Chapter 12: Communicating and Second Guessing

Communicating and Second Guessing

D4/1 BBY, Mandalore

Sabine stretched languidly, the weight of dreamless sleep still holding her on the cusp of not quite fully awake yet. Her hand bouncing off a warm body and the pleasant ache in her muscles that reminded her of a particularly hard workout session had her eyes opening quickly. The vague ache between her legs wasn't quite as pleasant, but she knew it was worth it.

She turned her head on her pillow and smiled rather dopily at the sight that greeted her.

Her husband was lying on his side, legs curled up, with his back to her. She was treated to a rather spectacular view of the lines of muscles down his triangular-shaped back and the adorable, sexy roundness of his bottom because neither of them had been inclined towards finding the covers that were lying on the floor in a heap. But could you really blame them? They'd been anything but cold after Ezra had literally loved her for hours straight in the most intense, intimate, and loving round of sex yet. There had been a whole lot of kissing, a whole-body embrace as he lay on her, and slow deep thrusts that lasted forever. Who knew that Missionary would turn into her favorite position of them all?

Ezra was the dream lover she never knew she wanted.

Her dream lover was also snoring just a bit with every exhale.

Awwwwwww. She'd finally worn him out.

She glanced at the Chrono on the wall and grinned. Ezra fully deserved to look like he was going to sleep for a week; with the exception of a couple of refresher breaks, they'd been ensconced in their bed for more than fourteen hours. And only about two of those hours were spent sleeping. She was seriously impressed with his stamina while mentally kicking herself once again for taking so long to realize that the perfect person for her was right in front of her nose. Even by Mandalorian standards, Ezra had far exceeded what was considered a good, considerate, and inventive lover.

Between the two of them, they'd both had a lot of ideas for positions and experiences they'd wanted to try. She doubted there was much left that they hadn't at least spent a good five minutes doing at some point or other during the long night and morning. They'd even covered some of the more athletic positions during a trip to the refresher that included standing up shower sex, and propped on the sink's counter with him standing between her legs.

The craziest idea he'd had, though, which had made her giggle the whole time as the blood rushed to her head and made her dizzy, was when he had her stand on her hands in the refresher beside the loo, legs spread in a split. (All that gymnastics training was coming in handy for reasons she never would have guessed.) He'd then jumped on the counter and stretched across to the shower wall, bracing himself horizontally above her and essentially doing pushups as he sunk his thick length into her over and over.

She'd held it for as long as she could until the laughter had made her lose her balance and fall over.

She knew then and there that sex with Ezra was never going to get boring, no matter how long they managed to live in this dangerous galaxy.

Grinning at the memory, Sabine quietly crawled around Ezra and slid off the bed. She should be just as exhausted as he was, but that last half-hour nap had been enough to recharge her for the moment. Spotting Ezra's orange jacket on the floor, she slipped into it and did up the zipper, then started looking for her undershorts (even tossing the blanket pile around) before remembering she'd never put them back on earlier. Smirking a bit at how Ezra had reacted to that discovery with appreciative eyes, she then made for the refresher once again.

Emerging some minutes later with a happy bladder and minty fresh breath, Sabine meandered into the galley and made herself some hot chocolate, since that went better with toothpaste and she didn't want the buzz of Caffe when she had every intention of catching another quick nap soon.

Sipping on her beverage, Sabine continued her meander all the way to the cockpit. There, she made a few comm calls.

She started with Bo-Katan.

The Mand'alor answered her holo comm looking a great deal more put together than the last time Sabine had seen her.

"Countess Wren. Nice of you to finally show yourself in even a cursory fashion," Bo-Katan teased with a fairly deadpan face and tone.

Sabine smirked, not dismayed in the least by the subtle admonishment. "What can I say, Your Highness? A girl's gotta test drive her new husband thoroughly and make sure she didn't make a mistake."

Bo-Katan snorted, her mask of professionalism slipping. "Stars, Sabine. I hear you on that one." Her green eyes turned a little dreamy as she grinned slyly. "I confess that Fenn and I didn't emerge from my tent until a few hours ago. We'd probably still be there if the Rebellion hadn't called. For the fifth time, apparently."

Sabine shared a laugh with her relatively new friend. "I guess I missed it then?"

"You did. But this call was mostly about Mandalore's alliance with them and hashing out an alliance agreement, so you didn't miss much. I'm sure they'll get back to you sooner or later and further discuss your plans for liberating Lothal."

"Hmmm, I'm sure," Sabine said noncommittally. She wasn't in the mood to think about another battle right now. She'd much rather go back to bed and snuggle up to her warm husband for another day or week or so and forget everything else for a little while longer.

"One little bit of news that I'm sure you will be interested in..."

Sabine raised a brow. "What's that?"

"High Command and I agreed that for the sake of convenience, they would appoint an ambassador to stay with my retinue."

"Ohhh? And you didn't mind having to add another person to your group that you'll probably have to look after?" Sabine asked curiously.

Bo-Katan smirked. "I think I picked the one option they gave me that knows how to take care of herself, can join in on a battle or two, and will fit in with my warriors perfectly."

Sabine gave her Mand'alor a suspicious look. "Not me, I hope? I have enough on my plate right now."

Bo-Katan shook her head, laughing. "No. Not you. You're new sister."

