The first time he'd gone to meet a client after taking Anakin in, about three months or so after Tatooine, he left the boy behind on the ship. Hoping to keep the then six year old occupied with a datapad loaded with a couple of kids learning programs. That hadn't gone over very well. The boy was a damned genius and had somehow managed to slice the lock and make it through several city blocks before finding him in a shady bar. Of course, at that point he hadn't realized the boy was Ka'runi with the uncanny abilities that came with it.

"Buir! Found you!" Startled but always alert to his surroundings he caught the blonde before he could barrel into Jango's armored leg and hauled his wayward son into his lap. Thankfully the client remained quiet, looking between him and the boy with a sort of bemused wariness.

"Was that everything?" He asked the client, voice the same even tone he'd been using the entire meeting even as his son squirmed in his hold. The man glanced at his son then back to him and sneered.

"That was all. I've heard great things about you, Fett, do not disappoint me." The man rose from his chair and left the bar quickly, a pair of goons trailing behind him. Once he was sure the man was gone he sighed and set his boy down.

"Come on, An'ika. We're leaving." His son must have heard the hard undertone in his voice as his expression fell and his eyes found the floor. Jango took his hand and led him outside without another word.

All the way back to the Slave 1 he felt as if there were eyes glued to the back of his neck. He was sure it was because of the kid trailing slightly behind him, head down and looking dejected. Finally unable to stand the looks he was getting any longer he swung Anakin into his arms and walked briskly back to the ship.

Setting his son down he checked the security and was damn impressed that the kid had been able to get out without breaking anything. He'd even armed the security on his way out. Once they were inside he shut the door and slipped off his helmet. Standing there with his helmet in one hand and hand on his hip he frowned down at his son.

Anakin seemed to notice his scrutiny and looked up through his messy blonde hair at his father. He flinched and hunched in on himself, as if to make himself smaller. Jango cursed mentally and knelt so he was on the kid's level. "Anakin, look at me." The boy's chin lifted slightly and he saw bright blue eyes through the curtain of his bangs.

"First I want you to understand why I am upset with you. I told you to stay in the ship and work on your learning programs. But what did you do instead?" He gave the boy a moment to answer but he said nothing, only looked back down at his feet. "You sliced the security system." He tried to keep the flash of surprised pride he felt out of his voice but he saw Anakin twitch and look back up at him. "You left the ship, alone, and wandered into a bar. That is no place for an ad." He said firmly.

"But… I used to go find mom." The boy said with a hint of confusion.

Jango sucked in a breath and let out a quiet "haar'chak." Of course the kid wouldn't understand why it was dangerous to wander around outside without his father around, he was a former slave. Slaves were mostly left alone because the price of replacing one if you injured or damaged them was just too much of a hassle for most people to deal with. Especially somewhere like Tatooine where eking out a living was hard enough. Most people would have ignored a slave child running around as long as he didn't get in anyone's way.

"C'mere." Setting his helmet down he opened his arms and waited for Anakin to step into his embrace. He hugged the boy to him, one hand on the back on his head. Once the boy was assured that Jango still cared he pressed their foreheads together. "Listen to me, okay? We're not on Tatooine anymore and you are Freed. The rules are different now. It's dangerous for you to go outside the ship alone." Just the thought that someone might try to snatch his kid away and force him back into slavery made Jango's stomach churn. "So I'm upset at you because you put yourself in danger. It means that I care about you, do you understand ad'ika?"

"Elek buir. I'm sorry." Jango ruffled his hair and let him go.

"You're not going to be punished, because I know you didn't mean to worry me on purpose. But I want you to show me what you did to the security system." Anakin gave him a shy look that brightened into a smile.

"That's easy!" The boy ran to grab the datapad Jango'd left him with and he let out a long sigh.

Mando'a

Gotab'ika- Little Engineer
Buir- Parent/Father
Haar'chak- Dammit
Elek- Yes