A Ticklish Padawan

Broken

Broken.
It was the only thing Ezra felt.
Broken.
His home was gone. The Empire burned it all away. Lothal, the place he'd grown up, it was nothing but plains of smoke and ash. No Lothcats bounded playfully around, no birds soared across the sky. It was like Lothal had died. No life. No grass. No anything.
Ezra sat on the Ghost's ramp, gazing with stinging eyes at his burnt home. He hugged his knees tightly to his chest in an attempt to comfort himself. But nothing would seal the hole in his heart that the Empire had made. It was like his hope had died just like Lothal. Seeing the planet destroyed was too much for the teen. He'd lived on Lothal his entire life. Seeing it like it was was heartbreaking.
Broken
The word echoed in Ezra's brain. It was how he felt. How Lothal was. How the universe was.
Broken
He'd lost so much and gained so little. How much did the Empire want him to suffer? Hadn't they done enough to the galaxy? Hadn't they done enough to Lothal?
Ezra didn't even realise he was crying until he felt his face getting wet. He didn't stem the flow of tears, he let them fall. He cried for Lothal, for the inhabitants of Lothal, and for his parents. They'd died trying to beam out hope, and most likely trusted Ezra to do the same. But he'd failed. Lothal was gone. His faith was gone.
His hope was gone.  
"I'm sorry mom and dad" he sobbed, clutching his arms.
"I failed you."
For minutes Ezra sat on the ramp, crying for all it was worth. Lothal deserved all the tears he could muster, but it wouldn't help the planet.
"Ezra?"
The boy looked round to see Hera standing behind him. He didn't care she was seeing his tear streaked face and blood shot eyes. He gazed at Hera, eyes dull and lifeless. He tied to say something but all that came out was a sob.  
"Oh Ezra" Hera whispered sitting down and hugging the boy tightly.
Ezra pressed his face into the Twe'liks shoulder, clinging to her as he started to cry again. He felt so helpless. Like a lost child in an endless maze of pain. The warmth of the embrace made Ezra's heart ache terribly. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to kill. As if Hera heard his thoughts she said quietly.
"Anger won't solve problems Ezra. Believe me, I know. Anger will only force us to make bad decisions. Just breathe and think once you've calmed down."
Ezra gripped Hera's flight suit and hung on. He knew he must seem clingy but he didn't care. He wanted to hold on to Hera and never let go. The embrace she was giving him was so comforting and gentle, it reminded him of his mother. The one who'd died trying to help others. Ezra swallowed back tears but still clung to Hera. The Twe'lik didn't say anything. She knew Ezra was suffering because of his seeing his home burned away.  She didn't blame him that he wanted a hug. After a while, Ezra's sobs turned to sniffs and his grip relaxed a little.
"Why?"
The word was quiet, cracked and full of emotion.
"Why what Ezra?" Hera asked gently.
"Why does the Empire make Lothal suffer? Hasn't it gone through enough?"
Ezra voice kept breaking and it made Hera's heart ache. She gently rubbed the teen's back.
"I don't know. They seem to target Lothal because that's the place with the most rebel activity" she said.
"So...so it's our fault?"
Hera hesitated. The last thing she wanted was for the boy to blame himself for Lothal's destruction.
"No. It's not any of our faults except the Empire's. They're the ones who control the galaxy with an iron fist."
Hera cringed when she heard Ezra's knuckles crack with anger.
"Ezra, remember. The Sith's strength comes from anger. Don't let your rage blind your perspective. I know you're a good person so don't let anger change you."
"Since when did you become a Jedi?"
Hera could tell Ezra was joking, but there was just no amusement in his voice. Only sadness.
It wasn't like him at all. It was like the boy was mentally broken, but she knew how to fix him. Making sure he couldn't​ escape the embrace she had him in, Hera began running her finger tips over Ezra's sides. Ezra's eyes widened when he realised what was going on and found he couldn't move.
'Kriff I'm trapped!' he thought.
Ezra tried to fight the smile that was threatening to show on his face. Hera's gentle touches somehow tickled immensely and Ezra found himself struggling to contain his giggles.
"Come on Ezra" Hera said in a teasing tone.
"Stop resisting. You know you can't hold out for long."
She was right. Giggles kept slipping from Ezra's lips and he was trying to squirm away but it wasn't working. Hera's fingers slid down to Ezra's lower back and swirled around the area. Ezra lost it.
"Herhahahaha!" He yelped, trying to shuffle backwards.
Hera suddenly let go making the teen fall on his back. The Twe'lik instantly straddled Ezra's waist and tickled his abdomen. Ezra was wriggling like a worm underneath Hera and trying to fight her hands off, laughing hard while doing so.
"There we go, there's that smile of yours" Hera said.
She moved her fingers up to Ezra's vulnerable ribs and the boy's back arched.
"Nohohohoho! Nohohohohot thehehere!" He pleaded, trying to cover the area but that left his weak spot exposed.
"Coochie coochie coo Ezzy!" Hera teased, tickling the boy's armpits.
"DOHOHONT SAHAHAHAY THAHAHAT! IHIHIHIHIHIT MAHAKES IT WOHOHOHORSE!" Ezra yelled, his laughter increasing in volume and pitch.
"Does it now? Well then, I'll remember that" Hera smiled.
Quick as a bullet, Hera had Ezra's jacket unzipped and shirt raised. The boy realised what Hera was about to do when he felt the cool air on his chest.
"No! Hera! Wait! Anything but...THAHAHAT!"
Ezra burst into fits of hysterical giggles as Hera blew a raspberry on his stomach. He couldn't take the vibrating, tickley sensations that buzzed over his abdomen. It tickled too much. Ezra's breathing was very uneven as Hera continued to run her fingers over his sensitive and bare skin. Ezra couldn't find the strength to fight back. After all his desperate attempts before, the boy was weak.  Taking off her gloves, Hera gently and slowly raked her nails down Ezra's belly. The reaction was instant. The teen arched off the ground and laughed harder. Honestly, in Ezra's opinion, the nails were worse than the raspberries.
Finally, Hera relented. Looking down on Ezra with a soft smile.
"You sure are ticklish Ezra" she said.
"Well...it's not like...I can help it" Ezra panted.
Hera helped him up and hugged the boy tightly.
"No matter what happens Ezra, I'm always going to be here for you" Hera said.
"I promise."

Holy kriff the beginning was angsty. And OMG this is part 60? Wow I'm dedicated to this book.
Hope you enjoyed. I love Ezra and Hera bonding moments.

Star-Wars-Dragons out 🐲