Sabine's eyes widened. "Ohhhh. Ketsu's perfect! I'll bet she'll love her new job. I know she's getting rather bored with the cargo runs."

"That's what Hera said as well," Bo-Katan confirmed. "And when I commed Ketsu, she practically gushed about how happy she was to be chosen. I'm looking forward to meeting her for longer than a few seconds when she gets here."

"You'll like her," Sabine promised. She paused for a moment. "Anyway. I was just comming to let you know that I'll be taking off for Krownest within the hour. I'll keep in touch about the Lothal plans."

The redheaded woman nodded once in acknowledgment. "That's fine. I'll send Fenn your way tomorrow so you can work out the details of his takeover of the stronghold. Also, please give your father my regards and tell him it was nice to see him, if ever so briefly, after all this time. I'm afraid I missed his departure last night."

"Will do," Sabine told her very distant cousin that she hadn't seen in person since she was very little. She barely remembered the days of chaos following the end of the Clone Wars, but her family had somehow survived through it, thanks in part to Bo-Katan. Sabine was happy to say that she liked the older woman quite a lot and that she lived up to the stories her mother used to tell about her and their days together with Death Watch. (Before it went corrupt to the extreme.) "Thank you, Bo," she said sincerely. "For everything."

"You're welcome, little cousin. I am happy that you have become someone that I am proud to call family."

Sabine felt a flush of warmth heat her face at the praise that she so rarely received from her blood relatives. She cleared her throat to cover up her discomfort. "Yes. Well. Despite opinions to the contrary, I have always been proud of my heritage. Things just got a little messed up for while."

The new Mand'alor closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "Life does have a habit of doing that to us, doesn't it?"

Unspoken was the disaster that her older sister had made of the Mandalorian way of life with a nudge or two of assistance from the Emperor along the way, but they both knew that's what Bo-Katan was referring to.

"It does," Sabine said quietly. "I'm sure you have more important things to do than chat with me, so I'll let you go. I've kept my clan waiting long enough, as well."

Bo-Katan smiled slightly at the truth of that. "Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

Sabine slumped in the pilot's chair for a moment, taking another sip of her not really hot any more hot chocolate, before going back to the comm system and entering another frequency.

She let the comm unit chime for a full minute before she gave up on contacting Hera via the Ghost. She then tried Hera's personal comm, but that one rang endlessly as well. Giving up on reaching Hera, but wanting to make sure that Kanan and Ketsu had arrived at Yavin 4 all right, Sabine commed Chopper.

He, of course, answered. (Technically, he didn't have a choice, but he had been known to hang up immediately on people if he was in a mood.)

"Colorful One!" he beeped with enthusiasm.

"Hey, Chop. You at the new base yet?"

"Hours ago."

"Hera there?"

"Locked in the Ghost with the Meatbag Jedi." His tone was clearly exasperated.

Sabine laughed. "What about Zeb?"

"Purple Meatbag is playing Sabacc with the Rex Clone, the Wedged Pilot, and the Kallused Imp."

"Gotcha." Even after all these years, Chopper's names for people still cracked her up. "Well, when you see Hera again, tell her to comm me."

"Okay."

Then he hung up on her.

Sabine smiled as she set the next frequency. It was good to hear that Hera was actually taking time for herself for once. Her surrogate parents deserved some alone time every once in a while.

"Hey, Kets," Sabine said brightly when the caf-skinned hologram girl appeared, looking vaguely purple in the blue overtone.

"Hey, Sabs!" Ketsu said, more bubbly looking than Sabine had ever seen her.

"I hear congratulations are in order."

Ketsu's deep purple eyes widened even further. "Yes! You heard? Of course, you heard! Oh my stars, this is like, my dream job. You have no idea. I'll be working with the Mand'alor! The Mand'alor! Can you believe it?"

Sabine chuckled at Ketsu's very uncharacteristic enthusiasm, finding it catching. "Of course I can. You deserve a good break in life." She gave her new sister a Tooka grin. "And being stationed on the same planet as a certain, ambitious, Captain Hark doesn't have anything to do with your current state of girly nonsense, would it?"

Ketsu visibly settled herself down and put on a blasé air. "Jett? Nah. He's just a fling."

Sabine barely refrained from rolling her eyes at that blatant untruth. The fact that Ketsu had used his first name was a dead giveaway. Not to mention the way her eyes lit up despite the mask of indifference the rest of her face was wearing when she said it.

"Suuuure," Sabine said in teasing disbelief. "Has he commed you yet?"

Ketsu's mask immediately fell and she donned a very similar look to the one Bo-Katan had been wearing not too long ago of dreamy anticipation. "I actually just finished talking to him. Jett is now the Count of Clan Saxon."

Sabine was actually a little surprised that he'd been able to pull that off, but she hid it for Ketsu's sake. "Good for him. I bet he's quite proud of himself."

"Oh, he is. As he expected, there was a power vacuum left in the Saxon clan with the death of the last adult pure blood Saxon. Warriors were still in the process of dueling for the position when Jett arrived at the Saxon stronghold."

"And I bet he just waltzed in there like he owned the place, handily took care of the few challengers remaining, and won the title."

Ketsu looked rather proud of a man she'd only spent maybe twenty whole minutes with in person when she said, "Exactly."

