Chapter 59: Jealous Kanan

Okay… so this is really unacceptable. I hope some of y'all are still here to read these stories. I still have about 33 prompts left to write. Minus the Christmas and Father's Day Special. I won't promise how quickly I can get them out. I am taking two summer classes, and I have work. But I will try to do at least one a week. Enjoy this chapter. It was requested by a guest.

Ezra was not used to having this many people in his life. He had Ahsoka, Rex, Wolffe, Gregor, Kanan, Sabine, Zeb, Hera, and Wedge all watching out for him now. He enjoyed it, but sometimes it got annoying. All of them were protective of him, and it was stifling. Especially since he wasn't used to it. Rex, however, was the best about it. He picked up early on that Ezra needed more space than they were necessarily giving him. He grew up on the streets, and that wasn't just going to leave him by finding a new family. Because of Rex's understanding, Ezra found himself gravitating to him.

It was easy to be around Rex. Wolffe and Gregor could be a bit much sometimes, but Rex was different. He had the same grief that the other two had, but he handled it differently. He didn't avoid talking about the Clone Wars. In fact, he told some interesting stories about it. Like the one time Ahsoka and Anakin threw him off a wall and caught him right before he hit the ground. Or the time Ahsoka went missing and Anakin lost his mind in worry. Or another time when he and Cody had to destroy a base with three shinies. He got sadder talking about one of them named Fives, but he always bounced back quickly. Maybe it wasn't healthy. Maybe he should give himself more time to grieve. But Ezra enjoyed that he didn't have to talk about what was wrong. Sometimes he was just sad or he missed his parents. It couldn't be fixed, but Rex's presence made things better. Because he knew when to push and when to stay quiet.

Not to say that Ezra didn't enjoy Kanan's company. He was still his master, and he still knew Ezra the best. But he always wanted to fix things, and some things didn't need to be fixed. He also always wanted to protect Ezra, which was nice most of the time. Sometimes, Ezra wanted to handle things on his own. Or he wanted to be alone. He knew that a lot of bad things happened around him. He has been kidnapped multiple times. He has been depressed for a while. He has cut and contemplated suicide before. He has been caught outside in a tornado. All of these things have happened, but he still needed space to think through his own problems. Or to figure out how to explain his feelings to Kanan. Sometimes he was sad for no reason. Sometimes, it felt like there was a weight on his mind and chest that he couldn't shake off. But there was no reason for it. Kanan always demanded answers, and Ezra knew he did it because he cared. But he didn't always have answers. Which made those conversations infuriating for both of them. Kanan because he couldn't fix what was wrong, and Ezra, because he couldn't put into words what he was feeling.

Ezra was spending more and more time with Rex, and it was bothering Kanan. He was glad that Ezra was happy, but he wasn't sure he was happy that he was happy with Rex. He still didn't quite trust the clones, even though they had been working together for a while. While Rex's explanation of the chips made sense (and there was a small part that hoped his own clone captain, Grey, may be saved), he was still weary around them. If chips could control them, what was stopping the Empire from using them on the three clones? He had stories about Rex when he was a padawan, and he was awed by him before the end of the war. Grey used to tease him about it endlessly, but he looked up to Grey more than he would ever look up to Rex. Not that he told Grey that, which led to some really amusing jokes within his troops.

Kanan asked Ezra after training, "Do you want to watch a film?"

"Maybe later. Rex is going to teach me how to use his blasters," said Ezra.

"Okay," said Kanan, and then he asked, "Wait, what?"

"Rex is going to teach me to use his blasters," Ezra repeated slower, "Hera already said he could."

"Did she now?" asked Kanan, waiting to see if Ezra was lying. Ezra nodded, and Kanan had to admit that Ezra was either getting better at lying (which was terrifying) or he was telling the truth. Kanan decided that he didn't want to know what an Ezra that could lie would look like, and he admitted defeat. Ezra was telling the truth. "Alright, we'll watch movies later." However, when later came, Ezra was still laughing with the clones. Rex was telling another story about the clone wars. When Kanan tuned in, he was talking about a prank war between the 501st and the 212th that lasted the entire trip between stations. It only ended when they accidentally pranked Mace Windu, which Kanan found funny. He couldn't imagine trying to prank Windu, but apparently, Anakin Skywalker was known for doing so. No wonder the two didn't get along.

Kanan didn't want to stay out here and watch Ezra laughing with Rex, so he decided to go to bed. Everyone said goodnight, including Ezra. Rex gave him a concerned look that Kanan ignored. He was not having this discussion with Rex. It would be awkward and embarrassing. And yes, there might still be some hero worship there. One of the bigger reasons that Kanan couldn't stand the clones was that they reminded him too much of Grey, even though they were significantly older than the last time he saw his Captain. It was still enough to make his heart twinge every now and then.

Kanan didn't see Ezra without Rex for a few days after that day, and he refused to speak to Ezra in front of Rex. Which left him alone most of the time. He spent more and more time sulking in the cockpit with Hera. She found it amusing, which annoyed Kanan.

"You could be more sympathetic, Hera," he said after she looked away smiling for the tenth time that day.

"I was. About a week ago," said Hera, "It's just amusing now."

"I don't find anything about this amusing," he retorted.

"I find your jealousy very amusing."

"I am not jealous."

"Whatever you say, dear."

"I am not." Kanan was put out. He was not jealous. He was simply… annoyed that Ezra would rather hang out with Rex than him. It was just annoying since he was Ezra's master. He was the one that was supposed to be teaching Ezra stuff. Not Rex. He had stories too. He just didn't like to bring up the grief that came with them. And maybe Ezra understood that. But he could still ask him for them.

"General?" Rex asked.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that," said Kanan, a tad more irritated than he intended.

"Sorry. Kanan, I think we need to talk," said Rex.

"Not sure what about," said Kanan, and he looked around. He just noticed that Hera left. Traitor. She knew that he didn't want to talk to Rex.

"I am not intentionally taking your Padawan away," said Rex.

"I never said you were," said Kanan.

"Why don't you talk to him?" Rex asked.

"Hard to do when there is always someone around," said Kanan.

"I happen to know that he is alone right now and will be for the foreseeable future," Rex said getting up to leave.

"Rex?" Kanan asked, and when he stopped and turned around, Kanan continued, "Thank you." Rex nodded and left. Kanan took a deep breath, calming himself in the Force, before standing and following Rex out of the cockpit. He went to Ezra's room and knocked.

Ezra answered the door and said, "Hey, Kanan. I was just about to come looking for you."

"Oh yeah?" he asked.

"I was going to ask if we could train," said Ezra.

"Why don't we watch that movie instead?" said Kanan.

"Really?" Ezra asked excitedly. He liked training, but it was nice to just relax with Kanan too.

Hello, I heard that y'all want some just fluff family stuff. So I incorporated that into this story. I hoped y'all enjoyed. And please feel free to leave more requests. Just a little spoiler: I do foresee Grey becoming a part of this story. I don't know if he dies canonically, but I don't really care. He lives in my universe.