Chapter Text
Living on the Ghost was both similar and strange to that of living in a house. The Ghost managed to replicate the same homey feel that Ezra’s parents introduced him too. Even under the reign of the Empire, his mother and father managed to make his childhood upbeat and memorable. Hera and Kanan were too young to be legitimate parents at a push, especially towards Sabine. Yet, the duo seemed wise beyond their years like they had the brains of forty year-olds in their twenties.
The Ghost was a great ship but an odd place to live, although slightly better than the isolated tower on Lothal. The unusual qualities consisted of the strange rattling sound that occurred early in the morning or that any loose furniture had to be strapped down before flight.
The Captain of the ship was Hera, but the leader of the crew was Kanan. Ezra still struggled with that, he wasn’t sure who exactly was in charge. Although Kanan took the lead in the field, Hera seemed to be the one giving him the instructions. Yet, Kanan didn’t seem to mind.
He’d learnt more about his roommate, Zeb, a Lasat that outlived all the others, and Sabine, a girl closer to his age than anyone else. No longer the rookie, Sabine took him under her wing and explained what she deemed necessary like what areas of the ship were still free to cover in paint or how to double charge a blaster.
During his first week, Hera had gently steered him by the shoulders and explained all the buttons on the ‘fresher panel and how the oven worked. Even though, from somewhere in the background, Kanan made a flyaway comment about how Hera never went near the damn appliance so it was crazy how she knew how it worked.
While Zeb took his sweet time adjusting to the presence of a new roommate, the Lasat had actually become a good friend. He didn’t really mention his past or how exactly he came to join Hera and Kanan, but he said he’d been on the ship a little over three years. Ezra didn’t question him, for once he was capable of keeping his curiosity to himself. The fall of Lasan wasn’t unnoticeable, and Zeb wasn’t exactly unnoticeable when they walked through towns and markets.
They were an unusual family that just seemed to work.
Kanan and Hera were both quite guarded. One was never without the other, well rarely. Chopper followed them around like some needy pet, although most of that was directed at Hera.
At least Jedi training was beginning to get more serious. Now, there were scheduled times where he’d get to work with Kanan one-to-one. It wouldn’t be about the maintenance of the ship or studying star maps, just cool Jedi training stuff.
Although, he didn’t consider that actual fitness and workout routines were part of the teaching. Kanan didn’t give him a choice, not when he dragged him from the comfort of his cabin to go on an early-morning run.
Kanan was stretching in the cargo bay, far from the depths of sleep that Ezra fought to combat.
The dimmed lights were faint as the ship continued to operate in the night cycle mode. The luckier ones, Sabine and Zeb, were still asleep, both cosy and warm.
Ezra heard the pelt of the rain against the ship, a drumming beat reminding him that soon he would be outside dealing with that. He sighed again into his hands, and then dropped them, hoping Kanan would pick up on his dramatic attempts to coax a ‘hey, forget about this, go back to bed’ out of him.
The last time he complained about what Kanan deemed ‘a little rain’, he was offered a hair tie and a thermal shirt. Zeb slapped him hard on the back as he growled with laughter. Sabine made a quip about there being no ‘fast track way to be a Jedi’.
Another yawn left his eyes blinking rapidly to keep alert, awake. A strong smell of warmth occupied his senses, he forced himself to find it.
Ezra rolled his lips together, drawn in the direction of the caf sitting on the edge of a crate. His foot might’ve made a noise on the floor, squeaking against the metal.
“Not for you.” Kanan said simply, practising another stretch which involved his arms behind his head.
At least Hera seemed to be on the same page. She dragged herself through the cargo bay, one begrudging leg in front of the other. A gloveless hand rubbed at her eyes and she too, stifled a yawn.
Almost invisible to Ezra, a tiny move, Kanan nodded in the direction of the cup while looking at Hera. The woman gave a sleepy smile in return as she continued her slow trek to the steaming cup.
A grateful expression dressed up Hera’s features, bringing her a step or two closer to Kanan’s like they were two magnets fidgeting to meet each other. Her hand passed over him like he was hers to touch despite Kanan not returning the act so luxuriously.
Hera said something Ezra couldn’t understand, maybe words that were too low and raspy, or perhaps something in another language.
Strangely, Ezra thought, her green hand drifted up Kanan’s chest. Which was odd because there were no buttons to be done or fabric to be tied. He didn’t need help fixing his clothes, and he’d warmed-up enough that he’d broken into a brief sweat and his hair had loosened. So, Ezra didn’t really know why Hera wanted to be so close to him. Kanan had only smiled and hummed in reply, his face noticeably brighter.
When their faces aligned, both mouths parted as if it were an act of symmetry. Ezra’s eyes widened, watching as the pair leaned towards each other. Hera up and Kanan down, accommodating the others height.
Just before a connection could be made, they both stopped abruptly. Not out of anger or impatience, their expressions still diluted by sleep but sweet and sombre.
The Ghost groaned again, followed by a little garble from Chopper who raced around to transfer into the daytime cycle.
Kanan broke into a little chuckle and Hera a low murmur, her words muffled against his shoulder, her fingers picking at his shirt.
Kanan gave her shoulder a squeeze, then his fingers travelled to her neck and spread across her cheek. He gave her a kiss there, on the side of her face. Surprisingly, Hera turned into the touch like she enjoyed it.
Almost like a reaction he couldn’t withhold, Ezra scrunched his face up. It felt like the skin on his nose had rippled or at least created mark from how long he stayed like that, confused and shocked at the weird display. It took him every ounce of willpower not to interrogate Kanan on their early-morning run.