Chapter Text
“Chopper! You stupid piece of rust-!” came the high pitched shout outside of Kanan’s door. Followed by even louder screeches of what was probably the most annoying droid in the galaxy. Kanan just sighed in defeat, opening his eyes and throwing the idea of a 30 minute meditation into the Force.
“He does know that the more dents he puts in my droid's dome the more chores he gets right?” Hera’s voice, half exasperated, half amused came from Kanan’s bunk. Kanan turned to look at her, not even a little surprised that she had transformed his neat bunk into a mess of haphazardly spread out data pads. She hadn’t even looked up from the commotion that was still going on, the voices becoming louder as Zeb inevitability got pulled into whatever ruckus Ezra and Chopper were getting into.
“I don’t think he cares dear. He is still on medical leave and you know you won’t give him any difficult chores while his face is still healing.” Kanan teased as he stood up from his kneeling position. Picking up the small meditation pillow that he was kneeling on. Brushing her shoulder as he leaned down to store it under his bunk. He immediately winced and regretted mentioning Ezra’s medical leave order to her when he caught the look on her face. Hera’s hands instinctively clinched the pad, forming a fist, like she was imagining it was the Grand Inquisitor's face. Her face soured and her lekku curled and tensed.
“Speaking of Ezra’s medical leave, the next bandage change is in five minutes, and he keeps running from me.” Hera said through grit teeth, likely still fantasizing about taking a lightsaber and hitting the Grand Inquisitor in the face.
“He’s not running from you per say…He's more like…” Kanan tried to reason, but stopped himself as Hera finally looked up from her data pads with the eyebrow of irritation, her lekku’s twitch, locking her jade eye onto him just daring Kanan to finish his sentence. “Okay he’s running from you, but you are chasing him!” See Sabine, he can stand up to Hera. Take that you five foot Mando teen.
When her eyebrows raise even higher, “Last time I didn’t “chase him down” those burns got infected and he was in the fleet’s medbay for three days!” Hera reminded Kanan none too gently. Her lekku’s arching into her back, as she tilted her head at him just daring him to keep talking. Kanan knew enough Twi'leki to understand that she’s telling him to shove his lightsaber somewhere. She continued on. “And as my memory serve’s love, you were right next to his bed lecturing him about not changing his bandage and crawling in the vents again.”
Kanan shuddered at the reminder. He himself had just come out of a Bacta bath to heal the internal damage done by the Grand Inquisitor. It had been a small celebration for their little Ghost crew, even Chopper was being nice. Until their youngest had collapsed in a heap onto the durasteel floor. Not so fun.
“Yes dear, I remember. But he’s fifteen and he feels smothered.” Kanan tried again. Hera means well, but her motherly tendencies can clash with Ezra’s seven years of street kid mentality. Hera also can’t feel the waves of conflicting unease that the poor kid is accidentally projecting through the Force.
Hera sighed, her lekku relaxing in a way that Kanan knew his words had gotten to her. “I’ll smother you.” She threatened under her breath, but her lekku intertwined together, disputing her words. “Go change his bandage,” she orders as she turns her attention back to her readings.
Kanan grinned, leaning in to kiss the top of her head at the base of her lekku before turning to the door. “Yes ma’am.”
Another loud droid shriek pierced the cabin as more banging and shouts followed. “And make sure that Ezra hasn't dismantled my droid!” She shouted after him before the door shut. Kanan personally thinks she’s worried about the wrong crew member. That rust bucket has taken far harder hits than a scrawny fifteen year old with a screwdriver can dish out.
As Kanan walked down the hall the shouts became clearer,“You pile of rolling junk! I’ll kriffing dismantle you! Let! Me! Go!” Came Ezra’s howls.
“ Stupid and useless! Should have voted to leave you for dead on ship! ” Chopper screamed back. Making Kanan sigh, bracing himself for whatever chaos those two have caused in the living area. Just as he reaches the door he hears another roar.
“I’m sick of you both! Knock it off!”
“ Shut your organic mouth! Big and ugly! Smelly Lasat does not tell Chopper what to do!” Followed by a roar of pain from Zeb as Chopper most likely tased the Lasat.
Kanan sighed again, as he pushed open the door, he was met with a chaotic scene of the three crew members fighting together, their bodies entangled in a mess of limbs and shouting. The scene was accentuated by the slight smell of Zeb’s burning fur from the taser. Kanan groans as he takes it in. Ezra was dangling upside down from Zeb’s grip on his ankle, and Chopper was being held back by Zeb’s toe pads on top of his dome. The young human teen in Zeb’s grasp was wiggling and swinging desperately as if trying to fight the six and a half foot Lasat and the three foot murder droid at the same time. Clearly his young padawan was not anywhere close to winning.
