(Ezra POV)
This can't be Lothal.
I turn and glance back at Sabine standing at the top of the Ghost's ramp, concern evident on her face.
This has to be the wrong star system.
I repeat the phrase in my head over and over again knowing deep down that this is in fact Lothal, but everything has changed.
A thick fog, seemingly permanent, covers the once golden plains, and the sky is heavy with ash and soot. The Imperial mining operations have seemingly gotten worse.
It was only a matter of time.
The streets were not deprived of life though, people seemed to disregard the poor air quality, and instead sport kerchiefs and masks to cover their mouths and noses. The Imperial garrison that had been established before, has clearly grown.
There's troopers at every street corner.
The new and pristine Imperial barracks were ringed with a force field, and bystanders walked ever so slightly faster when they passed by it.
Fear. They rule by fear Ezra.
Shabby shacks lined the streets of the once beautiful Capital City, making the streets feel small.
What have they done?
. . . . .
(Sabine POV)
"This place held up well."
Ezra's voice was gruff, but he needed to be confined somewhere that at least felt like home.
"I came here earlier. Figured I'd check it out while you and Zeb were in Tarkintown." Kanan and Hera decided to take a trip south to check out the improvements the Empire had made with the mining operations. Kanan went with her.
Unsurprisingly. It's almost like he's her pet or something.
Kanan and Hera were clearly closer now than they have ever been. What sparked that change, I didn't know.
Zeb decided to take Ezra to Tarkintown to visit old Jo. It was evident that Ezra was upset with the ugly changes the Empire had made planetside on Lothal, so he presumed a trip to somewhere familiar would brighten him up.
As for me, I took a trip to Ezra's tower. Figured we'd need a place to lie low for a while, and this is what I came up with.
"Needed some cleaning, but for the most part . . . much had stayed the same." I eye Ezra warily, aware of the fact that he was in a fragile state at the moment.
"Sabine . . ." Ezra took a few steps to close the gap between us.
"Ezra." I state firmly, putting a hand firmly on his chest, keeping distance between us. "Look, don't get me wrong, Coruscant was great. Alderaan was even better . . ." I look up into his deep blue eyes.
"But . . ." he frowns slightly.
"But, we need to work to get you back at one-hundred percent Ezra." I back away and sit down on a small couch in the corner. "You left us Ezra. You fucked up. Now it's time to fix it."
Ezra eyes me from across the room, clearly not happy with what I was implying.
"I know Sabine." He says softly scratching the back of his head, a nervous tick of his. "And I am trying." He looks down at his feet, clearly unsettled by my blatency.
I stand and walk over to him. Placing my hands on his chest. "Ezra." I whisper to him. "I'm just trying to make you understand that you have to gain my trust back. Everyone's trust." Ezra raises his head and his eyes bore into mine.
"I get it Sabine. I fucked up. I was irrational. But everything is settled now. Did you drag me up here just to yell at me?" His face is stricken with hurt, and . . . guilt.
I shake my head quickly. "No."
"Then what the kri-"
I quickly pull his face down to mine and kiss him hard.
. . .
In a moment, my hands were beneath his shirt, splayed across his chest, feeling the warmth of my skin on his. Ezra closed the slight space between us, and embraced me tightly, lifting up off the ground. With his hands holding my thighs, he steps forward, our lips still intertwined, and sits me down on the small couch.
For a second our lips separate for a much needed breath and we lock eyes.
Oh Ezra. I need you.
I lean up to his ear and whisper quietly "Don't you dare stop." Ezra's eyes widen then close as he leans in again.
. . . . .
(Ezra POV)
Sabine was wrapped tightly in a blanket, across the room, watching the last of the storm that had been rolling through the past few hours. The winds had died down by now, but the rain still fell heavily against the roof of the tower and the small viewport sabine was situated in front of now.
This was always a place I could freely think. That must be what she's doing now.
Quietly, Sabine rose from her seat and strode over, wobbling slightly. She paused for a moment when our eyes met and smiled.
"You probably know this by now." I gesture to the room around us, clothes sprawled all around. "But I still love you." I give her a smirk.
"And I love you Ezra Bridger." She bends down and smiles into a quick kiss that last only a moment before she lays beside me.
I can live with that. And this. Here in this moment. No war. No Empire. Just us.
I softly kiss her forehead and pull her head gently to my chest and listen to the raindrops pepper the roof above.
. . . . .