Star Wars: Rebels:

Cold

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I've really been sucked into Star Wars Rebels lately and wanted to try my hand at a short story. I have plans for an actual full length story with multiple chapters at some point, but I wanted to get my feet wet writing some of the characters before just jumping in. Needless to say, for those of you reading my Naruto story, never fear! I haven't forgotten about it and plan to upload before the weekend's…well…end! Rebels has just been so awesome and I can't wait for more episodes to come out. This is a short story about Ezra's feelings following saving Kanan and briefly opening himself up to the Dark Side and Sabine worrying about him. Needless to say, I like the idea of them together, but we'll have to see how they develop as characters first. You could tell Sabine was worried and I wanted to expand on that. She's an awesome character and I really want to see more of her as the series goes on.

Disclaimer:

I don't own anything regarding Star Wars or any affiliated thingies. Disney does now…That still feels weird to say. Did you know that technically makes Leia a Disney Princess? Weird, huh?

Star Wars: Rebels:

Cold

Ezra continued staring at the image in front of him, his parents' smiles bearing into his mind and the sounds of their voices bringing a wave of more confusing emotions. He was happy, though, amidst all of these weird feelings. Although he wasn't sure as to their fate, he was sure that they had loved him. Besides, Ezra couldn't complain too much at the moment. He was safe and sound in The Ghost with his friends…his family.

The young teenager sighed. He and Kanan were only there because he had done the unthinkable: given in to his fears and harnessed the Dark Side of the Force to drive back the Inquisitor. Although Kanan had told him before they got back not to worry too much and that it happened to every Padawan at some point, it frightened Ezra.

The mission to disrupt Empire Day on Lothal had shaken Ezra after they had saved Tseebo. An old friend of his parents', Tseebo had all but stood aside as the Empire dragged Ezra's parents off to…wherever they took them. Whether they were alive now or not, Ezra wasn't sure and he was afraid of what the truth would be. However, he had forgiven the Rodian and, for that, he had felt a peace settle into his heart. One less thing burdening him now. He could give his full attention to what was possibly the biggest concern in his mind.

His mind reeled as questions bludgeoned and swam through his thoughts. How had he summoned that beast? How could he have been careless enough to open himself to the Dark Side? What would have happened if he never did? Would Kanan have died?

Was it worth it to use the Dark Side?

Ezra stared at his hands. It was strange when he had learned that the resourcefulness and abilities he had been using to mess with the Empire all this time had been something called the Force, the very thing the Jedi had relied on to protect the galaxy and maintain order. With it, he could jump higher, run faster, become…

Stronger.

Was it worth it to use the Dark Side to save those he cared about?

He had a family now: Chopper, Hera, Zeb, Sabine, and Kanan. They all cared about him and he had finally allowed himself to care for them. He finally started to open up, just a little bit, and allowed himself to believe that maybe there were good and selfless people out there. He and Kanan had finally bonded as a master and student should and Ezra felt that their bond was even more than that. There were master and student, friends, and Ezra had finally started to feel that he could open up to Kanan with his worries. A few months ago, he would have never thought he could have a bond like that.

He felt cold.

Ezra pushed his forehead against his hand. The room was spinning slightly and he still felt weak.

Why was he so cold?

The Inquisitor had been ruthless and calculating, persisting through everything he and Kanan had thrown at him until he had summoned that creature. Only then, through the use of the Dark Side, had the Inquisitor even been held off.

Ezra knew that the Dark Side was wrong…it wasn't for him, but, for the first time, he saw had fragile the line was between the two sides. It was easy for someone pure to fall to the Dark Side for noble and good reasons.

Without the Dark Side, the Light Side could not exist.

That dichotomy in the Force was striking Ezra for the first time. And it scared him. What if he fell? He could never be sure. It could happen at any time. What if the same thing happened to Kanan? Or Hera? Or Zeb?

Or Sabine?

Ezra felt a slight restricting in his chest as the idea struck him that something could happen to her as well. She always seemed so in charge, so confident and playful, even in the face of danger.

The idea of losing any of them scared him and he felt tears come to his eyes.

"Stupid dust on this stupid ship," Ezra thought to himself, not even willing to admit this fear to himself.

What if this, the happiest time of his life, was over as soon as it had begun?

