Ezrabine's Reunion:

D230/4 ABY, Lothal

Sabine only had a few hours to prepare for Ahsoka's arrival. The togrutan was apparently in a hurry, and didn't want to linger on Lothal any longer than necessary, but wouldn't say why. There wasn't anyone here for her and Lux to visit right now anyway. Hera and Jacen were off on their first official shipping run, making real credits. Zeb and Kallus were still on Lira San, but promised to come back as soon as she knew exactly when she was getting home with Ezra. And Rex was still with the Rebellion, enjoying his recent promotion to General.

With instructions to meet her in the city, Sabine closed up the Tower and Spectre House after packing a small bag for herself. She commed everyone who needed to know that she was going to be gone for an unknown amount of time, then she ran into the city to do some quick shopping. When she was finished, she glanced at the time and snorted at herself. Turns out she was too quick at shopping and had another hour to spare before Ahsoka would get here.

She was sitting in Kanan's Park, sipping a cup of chococaf, when she realized she forgot to pack Ezra's lightsabre. How, she didn't know. She took it with her automatically whenever she went off planet because she just couldn't bear to be parted from it. Muttering swear words at herself in various languages, Sabine made the trip back to the tower on her speeder bike, packages tucked under the seat.

She jumped off the bike and unlocked the door, zipping up to the apartment in the elevator. Walking briskly to the bedroom, she grabbed the lightsabre off the bedside table and put it in her bag with an eye roll at herself. She checked the time again on her mini wrist computer and saw she still had twenty minutes so she went out to the balcony.

Sabine rested her chin on her crossed arms on the railing of Ezra's tower, her home for the last four years. Her gaze looked towards the now beautiful, and much expanded, Capital City of Lothal, but she wasn't really seeing it. Instead her mind replayed for the millionth time some of the last memories she had of Ezra as something other than a spirit projection. Memories of the last time she held him. The last time she saw the brilliant gem blue of his eyes in perfect clarity.

It had been more than five years since he left her behind. Five incredibly long years. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he'd been gone longer than he'd been a part of the Ghost crew. The Spectres were currently scattered all over the galaxy, but not for long. Soon, they would all be gathered back on Lothal where they belonged. Back where they had first met the boy who had changed all of their lives. But hers most of all. Not that he could be considered a boy anymore. He'd grown into the perfect man. Strong and sweet. Honourable and kind. Gorgeous and giving, almost to a fault. And best of all; hers.

Sabine needed him back more than she would admit, but for now she made do with her memories, even if they were the worst kind of bittersweet.

Ten minutes later, she was drawn from her memories by a familiar ship flying overhead slightly earlier than predicted. Her heart gave a little stutter of excitement. It was time. Time to go find Ezra. She ran into the tower and grabbed her bag, before dashing down the stairs. She jumped on her air bike and raced towards the city with a couple of lothwolves bounding playfully behind her. Her faithful guardians.

Arriving in the city, she made for where she had painted her mural of her Ghost family. With a wistful goodbye to the mural, she touched Ezra's painted face. 'I'm coming for you, Ez'ika, wherever you are,' she thought. The flame of hope that had burned in her heart for years grew just a little bigger.

With a last glance at her Ghost family, she turned to where Ahsoka was standing, waiting for her, and walked towards her destiny.

Ahsoka and Lux restocked and refuelled the shuttle as soon as they landed on Lothal, and then went to get Sabine. They found her communing with the mural of the Ghost family Sabine had painted that made Ahsoka get a little misty eyed every time she saw it. The girls boarded the shuttle and they flew up into space, immediately jumping into lightspeed.

Ezra appeared beside Sabine at his usual time about an hour later, only mildly surprised at the new location, until he glanced out the window and saw they were moving at a very rapid pace. He wrapped an arm around Sabine's shoulders and kissed her cheek in greeting, then looked at Ahsoka and Lux with curiosity. "This is a pleasant surprise. Where are we going?"

Ahsoka and Lux grinned. "We're coming to get you," Ahsoka said.

Ezra blinked at them then looked at Sabine. She nodded with an equally large grin and shining eyes, confirming the statement. "What? How?" he asked in shock.

