#guys kanan only shows up briefly BUT i managed to write one where he's not dead yet

[kazoosandfannypacks]

summary: sabine's been having a rough day, and though she can't quite put her finger on why, she's pretty sure ezra can make it a little better. set on lothal during season 4. word count: 1K a/n: i hope you guys like this fic! let me know what you think; your reblogs here and comments on ao3 mean the absolute world to me! shoutout to @kanerallels for betaing this one! taglist:@laughingphoenixleader @accidental-spice @kanerallels @piraterefrigerator @jedi-nurse @dootchster @lucasbridger @redroverrider @light-umbra @commander-tech {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

The Bad Day

 Sabine's day was not going very well.

 It all started innocently enough. Waking up from a nightmare, only to find she'd overslept. Tripping on her way out the door. Chopper pulling a poorly timed prank. Hera getting upset at her for attacking Chopper because of his prank and sending her by herself on a supply run— a chance to cool down, Hera had reasoned, but it only steamed her up more.

 Then there was the guy in the market whose catcalling would've been met with her fist if she hadn't been carrying the crew's supplies and trying to avoid imperial suspicion. And then the upcharged groceries that never seemed to fit their supply budget. And the annoyed screams of Zeb when she returned without his beloved space waffles that had been so significantly overpriced, she figured she could skip them this time. Then the angry words she'd yelled as she'd stormed out. Then Kanan trying to ask her what was wrong like he was some kind of dad.

 That was the last straw. Usually, she didn't mind her family on The Ghost. But today? After the dream she'd had last night? The last thing she needed was more family to worry about.

 She left The Ghost in a huff, thinking maybe some time by herself would calm her down, though she knew the opposite was often the case when she was left alone with her thoughts.

 But then she saw Ezra, tinkering with some circuits on the underside of the ship, lost in his own little world, a Loth Cat curled around his leg.

 Now, Sabine had never been known to have an affinity for hugs, and she'd also never been known to have an affinity for Ezra, but something inside her told her a hug from Ezra would make this nightmare of a day a bit better.

 So, she marched up to him, fists clenched, her mere frustrated presence scaring away the Loth Cat. Ezra, however, didn't seem to notice her right away, instead watching the Loth Cat run into the distance.

 "I need you to give me a hug," she said, quickly, sharply, as if upset at herself for saying it and stopping herself from stopping herself.

 Ezra turned to her and smiled at the sight of her, but with deep confusion in his eyes.

 "What?" he asked, then shook his head and blinked a couple times, "wait, why? Is everything okay?"

 "I'm not talking about it," Sabine said, knowing what would happen if she tried to talk about it, and not ready to cry right now, "I just need a hug. Don't make me change m...."

 Before she could finish speaking, she was in his arms. On any other day, if she'd even let him get this close, she would've complained that he smelled like Loth Cats and mechanical failures, and about how sweaty he was, and how whatever kind of starship grease he'd been using was all over his hands and staining her shoulder pauldron and her sleeve— but with everything that had happened that day, she almost didn't notice, and if she did, she certainly didn't care.

 He'd pulled her in so quickly, she hadn't even the chance to hug him back— not that she needed to, instead clinging onto Ezra's shoulders in front of her as tightly as she could.

 She wasn't sure when he'd gotten taller than her, but she was glad that he had, because his heart's gentle beating beneath her ear calmed her own heart rate down as well. She hadn't noticed how cold she'd been until Ezra's arms closed around her, his warmth quickly spreading from her back and arms all the way down to her toes and her fingers.

 "Is this okay?" Ezra quietly asked.

 "Yeah," Sabine whispered.

 As he held her, held her close to him, neither of them backing away or making it weird, Sabine's stress floated away, like a leaf in the wind, like every layer of hardships she'd faced that day peeled itself away from her, and when they were all stripped back, maybe it wasn't so hard a day after all— except for the nightmare she'd woken up from.

 Even an eternity in his arms couldn't fix that one— not that she normally would've liked the idea of spending an eternity in his arms, but this sacred moment made it a tempting prospect.

 She heard him sigh as his arms slipped out from around her and he took a step back from her, though his hand still rested on her shoulder.

 "Are you okay?" Ezra asked, his gaze seeing through her rough exterior.

 "I just," she shook her head, "just a bad dream."

 "In the middle of the day?" Ezra asked, and though anyone else could've meant it sarcastically, he seemed legitimately confused.

 "No, last night," she explained.

 "And you're still stressed over it?" Ezra asked, and when she nodded, he added on, gently, "may I ask what it was about?"

 "The Empire," Sabine said, letting the words come out angrily rather than risk letting sorrow herald them, "somehow they'd recreated the Duchess, and they," she let a deep breath fight against the tears she knew would betray her, "and my family...."

 She couldn't bring herself to say it, and she didn't have to. Once again, Ezra cut her off by pulling her into a hug— and this time, she hugged him in return.

 As her head hit his chest, she found that her tears fell faster than she could stop them, and hoped Ezra wouldn't notice a few teardrops mixed in with all the sweat and grease on his shirt.

 "I couldn't stop it," Sabine said, "I had to watch...."

 "It's okay," Ezra said, his hand moving off her shoulder so he could cradle the back of her head, pulling her closer to him in support, "it was just a dream." 

 "It felt so real," Sabine said, through gritted teeth.

 "I know," Ezra said, the softness in his tone smoothing out the rough edges of hers, "it's okay. Your family is okay."

 "And what if they're not?" Sabine asked, pushing a little bit away from him, though he didn't take his hands off her shoulders, "what if the Empire tries again?"

 "Then we'll stop them," Ezra said, "we always do."

 Sabine wanted to argue, but she knew it was pointless to try and disagree with those reassuring blue eyes and the confident smile below them.

 "Yeah," Sabine nodded.

 That was all she said. That was all she could say, and she hardly even looked at him when she said it.

 But it was apparently enough for Ezra. His smile shifted ever so slightly, and Sabine responded with a smile of her own.

 As one last comfort before she inevitably put up her walls and shut him out again, he pulled her back into his arms, close to his heart.

 And Sabine sighed with contentment as she returned his embrace.

 Maybe today wasn't going so bad after all.