Elsa placed her hands on her hips and clicked her tongue in annoyance as she stared at the bar before her. She'd come to this planet on a mission to exchange intel with one of the alliance's many informants and spies. But while she had no problem going in there...it wasn't exactly an ideal place for a child. She glanced to the side, looking down at the Pantoran girl who looked blankly up at her. She'd brought Nuna along on a whim, deciding to let her see more of the galaxy besides her home planet and Punjam Hy Loo.

But she had no idea beforehand that the informant had wanted to meet in such a place. She couldn't take her in there, she was just a kid. She sighed before turning to face Nuna and kneeled down to speak with her.

"I'm going to have to go in there alone Nuna. Do you want to head back to the ship and wait with Jack or explore the city a little?" Elsa asked her.

Nuna blinked as she mulled it over. After a beat she raised a hand up and pointed in the direction they'd come. "I saw a bookstore back that way."

Elsa smiled as she stood up. "Alright so I guess that means you want to walk around a little and check it out?" Nuna nodded in confirmation. "Alright, just don't get too far. You have your comm device on you?" Nuna nodded once again. "Good. As soon as I'm finished I'll give you a call. Sound good?" Nuna nodded one last time as Elsa smiled and made her way into the bar. Nuna may have still been a child, but she was mature for her age and she believed the little Jedi in training could look after herself for a little while.

Nuna stared after her for a moment before turning and heading down the street and to the bookstore she'd seen. She entered, being greeted by the owners as she browsed their selection. She found books in several languages, several of which she could read, all carrying different stories as she searched for one that grabbed her interest. After a few moments she picked up a book and read the back for a brief summary.

She was slightly surprised to find that the book had a female hero, a warrior maiden who fought injustice to save a kingdom from evil with the help of her ally turned lover. Cocking her head to the side she decided to buy it and went to the counter, she showed it to the owner who rang it up for her and checked her out, the owner smiled and thanked her for her patronage before furrowing his brows curiously as he took note of the small rapier at her belt.

Nuna left the store, book already open as she began reading the first few sentences when out of nowhere she was grabbed. She blinked and dropped her book in surprise before looking up to find herself being held hostage apparently. A human man held a knife to her throat while two other men, a man and a child, stared him down with blasters drawn.

"You aren't taken me in bounty hunters," the human man said with a snarl.

The pair with blaster on him glared. The man had grass green skin and a series of square marking tattooed on his hands and face, he had long black hair that fell down past his shoulders, and orange eyes. Nuna guessed he was a Mirialian. The boy at his side looked like him, leading her to believe he was his son, his skin was an emerald green and he had orange eyes as well alongside hair like his father. He glared at the man as well, gaze occasionally flicking to Nuna in obvious worry. She guessed the boy was a year or two older than her.

"Let the girl go. You aren't getting away, not with all these people and witnesses around," the man said calmly.

"Watch me," the man said as he pressed the edge of the knife a little harder against Nuna's skin. He kneeled down to whisper to her. "Alright girl, this is what's going to-GAH!" he was cut off as Nuna threw her leg up, catching him in the nose with the toes of her hefty boot. The man released her and staggered back as his nose began to heavily bleed, in anger he thrust his knife forward in retaliation, with a flash of metal and a clang his knife was knocked out of his hand and into the air.

He stared in disbelief as Nuna caught it, yellow eyes flashing dangerously despite her calm outward appearance. Before he could do anything else he was hit by a nerve pulse from one of the Miralians' blasters, effectively dropping him to the floor. The Miralian's rushed him as Nuna sheathed her sword, dropped the knife, and then retrieved and dusted off her book. She inspected it and was mildly annoyed to find the cover had been scuffed.

Suddenly she was gripped by the shoulders and whipped around to come face to face with the Miralian man.

"I'm so sorry child. You must have been terrified," he said as he inspected her. Nuna only bobbed her shoulders. "Are you alright?" She nodded, causing him to sigh in relief. "That's good," he said as he stood up. He kneeled down and went over to the man unconscious on the ground as his son restrained him. The pair had matching smiles as the man hefted the criminal over his shoulder and they carried him off.

Nuna stared after them before finally turning her attention back to her book. She made her way over to a small park with benches, trees, and foliage for shade. She sat down as she began to read. But after a few moments a shadow loomed over her. She glanced up from her book again to find the Miralian boy from before, looking down at her with curious eyes.