Staring at the family in front of him, Ezra almost felt like he was staring at someone else's family. Some other mother and some other father hanging over some other boy. Their happiness, their smiles, almost meant nothing to him in that moment of cold darkness. Tears slipped down his face for a moment before he caught himself.

No. They did mean something to him. They mean the world to him. Even if they weren't alive, his parents had loved him and he loved them too. He longed to hear his mother gush over him, to have his father sweep him up in a hug, or to have one of them tuck him in at night. He would never admit it out loud, but he missed it more than he had realized in eight years.

He was slipping into the cold grip of the darkness for a moment, but he wouldn't falter. He wouldn't let himself fall to that. He would protect his friends without succumbing to the Dark Side. The Inquisitor would never have that satisfaction. Ezra told himself these things, knowing them to be right and true, but knowing and fearing that he would slip anyway.

The central part of the ship was quiet that night. Ezra had enjoyed a warm meal prepared by Hera ("Trust me, hon, you need something nice and warm.") and sat there at the table by himself. Sabine had passed her worried gaze over him quite a few times, but she never said anything, apparently leaving Ezra to talk to her if he only wanted to. While Ezra was grateful for it, part of him wanted her to come back when the others were sleeping to see how he was doing. He would pretend he was fine, she would push him for information, he would finally tell her of his fears and worries, and she would reassure him with kind words and a warm hug. A kiss wouldn't hurt either.

"Still awake, kid? You sure took your time enjoying Hera's cooking," a deeper voice stated, surprising him.

With a jump, Ezra was greeted by his master.

"Hey, master," Ezra stated casually with a pretend smirk. "What're you doin' up this late? Isn't there some Jedi code about getting your solid eight hours in or something?"

Ignoring his student's cheeky comment, Kanan sat beside the teenager. "I think the more important question is what are you doin' up this late?" Seeing the look on Ezra's face, he sighed and continued. "How are you, Ezra?"

"Is that a trick question?"

A good natured smile worked its way onto Kanan's face. At least Ezra could still crack a joke. Then again, that was how he hid his pain as well. "I'm serious, Ezra. With the events of earlier…I wanted to check on you."

The Jedi-in-training looked down at his hands, which were fidgeting. It was an old habit that came from the numerous times Ezra had needed to fidget with some kind of technology to stay alive on Lothal. This fidgeting eventually took the form of having a pretty advanced knowledge of Imperial technology for someone his age, but the fidgeting had stayed a nervous habit.

"I…I-I'm just scared is all," he said quietly. If the two weren't sure he had said it, it could have been mistaken for the cold silence of space.

Seconds passed.

"Ezra…It's okay. All Padawans go through what you just did at some point. Admitting that you're afraid is the first step to conquering it," Kanan said, treading carefully.

After a few more seconds, Ezra answered. "I-I'm sorry I gave into the Dark Side."

The older of the two chuckled. "I'm sorry I let the Inquisitor get me so easily. Next time, you don't have to worry about it."

The young street rat looked up in amazement. Here he was apologizing that he had given in to the Dark Side and his master was joking, trying to put it off to help him feel better. Maybe they weren't so different after all and he suddenly felt a warm rush of appreciation for his master flood his system.

"Master?"

Kanan was staring out the window at the space beyond. "Yeah, Ezra?"

"…Thanks. I'm glad you're my master." His sentence was quiet, showing the vulnerability Ezra tried to keep hidden from others.

Kanan smiled. "You're not too bad yourself," he joked.

They laughed.

A small note or whistling sounded within Ezra's skull…The Force. It was trying to tell him something. Someone was nearby. Some presence that was…warm? Ezra looked up in the general vicinity of the presence's source and…

No one was there.

Maybe no one was there after all.

After a few moments, Ezra brought up something that had been on his mind for the past hour or so. "Hey, Kanan…Could you tell me about…Anakin Skywalker?"

The older Jedi sighed. "I had a feeling you would ask about him at some point. Ezra, this isn't a happy stor-"

"I know, Kanan! But…I've heard the name and some…pretty weird stories before and I just wanted to see-"

"What was true and wasn't? There are a lot of rumors that have gone around about Anakin Skywalker. Hero of the people, a major player in the Clone Wars, Jedi Knight extraordinaire…What wasn't he?" Kanan chuckled grimly for a moment, remembering the things he had heard about Skywalker both before…and after the fall of the Republic.

