A/N: Most of this chapter is set roughly during or a little after the last chapter, with the exception of the ending.

Zeb was used to doing heavy lifting since he had been a young kit, having done many of the harder chores when he was younger and while he had been in the Guard. That had lead into his time on the Ghost and Rebellion, now he could help with projects like this on Lira San without breaking too much of a sweat. He also knew that taking breaks in between the heavier loads, as well as actually allowing someone else to help him with the things one being shouldn't be carrying by themselves, helped his muscles and joints from hurting more than they needed to hurt. It also kept him in shape as he entered his later years, so that he could still move about and do things that many other Lasats his age might have trouble doing; he had no intention of slowing down any time soon but he still needed a break once in a while.

And it was during one such break that he was able to pause for a moment and look around him as he ate the last of his sandwich Alex had made for him that morning before they went their separate ways and duties. Sitting on a rock on the backside of the temple, Zeb sat near other Lasats who were also taking a meal break and were talking to others around them. Zeb had joined in a few of those conversations yet preferred to listen to the chatter around him, thankful that he could partake in conversation with other Lasats. It wasn't too many years ago that he had thought he had been the last of them, that all the other Lasats were gone and once he died then his species would've been wiped out for good like so many the Empire had destroyed. When Gron and Chava had been rescued from the Empire and they had been chased to where they found Lira San, Zeb had finally found an actual future for himself once the war had ended.

Here he could listen to other Lasat speak to each other in various Lira San accents and watch his own thrive once again without a worry in the galaxy. Here there was simplicity where the worst thing that could happen might be a snow storm or the rain falls too hard, Zeb was thankful to go back to the days where that's all he had to worry about. Now with Alex joining him here at the temple for the reconstruction and they already started to make some plans for their lives, Zeb could finally relax and think beyond each day. Even with all the loses both of them had, even with all the grief that still was at the back of their minds, there was something he could hold onto without believing it was just a dream that was out of reach.

"You okay?" Someone asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts. Blinking, Zeb shook his head and turned to his right, to see a couple of the other volunteers looking at him as they, too, finished their meals.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought," he said apologetically with a sheepish smile. "Wasn't paying attention to the conversation."

"Looked like it," one of the other volunteers said, then snickered. "Thinking about your mate?"

"Very much," Zeb said with a wide, sly grin, taking a drink out of his cup then sighed. "Also thinking I could get used to do things like this again, simple things ya know? Not have to keep worrying about how the next day is going to end up."

"Been a while?" Another volunteer asked, Zeb nodding.

"Yeah, too long. Glad to know that me and Alex can finally relax and not have to worry about much, besides what food to get at the market." Now that was always a chore in itself, what food to get during their weekly food shop – Alex almost always took too long looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables, having grown up on things that were hard to come by. Here, though, gardens were plentiful and the local market always something fresh for them to buy.

"That I can understand." Several other volunteers raised their drinking cups up in agreement. "You were off planet for some time, no? Fighting in the war?"

"Yeah, I did, and it was for far too long but now that it's over, I can focus on better things and on a future I didn't know I had." And if Alex continues to have his way, we'll have adopted several kits and have to build a new house, Zeb thought to himself as he took another drink to hide a smile. They had talked about it after Zeb had come back from the supply run, Alex looking at him with those eyes of his when he talked about something he wanted to work on. It hadn't taken much to bring Zeb around to the idea of adopting kits who didn't have a family to call their own, having known the loss of his own family and had cobbled together his own eventually. When they'd start their own family was something they'd have to talk about in the future but it was nice to be able to do that and not have to worry about raising kids up in a war zone like so many kids were.

"You're from Lasan, aren't you?" Another volunteer asked then when Zeb confirmed it, continued. "What was it like? Er, only if you're okay talking about it."

'It's okay," Zeb said gently, setting down his drinking up and gave the much younger volunteer a comforting smile. There had been a time where anyone who mentioned Lasan either got a glare from him at best to drop the subject or, if they persisted, a very intense fight; anyone who persisted after that hadn't learned the first time around. Now while talking about his own home world was still difficult, it didn't give off the same 'don't ask again' response he once had.

