Author's Note: So this just happened today. A little one shot requested by a friend who wanted more on Balic Cormac and Elara Dorne's first kiss from the latest chapter in Family is more than Blood. I absolutely love these two.

The Thunderclap
Outskirts of Imperial Space

Balic Cormac sat in the immaculately clean medbay, chin propped in his hand while he leaned on one of the medtables, and watched Elara calibrate one of the machines. He'd spent more time in here over the last few weeks than any other part of the ship. Her patience with his continuous questions only encouraged him to learn more and he liked the way she laughed at his jokes. The Havoc squad medic wasn't Balic's usual type, he tended towards the rambunctious go getters. The ones who caused injuries instead of healed them. Like the lieutenant, however, she was clearly off limits judging by what he'd walked in on during his first day aboard the ship. Not that it mattered, because he thought Elara Dorne was the most fascinating woman in the galaxy.

Today they were both lounging in their fatigues. Now that Cormac was comfortable with his new armor, he didn't feel the need to keep it on all the time. Elara had thrown aside her jacket when the sleeves proved too bulky for the tight space she was working in, leaving her in the black shirt that proved she had some fine muscular tone. Cormac had held the discarded article of clothing up to his body, much like Elara had his plates while he was being fitted for the beskar'gam, earning him a light giggle from the little medic. Her jacket would probably zip around his bicep, maybe a thigh. Now, however, Elara was on her hands and knees with her arm shoved into the innards of a piece of medical equipment that had been irritating her for days. Not that Balic minded the view, but she'd been at it for three hours.

"Bugger," she hissed, shaking her hand out before popping a finger into her mouth. The tool she'd been using must have slipped again. Cormac did his best to hide his amusement. Elara didn't swear often, when she did, it was usually so soft that it escaped notice. Or she cursed in another language. That one, however, was one of his which meant he was rubbing off on her too.

"You alright, doll?" Cormac had taken to calling her that a week or so ago, the description suited Elara too perfectly to ignore. She was petite with porcelain skin, big, bright eyes, and a sweet demeanor that made Cormac instantly protective of her.

Elara nodded and pulled the finger free to examine the damage before letting her rigid shoulders sag a bit. "It's tedious work, fine tuning the equipment, but I need it functioning at peak efficiency before we face Tavus."

Cormac stood and leaned over where she was knelt, trying to see into the small hole Elara had snatched her hand from. "Anything I can do to help?" He knew it was a stupid question, but if there was the slightest chance of easing her burden, he'd take it. The woman had an unending wealth of energy when it came to making things run smoothly. More than once, Cormac had fallen asleep propped on one of the medtables while Elara worked into the night. Jorgan would always ask about Cormac's absence, then nod when Balic admitted to falling asleep in the medbay.

He got the impression that while they treated Elara like family. Fynta and Jorgan didn't always understand their ex-imperial sister. Cormac, on the other hand, had realized early on that Elara was acutely aware of the way people looked at her when she spoke and would immediately revise her explanation if it appeared that they weren't following. Then, there were times when she would just chatter on, completely engrossed with whatever she was reading and Cormac would just smile at her because she was just too adorable not to.

Giving his knee a gentle nudge to let him know she wanted to stand, Elara smiled endearingly up at him. "I appreciate it, but I don't think your hands will fit." She held her own up as an example and Cormac followed her lead, placing his palm against hers. Elara's fingertips barely brushed the inside of his second knuckle and Cormac couldn't help but grin. The woman was so damn tiny and she seemed to find his bulkiness just as interesting, having asked a ton of questions about his lineage. Unfortunately, Cormac couldn't go back very far, but Elara was sure there had to be more than basic human in his DNA. It all reminded him about that conversation in the briefing room and he'd declined the blood test to find out for sure. Cormac was perfectly fine not knowing.

Elara dropped her hand and turned back to sigh at the troublesome machine. "Perhaps I just need to take a break."

Cormac latched onto the idea with abandon. "How about some food, you can tell me what it's supposed to do." He'd learned that if there was anything that could take Elara's mind off her troubles, it was having a student to teach.

True to form, the woman smiled back up at him in earnest and Cormac felt his heart leap into his throat. She really was beautiful, the kind you just couldn't miss when her face lit up like that. Neither had widened the limited space between them and Cormac was overcome with the desire to act. He hadn't planned on kissing Elara, but it sounded like a fantastic idea.

Years of experience chasing girls failed Cormac in that moment. Instead of the suave approach he saw him his mind, Cormac's hands were trembling as he lowered his head to quickly brush his lips across hers. Elara's reaction was instantaneous and stung deeply as she gasped and took a step away from him. "Balic," her voice trailed off as she touched dainty fingers to her lips.

Raising a hand to rub the back of his neck, Cormac stared at his feet. "Sorry, I probably should have asked fir-" He risked glancing up to meet her eyes and his apology died on his lips. Elara was studying him, her thin brows furrowed as some internal battle warred and Cormac was worried that if he spoke, he'd scare her towards the wrong conclusion. Last time he'd seen that look she had been trying deciding which article to send into some science magazine for publishing.

Balic knew Elara had come to a decision when she cut her eyes up at him, catching her lower lip between her teeth while giving him a coy smile. His heart couldn't decide if it wanted to stop altogether or explode from his chest as she closed the gap between them. Cormac's reaction time was bloody pathetic, so Elara leapt up to wrap her arms around his neck, crushing her lips to his with a passion that, quite frankly, he never knew she possessed. His arms wrapped around her of their own accord, sliding one hand under her thighs to support her weight with ease. Enjoying the way Elara's body molded to his as she hooked her ankles behind his back and how her tongue rolled across his lips. The part of his brain that was still functioning properly decided that from now on, he was completely devoted to this woman.

When she pulled away, Cormac's head was spinning and he could feel the stupid grin on his face. "So, not mad?" Even though he was having trouble focusing on a single thought, he could feel her rapid breathing against his cheeks and wondered if his own sounded just as unsteady.

A wicked smile pulled at Elara's lips in response and Cormac began to see how sorely he had underestimated this woman. There was a vixen beneath all that sweet and suddenly, Cormac's new life's goal was to set it free.