Din makes a beeline for the Crest, not even glancing over the work that Peli had done on the hangar as he walks up the ramp.
You stay on the bay grounds, glancing around for any sign of Peli and her droids. The outline of Peli's bouncy brown hair can be seen through the glass windows of her office and you make your way over to greet her.
"Hey, Peli-"
You pause as you turn the corner. Warmth floods your chest at the wholesome sight that's before you and a small smile flickers over your lips. The child is nestled in Peli's lap and the two of them are sound asleep. Peli is slouched in her seat, head lolled forward, and her bushy hair falling over her face.
The kid must've gotten out of the compartment while she was working.
You make a mental note to tip her for her kindness and care in watching the kid and continue to watch them for a few moments.
"HEY!" Din stomps down the ramp of the ship, anger filling the air around him. You jump in surprise, staring back at him with wide eyes.
Peli's head shoots up, her eyes just as wide as your own, and looks around frantically.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!"
She starts to comfort the child when he starts to cry from the ruckus.
"Where is he?" Din growls as he stalks toward the office
"Din...," you murmur.
"You woke it up!" Peli rocks the baby as she stands to meet Din in the hangar and you step out alongside her. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?"
"Give him to me." Din towers over the woman and you step in between them, hand pressing against Din's chest to keep him at bay.
"Mando, please, calm down," you say in exasperation.
Din ignores you, his visor boring a hole into Peli as she looks up at him defiantly.
"You can't just leave a child all alone like that. You two have an awful lot to learn about raisin' a young one. I'm assuming that you're new parents." Her eyes dart between the two of you, eyebrows raised.
"Wait... Wait... No, Peli-," you stammer, mind racking as you realize the assumption that she had made about you and your associate.
Din's not phased by the insinuation and his growl continues.
"Give...me...the kid."
"Hey!" You shove Din back lightly, glaring up at him. "Cut it out. If she was gonna hurt the kid, she would have done it already."
Din's gaze switches from Peli to you and his stomach turns at the sight of your anger towards him.
"She's harmless," you say as your eyes soften slightly. You can feel Din's anger fade and it's replaced with embarrassment. Whether it's because you're scolding him or because he realized he was in the wrong... you're not sure.
Peli is drinking in the interaction, making a mental list of suspicions about the two of you. She continues to analyze the dynamic that's happening in front of her.
"Anyway, I started the repair on the fuel leak." Peli makes her way over to her workspace and adjusts some of the switches and levers. "There you go. I had a couple of setbacks I want to talk to you about. You know, I didn't use any droids," she glances over at Din with an exasperated expression. "As requested. So it took me a lot longer than I expected. But I figured that the two of you were good for the money since you have an extra mouth to feed."
Peli makes a point to glance at you when she commented on the kid as Din walks into the ship to grab a bag. You shoot her a look and your head inclines in confusion to her statement.
What does this woman think we are? A family?
Din returns from the ship and stops in front of Peli, looking from her to the child that's resting in her arms. You watch him carefully, wondering what he's about to say.
"Thank you," he says gruffly and he makes his way out of the hangar.
Peli looks at you in surprise and turns to follow after him.
"Oh, so I guess I was right. You got a job, didn't you?"
Din steps out of the hangar and you follow after him and Peli. Stepping out into the streets of Mos Eisley, two speeder bikes and the young man Din had spoken with at the bar were waiting for him. Peli continues to ramble as you look over the man that's leaning on one of the bikes, trying to read him.
"You know, it's costin' me a lot of money to keep these droids even powered up."
"Hey, Mando, what do you think? Not too shabby, huh?" The man crosses his arms and wears a smirk full of pride.
What was his name again? Toro Callen? Calian? Calican? Yes, I think that's what it was.
You cock your head at him, trying to weigh how you feel about this deal that Din had struck. Din sets his bag on the seat of his designated speeder and he walks around the machine, clicking parts and controls as he checks over what this young bounty hunter has brought. After a few moments, he glances up to stare at the man and you hold back a snort of laughter as you sense a wave of disapproval sweep through Din.
