This was requested by Silver-Shadow Spark, who was one of the five winners of a recent fanfic giveaway I did. Thanks for entering!

Enjoy!

Fine Tuning

Ezra Bridger turned his light saber carefully between his hands. He always felt familiar with it – his newly-made weapon, despite the fact it was only made a few weeks ago, always seemed to click perfectly with him. Not to mention Ezra always felt confident and – well – cool when his light saber was in his hands. It gave him a new sort of confidence – not that he wasn't ever dissatisfied with his old, handy slingshot (which he would always be proud of), but it seemed to signal the start of something new. Ezra didn't mind that.

But then he had that encounter with the Sith lord – the man with the dark helmet – and Ezra, now staring down at his light saber, couldn't feel safe anymore. He still remembered how close it had been to his neck – how he could feel the way the energy in the weapon pulsed just a little ways from him. Ezra lifted a hand to his neck, unable to stop the way his skin seemed to burn and tingle from the plain memory – as though the light saber really was about to decapitate him…

What Ezra couldn't understand was how powerful that Sith lord was – well, he knew that he wasn't exactly the stellar Jedi Padawan – and yet, the boy still felt stunned by how much strength one could have when harnessing the Force. Ezra shuddered. In less than a second, the teen's head could have been severed from his body because of his own weapon.

Ezra wasn't sure how Kanan felt about it – but he, too, had appeared shaken by the dangerous encounter. Only that was it. Shaken was all. Ezra had briefly wondered if his mentor had ever seen something similar – but refrained from asking such a question.

Ezra heard the doors slide open with a familiar hissing sound and looked up to see Ahsoka Tano, arms crossed casually over her chest and eye-markings lifted. And despite what the Ghost crew had faced in the last few days, Ezra was surprised by how calm and collected Ahsoka always seemed to be.

"Well, there you are," Ahsoka said, leaning against a wall. "I was wondering why it was so quiet on this ship." Though the woman's voice was teasing and light, Ezra could still detect a note or two of concern in her undertones. The boy only shrugged in response, replying, "Zeb said something about taking a nap. Sabine mentioned that she needed to fix up her armor – and Kanan and Hera are in the cockpit with Chopper, so..."

"Being the third wheel is no fun," Ahsoka agreed, her lips twitching into a smile. "Or, in this case, the fourth wheel."

Ezra nodded in agreement, adding, "I've decided to…you know, take some time here." He started to put his light saber away when Ahsoka asked suddenly, "How have you been doing?"

The boy's hand froze. He slowly turned his face towards the Togruta again, and after a pause, he responded with a grin, "You know – the usual. I'm fine." As though he was trying to prove his point, he lifted his hands – though, when realizing that it wasn't necessary, Ezra limply dropped them back against his sides. Ahsoka, to his relief, did not seem to notice – or at least, she didn't show it.

But as Ezra lowered his hands, his light saber rolled out of his grip and landed in front of his feet with a dull, metallic-sounding thud. The sound rang throughout the room for a little while – and then, when the boy didn't bend down to pick it back up, Ahsoka walked forward. Ezra stayed still as he watched the woman crouch down to pick up the light saber. She studied it in her hands for a few seconds, and with a small smile, she held out her hand with the weapon in it. "Nice design," she told him. "Your light saber is very unique."

Ezra gave Ahsoka a small smile. "Thanks," he replied, his hand hovering over to take the light saber. Ahsoka's hand was still stretched out, the expression on her face ever so patient and waiting. Ezra's hand fell limply at his side, his eyes focused on the weapon he had once felt so secure with.

Ahsoka's smile faded. "Ezra?" she asked softly, not putting her hand down. "Are you feeling alright?"

The boy's eyes flitted over to the light saber. Then, honestly, he answered, "Not really."

Ahsoka took a small step towards Ezra. "Do you mind telling me why?" she inquired, her voice soft.

"It's just –" Ezra hesitated. He felt a flush of embarrassment. He couldn't find his words – or the proper courage to speak up. He looked back up at Ahsoka, at the older woman's wide eyes, which were full of understanding. Scuffing his boot against the floor, Ezra finished, "It was weird for me. To have my own light saber used against me." His voice lifted at the end, making the words sound more like a question than an actual statement. "The Sith lord – he could do stuff like that, and I haven't seen or felt that before."

"He's powerful," Ahsoka replied, and for a moment, Ezra thought he saw something cloud over the Togruta's face. He couldn't detect what emotion the woman was feeling – and before he could decipher the meaning behind her words, Ahsoka held up Ezra's light saber. "But this weapon, Ezra," she said softly, "is your life. Wield it carefully – don't lose it – and most importantly of all, don't let it fall into someone else's hands."

