"How about that?" Twos asks me as I stand in front of the holographic display.

The display zooms out slightly, revealing the practice question, "What is the chemical formula for Sodium?" as well as a space below for me to draw out the formula.

"Looks good. How big is it actually?" I ask before hearing somebody approach.

"One and One Forth Inches Ezra. Is that enough space?"

Should be.

"Yeah. Print out a test page for me though. Please."

Twos answers "Printing now from Station #9."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." I hear while turning to find Station #9.

Oh. And Alexandre is here.

As if I asked him to, 'A' scoops up my practice sheet and turns to walk over to my display. "Making study guides are we?"

"I am." I reply as he turns the paper around for me, and I eye the blank area below the question.

I think that's enough space.

"Writing out chemical formulas are we?"

"Chemistry final." I answer him then turn back to Twos. "Looks good to me Twos. Go ahead and add that space to numbers 8 through 31 for me please."

"Your professor is assigning you the formulas on your final examination for the term?" Alexandre fiddles with the study guide I had Twos create last night.

"Yup."

"That's nonsense." He shakes his head. "the practical application of that knowledge is only useful in the pharmaceutical industry. This is an entry level course, not some master's level course with that sort of focus."

I don't know about that. Maybe.

'A' plows ahead. "I noticed that you're making guides for all of your final examinations?"

"Yes." I turn to him and nod. "Should be quite helpful."

"She can do flash cards too, if that is more your speed." 'A' tacks on. "Spaced Repetition, deep focus exercises. All sorts of things."

"I'll look into it, thanks." I smile at him.

Maybe over the Holiday Break.

Alexandre nods in understanding while his eyes fly all around the display. "I've still only scratched the surface on your father's files I am afraid."

Shocker.

"No rush." I try to reassure him as his anxiety flows through him to me like a deluge.

He doesn't want me to think he's failed yet.

"I know he had at least one team of programmers working with the latest coding and encryption technology. It'll probably take a couple of months."

Relief flows through the Force to me before 'A' responds "In the least."

"I'm confident that you'll get results. Anything you can gleam so far?"

"Not sure." He shrugs. "A couple of Swiss bank accounts by the looks of them. A cornucopia of files, malware, spyware. Enhanced security. It's a snake's pit, digitally of course."

"Sounds like him." I say to myself wearily before a new message blinks onto Twos' display.

"Twos?"

Twos curtly answers. "Ezra, Masters Dooku, Tano, Jarrus and Skywalker wish for you to come to one of the strategic planning rooms at your earliest convenience."

Oh? Wonder why.

'A' turns to look at me before I respond "Tell them I'm on my way."

"I'll have Twos complete your project in due haste, Master Bridger." He informs me.

I smile then shake my head. "Thanks, and it's just Ezra."

Alexandre looks profoundly uncomfortable with that before moving to shake my hand. "Alright then. Good luck upstairs."

"I might need it." I laugh, then turn and start out of the room.

The strategic planning rooms are just one floor up.

Taking the stairs three at a time, I round the corner of the stairwell and pop out just as the room begin. "—until he arrives?"

"I'm here." I tell Master Tano as she turns around in the doorway to Room Eight.

She whips around to face me. "Ezra! I didn't know you were on premises."

"Making a study guide. May I walk in?"

"Yeah, of course." She ushers me inside before asking "Do you want a drink? I was about to run and get something."

"Water, if you don't mind." I smile. "Thank you."

"I'll add it to the list." Ahsoka pivots on her heel and starts off, leaving me to walk into the strategy room.

Oh. This is…something.

"You're here rather quickly." Kanan comments as I walk up to the holo display while Masters Skywalker and Dooku eye what is being displayed.

Looks like a building.

"I was having Twos help me with a study guide. What's up?"

Dooku's eyes flit up towards me before saying "Taking advantage of your resources. Good. Well thought out."

"Your finals start next week, correct?" Master Skywalker asks me.

I nod once. "Yes."

"Excellent. Then our timing is just about right. Are we ready to begin?" He asks Kanan and Dooku.

