Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He could feel his anticipation like it was coursing through his veins instead of blood. It burned inside of him, as if it was a small sun, fit into his chest and his very eyes shined brighter with this glow of impatiened happiness.

It was selfish of him, of course. He felt so much, that every jedi of old would call him a failure.

Well, Kanan would be proud.

Ezra was standing in the cockpit of Ahsoka's ship, glued into place, as he watched familiar views move beside them. Even stars, so different there, looked like they glimmered welcoming him home. Ezra could feel tears forming somewhere in his eyes, air stuck in his throat.

This pure, overwhelming happiness, in which he was caught up for a short moment, Ezra knew was soon to fade. But Sabine's eyes, watching him closely, her smile, told him it was alright to be a happy dumbass for a moment. Even, maybe, for a while. She was there to support him, as she always did.

Ahsoka was speaking, giving the codes and securing their landing, but Ezra could not find himself composed enough to listen. It was like he was a kid again - not that man he grew up to be in Rebellion, and all those lonely years on the witches' planet, but a small child on Lothal, who was just given the best gift any child could wish for.

"Ahsoka? Are you there?"

Ezra's eyes darted to the communication device and his breath would be caught if only he had been breathing for the last minute.

"Greetings, General Syndulla," smiled Ahsoka, squinting on her companions. "I think it is for the best if you meet us in the angars."

"Ezra", Ezra started, hearing Sabine's quiet whisper. "Breathe."

Ezra nodded, a bit frantically, and took a deep breath. Sabine took one with him, very obvious so he could see it. Ezra huffed a little laugh and Ahsoka smiled, looking at them.

"I brought your kids."

***

Ezra was feeling like he was about to burst. Sabine was hovering around him, never too far, like she was afraid to let him go of her eyesight, but would never admit it. He could understand that - he was doing the same, up until this one moment, where everything around demanded his attention, otherwise it would be gone. Ezra was being torn apart by the very world around him, he wanted to go and hug every single person who looked vaguely familiar, he wanted to go and touch every ship that had any resemblance to the coridors he saw in his dreams for the last decade. It was all so unreal, and he needed to see, to feel every thing, to prove himself that it wasn't his optimistic hope that was keeping him alive for all those years.

Ezra took another breath, when Sabine moved closer, lightly brushing his hand with her fingers to catch his attention. He looked at her, still overwhelmed. Sabine watched his eyes closely and smiled again.

"Ready?"

Ezra smiled.

"Always has been."

Ahsoka walked out first, Sabine after her, but Ezra hesitated a bit. He needed to make this step - one step and it all is real. Not one of his dreams, composed of Force and imagination, but firm and steady reality.

"Here we go..." he whispered under his breath, taking a step towards Sabine, who was waiting for him on the ramp.

"Need a hand?" she smiled, watching him walk, and Ezra huffed a laugh back.

"Nah, pretty sure my legs're fine." His voice was a bit off, however. Because there, a handful meters away, stood another ship. Big and old, somewhere renewed, somewhere still chipping paint like it was on repair after a bit too harsh flight. VCX-100 light freighter it was - modified, of course, painted differently, and Ezra knew for a fact that if it needed to go anywhere undetected it would.

"Ghost," he breathed out, moving towards it, enchanted. Sabine followed him, still smiling.

"It had a few new modification since you were gone," she said quietly, watching as his fingers brush against painted metal. Ezra stood there, embracing the feeling of cold surface causing light vibration of memory in his very being.

"I feel like it hasn't changed a bit," he muttered in awe, turning to Sabine. She laughed quietly, letting him have this moment.

"Oh trust me, it has." she smiled. "You can ask-"

"SABINE!"

They both turned their heads sharply on the sound of the voice, and Sabine cringed a bit, like a kid who was caught by their parent.

"Hey, Hera..." she waved, walking into the light from the Ghost's shadow in which they stood.

