Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.
A/N: I haven't had too much action in this story yet, as I wanted to focus on the characters, what they're thinking, feeling, and how their relationship developed. But this is Star Wars of course, so with that being said….read on.
"Alright, so just like we planned. I'll go in first and head to the back. I'll send you an all clear on your terminal and you can come in about 10 minutes later."
Sabine was just confirming the details of their plan with Ezra around the corner of the club where they waited in an alley, watching her new boyfriend? Lover? Riduur….? Fidget around while giving her an uneasy look as she spoke.
"Sabine, why don't I just go in myself, or we can go together…?" he asked haltingly while brushing the back of his head with his hand.
"Ezra Bridger I will not have you start treating me like some child or damsel in distress because of whatever this is going on between us" Sabine stated matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing with a cold fire.
"I know Sabine, I'm not trying to.." but she cut him off.
"We have been risking our lives just like this together for years, and if you think I'm going to start waiting on the ship while you go off and fight or never be out of your sight, we can just call this whole thing off right now and go back to the way things were". She was still glaring at him, not letting up for even a second lest he think she was anything less than totally serious.
Ezra tried returning the glare, but he was never going to be a match for her in this sort of battle and he knew it.
"I know Sabine, I'm sorry, let's just…"
"No. I want to hear you say it Ezra."
He gave her one more halfway pleading look, then let out a long sigh, finally relenting.
"I'm not going to treat you any different Sabine. You're right. We've been trusting each other this long, I'm not going to stop now" Ezra finally told her, his own eyes flashing not with anger or resentment, but utter sincerity and commitment.
Her stern gaze immediately shifted into a bright smile that seemed like it would light up the entire alley as she basked in her victory.
"Good. Now that that's cleared up" she said, while aggressively moving forward and pinning Ezra to the wall behind him. Her lips met his once again, even more forcefully than they had an hour ago. Her hands snaked behind his back and pulled him into her, as if she wanted every inch of her to feel every inch of him at once.
Ezra was getting used to this sort of outburst from her, and truthfully, he relished it. The years he had spent dreaming about finally kissing her didn't even come close to the real thing. And while he knew the spunky Mando girl could be forceful and even dominating when situation called for it, he never imagined that those same personality traits would be reflected in the way she loved.
He decided that it was high time to return the favor as he used his considerable strength to pick the lithe girl right up from the ground, his hands finding their own comfortable positions right on her butt, while spinning her around so she was now against the wall.
She adapted quickly and wrapped her legs around his waist, holding onto his jacket to keep steady, though realizing that she didn't need to. He was keeping her up just fine on his own. His lips began moving down her jaw line to her neck, giving her slight bites and eliciting faint moans to spurn him on.
"Elek…" Sabine moaned in his ear as he bit down on her neck, lapsing back into her native language while her mind was overcome. Ezra slowly returned to her lips, transitioning from savage passion to gentle kisses of endearment before setting her back down on the ground.
Sabine's legs felt shaky as her breath returned to normal, choosing instead to collapse into him and just feel his own steady heartbeat while her mind returned to the moment.
'What have I gotten myself into' she thought to herself before standing up and straightening her armor.
"Just because you can kiss me like that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind Ezra" she said, trying to regain an ounce of the commanding voice she had before their embrace, but her own wide smile and dazzling eyes with just a hint of wetness betrayed her.
"Yes dear" Ezra said with a grin, knowing he had finally gotten the best of the Mandalorian warrior, if only for a moment.
"Soooo…back to the plan." She said again, clearing her throat and trying to put on a serious look, but not quite succeeding.
"You come after I give you the signal and go sit in the back booth like we planned. I'll be watching from across the bar. Make sure your earpiece is in and your scrambler is up before you come inside."
"You got it babe" Ezra laughed.
This caused Sabine to just roll her eyes at him with mock exasperation.
"And besides 'babe', if anything bad really happens…" she told him, leaning in for one last kiss, "I know my strong Jedi Knight will be there to protect me, as always".
And with a devilish smirk, she donned her helmet, and walked off purposefully in the direction of the club.
