There was just something that felt right about coming home to find his family in a group hug, Zeb thought as he came in through the back door carrying a backpack and a large black trash bag full of what he hoped were all of Ezra's belongings. He'd been the one to volunteer to go on a mission to retrieve Ezra's things from the abandoned warehouse that Kanan had seen in Ezra's memories and he had just returned from said mission. Kanan had originally planned to go himself, but it was clear to Zeb that he didn't want to leave Ezra. On top of that he and Hera wanted to get to work on having Ezra being placed with them as soon as possible, so in the end Zeb had told them that he'd go instead.

It has been something of an adventure, first finding the building and then figuring out how to get into it. After getting inside was the matter of finding where Ezra had lived in the building, not to mention dealing with the feral cats who didn't seem too keen on him taking Ezra's things (Christ, did this kid build a cat army everywhere he went?) He'd gathered up anything that looked like it might have belonged to Ezra, even the rotting blankets and pillow-they might not look like much to him, but they could have importance to Ezra so it was better to not take any chances. (He really didn't want to leave anything behind that he'd have to come back for, nor did he want Ezra to have to go back inside-this place looked like a fire hazard just waiting to happen, and Ashla only knew how unsanitary it was. It was a miracle that the kid didn't have tetanus by now!)

Once he'd gathered up all of the things that he could find, he carefully makes his way back out of the building and loads the belongings into the passenger seat before driving back home. He didn't want to interrupt the sweet scene that he walked in on, but it couldn't be helped once he'd accidentally disturbed it. Still, he feels a bit better when no one seems angry with him for interrupting-if anything, Ezra actually ran over to him and wrapped him in the hug which was a nice surprise.

"What was that for?" he asks when Ezra lets go.

"For bringing me home, " Ezra answers.

"Well we're not a complete family without you," Zeb says, playfully ruffling his hair after setting down his things. "I also brought all your stuff. Or at least hopefully I got everything-if not I can go back."

"Oh wow, thanks!" Ezra cries. "That was... That was really, really nice of you to do. "

"Um, hey, should that backpack be moving?" Sabine asks, drawing both their attention.

"Moving?" Zeb looks down to see that the backpack he had just put down was indeed squirming around on the floor. "...Karabast." He was going to be in so much trouble if he'd accidentally brought a rat into the house...

"No, it's okay! " Ezra quickly tells him. "I think I know what-or who-is in there." He kneels down and, before Zeb can protest, unzips the backpack. Moments later a tan colored cat pokes its head out.

"Yes-it's just Dev!" Ezra laughs. "He likes to sleep in there sometimes!"

"That would explain why it was so heavy…" Zeb mumbles, embarrassed-how had he not noticed that he was carrying an entire freaking cat?

"Mom? Dad?" Ezra turns to Hera and Kanan. "Is there any way we could keep Dev? He's been my only friend for a long time…"

"I'd say yes, but I'm a bit worried about him and Chopper getting along," Hera admits. "I don't know if we told you yet but Chopper is my cat who somehow got brought into the game through my subconscious, and he has the run of this place."

"Dev is used to other cats, I know he'll be fine!"

"He might be, but I'm not so sure Chopper will be-he isn't used to sharing."

"But he got used to sharing you with the rest of us," Kanan points out.

" ... True. I guess we can try. But we also need to ask Zeb since this is still his house."

"Uncle Zeb?" Ezra turns those big blue eyes on him, and Zeb knew it was pointless to even try to resist.

"If Chopper is okay with it and he behaves he can stay," he answers. "But you're responsible for him-you've got to train him how to live in the house and you're the one cleaning up after him if he makes any messes."

"I will, I promise!" Ezra cries. "Thank you, Uncle Zeb!"

"Of course, littlun." Zeb could already tell that he was going to be the far too indulgent uncle, and he was fine with that. If only Alex was here, he could help balance things out and be the more authoritarian uncle.

Alex... Somehow having the family almost all together again made Zeb miss him that much more. And even though he'd been trying to block out any feelings that he had for him-telling himself that wallowing in pain or senseless hope wasn't going to help anything-he felt himself longing for him to be at his side to share all this: introducing Dev and Chopper (they were wary of each other for now but at least they weren't fighting), their first big meal as a family with Ezra back (Hera made chicken tortilla soup, and the poor kid seemed a bit overwhelmed that he was actually allowed to eat until he was full), and then that night everyone wanting to be involved in helping put Ezra to bed (yes, he was probably too old to be tucked in, but they all wanted to do their part to make sure that he felt comfortable and safe.)

"Guys, I'm fine! Really!" Ezra cries when Kanan asks for the third time if he had enough blankets.

