Previously on the Jedi and the Mandalorian...

"We're a team. Even Hera would agree with that too...Look I don't know how to say it but…"

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Jedi and a Mandalorian…" Tristan muttered, "Now there's a partnership unheard of."

"Sabine has spoken highly of Bridger's abilities, and with that I trust they will survive until we find them." Ursa added

"What's this?"

"Mira and Ephraim Bridger."

"They hoped that their voices could inspire others and give their son hope. But the Empire then showed up and arrested them."

"I didn't know they were close..."

"Pfft, you looking to date Bridger?" Weiss scoffed, "He seems more like a child from the streets."

"UGH!"

Sabine finally snapped as she whirled back around with a fist and decked Weiss right in the face.

"To say that the relationship between the Jedi Order, and the Mandalorians is unique, would be considered an understatement..."

"Don't you dare insult my best friend." Sabine threatened her with a pointed blaster before turning to Yang, "And you, stay away from him."

RWBY: The Jedi and the Mandalorian

Chapter 8 - The Bond

Premise: Secrets are revealed, as Ezra and Sabine's friendship is called into question.

To say that the Ghost became a literal ghost town, would be an understatement. Well at least it felt like one. The disappearance of a young Jedi and Mandalorian left a hole in in the crew that was a family. Hera, despite her outward appearance seemingly normal, was actually broken to the point that she barely even slept. Instead opting to search all of the Rebellion's star maps for any clues. Zeb opted to preoccupy himself with whatever tasks and/or missions vial to stopping the Empire. The only one who seemingly remained calm was Kanan.

Being a Jedi, he didn't let his emotions get the best of him, but to the extent of being similar to that of a droid. He was worried for them, Ezra was his apprentice after all. He spent his time mainly in his quarters meditating, trying to focus on either Ezra or Sabine through the Force.

Yet despite the stress and fear they all had, they had help from others to get through it. Rex was helping them get through it day-by-day. He had worked with them since he joined Phoenix Squadron little over a year ago, and quickly befriended them. Even Kallus helped fill the void, mainly by using his position in Rebel Intelligence to search various hyperspace routes the Gauntlet could've travelled through. But beyond that, he'd often help the rest of the Ghost crew with more personal missions.

But now there had been a newcomer on the Ghost, another Mandalorian to be exact. Tristan Wren was no longer a stranger to the rebels. He and Fenn stayed with the Rebellion as per Ursa's orders. During this time, Tristan got rather bored. Most soldiers didn't ask for him to go on missions, mainly due to the fact that they didn't need him. On top of that, he was there for his clan and family, all in order to find his sister...and Bridger of course.

Tristan never really knew Ezra, only from stories Sabine told him when she stayed on Krownest. From what he knew from Sabine, Ezra was goofy, charismatic, open, and a friendly individual. On top of that was his bravery, borderline recklessness, and gift as a leader, which Tristan saw in action when he volunteered to help in the evacuation of Attolon.

But one trait Ezra had he respected the most was his loyalty to Sabine. A Jedi, being a friend with a Mandalorian. He went out of his way to help her reforge her bond with her family, going as far as to question them on siding with the Empire at the time, and to willingly help her fight Gar Saxon without question.

But his view on Ezra's friendship with Sabine changed when he learned about his parents. His motivation to fight was exactly like her's: the Empire took his family away from him; quite literally in fact. On top of that, Sabine gifted him an old holopic of his parents and seemingly made a copy for herself. Why?

Tristan was now curious. Just how close were Ezra and his sister? He wasn't worried or anything, but he couldn't deny that his brotherly instincts were kicking in. When Sabine returned home, she didn't just bring a Jedi, she brought a boy around her age into her home. A boy who was loyal to her, and respectful. That raised a few questions.

Luckily, he knew who to ask.

Tristan entered the Ghost's cockpit to see both Kanan and Hera there. The twi'lek was repairing the ship's controls, while the Jedi Knight was watching her. He wasn't wearing his mask, so his blinded green eyes we noticeable.

"I'm starting to miss Chopper." Hera muttered as she struggled

"It looks like you can handle it." Kanan teased with a cocky smile

Hera rolled her eyes before looking at him, "You know this might go faster if you helped."

"Nah, I'm sticking with my previous claim."