Kanan nods before Dooku gestures for Master Skywalker to begin. "All yours, Master Skywalker."

"Alright." He rubs his hands together, then flips through multiple screens, landing on one that looks like an itinerary. "Well Ezra, The Council has decided to use your cover as a student as an opportunity to gather some important intelligence."

How?

I nod, knowing that he'll continue. "A mission?"

"Correct."

YES!

Dooku and Kanan both smirk, causing Master Skywalker to look pleased. "It'll be a completely stealth op, no opportunity for combat. But we figured you'd eagerly take to the assignment."

"The Norwegian Princess, Leah has access to valuable intelligence that we need." Dooku elaborates.

"What kind of intelligence?"

Master Skywalker shifts. "I'm afraid that we cannot divulge this. For the safety of the operation, you can't know."

"Sorry." Kanan apologizes.

I nod while trying to bury my frustration. "Alright. How am I supposed to find this intelligence if I don't know what I'm looking for?"

Typical Council bullshit. "hey! We've got a job for you. But we can't tell you anything about it."

"The actual intelligence gathering will be done remotely, from the Temple in Oslo." Master Skywalker reveals. "All we need you to do is to find a device that connects to the internet belonging to Princess Leah."

"Sounds simple enough."

Kanan takes the lead, swiping ahead on the holo. "We'll be sending you to Monte Carlo, same day as Sabine flies out of Los Angeles. That cover will be used to disguise your initial movements. From there, we'll supply you with a passport, cover, et cetera."

I nod, then turn to Master Dooku. "We investigated Miss Wren's plans, it appears that she's flying out the Saturday after your semester concludes?"

"I don't know. She hasn't mentioned anything to me about it."

"We're assuming she won't be surprised by you leaving the same day she does." Kanan informs me. "She's going home, we'll route you through New York."

"Not stopping though."

But she won't know that.

"Precisely."

Soft footsteps precede Ahsoka's shadow, prompting Master Skywalker to step forward and take a couple of the drinks from her. "Have you told him your brilliant idea to get close to her?" She asks.

"What idea?"

Master Skywalker gives me a smirk. "Well, you should like this."

Some assorted clanking noise coming from the bathroom floats to my ears as I try to stay focused on the screen.

Blue Lapis, Turquoise, Mother of Pearl, Gray Labradorite, Green Malachite, Pink-Dyed Quartzite.

I don't think half of these are actual colors, especially since they throw an actual color in front of it.

The website, lemon whatever was so much easier to navigate too.

Mother of Pearl is out. Blends in too much with the necklace. And I don't think Sabine would like the pink quartz.

Another noise floats to me, which causes my heart to start beating a bit faster.

Easy…you're not being suspicious.

You're just shopping for a secret Christmas present.

While she was in the shower before we go to this big Christmas party get-together tonight.

Sliding my fingers across the options remaining, I find myself lingering on the Blue Lapis.

It looks like that painting 'Starry Night', plus I think it looks the best out of all the options.

Selecting my color options, I add it to my cart and tap to continue.

Address and Shipping information…

As I look on, Twos helpfully fills in my apartment's information for me.

"Thanks Twos." I smile before tapping forward to my payment information.

"You're welcome. Is this for Sabine?" – Twos

This damn AI…

Too smart for its own good.

"Yeah. It's supposed to be a surprise though." I mutter just before I hear what sounds like a leaf blower fire up.

Twos fills in my payment information before, as I look on, Twos selects the "Surreptitious Delivery" option.

Very funny.

One more tap, and the screen changes to inform me that my order has been placed, with delivery on the same day as the leggings.

I can pick up the Starbucks card any time before Christmas Break starts. I expect that she'll ask me to take her to the airport again.

Finally I hear the sound of the bathroom door open, and I swipe back over to Instagram, where I had been aimlessly scrolling while Sabine set up her new art project.

Well, the canvas, paints and a bunch of new supplies.

Maybe I should get her a gift card to an art supply shop instead of coffee.

