It was a very rare moment that the two of them got to shed their respective masks and just be around each other. It was enough to take Zeb's breath away, seeing Alexsandr sitting at the bar looking so casual, without his ISB uniform and looking for all the world like he was just another poor soul that somehow managed to land himself a place on this planet. Zeb had changed his usual overalls for some old rough clothes he had lying about on the Ghost for undercover work and nights like this.
"Two of whatever he's drinking." He called out to the bartender, sitting down on the conveniently empty stool next to Alexsandr. He placed the credits down on the bar and gave his newly found drinking buddy a grin, "unless you've got somewhere else to be?" At the resulting head shake he slid the drink over to him, "Then here. On me."
It was safer for them to stay there on the bar stools for a short time before retreating to one of the booths where they could properly position themselves to survey the patrons of the establishment. They could drink and talk like friends, only a small amount of fear at the Empire managing to catch them. It made a nice change from the hurried kisses and fake fights they were used to. It was easier in a booth to press himself close to the human under the guise of being heard more clearly, the table would hide the hand on Alexsandr's knee and if he occasionally snuck in a nuzzle to Alex's cheek then it was probably just a trick of the faulty lighting above them.
"You could come with me."
"Zeb - no. I can't." Alexsandr said, voice just loud enough to be heard. He pressed his leg more firmly against his Lasat's, "I couldn't. There's too much still left to be done here." The offer always broke his heart into pieces and made it that bit harder to fling insults at his love when the situation called for it. It always hurt for their illusion of being just two random space farers that managed to wind up on the same planet and want some company to be torn down, for him to feel like ice cold water had been chucked over him and he was drowning in it. "I can't just leave. You would be in too much danger."
They had been over this argument time and time again. Sometimes between the rushed kisses and traded insults, other times like this when they could have kept the illusion of being just two other people. At least in his role as ISB-021 he could throw suspicion away from the Ghost crew, leave them openings and escape routes to take. He would not risk the life of his family, especially not now.
Zeb drained the rest of his drink and nodded; good men were hard to find, men who had made the choice to do good while they risked everything like Alexsandr were rarer. "Until next time." He said quietly, putting the glass down on the table as he stood up, eyes fixed on the exit like they had simply found each other too incompatible to spend any longer trying. If only they knew he was walking away for the exact opposite reason.
A/N:
The best thing 'bout tonight's that we're not fighting
Could it be that we have been this way before?
I know you don't think that I am trying
I know you're wearing thin down to the core
The song that inspired this chapter is Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade. This is the first Kalluzeb piece I've written and there are 7 planned chapters. Not necessarily posting in the order I wanted to originally, but I'm looking forward to it.