(A/N)- Hello readers, new and old! I have returned bearing fresh content for your viewing pleasure!

As mentioned in the summary, this is a continuation of my story "Cracks In The Mirror". For those of you who haven't read it, the relevant details are as follows: it's an AU branching off of the episode "Through Imperial Eyes", wherein Thrawn beats Kallus down to Ezra's cell. The retrieval mission quickly becomes a rescue mission for Ezra and Kallus, though not before Ezra is tortured at the hands of the Imperials. The Battle of Atollon happens much sooner in the timescale, though Sato still performs the same heroic sacrifice. You don't have to have read the previous story to understand this one but I figured a brief rundown would be helpful anyway.

Story is rated T for the references and flashbacks to torture, as well as depictions of PTSD, and there will be additional notes if I feel they are necessary before relevant chapters.

I plan to update about once a week, since I've got most of this story written already, so you won't have to wait terribly long between chapters.

With all that out of the way, let's dive right in!

Disclaimer: I don't own, yadda yadda yadda, I really just do these disclaimers as a tradition now.

Shiver

He wished he had a blanket. Yavin IV was warmer than Atollon, being a jungle moon, but Ezra still felt chilled.

He rolled over onto his other side, curling up his legs.

It was no use. He couldn't get comfortable.

And it wasn't just his body that was unable to settle. With the noise and distractions of the day gone and darkness surrounding him, his mind felt it so easy to imagine that he was... elsewhere. To recall things. Sounds... images... He could feel them drifting on the edge of his consciousness.

Ezra squeezed his eyes tighter. The sounds cut out, leaving only the gentle hum of the Ghost's air filtration system. A steady hum. A rhythmic hum. Like the droning hum of the Imperial IT-O droid as it hovered next to his—

Ezra snapped his eyes open with a gasp, pulling himself from the memory quickly before he could be lost to it. His pulse raced, his heart knocking anxiously against his ribs. Alarm bells reverberated through his body.

No way he could relax now.

Making a quick decision, Ezra sat up and moved to the bunk's ladder, sliding down in a swift motion. He was already reaching for the shoulder of his Lasat roommate, before a sudden nervousness made him hesitate. They hadn't spoken much since the incident. Should he really bother—?

No, Ezra decided, pressing past his indecision. He couldn't be alone right now. He grabbed Zeb's shoulder.

"Zeb," he called in a whisper, shaking him. "Zeb, wake up!"

"Nngh—what?" Zeb stirred, poking his head up groggily. He blinked, turning over on the bunk, onto his back, squinting up at him. "Ezra?" He yawned. "What is it?" he asked, stretching and rubbing at his eyes.

"I can't sleep," Ezra told him, already relieved to have his friend awake.

Zeb cracked his neck, sitting up and swinging his feet to the floor. "Nightmares?" he guessed.

Ezra shook his head. "No, I just..." He stumbled over his words, gesturing inarticulately with his hands. "I can't... sleep," he confessed helplessly, his voice strained.

Fully alert now, pinning Ezra with a look of concern, Zeb patted a place on the lower bunk next to him.

"Sit down," he said. "Talk to me."

Ezra did so, gratefully sinking down into the offered seat, legs almost giving out underneath him. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking, trying to collect his thoughts, and Zeb waited patiently for him to speak.

Finally Ezra took a long breath. "It's... it's like my head is buzzing," he explained. "Like I'm hearing echoes, and if I concentrate just a little too long on them..." He paused with a haunted shiver. "I'm back on that ship," he finished softly. He shook his head again, letting it fall into his hands. "I can ignore it during the day but at night there's just... nothing else to think about."

Zeb nodded in understanding. "I know the feeling," he commiserated. At Ezra's look he went on, "Soldiers back on Lasan called it War Fever. After the massacre..." Zeb trailed off uncomfortably, glancing away and coughing. "Anyway, meeting Kanan and Hera helped a lot. Sometimes it's enough to know you're not alone."

