A/N: People were requesting this AU one-shot after seeing a moodboard I posted on Tumblr, so here it is! Extremely unrealistic depiction of spies ahead. Enjoy!

Rated for mild swearing.

Dangerous Game.

"You don't have to be so cautious, Handmaiden."

Sabé listened to her handler, her face revealing nothing but the polite smiles of a party guest having a good time. Hidden by her upswept hair, her earpiece spouted advice. She hid her mouth behind her wine glass and replied in a low voice.

"I'm not being cautious, Queen. Just mindful."

Padmé Amidala, codename 'Queen', made a sceptical sound in her ear. "You don't know that he'll come."

Sabé swallowed her tiny sip of wine. "He wouldn't pass this up," she murmured, and lowered the glass.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, codename 'Negotiator', worked for the Jedi, an organisation in direct competition with hers. They often had the same goals, and had been a thorn in each other's side more than once. The last time they'd met several months ago, Sabé had managed to get the drop on him, lifting some crucial documents out from under his nose. She was convinced that he'd have spent the time since harbouring a grudge.

Thus far they had managed to work around each other, for all that they clashed, but they were on a permanent knife's edge, awaiting the moment when one organisation would order them to take out the other's top agent. It hadn't happened yet, but Sabé felt sure it would someday. Annoyingly, she wasn't sure how she'd feel about carrying a bullet with Kenobi's name on it. The missions where he didn't turn up felt…unbalanced somehow.

She knew she was right about tonight. She was attending a fancy party in Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's palatial home, one of few that he held per year. The Order of Sanctuary had sent her in to plant a bug in his study and, if possible, steal some evidence that he was corrupt. They'd suspected it for months but had been unable to prove it. They hadn't wanted to miss one of the rare opportunities of him opening up his home. There was no way the Jedi wouldn't do the same.

Sabé had already successfully ditched the man she'd sneaked in with as a plus-one, and she was steadily making her way through the crowd. Padmé had managed to get her hands on blueprints of the house, which Sabé had studied intently. She knew exactly where she needed to go, it was just a case of getting there. Since Palpatine had planted his scarlet-uniformed guards at the bottom of every stairwell and in front of every locked door, it looked to be a bit of an undertaking.

As she casually studied each guard's position, Padmé spoke up again, watching through the hacked CCTV. "Can you seduce a guard?"

Sabé doubted it. They were probably trained to report such things. Besides, the last time she'd tried that on a mission, the guard in question had turned out to be gay, which had given Kenobi an advantage that he didn't squander. He'd smirked smugly at her as he'd ascended the staircase with the guard, and she'd wanted to punch the expression right off his face. The fact that his smirks were actually kind of charming only annoyed her further.

"Negative," she reported. "Going to have to take a different approach."

She changed direction, heading back the way she'd come. Her sophisticated but plain black cocktail dress looked ideal for the setting, but made her somewhat forgettable amongst the glamour of the other female guests. Leaving the main area, she smiled politely at a guard before turning a corner and ducking into the bathroom. She left the door unlocked, crossing the carpeted floor – who has carpet in the bathroom? – and opened the window. It was a tight fit, but she managed to wriggle out, leaving her clutch bag and shoes in the bushes she landed in. Masked by the darkness, she began to make her way up the side of the building, finding handholds in windowsills and sturdy-looking pipes. Eventually, she pulled herself over the railing of the third floor balcony and dropped into a crouch.

"I'm in position," she said quietly, unsure who might be behind the windows she was hiding underneath.

"Give me a sec," Padmé said, and Sabé heard the steady tapping of her typing. "Okay, camera feed is looped and you're all clear. Go."

"On it," Sabé muttered, pulling a lockpick out of her hair. The patio door barely squeaked when she eased it open, and she sent up a mental thanks for Palpatine's good housekeeping. Crouching, she withdrew a small device from her bra, fastening it to the underside of his desk.

"Bug is in place. Commencing search."

"Okay, but hurry it up, Handmaiden. Looks like some of his associates have arrived. He'll probably want to bring them up there to talk."