Sabine gave her sister a considering look. "You know, Hark is going to be a hot commodity now. If you actually want that man for yourself, you're going to have to commit to him."

Ketsu opened her mouth to retort, but no sound came out as she seriously considered that. She blinked a couple of times and her jaw snapped shut, then she gave Sabine a glare for making her even think of going for a committed relationship. "I'll play things by ear, for now, thank you very much. He and I have plans to meet in Sundari tonight for a late dinner and I promised to paint his armor for him. We'll see where it goes from there."

Sabine smirked. "Oh, I know exactly where it's going to go. The question is, will it go again when you wake up in the morning? And the next day after that. And the next day after that..."

Ketsu harumphed and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Sabine another mock glare. "Enough about me. I see that you're still wearing Jedi Junior's jacket and your hair is looking rather... creative."

Sabine gasped and patted her head, just now noticing that it was a tangled disaster zone. How had she missed that when she was standing in front of the mirror and brushing her teeth? Perhaps because she was using Ezra's toothbrush and wondering why she didn't feel even remotely squeamy or guilty about it? Or maybe because she'd been remembering how incredible it felt to have him pound into her on that very same countertop?

Suffice it to say that Sabine blushed red enough to be seen via hologram.

"Oooooo. Tell me the deets," Ketsu begged. "That look has got to be worthy of something good."

Sabine ran her fingers through her hair ineffectually, trying to remove the tangles without pulling it out of her scalp, even as she shrugged, pretending nonchalance. "Well, let's just say I'm never going to get bored in the bedroom." Or the refresher. Or the cockpit. Or the galley. Or the...

Ketsu interrupted her musings. "Oh, come on! You can do better than that. I tell you about my encounters."

Sabine rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you do. Too much sometimes." She sighed exaggeratedly as she gave up on her hair and Ketsu continued her begging look. "Fine. It's amazing. He's amazing. I feel like I've been missing out on something that should have been mine for years. I swear I've come about twenty times in the last planetary cycle."

"You're kidding." Ketsu's jaw was approaching the floor.

"Nah uhh! It's the honest truth. My Jedi has the stamina of ten men and he's considerate of my needs to the point of obsessive. If I didn't know he'd just had his eighteenth birthday and that I was his first, I'd swear he had decades of experience in pleasuring women."

Ketsu looked contemplative as she said, "Perhaps I should go find myself a Jedi. I've never come more than twice from a night of sex with a partner."

"There was a time when I would have thought you were doing well," Sabine said with a commiserating smile. "But now, I kind of feel sorry for you. I wish there were more Jedi wandering around so you could find one."

Ketsu huffed a sigh. "I know, right? Maybe I should try and corral a couple of men at once. That might make up the difference."

Sabine's eyebrows shot up. "Would you really?"

Ketsu shrugged. "At this point? Who knows? I'm feeling kind of jealous over here."

"Well, you asked for the details. It's your own fault," Sabine teased gently.

"I know." Ketsu pouted for a moment before she shook herself out of it. "Whatcha doin' now?'

Sabine sipped her lukewarm hot chocolate. "Now I'm comming my father to inform him that I'm about to leave for Krownest. I have long overdue ceremonies to attend tonight. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come since you're now part of my clan, but I wouldn't want to interfere with your date, so don't worry about it."

"I'll cancel."

"No you won't," Sabine insisted. "What if Hark is 'The One' and you lose him to some other girl who wants a piece of scrumptious Count booty? I won't do that to you."

Ketsu shook her head in amazement. "I don't deserve you."

Sabine smirked. "I know. But you're stuck with me anyway... Sister."

"Don't you dare make me cry," Ketsu said even as she swiped at an eye. "I'm a bad-ass Mandalorian, damn it!"

"Yes, you are," Sabine laughed. "Now, it's been nice talking, but I really do have to go. Comm me tomorrow and let me know how it went with Captain Fine Ass."

"Sure," Ketsu said with a smile. "Say hi to Super-Lover for me."

"Oh no. You are not calling him that!" Sabine said with wide eyes. "I'll never hear the end of it if he hears you say that!"

Ketsu smiled diabolically. "I'll think about it." And then she ended the call.

Sabine growled at the holo device.

She chugged the rest of her hot chocolate before it was stone cold and then entered the last frequency.

The hologram that appeared was of one of Sabine's female cousins. (Half the remaining clan members were related to Sabine in some fashion or other and most of them were on the big and tall side like Tristan and Ursa's father had been, with similar features as well. The other half were their significant others and a few adoptees to the clan.)

"Hi, Junie," Sabine said to the tall girl who was Shubin's daughter. "They got you on comm duty again, hunh?"

The teenager rolled her Wren brown eyes. "Yeah. Boring as ever. At least it gives me a good reason to actually do my homework. You want someone specific?"

"My father please if he's available."

"I'm pretty sure he's in the great hall. Just give me a sec and I'll find someone to go get him."

Sabine said, "Thanks," even as the girl disappeared.

Thirty seconds later, the fifteen-year-old was back and looking at Sabine expectantly. "Sooooo? What's it like being married?"

Sabine couldn't help but smile a little dopily. "It's not terrible."

The black-haired girl looked at Sabine knowingly, twirling a long lock around a finger. "That good, hunh?"

