This was a birthday request from a follower on AO3, but I like to cross-post a lot of my fics. So here's a little fluff for any of you Balic/Elara lovers.

One Whole Year

The Thunderclap

Balic Cormac checked his reflection in the mirror. His face and head were freshly shaved, and he wore his best pair of fatigues. No holes or stains in this set, they were for special occasions. Granted, on a night like this, owning a proper civilian suit wouldn't be so bad. Then Cormac reminded himself that he wouldn't know what to do with it. His dress uniform was bad enough.

One year. Cormac let out a low whistle. He'd never stayed in a relationship that long, but Elara Dorne had come along and changed everything. The big man leaned closer to mirror, curious if he looked any different after a year in Havoc Squad; after a year as a married man. He was practically nose to nose with the glass when the 'fresher door swung open. Cormac jumped away from his reflection with a decidedly unmasculine shriek.

"Did I interrupt something?" Jorgan ask, hand still propped against the open door. He'd paused with one foot over the threshold, and a legitimate smirk on his furry lips.

"You just startled me, is all," Cormac protested weakly. When Jorgan's lips threatened to curve higher, Balic went on the offensive. "You got it, or what?"

The Cathar chuckled, letting the door shut behind him. "Yeah, although keeping this from Fynta was a pain. I never realized how much she tinkered with this ship until I needed a hiding spot."

Cormac snorted. "Don't I know it." Fynta had found all of his and Vik's stashes of combustibles for when they felt like being imaginative. Half the time, he figured she'd accidentally stumbled across them, no matter how good the woman wanted them to think she was.

Jorgan held out a small, black box. "Well, have fun, and make good use of it."

"You know I will," Balic responded with a grin, accepting the parcel and tucking it in his left breast pocket. He had a date with his girl tonight, and he couldn't wait to see her face.

Havoc Medbay

Elara tapped the screen on her datapad, finishing up the last report before her anniversary dinner with Balic. It was surreal when she considered that she'd been his wife for a year now. They'd been through so much in such a short matter of time.

Being Imperial born while serving in the Republic military had always been a romantic death sentence in Elara's mind. Who would want to throw their lot in with a traitor? Who could possibly trust her enough to learn to love her?

Then, Elara had met Havoc Squad, and by extension, Balic Cormac. He'd accomplished that impossible task in such a short amount of time that it made her previous fear seem laughable. Elara sighed when she put the datapad aside to check her makeup one last time in the mirror.

"Uh, oh," Fynta's reflection grinned back at her. "I know that look. You're feeling nostalgic." The commander leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed and a cheeky grin fixed on her features.

"I was considering how different my life could be, yes," Elara admitted. It was only natural on important days, to think about the path that lead an individual to such an important decision.

The major pushed off the doorframe to cross the room. "And?"

Fynta busied herself with Elara's hair, which the medic tolerated simply because she didn't know what else to do with it aside from her normal bun. "I'm quite pleased with the results."

The major smirked as she gave Elara's pale hair a tug, releasing the locks from their bonds. "I think down would be good for tonight. You're already wearing civvies, might as well go all the way."

While the two women weren't of the same body type, some of Fynta's more revealing clothing fit the medic well enough to be suitable for her outing with Balic. Where the brown pants and navy blue shirt might have appeared risqué on the major, they draped comfortably over the Elara's smaller frame. After a few seconds, Fynta had wrapped Elara's hair into a half tail with spiky strands sticking out in decorative directions.

Elara examined her new look in the mirror, then flicked her eyes at Fynta. When the major nodded, Elara sighed and accepted that she could always change it later if need be. "Oh, almost forgot."

Fynta tugged a small, red box from her bra strap and held it out. "You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to keep this hidden. Jorgan has been unusually attentive lately. He wouldn't let me go anywhere on the ship alone." The major snorted a tired laugh. "Now that I'm no longer responsible for it, I'm going to get some rest without worrying about Jorgan's hand placement."

"Thank you, sir," Elara responded, slipping her gift into her jacket pocket. This one was her own, at least. The black SpecForce cover wouldn't detract too seriously from the overall look. "I appreciate your effort."

