Set during season one (Directly after 'Fire Across the Galaxy')
Summary – To celebrate the success of rescuing Kanan, the crew of the Ghost organise a small party. Unfortunately, a certain member of the Ghost family gets a little too drunk for his own good...
No matter how hard he tried, Ezra just could not get rid of the massive grin that was plastered across his face. As he stood there, alone, in the centre of his cabin, he knew that he looked like an idiot with his dumb smile, but he couldn't help himself. In the last few days, he had; bartered for information with a dangerous criminal, rescued his master from the clutches of the Empire, engaged in a tense duel with the Grand Inquisitor and discovered that the crew that he'd come to love like a family was only one small cell in the makings of a wider rebellion. With every waking second, he would relive recent events, his heart beating just as fast as it had when he'd skilfully deflected the inquisitor's spinning blade. Okay...so maybe it hadn't been that skilful, but even the mere thought of it still sent adrenaline running through Ezra's veins. He supposed he looked like a little kid right now, getting excited over serious matters. If Hera could see him now she'd be lecturing him over how dangerous the entire mission had been. But after so many losses at the hands of the Empire, Ezra was just happy to score a win for once. The crew had really needed this, and now came the time to celebrate...
Obviously, being labelled fugitives by the Empire and forced to stay on the run with a band of so-called "insurgents" made gathering party supplies more than a little difficult. But somehow the crew managed, by working together as they always had. Hera had spent the last day baking a spectacular icing cake, showing off her talents as a cook in the little free time that she was granted as a rebel. Ezra had to forcefully stop himself from stealing a slice early before the party started, the temptation was great. He'd already had a joking lecture from Kanan about how temptation led to the dark side, all he wanted to do was eat a cake! In the meantime, Sabine had put her artistic side to good use, managing to craft together a series of colourful bunting which hung in pride of place in the corridors of the Ghost. The Mandalorian had lost sleep over creating her masterpieces, but knowing her she probably enjoyed it ten times more than getting a good night's rest. As it happened, the Ghost was already stocked with more than enough food and drinks to host a small party. And so finally, a full four days after Kanan's dramatic rescue, the party was ready to go. Hera had already taken the liberty of inviting Ahsoka to join them, but the Togruta had sadly declined, stating that she had duties to oversee with Commander Sato. So tonight, despite recently meeting all of these new rebels that they'd never even known about, it looked as if the party would be just between the family of the Ghost. Perhaps it was better that way, it would make it feel like a more emotional celebration.
Now, Ezra found himself once again stood alone in his cabin, this time debating what to wear for this little party. He'd been told to wear anything that wasn't scorched with laser holes, apparently there was no need for smart clothes between friends. But Ezra wanted to appear at least partially sophisticated, if only to help further his cause in the long-running campaign to win Sabine's heart. The padawan could hardly believe it a few days prior when Sabine had offered to patch up his facial scars instead of Hera, he could have sworn that his heart was beating out of his chest the whole time she'd been applying the bacta gel. Well tonight was the night, tonight he'd properly ask her out, not just flirt embarrassingly and walk away awkwardly. And as these very thoughts ran through his head, he picked out the perfect outfit from his limited wardrobe, holding it up with a gleeful grin. A black leather jacket with a yellow and black T-shirt underneath, accompanied by casual grey jeans. Surely this would be enough. Humming to himself, Ezra swiftly changed out of his usual outfit and pulled on the party clothes, already feeling a boost to his self-confidence as he stared at himself in the mirror. Yeah, tonight was the night...
Straightening his leather jacket, Ezra casually strolled out of his cabin and found himself immediately bumping into Sabine who was just exiting her cabin as well. The two very nearly butted heads, before each taking a step back and chuckling.
"Sorry Sabine, didn't see you th-Whoa...you look amazing..." the padawan commented, quickly having to snap himself back to reality in order to avoid yet another awkward conversation. The Mandalorian had gone for a remarkably similar look to Ezra; sporting a colourful leather jacket, tank top and jeans. She had also styled her hair into a ponytail for the party, a look that Ezra immediately fell in love with.
"Thanks Ez. Looks like we both had the same idea...didn't know you had a leather jacket. Who'd have thought? You shape up pretty good" Sabine replied with a pleasant smile. The padawan's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard the compliment, and he quickly gestured for Sabine to go ahead first. Tonight he'd unleash more charm than any Jedi ever had, this was it. He quickly followed after Sabine, and soon they entered into the Ghost's galley. Ezra was unable to hold back his shocked gasp, not having seen the decorations that everybody had worked so hard on. Of course, Sabine's bunting hung from the ceiling, an array of bright colours, but that was only the beginning. Somehow, Zeb had managed to scrounge up some balloons from one place or another, and had dotted them around the room. Hera's icing cake sat in pride of place atop the dejarik table, looking just as tantalising as ever. Ezra would be sure to have more than one slice of that by the time the night was done. And then there was Chopper, who had been unwillingly painted in a variety of bright colours to look 'more festive'. Upon seeing the result, even Hera had to chuckle at Sabine's work, even if it would be her who had to scrub it off later. With nothing at all, the crew had managed to create the perfect setting for a party, and Ezra would be sure not to waste it.
