Chapter Text
“Sabine, I need your help. I don't know what to do!” Ezra pleaded.
“Are you seriously asking me how to date a girl?” she replied, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Well, I already have the date, I just don't know what to do when I'm on it…”
Ezra looked at the ground sheepishly. Asking Sabine for help had seemed like the logical choice. After all, Hera would've asked too many questions, Kanan would've been very awkward about the whole ordeal, and Zeb wouldn't have given good advice. But now, he was regretting he'd ever said anything to the Mandalorian girl.
“What do you mean you don't know what to do?! You talk to her, get to know each other, be nice to her without getting weird. It's really easy,” Sabine explained.
“But how do I do all those things? What do I say? How am I even supposed to plan a date?” Ezra rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he continued staring hard at the floor of Sabine’s cabin.
Sabine rolled her eyes. This was all very strange, Ezra coming to her for dating advice. A girl on the base had taken a liking to him and asked him out for the evening and now here he was in her cabin -- asking her how to be romantic.
Sabine knew that Ezra used to have a crush on her, so it made this conversation that much weirder and more uncomfortable. She wanted to help him, but something about the whole situation just felt wrong.
“I just need you to tell me what to do. Walk me through the steps,” he told her. “What would you want to do on a date?”
The question made Sabine pause. He'd asked her a similar question two years earlier, and she'd known back then that it was a desperate attempt to flirt with her.
Now, those words had a completely different meaning. It was a genuine question, and she could tell that Ezra genuinely wanted to impress this girl. Maybe it was because he liked her, or maybe it was because this was the first time a girl had ever liked him.
“Fine. I'll help you. I know that nobody else is going to teach you this stuff,” she said. “Plus, I'd rather you learn it from me than Kanan or Zeb. Those guys wouldn't know romance if it blasted them between the eyeballs.”
Ezra chuckled. Sabine was right about that. Even though everyone knew Kanan and Hera were an item, everyone also knew how awkward Kanan was about it. And the idea of Zeb being romantic with anyone just made Ezra want to hurl.
“So what do I do?” Ezra asked, thinking she'd give him a short and to-the-point answer.
Sabine thought for a moment. “When is your date?”
“Tomorrow night. She's off-duty then,” he shared.
“Okay. Then tonight we're going on a practice date. It'll be much easier to show you what to do than to explain it to you. You're not the best at following orders,” she said with a smirk.
“Hey! I can too follow orders!” he defended.
“Alright, then prove it. I order you to go get cleaned up nice -- just like how you would for your date. I'll be judging your appearance,” she warned him.
“Judging my appearance? As in, checking me out?” Ezra asked with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.
“Not ‘checking you out,’ just making sure you don't look like a lothrat,” she teased.
Ezra rolled his eyes and then turned on his heels, leaving Sabine’s room to go shower and get cleaned up for his “date.”
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An hour later, Ezra was showered and dressed in his best clothes -- still orange, Sabine noted -- ready to begin his practice date. Sabine sat waiting in the lounge, and when he walked in, he was shocked to notice what she was wearing.
Normal clothes. She was wearing regular human clothes instead of her Mandalorian armor.
“Woah! Where's your armor?!” he asked in shock.
Sabine cocked an eyebrow. “Now is that any way to compliment your date?” she retorted, standing up and stepping in front of Ezra.
He could see more fully what she was wearing now -- some sleek black pants and a v-neck tee in a bold color that matched her hair. And speaking of her hair, it was pinned back in a way that highlighted her facial features, making her look more feminine than usual.
“No, I mean...I just didn't expect to see you like this,” Ezra stammered.
Sabine raised her eyebrows at him again and half-frowned.
“I'm sorry, let me try again. You look amazing, Sabine.” He smiled at her reassuringly. “Thank you for agreeing to help me.”
“Thank you, you clean up quite nicely yourself,” she replied. “And that's an important note. The first thing you should do is compliment your date. She'll probably be a lot more dressed up than I am, but considering what I usually wear, this is as fancy as you're going to get from me.”
Ezra laughed, he was still quite impressed and shocked that Sabine had even gone this far.
“Well it's nice to see you in regular clothes...makes me less scared of you,” he chuckled.
“Do I need to remind you why you're scared of me?” she smirked.
“No, certainly not. I don't need anything else making me more nervous,” he said honestly.
