Hey guys! Here I am again with another fic!

First of all, I would like to express my thanks to StarbirdRising for inviting me to join Sabezra Week 2022!

I didn't even know this was a thing, let alone something which was happening soon!

This will not only be my first Sabezra Week, but my first ship week for any fandom period.

Anyways, hope that this will tickle your Sabezra bone. Enjoy!

An unsatisfied hum left Sabine's lips as she stared at the painting in front of her. She furrowed her brows with a vigorous contempt, burning holes through the walls with her gaze. It was clear to anyone who knew her. Sabine was not enjoying the look of her latest artwork. There was something about it that she just didn't like. Something that just felt off. But no matter how long Sabine stared at the collection of lines and colours in front of her, she just didn't know how to make it right.

In her mind, she did many things to try and fix the painting.

She tried changing the colours, perhaps a dab of blue instead would fix the problem.

Or perhaps the problem was the way the people stood in the painting. Perhaps centering them would be better.

Or maybe it was the background. Might the scenery of a city look better?

No matter how many times she changed the image in her head, it still didn't look right.

Sabine let out another heavy sigh, considering once again to just throw on another coat of white over it and start again. But it would be the third time for today, and she wanted to at least make progress with this one. Especially since it was supposed to be the first painting in a series of four that she had had planned out.

It was at times like these where a second opinion would be very much needed. And almost on que with her thoughts, the door to her room slid open.

About time he came by, Sabine grumbled. "Hey Ezra, want to try and give me a hand with this painting?"

"Ezra?" Came the voice of someone who was definitely not Ezra.

Sabine turned around to face the person who had just entered her room, and found herself looking straight at a confused Hera, whose confused look was slowly shifting into a knowing smirk.

"Hera!" Sabine exclaimed, frantically covering her painting up. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you for dinner, Kanan's cooking for the two of us, and you know how good he is with that," Hera's eyes were drawn to the splotches of paint behind Sabine. "So you're still working on that huh,"

"Pretty much," Sabine said, clearing her throat. "But I'm still not done with it yet. Something about it just doesn't seem quite right to me,"

Hera rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "And you were hoping that Ezra would help you out with that?" She said with a playful smirk on her lips.

"Wha- no!" Sabine defended, heat rushing to her cheeks. "I just thought Ezra had come by, that's all. I hadn't had the chance to talk to him for quite a while,"

"Well, and why would you? He left together with Zeb a few days ago for his mission, remember? Didn't you two spend the entire day together before that?"

Sabine's embarrassment was slowly beginning to show, and Hera's growing smirk was only making it harder to remain straight-faced.

"Well, I guess you're just so used to him always looking for you that once he leaves for a little while longer, you can't help but try and find him," Hera continued her teasing.

"He's not always with me," Sabine insisted.

"Really?" Hera questioned in disbelief. "You two basically spend every waking moment of your time together. Whether it's training, resting, relaxing, eating, heck, this is the first time Ezra's been on a mission with someone other than you! Admit it Sabine, you miss him so much that you'd be lost without him,"

"I do not miss him!" Sabine responded with a huff. "I'm just… too used to him. Besides, I'm sure I'll get used to it in a few days,"

"Sureee," Hera replied, her smile never fading. And while she would have loved to continue egging her on about this, Hera's hunger was already too much to bear. "Anyways, dinner should be ready any moment now. Why don't you clean up here and join us outside? Kanan's making his galaxy famous stew, and you know I can't eat it on my own,"

"Ugh," Sabine frowned. "Well, guess I don't have much of a choice then,"

Hera nodded back, and she was about to leave, but then she popped her head right back in..

"I never would have expected that the day would one day come where you, Sabine Wren, would want Ezra to help you out with a painting,"

"I DO NOT NEED HIS HELP!" Sabine shouted back in a blushing mess, flinging an empty spray can right at Hera who only ducked away laughing.

Much to her disdain, Sabine had made even less progress with her painting today than she had yesterday.

Hera's words had stuck to Sabine like obnoxious dirt sticking to her armour. It echoed in her mind whenever she picked up her brush. And whenever she tried to think about her painting, she could only see Hera's teasing smirk.

It was infuriating to think about,, and Sabine refused to accept it.

She had not lost the ability to paint without Ezra, and she definitely did not need his help.

Sure, he had been there for most if not all of her previous artworks. Giving his own comments and sharing his thoughts as he peacefully watched Sabine enjoying her hobby. And yea, sure, some of his comments were pretty helpful. Like his idea to mix two colours she had never thought of, or his suggestion to use some rocks to create the shapes and patterns she would have otherwise never been able to do freehand.