Ezra stood in the alley by himself, fidgeting with his gear to keep his mind off the danger he was already imagining Sabine was in. His trusty DL-44 heavy blaster rested firmly in its holster, fully charged and recalibrated, thanks to his girlfriend. His girlfriend. He still couldn't believe it. As if the whirlwind of teasing, flirting, hopeful glances, and loving touches they had shared over the past week were just some dream he would wake up from. Granted she had never actually said that she was his girlfriend. That would hopefully be a part of this talk they were supposed to have after this mission was over with, but he now finally allowed himself to embrace hope that it would really come true.
His lightsaber hung inside his jacket, clipped to a hidden fastener near his left armpit, out of sight but ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he greatly preferred it to a blaster any day, something Sabine would scoff at. Her own unique dark bladed lightsaber had been left back at Yavin with Kanan. She was no Jedi and a lightsaber was not her life as it was his. And she would never forgive herself if it were lost or taken on a minor mission such as this. That blade was destined for far greater things.
'It's been like an hour!' Ezra thought impatiently, glancing down at his wrist terminal and seeing that it had in fact been less than that. 4 minutes.
Ezra kicked a piece of trash down the alley with another long sigh, still waiting for his moment to rush in and save Sabine from some deadly peril.
He checked to ensure his jammer was powered on and running as she had instructed, and his tiny comm earpiece was in place. His holdout blaster was tucked into the rear of his pants, and the tiny spheres that were his few stun grenades jingled in his pocket. He was ready for whatever might happen. Now if only that girl would send him the damn signal.
7 minutes.
Ezra took a deep breath and decided to calm himself through the Force, something he knew he should have been doing this whole time. Sabine had been in danger many times. In fact, she was doing this sort of thing when he was stealing Jogan fruit on Lothal. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and steadying his breath. The familiar tingle of the Force surged through his mind and opened his senses to the world around him. He could feel people in the buildings above, beneath, and all around him, despite the dark and empty look of the dirty alley in which he stood. He stretched out his senses toward the club and felt the energy of what must have been hundreds of people. Competing emotions of joy, anger, lust, love, depression, satisfaction, resentment, and camaraderie mingled with each other into a haze of feeling. He thought he could just pick out one familiar and comfortable life in the crowd, a steady, determined, and calm warrior's mind…..
Beep.
The chime of his terminal woke him from his communion with the Force. He looked down to see only one word.
"Ready"
'Finally' Ezra thought as he stood up. His brief meditation had done the trick and his mind was clear and focused, the butterflies in his stomach settled and his apprehension subdued by reason and faith. Faith in the Force, and faith in his friend and partner, Sabine Wren.
He began to walk.
Noise assaulted Ezra's ears as the doors to Flux whisked open, and he wished for a moment he had brought one of his stolen Imperial helmets. While the way they deadened one's senses was terrible for the soldiers meant to wear them, it would have been very useful for him at this moment. As he made his way through the front entry chamber and past the droid running the door check, he was momentarily taken aback by the cacophony of noise, light, scents, and feelings that assaulted him both physically and spiritually. The taste he had gotten in the alley was no match for being here in person.
He pushed his way past throngs of people dancing, laughing, kissing, touching, and other…things, as he moved through the main room towards the private suites in the rear.
A sultry feminine voice halted him in his tracks as he felt a soft touch on his hand. A blue skinned Twi'lek who had to be even younger than him had intercepted him.
"You look like you've had a long day" she said, her voice oozing with desire. The fact that she was wearing what passed as a "dress" but did nothing to hide any of the things one normally wears clothes for did not escape his notice. Neither did the twinge of danger and deception in the back of his mind when she touched him.
"When the Force is telling you something Ezra, listen" his teacher had told him on many occasions.
"Let's grab a drink and you can tell me all about your…journeys. I bet you have some stories to tell" the girl told him, her eyes roaming around his body and taking in his rough and roguish appearance.
"Maybe another time" Ezra said, side-stepping the obvious bait for whatever trap he was certain others were laying for strangers and hapless victims.
"You sure about that? I can do things to you you can't even imagine" she cooed, not wanting to let him pass without one more try at seduction.
"I can imagine quite a bit" Ezra retorted and moved away, leaving the girl in his wake.
'You weren't kidding about this place Sabine' he thought to himself as he neared the door to the rear lounge.
Another door hissed open, and again closed behind him, and like a switch the noise and light of the dance club faded to nothing.