“What!-” Kanan yells over the chaos, “Is going on out here?!” All at once they stop, Zeb flings Chopper away with a smooth jerk of his foot, before quickly flipping Ezra rightside up and setting him down a bit gentler, keeping one of his paws on Ezra’s shoulder. Both of them stand up straight with sheepish grins, fake innocence painting their face.
“Nothing! Nothing! Everything is all good!” Zeb chuckles, his ears dipped low as Kanan crosses his arms and shoots the Lasat an incredulous look.
Ezra joins him, “Yep! Yep! All good!” His wide grin cut off with a slight wince as the bandage tape that covered most of his left cheek pulled at his tan skin.
The act would be more believable if Chopper wasn’t flat on the ground from where Zeb had knocked him over, beeping and screaming curses on Zeb’s long dead family. That and the fact that Zeb had tried to cover their tracks right in front of Kanan.
Zeb’s ears flicked and lowered even more at Kanan’s raised eyebrows. “Ignore the bucket o’ bolts he’s fine, just er, um-”
Ezra jumped in, leaping away from Zeb’s grasp to bound over to where Kanan was. Smoothing his vest down and recliping his saber to his belt. “Chopper tripped.” Ezra gleefully lied, sending waves of amusement and reassurances that Zeb and him were 100% telling Kanan the truth through the Force. Kanan would appreciate the effort more if it wasn’t for the fact they were lying to his face like he was as dumb as Chopper accuses him of being.
“ Did! Not! ” Chopper shrieked as he maneuvered his struts to lift himself upright. “ Smelly! Zeb I would sell you for a credit! Bet you into pot of Sabacc with no hand.” The droid spun his dome and rolled over to Zeb, extending his manipulators from his dome to make his point. Kanan couldn’t help the snort of laughter spewed from his mouth at that. Causing both the Lasat and his padawan to instantly demand to know what Hera’s cantankerous droid said.
Ezra reached out and kicked one of Chopper’s struts before turning to Kanan with a hopeful look, his bright blue eyes shining, grinning as wide as he could. “Training time?” His eyes darted to the direction of Hera’s cabin, as if expecting her to come barreling out with Bacta and more gauze in her hand ready to chase him down.
Offended by the kick Chopper rolls up to the pair, turns and slams himself into the teenager, causing Ezra to double over with a groan. “Young dumbass organic was trying to climb into vents. [Mom] and you designation [dumbass-mom stealer] has forbidden this behavior. Designation [small fuckhead annoyance-stray] was attempting to run from repairs. It got Chop’d. ”
Ezra immediately punched the top of Chopper's dome, "Tattle-tale!" He hissed correctly assuming that the old droid had snitched on him. He probably would have done worse if it wasn’t for Kanan taking a hold of his shoulders. Turning the boy around to march him to their medbay.
“As annoying as Chopper is, you can’t dent him. Hera has forbidden it!” Kanan bit out as he steered the young man down the halls. The Force swirling with Ezra’s contempt and annoyance as he sent a weak tendril out to hit Chopper on his antenna. Not that he noticed, too busy screaming and threatening Zeb with his spark projector.
“Ezra!” Kanan smacked the back of the boy’s head as well as sent an admonishing wave across their bond.
“What!?” The boy replied with a cheeky grin as he rubbed the back of his head to soothe away the hurt. Kanan knew he didn’t hit him that hard; the only hurt the kid was feeling was the wounded pride.
“No. You know what.” He chided, leading them into their medbay. Less of a bay but more of a closet with a few shelves stocked with medical supplies. Bacta and bandages were a rare commodity to come by, especially since the Empire has all medical treatments under their Imperial command.
“He deserved it!” Ezra grumbled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door. Kanan rolled his eyes at the boy’s complaints, they constantly played this game of blaming the droid. The older man had no doubt that the droid starts half of most of the drama, but considering that Ezra was trying to hide in the vents to avoid Hera’s wrath this time Ezra was the one who technically started it.
“We told you no hiding in the vents, did Chopper go overboard with it? Sure. But you know you are banned from going in vents as long as your cheek is still healing.” Kanan couldn’t help but lecture as he reached over the younger man’s head to grab an adhesive bacta patch.
Ezra whined kicking at his mentor's boot, “Kanan you're crowding me.” Before letting out a forced cough, waving his hand in front of his nose as he pushed against Kanan’s chest, “Ug you’re starting to smell like Zeb! When's the last time you had a sonic?”