"You'd better get ready to drop the looped feed then," Sabé replied, booting up Palpatine's laptop. Yanking up her skirt, she tugged a device from the garter on her thigh, plugging it into the USB port. After a few seconds of work, it had found the password for her, and she typed it in, revealing a tidy desktop with Palpatine's company logo as its background. She switched the device for a flash drive, copying the entire hard drive.

"They're heading for the stairs, Handmaiden, get out of there," Padmé said urgently.

"Just a few seconds," Sabé murmured, watching the status bar. The moment it was done, she snatched the drive out of the USB port and quickly shut the laptop down. She could hear voices in the corridor as she closed the patio door behind her, and she crept back to the shadows and hopped over the balcony railing, climbing carefully down so that she wouldn't make noise on the gravel below.

"Good work. Time to leave."

"About that," Sabé said quietly, putting her shoes back on and picking up her bag. "I'm on the wrong side of the house. Going to have to go back through the interior to get to the front."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Got it, Queen."

She listened at the bathroom window, scrambling back through it when she realised there was no one inside. She tidied her hair and washed her hands before leaving, slowing her pace as she entered the main room and pasting her 'I'm having a good time' smile back on her face. She'd made it roughly halfway across when she felt the presence at her back. The feel of a gun barrel pressing into her side made her freeze, but she half turned to look at him.

He was smartly dressed in a dark rollneck and a jacket of blue-grey that complimented his eyes. Not that she noticed such things outside of her natural talent for observation, of course. Faintly smiling, his free hand came up to tuck her hair behind her ear. At least, that was what it looked like. In reality, he'd removed her earpiece and tucked it into his pocket.

He pressed closer, inhaling the scent of her hair. His breath ghosted over her skin, and she shivered despite herself.

"Don't try to resist," he murmured into her ear, somehow managing to sound polite even while his gun still held her immobile. "I just want what you lifted from our mutual friend's office."

"I will not cooperate," Sabé told him firmly, maintaining her smile, all too aware of the flash drive concealed in her garter. At least he couldn't search for it while they were still there. However much they looked like any canoodling couple, his hand up her skirt would draw attention and raise a few eyebrows. Sabé was comforted by the fact that he would want to avoid that just as much as she did.

"I suspected as much," he said wryly.

"Can't you do your own dirty work?"

"Not when there's an easier option."

He pulled back enough for her to turn her head and meet his gaze. His eyes twinkled with another damnable smirk, and Sabé felt her blood boil. Deep down, she knew some of her rage was for herself. No matter how arrogant he was, or how much he annoyed her, she couldn't help finding him infuriatingly attractive. The only thing that took the sting out of it was that she was relatively sure she had the same effect on him. Unless he was better at pretending than she was, and she didn't want to admit that possibility.

"Hardly an easy option under this many eyes," she said, smiling sweetly at him.

She was right, and he knew it. Sabé detected a faintly irritated air in his expression that she found very satisfying. As fun as it was to wind him up, however, the longer she stayed, the more she ran the risk of Palpatine noticing his laptop had been tampered with and locking the place down.

"Leave with me," she added, dropping her smile.

Obi-Wan's face registered brief surprise before he recovered. "Hardly appropriate to be making propositions, is it?"

Sabé allowed herself the luxury of rolling her eyes. She didn't need to explain any further. He understood the need to leave as soon as possible after breaking into someone's office. A truce was implied, saying that they'd sort it out once they were free of the manor. She wasn't sure what Padmé would think, but she wouldn't necessarily need to know. Just as long as Sabé had something to show for her efforts.

"All right," he conceded, and the discomfort of the gun barrel vanished from her side. He looped an arm around her waist, holding her tight to his side, and they headed for the exit.

Sabé went along with it. Outside, away from the manor, she'd have a chance to gain the upper hand. He knew that. He'd be expecting it. But it was her best chance.

She giggled as they approached the guards by the front door, putting a little drunken instability in her steps. Obi-Wan adopted a predatory grin, chuckling as if they were sharing some sort of joke. The guards didn't even give them a second glance.

