Different But The Same

Chapter 12

Eyes wide, most likely not breathing. Ezra stood still as he stared at....his parents. "Hello Ezra, we've heard so much about you" Mira smiled "don't worry, all good things of course" the teen realized he needed to speak "it's nice to...meet you too" he replied as he shook both of their out-stretched hands. "We have our own Ezra, he's just over there with Luke and Leia" Ephraim stated as he pointed over to his five year old son "you two look a lot alike too, he'll love that" all of the adults chuckled "indeed....if you'll excuse me, I need to...do something" he left without a reply, hurrying away until he managed to reach his room. It was as if he hadn't been breathing during that whole encounter as he released a large breath, followed by shorter ones as he tried to calm himself and not enter a panic attack - Kanan had discovered that he dealt with them alone six months ago and helped him, teaching him what to do. Ezra was especially grateful for those 'lessons' right now as he managed to calm himself down. What the teen didn't know what that Anakin, seeing and sensing that something was wrong, had also excused himself and followed him "hey kid, what was all that about??" the man asked as he closed the door; he hadn't seen any of the panicking which the boy was thankful for. Ezra took another deep breath before speaking "nothing" it was more of a mumble but Anakin still heard it; the teenager turned around to face the Jedi but once he saw the look on his face, realized there was no getting out of this one. 

Sighing, Ezra lent against the bed frame "your and Padme's old friends....they're from Lothal...aren't they??" he asked earning a raised eye brow "Mira and Ephraim?? Yeah...but how do you know that?? They never said and neither did Padme or I" he asked followed by "is this what this is about?? Not a fan of Lothal??" there was a hint of humor in the mans voice. Ezra couldn't help but roll his eyes "I'm from Lothal Anakin" the Master had forgotten that "oh...yeah" he felt a little stupid but brushed it off "so...you know them or something??" he asked earning a slow nod "Anakin....they're my...my parents". Anakin wasn't exactly sure what he was expected to be wrong with the Padawan; he mentally listed a few things....that....wasn't exactly high up on the list....it didn't actually make the list. The mans eyes were wide for a few seconds as he took in the information "oh" he rubbed the back of his neck "...but I thought they were....you know....not with us anymore??" he tried to say it as lightly as he could "they are...I guess since the Empire never ruled in this universe, they were never killed or taken....it's just weird seeing them again, as well as me as a kid". 

Deciding they had been gone too long, the two returned to the party; Anakin instantly pulled his wide aside and told her what he had just discovered. She was shocked to say the least. Ezra, on the other hand, when to check on the twins and....his younger self; he asked if they were okay, to which Luke said "yeah, but can we have a drink please??" the teen nodded his head before asking what they wanted exactly "orange juice!!" all three exclaimed before laughing. The Padawan chuckled as he stood back up from his crouched position "okay, I'll put them on the table" he entered the kitchen poured three drinks and did as he said - the now three terrors thanked the older boy. A few ours passed and by now, most of the guests had left; turns out Mira, Ephraim and their son were staying the night and would be returning to Lothal at one pm the next day....great. Padme and Anakin took the twins to bed whilst Ezra began the big clean up; the other couple put their own son to bed in the other spare bedroom that they were sharing. Ezra was still tried to get his head around the fact that he was seeing his parents....but he also had to remember that, at the same time, they weren't his parents. They were from this universe and had their own Ezra Bridger. His parents....they were gone, dead...but secretly, he already had people taking on those missing roles of mother and father. "Hey" Padme spoke as she entered the living area "the twins are down, you should go to bed too" she stated earning an agreeing nod "okay, I've finished cleaning the kitchen and put the left over food in the fridge" both husband and wife smiled before thanking the boy "good night kid". Ezra entered his room and instantly changed into his pajama shorts - it was meant to be a hot night so he left his top. He crawled into bed, the covers coming up to his waist; he as out like a light. Today had been such an emotional roller coaster that he was completely drained.

The Next Morning....
Ezra, once again, awoke to little people jumping up and down on his bed...but there was more then two this time?? He opened his eyes to see the twins and...his younger self bouncing on the bed?! It evidently freaked the teen out until the events of the day before came to mind. The teenager sighed before getting up with a stretch; he looked over to the clock to see that it was half past nine; Anakin, Padme, Mira and Ephraim should be up by now. The young ones raced out of the room so that Ezra could get changed; he did and threw on his orange vest op that he usually used as a pajama top and his navy blue shorts. He tied his hair up into a ponytail again. It was extremely hot today and the air-con was broken. Entering the living area, Ezra saw everyone sat at the table, about to dig into their breakfast "morning Ezra, sleep well??" Mira asked once she had noticed the teen "em...yeah" Padme was next to speak "well don't just stand there, come sit with us". The Padawan didn't move "em...actually...I'm not very hungry" he informed "I'm just gonna go to the...training room and do some...training" and with that, he quickly left. Anakin and Padme shared a sad look as they felt bad for the teen; they let him go.