Chapter 11: Awkwardness is the Word

The elephant in the room becomes unavoidable thanks to poor choices and consequences

Sabine slowly roused out of her slumber in a state of confusion. Her normal morning routine usually began with her popping right out of bed before the sun rose over the horizon, but that wasn't happening this morning. For when she did wake up and tried opening her eyes, she had to instantly slam them shut as the brightness was too much for her brain to handle.

She was sure that she now knew what it would feel like if a star destroyer had landed on top of her head. It hurt to move, and so she decided to stay in her current position until the throbbing settled to a more manageable level. She also silently vowed to herself that she would lay off drinking for a while.

She tried her best to relax despite the pain in her head, but once she was awake, it was very rare for her to fall back asleep, and this time was no different as her mind began to race, searching for details on what all happened that put her in this current state. She'd been drunk before, but this didn't feel the same as the other times during her bounty hunting days.

Sabine had heard the term blackout drunk before, but she'd never experienced anything like that before. Almost every other time she'd been drunk, things may have been fuzzy, or she experienced having some temporarily forgotten details, but she was struggling to remember anything at all. In fact, she didn't even know where she was at the current moment, and that caused some panic to rise inside.

She tried opening her eyes again, but that same brightness forced her to slam them back shut. She really began to panic, but came to yet another realization. She may not have known where she was, but for some reason, she felt completely safe. She wasn't sure why she felt that way, but something just felt right.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but once again her brain finally started to function, and her other senses started to register. What she was using as a pillow wasn't soft, but was comfortable until she started to move her hand. That was when it hit her like a blaster bolt. She wasn't lying on a pillow at all. She was lying on someone's bare chest!

Whoever it was, she could feel that they had a chiseled physique as her fingers glided along the ridges of this person's upper body. She could feel the definition as she trailed her fingers downward until they stopped around the person's hips, obstructed by pants, which gave her some relief. Perhaps all she'd done that night was sleep.

But then there was the scent. It was familiar, and she struggled to recall where it came from until her hand involuntarily dragged back up the side of her makeshift pillow, causing that person's hand to move and stop her from moving hers any farther.

"Don't," came the mumbling voice just above her head. "Tickles."

She could feel the rumbling of his voice through his chest, and she completely relaxed when she realized that it was Ezra's sent and Ezra's voice. It was Ezra's chest she used as a pillow. She almost sighed until her pesky brain once again flashed. It was Ezra she was laying on! She'd just slept in the same bed with Ezra!

Brightness ceased to matter at that point as Sabine immediately leaped off of Ezra and out of bed, taking the covers with her. "What the kriff!" Sabine yelled at Ezra before instantly regretting it as the headache returned in full force.

"Good morning to you too," Ezra grumbled as he got out of bed on the opposite side from his still startled roommate. "How are you feeling?"

Sabine snapped her eyes shut when she saw Ezra standing there in his chiseled glory. She would later use the guise of the sunlight being the reason when it was anything but. "My head is killing me," She said as she tried to calm herself, but her mind was having none of it. At least he was still wearing his pants from the day before, and she tried to convince herself that nothing happened that night based solely on that one fact.

"You're probably still dehydrated," Ezra reasoned as he walked over to the small kitchen area and grabbed her a glass of water. "I tried to get to you drink some water last night, but you were pretty out of it by the time I got you back to our room. Plus, I'm pretty sure you wore more than you got in your mouth."

Ezra then approached her with the glass, handing it out to her along with some medication for her aching head. She gratefully took them both, letting go of the bedding long enough to pop the pills into her mouth and chase them down with the refreshing, cool liquid. Then something else triggered.

Ezra was shirtless but had his pants on, and she realized where his shirt was when she looked down. She then felt the chill of the room hitting her bare legs, and completely flipped out. "Seriously Ezra! What! The! Kriff!"

"Nothing happened Sabine, I swear," Ezra said, holding his hands up in surrender. He hadn't done anything wrong for the most part, and if Sabine hadn't taken him by surprise on a couple of occasions through the night, he would've been completely innocent.

Sabine, however, forgot about the pain in her head and frantically searched for her pants. It took a couple of agonizing moments before eventually spotting them in a pile of shame at the foot of the bed. What had she done? Or rather, what hadn't she done? And why couldn't she remember anything from that night? Shame filled her to the brim and she couldn't believe how stupid she'd been. It was such an overwhelming feeling that she even forgot about her pants and just dropped back down onto the bed.