And yea sure, his ideas were so great, that some of Sabine's favourite paintings had come about thanks to him.

Sabine had to stop herself, both physically and mentally. Had Ezra's presence actually been somewhat more helpful than she had initially thought?

"No," Sabine said out loud. "No, no no no no," She tossed her brush onto the floor, hastily put on her armour, and stormed out of her room. "I can paint just fine without Ezra, and I do not need him and his helpful comments," Sabine ranted to herself in anger. And she was going to let that anger out with her second favourite activity. Sparring with a random piece of wood in the forest. Unfortunately, she couldn't even do just that. Her growling stomach had taken precedence, and it was only then did Sabine realise she had yet to have anything to eat.

Taking a short detour, Sabine let out a hungry groan as she eventually found herself at the mess hall. And despite being three hours late for lunch, the place was still packed with hungry Rebels.

Making her way through the sweaty crowd, Sabine grabbed her plate and piled it with the usual nutrition slobs and ration packs. She then pushed her way towards an empty table in the corner, and promptly plopped herself down before slowly munching on her food.

Despite the Rebellion growing exponentially in the past years, Sabine's circle of friends had mostly remained the same. Besides Ezra, she did know and associate herself with some of the younger Rebels, but most of them tended to stay away from her, especially the boys.

Sabine was sort of an infamous legend around these parts, mainly thanks to that one time when some senator's son came by and tried to use his money and position to try and get her to have dinner with him. Needless to say, Sabine did not take his obnoxious attitude very well, and she did not hesitate to show her distaste to the young man.

So after that fiasco, most people learnt to stay away from her, although there were some who didn't mind her rash nature.

"Sabine?" Came the voice of someone familiar.

Sabine lifted her head, and a small smile adorned her lips as she saw the person in front of her. "Hey Kiara," She greeted the female Mirialan.

"Well you're eating quite late," Kiara slid into the seat across from her.

"I could say the same to you,"

"Yea, but I just came back from a mission, what's your excuse?"

"I lost track of time," Sabine answered simply.

"Really?" Kiara asked in disbelief. "Doing what? I can't imagine you being so busy that you would lose track of time. Especially since Ezra's not around,"

Sabine narrowed her eyes dangerously and smacked her spoon on her plate. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Well, I mean, I don't really see you do much on your own anymore. Whenever I find you, you're either eating with Ezra, or sparring with Ezra, or talking with Ezra, or painting with Ezra,"

Furrowing her brows, Sabine had to try and not curse at the fact that this was the second time she was hearing something like this. "We don't spend that much time together," Sabine insisted.

"You kinda do," Kiara said with an even more befuddled expression. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything wrong wanting to spend more time with your boyfriend, especially when we're fighting a war, but-"

"My boyfriend?!" Sabine promptly shot up from her seat, startling Kiara and everyone around them.

"I mean, you guys are dating right? Like, you spend so much time together, I thought-"

"We are not dating!" Sabine interrupted once again, sitting back in her seat with a huff. "And we do not, hang out that much,"

"Well, according to your squad leader-"

Sabine let out a frustrated breath of air as she shook her head. "You shouldn't listen to Hera so much. I hear her age might be catching up to her, I think she's going senile,"

"Isn't she like in her mid twenties?"

"Yea, and I think her skin is starting to grey," Sabine said, spitefully poking her food.

"Wait, so then this means you're not dating? But you're always together! Like, if I see Ezra around, I can almost tell that you'll just be like a few steps away from him,"

"That's because we're friends," Sabine replied. "And we enjoy spending time with each other,"

"Yea, but like, Sabine, you and I are friends, and we don't even spend that much time together,"

Sabine opened her mouth to try and come up with a reply, but almost shut it immediately as she realised how sensible Kiara's argument was starting to sound.

Why do we hang out that much? Sabine wondered.

A boisterous noise of laughter suddenly erupted from a few tables away, catching both women's attention and shaking Sabine out of her stupor. She found herself needing to search for the source of the laughter. Not because she was curious about what was so funny, but because she could have sworn she heard Ezra's voice among them.

"Sabine?" Kiara asked, noticing her friend's sudden change. "Everything alright?"

Sabine turned her head back to Kiara, realising how foolish she was being just a moment ago. "Yea, I'm fine, just thought I heard Ezra," She replied blankly, continuing her meal.

"Hey, even though you're not dating, it's ok to miss him, you know?" Kiara said, brushing her fingers over Sabine's. "You guys are close after all,"

Taking a sharp breath, Sabine shook Kiara's hand off and quickly gulped down the rest of her meal. "I gotta go, I need to do something," She said, standing up.