“Great, well let's get started preparing for this date.” Sabine walked over to the counter and picked up a basket, placing it on the dejarik table to show Ezra. “I packed us a picnic, which is what you'll want to do tomorrow. Just some basic items: a little meat, some fruit, something to drink. I also threw two blankets in there, those are very important.”
“Why two blankets?”
“You'll see.”
Ezra looked confused, but he nodded for Sabine to continue.
“We'll take the speeder and scope out a spot to have the picnic. It's important to remember where we go -- getting lost will certainly kill the mood of your date,” Sabine noted.
Ezra picked up the basket and followed Sabine off the Ghost. The land speeder was parked near the ship’s ramp and they securely strapped the picnic basket to the back.
“Do you want to drive or do you want me to drive?” Ezra asked Sabine.
“You're going to drive. You'll be driving tomorrow, so I'm going to ride on the back like she would.”
Ezra and Sabine climbed onto the seat and Sabine immediately scooted up against his back, wrapping her arms around Ezra’s waist.
“Are you going to keep your arms there the whole ride?” Ezra asked, sounding a bit unsure.
“Why, does it make you nervous?” she asked, teasing him a bit.
“No!” Ezra’s response was adamant, but there was an anxious squeak to his voice. “It just surprised me is all.”
“Well you better get used to it, this is how your date is going to ride,” Sabine shared. “Just try not to sweat too much.”
Ezra nodded nervously, then kicked the land speeder on. They took off, shooting across the grassy plains in search of the perfect spot.
After riding for about 20 minutes, they found the perfect shady tree. If they sat under the fullest side, they would have an excellent view of the sunset as they ate. Sabine unloaded the picnic basket as Ezra scoured the terrain, looking for potential threats.
“All clear?” Sabine asked as she spread a blanket on the ground.
“Yep, looks good. Oh! Is that what the blankets are for?” he asked, noticing what she was doing.
“That's why we have the first one. I'll explain the second one to you later.”
After the blanket was spread out, they sat down and unpacked the contents of the basket. Sabine prepared each of them a plate, showing Ezra what he should do the following day.
“I assume you know how to eat a meal properly?” she joked.
“Yes I do, in fact, I consider myself quite the expert,” Ezra replied with a smile. “You know what they say about Jedi appetites…”
“That you guys are ravenous pigs who never get full?” Sabine smirked at him.
“That's not exactly the wording I would've used, but basically.” They both laughed at the comment, enjoying a few bites of the meal in between conversation.
After they'd eaten most of the food, Sabine set her plate aside.
“Alright, so let's discuss conversation topics. You're going to want to keep her talking most of the evening, and the best way to do that is to ask her questions about herself.”
“What kind of questions do I ask?”
“Ask about her family history, why she joined the Rebellion, her hobbies, where she learned her skills, where she's from, really anything about her personal life. Avoid bringing up past relationships and avoid the lame topics unless you've run out of things to discuss,” Sabine explained.
“So what do I do if she asks about me?”
“Well, if she's a decent person, she’ll ask you some personal questions at some point. Just answer honestly and try your best to be yourself. It's better for her to not like the real you than to fall in love with a fake version.”
“Are you sure that statement is true?” Ezra asked curiously.
“Absolutely. There will be someone out there who likes you the way you are, so if she doesn't, it's okay.”
“Thanks, Sabine. I needed to remind myself of that,” he admitted.
She smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile, patting him on the knee.
“So do we just talk for the rest of the date? How do I know when it's over?” he asked.
“Well, the sun is going to tell you that. By the time you're done eating, the sunset should be beginning.” She pointed at the horizon, and sure enough, the sky was beginning to light up in shades of orange, red, and purple. “While you talk, you can watch the sunset. Very romantic.”
“So the date ends once it gets dark? We probably won't want to stay out here too much longer than that just for safety from the local wildlife.”
“Exactly. It'll also be getting progressively colder as the sun sets, which brings me to this…”
She reached into the basket and pulled out the second blanket, handing it to Ezra.
“What do I do with this?” he asked, surprisingly obtuse to her implications.
“As it gets colder, you pull out the blanket and offer it to her. When she says ‘yes,’ you wrap it around her shoulders. If you're lucky, she’ll invite you to snuggle up under it with her.”
Realization dawned on Ezra’s face. “Okay, so like this,” he said, scooting closer to Sabine and wrapping the soft cloth around her shoulders. As he pulled it around her, he could actually feel her shoulders underneath instead of the typical hard Beskar of her armor plates.
