Star Wars Rebels: Hera & Kanan

Chapter Five

Hera was saying something, but Kanan wasn't really paying attention. Instead, he was watching her lips form the words, and thinking (again) about what it would be like to kiss them.

His charm usually worked well- and quickly. But after a month- which included five milk runs, one intel-gathering mission and a shootout based on a misunderstanding- it only seemed less likely that he'd ever find out. Hera had not been joking when she'd hired him on as crew- and she ran a very tight ship. He'd already thoroughly examined almost every single bolt holding the Ghost together at least twice. She even had him cooking and cleaning.

The only thing he had limited access to was the Captain herself.

Hera spent nearly all her time either working on her ship, working on a datapad, or meeting with contacts. Whatever she was up to, she took it very seriously, and never discussed it with him. Every single one of his questions received a skillfully (and often snarkily) delivered non-answer.

"Kanan."

He shifted his gaze from her lips to her bright green eyes. She was frowning at him, which was never a good sign.

"Huh?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, absolutely...heard every word." He gave her what he hoped was a winning smile.

Her frown deepened. "What did I say?"

"You said that you're meeting a contact, and you'll drop me off at Jho's."

She actually looked a bit disappointed to find out that he had, in fact, heard every word, despite his best efforts to avoid doing so. "Fine. What else did I say?"

"Yes, I'll ask around for potential jobs while I get drunk."

She sighed. "That's not actually what I said."

"I was paraphrasing. Listen, Hera...I know you said that you always meet contacts alone, but I could come along as, uh...you know, the muscle."

Her eyebrows went up, and she scrutinized his tall, lean form from head to toe. "The muscle?"

"Okay, granted, I'm not the most imposing-looking guy. But I've got it where it counts."

"But what's the point of bringing a guy for muscle, if he's not very imposing-looking?" She knew exactly what he was after, but she would play the game if it meant keeping him from getting too close to her secrets. It was closest she ever came to flirting with him, and he was happy with whatever he got. He might have felt some degree of chagrin about that if it had been any other woman than Hera Syndulla.

"Point taken," Kanan said. "I just thought I'd offer. It's always good to have back up."

"Be that as it may, you're still not invited," she said, in the firm, businesslike tone that he'd started referring to as her 'Captain Hera voice'.

He shrugged, trying to look as if it didn't matter to him either way. She hadn't invited him, but he'd still be tagging along.

Two hours later, Kanan leaned against a graffiti-covered alley wall in Capital City, watching Hera meander through the bustling marketplace. She certainly didn't seem to be in any hurry. She paused to look at some jogan fruit, and then glanced around, swiveling her head in his direction. He quickly stepped back into the alley before her eyes could reach him. When he looked out again, she was gone.

Kanan dashed through the crowd, scanning for any sign of her. Nothing. Thinking she might have ducked into an alley, he turned and started down the nearest one. It was a dead end.