"What'd you expect? This ain't Corellia," Calican scoffs, turning to look at you and Peli.
It seems that Peli is trying to read the young man, same as you, and her face is blank of emotion as she stares at him. She's not amused nor impressed by what she sees and she glances over at you to see your reaction. You watch as Calican glances down at the child in Peli's arms and confusion contorts his face. When his eyes flick to you, however, recognition floods his expression as his mind snaps back to the incident in the bar. He smirks as he looks you up and down, a bit too slowly for your liking.
Din didn't like it either. You can sense his growing distaste for Toro as he stares at him with a burning gaze. Your expression turns into a disapproving frown at the attention that the hunter is giving you and Calican clambers onto his speeder upon reading the look.
Stepping over to you, Din stares at the young hunter with anger burning from behind his helmet.
"It's fine," you whisper. "Leave it be."
Din lets out a loud huff but calms as the bond between you flickers through the Force. You can sense his nervousness about leaving you behind, but you need to keep the kid safe. He wouldn't admit it aloud but he wants to be sure that you're safe as well.
"Will you be all right here? I know that you'd rather not babysit...," Din mutters, aware that Calican is watching the two of you.
"It's fine. I know that I need to stay," you smile. "Just..." You set a hand on his shoulder, giving it an awkward pat as the sensation of both Peli and Calican's eyes on you sets in. "Just be safe, okay? Come back in one piece. No dying allowed."
Din chuckles and nods.
"Will do."
And with that, he hops onto the speeder and you watch as the two hunters disappear into the sands of Tatooine. The child babbles in Peli's arms and you look over to see that the kid is staring at you. Peli hands him over with a small smile and she invites you back into the hangar bay.
She offers you a drink as you approach the Razor Crest.
"Thank you, but I'd rather not drink while he's out on a job... just in case he brings trouble with him," you chuckle.
"Understandable," she laughs as she swigs water from a bottle. "I probably should start working on the ship again."
"I can help, if you'd like," you say as you set the child on the ground, allowing him to wander as he pleased. "Speed up the process since... ya know? No droids."
"Well... sure, okay." Peli smiles and takes another swig.
The work of repairing the ship helps in distracting yourself from the possibilities of danger that Din could be in right now. His target is someone that's dangerous. Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary, bounty hunter, and assassin that has worked with some of the top crime syndicates in the galaxy. She's experienced with a rifle and dangerous in combat.
Din is experienced as well, but that doesn't diminish the knot that's growing in your stomach as time trudges by.
"So," Peli pulls you away from your distant thoughts as the two of you make progress on the ship. "Traveling with a Mandalorian, huh? Risky business." She clicks her tongue as she works on a bolt on the ship's frame.
"You could say that, yeah," you chuckle, glancing up for a moment to meet her eye. "But I've seen a lot in my time and none of this is new to me. I've seen worse."
"Still... I haven't really seen a Mandalorian travel with anyone before. You two must be a special couple and he seems to care about you a lot-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up." You stand from your work and look at her. "The Mandalorian and I are not a couple."
Peli's eyebrows raise in doubt as she meets your gaze. "Really?"
"Really, really, Peli. He and I are not... We're not... It's not...," you stammer, unable to form the words.
Her eyes narrow and she snorts, "I'm not buying it. Something is happening there."
"Nothing is happening." You slump down to continue your tinkering, face flushing with color at the thought of people thinking that you and Din are a couple. "At least I don't think anything is happening." The words of the drunk are fresh in your mind as your thoughts race.
I saw you come in with that Mandalorian. You're just too proud to give it up to some bloke on the street. You'd rather be a gold-digging whore.
Did people really think that whenever you and Din entered a room together? That you were a match? A couple? Something?
The red in your face intensifies as you stare at the pieces of metal in front of you as if you're trying to burn a hole into them.
"I may be outta line, but that look on your face tells me that you may not be that upset about the idea. You look downright flustered." Peli chuckles and pats the kid's head as he waddles up to her.
