Tanned skin, curly dark hair, Ice blue eyes and a smile that could captivate anyone…
Wes stood there, while the little girl in the cradle reached her tiny hand to grab his finger. She really was a perfect mix between the two of them…
Well…the other two, of course!
This precious little child, smiling at him was the daughter of their counterparts. Lara was her name. Lara Celchu-Janson!
She had his great grandmother's name.
It made him wonder how many things had an exact counterpart in this universe, and how many had taken different directions!
In the two days they'd been in the surface of Endor, this Wes had managed to explain some details to him.
Besides the whole story behind Mia's marriage to Veers, the whole Tyll issue and how he'd been beaten by his father in consequence of that, he'd also given him a quick story of the differences on this side.
Mainly, the fact that this Wedge had been dating this Luke for almost four years, falling apart after Hoth and the Jedi's disappearance into Dagobah.
Their Wedge had been a very good friend of Luke's ever since the kid appeared on Yavin. And he had been quite mad with Luke for just going away without so much as warning them.
But, to be honest, the four of them had reacted the same way towards Luke. So there wasn't anything different about their Wedge's reaction!
It was just another difference between both universes, he guessed…
The giggling little Lara kept demanding his attention, and Wes obliged by picking her up in his arms.
He wondered if this baby could intuit that he wasn't her real father, or if it completely escaped her instincts and, looking at him, she saw nothing else but the familiar image of her father…
Sometimes he dreamt of one day in the future, when he could find someone to share his life with, that he might have his own children. Every single time, the memories of his own dysfunctional family, took that same dream away.
How could he ever believe himself to be able to become a good father, and give a good example to any kid, if he never had a decent role model to begin with?
Supposing one day he would…how would he explain to them that his own father had beaten his poor mother to death?
How do you live with such a 'legacy'?
Yet, this Wes had overcome his own fears and, along with Tycho, they had this beautiful baby girl, babbling happily in his arms!
A soft chuckle snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to see the other two pilots looking at him, with a smile on their faces.
"What are you doing?" The other Wes whispered softly to his baby daughter. "Who's this guy? That's not your daree…" He kissed her on the forehead.
Lara seemed to look puzzled for a while, gazing from her own father, to the man holding her. She pouted, and she seemed like she would start crying, looking again at both men. But then, she just threw herself into her father's arms, who cradled her against his chest, while she leaned into him.
"See? She knows…" Tycho said. "You can't fool her. You might be the same person, but Lara can tell who's her father!"
"You're so full of sh…"
"Language!" Tycho admonished his husband. "Not in front of our daughter, thank you!"
"Yes, honey…" He jested, stealing a quick kiss from Tycho.
Wes rolled his eyes, while his counterparts smirked at him.
So, this was married life!
"I'm still wondering how both of you managed to become a couple!" Wes exclaimed.
"Easy!" Tycho began explaining. "I fell in love with him, and he ignored me for two years!"
"I did not ignore you!" The other Wes protested.
"No, of course not! You were just blind as a Mynock!" The Alderaanian scoffed him. "If Hobbie hadn't gone and told you about it, you would have never found out on your own!"
"I was still the one who went for the first kiss, wasn't I?"
"You were."
"And I was the one who asked you to marry me!"
"True!" Tycho agreed. "I must say, "He turned to Wes. "When we saw you through the holocomm, I truly believed you and your Tycho were also together."
Wes snorted at that thought. Like his own Tycho would ever be so much as attracted to him…much more end up falling in love with him!
"Yeah, but were not." He shrugged. "The fact that we're friends is already a good thing, considering how we started…"
"Why?" The other Wes asked.
"Because I didn't like him at first!" Wes recalled. "I was convinced he was a mole. His story of being a spy for us didn't sway me over, and for some time I didn't even talk to him. Eventually we came to blows, got punished for it, and managed to talk it over. Only then did we start to have a friendlier relationship." He told them. "We're really good friends now, though sometimes I still manage to get on his nerves. I'm aware my attitude and my behaviour are a bit of a put off for many people. So the fact that doesn't end throwing things at my head on daily basis, is a positive on my account!"
"And you can thank my self-control for that!" His Tycho announced at the door.
The other two pilots laughed at him, while Wes threw him a dirty look.
"Eaves dropper!" He accused his friend. "Didn't your mo…uh…forget it…"
"It's been over four years now, Wes…" He rested his hand on Wes' shoulder. "I think I can take a joke where you mention my mother, without getting depressed."
"Yeah, I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything…"
"This?" Tycho pointed at their counterparts. "This right here is the real Wes! The one who's stubbornly hiding behind the Prankster King! I bet you were like that too." He pointed at the other Wes.
