Set during season two (Shortly after 'A Princess on Lothal')
Summary – Noticing the amount of time that Ezra has begun spending with Leia; Sabine starts feeling an unfamiliar emotion, jealousy.
Credit to Kublopsclan for this idea. (Finally got round to it)
It had taken a rather agonizing twenty-four hours for Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan, to finally shake off the loathsome company of Lieutenant Lyste, but at last she had managed it. After having had a trio of Hammerhead Corvettes, as well as his own shuttle, stolen by the Spectres, Lyste was understandably cautious. The Lieutenant would not allow Leia out of his sight until she was on her way back to Alderaan aboard a luxury diplomatic shuttle. However, rather like the father she never knew, Leia had moments where following orders seemed frankly dull. During the brief time she had spent with them, Leia had grown to admire the Spectres and their sense of family. And since her mission on Lothal had been so successful, she decided that she would take a small diversion before returning to Alderaan. After finally managing to lose her imperial escort, Leia turned her shuttle around, intent on reuniting with the Ghost and its crew.
Being the adopted daughter of Bail Organa, and a key member of the fledgling Rebel Alliance herself, had certain privileges. For instance, Leia had researched many of Phoenix Squadron's rendezvous points in preparation for her mission with them. As such, locating the Ghost was not a difficult task. After a brief discussion over the comms with Commander Jun Sato, head of the squadron, she received permission to dock with the Ghost.
The shuttle rocked slightly as the two ships connected, and Leia took a breath. Despite knowing them for such little time, she could not help but feel a connection to the ragtag band of the Ghost, particularly Ezra. The galaxy was far from fair, especially now that the Empire reigned supreme, and having so many responsibilities at such a young age was often...exhausting. Leia sensed Ezra understood her in a way most would not.
With a slight feeling of apprehension, she strolled through the docking tube, giving her diplomatic bodyguards leave to remain on the shuttle. While she was more than eager to spend some more time with the Spectres, she did not want to intrude on what appeared to be a close family unit. Fortunately, she had nothing to fear, for the Spectres were nothing if not welcoming.
By the time she reached the Ghost, Leia stepped through the door to find the entire crew stood there waiting for her. Each of them wore friendly smiles of varying degrees, all seemingly glad to see her. Within seconds, any fear she might have had about interrupting them was gone.
"Leia! Great to see you...how did it go with Lyste?" Hera questioned, beaming at the sight of the princess.
"Well, he certainly won't be earning himself a promotion any time soon, thicker than the usual imperial, that one," Leia answered, causing the Twi-Lek to chuckle.
"Still, the way you fooled time and again was impressive, makes me question the point of a mind trick. I thought you were supposed to head back to Alderaan," Kanan commented.
"I am...but my father doesn't expect my mission to finish for another few days, and I figured...well, I thought perhaps I could spend some time with people who aren't imperial morons," the princess explained, feeling a little awkward.
"No imps here, Ezra definitely qualifies as a moron though," Sabine remarked, expecting a rebuke.
The Mandalorian found herself surprised at the response. Ordinarily, Ezra would think of some witty comeback and the pair's verbal sparring would go on, but not this time. No, this time Ezra shot her a strange look, a sort of glare, and remained completely silent.
"Oh, I disagree completely, actually it was impressive to see a Jedi in action, truly lends credence to the stories I was told from the Clone Wars. And, of course, you were incredible too, Kanan," Leia commented in response, causing Kanan to nod his head silently in thanks. Ezra took things...less coolly, coughing awkwardly before stuttering to change the subject.
"Uh...ahem thanks...would you like a tour of the ship? I don't think you had time before..." he responded. Compliments clearly tripped him up.
"Lead the way," the princess answered, and with that, the two of them strolled away.
Within seconds, the group that had gathered began to disperse. Kanan made off towards his quarters, perhaps to meditate, whilst Hera and Chopper made their way back to the cockpit to ensure that the autopilot didn't act up again (there had been a near-death incident on Gand where Hera had put a little too much faith in the autopilot and the ship had very nearly flown into the ground). This left Zeb and Sabine standing alone in the corridor, and once everybody else was out of earshot, the Lasat chose to make a comment.
"Did you see the way Ezra reacted when that princess complimented him? Hah, classic, reckon the kid's got a chance?" he questioned, chuckling a little.
"A chance? What do you mean?" Sabine asked, staring absent-mindedly at the wall.
"Seriously? Didn't think I'd have to explain this to you. Ahem, sometimes, when two people like each other very much, they decide to go on what's called a date," Zeb said in a tone of complete condescension. Sabine blinked, as if suddenly pulled from some sort of trance. If she hadn't been paying attention before, she certainly was now!