Ahsoka explained. "We're going to use your bond with Sabine and your bond to your own body as a compass. I'm tired of wandering back and forth across space. It's time to get a lot more focused in our search. And I'm going to be a mother, so my patience for this search just ran incredibly thin."

Ezra and Sabine gawked at Ahsoka for the little bomb at the end of her speech, quickly giving her hugs and congratulations and a back slap and a friendly punch for a dorkily grinning Lux, but Ezra's mind quickly went back to the beginning of what she said. Use him as a compass? Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? Like, years sooner? Ezra groaned and buried his face in his hands as he tried to hide the mortification at his own stupidity.

Sabine rubbed his back soothingly, long used to the tingly feeling that came with touching him, but still enjoying it. "It's okay, babe. None of us thought of it until Ahsoka did yesterday. It's all of our faults. You can't blame yourself for this."

Ezra looked up and sighed. "Yes, I can, but if you guys want to share the blame, I won't stop you," he said with a hint of his usual good humour. He looked back at Ahsoka. "Thank you for searching for so long, and coming up with a perfect solution. I think I'm as ready as the rest of you for this to finally be over."

In the end, it took two weeks before Ahsoka's shuttle finally made it to Cerulia. They hyperspaced as far as Ahsoka had charted, which took twenty hours to get to and then Ezra guided them from there during the two hours that he spent projecting his form twice a day. Hyperspace wise, Ahsoka had actually been only four more hours away. Travelling in fits and bursts, it took the better part of twenty days. Still, everyone considered it a win when the blue planet finally appeared in their sight.

Ezra guided them down to the beach below his village and then disappeared with one last knowing look exchanged with Sabine. The second he was back in his body, grateful it was the morning cycle and not the night cycle, he dashed up and ran out of the house, followed by an almost as excited Link.

The ramp lowered and Sabine was the first one to come out at a run. She borrowed a move from Jacen and launched herself at the dark blue haired man running towards her. Ezra caught her easily as she wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to hold his REAL form with everything she had. She even got her fingers buried in his soft long hair and held his head in fear that he might disappear again. Ezra held her back just as hard, arms almost crushing the air out of her, but neither cared. Their mouths crashed together, kissing frantically, not caring about the gathering audience at all.

Ezra almost felt faint with how much the tactile reality of touching Sabine made him feel. It had been so LONG. Her taste was amazing. Her scent was wondrous. Her body felt like heaven in his arms. And somehow, as he pulled back and drank in her features, she was even more beautiful.

Sabine ran her fingers all over Ezra's face, taking in how much he'd changed in the last five years. Yes, she'd been living with his projection, but a person's mental image of themselves is never the same as reality. In her opinion, Ezra hadn't done himself justice. He was even more handsome then he'd been showing her. And his eyes... The electric royal blue colour just wasn't the same in a projection as real life. She'd missed those eyes. So much. "Ezra," she breathed.

And then they were lost in kisses again.

On the Chimaera, Eli walked into Thrawn's office after knocking once, not worried about whether he'd be welcome or not after so many years together.

Thrawn glanced up from the datapad he was studying of the enemy's attack patterns. "Yes, Eli?"

Eli stopped in front of Thrawn's desk with his hands placed neatly behind his back. "We've just a received a report that a ship has passed near a sensor placed about two hours from here. From the readouts, it's a normal ship and not one of the Yuuzhan Vong's biological ships. Do you want to send someone to investigate?"

Thrawn looked thoughtful for a moment. "Which sensor was it exactly and its location?" Eli rattled off the details and Thrawn settled back into his chair with a smile playing across his lips. By his calculations, that sensor was in the approximate vicinity of where Bridger had left him in hyperspace. He met Eli's curious eyes with triumph in his own. "Set a course for that sensor. We're going to check out that area ourselves."

"Consider it done," Eli said before leaving the office and aiming for the bridge at a brisk walk.

Thrawn steepled his fingers and stared out into space through the transparisteel window until the streaks of hyperspace took over the view. He had some unfinished business with Bridger that he'd been waiting years to conclude. With any luck at all, this would pan out the way he hoped.

Ahsoka and Lux exited their shuttle at a much more sedate pace, both of them grinning fondly at the display that Ezra and Sabine were putting on. Ahsoka reached for Lux's hand as they came to a stop on the fine sand of the beach, giving him a loving look as their fingers intertwined. She couldn't imagine living the same half marriage with Lux that the younger couple had been doing for five years. The fortitude the two had shown to stick with it so long was admirable.