Ezra once again forgot how to breathe. It was becoming a bad habit he had to deal with later, but at that moment he stood under the familiar hull of Ghost, and it felt like ship was welcoming him too, covering him, like a big animal. And Ezra stood there, watching with his widely opened eyes, as familiar figure, half-relieved, half-furious, was fastly walking towards Sabine.

"You are in such big trouble, young lady!" Hera's voice echoed in his ears, bringing back so many memories they threatened to drown him. However, Hera brought Sabine close, hugging her hard before continuing her rant. Sabine used this chance to look back at Ezra and call him over with a nod.

Ezra felt like Ghost let him walk from under it, as if it had a wing under which it hid this boy, who once lived there. Moving to light felt like he was crossing some invisible line, that was keeping him alone for last ten years, and he finally wasn't.

He didn't know what to say, when Hera turned around and saw him, freezing in place with her mouth agape. So he just smiled at her.

She was eyeing him, head to toe, before finally moving closer and putting her hands on his shoulders first, then his cheek. He leaned into the sensation, as a kid who came home after cold winter walk.

"Ezra..." Hera breathed out. "It's you, it's... It's really you..."

She touched his hair, his scar, his clothes, and he could only smile.

"Hi, Hera."

In his mind this word had no other meaning - it was that person, who cared about him, who would protect him from anything, who loved him even when he was the most annoying rascal you could find on the Outer Rim. It was "Hera". It was so close to "mother".

Her lips and lashes were quivering, her fingers grip his shoulders. She looked up at him - was he taller than her? he forgot. - and let out a watery laugh.

"You smell horrible."

"I know," he laughed back, shrugging. "Ten years of surviving in different galaxy do that to people."

She shook her head lightly before pulling him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Ezra, I'm so sorry..." she muttered, petting his hair. He only shook his head in turn, before answering.

"It's okay. It wasn't you, who made me go there," he let out a quiet laugh. "I'm so happy to see you. I missed you so much."

She pulled back a bit, blinking her tears away and looked at him once more.

"You grew up so much," Hera whispered and her voice sounded strangled. "We all missed you, Ezra, you don't even know. And I'm so proud of you, my boy, I'm so happy to have you back."

He laughed again, like it was all he could do - relief was shining in him, making him want to laugh like it was the end of the world. And then he would inevitably cry. So when he felt tears escape his eyes, he was not surprised. Before he could wipe them away, Hera raised her palm, put it on his scarred cheek and wiped them with her thumb.

"Welcome home, Ezra..."

He smiled again, before letting Hera pull him into another hug.

Chapter Text

"Wait, Chopper, wait for me!" Jacen called out to droid, but Chopper didn't even slow down, still crossing long halls with a speed of a crazy tin can. Which, some might say, he was. Jacen could hardly keep up with Chopper, and had to apologize to every person who was shamelessly pushed to the side by the speeding droid.

They were heading down to the hangars - Jacen hoped that it were aunties Sabine and Ahsoka, who made his mother and then Chopper blast off to get there. Chopper was very close to literally blasting off.

He was nearly flying past hallways and spooked pilots, when they finally reached big open door marking entrance to the hangars.

"Chopper!" Jacen yelled again, but droid gave him little to no attention, continuing his way straight to Ghost. Jacen could hear loud high noise, coming from Chopper - usually he had no problem understanding him, but for some reason he could not make out what exactly was Chopper shouting. It almost felt like a name? Or a curse? Something in between?

Before running after Chopper, Jacen stopped to breathe a bit - he got tired, trying to catch up to his metal uncle, - and his chest was tight and almost hurting. Mom said he needed to train more, but well, it wasn't his fault that he would rather spend another hour in flying simulator then run. He was good at running, actually. Especially after a good prank. He was good at hiding too. At least that's what he was famous in the HQ for - besides being son of General and a jedi, that is.

