Set during season one:
Summary – Whilst crawling through the vents of the Ghost for the thousandth time, Ezra discovers something he wasn't supposed to hear, leading to an embarrassing confrontation.
The Ghost. A VCX-100 light freighter, heavily modified by Hera and named for its remarkable ability to slip past imperial sensors without detection. It was the perfect vessel for a small band of freedom fighters, boasting more than a couple of unorthodox surprises. For instance, on its rear there was a permanently docked auxiliary starship called the Phantom which was often used on more stealth-based missions. Additionally, the Ghost boasted powerful frontal cannons which, if the need arose, could go toe to toe with an Arquitens-class imperial cruiser.
All in all, it had very few faults...but not none at all. Because of the chaos of their work, the spectres were unable to settle in any one place, instead calling the Ghost their home. And while this freighter dwarfed standard starfighters, it was pretty small for a six-person house. Keeping a secret on board this ship was just about impossible as each of the spectres were almost never more than a few feet away from their comrades. And with a vent system large enough for Ezra Bridger to crawl through, privacy was...well it was non-existent. This caused problems, as the young Jedi was about to discover...
It was a normal day on board the Ghost. Earlier on, the crew had taken a job from Vizago to 'liberate' a shipment of proton torpedoes from the imperials. Hera had wanted to keep the spoils and arm the Ghost with them, but credits were incredibly short at the moment and proton torpedoes incredibly valuable.
A successful mission often meant getting the afternoon off, which was exactly what had happened today. As he often did, Zeb had claimed his bunk and begun to snore like a fyrnock. To avoid such a racket, Ezra once again ascended into the ventilation system of the ship, sighing in relief as he felt the walls close around him. His new family had been more than welcoming, accepting him as one of their own within days of his arrival. But even now, after they had fought so many battles and shared so many laughs together, he couldn't help but feel like something of an outsider. He was the new kid, and everyone often reminded him of that. The vents were the only place he felt truly at home, their claustrophobic tightness warding off everyone else. Here he could be alone, if only for a little while, and contemplate his thoughts. And, on occasion, spy on other members of the crew.
"Ah...new day, what's going on this time?" he muttered to himself as he crawled his way through. Every now and then a blast of air would hit his face as the ventilation system cycled down, but it didn't bother him.
Even here, in the underbelly of the ship, Zeb's deafening snoring could still be heard. Ezra rolled his eyes, continuing to move in the opposite direction. His intention was to spy on the crew, maybe learn an interesting secret or two, but right now he'd settle for getting out of range of that droning sound.
As the noise finally died down, Ezra let out a quiet sigh of relief, savouring the silence. But his serenity was soon broken when he heard a voice emanating beneath him. He glanced down through a barred panel and realised he had made his way above Sabine's room. This feels wrong, he thought to himself. Sabine had always been a very private person and from here he'd be able to spy on her at all times, which just felt unfair.
But as the Jedi prepared to turn in the other direction, the voice became louder and he recognised it as the Mandalorian herself. Curiosity overcame him and he stared downwards, realising in an instant that Sabine was conversing with someone on the holo-net. She has friends? That's...new, he noted with a confused frown. With great concentration, Ezra attempted to listen closer and began to make out some words.
"Imps...purple starbird...idiots...awesome" he heard her say in a seemingly excited tone. Who else could she be talking to who wasn't already on board? He heard a response.
"Good job...really are an artist..." the reply came, and Ezra widened his eyes as he heard a male voice. Who was this guy?
"Anyway...I gotta go get changed...later" Sabine remarked, and with that the blue hologram in her hand disappeared. Ezra watched her disappear into her bathroom and lock the door behind her, hearing a shower activate a few moments later.
With a quiet cough, he snapped himself back into reality and began to crawl away at speed. But as he made his way back towards his own cabin, and Zeb's droning returned, he couldn't help but wonder about the guy that Sabine was speaking with. Was he a contact? Someone who the spectres worked for from time to time? She seemed especially friendly with him. This was worth investigating...
The next day came and Ezra had found his dreams filled with the idea of losing Sabine to someone else. He knew he had a thing for her, everyone did, but just how much was he falling for her? Shaking this thought from his head, he quickly got dressed and headed to the galley. Hera and Kanan were already there, serving their usual breakfast of Iktotch toast.