"Is it true that he…betrayed the Jedi?" Ezra asked, trying to tread lightly.

Kanan sighed. There was no avoiding it.

"That's…what I've heard. There's no real way of knowing for certain, but it seems that way. It's better that I'm honest with you, Ezra. If this is true, it's a perfect example of good people falling to the Dark Side."

Ezra looked at his master, serious expression on his face.

"Skywalker was…many things. He was the Padawan and eventual partner to Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was also a well-regarded hero by the people and a respected general and strategist in the Clone Wars. They say that his plans were among the most effective…and reckless that had been seen in recent memory. He inspired confidence in those around him and would often bend the rules and orders to save the day. There have been little Jedi I can think of to cause as much controversy."

Ezra's eyes were almost wide with wonder, but he apparently remembered the rumor that Skywalker had betrayed the Jedi since his gaze dropped again.

"I'm not sure if he did, but I do know that he was instrumental in the final days of the war. He was everywhere, saving everyone, and I know the rumor that he had betrayed the Jedi spread quickly after the Republic fell. I can say this much: Anakin Skywalker was regarded as one of the most powerful Jedi to ever set foot in the Jedi Order...and, the day the Republic officially fell, almost everyone in the Jedi Temple at Coruscant was slaughtered."

His student gasped and a mix of emotions was spread across his face. "H-how?! How could someone kill that many Jedi?! Even the masters?"

The master nodded. "Even the masters. If it is true, Anakin Skywalker almost single-handedly wiped out the Jedi in one day."

It hit Ezra like a large sack of yogans to the stomach.

"If it is true, Anakin Skywalker almost single-handedly wiped out the Jedi in one day."

He was speechless.

After a few moments, Ezra dared ask both of the last things that were on his mind.

"Do they…know what happened to Skywalker?"

Kanan shook his head. "Some say he died. Others say he went into hiding. There are even those out there that swear that Skywalker never betrayed the Jedi and that he may have been framed. Most don't know or even remember him. Even still, among those that do remember him, they still call out for the Hero of the People that had saved them during the Clone Wars. Apparently, their call for a hero hasn't been answered."

Ezra let it sink in.

Standing up, Ezra pounded his fist into his hand. "Well then, Kanan, we'll just have to be the heroes to save them instead!"

"You're saying you want to play hero?" Kanan's eyebrow raised.

Sitting back down, Ezra grumbled, but Kanan could make out bits like, "I've been around you guys too long."

Finally, after he was settled in his seat, Ezra voiced his last question.

"D-did you ever meet him?"

Kanan took a moment to answer that. "Once. I was with my master, we were coming back to Coruscant, and we ran into him. It was supposed to be a joint mission where we helped Skywalker and his Padawan gain access to a heavily fortified base on Dantooine." Kanan seemed slightly uncomfortable relaying all of the information, taking a pause before continuing.

"What was he like?" Ezra asked, his voice coming out quietly.

"Hmm. Well, at the time, he was joking and laughing with his Padawan and he seemed every bit the hero everyone made him out to be. He was kind, good-natured, and had a good head on his shoulders…

"But-" the teenage Padawan started.

"But, that all changed when his Padawan was pinned down by some tough droids. There were a lot of them. Master and I couldn't get to her in time and…Skywalker showed a side of himself I never thought possible. He tended to get serious when performing critical tasks like bombing a specific target or rescuing soldiers, but, when his Padawan was hurt, he went serious. He was in a cold and silent rage. I-I've never seen anything like it. That many droids would have given even my master trouble, but Skywalker crumpled them up like it was nothing…and smashed them to bits in a violent display of raw Force power. Then, when he saw his Padawan was okay, he seemed to go back to his normal self, teasing his Padawan and making sure she was okay, but I could see it…He blamed himself for what happened…and he was in pain. The fear was visible in his eyes. From that day on, I could see that Anakin Skywalker was much more than most people realized."

With that, Kanan got up and put his hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "Don't think about it too much, Ezra. I know you're afraid, but believe me when I say this. You're doing much better than I was when I was your age."

Ezra didn't say anything.

"If you want to take tomorrow off your training, it's fine," Kanan offered, hoping to help the boy settle his feelings.

