With the way the war against the Empire was going, having a small portion of the day not doing something to help the Rebellion felt like one was slacking off. There were exceptions for meals, sleep, most things medical, and for malfunctions that one could not plan; outside of that very small list, there was still work to be done, missions to go through, an Empire to take down, and many other things to do. It wasn't like there weren't things to do, even with the expectation that everyone got a little bit of down time besides the usual meals and sleep schedule. If there was work to be done, then there was no time – no need – for breaks.
Or maybe that was just part of Alexsandr Kallus' mind at work, the Imperial part he still couldn't shake at least. Down time was for the rookies who were still learning the ropes, the commissioned officers who commanded an entire portion of a fleet, the high ranking officials who no one would dare speak a word out against them for taking a few hours leave. When he first came to the Rebellion he was looked after, kept a watchful eye on, to make sure he didn't decide to do a double cross and go back to the Empire with the things he had learned. And one of those things that Alex learned pretty early on was that the Rebellion cared enough for those working for it to not overwork themselves and not to burn themselves out while doing their jobs. Because, according to nearly everyone he had come across – up to and including some members of High Command – the last thing the Rebellion needed was to go down in a blaze because some of it's members couldn't take breaks.
Zeb had been trying to get Alex to take more breaks even before they became more than just friends. At the beginning Alex had just shrugged him off, thinking that the Lasat was just trying to be friendly because Hera or Kanan had told him to, despite him being the one who started Alex down the path to becoming a Rebel. Then when he couldn't shake him off any more, Alex gave in a few times just to make Zeb happy – then their relationship became a genuine friendship. Eventually, after a few months, Alex felt the twinges of something else, something more that he couldn't shake like he did when he was with the Empire; at first he thought he was getting sick with the way his heart raced and fluttered every time the Lasat looked at him. Sometimes his face even had flushed. It had taken one talk with medical, and maybe even a few holonet searches if Alex wanted to admit to anyone – which he didn't – but eventually he realized he had fallen in love with Zeb.
Had Zeb not gone and made the first move by kissing him, then he wouldn't have known that Zeb had the same feelings for him – and neither would half of the Rebellion. As shocking as it was, it was a relief knowing that both of them felt the same way and he was more than glad that he was no longer with a regime that looked down on human and non-human relationships. It took some time for both of them to feel comfortable with their new relationship, stealing a few kisses here and there, a few meals when the Ghost was on Yavin IV, and Zeb's presence in Intelligence whenever Alex's shift was set to end became almost routine. By the time they made their relationship more open and official, Alex realized they never had gone on a proper first date. How they were going to do that when there was a war going on and they both didn't know when either one of them might be off-planet at different times, but come hell or high water he was going to correct that oversight. Even if it took the whole rest of the damn war to do it, he was going to do it.
There were two glaring problems that came with trying to get this rectified.
Problem Number One was that he had never once in his life been on a date, even in his younger years he hadn't gone on them. There hadn't been anyone that had caught his eye during his childhood, it wasn't until right before he entered the Empire in full did he start to accept his preferences when it came to partners and even then he hadn't bothered to try to go out even on a quick meal with another being. The Empire didn't have written policies on courting anyone, but the two biggest facts remained: as long as the other partner was human and the relationship didn't derail your career, no one in the Empire cared who its members took to bed as long as the cogs kept turning. Alex never cared too much who he took to a hotel room, be it human or another species, and he didn't care too much about having anything outside of a one night stand, but now that he was out of the Empire that was no longer a problem. But how he was to know how to do a proper date when he, himself, never went on one before he'd have to find help with it and fast.
Problem Number Two was the same problem they had before they took their relationship further: how to properly plan for this date when both of them might not always be on the same planet at the same time for long periods of time. Zeb often went wherever the Ghost was needed, Alex was often doing whatever he needed to do in Intelligence but sometimes went out on missions when it was called for, and they didn't always get to be on the same mission. Even when Hera demanded that Alex came with the Ghost, there were sometimes periods of weeks where neither he or Zeb would physically be able to see each other but were able to comm the other if the mission wasn't classified or was one of those rare 'stealth' missions Zeb was allowed to go on. How they were going to get some time to themselves when they couldn't plan that far in advance, Alex didn't know and it was beginning to get on his last nerve that he couldn't plan something as simple as a date.
But that changed one fateful day when the Ghost came back from a prolonged mission from somewhere in the Core region. Alex had put in, and got approved, three days of leave when his favorite crew came back from this mission, one where they would be staying planet-side for at least a few days afterwards, standing back as the Ghost landed, his smile wide as the ramp lowered once the ship had powered down; there were a few extra scorch marks on the hull, but nothing that couldn't come out with some extra care. Hera and Kanan came down first, with Chopper right behind them; if Alex didn't know the Jedi as well as he did, he wouldn't have believed that he was as blind as he was, he no longer needed someone to guide him even if he had never been to that place before. Alex wasn't even surprised when Kanan patted him on the shoulder and mumbled 'he missed you' as he passed, Hera returning that same wide, welcoming smile as she, too, walked past him. Chopper almost ignored him, giving Alex a small push towards the Ghost almost as an after thought, just as Sabine and Ezra disembarked from the ship.
