Ezra opened his eyes to cold, hard darkness. The soft mattress he was laying on was a stark contrast to the hard earth that he was now used to sleeping on. He felt more rested then he had in five years. He slowly sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He had cut his hair short again and his face was now clean shaven. His other hand wrapped around the lightsaber which he had laid next to him before he fell asleep. He clipped it onto his belt and jumped off the top bunk, his boots clunking on the metal floor.

He walked the short corridor to the cockpit where Ahsoka and Sabine sat quietly looking out the window at the blue and white sky in front of them. The two turned to look at him as he came up behind him.

"Sleep well?" Ahsoka asked him with a little smile on her face.

"Yeah. Uh, how long did I sleep?" Ezra asked. It hadn't seemed like very long to him, but he hadn't slept well since he had landed on Lehon.

"Quite a while. We're about to reach Ryloth now." Ahsoka answered him. As he spoke the blue and white faded to black and the brown planet appeared in front of them. He had only been on Ryloth once and its beauty still astounded him. The glowing lights on the planet's surface grew brighter as they neared the ground. The familiar shape of Hera's home appeared on the horizon as the ship flew across the planet's surface.

The ship touched down just outside the gate to the largest building and Ahsoka tapped a few buttons before leading the way to the ship's ramp where the Twi'leks stood waiting. Ezra took his first few steps down the ramp before he saw Hera standing in front of him, her mouth upturned into a smile and tears glimmering in her eyes. She wrapped her arms tightly around him without saying anything. Ezra held Hera in his arms as she let her tears fall onto her shirt. A slight tug on her pats leg made them both look down to where a little boy stood, bright blue eyes gazing up at them. Hera smiled down at the child and picked him up.

"Ezra, this is mine and Kanan's, Jacen."

"What? When did that happen?" Ezra said, and then realizing the awkwardness of his question followed up with, "he looks a lot like Kanan." Ezra smiled at the small boy in Hera's arms who smiled and turned away from him shyly.

"I'm glad you're back, Ezra." Hera said with a smile. "Come inside, I think it's time we celebrate the return of a hero."

Sabine walked down the quiet halls of Hera's house. The noise of the party behind her faded as she journeyed down the beautiful hallways that were lined with paintings she just wanted to stare at for as long as she could. She had stayed and enjoyed Hera's welcome back party for a while, but noticed that Ezra had disappeared a few hours ago. Perhaps he was just tired but she had noticed something in his demeanor had changed once they had arrived on Ryloth so she just wanted to check on him to be sure.

The door to Ezra's room opened in front of Sabine. Hera had put him in a room right next to hers, so she could keep an eye on him. He had changed since leaving Lehon and she wasn't quite sure if it was for good or bad. Ezra sat cross legged on his floor with his eyes closed, Sabine guessed he was meditating. He looked up at her as she stepped into the room and smiled.

"You alright, Ezra? You left your party quite early." Sabine said as she sat cross legged on the ground next to him. She tried searching his face for some sign that something was wrong, but, unlike when he was younger, she couldn't find any emotion there. He was able to keep it hidden.

"I'm fine. Just trying to get used to being around so many people again." Ezra answered and relaxed a bit and looked away from her.

"You know I know you better than that, Bridger, so spill. What's wrong?" Sabine asked and held his hand softly. His eyes looked down to where their hands were and he sighed.

"Okay." Their eyes locked as he began to talk and his grip tightened lightly around her hand. "I feel like I've missed everything. Those five years locked away from the rest of the world were torture. I know it was my choice. It was my plan to use the purrgils and I had no idea what would happen, but I never thought it would affect me like that. The entire time I was on that damned planet, I was hoping and praying that I made the right decision, that one day maybe Lothal and the galaxy would be free from the empire. I just wished I had more of a role in the rebellion."

Ezra spoke and through the soft light of the room, she could see tears glistening in Ezra's eyes, which in turn made her feel tears forming in her own. She brought her other hand up and rested it on his cheek, lightly brushing away the tears that had started to fall.

"Ezra, your decision on Lothal is what strengthened the rebellion. The victory that you brought gave hope to the galaxy that the empire could be defeated. And it was. You sparked a fire of hope and it blazed across the galaxy. You may not have been with us physically, but you were the fire in the hearts of each of the rebel soldiers and pilots who fought. You made the right decision, and though it may have cost you five years of life with us, you were the one who gave life to the rebellion and hope to the galaxy."

Ezra just looked at her with an expression Sabine would never be able to describe. Their eyes locked in a stare that neither wanted to break. A smile began to shine behind the tears in Ezra's eyes and it brought a smile to Sabine's face. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Ezra's neck in a tight embrace. Hoping and praying she would never lose him again. She couldn't lose him again. The tightness in her chest grew and she suppressed a shiver as she felt his hands wrap around her.

Sabine tried to pull away from Ezra, but he still held her close. She moved her head to look at him and he did the same. Sabine could feel her face growing red as she realized their faces were only a few inches apart. She couldn't help but notice the red in Ezra's face too, who simply watched her. Sabine locked eyes with Ezra again for a second, then slowly pulled away from him, her face burning more now. "Goodnight, Ezra."

"Wait, Sabine."

Sabine stood up and started walking to the door, but was pulled backward by Ezra. She turned to face him and he held both her hands in his own. "I, uh, well….uh." he began to stutter, but the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. She could see the feelings she had reflected in his own eyes.

"I know, Ezra." Sabine said quietly with a smile.

Ezra smiled. " Please stay with me a little longer. I missed talking to you. I want to know about those years I missed on Lothal."

"Okay." Sabine said and sat back down. Ezra sat next to her as she began to tell her stories. She told him how Lothal was now flourishing, and she could see in his eyes the homesick look. He couldn't wait to go home, and he would be there soon.

authors note: Hope yall are staying safe out there. Honestly I would absolutely love to see someone draw the Sabine and Ezra scene, because I can't draw for shit. I would love you for forever if you did haha! anyway hope you guys enjoyed and sorry for the delay!