[The way Ezra wilts chips away at Qui-Gon’s heart, and he reaches out to place a large hand on the boy’s shoulder.]
I do, too.
[Ezra deserves to have his Master here with him, celebrating a momentous occasion not with explosive fanfare, but with the quiet warmth that only that unique connection can provide.]
Keep this memory in your heart, Ezra. I’m sure he’ll appreciate hearing about it when the time comes.
[There's no hesitation when Ezra nods at the suggestion, as though he'd already planned to remember this forever.]
If he ever comes here again, I'll share it with him.
[No doubt Kanan would ask about the bead anyway.
Still, for a moment, he lets himself just appreciate the warmth of Qui-Gon's hand on his shoulder. As much as he misses Kanan, misses all his family, it still means so much to him to have Qui-Gon here.]
So... That cake in the kitchen... Since I'm an adult now, am I allowed to spoil my dinner?
[The question draws a wry smile to Qui-Gon's face.]
[Ezra's stubborn enough to get what he wants when he wants it. That being said, he's also grown a healthy respect when it comes to listening to his elders.]
[In fact, he's grown a lot.]
[So even as the grip on Ezra's shoulder turns into a gentle pat to shoo him towards the kitchen, Qui-Gon's smile grows a little more... wistful. Ezra's no longer the young boy with a hot temper teetering precariously between the light and the dark, yet in so many ways he still is. There's still that youthful spark and excitement for the future, but it's steadied by a maturity that Qui-Gon can only take the smallest amount of credit for.]
[It isn't that he's done well, or even that Kanan has done well (even though he's had his own, much larger, part to play)... it's that Ezra has done well. And that's the realization that makes pride swell in Qui-Gon's chest.]
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I do, too.
[Ezra deserves to have his Master here with him, celebrating a momentous occasion not with explosive fanfare, but with the quiet warmth that only that unique connection can provide.]
Keep this memory in your heart, Ezra. I’m sure he’ll appreciate hearing about it when the time comes.
no subject
If he ever comes here again, I'll share it with him.
[No doubt Kanan would ask about the bead anyway.
Still, for a moment, he lets himself just appreciate the warmth of Qui-Gon's hand on his shoulder. As much as he misses Kanan, misses all his family, it still means so much to him to have Qui-Gon here.]
So... That cake in the kitchen... Since I'm an adult now, am I allowed to spoil my dinner?
no subject
[Ezra's stubborn enough to get what he wants when he wants it. That being said, he's also grown a healthy respect when it comes to listening to his elders.]
[In fact, he's grown a lot.]
[So even as the grip on Ezra's shoulder turns into a gentle pat to shoo him towards the kitchen, Qui-Gon's smile grows a little more... wistful. Ezra's no longer the young boy with a hot temper teetering precariously between the light and the dark, yet in so many ways he still is. There's still that youthful spark and excitement for the future, but it's steadied by a maturity that Qui-Gon can only take the smallest amount of credit for.]
[It isn't that he's done well, or even that Kanan has done well (even though he's had his own, much larger, part to play)... it's that Ezra has done well. And that's the realization that makes pride swell in Qui-Gon's chest.]
As if I could stop you.