Ezra's Homecoming:

D251/4 ABY, Cerulia

Ezra and Sabine were finally in Ahsoka's shuttle and headed home. After the very unexpected delay and then another round of see you soons, they'd eventually made their way into the shuttle and taken off. Sabine had them in hyperspace within only minutes and then quickly stood from her chair.

Ezra hugged Sabine to him and breathed in her perfect scent. As a spirit projection, he hadn't been able to smell anything, and he'd missed her smell of flowery soap with a strong hint of paint. "I love you, Sabine," he whispered into her hair. "Thank you for everything you've done and being so patient."

Sabine hugged her husband back, resting her forehead on his strong chest. She sighed in contentment to finally be holding him for real. "I love you too, Ezra. I'd do it all again if I had to, but you better not make me or I'll make a rancor look like a pet tooka."

Ezra chuckled into her purple hair. "There's my fierce Mando girl. I've missed you more than you can imagine."

"Oh, I can imagine, alright," Sabine grumbled. "I don't ever want to be parted from you again."

"Neither do I, cyar'ika. Neither do I." Ezra's electric blue eyes were fierce as they stared at her in utter adoration.

Sabine smiled sweetly and grabbed Ezra's hand, leading him towards her little cabin. It was time to give Ezra the loving he'd earned over the years, doing such a good job taking care of her needs without much in the way of relief for himself other than by his own hand.

After stripping his weapons and the their straps from him, as well as his boots and socks, she pushed him down on the bed, amber eyes shining with love and desire, and then started to strip off her armour in the most erotic show she could manage. She wasn't the galaxy's curviest girl by any stretch of the imagination, but Sabine worked what she had. And judging by the impressive tent forming at the front of Ezra's bland grey pants, it was good enough for him.

Ezra leaned back on his elbows and tried not to pant too much as Sabine slowly bared her gorgeous body one article of clothing at a time. He'd seen her naked countless times already, but he'd never get tired of the sight. She was exquisite to him, her slender strength the epitome of feminine perfection in his eyes. He loved her from top to bottom and wouldn't change a single thing about her.

Now naked, Sabine ran her hands down her body teasingly, Ezra's eyes following the movement and dilating wider with desire so that the blue was just a thin circle around the black pupils. Smiling to herself, Sabine walked forward and straddled his hips, settling her core over his straining hardness. She ran her hands under his tunic and pushed it up and over his head with his help. Then she just looked at the male perfection she'd uncovered in awe.

So. Many. Muscles.

It made her practically drool in want. And it was all hers. She got to touch him whenever she wanted to now. Love him. Worship him. Paint him even. Sabine couldn't be happier. She put her hands on his hard pectoral muscles and leaned forward. "You are so hot," she whispered against his mouth before licking into his mouth with a series of scorching hot kisses that made her wetter and needier.

Ezra had one hand on her slender back and the other cupping her perfect rear end as they shared a very wet and dirty kiss. When they parted to gasp for air, he crinkled his eyes at her and caressed his hand up and down her back. "You're hotter," he breathed out and then pulled her mouth back down to his.

When Sabine felt his fingers start to delve into her wet core, she sat up with a shake of her head. "Un uh. This one's for you, babe." She pulled his hands off her and kissed them both before placing them behind his head. "Leave them there," she said warningly. "Or I'll have to tie you up."

Ezra's cock twitched in excitement at her dominating side, and Sabine felt it. She smirked at him and ground her hips enticingly into his hardness, soaking his pants in her moisture. Ezra smirked right back and tweaked her perfect little nipples with the Force, making her squeak.

"Ezra!" She said accusingly with laughter hiding in there somewhere. "No cheating!"

Ezra grinned and locked his fingers together behind his head tighter, making the muscles in his arms contract. He couldn't help but notice how Sabine's eyes noticed and how she licked her lips in desire, so he did it again.

Sabine shook her head at him. "That's cheating too."

Ezra wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Is it?"

She narrowed her eyes him. "Yes. Now be good and don't move. Don't use the Force on me either. It's my turn to make you scream, Ezra Wren-Bridger, so you better let me."