One of the cerulians who had followed Ezra walked up to Ahsoka and Lux, sticking out a hand for shaking. "Hi. You must be Ahsoka and Lux," the hybrid said cheerfully. "I'm Link."

Ahsoka smiled at the man with the spiky tentacles and the human eyes warmly, grasping the offered hand and feeling how the Force hummed in him. "I guessed as much. Ezra's told us everything about all of you, many times. He's going to miss seeing you all every day."

Link glanced at the locked together couple with a smirk. "I don't think he's going to miss us too much."

Ahsoka and Lux laughed, as did most of the other people who were gathering on the beach.

While Sabine and Ezra were otherwise occupied, getting amused looks from everyone who saw them, Ahsoka and Lux were surrounded by people eager to meet Ezra's friends. And more arrived out of the ocean every minute until the whole beach was covered in cerulians, some with Kyber swords strapped to their backs. Ahsoka happily tried to remember all of their names but gave up after awhile, overwhelmed by the sheer number of Force sensitives in one place, all more or less trained as Jedi. The sheer presence of the Force on this planet was mind boggling, both in its people and in the very being of the planet itself. It felt amazing to be surrounded by it.

Two sets of couples hung back from the swarm, waiting for Ezra to surface from the wonder of his wife, so that they could meet and talk to the otherworlders with Ezra present. After a good ten minutes had passed and Ezra was still lip locked to Sabine, Wayve rolled his eyes and gave Ezra a mental nudge. And then a not so subtle nudge when he was ignored. "Ezra! You can enjoy yourself later. You're making a spectacle of yourself!"

Ezra pulled back from Sabine's sweet mouth with a gasp and looked around at the hundreds of people around them. "Kriff," he muttered between panting breaths, face turning bright red in embarrassment. "Sorry, Wayve," he thought, receiving an amused chuckle in his mind.

Sabine sucked in air, kind of shocked that she'd gotten so lost in passion. But it felt so amazing, she just couldn't help herself. Ezra held her easily and kissed like a dream. Real kisses were so much better than what they'd been doing, it didn't even compare. It was wetter, hotter, sweeter, and a whole lot more er's she couldn't even think of right now. When a female cerulian standing near them chuckled and gave her a wink, Sabine blinked in confusion and then blushed beet red, remembering that Ezra said these people were extremely telepathic. She mentally swore at herself and put up the mental shields that Ezra had been teaching her over the years, knowing she'd inevitably meet a cerulian one day. Neither of them had thought it would be what looked like the whole planet at once though. The beach was full and there was even more people standing in the shallow water of the ocean.

She sighed and met Ezra's eyes as they exchanged a rueful glance. He kissed her on the forehead and let her slide down to the sand, but not taking his hands off her waist. She left her hands on his chest too, not wanting to lose contact with him. Once she'd regained the ability to stand on her own, Sabine looked up at Ezra and blinked a couple times. "Babe, you've been holding out on me."

Ezra tilted his head to the side curiously, hands caressing her sides like he couldn't help himself. "What?"

"You're taller in real life than you've been showing me," Sabine said, half teasing and half accusing.

Ezra glanced down at himself in surprise and then registered that the top of her head only came up to his collar bone now. "Holy Force! I had no idea!" he exclaimed, setting Sabine and the whole beach into laughter.

Sabine eventually stopped giggling and looked up at him. "Well, I hope you're done. You get any taller and I'm going to need a ladder to kiss you."

Ezra bent down, and kissed her quickly to demonstrate that ladders weren't necessary, much to the crowd's amusement.

"Don't get started again," Raign's wry voice said in both their minds.

Sabine looked around in surprise. "Which one of you said that?"

Raign raised a guilty hand with a grin as he walked up beside Ezra and Sabine with Krystal at his side, carrying Skye, and his grandparents right behind. "I did," he thought. He grasped Sabine's hand gently with his free hand and raised it to his lips. "Prince Raign, at your service, my Lady."

Sabine shot a look at Ezra. "Your best friend is rather smooth, Ez'ika. I think I know where you've been taking your romance lessons from," she teased.

