A/N: Inspired by every lover's favorite holiday. Be warned: Jango and Taun We are probably out-of-character, but I had to give them a break from being such sticks-in-the-mud. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters below. They only wish they were mine...
"Taun We?"
The Kaminoan glanced up from her mound of paperwork to find a fidgeting changeling standing in her doorway.
Taun We smiled and laid down her pen. "How can I help you, Miss Wesell?"
Zam fiddled absently with a glove as she tentatively stepped foot in Taun We's office. The Kaminoan frowned at her nervous behavior.
"Sure is a…nice day out," Zam offered a tremulous grin.
Taun We wasn't fazed. It was thundering outside. As usual. "Whatever you say, Zam. Did you need something?"
Failing at a blatantly obvious attempt to be casual, Zam flopped down in the armchair across from Taun We's desk. "What, can't a girl just pop in to say, 'Hello?'"
"Zam, if you don't mind, I have quite a lot of work to do, so if you would please just ask whatever you need to ask, alright?" Taun We massaged her temples and shot Zam a haggard look.
The changeling bit her lip and looked down at her lap. Taun We was thoroughly puzzled. Was she actually acting…shy? And was that a blush on her cheeks?
Zam mumbled something.
Taun We blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
Yep, definitely a blush. Zam cleared her throat. "I was wondering…you know how today's Valentine's Day?"
"I was aware of the fact, yes." She didn't mention the dozen roses Lama Su had sent to her office that morning.
"Well, I was just looking at Jango and thinking how…lonely he must be with nothing but his son, some clones and a bunch of xenophobic aliens for company…" she looked up quickly. "No offense, or anything."
"None taken." Kaminoan's had evolved to brush off insults like nothing else.
"So, I was just thinking…" Zam's face was a definite shade of red. "How I'd like to do something…nice for him."
Nice?
The corner of Taun We's lips twitched up into the ghost of a half-smile. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Well…yeah, a little something."
"Do you mind sharing?"
Zam took a deep breath, and fixed Taun We with the most venomous stare she could muster. "If you laugh at me, I swear, long-neck…"
"Perish the thought, Zam."
The changeling paused, looking the Kaminoan woman up and down as though searching for any kind of treachery. Then she took a breath and gave in. "Alright, here it is…"
Taun We listened up.
"How do you write, 'I love you' in Mandalorian?"
Poor Taun We was almost knocked clean off her stool, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "Child, are you insinuating that you're going to make a Valentine for Jango? Zam, but isn't this quite romantic!"
The Clawdite had gone through six shades of red in three seconds. "Got a problem with it, Kaminoan?" she growled.
Taun We quickly held up an elegant hand, smiling as she waved Zam's anger away. "No, Zam, quite the opposite. I think it's a fabulous idea to surprise Fett."
Zam's frown gave way to a pleased smile, but only for half a moment. "But, you see, there's just the one problem."
"Oh?"
"I…can't…really…speak Mandalorian," she admitted with a sheepish grin.
"Oh." The Kaminoan smiled kindly. "Well, I'm fairly certain, Zam, that Jango will fully understand if you write it in Basic also."
"I know, I know," the changeling's gloved hand waved away the sentence like a pesky fly, "but it won't be as special. Can you imagine the look on his face if I gave him a card in his own language?"
Taun We chuckled. "Is this what you came to see me for, Zam? To see if I knew any Mandalorian declarations of love?"
She had to duck her own stapler.
"Calm yourself, young one, I won't make fun anymore, I promise." Taun We struck a thinking pose. "Well, here's the thing—there's not an exact translation for 'I love you' in Mandalorian."
Zam growled and crossed her arms. "Figures. I worried there wouldn't be. They're so militaristic they probably don't know what love is."
"There is, however, a translation for 'I love you with the burning passion of a thousand suns, with the undying duration of a thousand moons, and with the unwavering existence of a thousand seas.'"
The changeling's jaw hit the floor.
"Too much? The Mandalorians are rather intense in all things, including love."
"Taun We, a love poem would not exactly go over well!"
"You came up with the romantic notion, my dear."
"But I don't exactly need to go overboard!" Zam stared at the Kaminoan like she had sprouted another head. "I don't want to scare him."
Taun sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Well, there is a shorter, less-intense phrase. It doesn't translate exactly to 'I love you' but I think it's close enough for what you want."
"It'll work. As long as it's not some mushy-gushy love poem."
Taun We bit back a smile and told her.
Zam, who had swiped a pen and paper from the desk, frowned as she took the notes. "This is a rather long sentence." The phrase was ten lines long.
"Yes. Unfortunately Mandalorian is a rather inefficient tongue. Children's books can be up to one hundred pages in length."
Zam shot Taun We a suspicious glance. "Right."
The Kaminoan did her best to look innocent.
After a few more repetitions, Zam had successfully scribed the new phrase. Her face was glowing with happiness.
"Thanks, Taun We!" Zam crowed and practically skipped out the door.
Taun We just smiled and returned to her paperwork. "You're welcome, child."
Lama Su, who had been watching the entire time from the doorway joining his and Taun We's office, then stepped fully into the room, staring at the spot where the changeling had disappeared. He shot his assistant a look. "You know that phrase doesn't just mean, 'I love you.'"
