Author's Note

Time for another chapter! This one is probably my favorite that I've written so far. A little bit of action and SO. MUCH. FLUFF.

Go onward and enjoy!


Defending One's Aliit

Mahin loves the quiet days.

Not the ones where Mando's out on a hunt and it's just her and the kid left on the ship. Those quiet days get boring. Even a tad lonely with Mando gone.

Then there's the quiet days spent in hyperspace, going from one planet to the next cooped up on a small ship for days on end. Yeah, all of them are together on those days, but the ship can feel too cramped at times. Mahin usually fills those days with basic maintenance tasks anyway, leaving little time for rest.

No, the quiet days she loves are the ones spent parked on some planet. No quarry to capture. No work needed for the ship. Just the three of them spending time together.

Those days don't come often because they usually need a cause. Mando never just stops them flying without a reason. There's always a bounty or supply run or information to gather when planet-side.

This quiet day comes because of a long stretch of space travel between planets. The Razor Crest only gets them two-thirds of the way to their destination on a full tank, forcing them to stop to refuel. They already got enough food to last so fuel is really all they need. The hanger crew tells them it'll take about half an hour.

Leaving them thirty minutes to relax.

Okay, so it's not much this time. Just thirty minutes. But Mahin revels in it, getting to spend at least some lazy time with the kid and Mando. Though Mando tries to make excuses about needing to clean his guns. Again.

Maker, him and his guns. She gets they're part of his religion but he seriously needs someone to teach him the meaning of fun. A task she sets herself to wholeheartedly. So Mahin doesn't let him get away with excuses. She drags him to a nearby market where maybe—hopefully—she can squeeze more than just thirty minutes out of him.

Even bounty hunters need to relax every now and then, after all.

She gets the kid in his pod and pulls Mando by the elbow away from the tiny hanger they parked in. She knows she doesn't really drag him, though. No way would she actually be able to. No, the only reason Mando goes is because he lets her drag him away. If he really wanted to stay on the ship, her grip wouldn't be enough to stop him.

She hopes that means he actually wants to go with them. With her. That he actually wants to spend time with her.

Maker, Mahin, look at you, she muses to herself, walking down the dusty road with the kid's pod floating beside her and Mando following behind like a wraith. Pining after some guy, hoping for his attention like some prepubescent girl. It's the adolescence you never got to enjoy.

But hopefully less cringy.

How is she supposed to know what's to happen, though? She's never felt this way about another person before. Never felt this kind of love.

Kriff, is that something—admitting it to herself. There's no denying it, though. The warmth inside her chest has grown brighter and brighter with every passing day over the past five months.

She's never had time for crushes or the like before. Attachments like that had too high a chance of getting her killed. Besides, she rarely stayed anywhere long enough to get to know anyone. Now, though. Well, she lives with Mando. Works with him. They watch each other's backs. It has the potential to get messy—very messy—and yet…she's also never felt safer.

That, in part, might be because it's bigger than the typical crush. Warmer. Brighter. She can almost feel it in the Force. Something in Mando calling to her.

The same warmth she feels. She feels it echoing in him.

It's not just in her head. There's something between them. Something they both feel. Yet it all feels so ridiculously complicated. How could he ever really like someone like her? What does she have to offer?

And then there's the fact that her feelings for him could very well get him killed.

What would the Empire do? If they knew?

That doesn't mean she can't enjoy spending time with him while it lasts, though. Him and his little one. She can enjoy it, while keeping distance. Be with them while still keeping them safe.

Should be easy.

Right?

The planet settles into an early evening quiet. People mill around the outdoor market looking for last-minute supplies before heading home after a long day's work in the nearby orchards and mills. People give Mando strange looks but mostly leave them alone, everyone too tired and grimy to mind the outsiders much. It's not like the town is unfamiliar to strange visitors, anyway. It has one of the only spaceports in this sector of the Outer Rim.

Mahin lazily walks down the market street, idly looking at the wares and pointing things out to the child that she thinks he'll enjoy. He coos at the pretty baubles, making grabby hands at some, but Mahin makes sure he doesn't get too close to nab anything off the tables. It's tempting to want to buy him whatever his little heart desires. She suspects Mando feels a bit the same, but they can't afford to waste money on unnecessaries.