"Guilty as charged!" the other Wes answered, while his husband nodded in agreement. "If no one takes you seriously, they also don't start making difficult, personal questions! It's an armour, really…"
"I knew it!" Tycho exclaimed, pointing at Wes.
"Sometimes I hate you…" Wes moaned.
"No you don't!" Tycho boasted, giving him a lopsided grin. "Now, get moving, you…" He started pushing him. "Wedge called for us. It seems they found more occurrences, and they're checking for energy levels compatibility. It seems they've been getting more frequent. If that's the case, we should be prepared!"
"Finally!" Wes patted his friend on the back.
"We'll comm you, if we have good news." Tycho informed their counterparts. "We're not going anywhere without saying goodbye!"
"You do that!" The other Tycho nodded.
The two men left, leaving their counterparts behind.
After they were completely out of sight Wes sat on the bed, with his daughter in his lap. He signalled his husband to come near, and the Alderaanian sat close to him.
"Noticed that?" Wes asked, with a wicked smile.
"I sure did!" The Alderaanian pulled him closer, wrapping his right arm on his husband's neck.
"They use the exact same expression we do!"
It had become a common exchange between the two of them, for one to use the 'I hate you' sentence, always getting back the 'No you don't!' reply!
At first it was nothing more than friendly banter, but with the progression of their relationship, it had turned into a kind of an endearment exchange!
Adding to that, they had noticed many small details, that were leading them to believe there might be more than meets the eye, in their rapport…
Sudden glances, the way they interacted, the obvious concern on both parts!
Of course they could also be seeing things that weren't there, just because they were unconsciously rooting for them to get together…
Lara yawned in her father's arms, prompting Wes to get up to place her back in her cradle.
"I also noticed Wes version 2 seemed to be a natural with kids." He joked.
"Version 2?" Tycho sniggered. "Maybe he thinks the same about you…but yeah, you're right! He was completely at ease with our daughter. "
"Do you ever think about that? Wes turned to him, suddenly more serious.
"About what?"
"How many other versions of us can there be! How many versions of our galaxy exist?" He covered the little sleeping girl. "I mean…until last week, we didn't even conceive the existence of these…parallel universes! You only heard about it on holomovies as a fictional thing! And now, we have a living evidence with us!"
"It's complicated, I know" Tycho embraced his husband by the waist, giving him a light kiss on the tip of his nose. "There could be an infinity of other universes out there. And though it's a fascinating subject, it's one I'm not going to worry right now." He tilted his head to kiss Wes on the neck, making him shiver and giggle. "My only concern right now, is that our daughter has a full stomach, a clean diaper, she's asleep, and no one needs us right now…"
Raising his eyebrows with a mischievous smile on his lips, Tycho pulled Wes closer, trailing the buttons of his tunic, starting to open it.
"My, my, Captain Celchu…" Wes whispered, biting his lip and squeezing his husband's buttocks. "Are you trying to seduce me?"
"I'm not trying, Lieutenant…" He chuckled, biting Wes' earlobe, causing the other man to groan. "I'm succeeding!"
Leaving clothes scattered, while they kept kissing and caressing each other, they extended their wooden screen and fell on their bed, giggling happily.
"I love you!" Wes whispered, before completely surrendering to his husband's warm mouth.
"I love you too. "The Alderaanian answered, pulling Wes to a hungry kiss.
That night, a disappointed Wes was pacing back and forth on his quarters. The promise of a quick return home, had proven to be an empty one yet again.
None of the small blackholes that they had detected had been either big enough, or a match to the one that had landed them here.
The rest of the elements of that Rogue Squadron, were doing all they could to make them feel welcome and at home. They had even postponed their upcoming mission to Cilpar, to help them…
…but this wasn't home!
And having to watch his counterpart being all homely, with his baby daughter and his husband. Watching him holding on to that Tycho, like it was the most natural thing in the galaxy…
It just served to make more aware of his own loneliness!
He looked at the other bed, where his Tycho was sitting quietly going through a holobook. His Tycho…he snorted at that thought.
If there was something Tycho wasn't, was his!
Of course he only referred to him like that, to be able to differentiate him from the other one! But the way that notion seemed to have settled in him so naturally, was making him uncomfortable.
Because he liked the other man! It wasn't anything physical, or whatever had drawn their counterparts!
He just…liked him! He felt at ease with him.
And starting to think of Tycho on that 'His' terms, was becoming a confusing notion to Wes.
He would have been able to handle it, back home! But here? Where they had a daily example of how it could have been, if life had gone differently for both?
It was breaking him, pulling him apart…
"Would you, in the gods' sake, just stop that?" Tycho put his holobook down, staring at Wes. "You're going to carve a ditch in the ground if you keep up with that!" He mumbled at him, getting up to meet the Taanabian.