"Sorry about that criminal from earlier. You sure you're alright?" Nuna blinked before nodding. The boy arched a brow. "Not much of a talker, are you?" Nuna shrugged before turning her attention back to her book. The Miralian boy sat down beside her. She could feel his stare. She lifted her book higher and moved her face closer to the pages to try and ignore him.

"Got a name blue girl?" he asked.

Nuna turned a page before answering. "Nuna."

The boy hummed in thought as he leaned back on the bench and crossed one leg over the other. He sniffed haughtily and smiled. "Name's Jaxx," he said in introduction. Nuna only hummed in response as she continued to read. "Yep. Me and my dad are bounty hunters. We travel around, catching criminals, no big deal," he said like it was the easiest thing in the world. He glanced to the side to find he was being ignored in favor of a book.

"That was pretty impressive what you did with that guy back there. I figure most girls in your situation would freeze up and scream in terror. But you were cool as ice," he commented. Nuna said nothing. "Now if it were me, I mean I don't mean to brag or anything, but that guy wouldn't have been able to grab me at all," he said cockily. He glanced at Nuna, only to see he was still being ignored. He frowned.

"Still, not bad...for a girl that is." He'd been expecting a rise. But Nuna was more interested in her book than him. He grunted in annoyance before standing up. He walked away, finally leaving Nuna to read her book in peace. The boy reminded her of Havolian, but while she couldn't ignore her comrade in arms she could and would gladly ignore him.

"Sneak attack!"

Nuna bent over, letting Jaxx sail over her as he tried to attack her from behind. He fell to the ground with a huff before leaping up and dusting himself off. "Ok. That was impressive."

"Not much of a sneak attack when you shout it out loud," Nuna said simply.

"Oh, so she can talk," Jaxx said curiously. "Alright. So you got moves. Bet you couldn't take me though," he challenged as he puffed out his chest. Nuna didn't care in the least. "I'm a bounty hunter. My dad's been training me since I was a kid," he explained. He looked at her, only to see he'd gotten no rise out of her. With a frown he snatched the book out of her hands and held it above his head.

Nuna looked up at him in annoyance.

"Bet you can't get it from me?" he challenged teasingly.

Thirty seconds later...

"AHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHH! IT HURTS SO BAD!" Jaxx cried. He refused to give Nuna back her book. So she opted to take it back. She had pinned him to the ground on his stomach and was currently yanking his leg back, threatening to yank it out of the socket. Several civilians walked by curiously but did nothing to stop the Pantoran girl.

"OK YOU WIN!" With a huff Nuna let go of his legs and got off of him. Jaxx held out her book for her to take, which she did as he stood up and brushed dirt off himself. "Alright, so it obvious we're evenly matched," Jaxx stated. "So evenly matched that a fight between us is pointless as it would go on forever," he added. He looked to Nuna only to see her walking away.

"Hey get back here!" he called out as he chased her down. He walked up beside her, looking at her face when he finally noticed something. He reached a hand out and poked her cheek with a finger. Nuna swatted his hand away, growing more irritated with the Miralian boy by the second. "Sorry, just trying to confirm whether or not you're a droid. Do you smile, like at all?"

Nuna fidgeted awkwardly, opting to turn her attention back to her book. She still wasn't accustomed to interacting with strangers. Everyone she was close to knew about her past, and the other initiates and Jedi could determine her feelings through the Force, so her lack of facial expressions had become normal for them.

"You're a strange girl Nuna," Jaxx said thoughtfully, not even occurring that he was being quite rude. "Still, you're interesting, that's for sure." She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.

"Yeah, one day I'm going to be the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Better than even the great Eret, Son of Eret," he said proudly. Nuna turned another page. "Hey, I'm trying to have a conversation here," Jaxx said in annoyance. Nuna kept walking while reading her book. Suddenly she felt fingers poking into her side, she looked up with wide eyes in surprise as the fingers began to wriggle and rub against her sides. "Smile dang it," Jaxx growled from behind.

Five seconds later Jaxx was rubbing a red spot on his right cheek as Nuna stalked away. But Jaxx wasn't done just yet. If there was one thing he'd gained from his time being a bounty hunter, it was tenacity. He chased her down, staring at the side of her face as he assessed her. As a bounty hunter he'd also learned to read people. But Nuna was almost impossible to read. There were no subtle facial cues that he could detect to figure her out. And he was curious as to where she'd learned to fight so well.

She was a mystery. And an enticing one at that.