She couldn't believe that she let something like this happen. How was she going to deal with being around Ezra now? What if she had given in during the night and done more than just slept in bed Ezra? If she did have sex with him, would he actually tell her, or just keep it hidden from her so that he'd get both what he wanted from her physically as well as ensuring their friendship behind a lie? Sabine shook her head at the last thought though. Ezra was her best friend, and because of that, he wouldn't have taken advantage of her, would he?

She didn't know what to say or what to do when Ezra knelt in front of her. She then went as stiff as a piece of duracrete the instant he took her hand into his. She had many thoughts pass through her mind then, ranging anywhere from simply yanking her hand away and fleeing to pummeling Ezra for whatever he'd allowed to go on. But then he reached forward, lifting her chin until he could look her in the eyes. There was a deep concern in his eyes, but that wasn't all. She saw the sincerity in them as well, and that allowed her to calm her nerves, if only slightly.

"After you left me at the apartment, I decided that maybe I should head out too," Ezra explained as he sat down next to Sabine, still holding her hand. She felt extremely vulnerable at the moment, more so than she could ever recall feeling before, but needed to know what happened, even if it was from Ezra's perspective.

"So, I did," he continued. "I didn't know where to go, and I wasn't looking for you at first. But then I came back and you still weren't here. You'd been gone for hours at that point, and I started to worry. So, I went back out again, but this time I was definitely looking for you."

"I remember finding a local cantina," Sabine said as she tried to fight through the cloudy memories. "I just wanted to have a couple of drinks before I came back."

"When I found you, you were already pretty out of it." Ezra pointed out. "It seemed like you couldn't stand on your own without help. And…there was this guy."

"A guy?" Sabine asked, not recalling why she would've been with someone.

"Yeah," Ezra confirmed. "He was a real piece of work. So, I tried using our cover story to get him to back off, but he wasn't having any of it. Instead, he tried to take you back to his place, and in your current condition, I decided to talk him out of it."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" She asked. If Ezra had done that, then this mission would be over before it even began.

"No, but I'll bet it'll be a while before he tries anything stupid like that again," Ezra answered before he continued. "Then I brought you back here. I tried to get you to drink some water, but when that didn't work, I thought maybe if I just got you to sleep off whatever was in your system, you'd feel better."

"What about the clothes?" Sabine asked. "Why am I wearing your shirt? I mean, I can understand needing to change out of a wet shirt, but why not just get one of my shirts?"

At that, Ezra let go of her hand and instead reached back to rub the back of his neck. He didn't want to go into details for fear that she might not believe him, but he could see that Sabine didn't just want answers, she needed them. So, he took a deep breath and pressed on. "That's what confirmed for me that you couldn't just be drunk." He said. "I went to get the bed ready, and when I turned around, you had taken your shirt off."

Sabine's eyes widened, almost in disbelief. She couldn't believe that she would do something like that, drunk or not, but the story didn't end there. "I tried convincing you to put on something else, but the only thing you were willing to accept was if I took my shirt off for you to wear." Ezra continued. "Then I helped you get into bed, and you kind of…pulled me in with you."

"Is that all?" Sabine asked, but deep down knew there was more. "And what about my pants?"

"Well, after I got tired of you not letting me sleep someplace else that wasn't with you, I gave in and we ended up lying in bed together," Ezra said. "You were a little handsy with me at first, but eventually I got you to fall asleep on top of me. As for your pants, you took them off after a fresher break midway through the night."

Ezra hoped that would quell Sabine's need for information because he really didn't want to get into what happened to wake him up in the middle of the night, but then she noticed something on him. "If that's all that happened then what's that on your neck?"

Ezra was typically a deep sleeper, but worry had him constantly waking up throughout the night. Every murmur, moan, groan, or flinch from the person on top of him was all it took to wake him. Sabine lying on him was a difficult enough situation to handle aside from trying to get at least a little sleep. Even when she was asleep, her hands still seemed to be awake.

Ezra tried on more than one occasion to slip away whenever he heard Sabine's breathing mix in with a soft, little snore, letting him know she was deep asleep. However, every time he tried to move out from under her, Sabine's hands would start roaming again. And because of her active hands, Ezra was beginning to struggle with remaining in control of not only her but himself as well.

He'd always known that Sabine was deceptively strong, especially for such a lithe figure, but as the night wore on, he was really starting to struggle to keep her hands at bay. Sometimes they would even make it under his waistband before he could regain control. She came dangerously close more than once to latching onto somewhere that no one else aside from him or doctors had touched before.