"Oh, you're first up, that's new" Hera remarked with a teasing smile, passing Ezra a plate of toast. He nodded silently and took a seat at the table, the buttery smell of breakfast filling his nose. Piloting the Ghost was far from Hera's only skill, she was also amazing at cooking, and on the rare occasions that the crew actually managed to get quality ingredients, she would cook up a storm.
A satisfied smile formed on Ezra's face from the very first bite of the toast, and he felt especially content as he took a sip of blue milk to accompany his meal. One unorthodox reason he wanted to see the Empire gone was so that Hera could get a constant supply of fresh ingredients, his mouth watered at the thought of what she could cook given the opportunity.
As this thought filled his head, Sabine entered the room with a subtle yawn. She was dressed lazily in her black bodysuit, not yet bothering to fit any of her beskar armour plates. On a day like today she could afford to be lazy, the only thing booked for this morning were the repairs on the Ghost. No missions, no errands. A nice change of pace. Sabine slid into a seat beside Ezra, taking a bite from her toast whilst looking half-asleep.
"So...get up to anything interesting last night?" Ezra asked curiously, wondering if she might open up without him having to investigate. That would be the day.
"Hm...worked on my Cad Bane painting for a bit, had a shower...went to bed. What about you?" she answered, a mouth full of toast muffling her words. According to her, Cad Bane had been an infamous bounty hunter in the Clone Wars who was eventually killed by another hunter by the name of Boba Fett. All Ezra knew was that the Duros had style, that hat was ace.
"Oh...you know...stuff. Jedi stuff" Ezra replied casually.
"You did Jedi stuff in your free time? Don't need the force to see that lie, kid" Kanan stated with an amused look. Ezra shot him a joking glare.
"So that's it? You just did your painting and...ahem, showered?" the apprentice questioned, turning his attention back to Sabine. She gave him a bemused look, her wild and uncombed hair hanging over her eyes.
"You writing a biography or something?" she asked in return, giving him a suspicious look. Even when half-awake, she didn't miss a beat. Whether Ezra admitted it or not, she knew he was up to something.
"Just curious, never mind" Ezra deflected. But now he was more determined than ever to find out who she'd been talking to, and he knew just who to go to.
Somehow, he managed to catch the droid alone, Hera was probably busy with repairs or something. Chopper never liked to be around when the Twi-Lek was doing work due largely to the fact that he would probably be asked to help.
"Chop...mind helping me with something?" Ezra questioned quietly, checking every direction to make sure nobody was listening. The droid let a garbled response, claiming that he'd hidden himself away to avoid being asked to work. I knew it, lazy rust bucket.
"Calm your circuits, garbage can. I just need you to help me figure something out, no manual labour required" Ezra explained, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Chopper remained silent for a moment, as if considering the Lothalian's proposal. At last he beeped a response, agreeing to help as long as it wouldn't take too long. Ezra shook his head with a sigh, realising that he should be glad the droid even agreed to help at all.
"Alright, here's the thing. I overheard Sabine talking to some guy on the holo-net last night, a friend maybe, and I didn't recognise him. You poke your photoreceptor in everyone's business, do you know him?" he asked, subtly crossing his fingers behind his back. The droid mumbled to itself for a moment, as if it was racking its logic circuits for any memory of the guy. Ezra stood there, folding his arms impatiently as he awaited an answer. And finally, Chopper answered with the simplest response he could give, 'no'.
"Ugh...seriously? It took you all of that time? Never mind, do me a favour and keep this to yourself, yeah?" the padawan remarked, that droid never lacked for ways to frustrate him. Chopper stared at him for a second before stating that his secret was safe with him. He then proceeded to roll away down the corridor, humming to himself rather too happily. Ezra was left standing there, a concerned look on his face. What have I done?
Zeb was a simple man, and he made sure to always enjoy the little things. Most of his days were spent fighting for his life against an all-powerful Empire, so he always made the most out of days like this. On his agenda for today was sleep, sleep and more sleep. The kid had woken him up last night, climbing out of those blasted vents, but today he would get an undisturbed snooze.
With a relaxed sigh, he rested his head back on the bed, setting the galactic radio on quietly in the background. The sound of the song announcer always helped him fall asleep. A short while later, he felt his eyelids grow heavy as he was on the verge of sleep. But suddenly, as was his luck, the door to his cabin hissed open and someone burst in.
