Hey guys so here is another fic from me. This is separate from my ImperialVerse, so no need to read that to get to this. This is a fic that I wrote based on the monthly challenge in r/fanfiction on reddit, where I was given a random TV trope, and had to write a one-shot based on that.
So the TV Trope I was given was "Follow that Car!" Honestly I feel like this fic is sort of stretching the definitions of that trope but oh well.
By the way, just to say something about this fic, it was inspired by A Hot Summer's Day by crazyeight over at the Digimon Tamers fandom. Do check him out if you want to know more.
Anywhoos, enjoy!
Heavy rainfall pelted the ground as the skies darkened. It flooded through the uneven crevices on the floors, creating various puddles which reflected the lights coming from neon signs. The night life on this planet was nothing to scoff at. Typically dubbed as the rave system, anyone who wanted to have a good time knew that this was the place to be.
If this planet was known as the place to party, then the club Dancing Lights was the club to end all clubs. The entrance of this prestigious establishment would always be crowded, regardless of how depressing the weather could be. In fact, one could argue that it was the depressing weather which drove the crowds in.
While the thick crowds slowly shuffled in through the entrance, two conspicuously dressed figures could be spotted gradually inching their way towards the club. They wore heavy clothing with hoods which not only protected them from the moist weather, but also hid their identities. The sounds of heavy rainfall would eventually be drowned out as they entered the club. For now, all they could hear was the blaring music and the joyful whoops of the party-goers.
Settling into their nice and dry environment, the figures removed their heavy clothing. Shaven blue hair boldly presented itself as one of the figures folded his coat. The teen known as Ezra Bridger sported his usual clothing. The orange vest was apparently considered suitable attire for partying. Well, according to Hera anyways.
While Ezra was allowed to stick with what he felt most comfortable in, his partner was not as lucky. Sabine frowned as she peeled the coat off her body. Her armor was replaced with one of Hera's old clothing. A flight suit which in her opinion, barely fit her.
Perhaps it was her muscles which caused her body to bulge. It gave her more width than she cared to admit. The red suit clung to her body, making it seem more like a skin tight wetsuit than a pilot's uniform.
Glancing around, Sabine tried to ignore the roaming eyes of the surrounding patrons. Instead, she shifted her focus to the one who stood beside her. Amidst the leeching stares of the surrounding strangers, she could also feel the lingering gaze of her partner. Surprisingly to her, she found herself not really minding his gaze, instead feeling delighted that her Jedi companion still found her attractive.
Perhaps it was the fact that they had grown to become much closer with each other. They still called each other friends, but a light touch here and there seemed to raise a few eyebrows at their supposed friendship.
"We should find a place to sit" She heard Ezra say, pulling her out of her thoughts. She felt his eyes finally leaving her body as he searched for a seat.
"Over there," She replied. Pointing to an empty set of chairs in the corner.
Nodding to each other, the pair made their way to their seats. Once they settled in, they ordered some drinks from the waitress.
The pair glanced around as the waitress prepared their drinks. Unfortunately for them, this was not a social occasion. They were here for work.
"Got eyes on our informant?" Ezra asked.
Sabine shook her head. "Nothing yet. What about you? Feel anything?"
Ezra closed his eyes, but immediately opened them back up. "It's hard to focus. Too many Force signatures here to get a hold of one of them"
Humming to herself, she grabbed the cup in her hands. The pair had been put together on enough missions for Sabine to get a proper level of understanding of Ezra and his mystic ways. She sipped her cup, cringing as the bitter liquid touched her lips.
"Ugh" Sabine groaned. "This tastes horrible. How's yours?"
Ezra's eyes fell back to the table, watching the cup. He eventually grabbed it and took a swig himself.
"Tastes like engine grease" He replied wincingly.
Smirking at his reply, Sabine turned her attention back to her drink. Staring at the brown liquid in her cup she considered taking another sip of it, if only just to ease her boredom while waiting for their informant. But the memory of the disgusting taste caused her to think twice.
Sabine lifted her head as she lazily watched patrons walking past their table. She was bored, not just of this mission but of this place. While she initially found this place to be interesting due to the flashing lights and their various vibrant colors, the novelty of the place quickly wore off on her. The blaring sounds of whatever genre of music they were playing hurt her ears. She wanted out, and fast.
Her attention shifted over to Ezra, noticing that he had been gazing at her ever so often. His eyes darted between her and the rest of the bar, trying to hide its intentions. Although it wasn't very good at it.