"I'm back." Sabine announces her arrival before reappearing past the wall wearing a grey shirt with red sleeves with 'Gimme Presents' in the middle.

"Nice shirt." I laugh, before moving to sit up.

"Thanks." She replies before moving further towards the living room.

Unconsciously, I pull my elbow up above my head and yawn before Sabine tells me "You can't yawn. We haven't even left yet!"

"I'm fine." I reassure her as she's digging in the corner that she's taken over. "Looking for something?"

Sabine doesn't immediately reply before turning back around with a smile, and her finished painting of the waterfall.

She finished it last night.

"Looks good to me."

"You think so?" She glances down for a moment before smiling at me.

I nod then add "Yeah. You did a great job."

She showed me the picture she was basing it off of. Looks just like it.

"I'm glad you like it." She says, voice changing slightly. "I would ask if we could hang it up, but since you're moving—"

Wait.

"You made that…for me?" I turn back to Sabine, only for her to smile in return.

"Yeah." She nods. "Dooku told me to. And I though you needed something natural and pretty. So I made that."

"I thought it was for your class."

Sabine doesn't look away before tucking her hair back. "Nope. For you. The next one's for my final though." She adds a laugh at the end.

"Sabine." I get to my feet and round my recliner before pulling Sabine into a hug. "Thank you. It's amazing. You didn't have to do that for me."

"I wanted to." Is her reply as she hugs me back, doing her normal curl up thing.

She just curls up into my chest and hugs me.

We linger in the hug for a moment before I finally let go and take a step back to glance at the painting.

It does look good. I will have to hang it up in my new place.

By the time I look back to Sabine's she's looking at me.

She…did her makeup. And her hair. And sprayed something.

"Did you spray something?" I ask, only for it to come out awkward. "Smells nice."

"Yeah." Sabine says casually. "Something for the party. Do you like it?"

When I move to reply, my tongue somehow gets caught in the back of my throat, leaving my only choice to nod.

Idiot!

Sabine's smile gets a little bigger before she slides back into another hug. "Does this mean I need to hurry out and buy you a present?" I joke.

Immediately Sabine laughs and ducks her head. "No. Just…stick by me tonight. Bring me back here. You know the drill."

"You sure?" I double check before Sabine glances up at me.

"I'm sure. You'll try to enjoy yourself tonight too, right?"

"Of course." I reassure her, or try to. "It's going to be fun."

Sabine lets me go and moves towards where she set her purse down. "Jaicey said that she's heard they've been placing mistletoe around the house."

"I'll be sure to avoid it." I joke before Sabine starts to the door.

"Or don't." is her reply before shooting me an odd look.

"Pass me those graham crackers, will you?" One of the girls asks me.

Reaching over, I grab the box and pass it over to the girl, who smiles in thanks while another one of her friends is in deep conversation with Trey. Another friend of theirs, a blonde that's friends with Jaicey is chatting with Matt.

"So what's Georgia like?" A brunette in a elf's hat asks me while spearing a marshmallow on a skewer.

"Hot and humid." I joke, getting a couple of the girls to laugh along with JJ who is seated directly to my left. "Traffic can suck, but the football is good. And the food is great."

"Why'd you decide to come all the way out here?"

I shrug, then reach out and grab my drink. "I don't know. I wanted to get away from home, see something new. Came out here last Spring Break, saw the city, went to the beach. Made it easy."

"The beach is the best." JJ proclaims. "Have you been back since?"

"No." I laugh, "Too busy."

"It's too crowded." One of the two blondes complains.

JJ quickly counters. "Try Cabrillo Beach. It doesn't have the picturesque sand, but it's usually less occupied."

"I'm not there for the sand. I'm there to get my tan on."

I bet.

I sip my drink then glance back down at my phone.

All is calm.

"You know any other good beaches?" I turn and ask JJ.

"Yeah, tons." He says, then sips his beer. "Escondido Beach, Malaga Cove, Bluff Cove. Carbon Beach. But just the West Access. The East got bought up by some tech guy who wanted to park his boat."

"And it worked?"

Matt chimes in "Always works."

Always?