Sabine just nodded, smirking.

"I have got to get off this frozen rock and find myself a boyfriend," Junie said determinedly.

Sabine laughed. "If things go according to plan, that might happen sooner than you think. I'm planning on moving the Clan."

Junie's eyes widened comically. "Ooooo. Do tell! How have I missed this?"

Sabine's father appeared in the hologram and put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder while looking at Sabine's image. "Because we were trying to keep it quiet so you could make a formal announcement tonight."

Sabine winced. "I guess I should have thought of that. Junie can keep a secret for a few hours though, can't you, Junie?"

The girl nodded quickly. "I can. I can. I swear."

Alrich smiled at her indulgently. "That's good. Can you give me a minute alone with Sabine? You could go help with the decorating of the hall for a bit."

"Sure," Junie said as she disappeared.

"You're decorating?" Sabine said in surprise.

"Of course. It's not every day my daughter becomes a Countess and gets married."

Sabine felt her eyes sting a little at how proudly her father was looking at her. "That wasn't necessary, but thank you, Father."

"You're welcome," he said with a regal incline of his head. "I take it you're finally ready to leave Mandalore?"

"You take it correctly. I'll be starting the ship as soon as I say goodbye to you."

"Then I'll keep this brief so I see you all the sooner," Alrich said softly. "Everything is nearly ready for the memorial service and the Coronation ceremony. Everyone knows that you're the new Countess, but only a select few know about your plans for the Clan. From what I've been able to overhear, I haven't caught any mutters about challenging you tonight, so hopefully, everything goes smoothly."

"That will make Ezra happy," Sabine said with a smile. "He was worried about the Challenge part."

"So was I," Alrich admitted. "You know I could never stand to see you hurt."

"I remember," she said with a smile and a shake of her head. "Mother was all; 'Train harder. Pain is nothing!' And you were all; 'Just let the girl paint already, Ursa! Hasn't she been thrown around enough for one day?' I don't know how you two ever got along."

Alrich smiled a secret smile. "Oh, we made it work, trust me."

Sabine rolled her eyes slightly. "I don't need to. I was there. I saw enough displays of affection to scar me for life."

Alrich chuckled quietly as his gaze turned introspective. "Those were good years." He sighed and then focused on Sabine again. "I don't think there's anything else pressing to tell you, so I'll let you go. You'll be here in about 4-5 hours?"

She nodded. "I will. See you soon, Father."

"See you soon, Daughter."

Sabine turned off the holo-comm and then started flipping switches to warm up the engines. Two minutes later, she had the Gauntlet in the air.


Ezra woke up when the ship did.

He rolled onto his back and patted the empty space beside for him Sabine, even though he logically knew she was not likely to be there if the engines were making deep bass rumbles. He turned his head and opened his eyes to confirm what the rest of his senses were already telling him.

No Sabine.

Ezra sighed.

Despite feeling like he'd gone through about two days straight of combat training, he still had stirrings of arousal just from the mere thought of waking his wife up and making love to her all over again.

Rolling off the bed, he shuffled over to the refresher stark naked to empty his bladder. On the way, he told Mini Ezra to get a grip on reality as the appendage was all but raw from overuse. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Sabine was feeling.

His stay in the refresher ended up being another minute longer as he also noticed that his teeth were growing fuzz. His brow wrinkled in disgust as he tried to remember the last time he'd brushed them and came up with something like a day and a half ago. Those same eyebrows rose in surprise to find his toothbrush damp, but then a proud grin took over. If his Cyar'ika was comfortable enough to use his toothbrush, then he was definitely doing something right.

Feeling much better from his ablutions, he stumbled his way back to the bed and fell on it as the ship launched into hyperspace with a familiar jerk.

Apparently, they were leaving Mandalore.

Ezra was all right with that. He wasn't so sure he was all right with where they were going, though. He really didn't like the idea of Sabine potentially being challenged for her position as head of the clan. If he could interfere on her behalf, it would be different, but the last duel he'd watched her fight with Gar Saxon had nearly left him expired on the ground because he'd forgotten to breathe so often.

Ezra really didn't want to go through all of that again.

Putting that aside for the moment, Ezra leaned off the bed and snatched up the covers, then snuggled under them to warm himself back up.

He'd just started to drift back into sleep when a small female form slid under the covers as well, just as naked as he was. She wrapped her limbs around him, kissed his jaw, and then rested her head on his chest.

Ezra squinted at her with a look of love, kissed the top of her head, wrapped his own limbs around her in return, and then promptly fell into dreamland.

He missed the, "My Super-Lover," she whispered, just before she fell asleep as well.

But that was okay because she was bound to say it again a hundred more times before the month was over.


Sabine's internal alarm clock prodded her back out of bed forty-five minutes later.

But not before she took a minute to just savor the feelings of warmth, love, safety, and comfort her position wrapped up in Ezra's arms gave her. A couple of days ago, she would never have called herself a snuggler, but now she very nearly craved it. The more time she spent being held by her new husband, the more time she wanted to dedicate to having him hold her even more.

It was seriously messing with her mental badass female image.

She was going to have to learn to control herself in public situations, at least. Her parents had managed, and she knew they'd loved each other passionately when she was little. Kanan and Hera were also pretty good at not leaping on each other every five seconds, so she and Ezra could restrain themselves too.