"Hey," Sabine called out, getting his attention. He jerked his head to face her, putting on a smile. "You really like my shirt huh?"
The bluntness of the question seemed to catch Ezra off guard. His face turned a bright pink before he quickly started a series of apologies, to only then be followed up by a frantic wave of his hands as he tried to explain his situation.
"Chill out," Sabine interrupted his ramblings. "I didn't say it was a bad thing"
Ezra immediately stopped talking. His mouth slowly opened as he tried to say something.
"You're…not mad?" He simply replied.
Sabine shook her head. "Not in the least," She glanced below her, taking a look at her clothing. "I was just wondering why you were looking at me weird"
Pink rapidly flushed back to Ezra's face. "You noticed huh?" He said sheepishly.
"Duh," Sabine replied, giving him a look. "You weren't exactly being subtle with it"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Ezra gave her an apologetic look. "Look, I'm sorry about tha-'' He tried to apologize but Sabine quickly interrupted him.
"I don't particularly mind you looking at me Ezra," Sabine started bluntly. "If anything I'd prefer you looking at me over any of these bozos" She gestured to the rest of the club.
"You're not.." Ezra trailed off. "Weirded out by this?"
Leaning back in her seat, Sabine crossed her arms. "Not really. I mean, I would be lying if I said I didn't occasionally check you out too"
Ezra's eyes were wide as saucers. "Wait what?" He said as he practically jumped out from his seat.
Ignoring the blush forming on her cheeks, Sabine tried to keep her face as straight as possible. "I particularly enjoy watching you when you're training," Sabine said with a playful smirk. "The way you move…" Sabine swooned.
The pink in Ezra's cheeks only glowed brighter. But Sabine let out a fit of laughter.
"I'm kidding Ezra," Sabine said in between laughs. "Mostly"
Unsure of how to react, Ezra breathed out a sigh of relief. "Jeez Bine, don't do that to me" He said with an uncertain smile.
A moment of silence lingered between the two before Sabine started talking again.
"So what about it do you like?" She asked.
"We're still talking about this?" Ezra replied.
"I'm curious. And bored" Sabine said, resting her head on her hand. "Humor me"
Ezra stuttered to himself as he tried to find an answer.
"Is it the uniform? Do you have a thing for pilots?" Sabine playfully teased. "Wait, does that mean you use Hera as your material?"
"What? NO!" Ezra practically screamed. Sabine jerked back, realizing that maybe she had pushed her teasing a little too far.
Feeling a little bit guilty at causing her friend to be so flustered, Sabine gently placed her hand on his. "Hey, you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you so much" She flashed him an apologetic smile. "You don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable. I was just bored, and wanted to have a little fun with you"
Ezra felt the red in his cheeks slowly subside. He turned his hand so his palms were touching hers, lightly gripping her hand. "I know," He whispered. "Guess I was just a bit freaked out by this" He said gesturing towards her body.
"So you do have a thing for pilots," Sabine said playfully.
This time, Ezra didn't react as dramatically as before. "Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't like seeing you in it," Ezra began. Sabine tried to ignore the heat in her cheeks. "But that's not it"
Sabine arched an eyebrow. "Then what is it?"
"I just…think you look kind of…" Ezra trailed off. "Sexy"
Sabine blinked at his admission. Sexy, was not a word she had expected him to describe her as. He would always hit her with the more, elegant compliments. Beautiful, pretty, strong, brave. But never had she ever expected him to call her sexy.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that" Ezra retracted his hand from hers. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, let's just forget this ever happened" He turned away from her, unable to meet her eyes.
Sabine was feeling anything but. Instead, it felt nice to finally get that answer out of Ezra. However awkward he was behaving.
But before she could get him to tell her more about this, a hooded figure suddenly stood at their table. The figure eyed the two of them, tilting her head to get a closer look at each of them. Her weird interactions with them continued for a few moments longer, until she was satisfied.
"How's the weather on Naboo?" She said finally.
Recognizing the code, Ezra immediately sat up. "It's cold, but I prefer the rains on Coruscant"
A sigh of relief escaped their informant's lips. Taking her hood off, she revealed herself. A young Mirialan with purple skin stood as she eyed the two teens. Her face was adorned with the various markings typical with their culture. Her green eyes darted towards Ezra, and an alluring smile formed on her lips.