Ezra settled a little deeper into the bed, consciously relaxing his muscles. "I would let you do anything to me, Sabine. And you know it," he said with utter sincerity.

Sabine leaned forward again and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. She smiled into his eyes and brushed a strand of silky midnight blue hair to the side, fingers lingering on the line of his handsome face and finding their way to the faded scars on his cheek. "I do know it, Ezra. I love you too. And now I'm going to show you just how much."

Sabine pressed little kisses to his clean-shaven jaw, happy he'd never tried to grow any facial hair. She liked seeing all of his face. Her kisses moved up to his ear where she nipped it lightly, making him inhale sharply, and then she moved down his strong, muscle corded neck. She pressed her lips to his overly fast pulse and lingered, pleased with the effect she was having on him. It was so nice to finally be the one giving all the pleasure. As a Mando, she should have been the one who dominated their relationship in bed for the most part over the last five years. Not that she was complaining about being Ezra's sole focus for so long, but it never felt right to her that she couldn't at least return the favour. Sabine was now a very happy girl.

Her kisses continued, across his broad shoulder, down the line of his collar bone, onto his pecs, stopping at his nipples and swirling her tongue around them before nipping each, making the little nubs stand at attention. Sabine smiled up at Ezra, who was visibly trying to control his breathing, as she then moved further down, worshiping his washboard abs and his cute little belly button. Her hands were trailing the path of her mouth, basking in how soft his copper skin felt on top of rock hard muscle. The contrast was just as fascinating as when they were teenagers and made her heart pound in want.

Ezra was in literal heaven as he watched Sabine kiss him everywhere. His skin was tingling unmercifully in all the spots she'd touched him and he loved it. She was flat out gorgeous to look at and her Force signature shone so brightly with love it almost brought tears to his eyes. She finally reached the top of his pants and looked up at him with a sexy curl to her lips that made him just grin back at her like a dork. Fortunately for him, Sabine liked his dorkiness.

Sabine moved to kneel beside Ezra and whisked his pants and underwear off in one swift move, allowing the throbbing length she'd been grinding herself against to spring upwards in all its happy glory. Sabine spared a glance at Ezra's long muscled legs and cute big feet, which had grown since she'd seen them last in person, but her eyes were immediately drawn back to the main event which had also grown. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation at FINALLY getting to taste him after so long. Sabine flicked her eyes back up to see Ezra staring at her with hope in his, but no actual command. He was leaving it up to her to do as much or as little as she wanted. Sabine moved up and kissed him, tangling their tongues for a moment before moving to his ear. "It's screaming time, Bridger," she whispered naughtily.

Then she swung back around and gently grabbed the towering length and started experimenting with various tensions and speeds as she worked her hands up and down his cock, all the while watching Ezra's face and breathing closely to see whether her old moves were still his favourites.

Despite his determination to watch every single moment of his heavenly torture, Ezra's eyes closed and he got lost in the sensations of exquisite pleasure Sabine was giving him. After what he swore was an eternity, but was probably more like ten minutes, his eyes flew open again when he felt her lips kiss his tip and then run up and down his length in teasing little kisses and licks. Oh Force, she was licking him like a lollipop. He'd forgotten how good that actually felt. Ezra's eyes were now glued to the sight, it was so erotic.

And then, then she took the head into her mouth and sucked. Ezra's body almost jumped off the bed, that felt so good. His eyes closed again and moans and groans escaped him, despite his determination to not scream like she said he was going to. He wondered if groaning really loud counted? As her hot, wet mouth engulfed more and more of him, Ezra had to start channelling his meditation training to not explode then and there.

He had plenty of experience with self control when it came to mental lovemaking, but this physical stuff was on a whole new level for him after not feeling for so long. Ezra LOVED it. Even if she was drawing it out for what felt like a year.

Sabine swallowed around the throbbing cock she'd forced to the back of her throat and swirled her tongue around the underside, hands holding his base and balls lovingly, wanting to hear the high pitched moan again he'd made the last time she did that. She was rewarded with something even better. Ezra started begging.