"No. Kanan, I've got to keep training. If not just for my sake, then for everyone else's too. I will keep training and I won't let myself fall. I could never do that to you guys. If it comes down to some hard choices…I-I'll figure out something. I can stay a Jedi and save the people I…care about."

The tension in the air was thick.

"Ezra," Kanan said, putting his hand on top of Ezra's head. "I believe you can become a great Jedi. There are gonna be times where it's hard and you will have to make tough decisions, but I believe you'll make the right decisions when the times come." With that, he left.

It was still cold in the room.

Or maybe it was just Ezra.

Still, Kanan made him feel slightly better.

The teenager got up from his table and shuffled towards the room he shared with Zeb. The Lasat's snores clearly audible from the hallway.

"Man, I should've gone to sleep earlier. Now I'll never fall asleep with the big guy's snoring," he grumbled.

Climbing back into his bunk as quietly as possible, Ezra Bridger shuffled slightly under his covers before closing his eyes.

"Ezra…"a low voice called out to him

The teenager tried to move, feeling disoriented. It was if the world was spinning around him. He fell on the second attempt to move.

"What are you doing trying to run?" This voice was hard to make out, but the sound of it pierced Ezra's mind like a sharp knife scraping across stone.

He opened his mouth, but no words would come out. A small, pitiful noise jerked painfully out of his throat. "Great," he thought. "Now I sound like a wimp."

"Come to me, Ezra Bridger. You know the time is short. The time with your pathetical band of rebels will end as quickly as it has started. The jedi, the Twi'lek, the droid, the Lasat, and the Mandalorian will all fall…and you will be powerless to stop it." Whoever it was…it didn't sound like the Inquisitor.

"No."

"You will be alone again," the voice continued.

"No. You can't."

"And then you will seek the Dark Side…as your salvation."

Shock flooded Ezra's system.

"Then again, you may seek it regardless. It may be to save them. You tasted the power of the Dark Side once before…and you will seek that taste again."

"NO!"

The voice continued in conjunction with his attempts to dispel it from his mind. What he was seeing made no sense, just a violent display of shaking, twisting, and rotating colors and images all distorted, making no sense. The world was shaking around him. He was so tired. So lonely. So afraid.

So cold.

"NO!"

Ezra awoke suddenly.

All of the sights in front of him were swaying violently, making no sense as his head pounded. He could hear something. Someone calling his name.

"Ezra! Come on, kid!"

A groan worked out of his mouth as he focused and the swaying lessened. After a moment, it stopped completely and he was greeted with the sight of Sabine Wren in front of him, glancing at him with worried eyes.

"Ezra! Geez, kid, are you okay? You had m-us worried for a second," she did indeed sound worried.

"I-" Ezra groaned, putting a hand up to his head as he attempted to get up and off of his bed. A thin, but strong hand held him down.

"Hey, look, Hera was making breakfast and wanted me to see if you were up…we also heard you talking in your sleep, but don't get up if you don't feel like it. You can eat later," she explained before continuing, looking away. "Or I can bring it to you, if you want."

Ezra's eyes grew wide. He couldn't help it.

Realizing what she said, Sabine was quick to amend her last statement. "Don't look too into it, kid. I just…You need to eat," she said, crossing her arms and walking into his open doorway.

It took a few moments for his brain to respond, but Ezra replied. "S-sure, Sabine. T-thanks for the offer, but…I'll get up." He offered one of his cheeky, fake smiles.

She didn't seem to buy it. "If you're sure," the Mandalorian girl said warily.

Honestly, it seemed too good to be true that he would wake up to Sabine's face anywhere close to his, but he knew he was looking too far into it, even now when Sabine had left him alone and he was throwing on some normal clothing.

Still, he figured, it didn't necessarily hurt a guy to dream, right?

He walked out of his room and into the main room of the ship. His head was still pounding, but he didn't want to worry everyone. He put a smile on his face.

"Hey you guys," he offered when you walked into the room

Everyone reacted differently all at once. Chopper seemed content to sit back and wait for his chance, when Ezra wasn't expecting it; Zeb was cockily saying hello back; and Hera was fawning over him ("Ezra, hon, how are you feeling today? I told Sabine to just leave you alone if you were sleeping. Do you want some food?")

