Star Wars: Operation Naptime by JT and Leia

[thedarlingone]

Operation Naptime (2765 words) by camshaft22, thedarlingone
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Legends: X-Wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Wes Janson, Derek "Hobbie" Klivian, Wedge Antilles, Poe Dameron
Additional Tags: Minor Shara Bey/Kes Dameron, Young Poe Dameron
Summary:

Wes and Hobbie have an overworked Commander who's refusing to take a nap. Kes and Shara have an adorable toddler who (after Wes plays tag with him) will need a nap. The solution is obvious.

This was the third time Janson and Klivian had walked by.

Kes was at the landing field. There was always a few pilots looking busy or actually busy around the area but he was pretty sure those two were acting suspicious. He left his spot and walked behind them for a few, letting them notice him.

Janson turned around and looked up at him, grinning. "Are you being sneaky?"

“Only as sneaky as you two are,” Kes told him with a smile. “Are you hiding or pretending to be very busy?”

"Can't it be both?" Janson asked. "But if you must know, we're scheming."

“That sounds fun. What are we scheming and can I tag along?” Kes asked.

Hobbie chuckled. “It might do to have outside help.”

"Wedge is too suspicious," Janson agreed, looking mock hurt. "Which is so cruel of him. I've never done anything to be suspicious of in my life ever."

“Not even the time you put itching powder in his dress uniform?” Kes asked.

"I was much younger then," Janson said with dignity. "And less creative. Besides, this isn't even a prank."

“Our beloved Commander is a wreck. Anxious, tired, boring even. Wes and I are merely trying to get him to loosen up a little,” Hobbie explained. “We're doing the Rebellion a service.”

"New Republic," Janson said. "But yes. You know how overly responsible he gets. And as employees of a nascent galactic government, we're all supposed to have vacation time now. So we're conspiring to get him to take some."

“New Republic is a dumb name. Should have called it something else,” Hobbie said. “You could have made up something far more interesting.”

“Before we get into round 16 of Wes making up names, why isn't he taking any?” Kes asked.

"Because Luke is being all Jedi-y and Wedge misses him," Wes said. "Or maybe one of the Generals or somebody appealed to his sense of... you know. Patriotism or what have you. Anyway, he's decided the Rogues need him boring and underslept." He stuck out his tongue.

“Isn't patriotism what got us into this mess in the first place?” Hobbie asked.

Kes glanced at him but refused to respond. “Oh Force,” he said instead. “No one needs Wedge underslept.”

"Right?!" Wes agreed. "So we're plotting." He glanced around. "Not to scare you off, but what are you doing following us riffraff around anyway? Looking for your sweetheart?"

“Oh, no. I was waiting for her. She took Poe up in her A-wing,” he told them. “I just saw you and figured I might as well find out what was going on. She'll be up there awhile.”

"Aw, I missed Poe?" Wes complained. "How old is he now anyway? Does he talk yet?"

Kes grinned. “He's two. There are definitely words. Not all the same words we use, but he has a lot of opinions and he can make himself clear." He smiled. "He likes space. No surprise there. We had to put those little glowing stars on the ceiling so he can say night-night to them."

Wes nodded solemnly. "A young gentleman of impeccable taste, I see."

“How’s his walking?” Hobbie asked. "They walk at that age, right?"

Kes laughed. "They don't stop walking. Unless they're running. Or climbing. He loves to climb. We got him his own little pilot's helmet in case he falls and hits his head, but he really doesn't fall much. He just likes to be as high up as he can get."

Hobbie smiled, one of his rare expressions that wasn’t the look of a condemned man. “That’s really nice,” he said.

Kes knew, always alert to his surroundings, exactly when Shara's A-wing had landed moments ago. So he wasn't especially surprised when he felt her squeeze his ass. "Hello, handsome," she said.

Kes turned around and scooped her up off her feet in a big wampa hug. "My beautiful, my darling," he said, then kissed her deeply.

"Papa, up!" Poe's tiny voice demanded, his little hands pulling at Kes's trouser knee. He'd be wearing his little toddler leash on Shara's wrist, so he wouldn't run off, but he'd start climbing if he didn't get picked up quickly enough.

Wes laughed, crouching down. "Hi there, short-stack!" he said. Kes felt Shara stop hugging him with one arm for a second, and Wes's hand take over the leash. "You want to go up? But you were just up in the sky!"

Poe giggled. "Up!" he demanded again, then "Wheeeeeeeeee!" as Wes lifted him high in the air and started making zooming noises. With his son taken care of for the moment, Kes turned his attention more thoroughly to his wife.

When he came up for air, he found Poe sitting on Wes's broad shoulders, babbling emphatically at Hobbie, who looked even less amused than usual.

"He makes a valid point," Wes was telling Hobbie almost seriously. "You are a lot taller than me. He could practically touch the sky from up there."

“Ah, but I'm not as steady as Wes. What if we both fall?” Hobbie asked.

“Crash?” Poe asked.

“Yes. Crash,” Hobbie said, using his hand to mime out a ship crashing and made explosion noises. “Then you'll be hurt. Ouch.”