"I-... I-... We're not together, okay? We... We can't be together anyway. He's just a friend and business partner. That is it."
But that's not it, is it?
It's as if your mind has turned against reason as the idea of being with Din flood your mind.
"Just a friend? I'm just saying, you two would be a good-lookin' pair."
She glances over at your silence, hair bouncing from the movement.
"Say, why can't you be with him anyway? Is it because you haven't seen his face? Or maybe it's because he's a Mandalorian or a bounty hunter or-"
"No, Peli. It's none of those." You can't help but let out a soft chuckle at her rambling. "That's not why."
"Then... why? If I may ask?"
You let out a deep sigh. Her voice is genuine and you can tell that she means no harm, but it's not worth the risk of telling her what you are.
"It's complicated."
With another huff, you turn your back to Peli in an attempt to hide your flushed complexion.
Me and Din. I mean come on, you think to yourself as you busy yourself with the parts in front of you.
"All I'm saying is, the two of you look close," Peli says with one final shrug and returns to her work.
Din and I do have a bond, but surely... no, stop. Focus on the ship. Not this... daydream... fantasy.
The memory of his tight embrace, protectiveness, and emotion ripple through your mind and you think again. For a moment... a brief moment... you allow yourself to imagine that possibility.
If Din did have feelings for me... When he was asking me about joining the crew... Could he have meant that he could be my new family...
No, stop it. You're a Jedi. You can't. While Din may be right about the Jedis' issues with attachment, I'm scared it might be too far gone for me now... that possibility. Not without the threat of me turning if something...
You had almost turned when Ari had been hurt... and Ari had saved you from turning. He was the only reason. And now he's not here to save you from that again. If you allowed yourself that risk with Din...
No. I can't allow that to happen again. I can't risk that kind of connection... that attachment. Not again. Not after Ari. Besides... a Jedi and a Mandalorian?
These thoughts swirl in your mind for the remainder of the day as you work with Peli. Night falls around Mos Eisley and the suns are setting in the sky. Din still hasn't returned, but you're not that concerned about it. You can sense his presence in the Force somewhere on this planet, so you know that he's still alive. Knowing how difficult of a target this is, he's probably taking the slow way in this capture. Especially since he's working with a rookie.
The work on the ship continues into the following day and you join Peli in the work once again. She really is quite sweet when she's not being snarky to the Mandalorian. The two of you have kindled a small friendship in the short amount of time that you've spent working as a team.
Peli has dropped the subject of you and Din and instead fills the time with stories of her past customers and the damage that she's seen in ships on Tatooine.
"Have you ever left Tatooine, Peli?"
"Oh, goodness, no," she chuckles. "I haven't even left the walls of Mos Eisley. Far too dangerous of a planet for that. No, I'm born and raised in this pile of sand. All I've ever known."
By mid-day, the work on the Razor Crest was finished and you tried to patiently wait for Din's return but it became difficult as time ticked by. Peli offered some possibilities to try to provide comfort but there wasn't much else that she could do.
"Here, I'll watch the kid," Peli offers. "You go rest up, clean up, whatever. Take some time for yourself."
"Thank you, Peli," you say, smiling. The child coos in happiness as you hand him off to the repairwoman and Peli beams down at him.
Peli has grown fond of this kid. She might try to keep it when we leave, you chuckle to yourself as you step into the ship.
You take the time to clean your blaster, making sure to remove the grime that has become trapped in the crevices of the metal. The lullaby from your childhood sings in your mind and you hum the tune once again, except now there is no audience. Only you and the memory of your mother.
"Just close your eyes, the sun is coming down..."
The words are soft on your lips and they sound like breaths of air as you continue to work on your blaster.
"You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now-"
A ruckus in the bay catches your attention, throwing the lullaby to the back of your mind as you grab your blaster and rush to find Peli.