Trying to put everyone at ease, Ezra chuckled and smiled. "Don't worry, Hera. I feel okay. And no," he said, looking at Sabine who was currently looking away from him. He felt his face heat up slightly. "Sabine wasn't bothering me. She was just…making sure I was okay. And, yeah! I'm starving!" He chuckled and this seemed to put everyone at ease.

Sabine couldn't help moving her gaze over the slightly younger boy as he grinned. She could tell he was lying. He probably felt like bantha poodoo. That grin of his was easy to see through.

"Where's Kanan?" Ezra asked as he dove into his food.

"Out on a supply run," Hera answered. "We were out of hyper exhaust coolant and a few other things so I ran him down to the nearest town."

"Weren't we supposed to actually train some more today?" Ezra whined.

Zeb laughed.

Hera shot him a dirty look. "Sweetheart, I don't think it's a good idea to push yourself too hard today. Maybe you should take the day to rest up," the green Twi'lek offered.

The teenage Jedi sighed, putting his fork down. "That's probably a good idea, but…Hera, I've gotta keep pushing myself as a Jedi. I won't let what happened yesterday repeat itself. Next time, I won't need to open myself to the Dark Side to save someone." He said all of this quietly, with a level of maturity not often seen in him.

Hera smiled, if just for a moment, before getting up and wrapping the boy in her arms.

"Hera!" the smothered boy called out, trying to breathe. "What are you doing?" he asked before pulling himself away. "I'm all for support, but choking me to death is a little overboard, don't ya think?"

Hera just chuckled before patting his shoulder.

For effect, Ezra crossed his arms and assumed a fake frown. It felt good, though, to be hugged like that.

Sabine hung back, a small smile etching her face, before shoving in the last of her food. She got up as quickly as possible. "Great food! Thanks, Hera! Gotta go! Bye!" she said in one breath, all of this within the span of three seconds as she got up, waved to Hera, and ran back into her room.

"Wonder what's up with her?" Hera asked.

Zeb just shrugged. "Who knows? That little girl's pretty weird."

Ezra replied. "All girls are weird, it seems like."

And it deed seem that girls were weird. Sabine hadn't been seen much throughout the rest of the day. Hera told Ezra to just leave her be for the time being, that she needed some alone time. He didn't really understand what Hera meant, but he left her alone. Zeb continued to rib on him over his small attempts to woo Sabine, but when Ezra told him he wasn't in the mood for it, Zeb stopped. Eventually, Kanan returned with the supplies.

"How'd it go, hon?" Hera asked while Kanan put up the supplies.

"Oh, not too bad. Almost ran into some trouble with a stingy Rodian seller, but we managed to make a deal," he said, smirking.

"You didn't!" Hera laughed.

Kanan didn't answer that.

"How is Ezra?" he asked, looking down.

"He's…okay. He seems lonely and confused, but he really impressed me earlier."

"Oh? How so?"

Hera put her hand on her hip, leaning against the wall. "He said he would never have to resort to opening himself up to the Dark Side to save anyone again." Seeing the look on Kanan's face, she continued. "He was waiting for you to get back…for Jedi training."

The cowboy Jedi smiled. "Good to hear he's taking it seriously…I could tell he was shaken up pretty badly."

His pilot offered a smirk of her own. "Yeah, well, I think he was feeling a little bit better this morning."

"What's that supposed to mean?" After seeing the smirk on Hera's face and its growing state, he retorted, "Hera, what did you do?"

"Oh, nothing," she offered, putting her hands up. "It was nothing I did." After Kanan raised an eyebrow, she finally answered. "It's what Sabine did."

The de facto leader of the Ghost team wanted an answer. "Why? What did Sabine do?" he asked slowly and carefully.

"Well, let's just say that I may have sent her into Ezra's room this morning to get him up. I figured, well, Ezra's a teenage boy…and Sabine's a teenage girl…"

"Yeah?" Kanan asked, wanting her to continue.

"You know how Ezra feels about her," Hera smiled.

The Twi'lek couldn't be sure if Kanan found it amusing or not. "I think Sabine knows how Ezra feels about her," he finally answered.

"It's cute how he tries to woo her," the pilot stated.

"I'm just worried that this is going to be another thing to confuse Ezra, to make it easier for him to fall to the Dark Side."

Hera looked at him.