Ezra stood inside a dimly lit cantina. Low ceilings, smoky air, the hushed whispers of patrons who wanted to remain undisturbed contrasting with the hectic bustle of the main club just on the other side of the door. He gave a quick glance around the room and felt a wash of relief as he spied the deceptively thin figure of a Mandalorian girl in dark armor leaning against the bar, her helmet next to her and a drink in her hand.
She didn't even look up as he entered and she appeared for all intents to be just part of the crowd. Another travel worn pilot, merc, or bounty hunter taking in some relaxation before the next job.
'I wonder how many nights like this she had before meeting Hera…' he thought before catching himself staring at her.
Ezra put on his best game face and sauntered over to an empty booth nestled into the far side of the small room. Sitting with his back to the wall, he could just see Sabine over the heads of the other patrons, her eyes looking up at a pod-racing holo playing behind the bar, still for all the world looking like she'd done this a million times. For all he knew, she had.
He knew he needed to look the same if he wasn't going to be outed as a rebel, or worse, an easy mark. He put on his best bored and relaxed expression while he put one foot up on a small foot rest that encircled the table, lazily letting his right hand drift down next to his blaster. He saw that he was far from the only one in the establishment who kept a weapon at hand, though none of the other patrons looked like they wanted a fight any more than he did.
Beings from a dozen different species sat or leaned in small groups around the cantina, most with a drink of some form, and many smoking or inhaling vapors he was sure weren't legal. They wore flight suits and armor for the most part, and every one was armed in some fashion.
"May I take your order sir?" the mechanical voice of a droid on a single spherical wheel asked him. He vaguely recognized the droid as the same kind Maul had employed as soldiers when he had taken his Ghost family hostage.
Caught up in that random memory, he panicked for a brief instant while he struggled to remember the code phrase he had been told to use.
"Umm I'm good for now" He blurted, causing the droid to begin to turn around.
"Wait. Know where I can find transport to Corellia?" he said, trying to play it off as the most casual question anyone could ask.
The droid spun back to face him, and the friendly face displayed on the screen which made its head paused just longer than seemed normal.
"I'm afraid not sir. Will there be anything else?"
"No, that's it. Thanks."
"My pleasure sir" and the droid wheeled away back towards the bar.
'Well. I guess that's it now.' Ezra thought, unsure if he had screwed it all up, or if things were about to blow up in his face. What if this whole thing was an Imperial sting? What if the contact had already been captured and tortured into revealing the plan? There could be Stormtroopers waiting outside to pick him up right now. Or worse, to kill Sabine.
His worried fantasies were immediately halted when a figure slid into the booth opposite him and slid a glass across the table in his direction.
Unbeknownst to Ezra, Sabine had indeed noticed when he entered the back room of the club. Blending in to a place such as this was second nature to her, and though it had been years since she had occasion to come to a cantina like this one, she knew the lay of the land pretty well. One shady bar filled with criminals was the same as the next all over the galaxy.
When she sat down, she was briefly reminded of the many times her and Ketsu had come to places like this, and could easily imagine Ketsu making a loud entrance, slamming some credits down on the bar, ordering several rounds at once, then scoping out the rest of the crowd for her next mark, or next carnal adventure. Ketsu had always been more of a flirt than Sabine, and she could tell from the moment they met back at the Academy that she had some kind of anger or deep-seated desire to prove herself that drove her to living life hard and fast, taking risks where patience would have served better. Sabine had that anger too, which is why she could easily see it in the other girl, but for Sabine it had driven her to other places. She was far more likely to find herself in front of a canvas or a blank section of wall than the bed of a strange man (or woman) when her own demons caught up to her. Ketsu on the other hand…
But Ketsu wasn't here. Ezra was. He had just moved to the back of the room and sat down in the empty booth. She was watching him in the reflection of a blank monitor behind the bar, keeping an eye on him from afar. She knew he could handle himself. She had warned him about this place and what to expect, and so far he had done well for himself. Their escape from the restaurant earlier that night had proven that. The way he had quickly executed an escape plan while she handled the details that she knew he hadn't thought of. Both of them working together like halves of a whole.
She thought back to their missions together on Concord Dawn or with Iron Squadron, or many the other times the pair of them had been sent out alone. She hadn't noticed how easily they fell into working as a team even while it was happening. When she fell, he was there to grab her hand. When he missed something, she didn't. Over and over, each making the other better, each filling in the gaps the other left out, and each becoming a necessary part of the life of the other in the process.