"So you're the rebels I'm looking for" She said. "Name's Kiara. Nice to meet you"
Kiara ambled on towards Ezra's seat. Shoving him aside as she shared a seat with him. Her body pushed against his and she made no attempt to move any further. "What's your name handsome?" She asked as she looked at him seductively.
"His name is Ezra," Sabine said bluntly as she watched their exchange. Her fingers were gripping her cup so tightly Ezra was afraid it may crack. "And I don't think he's comfortable with what you're doing"
Eyes never leaving Ezra, Kiara did not seem to be too disturbed with Sabine's icy response.
"Ezra huh. Tell me. Are you uncomfortable with me here?"
Before Ezra could offer a response to her question, she cut him off.
"Because if you are, I'll just have to bring this intel somewhere else"
Immediately shutting his mouth, Ezra gave a look to Sabine. She seemed as furious as before, but reluctantly relented to the situation.
"Let's not do that just yet," Ezra replied.
"That's what I thought" Kiara responded triumphantly. Her arm circled over Ezra's shoulder, pulling him even closer while she ordered a drink from the waitress.
"So," Ezra began as he shifted uncomfortably. "Where's this intel you claim to have?"
"Oh so impatient" She replied as she took a sip from her drink. "Can't we live a little first?"
"I don't think so," Ezra replied. "Me and Sabine here have to get back as soon as possible. So we really need you to give us the goods now"
"The goods huh?" Kiara eyed Ezra up and down. "How about I show them to you somewhere more…private?"
Sabine narrowed her eyes. This Kiara was starting to get on her nerves.
Sensing Sabine's anger, Ezra quickly intervened.
"I think you'll find it better for yourself if you give us the datastick here" Ezra said dangerously.
Noticing the threatening tones in his voice, Kiara pulled back from him.
"Oh fine," Kiara responded disappointedly. "But I can't give it to you now. You two have drawn quite a bit of attention to yourselves" She pointed around her.
The two Spectres felt their eyes widen as they saw what Kiara was referring to. A small group of Stormtroopers gathered at the entrance as they questioned the people. It seems like their cover has been blown.
"For a bunch of rebels, you guys are pretty shallow. Where are your disguises? Surely you guys should know by now that your faces are quite popular around here"
"Wait, I thought the Imperial presence here was lower than other systems" Ezra exclaimed. "Wasn't it why we chose to meet up here?"
Kiara only shrugged in response.
"Guess that changes things now" Sabine seethed. "What do we do?"
A serious look formed on Kiara's face as she watched the two teens discuss. "Look," She pulled out a small black disc from her pockets. "I can give you guys the intel. But you two need to promise me you can get out of here without causing too much noise. If those troopers know that two known rebels were on this system, they would not hesitate to send out their entire fleet over here just to be sure. And after that? Bye bye Rave System"
"Well what do you suggest we do?" Sabine almost shouted.
"What you two need, is a distraction" Kiara replied simply. "Hit the dance floor," She angled her head towards the busiest part of the club. "You should be able to blend in quite easily there. The troopers will leave after a while, so just sneak out once they're gone"
"DANCE?" Sabine exclaimed. Her mouth was wide open. There was no way she was dancing right here.
"Yea, the both of you. Although, if you don't want to, I'm more than happy to take your partner here" Kiara eyed Ezra with a look of wanting.
"Err, no thank you. Me and Sabine will figure something out" Ezra replied awkwardly as he grabbed the disc.
"Suit yourself" Kiara stood up and made her way to the bar.
No longer being squeezed into his seat, Ezra shifted back into his original position. He turned to face Sabine, who was muttering to herself.
"You good?" Ezra asked.
"What do you think?" Sabine replied sharply. "Ezra, there's no way I'm going to be dancing here, especially not in a club"
"Come on, it will be fun," Ezra insisted. "It's just dancing. Besides, it's always fun whenever the two of us do things together"
A small smile formed on Sabine's lips before disappearing. She felt touched that Ezra enjoyed doing things with her regardless of the activity. But this was one thing she felt like she couldn't do.
"Maybe, but I really don't want to dance," Sabine slowly said. "It's not that I don't want to dance with you," She quickly added. "It's just I don't feel comfortable with all these people here"
Humming to himself, Ezra could understand what Sabine was going through. Sabine had told him about her insecurities before. It was one of the reasons why she loved art so much. She did not enjoy being in the center of attention, which is why she would instead put her paintings in the spotlight.