"Sabine! Cyar'ika. Oh Force." Pant. "Stars." Pant. "Kriffing hell!" Groan. "Please. Please. Please."

Sabine pulled back and swallowed all the accumulated saliva, licking the head again. "Please what, Ezra?" she said looking up at him with big innocent eyes that he really wasn't buying.

Ezra panted some more. "Please let me come. Inside you. In your mouth. Kriff, even in your hand. I don't care. But I'm going insane here."

Sabine smiled in satisfaction and then swallowed him again.

Ezra might as well have screamed he groaned so loud when the pressure that had been building inside him forever was finally released deep into her throat.

Sabine swallowed the creamy liquid that flooded her in waves, amazed at how much there was. When it stopped and the cock that had gotten even bigger just before coming softened a little, Sabine pulled back, licking her lips and looked up at Ezra. She had to smile. He looked like he'd died. His eyes were closed and he was breathing like he'd just run a marathon. He was covered in glistening sweat and his arms were splayed out on either side of him, the crumpled covers indicating he'd grabbed them in his fists at some point. He looked perfect.

Sabine crawled up his body and straddled his waist again, pressing her breasts to his chest and feeling his pounding heartbeat. She laid her head on his shoulder and smiled to herself, closing her eyes while she waited for him to recover. Her own core was sopping and pulsing with need, but she ignored it for now. Her turn would come soon enough.

Ezra was pretty sure this was the highlight of his life. This very moment with Sabine snuggled all over him and the aftershocks of pleasure still zipping through his body. He mustered up the strength from somewhere to wrap his arms around her, imprinting this feeling in his mind forever.

It took him a few minutes but he eventually started registering other things, like the fact that Sabine was still throbbing with need through their bond. Now that just wouldn't do. He let her need feed his own and instantly felt himself stirring against her round, perfect ass.

Sabine looked up with a satisfied smile. "Someone's eager."

Ezra grinned down at her and tilted his head to kiss her thoroughly. "Cyar'ika, when it comes to you, I can be ready in two seconds flat, anytime, anywhere, and you know it."

Sabine blushed lightly at the praise as she grinned widely. He nudged her backward a fraction and she rose a little. They both groaned in ecstasy when he sank inside her to the hilt. Their mouths met again in timeless passion as their hips moved in sync, lost in the paradise found in each other's arms.

When she felt his cock getting thicker inside her some long time later, she stared down at him seriously. "Don't you dare pull out."

Ezra looked up at her in confusion for a moment and then a grin spread across his face. She was saying that she was ready to have children. They'd talked about it of course, but the reality was just so much better. "Never, Sabine," he breathed and then clutched her tight as the coming explosion built within him.

They stayed in bed for hours, not even budging when the ship dropped out of hyperspace, waiting for someone to put in the next set of coordinates. (It wasn't exactly a straight line to home, with a spacial obstacle or ten in the way.) Sabine eventually groaned and forced her exhausted body off the bed when her bladder insisted it was time for a trip to the refresher. Not that she regretted a minute of the sex marathon. She'd do it all again in an instant if he wanted to. Which... she was almost one hundred percent certain he would. She smiled at the thought.

When she came back, she found Ezra sitting on the edge of the bed, still gloriously naked, and looking at her with a hopeful smile. She came to a stop in front of him and tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

Ezra held a closed hand up, waiting for her to cup her hands. "I made you something, Sabine. Kind of a very belated wedding present. I hope you like it."

Sabine looked down at the thing he'd dropped into her hands and gasped. A glowing orange Kyber crystal in the shape of her phoenix symbol was held in the gentle grasp of a gold coloured metal and hanging off a choker length gold chain. The crystal pulsed and gleamed proudly, giving the impression that the phoenix was alive. It even felt warm and alive in her hand. It was amazing.

She looked at Ezra with tears stinging her eyes and bit her lip to keep from crying. "Oh, Ezra. It's beautiful! I love it."