"And you're sure Sabine's old pajamas fit okay?" Hera asks.

"Yes, they're great!"

"...Well, they'll at least do until we can take you shopping for clothes of your own."

Zeb lets out a small chuckle. Hera and Kanan were both being mother hens right now, but it was sweet seeing them like this-he knew that Hera especially had wanted to be a parent for a long time, but because of a war injury from the plane crash that had gotten her honorably discharged she couldn't have kids of her own, which was part of the reason she thrown herself so much into her work. Both she and Kanan seemed to be so excited about being parents now-it didn't take away from their passion for their respective fields of work, but Zeb had the feeling that, like him, it was getting them to spend more time at home and not overwork themselves as much.

He himself was fluffing Ezra's pillows (yes, he's being a bit of a mama hen too) when he feels something crinkle beneath one of his hands in the pillow case (Ezra wanted to sleep with his own pillow, and none of them had argued although they'd agreed to wash it tomorrow.) Thinking it was probably a leaf or a wrapper (and hoping it wasn't anything worse) he reaches into the pillow case and pulls out a rather worn looking piece of paper. He didn't mean to snoop, was going to just give it back to Ezra, when he suddenly noticed that his name was written on the paper-and not just his name, but his address and phone number as well!

"Ezra?" He looks up at the teen. "What is this?"

"O-Oh!" Ezra ducks his head, looking embarrassed. "It's…" His shoulders slump as everyone turns towards him. "I-I looked all of you up. I know I shouldn't have, but I hacked the testing facility from a library computer to find all of you. But I never actually used the information to stalk you or anything! I-I didn't think you'd want me and I didn't want to be a burden…"

"You thought we wouldn't want you? You've been living all alone when you could have been with us because you didn't think we'd want you in our lives?" Kanan asks, sounding heartbroken.

Zeb knew that he should probably be involved in this conversation somehow, but instead he finds himself unfolding the paper with shaking fingers. His eyes scan the sheet, holding his breath, reading each one of their names until he reaches the bottom of the page, at which point he gasps. The name Alexsandr Kallus was there, followed by an address and a phone number. Alex - his Alex. He was real, he could find him!

But almost as soon as the joy of the revelation fills him, fear and suspicion took its place. Six months-it had been six months since they'd left the game. At any time Alex could have called the testing facility and found him, but he hadn't. Why? Of course it was possible he'd been scared off by the receptionist like he and Kanan had almost been. Or he'd been like Ezra and been afraid of being rejected if it turned out that Zeb didn't want him outside of the game. And yes, he'd kind of given up on Alex himself. But Zeb had at least tried. He'd looked for him for so long before giving up because Alex hadn't given him any sign that he was real and alive. And Alex wasn't a kid like Ezra-even if he'd been scared of how Zeb would feel about him in real life, wasn't he worth taking the chance on?

Zeb doesn't want to ruin what was a wonderful evening for everyone else, so he just quietly crumples the paper up and shoves it in his pocket to deal with later. He thought he'd been doing a pretty good job of hiding his emotions, but later that night when he was sitting on the back porch nursing a glass of whiskey and staring out at the lights reflecting on the lake he suddenly found Kanan by his side, a pensive look on his face.

"Something's bothering you," Kanan says when Zeb fails to start a conversation. "And don't lie and say it's not, you know I can tell if you're lying," he adds when Zeb opens his mouth to protest.

"Damn Jedi mind tricks," Zeb mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's not a Jedi thing-it's because I'm your friend and I know you," Kanan answers, reaching out and putting a gentle hand on Zeb's shoulder. "Come on, Zeb. Talk to me-please."

Zeb knew it was pointless to try and lie at this point so he finally gives in, his shoulders sinking. "It's... Alex."

"Alex?" Kanan repeats, blinking in surprise. "Wait. Are you just missing him, or...?"

Zeb pulls the crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. "This is the paper I found in Ezra's pillowcase. It's got all our names and addresses and phone numbers on it, including Alex's."

"Zeb, that's amazing!" Kanan cries. "Have you tried calling him yet?"

"No." Zeb shakes his head. "I mean, what would I say, even if he still wants me?"

"If he still wants you? Zeb, he was totally in love with you in the game! Why wouldn't he feel the same out here?"

Zeb shrugs. "Why hasn't he come looking for me if he still felt the same way?"

"Well maybe he got scared off from calling the testing facility before we gave them permission to – "

"Kanan, you can't tell me anything I haven't already thought of. I just... I need some time to think about this."

"... Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"You're not going to try to Jedi logic me into trying to talk to him?"

"Not tonight." Kanan playfully but somehow carlingly bumps his shoulder. "If you want your privacy, I'll give you that, but I'm also here if you need a friend for company."