Before the celebrations began, the crew eagerly awaited the arrival of their final member, the one for whom this party was all about. Ezra didn't know whether it was intentional or by chance, but it appeared that Kanan wanted to arrive fashionably late. And when the Jedi did walk through the galley doors, he was met with a collective cheer, causing him to smile and chuckle humbly.
"Alright...alright. I want to say something before we get down to partying. You've done all of this to celebrate my return, but really you should be celebrating your own bravery. I am beyond lucky to have a family as dedicated as the five of you. Thank you" he stated, quickly surrounding Hera in a tight embrace. Another collective cheer filled the room, and with that the party began. By fiddling with the holonet a little, Ezra had managed to bypass the imperial propaganda channel and find a twenty four hour music station. Hits included work by; Fingrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, the Max Rebo Band and the Calcified Lichens, all of whom quickly inspired the Ghost crew to begin dancing their troubles away. Zeb was reluctant to do much more than tap his foot to the music, but soon dug in to the array of alcohol to help loosen up. Kanan and Hera danced traditionally with one another, seemingly lost in each other's company and unaware of anybody else's presence. Even Chopper span around on the spot to mimic dancing, letting out grumpy garbled sounds as he did so. Ezra and Sabine, meanwhile, being the youths of the crew fully took the opportunity to dance. Neither of them had led what you could call a normal life, both wading through struggles as early as childhood. As a street rat, Ezra had found little time to indulge in music, but loved the freedom that hypnotic movement gave him. Sabine, meanwhile, would often listen to loud music as she painted, and dancing on her own was another way to escape everyday stresses for her. Soon they found themselves dancing side by side, but Ezra quickly forgot about his previous mission, simply enjoying the opportunity to spend time with his favourite Mandalorian.
As the night went on and the hours passed, the music became slower and soon the only ones still dancing were Kanan and Hera, who still seemed lost in their own little bubble. It was nice to see the adults of the crew relax for once, they always seemed to have so much stress on their shoulders. Ezra, meanwhile, had finally managed to get his hands on a slice of Hera's legendary icing cake and closed his eyes in satisfaction with each and every bite. In the corner of the room, Zeb seemed to be having some sort of playful argument with Chopper about whose pranks were better. Ezra was so busy smiling at the two of them arguing, that he didn't notice Sabine come and sit next to him.
"Hello! Ghost to Ezra, you in there? Heh...is that cake so good it sent you into a dream?" Sabine commented, waving her hand in front of his eyes to get his attention. As he stuttered to form a reply, she grabbed her own paper plate to try a slice of Hera's baking for herself.
"I-it is a good cake yeah...very...tasty..." he said in a stuttered voice, inwardly cursing himself for his awkwardness in social situations like this. There's no way he'd win her own if he kept acting like this. Sabine, however, didn't seem to notice Ezra's struggled stuttering, instead smiling as she took a bite out of the cake.
"Well...you weren't lying. I thought it'd be impossible for someone to be an amazing pilot and baker, and then Hera goes and makes this. I'll remember this when my birthday comes" she commented with a mouthful of cake. Ezra couldn't help but smile and watch as crumbs littered her mouth. Hera's baking had a way of making you lose all sophistication as you ate.
"Uh...you might want to..." he said slowly, pointing towards her mouth with a smile.
"Oh yeah...thanks" she chuckled, wiping the cake remnants away with a content smile. They sat there silently for a moment, watching as the party unravelled around them. Chopper shocked Zeb in the corner of the room, to which he responded by swiftly whacking the rust-bucket on his 'worthless can'. But soon, the awkward silence became a little too much for Ezra to bear, and in typical fashion he started talking again.
"Soo...we've danced, and eaten literally the best cake in the galaxy. What now?" he asked, hoping to spend a little more time with Sabine before the night was over.
"Ooh...have you ever tried Devaronian brandy?" she questioned in response, her face lighting up all of a sudden.
"Uh no...what's it like?" Ezra replied slowly. They both knew that he was too young to drink, still, maybe just this once he'd indulge.
"Oh it's got a really sweet taste to it...basically tastes like juice. Except it's got alcohol...like lots of alcohol" Sabine explained. She'd often drink brandy like that with Ketsu before they...well before they'd gone their separate ways. It'd be nice to drink it again with a true friend.
