Excited to head out for his new mission, Ezra sighed, not wanting to be a spoilsport, but impatient to get to Sato and his crew aboard the blockade runner. He'd volunteered and Captain Hera had faith that he could handle the new assignment she had recommended him for, lending his special talents. He was becoming quite the capable Padawan learner, according to Kanan. His powers were strengthening daily, his confidence in what he could do growing under his master's tutelage.

"Can I look now?" Ezra asked Sabine, who led him along, saying very little, other than they were near to where she was taking him. If he peeked beneath the blindfold she'd placed over his eyes, and she caught him at it, he knew he would upset her. The last thing he wanted. Maybe if he tilted his head back far enough, the cloth over his eyes might slip far enough so he could sneak a peek.

"What's this big surprise?" the cocky teen demanded, although liking the firm grip Sabine had of his right hand as she towed him. Strong women were his thing he was realizing, whenever this beauty insisted that he toe the line.

"Not telling. You'll see for yourself…soon."

The fingers of his hand squeezed her hand back. Thrilled, he anticipated what she could have in mind, like say…extreme privacy for being with her alone so their feelings for each other could be freely expressed. The Ghost didn't lend itself for close encounters of the romantic kind, if that was what his on-again, off-again unofficial girlfriend had in mind. Maybe thinking of Sabine as his girlfriend was stretching it. The knots in his stomach were on fire. Kissing Sabine senseless as she sighed his name spurred him on. The way his heart banged against his ribs, one might have thought the Mandalorian was already at it.

Making sure the coast was clear, Sabine hustled Ezra aboard the stolen Imperial shuttle, her destination: the cockpit where her surprise awaited. Rumor was, if Ezra and the rebels aboard the runner should run into trouble on their mission of discovering what had happened to a missing patrol ship, Kanan and Rex would be the ones to come to the rescue. Having thought ahead, Sabine arranged for an added incentive that would, supportively, cement the iffy bond between the men, who still had some ground to cover before they could be thought of as being friends.

"Have a look!" Sabine stood by her latest handiwork, beaming like a Hutt with a full belly.

Ripping off the blindfold, Ezra got an eyeful. His bemused expression wasn't exactly a glowing endorsement. "Is this the surprise?"

"Yeah," she fired back definitively. The pride she took in her work came naturally. She was thoroughly pleased with how the mural had turned out. She'd captured the zest and ardor of the warriors clad in snow white armor perfectly. She was good, but got little recognition from her teammates, although Chopper liked to wave his wands excitedly to show how much he appreciated her stylistic creations, even though he was just a droid. It used to be Ezra who never tired of praising her work. His enthusiasm had worn off owed to Sabine's lukewarm reaction to his mushy overtures. "What do you think?" Giving him a gentle verbal nudge in the right direction, she boosted, "Not bad, huh."

His shrugging slight, he pulled on his chin, deciding he would make a big deal in spite of how he felt. Why not press his advantage? In the dim cockpit, she and he could have a scorching romp. Abruptly then, he chastised his overzealous imagination. One step at a time, he knocked, and those steps better be careful. She'll tell me to nerf off and I'm back at square one.

"Not bad at all," Ezra commended, reaching out to finger Rex's caricatured beard and Kanan's accurately-drawn nose. She had made his master taller than Rex, or did it appear that way? The pin-up boys just had to like the way she had them poised for battle, victory theirs. "Where am I? Why just them?"

"Oh…" As her voice trailed, Sabine frowned. Including him had never occurred to her. She thought fast, then apologetically covered, "'Cause it's just those two. The dynamic duo if the need arises for them to jump into action. You have your own mission. But I couldn't splash the runner. With all those crewmembers crawling aboard Sato's ship, I never would have been able to pull off a sneak painting attack. You know how touchy those hard-core rebels are. They think we're kind of flaky even though Hera was made Captain."

"But, I'd still like for you to paint me." Pouting, he complained, "You said you were gonna do one of me. Did you just say that to shut me up?"

Hooking her hands at her waist, her arms akimbo, Sabine countered, "No. I don't promise things I have no intention of keeping."

"Then, when do you paint me?" His jutted chin and forlorn eyes, which begged that putting him off in other ways was unacceptable too, won him his case.

"Once your mission is over, come see me," Sabine offered in appeasement.

"The biggest reason I said I'd go with Sato is to ditch Kanan's and Rex's constant going at each other." He scuffed his foot against the deck plating, then looked up at Sabine again. "Come with me. Remember…we promised we'd stick with each other. When I volunteered, I thought you would too. Why didn't you?"

She did what wasn't like her by taking Ezra's hand and cupping it with both of hers. "When we promised that, we were very emotional at the time. Realistically, some missions call for us to be apart. To ensure the success of the operation. We wouldn't want to be responsible for ruining a mission, would we?"

"No—of course not!" he exclaimed, aware of how grown up he had sounded. "No weak links here!" Thanks to Kanan and this crew, adopting him, having shown him that he was worth their attentive ministrations.

Sabine smiled and Ezra's heart did the crashing against his ribs thing again. Sounding sure of him, and of herself, she continued, "Can you handle our being apart so we can accomplish the greatest good when necessary, Ez?"

If he couldn't, would that lessen him in her eyes? He wasn't about to take that chance. "I can, if you can."

"Good answer." She edged closer to him, happy to see that he just wasn't saying what she wanted to hear. Clarity of purpose shone in his eager eyes. The eagerness was laced with something else, she knew, but before she indulged him, there was something special he must see. "So…you like the little sendoff surprise for Kanan and Rex." She hadn't asked; she'd stated.

"Yes. It's really good." If she wanted to hear how much he liked it, he'd tell her as many times as she needed to hear that. Being crazy about her translated into being crazy about her passion.

