LATE NIGHT TALKS

Ezra sighed, looking up at the star filled cosmos. He had snuck out onto the roof of the parked Ghost because he couldn't sleep. Well, that wasn't quite true. He had been asleep until recently. Ezra shivered, remembering the nightmare that had awoken him.

Flashback

Ezra ran down the dimly lit corridor, his breath coming in short heavy pants. He skidded a corner and into a random room, looking for a place to hide. It seemed he was out of luck. Ezra had entered an empty cell. The door suddenly slammed shut and Ezra spun on his heel to see why. The Inquisitor was in front of him, grinning, showing off his sharp teeth.

"Give up orphan, the darkness is too strong in you to resist, join me." The Inquisitor said with his gruff voice, advancing on Ezra.

"Never, I'd rather die." The teen responded, backing up until his back hit a wall.

"That can be arranged." The Inquisitor activated his lightsaber, and prepared to strike. But he didn't get the chance, for Kanan had burst in at that moment with his weapon already at the ready and engaged the Inquisitor in a deadly duel. They seemed to be evenly matched until the Inquisitor got in a particularly hard kick to Kanan's side and the Jedi faltered. Ezra was paralyzed with terror and was forced to watch in horror as the Inquisitor stabbed Kanan straight through the stomach. After he slowly pulled the blade out causing Kanan to collapse, dead, he advanced on Ezra, with a grin that revealed his wickedly sharp teeth.

Ezra suddenly opened his eyes and threw his body into an upright position. With harsh breathing he checked his surroundings and realized that he was not in fact on a ship with the Inquisitor, but in bed with Zeb and his snoring. Never had the usually obnoxious noise been so comforting as it was now. After sitting in the dark for a few moments to calm his breathing, Ezra shoved his covers to the side and jumped out of bed, he landed as silently as a cat. With nowhere else to go that wouldn't disturb one of the others, Ezra headed to the roof of the ship that had become his home.

End Flashback

Kanan's eyes snapped open and he slowly sat up. A disturbance through the bond he had formed with Ezra had woken him up. He walked to Zeb's and Ezra's shared room and looked inside. Ezra wasn't laying on his side with his back to the wall as he normally did, but his covers were carelessly crumpled to the side and the teen was nowhere in sight. Kanan shut the door and closed his eyes. He focused on finding Ezra's life signature and found it residing on the ship's top. After Kanan reached the top, he saw Ezra on the edge with his feet dangling in the air. The Jedi silently walked up behind Ezra and rested his hand on his shoulder. The boy jumped and would've fallen if Kanan hadn't had a grip on him.

"Jumpy much?" Kanan teased, a hint of humor in his voice that quickly faded when Ezra stayed silent and didn't reply with a clever comeback like he usually would. "You alright kid?"

"Huh? O-oh yeah, I'm fine, just couldn't sleep and decided to get some fresh air." Ezra replied. Kanan stared at him, a frown marring his features.

"Then why am I sensing fear through our bond, if you 'just couldn't sleep.'" The older man pushed.

"It's not important." The younger insisted.

"If it's bothering you, it's important."

"Just drop it."

"No."

"Drop it."

"No."

"Drop it."

"No."

"Drop it!"

"No."

"Damn it fine! I had a stupid nightmare, you happy now?" Ezra snapped, annoyed.

"No, it's still bothering you, what was the nightmare about?"

"It's nothing."

"It's something."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not." Kanan sighed, exasperated at the boy in front of him.

"Look kid, we can either keep going till I win, which I will, or you can tell me what the nightmare was about and we can fix it." The older man said, not feeling like going through the back and forth game again. Ezra sighed and in that moment he looked older, far older beyond his years and Kanan felt something tug at his heart and felt the strangest urge to gather the boy up in his arms and protect him from the rest of the galaxy.

"Fine, I was running and found myself in a cell room, facing the Inquisitor when you came in and fought him." Ezra quietly said. Kanan frowned.

"That's not all, continue."

"Do I have to?" Ezra whined.

"You know the answer to that."

"…I couldn't move when he got the upper hand and stabbed you with his fucking lightsaber. There that's it. End of story." Ezra exploded, and turned his head to face away from Kanan to see the stars and other planets that seemed straight ahead. His eyes burned.

Oh no, he wouldn't cry.

He would not cry.

Not over a stupid nightmare.

He blinked.

Something wet hit his hands, which were clasped tightly together in his lap.

…Damn it.

Once the first tear fell, they couldn't seem to stop. Soon, the young teen's shoulders were shaking silently. He had never been one to cry loudly, it only brought attention to him, unwanted attention. Meanwhile, Kanan stared at Ezra.

'The kid is crying because of me?' He thought and, not for the first time, regretted that he hadn't found Ezra sooner. Feeling like Hera would know what to do to comfort him properly, Kanan wrapped an arm around his young padawan's shoulder and brought him into a one armed hug. It seemed to be exactly what Ezra needed because he turned and buried his face into Kanan's neck. They stayed like that for a while, and the older of the two soon felt Ezra slump on him, completely asleep. He chuckled, and lifted the teen up bridal style and carried him back inside the Ghost. Instead of taking the kid back to his shared quarters with Zeb, he took Ezra to his own room. He laid Ezra down on the bed and climbed in after. He wrapped his arms around the boy in a protective manner. Ezra curled up to him and snuggled his face into Kanan's chest, which he would deny to death when he woke up. But for now, Kanan smiled and soon followed Ezra into slumber.