How Far We've Come

Unfortunately, it was one of those nights. No matter how many times Kanan tossed and turned, he just couldn't sleep. After a while, he gave up and decided to go to the common room. Upon entering the room, he noticed that a certain someone was already in there. Ezra was sitting in the booth.

"Ezra?", Kanan whispered. "What are you doing in here?"

Ezra didn't respond.

"Ezra?", he said again.

Once again, his Padawan didn't respond.

However, once he'd gotten closer, Kanan realized why his Padawan hadn't answered him. The teen's head was resting on his arms, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was soft and even.

The boy was fast asleep.

The Jedi couldn't help but notice how peaceful and innocent the kid looked when he was asleep.

Since he couldn't sleep, Kanan decided to join him.

It was hard for Kanan to believe that the same teenager who was currently sleeping on the opposite side of the booth from him was the same boy that he'd initially believed was too "wild", "reckless", and "dangerous" to even be part of their crew. He also couldn't believe that he'd almost let his fears and insecurities keep him from training the boy. In fact, if hadn't been for Hera's insistence, Kanan wouldn't have even considered recruiting Ezra in the first place!

Kanan remembered the day his Padawan built his Lightsaber. Although he hadn't said it aloud, he'd felt so proud of the kid. That wasn't the only reason he was proud of him, though. He was also proud of the boy for moving past his old selfish and self-centered ways, and becoming such a selfless person that he would do anything- even sacrifice himself- to protect the people he cares about.

Kanan couldn't help but smile.

After a while, the Jedi decided that it was time for his Padawan to go to bed. He still didn't know why his Padawan had fallen asleep here, but he could ask him that tomorrow.

Kanan stood up, walked over to Ezra's side of the booth, and picked him up. He was just about to carry the teen back to his room when Ezra began to stir.

Kanan froze.

However, Ezra still didn't wake up. Instead he nuzzled Kanan's neck and sighed softly before slipping back into a deep sleep.

Once he was sure that his Padawan wouldn't wake up anytime soon, he carried the boy back to his room.

Then, he used the Force to open the door.

Despite knowing that Zeb could sleep through pretty much anything, he still tried to be as quiet as possible when he walked into the room. Then, he laid Ezra on his bed, and tucked the teen in.

"Goodnight, kid", Kanan whispered.

Then, he left the room.

However, as soon as he did, he yawned.

Suddenly feeling tired, the Jedi decided to go back to his room.

Once Kanan was back in his room, he got back into bed and relaxed.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Before he fell asleep, one last thought came to the Jedi's mind.

"We really have come a long way."

The End.