Ezra grinned. "I hope it was worth it."

Sabine grinned back. "You know it was."

Ahsoka, Lux, and Link walked through the crowd and joined the core group. Ezra made all of the necessary introductions, Ahsoka and Lux appropriately respectful of the ruling couple, King Wayve and Master Tia.

Ahsoka studied the old, but didn't look it, nautolan Jedi Master, a sense of familiarity setting off chimes in her mind. "Wait. Did you say your name was Tia FISTO?"

Master Tia nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"I knew a Kit Fisto once. He was a great Jedi Master and a very skilled fighter," Ahsoka said, voice wistful for the old days.

Tia looked surprised and then smiled sadly. "I had a little brother whose name was Kit. He had just arrived at the Temple for training when my Master and I embarked on our mission. I never saw him as more than a three year old toddler."

"Oh, that's sad," Ahsoka said.

Wayve stepped forward. "If I may, I can show my wife your memories of her brother," he thought to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka nodded in agreement and opened her mind, thinking of every time she'd seen Master Fisto as a youngling and a padawan that she could remember. These included council meetings, battles, lessons, and even just meeting in the halls of the Temple and saying good morning.

Tia smiled sweetly, tears coming to her big eyes as the memories were transferred to her. She looked at Ahsoka gratefully when it was done. "Thank you very much," she said softly. Tia visibly pulled herself together and smiled brightly. "Right. We've been preparing a lovely breakfast for your arrival. Do come with us and enjoy our humble feast." She gestured in the direction of the village.

Ahsoka bowed slightly. "We would love to. Thank you."

As the small group walked towards the large circular building, the majority of the rest of the crowd dispersed to go back about their daily lives, only a few dozen more joining the party. Link fell in beside Ezra, his eyes twinkling as he said, "You didn't tell me togrutans were so beautiful. You're mental image of Ahsoka doesn't do her justice. I might just have to go find one of my own now," he joked.

Ahsoka felt her face heat at the praise while Lux glared warningly at Link, only slightly joking.

Ezra looked over at Ahsoka and grinned. "I suppose she is gorgeous, I just never studied her that closely. She's like an older sister or an aunt or something to me." He changed his gaze to Link. "If you ever do leave the planet and find yourself a togrutan, you'll have to consider yourself blessed. The togrutan and the twi'lek females are considered to be the two most desirable races in the galaxy."

"Hey," Sabine said in joking offence. "What am I?"

Ezra looked at her adoringly. "Perfection."

Sabine beamed at him and rose on her tip toes to kiss his cheek in appreciation as they walked. "You have somehow learnt how to say all the right things, Ezra Wren-Bridger."

Ezra shrugged and grinned good naturedly. "As Kanan once said, I can be taught." Ezra's eyes turned wistful. "I wish he could be here too, but he spends all of his time with Hera and Jacen whenever he's not in the Force Afterlife. I doubt very much he'd come to see me home."

"Have you such little faith in me then, my Padawan who's really not a padawan anymore?" Kanan's voice said laughingly behind Ezra.

Ezra spun and threw his arms around Kanan, now on the other side of the credit and feeling how strange it was to hug someone who wasn't one hundred percent there. "Kanan! You're the best!"

Kanan held Ezra's broad shoulders for a moment and grinned at him. "Of course I am. I couldn't miss this moment."

Sabine and Ahsoka gave equal sighs of pleasure at the sight of the two men reunited. Ezra was all grown up and only a centimetre or so shorter than Kanan now, and Kanan looked as young and perfect as he used to before Malachor. They actually appeared to be similar in age now as opposed to young teenager and a twenty something man they used to be when Ahsoka first met them. How things had changed. But in a good way for the most part. It would be even better if Kanan was still alive and not wandering around as a Force ghost, but this was pretty good, all things considered.

The group filed into the village community hall where tables were laden with huge bowls of sliced fruit, meats, nuts, berries, and platters of smoked fish. Lux looked around in awe at all the fresh food, mouth watering. "You weren't kidding when you said it was a feast," he said to no one in particular.

Master Tia chuckled lightly. "Help yourself, Lux."

Lux rushed to a table and picked up an empty plate from a stack. "Don't mind if I do."

