The Ghost Crew One-shots

Bonds through time part 4

"..Its Ezra" The teen remarked with a hint of nervousness.To that Kanan smiled nodding "Alright then Ezra, would you like to have some lunch with me ? Its already noon"

The bluenette looked at the older man in confusion "Isnt it training t-time ?". His voice trembled, almost like he was expecting something bad to happen and Kanan clearly noticed it replying "Not today, I thought we could meet eachother more, if that's okay with you..?" Ezra clearly paused for a second, almost as if analysing the situation, he did that a lot. It was like a defense mechanism. He then looked up and nodded slightly, avoiding Kanan's eyes.The Master smiled at his Padawan as he gestured for the boy to follow him "Let's go get some lunch then, are you okay with a restaurant ?"

"..Yeah. Sounds nice" Ezra replied, there was still some coldness in his voice and he kept a fair distance from his Master. Kanan knew it but he didnt want to force or push the boy in any way. The two started walking in between many tables of padawans, clones and Jedi Masters. As Kanan glanced at the younger boy, he noticed that he had his arms wrapped around himself and was staring at the ground but his eyes would shift to the people around him from time to time. As Kanan looked closer at their surroundings, he noticed that a lot of Padawans were looking at Ezra, for no specific reason they were just staring.

"..Mind your own business" Kanan thought, a bit angry at them since they were clearly making Ezra feel uncomfortable. With that, Kanan slowed down his walking pace and was now lined up with the bluenette's speed. The older man still kept a distance but he figured if he covered other people's view of Ezra they would stop staring. And eventually they did as Kanan sighed in relief. Soon enough they exited the common room area and were now alone in the hallways..

Ezra kept silent, looking at the ground but he seemed to relax a bit. Suddenly he said "I'm sorry" The brown haired man looked at the smaller figure in confusion "... Sorry for what ? You didnt do anything wrong."

To that the boy seemed to look away as he said "I didnt want to make you feel uncomfortable in any way. I'm sorry for them staring, they were staring at me but their eyes were set on you too. I dont want you getting any type of bad reputation because of me" The words that he spoke were unusually clear and soft, he was geniuenly sorry. But what stood out to Kanan the most is the way he tensed up..almost as if expecting the older man to hurt him.

After hearing what his Padawan said Kanan remembered what the doctor had told him..

KANAN'S FLASHBACK...

"After and during abuse, people tend to blame everything on themselves even when it's clearly not their fault. They apologise for everything because usually their abuser made them feel very guilty and damaged their self esteem" The doctor said gently..

END OF FLASHBACK...

The brown haired man turned and softly smiled at the boy, surprising Ezra greatly...

"You have nothing to apologise for okay ? It's not your fault at all, they were the ones that were being rude. You did nothing wrong Ezra" When the bluenette heard those words, his face only showed genuine confusion instead of fear, like this was the first time anyone has shown him kindness and told him it wasnt his fault...And at that moment, without him noticing Ezra's eyes welled up with tears. 

At that Kanan panicked asking if the boy was alright, did he say something wrong, should they not go out for lunch. The Master was really confused and scared. But then Ezra shook his head "You didn't saying a-anything wrong, it's just that no one told me such things before...I-I'm not used to it..sorry for crying"

Kanan's expression softened into relief and then sadness, the fact something as simple as "You have nothing to apologise for" and "It's not your fault" meant this much to this boy. It just shows that truely saying something kind to someone can mean the world to them. His usual cold demeanor changed in a second. 

"It's completely okay to cry alright ? We can sit down for a bit, is that okay with you ?" Kanan said gently as Ezra nodded. They soon found a platform(bench) in the temple and sat on it, the boy was clearly calming down and the older man handed him a tissue. The entire time, Kanan kept a soft smile on his face reassuring Ezra that everything was okay. After a few minutes, the bluenette calmed down "I-I'm okay, Shall we go now ?"

"Of course !, If you have any restaurant ideas please do suggest them. I'm a bit clueless" Kanan chuckeled as the two got up from the bench and started walking through the hallways again. After around 5 minutes the two spotted a few figures approaching them, they were clone troopers. Ezra's face lit up as the soldiers waved at him and he waved back.

"Hey kid how are you doing ?" Captian Rex spoke as a yellow armor trooper came closer "Haven't seen you around lately, have you been hanging around just in the library again ?" Cody said with a small chuckle

Ezra nodded and said "Yes, I  found a new book ! I left it on my desk in the common room if you would like to see it"

"Sure thing kiddo"Rex replied as he glanced at Kanan, raising an eyebrow.

"Good day sir" Cody exclaimed at Kanan as the Jedi responded "Good day to you too. I'm Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus"

"Very nice to personally meet you" One of the clones said but then Rex turned to Kanan looking at him with a tense expression.

"We should be going, nice to see you Ezra and glad to have met you sir" Cody said trying to distract Kanan from Rex's intense staring. The clones were about to pass by but Rex came close to Kanan and stopped for a few moments then whispered "With all due respect sir, if you are Ezra's new master, be patient and treat him kindly. He really deserves the best"

Kanan was surpised at the clone's words but he nodded and smiled, reassuring the clone as the whispered "I promise". It was clear the trooper relaxed uttering "Thank you sir" and continued following the rest of the clones.

With that the Master and Padawan continued walking, then Kanan asked "They call you Ezra too ?" The boy looked up and nodded saying "Yes they are one of the only ones that respect my preffered name.."

"I understand and I'm glad they do, and if you are more comfortable using that name I think everyone should respect it. It's clearly important to you" The brown haired man said  softly as Ezra nodded looking away and continuing to walk.

The two were soon out of the Jedi temple heading towards town...without knowing what awaits them there...