Christmas In the Galaxy || shanSWfan's Holiday Special

Write It In Lights... And Spray Paint {Space Family}

Sabine Wren was bored.

It was Christmas Eve, and yet it seemed like no one on Lothal was celebrating. Back on Mandalore, there had been fireworks, fried food spicy enough to burn your tongue off – her stomach growled to think about it – and outings to the carnival. Not to mention there was the promise of Saint Murphy's faeries coming down to deliver presents to all the children who had obeyed their parents' wishes and made good of their family name over the course of the year.

The Christmas celebration was almost as crazy as New Year's Eve. Mandalorians didn't do anything halfway, and finding yourself in Sundari, the capital of Mandalore, when the clock overlooking the remnants of the old Peace Park struck midnight meant that you were very lucky indeed, for he festivities that followed rivaled Life Day on most other worlds.

But none of the familiar revelry was happening here, and the lack of things to do was setting her on edge.

She needed to cover something with spray paint. But she was still waiting for the inspiration to come to her as to what...

"Oh, karabast," grumbled Zeb, "she's doing it again."

"Doing what?" Sabine asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms.

The big Lasat looked up from where he had been tweaking some loose circuitry in his bo-rifle with an electromagnetic screwdriver. "Moping about like that. Acting all listless."

"Well there's a good reason for it," Sabine retorted.

Sabine looked up as Ezra walked into the room, munching on a ripe yellow jogan. "A good reason for what?" he inquired through a mouthful of fruit.

Zeb snorted, gesturing towards her over his shoulder. "Have you seen her?"

"Yeah, I have, but I can only sense minds, not read them," Ezra shot back before turning to face Sabine again. "Tell us what's bothering you."

Sabine exhaled tersely. "On Mandalore, the holidays are chaotic. Everything's happening at once, and I've always found how everything fits together through the anarchy quite beautiful. Here, everything's regimented by the Empire; perfectly calculated to remain constant. But I miss all the lights, the color, the people..."

"It wasn't always that way," Ezra said, sitting down beside her. "Dull and unchanging, I mean. Lothal celebrated Christmas too."

Sabine shifted a little closer, and Zeb followed a moment later. Even Chopper, who was rolling past the common room to attend to one of his duties around the ship, stopped to listen.

They all sensed that Ezra was about to start one of his weekly monologues about his planet's history. She suspected it was a side effect of having been on his own for so long – he needed to have his thoughts heard and absorbed without judgment every now and then, and they had promised to be patient enough to listen.

"After my parents died, I could never spare the credits for more than an extra oatcake when the holidays rolled around. By the time I was making enough to celebrate a bit, they had banned any of the really widespread festivals that weren't Imperial regulation beyond the Core Regions. So that means Christmas." Ezra sighed. "I haven't had a real Christmas in years."

"Well, that makes three of us," said Zeb, standing up and putting his bo-rifle over his shoulder. "Don't expect a sob story from me, though, because you're not getting one. But I think it's high time we do something."

"We need to bring all the chaos back," Sabine declared. "Kanan and Hera are out for the night – it's not like there's anyone here who's going to care."