Mostly, Jacen was a little mischievous boy, who loved his family and his mom and their ship and the sky and stars. He loved Chopper's humor (at times malicious), he loved Sabine's style and when she gave him shooting lessons, he loved Zeb's fur and how gentle he was, like a big stuffed animal, yet everyone around still were spooked by him (it was so fun to ride on Zeb's shoulders that one time! it felt like he was protected by his own bodyguard). Jacen loved his mom. Loved her soft smiles and slightly annoyed glances, loved her pets on his head, loved how she could become one with Ghost when they were flying through clouds and meteors, loved how her lekku tingled him, when she would catch him from the back and they would laugh 'till they were out of breath. He loved her stories. Especially of his father and Ezra.

They felt a bit unreal, but Jacen loved to believe in them - he loved to imagine who they were, what would they be like, based on all those stories he heard from Specters.He knew Ezra was mischievous, like him. He knew his father was stubborn at times and for some reason he was so-so afraid of granddad Cham (Zeb loved this one so much he would always burst laughing). He knew they both were jedi knights and they sacrificed themselves in order to save the galaxy and their loved ones. They were gone so Jacen could live.

Jacen was too young to fully comprehend all of this. He knew that people of those stories were real, he just had a bit of a hard time to differentiate his believes from reality. So when he saw his mother standing in front of a bearded man, both crying, he blinked in surprise. Who was that?

In a way, the man looked like a kid. He was covering his eyes with his hand, but Jacen could see tears streaming down his face and into his beard - he was laughing and crying at the same time. Jacen's mom was holding him by the shoulders, smiling and crying too. Aunt Sabine was standing a few steps away, with the same strange expression. Why was everyone crying?!

Chopper, still beeping, was heading towards the group, full speed and Jacen started running again.

"Watch out!" boy yelled, watching as his mother turned around and jumped away mere seconds before Chopper smacked into the man his metal head on and manipulators out and then noises continued. Aunt Sabine burst out laughing, when the man fell on the floor 'cause of the impact, but quickly adjusted himself, grabbing droid with both hands. Jacen blinked in surprise. He had never seen anyone being so happy to be ran into by Chopper before.

"Chop!" he heard man's loud voice and Jacen had a weird feeling crawling in the back of his mind. He knew he heard this voice before, but not with his own ears. Jacen brisked close to his mother, still watching, as the bearded stranger was nudging his head with the cold metal of Chopper, who for some reason would not shut up. "I missed you too, you bucket, I missed you too..."

Missed him? No, but for real - who was this man?

"Mom?" Jacen looked up to his mother, tagging on her jacket lightly, and her green eyes finally saw him, shimmering with tears and happiness. She put the hand on boy's back and looked on the man again. Jacen did the same, just in time to meet man's gaze.

He had blue eyes and now boy was sure he never saw him before. Because those eyes were remarkable - they were so bright and blue, they looked like the hyperspace itself. Jacen didn't even notice when his mouth opened and a quiet "wow" spilled out. There was surprise in those eyes.

"Is that?.." man looked up at Jacen's mother, and she probably nodded, because he quickly looked back up at Jacen. For some reason, Jacen was feeling like he had know this man before, yet he was completely new. Like a... A picture? A photo? A hologram, seen in person for the first time?

"Hi!" man smiled at him and Jacen smiled back, a bit hesitantly, still trying to grasp what the feeling was exactly. "You're Jacen, right? I'm so happy to meet you!"

And then it clicked. Those eyes, this voice, blue hew in his dark hair and those scars on his cheek - it all matched! Jacen's eyes opened wide when he realized he was looking at the story - the story his mother and Ghost's crew told him so many times.

"You're Ezra," Jacen breathed out, making the man blink in surprise. "Ezra Bridger!"

Ezra backed up a bit, gazed at Sabine and Hera for a split second, and then looked back at the boy in front of him.

"Yeah, I am!" he laughed. "How did you know?"

Jacen shrugged.