Ezra smiled in relief. He'd never seen her wear jewellery, so he'd been afraid he was making a mistake when he first decided to put the crystal on a chain. But he couldn't think of any other way to make it so that she could keep it on her person all the time that wouldn't be either annoying or possibly get lost. This way, it was short enough it wouldn't bounce, and long enough that it would be tucked safely under her bodysuit. "I'm glad you like it, cyar'ika. I spent a week with that crystal while it was forming so it would grow just right. That was four years ago. I've been waiting so long to give it to you."

Sabine beamed at Ezra and threw herself in his arms, kissing him lovingly. She pulled back and stared into his beautiful blue eyes that she'd never get tired of looking at. "Will you put it on for me?"

Ezra nodded mutely and took the necklace from her hand and then clasped it on around her long slender neck when she turned around. He kissed her shoulder and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I can't tell you how happy I am right now, Sabine," he said softly.

Sabine looked over her shoulder and smiled sweetly. "I think I know." She pulled from his arms and walked to a small cupboard, coming back with the packages she'd purchased on Lothal in her arms, and set them on the bed beside him. "This could never be mistaken for a wedding present, but I hope these make you even happier."

Ezra blinked his brain back into functioning after it temporarily shut down from watching her walk around naked, and looked at the bags beside him. "You got me presents?"

Sabine nodded and jumped onto the bed, sitting on her legs, eagerly nodding at the bags. "Open them!"

Ezra turned and sat cross legged in front of her and then grabbed a bag. The first thing he pulled out was an orange t-shirt. He held it up and damn near cried. He'd been wearing grey for almost five years, ever since he didn't fit into his old shirt and jacket anymore. He couldn't even express how happy he was to see the colour orange on an article of clothing.

"Try it on," Sabine said eagerly. She really hoped she'd purchased the right sizes for him. He was definitely bigger than he'd been showing her, but that was mostly leg length. The shirts should fit. She hoped.

Ezra put his hands in the sleeve holes and pulled the t-shirt over his head. It felt a bit tight, but he didn't care. It was orange and Sabine had bought it for him. He'd wear it till it gave up and fell apart.

Sabine stared at the sight with her mouth practically drooling. The t-shirt was a hair too tight on his muscled form, but it showcased every single muscle he had perfectly. She vowed then and there that no other woman was ever going to see him looking like that, even if it meant moving to Krownest so he'd have to stay covered up in multiple layers. She knew she was being silly, but that's how she felt in the moment.

Ezra leaned forward and kissed his wonderful wife briefly before digging back into the bag. He came up with a white zippered jacket that had orange trim. It felt amazingly soft and comfortable. "Wow, Sabine. Just wow."

Ezra put the jacket on too, pleased with how perfectly it fit.

Sabine sighed in pleasure. Just as she remembered, he looked amazing in white, the colour contrasting perfectly with his copper skin tone and making his eyes look impossibly bluer.

Ezra opened the next bag and found black pants and a bundle of black undershorts and socks. The next bag contained boots. Big black boots with an orange fastener. Ezra couldn't even speak as he stood and finished getting dressed, he was so overwhelmed to have real clothes again. And not just any clothes; clothes Sabine had purchased for him in the perfect colours. He dug in his own bag and pulled out the belt he'd been wearing five years ago and added that to the ensemble, pleased that it still fit, although on a looser hole. He clipped his lightsabre on it and sighed in happiness. The only thing missing was his old blaster.

Sabine sighed in relief when the pants fit. She'd been afraid that they wouldn't be long enough, but with the ankle high boots, they worked well enough. Taking in the whole picture of her gorgeous husband, she smiled. She'd finally got to dress him and she couldn't be happier with the result. Yes, it wasn't the blue highlights she'd rather see, but the orange made him so happy, she wouldn't change her choices for anything. She jumped off the bed and grabbed one more bag when he pulled out his old belt.

Ezra looked up when another bag appeared in his line of vision, Sabine holding it out to him with a grin and a twinkle in her eyes. Ezra opened the bag and found a perfect replica of his DL-44 blaster pistol.

"You didn't think I'd forget the weapons, did you?" she said cheekily.

Ezra chuckled and holstered the blaster. "You? Never." He pulled her close and kissed her cute nose then went to find a mirror.