"Ezra would never fall willingly, but if something were to happen to Sabine…"

"That wouldn't happen. Sabine is more than capable of taking care of herself. Besides, they have us to back them up too, remember?" she offered. "Sabine would never let Ezra fall anyway."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Kanan asked.

Hera finally took her seat at the pilot's chair. "Who knows? Only time will tell. I will say this, though. A boy and girl forced to be around each other all the time…it would make sense for it to happen someday."

Kanan wasn't quite so sure about Hera's theory considering how the Mandalorian was constantly brushing off his apprentice's advances.

"Trust me, love. Just because you're a Jedi, doesn't mean you know more about this sort of thing than a woman does." And Hera decided to leave it at that.

Several hours later, Ezra and Kanan were continuing Jedi training. Considering how Ezra's power was growing faster all the time, Kanan decided to step it up from the level they were at before.

"Okay, Ezra. Seeing as how you're getting stronger so quickly, we need to make your training more rigorous," Kanan explained.

"Right," the younger Jedi replied.

"Now, this isn't gonna be easy, but-"

"Everything before now was easy?!" the apprentice interrupted. A smile grew on his master's face.

Kanan chuckled. "Okay, maybe it wasn't sunshine and rainbows before, but, now, it gets tough. We're going to start out with some handstand push-ups. Eventually, we'll work you to the point where you can support my weight, keeping me balanced on your feet, while doing these exercises."

"What?!" Ezra exclaimed. "Are you crazy? Do you want to fall and break your neck?"

Kanan looked at him.

"Oh…right…You could just…" Ezra tried to grasp at words, failing miserably. "…Never mind…"

The training was difficult, sure, but Ezra was determined to push through it. An hour later, however, he was panting on the hull of The Ghost.

"Well," Kanan said, jumping off of his apprentice's upwards-facing feet. "I guess we can take a break."

"Easy…huff…for you…huff…to say," Ezra choked out in between gasps. "I think my arms are broken," he complained, massaging them. "It even hurts to massage my own arms."

Kanan chuckled.

That's when both of the Jedi noticed Sabine standing a few meters away, holding a small tray of cups and a container of some kind of drink.

"Drinks anyone?" she asked cheekily, noticing Ezra's exhaustion. "You look like you could use it."

"Ha. Ha," Ezra replied. A smirk worked its way onto his face. "What are you really doing up here? Just watching me train to see how strong I'm becoming?"

"In your dreams, kid," Sabine shot back.

"Hey! I'm not that much younger than you, y'know!" Ezra stated, trying to defend himself, but it wasn't working.

"Okay, kids. Calm down," Kanan stated, grabbing a cup. "Thanks, Sabine."

Said Mandalorian looked at the horizon, ignoring the teenage boy's glares at her. "Don't thank me. Hera sent them."

Ezra took his cup and drank greedily before noticing Sabine looking at him with a smirk on her face. "What? Ever see someone thirsty before?" he shot at her.

He was answered with a laugh. "It's not that…You have a lot of it around your mouth," she said slyly.

Sure enough, Sabine was right.

Ezra wiped the liquid away as his face burned slightly. The others couldn't make out what he said next, but it sounded like "stupid…all over my face…girls."

Sabine turned to walk away.

"Hey, Ezra," she called to him. Considering how she called him by his name, Ezra turned his gaze to her. "I can tell you're getting stronger." And, with that, she was gone.

The training had been long and difficult, but Ezra was able to tell some slight improvement in his control and concentration by the end. Kanan had even taken to playing his favorite music loudly (some Twi'lek singer who was incredibly popular) while Ezra balanced him on his feet. Now that it was over, Ezra was off nursing his aching arms while Kanan was chatting with Hera about the kid's progress.

"That's good to hear," Hera responded. "At least he's getting better control."

"Yeah. He seems determined to get better," Kanan answered. "By the way, thanks for sending Sabine with the drinks earlier. Ezra really needed it."

The Twi'lek pilot looked at him, confused. "What do you mean? I didn't send her out there."

Currently, Ezra was sitting at the table again long after his training had ended. Ice pack in tow, he was doing his best to lounge comfortably. This was proving to be hard to do, but Zeb had locked him out of their room, so he was doing his best to relax where he could. He adjusted the ice pack to sit on his head without slipping of as he laid his head back against the seat. After a few seconds however, it did just that, landing on the floor with a small splat.