"Peli, are you oka-"
Toro Calican, the young bounty hunter, is standing in the bay, his blaster pointed at the child in his arms. Peli is nowhere in sight and you frantically look around for any signs of her presence.
"Peli?"
"I'm afraid your friend isn't able to make it right now." Calican's face was smug as he stared at you, gradually stepping closer with the kid.
Raising your hands in surrender, your mind racks to find a way to get the kid to safety.
Damn, my saber is on the ship. And he knows that I have my blaster. I can't surprise him. If I use the Force, I can't ensure that the kid won't get hurt in the process. I have to do what he says... to protect the kid.
"Don't hurt the kid... please," you say slowly, lowering your blaster to the ground warily.
"Word has it, you two are the big targets that the Guild is after at the moment. Looks like I'm going to have to steal the Mandalorian's prize." That annoying smirk crosses his face and you're so tempted to smack it off. "I guess he just liked your special company."
Based on his tone and smirk, you know that he is referring to the incident in the bar and the words that the drunk had thrown at you. A scowl crosses your lips and the kid whimpers in the hunter's arms.
"Where is the Mandalorian?" Your eyes switch from being trained on the kid and looking for Peli.
Oh stars, please let Peli be alright.
"Oh, don't worry about him. He's not in the equation anymore."
Fear lances through your chest and you can feel your scowl deepen. You know he's lying. Din is alive, you can sense it. But you have no idea if he's injured or stuck in a terrible situation. As you're taking a step forward, Calican clicks his tongue and presses the barrel of his blaster against the kid's head, making him whimper in pain and fear. You stop in your tracks as Calican steps around you, looking you up and down as he circles like a vulture. He stops behind you and you grit your teeth in anger.
"The Mandalorian is going to kill you when he returns," you growl.
"Sure, sweetheart," he snorts. The butt of his gun smacks into the back of your head and you see stars.
It's as if your body has become lead and it slams into the sand as your mind goes blank. You can hear the kid crying as you slip into unconsciousness.
~~~
Everything is dark. Calican has you bound and gagged in the hangar of the Crest and you drearily look up, blinking, to meet Peli's terrified gaze as she stands with the hunter on the ramp. She stares at you urgently, as if she was begging for you to wake up and do something... but even if you weren't tied up, you couldn't. Not with the kid there. Not when he was in Calican's grasp.
You groan through the gag and Calican glances over at you with a smug grin.
"You'll see your boyfriend soon. Keep quiet and the kid won't get hurt."
With another grunt of anger and annoyance, you fall silent, your eyes boring holes into the arrogant hunter as you await Din's arrival. Based on the light coming in from the bay, night has fallen and the bay's lights are the only thing illuminating the area around the Crest.
Why is it always me getting knocked out and tied up? Why can't it be Din for a change? My head is killing me! And why does everyone think I'm Din's...
Biting back a wince from the blow to your head, you blink to clear your blurry vision. Slowly, you test the tightness of your bonds, trying to maneuver your hands out of the knots of rope. Swallowing a groan, you slump against the wall of the ship as the kid stares at you from the hunter's arms. You have to admit it, the guy knows how to tie a knot. The ropes around your wrists won't budge and, even if you were able to get free, he would just threaten the kid again.
The sound of boots scuffing through sand catches your attention and you strain your ears to listen for more clues about Din's arrival. You can sense that he's close, but you're not sure what he's gonna do in this situation. Maybe he's hoping that you've killed the guy already and that everything was fine...
"Took you long enough, Mando." Calican shoves Peli down the ramp and she sends you one last urgent glance before she walks into the bay. "Looks like I'm calling the shots now. Huh, partner?"
Ugh, the sound of his smug voice makes you want to vomit. Now that you're out of Calican's sight, you start to really struggle against your bonds, grunting from the effort. You're in a position where you can't summon a tool to cut yourself free and your hands are pinned between you and the ship. You can't move.
A distraction, maybe.
Glancing around the ship hangar, your eyes search for something that you could throw at the young hunter with the Force, but it's too dark to see. He's switched off the power, preventing you from searching for alternatives for escape.