"You match the stories. And my head tickles, like it does with aunt Ahsoka sometimes. Your eyes are so cool!" he was not over the fact that he was looking into the hyperspace straight through this man's eyes. What if Ezra's connection to purrgils Jacen's mom told him about, was because of his eyes?

"Thank you!" Ezra let out a surprise laugh and eyed Jacen from head to toe, but boy was okay with it. "You look so much like... I don't know."

"He reminds me of you. A lot." Ezra looked up on Hera, dumb smile still plastered all over his face. She was smiling too, but softer, gentler. Jacen looked up too, just in time to see the mischievous sparkle flicker in his mom's eyes. "And you both are huge sticks in an engine, like Kanan was."

Chopper laughed, like he knew something. Jacen could swear he could hear droid saying something about "censoring the expression".

"Okay now," Sabine stepped forward. "I think our little adventurer gotta go take a hot shower and change."

"Yeah," Ezra pushed himself up. "I would love to, actually. Hope I can fit in some spare clothes you have here."

"We'll find something for you," Hera assured him, her hand still on Jacen's back. The boy was watching Ezra silently, his mouth slightly opened.

"Ezra," he called right when he and Chopper were about to go into the living quarters. Ezra let out a "hm?", turned around and looked at Jacen with his big blue eyes.

"Are you my brother?"

Silent was deadly, yet short and Jacen didn't notice. Ezra huffed a laugh and then smiled.

"Yeah, you can say so."

"Why am I an aunt then?!"

Chapter Text

Standing in front of the mirror, Ezra carefully pulled his skin, examining his beard and face. He had done his best maintaining his apperance back in his time out of the galaxy, but there were far more important things to think about.

Ezra sighed, looking in the mirror in front of him, and pointed every detail he could find. What he was not prepared for is how much he reminded himself of his father. It was weird. He had to say "This is me. I am Ezra." for it to sink in, but it was still wrong. It felt like he was looking in the past. The past was long time ago - ten years ago - and today was still new and unfamiliar. Ezra felt like he was stuck in this bizarre limbo between times and the way his face looked didn't really help.

Door slid open. Ezra looked at his guest (or was he a guest in these quarters? he didn't know yet) and was met by Sabine's eyes and smile.

"I brought you clothes to choose from," she said, putting her small cargo on the table. Ezra smiled and thanked her, but Sabine didn't seem like she was going to leave. Ezra was good with it. "Are you not gonna see?"

Ezra shrugged, turning back to the mirror.

"A bit later, I guess."

"Those're new."

"Clothes?"

"No. Scars."

Ezra looked back at Sabine and blinked, confused. She was looking at him closely, and it was this moment Ezra realized he was half-naked.

"Oh," he breathed, looking at his torso and arms like he was seeing them for the first time in his life. "Yeah. They're not really new. Some are ten years old."

"Which ones?" Sabine asked, pushing herself from the table and closer to Ezra. He let out a thoughtful hum, looking for something on his body.

"Oh, there it is." Sabine tilted her head, watching as Ezra rose his left arm up. There was a long thin line from his armpit to his ribs. "This one's from the hyperspace jump. Y'know, glass broke and cut me up a bit."

"When you left Lothal?.. That jump?.." Sabine's fingers traced the scar, making Ezra shiver - it tickled. He smiled, lowering his arm back down.

"Well, I haven't been jumping much since then," he laughed a bit, and Sabine gave him a little smile.

"I've got some new ones too," she said, lifting up her shirt to show her torso too. Ezra looked at her, surprised and a bit bashful, and then she pointed to the round scar on her right side.

All shyness faded away, changed by concern, when Ezra saw it. He lowered a bit, furrowed and touched the scar, and Sabine didn't even flinch.

"A burn?.." he said in low voice, trying to understand what he was looking at. "A blaster?"

"A lightsaber." Ezra's eyes flicked up and Sabine could see horror in his gaze. She shrugged. "Not a big deal."

"It is!" Ezra protested, straightening up. "How did you even..."