"What? Those two? Ezra...and her? N-no I don't think so, I mean what would he see in her?" she remarked, running a hand through her cyan hair.
"You mean apart from the fact that she is some sort of badass rebel fighter as well as Alderaanian royalty? I think the real question is what she would see in him," Zeb commented, chuckling to himself.
I'm badass, Sabine thought to herself, before quickly quelling any notion that she may be jealous of Leia. She then thought on what Zeb had said. "He's a Jedi, a pretty decent fighter, she said so herself..." she started, before realising what she was saying. She said he was impressive...she...complimented him. What was this strange twisting in her stomach that suddenly made her want to grab Leia by the waist and throw her out of the airlock?
"Hm, I guess, I'm going to grab a bite to eat. What are you doing? Painting I expect" the Lasat said.
"Huh? Y-yeah...painting..." she replied, only half paying attention. Could it be true that Leia liked Ezra in a capacity more than friends? She had only known him for the space of a single mission. Then again, Ezra had started flirting with Sabine the second she took her helmet off. But if she liked him, that didn't necessarily mean he liked her back. Although the way he reacted with that compliment...blushing and stuttering. Was he really that shallow? He had flirted shamelessly with Sabine as recently as last week, and yet now he was going after some princess.
By the time Sabine came back to her senses, she realised she was standing next to the docking tube completely alone, being eyed rather suspiciously by Leia's bodyguards from the other end of the tube. She glared at them momentarily before heading back up the stairs and straight into her cabin. Promptly sealing the door behind her, she began to pace up and down, gripped by a feeling she was entirely unused to. Leia was a member of the Rebel Alliance and, by all accounts, one of its most skilled fighters and diplomats. There was even talk of her leading the alliance one day, if the Empire was not overthrown by the time she reached adulthood. She was a hero, no doubt, so why then did Sabine feel such an unnatural dislike towards her so suddenly? The Mandalorian sat on the edge of her bunk, her legs swinging to and fro.
"Ugh, come on Sabine, why do you care if Ezra wants to hang out with the new girl? Heh, might finally get him off your back," she said aloud. She sat in silence for a moment before a voice startled her.
"Are you alright, Sabine?! I heard you talking to someone!" Hera shouted from the other side of the door. The Mandalorian almost jumped out of her skin.
"I'm fine! Just...talking out loud about my painting..." she lied. There was another moment of quiet.
"Okay! Don't forget, it's your turn to clear the carbon scoring when we land next!" Hera called, beginning to walk away.
"I won't..." Sabine replied, quietly enough so that only she could hear. She stood up and took a deep breath. Get a grip, Sabine, this princess is only here for a day or so, then she'll be gone, and Ezra will be back up to his usual tricks. Just put up with it for a day...
Three days had passed, and much to Sabine's chagrin, Princess Leia was still staying with Phoenix Squadron. After spending a rotation drifting between space lanes, the rebels landed back down on a different area of Lothal to await their next mission. In the meantime, each of the Spectres spent their days doing what they usually did in the absence of action. Hera busied herself repairing the Ghost and roped a rather gloomy Chopper into helping her. Zeb caught up on some lost sleep after participating in several night missions recently. Kanan meditated, as well as continuing his training sessions with Ezra. Apparently, they were going rather well, but Sabine wouldn't know as she had been avoiding the padawan as though he had the Blue Shadow Virus for days now. The reason for this? When she didn't have duties of her own, Princess Leia had been spending most of her free time by Ezra's side. The two of them spoke in hushed tones, laughing over some secret joke. The one-time Sabine had asked what was so funny, trying to act friendly, Ezra had promptly told her that she wouldn't get it, before walking out of the room with the princess in tow. And so, Sabine had decided, she hated Leia. It may have sounded petty, ill-advised even given that they were in a war and supposed to be on the same side but what could she say? Mandalorians hold grudges, they're well known for it. Besides, if anyone else had seen the smile that Leia had given her just before leaving with Ezra that one time, they'd understand. It wasn't just friendly, Sabine was sure of it, it was smug.
"Sabine?! What are you doing?!" a shrill voice suddenly called, tearing the Mandalorian from her thoughts. Sabine glanced between Hera's angry expression and the tool in her hand and instantly realised her mistake. It had been her job to remove carbon scoring from the landing gears, and she had done so, but rather than turn off her power tool afterwards she had proceeded to splice right through half of the electronics.
"Oh...OH! Kriff...Hera I'm so sorry...I just got really distracted and I-" she tailed off, biting her lip in frustration. The damage she had caused to the landing gear would take another three hours to fix at least, if she was lucky. Sabine studied Hera's face carefully, trying to weigh up just how much trouble she was in. Oddly, though, the Twi-Lek's face seemed to have softened drastically.