Once outside, they faced the dilemma of wondering where to go. Wherever they had their altercation, Palpatine's front lawn was the worst choice. Yet the further they went, the higher the risk of it turning nasty. Sabé had been dropped off by Padmé, who was in a surveillance van about half a mile away. She didn't like the idea of getting in Obi-Wan's car, which would put her at a disadvantage, but she may have no other options. Under the cover of darkness, he'd withdrawn his gun again. At least he wouldn't be able to drive with it trained on her. Sabé had no weapons other than her hair clasp, which doubled as a small stiletto knife. She hadn't wanted to draw attention by carrying anything heavier.

They passed through the manor's dramatic iron gates, emerging onto the road, which was lined with parked cars but no people other than a single dog-walker.

"Now what?" Sabé asked.

Faintly, she could hear Padmé's frantic tones coming from Obi-Wan's pocket, and she made a grab for it. She'd closed her hand around the earpiece when he gripped her wrist to stop her.

"Just let me hear what she has to say," she urged him. "She's been quiet up till now."

Shrugging, he relented, and she raised the device to her ear.

"…looks like," Padmé was saying. "Handmaiden, do you copy?"

"Repeat, Queen," she barked.

"He knows someone's been in his office, he's locking the place down, and I can't see you!"

"Shit," Sabé swore. "I'm out, Queen, going radio silent."

"Don't you dare…"

Sabé lowered her hand, deactivating the earpiece and dropping it into her clutch bag. Behind them, they heard the crunch of footsteps on the gravel drive. She took off running, and Obi-Wan kept up pace beside her. At a disadvantage in her heels, she knew he could outstrip her easily, but he didn't. If she hadn't been carrying something he wanted, she'd almost find his behaviour chivalrous.

They wound through various streets, taking long, overly-complicated routes until they could no longer hear any steps other than their own. Sabé didn't think the guards had even seen them. Despite everything, that was a win. They halted in an alleyway, and she debated what to do. Just handing over the flash drive was unthinkable.

"Are you wired up?" she asked.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I went in naked but for the gun."

Although she was familiar with the term and what it meant in the context of their job, she still blinked a little at hearing that particular phrase leave his mouth.

"I, uh…I'll share it with you," she blurted out.

He stared at her, a little furrow appearing between his brows. "Just like that? What's the catch?"

"No catch, just as long as we keep this between ourselves. You tell your superiors you beat me, I'll tell mine I threw you off my tail."

A look of intrigue crossed his face, and he folded his arms, leaning back against the wall. "Why?"

It was a valid question, and Sabé answered it honestly. "Someone needs to bring Palpatine down. Isn't that the most important thing? Who cares if it's the Jedi or the Order who does it?" She believed that, and besides, he didn't need to know about the bug she'd planted. The Order would still have the lead.

He raised his eyebrows. She'd caught him off guard.

"What did you get?" he asked.

"The contents of his hard drive. It's on a flash drive, you could take a copy if you have a laptop."

"It's back at my hotel room," he answered her. "How do I know you don't just want to corrupt the hardware?"

"How do I know you won't just wipe the flash drive?" she threw back rhetorically. "We're just going to have to trust each other. I'm willing, and remember I'll be on the back foot seeing as it's your room."

He tilted his head, conceding the point. "All right. It's about twenty minutes' walk. Are you okay in those shoes?"

He said it teasingly, and she glared at him. "Don't worry about me, hotshot. Just lead the way."

They made it in seventeen minutes, as Sabé refused to sacrifice speed for comfort. A little more couple play-acting as they passed the front desk, and they were silently walking the carpeted corridors. The room was quiet too. After the party and the chaos of running, the silence felt almost oppressive, and she was very cognizant of the fact that she was alone with a rival agent with no back-up on the line.

Obi-Wan had barely settled into his hotel room. Sabé noted that he was living out of his suitcase. Only a toothbrush and a spare pair of shoes had been unpacked. She glanced down at the trash, seeing only an empty Starbucks cup. He'd been meticulous about being uninteresting.

"Does it pass muster?" he asked her with amused sarcasm, watching the sweep of her eyes.