"Okay then" Ezra said. He placed his hand on hers and gripped it lightly. "We'll think of another way" He looked around, trying to find some inspiration on how he would escape.
"Alright, I think I got it," Ezra finally said. He passed the disc to her. "You take this, I'll distract the troopers at the entrance while you get out"
Sabine watched him as he explained his plan. "Are you sure Ezra? There are quite a lot of them. And it won't be easy for you to deal with them in this tight space"
A smile formed on his face. "It's better than having you feel uncomfortable with a plan" Although as the words left his lips, they both could tell how false they were.
Frowning to herself, Sabine let out a sigh. There was no way she was willing to let Ezra endanger himself just because she felt a little bit uncomfortable doing something. Gripping his hand, Sabine stood up and jerked him up.
"Come on," She urged. Ezra confusedly followed. "No way I'm going to let you run straight into danger while I'm all nice and safe here. We're dancing"
"Wait really?" Ezra asked, unable to contain his excitement.
"Yea. I mean how hard can it be right?"
The pair stepped onto the dancefloor. While Ezra was brimming with confidence, Sabine seemed a bit more cautious. She heard the music change to a different one. The beat reverberated on the floor. Her eyes were drawn to Ezra, who was already moving in tandem with the latest song.
He waved his arms and swayed his body. Tapping his feet and swinging his legs. To some it may seem like he was a terrible dancer. But to Sabine? It seemed like he did this for a living.
How was he so good at this? Sabine wondered. She looked at him surprised while he only gave her a cheeky wink. Moving nearer to her, he pulled her in close. Lowering his head so his mouth was breathing in her ear.
"Just follow the beat" He whispered. His voice sent shivers down Sabine's spine, somewhat enjoying the feel of his breath on her ear.
Sabine took his advice to heart and started moving. At first she moved awkwardly. Making simple steps and movements according to the beat. As time went on, she started getting more confident. Her steps matched the bass of the music and her arms started swaying to the beat. She kept her eyes fixed on Ezra, hoping to tune out everyone else around her.
And it worked. She felt her insecurities fading as she moved her body more gracefully. She hadn't realized how long she had been dancing until she saw Ezra's face look away from her. Following his gaze, Sabine noticed that the troopers were gone.
"Looks like we're in the clear," Ezra shouted out to her. "Should we slip out now?"
"NO!" Sabine shouted back, apparently having a little too much fun. "Wait, I mean-" But Ezra cut her off.
"See! I told you you'd enjoy it" He said smiling. "We can continue our dance back at the Ghost" He gripped her hand as he led her off the dance floor. "If you want to of course"
Sabine felt her cheeks flush at the thought of dancing on the Ghost. But a part of her could not resist his invitation. "It's a date then"
Ezra only smiled in response.
The pair exited the club. But before Ezra could call Hera for a pick up, he felt someone bump into him. Ezra turned to apologize, but his eyes widened when he realized what just happened.
The man who bumped into him was fast, but not fast enough that Ezra wasn't able to catch him pocketing the intel they had come for.
"THIEF!" Ezra shouted after him, causing him to sprint towards the nearest hovercraft and speed off.
Sabine immediately darted her head towards the thief. She glanced around, looking for something she could use to chase the speeding vehicle. Her eyes landed on a simple land speeder which was large enough to fit the both of them.
"Over here!" She called out, pointing to the empty vehicle. She ran straight for it and sat in the driver's seat. Ezra followed suit, sitting beside her.
"Follow that car-I mean hovercraft!" Ezra called out, to which Sabine gladly obliged.
The land speeder was quite fast despite its size, able to easily catch up with the hovercraft within a few moments. The thief noticed their closeness, and tried to increase his speed to get away.
"Use these!" Sabine unholstered both her blasters and threw them to Ezra. "Take him out!"
Ezra nodded and started shooting. Unfortunately, he wasn't very good. Holding a blaster in each hand, he tried to aim for the engines of the hovercraft. But the bumpiness of the ride made it hard for Ezra to get a clean shot.
His first shot struck at the dirt underneath the craft. Trying again, he increased the height of his aim, only for the shot to fly directly above the craft.
"Who taught you how to shoot like Stormtroopers?" Sabine cried out.
"Who taught you how to drive like a bunch of Loth-cats?" He retorted.