"I know."
"And you didn't tell her?"
"No."
"She specifically stated that she didn't want a love poem. Let alone a sonnet."
"I know."
Lama Su sighed and meandered back into his office. "This should prove interesting."
"Quite."
About twenty minutes later, all the way across the base, Jango Fett stepped out of the shower, toweling the moisture from his skin. There was nothing like a nice, long, five minute rinse after a hard workout to truly feel rejuvenated and refreshed.
He walked out into the kitchen. "Boba?"
No answer. He called once more. "Boba, are you in here?"
Nothing. His son must still be out with some friendly clones. Jango shook his head. Soon enough, Boba would learn that there was more to life than just playing. But, for now, at least, he could allow his son a bit of fun.
After helping himself to an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter, Jango walked into the main hallway, making his way to his bedroom.
Then he stepped on something.
Looking down, he saw his foot on top of a small white envelope on the carpet. Someone must have slid it in under his doorway. Frowning, Jango stooped to pick it up. It was a bit too early for mail.
The front of the envelope was blank. Flipping it over, Jango finally found the address on the back, written in plain black ink: Fett Manda'lor.
His heart stopped. No one had called him by the title of Manda'lor in more than a decade. The Mandalorians were gone, much less their leader.
Then he remembered. Zam was very fond of calling him by his elevated title.
An affectionate little smile twitching on his lips, Jango shook his head. Might as well see what she wants.
He shut his bedroom door with one hand and opened the letter with the other. Why on earth would Zam send him a letter? It wasn't like she couldn't contact him via comlink or even in person.
From the envelope he removed a little slip of white paper, plain, with black writing in the same style as the back of the envelope.
My Manda'lor
He blinked at the title, firstly for the fact that it was written in Mandalorian and secondly because of its content. He didn't know Zam could speak Mandalorian. What…? He read on.
My Manda'lor
The warrior's way is hard indeed,
The trials never end,
But through it all, my dear will lead,
My Manda'lor. My friend.
I trudge along this road of life,
Exhausting in its length,
But I find peace through toil and strife;
My Manda'lor. My strength.
Though wars begin and battles start,
And all has turned to dust,
I place in him my faith, my heart,
My Manda'lor. My trust.
I needn't feel a shred of fear;
I shun the stars above.
I find I'm safe, for he is here,
My Manda'lor...
My love.
He stood frozen. In a daze, he read the last line over again.
My Manda'lor…
My love.
The hand holding the letter trembled slightly, but except for that, every bit of the stunned Mandalorian's body was paralyzed. He wasn't even breathing. He stared at the letter like he was in a trance.
Stumbling from the door, Jango fell on the bed, not taking his eyes off the slip of paper. She…she just…
It was a poem. In Mandalorian. For Valentine's Day.
Oh, Zam.
An uncontrollable grin spread across his face, and if anybody had been there, they would have been wondering how on earth a man who hardly ever smiled could smile so beautifully.
She was such an impossible…
Aware and not caring that he was acting like a love struck teenage boy, Jango flopped back on the bed and rested his hands and the letter on his chest.
He shook his head up at the ceiling. No matter what, she always managed to make him smile.
A short time later, Zam, who had quite forgotten about the letter for the moment, was strolling down the hallway, minding her own business, and wondering if she could challenge Boba to a game of Holographic chess.
Down the hall, Jango rounded the corner apparently very bent on something. But when he saw Zam, he froze, smiled, and began to stride towards her with all due haste.
"Good morning, Jango!" Zam grinned, waving her hand. "How are you this mor—mff!"
In the span of six seconds, Jango had crossed the considerable distance between them, seized her around the waist, and kissed her full on the lips.
Automatically, Zam's eyes slid shut in pure bliss. One of her hands flew to the back of his neck, tangled in his dark hair, and eagerly brought him closer.
Zam had no idea what brought this on, or why the heck Jango was acting so out of character. All she did know, however, was that he smelled fresh with a faint scent of cologne, he was warm and strong, and he was kissing her like the world was about to end.
Everything else was wiped completely from her mind.
After far too short a time, Jango released her, grinned quite foolishly, and answered, "Good morning, Zam."
Then he walked away.
Zam stood frozen in the hall, swaying, brain fizzling back to life. What just happened?
Then she remembered. The letter.
She fell over with all the grace of a falling tree, faceplanting most magnificently. Whatever Taun We had told her to write in that letter, it had most certainly not been a simple 'I love you.'
A simple 'I love you' would have earned her a smile on his good days, an eye-roll on his bad ones.
Not a heart-stopping kiss.
Zam scrambled up and sprinted towards Taun We's office. She didn't mind the kiss, and made a mental note to buy Taun We an expensive paperweight as a thank-you, but that Kamionan was going to pay for making her write what must have been a mushy Mandalorian love sonnet.
"YOU DEVIL WOMAN! WHAT DID YOU WRITE IN THAT LETTER?!"
FIN.
A/N: The poem Taun We dictates is supposed to to have been originally written by the wife of an ancient Mand'alor. Wrote that poem myself. Aren't you proud of me? Eh, didn't think so. Review!