Chapter 49: Cat

Sorry, it's been so long. I'm having a hard time finding time to write these prompts. The original plan was five prompts a day, so every Tuesday, you guys would get around twenty new chapters, but that's pretty much failed. I can't even get five done before Tuesday. Well, here you go. This was requested by jedi121.

Kanan and Ezra finally had a break from being rebels. They could just be normal people walking peacefully down the streets. They were just like everyone else. They were on an Outer Rim planet nearly 500 lightyears away from Lothal. Despite the great distance from their home, Ezra had never felt so content in his life. The two of them were silent, but it was not uncomfortable. It was nice just to be in each other's presence. The Rebellion's leadership didn't care about Ezra's training or their bond. They cared about getting their priorities done. Ezra and Kanan were sent on separate missions. In the past two months, Kanan and Ezra had seen each for thirty minutes, and it was not all together. Ezra missed Kanan, and apparently, Kanan missed Ezra too. Kanan threatened to disappear if they didn't give both of them a break. However, Ezra wasn't complaining; he was exhausted.

Ezra looked over into an alleyway. Something in the alleyway caught Ezra's attention, causing him to stop suddenly. Ezra's abrupt stop caused Kanan to walk completely passed him. When Kanan noticed that Ezra wasn't walking anymore, he turned around. Ezra's focus, however, was not on him; rather, it was on a furball in the alleyway. Kanan sighed. "Ezra, I am still in trouble for the Lothcat that I let you keep."

Ezra's head jerked up, because he had momentarily forgotten about Kanan. He had been lost in memories from a time he had locked away. "I know, but..." Ezra started. Ezra looked briefly into Kanan's eyes, and Kanan noticed tears welling up in Ezra's eyes. His eyes went back to the cat in the alleyway. Ezra wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He continued after a moment. "The cat just reminds me of the cat I had before... you know." Kanan knew. Ezra still didn't talk much about his parents, and Kanan knew most of it was grief. However, Kanan knew what hurt Ezra the most was how little he remembered his parents. "I wish I could keep it." Kanan's heart hurt from Ezra's sad tone.

"Come on. Let's go train," Kanan said after a moment of silence. Ezra nodded, but he watched the small cat a moment longer. He sadly walked away from it with Kanan. Ezra didn't look back at the cat, but Kanan knew Ezra's thoughts were filled with that cat and the cat from his past. When they arrived at the top of a solitary hill, Kanan stopped them. He had planned on Force training, but Ezra needed something else. "We're going to connect to the Force through meditation."

"Why?"

"So you can let go."

"What if I don't want to let go?" Ezra's honest question made Kanan pause. Kanan looked at Ezra, and he had a sudden realization. Ezra had carried his grief since he lost his parents, because he didn't know how to let go of his grief. Ezra wasn't being stubborn or hateful. He was being a child. Ezra never had the proper chance to grieve. He had to survive on the streets of Lothal since he lost his parents. He had to lock away the pain of being an orphan long ago, and Ezra was still locking it away, because he never knew when he was going to be left alone again.

"I'll help you." The two meditated together with their thoughts and emotions flowing through their bond. Ezra slowly let his grief flow to Kanan. Kanan let it flow freely into the Force. Ezra started to let more of his grief slip through their bond. Kanan was patient through it all, because Ezra needed this. Kanan made a lot of mistakes, but he refused to let Ezra make the biggest mistake of all: never letting go. When they were done, the sun was setting. "How do you feel?" Kanan asked, after he stood up and stretched. Neither of them were used to meditating for several hours.

"Better," Ezra answered honestly, "Much better."

Kanan and Ezra finished their vacation with no more problems. Unfortunately, they had to return to the Ghost and pick up where they left first. However, the sad look on Ezra's face when he saw the cat haunted Kanan's mind. The present cat and past cat plagued Ezra's dreams, because all of those emotions were raw from being released. Kanan smiled as a plan formed in his mind. He disappeared for a week. He didn't tell anyone where he was going or what he was doing. When he came back with Ezra's present, he waited in Ezra's room for him. The wait was long, and Kanan grew more impatient as time passed. Finally, Ezra entered. Upon noticing Kanan, Ezra let out a sob and flung himself into Kanan's waiting arms.

"Don't ever leave like that again!" Ezra demanded. Hera, hearing the commotion, entered the room. She was overjoyed when she saw that Kanan was home and safe; however, she was still angry that he left without a single were going to have a talk after this.

"I had to get you something," Kanan said with a sincere smile.

Hera noticed Ezra's present before he did, and her anger exploded. "KANAN!" But she stopped there. Ezra was holding the small cat with a tenderness sbe bad never seen from him. After gently setting the cat down, Ezra threw his arms around Kanan's neck.

"Thank you!" Ezra still had a lot of healing to do, but he knew he would make it through with Kanan by his side.

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