This was fun, Sabine smiled giddily. Although she could not indulge herself in the moment. That datastick had sensitive intel on the Empire, and Sabine would rather have that be used by the Rebellion instead of being sent straight to Imperial High Command.
Kicking his legs, Sabine pulled his attention back to her. Her hands gripped both of Ezra's and dragged him over her while she slipped under him to the next seat.
"You drive, I shoot" She commanded as she ripped the blasters from his hand.
"Yes ma'am" Ezra complied without protest.
Once Sabine settled, it was obvious that this was the better configuration. It took less than a minute for her to land a clean shot on the engine. Knocking it out and disabling the thief's escape craft. It crashed in a nearby rock, causing the thief to fly out of the hovercraft in comical fashion. Ezra stopped the speeder right next to the thief's aching body.
The pair stepped out, and Sabine stood triumphantly over the thief. Her hand stretched outwards as she demanded the drive.
The thief could only comply.
"So when's the next date?" Sabine asked as she walked.
Turning to look at her, Ezra stopped in his steps. "Wait so you were serious?"
"Yea" Sabine replied. "What you thought I was joking?"
Mouth agape, Ezra could not believe what she was saying.
"I mean, yea," He bluntly replied. "We've been friends for so long now that I just thought nothing will ever change between us" He explained. "I've flirted with you countless times before, but you either ignored it or responded to it quite aggressively. So I stopped after that, and decided that I would rather be your friend than some annoying little kid who always tried to hit on you" Ezra rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I just assumed that this would always be the case between us"
Leaning on a nearby wall, Sabine listened intently as Ezra spoke. He was mostly right. She was very annoyed with Ezra in the beginning, but as time went on, he started to grow on her. And little did he know, she was slowly starting to fall for him.
"So what changed?" He asked quietly.
"I'm not too sure myself" Sabine said as she stared at the ground. "I guess, being your friend just helped me to get to know you more. And I think one thing led to another"
Sabine lifted her head to look at him. "Am I too late?" She asked almost disappointedly. "Because if I am, we can just forget this ever happened. You're my friend and it'd be really bad if something like this ruined our friendship. I mean we can still dance, if you want to. But we don't have to, we can just like hang out and-"
Ezra stopped her rambling by placing a hand on her chin. He stared directly into her eyes as he leaned in.
"Well it's about time," He whispered. He pushed his lips towards hers, surprising her with a kiss.
Sabine was frozen in place. She did not know how to react. Her mind could not even tell her what was happening. The feeling of Ezra's lips on hers caused her heart to flutter. Eventually, her thoughts caught up with what was happening. And the first thing she thought of? Kissing him feels good.
Not wasting another moment, she circled her arm behind Ezra's neck, pulling him even deeper into the kiss as she closed her eyes. Her tongue aggressively pressed against Ezra's lips, demanding entrance. Ezra was more than happy to comply.
Their tongues danced over each other. Lightly brushing against the tips. Sabine moaned into Ezra's mouth as she felt his hand lightly caress her back. His hand slowly trailed all the way down. It hovered slightly above her butt, hesitating to go even lower. But Sabine wasn't willing to wait for his confidence to come back.
With a firm grip, Sabine pulled Ezra's hand lower. Placing it right on her cheeks. Ezra repaid her aggressive actions with a light squeeze as he gently kneaded her rear. The sensations Ezra was making her feel caused her to fall even deeper into their kiss as she pushed herself even harder into Ezra.
The two were so engrossed in their moment that they did not even notice the lights of a hovercraft pulling in beside them.
"Hey kids! Ready to get out of- AHHHH!" Kanan stepped out excitedly but fell to the ground face first at the sight in front of him.
Sabine was the first to break off the kiss at the voice of Kanan. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Kanan's surprised face. She turned her head towards the hovercraft. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she saw Hera and Zeb in the craft watching them with opened mouths.
"So, this is a thing now huh?" Hera asked knowingly..
"Way to go kid! I always knew she had something for you!" Zeb cheered while Ezra simply wished the ground would eat him up.
Hoping to hide her embarrassment, Sabine pushed her head in her hands. It was supposed to be a normal mission. She thought to herself. Lifting her head to glance at Ezra, a content smile formed on her lips.
But I guess this is fine too.
Hoped you enjoy the fic! It wasn't something I wanted to think too long about, and it was kind of a challenge for me to get it done in a shorter time than my ImperialVerse fics.