The Artist and the Jedi - Sabezra Oneshots

Jealousy (Part Two)

Set during season four (Shortly after 'In the Name of the Rebellion')

Summary – Over a year after Sabine's own jealous outburst involving Princess Leia, Ezra begins to feel very similar emotions himself upon seeing the Mandalorian spend so much time with the squadron's young pilot ace, Wedge Antilles...

Credit to Neto338 for this idea for a sequel.

It was with a grim outlook that the Spectres returned to Yavin 4 following their unplanned mission with Saw Gerrera. This was the second time that their operations had interfered with imperials transporting enormous kyber crystals, seemingly confirming Saw's theory that there was more going on than the rebels knew. The fact remained, if the Empire had figured out a way to harness crystals that large to power some sort of weapon then the war which many believed had not yet come could already be lost. It was a dark thought, and after Ezra had voiced it aboard the Ghost, hardly a word more was said on the return journey to Yavin.

When the Ghost finally landed, after what had felt like many silent hours, each of the crew split off in different directions. Hera and Kanan led the new recruits towards the briefing room to be given their instructions by rebel command. Meanwhile, Zeb strolled away towards the canteen and Sabine towards the fighter bays. Ezra stood on the docking ramp of the Ghost, his arms folded and a small frown upon his face. He knew exactly where she was going. Much to the young Jedi's annoyance, Sabine had been spending a lot of time with a skilled pilot called Wedge Antilles whom she had helped extract from an imperial training facility. He did not know exactly why, but every time he saw the two of them together Ezra balled his fists in annoyance. They would constantly stand around chatting carelessly, and Sabine would laugh in a way that she never seemed to laugh with him anymore. Sure enough, he could hear them now, stood next to a Y-wing bomber chuckling about something or other. The padawan shook his head, determined not to grow annoyed, even though he already was. Manual labour was the key to ignoring troublesome emotions, and so despite the fact that his muscles ached, and he wanted nothing more than a good sleep; Ezra made off towards the briefing room, hopeful for some work.