Hopefully.

Gah!

Just slap a skimpy dress and some makeup on her, because she was officially turning into a girly girl.

Sabine mentally rolled her eyes at her inner dialogue, snorting softly.

"It's not that bad," Ezra said with more than a hint of laughter in his voice, making her move her head so she could look up at him. Her eyes narrowed at the satisfied look he was wearing that would do a Tooka proud. She hadn't realized he was awake too. Had he been watching her sleep? Or had he only woken up when she stirred slightly?

"Stop reading my mind," she said half-heartedly.

"Stop broadcasting so loudly, then,"' he retorted, still grinning.

"This bond thing might get annoying," she pointed out, still half-heartedly. (At least some of her was secretly pleased that Ezra was that connected to her.)

"I'd be worried if you actually meant that," he said, his fingers now trailing up her naked back and then back down, getting dangerously close to the crack of her ass before teasing their way up again.

Sabine was tingling in moments. And her core was clenching in anticipation.

She yanked herself out of his arms and onto the floor in an ungraceful move, standing beside the bed and taking deep breaths as she forced her wayward body under control before she jumped right back on top of him and said to hell with being a responsible adult.

Ezra propped himself up on his elbows and gave her a puzzled and hurt look, even as he was unobtrusively gawking at her in all her naked glory. Force, he'd married the hottest girl in the galaxy, no question about it. Despite her short stature, she had lean curves that made her legs look endlessly long. Her rounded hips led up to a narrow waist that he'd found out firsthand he could wrap his hands around and have his fingers just touch. Her torso expanded up from there enough that her wonderfully pert and pebbled breasts didn't look out of place on her form. And don't get him started on her elegant neck. He'd spent hours kissing and sucking and nibbling on it, much to her enjoyment. Her exquisitely sculpted facial features were dominated by her beautiful slanted amber eyes and topped off by a wild cream and purple mess on top of her head. He loved that it was him that had made her hair that hopelessly out of order for the first time that he knew of. "What did I do?"

She took one more deep breath through her nose and gave him an accusing look. "What did you do? I'll tell you what you did! You've loved me so well that all I want to do is stay in bed with you for the rest of my life. That's what you did."

Ezra's smirk slowly returned and he settled back on the bed, linking his fingers behind his head and feeling quite proud of himself. "That's all right then. You'll never catch me saying no to that."

Sabine couldn't help but drink in the sight of the emphasized muscles in his arms and the way his lean chest muscles stretched out, highlighting his six-pack in the most delicious way. The blankets still covered him from the hips down, but there was a big enough tent in the vicinity of his groin to indicate that he was just as ready for round number… whatever it was as she was. She'd actually lost count. And that was saying something.

Ezra had officially fried her brain.

Sabine pulled the pillow out from under his head and smacked him with it. He barely winced, and she was sure he was holding back laughter. He didn't even move his hands. "I can't, you nerf-herder!" she cried as she threw the pillow at his chest. It bounced off and he grabbed it and put it back where it belonged while Sabine fumed and paced a couple of times beside the bed. "I have to be a Countess in 4 hours! I have to be RESPONSIBLE! And, stars, I don't want to!"

What had started out as a joking rebuttal somehow turned into a near shout as the thing that had been bothering her raised its ugly head and took over. She'd been avoiding the doubt that had been simmering in the back of her mind ever since the full reality of what it meant that both her mother and brother were dead. And now she was yelling at Ezra for something that wasn't his fault.

Sabine very nearly burst into tears all over again.

Ezra suddenly felt like an insensitive, selfish, bastard. Sabine's whole entire world had been tossed upside down just two days ago and he'd basically just been basking in the perks of having her rely on him for once and magically fall in love with him so quickly.

He sat up quickly and swung his legs off the bed, then pulled her forward into the space between them and wrapped an arm around her waist. They were very nearly eye level, she only a fraction taller than his seated position. His other hand let go of her waist and tucked under her chin to make her look at him. The liquid swimming in her eyes made his chest hurt.

"Cyar'ika," he said softly, sympathetically. "Sabine. They can't make you be the Countess if you don't want to be. I don't care either way. I'll support whatever you want to do. We can leave it all behind and find our own little nook in the galaxy to raise kids and pet Tookas, or we can go back to the Rebellion and follow orders like good soldiers, or we can go to Krownest and you can take control of your Clan and be the best Countess they ever had. It's all up to you. You know I'll follow you anywhere."

Now Sabine really was crying, further descending into the realm of a girly girl. But she didn't care, because he was just so sweet and perfect and HERS.

Her forehead found his as she closed her eyes and let the slow tears trickle down her cheeks. Her hands grasped the back of his neck almost desperately. "I don't know what to do, Ez," she whispered. "I only have a couple of months of training for this that I didn't even really want. Tristan is the one that Mother spent years grooming to replace her until I went back. I hadn't worked up the courage yet to tell her that I was going to step down as Heir. Tristan deserved it more than I ever did. And he wanted it. He was good at it. People liked him. Respected him. Trusted him. He was supposed to be the next Count. Not me. Never me. Haar'chak, Ezra. This is all just so WRONG. So very very wrong." She paused as she soaked in the soothing circles his hand was making on her back and opened her eyes to see his blue ones looking at her with complete understanding and sympathy. She hiccupped slightly on a choked-back sob. "I wish I could turn back time. Save them. Maybe stop myself from inventing the Duchess in the first place. Something."