"Have fun," was all that Sabine said as she and Ezra walked past him, Ezra rolling his eyes as they walked away. Alex turned long enough to watch them follow Hera and Kanan, his smile faltering for a second before he turned back around just as Zeb walked down the ramp. In one hand he held a basket that looked like it was used to hold food, his smile nervous as he walked up to Alex.
"Hey," Alex said, giving Zeb a quick kiss, glad to have a spare moment of peace before Zeb had to be off to debrief High Command on the mission the crew had been on.
"Hey," Zeb rumbled back, rubbing one of his cheeks against Alex's. "So, um, I know we took a bit longer to come back, but we got a bit side-tracked."
"Hm." He gave Zeb a 'not again' look. Knowing how they worked, getting 'side-tracked' meant anything between liberating prisoners from an Imperial ship to getting supplies that they weren't originally meant to be getting. "And why were you side-tracked?"
"Well, we had to make a quick stop somewhere to pick up something." Nervously holding up the basket, he jerked his head towards the jungle closest to them. "Walk with me?"
Now taking notice of the large bag slung over Zeb's shoulder, Alex followed him cautiously. "The debrief? I'm guessing you're not going to it."
"Not this time." Zeb grinned as he took the lead into the jungle along a well-worn path that he, and many others, had taken to a small clearing not far from the main landing strip. "Wasn't supposed to be on the mission anyways, just got onto the Ghost when it took off. Guess I was just a last second addition."
"Uh-huh," Alex mumbled, rolling his eyes and trying not to laugh. "And why did you decide to 'stow away' on your own crew's ship?"
"You'll see, c'mon."
Alex trusted Zeb not to lead him into something dangerous while on this planet, walking behind the Lasat as he took them towards a clearing outside one of the many temples that the Rebels were still cleaning out to make sure it was safe for bunkers or storage. At the moment work had been halted in favor for missions and other such things, now there was no one there but themselves once Zeb had successfully lead both of them there; he paused long enough to listen for sounds that they weren't alone or some creature from the jungle had followed them out into the open. When he was sure that they were, indeed, alone, Zeb took one of Alex's hands with his free hand and lead him out into the open space of the clearing where he set down the basket then, letting go of Alex's hand, put the bag down beside it.
"It's been a while since I've done this, not since Lasan. Even then things rarely went past telling the other the first feelings, maybe went as far as this, but not often." Ears twitching slightly, Zeb turned around to face Alex with even more nervous energy than he had when he had taken the lead into the jungle. There really hadn't been too many times on Lasan that he had felt like taking the first steps past telling a fleeting emotion, this was first time in his life that he wanted something beyond the first steps. "But I've been wanting to do this properly since we first made our intentions known."
"Like a date?" Alex's heart skipped a beat, his eyes going wide. Here they were, not having seen each other in some time, he had his own nerves wracking him trying to figure out how to approach the subject, and now they were doing this without much planning on Alex's part.
"Yeah, something like that." Zeb nodded, glancing down at the things he had brought with him. "For Lasat it usually happens within a week of showing the first affections but with everything going on, I know its taken a bit longer than it should've."
"Zeb, this – I've wanted nothing but this for a while now." Stepping forwards, he grabbed one of the Lasat's hands and gave it a squeeze. "I just didn't know how to do it, never had a date before."
"Yeah?" Zeb's ears perk up straight, his eyes beaming with happiness as he smiled and squeezed back. "Well, let me show you how to do things properly then. Well, as properly as I can here."
Alex watched as Zeb knelt down by the basket and opened it up, first revealing a blanket, of which he took out and started to open it up, Alex moving along and helping to set out the old, patched up blanket that had seen better days. Then Zeb opened the bag, rummaging around it until he pulled out a bottle of what looked like some sort of wine; he held it out to Alex to hold, who glanced down at the label as Zeb continued to go through the bag and pulling out two glasses, two plates, forks, and napkins. The label was printed in a language that Alex didn't immediately recognize, but knew it was wine by the way the liquid in the semi-transparent bottle looked and the bottle itself. Finally he pulled out what looked like a corkscrew, gesturing to Alex to hand him the bottle back to him so he could open it.
"Zeb, where did you get this?" He asked as he handed the bottle back. "Doubt you'd have this just laying around the Ghost."
"Actually, we did. Was the only thing on the food list we already had." Zeb used the corkscrew to open the bottle, with a little effort it opened. "We got it on one of, um, our more personal missions some time ago and there wasn't any special occasions that we wanted to open it for. At least not this bottle."