"Whoever that is...come any closer...you die" Zeb warned in a low growl. A tired Lasat was not to be messed with. But soon he heard the familiar garbled beeps of the trash can. Zeb clenched his fists and sighed, realising that he wouldn't get any rest until he dealt with Chopper.
"Speak quickly" he remarked, pulling out a book from under his bunk. Unlike the rest of the crew, he had yet to learn to understand Chopper's ridiculous language, but he wanted to. With that in mind, the last time they'd visited Garel he'd bought a book which was supposed to teach him to understand binary. Unfortunately, he never did have much patience for reading.
Chopper spoke in his usual mumbling self, which made it all the more difficult to translate. When he had finally finished, Zeb squinted down at his book and scratched the back of his neck.
"Ugh...hm...Ezra...Sabine...boy...friend" he stuttered slowly, struggling to read the tiny writing. Karrabast, why do they print these things so small?
"Ezra and Sabine...boyfriend?" he concluded, a confused expression on his face. Chopper shook his dome rapidly, garbling out another string of words in quick succession, but Zeb couldn't be bothered to translate again. He was sure he could figure this out.
"So...what you're saying is...Ezra is Sabine's boyfriend now?" he said slowly. Chopper stared at him silently before letting out an exasperated sigh and rolling out of the room. Zeb took that as a sign of confirmation.
"I'd better tell Kanan...pretty sure the Jedi have a rule about that sort of thing" he remarked to himself, aiming one last disgruntled look towards his warm bed. Maybe later.
Another day had passed, and Ezra was no closer to an answer than before. Last night, he had crawled through the vents again in the hopes of catching Sabine mid-conversation, but instead she was just painting whilst listening to music. He watched her for a while, smiling at how happy she seemed whilst in her element.
Truth be told, he wasn't trying to be creepy or obsessive with his little investigation. Imperial spies were everywhere, and he just wanted to make sure that she wasn't in any danger with this stranger. That being said, he had to admit that if it did turn out she was...close with somebody else, he would be beyond disappointed.
Like most mornings on board the Ghost, everybody was gathered in the galley for a nice breakfast, courtesy once again of Hera. Iktotch toast was something of a speciality for her, one of the few things she remembered her mother teaching her before she'd passed away. And there wasn't a single spectre, other than Chopper of course, who didn't enjoy this buttery delight.
"You really are the best, Hera" Zeb commented, working his way through a second plate of toast with a satisfied look. The Twi-Lek smiled gratefully, it was easy to please Zeb with food, but she appreciated his compliments, nonetheless.
"Thank you as always" she replied, shaking her head with a grin as he ate an entire round in a couple of bites. The Lasat liked his food, very nearly as much as he liked his sleep.
"How's Cad Bane going?" Ezra asked, turning to Sabine inquisitively. Of course, he already knew, having watched her paint him for half of the previous night, but still he wanted to hear her tell him. She always seemed so...inspired when she spoke about her art.
"I finished him...mhm I added the last layer last night. I'm really pleased with him; I've got the contrast between his red eyes and blue head really well done. Might move onto Embo next" she answered happily. Ezra had no idea who this 'Embo' was, but he was certain he wouldn't have as cool a hat as Cad Bane.
"Well done...you really are an artist" he stated, mimicking the stranger's words to see if she might notice. To his amazement, she did give him a suspicious frown.
"So, uh...when were you going to tell us?" Hera suddenly asked, causing the entire table to go silent. Her gaze was aimed towards Ezra and Sabine, neither of whom had any idea what was going on. Chopper, who knew exactly what was about to happen, let out a garbled sigh and slammed his dome against the table. This was going to be awkward.
"Tell you what, Hera?" Sabine questioned curiously, sliding her empty plate to the side.
"That you and Ezra are dating" Hera replied casually. Ezra immediately spat out a mouthful of toast in shock, coughing profusely as he wondered if he'd heard right. Sabine, meanwhile, just gave a confused frown, wondering what exactly she'd missed this time.
"Against the Jedi code I might add" Kanan stated, receiving a swift nudge from Hera.
"Never mind that now, how did you two start dating?" the Twi-Lek asked again, always eager for gossip about her crew.
"W-we we're not dating...where'd you ahem where'd you hear that from?" Ezra stuttered, wiping bits of toast from his mouth.