And now here they were again, out on a mission together, the two halves once again making the other stronger.
"Haven't seen you around" a gruff male voice that was trying a little too hard to sound charming broke her from her nostalgia.
Sabine looked away from the monitor and found that a tall muscular Shorak had taken the seat next to hers and was signaling to the bartending droid for another round. The man had shoulder length hair, almost like Kanan, but instead of a neat ponytail, it hung loose around his head. And like her own hair, it was died with a myriad of colors, black, red, orange, and white. The man wore the usual mish-mash of armor pieces and flight gear that was common for underworld types and spacers, and she could see intricate tattoos covering his arms, neck and even on his face.
Sabine finally caught his eye, the same deep amber of her own, and saw a wide smile painted on his face, though experience taught her to be wary of anyone appearing to be a friend in a place like this.
"Just passing through" Sabine replied, taking her eyes away from him and returning to the monitor.
"Ah, well if more women like you were just passing through, Denon might not be so bad" the man persisted with a chuckle.
Sabine ignored the obvious attempt at flirting and took a sip of her drink. She surreptitiously glanced around the rest of the bar through the reflection, and saw that three more men had entered while this one was trying to charm her. All three took seats across the room, and all three were sitting so that they could see her easily. None of them had bothered to get anything to drink.
"So what brings you to Denon miss….?" The man asked, not letting up, and still trying to sound friendly.
"Just another job" Sabine replied curtly not giving her name and now trying to keep track of Ezra, the three new faces behind her, and the one next to her. This was starting to get a little weird, and even if this guy was on the level, she didn't have time to fend off another scoundrel looking for an easy lay. Not while they were in the middle of a mission.
"Ah, then I see we've got something in common" he said, taking a sip of his own drink and resettling himself on the chair, just a little bit closer to her.
"And what is it you do?"
"Bounty hunter" Sabine said, putting a hint of menace in her voice to warn him off.
"Well now, that is funny. There's another thing we have in common" he replied, while casting his own look up at the blank monitor, seemingly to the trio of thugs behind them.
Just as Sabine was about to reply, she saw a figure slip into Ezra's booth.
For the second time that night, a seductive feminine voice interrupted his thoughts.
"I didn't think you would be so…handsome" another sultry voice told him, only this time it was no Twi'lek dancer. She was human. Very obviously human. Unlike the many partiers in the adjacent club, this girl was not wearing the barely-there style of dress that was the fashion on these Inner city-worlds. She wore tight black pants and thigh high boots, an extremely form fitting grey shirt under a black jacket not-so different from his own. Long blonde hair fell well past her shoulders and bright green eyes looked into his own blue ones as he took in the sight. While Sabine's figure could be accurately described as slender, petite, even delicate (if you didn't know her), this girl, no woman, was the picture of curves and seduction. The shirt did little to hide what she was clearly proud of and didn't mind showing off, and the knowing smile indicated the outfit had its intended effect on Ezra.
"Umm..excuse me?" Ezra said, still recovering from the shock.
"I heard you're looking for passage to Corellia…at least that's what the droid told me. It may have been a misunderstanding" she said evenly, her eyes still giving him a once over.
Ezra came back into the moment and realized this was it. This was the contact. Back to the mission.
"Yeah, that's what I told him. My friends told me this was a good place to look for that sort of thing" Ezra said, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'friends'.
"Oh your friends told you that?" She replied, putting the same emphasis on the word and locking eyes with him, both trying to get a read of the other.
"Yeah, my friends." Ezra said, still testing the waters.
"And where are these friends of yours?" the woman asked innocently, but the keen look in her eyes showed that it was anything but casual conversation.
Ezra thought about how to answer the question. If she was the real thing, he needed to let her know he was with the Rebellion. If she was a false-flag or bait, he couldn't tip his hand.
"They try to stay out of the Inner Rim, they're not really welcome around here" he said finally, hoping she picked up on the hint.
"I see…" The woman said. "Sounds like they'd be my kind of friends too. Things in the Inner Rim aren't what they used to be, or so I've been told". She couldn't nearly be old enough to remember the days of the Republic, just as Ezra wasn't.