"...A friend might be nice tonight," Zeb admits.

"All right then." Kanan smiled at him before gently leaning against his side. "I'm here for you, big guy, and I always will be."

"I know." Zeb smiles softly back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Having Kanan with him turned out to be exactly what he needed. Yes, Kanan did make him drink a whole glass of water after he finishes his whiskey and insisted on walking him up to his room when he was ready to head inside to make sure he got there "safely" (it wasn't like Zeb couldn't handle his alcohol where Kanan would have to treat him like a five year old), but it was nice knowing that someone cared. And even though he still didn't know what to do about Alex when he went to bed, he felt like, no matter what happened, he would be okay.

Zeb didn't know how long he'd been asleep-not nearly long enough, that was for sure-when he woke up to the sound of Kanan calling his name, and the other man didn't didn't seem to be planning to relent until he responded.

"What time is it?" Zeb grumbles, just barely cracking his eyes open.

"Late enough!" Kanan answers, sounding way too cheerful for whatever time it was. "Come on, get up!"

"Shouldn't you be spending time-I don't know, doing Jedi training or bonding with your son who just came home?" Zeb grunts.

"Nope! Hera and Sabine took him clothes shopping, and there's somewhere I need to take you, so get up!"

"...What if I say no?"

"Then I'll be back with a bucket of ice cubes!"

"...You do realize I own this house and I let you live here out of the goodness of my heart, right?"

"I'll see you downstairs in ten minutes."

Zeb groans into his pillow, finally forcing himself out of the bed-as much as he wanted to keep sleeping, he knew better than to test Kanan when he was determined to do something.

"Care to tell me why you got me up at the ass crack of dawn?" Zeb asks when he finally stumbles downstairs just short of the ten-minute deadline.

"It's almost eleven, it's hardly dawn," Kanan deadpans.

"...Well I was up late, and you know it. But now that you've got me up, I guess I might as well stay up. Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope!"

"Nope? What do you mean, 'nope'?"

"It's a surprise!"

"...Please tell me you're joking."

"Just follow me." Kanan grins at him before heading towards the front door.

"Ugh. Jedi." Zeb reluctantly follows, his hopes that he could get whatever this was over with quickly and go back to bed dissipating.

About thirty minutes and much grumbling later, Kanan pulls his car into the parking lot of a large strip mall, coming to a stop in front of the largest storefront which read "Antique Mall and Tea Room".

"What in the name of Ashla are we doing here?" Zeb asks. His gran had used to take him here sometimes-had even had a booth for a while where she'd sold some of her creations -but he'd never told Kanan about this place, and he somehow doubted that Kanan had suddenly taken up an interest in antiquing.

"Just follow me and you'll see." Kanan answers, getting out of the car and walking towards the building, leaving Zeb no choice but to follow him or else just sit alone in the car feeling like an idiot. Once inside, Kanan leads the way through the interior of the building, maneuvering through a seemingly endless rabbit warren of booths filled with various antiques and handicrafts. The familiar sight was somehow comforting, even though of course most of the booths had drastically changed since he'd last been here. He was almost glad that Kanan had brought him here until he was suddenly reminded that Kanan wasn't just taking him on a trip down memory lane.

"Ah, we are here! And just at opening, too, looks like no one else is here yet. Good," Kanan says, snapping him back to the present as he comes to a stop in front of the tea room in the back of the antique mall. The tea room had changed a lot since Zeb had last been here, just like the surrounding booths had. Last time he'd seen it, it had been done up all in roses, but now the theme seemed to be-well, the only word that came to mind was British. It was still very tasteful, but there were lots of touches that made it feel like what he could only assume having tea in a little British tea shop would feel like, and there were a few pop culture things, like a curio cabinet painted to look like the Tardis full of retro Doctor Who collectibles which he guessed was meant more for the tourist crowd than for the people who came here mainly for the antiques.

"This is very nice and all, Kanan," Zeb says slowly, turning to face him, "but did you take me here just to have tea?"

"No." Kanan turns him back around. "I brought you here to see him."

Just then, the metal doors to what Zeb could only assume was the kitchen came swinging open, and a blonde haired man wearing an apron came out, carrying a wooden podium. No. No, it couldn't be-! But unless he was very much mistaken, it was Alex-his Alex.

"H-How?" Zeb stammers out-Ezra would have only had Alex's home address, how could Kanan know where he worked?

"Ezra did a little more online digging. But questions can wait for later." Kanan pushes him forward. "Go, talk to him while you have the chance before the lunch crowd gets here!"

Zeb wanted to protest-Kanan had brought him here completely unprepared!-but there was Alex, the love of his life, standing right there, and he found himself taking one step forward, and then another and another until he was standing in front of the podium.

