I forgot to mention that this is all happening fairly early on in the Rebels timeline, which means Ezra's only been on a few missions with the crew and they have yet to face the Inquisitor. It also means that even though Kanan and Ezra have formed a bond with each other, their relationship is still a little rocky. I'm still kind of hesitant about this story, so comments are greatly appreciated. Please let me know what you think!

Ezra gasped as he sat up, feeling completely disoriented. It was dark, too dark to make out the room he was in, and in his waking state he was having trouble thinking straight. Where was he? What was going on?

His anxiety spiked when he felt a hand suddenly grasp his shoulder. With a cry of alarm he attempted to free himself from the grip, flailing wildly and almost falling out of his bunk. His bunk? That was right. He was in his bunk on the Ghost, in the room he shared with Zeb. And the hand on his shoulder probably belonged to-

"Ezra!"

Kanan was standing next to him and was frantically trying to shake him into awareness. Worry was clear in his demeanor and his voice. "Ezra, come on! You're okay!"

He slowly managed to calm himself down and return his breathing to a normal pace instead of sounding like he had just run a marathon. Clarity of mind as well as vision came with his calmness, and he was now able to make out the silhouette of his roommate as well, standing near the door. He could feel his face growing warm with embarrassment and was glad that the lights were off. He had managed to wake not just one but two member of the crew somehow in his sleep. Who knows what he had been doing to cause such a disturbance. He collapsed into a heap on his pillow with a groan. "I don't know what I was doing, but I'm sor- Ow! Zeb!"

The comforting protection of darkness was stripped away as Zeb flipped on the lights with an unsympathetic, grumpy glare. The Lasat was definitely not pleased about being woken up in the middle of the night. After he was sure he had successfully blinded Ezra, he gave a satisfied grunt and grabbed his bedroll, mumbling complaints under his breath. He stalked angrily out the door once he had gathered his things, calling back over his shoulder, "Brat's all yours, Kanan. Either talk some sense into him or knock him unconscious, I don't care; just make him be quiet!"

Kanan sighed and ran a hand over his face as he watched Zeb leave before turning his worried gaze back to Ezra. The teen felt guilty to see him so tired and know that it was his fault. And he couldn't even remember what the whole fuss had been about! The harder he tried to focus on his dream, the further is slipped away. The whole process was made even more frustrating by the predictable question that inevitably came next.

"What's wrong?"

Ezra groaned and rolled over to face the wall, unable to force himself to look at Kanan's tired and worried face any longer. "I don't know. It's nothing, alright? Let's just go back to sleep and pretend it never happened."

Kanan made no move to leave. "Ezra-"

"Fine, pretend for a few hours and bother me in the morning!" Ezra snapped as he stared grumpily at the wall. Why couldn't his mentor see that he didn't want to talk about it and leave him alone for once? He knew, in the part of his mind that was more reasonable and less annoyed, that Kanan bugged him about this kind of thing because he cared. But right now he was going to ignore reason and stick to annoyance, firmly stealing himself against the gentle questioning probe Kanan sent to him through their bond. Maybe if he held his mental shields and pretended to fall asleep, the message would finally get across.

The silent clash of will lasted for several minutes, enough time for pretending to sleep to turn into actually falling asleep once more. Kanan shook his head and muttered something about "stubborn kids" shuffling back towards his own bunk, hitting the lights on his way out. Ezra barely heard the door hiss shut behind him, once again alone in the dark as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Waking up the second time was definitely much less stressful than the first. However, Ezra was still feeling the effects of last night's events and was slightly less alert than usual. And by slightly he meant much less alert, to the point that he literally fell out of his bunk in his attempt to find the ladder. While that did manage to make him more aware, it also brought back his foul mood. He finally made it out of his room and headed off in search of food, still grumbling darkly and too focused on his own predicament to notice or be curious about the wadded-up blanket lying next to his door.

The kitchen was obnoxiously bright, but the need for food was stronger than his need for sight at the current moment, so he decided to deal with it. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only obstacle in his quest for sustenance this morning.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't sleeping beauty." Putting down his steaming mug, Zeb leaned back in the chair he had claimed at the table and smirked. "Don't you look lively?" Despite being woken up in the middle of the night he seemed no worse for wear. In fact, he was pretty chipper from his usual morning self, which only acted as fuel for Ezra's grumpiness. Why did the stupid Lasat have to be so loud and cheerful right now? Well, not exactly cheerful, but he was definitely enjoying the situation way too much.

"You know what would help with that grogginess? Actually sleeping through the night. It's a foreign concept around here, so I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of it-"

Ezra scowled and pulled open a random cabinet, trying to distract himself from the goading. He was determined not to rise to the bait. "Shut up, Zeb."

"-but you might want to give it a try! I hear it's marvelous. Never actually been able to try it myself because some Loth-rat keeps screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night-"

"Zeb. Stop."

"It's pretty impressive, actually. I don't know he manages to do it every single night but-"

"Zeb!" The cabinet door swung shut with a forceful slam seemingly on its own as Ezra whirled on the Lasat. "Please stop. I get it, okay?"

Zeb held up his hands in a placating gesture and went back to drinking from his mug thoughtfully. "Alright, just trying to make a joke. But seriously, kid, what is going on with you?"

He had known this was coming. It had been the same routine for weeks now. He would wake up screaming, someone would calm him down, and he came to breakfast in the morning to face interrogation from the concerned and sleep-deprived crew. And every day they received the same answers. He was sick of it, and definitely not in the mood to deal with it one more time. Instead of sticking around to play along, he headed for the door, wanting to be anywhere other than this room. "I don't know. Just… please stop asking."

Ezra slipped into the hallway before Zeb could protest and started walking. He didn't care where at the moment; he just wanted to get away. He walked passed Sabine without acknowledging her yawned greeting, earning a shrug from her as she headed for the kitchen. Before she made it there, however, she made a detour to Hera's room and popped her head in and hollered, "Ezra's sulking again!"

"Alright, we'll handle it," Hera called back and waved the teen along. She turned back to Kanan, who was currently collapsed on her bed, and raised an eyebrow. "You hear that, love?"

She smiled slightly at the groan she received in response, but when the man showed no signs of moving it quickly disappeared.

"Kanan, go talk to him."

"... Can't you bring him back here so I don't have to get up?"

Hera rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of Kanan's arms, forcefully pulling him to his feet and ignoring the dirty look he gave her for taking away his comfort. "No, I can't. Go talk to him."

Kanan sighed in defeat and stumbled into the hallway. Hera watched him go before collapsing onto the bed herself, deciding that she could sleep for a few more minutes before getting breakfast. This nightly ritual was taking it's toll on the entire crew. They needed to figure out what was wrong with Ezra, and fast.