"Yeah, there's a lot of that going around" Ezra said, now reaching out with the Force and trying to sense her intentions.
He felt, unease, fear, trepidation, uncertainty, and a small twinge of hope. But no deception or malice, at least not from her. There was plenty of that around too, but the woman in front of him seemed genuine.
"Yes, I've heard" she continued. "A lot of people aren't happy with the way things are being run on Denon. Maybe a little change would be a good thing…"
"My friends would agree with you there" Ezra said, picking up the hint and taking a sip from the drink she brought him.
"Well, I'd love to meet them sometime. I think there's a lot we could learn from each other" the woman said reaching into her jacking and palming a small object.
"I think they'd like that too. They're always up for meeting new people. Especially the kind who would like some things to change" Ezra said, thinking that this whole thing might really come off without a hitch.
He looked up briefly towards Sabine to see that she was in the middle of conversation with a hulking humanoid man, one who looked like he was getting a little too friendly with his Sabine.
The woman saw the dark glimmer of uncertainty pass over Ezra's face, and quickly glanced around the room for any sign of danger. She saw nothing but the rest of the crowd. Not a Stormtrooper or Imperial in sight. Except for her of course. And if they caught her here talking with this Rebel, she was as good as dead.
"Well, it was nice to meet you. What did you say your name was?"
"Jabba" Ezra replied without even thinking. His use of the false name had become so normal for him that he didn't even remember that the Empire knew he used that name already.
"Well Jabba, I hope you find transport to Corellia. This should help" she told him as she reached under the table and found his hand.
Ezra felt the cold hard texture of a small computer chip in his palm as the hand left his. He then felt delicate fingers brush lightly along his thigh before the hand was gone.
"I hope to see you again Jabba" she told him with a sweet smile. "Next time you're in the neighborhood, look me up"
The woman stood up and Ezra stood with her. Before he knew it she had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then started walking briskly to the door. He involuntarily watched her long legs and firm behind retreat towards the door, and then she was gone. Ezra stood for a moment watching the door close and wondering just who the mysterious woman really was.
"Touch me again, and you'll lose more than a hand!" Sabine's voice rang through the small dark room, drawing all eyes toward her.
Ezra looked over in alarm to see Sabine pinning the interloper to the bar with one arm, and one of her WESTAR-35 blasters held to the back of his head. In a flash he ran over to stand next to her and was just reaching inside his jacket for his lightsaber when she caught his eye and gave him a quick shake of the head. Against his better judgement, he trusted her and withdrew his hand, placing it instead of the grip of his own blaster.
"Hey, calm down!" the Shorak was shouting, still struggling to be let up. Ezra had no idea what prompted Sabine to attack him, but if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for him. He held back, only a few paces away, reaching out with the Force to detect and more hidden dangers. And he found some.
Shock or annoyance had been the most common emotions he sensed in the room, from patrons who didn't want anyone to make a scene that might draw Imperials, or employees who didn't want to clean up the mess. A few others were feeling glee and anticipation for the possibility of getting to see a good fight. But the three men who sat in another booth were filled with anger, hatred, greed, and aggression. Something about Sabine's fight with this man meant a great deal to them. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't plan on sticking around to find out.
"Sabine, let's go" Ezra told her.
She looked up and gave him a nod, withdrawing the weapon but not holstering it. Slowly she let go of the arm he had pinned behind his back, taking a step back. The man rose and gave her an icy glare.
"This isn't over Wren" he spat.
Sabine was shocked, but only for a second. The Shorak knew who she was. Ezra had said her first name, but he knew her Clan. This wasn't good at all.
"Same plan." Sabine told Ezra quickly, looking around the room and making her way behind the bar, past a confused droid, and into the kitchen
"Right" Ezra answered, quickly following.
Unlike on their impromptu date, this time they did know for a fact the bar had a back entrance thanks to their recon, and they quickly rushed past kitchen droids to the door.
"Sabine, how did he know your name?" Ezra asked hurriedly
"I don't know Ezra. Let's get out of here" she shot back, opening the door and stepping through.
"Sabine wait!" Ezra shouted, but it was too late. His abilities had warned him of danger, but his mouth wasn't quite fast enough to warn her.
