Well folks, here I am, back again from the dead! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, obviously a few things have happened since I last posted, and I just now started getting back into the groove of writing. Yet I love this story with so much of my heart, so here I am again! This is just one of many more I hope to post during this quarantine.

I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers :)


An ex-boyfriend, a pair of binoculars, and a good luck charm

Din didn't think he'd ever find himself relaxing under the light of dual moons on the shores of a neon sea, yet here he was. His guard was officially down. Silky red sand slipped through bare fingers, and he reveled in the warm breeze that tugged at his hair and tickled his cheeks. He hadn't planned on being quite so unprotected, but when he'd taken off his helmet to clean it, The Child had stolen it right from under his nose. It's what he deserved for letting down his guard.

It was currently a bucket for candy colored shells, some of which housed crabs that were scuttling out of their prison and back into the reef. Not matter that The Asset had gotten bored of shell collecting about an hour ago and was now happily building sand castles. Din had decided to leave the helmet off, for a change. He was going to have to deep clean it sooner or later, so he decided on later for a change.

He let the light of the moons, almost as bright as the sun, wash over him as he listened to the gentle crashing of the waves. Unfiltered from his visual and audio filters, the sights and sounds of nature were quite soothing. It was as quiet a place as he could wish for. No locals to fend off, few aggressive wildlife to protect himself and The Asset against. It was perfect.

Unfortunately it wasn't to last long.

He was gazing off into the distance, eyes closed, when he received notification of an incoming message.

His communicator only showed one word: URGENT.

Din sighed. He took in the scene before him: The Child toddling in the water as It tried to capture the blue foam in It's small fingers, then laughing gleefully when It failed.

He smiled as he stood, tucking the image into the recesses of his mind to remember later.

After tucking a few shells into his belt for safekeeping, he took the better part of twenty minutes to remove what sand he could from his helmet. He couldn't get it all, but he got it enough to see out of the view screen properly.

"Sorry Kid, play time's over."

He picked up the sandy tyke with much regret and some difficulty, as It began to squirm in his arms. Turns out It wasn't unhappy, just harboring crabs in It's sopping wet tunic. Whether the crabs were playmates or potential snacks he couldn't tell, but he was still evicting the unwelcome guests as he changed the Baby's clothes into fresher, drier, much less sandy ones.

He handed It a shell to play with on his lap as he hit the playback on the comm.

It was from Cara, audio only on a discrete frequency.

Hey Mando, long time no see. I've never been good at small talk so I'm going to cut to the chase. A few years ago I made a bad deal. I thought the whole thing was behind me, but the merc is back and has come to collect. I've got a plan, but I'd appreciate some backup. I'm hiding out on Coruscant at these coordinates. The sooner you can get here, the bet-

Something was happening loudly in the background, and Cara sounded like she was muttering.

I'll send you more instructions once you arrive. Just get here as soon as you can, alright? I'll owe you a big one.

The audio cut out and Din sat back, bemused. She sounded spooked. That was unlike her. Whoever the merc was, he must be pretty formidable to prompt Cara to ask for help, especially from him.

He immediately dispatched a response:

"We're coming."

And punched in the coordinates for Coruscant.


For the second time in two days Din found himself in another place he'd never imagined he'd be.

The restaurant was loud, smokey, packed, and Cara was nowhere to be seen. He checked her message again, just to be sure he was in the right place before approaching the serving droid. It took him to the table she'd apparently reserved, which was uncomfortably situated in the middle of the room next to a live band, underneath a large, fancy chandelier.

Eyes followed him as he walked, and at first he thought it was because of the Child in his arms, but he soon discovered the real reason. The glow from the numerous lights were reflecting off his beskar armor, lighting him up like a torch.

He had never felt more exposed.

Can I get anything for you sir, while you wait for the lady?

"I need a seat for the Child."

Very good sir.

The droid jerked forward in a bad impersonation of a bow, and trundled off to accomplish his request.

Din hazarded a look around. Though he was now sitting down, eyes were continually looking his direction. Some curious, many amorous. He was used to attention, but not to this degree. It was as if Cara had chosen the exact seat to showcase him, not a very good move considering she was supposedly in hiding. Something was definitely off about this, he just couldn't put his finger on what.

For the baby, sir.

Another strange, oddly specific request of Cara's was that he have The Kid with him. He hadn't been inclined to leaved It alone on the ship since that never worked out well for him anyway, but to bring It to one of Coruscant's most popular restaurants when he was expecting to help her with a dangerous merc? It didn't make any sense.

He was fighting to fit the Baby into It's seat when he heard Cara's voice. A quick sweep of the room didn't reveal her, and yet...

His hands froze. His mind was a blank as is eyes latched on to a familiar- yet strange- figure sashay through the crowd behind the serving droid. Their eyes locked from across the room. She smiled Cara's smile- a wolfish grin with bared teeth and flashing eyes- yet that was where the similarity ended. She was wearing what looked like armor at first glance, but turned out to be a metallic dress that showed far too much skin to be of any real protection. Her hair, usually unkempt, fell like a waterfall off the side of her face and onto excruciatingly bare shoulders.

When she reached the table, he could do nothing but stare.

Would the lady like a drink?

"Merenzane Gold."

And for you sir?

It took Din a moment to gather his thoughts, which were considering Cara's dress and how it managed to stay up without any straps, especially considering the size of her-

"Mando? The guy asked you a question."

She was wearing a smirk, and Din blushed in spite of himself.

"Uh, a milk. For the Child."

Very good sir, madam.

He finished fitting The Baby in It's seat and cleared his throat. "What's with the fancy digs? I thought I was here to help rid you of a merc."