One of the girls asks that very question, and before I know it the conversation has turned into Matt and JJ ping-ponging back and forth.

Speaking of ping-pong.

Tonight's been a fun time. Played some beer pong. Won a few games with Sabine, before tanking one on the last couple of cups because Sabine couldn't hit anything. Then she went out and sat on the porch to listen to some dude with a guitar play hits.

Smart move by him. Almost everybody's ended up listening to him a little bit, and he's drinking for free.

Trey did point out his move though: He's absolutely doing it for the girls.

"Girls love nothing more than a cute dude in a guitar."

A little sleazy from my seat, but hey.

Not my party.

If it was my party I wouldn't have had to chug a whole beer before playing cornhole with Jaicey against Matt and one of the girls we're sitting with now. We won, but I played terribly because they set the board up on a slope and it screwed everything up.

But oh well.

And now we've just been hanging out here by the fire pit. Talking, making s'mores.

Good times.

Matt's voice continues before JJ leans closer to me. "You good?"

"Yeah. I'm good."

"Jaicey's getting drinks if you want one."

I probably don't need another.

"I'm okay for now. Thanks though." I smile at him which seems to satisfy JJ.

The conversation drifts back to football, allowing Trey and Matt to take center stage while I shift in my seat and just listen.

This is definitely the party to be at. Matt's competitor, the Senior is here. Probably is gone now. Decent guy I guess. Got mobbed the entire time by people, mostly sorority girls wanting pictures.

At least most of his teammates were decent to me. Dapped me up, said hello, all that. A lot better than last time.

"Hi. I'm back." Sabine reappears, purple cup full of an assumed drink in her hand before setting her chair down beside mine. "Sorry, he started playing some hits."

"No problem." I give her a smile, then turn back to the conversation as Trey pokes at the campfire, still talking to the girl from earlier.

Settling in, I hear Sabine sip her cup before letting out a soft breath and resting her arm dangerously close to mine.

Force Probe.

I let out a breath out of my nose and begin searching through the Force Signatures in front of me.

For the most part, everybody's really relaxed and calm. The girls are all focused on Matt, JJ and Trey. Which makes sense.

I causally sip my own drink before shifting in my chair.

Sabine's been acting a little weird since we got here. Straight up disappeared a couple of times, keeps supplying me with drinks. Although she did save me from a couple of Sisters who roped me into an awkward conversation about our shared Chemistry class.

Why two proclaimed "Juniors" were taking an entry level Chemistry course I don't know.

Wouldn't shock me at all if they are actually just sophomores trying to get my attention for some reason.

"Oh shit!" One of the blondes blurts out. "That's how I know you!"

She looks to me, and I blankly stare back. "How?"

She said she thought she recognized me earlier. But I don't know how.

At least the Sisters I've recognized from their constantly late arrival to class.

"You guys are in University Strategies with me. Calhoun, right?"

"Yeah!" Sabine lights up. "You're in there too?"

"Yeah. Is it me, or does he hate us?"

"He doesn't hate us." I counter.

Sabine adds "We think that he wants to be doing more than having to lecture us."

"He could be nicer about it."

"We're taking that class in the Spring, right? "Trey looks to me.

"Yeah." I nod.

"Do we know who it is?"

Not Calhoun. I put them in the other class.

"Not off the top of my head." I reply. Heavily, Sabine sits up in her chair, then turns to me. "Can I dump something in your car?"

"Sure."

"Be right back." Sabine smiles to the group, before I feel at least one of the girls spirit's fall as Sabine and I get up and start towards the gate.

I bet it's her purse again.

"Your purse?"

"Yeah." Sabine replies as we walk over the overhanging limbs of a massive tree that is growing next to the house. She steps aside as I pull open the gate and allow her to walk through first.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, then probe out.

She's…jittery.

"Alright." She says, sounding out of breath.

"You sound breathless. I've got some water."

It won't be cold. But if she needs a break, it'll help.

"I'm okay." Sabine replies at me. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure." I stop underneath the base of the tree, limbs hanging over.

