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Zeb had heard Ezra doing something in the room the past two or three nights, and he wanted to know what. When he heard talking he pretty much guessed it. He rallied the crew once more, another trip in to Ezra's datapad!
"Are you sure we should be doing this? Again?" Hera fidgeted.
"Sure I'm sure!" Zeb exclaimed,
"Besides didn't he say that we should know this stuff?" Sabine added.
"He did." Kanan backed up.
"Anyways I found his datapad, he added three new videos!" Emma held it up proudly.
Sabine hit play.
Ezra was leaning back in his bed, "So, everyone's having dinner now, and I'm doing this, again. The crew kinda watched every other previous video, without my permission, I dunno if they'll watch this one too. I mean they already watched theprevious ones, they're not gonna watch this too, right?"
The crew winced but kept watching.
"This was new, they know everything! My life on the streets, when I met Emma, got captured by the Empire, my... parents."
The crew cringed once more.
"It was like being unmade, so uncomfortable. I mean I'm used to uncomfortable, I mean I'm a street rat,"
"True that!" Emma nodded.
"But I always could cope, I always had a mask, a guard, and it was always on, this... this is like removing it, every single layer of my mask, the one I worked on for years! But it was only the videos, that must be like on layer of my mask,"
Hera and Kanan gaped, Sabine's face became unreadable, Zeb shook his head. "We all have masks," Emma muttered looking at the floor, the crew looked at her pitifully.
"My mask is thick, so is my guard, it has no cracks, it shouldn't have cracks, and yet Emma already did. She sees all of my journals ya know? I always show her, she's probably gonna see this one soon,"
The crew looked at Emma who shrugged sheepishly.
"We tell each other everything, that's how we grew up, with only each other to trust." Ezra looked lost in memories,
Just like Emma did,
"Well, I gotta go, see ya!"
"You've already seen all these?" Hera exclaimed.
"I'm not allowed to say anything, we promised," Emma grinned and hit the next video quickly.
"I know I said my mask and guards are flawless, but... they may be a tiny bit cracked."
Kanan smirked.
"I'm having geniune feelings with these people, I smiled an actual smile, I laughed an actual laugh, I smirked an actual smirk," Ezra burried his face in his hands,
The crew grinned, Emma groaned in agreement.
"It's so confusing! I mean isn't Zeb supposed to hate me? Isn't Kanan supposed to be annoyed by lack of disapline? Isn't Sabine supposed to act indifferent to me? Isn't Hera supposed to... Actually I don't have a hate senario for Hera, yet, but still!" Ezra raised a finger in the air,
Hera smirked thriumphantly while the rest gaped.
"Anyways, my mask is having cracks! Cracks means actual feelings, the truth, the real me! And every street kid knows what that means,"
The crew looked at Emma, she turned away smirking.
"It doesn't mean anything good! It means...-"
There was a banging, Ezra turned his head, "Oy! Kid, open up the door!" Zeb's voice was clear.
"Never mind, gotta go bye!" Ezra ran to the door.
"You just had to knock!" Sabine groaned.
"How was I supposed to know?" Zeb defended.
"It doesn't matter, Ezra said street kids oughta know," Hera turned to Emma.
"Oh yeah!" Kanan turned to her too.
"Not a word shall be said," Emma smirked again and hit play for the next and last video.
"I'm stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I have cracks in my mask! that means caring!" Ezra looked devastated.
"That's it?" Kanan asked, Emma glared, "You have no idea how much that means."
"It's bad enough I already care for Emma, no offense,"
"None taken."
"But now for the crew too? I mean I started caring for Emma at eight, I was still new to the ways of the streets, even then I didn't trust easily but I trusted her, and that came with caring when you're eight."
"When you're eigh'?" Zeb looked confused.
"Caring made you do things, it made you worry when someone got hurt, it made protect someone when they were vunerable, it made you help save people when they were in danger, it made you do stupid things like put yourself in danger for others' sake."
Emma smiled softly.
"Caring is dangerous, and I'm starting to care! Kanan was busy today, he couldn't concentrate on training, I told him I was going back, and you could see the panic in his eyes, so I had to clarify that I was going back in, not back to the streets of Lothal."
Kanan blushed.
"He was blaming himself for being a bad teacher, what he didn't understand is I'm a terrible student. I'm reckless, undisciplined and I occasionaly do stupid things, and I'm proud of it. But anyways, I told him that, I told him to stop blaming himself, that I'm a terrible student and that he actually wasn't that bad of a teacher."
"He actually isn't that bad of a student either."
"I was telling the truth of course, but that wasn't the problem, it was the fact that I told him in the first place. I sounded like I cared, and I knew I cared, and the worst part is I think I don't mid caring. Well, gotta go! See ya!" The screen went black.
Footsteps were heard, Emma quickly stuffed the datapad back, everyone stood as normal as possible. Ezra came in,
"Hey Zeb have you seen..." He noticed everyone staring at him, he looked at Emma. Kanan realized he was going to set up a conversation via the Force, he 'eavsdropped'.
Ezra: Blaze, did they watch the journals again?
Emma: You know I'm not sure I should-
Ezra: Emma, please?!
Emma: Fine, they did.
Ezra: Noo! It's like being unmade all over again
Ezra sounded mopey, but Kanan looked at the two's faces, they were completely unreadable!
Emma: I know! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen! Bu they wanted to and I couldn't say that-
Ezra: Don't worry, it's not your fault, I just really don't like this, you know I'm gonna create a fake journal entry, and I'm gonna tell them that I going to jump of a cliff!
Emma: Ezra Bridger! You will do nothing of that sort!
Ezra: But that would totally teach them a lesson!
Emma: They're gonna freak out! And keep an eye on you every single second! How about you just talk to them?!"
Ezra: I see your point, I will consider talking to them.
The crew did not miss the long stare between Emma and Ezra, or the way Kanan's head swiveled back and forth between the two teens. Ezra looked back once more then sighed,
"You guys watched the video journal again, didn't you?"
Kanan raised an eyebrow, if he didn't know any better he would've thought that Emma didn't say anything to Ezra.
"What?! Nooo... Pshh!" Emma denied. Kanan shook his head, these kids were good.
"Yeah we did." Hera confessed.
"So you know everything huh?" Ezra looked dejected, Emma walked over to him and stood beside him, she took his hand behind her back and squeezed it, he squeezed back.
The crew looked sheepish, Kanan stepped forward.
"It isn't a crime to care you know," He said softly.
"I know, I know!" Ezra brushed it off. Hera beamed,
"Good! Now lets go, we're gonna have a family dinner!"
Zeb and Sabine groaned, Kanan followed Hera. Emma and Ezra lingered behind,
"It's gonna be okay, I think we can trust them," Emma looked at Ezra.
"Thanks," He hugged her, "You're gonna be okay too ya know. We might... might actually have a family here."
Emma hugged him tighter, "I know." Two tears slid down the teens' cheeks. The crew watched from outside, the two pulled away, "We should go." Ezra said.
"Yeah." The crew dashed for the mess hall while Emma and Ezra walked there.
AN: Awww! They are so cute!
miss_sarcastix