Last night I felt
Real arms around me
No hope - no harm
Just another false alarm

"And that, gentlemen, is something I cannot have."

Five times she'd heard the Grand Moff's speech. Five times she'd seen the Inquisitor's lightsaber ignite. Five times she'd heard the thumps of two heads hitting the floor and smelled the sickening stench of charred flesh. Five times that those three minutes and forty-six seconds had played out in her mind's eye, and it was just as horrifying each time. There was no reason to believe that the sixth time would be any different.

She wanted to look away, to cover her eyes, anything that would soften the blow. But it was a memory and she was frozen, paralyzed with fear, just as she had been that day. She braced herself.

And then something happened. Her eyes squeezed shut, and when she opened them, she saw nothing. She heard only silence, and only a faint, woodsy smell reached her nose. There was a powerful presence behind her, gloved hands holding her in a firm-but-gentle grip. She struggled, but she couldn't break it. He leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

"You're dreaming, Maketh." Kallus's voice was soft and soothing, lacking the undercurrent of malice it usually contained. "I'm here. Everything is going to be fine."

She didn't know why she believed him, but she did. She melted into his embrace, letting her legs crumple beneath her. Two arms thick with muscle held her up, interlacing their fingers with her own. Bristles scratched against her skin as he pressed his warm lips against her neck.

A coo of pleasure escaped her mouth. "Kallus…"

He pulled away from her, and she turned to him. His mouth curled into a small, close-lipped smile that narrowed his eyes, a far cry from his usual self-satisfied smirk. He pulled her closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

Suddenly, everything went fuzzy, and she started waking up.

It was a gradual process. She knew she was still half-asleep when she found Kallus playing the part of the big spoon behind her, one arm snaked around her waist. A jolt of panic shot through her, but a bit of feeling around and wriggling revealed that they were both still clothed. Truth be told, she was a little disappointed, but she got over it. She snuggled into the embrace and closed her eyes again. Black soon followed

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when she woke up a second time, he was gone and she was draped in a blanket. The sounds of muffled cursing and of closing doors reached her ears, but she chalked it up to her still being half-asleep and hearing things. She rolled over and fell into a state between sleep and wakefulness.

She was finally forced up by the sound of her alarm clock going off. Grumbling, she nearly slapped it off of the nightstand. She discarded the blanket with a kick and swung out of bed, tramping out of the room, through the hall, and down the stairs.

The smell of freshly brewed caf still hung in the air as she entered the kitchen, coming from the pot underneath the percolator. She went to get a mug from the cabinet, only to find that the pink one she'd used the morning before was sitting on the drying rack. She distinctly remembered putting it away after the last time she'd used it. Shrugging, she poured herself a cup anyways.

Seeing Kallus's coat draped over the kitchen chair nearly made her drop the mug. Memories came flooding back. Making him stay over, waking up on the floor with him on top of her, him carrying her back to her bedroom, them curling up together… He must've made the caf and used her mug. And the cursing was him seeing the time and rushing out the door, forgetting his coat in the process.

Setting down the mug, she picked up the coat. It was a military-style peacoat, thin but warm. Years of wear had left it soft and flexible to the touch, and she was running her hand along the sleeves when she found the rip in the shoulder. She noticed the missing button, too, finding it in the pocket.

As she examined the round disc, an idea formed in her mind, and a smile spread across her face.

Despite the fact that they were literally right across the hall from each other, Tua neither saw nor had the time to find Kallus. She'd pressed the indicator for his office when she'd first arrived, but there was no answer and the door was locked.

She resolved to try sometime later, but she never got the chance. The rest of the day was full of aides needing this thing signed or that request approved, and this was om top of the reports she had to fill out.

But after a long, busy, stressful day, she'd gotten it all done. She pressed 'submit' on the last report and sighed in relief, collapsing backwards into her chair. Finally, she could go home and relax.

She thanked every deity she could think of before remembering that it was Kallus who broke her chronometer, and she had yet to thank him properly for it. A glance at the clock confirmed that he would be leaving soon, and she had to catch him.

Picking up his coat, she exited her office and strolled across the hall. She pressed the indicator. No answer. Pressing it again yielded similar results. After a third try, she rolled her eyes and went in anyways. She was thankful that the door closed behind her, because she almost burst out laughing.

Kallus had definitely finished his work. His chair back was leaned back as far as it would go, hands clasped behind his head, feet resting on the edge of his desk. Rhythmic, measured breaths suggested he was either already asleep or close to being so. She almost felt bad about waking him up, but she didn't want him to get in trouble on the off-chance that Tarkin walked in.

Holding the coat behind her back, she approached the desk. "Kallus, " she said. She nudged one of his feet.

Such a small gesture got a violent reaction. His eyes snapped open and he jolted upright, swinging his feet off of the desk in one fluid motion. For half a second, he looked terrified. As soon as he noticed her, he groaned, rubbing his forehead as he sat back. Hearing her giggle, he glared at her through his fingers.

"Do not, under any circumstances, ever do that again," he growled.

She tried to force the smile off of her face, but was unsuccessful. "I'm sorry, Agent Kallus, but what else was I supposed to do?"

Ignoring the question, he sat up. "What do you want, Minister?" he asked. "I'm very tired, and I would like to…"

He trailed off as she pulled the coat out from behind her back, unfurling it like a flag. "You left this in the kitchen," she said.

The anger melted off of his face. He stood up and walked to the other side of the desk, taking it from her. As he examined the shoulder, his eyes widened. "You fixed it," he said.

Her smile faded slightly. Between the shock in his voice and the look on his face, it was like no one had ever done him a favor before. "I also sewed the button back on. I thought that as long as I had the sewing kit out, I might as well."

He thumbed the plastic disc. "I don't know what to say." The corners of his lips turned up into a not-quite-a-smile. "Thank you, Minister."

"You may call me Maketh, if you like." She leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. "We've shared a bed, there's no need to be so formal with me," she said with a wink.

"I-" He tried to protest, but she cocked an eyebrow at him. "Very well. But only behind closed doors. No need to get the rumor mill turning."

She nodded. "Of course." They were both silent for a few moments as he examined the stitching. "Well, I hate to run, but I think I'll be going home. I think I deserve a cup of tea."

"That makes two of us." He swung the coat over his shoulders, putting his back to her as he slid his arms through the sleeves.

She slowly stepped toward the door. "Good night, Agent Kallus."

"Good night."

She had hoped that he would have said more, but it didn't look like she would be getting much else out of him. She sighed inwardly. With one last look over her shoulder, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

"Wait."

She turned. Kallus was standing straight as a ramrod, hands folded behind his back, his gaze was on everywhere but her face. "You never did show me that shortcut last night," he said. "It would probably be best if we... er, if you showed me while it's still light out."

She smiled. "I would be happy to."

And then it happened. His lips curled upwards, pushing his cheeks up to narrow his eyes. It was small, it was subtle, and she wouldn't have seen it if she wasn't looking for it. But didn't change the fact that Kallus, Imperial Security Bureau agent zero-two-one, was actually smiling.

And it was infectious. She broke into a broad grin. "Let me get my coat."

Epigraph taken from "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" by the Smiths.

Closing Statements

Since you're reading the notes at the end of the story, I'm going to assume that you read the whole thing through. If so, then I'd like to thank you for taking some time out of your presumably busy day to read my fic! And if you didn't, what kind of weirdo are you, skipping to the end like that?

This fic was brought about by thinking about a tumblr post on a sleepless night (this story is also on Archive Of Our Own under the same name, where the post in question is linked). I have my best ideas at three o'clock in the morning, it seems.

Anyways, thank you again for reading, and I hope you have a lovely day!