Chapter Text
"Is Trin ready to go?" Mando asked, looking up at you from the end of the ramp leading from the Crest.
You nodded and shielded your eyes from the sun as you walked out to join him. Trin was strapped to your chest in her swaddle, her little fist curled in the fabric of your shirt, drooling happily against your breast.
"Yeah, she's ready," you replied. "What about the Child?"
Mando gestured with a single nod towards your feet.
The little child was cooing and blinking up at you happily. He lifted his tiny arms towards you and babbled, demanding he be picked up.
You laughed and shook your head.
"Okay, okay, but only because you're so cute. I can't always carry you both."
You bent down to pick him up and pulled a thick hood over his head to shield both from the sun and prying eyes. Thankfully, he and Trin were roughly the same size still, so passing them off as sleeping twins could potentially be easy.
Din held out a hand to help you off the ramp and onto the sandy terra of Nevarro. The port was already bustling with life, even so early in the day.
You'd only been back with Mando for a few days now since leaving Sorgan, and you had a meeting with Greef to pick up a few pucks for work.
"Think he'll be thrilled with you toting around a seven-month old baby?" you teased.
Mando shrugged and put a hand on your back as he shut the ramp and guided you to the main streets.
"He didn't say anything about me dragging you all over Maker's creation when you were two weeks out from giving birth. Figured if there was ever a time to say anything, that would have been it."
"Probably right," he hummed as he pulled you closer to his side.
Two Stormtroopers stood at the entrance to the main square, their guns raised in alarm at the sight of the Mandalorian.
"Identification?" one demanded.
"If I give you ID, you'll need to pull it out of your partner's helmet," Mando grumbled under his breath.
"Didn't catch that, tin can," the other snapped. He adjusted his gun on his hip and raised it towards you slightly.
Mando bristled.
You raised your hand to his chest to stop him from saying something that would have gotten you all vaporized on sight.
"Excuse me," you said sweetly, standing in front of Mando. "This is my... Escort. My father hired him to bring me home. You see, my husband was killed a few months ago and it's been such an effort to get me home. My planet was overrun with Rebels --- I had no time to grab my papers, or the baby's. They'd have killed us!"
The two troopers glanced at each other and then back at you, and then at the two babies.
"Twins?" one asked, jerking his chin in your direction. He shouldered his weapon as he began to move towards you.
"Yes," you said softly, angling your body away from him slightly, "One boy and one girl. I'm very lucky to still have them."
You stepped back as he reached for the swaddle containing the foundling.
Mando cleared his throat and held up a hand to stop the trooper.
"If you would move it along, I need to get them home," he said sharply, his voice low and heavy with a warning.
"Better not cause any trouble," the other one barked as you passed through the gate.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Mando replied, keeping a hand on the small of your back as you walked away from them.
Once they were out of sight, you relaxed and pulled the Child's hood away.
"Such a good boy you are!" you cooed, pressing a kiss to his tiny green nose. "Staying so quiet!"
"C'mon, Greef is waiting," Mando urged, guiding you to a Cantina. "Keep his head covered until we get inside. And even then, keep an eye out."
You nodded and adjusted his hood as you stepped into the cantina.
Conversation within immediately halted when they saw Mando. There were a few slurs that got thrown (directed at you both) and more than a dozen insults tossed Mando's way as you made your way to Greef's table.
Mando ushered you into the booth before he sat beside you.
The child went between the two of you and Trin stayed nestled against your chest.
Greef had a wide smile that rivaled the Tatooine suns when he looked at you both.
"My, my. It's good to have you back!" he said, bowing his head in your direction. "Mando, you seem thrilled to have your partner back with you. And with an adorable new addition!"
You smiled down at Trin, whose large, curious eyes were taking in everything around her. You gently removed her from the swaddle and passed her over to Greef, who took her in his arms and sat her little bottom on the table top to get a good look at her.
"She really is adorable, takes after you I assume?" Greef turned from you and cooed at her, wagging his fingers.
Trin babbled and trilled and reached for his hands.
"She's got some teeth," Mando warned gently. "She likes to bite."
"Oh, you can't bite my best bounty hunter! That's not good!" Greef laughed, wagging a finger at Trin, who drooled and giggled.
"I'd like some work," Mando said after a minute.
Greef looked up from the squealing baby and nodded. He waved for the attention of the droid at the bar to bring you a drink and then passed Trin over the table top into Mando's arms.
Mando pulled her into his lap in an action so natural looking, it surprised you. It didn't even seem like he had realized he'd done it.
You watched Greef reach into his bag and pull out a half dozen or so bounty pucks. He laid the out in a neat line on the chipped tabletop.
"Pick of the lot, Mando. Take a couple - I know you have an extra mouth to feed now, so you'll always get first - and best, as always."
Mando picked one closest to him and a thin blue hologram shot up.
A scowling human woman with close-shaved dark hair and a tattoo on her cheek glared out from the image at you.
"Trax Stand," Greef said, clicking his tongue. "Coruscant spice smuggler. Could have been one of us if she played her cards right."
"The Hutts?"
Greef put his hands on the table, palms up to face you, baring his secrets to the world.
"Surely you don't mind," he said with a smile.
Mando sighed. "I'd prefer not to."
"Oh, Mando, they always pay up, don't they? It's a handsome bounty regardless!"
"And they always try to get something else for free out of it," he grumbled.
"Have you taken a bounty for them since Jabba's death?"
"Once. A few years ago."
"Surely things have changed," he said. "Take the job. If you have any issue with payment or negotiations, come find me. I'll have a chat with them."
"...Fine. What else do you have?"
Greef smiled and slid him another puck.
A Mon Calamari.
"What this one do to piss off the Imps?" Mando scoffed.