Ezra ran a gentle hand over her tangled hair, tucking the longer side behind her ear. "I wish we could turn back time, too. But we can't, so we'll just have to brazen our way through it like we always do. I'll be by your side the whole time, and I know your Father will be too. And Kanan and Hera will support us in whatever decision we make, I know it. You're not alone, Sabine. You'll never be alone again, I promise." He kissed her softly, eyes never leaving hers.

Sabine clutched him tighter even as a small fraction of the weight of responsibility lifted from her shoulders. She kissed him back harder for a few seconds before returning her forehead to his. "Force, I love you. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner."

Ezra's mouth quirked up on one side. "I should say that it's okay, but I'd be lying. I've loved you forever, and waiting for you to figure it out has been a slow version of torture. Welcome torture, but torture nonetheless."

Sabine laughed at his feigned petulant tone. "Poor baby. It must have been awful having me across the hallway from you all those years, wandering around the ship in my pajamas, sometimes ignoring your puppy eyes that all but begged me to spend time with you."

Ezra's grin widened because he'd managed to lift her mood. He used his thumbs to wipe the tear tracks off her soft cheeks. "It was awful. But again, worth it. I'd rather be near you than away from you. Rather see your silk pajamas that left little to the imagination cause… wow." He pointedly looked her up and down as he said it, making her giggle. "I basked in whatever time you chose to grace me with your company."

Sabine returned his grin. "You are hopeless, you know that?" Ezra nodded, smirking. content with his status as hopelessly in love. She wrinkled her nose at him before admitting, "And off the charts in the sweet department." Her fingers took to rubbing over the much too short spikes of his hair. At least it was soft. She closed the tiny space between them and gave him a properly loving kiss before pulling back again. "I'm glad you're mine."

"I'm glad you're mine, too," he replied, feeling his heart swell with happiness. He closed the space between their mouths again and gave her a long and lingering kiss that didn't end until they felt the ship drop out of hyperspace with a faint chime from the far away cockpit.

They sighed in unison as Sabine pulled away from Ezra entirely after one more quick kiss. "Back to real life." She finally felt accepting of it, thanks to Ezra. That little whimper in the back of her mind was gone. Hopefully for good. She could do this. She could be a Countess.

She turned away and picked up her undershorts before looking back up at him over her shoulder. He hadn't budged yet. She smirked as she noticed the sort of glazed look in his eyes that indicated his desire for her was back in full force. She made a production of sliding into her skin-tight purple undershorts even as she laughingly said, "But your idea of raising kids and pet Tookas is very tempting."

Ezra tore his eyes off her now covered backside and chuckled as he reluctantly rose from the bed, his dick leading the way as he started searching for his own undershorts. "Right. Like you'd ever let me raise Tookas for real. We both know you barely tolerate the Loth-cats."

Sabine gave his ass a very playful swat when he bent over to step into his shorts. Ezra jumped a little before grinning at her. "Who knows? You might talk me into it one day," she called back as she made for the refresher which she finally remembered still had her bra and armor piled in it after scanning the floor for said bra and not finding it in the strewn clothing. (A further example of how dazed her mind was, being the second time she'd looked for her underclothes and not found them where they actually were.)

Ezra firmly told his dick to calm down as he watched her hips sway from side to side as she walked away from him. It didn't really work, but who could blame it?

His wife was the sexiest female ever.

Not even the foolproof memory of Darth Vader was going to convince his libido that another round or ten of lovemaking wasn't a really good idea.

Ezra had known that having sex with a bonded mate would be great based on vague memories of his parents' loving relationship and the occasional accidental glimpse into Kanan's mind when someone's shields faltered, but he'd underestimated just how amazing it really was. It was like a mental and physical paradise. He could feel everything she was feeling, hear most of her thoughts, and see how much she was enjoying his touch. All while his own nerve endings were going haywire with pleasure as she touched him back.

And to top it all off, sex was fun. At least, with Sabine it was. He could imagine it would feel more like a chore if done with someone he didn't love, no matter how beautiful they were. His whole being was already programmed to worship the ground she walked on and to do everything he could to make sure she was as happy as possible. Loving her with his body was just another extension of that. And in so many pleasurable ways. Sabine was just as adventurous and physically limber as he was. Maybe even more so. (Her gymnastics skills did exceed his by quite a lot.)

He certainly had been surprised when she included his anus in her play whenever she had her mouth and hands wrapped around his not-so-dangly bits. (Possibly a permanent state? He really needed to find a new mental image mood killer. Or get better at meditation. Or something.) Who knew his butthole was that sensitive? And who knew that she would want him to return the favor? He'd actually had his thumb in her ass while he'd pounded away at her pussy like a caveman from behind, her face buried in a pillow as she screamed her pleasure, and his hands leaving finger-shaped bruises on her buttcheeks. (He almost felt sorry about those.)