Fynta waved her off with a yawn and headed for the door. "Have fun, Dorne. Don't do anything I wouldn't." Elara raised an eyebrow at the major's retreating back. That hardly narrowed the list down.

Carrick Station
VIP Room

Cormac had heard this place was one of the nicest in the galaxy. It had taken calling in quite a few favors to get into the VIP restaurant above the main cantina, but he'd managed. As Balic sat across from his wife, he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest bloke in the galaxy. Elara chattered on in breathy excitement about something he was too dumb to comprehend, but the fact that it meant so much to her was good enough. Balic nodded and made accenting noises in all the right places, and even chuckled when warranted.

Suddenly, Elara looked up from her plate with pink tinged cheeks. "I'm sorry, I've probably bored you to death."

This time, Cormac's laughter was authentic as he reached across the table to take her hand. "Doll, you are many things, but boring has never been one of them." His wife's cheeks turned full on crimson, the color made more prominent by her pale complexion.

Sitting at the table, with the classical music in the background, and her beautifully embarrassed by his compliment, made the atmosphere perfect. He reached into his breast pocket to retrieve the item that Jorgan had kept safe for him for nearly three weeks. "Hey, I got you something."

Elara's head tipped a fraction to the side as she watched his hand open to reveal the small, black box. "We've been married a year now, and I thought it was high time that the rest of the galaxy knew you were off limits."

Balic let the box rest in the palm of his hand, using the other to lift the lid. The hinges creaked from lack of use, drawing the attention of the patrons at the next table. Cormac ignored them, focusing on what he hoped would be his wife's joyous expression. "Happy Anniversary, doll."

"Oh, Balic," Elara breathed, her hand extended, only to draw back again. Inside sat two cogs left over from the last time he'd helped Yuun fix the Thunderclap's engine. Cormac had the pieces smoothed and fitted into a set of rings. They couldn't wear them on duty, of course, there was too much of a chance of losing a finger that way, but Balic figured around their tags would suffice.

"Do you like them?" Something about Elara's expression worried Cormac. She looked . . . amused. Then, his wife started laughing, just a light giggle that she quickly covered with her hand, but it was enough to confuse the hell out of him.

Elara met his eyes, then quickly sobered herself. "They are perfect, Balic. Beautiful, really." Cormac watched, dumbfounded, as his wife reached into her pocket and presented him with a velvety, red box roughly the same size and shape as the one in his hands.

It took a few seconds for the implications to sink in. Cormac's laughter boomed through the restaurant, drawing the attention of a few more tables. He plucked the box from Elara's hand and flipped the lid open to find a set of wedding bands. "What are they made of?" He managed between chuckles.

"I hope you aren't angry, but I repurposed the wiring that you made the Project B model with." Elara kept her hands under the table, meaning she was wringing her knuckles to keep from sounding nervous. "I worried about it getting lost, and you worked so hard on it. So, I thought that perhaps there could be a way to keep it with me at all times."

Balic snapped both boxes shut and grinned at his wife. "How could I possibly be mad about a thing like that?"

The lady at the next table leaned over to congratulate them, and a few other patrons, along with the waiter, offered complimentary drinks. As thankful as Balic was, the restaurant suddenly felt too crowded. This was his anniversary date, and Cormac wanted nothing more than to spend it somewhere quiet with the only woman that mattered. He politely declined the drinks, paid their tab, and stood to offer Elara his arm. "Come on, doll. Let's make tonight count."

Star of Coruscant:
Officer's Inn

Elara kept her hands folded over Balic's arm. He had both sets of wedding bands in one hand, still chuckling to himself about the irony of their gifts. Pushing through the door to a nice hotel, Balic checked them in and called the lift. Once inside, he took a deep breath, slipping both sets of rings into his pocket. "You and I are one of a kind, Elara."

"Yes," she stated. "I imagine we are." After all, there couldn't be too many married couples within SpecForce comprised of an ex-Imperial officer, and an ex captain from Alderaan. Balic huffed another laugh and patted her hand, leading Elara to realize that hadn't been what he meant at all.

Elara remained silent to hide her embarrassment, although she should be over that by now. Even after a year, Balic still managed to tear down her protective walls, leaving her emotions bare. It benefitted their relationship that he was so good at reading people. Allowing an openness between them that Elara hadn't experienced with other partners. Balic always knew when to be gentle, and he never used her social awkwardness against her.