Ezra lunged at Sabine, pushing her out of the way just as a meiloorun sized fist came crashing into the side of his head, sending him sprawling into another dark and dirty alley. As he was reaching for his blaster when the attack came, it too went careening out of his hand, skittering down the permacrete and out of his reach.
Sabine had been nearly knocked over herself, but Ezra's quick thinking had taken the brunt of the attack, and she quickly tucked and rolled out of the way, drawing both of her own blasters. She saw Ezra struggling to his feet as a large Trandoshan wrapped him in a bear hug and dragged him back to the ground.
Sabine took aim at the creature, but several blaster bolts impacting near her own head became a more immediate concern. She whirled around and saw two more bipedal aliens standing near the end of the alley, and the looked very familiar.
'The men from the bar' she thought as she took cover and returned fire.
Ezra might have puked from the rancid stench the reptilian gave off being so close to his face, if he could breath. The alien had both scaly arms wrapped around him and was actually trying to bite him as he fought to keep his head far enough away. Ezra concentrated on the alien's chest, drawing the Force into his mind and directing it back out, just as the alien opened its jaws. A surprised gasp and a sudden weight lifting off his chest told him the move had worked. The Trandoshan had sailed across the alley, smacking into the peramcrete wall with a sickening thud.
But apparently that wasn't enough to take him out. The green skinned creature rose slowly and let out a growl, preparing for another rush. Ezra quickly reached behind him for the holdout blaster Rex had given him, and sent 5 shots into the center of mass, leaving angry red and black holes glowing in the flesh and material of its flight suit. The alien let out a pained shriek which turned into a gurgle as its life left it.
More blaster shots, this time from the other end of the alley, caused Ezra to forget about his victory. He dashed over to where Sabine was crouching behind a refuse container, using the Force to draw his forgotten DL-44 back into his hand.
"We're surrounded!" Sabine shouted at him between shots. The four men from the bar had flanked them and were now advancing from both sides, bounding and using cover like well trained pros, never giving Ezra or Sabine a chance to break cover.
"Not for long" Ezra said as he put his hand back into his jacket. He had a bone to pick with the man who had attacked Sabine, and it was time to settle the score.
"Ezra no! We can't let them know you're a Jedi!" She rebuked him. "Use your grenades on your side and we'll break out on mine!"
Ezra understood what she was going for, and instead of his saber, drew two of the small stun grenades from his pocket. Next to him, Sabine was doing the same.
"Now!" she shouted, and both teens tossed their weapons in unison, in opposite directions. 4 sharp cracks of energy resounded in the tight alley and the blaster fire stopped. Sabine darted her head around the corner to see two crumpled bodies on the ground, now only a dozen paces away. They had been close. Too close.
Rising to her feet and not even waiting for Ezra, she made a break for the end of the alley. Ezra was right behind her and soon the two were bursting onto the main street and running as fast as they could. More blaster fire chased them out of the alley as they ran.
"I thought they lasted longer than that!" Ezra shouted to Sabine, dodging past more droids and people as they escaped down the street.
Sabine just looked at him but didn't answer; now wasn't exactly the time for an after-action report, given that it wasn't yet after action.
"Here! Follow me!" Ezra said, grabbing her hand and nearly pulling her off her feet as he changed directions on a dime, running down yet another alley. Now that they were out of sight, he could take advantage of his full abilities.
Ezra heard shouts from nearby and knew some of the attackers were back on their feet and closing in for a second time.
Without warning, Ezra pulled Sabine into his arms, pulling her up so that he held her in both hands. Channeling more of his will into the Force, he leapt straight up, landing on the roof of a lower building 30 meters above them.
Setting her back down, they crouched and hid behind a ventilation intake on the roof, listening for any sign of their pursuers below.
Several tense seconds passed and while they heard angry voices below, searching for the two teens but finding nothing. Ezra's hand found Sabine's while they waited and the comfort of the touch helped ease the tension from the sudden battle.
"I can't hear them anymore, I think they're gone" Sabine whispered.
"I can't sense them either, I think we're in the clear" he responded
"Let's give it a few more minutes to be sure" she told him, taking off her helmet and sitting down against the intake.
Ezra joined her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, neither speaking for several moments while their breath returned to normal.
"I didn't know you could jump that high" Sabine joked quietly, easing the mood.