He gently smoothed it out over her arms, pulling the corners across each other in the front to wrap her more securely in warmth. It was a surprisingly gentle move.
Still holding the blanket’s edges, Ezra looked up into Sabine’s face to make sure he was doing okay. She was staring back into his eyes with awe.
“Ezra, that was actually a really good move,” she noted, shocked that he'd been so smooth.
“What move?”
“The way you just wrapped me up, it was really sweet.”
“But you told me to wrap you,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, but you didn't have to do it so gently and tenderly. That's what was surprising,” she said.
“Oh. I didn't notice. That's just the way my mother used to wrap me up in a blanket when I was little.” The faraway look in his eyes revealed that he was thinking about the deceased woman.
Sabine’s heart swelled with emotion and admiration for the man in front of her. It was easy to forget that he was so sweet and he had been through so much when they were constantly battling the Empire.
“Sabine?” Ezra’s voice snapped Sabine out of her thoughts.
“Yes?”
“What do I do next?” he asked. He was still holding the blanket by the edges and they were still sitting very close.
Sabine gulped, knowing that what she was about to say would make the situation 10 levels more awkward.
“Now would be the perfect time to kiss her.”
“Kiss her?!” Ezra asked, his panic evident.
“Yeah!” Sabine sat back a little and Ezra released the blanket. “If you're staring into her eyes, sitting in the sunset in a field, what could be more perfect?”
“I guess you're right,” Ezra replied. But Sabine could still tell that he was hesitant.
“What's wrong?”
“Well...I've never actually, umm...you see.”
“You can say it, I won't make fun of you,” Sabine told him.
“I've never kissed anyone.”
“That's okay.”
Ezra looked rather surprised.
“It's okay that you haven't kissed anyone before. You'll just do what feels natural,” she explained.
“But what if a bad kiss ruins a good date?” Does that happen?”
Sabine wanted to tell him that a bad kiss wouldn't ruin the date, but she had promised to coach him. And in her book, being a good coach meant being honest.
“Well, it's possible. But as long as you don't do anything weird, it should be fine.”
“So I'm having my first date and I’m also probably going to have my first kiss on the same night? That's a lot of pressure. What if I mess up the date because I'm nervous about the kiss?” Ezra asked, getting more anxious by the minute.
“Well then don't kiss her on this date! Just wait and do it if you get a second date.”
“Will she be expecting me to kiss her tomorrow?”
Sabine thought for a moment and answered honestly again. “Yeah, probably…”
“Then I have to kiss her.”
“But if you're anxious about it, then you're less likely to do your best,” Sabine reminded him.
Ezra flopped backward onto the picnic blanket, covering his eyes with his hands, trying hard to think of a solution.
Sabine watched him hopelessly for a moment, unsure of what to do or say until he suddenly sat back up and caught her gaze.
“Will you teach me?”
“Teach you what?” she asked hesitantly.
“How to kiss.”
“What?!”
“I know it sounds weird and crazy but it doesn't have to be. All it would be is you teaching me how to kiss a girl without making a fool of myself so that I don't mess up my date. Plus, I'll get my first kiss out of the way and I won't be worried about that,” Ezra explained.
Ezra didn't reach out with the Force, but if he had tried to guess what was on her mind simply by her facial expression, she would be saying you're crazy.
“So you want me...to kiss you?” Sabine asked, just to make sure she was understanding correctly. This whole idea had been a little bizarre from the start, but adding in “kissing lessons” was taking it to a whole new level of insanity.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it would help me out a lot.”
“And why would I want to do this?”
Ezra wasn't sure if he should answer that question for fear of upsetting her, but he went ahead anyway. It might be the only way to convince her.
“Well, based on what I know, you don't have any current romantic interests here on base, so this is your chance to get to kiss someone. From what I hear, people like kissing.”
“Oh, so you're assuming I don't get to kiss people often, are you?!” Sabine spouted, and by the tone in her voice, Ezra could tell that he should've kept his mouth shut.
Ezra held up his hands in surrender and quickly switched tactics. “Okay, okay, how about this instead? You'll get to teach me how to kiss and tell me what is good and what's not, so you're more likely to enjoy it. It won't be like kissing some arrogant guy who thinks he's a good kisser when he's really not. How often do you get the chance to tell a guy exactly what you want in a kiss?”
