Before It All Began

Chapter 1

On an outer rim planet called Lothal, a mysterious man named Kanan Jarris lived in a small flat; he earns credits by doing many different jobs here and there, like being a barman, delivering things to people and e.g. Today, Kanan had just left his flat and was walking towards his work when all of a sudden, a wave of the force hit him, a strong one at that. But Kanan being...well...Kanan, ignored it and continued to make his way through the streets. The man hid his life as a Jedi Knight well, had done for a multiple of years, ever since Order 66. Kanan easily reached his work with little to no problem; he had a full day at the pub due to the owner being in hospital after he got into a rough fight with a drunken customer. So Kanan was running the place all by himself. He had opened up and the place was completely packed by twelve O clock, but Kanan managed....that was until an imperial agent entered the bar; the barman knew who the agent was - Jay Kallus. "Why is the holonet not on!?" he asked with a snap "the holonet is to always be on!! Imperial rules!!" Kanan just crossed his arms across his chest as he explained "two weeks ago, we were told by the Empire to turn the holonet off and to keep it off". Everyone watched as Kallus glared at their favorite barman "hmm...I'll be looking into that" and with that, Kallus thankfully left - not before taking some of Kanan's credits though. The pub returned to it's normal self, although seconds later, Kanan could hear a yell yelling from outside "watch where you're going!! You pathetic street rat!!" he looked outside to see Kallus shouting down at an extremely young looking child who was lying on the floor; the Imperial agent had pushed him over!!

Once he had left, the kid jumped up and walked over to Kanan who was stood at the entrance of the pub "you're the guy that the Imperial agent took the credits from right??" the child asked as he looked up at the barman "em...yeah, why??" Kanan asked extremely confused by the question and the fact that some kid was randomly talking to a stranger. All the young boy did was reach out and grasp the man's hand before dropping the same amount of credits into the palm of his hand "here you go...it's yours". Kanan was in complete shock; the child had stolen the credits back by pick pocketing Kallus!! "Em....thanks kid" Kanan gave a small smile which was returned "what's you're name??" he asked; the young boy immediately replied "Ezra Bridger". Kanan introduced himself after the young boy, Ezra, asked him "I'm Kanan, Kanan Jarris" he stated "well thank you for getting my credits back Ezra, how about I buy you a cheeseburger from the bar I work at??" he asked, taking note of how Ezra's eyes lit up by the sound of food, but before he could say anything, his stomach seemed to answer for him extremely loud. Whilst the child blushed from embarrassment, Kanan just chuckled and led him inside the pub; Ezra sat down at the bar as the man prepared his food and a drink. Once he had finished cooking, Kanan handed the burger and the drink "thanks" was all the kid said before digging in; the barman lent against the bar with a fond yet sad smile "hey Ezra, how old are you??" he asked. It was a question that was on his mind since he saw the young boy with agent Kallus. "I'm six years old" that seemed about right "what's a young six year old like you doing in this part of the city on their own??" he asked earning a small shrug "I was exploring and I've been on my own since I was four". 

That last statement was a surprise for Kanan, as well as confusing "What do you mean?? You've been on your own since you were four??" he asked, repeating the statement; this was were Ezra finished his food and his facial expression turned sad and scared. "I don't have parents...that were killed by the Empire when I was four, my Uncle joined the Empire so I'm on my own" Kanan couldn't stop his eyes from widening from horror and shock "...if you're on your own...where do you live?? Do you live with an adult??" to his dismay, the boy shook his head "nope, and I live no where really, dark alleys, behind dumpsters...those types of places". The secret Jedi couldn't believe his hears; the six year old sat in front of him was homeless, living on the streets!! And had been for over two years!! All of a sudden, the man noticed tears in the child's eyes, breaking his heart even more "no no no, it's okay...shh, it's okay" he tried to calm the boy down before suddenly blurring out "Ezra...if you don't want to be alone anymore or live on the streets then....why don't you come and live with me??". Now....Kanan didn't actually know what he had just said and asked until he heard himself say it out loud; he realized and began to mentally beat himself. He couldn't look after a six year old, he could barely look after himself for force sake!! But then he made the fatal mistake of looking at the child's face and into his deep blue eyes; it was as if Kanan could see all of the pain and see how broken Ezra really was....but somewhere, he could see the tiniest bit of hope. Hope from what he had just offered "r...really??" it was more then clear that he was unsure yet hopeful. Kanan couldn't bring himself to change his mind "...really really...it'll be just you and me though" he informed "what do you say??". Before anything else could be said, Ezra hugged the man the best of his ability with the brightest smile imaginable "thank you!!" Kanan was surprised by the sudden embrace but didn't push the child away, wrapping an arm around his small and slim shoulder "you're welcome".

Eventually, the time turned ten pm and Kanan was just finishing locking up; he and Ezra made their way back to the flat with no problem. Once they arrived, the man gave Ezra the "grand tour" of one bedroom, a small bathroom and another room that was a combination of a kitchen, a living room and a dining room. "Em....Kanan??" Ezra spoke up once the two minute tour was over "yeah kid??" he watched the six year old as he looked around "...where do I sleep??". It then hit the man...where was Ezra going to sleep?? It was a one bed room flat after all. "Ah....I'll have to look into finding a bigger place" he realized "but for now...you can have my room and I'll take the sofa". To the man's surprise, Ezra shook his head "you can have your room, I'm more than happy to take the sofa" it sounded so bad coming from a six year old yet all Kanan could think was 'this is the sweetest kid I've ever met' "a sofa's better then a sandy floor". And that broke his heart once again. Before he was able to protest, the six year old sent him a look that said 'you can fight all you want but you ain't gonna win' and so, Kanan chuckled "okay okay, you win". After finding a pillow and blanket for the boy, the two said good night and went to bed; the secret Jedi told the child "if you need me at all, just come and wake me up".

Whilst he was in bed, Kanan couldn't fall asleep; all he could think about was everything that had happened today. He had just gone and completely changed his life and the life of a six year old boy; he couldn't hold back his worry. He didn't know how to look after a kid!! What happens if he messes up?? What if he put Ezra in danger?! All of a sudden, the man was pulled from his thoughts as the door to his room opened to reveal the kid....crying?! "What's wrong Ezra??" Kanan asked softly as he sat up and turned on his bed side lamp "I...I had a...a bad...dream" the boy shuttered out "oh Ezra, come here". Not needing to be told twice, the kid hurried over, climbed up and over the bed as Kanan pulled him into a gentle embrace. The two stayed like this for a few minutes until the man spoke up again "do you want to stay with me tonight??" he asked earning a nod and muffled "yes please" as his face was embedded into Kanan's chest. Carefully, the two lay down with Ezra still in the tight embrace; he turned the lamp off. As they attempted to fall asleep, Kanan brushed his fingers through the boys hair and once he knew he was asleep, the man gently whispered "I'll always protect you...and I'll never let you be alone again...I promise". And with that, he eventually joined Ezra in the land of dreams.