Ezra blew a soft stream of warm air through his hands, warding away the tingling discomfort of the early morning chill. The faint orange glow of dawn approaching had only just begun to illuminate the eastern Atollonian mesas, the indigo of night still dominating the sky overhead. Looking to the sky, he took a moment to lose himself in the billion points of light that shown above. With the base still under its nightly blackout restrictions, no foreign light polluted the atmosphere, allowing the milky stripe of the galaxy's outer rim to twinkle unobscured.

Returning his mind to the task at hand, Ezra pressed his hands into the ground beneath him, gently kicking his legs into the air. Tightening his core to control his legs' ascent, he slowly straightened into a handstand, drawing slow sips of air to slow his heart rate. He had started the morning workouts after Malachor to drive out the weakness he thought pervaded his body. Now, the routine helped him strengthen and refocus his mind – something he desperately needed after the events of the past week. Raising his left arm until it was held parallel to the ground, he let the Force flow freely through his body, supplementing his strength as his mind returned to the encampment.

Mother. Father. Brother. Sabine's revelations had unleashed a flood of questions in his mind; the thought that he knew so little about her, even after years of working, fighting, and living together, sent a chill through his spine. He quite literally trusted her with his life, yet had been completely blindsided by the darkness of her past. He wanted to ask her everything, and nothing; he wanted to be furiously angry, but empathetically heartbroken. The silent trip back from the camp had done little to ease his confusion, a silence that had spilled over into the days following. Only a few rotations away from their planned departure to Mandalore, and the two still hadn't spoken.

As deep in thought as he was, the soft crunching of muted footsteps may have escaped his notice. It was the storm of emotions that accompanied them that alerted Ezra to their approach, eddies and ripples disturbing the calm of the Force around him. Opening his eyes, he saw a pair of paint-spattered running shoes a few centimeters from his face. Traversing his eyes while taking care to not break his form, he could see an inverted pair of toned legs extending from the shoes, cut off just above the knee by the hem of dark athletic shorts.

"If I was a krykna, you'd be breakfast," Sabine observed dryly.

"Good thing you're not a krykna, then," Ezra quipped back. The legs shifted slightly to the right; without looking, Ezra knew that her hand had gone to her hip.

"Are you busy?" A grin spread across Ezra's face, as he settled his outstretched arm back onto the ground beneath him, extending the other to the opposite side.

"Not particularly." A small duffle dropped onto the ground in front of his face, as the shoes turned and began walking away.

"Good. Let's go."

Beads of sweat had begun to run down Ezra's brow as he pushed himself to match Sabine's quick pace. The fires of dawn had finally set the sky ablaze in shades of orange and red, the morning chill dissipating as sunlight poured onto the arid planet. As the pair crested the ridgeline of one of the mesa's unoccupied petals, Sabine slowed her stride to a jog, coming to a halt in the flat stretch of dirt.

"This will do," she announced as Ezra slowed to a stop beside her, pausing to catch his breath. After a second of recovery, she dropped her bag on the ground, crouching to unpack its contents. Unzipping the flap of the bag she had given him, he reached inside to find a set of wraps, padded gloves, and a rubber mouthpiece. Slowly and methodically wrapping his wrist with the tape, he watched as she wordlessly bound her own hands, her eyes fixated on her work. The silence gnawed at him, until he couldn't bear it any longer.

"Listen, Sabine, about last week- "

"Not now. Get your mind right for this," she interjected, pulling the fingerless gloves over her wrapped hands and securing the fastener with her teeth. Stifling a frustrated sigh, Ezra followed suit, flexing his fingers to test their range of motion in the gloves. As he began to rise, Sabine pulled her shirt off from over her head, folding it neatly and setting in on her bag. "I'd suggest you lose the shirt. Don't want to get blood on it." With an upturned eyebrow, he complied, setting his duffle next to hers and slipping the mouthpiece in between his teeth. Taking a few steps into the open, Sabine extended a gloved fist towards him.

"All the normal rules, no ankle locks or fingers. Fight ends when someone taps." Nodding in acknowledgement, Ezra tapped his fist to hers as the two began to circle.

As he pivoted around her, Ezra quickly glanced over her form. Fists held high and tight to her body to protect her jawline, a fierce predator's eyes peered over the tops of the gloves at him. Her footsteps, nearly silent, kept a wide base under her slightly bent knees, a picture of fighting experience and prowess. A twinge of adrenaline and nervousness coursed through Ezra's spine; if Sabine's expression was any indications of her intentions, he didn't know if he'd be walking back to the Ghost under his own power. They continued to circle, as Ezra formed a hasty set of objectives for the fight. The first was to not get embarrassed.

The second was to make her smile.

Bringing his fists in front of his face, he squared the back of his palms towards Sabine, gyrating his fists in a small circle. Dancing a small jig as he circled around her, he did his best to imitate the mustachioed knuckle boxers that adorned the history books of Lothal's past. Sabine's face remained deadpan, only a spark of irritation flickering in her eyes.

"If you don't take this seriously, I'm going to make you regret it," she cautioned.

Well, that certainly didn't work. Ezra shrugged, slipping back into a fighting stance.

"Have it your way," he stated, planting his next step and launching himself towards her. The aggressiveness of the move caught her partially off guard, enough to send her stumbling backwards as Ezra drove his head into her chest. Quickly recovering from the initial shock, she threw her hip into his side, using his momentum to knock him off-balance and backwards into the dirt. As she scrambled on top of him to exploit his mistake, Ezra managed to trap her hips between his legs, curling upward to minimize the distance between them.