"Lasan was like here, but there were more cities than wide open spaces and the capital city where the Royal Family lived was the largest city on the planet," Zeb started, ignoring that many of the other volunteers had stopped their conversations and were now listening to him. "There were still places like where this temple is at that were wild spaces, those were more towards the coasts than inland. There were a few settlements on Lasan that had a mixture of different species that had settled there before I was born, one was a few hours by speeder from my childhood home. I remember going there as a kit with my mother to get a few things we couldn't get in town."

He paused there for a moment, remembering how special the trips were when his mother would take one of her children to that settlement every time she went – it had been a special day for her and that child to spend time with their mother. A pang of grief hit Zeb's heart hard but he continued. "There were plenty of forests there with good climbing trees, one was not far from my own home and would often go there to climb the trees and spend the night out in tents like we're doing now. Then we grew up and started our own paths, with me going to the Guard and my siblings going their own way. Then the Empire – well, you know how that ended."

They all did, Zeb falling silent as he took in deep breaths to calm himself – it would do him no good to lose himself on distant memories. Even if the present company understood.

"Unfortunately," one of the other volunteers said sadly, the rest nodding their heads in agreement. "At least the Empire isn't around any more and you can rebuild here, even if it isn't Lasan."

"Didn't used to think that, not until a few years ago." Not until I found a reason to fight for something after the war, he thought to himself. "Now here I am, thanking the Ashla that fighting is behind me."

"As am I," Gron's voice said from Zeb's side, Zeb turning around quickly as his friend came next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry to interrupt but Chava needs Zeb for a bit."

Zeb nodded in acknowledgment, gathering the bag that he had his meal in and putting his meal containers in while finishing up his drink, bidding the other volunteers a goodbye as he followed Gron with his meal belongings. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Zeb moving next to Gron as they passed other volunteers doing their work, messengers weaving their way through each small group working on something different, and a group of elders with a map over a large wooden makeshift table, one pointing to something there then to wherever point in the distance. He eventually steered Zeb away from most of the smaller work was being done and towards where the supply carts had been staged to be put together in baskets or smaller litters to be taken to various parts of the camp and temple grounds as needed.

"Does Chava really need me or….?" Zeb let the rest of the question be unsaid, Gron knowing the most out of that group of volunteers how questions concerning Lasan might go.

"Yes to both," Gron said with a light smile, patting his former captain on the arm. "We need another set of hands to bring the baskets of tools and supplies into the temple, I got roped into helping and Chava thought it would give you a break from getting the rubble out from the back of the temple. I heard your conversation, didn't want you to get overwhelmed with questions about Lasan."

"Don't mind the questions as much as I did, glad you did step in though." Scratching the back of his neck, Zeb stepped aside as a young female Lasat walked by them with a basket of tools and headed towards the temple with it. "Thought you said Chava had Taiki with her to help this morning, don't think he'd want me working next to him."

"Taiki isn't helping Chava, he's helping Alex."

Zeb stopped walking, his arms going to his side and his eyes went wide when he heard Gron say those words. That was the last thing he thought he'd ever hear anyone tell him, as the two of them were far from being on friendly terms and their last interaction had gone well only because there was too many others around them for either one of of them to do anything. With Taiki not trusting Alex – and for good reason – and Alex wanting to prove that he had changed, that wasn't a good combination for the two of them to be alone together, where Zeb couldn't keep a watchful eye on them. Worry began to seep into Zeb even as Gron stepped in front of him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder once again.

"No it wasn't forced, either. He approached Alex when was working on sorting some of the smaller pieces of the artwork that was found in the temple garden, they talked, and now they're working on it together." Gron then gave Zeb a look. "And they're doing it willingly."

"That's -" There were no words that Zeb could form that would come out coherently, that and he couldn't believe what Gron was actually saying.

"Surprising? If me or Chava hadn't seen it ourselves, we wouldn't have believed it either." Gron laughed as he gestured for Zeb to follow him, the pair walking together again. "I was about to step in if it had gone any differently and we wouldn't have left them alone together if we thought something would happen between them."

"Still might," Zeb grumbled more to himself, trying to push down the worry that still formed at the pit of his stomach. "Can't see inviting him over for dinner any time soon, though."

"No, that'll take more time." Gron shook his head and laughed again. "Small steps, my friend, small steps."

Small steps indeed.