They pass a booth selling medical supplies. It catches Mando's eye and he lets her know he's going to top up their bacta supply before wandering over. Mahin rolls her eyes—because of course he can't just enjoy himself—but waves him off when her nose picks up on an absolutely delicious smell. Her head swivels to the right, the child's own nose narrowing in on it as well.

Well, they can't waste money too often.

"What do you think, little guy?" Mahin whispers to the kid conspiratorially, pulling his pod close as she steps up to the table to get out of the way of the crowds. People pass by behind her, bumping against her back, voices mixing together with the whirs and beeping of droids. "Should I use some of my money to splurge on a little snack for us?"

The Twi'lek woman manning the stall moves to stand across from her when she sees Mahin hovering, kindly waiting for her to make a selection. Mahin looks the available snacks over for a moment before pointing to the pile of fried crispic, flaky stick rolls filled with the delicious meats she's smelling. "I'll take a dozen of those, please."

The Twi'lek starts bagging them up while Mahin fishes the needed credits out, stomach already rumbling in anticipation. A couple of crispics now for her and the kid, and a couple for Mando to have later on the ship.

She turns to the kid to ask him if his dad even likes crispics—not that the kid can answer but he likes getting asked things—when she freezes.

A Devaronian male with red skin and short, black horns stands over the pod, his nearly seven-foot height and devilish appearance making the kid cringe back in the blanket tucked around him. He reaches into the pod for the kid, grinning with pointed white teeth.

"Hey!" Mahin snaps, slapping the Devaronian's hands away like a toddler going for the cookie jar. He rears back, glowering with barred teeth. Mahin doesn't let it intimidate her. She's stood up to worse than this. He looks scary. He's bigger and meaner than her and would win in an arm-wrestling match no sweat. But that doesn't make her helpless, so she jabs him right in the chest with her finger and snarls, "You don't touch another person's kid without permission. You got that?"

A high-pitched beeping registers in Mahin's ears, closer than expected. Not the droids milling around the market. Her eyes drop down, along with the Devaronian's when he sees her noticing. Something flashes, a device clipped to his belt.

A tracking fob.

Their eyes snap back up, meeting, and Mahin mutters, "Dank farrik."

His hand flies to the blaster attached to his hip but Mahin's faster. Her foot snaps out, connecting with his shin. He cries out in pain, leg buckling enough for Mahin to reach up. She punches his throat with all of her strength. Luckily, most humanoid species are built the same. Just like with a human, she crushes his windpipe, pitching him into a gasping fit that has him clutching at his neck and struggling for air.

She turns to the kid, intent on getting him out of here, but sees another Devaronian standing on the other side of his pod. Another male, slightly smaller, but with enough family resemblance with the first to make her think related, maybe brothers. He snatches at the back of the pod, beginning to pull it away. Mahin lunges forward and grabs up the kid, holding him tightly to her chest.

No one is taking him. No one.

She turns on her heel and bolts back towards the medical stall, yelling for Mando as she pushes through the crowd. "Mando!"

Metal gleams between the bodies. She yells again, "Mando!"

Two people move apart and she sees Mando whirl around in her direction.

Blaster fire rings out behind her. Red beams shoot just past her shoulder and she haunches over as she continues to run, everyone around her screaming. They all scramble to safety but Mahin keeps moving forward.

Safety. Safety stands right in front of her.

Mando pulls his blaster and returns fire. The shots go around her but Mahin doesn't even flinch, never doubting his aim—a Mandalorian's aim. She just keeps running, feet pounding against the dirt road until finally she reaches his side. She steps to move around him, intending to get behind him and out of the way, but then Mando's free hand reaches out. His arm wraps around her waist, pulling her close with the kid safely nestled between their chests as he spins them around so his back faces the Devaronians.

Blaster fire pings off the back of his beskar right where her head used to be. She takes in a shuddered breath as she presses her face into his chest plate. Maker, that was close. Carefully, she tilts her head up to look at him, finding his helmet already staring back at her.

Ping, spark, goes the blaster fire against his backplate and helmet. Ping, spark.

His arms tighten around her waist, making sure she doesn't get hit. Making sure she stays safe.