Then, on his final attempt to slip away from temptation, one of Sabine's legs slung over the top of his, effectively trapping him. To make matters worse, she also snuggled her face into the crook of his neck, where her hot breath against his skin was pure torture. It was excruciating for him, having to lay there with her melded to him, but he didn't seem to have a choice in the matter.

He'd just managed to accept his current predicament and relax when she once again jolted awake. Sabine jolted straight for the fresher before Ezra could even register what was happening. Ezra waited for a minute or two, listening intently for any sounds indicating that Sabine might be vomiting, but no such noises came.

He waited for another minute or so before he began to climb out of bed, but then the door to the fresher slid open again. Ezra had to force down the lump that suddenly grew in his throat at the sight before him. It was Sabine, leaning in the doorway with a look on her face that, while he'd never seen from her before, he still instantly knew what it meant.

Sabine made her way to the bed, swaying her hips with more pronunciation than Ezra could recall her ever doing before. She was also gripping the top of her pants as she approached, but he didn't pay that any mind until she showed him why when she was at the foot of the bed. She intentionally hadn't fastened her pants, making it quicker for her to slide them down her long, luscious legs.

Ezra's mouth went dry at what he saw and his brain locked up as Sabine stepped out of her pants. She smiled at him as she leaned down and then crawled across the bed to him. He almost felt like she'd put him into some kind of a trance as he laid there, propped up slightly on the back of his forearms as she came within reach of him. Sabine put one of her hands directly on Ezra's bare chest and "coaxed" him into lying down fully before she straddled over him.

If Ezra had been a droid at that precise moment, warnings would've blared about operation systems failures. His breathing turned erratic as soon as Sabine lowered herself down onto him to where her body was almost fully pressed against his front. He was certain that she was going to try and kiss him again, and he wasn't sure if he could take that again from her without giving in to his base urges. So, he turned his head away in retreat, but that was a grievous error.

Sabine saw the opening presenting itself, and she took advantage, going for his ear first. Ezra's eyes snapped open at the unexpected sensation. He didn't know what to do, and then when Sabine gently blew on his ear, he nearly lost his mind. If that wasn't torture enough though, Sabine moving to Ezra's neck next certainly was.

She began using her tongue, and the soft flicks of it against Ezra's skin officially overloaded his circuits. He couldn't stop the gasp that escaped him, and he could feel the small grin form on her lips as she continued to torture him. "I want you," she whispered before sliding her body slightly down on his until her rear met a little resistance that hadn't been there before, causing her grin to grow into a full-blown smile. "And it feels like you want me too."

"I do," he admitted as he desperately tried to think of a way to escape. "More than anything, but I need to know that it's honestly you saying that."

Sabine groaned as she dragged the fingernails of her left hand down Ezra's chest. It wasn't hard enough to draw blood, but it was more than enough to get a response from his body. "It is me," she said as she stopped teasing his neck and made her move for his lips.

Ezra began praying to any deity he could think of for help. Every fiber in his body wanted to believe what Sabine was telling him, but he had to be sure before he gave in completely. "I love you, Sabine," he confessed as he grabbed her by the hips. Sabine let out an excited semi-squeal at the contact. "And that's why I can't do this with you tonight. I promised you that I would stay in bed with you, and I will. But I want to wait until tomorrow night before we do anything else. If you still want me then, then I'll do anything you ask."

The smile and desire instantly drained from Sabine's face. "But I need you now, Ezra." She argued.

"I know you do," Ezra replied before suddenly using his grip to force her off of him for the most part. She did manage to keep a leg draped over him, but he had the rest of her lying next to him at that point. However, Sabine wasn't about to give in yet and tried to climb back on him, only for him to grab one of her wrists and hold it on his chest as he turned to his side. Sabine still had her head lifted, looking right at him, and it nearly broke everything in him to hold his ground with his decision. "Just stay here with me like this, and I promise you that I'll do whatever you ask tomorrow."

Sabine huffed in disappointment and tried to pull away, but Ezra kept his hold on her wrist. She tried to fight to gain control, but he held strong until she stopped fighting him. When Ezra was more sure that Sabine wouldn't try again, he rolled onto his back again, allowing her to lay her head back onto his chest. "Stupid boy," she grumbled in finality, and he hoped that she wasn't right about that.

Ezra had gone into the fresher for a mirror after Sabine asked what was on his neck, and the evidence gave him no choice but to confess to everything that had happened aside from his little confession. Needless to say, Sabine didn't stick around long after finding out what she tried to do to him. She gave the excuse of finding some caf but Ezra knew that she needed the space and solitude to clear her head.