Kind of a Gothic aesthetic. I like it.

"Look up for me."

I do as I'm asked, and look up to the branches above me where leaves and all sorts of berries are growing, as well as—

Sabine silently sidles right up next to me as I spot a cluster of weeds and red berries tied onto the branch with what looks like fishing line.

Wait, is that—

"I, uhm…I might have tricked you."

"Sabine." Is all I get out.

I know what that is.

She tricked me.

"I…I know. But I wanted to get you alone. So you don't have to feel all self-conscious."

I look back down to Sabine, only for it to feel like I'm towering over her as she gazes up at me. "It might be too late for that."

Stay calm. Breathe. Just…breathe.

I let out a breath through my nose as despite my best efforts, my heart begins to pound up against my chest. "No…" She lightly scolds me, slipping her arms around me waist. "It's not that sort of thing. I just…it's hard to explain."

Probe.

I reach out to see if anybody is coming, only to discover that we're still clear.

"I wanted to say…just how thankful I am that I decided on a whim to sit by you in Strategies Ezra." Sabine begins. "Just stay loose, relax."

"Trying." I tell her as she smiles at me.

"When's the last girlfriend you had?"

I freeze up at the question, then avoid Sabine's eye. "It's, uhm, been a while." I choke out. "Year or two."

"That Aubrey girl?"

"I…you're too smart." I laugh to myself before I can feel Sabine smile. "You know that?"

"I can kind of tell." She laughs along with me. "You—It's okay to relax. Trust people. Your private school didn't really do that much, did they?"

"No, not really."

"One day." She smiles up at me, inching closer. "You won't have to think about it. I'm here when that day comes."

What's her play here?

Well, no. I know her play.

"You." She runs her hand down my left arm tenderly. "Are kind and thoughtful and loyal and honest. And I'm so lucky to have met you. I hope you know that."

"Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" I joke, then smile at her.

Sabine returns the smile. "I'm not going anywhere. But I've got something that's going to make your heart race. You ready?"

"Okay."

"It's a little bit of homework for you. You know Jacen asked me if I was your girlfriend."

"I—" I blurt out, only for her smile to grow deviously. "That's Cayle and the others. Not me. You don't seem like you want that right now."

"And you're right. But you know there's a difference between love, romantic love and intimacy right?"

Intimacy?

"Kind of?" I try to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Look it up." She almost whispers before sliding her hands around my neck. "You're right, but that doesn't mean you can't be closer to me than everybody else."

"I thought I was already."

She giggles to herself then closes the gap between us. "Yeah. You are."

Before I can respond, Sabine's tilted my head down and my eyes close instinctively before Sabine locks me up—

…

…

Sabine's lips finally separate from mine, her breath colliding with mine before she places her head on my collarbone while moving to stand on top of my feet. "You're so kind. And true. And I love you very much, I hope you know that."

"I know." I whisper back, which only causes Sabine to meld atomically with me.

"You're not used to people getting this close. And to be honest, I'm not either. But I'm not going to hurt you. And I know you won't try to hurt me."

"Never." I shake my head, causing our noses to collide. "My bad."

"You're good…" She smiles, before peering back up at me. "You know you're allowed to kiss the other person back underneath the mistletoe."

"I…didn't totally know what to do." I confess.

I got nervous.

Sabine's face splits into a smile before she lets out a breath and pulls me even closer. "You ready to try again?"

"Again?"

I though mistletoe was a one and done thing.

"I know you can keep a secret." She responds, before pulling me under again.

This time I go with her, kissing Sabine back as gently as I can while allowing myself to slip my hands behind her back to get a good hold on her. In response, Sabine slips—

Blindly I stumble back, colliding with the trunk of the tree as Sabine keeps French kissing me, her hands around my neck while pressed up against me.

After an unknown amount of time, we break apart, only for Sabine to lean completely against me once again. "Yeah…I can see what your friend meant."

Reflexively, I laugh then try to clear my head.

Uhh.

"Car?" I ask her quietly.

Sabine doesn't respond for a minute before answering. "Yeah. Car."