"Doctors said I got lucky and it didn't really touch anything important, and the bleeding was stopped almost immediately, 'cause y'know. Those things're hot."

Ezra let out a nervous laugh and shook his head.

"Unbelievable."

"Hey," Sabine smiled and pointed at him. "If you can survive the hyperspace jump and ten years in another galaxy, why can't I take a little lightsaber to the gut?"

Ezra lifted his hands, surrendering to her reasoning.

"It wasn't MY lightsaber, I hope?" he turned back to mirror and the reflection took him aback once more. The only thing he was sure was his were his eyes and scars.

"Nah, some pretentious girl's", Sabine said, and then she furrowed a bit. "You good?"

"Dunno," Ezra answered honestly. He touched his chin and turned his head from side to side. "Don't you think I look a bit too much like my dad?"

"Wow, I wonder where this resemblance came from. Like you're blood related or something," she crossed her arms with a smile. But there was something in Ezra's voice, something a bit too serious, that couldn't let her relax. "Does it bother you?"

Ezra lowered his arms and turned to Sabine, a bit bashful once more.

"Can you..." he hesitated a bit, like he was too embarrassed to ask. Sabine arched her eyebrow. "Can you do something with my hair?"

Sabine blinked in surprise and took a few steps towards him.

"Something?" she echoed, raising her hands up and touching his dark locks. Ezra was surprisingly comfortable with it. He shrugged.

"I trust your artistic vision." Sabine smiled slyly, looking into his eyes.

"Does it mean I can dye it?"

Ezra closed his eyes and raised his hands in surrender once more.

"Do your worst."

It took Sabine about ten minutes to go get what she needed and then she put Ezra down on a chair and started doing her magic. Ezra relaxed, lulled by movement of her hands and the feeling of her focus. His state was close to meditation, like he was sitting there, and could feel Force move and swirl around them, in the room and the building, he could feel so many living creatures it was a bit overwhelming.

"You tensed," Sabine's voice was quiet yet for Ezra it sounded like thunder. It was hard not to flinch, but he managed to keep his peace. Who knows, what would she chop off with those scissors in her hands...

"Meditating," he answered simply.

"Aren't you supposed to be relaxed then?" she asked, pulling his hair slightly to detangle a couple of little knots.

"Ideally, yeah," Ezra smiled. "But it's been a while since I had so many distractions around me."

"Distractions?" Sabine echoed, looking in the mirror to see Ezra's face expression. His eyes were still closed and he looked peaceful, but she could feel that slight tension he bore in his posture and mimics. His lashes quivered for a moment, when he began his explaining.

"It's the Force," he said, flapping his hand on his lap lightly, gesturing around, "It was different out there. Muted, I think. Or just... Distant."

Sabine froze for a moment, but then continued grooming Ezra's hair without saying anything.

"It's way more present here," Ezra continued, tilting his head slightly, following movement of Sabine's hands. "I feel like I can touch every single thread that connects everyone and everything around me. Like I can tap into Force without even thinking about it."

"Thought you could do that before," Sabine said quietly. She could see Ezra chuckle silently.

"Yeah, well... I had to meditate my ass off just to feel someone around me back there," Sabine swallowed a bit. The thought of Ezra spending days straight on meditation out of pure hope to not be alone was very uncomfortable. "I'm a pro now."

"Oh, well I'm very flattered to tend to your holy hair, oh master-jedi," Sabine spoke so dramatically it inevitably made Ezra laugh.

"Come on," he said, choking on laughter, "Right now you have much more power over me than I have over you. It's not me holding the scissors."

She clicked said scissors loudly and Ezra chuckled again.

"What're doing, by the way?" he said, looking at Sabine's face in the mirror.

"Trying to align that wavy bush you got up here," she said calmly. "Then I'm gonna braid or gather it, I think. Not sure yet."

"So, no dye?"