Ezra nearly moaned as he remembered how intensely she'd clamped around him. Force, he wanted to do it all over again. Slow. Loving. Hard. Pounding. Crazy. Sweet. Mouths. Hands. Kisses. Licks. Nips. Hugs. Gasping breaths. Cries. Groans. All of it.

He was still standing beside the bed with only his shorts on when Sabine came back out of the refresher wearing only her purple underwear that complimented her hair and made her pale gold skin glow, carrying an armload of armor from boots to belts to her jetpack. Her hair had been restored to its usual perfectly placed waterfall of colored silk, making him wonder how she'd accomplished that. His hair was so short it didn't need brushing, so he didn't even have so much as a comb in there. (All his haircare paraphernalia was still in his room on the Ghost, essentially abandoned.)

Sabine dumped all but her boots on the bed. Those she let fall to the floor from her fingers. Then she tilted her head to the side slightly as she took in Ezra who was still staring at her with that sort of glazed-over, worshiping look.

By the Manda, he was cute.

But she didn't have time to play with him right now. She was amazed that no one was hailing from the surface yet and demanding why they were just hovering in space.

Maybe whoever was on sentry duty was being nice. (Ha!) Or maybe her father had let them know to expect her and they'd been told to let her land in peace. (More likely.) Either way, she was grateful even if it was against the proper procedure. What if she was actually an enemy in disguise? One who'd somehow managed to commandeer or copy Ezra's rather distinctively painted ship?

(Speaking of, she really needed to talk to him about giving it a new paint job. And a proper name. Soon. Very very soon.)

"Come on, Ez," she said as she located her black and grey bodysuit on the floor and a fresh pair of pants from the closet, throwing the brown material at him. "We don't have time to dawdle anymore. Get dressed." A clean beige t-shirt that matched the trim on his jacket followed, and then a rolled-up ball of socks, and then his orange jacket.

Ezra did as ordered, albeit a smidgeon reluctantly. But looking at all the clean clothes in his arms gave him the inspiration needed to stop looking at Sabine, walk to the closet, dig out a fresh pair of undershorts from a drawer, and then start the dressing process all over. (It really just seemed wrong to have his shorts as the only item not clean. And, there was the strong possibility that they might be the same shorts he'd been wearing for the better part of two or three days already. Ugh.)

Sabine was undoubtedly in the same situation.

"Hey, you want to borrow some clean shorts?" he asked over his shoulder. They were roughly the same size in the thigh, waist, and ass department, although her central area was definitely nicer to look at and curved differently, however, his shorts should fit her.

Sabine stopped with a single leg in her bodysuit and gawked at Ezra. "What?"

He shrugged slightly, flushing a little as he realized she probably wouldn't want to wear men's undershorts even if they were nearly identical to hers. (The placket at the front being the only real difference in the stretchy material.) "Well, it's been a couple of days, and I just thought…"

Sabine laughed, shaking her head. "It's okay, babe. Thanks for the offer, and I might actually have taken you up on it if we were nowhere near my own clothes, but I have to change again at some point tonight, so I'm good."

"Oh. Okay." Ezra was nearly done dressing when he wondered, "What do you have to change for? I thought you Mandos wore your armor for everything?"

Sabine laughed again as she attached her shoulder guards. "It does seem that way, doesn't it?" She giggled again before sighing in a somewhat exaggerated fashion. "Believe it or not, I have to wear a dress for the coronation ceremony."

"A dress? A real dress?" Ezra was having a hard time picturing Sabine in a dress. As far as he knew, she'd never worn one while he'd been on the Ghost with her. The closest he'd seen was civilian clothes of slacks and a pretty blouse when she went undercover for a day into some rich corporation's office as an undersecretary. (Fulcrum never did say what that mission was for, but by all accounts, it had been successful.)

"Yes, a real dress. What other kind is there?"

Ezra shook his head, feeling kind of dazed. He put a hand to his chest as though to hold his heart in. "You know I'll probably expire if I see you in a dress, right?"

Sabine chucked a kneepad at his head, rolling her eyes. "Di'kut." It came out more affectionate than insulting and Ezra knew it, judging by the grin and the wink he sent her as he caught the pad with the Force and lobbed it back at her.

Sabine finished arming herself as Ezra slid into his jacket and zipped it up halfway, leaving his t-shirt showing. The only thing she left off was her helmet, and that was tucked under her arm. She kicked his dirty clothes into something resembling a pile inside the closet while he put his belt on, the weight of his Lightsaber and blaster sitting comfortably against his thighs.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Ezra smiled at her and they walked towards the cockpit together. "How did you fix your hair, anyway?" The question had been bugging him.

Sabine smirked and pulled a small comb out of her utility belt to show him and then tucked it back in.

"Ah." Ezra frowned at her hair. "I think I liked it messy." He pouted.

She laughed and bumped her shoulder against his. "You liked what we did to make it messy. You like what it represented."

Ezra had to give her that one. "True."

She smiled at him, amber eyes gleaming with mischief. "You just wait, babe. Once your hair grows out, I have every intention of messing it up for you."

And Ezra fully intended to let her. His breath caught as an image flooded his mind: Her fingers clenching his long hair as she came around him with a shudder, her head thrown back in ecstasy with eyes closed. Her hair reached well past her shoulders and was colored in varying shades of teal. And her belly definitely had a bump in it.

Force, he hoped that was their future. The far future, but their future nonetheless.