Sabine’s face softened from anger to thoughtfulness as she pondered his comment. His second point wasn't the worst. (If she was honest, his first point was spot-on, but she certainly wasn't going to admit that.)
After several minutes of agonizing waiting on Ezra’s end, Sabine finally came to her decision.
“Fine.”
“You'll do it?!” His enthusiasm and surprise were evident.
“Yes. But you have to listen to my instructions carefully.”
“Yes ma'am!” Ezra said excitedly, saluting Sabine. “What should I do first?”
Sabine took a deep breath, she couldn’t believe she was doing this. “Okay, we’re going to go back to the moment where you wrapped me in the blanket. That's most likely going to be your best kiss opportunity.”
“Okay.” Ezra moved closer to her again, grabbing the edges of the blanket as he'd done before. Once he was in position, he lifted his eyes to meet hers.
“Do I kiss you now?” he asked.
“Not yet,” she told him. “You have to build up tension. You'll want to stare into my eyes, and you won't go in for the kiss until you're sure that's what she wants and that neither of you can wait any longer.”
“Why then?”
“It'll make it more passionate when the moment finally comes,” Sabine explained, looking intensely between Ezra’s eyes.
He gripped the blanket a little tighter, seeming to pull her an inch or two closer to his body.
She let go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
They both gazed into each others’ eyes, watching for any telltale signs that the moment was right for the big move. Ezra shifted again, moving close enough that his body was barely pressed against hers in places and she watched his pupils dilate as he stared. He wanted it.
And now she wanted it too.
She gave him the sign in the form of her eyes flickering to his lips, then coming back up in a slightly sultry gaze. It made him gasp, realizing that this was a look he'd never seen on Sabine before, but also knowing exactly what the look meant.
On instinct, he slid one arm around her back, pulled her body flush against his, and gave her one last intense stare. They were both breathing heavily now and nothing had even happened.
Then he did it -- he pressed his lips slowly against hers.
It was his first kiss.
His lips were closed a little too tightly, so Sabine guided him without using her words, separating her lips just a little and relaxing them. He got the message and mimicked her movements, changing the kiss from two mouths pressing together to a real liplock.
It was the best feeling and the most anxiety-inducing feeling all in one. His heart was beating rapidly and he wanted to stop the kiss before it exploded, but he also knew that his heart would ache as soon as he pulled away. Sabine’s lips were so impossibly soft and something just felt right about the way they fit so perfectly between his.
Sabine pulled back slightly and Ezra was afraid she was going to cut it off, but then her lips pushed up against his with more pressure. She did it again, and again, and boy, it felt GOOD. Ezra was getting lightheaded and all he could do was go along for the ride. Just to make himself feel like he was contributing something, he slid his hands down to rest on her waist.
Ezra felt her shift underneath his palms and he worried that he'd done something wrong...until she sighed. He felt her relax against him and contentedly hum, and it made him sit up a little straighter with pride.
He was now feeling much bolder than before, so he used his grip on her waist to pull her closer, kissing her harder in the process. Sabine reacted by throwing her arms around his neck and sliding a hand up into his hair.
The combination -- the passionate kissing and her hands in his hair -- was almost too much. If his 14-year-old self could see him now, well, he would've simply died at the thought of making out with Sabine.
And his current self wasn't handling it too well, either. His senses were overloaded from the feelings she was giving him. And when she slipped her tongue to the edge of his lips, he willingly opened them for her. But that one move, the feeling of her tongue in his mouth...it made him moan. Out loud.
He immediately halted out of embarrassment.
He felt Sabine slide her tongue back into her own mouth and he mentally punched himself for being an idiot.
But she didn't stop kissing him -- no, she kept her lips on his and continued the kiss, but she chuckled while doing it. As if his moan was amusing to her. Ezra was still frozen in fear, unsure of how to react. Sabine pressed a few more kisses to his unyielding lips, then pulled back and looked at him with curiosity.
“What's wrong?”
“I...moaned.” The shame was evident in his voice. “Isn't that weird?”
“No. It just means you enjoyed what we were doing. If anything, it's good feedback.”
“But you laughed!” he pointed out.
“Only because I could tell that you were mortified. There wasn't any reason to be ashamed.”
“Oh.” Ezra paused for a minute to ponder what she'd said. “Then can we continue?”
“Can you handle it?” she teased.