"You said do my worst, not my best," she raised her gaze and met Ezra's eyes in the mirror. He was looking at her, and was so calm and relaxed, Sabine felt a quick pick of guilt in her stomach. He trusted her to do his hair, but she knew it meant so much more. She knew, Ezra would trust her his own life without hesitation. He already did, in fact. And it took her ten years to finally get him home. She should've realized sooner, found him sooner.

"Sabine?"

She shivered, clicking on air. Nervous smile crawled on Ezra's face.

"You good?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sabine quickly shook her head, regaining her composure. "I think we're done with cutting for now."

Ezra blinked slowly, like he was falling back into his meditative state while Sabine was taking care of his hair. She hoped he couldn't feel slight shiver in her hands while she brushed his hair with her fingers, but chances that Ezra didn't notice were slim. He would always point details quickly and now, after so much time spent in hiding and surviving, he must've been even more perceptive.

However, Ezra was silent, lost in motions of Sabine's hands and feel of being cared of. It felt nice and Ezra remembered how a long time ago Kanan would help him with his hair when it got too long, how he would teach him to shave, couple months before Malachor. Memories washed Ezra, like a gentle tide, and he could not help but snort from laughter, making Sabine hum, questioning what was on his mind.

"I used to have a buzzcut," he explained, raising his hand to cover his eyes and dumb smile. Sabine chuckled.

"It suited you," she said, tying his hair in a knot of the back of his nead. "But it doesn't go with your beard."

She lowered from behind him, looking at his face closely. Ezra looked up at her, watching her eyes inspect him.

"Wanna make me shave? 'Cause I haven't done it in, like, ten years," he chuckled nervously, but then Sabine straightened and for some reason Ezra felt in danger.

"I'll do it," she said, rubbing her hands and smiling with such sly Ezra thought she would make some crazy design on his face. Well, he told her to do her worst...

So Ezra just gulped, braced himself up and trusted Sabine's vision. They were silent for a bit, while Sabine lathered his face and beard and started to shave him little by little. She was still behind him, and Ezra was looking in the mirror, watching movement of her hands and the focused expression on her face. It was this moment when he started to recognise himself in the reflection. It took him a good couple of seconds to realize that he was looking at his own face. It was no longer the past, it was something else - it was HIM. Not that boy, who survived in Lothal's sewers, not the kid from Ghost's crew or a young officer of Rebellion, no, this was all a long-long time ago. But it was him, Ezra, he could see it. He could see how his eyes burned a bit brighter upon this realisation.

"Wow," he breathed out, making Sabine stop.

"What is it?" she said, concerned.

"Nothing, I just," he chuckled nervously. "I recognised myself."

Sabine blinked, confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him through the mirror. He hesitated a bit, feeling like saying his thoughts out loud would be foolish.

"It's a bit dumb," he confessed, but Sabine only rolled her eyes.

"Go on, stop mushing around," she said, picking up the wet towel to wash lather off of his face.

"It's just," he looked up, raising his chin so Sabine could wipe his neck with the towel, "back then, when I took Thrawn away, I was completely out of the fight. I could not do anything. Literally, I had no ability to help you guys or even to know what was going on."

Sabine's jaw line tensed, but she was silent, still taking care of Ezra's face. His gaze was distant and she was thankful for that.

"I spent ten years, living by hope," he said quietly. "When I thought that I might end up stranded forever or that I might die without ever coming home, I simply assured myself that wasn't the case. I was waiting, and making myself useful in the process. Meditating, helping locals, learning their language and making sure Thrawn would stay there with me."

Sabine put the towel down and put her hands on Ezra's shoulders, watching his face in the mirror. He was speaking quietly, yet for her it was the most important thing in the world, so she listened like her life depended on it.

"I used to entertain myself," he continued, "thinking about what would I do when I get back. I wanted to go fly with Hera, wanted to spar with you, wanted to chill with Zeb and Chopper, as we used to do back in the old days. Wanted to find Ahsoka and finally find out where the heck I was when I pulled her out. Wanted to go back to Lothal and watch it rebuild. But now I feel like..."