"This is us." Balic slipped the keycard in. The door vanished into a side panel to reveal a tastefully decorated room. It contained a large bed in the middle, an elegant desk, and a pair of sliding doors leading onto a balcony. Though what she could possibly want to see off it confounded Elara

When Balic flipped on the light, another amenity caught Elara's attention. "Is that—"

"Yep," her husband responded with a grin. "I found us a room with a water-jet tub. Not bad, eh?" Brown eyes darkened with desire when they met Elara's. "I plan to take full advantage of it, too."

"Naturally," she responded, pulling a deeper chuckled from him.

Balic unbuttoned his jacket and tossed it onto the bed. "First thing's first." He knelt before Elara, both boxes in his hand. "We've got to do this right, after all." Judging by the grin on his face, Elara guessed that he was having a go at her. "Elara Dorne-Cormac, it's been the happiest year of my life. Would you do me the honor of staying by my side forever?"

Even though the line was delivered partially in jest, Elara heard the sincerity in her husband's words, and couldn't fight the tears burning her eyes. "There is nowhere else I'd rather be."

Balic grabbed her hand and slipped both rings, rough cog and smooth filament alike, onto her finger. "We might need to figure out a way to combine these. Otherwise, your tags will give you a neck ache." Elara took his face, almost at height with her own even while he remained on his knees, and kissed him.

"I believe we can worry about that at a later date." After securing the rings on Balic's finger in return, he slid his arms around her waist. "There are better ways to spend our time now."

"I'm all yours, doll," Balic responded. "Just tell me what you want."

Elara had never been able to speak when he looked at her like that. Balic's dark eyes, the knowing smirk on his lips, and the sudden intake of breath when she pulled his shirt free, encompassed her entire world. There were no problems that needed solving, enemies to conquer, or articles to write. Just her husband, and he knew what she wanted.

Balic slid his hands to rest on Elara's backside, guiding her legs to straddle his. "Hold on to me," he whispered.

Elara wrapped her arms around her husband's neck as he stood, lifting her with ease. Even with the bed only a few steps away, Balic remained where he was, supporting her weight while showering her with hungry kisses.

When Balic toppled them onto the bed, he let Elara fall free so that he could catch himself to avoid crushing her. When she looked into his eyes, they were tender, and so full of love, that she couldn't bear the thought of life without him.

Soon, the race began to remove one another's clothing, always so frantic to begin with, but more controlled in their actual lovemaking. Balic was a patient partner, listening for cues, trying new things to bring Elara more pleasure. This was the one area of her life where the normally concise medic gave up all control. Logical thoughts failed her whenever she was with Balic. He fulfilled her in ways she'd never imagined possible, and he derived completion from that knowledge.

As they lay sweat soaked and panting in one another's arms, Balic nuzzled Elara's neck. He trailed feather soft kisses over her shoulder, her lips, everywhere, while she basked in exhausted bliss. "Now, that's how to celebrate an anniversary," he murmured against her ear.

Elara shivered, dragging a husky laugh from her husband. As the post coital fog began to fade, a thought occurred to Elara. "Where did you hide the rings?"

Balic shifted off of her, fixing the sheets around them, then pulled Elara to his chest. "Oh, I had Jorgan hold onto them for me. Said he had a hell of a time keeping Fynta from finding them."

Elara erupted into laughter so suddenly that Balic pulled back to give her an incredulous stare. "Forgive me, it's just," she had to pause to snigger more, barely able to get the sentence out. "I'd ask Fynta to keep mine safe. She said Jorgan wouldn't leave her alone long enough to properly hide them." More laughter. "She had to keep them in her pocket for two weeks."

Though Balic's laughter wasn't quite as boisterous, Elara heard it echo through his chest. He brought her closer with a gentle tug and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. "Think we should tell them?"

Elara's mirth settled into a few disconnected giggles. "Maybe, but not tonight." Draping her arm over Balic's broad chest, she sighed in contentment, letting her eyes drift shut. "They can wait until morning."

"Too right," Balic replied in a sleep heavy voice. He took a deep breath, his next words riding on the exhale. "Happy anniversary, doll."