But Ezra was determined to show Sabine that he was good at this. He wrapped an arm around her again and pulled her back against his body. She gasped at the sudden movement, but then sighed when he planted a soft, yet passionate, kiss on her lips.
The two of them continued their embrace, sharing repeated kisses, introducing their tongues intermittently. When Ezra paused to take a breath, Sabine started planting soft kisses across his cheek, down his jawline, and then onto his neck, causing him to moan again. She smirked triumphantly, then sat back on her knees to give him space to process and come to his senses.
Ezra panted for breath, and when he finally caught it, he looked up at Sabine, awestruck.
“So...how was your first kiss?” she asked innocently.
“You call THAT one kiss?” he replied, clearly flustered.
Sabine laughed, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Well, I suppose it was a bit more than that. But if the first kiss goes well, then you may expect something like that to happen tomorrow.”
“So you're saying I might get to make out with two attractive women in less than one full day?!”
Sabine rolled her eyes at him. “Maybe...but definitely don't tell your date that!”
Ezra laughed, and after a moment it turned into a smile. “Thank you for helping me. This was a great practice date.”
“You're welcome. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.”
“As bad?! Was the kissing not good?!” Ezra asked, clearly concerned.
Sabine smiled. “No, it was nice.” She didn't want to make him too cocky.
“Nice?” he asked. “Because from my vantage point it was a little more than nice.” He smirked at her and leaned his face close again, as if he was going to kiss her...or more likely as if he was expecting her to give in and kiss him again.
So much for him not being cocky.
“Alright, alright. Don't get too arrogant. I'll admit, it was pretty great, especially for your first time.” Ezra smiled broadly. “You should do just fine on your date tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Sabine, this was a big help! I'm a lot less nervous now.” His tone switched to serious honesty as he began to pack up the picnic.
“You're welcome.”
As she watched him put everything away, Sabine couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that the evening was ending. They packed up silently and loaded back onto the speeder, riding towards the Ghost.
Sitting on the back, she reflected on the evening. The kiss had felt so real, but now everything just seemed transactional. Like a business deal.
To be fair, that's what they'd said it would be. Just her teaching him how to date. But, she certainly hadn't expected his lips to feel so perfectly soft in between her own.
Sabine was still lost in her thoughts when they pulled up to the ship. Ezra parked the speeder and unloaded the picnic basket. By this point, it was dark outside and the thousands of stars above were sparkling. It would've been an excellent night for stargazing, and normally, Sabine would've asked Ezra to sit outside with her. But right now, things just felt off-balance.
She followed him inside and helped him unpack the basket. They put away the leftover food and folded the blankets up to store them away. Then, they walked back to their cabins...again in silence.
Sabine’s mind was reeling. Had the kiss with Ezra been a fluke? Was she just all flustered because she hadn't kissed anyone in a while? It had been a practice kiss, after all, so she wasn't even sure it counted.
She had to know. She had to do something or it was going to drive her crazy.
They stopped at the doors across the hall, and Ezra moved to open his. “Goodnight, Sabine.”
He turned around. She panicked, but acted on instinct, grabbing his shoulder to turn him back towards her. She pushed him up against the door and she could tell by the look on his face that he was about to ask what was going on.
But he didn't get the chance.
She kissed him again, this time with more feeling than before. Their lips melded together perfectly, and when he realized what was happening, he returned the kiss with the same passion. She slid her hands up his chest and around the nape of his neck, playing with his hair in the way that made him moan.
She thought she had the upper hand, but she was wrong.
Ezra grabbed her at the waist, spinning them both around and pinning her up against the door now. At the same time, he slipped his tongue in her mouth, and the combination of moves straight out of a romantic holodrama made her moan in return.
Sabine could feel Ezra’s satisfied smirk through the kiss, but she was too enamored to care. They continued in their moment, hands sliding up and down bodies, lips exploring each other, eyes closed in buzzy contentment.
After what had to be several minutes, things finally slowed down. Ezra placed a few gentle, tender kisses on Sabine’s lips, making her smile and her heart flutter at the same time.
He pulled back a little, smiled at her sweetly, and released her from his grasp. “Goodnight Sabine, sweet dreams.”
Smiling, she walked the few short steps across the hallway to her room and Ezra watched as she opened the door and headed inside to get some rest. He did the same, giddy like a guy who had two make-out sessions in one night would be.
They were both so obliviously happy that they didn't even notice the Twi’lek pilot standing at the end of the hall, just peeking around the corner.