"Hobbie does have a lot of experience crashing," Wes told Poe. "Sorry, buddy. Guess you're stuck with the Y-wing here," he joked.

“Ying Ying ying!” Poe said, making ship noises.

“You know your ships,” Hobbie told him. “He is rather slow. Creaky.”

"Sturdy," Wes said. "Reliable. Low maintenance."

Hobbie cracked up. He sank into a squat, laughing uproariously.

"Okay, maybe not low maintenance to you," Wes said cheerfully. He turned to Kes and Shara. "You've got a smart little fella here though."

Shara smiled. “Takes after me,” she teased, giving them a cheeky wink.

“I'd never argue that one,” Kes told her.

Hobbie raised a hand from where he was still squatting. “Suggestion!”

"What sort of suggestion?" Wes asked.

“A good one,” Hobbie said, rising to his full height. “Kes, Shara, we're having an issue with our beloved Commander who needs a nap. You have an adorable child that, after Wes plays tag or something with him, will need a nap. Two keedees, one stone, as they say.”

"I like how this plan involves no effort on your part whatsoever," Wes said, grinning. "Classic Hobbie."

“I'm the one watching over you both,” Hobbie told him. “And mysteriously being unhelpful when Wedge tries to claim he's busy.”

Shara laughed. "Terribly mysterious, since you're so famed for your helpful nature, Hobbie. No, I like this plan. Clearly Kes and I asked you to take Poe off our hands for the afternoon so we could get some time alone."

“I'm exactly as helpful as I deem necessary,” Hobbie told her. “It's hardly my fault that my necessary is so distinctive. Culture differences, I'm afraid,” he said airily. “But yes, exactly.”

"Well, never let it be said that I refused to play tag with a toddler," Wes said. "What do you say, buddy? Want to play tag? Or maybe hide and seek?"

“Hide seek!” Poe crowed.

"Hide and seek it is!" Wes said. "Let's go over to the park here on base, okay? Then Hobbie can hide, and I'll help you count and look for him. How does that sound?" He gave Hobbie a toothily sweet smile.

“I will find!” Poe said to Hobbie who nodded.

“I'm sure the both of you will try,” he said simply, glancing at Wes and giving him a sharp grin. “Say bye-bye to Mommy and Daddy.”

“Bye-bye!” Poe said, blowing kisses.

"Don't be too hard to find," Wes told Hobbie, waving bye-bye to Kes and Shara as well. "I might get frustrated and cry."

“I'll be on easy mode for the quackling,” Hobbie assured him as they walked off.

***

It had been quite the eventful afternoon.

Hobbie held Poe in his lap as they soaked up the sun, Wes lounging nearby on the lawn. He pet the soft baby curls as Poe picked up handfuls of grass, telling them about the grass at his ‘Aba’s’ house. Grandfather, presumably, since Hobbie knew Poe lived with Shara's father most of the time. He gave Wes a look, trusting his wingmate to know when it’d be a good time to change the subject.

When Poe stopped chattering for a moment and yawned, Wes rolled over onto his stomach and leaned his chin on his hands. "Hey, Poe," he said, "I just remembered, I have a question I needed your help with." He waited to be sure he had the child's attention.

“I can help!” Poe said, wiggling a bit, as if to try and stand.

“Wait, wait. Let Wes explain,” Hobbie cautioned, not wanting him to get too caught up.

"I hope you can," Wes said seriously. "See, our friend Wedge just won't take a nap. He's so sleepy, he really needs a nap, but he just won't."

Poe gasped in disbelief. “He has to nap! If you're sleepy it's naptime. That's the rules."

Wes nodded solemnly. "Very important rules. But he said 'No!' And he's a grownup, so I can't just put him in his bed. How should I get him to take his nap, do you think?"

Poe scrunched his tiny face up, thinking hard. "If I don't want to nap, Aba sits with me. Then Aba talks and talks. And he gets sleepy, like this." He put both hands over his mouth and yawned hugely. "Then I get sleepy too. Then I'm sleeping!”

"Seems like Aba is a wise man," Wes said. "So, Poe. That sounds like a great plan. Do you think you could do this very important mission for us? If I get Wedge to sit with you, will you tell him all about your day?"

Poe nodded and wiggled again, trying to get up. Hobbie didn’t stop him this time, letting the little guy get to his feet. “Go! We go!”

Wes stood up as well and bent down. "I'll carry you so we get there faster, okay?"

Poe raised his arms, reaching up and straining a bit in his excitement. Hobbie smiled, watching his wingmate with the little one.

***

Wedge Antilles, current lead of Rogue Squadron, stretched in his seat and pulled up the next file. He had been acting Lead for so long, but it was insane how much extra datawork being a legitimate organization created. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ecstatic that the Rebellion had won but it had been a dream for so long. He reached for his cup, finding the cold dregs of his caf. He scowled and wondered if it was worth getting up to get more or if he could just power through. Wedge worked a bit longer then heard the office door slide open.

Wes was entering… with a whole child? When did he get a child? "That's not yours, is it?" he asked. Maybe those words could have been chosen better.