"There's an extra personal touch I think you should see," Sabine dangled.

"Oh yeah, like what?"

She pointed to the lower left-hand corner of the mural then tapped its delicately curlicued signature encompassed by a little stylized glossy red heart. Her name, joined with his with a simple ampersand, jumped out at him.

"Sabine and Ezra," he fondly read off. He stared at what she'd written for a long while before he could say anything else. When he finally dragged his eyes up to her face, he saw her watching him, looking thoughtful. "Like…does this mean?" He didn't know quite how to put it so it wouldn't sound as though he was assuming too much. Was this her way of letting him know the idea of their being a couple wasn't unthinkable? He really meant something to her other than being a nuisance?

As she moved in to run her fingers through his hair, Sabine said through a sigh, "If we aren't actually together, we always will be in spirit." Her wink held his gaze a bit longer and she moved to place a lingering kiss on his scarred cheek, the one her ointment hadn't been able to heal. This was how she wanted their budding relationship to proceed. He had thought it should go full speed ahead. But, a more mature way of seeing things her way had taken root. Her notion wasn't complicated. If after we really get to know each other we're good. Then, we're good. Did he get that? Could he accept her terms?

Picking up on her cue, Ezra carefully molded his hand to her elegant neck; the skin so soft and warm it accelerated the pulse in his fingers. "Like when I'm on this mission, and things get tough 'cause they always do, I'll know you'll be thinking of me, which will help get me through it so I can get back to you." His voice wistful, he promised, "I'll be thinking about you too."

Resting her hand over his, Sabine nodded and confirmed, "And the Force will guide you, make it possible for you to see me, right?"

He thought about that. Though nothing like that had happened yet, he would ask Kanan if something like that was possible. For now, he humored, "Uh…I guess." She nodded and he did too. He wondered if he would ever know everything there was to know about the mystery that flowed and bound up the galaxy. "The Force is awesome. Sure, why not?"

"I wish I knew more about what you're trying to master."

She wishes she knew more, Ezra rued, looking deeply into his reluctant object of his affection's hypnotic eyes. Optimistic, he said, "Maybe I can sort of fill you in once I'm better at handling it."

Sabine heard how sincere he was, turning her head just in time for his swift kiss of her hand she made to extract from his. He surrendered it without a fuss, figuring he'd leave her wanting more. Wasn't that how it worked? Well, he supposed so.

"Sato's waiting," she reminded while studying his bemused face.

"Yep. Gotta go. Hey, thanks for what you did with our names." Boyishly, Ezra grinned, waiting for her to go ahead of him as they vacated the shuttle cockpit.

"From now on, that's how it'll be whenever I do a painting." She held off, then decided why not tell him. "Since I've met you, you've really inspired me to go bolder with my art."

That was the greatest thing she had ever told him, and beside himself, he snagged her arm, gently tugging her to himself for a genial hug. "Sabine, you're the best!"

As he squeezed her tight, she admitted, "I'm not that all by my lonesome y'know. You're with me, and we're with our crew, remember?"

Ezra and she tumbled out of the shuttle arm-in-arm, making sure they avoided any spying eyes that might have been seeing more than they should. "We are. All the way!"

After a final hug, he sped off, hustling to get himself aboard Sato's runner.

…

Well, Hera, as always, having had a feel for what could happen was proven right. Some time later, Ezra and the crew of the runner, had been captured, needing to be rescued. Immediately, she told Kanan and Rex to go into action, take the stolen Imperial shuttle, save their brethren. Her heart pounding in her chest, she clamored, "Leave at once—get our friends."

And so, lingering no longer, the mismatched pair donned the purloined Stormtrooper armor and hurried aboard the shuttle. Kanan would have preferred having Zeb with him, but Hera had been insistent that Rex go. Once aboard the shuttle, the Jedi took one look at Sabine's latest artist feat and groaned, "I don't know why she keeps doing that."

Chuckling, Rex offered, "To set the mood, I suppose. You must admit, she's got talent." Kanan sniffed, turning away from the impressive mural; one of her better ones, Rex judged. When Kanan heard the older man exclaim, "Well, would you look at that!" the Jedi faced around.

"Look at what?"

"Here, in this corner. Very interesting…to say the least. Have a look for yourself."

Casting Rex a cynical look, Kanan casually inspected what was surprising to the bearded man. Kanan's critical eyes filled with wonder as a strange expression settled into his face. He mouthed the words, "Sabine and Ezra," which sounded as though to himself while scratching his head." The glossy shininess of the red heart was like a bolt between the eyes. "She put that on this?"

"She must have. It's her writing." Rex slapped his armor-clad thigh. "Looks like we've got a budding romance on our hands with those kids."

Not wishing to believe that, Kanan snidely imparted, "Let's hope not. That's the last thing any of us need."

"I know what you're thinking, but I think they complement each other. Like moon and star shine."

"Don't start," Kanan objected.

Just what he didn't need right now, a sappy ex-Clone war veteran. Ezra had more than enough to focus on without some ill-conceived involvement with Sabine to gum it up. Perhaps the time for 'the talk' about a Jedi's avoidance of attachments had come, while at the same time a voice within Kanan shot him down. What would he call his feelings for Hera? Avoidance? Hardly… Clearing his throat with a forced 'ahem,' he said as he turned back to the piloting seats, "If we're doing this, let's go."

Filled with mirth as he plunked himself down in the seat next to Kanan, Rex tossed, "Well…you know what they say. 'There's no harm in taking a deep breath when love is in the air.'"

"I've never heard that said anywhere," Kanan resisted, with a 'humph,' raising the spacecraft once it had gone through its preparedness for flight cycles.