"Lead them into a rebel sabatoge."
"Not taking it. Next one."
"Ah, yes, you're right. Good call, Mando!" Greef chuckled a bit and looked at another one before passing it over.
"Torguta. Siobhan Phanato. Went rogue from her own section of the guild after taking payment up front and not returning."
"It's not too far from here. Should be an easy trip for us," Mando hummed. "Get your feet wet again?"
You nodded. "Sounds easy enough."
"We'll take these two," Mando said, laying his palm on the pucks he'd chosen.
Greef raised a brow and laughed. "We? You have hunting partner now, Mando?"
Mando grabbed your wrist and helped you out of the booth. He handed you Trin and helped you put her back into the swaddle as Greef continued to laugh.
Before Mando could usher you out of the cantina, Greef cleared his throat and caught Mando's attention.
You turned to try and listen to their conversation over the din of the bar.
"She wants to see you, by the way," he said softly. "Says she has something for you."
Mando straightened up and nodded once.
"Same place?"
"Entrance is more hidden, but you'll know where it is."
"What was that about?" you asked as soon as the door shut behind you, leaving you bared to the warm sun. The child cooed and blinked up at the sky before you fixed his hood.
"I have to make a stop somewhere. Can you take these credits and buy rations and whatever we need to stock the ship?"
You looked at him.
As if he read your mind, he put a hand on your shoulder. "I won't be gone longer than fifteen minutes, alright? Get some food for you three and stock up. Meet me right here when you're done."
"What if those troopers come back?"
"You'll be fine," he soothed, putting a gloved hand on your cheek.
Mando slid his hand down to your shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he slipped through the crowd and disappeared.
You watched him go for a moment before you turned to the market stalls. You thought it best to switch the places of Trin and the child so the latter wouldn't be spotted by spies. It only took a second before the child was nestled happily against your chest and Trin rested on your hip.
She's already getting to be a little armful, you noted as you set about buying rations and other much needed items for the Crest. You loaded them onto a hover cart and sent it towards the docking yard with a small droid leading it.
You bought Trin and the Child a treat - two tiny balls of soft frozen cream, sweetened with citrus. It was fun to watch their faces screw up as they devoured the new sensation.
"Is that good, sweet babies?" you asked as you wiped their mouths. "Did you like that?"
"You give them ice balls?" Mando asked as he walked up to you.
You smiled and nodded. "They seemed to enjoy it. Did you get what you needed?"
Mando nodded. "Yeah. Let's get going."
So he wasn't going to elaborate? That's fine. Mando still had his secrets, even after over a year of travelling.
You had your secrets too, ones you found even too embarassing to think about that occasionally involved thoughts on your shipmate.
"The food is back at the ship. I told the droid not to pack, just to leave it."
Mando hummed at the mention of the droid, but then nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate that."
You smiled and adjusted Trin in your arms as she squirmed around.
"Oh, I should get her some new clothes next time we stop. She barely fits into the ones I got from Omera anymore as it is."
"Shame she won't stay so small forever," Mando chuckled. "You'll be running after her in no time."
"The two of them will cause chaos," you teased, bopping Trin on her tiny nose.
"Just don't get on any bounty lists," he said as he lead you back to where he parked the ship.
"My kid is already better than yours in that aspect then," you hummed.
"That's because she can't walk yet," he pointed out.
"Give it a few months."
"She really might be able to take down an Imp with those teeth alone," he noted.
"It was one time, Mando. One time she bit you. And it was your fault."
Mando was silent as he opened the ramp on the ship. He gestured for you to go up first, making some comment that he had to pack up the supplies you bought.
You took the Child and Trin up the ramp into the hull of the Crest. It was a warm day on Nevarro, as always. The breeze kept air circulating in the ship as Mando packed up the supplies.
Trin wiggled in your arms and shrieked loudly in protest when you didn't set her down.
"Nap time, little moon," you cooed, kissing her forehead. "For both of you."
You took both babies to their pods and set them down in the soft bedding. The Child blinked sleepily up at you and curled a fist into his blanket.
Trin fussed and cried for a bit, kicking her chubby legs.
"None of that, me'suum'ika," Mando murmured from behind you. He put a gentle hand on your shoulder and leaned over you to look at the baby.
"You're so good with her," you said softly, looking up at him. "Lots of experience trying to calm down rowdy bounties, hmm?"
Din huffed a laugh through the modulator and shook his head.
"The womp rat keeps me on my toes, so I talk to him and keep him entertained for as long as I can."
"Seems to work on Trin too," you said with a smile. Indeed, the baby had stopped fussing and was cooing softly and blinking her large, sleepy eyes up at the two of you.
"Whatever works," he said with a shrug.
You watched Trin until she was sound asleep before turning back to Mando.
"How soon until we reach Coruscant?"
"Couple cycles," he said, doing a quick calculation in his head. "Maybe three or four?"
You nodded and sighed. "Sounds good. I can do a couple days."
Mando watched as you set about tidying up the ship as best you could. He wouldn't admit it (not for a long time) that he found your presence... Comforting. You had brought something to the ship when he took you aboard on Tatooine. A shift in the energy of the ship. It seemed like an eternity since then.
You changed too, he noted. No longer did you jump at loud noises, or woke up in a panic. You were more assertive in your actions, evident earlier today in the market with the two Stormtroopers.
As you cleaned, Mando realized he was still standing awkwardly over the pods where the child and Trin lay sleeping.
Trin looked so much like you, Mando noted. Your eyes, wild and full of curiosity. Your hair, same color, even the same way it stuck up.
"Gonna grow a root if you keep standing there," you teased, poking your head out of the cockpit. "Let's go get that bounty."
Mando cast one last look at the sleeping babies before he shut the pods and went up join you.