Wes laughed. "This is Poe Dameron, Shara and Kes's boy. I volunteered to watch him so they could get some alone time." He waggled his eyebrows cheerfully. "Don't worry, I'll give him back. But right now, I just need to drop him off for like five minutes, I'll be right back." He plopped the child into Wedge's lap and waltzed backwards out the door with a wave.

"Hi! I'm Poe!" the child announced.

“Hello, Poe. I’m Wedge,” he said, introducing himself to the child. Oh! Oh, right! Kes and Shara’s baby! “You’re much bigger than I expected. I bet you hear that a lot.”

Poe nodded vehemently. "I'm a big boy," he said. "I'm two! How much are you?"

Wedge bit back a smile. "I'm twenty-four," he said.

“That’s a lot,” Poe told him. “I went up in Mama's A-ing!”

Wedge decided he wasn't getting any more datawork done until Wes came back to retrieve his tiny distraction. Maybe he'd let Wes do the datawork instead. "That's exciting!" he said. "Did you have fun?"

“So much fun! I’ma be a pilot! Fly with my Mama!” Poe told him. “What do you fly?”

"Right now, a desk," Wedge said wryly. "No, that was a joke. I like flying X-wings."

“X-ing! I like those! I want to fly every day,” Poe told him, eyes shining. He looked up at him and yawned very wide.

Wedge started to yawn too, then caught himself. "Scuse me!" he said. "I wish I could fly every day. I used to. Sometime maybe I will again."

"Fly with me?" Poe asked.

"Maybe. If your mama and papa say yes." Wedge glanced at the door. Where was Wes? "Not right now, though. Some other time."

Poe nodded. “We do that. I went to the park too! We played hide seek with Hobbie and Wes. They helped me count. Then we played tag. I like tag.”

"Where is Hobbie?" Wedge wondered out loud. Couldn't Wes have left this admittedly very polite child with someone a little less busy?

"Shhh!" Poe said firmly, putting his finger to his mouth. "It's a secret."

“Oh, a secret? That sounds like Hobbie,” Wedge told him, inwardly cringing. What were those two up to now? “He likes to have secrets. What about you?”

Poe yawned again and put his finger in his mouth, thinking. "I like taking naps," he said.

Wedge yawned, quickly covering his mouth. Force, a nap sounded really good. “Naps are important. That’s good that you like them.”

"Do you take naps?"

“Sometimes,” Wedge told him. “When I fly a lot, I have to, otherwise it’s not safe. Always good to take a nap.” He yawned again.

Poe leaned against Wedge's chest and yawned again, his eyes starting to drift shut. "I'm sleepy. Are you sleepy?"

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so,” Wedge told him. He settled carefully in his chair, making sure the boy wouldn't fall. Maybe if he closed his eyes for just a minute or two...

***

Wedge blinked awake. Something was different. He wasn't sure what at first. Poe! Poe wasn't on his lap. Oh no --

Wes chuckled quietly. He was sitting on the side of Wedge's desk, cradling the still-sleeping toddler against his shoulder. "Shush, you'll wake him," he whispered. "Ready to admit you need a break yet?"

“How long were we out?” Wedge whispered.

"About half an hour so far." Wes extracted a datapad from his pocket and tossed it to Wedge, who caught it automatically. "Long enough for me to fill out your leave paperwork. Just sign at the bottom." He dimpled.

Wedge tried to glare at him. "This is blackmail."

"Nope, blackmail is the holos Hobbie took. Which you will never find."

“How long am I gone? You know I need to be here!” Wedge asked, his voice still low, holding the datapad.

"I put you down for two weeks but I have a version for a month if you keep fighting it. You're exhausted. You haven't taken a real break since you were fifteen. We have the time and you're going to take it."

Wedge struggled to explain why he couldn't possibly do that. The thought made him want to burst into tears. He took a deep breath and quickly signed the leave form. “I am so kriffing tired,” he admitted, some portion of his mind recognizing the necessity of them pulling this.

Wes disappeared the datapad again, then reached out and ruffled his hair. "I know. C'mon, let's give the kid back, and I'll get you settled."

“Where's your shadow?” Wedge asked.

"Hobbie very graciously agreed to pack your clothes so you can't get distracted in your quarters before you leave. He should be back with Kes and Shara any minute now."

"Before I -- where are you putting me? If not in my quarters?"

"In a hotel. With room service. Now is there anything non-work-related in here that you want to grab?"

Wedge glanced around and grabbed his personal comm. “Should I leave my work comm with you?”

"Smart boy. You won't recognize this place by the time you get back, I'll have it all shipshape." Wes held out his hand. "Now, up on your feet."

Wedge groaned, pushing himself up. He pulled the work comm out of his uniform, slipping it into Wes's pocket. “You win this battle.”

"I had a very cute ally," Wes said smugly, patting Poe's back.

“I'll give you that one,” Wedge agreed. “Let's get him back to the parents then you can drop me off. But know this. You won this time but I--” he yawned, squeezing his eyes shut. “Oh never mind. Let's go.”