Calamity || The Mandalorian

nine

At the words, Kasia's heart jumped, and she couldn't help the infectious smile which spread across her features. "Which means it's perfect for us," she finished his thought, biting her lip afterwards to hide her smile.

Mando nodded. He glanced down at the child in his left arm, "You ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple of months you little womp rat?" he asked him, a hint of affection seeping through the words. The smile on Kasia's lips grew imperceptibly. Mando turned back to face the front of the cockpit, "Nobody's going to find us here."

Mando clicked a few more buttons before he at last turned to face her. He seemed to stare her dead in the eye for a moment, and an almost instinctual smirk rose to Kasia's lips, replacing the smile. "If you're going to stay on the crew for a short while, there are a few rules we need to set," he said after a moment.

"Sir yes sir!" Kasia responded, the retort falling to her lips practically as a reflex. As Mando continued to stare at her—was she imagining the cabin starting to get darker?—she murmured a quick apology, "Sorry, I'll be serious now."

He stared at her a beat longer. "Don't worry, learning new things is hard," was his only response. It took her a moment to process his words, but when she did, she stared at him, mouth slightly parted.

Multiple jokes in one day? Gods the world must be officially ending.

"Rule number one," Mando began, calling her attention back to him as he pressed one last button before standing from his seat, the child securely in his arms. Even with the black visor acting as a screen between the two of them, their gazes seemed to lock, "No reading my mind."

Kasia opened her mouth to argue, but after a second she nodded. "Yeah, that's fair. As you already know, I can't always control it because sometimes—say for instance someone is super emotional or accidentally projecting a thought—I can't help but sense what they're feeling, or even hear their thoughts, but I'll try my best," she conceded. From the way Mando's shoulders tensed at the word try, Kasia sensed that he wasn't entirely convinced by her assurance, but nonetheless after a moment he nodded.

"Rule number two," he continued, pausing only to stroke the child's ear for a second. Then, taking a step forward, he placed the child softly in Kasia's lap, hands lingering for a moment before swiftly letting go, "When I'm flying, it's your job to look after the kid."

As the child peered up at her with large eyes, Kasia couldn't refrain from smiling down at it. "Now this job," she said quietly, "I am perfectly happy to do."

She tapped the kid's nose once with her free hand and chuckled quietly as he giggled. When Mando spoke again, Kasia could have sworn even with the voice modulator that his voice was a little bit softer, "You don't happen to know how to fly, do you?"

At his question, Kasia tore her eyes from the child in her lap (with some difficulty) and shook her head. "My prior experience with spaceships mostly involves smuggling myself onto them."

Mando nodded once, "I figured as much," was all he said. He paused a moment, "I won't make you fly then I guess."

Kasia nodded gravely, "That's probably a smart idea."

The Mandalorian paused for a moment, before asking quietly, "How's your arm feeling?"

In surprise Kasia glanced up at him only to find him looking away from her, staring distantly out into space. "It's feeling better, thanks." She hesitated for a moment before informing him snidely, "Though I got to admit, the wrapping is just a wee bit tight. I'm starting to worry about the circulation to the rest of my left arm."

"You'll be fine," Mando informed her, obviously not taking her comment very seriously. Kasia couldn't say she blamed him for that.

She leaned back in her chair, letting the child play with the fingers on her left hand. "So," she started, "I got to admit. Your get-up is cool and everything, but without the jetpack it just leaves something to be desired," she informed him, laughter evident in her voice.

Mando turned and seemed to stare at her for a long second—she couldn't help but squirm at his scrutiny, suddenly afraid she had said the wrong thing. Then he sighed and shook his head. "I know right," came his self-deprecating remark a moment later, obviously not picking up on the fact that she was joking. "I really gotta get one of those."

Kasia nodded seriously. "Yeah," she agreed. "You look really pathetic without it."

*.*.*

Hey guys! Sorry for not updating yesterday, but I'm finally done with finals!

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!