By the time the Spectres had landed, night had already fallen on the fourth moon of Yavin, and so there were far fewer base staff out and about. In fact, on the trip from the Ghost to the briefing room, Ezra only ran into four rebels, all of whom were maintenance officers working on damaged fighter craft. Why does Wedge make her laugh when he has all the personality of a protocol droid? There he was again, obsessing over Sabine and the pilot mid-walk. But he just could not wrap his head around it. What exactly did she see in him? Aside from his obvious looks, ace piloting skills and generally nice demeanour of course. Ezra had all of that himself, and he was a Jedi. It made no sense. WHAM!
"Hey! Watch it!" a familiar voice shouted in frustration. Ezra looked up in confusion, quickly realising he had walked into someone.
"Oh my-Kanan I am so sorry...I um...didn't see you there?" he reasoned, biting his lip. Kanan folded his arms.
"Really? Didn't see me?" the Jedi questioned, a tinge of amusement in his tone.
"I-I got distracted...deep in thought about...something" Ezra said unconvincingly.
"Uh huh, and what could be so distracting that you barge into a blind and vulnerable man?" Kanan asked, sarcasm filling every word. Ezra could tell that his master was enjoying putting him on the spot. He quickly tried to think of a lie in his head, but then he had another thought. Perhaps there was something in the Jedi Code that helped address feelings of jealousy?
"Can we talk somewhere a little more private?" he said as a rebel soldier squeezed past them, looking thoroughly unamused at their decision to have a conversation in the middle of a corridor. Kanan's voice seemed to change from sarcasm to genuine concern when he replied.
"Oh, yeah sure. There's a storage room just behind you, that should be private enough" he answered. Together, the pair of them pushed into what was essentially a broom cupboard full of poorly organised blasters and welding tools. They found themselves separated only by an inch, even with their backs against the walls, and Kanan coughed awkwardly.
"Right, okay, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a little while now" Ezra began, but soon found that the words formed a lump in his throat. Now that he was here, he didn't exactly want to admit to feeling jealous in front of Kanan.
"Go ahead, but uh, could we maybe speed this up? Something is poking up somewhere uncomfortable and if it's a defective blaster then I might lose something way more valuable than my sight" Kanan replied, shuffling uncomfortably.
"Do you think it's weird how much time Sabine spends with Wedge?" Ezra asked immediately. Yes, that was better, now he wasn't admitting to jealousy at all, simply playing the concerned friend. Kanan stroked his beard in thought.
"I can't say I've noticed them spending too much time with one another. After all, we were on Mandalore until recently, and now the two of you had your ahem...solo mission. If they're friends, it seems natural she would want to talk to him" he stated, causing Ezra to sigh in disappointment. He did not know what he had hoped for, perhaps that his master would immediately agree and order Wedge to be transferred elsewhere. That would be perfect.
"Oh right, I guess..." the padawan remarked, failing to hide his dejectedness.
"There's more to this than you're letting on...I can sense your disappointment, mixed with something else, confusion? Tell me what's going on so I can help" Kanan said, in a tone of both authority and care. Like his master, Ezra was now shuffling uncomfortably on the spot, although undoubtedly for a different reason. Grimacing, he decided he should just get it over with, and looked straight up into Kanan's mask.
"For a while now, I've found myself getting frustrated for no reason whenever Sabine and Wedge are together. I know I'm jealous, I just don't know exactly why, or how to stop it. Is there anything in the Jedi Code to help stop it?" he questioned, watching closely for any subtle change in Kanan's expression. To his surprise, the Jedi smiled widely, an almost guilty smile.
"Oh, the Jedi Code would say that such feelings are a clear path to the dark side and should be avoided at all costs. However, you might be hard-pressed to find any advice on doing so. Heh...guess I'm playing advisor now..." he replied, chuckling to himself in an altogether strange manner.
"What do you mean?" Ezra asked.
"Hera...found herself in a similar situation with somebody else over a year ago, told me all about it. It all worked out in the end, kind of, so I suppose you'll be wanting my advice. Well firstly, I'm assuming you know why you're jealous. You said you didn't, but I think we both know you do" Kanan explained, seeming in a much better mood now.
"N-no I don't, that's why I came to you. You know?" Ezra asked again, growing increasingly confused. He felt as though he was walking into some big obvious fact that everybody could grasp but him.
"This is going to be harder than I thought. Remember how you always used to flirt with Sabine? Well just because you have stopped, does not mean your feelings have. I believe...that you still have feelings for her and seeing her spend time with another...let's say eligible partner makes you...unhappy" Kanan reasoned, and from his tone it was clear that he was trying to be careful about what he said. Ezra, meanwhile, was dumbstruck. The idea of him having a crush on Sabine was so deeply rooted in his head now that he had almost forgotten about it, instead accepting it as a part of their friendship.
"Huh..." the padawan said simply, looking as though somebody had just pierced him with a lightsaber.
"Now I don't want to come over as the concerned master, but you must be careful with these feelings. Obviously, I chose not to follow that part of the code, and you are free to do so as well. But love can so easily become obsession, which I don't need to tell you can lead you down a dark path" Kanan added, growing a touch more serious. Ezra tore himself from the multitude of thoughts and emotions racing through his head, determined to interrogate Kanan for answers.
"So then how do I stop that? How do I prevent myself growing obsessed and stop feeling jealous about Wedge? Please tell me it's not meditation..." he questioned, shuddering a little at that final idea. Kanan chuckled.
"No, it's not meditation, though a little more of that wouldn't hurt. I don't claim to be an expert, Ezra, but in my experience if you like someone you tell them and hope for the best" the Jedi answered, causing a look of mild horror to appear on Ezra's face.
"Kanan, you said yourself I used to flirt with Sabine all of the time and she's never shown any sign of liking me back. There isn't a mind trick strong enough to make her change her mind about me" he said despairingly.
"No there isn't because it is my honest belief that she already does. I'll tell you something now that I probably shouldn't, do you remember that...strange incident with Sabine and Leia the other year?" Kanan questioned.
"Vaguely...Leia said something about Sabine being my girlfriend and Sabine ran and hid in her cabin. But she said later that it had been a mistake, and she'd gone in her cabin to avoid making a scene with Leia. Why?" Ezra said. Kanan let out a deep and dramatic sigh, shaking his head.
"And I'm supposed to be the blind one...Leia said that because Sabine had told her it. And she had told her it because she didn't like the amount of time you were spending with Leia. And now you're in her shoes, so I pray you do a better job of it than she did. We all stood there cringing for what felt like an hour after that display" he explained. Ezra was speechless, gradually connecting the dots in his head. So, when Kanan said Hera had helped someone in my position last year...it was Sabine? But that meant Sabine had liked him all this time, or did she still like him? When he had been so oblivious to her feelings had she fallen for someone else? For Wedge?! Well that just wasn't acceptable.
"Excuse me, there's something I have to do!" Ezra practically shouted, forcing his way out of the supply room. Kanan shook his head with a smile.
"Well, we got there eventually...oh...how did that get here?" he questioned, having finally realised what was poking him. It was a gaffi stick. With a wince, he carefully repositioned himself and took a hold of the weapon. Think I'll leave this part out of the story when I tell Hera later...