"Ahem." Tristan muttered, making his presence known

Hera looked up and saw him standing there, "Tristan, sorry I didn't see you there. Is everything alright?"

"I just have a few questions I thought you might answer for me." he said to them, "About Sabine and Bridger."

"Very well, what is it?" Her asked as she and Kanan sat down

Tristan did the same before speaking, "When Sabine came back, it was a big thing for the entire clan. The family was whole again, one piece returned, thanks to you of course. And Sabine, she was happy to be back, but deep down she felt upset. She missed you all, very deeply. When we were training, or off duty, she spoke very highly of you. But the one person she spoke the most about was Bridger. Any conversation or tactic she came up with for battle, he was mentioned. At first, I thought it was just normal for her. But then I heard about his parents, and Sabine giving him a picture of them, along with making a picture for herself. So I was wondering, and curious as her brother…"

Tristan straightened himself, "...How close are Sabine and Ezra?"

Hera nodded slightly, understanding him completely, "I had a feeling you would ask that eventually. They aren't as close as you think they are, or at least from what we know."

"So they're just friends." Tristan said to clarify

"Best friends." Hera continued, "They both have each other's back. But there was one thing that happened when Ezra joined the crew."

"Which was?"

"Ezra used to have a crush on Sabine." Hera said to him

Tristan was surprised, "Bridger had a thing for my sister?"

"He did." Kanan chuckled, "You should've seen the look on his face when he saw her with her helmet on. He tried flirting with her constantly, and she would brush him off."

"And when was all this?"

"Right after Ezra joined the crew." Hera answered

"Well what happened?" Tristan asked, "Let me guess: Sabine tried to shoot him."

Hera shook her head, "No, Ezra just stopped."

Tristan was baffled. Usually if one tried to advance on a Mando, it wouldn't end well. But to hear that Ezra just stopped all of sudden without question just seemed odd. Even he had to agree his own sister was nice to look at. Though he won't say that directly to her, she would probably shoot him.

So what gives?

"Why did he stop?" he questioned

Hera shrugged, "We don't know, afterwards the two became friends. You would get the occasional flirt between them both, but you could tell it was a joke."

Tristan nodded in response, "The other day, Zeb mentioned 'a bond they have'. What did he mean?"

Kanan then spoke, "He was referring to their bond through the force. Funny hearing him say something like that if you ask me."

"What is a force bond?"

"It's a deep connection between two people through the force." Kanan explained, "It can be with anyone or anything. As time goes on, the bond can become stronger, and powerful."

"How was there's formed?"

"Can't say." Kanan continued, "Either it was pure luck on Ezra's part, or the work of the Force itself."

Tristan nodded before standing up, "That's all I have to ask. Thank you Captain, you too Master Jedi."

The Gauntlet was parked just outside the village deep within the Forever Fall, alongside the Marauder. RWBY, JNPR, and Chopper were scattered throughout the village either getting whatever supplies they needed or talking with the locals. Omega and most of the Bad Batch were off gathering doing the same thing. While Ezra, Sabine, Hunter, and Tech were conversing with Eli, the Faunus computer technician, the former two saved a while ago.

"...If you guys came to me earlier, I would say no." Eli said to them as they sat in the village's tavern, "But I saw you blow up an SDC train, so I'm all ears."

"There's a remote facility and dust mine under the joint jurisdiction of the Atlas Military and the Schnee Dust Company located in eastern Sanus." Hunter explained, "Rumor has it they're using Faunus labor to mine dust in the caves. But there are several Faunus with expertise like yours being sent to work on experimental equipment."

"We think its where they were planning on sending you after the facility near Vale." Sabine added, "The place is bound to have the same tech we found on the train."

"So what do you need from me?" Eli asked

"Just your brain, and experience with Atlas technology." Ezra quipped

Eli nodded slightly, "Alright then, I'm in. When do we leave?"

"First thing in the morning." Sabine replied, "Get what you need, meet us at the Gauntlet tomorrow."

An hour had passed since Eli was recruited for their mission to eastern Sanus, Sabine was in the Gauntlet's engine inspecting the engines. This job was done either every other day or right after a mission. While the ship was flyable, and suitable for space travel (except hyperspace), the last thing they needed was a damaged engine that rendered the Gauntlet useless.