She waits for it. Waits for the grunt of pain instead of a ping off beskar. Waits for a shot to find a gap in his armor.

No. No, she won't let it. She won't let him be taken from her. She won't let it happen again. She already lost too kriffing much and she refuses to lose anything else.

Child tucked safely in one arm, she slips her blaster out of the holster. She takes a slow breath. Inhale. Exhale. Steadies her hand. With the slightest movement, she moves her head just enough to the right to see around Mando's pauldron. The guy she choked is back up again, both Devaronians firing at them with aim as bad as a Stormtrooper since they continue to hit only beskar. But Mando's luck is sure to run out soon.

She leans over, gets her arm up around Mando's, aims, and fires twice between one breath and the next.

Twin plops in the dirt.

Mahin takes another breath and lowers the gun back to her side.

With a firm hand on her waist, Mando looks back over his shoulder. Both Devaronians lay in the road with matching holes in the center of their foreheads. The kid's pod floats over their bodies unimpeded to gently bump against Mahin's elbow.

"Bounty hunters," Mahin utters breathlessly, heart still hammering in her chest. Her hand squeezes sporadically around the grip of her blaster, not feeling all that ready to put it away just yet. "They were bounty hunters. They had a tracking fob for the kid."

"The Neil brothers," Mando replies, hand squeezing her waist in reassurance before nudging her down the street back towards the spaceport. The pod follows behind them as they jog down the abandoned roads but Mahin doesn't put the child back into it. Not yet. He feels safer right here in her arms. "I recognize them from the Guild."

"What, bounty hunting run in the family or something?"

"You could say that. It means we have a problem."

"What problem?" Mahin asks, trying to keep up with Mando's pace. He practically has them running down the streets, people just starting to peek out of their homes wanting to see if the coast is clear. Mahin doesn't know the answer to that, though, because Mando still hasn't put his own blaster away.

"That was just two them. There are six brothers."

Mahin nearly trips over her feet. "Six? Seriously?"

"Hey, there used to be eight of them." Mando stops them at an intersection, checks around the corners, and then leads them through. "There was an accident or something a few years back on Jakku. Bounty they were chasing got lucky and took one of them out. And then I, uh…."

"You what?" she huffs, finally seeing the hanger come into view.

"I got one of the brothers locked up by the New Republic a couple months ago. Ran a job with an old crew of mine, he was involved, and they all tried to stab me in the back on it."

"And you got them instead. So this is more than just money to them."

Mando suddenly yanks her to a halt, just a block away from the spaceport. He stares down a side street to their right where four more Devaronians walk towards them.

"It's payback," Mando says gravely, blindly pushing at her shoulder while firing into the alley. He clips one brother in the arm before they can get their weapons raised and Mando continues to shove her towards the hangers.

They flee. Two on four sound like decent enough odds but Mando must, like her, not want to risk it. Not when they're so close to escape. They get through the hanger entrance, blaster fire still zipping by all around them. Mechanics and other hanger staff duck away into rooms for safety as they run past. They burst into their hanger and Mando opens up the ship's ramp with his vambrace controls.

"Get the Crest going," Mando tells her, pushing her towards the ship. "I'll buy you some time."

Mahin shakes her head. "But—!"

He shoves her up the ramp. "Go!"

Gritting her teeth, she shoves her blaster into its holster and runs for the ladder, Mando crouching behind some crates in the cargo hold just as the Devaronians catch up to them. Mahin makes it through the hatch to the upper level one-handed just as the shooting starts up again.

She drops the kid in his seat before pausing in front of the pilot's chair.

Mando's chair. She's never sat in it before. Since she told him she can fly ships, Mando's been meaning to show her around the controls, but he never got around to it. Still, all ships are basically the same. Throttle. Starter. Brakes. Yeah, she's got this.

Mahin gingerly sits in the seat, hands roving over all the different buttons and controls. She familiarizes herself with the layout, finds what she's looking for, and starts flipping switches. The engines rumble to life for her just as they always do for Mando, her confidence building in the unfamiliar ship as she goes along. She pulls the lever back with the ball that the kid loves so much.