Sabine clenched her fingers a bit, watching as Ezra look away and furrow in confusion.

"I feel like I missed so much I don't even know where am I anymore. I know I'm home and I'm happy, I really am," he looked up to the mirror, and Sabine didn't know if he tried to convince her or himself. "But I don't know what to do."

He looked back down.

"I think, I'm scared."

Sabine took a deep breath and moved, sitting down in front of Ezra. He looked at her, still lost, and it felt like guilt and sorrow gripped her heart with its cold claws. She couldn't bear seeing him like this.

"Hey," she whispered, putting her hand on his cheek. "It's okay. It's been a long time, I know. It's okay to feel a bit confused."

Ezra looked her straight in the eyes, like there were answers, and Sabine only smiled. He opened up to her. It was only fair to open up back.

"You know, I was so afraid, that I would be late," she said, brushing her thumb over his face. Tears stung her eyes, but they were still hidden. "But even more so, I was afraid to find you and realise that you were gone."

Ezra blinked, not understanding what she was talking about. Sabine chuckled. Even after all these years, he looked like a silly pup of loth-wolf, when his eyes had this questioning look in them.

"I was afraid," she gulped, still caressing his cheek. "That the boy I grew up with was gone, but his body would still be alive. I was afraid of what all those horrors and unknowns would've done to you."

Ezra furrowed and out his hand on hers, catching her attention.

"I was afraid I would find you and not recognize," she whispered in strangled voice.

"But you did," Ezra whispered back, caressing the back of her hand with his palm. "And I'm so happy you did. I knew you would."

Sabine shook her head slightly and pressed her forehead to Ezra's. It was so important for her to feel him, to know that he was around and to show him she was as well.

"We'll figure it out," she promised, still gripping his face. Ezra watched her, but Sabine's eyes were closed. "We will figure it out, 'cause you're alive and you're here. Everything else will come around. We'll get you fly with Hera and Jacen, we'll spar, we'll get you to Lothal and you'll see the memorial and your home. I'll go catch some loth-cat for you to talk to, we'll go anywhere you want, do whatever you want."

"Sabine," Ezra called quietly. "I can't make everything about me."

"You should."

"What do you want?" he asked, nugding to her head, gently petting the back of her head with his free hand.

"I want to make sure you're never alone again," she said and her voice was so full of pain and guilt. Ezra smiled gently, letting her snuggle even closer.

"I'm not. I never was." he whispered, touching her nose with his own. "I always felt you. We're connected. Force unites all of us. All of us who cross the galaxy and who stays low. All of us who's breathing and who's not."

"Since when did you become so wise," Sabine smiled, ignorring a tear running down her cheek.

"Dunno," Ezra smiled back. "Somewhen between learning how to ask for water and using woodstick as a weapon to spook howlers."

They laughed quietly, still sitting close, forehead to forehead, hands of back of each others heads. And it felt right.

"Okay," Sabine whispered, pulling back from Ezra. His eyes followed her movement, yet he looked calm and relaxed. She wiped the tear from her face and sniffed, and looked like she was completely okay with the fact of Ezra still holding her hand. "Let's see what you think."

She moved aside and let Ezra look in the mirror. He blinked in surprise, when he realised that she was done.

Turning his head from side to side, Ezra smiled in awe.

"Wait," he squinted, looking back at Sabine. "Did you copy Kanan's goatee?"

Sabine chuckled.

"It looks good!" she protested, taking his chin and making him look back in the mirror. "Looks like you."

Sabine was right. Of course, she was right. Ezra huffed a laugh. He could try to argue, but she would always win. And yeah, the reflection looked like him.

A tapestry, carefully weaved from memories of old and hopes of future. It suited him.

"Thank you, Sabine."

She smiled.

"Anytime. Now, lets get you dressed."

Ezra blinked and looked down, once again realising he had only his pants on.

"Yes, please..."