The man (it had to be Alex) didn't look up as he flips open a register book of some sort, asking, "How many in your party?"

"A-Alex," Zeb breathes-there was no mistaking that voice.

Alex's head jerks up, a flash of recognition showing his eyes (kriff, they were just as beautiful in real life, even if they were brown instead of gold), only for that recognition to be replaced with cold suspicion. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Alex, it's me, Zeb," Zeb answers softly. "I-I know I don't look like I did in the game, but I promise, it's me!"

"...I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about," Alex says coldly after a moment of awkward silence.

Zeb felt his heart crumbling-could they have been wrong, did they have the wrong Alex? But no-the tense look on the other man's face spoke of understanding mixed with denial, not lack of recognition.

"Yes you do!" Zeb presses. "The Ghost crew, Phoenix Squadron! You were an Imperial agent but then you joined the Rebellion, I was a Lasat! We started dating and even became ma-!"

"All right!" Alex cries, cutting him off, his eyes flashing. "All right, fine, I'll admit it, I remember the game! But it wasn't- We weren't- Whatever happened in that game, none of it was real, understand? I didn't-" His eyes dart nervously around, as if afraid that someone would overhear them, before saying in an almost whisper, "I'm not gay."

An unbelieving laugh rips out of Zeb before he can stop it. "You weren't 'not gay' when we were kriffing each other on every available surface in any empty room we could find in the Rebel base!"

"Don't be crass!" Alex's face turns bright red. "Look, I don't know what ideas you've got in your head, or how you even tracked me down, but I'm telling you that there is no way that if I was in my right mind I would ever-"

"...You didn't know you were gay before you went into the game, did you?" Zeb asks softly, realization dawning on him. "Or at least you hadn't come to terms with it." What a way to have your sexual awakening: with a furry purple alien cat.

"I'm not!" Alex protests. "So please stop saying I am! Look, I'm going to politely ask you to leave before I have to call security and have them remove you by force."

"Wait, what?"

"You're disrupting a place of business!"

"I'm not doing anything of the sort!"

But Alex was reaching for the phone all the same. Zeb felt panic squeezing his chest. No, he'd just found Alex, he couldn't lose him again! What could he do, though, to keep him from turning him away completely?

"Can't we at least talk?" Zeb begs, desperate.

"I just told you-"

"Not here-outside of work," Zeb quickly clarifies. "Anywhere that you're comfortable with, I'll go. It can be somewhere there aren't other people around if you don't want to talk somewhere public! Just… Please. I-I can't lose you, Alex…"

"...If I agree to this, will you promise to leave me alone afterwards?" Alex slowly asks, seeming to be considering his words.

"I promise I won't try to force you into anything you're not comfortable with," Zeb counters, heart breaking that Alex didn't even seem to want to be around him out here but refusing to give up. "Even if you don't... Don't feel that way about me out here, I'd still like to be friends, if you're willing. I know the rest of the crew feels the same way."

"The rest of the crew?" Alex repeats, and there's something in his eyes that gives Zeb a bit of hope.

"Yeah, we've all found each other out here. You're the only one missing from our family, 'Lex," Zeb answers softly.

"...Fine." Alex finally shoves a pad of paper and a pen towards him. "I'll meet you after work if you insist."

"I don't insist! I would never force you to do anything you don't want to do!" Zeb protests. "I just… I've missed you. So much, you have no idea how much-"

"You can pick the meeting place, just tell me where I'm to meet you and I'll be there at seven tonight," Alex cuts him off.

"How about my place?" Zeb offers, deciding to cut his losses and try to focus on the positives. "It can just be the two of us, nice and private. I'll cook dinner, you don't have to bring anything."

"Your place?" Alex repeats, and there was that hint of fear back in his voice.

"Just talking, nothing more, I promise!" Zeb reassures him. "I'll be a total gentleman."

"...Alright. I suppose it's private enough." Alex gestures to the paper and pen, and Zeb quickly scribbles down his address and phone number before handing the pad back to the other man. "Thank you. I promise, you won't regret this!"

"We'll see," Alex answers, but somehow there was a bit of softness that made its way into his expression as he says, "I'll see you tonight, Zeb." Then, before Zeb can try to make any further headway, he turns on his heel and marches back into the kitchen.

Zeb, for his part, finally stops pushing his luck and leaves the tea room area. It wasn't the reunion he'd been hoping for, but it was something, and he was determined to make the most of it. He heads in the direction that he'd last seen Kanan. He needed to find him as soon as possible. They had some grocery shopping to do, and maybe some clothes shopping as well-tonight had to be perfect.