Sabine tossed on a loose purple shirt and a pair of black shorts and then followed Ezra in the direction of the refresher. He emerged a minute later, positively beaming. He hugged her tight and twirled her around and then kissed her enthusiastically. "Thank you, Sabine. Just... thank you."

She cupped his face in her hands tenderly. "You're welcome, Ez'ika."

They did eventually manage to get all the way home to Lothal whenever they remembered that the ship wasn't actually going to do all the work by itself. They spent a total of twenty-four hours in hyperspace, a return trip that had taken twice as long as what the purrgil had done. (Just another marvel about the purrgil to think about at some other time.)

Sabine flew them over the gleaming Capital City, giving Ezra a new view of it, saying she'd give him a tour of all of her favourite spots later. She paused over Kanan's Park, whose trees were now just thick enough to show the vague outline of the Jedi symbol. The last thing they passed was the orphanage that had happy children playing outside in the grass with dozens of lothcats.

Sabine landed near the permanent landing pad by Ezra's refurbished tower and he admired that too since it somehow looked even better than it did when he was in spirit form. On the landing pad and scattered beyond it, since it wasn't big enough, was the Ghost, the Lothhawk, the Jai'galaar, the Millennium Falcon, the ArrowScavenger, Zeb and Kallus' new ship called the Meteorite, the Broken Horn, a perfect saucer of a ship that just had to belong to Hondo, a few X-Wings, a couple more unidentified ships, and countless speeders and bikes.

Ezra and Sabine walked off the shuttle and he stared at all the ships and speeders in awe, not recognizing even a quarter of them. "What in the galaxy is this?"

Sabine tucked her arm into his and bumped her hip against him playfully. "I may have been delaying our trip home on purpose."

Ezra raised a brow and then burst into laughter. "You planned a party, didn't you?"

She nodded and started walking down the path towards the big house. "Of course I did. I was expecting Ahsoka and Lux to be here too, but I'm sure they're okay with missing out. She seemed rather taken with Cerulia and Skye. All those Force users and more Force powers to learn."

Ezra laughed and kissed her cheek. "I think you're right."

They passed the back of the tower and were greeted by the sight of an adorable, green haired boy with a kitten chasing after him. He ran straight to Ezra and launched himself at him with one of his famous Force aided jumps, calling, "Ezie! Ezie!"

Ezra grinned and plucked the boy from the air, hugging him tight. The kitten launched into the air as well and landed on Ezra's shoulder with an impressive show of agility. Ezra laughed and wrinkled his nose at the kitten, sending it a mental hello, before addressing Jacen. "Hey, little brother. Have you been taking good care of your mother while we were gone?"

Jacen nodded eagerly, arms holding Ezra's neck tightly. "Yep. We've been waiting for you. Daddy said you were coming home today and here you are! There's so many people here! I have so much to show you! I got to practice with the lightsabre for real yesterday! Which almost gave Momma a heart attack," he added in a conspiratorial whisper, then continued on with his excited lightyear a minute speech. "Momma let me steer the Phantom 2 this morning too and I LOVE flying! I have the best parents and the best big brother and sister. Did you like flying all the way home? Was it fun? Hyperspace is fun isn't it?"

Ezra tried to keep his focus on Jacen's endless questions and chatter but his eyes looked up and saw Hera standing in front of them, a shaky smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks. He held out an arm and she ran into his side so he could hug her too. They didn't say anything, just letting Jacen's excited voice fill the air, but it was enough. Sabine snuggled into Ezra's other side and Kanan appeared, putting a hand on Ezra's shoulder. Zeb ran over too, followed closely by Kallus, whooping to see Ezra in his real form. Even Chopper rolled over and beeped a greeting. As Zeb made an attempt to hug all of them at once, Ezra felt complete for the first time in five years. He was finally back with his family where he belonged.

Sabine smiled a greeting at Kallus and then remembered his parcel from Thrawn. (Which she may have deliberately forgotten.) She whispered to Ezra that she was running back to the shuttle for a minute and he nodded absently, trying to pay attention to everyone at once as they all chattered hellos and news of things he'd missed. She slid out of the group with a secretive smile and took off, telling Kallus to follow her with a gesture. She dashed into the shuttle and came back out carrying his still wrapped bo-rifle. "This is from Thrawn," she said in a rush, thrusting the package into his arms.