"So this one was for us?" Alex asked as he sat down next to Zeb, who's fur slightly bristled at the question. In a way it was, even before they took their relationship a step further; Zeb had gotten the wine from one of the markets on Lira San the last time they had brought a small family of survivors to the planet. He had hoped that he'd share it with Alex someday like this and that someday had come quicker than he hoped for.
"Was hoping it would be, if we ever got this far." Zeb gave him a quick look before he began to pour the wine. "Glad we did."
"So am I," Alex said softly, taking the offered glass once Zeb had finished filling their glasses and setting the bottle down behind him. "So you got 'side-tracked' for a picnic? How'd you convince Hera to do that?"
"Yea, something like that." Zeb took a quick sip, then turned towards Alex with a light smile. "Really didn't take much, she already knew I wanted to do something for you to show that I wanted to take our relationship further than the kiss and a few words here and there. Had most of the stuff on the Ghost, everything but the actual food so had to get that. Couldn't get what I wanted from where I wanted, so we just made a quick stop on the way back to get something that would work. And don't give me that look, Hera wouldn't have jeopardized the mission like that if the intel that they got couldn't reliably get back here in one piece. I wouldn't have asked her otherwise."
Alex had opened his mouth to respond about how dangerous it would have been for even a slight deviation from the mission, then pushed his lips together. Zeb was right, Hera wouldn't have made the decision to take a quick stop somewhere else if they couldn't get back to the base with the information they gathered and she wouldn't have let Zeb convince her otherwise, either. Plus Zeb knew very well that any intel gathering was important to the Rebellion, even more important than taking a short jump to another planet to get food for a first date, so the rest of the crew must of known that the risk was low enough to make that decision.
"Zeb, I know," he said gently, returning that smile to show he wasn't really fully upset. "I'm just surprised that you'd stow away like that and take an extra step for me."
Zeb's smile grew a bit. "It was worth it. Now, lemme show you what I've got."
Setting his glass down, Zeb pulled the basket towards them and began to pull containers of food out of the basket while explaining what kinds of food he had brought. Alex listened closely, taking sips of wine as Zeb explained what the various cut-up fruits were – there was three different types of melons and berries, none of which Alex had before – and gave a small piece of each to him to taste first. The fruit was sweet and tasty, both of them filling up part of their plates with the fruit and eating them, while drinking the wine as they ate, as they talked about what Alex had been doing while the crew was away and how the mission went. Then once they had their fill of the fruit, Zeb closed the containers, pushed them aside, and pulled out what looked wrapped sandwiches.
Alex's mouth watered as he opened his own sandwich, which had his favorite meat, cheese, and a couple of slices of tomato on it; Zeb gave a chuckle as Alex took a small bite and sighed happily into his food. They sat in silence as they ate and drank, taking in the noise from the jungle around them and their own company. After they finished eating, and they had put away their plates and leftover fruit, Alex filled up their glasses and leaned up against Zeb, visibly relaxed now that they had a chance for some time alone together. We needed to do this sooner, he thought to himself as Zeb put an arm around him, getting himself more comfortable as they sat there, not needing to do anything else or needing to go anywhere but be in each other's company and just talk about anything that came up. It was as though there was nothing else going around them, the war something that was the furthest from their minds at the moment. It was the first time that both of them could relax for a little while, to take in the small things that they were fighting for.
Eventually, after the wine was gone, their conversation slowed, and the daylight began to fade, they packed up the basket and the bag and began to slowly head back to base. The sounds of the base caught up with them as they came back to their reality, hands clasped together as they as made their way back towards the Ghost with several whistles and small cheers following them; Zeb rolled his eyes at that, Alex smirking and shaking his head. Despite his now relaxed mood, Alex still felt a bit conscious about allowing himself to show his relationship publicly; Zeb must've felt him tense up, as he squeezed his hand to reassure him that everything was okay.
"We need to do that again," Alex said once they got to the open ramp of the Ghost. Sounds of conversation drifted from somewhere in the ship, confirming that the rest of the crew had returned from their debrief with High Command.
"Yeah, I'd like that." Zeb then frowned, turning to Alex. You have to go back to Intelligence tonight? Or tomorrow, if it's too late?"
"Actually, I put in a few days leave." He didn't let that sink in before he continued. "I knew the Ghost would be planet-side for a bit, so I asked to have some time off to enjoy it while you're here."
"You asked for time off?" Zeb nearly dropped the basket and bag, turning to fully look at Alex with a wide eyed look. "No one forced you to take it?"
"I know it's not something I usually do, but I really wanted to spend some more time with you and the others," Alex explained with a smile. "Maybe I'm also finally learning to relax a little."
"I'd like to make you relax even more," Zeb nearly purred once the shock wore off and he stepped closer to Alex, looking at him with a mischievous grin.
He tugged on Zeb's beard, pulling him closer to him. "Do you, now? And how exactly would you do that?"
"I have a few ideas, will need to kick the kid out for tonight though." With that, Zeb gave Alex a quick kiss and pulled him up the ramp.