The only problem was that only Ezra and Sabine knew how to maintain the engine room. Chopper only provided support, while RWBY and JNPR were 'inexperienced' to say the least. Both teens took the liberty of teaching them how to maintain the Gauntlet but they were still getting there. At least either Omega or Tech were willing to help.

But the young Mando also took this time to keep to herself. She thought of the day they met the Bad Batch, when they were hunting the Nightingale. Yang and Weiss questioned her on Ezra, which led to Weiss insulting him. She then snapped and decked the heiress in the face without warning. On top of that, Yang practically purred at the realization that Ezra was single.

'Don't you dare insult my best friend...And you, stay away from him…'

Those words echoed through Sabine's mind as she finished inspecting the Gauntlet's engine. Her face turned red at the thought. What made her hit Weiss? Why did she defend Ezra like that? What was making her feel so warm?

"Hey Sabine."

The young Mando was pulled from her thoughts and back into reality by the sound of Ezra's voice. She turned to see both him, Yang, and Weiss standing in the door of the engine room.

"Oh, what's up?" she practically stuttered

"Just thought you might need some help here." Ezra said, "So I brought some helpers."

"Why are you busy?" Sabine questioned with a smirk, "Why don't you come and help me instead?"

Ezra then looked around dramatically, "Oh-Wait. Did you hear that? There's a disturbance in the Force. I better mediate on it."

Yang just laughed in amusement at Ezra lame excuse, while Weiss just rolled her eyes and sighed and smirked. Sabine chuckled and put a hand on her hip, smirking even more.

"Nice try Jedi." she sighed in amusement, "Tell you what, you can go now...for now."

"Alright." Ezra chuckled before grinning slightly, "Good luck getting these two help."

"I thought the Jedi didn't believe in luck?" Sabine questioned

"Not this Jedi." Ezra said as he walked away, "Besides you might just need it."

"Ohhh…." Yang muttered, "Burn."

Sabine rolled her eyes in amusement and smiled. If there was one thing she knew, Ezra always knew how to make her smile.

She turned red at the thought before it dissipated.

"Well I did most of the work already, I just need some help cleaning up the tools." she said to Yang and Weiss

"That's alright." Yang said as she and Weiss started helping Sabine clean. After a minute or so, Sabine heard Yang speak.

"You like him, don't you?"

Sabine looked at the two confused, "Like who?"

"Ezra." Weiss exclaimed, "You like him."

Not even a second had passed as Sabine quickly felt heat radiating off her face. She blushed furiously while her mind started to panic. She, along with her family, and the crew of the Ghost knew one thing about her.

Sabine Wren is never good when it came to feelings.

"Wha-? No. No no no no no!" Sabine stuttered, "I-I don't! E-Ezra is just a friend! We always were!"

Yang laughed in amusement, "Sabine, I'm not dumb. I know a woman claiming her territory when I see one. Sucker-punching Weiss and threatening at blasterpoint are fact."

The mention of the other day only made the young Mando blush even more. She sighed internally as that warm feeling returned.

"Alright…" she muttered, "I do. I-I think I do. Yes. I like him. I like Ezra Bridger."

Weiss looked at her curiously, "Why are you so worried about it? It's normal to like someone, its natural."

"For you, yes." Sabine retorted, "Not for me."

"Why?" Yang questioned, "You're both young, know each other very well, it seems fine to me."

"Its not that." Sabine sighed, "Its…"

She looked away as she sat on a nearby crate. Her mind going haywire at the admission of her feelings.

"...Is it because of your heritage?" Weiss asked curiously, "Tech did say that your people and the Jedi have a 'complicated history'."

"No, it's not that." Sabine said she looked up at them, "It's never been that. Never. The past is in the past. Its just me, its always been me."

"What do you mean?"

"Mandalorians are known for being ruthless, feared warriors who only know peace through the end of a blaster." Sabine explained, "But deep down, we're emotional people. We value our lives, our family, and our friends. Everyday, one of us may die. At the hands of enemies, the Empire, even another clan. We go in thinking this is our last day, so we do most of what we have. I was told that I inherited several traits from my parents. From my father, I became creative and artistic. From my mother, I got her feelings. She was never good when it came to them, and we all knew, but it wasn't her fault. I'm the same."

