Don't Do This

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Requested by Y0ungL1on

It was the morning after Kanan's death.

Ezra was staring at the stone tablet that the wolves gave him but couldn't interpret what it meant. He eventually gave up and just left the thing on the floor in one of the caves. Everybody spent the entire day down in the dumps, Sabine painting her feelings away, Zeb throwing rocks at other rocks, and Hera crying.

Pryce had taken away an important part of their lives, and she deserved to pay, Ezra thought.

"I'm gonna make that Imperial slime suffer", the Padawan snarled to himself as his eyes briefly flashed yellow.

That night, while everyone else slept, Ezra snuck out of camp and took a speeder bike back to Capital City. As he got closer, he could smell the fumes of burnt fuel, another painful reminder of Kanan. Wiping away his tears, Ezra floored the throttle.

"I'm coming for you, Pryce."

After stowing the bike away in an alley, the young man crept towards the Imperial dome, constantly dodging Imperial patrols. He saw the remains of Hera's crashed X-Wing and sighed. She had been trying to help free his planet and had nearly gotten killed.

He made his way to the outer gate of the Imperial complex and was about to bolt inside when someone tackled him into another alley and slapped their hand over his mouth. After recovering from the initial surprise, Ezra saw Sabine staring down at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!", she whispered urgently.

"Let me go, Sabine. I'm not letting Pryce live any longer. She's taken too much from us."

The Mandalorian stayed in place, keeping her friend pinned to the ground. "Not happening, Ezra. That'll make you no better than her. Best case scenario, you kill Pryce, we escape Lothal, and you never see your home again. Worst case, you're caught, and executed publicly. That's not an option."

Ezra struggled to free himself, but Sabine's weight and natural strength proved too much, so he just gave up and laid there.

"What does it matter to you anyway, Sabine? This isn't your home."

She didn't answer for a few seconds, biting her lip nervously. When she did speak, Ezra could see the tears gleaming in her eyes from Lothal's sad moons.

"This isn't about the stupid planet, Ezra. Losing Kanan was enough. We can't lose you, too. What do you think that would do to Hera? To... to me?"

Ezra was shocked. Sabine had never been this worried about him before. The cause always seemed to be her top priority. He was about to say something when they heard a group of stormtroopers close by.

"Karabast", they whispered in unison.

Sabine quickly hopped off of Ezra. "We have to get out of the city."

"Look! The tunnels!"

There was a sewer entrance nearby, another one that Ryder had marked with Sabine's starbird sigil. Ezra opened it with the Force and they hopped inside.

This tunnel led farther outside the city than the rest, putting them close to Ezra's old tower. The two teenage rebels ran their hearts out until they reached the old building, collapsing on the ground at its base and panting like thirsty animals. Sabine drained half of her canteen and offered the other half to Ezra, which he declined.

"You keep it, Sabine. I don't need any."

"Ezra, you look like you're about to pass out. Don't make me hold you down and force you to drink this water."

The stern look in her eyes told Ezra she wasn't kidding. He took the canteen and gulped down the rest of the water.

"So how'd you know where I was going?", he asked as they stared out across Lothal's ruined grasslands.

"Hera heard you leave and sent me after you. Didn't take Force sensitivity to deduce what you had planned."

Ezra said nothing else, leaning forward and putting his face in his hands. That didn't stop Sabine from hearing his sobbing like he intended, however. She sat right beside him and snaked her arm around his back, pulling him into a hug that Ezra never expected.

"Sabine... what are you...?"

"I'm not losing you, too, Ezra. Please, just swear to me you won't try this again."

"I... I swear, Sabine."

She let go of him and they sat side-by-side, staring out as the wind whistled around them. Ezra was surprised yet again when Sabine's fingers intertwined in his, but he said nothing.

The next morning, they made their way back to camp and were greeted by a not-so-pleased Hera.

"Ezra Bridger, if I wasn't so glad you we're okay, I'd have your sorry tail tossed in the brig. What were you thinking?"

"Hera, I'm sorry. I just got so angry at Pryce... I wanted revenge. I lost my way a little. But Sabine helped me find it."

He gave the Mandalorian a smile, which she returned.

"Well, if you're so sure, we need you to analyze whatever it is that you brought back the other day. Nobody here knows how to read this stupid thing", Hera commented.

"Alright. I'll be there in a bit."

The Twi'lek walked away, leaving Ezra and Sabine alone. He turned to face her and grabbed both of her hands. "Sabine... I... I just wanted to say..."

"Yeah?"

"I... I care about you, okay? And I appreciate the lengths you went to to stop me from getting myself killed."

"Why do you think I did it? Because I care about you, too, you loser."

Ezra chuckled before Sabine kissed him on the cheek and walked away coquettishly, leaving him standing there stammering.

That Mandalorian was a mess of mixed signals.

And he loved her.

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