Sabé didn't deign to respond. "Let's just get this over with."

He said nothing further, crouching to retrieve a laptop case from underneath the bed. They both stood and watched while it booted up. Sabé braced one foot on the mattress and plucked the flash drive out of her garter.

Obi-Wan watched her movements unabashedly. It was his job to ensure that she wasn't about to pull a weapon on him, but she didn't miss how his gaze lingered on her bare leg. She locked eyes with him as she stepped down, feeling acutely aware that that silent communication was the most honest they'd been with each other for a long time.

He leaned down to tap in his password. Sabé automatically memorised it with a single flicker of her eyes, although she doubted she'd ever need the information. A minimal desktop loaded, complete with stock photo background. Obi-Wan gestured to it.

"All yours."

"And the laptop?" she fired back without thinking.

He looked at her sharply but his lips twitched. He chose not to comment.

Sabé crouched down and inserted the flash drive into the USB, copying over all the files and sitting back on her heels to watch the status bar.

"Any idea if there's actually anything useful on there?" Obi-Wan asked.

"None," she admitted. "I didn't have time to look at it before I had to get out of there."

"Hm."

The task complete, she removed the flash drive, hiking up her skirt to slip it back into her garter. She got to her feet, and Obi-Wan leaned down to check that she hadn't transferred any viruses or malware. At least, that was what she assumed he was doing, because that's what she would have done. When he was satisfied, he straightened up and closed the laptop.

"Well," Sabé said, "that was relatively painless."

He almost laughed. "Indeed."

"Until next time then, I guess, Kenobi."

"Wait," he spoke up, a hand on her arm. "Isn't it a little early? The lad on reception thinks we're in here for another purpose."

"He sees dozens of people, he won't remember me," she countered.

"Oh, I think he will."

He looked her up and down, and Sabé placed a hand on her hip.

"Meaning?"

"I'm sure you know."

He stepped closer, and she stood her ground, holding his gaze. He reached for her hair clasp, and she snapped her hand up like lightning, gripping his wrist tight.

"I just think you should look a little less tidy," he explained.

Still maintaining her grip, she lifted her other hand and removed the clasp, letting her waves of thick brunette hair tumble down to her shoulders. She held the clasp between them and thumbed the switch to extend the blade. For a split second he actually looked taken aback, then he smiled.

Releasing his wrist, she closed the blade. He took advantage of his freedom to run his fingers through her hair, gifting her with a low level of dishevelment. She fought the urge to close her eyes as his fingertips lightly grazed her scalp. She should go. They were playing a dangerous game, and they both knew it.

She didn't go. Instead, she kissed him, gripping the lapels of his jacket with her clasp-blade still in her hand. His hands cradled her head, and he kissed her back, taking half a step closer still. They'd been down this road before, each time a stolen moment never to be spoken of again. Those had usually been while in the field. Being alone in a hotel room felt entirely different. When her back hit the softness of the bed a short while later, she idly thought that at least they'd be convincing for reception.

Much later, she perched on the edge to slip her shoes back on, running her hands through her thoroughly untidy hair. Obi-Wan lounged behind her, wide awake because he didn't trust her.

"What will you tell your handler?" he asked softly.

"That I was hiding out somewhere," she said with a shrug.

She pivoted, leaning over to seek out one last sense of connection. The kiss was slow, and surprisingly tender. She chose not to read too much into it.

When they parted, Obi-Wan kept a hand on her cheek. "Sabé, I…"

"Shh," she whispered, almost afraid to know what he was going to say. "Let's just keep it at 'until next time'."

He held her gaze for a long moment before giving a slight nod. "Until next time."

It seemed to be with some reluctance that he let her go, and Sabé straightened up and stood, picking up her clutch bag from the floor. She looked back at him once, nodded, and left the room.

Once outside, it took her less than five minutes to discover the tracking device he'd planted in her bag. Smiling, she wondered how long it would take him to find the one she'd left in his laptop case.

A/N: Thanks to riselioness for suggesting the inclusion of Sabé's infamous TPM line :)