Din's silent in the bay, staring at Peli and Toro and fighting back the frantic emotions that are firing through his chest. Din can't see you and he doesn't know what's happened to you. But if this guy has the kid then...
He bites back a growl as he holds his blaster in the air, pointing it at the man's head as he stands in the middle of the ramp.
"Drop your blaster and raise 'em. Or I end your little girlfriend's suffering."
Your eyes narrow at Calican's taunting tone and words. What is it with everyone assuming that you are with Din in that way?
There's the sound of something falling to the sand and you know that Din has just thrown his blaster to the ground. He knows better than to risk the kid's safety... and your own. This hunter is hungry for fame from the Guild. He'll do anything to get their attention. Killing a Mandalorian and a Jedi will definitely get him that attention. Toro shoves Peli down the rest of the ramp towards Din and mumbles instructions to cuff him in her ear.
"You're a Guild traitor, Mando."
You can't help but imitate Calican's voice in a taunting and annoying tone, but your mimicry is muffled by the gag. Toro turns his head at the sound and shoots you a warning glare with which you send a snarl in response.
He turns back to the door and continues with his monologue as you roll your eyes.
I am so done with these hunters. I just want a normal life. Why can't I have a normal life? Why did I have to be a Jedi?
"And I'm willing to bet that this here is one of the targets that you helped escape."
Your head whips to the door to see his silhouette looking down at the kid. You struggle against the bonds aggressively, not knowing what this punk will try to pull. He's trying to piss off Din and, based on the emotions you're sensing from outside the ship, he's doing a damn good job of that.
"What was it, huh, Mando? Was it because she's pretty? Is that why you saved her? So that you could have some special company?"
You grumble through the gag, anger started to spark in your eyes.
Why this little...
"Or was it because she's a Jedi? Did you feel bad that her people were destroyed? That her species is non-existent?"
You scream against your gag, truly trying to get free. You wanna kill him yourself.
He chuckles as he can hear you trying to scream and curse at him from the dark corner of the ship.
"Fennec was right. Bringing you in won't just make me a member of the Guild... it'll make me legendary."
There's a pause and all you can feel is the overwhelming amount of hatred in the air. Not just your own, but Din's as well. All for this stupid man that stands before you. He's a fool if he thinks that Din will let him get away with this.
There's a flash from outside the ship that blinds you and you wince away from the garish light. Shots ring out and Calican groans in exasperation and pain from the distraction. He's shooting blindly into the bay, blinking intensely to clear the stars from his eyes. And then he crumples in a heap off of the bridge, falling into the sand with the child still in his arms.
"NO!" You try to scream through the gag but all that comes out is a pained moan as you watch and wait in agony.
You can see a flash of beskar as Din runs from his hiding spot to where the hunter had fallen.
"Stay back," he mumbles to Peli as he approaches the body.
"No, I gotta get the kid," she replies, hurrying up to the ship. "Where is it? Where's the kid?"
You can hear them searching and fear takes a hold of you, a tear streaking down your face from helplessness. Please, stars, let the kid be okay.
"Oh, there you are," Peli breathes and you can hear her comforting coos to the child. A sob of relief rips through you. You don't know what you would've done if the kid wasn't okay. The idea of it getting hurt or worse is torture to you. Slumping against the wall, you lean your head to the side, letting the cool wall of the ship kiss your cheek as you cry in relief and anger at the now-dead bounty hunter.
"Where is she? Where is Alora?" Din's voice is frantic and fear-ridden as he looks around the bay.
"She's in there. He must've beat her up pretty bad, she was unconscious when he took me in there."
There's the sound of Din's boots hurrying up the ramp and you can feel his concern and fear of what he'll find when he enters the ship. Your eyes are shut tight as you rest against the hull of the ship, waiting for your friend's arrival by your side.