Sabine studied the dopey grin that slowly crossed his face. She'd caught the hesitant half-step he'd taken and the flash of inward gaze that usually indicated he'd had a vision of some sort. "What did you see?"

He stopped and pulled her into his space with an arm around her waist, kissing her thoroughly before answering. "Just a little bit of our future."

She raised a brow as she rubbed her free hand over his chest. "Will I like it?"

Ezra smirked as he let her go and walked on down the hallway. "That depends. How do you feel about being pregnant?"

Sabine's heart kind of stopped as she forgot how to walk. "What?!"

Ezra laughed as he turned around and waited for her to regain her senses and catch up to him. "Don't worry. Not anytime soon. My hair was as long as Kanan's and yours was teal and past your shoulders. We've got some time."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's all right, then." Not that she didn't want kids with Ezra someday, she did. But the keyword was 'someday'. She wasn't even twenty yet. There was no way she was ready for that kind of responsibility on top of her duties as Countess. Not to mention their lives were kind of tumultuous and dangerous right now.

Ezra found her free hand with his and squeezed it as they walked into the cockpit. There was a moment of awkwardness as they both paused by the pilot's chair, staring at each other to see who was going to fly. She was the better pilot, but it was his ship…

"You fly."

Ezra kissed her cheek and settled in the pilot's chair.


Ten silent minutes later, broken only by Sabine's quick conversation in Mando'a with whoever guarded the winter planet of Krownest against unauthorized landings, Ezra settled his Gauntlet in the parking area behind the Wren Stronghold beside the same silver, gold, and black ship that had accompanied them to Mandalore a few days ago. He'd caught a few words, but for the most part, it was all still gibberish to him. He did get the sense that she was not so gently scolding whoever answered, based on her tone.

Ezra was amused. And turned on. (When wasn't he?) And glad she wasn't using that tone on him. (She had, many times in the past.)

Also in the area were four more Kom'rks and twenty of the smaller but similarly shaped single person Fang Fighters. There were also more fighters at outposts in strategic locations around the planet, on Guard Duty. The Wrens had a respectable fleet that had protected their planet for generations.

Looking at the ships, Sabine was doubting herself again.

Was moving the Clan really the right decision? Was moving to Lothal the right thing to do for the Clan?

This was their home.

Was she being selfish?

Yes, she'd promised to help save Lothal, but throwing what was left of her clan at the task could be dooming them all. There was no question she'd lose more members battling the Empire over custody of a whole planet. Sabine just couldn't stomach the idea. Not now. Not after the death of a dozen Wrens from a weapon that she had invented.

Ezra powered down his ship and then looked over at Sabine as she suddenly tormented emotions battered him. Her face was buried in her hands and she looked like she had no intention of moving from her chair anytime soon.

He was out of his chair in an instant and kneeling beside her, hands on her faintly trembling knees. "What's wrong?"

She pulled in a shuddering breath and moved her hands enough so he could see the tears glittering in her eyes. Sabine felt absolutely terrible as she said, "I think I made a mistake, Ezra."

He rubbed her thighs soothingly. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can fix it."

She shook her head and then covered her face again, not able to look at him as she basically whispered, "I don't think I can commit to moving my Clan to Lothal and helping you win your planet back. What if I lose the rest of them in the war? I would have single-handedly killed my entire clan."

Ezra hadn't even thought that was a possibility. He'd always just assumed that since they were Mandalorians, they were nearly invincible and happy to fight for whatever cause they liked. But he could see how she would be worried about something happening to them. "What if you let the clan decide? Take a vote or something?"

She thought about that one for a minute behind her hands. It wasn't the normal way of ruling the clan, but maybe it was the only way that she could live with. She was dedicated to helping Ezra just as much as she was dedicated to taking care of her people. Tearing herself apart between the two was downright painful and not something she wanted to fight with her conscience over on a regular basis.

Sabine took a deep breath and scrubbed her eyes dry with the heels of her hands. Stars, she was crying a lot lately. She hated it. She put her hands on Ezra's shoulders and smiled kind of pathetically at him then leaned down and kissed him softly. "Thanks, Ez'ika. You're really smart sometimes."

Ezra grinned as they rose together. "Thanks. I'm taking that as a huge compliment coming from our resident genius."

Sabine's mood improved drastically at his teasing. She punched him lightly in the arm and then bent down to retrieve her helmet from the floor beside the co-pilot chair. "Just don't expect them too often, babe," she teased back. "I wouldn't want you to get a swelled head."

Ezra laughed as he followed her out of the cockpit, eyes on the sway of her hips because he just couldn't help himself. "No chance of that ever happening. Not with you keeping me humble."

Sabine snorted. Humble. Hah. That would be the day.

Ezra caught up and laced their fingers together again, smirking down at her, having caught the thought he was sure she'd sent his way on purpose.

Force, he loved her.

Even if she was PMSing in a more girly fashion than normal. Ezra was pretty sure he'd rather have a cranky Sabine than a weepy Sabine. It was easier on his heart.


Mando'a translations:

Haar'chak – damn it.

All credit for the previous and the next chapter goes SOLEY to The Lone Rebel's Stories and NOT to this poster! Check TLPRS works out on Star Wars: Rebels page here on FFN...