"Zeb told us" Kanan stated casually.
"Only because Chopper told me, and I thought it was important" Zeb defended. As all eyes turned on Chopper, the droid let out a series of exasperated beeps before bashing his dome on the table once again in frustration.
"What did he say?" the Lasat questioned, not at all in the mood to go and fetch his book. Hera gave a knowing smile.
"That your translation needs some serious work" she explained, shaking her head in amusement. It was incredible how quickly things could get out of hand in this dysfunctional little family.
"Wait...so Ezra hasn't broken the Jedi code? I'm confused" Kanan admitted, scratching his head.
"Chopper never mentioned a boyfriend...according to him, Ezra overheard Sabine talking to a friend on the holo-net who he didn't recognise and who happened to be a boy" Hera explained, and now all eyes were on the padawan. Sabine was remaining surprisingly silent considering everything that had just been said, which left Ezra in the unfortunate position of having to explain himself.
"Okay...so...I like to go in the vents to relax, right? Well...the other night, while I was trying to escape Zeb's snoring, I happened to overhear the conversation. I was just worried that it might be someone dangerous, that's all" he stated, causing Zeb to give a sheepish smile. You were worried she already had a boyfriend, more like, Hera thought to herself.
"Okay...so...who was it?" Kanan questioned slowly, still trying to wrap his head around all of this. It was way too early in the morning for all of this drama.
"Relax guys. I met a smuggler in Capital City who said he might be willing to give us some jobs from time to time. I was just pretending to be his friend to try to get some work from him because we're strapped for credits. I can look after myself" Sabine explained, giving Ezra a light punch on the shoulder at that last sentence. Yep, deserve that, the padawan thought to himself.
All of this because he had been concerned for Sabine's wellbeing, family was tough. Ezra was still getting used to even having one after being alone for so long, but he certainly hadn't counted on there being this much drama. He was done socialising for today...
After a humiliating breakfast, Ezra strolled back towards his cabin in annoyance. All he had been doing was looking out for a friend, and it had backfired right in his face. He was frustrated with Zeb for not being able to translate a simple sentence, and annoyed that Chopper had even gone to him in the first place. But most of all, he was annoyed with himself for even hearing the stupid conversation in the first place.
All of a sudden, as he reached the door to his cabin, he felt something poke him on the shoulder. He turned to see Sabine standing there, and instantly his earlier scowl melted to a sheepish look. He couldn't help but wonder what she thought of all of this, she had said precious little after the incident. He just prayed she wasn't angry, an angry Mandalorian is a force to behold.
"So, you spied on me again, even though I asked you not to do that back when you first joined" Sabine remarked, leaning against the corridor wall casually. Let's see him explain this, she thought to herself, amused.
"Ah well you see, Zeb was snoring and..." he began with a stutter.
"Oh so it's Zeb's fault that you spied on me" she concluded, loving every second of this. Seeing the cocky street-rat quiver before her was hilarious.
"N-no, not exactly, it's...complicated. I uh...why are you smiling?" Ezra suddenly asked, noticing that Sabine didn't look in the slightest bit angry. She shook her head with a grin.
"Because you're funny...not your jokes, those are kriffing awful, but it's like...I don't know, it's like you act differently around me" she replied, an answer Ezra hadn't expected at all. You've got to know why I act differently around you, he thought to himself.
"I don't understand..." he admitted, and that wasn't a lie. What was Sabine trying to say here?
"Neither do I...it's just...well nobody's gone as far as to humiliate themselves just to check up on me" Sabine said quietly, her earlier confidence starting to fade.
"Well...the humiliation wasn't exactly planned..." Ezra remarked with a chuckle, scratching the back of his neck.
"Still...you went a long way because you thought I might be in trouble, it went terribly and I'm never gonna let you live it down...but still, it's nice to know you've got my back, Ez" she explained, and then she did something entirely unexpected.
In a quick movement, Sabine darted forwards and kissed Ezra on the cheek. It was over in a second, and with a quick smile she backed into her cabin and closed the door behind her. But to Ezra, it meant the world, the galaxy in fact. He'd humiliate himself again in a second if he knew that would be the result.
But it certainly seemed like there was something deeper behind that gesture, like there was something still unsaid between the two of them. Maybe one day Ezra would find the words to admit how he felt...