"You are." She frowned and adjusted her arm cuffs, which upon closer inspection were definitely not accessories as much as weapons.

Even dressed up she was still Cara. The thought reassured him.

A little.

"Why The Kid?"

"My good luck charm, if the gods be kind," she muttered. "Don't worry, he won't be in danger."

She scooted towards him on the bench seat, put her hand on his arm and crossed her leg till it was almost overlapping his. She arched her brows at him, and he could only sit there dumbly as the droid returned with the drinks. She reached across him with a coy smile to give the blue milk to the Child, and in ten seconds flat downed her own drink.

"Another drink please, waiter."

"You trying to get drunk?"

"I'm trying to loosen up. I don't have a mask to hide all my emotions like you've got, you lucky bastard. All I've got is this ridiculously painted face." Here she scowled, and it brought Din some measure of comfort, although not any more enlightenment.

"What's going on Cara?"

"You're my decoy boyfriend."

Though she could not see his face, she apparently could feel his shock.

There was a desperate tint to her eye. "Vox and I were together for a while, ran ops on the same team, enjoyed roughing up old Empire lackeys. When I left... well, I hate good-byes."

"You left your boyfriend without saying good-bye?"

"It wasn't like we were together, together, we just made out a bunch of times."

He was silent.

"Alright fine we more than made out, but it was no big deal! It wasn't like we were pledged to each other or anything. It's been years, he should have gotten over it by now."

"If you're trying to make him get over it, maybe putting on that getup was a bad idea."

"Trust me, this is just the icing on the cake. The guy's got a temper. He'll hate seeing you with me, and when he tries something, which he will, I'll take him out."

"So you brought me and The Kid all the way across the galaxy to be your bait."

"More like arm candy. Don't tell me you were actually doing something fun when I called?"

He sighed as he thought of the beach and the moons. "I was, actually."

"Well I'll make it up to- hst! There he is!" Her hand dug painfully into his shoulder.

Din identified the man immediately. "Really? A Dathomirian?"

"He was a great kisser, alright?"

"Among other things, apparently."

She kicked him. "Shut up and pretend we're having a good time."

"Oh, I already am."

Din thanked his gods that he was wearing his helmet. The only thing he had to do was put his arm around Cara's shoulders and let her do the rest.

The Nightbrother would have been stupid to miss them sitting there, glittering underneath the chandelier, which had been Cara's plan undoubtedly. He'd seen them the minute he entered the room, and he did, indeed, look mad.

Cara placed her hand on Din's helmet as if it were his cheek, and looked lovingly into his eyes. It made him more nervous than her scowl.

"What is this Carasynthia?"

"Vox." She said cooly. "This is my partner, Mando."

The Dathomirian eyed The Child with a frown. "I thought you hated children."

"Yes, but not this one. This one came with a handsome man attached." She ran a finger along the length of Din's helmet, and he had to force himself to remain still.

Vox seemed unconvinced. "This is ridiculous, even for you, to go to such lengths to ignore me. I thought I told you what would happen if you kept up this farce."

"And I thought I told you to lay off, Vox," Her eyes flashed. "How annoying it must be to have your requests continuously ignored."

"You are deliberately antagonizing me. I promise you, continue to do so and you will regret it."

"That a threat?"

"Take it as you will."

Apparently, that was the invitation Cara had been waiting for.

She was on her feet in a flash. The nightbrother had not anticipated her acting with such agility in that dress, and Din was equally surprised. Her punch snapped his head backward. Someone screamed. She pulled a gun from gods knew where, and fired a few shots before Vox could kick it across the room. He dodged another punch. With deft movements he trapped her arms at her side.

Cara scrabbled at his belt, then with a roar broke free. But her hands were no longer empty. A pair of binoculars had been dangling on his belt, and she yanked them. He stumbled to his knees, and with one wide swing she wrapped the string around his neck. He gagged as she vaulted over his shoulder and pulled the binocs back with a vicious jerk.

"Submit!"

He choked, scrabbling at the string to get air.

"You will leave me alone or you will die."

Din thought that an extreme ultimatum, but it was Cara they were dealing with.

Vox was fading, eyes rolling, when she finally released him.

"Do you submit?"

He gasped, and it took a moment for him to finally respond. "I- submit."

She pointed at Din. "You are my witness. If Vox should recant his promise, he shall be killed."

"This is the way." He replied, though he wasn't sure why.

"This is the way." Her hair was wild, her dress ripped, but she was smiling now, a visceral smile of victory. "Let's go Mando."

She retrieved her gun as he collected The Baby. The restaurant was strangely uninterrupted considering the scene they made, but perhaps lovers' tiffs happened there all the time. When they made it outside, she took a deep breath.

"I owe you one."

"I did nothing."

"You did more than you realize. You brought my good luck charm to the party." She played with The Baby's ears, who giggled and grabbed her hand. "Besides, when you've got a Mandalorian as a mate, a Dathomirian will be less likely to go back on their word."

"Mate..."

She winked at him and gave his arm a shove. "Come on. I can pay you when we get back to my ship, and then you can get back to doing whatever you Mandalorians do for fun."

"Dathomirians are known to be a suspicious race. It might be a good idea to stick around with us for a while just to prove the farce."

"You've got a point," she frowned. "It would be just like him to keep an eye on me for a while, even with a death threat. Any ideas where we could go?"

He considered for a moment, picturing red sandy beaches and twin moons. He looked at Cara, with her torn dress and triumphant smile, then down at The Asset, who was chewing on his cape and grinning.

A funny feeling entered his gut as he smiled. "I've got a few."