He, meanwhile, didn't know what he could do to fix this. Ezra had done everything he could, for the most part, to stop her from doing something when she wasn't in control, and he thought he'd done pretty well, all things considered. He could only imagine how much worse it might've gotten if he'd revealed professing his love for her that night.

Ezra did know that moping around the apartment wasn't going to give him any answers, but he couldn't seem to motivate himself to do much. He went through the motions in cleaning himself up for the day, ate a ration bar for breakfast, and then his communicator chimed.

It wasn't a live message when he opened the channel, but rather an encrypted message that read "E team in place" with coordinates for a rendezvous. And Ezra was happy to have something to do that might help keep his mind off of Sabine and what happened that night.

He went over to a holo-computer and input the provided coordinates, and found that it was at the closest marketplace. The location did seem to be a clever idea. He could pretend to be shopping, or maybe even actually make some purchases, and all the while look inconspicuous to any random onlooker. So, he put on his boots and headed for the first of what would surely be at least a few meetings.

As Ezra entered the marketplace, he found that it was booming for the most part. There were all kinds of various vendors along the streets selling a plethora of different items. Ezra tried to give off a casual vibe, perusing a few different vendor's stands before eventually settling into the one he was actually there for. Unfortunately for him, Gavyn happened to be managing the stand. There were a couple of customers checking out what Gavyn had to offer, one of them even making a purchase before it was Ezra's turn.

"Not a bad selection you've got here," Ezra commented as he perused what all the Rebels had to offer. At first, he hadn't planned to make any purchases, but what they had on display looked like it'd make a good first home-cooked meal on the planet.

"We've got a good supply that should last for a while," Gavyn said. "I'd suggest the Dorian passion fruit whenever you have something worth trading."

Ezra caught the hint from Gavyn and made a note to remember the code for delivering any reported findings. The location of the fruit would also make it easy for a successful hand-off as the bin for it was closest to Gavyn's seat behind the vendor stand. Either Ezra or Sabine could just drop any form of data as they reached forward to pick up the fruit, and no one would be the wiser.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Ezra said as he turned to the other side to could grab a couple jogan fruits when Gavyn once more grabbed his attention.

"What….is that?" he asked, pointing at Ezra's neck. "How did you…wait, you didn't with Sabine, did you?"

"It's nothing," Ezra said a little too quickly for Gavyn's liking, which wasn't helped as Ezra followed up by trying unsuccessfully to hide it behind the collar of his jacket.

"Whatever," Gavyn grumbled, not believing Ezra for an instant. "Just get what you need for today, and come back each day for enough food to keep you both fed. Remember what I said about the Dorian fruit."

"Yeah, sure," Ezra responded. He could see the anger growing from Gavyn and knew it would be best to be on his way before he slipped and revealed how pleased that just made him. So, he pulled out the necessary amount of credits to complete the transaction and went on his way.

He thought about contacting Sabine as he trekked back to their apartment, but decided against it in favor of continuing to give her the space she might need. If she wanted to talk to him, she knew how to reach him.

To his surprise though, when he opened the door to the apartment, Sabine had already returned. Ezra tried to think of something to say to her as he carried the supplies over to the kitchen, but Sabine was seated on the edge of the bed with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, and her eyes fixated on the floor. It was plain to see that she wasn't acting like herself

The desire to help her was consuming, but he didn't know how or what he could do. So, instead, he stalled for time by putting all of the items he'd gotten away. He still occasionally spared a glance over to Sabine, only to find that she hadn't moved much, if at all. It was like she'd been frozen where she sat, and it made him feel terrible for her. He knew that the Holocron had told him about Mandalorians being a prideful group who wouldn't stand for weakness of any kind, but he couldn't just let her stay like that. He had to do something, even if it would end up biting him in the ass. "Look, Sabine…I…"

"Thank you," she whispered, interrupting him.

"For what?" he asked, surprised by her words.

"Whoever that shabuir you told me about was, he slipped something into one of my drinks without me knowing it," Sabine explained. "I confirmed it because it was still in my system when I went to get checked out this morning. The doctor told me that there's been a rise in cases like mine where women have been taken advantage of, but you saved me. So, thank you."

"You would've done the same for me," Ezra nearly scoffed, as he walked over and sat next to her.