Ahsoka laughed at her husband's eagerness but she wasn't far behind him and grabbing her own plate, just in a slightly more dignified manner. They'd had so many years of preserved food that kept well for a long time that fresh stuff like this was definitely a treat.

Ezra and Sabine filled plates for themselves and found an empty space at a table and sat as close to each other as they could manage without her actually sitting in his lap. Kanan parked himself on the other side of Ezra and the rest of Ezra's friends filled the rest of the table.

Ahsoka ended up sitting beside Krystal, who had Skye in her lap and was feeding the baby tiny bites off her own plate as she ate. Ahsoka closed her eyes for a moment and felt the connection she had with her own baby growing inside her, a sweet smile crossing her face.

Krystal smiled at her knowingly. "How far are you?"

Ahsoka looked at her, surprised, then realized she really shouldn't be. The people on this planet were the most connected to each other and the Force you could possibly get. "Less than a month." She admired the red haired baby, thinking it was absolutely adorable. "How old is Skye?"

Krystal looked at her baby proudly. "Eight months." The equally red haired young woman looked at Ahsoka with a raised brow. "You want to hold her?"

Ahsoka nodded eagerly and held out her arms. A warm bundle of baby was placed in them carefully and she cuddled her close, getting lost in the large black eyes as they stared at each other curiously. Ahsoka blinked and breathed out a startled, "Oh!" as a connection was made between them from the Force. It felt like... It felt...

Lux looked over at Ahsoka and smiled to see her looking so perfect with a baby in her arms, impatient to see her holding their own. Then he noticed the stunned expression on Ahsoka's face. "What is it, Soka?" he asked in concern.

Ahsoka looked up at Lux and then over at Krystal and Raign, who were both looking at her with concerned expressions as well. "I think she's meant to be my padawan," she said softly, a little in awe at the prospect. "I feel a connection to her, just like the one I have with my Master. It's beautiful."

Raign and Krystal looked at each other and then beamed a smile at Ahsoka. "That's wonderful!" Krystal gushed. "A true padawan bond is so rare. We're very happy that Skye will have a real Master and not just a teacher like most of us get. I was lucky and formed a bond with Master Tia, and now I have my own padawan too, but Raign has never met a youngling that felt right, so he's never taught a padawan, which is the case for most of us."

"But I can't just leave her now," Ahsoka said, almost desperately. "Especially with one so young. She'd never understand why I live so far away."

"Then we'll stay here," Lux said suddenly.

Ahsoka looked at him with wide eyes, still holding the baby tenderly. "What?"

Lux smiled softly. "If your padawan is here, then we'll stay here. I don't mind. You said you wanted to train younglings in the way of the Force. What better location than an entire planet of Force sensitives?" He shrugged slightly and grinned. "Besides, I like it here, and we haven't built a house on Lothal yet. There's nothing stopping us from making Cerulia our home base. It's not that far from the rest of the galaxy that we can't travel back and forth."

Ahsoka handed Krystal her child back and threw her arms around Lux, kissing his cheek with enthusiasm. "I love you, Luxi."

Lux captured her chin with a finger and kissed her softly, grey eyes smiling into sky blue. "Love you too, Soka."

Ahsoka smiled into his loving eyes for a minute before realizing they were getting awfully presumptuous. She turned to the cerulians with an apologetic look. "Forgive us for not even asking first. Do you even want us here?"

Krystal, Raign, Wayve, and Tia all nodded with wide smiles. "Of course you're welcome to live here. The Master of my great-grandchild will always have a home with us," Wayve thought so the whole circle could hear.

Ahsoka looked at Ezra. "Are you okay with this?"

Ezra looked a little sad, but smiled nonetheless. "Of course I am, Ahsoka. I would never ask you to stay on Lothal if you'd rather be somewhere else."

Raign cut into the conversation. "Actually, Ezra. Krystal and I had already talked about it and were going to surprise you. We hated the idea of only seeing you once or twice a year from now on, so we thought we could perhaps live on your planet half the year and our planet half the year, switching every three months or so. Ahsoka and Lux could follow the same pattern if they wished," he thought at everyone relevant hopefully.

Ezra beamed at his second best friend. "That sounds perfect, Raign." He looked at Ahsoka and Lux with a raised brow. "What do you think?"