"Alright, time for takeoff," she mumbles to herself, hitting the radio controls to connect her to Mando's helmet. "Mando, you ready?"

She hears a grunt followed by muffled cursing and then he shouts, "Go, go, go!"

Mahin pulls back on the control stick, lifting the Crest into the air. They head straight up out of the hanger. Away from bounty hunters and blasters and people wanting to hurt the kid. She hopes, anyway. So long as Mando's still safe below.

An alarm starts buzzing at her with a flashing red light as she lifts them further up into the sky. She glances over. The rear ramp is still open. Mando hasn't closed it yet. Does that mean he's in trouble? She glances over her shoulder at the doorway, wondering if she's about to have horned company. Maybe she should land somewhere and go check. She banks the Crest to the left, remembering a clearing in the woods she spotted as they came in, but then the alarm turns off.

Someone closed the ramp.

Her hand slowly slips towards her gun as she tries to keep one eye on the doorway and the other on the sky. Boots clang on the ladder as someone climbs up. She raises the gun, twisting her arm to aim over her shoulder.

Mando's helmet rises into view through the hatch. Mahin breathes out a sigh of relief. Oh, thank the Maker. He's alright. She reholsters her blaster and turns back around to focus on flying them up into the stars. As soon as they break through the atmosphere she punches in the coordinates for the next planet and then launches them into hyperspace.

"You did good," Mando praises, leaning against a piece of console beside her. "You're quite the pilot."

"Oh, you know what they say," Mahin says with a light shrug. "Taking off's the easy part. It's landing that can get a little tricky. And, you know, those deep-space shootouts."

"I'll show you the weapons controls in a little bit." He turns the chair around so she faces him, leaning over so his head is level with hers. "You alright?"

She takes in a deep breath and forces a smile. "Yeah. Perfectly fine. Not even a scratch. Me or the kid."

She rotates her chair the rest of the way around to look at the kid and frowns. He's got himself curled up in his chair tight as a ball, as tight as he can get. Tremors run up and down his little body, so much she's afraid he'll vibrate right off the seat. His big eyes look up at her and Mando. Scared. More scared than she's ever seen him.

"What is it, ad'ika[1]?" she says softly, leaning forward to pick the child up. He instantly clings to her shirt, tucking himself as close as possible to her. Still shaking. She rocks her body back and forth, running a soothing hand along his back. "It's okay, ner ad'ika[2], it's okay. We're alright now. We're safe."

Mando shifts anxiously on his feet, hovering over them and asking worriedly, "Is he alright, is he hurt?"

"He's not hurt," she reassures him, continuing to rock. "I think that just really scared him is all."

"We've had closer calls than that before."

"Yeah, but he's been with you longer now. You've grown closer. More attached. He may feel more comfortable expressing himself now."

Something suddenly occurs to her, something that makes her hold the child just a little bit tighter. How could she not have noticed before? He's a child. A baby. It's something they always do. All of them, no matter what species.

"He's never cried," she mumbles brokenly, swallowing around a lump steadily growing in her throat.

Mando tilts his helmet at her. "What?"

"I've never heard him cry. Not once. Not from hunger or because he's tired or after a nightmare. No cries. No tears. Nothing. What baby does that?" She stands up, growing too agitated to sit still as she continues to rock on her feet. "What happened to him to make him hold back tears?"

"I'm not sure how he was cared for before I found him," Mando admits, shuffling closer to them. Like he wants to act but isn't sure how. "Or what might have happened to him during the times he was with the Empire. Unfortunately, he…there are a lot of things I can think of that would scar a child into silence."

The child lifts his head enough to look over Mahin's shoulder. When he spots Mando so close, he reaches out a hand, three fingers opening and closing with need.

Recognizing what he wants, Mahin shifts so she can hold the child out to Mando. "Here, I think he wants you."

Mando hesitates only slightly before reaching for the kid, gripping the kid's sides under his arms to pull him away from Mahin. One of the kid's hands clings onto the straps of his vambrace but the other refuses to let go of the collar of Mahin's shirt. Mando tugs at the kid, trying to get him to let go but he refuses, one hand hanging onto both of them.

"Come on, kid, go to Mando," Mahin coos softly, rubbing a hand up and down the kid's back when he still doesn't let go of her shirt. "Come on, I thought you wanted to?"

