Rebuilding (COMPLETE)

*Episode 22 (3)

"Staring off into space?"

The sudden presence behind him startled Ezra so much he jumped. He twisted back around to see Master Skywalker standing behind him. The slightest of grins was playing about his mouth.

He closed his eyes and tried to slow his heart rate before responding. "Yeah, I just...didn't realize you were there. Sorry, did I miss you telling me something?"

"No, but you caught air just then," he commented, raising an eyebrow. "I saw you here alone. Is it alright if I join you?"

"Sure," Ezra invited him, and Anakin sat down beside the Padawan. The two Jedi looked out over the base, hiding in the long shadows of the hills. The day was just starting to warm up.

Anakin didn't say anything at first. There was a lot on his mind and a lot he wanted to say, but he had a feeling Ezra did too, and he didn't want to press him. Right after Order 66, there had been a period of months where Obi-Wan had avoided speaking his mind. He had coaxed him out of it, and through that, Anakin learned that silence was the easiest way to encourage someone to open up. If it could work on Obi-Wan, Anakin hoped it would work on Ezra too.

He kept his stare forward, not putting any pressure on the teenager. Resting his chin on his forearms propped on his knees, Anakin kept silent, making no effort to make conversation. Ezra was looking at him. He could feel it.

"Going into that temple was a mistake, wasn't it?"

There we go. Anakin turned to look at him, and he could see the shame that had washed over his face. He wasn't surprised. Ezra was probably blaming himself for what happened to Kanan.

He sighed before answering. "Maybe going to Malachor at all was a mistake."

"What? But...Master Yoda told us to go. Why would he do that if it was a mistake?"

"Ezra," he began, making sure to keep his voice soft. "Yoda isn't a Jedi. Not anymore."

Shock and confusion crossed the Padawan's face, as Anakin was afraid it would. He looked forward again, remembering the last day he had ever been in the Coruscant Jedi temple. "There weren't many survivors after Order 66. Most of them went into hiding as Kanan did, but Yoda came back to the temple to fight off the clone troopers. When the battle was over, he abandoned his lightsaber and renounced the Jedi Way."

In his mind, he could still hear the small lightsaber clatter as it hit the ground. Even worse, he could still see the horror on Obi-Wan's face when he realized what Yoda was doing. It was quite similar to the expression Ezra had at the moment. "What? Why did he...I don't understand."

"I never asked him why," Anakin admitted. "I haven't seen him since that day. I wasn't even sure he was still alive until you told me. Do you remember when you showed me your lightsaber for the first time?"

"I...yeah, and I told you I got the crystal from Yoda," he remembered, narrowed his brow as he concentrated. "You seemed confused at first. Is this why?"

Nodding, Anakin looked back at Ezra, his face hardening. "I didn't understand why Yoda would give you a crystal when he wasn't a Jedi. I didn't even realize he could because I thought in his exile, he had cut himself off from the Force. No one else had heard from him before or since the day you saw him in the temple."

"But Kanan spoke with him too, the first time," objected Ezra, trying to make sense of what Anakin was saying. "Did he not know about Yoda?"

"Not from what he told me."

Ezra let his gaze drop as the information processed. Anakin didn't try to rush him. It was a hard pill to swallow. He sat in silence again, waiting for Ezra to be ready before he tried to change the subject.