Ezra stared between his feet, folding his hands together. "Yeah..." he agreed.

Silence reigned between the two a moment. Zeb looked away from him, at the ground, shame-faced.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

With just the slightest bit of irritation, Ezra huffed, "Zeb, don't."

"If I hadn't convinced Hera—"

"It's not your fault," Ezra interrupted insistently, squaring the Lasat in the eyes, shifting to face him. "Okay? Look, I hogged the most dangerous part of the mission, I took the risk, I paid the price." His shoulders gave a shrug. "We just... got unlucky is all," he dismissed uncomfortably.

Zeb gave a low snarl through his chest. "You didn't deserve it!" he protested. "Any of it. And if I could I'd—"

"Tear Thrawn's head from his shoulders," Ezra finished for him. The boy smiled. "I know you would, Zeb. I know."

A grumble came through the Lasat's throat. Slapping his legs once, Zeb stood to his feet. "Well, at the very least I can help distract you from your thoughts," he said, reaching to grab his bo-rifle from where it leaned against the wall. "C'mon. It's been ages since we've sparred," he urged.

"You think that'll help?" Ezra asked, rising to his feet.

"Couldn't hurt," Zeb said, tossing Ezra's shirt to him from where it draped across the desk.

-SWR-

Zeb was right. There was something comfortingly familiar and relaxing about sparring with the Lasat. The movements of his body, the breath flowing through him, the tinny hum of his saber on training mode, clashing against Zeb's bo-rifle with noisy sparks. It made all the buzzing inside his head fade away into the background, replaced by concentration as he jabbed and thrusted with his saber.

Zeb feinted a strike towards his left side. Ezra saw the ruse for what it was and angled just enough out of the way that he could avoid the strike and still be on guard for the real attack. It came spinning from overhead right; Ezra raised his saber and parried, stretching out his hand to Force Push Zeb once they disconnected.

The Lasat grunted as he stumbled back into a couple of crates. The loud bang caught the attention of a couple technicians working nearby, soldering up the loose wires on a droid, startling them from their late-night work.

Zeb raised an apologetic hand towards them. "Sorry," he called. He pulled himself upright and came over to Ezra, who was standing in place and panting hard from the workout. Zeb put a burly hand on the teen's shoulder. "You all right?"

"Yeah..." Ezra said around breaths. His body was still vibrating from the activity. His joints ached in the pleasant way they did after a good exercise, and he felt almost relaxed.

"Think you can sleep now?" Zeb asked him.

The buzzing and static at the back of his head was starting to creep back, but Ezra shoved it behind his thoughts, feeling exhausted now that the adrenaline rush was tapering off. "I... I think... maybe."

Thick fingers gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Zeb let go and slung the bo-rifle across his back with a smile. "You ever need to clear your head again, you just wake me up, you got it?"

Ezra nodded, grateful. "Yeah. Thanks Zeb," he said, deactivating his saber and hooking it back to his belt.

He followed the Lasat back up the ramp of the Ghost, collapsing into his bunk almost as soon as they'd returned to their room. He heard Zeb settling below him, the creak and groan of the bunk, the air system humming still too much like the IT-O droid, and felt his body wind tight, waiting for the echoes to return.

They were there, but muted, undefined, and after several long minutes of staring up at the ceiling Ezra felt himself finally falling into a tired sleep.

(A/N)- Bringing these back because they were so fun the first time, end of chapter notes!

1. This is Ezra's first or second night back on the Ghost after being released from the Rebels' medbay. So it's been a little over a week and a half since the events of the altered "Through Imperial Eyes".

2. Zeb has likely been witness to Ezra's night terrors many, many times by now. Especially after Malachor. So Ezra having nightmares does not surprise him anymore.

3. This will not be the first of Ezra's sleeping troubles. Oh ho ho no. We're not done with that yet. *grin*

Please leave a review if you enjoyed it!