The kid lets out a fussy noise. Not quite a whimper but the closest to truly upset she's ever heard him. His ears even droop. Lower than when Mando scolds him for touching something he shouldn't. Eyes big and imploring with a little bit of a misty shine to them as they look back and forth between Mando and Mahin.

"I think he wants both of us," Mando realizes. He pushes the kid back fully into Mahin's arms, making the kid fuss louder. He pets the top of the kid's head. "It's alright, buddy. I just have an idea. Give me a minute."

Mahin holds the child close, resuming her rocking as she tries to soothe him with soft words. Nothing works, though. Her little one stays upset while his eyes track Mando moving around the cockpit. He watches almost obsessively. Like he's afraid Mando will disappear. But Mando doesn't go anywhere. He doesn't even leave the cockpit.

He starts with the cloak.

He tugs the ends out from beneath the chest plate. Pulls it from his shoulders and hangs it on the back of a copilot chair. He then unbuckles each vambrace, carefully sliding them off to place on top of the console so the dangerous tech remains well out of reach of the child. Then goes his belt, his gun holster, the ammo holsters on his calf and across his chest. The rest of the armor soon follows, each piece removed and set down with a gentleness—a reverence—like the beskar isn't just a tool for war but precious gems to be protected themselves.

The gloves come off last, leaving his hands bare for the first time since he stitched her up.

Finally, he turns back to face Mahin and holds out his arms. Not to take the child now, but asking permission. Mahin isn't even sure what for, exactly, but she nods anyway, trusting him more than enough for whatever he has in mind. Especially if it's for the child.

He takes a step closer, stoops slightly, and scoops her up in his arms.

Definitely not what she had in mind.

Mahin lets out a little squeak of surprise, clutching the child close to her chest so he doesn't slip from her own grip. Mando lifts her so effortlessly. Like she and the child weigh nothing. Really, they don't, not compared to some of the bounties he carts around. With an arm around her shoulders and the other beneath her knees, Mando carries them the few steps to the pilot's chair, sitting down with Mahin sitting sideways across his lap and the child in her own.

He wraps his arms tightly around them. Cradling them close.

Mahin's arms tighten around the child as well, and with the both of them holding him, their ad'ika, his shaking finally starts to slow down.

"That's it, ad'ika," Mahin whispers softly as she leans against Mando's chest. The child shifts until he can nuzzle his face into the corner made where Mahin's and Mando's bodies meet. He coos softly. Sounding more like himself. She places a hand against the back of his head, rubbing her thumb back and forth. "We're safe here, right? Mando always keeps you safe."

"Yeah, kid." Mando slowly raises his hand, placing it over hers on the kid's head. Mahin steadies her breath. The heat of his bare skin seeps into her. She spreads her fingers, just enough, and his fingers slip between hers. "I'll always keep you safe. You and Mahin."

Mahin looks up at him with a crooked smile, teasing, "Me and the kid, huh? What happened to the kid comes first?"

She expects some kind of snarky comeback. Instead, she's met with silence. It stretches for so long that her brow furrows, smile slipping away. His silences have just as much meaning as his words. Words that he struggles to put together now. Something he wants to say struggling to come out. But she's learned that if she waits long enough, he'll find the words eventually.

"When I heard you yelling today, I thought…," Mando mumbles softly, his arm around her waist tightening, "I really thought that, at best, I'd be patching you up right now."

"I know." She leans her head against his shoulder, feeling the edge of his helmet press against her forehead. The child lets out an almighty yawn as his eyes begin to droop. "But we're both fine. Like I said, not even a scratch."

"I know. And then you ended up saving me." His head tilts against hers, resting together, his voice filled with pride. "You shot like a Mandalorian today."

"After you saved me." She lifts her head, trying her best to glare at him through the darkness of his visor. "That was a dangerous thing you did, you know. Taking those shots like that."

"Better me than you. I'm the one with the beskar."

"Yeah, but that armor of yours doesn't cover everything. You're lucky they were such lousy shots."

"Still better me than you." His hand slips from her waist, up her side, and slips into her hair, messaging at the back of her head. "I protect my aliit[3]. My clan. That doesn't just mean the kid. That means you, too."

