess!! Zeb reanalyzing their bond!! Wondering why he felt so hurt! Having that OH! moment!!! Yeeeesss!! Could totally see a Spectre being the one to give him that little push to think about why it bothered him after he rants about the situation to them. But the fact that he was trying to ignore those feelings is so good 👌 The way his heart speeds up whenever Kallus gives him a cocky grin, he loves the power he feels when they clash, everything about sparring Kallus is such an exhilarating experience. And Kallus not bothering to analyze it lmao– it'll hit him like a ton of bricks soon I'm sure XD Also I love how seriously he takes it!! He's gonna get a good grade in friendship 😤 An Absolutely normal thing he should want to achieve!
As Kallus is sparring the non-Zeb people, he's notices the lack of spark, it's not as fun or exhilarating as it is with Zeb. He doesn't understand why and he pushes it down since in his mind he's doing this all for Zeb. The spark will return...
Honestly I could totally see it all getting resolved during an explosive argument 👀 Perfect for all the drama! Maybe they're sparring too! 👀 After a while of tension brewing, Zeb invites Kallus to spar and talk, only for it to all start boiling over and that's when Kallus finally manages to trip and pin Zeb on the ground and yell that he did all of this so Zeb wouldn't replace him!
It all goes quiet and their heavy breathing is all that's heard until Zeb furrows his brows and asks Kallus what the hell is he talking about? He was never planning on replacing Kallus, the thought never cross his mind. He thought Kallus was replacing him! He barely even noticed that he had been winning a bunch of their matches, he didn't care, what mattered was that he was with Kallus!
Maybe he shouldn't feel that way and thinking about it now it feels so silly that he felt so betrayed. It was just sparring after all.
He goes quiet, takes a breath trying to relax, and tells Kallus how he's been thinking about him– and them– a lot during this whole thing....
Aaannnnnd... from there I can't decide if Zeb would confess his feelings or if he avoids it and instead tells Kallus that he's alright with Kallus seeking other partners (seeing how Kallus might not make the connection yet? Or maybe he does during their conversation idk!)
And Kallus... well he just feels like an idiot by the end of it, lol. Maybe he starts slowly making the connection there 👀 He's like... wait...
Omg absolutely no pressure, but might I possibly inquire about the plot of your fic regarding the T7s? I'm so very intrigued 👉👈👀
Yeah, no problem ^^
So I actually made a post about the concept like a few years ago and I have 2 chapters of the fic up (I found the original post hell yeah!!) Also if you have read the fic already... uhhhhh... sorry for being unable to finish it at this time (also its been 4 years holy shit????) 😔
Basically the concept was Kallus and Zeb end up going on a mission together after some reports of some weapons (that's all the report gave) being used on the citizens of a Rebel sympathetic planet.
While on the mission, Kallus and Zeb are both very awkward around each other, not only because of their blossoming feelings towards each other, but also because of their past together. It'll be their first time working together as allies and neither of them want to mess it up– it was going to be a lot of yearning and pining (and a lot of guilt from Kallus). I was planning on having Zeb's own guilt from him feeling like he's betraying his people.
After a crash landing that left the both of them pretty worse for wear, they end up stumbing into a barren town. It's eerily empty and with some investigating they realize that there's no way the people just left in a hurry. The air stinks and ash is starting to cling onto Zeb's fur (it's too familiar and Zeb is trying so hard not to think about it, but there's only one conclusion coming to mind and he's terrified to voice it. It can't be that.)
They were supposed to just investigate the planet and come back to base so Rebel Command could plan out what they should do. But the moment they find out that the Imps are using T7s (which were going to be later revealed to be bought from Vizago, because he took some?? I'm so surprised that never came up again, hello?? And this fact is another reason why I came up with the fic), Zeb immediately decides that they have to do something. He's struggling with his ptsd, the injuries he got during the crash, his now even more complicated feelings for Kallus (he's being faced once again by the horrors of what Kallus participated in), but he's not letting another Lasan happen. And Kallus is the about the same, but he's keeps trying to put Zeb's mental health above it all (even his own), so he tries to go at the mission alone which goes very wrong pretty fast.
And yeah... that's about it? Unfortunately I don't have much of an ending planned 😔 I don't love the ending I had thought up originally, and I'm sorta struggling with a new one. But a lot of that original post is still being planned for the fic ✌️ so yeah ^^
So I answered what They're Coming for you is about here, but here's another snippet ^^
Don't think about it. Don't think about it.
Those things were downstairs, in the cargo hold, far away from him.
It should be out of sight, out of mind.
He huffed.
They shouldn't be on the ship at all.
Hot fury sparked to life before it was quickly snuffed out by the bitter chill of fear.
And yeah ^^ Hehehe, I might still be working on that Sabine dtiys you did a while ago 👀 I was struggling a bit so I took a break, but I'm gonna try to finish it soon <33
