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EZRA GRABBED LUKE'S WRIST SO AS TO NOT LET THE YOUNG MAN FALL BEHIND AS THEY RACED TOWARDS THE GHOST.
"So who are your friends?" Luke asked as they ran back towards the Ghost's landing platform. Ezra ducked and weaved, trying not to attract any more attention that his crewmates already have.
"Uh - we're with the Rebellion," Ezra offered and they burst through the door to find several stormtroopers shooting at the Ghost.
"What!" Luke yelped.
"Ezra let's go!" Kanan yelled from the hanger bay, fighting off blasts with his lightsaber.
"Come on!" Ezra grabbed Luke's hand and ducked towards the ship, running as fast as he could. Luke wasn't far behind and he was actually catching up to Ezra's speed.
"Alright Hera let's go!" Sabine yelled, locking up the bay as Hera started to take off. Kanan kept firing as much as he could.
"Who's this Ezra?" Sabine asked, frowning at Luke.
"Oh uh, guys, this is Luke Skywalker my imaginary friend." Ezra introduced. "Luke, that's Kanan, Sabine, Chopper, and Zeb. Hera's probably in the cockpit."
"Uh, yeah, I saw him when I was younger and well, no one else could see him so I just assumed he was imaginary," Ezra explained.
"Same here," Luke agreed. "Uh, so Rebels huh?"
Luke's nervous tone had everyone glancing at him to look at him suspiciously.
Luke's eyes widened. "Oh wait, no that's not how I meant - uh...my friend joined up a few weeks ago. I'm a friend. Promise."
"Who?" Hera asked, looking at Luke. Luke looked at her curiously. "Your friend?"
"Oh, Wedge. Wedge Ant -" Luke started.
"Antilles?" Hera finished.
Luke grinned. "Yeah!"
Hera smiled. "Wedge has been a valuable pilot to the fleet. I'll see what he has to say on you,"
"Only glowing praise that's for sure," Luke laughed. Ezra glanced at him, sensing the sarcasm. Luke gave him a small shrug. Inside joke.
"So what exactly happened?" Kanan asked, turning to Ezra. Ezra was leaning against a wall and had crossed his arms, chewing his lip.
"Well, I ran into Luke and then we ran into a Corellian called Han, and then we heard you guys getting blasted. Did you get my message?" Ezra ticked off all the lists before looking at Kanan.
"Yeah, just before we started getting shot at," Kanan crossed his arms. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Ezra snapped, walking over to his room and slamming it shut. He stopped and took a deep breath before climbing onto his bunk and sitting down there.
He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down by using Jedi meditation techniques. He didn't know why Luke's appearance had caused such a visceral reaction from him but he had a feeling it was because he had connected the twins to his parents.
And when his parents left he needed to grow up. He couldn't be weighed down by anything fake or imaginary. He had to find a way to survive and the only way to survive was letting go of his past.
"Hey,"
Ezra's eyes opened and he looked down to see Luke. Luke was slouched in on himself, looking off put, nervous, and out of place. He tapped his fingers against the side of the wall and cleared his throat. "You um - you okay?"
Ezra didn't respond for a moment. "I - yeah...I'm okay. I just - I didn't expect to see you today,"
Luke laughed, a little jittery. "Yeah me neither. I had a lot to do today and...oh...I should go tell my aunt and uncle what I'm doing - but if I do they'll never let me leave and -" Luke stopped. Ezra's gaze had trailed away to the side. "What's going on?"
"I just -" Ezra sighed. "The reason I disappeared is because I just...I cut you off." Ezra pulled his knees to his chest. "My parents were taken by the Empire...and later killed. I just - I had to survive and I couldn't live with imaginary friends. They wouldn't be able to help me survive you know?"
Luke looked down. "I - I kinda get it." Luke walked over and scrambled up to where Ezra was. He struggled a little before pushing up and rolling onto Ezra's bed. Ezra scooted back to give him room. They sat there quietly for a moment.
"We were worried you know," Luke said slowly. "Leia and I. You were crying when you started disappearing. And you looked angry. And scared. We were trying to call out to you but...you couldn't - you didn't hear anything,"
"I blocked you out," Ezra replied softly. "I - I just couldn't - couldn't deal with it."
They went silent again.
"We're in this together now though, right?" Luke asked. "The two of us and Leia right?"
Ezra paused. "Yeah. Of course."
And while he wanted to believe that wasn't the case, something inside Ezra had awoken and he knew no matter what happened, he, Leia, and Luke were in it together.