"How exactly?" Weiss asked

Sabine began to feel as if a weight was being left off of her, "Before I joined the Rebellion, I was a shell of my former self: A broken, former cadet of the Imperial Academy. A disgrace to my clan and all Mandalorians. I put up thousands of barriers to shut everyone out. Even the ones I care about. And then…"

Sabine smiled as a memory popped into her mind, "Then I met Ezra. A street rat, and orphan from Lothal. At first just saw me as some pretty face, flirted with me constantly and one day he just stopped, without question. As time went on I got to know him, where he came from. He's brave, courageous, goofy, and kind. Soon enough breaking down every barrier I created one after another. He is my best friend, the one person I can talk to with worry. I don't wanna lose that.

"You won't, maybe Ezra still has a thing for you." said Weiss

"I can't." Sabine insisted, "I have a friend who I can relate to and talk to without the stress or the weight of the world on my shoulders. I fear if I tell him how I feel, I will lose it all."

"Sabine, your feelings are more than just you liking him." Yang stated

"What do you mean?" Sabine asked worryingly

"What you just said, is more than just your feelings." the blonde said, "It's...your heart...Sabine, you love him."

Ezra was meditating in his room quietly. Normally he would practice with his lightsaber, but felt he needed to rely on the Force more in battle. Even Kanan told him this in his training: 'Having a laser sword doesn't make you a Jedi'.

Ezra wasn't one on meditation, but he did find it calming sometimes. He rarely did it on his own, and only with Kanan during training.

He continued doing this until he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." he said before the door opened, revealing Ruby and Pyrrha on the other side. The two then entered.

"Ezra." she said to him, "I thought you were practicing?"

"I am." the young Jedi answered, still kneeling on the ground, "Meditation is important for a Jedi. Kanan taught me that younglings were taught to meditate for like a whole day."

"And how often do you meditate?" Pyrrha asked

"15 minutes to never." Ezra responded, causing the two girls to laugh slightly, "Yeah, Kanan's the one who does it the most. After all, he trained with more Jedi than I ever will."

"I still can't believe there was a group of warriors who stood for peace." Ruby muttered as with starry eyes, "And carried cool laser swords-"

"Lightsaber."

"Lightsaber." Ruby continued, "And could lift things with their mind."

"That's the abridged version...but yeah. It's pretty cool." Ezra shrugged, "If they were more of us. Now all that's left are scared survivors, and untrained younglings that dwindle in numbers. Sometimes I wonder if me and Kanan are all that's left."

"I'm sure there are more Jedi in the galaxy." Pyrrha assured him, "Even if there aren't, at least there are people willing to stand against the Empire. People inspired by the Jedi."

Ezra smiled, "I guess you're right."

"But you guys sound like mythical warriors!" Ruby added, "And you have rival warriors who fight you! And somehow you befriended one!"

Ezra chuckled, "Yeah, I did. Sabine may be Mandalorian, but she doesn't see the Jedi as her enemy...or at least I think she doesn't."

Pyrrha then asked a question, "You and Sabine seem really close. She said you grew up together on the Ghost. How did you meet exactly?"

Ezra shuffled a bit as the memory of meeting the crew of the Ghost entered mind, "Well, the day I met Sabine, was the day I met my family."

"Really?" Ruby asked

"Before I joined the Rebellion, I told you I was an orphan and street rat on Lothal. I needed to survive, so I became somewhat of a con artist."

Ruby looked baffled, "You? A criminal?"

Ezra shrugged, "In my own defense I needed to survive. I would mainly steal from the Empire and sell what I could on the black market for credits. Then one day, I spotted a shipment of Imperial crates hedging out of Capital City, when I felt an odd feeling."

"The Force?" Ruby asked

"I didn't know it was that at the time." Ezra continued, "Then a group of criminals raided the supplies, "Before they could leave, I stole one of the speeders and two crates. Guess who it was?"

"Kanan." Pyrrha guessed

Ezra nodded, "He caught up to me, and so did the Empire. He offered me a ride on the Ghost. I managed to sneak around before ending up near the nose gun of the ship. I was pulled from the seat by someone in pink armor. She took off her helmet, and...well…"

"EW!" Ruby snorted, "Gross gross gross gross gross!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Ezra said

"No, it's fine." Pyrrha laughed a bit, "You like her then?"