Kallus gawked at the package. "What?"

"I'll explain later, or Ezra will," she called over her shoulder as she ran up to the tower door.

Kallus opened the package with trembling hands, already knowing what he'd find. He sniffed back a tear as his fingers caressed his bo-rifle reverently. As he pulled the wrapping off, a large rock fell out of the package and onto his foot. Kallus looked down and saw the meteorite. Now he didn't know which to cry over more. Carrying his things with them held tight to his chest, Kallus walked back towards Zeb, feeling kind of shell-shocked.

Ezra was escorted toward the rest of the party that had been set up in the back courtyard. There was a cheer from the hundreds assembled when he was spotted and Ezra came to a halt and just gawked at all the people. "Holy kriff! All these people are here for me?"

Hera hugged Ezra again with one arm, the other around Kanan's waist. "Yes, they are. You're the Liberator of Lothal after all, and are legendary in the Rebellion. There's a lot of people here who want to meet you. And a whole bunch more who just want to see you again in real form."

Ezra walked into the midst of the party in a daze and the flurry of introductions and hellos began. He didn't remember them all, but there were some that stood out for sure. He did know that he heard about how much he'd grown at least a dozen times, but it was probably a lot more.

He remembered Luke from before, because he would never forget the other man who tried to make a move on his Sabine. Ezra was happy to see that Luke had finally found his own girl, another Force user called Mara Jade. He also gave Leia a quick hug, telling her she looked great, and met her husband, Han Solo. And then there was Chewie, who said that Wullffwarro and his son, Kitwarr, said hello and regretted not being able to make the party. The fly in the soup of that little group was Lando, of course. Ezra greeted him with a very resigned, "Lando."

Lando grinned like there was nothing wrong with being Lando. "Bridger. You're looking much more mature. Finally worthy of that beautiful girl of yours."

Ezra just gave him a look that should have turned him to dust.

Visago and Hondo both greeted him fondly, overflowing plates of food in their hands while they introduced their crews, whom Ezra didn't even try to remember the names of. Except Melch. He remembered him, of course. He was amazed the ugnaught was still alive under Hondo's oh so careful care. "Did Sabine actually invite you two here?" Ezra asked them.

Visago grinned and Hondo shook his head in sad disbelief. "Of course not. I don't know why though, I'm such a nice person. We found out through the grapevine. And, well, here we are."

Ezra laughed and clapped his old friends on the back before he was tugged away to another group. This one contained Ryder, Ketsu, Joshua, and their two children, R.J. and an infant girl called Lailu.

Before he knew it, Ezra was tugged away again, this time by Sabine's parents and brother and his wife. Alrich gave Ezra a warm hug and called him 'son,' which he'd being doing for a while now, whenever they met in the past. Tristan greeted Ezra with a friendly back slap, looking even bigger than Ezra remembered. They'd both grown more, leaving Ezra still feeling small compared to the younger man who clearly took after Ursa's side of the family. The Countess still made Ezra went to run and hide, but as usual he schooled his expression into something pleasant and pretended he wasn't petrified of his mother-in-law while they all made small talk. Ezra glanced around for Sabine to come rescue him, but he didn't see her, making him wonder where she was.

Kanan, thankfully, extracted him from that group and moved him on to the edge of the courtyard where three more ghosts stood against a wall, chatting amongst themselves, in a form only a Force sensitive would see. Ezra froze as he recognized one. "Master Skywalker! And Master Yoda! And Master Kenobi!" Yoda's and Kenobi's younger looking forms were a surprise, but Ezra recognized them instantly anyway. The three ghosts greeted the young Jedi knight with smiles.

That was all the time he got to spend with them until much later, for the next thing he knew, Jacen was tugging on his sleeve. "Ezie! Have you met my friend Rowan yet?"