But Sabine was still looking at the floor. "No Ezra, you don't understand," she said. "I don't know what would've happened, but I know it would've been bad and this guy could've gotten anything he wanted from me. I let my guard down around a complete stranger because…"

Sabine paused in what she was saying, and Ezra figured it was either that she couldn't decide what to say next or maybe that she had already said too much. He didn't know which it was, but the silence quickly became deafening. "Because what?" He asked, prompting her gently to keep going.

"It doesn't matter," she eventually said, finally looking him in the eyes. "The point is, I still don't know what happened aside from what you told me. So, I probably owe you an apology too. And ask if you can forgive me for almost screwing up the entire mission. But really, I just hope that we can keep what happened between us."

At that, Ezra knew he was going to be in trouble, and he began nervously rubbing the back of his neck, which Sabine knew full well was one of his tells. "About that," he responded, guilt also clearly written in the tone of his voice.

And the full of contrition Sabine was instantly replaced by an angry one. "What did you do? Go off bragging to anyone who would listen?"

"No," Ezra answered before diving right into an explanation. "While you were away, the evac team made contact. They're set up as a vendor stand in the local marketplace to give us a way to make information drops by buying a Dorian passion fruit. We're also supposed to go there to purchase our rations for each day."

"Get to the point," Sabine barked.

"Gavyn was the one who was there," Ezra said quickly. "And I thought I had it covered up, but he still noticed the mark on my neck. I didn't tell him anything but judging by his reaction, I'm pretty sure he came to his own conclusion about what happened."

"Haar'chak!" Sabine growled loudly as she shot up and began to pace in front of him. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about the mission!" Ezra argued, now getting frustrated in return. "It's not like I intended for anyone to think we fooled around."

"We didn't, or at least that's what you told me," Sabine replied, her voice continuing to rise.

"Well, it wasn't for lack of trying by you," Ezra shot back, but instantly regretted it. He knew she was upset, and needed to keep that in mind as he continued. "Believe me, I could've, but I did everything in my power to make sure that we didn't. I knew it wasn't really you, and that if I did give in I'd only end up losing you as my friend. I didn't want to lose you, Sabine, even though it feels like that's still what's happening."

Sabine's mouth snapped shut. His words made her realize that she was basically accusing Ezra of flat out lying to her. They had been friends for years, and while jokes were one thing, Sabine couldn't recall Ezra ever lying to her before, especially when it was a serious topic like this. So, he deserved the benefit of the doubt until he gave her reason not to. "I believe you," she finally said. "I'm sorry for making you think that I didn't. I'm just not used to being so weak and making such dumb decisions."

"You're anything but weak or dumb," Ezra said. "I've seen you do amazing things that no normal person could."

"But I still put myself in that position to be taken advantage of," Sabine pointed out. "It was stupid and careless."

"That just means you're human," Ezra countered. "You know I've made my fair share of dumb choices, and besides, no one's perfect. I'm just glad I found you when I did."

"Yeah," Sabine responded, once again hugging herself.

"Can I…" Ezra suddenly said as he stood up only to pause as Sabine flinched at his movement.

She wondered what Ezra started to ask, and what he was doing when he came to a stop right in front of her. She wanted to panic but something inside gave her the feeling that nothing bad or unwelcomed was going to happen. Then Ezra opened his arms and took one final step forward before he enveloped her in a protective hug.

She flinched at first but quickly was consumed with that same feeling she'd experienced earlier that morning. It was that sense of pure safety again, but this time it was more prevalent without the lingering effects of the drugs. She allowed herself to enjoy the warm and pleasant feeling, and almost didn't want it to end, but couldn't quite bring herself to return the hug.

It didn't take long for Ezra to notice that she wasn't returning the affectionate embrace, so he released her after only a few short moments while secretly hoping it wouldn't be the last time. "You're my best friend, Sabine," Ezra suddenly told her. "And whether we're getting along or not, I want you to always know that."

"You're my best friend too, Ezra," Sabine admitted, smiling for the first time that day. "And you're not losing me."

By that day's end, Sabine was acting more and more like herself, but something was a little different too. Ezra thought that she seemed a little happier, a little friendlier. It was nice to be getting along with each other again, which was a welcomed change.

Neither Ezra nor Sabine admitted it to each other, but they both enjoyed how the evening went. They decided to just stay even went over how they were going to handle the first day of work the following morning at Imperial Arms. Ezra offered to once again head to the market place before going into the weapons manufacturer, but Sabine let him know that wouldn't be necessary.

If Gavyn had a problem with what didn't happen from the previous night, she would find a way to nip that in the bud. They couldn't risk the mission over hurt feelings, and Gavyn would learn that if he didn't already know it. She would set the record straight if she felt that it would be necessary for the success of the mission. Then hopefully, they could forget about that nightmare of a night that could've ended so much worse than a couple of light scratches and a hickey.