"I…" Ezra stopped himself as he questioned himself on what Pyrrha had asked, "I don't know anymore. All I know is that I used to flirt with her."

"Wait. Used too?" Ruby muttered, "I thought you always flirted with her."

Ezra raised an eyebrow, "Now what makes you say that?"

"Well, you always poke at each other." she explained, "Compliment one another, and quite honestly say things that...mean more than they should be."

"Yeah, it's more of a joke between us." Ezra muttered as he rubbed the back of his head, "I haven't really flirted with her in over three years."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked

Ezra looked away and frowned with guilt, "I...did something I shouldn't have done."

"What? Is Sabine mad at you for something?" Ruby questioned

"No, if I did something to make Sabine mad, I'd be dead by now." said Ezra, "I was early into my Jedi training, I decided to meditate for a bit. Kanan didn't really get to that part of training yet, so I had to improvise. I thought if I thought of a good memory for motivation, I could feel at peace, maybe connect with the Force more. I ended up thinking of Sabine as I sat there, and in doing so, I tapped into the Force and probed her mind."

"You...probed her mind?" Pyrrha muttered, "Like saw her thoughts?"

Ezra nodded, "I did. At that point, I felt like we formed a connection, or at least the start of one. But I also saw how she felt about me, and embarrassment would be considered an understatement. I stopped meditating and just felt mortified. I realized I wanted to be Sabine's friend, find common ground and just get along. As time went on, I realized that when I probed her mind, we did form some connection. A bond in force, unbreakable, and it's gotten stronger everyday. Even since we crashed on Remnant."

"Ezra, that's beautiful." Pyrrha said with a smile

"But I don't know how I feel." Ezra continued, "Since I stopped flirting, I became Sabine's friend. I got to know who she was, and where she came from. During that time, I've learned more about the Force and the Jedi. I want to figure my place in all of this. What does it mean to be a Jedi?"

"Well, maybe you'll find out soon." Ruby muttered with a hopeful smile, "Maybe the Force guided you here."

"Well, Kanan always said the Force works in mysterious ways." Ezra chuckled, "I guess I have to wait and see."

It was now evening, Ezra walked through the halls of the Gauntlet towards his room. He had challenged Yang to a match of Dejarak, and they ended up playing for a while. Nora and Ruby made a few bets to see who would win. But there was one person missing from the group, as Sabine was off doing who knows what.

Ezra was now heading back to his room when he decided to go to Sabine's to see if she was there. He knocked on it quietly before hearing someone say come in. The door slide opened, Sabine was sitting on the ground, still working on her mural of both her family, and the crew of the Ghost.

"Oh, hey." Sabine muttered as she turned around to look at him, not getting up

"Hey." Ezra said to her as he leaned against the door frame, "I was wondering where you were."

Sabine looked down a bit, "Sorry, I got a little carried away."

The mural of everyone was now joined by pictures of Ruby, Yang, Nora, and now Sabine was working on what had to be either Pyrrha or Jaune. The one thing that hadn't changed was that the picture still lacked himself and Sabine. She seemingly started what had to be an outline for them both in the middle of the mural, with Sabine on the side of her family and Ezra on the side of the Ghost crew.

"Still trying to figure out how to paint me?" Ezra teased slightly

Sabine rolled her eyes in amusement, "Not just you though, I thought this would be easier."

"Yeah, well when you come up with something. Don't think about giving me buck teeth." he said jokingly causing Sabine to laugh a bit

"I-I'll make sure…" she replied while standing up but Ezra quickly looked away and covered his eyes. Almost as if he was embarrassed.

"Oh god…" he muttered quickly while covering his eyes

"What?" she asked in confusion, then it hit her. While Ezra was still dressed in his orange attire, belt, holster, lightsaber, etc. Sabine was dressed for sleeping, that being black shorts and a purple sports bra. Her armor and bodysuit her off to the side of her room.

"Oh-I'm sorry, I-I should've told you-" she muttered while flustered

"No. No. It's my fault." Ezra countered, also flustered, "I should've noticed first."

Sabine then had enough of Ezra just hiding his face from her, "Ezra you can look at me. I still have clothes on. Besides, I dress like this when I work out, just with longer pants, you know that."