"Come on, Tych! How can stand there, absolutely calm, when we're nowhere near of finding a way to go back home?" Wes asked, his expression a dismayed one.
"I can do it, because I know it's completely out of my control!" He answered, completely composed. "I gain nothing but unnecessary anxiety, if I keep torturing myself over it! And instead of going nuts about it, and making me uncomfortable on the process, you could learn to let go of it and just…relax!" He quipped at the Taanabian. "You've been driving me nuts, since we left the Rogues HQ! That thing is not going to magically reappear, just because you're over whining about it!"
"I'm not whining!" Wes protested.
"Of course not! You just spent the whole afternoon huffing and puffing, after none of those occurrences turned out to be a viable option for us!" The Alderaanian snapped at his friend. You don't see me being an ass to others, just because I miss home!"
"Well, jeez 'Captain'… I'm sorry if I'm a bit more concerned about finding a way to get back into our reality, instead of sightseeing…" Wes growled, starting to pace back and forth again.
Tycho stopped in front of the Lieutenant, blocking his way and glaring at him.
"You know what Wes? You're really starting to get on my nerves…" He bit off, trying to keep his composure. Wes could be draining sometimes…
The Taanabian took a step forward. Both pilots kept a defiant stance. It was a routine they had gone through a couple of times.
Most of the times, Janson backed out, knowing when to give up before either damaging their friendship, or just being a bit out of order and being given kitchen duty. But this time, it seemed they had reached a breaking point.
"Really Blondie?" Wes snarled. "So, what are you gonna do about it?"
Just as he muttered the last word, Tycho grabbed him by collar and suddenly pushed the other man against the wall.
Wes gulped involuntarily. He knew that, physically, he could take Tycho any day of the week. But the Alderaanian had a weird expression on his face.
"Eh…Tych...?" He gazed at his friend, trying to read his intentions. The thought came to him that maybe this time he'd pushed him to far, considering their present situation! "Okaaay... You're mad at…"
"Shut up!" Tycho cut him off, not letting go of his tunic.
Suddenly something connected in Wes' line of thinking!
"Wait a second… Are you going to kiss me? "He asked, more curious than actually outraged by that thought.
Tycho leaned closer to Wes, teasing him by gently rubbing his nose on the Taanabian's.
"You bet your sexy ass I am!" His lips touched Wes', almost probing at first.
Wes shivered with that new, unexpected contact. A part of him told him this was wrong and that he should put a stop to it. Yet, he found himself parting his lips, inviting Tycho to deepen the kiss, welcoming the other man's tongue exploring his mouth.
This was the most exciting thing he'd ever done!
He'd never been kissed by a guy before! And here he was… Hanging on to dear life, while his XO pulled him closer and he surrendered to it, throwing his arms around Tycho's neck, and fully corresponding, grinding onto the Alderaanian's lean body…
He felt Tycho breaking the kiss, and to his own surprise, he heard himself moaning in protest!
The blond pilot chuckled, gazing into Wes' eyes.
"I don't usually end discussions like this, but…" He whispered, stealing a quick kiss from Wes, who looked somewhat stunned.
"What discussion?" Wes asked, almost absent-minded, while pulling Tycho for another kiss.
They stumbled their way to the nearest bed, falling on it still holding to each other and kissing.
Wes moaned, feeling Tycho's weight on top of him, his warm body moving against him, his tender touches, exploring him without feeling too demanding, his soft lips kissing him so eagerly.
He felt hazy, has his hands ran through Tycho's silky hair, taking in the scent exuded by the other man's skin.
It felt like... Home!
Tycho's arms felt home! In a moment, with nothing more than a kiss, it all started to fall into place.
Tycho was his home! And now, it didn't matter where he was!
He could go back tomorrow, or remain trapped in this reality forever, as long as Tycho was at his side!
Tycho broke the kiss, gazing in Wes' eyes. The Taanabian's surprised expression, mixed with his glowing smile, told him everything he needed to know.
He nuzzled Wes' nose gently, playing with his lips.
"Sleep with me, Wes. "He whispered into the other man's mouth. "I don't mean sex. We don't have to go all the way right now. Just…stay with me. Sleep in my bed, close to me."
Wes gave him a weird look, rolling over until he was the one on top. He got up and went to his side of the wooden screen.
Tycho cursed himself. He'd gone too far and spoiled it all…
He heard Wes coming back to his side, and as he looked at the Taanabian, he couldn't help to let out a chuckle.
Wes was wearing his pyjamas and holding on to his pillow…
"Are you thinking of sleeping in your civvies?" He asked him.
With a wide smile, Tycho change into his pyjamas and laid back on the bed pulling the covers over him.
"Move." Wes ordered him, proceeding to lay at his side.
Tycho pulled Wes closer to him, and both men fell asleep, forgetting all about their worries…