It’s a weird time right now, so here’s some artwork of Mama Hera and her beloved son together 🥺
Also I quickly wrote a little thing for some context-ish. Sorry, it’s sad 😔
At first Hera wasn't sure she'd even heard it, she'd turned her back on her toddler to fix a control panel for a few minutes and left him in his booster seat, she sat up to look at him in confusion. But her little over one year old son wasn't there. For a moment panic surged through her veins as she began glancing around for him, instead widening her eyes at something else. His cabin door was open. Kanan's cabin door, that Hera had locked the night he perished and never unlocked, was wide open. She crept over silently, closing her eyes at the sound of a voice from within, one that sounded all too familiar and all too painful to be real, it was Kanan. He was there. She inhaled, feeling her chest get tight, and opened her eyes slowly, trying to take in everything she could see from the doorway. His bed was unmade, and the sheets thrown everywhere, along with his night clothes crumpled on his pillow, as if he'd left in a rush that morning. There were two-year-old, half full mugs of caf littered around the room, swimming in dust, and it hit her immediately, the room smelt like Kanan. She glanced down at the sound of movement to see their young son playing with the holocron, projecting a recording of Kanan as the only light source.
"Jacie!" She breathed a sigh of relief, crouching down to scoop her son up. "You scared me for a minute."
Jacen let out a protested cry and pointed to the hologram as the message began to replay.
"Jedi Log 26512, although I'm not sure I should really call it that." His voice still hurt, Hera tried to settle her son but every time she began to move away with him he cried again. She hadn't talked about Kanan, not to Jacen directly or even in front of him, she wanted him to be old enough to understand the sacrifice his father made before she lay the shared grief upon his shoulders too. The recording continued. "I think I'm going to ask Hera to marry me." Hera almost dropped Jacen in surprise, feeling her chest get tight and her eyes begin to sting at the sentence. "I know it's not the Jedi way, but I can't hide how I feel about her for any longer. I love her, and once this is over I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I've spoken to her father, and he's given his blessing, and I think it's what my master would want me to do." He paused. "And Hera. If you're watching this, you better still act surprised when I propose to you. Alright? Oh. And don't you dare look in my far left drawer, Alright? Alright." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, it was still long, but it was down in a way that was usually only reserved for her. "Now please stop snooping around my stuff and leave my cabin be." He laughed. "Make sure the kids aren't getting up to anything, I'm sure if you've turned your back for half a second Sabine will have Ezra in a chokehold somewhere." He shook his head at the thought of his grown up kids getting into trouble and smiled. "I think that's it. That's all I have to say for today, I'll record another log when I've asked her. Oh and Hera?"
"Hmm?" She cursed herself for replying to a recording, but it just seemed so natural to do so.
"In case you haven't left yet, and assuming you're planning to say yes, I love you so much dear and I can't wait to marry you. Okay?" He sighed. "Okay."
The recording started again and Hera found herself in shock, Kanan was planning to propose to her, he had it planned out and he never got to do it, and she had a suspicion that she knew exactly what was in that drawer, even if she couldn't bare to look at it. She adjusted the way she was holding Jacen and he laughed a little, gesturing to the hologram.
"What? What did you just say?"
"How did you? I've never..." Hera inhaled sharply at her sudden realisation. "The force... can you feel him in here?" It wasn't as if Jacen was going to reply, but his blue eyes swam with understanding as Hera forced back tears, pressing their foreheads together and holding him for just a minute.
"Dada!" Jacen giggled excitedly. "Dada love!"
Hera nodded and felt herself choke up.
"He did, didn't he... Why did I wait so long to tell him?" She sighed and closed her eyes, surprised to feel small arms wrapped around her, but quickly pulling Jacen closer and holding him as tears escaped her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks.
"Love." Jacen mumbled, his mother just nodded and sighed, still holding him tightly.
"It's what keeps us together, and gives us hope, when all seems lost, we have love."
Hera nodded in understanding and closed her eyes once again, just feeling their son in his presence, and his presence within herself.
"I love you." She muttered aloud, to anyone in the room who might've been listening.