"I think you and I should have a talk, alone. Come on," she remarked, gesturing for Sabine to follow. The Mandalorian dared not refuse.
Hera led the way up the boarding ramp and ascended the ladder, passing by Kanan with a simple nod as he cleared away a few of the supply crates. Upon seeing Sabine being led away in silence, Kanan gave her a small sympathetic smile, instantly aware that something must have happened. Up and up, they went, until they reached the main corridor, where Hera walked straight to the cockpit and sealed it behind them both. She gestured for Sabine to take her usual seat, which she did, and then sat opposite.
"So...tell me," Hera said simply, clasping her hands together in a conciliatory manner.
"Tell you...what?" Sabine asked, scrunching her face in confusion.
"Tell me what's been going on with you recently," the Twi-Lek replied, calm as a Jedi.
"What's...been going on? N-nothing...nothing's going on" Sabine lied, quite unsuccessfully too judging by the look on Hera's face.
"Ever since Leia returned to Phoenix Squadron, you have kept to yourself more than ever. I don't think I've seen you at all apart from at mealtimes, where you grab your share and retreat to your cabin again. You're acting like you did when you first joined us," she stated, her tone remaining eerily quiet. Considering how she had shouted just a moment ago, this was a stark contrast.
"Oh, you know me, Hera. I like my privacy. Ship's a bit crowded at the moment and I just like peace and quiet to paint," the Mandalorian explained, lying a little more convincingly this time. But convincingly enough? No.
"Try again," Hera said, causing Sabine to let out a long and drawn-out sigh. It was clear that she wasn't leaving this cockpit without letting out her current feelings, whether she wanted to or not. The only issue was, what were her current feelings? Even she wasn't sure, so she spoke without thinking, hoping what she said would make sense.
"I-ugh...it's stupid, I just can't stand Leia, I can't help it. She keeps shooting me these grins which look friendly to anyone else, but I know that they're smug. She spends every waking second with Ezra and keeps...complimenting him, on everything. S-so I've been keeping to myself, thinking that she'll soon have left, but she's still here!" Sabine explained, managing to fit this paragraph into a very short space of time indeed. She was left breathless afterwards, looking towards Hera expectantly.
"I see," the Twi-Lek said, the faintest trace of a smile appearing on her face.
"See what? Aren't you angry? I screwed up on the carbon scoring because I was fixated on how much I hated another member of the alliance. Tell me I'm being stupid, please!" Sabine exclaimed. She couldn't note when she had stood up but now, she was beginning to pace back and forth across the cockpit.
"You're not being stupid," Hera replied, again refusing to elaborate.
"Alright, please talk to me, because you are being way too calm about this! I sliced through the landing gear, that'll take hours to repair!" the Mandalorian shouted, to no effect. She stopped pacing, having to catch her breath now from all of the frustration.
"Yes, and the two of us will repair that soon, with Chopper's help it'll be done before you know it. Your dislike of Leia, though, that is interesting, very interesting," Hera remarked, a knowing smile on her face.
"W-what do you mean?" Sabine stuttered. What in the stars was Hera getting at?
"You've always been smart, Sabine, so I don't believe you dislike Leia simply for the sake of it. There's a reason, and I think you're perfectly capable of realising that reason on your own," the Twi-Lek replied. Sabine stood silently for a moment, breathing deeply and mulling over the thoughts in her head. She had only started to dislike Leia when she had begun spending so much time with Ezra. So did she dislike Leia herself or did she dislike that she'd been hogging Ezra? No, no that couldn't be the case because that would mean that Sabine herself enjoyed spending time with him and became...jealous?
"Oh kriff..." she muttered, causing Hera's grin to somehow grow in size.
"Cottoned on, have you? Took long enough. I always had an inkling, but the last few days has gone and proven it. Remind me later, Kanan owes me fifty credits," Hera remarked happily. But Sabine herself was still stood there in complete confusion. If she herself only liked Ezra as a friend, then why would she be annoyed at Leia so much unless...no that couldn't be the case. Could it? The Mandalorian felt as though she was having some sort of malfunction, nothing computed, no explanation worked apart from the one she couldn't bring herself to believe.
"You're saying...I'm jealous of Leia because I wish I was spending time with Ezra?" she questioned, still trying to make sense of it all.
"No...you're saying that, but I think you're right. All that's left to do is decide what you want to do about it," Hera stated.
"I've been toying with throwing her out of the airlock, when we're in space of course," Sabine admitted, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. Hera chuckled.