"Alright! Guess I'll catch you later!" Kiara called back cheerfully, but Sabine was too occupied with her thoughts to even reply.

Mission briefings were always a drone. They were a collection of important people, telling less important people how to do even more important things. In short, they were boring, and Sabine didn't like boring.

Holding back a yawn, Sabine tried to at least remain conscious through the second hour of what was supposed to be a thirty minute briefing. They were supposed to be attacking an Imperial outpost, but thanks to some nitwit who mistakenly forgot to include some vital piece of information, the group was now stuck here, having to debate the best method to inconvenience the Empire.

Of course, Rebels being Rebels meant that they weren't always civil about their discussion. They tended to be a loud bunch of people, which would at least be somewhat entertaining for Sabine to sit through. Unfortunately, this was not the case at this time.

For the first time in months, the Rebels were actually having a civil discussion. And Sabine didn't know whether to hum in amazement, or curse in boredom.

It was during times like these where Sabine would find her entertainment by looking at the one person who always sat beside her. Ezra. He always had the best expressions after all. When he was bored, his nose would scrunch up, and he would let out small bursts of breaths to signify his impatience.

When he was entertained, Sabine could just about see the corners of his lips curl up, and his head slightly bobbing up and down as he let out a soft chuckle.

Sabine could even tell when he was mad or annoyed just by looking at the way his head moved. The slight twitch of his eyes when someone accused the Spectres for not pulling their weight, or demanding that he and Kanan do more as the only Jedi left.

But despite what he was feeling, Sabine would never get bored at looking at him. She liked watching his expressions change, and she especially loved it when she could properly tell what he was feeling without him saying a word.

It was nice, and sometimes it was cute.

Sabine let out a weary sigh as she returned her attention back to the discussion. Unfortunately, Ezra was still out on his mission, and wouldn't be coming back for at least another week. And looking at Kanan did not give her the same kind of satisfaction or entertainment. So she had no choice but to resign herself and listen to the briefing.

"Hey," Kanan suddenly whispered from beside her.

Sabine leaned slightly closer to her left. "What's up?" She whispered.

"You've been glancing around yourself and sighing dejectedly for the past ten minutes now. Something wrong?"

"Just bored," Sabine insisted. "They should just delay this briefing, call us back once they've settled all the tedious parts,"

"They want all of us involved in this remember? Command doesn't want to make decisions without its people. It would be too much like the Empire after all,"

"Well, I wished they'd make their decisions faster, because I'm about to die of boredom,"

Kanan let an amused smile curl up on his face. "You miss Ezra, don't you?"

Sabine nearly fell out of her seat. Kanan's insightfulness was not something she needed to deal with right now.

"What makes you think that?"

"C'mon, it's so obvious, It's basically written all over your face," Kanan continued.

"I do not miss him!" Sabine hissed, glaring at Kanan before crossing her arms. "I'm just not used to him not being here, that's all,"

"That's what Hera used to say to me when we first met," Kanan replied, a reminiscent look on his face. "Speaking of, are you the one who's been spreading the rumour that Hera's going senile?"

This time it was Sabine's turn to chuckle. "No…" She began. "But I was the one who started it,"

"It's not that funny you know," Kanan nagged, but the smile on his face was wider than ever. "You're taking a huge risk by fooling around like that, especially since it's about Hera. She's great at making comebacks for stuff like this. You'll never know when she's had enough of your pranks and decides to pay you back for your troubles,"

"Hah, I'd like to see her try," Sabine taunted confidently.

Kanan felt a shiver down her spine as he could sense what was about to happen between Hera and Sabine. "I really wished you wouldn't,"

It had been one month, four days, and twelve hours ever since Ezra last stepped foot on Atollon. And after all that time, he was finally able to relax in the one place he called home.

The mission wasn't so bad, if Ezra was being honest. They were supposed to stalk an Imperial senator, keep track of his movements and activities so that the Rebels could exploit him. But, as with most missions which involved Ezra, they never tended to be very simple.

On the fifth day, the senator's son was kidnapped. So Ezra and Zeb decided to try and rescue him, hoping that they could use him to gain more leverage and take advantage of his father's influence.

But then, it turned out that the son intentionally got himself kidnapped. And the reason as to why he did such a thing was almost exactly the same as Ezra and Zeb's. He had wanted to use his father's resources to take down the Empire.

So after getting approval from command, Ezra and Zeb stayed around to try and help them with their plan.

