#chalenizer

And as the meal was becoming tradition, so too was Cham remaining seated until, one by one, each of the others rose and left, bidding him farewell until their next battle. The food was not noteworthy, the drink non-existent, and there was little to talk about other than war, so few lingered when their families and homes awaited. Only one stayed behind, and this was also their tradition.

The only human at the table, Captain Howzer led the clone battalion that the Republic had left behind to aid Ryloth following the Battle of Lessu. A clone himself, Howzer had proved himself worthy of Cham’s trust and respect a thousand times over. He was the only non-twi’lek other than Mace Windu to have sat at Cham’s table. But Howzer was more than just a soldier.

Cham knew the clones that the Republic had bought from Kamino were more than just mindless war machines. How could he not, after fighting with them for so long? Howzer was no different. He was his own person, as different to his brothers as Cham was to any twi’lek. Their time fighting together had made them understandably close, but something else had grown during the weeks of life-or-death situations. Now, there was more to their relationship than only the chain of command.

The two men stood to leave together, making the journey back to the Syndulla residence in a comfortable silence. Darkness was falling over the Tann province as the night drew closer and warm light spilled from the windows of the houses they passed. It was comforting to walk these familiar streets, but for Cham nothing was as comforting as reaching his own home.

It was different to how he had left it only a week ago. Some of the fighting had strayed uncomfortably close to civillian settlements, and one of their own Y-wing bombers had been shot down from the skies overhead. As General, Cham had received the impersonal, matter-of-fact report on the incident; they lost the pilot and the Y-wing, but with minimal structural damage at the crash site and no civilian casualties. It was a relief, but not enough information to sate his personal needs.

Later that evening, when he had made his usual holocall to his family (another new tradition) he had listened to Eleni tell him that the fighter had crashed mere meters from their own home. She and Hera had been on the other side of the house, thank the Goddess, and no-one had been hurt. No-one except the clone pilot, who was already dead when they pulled him out of the smashed cockpit.

He had told Eleni that he would deal with the wreckage when he returned, but seeing it now, he wondered if he would. It was a painful reminder of just how vital his fight for Ryloth’s freedom was. His eyes lingered on it as they crossed the courtyard to the front of the house, and he could tell Howzer was looking at it too. Howzer would have received the report on which brother he had lost that day. He would have mourned his loss in the barracks with his men, and then rallied them all to keep going, as the clones always did.

On the other side of the front door was a much more welcome sight. Eleni was waiting for them in the atrium wearing only a simple dress, but to Cham she looked radiant.

“Right on time,” she greeted them, crossing the room from where she had been sitting to meet them. Cham embraced his wife and kissed her, sweet and slow. He wasn’t truly home until he was in her arms. Here, he was not a General, and Howzer was not a Captain; the three of them could just be people enjoying respite from the war raging outside.

He drew back only far enough to press his forehead against hers. “It is good to be home,” he murmured.

“It is good to have you both back,” Eleni replied. She left the final word implied and unspoken: alive. Cham knew it was difficult for her to stay behind. She had been an active participant in the fighting following the Separatist’s first invasion of Ryloth, but fewer soldiers were needed to hold their retaken lands and someone needed to stay with Hera now that they had a house for her to live in again.

“I take it Hera’s asleep?” Howzer asked as Eleni slipped from Cham’s arms to his.

She twined her arms around the clone’s neck but paused before answering. “She was sent to bed,” she said finally with a hint of a smile. “Whether she is still there is another matter.”

“Is this something I need to worry about?” Cham asked over his shoulder as he crossed the room. From the cabinet there he drew three glasses and a bottle of amber liquid. As he removed the stopper from the bottle he glanced back to see Eleni greeting Howzer in the same way she had done him. It was a good sight.

“No, love,” she replied when she drew back, her hands moving to Howzer’s plastoid armour. Howzer was more than capable of removing his own armour but this, too, was now tradition. Cham poured their drinks.

“She pulled the astromech droid out of that wreck outside,” Eleni continued, her nimble fingers making quick work of the fastenings on Howzer’s shoulder plates, “and every night since she has been staying up to work on it. She thinks I have not noticed, but she forgets I can see the light from her room from the stairs.”

“You don’t tell her to stop?” Howzer asked, taking his armour from her as she moved to his vambraces.

“Of course not. There are much worse things she could be doing, and this way I know about it.” Eleni took the bundle of armour from him to set to one side. “Besides, I haven’t seen her this happy in a while. That little droid is good for her.”

Cham took a sip from his drink. “Then tomorrow I will ask her to show me what she has done. Perhaps this is something we can work on together, as father and daughter.”

“Tomorrow,” his wife said firmly. “Tonight there is something else you can work on.”

“The first being passing me my drink,” Howzer added.

Cham answered Howzer’s smile with his own as he brought the clone his drink. Eleni had knelt on the floor to work on his leg armour and Cham took advantage of her absence and Howzer’s immobility to take a kiss of his own. He’d only meant it to be brief, but that first sip of his drink was seeping warmth through his body and Howzer’s mouth was only adding to that. He was home, with the people he trusted and loved. Howzer’s blunt teeth nipped at his lower lip and the warmth solidified into a burning heat in Cham’s lower belly.

“As much as we are all enjoying this,” Eleni murmured from much closer than Cham expected, “you are getting in the way.”

Cham drew back, taking in Howzer’s dark eyes and flushed complexion that matched how he no doubt looked. Eleni had finished removing most of the clone’s armour and was now standing behind him; all that remained was his chestplate. Once Cham had given her space, that too was placed carefully to the side, and Howzer stood in only his blacks.

“How about we move upstairs,” he suggested, taking his drink from Cham.

“An excellent idea.”