Kanan boxed the boy over the head as he led the boy back to his bunk by his shoulder. “Brat.” He emphasized his point by squeezing the boy’s shoulder, sending a tendril of warmth to color his words. Ezra sends him a cheeky smile throwing “I’m innocent” waves off of himself as if he hadn’t run off a few days ago when Hera had her back turned trying to get the bacta. “One day Hera is going to get an aneurysm because you are running away from treatment.”
“She chases me!” Ezra complains as Kanan opens the door to the boy’s and Zeb’s shared cabin
“Because you run from her!” Kanan laughed as he pushed the boy to sit down. Which Ezra does with a huff and dramatically dropping to the ground flat on his back like a petulant child. Kanan only rolls his eyes, it’s the same song and dance they go through that the older Jedi gladly indulges in. Ezra may complain and whine but they both know that the young man is reveling in this hovering. Soaking in the attention and care they are giving him. Contentment radiates and pulses off the boy as Kanan lowers himself to the ground next to Ezra’s head.
Ezra crosses his arms and pouts letting Kanan gently tease the adhesive off his face,“She's smothering me! She’s killing my cool Kanan!”
Kanan couldn’t help the snort if he tried, “Trust me kid, if she wanted to smother you she would get a pillow or send Chopper after you, she wouldn’t chase you with bacta. She’s too practical for that.” Kanan winked at the boy, “You can breathe through bacta.”
“Ha, ha, thank-Ow! Kanan!” The boy yips, snagging his master's wrist as the bandage pulls too hard at his skin. Tears gathered in Ezra’s bright sapphire eyes even as he desperately tried blinking them away.
“Easy, easy. I know but the adhesive is strong, want me to go slower?” Kanan paused his movement, half of the bandage still in his padawan’s face. Waiting for the kid’s permission to keep going. Using his free hand to squeeze Ezra’s shoulder, letting it rest there as a solid grounding touch.
“No.” Ezra hissed out through grit teeth as he fisted his pant leg. “Just rip it off.”
“Alright.” Kanan gave no other warning and with one flick of his wrist he tore the rest of the bandage off the kid’s face. Sending soothing pulses of comfort to Ezra through the Force when a few of the boy’s tears fell. He let Ezra compose himself by turning away to open the new bacta patches package. “Besides, kid. What cool is Hera killing? You don't have any.” He pointed out, tilting his head to the colorful painting done by Sabine depicting the moment when Ezra’s bunk fell onto Zeb after Chopper had removed all of the bed’s screws.
Ezra follows his gaze only to roll his eyes, “Yeah, that’s cuz I’m hanging out with you lot. You know you and Zeb’s smell combined chase off all the cool and the girls here!” He sits up to give Kanan better access to his face.
“If my smell runs off all the girls then you should be happy because that means Hera won’t chase you around!” Kanan laughs at the wide eyed look Ezra gives him, the boy rolling his master’s logic around his head as Kanan presses the new adhesive to the pink burns that run parallel across his face. The older man wanted to gag every time he sees it uncovered. The lines aren’t deep but they are long, the top one running from the edge of the kid's nose all the way to his left ear, the bottom line just a little shorter. If the blade had been even a little higher Ezra would have lost his eye. Ezra thinks it's the coolest thing ever, surviving a lightsaber blow meant to behead him. He was overjoyed when the med droid had declared it would scar like that. Kanan thinks that the only reason the young man didn’t jump up and cheer at the news was because both Kanan and Hera were having heart palpitations next to him. Ezra told them that they aren’t old enough to be having heart problems but Kanan thinks he’s going to have nightmares for life, right next to the terror of watching his master being gunned down by their friends.
“Kanan?” Ezra asked softly, breaking his master out of his musings, the man’s hand still resting on cheek, cradling the boy's face so gently it reminded him of his father. “Kanan, it’s okay.” He whispers, smiling at his master.
Kanan huffed, smoothing his thumb over the bandage, “You know Hera means well. She smothers because she cares.” I care. Kanan wanted to say, the words forming but stuck in the back of his throat. I care. Two little words that bounce in his head but unable to make it past his lips. The way Ezra smiles though, broken and teary, leaning into Kanan’s hand lets the other man know that the boy knows what Kanan is trying to convey. Brushing a soft thank you against their shared bond.
The moment is ruined by the sound of Chopper screaming “ Motherkrifferrrrrr! ” as he rolls past the cabin, rolling away from Zeb as fast as he can towards Hera’s room. Kanan lowers his head and sighs in exhaustion. Standing up and brushing off the invisible dust from the floor, Ezra quickly follows him up. Probably to see if he can join Zeb in chasing their resident droid.