But then, the two of them found out that the son's methods were a little bit too ruthless. And now they had to try and overthrow the monster they created.

One thing then led to another, and they were eventually able to put a stop to the son's madness, take over the insurgent group they had helped create, destabilise the senator's powers, and establish a proper command structure for the insurgents. All in all, just another normal day in the life of Ezra Bridger.

Needless to say, Ezra's missions had always been complicated. Which made him wonder why Sabine wasn't assigned with him for this one. It would have definitely made things a lot easier, but Ezra really only wanted her to be with him mainly because he couldn't stop thinking about how much he missed her.

Stepping off the ship they borrowed, Ezra let out a strained groan as he stretched his pained muscles.

"Ezra, Zeb, welcome back!" Hera greeted them as they headed down the ramp.

"Man, it feels good to be back," Zeb said from beside Ezra.

"You can say that again, I'd take fighting the Grand Inquisitor ten more times if it means I don't have to do that again,"

"Well, we'll see how far that wish of yours can take you," Hera replied with a chuckle. "But you two did a good job out there, I'm proud of you,"

"Thanks," Ezra said as he rubbed the back of his head. He glanced around expectantly, looking for a certain someone. "By the way, where's Sabine? I thought she would be here,"

"Oh, I didn't tell her that you were coming back today," Hera replied simply.

"Uhh, why?" Ezra asked, still oblivious to her plans.

"Because I thought it would be funny to see you surprising her after not seeing each other for so long,"

Ezra's eyes instantly lit up. "That sounds like a great idea! Thanks Hera!" He said before dashing off, already having a general idea of where she would be.

"She's sparing somewhere in the forest!" Hera called out as Ezra went out of earshot. She turned around, the cheeky smirk on her lips only growing wider.

"You're a little too good at that, you know that right?" Kanan said from behind her.

"Oh dear, I have absolutely no idea what you mean," She said before kissing his cheek.

Sabine was frustrated. More so than ever before. A month had already passed her by, and she was still no closer than she was before to completing her series of paintings.

She had tried everything. Painting over it, choosing a different background, leaving it for tomorrow, even getting Kanan to paint with her instruction. But no matter what she tried, she just couldn't focus on what she wanted.

Sabine's frustrations poured out from her in a flurry of jabs. Slowly chipping away at the bark on the poor poor tree.

Why can't I just stop thinking about him! Sabine screamed in her mind. Ever since her many friends' insightful comments about her and Ezra's relationship, there hadn't come a day where Ezra wasn't on her mind. It was almost like he was living there, occupying her thoughts, and taking her away from any precious ideas which she could use for her painting.

Letting out another frustrated scream, Sabine sent another heavy punch towards the tree, cleaving it in half.

She panted for a moment, feeling numb with the amount of energy she had already exerted.

There had been plenty of time for Sabine to mull over her predicament. She had discussed what she had been going through with many random people. Kiara, Kanan, some nurses at the infirmary, and even Hera, who only really offered playful teasing instead of anything helpful.

All in all, Sabine did know why she couldn't stop thinking about Ezra. She wasn't an idiot after all. The way she was acting was very similar to the way her parents acted with each other when they were apart for so long. But despite how obvious the fact was to Sabine, she did not want to admit it. Not just yet.

Sabine wanted to think about it. She was a strategist, and of course, a Mandalorian. According to Hera, Ezra was going to come home in another week or two. So there was even more time for Sabine to work through her feelings.

Pushing herself up, Sabine made her usual sparring stance. Flexing her arms as she prepared herself for another session.

Like everything else, I will work through this problem, and I will not let it stop me from painting any longer. She declared in her mind.

Sabine was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not even hear the sound of a twig snapping behind her, and when she realised who it was approaching her, it was already too late.

"And by the time Ezra comes back, I'm going to kiss him so hard that he won't be able to stand for an hour,"

"Uhhhh,"

Sabine froze as she heard the oh so familiar voice of Ezra Bridger. She turned around, only to watch him stare at her with a perplexed look, cheeks tinged slightly red while his eyes blinked rapidly.

There wasn't much which ran through Sabine's mind in that moment, but in that single instance, she had only one thing to say.

"God damn it Hera,"

Oh how she wished she had listened to Kanan.

And that's the fic!

Hope you liked it!

In the meantime, I want to thank you guys for reading.

For those of you who have been following me and waiting for my Imperialverse fics, do not fret. I have not given up on it.

In fact, I have finished writing the entire plot, and will only need to go through the usual rounds of editing.

Do be patient, and see you soon.

Happy Sabezra Week!