Aliit.

Tears sting at the backs of her eyes, a few of them escaping to trail down her cheek. Mando raises his hand from the now sleeping child to catch them with the backs of his fingers. "You mean that?" she whispers.

"I do," he pledges, like he swears on his weapons, his beskar, his Creed. "You are a part of my aliit and I will do anything to protect you. Just like the kid."

Aliit. He thinks of her as aliit. Clan. Family. Maker, she hasn't had that in such a long time. She knows she will always have a place with Melinda and her covert, but for some reason hearing those words from Mando. It feels different. Bigger. It makes her chest clench so painfully, the kind of pain she doesn't want to end because she wants this. She wants it more than she ever thought she could want something.

She got in so deep here on the Razor Crest. So deep, so fast, she doesn't have a hope of ever finding her way out again. Not even if it means keeping herself safe. Letting them go would hurt too much now.

So she protects this. She protects her aliit with all that she has.

"Then you better keep yourself safe, too," she croaks, gripping onto his wrist with her hand not clutching the child to her chest. "You hear me? Because you're my aliit, too, and I can't…I can't lose you, too."

Mando presses her head to his shoulder, holding onto her tightly as the stars zip past and drench them in shades of blue. "I'm not going anywhere, ner ka'ra[4]," he whispers softly.

"No, you're not," she sniffles stubbornly, "because I'm going to protect you, too. You and the kid. No matter how many people I have to shoot."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, ka'ra. Especially with a shot like you."

Mahin shifts so she can tuck her face into his neck, his helmet cold against her temple and cowl soft against her cheek. She feels warm. So warm, and comfortable, surrounded by his arms and his presence and the presence of the child. A drowsiness settles over her mind, but she doesn't want to sleep, not yet, wanting to enjoy this for as long as possible since she doesn't know when—if—it'll ever happen again.

A thought flitters through her mind, curiosity flaring and his warmth making her brave enough to ask, "What does 'ner ka'ra' mean? I know 'ner' is 'my' or 'mine' depending on context, but I've never heard 'ka'ra' before."

He chuckles softly, the sound vibrating all through her in a way that warms her even more. "Clever girl."

"Yes, I am, thank you, but that's not what the word means either. So you going to tell me or what?"

He hums thoughtfully, shifting her in his lap. She expects him to have her get up—this can't be too comfortable to keep up for very long, surely his legs will start going numb eventually—but he still keeps his grip on her firm. "No, I don't think I will."

She sighs deeply, not really surprised but disappointed all the same. "Really, Mando? You know I'll find out eventually the more I learn Mando'a."

"I know, just," his head leans against the top of hers, almost as if in a kiss to her crown if his helmet wasn't in the way, "ask me some other day."

"Alright, Mando," she murmurs, nuzzling closer. "You can have it your way. This time. But I'll get it out of you eventually."

"Looking forward to it."


Author's Note

Okay, so the Neil brothers definitely ran away with me. I had all the action parts pretty much planned out when I started thinking about who, exactly, would be the bounty hunter coming after them. And I had initially decided on there being just one bounty hunter. I first picked Devaronian because the species is seriously scary-looking and would be intimidating for little ole' Mahin to go up against. But then I thought, you know what, he probably wouldn't pull something like this alone. It would be easier with a partner. So one turned into two, and I made them related. But then I thought, two Devaronians? Mando wouldn't run from that, and I wanted them to run, so I decided I needed to throw some more people into the mix and for some reason my mind was like, yeah, make all of them Devaronians, and you know what? They're all related! Brothers! Family of bounty hunters! And, hey, wasn't that one guy from the show a Devaronian? Yeah, Burg, let's make him part of the family, too.

It...got pretty out of hand. But I like it and I may even use this again later.

*sigh* And then the fluff. So, so much fluff. And, seriously, as I was writing that scene, I realized myself that we've never actually seen Grogu cry (to my knowledge) and that just breaks my heart.

Next chapter is more fluff and another favorite of mine easily in my top five for this fic.

Hope you enjoy, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!


Translations

Ad'ika - Little one

Ner ad'ika - My little one

Aliit - Family, clan

Ner ka'ra - My star