Kanan opens the door, placing a hand on Ezra’s shoulder to prevent him from running off after the pair. “That droid.” He sighed again as he watched Chopper last minute stop to spin his dome around and locked his struts to the flooring. Allowing Zeb to barrel into the sturdy droid, the force of the abrupt stop sent Zeb flying with a howl. Sending Chopper into a fit of hysterics, pointing one of his manipulators at Zeb and using the other one as if he was covering his mouth like he was an organic.
“When can I dismantle him?” Ezra demanded, narrowing his eyes and beating his fist in his palm.
Kanan sighed again, Hera would kill him and make him sleep on the floor of the living room if he gave Ezra the answer he wanted to say. “Never.” Kanan groaned out instead, keeping a grip on the young man as he closed his eyes. Praying to his master and the Force for patience. On days like this he too wants to jettison Chopper out of the airlock. But knowing that persistent grumpy thing he would come back in a fury.
“Why!” Ezra whined. Kanan let his face fall into his hands. The Force around him is building, pushing and pulling at the edges of his mind. Kanan let his exasperation go into the curling waves of the Force as it pulled at him.
“Because he is teaching you a very valuable lesson.” Kanan grumbled out, shaking his head still in his hands. The Force’s waves crash down harder, pulling at him, glittering and dancing in his vision. It’s falling all around him, no longer brushing his mind like how waves would lap at his feet on a beach but shoving him as if he was chest deep in the sea.
Ezra puts his hand on his hips, a mirror image of Hera down to the raised eyebrows of incredulousness. He’s spending too much time with Hera. Kanan thinks distantly. “And what's that hmm?”
Kanan blinks, letting his arms fall to his side as he sways. He knows what Ezra said but it’s as if he was underwater. Ezra’s voice is echoing and muffled. Filtering in and out of Kanan’s head like a holo trying to connect to the right frequency. The Force whispered into his ear, drowning out his padawan’s voice.
“Anger management.” Kanan manages out, before the Force’s waves crash over his head, dragging him under into its depths.
“Kanan!”
“Kanan!” Ezra. A flash of blue hair falling past him, falling down, down, down into the darkness below.
“Jedi!” A familiar voice, Stance? No, not Stance. The echoes of blaster fire. Red streaks coming right at Kanan. The dusty air and cracked ground. Ezra’s yelps of fear.
A monotonous droid head beeping “7-5-6-7” on top of the Ghosts control panel.
7
“Jedi!” Not-Stance is firing. Ezra is next to him, blue blade shining. The blaster is still firing.
5
“Jedi!” Familiar plastoid, scuffed up blue, chipped off grey paint. Grey? A blast throwing Ezra, with his painted cadet helmet on, off a platform. Ezra shouts as he falls.
6
“Get behind me!” Kanan hears his own voice, shoving Ezra back.
7
“Jedi!” the clone howls, lifting his blaster aiming it at Ezra. A barrage of bolts that Ezra is trying to deflect. His green saber dancing in the air.
“Ezra!” He calls. Blue hair laying out like a halo. As blue as his lips. His blue eyes closed.
7
“Ezra!” his voice is echoing. Ezra isn’t moving, he lays crumpled on the floor, his orange jumpsuit slowly turning red.
5
“Ahsoka said to trust him!” Ezra’s voice shouts over his unmoving body. Where is Ezra?
“You weren’t there!” No Kanan don’t yell at Ezra. Find Ezra! He isn’t safe.
“The clones suddenly turned and betrayed us!” Clones. Stance? A clone issued blaster comes close into view, firing off a shot.
“I watched them turn on my master” Ezra crumples to the floor, in white plastoid. Knees first then face down. Unmoving.
“They gunned her down in a second, then they came for me..” A clone, in scruffed blue armor, twin pistols in hand, running right towards him.
6
“I trust them.” The cocking of a blaster. Ezra has his back to a clone, hair long and smiling up at Kanan.
7-5-6-7
“I trust them! You need to too!” Ezra was on the ground. The scar on his cheek wasn’t pink anymore, and it was smaller than it is now. His hair is short. There is a tan chest plate on him. Not that it did much. Ezra is on the ground. Unmoving. His body is smoking.
7-5-6-7
“Good soldiers follow orders.” Clone. Helmet on, blue jaig eyes painted on. Twin blasters are out, pointing at Ezra who was backing up hands up. Fear on his face.
Kanan!
Kanan!