Ahsoka and Lux looked at each other, having an instant silent conversation even without the ability to mind speak, and grinned at everyone. "We think it's perfect too," Ahsoka said.

Wayve nodded in finality. "That's settled then," he thought. "Now eat!" he commanded with a wide smile.

The group chuckled and did as ordered, while the rest of the people in the room smiled at each other over the quickly spreading news that the newcomers would be staying half the year. There was a quiet murmur in the room, but most of the communicating was done mentally.

As Ezra was finishing his breakfast, he realized he was finally going home. He sighed at the thought. Lothal. Home. He'd be home in another day or so. It was hard to believe.

Sabine somehow snuggled a little closer to Ezra's side, seeing the nostalgia on his face. He looked down at her and smiled in appreciation, kissing her nose affectionately as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He picked up the perfect red berry he'd saved for her, that was his favourite from this planet, and offered it to her.

Sabine took the berry from his fingers delicately, touching the tip of her tongue to his thumb on purpose. She was rewarding by the dilating of his pupils and the look of utter desire he gave her.

"Soon, cyar'ika," he whispered in her ear as his finger traced the line of her jaw. "Very soon."

Sabine swallowed the sweet berry with a gulp and smiled in anticipation.

After everyone finished their feast of a breakfast, they sat around talking for a while, figuring things out. Skye spent at least half of that time in Ahsoka's arms because the infant kept asking to go see her with outstretched arms, clearly fascinated by the new person in her life that just felt right. She seemed to love her lekku too, little fingers unable to leave the white and blue stripped head tails alone. Ahsoka just smiled in equal infatuation with the little girl, still amazed that she was destined to be this ones Master.

Based on this alone, it was decided that Ahsoka and Lux would stay on Cerulia right away. Ezra and Sabine would take the shuttle back to the Lothal, round up Hera, Jacen, and anyone else who wanted to see Cerulia, and bring back a loaded Ghost full of supplies so Ahsoka and Lux could build their own home here. Whenever they were on Lothal, Ahsoka, Lux, and Raign's family would stay in Spectre House or the Tower, whatever worked at the time. Sabine had built a massive house, and there weren't actually a whole lot of people who were going to be living in it anymore on a regular basis. At least not yet.

The core group rose and made for the beach again. They paused at Ezra and Link's quaint metal home so Ezra could gather up his few possessions. Sabine and Ezra went inside while everyone else waited outside.

Link glanced at the people around him with a twinkle in his eyes. "Anyone care to take any bets on how long it will take for them to come back out?"

The group laughed as a whole and the timeframes started flying. There were suggestions of everything from five minutes to an hour from Lux, which caused even more laughter.

Ezra's lips quirked up in a smile as he tossed the last few things he hadn't already packed into a bag while Sabine sat on his bed just watching him with hungry eyes.

"What's funny?" she asked.

Ezra picked up a large amber coloured sword, that she couldn't help but notice was the same colour as her eyes, and settled it into the sheath across his back. "Kanan just told me they're taking bets on how long it will take us to come back out." He stalked towards her with a gleam in his blue eyes. "You want to help Kanan win the bet? We have three minutes left to kill."

Sabine could only nod once before he was on her, mouth fused to hers and arms caging her body as they kissed like they were starving for each other. Sabine grabbed handfuls of his shaggy midnight blue hair and held on for dear life, instantly lost in the passion.

Ezra pulled back with a groan of mortification when he heard a very distinct rumble of laughter from multiple sources in his mind. Kriff. He'd forgotten his shields like a youngling. He slammed his shields closed and kissed his wife again, but this time slow and sweet, then he pulled her up onto her feet. "Come on, cyar'ika. We better go before we never do."

Sabine gave the bed a longing glance. "Right now, babe, I don't think I'd mind that."

Ezra pulled her from the room with their intertwined fingers, carrying his bag in the other. "Trust me, Sabine. You'd mind. They all know exactly what we were doing."

Sabine blushed a little but then decided she didn't care. It's not like they hadn't already seen them making out for a good ten or fifteen minutes earlier.

Ezra and Sabine walked out of the house exactly five minutes after they went in, winning the bet for Kanan. Ezra grinned at his Master when the others groaned at owing the ghost a favour each. Not that Kanan would ever call it in, but it was still the principle of the thing.