"Yeah, not sure how I'd explain that one to Bail, I was thinking something a little less...well Mandalorian. Maybe try talking to her? Or him? One or the other," the Twi-Lek suggested. Sabine's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't tell him! He'd be unbearable, besides despite his constant flirting she had no idea how he actually felt, he could be surprisingly hard to read on certain things. But confronting Leia, peacefully of course, actually sounded like a decent idea. She just had to get the princess alone...
With a surge of energy, Sabine strode out onto the grassy plains of Lothal, the gentle wind blowing through her hair. She glanced around for a moment, before spotting her target just ahead. Ezra had his lightsaber ignited in a defensive stance whilst Leia threw rocks at him. As usual, it looked as if he was trying to impress, but he clearly wasn't paying much attention as several of the rocks hit him square in the face.
"Ezra! Can I have a word?" Sabine called. Ezra turned to her just as a particularly large rock struck him in the face, causing him to fall onto the ground. Leia couldn't help but chuckle a little as the Jedi rubbed his nose painfully.
"Sure..." he replied, dusting the dirt from his trousers as he stood.
"Hera needs a hand with the landing gear, but first she wants you to meet her in the cockpit," Sabine explained. Hera had, of course, volunteered her help just as soon as a plan had been formed. She would distract Ezra, allowing Sabine to confront Leia.
"Let's get going then," Leia remarked, but as she was about to follow Ezra, Sabine gently grabbed her shoulder.
"I'm afraid I need you to help me with something else. Hera said I could depend on you," the Mandalorian remarked. Leia flashed a look of disappointment but hid this very quickly.
"Okay, I'll catch up with you later, Ezra," she said. The Jedi gave a quick wave as he ran to the Ghost, meanwhile Sabine kept her hand on Leia's shoulder until he was well out of earshot.
"Now then...let's talk..." she said, letting Leia go.
"Okay...what is it you'd like to discuss?" the princess questioned. Sabine began to circle her, not unlike a predator circling their prey.
"I've noticed you're spending a lot of time with Ezra, the two of you seem quite close," she remarked.
"I suppose...I enjoy his company, I don't meet many people my age who have...similar experiences," Leia replied. Sabine nodded her head in understanding.
"None of us here have really had a proper childhood, have we?" she asked rhetorically.
"No...I thought you had something you needed help with. Why are we standing here discussing Ezra?" Leia asked, folding her arms impatiently. No sense in waiting, just tell her the truth, Sabine thought to herself.
"I enjoy Ezra's company too, perhaps more than I make out because his ego would be insufferable otherwise. And...I don't want to sound petty, or jealous, or anything like that. But the whole time you've been here, I've felt shoved to the side. So I just thought we could chat, iron some things out..." the Mandalorian explained, trying her best not to sound too sinister. A look of slow realisation dawned on Leia's face as she seemed to connect something important.
"Oh...I'm so sorry, I had no idea..." she commented.
"Yes...well...now you do," Sabine said slowly.
"It seems so obvious now, the way you look at each other...you're his girlfriend!" Leia stated, rather loudly. Sabine stopped on the spot, her face turning quite pale.
"I-uh well, that's not strictly-" she stuttered, unable to form her words. Ironically, she looked just like Ezra had a few days ago, struggling to say a simple sentence.
"I never meant to get in the way of anything, but I hope you don't mind if Ezra and I keep in contact a little once I leave. It can feel a little lonely sometimes working for the alliance," Leia continued.
"Y-yes of course, but-" Sabine began, but for some reason she just couldn't find it in her to correct Leia.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll go and see if Ezra needs any help with that landing gear," the princess remarked, walking away towards the Ghost.
"Right...yeah..." Sabine muttered, cursing under her breath. This had not gone as planned...
The two of them walked up the boarding ramp of the ship just in time to meet Ezra and Hera as they clambered down the ladder. Kanan was still strolling around sorting out supply crates, humming quietly to himself.
"Oh, hey. Did you two get your little job sorted?" Ezra asked. Sabine shared a nervous look with Hera.
"Yes, actually there's something I wanted to say, if nobody minds?" Leia asked.
"It's a free galaxy, or it will be when we're finished," Kanan commented, suddenly paying attention.
"I never wanted to be a problem here, but I've realised that I accidentally stepped into something that was none of my business. Ezra, I'm sorry, I had no idea that Sabine was your girlfriend," Leia stated. The entire cargo bay remained silent for a moment before everybody reacted at once. Kanan coughed loudly whilst Hera put her hands up to her mouth in surprise. Ezra frowned in confusion and all eyes turned to Sabine as she felt heat rise in her cheeks. Oh kriff...