"Hey Nuna, want to get a snack?" he offered as they passed as small bakery. Nuna stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him. He had on a genuine friendly smile as he pointed at the bakery. A few minutes later they were inside, Nuna sat across from him enjoying a slice of cake as Jaxx continued to stare at her.

"So are you Wroonian?" Jaxx asked.

"Pantoran," Nuna corrected. Easy mistake, the two species looked almost exactly the same.

"Ah," Jaxx said thoughtfully. "Never met one of those." As Nuna continued to eat and take a sip of her tea Jaxx grabbed two straws. "Hey Nuna," he said to grab her attention. Nuna glanced up to find the straws sticking out of his nose. He wiggled it,making them waggle back and forth as he made a face at her. "This cake is ex-strawdinary," he said as he waggled his brows.

Nuna didn't bat an eye as she looked down and took a sip of her drink.

"Oh come on, that was gold. Give me something," Jaxx said indignantly. He frowned. Then he began flicking pieces of straw wrappers at her, trying to get her to show some kind of facial reaction. Nuna's patience was reaching her limit. With a subtle finger gesture she used the Force to tip over his drink and spill its contents on him.

Jaxx leapt out of his seat with a yelp, hopping around awkwardly as the cold liquid on his pants began to seep through the layers of fabric. He grabbed a handful of napkins and rubbed at the spot, all the while he was oblivious to the scene he was making. Nuna stared at him as he rubbed at the dark spot on the front of his pants. She began to feel slightly guilty for what she'd done when something strange happened to her face.

The corners of her lips began to twitch as she watched him. He looked...so silly. Rubbing vigorously at the spot that made it look like he'd...

"Pfft," Nuna's eyes widened as she slapped her hands over her mouth. She ran out of the bakery as fast as she could, prompting Jaxx to shout and run after her. She found Nuna outside, kneeling with her head bowed.

He grew concerned. "Hey Nuna, you ok? Does your stomach hurt or something?"

Nuna glanced behind her, eyes falling to the wet spot still on his pants. She quickly turned away and ducked her head. Jaxx arched a brow and circled around to get a look at her. He found Nuna's face flushed and cheeks puffed out. Her shoulders began to shake before she could no longer hold it back.

For the first time since she was six and lost her parents...Nuna laughed.

"Really, this is what you finally have to smile about?" Jaxx asked indignantly as he gestured down at his pants. That only made her laugh more. She clutched her stomach as it bubbled out, forcing her lips into a smile.

She tried to fight it, but it only seemed to make it come out with more force. And Jaxx's face, his look of embarrassment and indignation...

So funny!

So Nuna giggled away as her stomach began to hurt, and eventually, slowly but surely Jaxx joined in. Sure he was still slightly embarrassed at looking like he'd just peed his pants, but it was also admittedly a little funny. So he laughed alongside her until Nuna finally managed to control herself. She stood up with a breath, the giggles finally passing.

She turned around to face Jaxx and apologized for laughing at him. It had been a little rude(but hilarious).

"Meh. No problem," Jaxx said as he waved it off. He stared at her, a small smile on his face as his eyes were zeroed in on her face. Nuna couldn't help but blush and shift on her feet awkwardly. "You know I thought you were kind of weird looking since you never smiled or anything. But now that I've seen it," he paused as his smile grew. Nuna arched a brow.

"You're really cute."

Nuna flinched in shock and took a step back. She had no idea why his compliment affected her as it was doing now. She couldn't fathom why her cheeks were set aflame and she was no longer able to meet his eyes. She'd been called cute plenty of times before. By like...literally everyone she'd ever met. But for some reason when Jaxx said it...

"Jaxx!" Jaxx turned around to see his father waving at him a distance away.

The boy gave a nod before turning to Nuna to say goodbye. "Well Nuna it was cool to meet you. I hope our paths can cross again someday," Jaxx said with a smile.

Nuna finally managed to glance at him, blush still present as she smiled and gave him a nod. With a nod of his own and one last smile Jaxx turned and jogged to his father. Once he was at his side they walked off, leaving Nuna to stare after them.


An hour later Nuna was in her seat on the Snow Flake as they flew back to Punjam Hy Loo. Nuna's face was blank as it normally was as she held her book in her lap and stared out the window and into space. There wasn't much to see at lightspeed travel, so Nuna's mind began to wander until for whatever reason she thought of Jaxx.

Elsa and Jack were busy speaking with the alliance about the mission, so they missed it.

But had they been standing behind her and noticed her reflection in the glass they would have seen it.

She was smiling.


request from creator Amaya-chan Hope you like