"Right…" Ezra muttered before looking at her all while trying to recompose himself but felt as if Sabine was uncomfortable.

"I-if you want me to leave I can-"

"No no no, I'm fine." she said to him, "It's been a long day…"

"How so?" Ezra muttered, "We didn't do much, we got Eli to help with tomorrow, and additional supplies, on top of that Hunter agreed to loan us some weapons and explosives they've acquired over the years, at this rate, we'll be home by Life Day."

Sabine shook her head as they entered her room, "No it's not that. I just...had a conversation with Yang and Weiss earlier today."

"About what?"

"Uh, surprisingly you."

"Me really?" Ezra muttered before smirking, "Are they interested in me?"

Sabine scoffed, "Ezra!"

"Kidding!" Ezra laughed, "Heck, I'm not interested in them at all. I'm surprised that's what they asked though. I'd thought they'd ask about the galaxy as a whole."

Sabine snorted, "After the bomb we dropped on them the other day, I'd expect questions like that in the future."

"But on the topic of feelings, I had a similar talk with Ruby and Pyrrha." Ezra added

"About feelings?"

Ezra shrugged, "Pretty much, then they asked about you. About us."

"What do you mean us?" Sabine questioned

"Oh, they were curious about our friendship. I told them they used to flirt a lot." Ezra explained, "But I stopped."

"Yeah...you did…" Sabine muttered, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything?"

Sabine then sat down on her bunk, with Ezra sitting next to her. She looked right at him as she spoke.

"Why did you stop?"

The young Jedi blinked a few times before looking down. The memory of what he did flashed through his mind, "I did something, I shouldn't have done."

Sabine looked at him confused, "I don't understand, Ezra you haven't done anything wrong."

"No, that's not true." he replied in shame, "Sabine, I accidentally probed your mind. I...I felt your emotions…"

"How?" she asked not in anger, but curiously

"I was meditating, and I just...did." he explained, "You felt embarrassed, I was mortified. How did the rest of the crew feel about me? What would happen if I continued? I promised that night, I would never probe someone's mind ever again, regardless of the situation."

Sabine looked at him in sympathy, but was now curious about another thing.

"I look back at that night, and see something good out of it though." Ezra continued before looking at her once again, "You wanna know what that was?"

"What?" Sabine muttered in a low tone

"I got to be your friend." Ezra said to her, "Sabine, I've never had a best friend ever in my life. Living on the streets of Lothal, I made a few friends. All of which either were arrested, joined the Empire, or fled off world. You're the first I've had in my life, and it's been the greatest gift in my life."

Ezra looked down, not bothering to look at her. Believing he said more than he should have, he took it as his cue to leave.

"I-I should go…" he muttered while slowly getting up, but was stopped when Sabine grabbed his arm. He sat back down as she moved his face to look at her. He feared she was angry at his accidental use of the Force.

To his surprise, Sabine wasn't angry. Instead, she was smiling. The warmest smile he'd ever seen. But still he felt guilty as his emotion got the best of him, and a tear fell from his left eye near his scar.

"Its ok…" she muttered softly before rubbing the tear, grazing his scar in the process, "It wasn't your fault."

Sabine then wrapped her arms around him as he did the same. Like before, the hug was warm and comforting for both of them. Their foreheads touched as they looked at one another, which did something surprising. The Force practically sizzled around, and they both felt it. The feeling of warmth they had since arriving on Remnant surrounded them, felt good, and they weren't complaining one bit.

"Could you...stay here for the night?" Sabine then asked, "For me?"

Ezra smiled, "Ok."

With that, Ezra and Sabine laid down on the bunk not before the former removing his belt, holster, blaster, and lightsaber. The two faced one another as they drifted off to sleep.

Kanan smiled as sat in his room on the Ghost. He felt the Force call to him, as if it were a message regarding his kids. Then the sense of their bond hit him, and he knew. He then stood up and walked out of his room and into the common room. Hera was sitting there going through a datapad.

"You're not gonna believe what I just felt." he said, "And even they don't know."

"What is it?" she asked

"Hera, I think the kids are in love…"

Next of the Jedi and the Mandalorian...

Chapter 9 - The Faunus