Ezra reached down to grab it, complaining as he did so, only to be beaten to the punch by Sabine.

"Looking for this? Let me tell you, it's easier if you either just hold it there or strap it down with some medical tape," she said jokingly.

He took it gingerly as if his arm still hurt him. "Thanks," he said in return, placing it on his head.

"How're you feeling?"

After a few seconds, he grinned up at her. "Not too bad. No worries here, Sabine. What, were ya getting worried about me?"

She snorted. "In your dreams, kid." There was a pause. "Ezra…seriously, though. You look like you feel pretty terrible."

The bravado he showed her a few moments prior sank a bit. "…Yeah," he said finally. "I'm pretty sore, but that's what comes with the training!" He smiled after that last sentence, trying to downplay his soreness.

"How are you doing with what happened yesterday? Are you…doing any better with that?" her voice sounded normal, but it almost seemed softer for some reason.

Ezra was freezing on the spot, weak and exhausted.

His response took a while to come out. "…Yeah," he said, looking down. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Ezra…" she started, unsure of what to say. "I can tell you were shaken up pretty badly, but, if you don't want to talk about it with anyone, that's fine."

A sigh sounded from the boy's mouth. Red blotches gently caked his face. "I-I just…Sabine…"

"Just forget about it, Ezra," she said softly. "You don't have to talk about it. I know it bothered you."

He looked up. "No, Sabine. It's not that I don't want to talk about it or that I don't want you to know. It's just that…"

Sabine's eyebrow rose significantly.

"I don't want to bother you with it." There, he said what he needed to. "I saw you were concerned earlier, but…"

"You wanted to play the big macho man and not say anything about your feelings?" she suggested, leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face.

Ezra blushed upon realizing her word choice. He was looking too into it again, but her sentence almost seemed to carry more weight than it should. "N-no! Excuse me for just trying to…"

Care. It hung in the air unfinished.

"Ezra? Can I ask you something?" her voice almost came out as a whisper, as if she was ashamed of what she was going to ask.

He nodded. "Of course."

"W-what was it like? Using the Dark Side, I mean."

It took Ezra a few seconds to figure out how to answer that after the shock wore down.

"It…I can't remember. The last thing I remember beforehand was seeing Kanan on the ground and…" he visibly shook. "I can say what the aftereffects are like, though."

Sabine's brown eyes goaded him. She seemed worried about him.

"You need to open up." Wasn't that what Kanan had said?

"I'm cold," he started. "All the time now. It feels like something inside me just went…wrong, Sabine. I used the Dark Side. To save Kanan, yeah, but what if I hurt him? What if I fall to the Dark Side? I've heard of Jedi falling before only to hurt innocent people. I don't want that to happen." He looked at her, trying to hold his emotions back. "I'm afraid," he admitted softly.

Slowly, carefully, Sabine walked towards him. "There's nothing wrong with admitting you're afraid, y'know. I can't imagine how the Dark Side must feel, but…" She seemed to suck in air to force out whatever she was going to say. "I think you're strong enough to work past it. You won't fall to the Dark Side. You're too…good." It seemed to take effort for her to say it and she wouldn't look at him.

Ezra was red again, wide-eyed, and gaping. Had Sabine just complimented and comforted him? The Mandalorian turned around.

She beckoned for him to follow her, but Ezra didn't notice. "Hey, kid, are you just gonna stand there and gape or are you gonna actually follow me?" she asked.

Ezra got up, unsure of what to say. She led him down the hallway to her room. He had only been in her room once and she had promptly kicked him out for being nosy, but this time around, she was practically inviting him in.

"I never thanked you for the picture," he blurted out as Sabine sat her helmet on her desk, her back to him. "I-it means a lot. I almost forgot what they looked like."

"No worries. You don't need to thank me. It's the least I could do," she said.

"What makes you say that?" he pushed.

"Well," she began. "It was your birthday…and no one else noticed." She turned away again. "I felt bad for you…You deserved some kind of recognition on your birthday, y'know."

"Yeah, well, no one else has noticed my birthday in eight years. Why start now?" he shot out.

Sabine's face instantly fell into a mix of anger…and pain.

"I'm sorry," he began. "That was mean." The teenage Padawan sighed. "It's just…tough not having parents all these years. I miss them." His voice became laden with emotion for a moment. "So much," he ended.