Once they had everything squared away after what had been an enjoyable dinner meal, Ezra took a pillow and blanket from the bed and made his way to the couch. Sabine felt a little guilty due to Ezra's refusal to take the bed. She even considered asking if he wanted to share the bed with her, but she felt uneasy about that after everything the previous night. There was something inside telling her that she'd end up making another decision she might regret, and she'd already done enough of that on this mission. So, she kept quiet instead as she laid down and closed her eyes.

As the night progressed, Sabine tossed and turned as sleep seemed to elude her. No matter what position she was in or what she tried, nothing seemed to work. It quickly became frustrating just lying there, so she got up to grab something to drink. She quickly downed some cold water and set the glass on the counter she was leaning against.

Sabine then took a moment to look around the room until she eventually making it to the couch and the occupant using it for a bed. She became a little envious as Ezra didn't seem to be struggling to sleep at all, but she couldn't blame him. All the struggling with a sexually charged, if out of her mind Mandalorian had to be exhausting for him. He did mention having to wait for her to fall asleep before he could throughout the night.

Normally, if she was struggling to sleep, she would find something to paint, but there weren't any walls that would be appropriate, and she didn't have any canvas with her. either Also, she wasn't typically quiet when she was painting, and that would certainly keep Ezra up as well.

So, she huffed in frustration as she traipsed back to the bed and plopped down, resigning for some more tossing and turning in the hope that she'd find sleep before daybreak. Sabine turned over once, twice, and then punched her pillow before Ezra's soft, tired voice grabbed her attention. "What's wrong?" He wearily asked.

"Sorry," she said as she turned over once more to face the couch and him. "I just can't get comfortable enough to sleep for some reason."

Ezra sighed as he pushed himself up into a seated position. He rubbed his fingers against his eyes for a moment, carefully considering something that had crossed his mind to help her. He just wondered if she would agree to his idea, which would only be an innocent offer to help.

Finally, he decided to come out with it and let the chips fall where they may. "If you'll let me," he said. "There was something I did last night that seemed to help."

At first, Sabine's mind went right to where Ezra feared it would, and she became defensive immediately. "We're not having sex, Ezra!"

"No," Ezra said with a frustrated sigh. "That's not what I was going to suggest."

Sabine still seemed to be a bit on edge, Ezra's words not offering much comfort. "Then explain what you were thinking to me," she said. "In detail."

"Showing you would be easier," he said right as he stood up and cautiously walked over to the bed. Sabine scooted over to the opposite side. Her movements made him think she might actually be afraid of what would happen if she let him get to close, and it broke his heart to see her acting this way. "I'm asking you to trust me, but I'll make you a deal. If you think I'm crossing any line with you, then all you have to do is say the word, and I'll stop."

Sabine was still somewhat hesitant but did eventually nod in acceptance to give his idea a try. Ezra was the first to move after that, sitting down on the bed and sliding up so that he had a pillow propped up between his back and the headboard, and then he motioned for Sabine to come closer to him.

She was frozen in place at first but did slide over closer to him. He helped her settle her head to rest in between his shoulder and his chest. She was still incredibly tense, so he figured providing some background might help. "This is something I remember my mom doing with me," he said as he slowly rose his hand up and laced his fingers in her hair, and started softly combing through it. "She used to let me do it to her too, and sometimes we'd both fall asleep.

The action seemed a little intimate to Sabine at first, but his explanation made her realize that Ezra wasn't doing anything wrong. All he was doing was gently gliding his fingers through her hair over and over again. At that point, Sabine felt some relief come to her, and the tension in her body finally subsided.

Slowly, Sabine became more and more comfortable. It wasn't much longer before her eyes started to become heavy. Her mind was still racing a bit, but it wasn't so much sexual anymore. That same feeling of being completely safe once again began to wash over her, and she allowed a yawn to slip past her lips as sleep finally seemed to be coming.

Ezra seemed to be dozing off a bit as well, murmuring "Your hair is really soft," and Sabine smiled at his kind words. Still, there was a small inkling in the back of her mind wondering if maybe he might be flirting, but she decided to let it slide this one time because she had agreed to let him help her sleep. Plus, even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, his fingers sliding through her hair did feel pretty good, and with that, she finally drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Up next, Sabine and Ezra focus on completing the mission while they deal with their domesticated situation, begging the question of are they friends or more? Or less?