She gently reached down to bring up Ezra's hand. Ezra was stricken by how cool the woman's hand was – he assumed it was a Togruta thing – although, physical contact was still something new for him. His hand stiffened as Ahsoka gently placed the light saber back into it. "Don't be afraid of it, either," Ahsoka added, stepping back. "It's in your control, after all."

Ezra looked down at his light saber. He tentatively curled his fingers around the handle – and after a pause, he asked, "But how do I prevent that from happening again? I mean…" His voice drifted uncertainly. "I know that I'm just a beginner, but I can at least do something to keep myself from getting into bigger trouble, right? At least that?"

Ahsoka's eyes shone with some amusement. "Eager, are we?" was her only question.

"Eager to not get my head sliced off, yeah," Ezra replied. He met Ahsoka's gaze, adding, "So will you help me? Help me with the light saber, that is?"

Ahsoka hesitated – her own hands reached for the light sabers hanging at her hips – and then, with a sad smile, she said, "It's been a while since I've ever actually instructed someone with light saber sparring." At those words, Ezra's heart fell. She won't be able to teach me, he thought dejectedly.

"But here," Ahsoka continued, igniting one of her light sabers. "It might have been a while, but I still remember much from my own days of training." She waited for a few moments, and then asked, "What are you waiting for, Ezra? Come on."

The boy felt the corners of his lips twitch into a grin. He ignited his light saber, leaning back only a little as the familiar, blue blade shot out from the handle. "Here," Ahsoka said, walking up to Ezra. She toed at Ezra's feet, saying, "Let's get into a proper stance."

Ezra did as he was told, placing one foot behind the other, his light saber held vertically in front of him. "Kanan told me this was the most basic opening stance," he told Ahsoka as she stepped in front of him. "He also said that there were other forms, but we never got around talking about them."

"There were a few other opening stances," Ahsoka replied, mirroring Ezra's stance. "But I think there's a good reason as to why Kanan would only teach you the most basic stance – the other stances are a little too advanced for your level right now."

Ezra's face fell in disappointment. "Oh," he only said, his eyes focusing back on his light saber handle.

Ahsoka didn't miss the young boy's expression. Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Ahsoka said warmly, "But don't worry about it – you'll catch up eventually." She deactivated her light saber, tilting her head to the side at Ezra's current position. "Has your master taught you any of the light saber forms?"

"Um…"

"That's okay," Ahsoka replied at Ezra's bewildered expression. "Because from what I've seen, you're decent with a light saber." She crossed her arms over her chest, though the expression on her face remained passive. "Show me how you would swing your 'saber," she told Ezra.

The boy shrugged his shoulders – and though he felt a little awkward, he did so.

"Ah, wait," Ahsoka walked back up to Ezra. She gently straightened out the lower parts of Ezra's arms, explaining, "Your arms are too tensed up – when you're handling a light saber, your motions have to be fluid and precise at the same time. Act as though your light saber is another extension of your arm instead of it just being a weapon."

"Um…like this?" Ezra asked, swinging his light saber again.

"No, like this…"

xXx

About an hour later, Ezra was sweating, his hair matted against his forehead and his cheeks slightly flushed. He sat down on his knees, breathing hard and trying to control his breathing. His light saber had deactivated – and though Ezra was in dire need of a shower, he couldn't help but to grin, especially when Ahsoka praised, "That was some good work."

"Yeah?" Ezra asked excitedly, lifting his head.

Ahsoka offered a hand. The boy took it gratefully, and as he stood, the Togruta replied sincerely, "Yeah." She lowered a hand to trace over Ezra's light saber hilt. "Feeling any better about that control?" she asked at last. Ezra looked down at his weapon. He tightened his grip over his light saber. "A little," he replied honestly. And it was true – while his training session with Ahsoka had helped things greatly, the heaviness over his heart hadn't yet completely lifted…

"Good," Ahsoka murmured. "I'd be worried if you were completely reassured in your abilities." Then, she patted Ezra gently on the shoulder. "But that's enough of that – come on, you really ought to take a shower…we stink."

Ezra grinned, saying, "I don't know, Ahsoka – I think you smell a bit more than me."

"Don't be too sure of that," Ahsoka replied, her tone light.

A/N - And today, I'm going to be on a road trip. Fantastic. (Three to four hours long...WHOO, I hope I can make it. XD)

As always, reviews would be great! Constructive criticism is okay, but if you send a flame, I'll have no choice but to think you had joined the Dark Side.