Sabine put her arms behind her back. "I know the feeling. I'm sorry."

Ezra dried his eyes while Sabine pretended not to notice. "What happened to your folks?"

"The Empire," she answered simply, a small trace of sadness in her voice. "It's a long story. I'll tell you more some other time, but…for now; just know that I went into the Imperial Academy." The surprise on Ezra's face made her chuckle.

"You were part of the Empire?" he gawked.

She laughed. "For a little while, yeah. Blindly following orders, believing that everything I was doing was right…" her voice sounded bitter. "I was stupid."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes," he offered. "It's what you're doing now that matters…And you're helping a lot of people."

For the first time since he had boarded the ship, Sabine gave him a small, albeit genuine smile. "Thanks, kid…That's actually kinda sweet of you."

He threw his hands up in mock cockiness. "Oh, well, you know me. Sweet as a candied yogan."

She laughed, choosing to indulge in his joke for once.

"I'll let you have that one-"

"I mean it," he said, more seriously this time.

She smiled.

"Did you find out about your parents?" she asked gingerly.

The street rat shook his head. "Hera told me that Tseebo told her, but I refused…I'm not ready yet. One day…" he looked at his hand. "One day, I'll learn the truth. When I'm ready for it."

He had grown a little since the day before.

Ezra groaned after a moment, rubbing his arms and legs from standing so long.

Sabine just sighed, grabbing his arm and leading him to a seat at her table. "What am I gonna do with you, kid? Want a tip?" she asked. Ezra just gaped at her. "Take a few of these and you'll start to feel better in no time," she answered, giving him a few bacta pills. They would target the source of his pain and ease it to a more bearable level.

"Thanks," he said weakly with a chuckle. Waking up to see her and alone time? Today wasn't so bad after all…

"Hey, Ezra?" the girl sitting opposite of him asked.

"Yeah?"

"I have…a little something for you since, well, a picture wasn't a whole lot to give you on your birthday." Sabine was looking down and…was that a blush on her face?

Ezra almost choked on his pills. "S-Sabine?! Really! I p-promise that your gift already meant a lot to me!" Realizing what he said, a blush coated his face as well. "Really! I don't expect anything else from you, okay? I even appreciated just the 'Happy Birthday.'"

It was too late, however, as the girl was digging into a chest on the floor.

"I know you still feel…lonely sometimes, but I wanted you to know that w-we care about you, Ezra," and, with that, she pulled out a small, thin piece of metal and handed it to the boy.

What he saw made tears leak out of his eyes.

In front of him was a small piece of metal painstakingly painted with a colorful picture of the whole Ghost crew: Chopper being annoying, Hera smiling lovingly, Kanan being as stoic as ever, Zeb jokingly punching him in the arm, and…himself and Sabine…standing closely together looking…happy. Sabine was leaning closely to him in the picture with a smile on her face that almost seemed…loving?

Red erupted across Ezra's whole face as tears gushed down his face.

"I-I thought that maybe you could…keep it with you," Sabine was pushing herself to say as Ezra tried to fight the tears, wiping them up as quickly as they came. One look at her saw her looking away, this time visibly blushing. "Y'know, to remind you of us…of what you have…Your family. We…l-lo-" she tried to finish, but was cut off by an awkward and rash Ezra grabbing her in a sudden hug. It spoke of pure need. Need for caring. Need to let her know how much it mattered to him.

Ezra never showed his real feelings to them. Right now, however, she allowed him to hug her and she held him back. It made her smile as she felt him tremble with an unheard sob of happiness under her hold. She pretended to ignore the small sobs coming from the boy as he choked out something she never thought she would hear from him.

"T-thank you, Sabine. I-I love it," he choked out. Much quieter this time, to where if she wasn't quite so close to him she wouldn't necessarily be sure she heard it correctly, she made out, "I love you - you guys."

He never gave her any real hints at feelings deeper than attraction, but she could feel it at that moment, the pure appreciation and love emanating off of him as he held her and she held him. They probably wouldn't speak about it later, especially not in front of the others, but, for right now, it felt good. Sabine Wren wasn't sure exactly what her feelings for the boy were yet and she knew he was confused about so many different things, but it didn't matter at that moment.

At that moment, for the first time in over twenty-four hours, Ezra Bridger didn't feel quite so cold.