"Aye, cyar'ika, what did he do?" The rough skin of Din's bare hand touches your cheek and you turn to look at him. In the reflection of the visor, you can see yourself, bound and gagged with streaks of tears tracked through the dirt on your face. The gag is wet with your spit and tears from your struggle, and exhaustion floods your body as he removes it from your neck.
"I wish I could kill him again after seeing this... I'm so sorry, Alora. I-..."
"Did he... hurt the kid?" you choke out through a few coughs. You spit out dirt onto the hangar floor and lean your head back against the wall when Din denies it in response.
Din cuts you free of the bonds and, as you're rubbing the redness away from your wrists, he wraps his arms around you in an awkward embrace. Chuckling, you pat his armored back and assure him that you're all right.
"He just knocked me out. I don't think he did anything else."
Din emits a growl from deep in his chest as he holds your head up for inspection while you cough up some more dirt.
"The guy could've given me a clean rag for a gag, but noooo. He had to give me one that was thrown in the sand," you grumble. "Jerk, ass, arrogant, inconsiderate, mindless, scum, low-life, butt-faced miscreant."
Din's trying to remain angry at the dead man below but your words surprise him. He guffaws, actually belly-laughs, and you look up in surprise at his reaction.
His laugh is husky through his modulator and you long to hear it without the filtered barrier of the helmet. To hear the unfiltered and raw laughter of Din Djarin.
"Butt-faced miscreant?" he chokes out as he continues to laugh, his head bowed and shaking with amusement at your angry words.
"Well, he is!" You scoff, touching the back of your head lightly. It stings from where Calican had hit her with his blaster.
"But... butt-faced miscreant?" Din can barely make out the words through his laughter and Peli has appeared at the door with the kid in her arms.
Peli's eyes are wide, unsure how to react to a Mandalorian laughing and you're not really sure either. He's never laughed like this before. Din's whole body is shaking as he kneels in front of you and his torso is bent over from the effort. You rest your hand on his back as he tries to calm himself from the laughter and steady his breathing.
"Hi, Peli," you smile awkwardly. "How are you?" you say in a strangely lighthearted manner considering what had just happened.
"How am I?" she smirks. "How are you? You're the one that got beat up."
"Eh, he was threatening the kid so I didn't fight back. If the kid wasn't there then he would've been a dead man," you shrug as Din's shaking slows in front of you.
Din sits up suddenly, the amusement still floating through his modulator as he chuckles.
"He is a dead man. Look outside," Din wheezes, trying to breathe.
"A dead butt-faced miscreant," you smile, sending Din into another fit of laughter. You watch him endearingly, a giant smile pulling at your lips. This is the first time you've seen him act carefree and in the moment. This is Din. Not the Mandalorian. Not the stoic, gleaming being that people whisper about as he walks through the streets. This is the person inside the armor. Din.
It's as if you're seeing him for the first time.
Peli smiles at the sight of the two of you.
While she denied that they're a couple, this is all that I see, she thinks as she stares at you laughing with the Mandalorian. They're perfect for each other. She was just tied up and threatened and now they're laughing like a bunch of teenagers.
When Din's laughter calms, he stands and helps you up. The three of you walk out to stare down at the dead Toro Calican and Din hops down to pull a bag of credits from the man's jacket. He tosses it to Peli as she passes the child to you.
"Will this cover the ship?"
"Yeah," she smiles. "Yeah, this'll cover yah."
Stepping forward, you hug Peli with the kid cooing as you hold him on your hip.
"Thank you for protecting him... I'm sorry we got you in this mess and..."
"Hey, it's fine. I'm just glad you're okay," she says as she turns to the child. "Take care of them, kiddo."
You can hear her yelling at the pit droids to drag the body away as the ramp to the Crest closes and she drops the name Beggar's Canyon, making you chuckle at the thought of those droids dumping a body in the desert.
Din starts to explain what had gone wrong on the job while he started up the ship. He talks about an encounter with Tuskens and how he had caught the mercenary before Calican had betrayed Din and gone hunting for you. You nod as he talks, taking it all in as you watch the child drift to sleep in your arms.