"Well Kanan's a good teacher. I wasn't sure I could make it holding you" he told her, his fingers finding their way to her hair and teasing it gently. He must have wanted to reach out and play with her hair a million times over the past few years, but he could never bring himself to do more than putting his hand on the back of her chair in the Ghost.
Sabine punched him lightly
"What are you saying, that I'm fat?" she laughed, her own hand now running along his thigh. Just in the same spot the mysterious woman had done only moments ago.
"Shut up, you know what I mean" he told her playfully.
A few more moments passed and the couple sat in silence, their minds retracing the events of the past hour.
"So, was all this worth it?" She asked.
"Definitely" Ezra said deeply, leaning over for a kiss.
Sabine pushed him back and gave him her 'not now' look.
"I meant the mission Loth-rat. Did you get what we came here for?"
"Oh yeah, that" Ezra said with an embarrassed grin.
"I think she's the real thing. I don't know what all this was about, but if it was a setup, they would have sent bucketheads, not those guys. And she gave me this" he told her, pulling out the chip and presenting it to her.
"That all she gave you?" Sabine said with a twinkle in her eye. She had seen part Ezra's interaction with the woman, and knew enough to see when someone was putting the moves on.
"Umm..welll she might have…"
"I'm kidding Ezra. You don't need to explain anything to me" She told him with a small smile, gripping his hand tighter.
Wanting to change the subject anyways, Ezra asked "So those guys. One of them knew who you are." It wasn't a question, but Sabine knew it still needed to be said.
"I've never met them before. That guy who groped me said he was a bounty hunter. We've both got prices on our heads. Maybe he recognized me and wanted to settle the score"
"Yeah, maybe…" Ezra said with uncertainty.
"I think we should get off this planet while we can. We can figure all this out later. This chip doesn't seem to have a tracking device, and I can't pick up one on you or me either" Sabine said. She hand been running some sort of scanner over the chip and around their bodies while they chatted, and it didn't appear like they were being tracked.
"Yes ma'am" Ezra said, rising to his feet and pulling her up with him.
The two walked to the edge of the building and peered down to the street below. It was mostly deserted as the clubs were still packed and the normal groups of drunks going home or amorous couples heading elsewhere to continue the party had not yet flooded the street.
"Not here" Sabine said "Let's get down a few blocks away to stay out of sight"
"Maybe they should have put you in charge" Ezra told her with a sly grin.
"Maybe they should have" she said, putting her helmet back on. "You'll have to carry me again. I don't have my jetpack, and it's a long way down".
"I was hoping you'd say that" Ezra said, still smiling.
"Of course you were" she huffed, pretending to be put off, but jumping up into his arms anyways and pulling close to him.
"I could get used to this" She purred to him as he jumped over the gap between buildings and onto the next one. He repeated the process several more times, never setting her down as he ran across the rooftops and over the alleys, then finally down to the street below several blocks away.
Creeping out of the last alley, blasters in hand, the pair looked around for any sign of trouble. Seeing none, they holstered their weapons and tried to appear like two more young teens enjoying a night out, their armor and weapons notwithstanding.
The made their way to another lift and soon were hurtling up the side of a mega-scraper to the more civilized upper levels.
"This is the last time I'm letting you pick where we go on a date" Sabine joked as the friendly lights and giant advertisements of the upper levels came into view. Speeder cars and droids were flying to and fro in front of the clear lift car and both could feel the apprehension and unease draining away as they left the scene of their crimes.
"So there's gonna be another date?" Ezra said cockily, leaning up against the clear wall and looking at Sabine.
"Maybe, if I think you've earned it" she said, taking her helmet off and walking over to give him one small kiss.
Ezra of course tried to pull her in for more, but she retreated with a smirk.
"Not here. We're still not done working yet"
"Fine, but remember, once we're back on my ship, I'm calling the shots" He retorted.
"That a promise?" She said wickedly, putting her helmet back on once again as the lift came to a halt and the doors opened.
"Sabine Wren! Throw out your weapons and come out with your hands up!" an angry and now all too familiar voice sounded from outside the lift car.
"Kriff" the two said in unison as they drew their weapons and prepared to launch into battle once again.
A/N: I know I know, a cliffhanger. I couldn't resist myself. We're alllllmost to the end. It's been a blast writing this, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Reviews are always welcome :)