Ezra shook his head and let himself be pulled in another direction, shooting a helpless glance over his shoulder at Kanan and the other ghosts, receiving chuckles and shrugs in response. Jacen turned briefly and waved at the ghosts merrily before marching across the courtyard with Ezra in tow. Literally, as Jacen had his hand and was pulling him.

Jacen brought Ezra to a group that contained Wedge and three other young adults that Ezra didn't know, and a light brown haired boy that looked about twelve or thirteen. Ezra and Wedge barely had time to grin greetings at each other when Jacen parked Ezra right in front of the boy.

"Ezie, this is Rowan. Rowan, this is my big brother, Ezra," Jacen said proudly, looking between the two of them expectantly.

Ezra smiled and held out his hand to shake with the boy, going for the grown up approach. "Nice to meet you, Rowan."

Rowan shook his hand enthusiastically, on the verge of vibrating with the energy contained within him. "You too, Master Ezra. Jacen's told me all about... you." Rowan slowed down as he felt something different in the Force. He looked up at Ezra curiously and found the man blinking at him in astonishment. "Do you feel that?" Rowan asked.

Ezra withdrew his hand and rubbed the back of his neck as he processed what he was feeling from the boy. He was incredibly powerful with the Force, which wasn't surprising, based on what Ezra had heard his abilities were. What was surprising was the instant connection he felt to him. He hadn't felt like this with another Force user since he first met Kanan, and back then, he hadn't understood what it meant. Now he did, and he nodded slowly in response to Rowan's question. "Yes, I do, Rowan." A slow smile spread across his face as he looked down at the boy. "It means that you're meant to be my padawan."

Rowan's eyes went super wide and he froze.

Jacen, on the other hand, jumped up and down excitedly. "I knew it! I just knew it! I saw it in a dream."

Rowan unfroze and lurched forward, wrapping his arms around Ezra's waist in a tight hug for a moment before remembering his decorum. He backed up a step and bowed respectfully. "I would be proud to be your padawan, Master Ezra."

Ezra bowed back, trying not to grin too widely to ruin the formality of the moment. "It would be my honour to teach you, Padawan Rowan." Then he let the grin out and ruffled the fluffy brown hair. "And that's about as formal as we ever need to get. Just Ezra is fine with me."

Rowan grinned back up at his new Master. "Okay, Ezra." He turned to his older siblings excitedly. "I have a Master! A real one!"

Kordi and Zander hugged and congratulated their little brother and then introduced themselves and Zander's fiancé, Becky, to Ezra.

On the far side of the courtyard, Yoda smirked to himself. He liked when he was right.

Ezra was still talking with the Freemakers, making arrangements for Rowan to stay with him while the older siblings returned to the Rebellion, when a hush went over the crowd. He looked around to see what had changed the atmosphere and didn't see anything at first, not until the crowd started to part, making a path between Ezra and Sabine.

Ezra's heart near stopped when he saw her.

She looked exactly like he imagined a warrior goddess of old would. As she walked confidently towards him, Ezra soaked in her appearance. She'd changed her hair so it was royal blue with frosted orange and gold tips, reminiscent of how she looked when he first met her, but shorter. She'd put on a bit of actual makeup, with blue eye shadow and eyeliner, making her big eyes look even bigger and more luminous in their amber colour. The phoenix necklace shone and twinkled from the hollow of her throat. Her body was covered in a white gown that left her shoulders and upper arms bare and hugged her curves in all the right places, ending just above the knees. She had gold sandals on that crisscrossed in straps all the way up her caves. Her blasters were belted on around her hips and she'd appropriated his amber Kyber sword and strapped that to her back, the hilt sticking up above her left shoulder.

She looked perfect. Not particularly safe to send into a battle, but perfect.

The crowd thought so too, as they smiled and cheered and clapped. But Ezra didn't notice. His whole world had narrowed down to her and her alone.

Ezra ran the last few steps between them and picked her up by the waist, bringing their eyes level. "I love you, my warrior goddess," he breathed, heart hammering in his chest.

"I know," Sabine replied, wrapping her arms and legs around him and then they once again made a spectacle of themselves as they became lost to the passion that blazed between them.