Planting a forearm into his chest, she swung her free hand low into his ribs. The force of the blow rattled Ezra's core, a grunt of shock and pain escaping his mouth. If her earlier expression hadn't been warning enough, it was now clearly apparent that she wasn't going to be pulling any punches. As Ezra absorbed the second blow, his arms dropped to try to defend his sides. Immediately seizing the extended arm, Sabine broke through the grip of his legs, attempting to hyperextend the outstretched limb.

Biting down into the mouthpiece, Ezra struggled against her grip, trying to free his captive arm. Feeling her weight shift as she fought to keep control, he swung his leg in a low arc, propelling him up and over her. Tucking his knees into her sides, he couldn't help the slight grimace of pleasure spreading on his face as her expression contorted in disgust at her change in fortune.

"Need me… to get your gauntlets?" he tauntingly grunted. Another pang of frustration crossed her face as she gripped his shoulder.

"Not… yet!" With a fierce grunt, Sabine threw her hips skyward, launching Ezra forward and buying enough space for her to worm her way out of his hold. The two leapt to their feet, a momentary pause settling as they regained their breath and footing before reengaging in a flurry of jabs and strikes. Ezra found himself completely reliant on the tremors of warning that surged through the Force milliseconds before Sabine's fists. Even as he transitioned to the offense she seemed anticipate his every move, her arms deflecting every jab and countering every strike.

As he let the Force begin to dominate his movements, Ezra became again keenly aware of the tempest of emotion surrounding his opponent. Earlier, Sabine had been a violent torrent of energy and conflict. Now, with every strike launched and blow countered the swirling aura seemed to recede, replaced by a unified gust that propelled her every move. Under the glistening sweat on her brow, her eyes were alight once more with drive, purpose, and joy. Even as the competition drove her hands forward, a sense of contentment began to settle around her.

Throwing a kick towards Ezra's side, Sabine's fists spread open mere centimeters out of position. Detecting the fault, Ezra threw his fist across his body, the powerful strike slipping straight through the gap. Realizing too late what was about to happen, Ezra looked on in horror as his glove landed squarely on her nose, her eyes snapping shut and hands collapsing towards her face, too late to soften the blow. As she took a faltering step backwards, Ezra could feel his stomach dropping in freefall towards the core of the planet.

"Kriff, I'm so sor-"

In his panic, Ezra neglected the quake of warning that shot through the Force. As the apology tumbled from his mouth, Sabine's eyes snapped back open, the predatory glint flashing through her eyes once more. In an instant, her fists were moving again, swinging up under his exposed jaw with the force of a light cruiser. His eyes closing with the impact, he never saw the second fist hooking left towards his temple. His vision exploded into brilliant fireworks, then lapsed into darkness.

Slowly opening his eyes, Ezra found himself staring into the blue of the sky above. A pair of convorees darted about in a silent dogfight above, before flitting off together towards the horizon. Bloodied fingers jutted into his vision, snapping to regain his attention. Turning his head in the direction from which they came, he saw Sabine kneeling beside him. Her concerned visage melted away as a cheeky smile spread across her features, the shift in her face redirecting the trails of blood running down from her nose.

"Fight's not over until someone taps," she smirked. Wincing with the effort, Ezra reached with a shaky hand, slowly patting her leg.

Pulling open the cooler's door, Ezra retrieved a pair of bagged frozen vegetables before hobbling back towards the common room. Offering one to Sabine, he slumped onto the bench beside her, gingerly pressing the bag to bruise that was already spreading across his jawline. Resting her head against the back of the bench, Sabine slowly pulled open a bottle of painkillers, dropping a pair into Ezra's hand before slipping some into her own mouth. The rest of the crew had departed for their various duties before the teens had returned, leaving the ship quiet and empty.

Popping the pills into his mouth, Ezra gingerly leaned forward as he shifted the cool of the vegetables up to his pounding temple.

"You're explaining this to Hera," he declared into the quiet of the room. The silence held a second longer, before the two began to snicker, both wincing at the effort. Resting her hand on his back, Sabine lolled her head towards Ezra, a mischievous grin on her face.

"If you want, I'm sure I could find a bottle of concealer somewhere on this ship. They'll never know the difference." Ezra scoffed, imagining having to explain both the bruise and the makeup to their incredulous leadership. From the cargo bay, the sound of the loading ramp lowering and approaching voices prompted both teens to exchange glances.

"Maybe we should try to clean ourselves up before we face the captain?" Sabine suggested. Nodding in agreement, Ezra slowly rose and extended a weary hand to help Sabine follow suit. As they made their way down the hall to their rooms, Sabine paused at her door.

"Hey, Ezra?" Ezra stopped, turning back to face her. A genuine smile, full of warmth and gratitude, burned across her face.

"Thank you. For everything." Smiling back, he simply nodded, as she disappeared behind the door of her room.

One out of two goals isn't bad he thought as he limped into his cabin.

Author's note: This little tale was inspired by a pair of sketches done by meldy-arts on Tumblr depicting Ezra and Sabine sparring, as well as a little bit of practical experience. Thank you for your time and continued readership, and as always, questions, comments, and suggestions are always greatly appreciated!

All the best,

JA