"I'll try anything once" Ezra responded, causing Sabine to smile in response. The Mandalorian then quickly stood up and led the way towards the rudimentary bar that the crew had set up. What could go wrong?
As it turned out, everything could go wrong with alcohol, especially when it was consumed by someone as overactive as Ezra. The pair had started off on the proviso that he only had one drink, but that quickly flew out of the window. When Sabine briefly left to get a snack from another room, she returned to find Ezra stood next to three empty glasses, a goofy grin on his face. That was the beginning of the Confused Phase. Knowing that Hera would kill her for getting Ezra drunk, Sabine quickly escorted the padawan out of the room with the excuse that he was going to the toilet. Or at least she tried to, until several paces down the corridor Ezra stumbled and fell face first into the ground.
"Did you see that? The floor tripped me up!" he remarked in a slurred voice, causing her to pull a sheepish expression. What had she done? Sabine knew that Ezra would likely be delirious all night, and if Zeb came back to their cabin and found him that way, then both of the youths would get the Hera lecture. Swiftly, the Mandalorian guided Ezra into her cabin, sealing the door behind them and breathing a sigh of relief. But her troubles weren't over yet, now began the Chaotic Phase. Within seconds of entering her room, Ezra began drunkenly inspecting the plethora of paintings that covered her cabin walls.
"I love this one...it's got nice...paint" he stated, somehow pointing at probably the only section of her room that had no decoration on it whatsoever.
"Okay Ez...let's get you sat down. You want some water? I'll get you some water" Sabine replied, guiding the boy so that he was sat down on the edge of her bunk. As she poured him a glass of ice cold water from the bathroom, she glanced and noticed him swaying from side to side on the edge of her bunk.
"It's amazing...you can actually feel the ship moving..." he commented, continuing to sway from side to side with a strange look on his face.
"Um...Ezra, the ship's not moving. We're at the rendezvous point, we're stationary" Sabine explained slowly, passing him the glass of water.
"Yeeeeaaaah" he slurred, suddenly lurching forwards and spilling the water everywhere. Sabine quickly leant down and cleaned up the spillage, and by the time she stood back up she found Ezra sleeping softly on her bed, completely unconscious.
"Sweet dreams, Ez" she said softly, leaving him to it.
The night had passed, and now the morning arrived, which meant only one thing. The Forgetful Phase. Clutching his head in pain, Ezra slowly began to open his eyes, his vision still blurred from sleep. Slowly, his sight came back to him, and he gasped in shock as he saw the brightly coloured paintings on the ceiling above him. He blinked several times, making sure that he wasn't still dreaming. But his headache soon confirmed, this was no dream. He slowly sat up, feeling the whole ship spinning around him in a fit of dizziness.
"What...happened?" he muttered to himself slowly, unable to remember anything after the cake from last night.
"Oh, you're finally awake. Thought you'd lay there napping like a loth-cat all day, how do you feel?" Sabine remarked, turning to face him from the bathroom. She seemed to be already dressed, making Ezra wonder what time of day it actually was.
"Uh...can't remember anything" he moaned, still having to frown to see her clearly.
"Ah, well, I can help you with that. So, firstly you stole the Phantom and said that you were going to go and become the best smuggler that the galaxy has ever seen. Then I believe you visited Jabba the Hutt and called him a 'lazy slug'. Finally you came back here and ate about twenty slices of cake" Sabine explained, an innocent smile on her face.
"Really?" Ezra asked, genuinely unsure of whether to believe her or not.
"Course not, but that's way more exciting than what actually happened. Listen, I made a mistake. I got you drunk and it was my fault so...I'm sorry" the Mandalorian admitted.
"If I'm being honest...I don't remember much so there isn't much need to apologise. Thanks for taking care of me afterwards though" Ezra responded, smiling as much as he could with a thumping headache.
"Anytime Ez" Sabine said with a smile. The two shared a brief embrace, before Ezra began to walk towards the door. Ezra pressed the control to open the door, but just as he was about to walk out of it, Sabine called after him.
"Thanks for a wild night" she said, causing him to grin a little.
"No problem, I'll try not to get drunk next time" Ezra replied casually.
"You'll what?!" Hera shouted from the other end of the ship, causing Ezra to give a shocked look.
"Oh kriff...time to go" he said, quickly running away into the ship's air vents. Hera called after him, immediately lecturing him on the dangers of both drinking and climbing through vents. A second later, a thump could be heard as Ezra fell out of the vent and onto the floor. From her cabin, Sabine simply rolled her eyes with a smile. She couldn't quite put her finger on when, but at some point she'd stopped trying to push Ezra away. In fact now, he was about the only one who genuinely made her laugh. She could never tell him of course, his ego would go through the roof. But maybe one day they'd make something of it, maybe...