It was difficult to maintain a hobby sometimes whilst travelling through space. Especially when you were also babysitting - what exactly was he again? Did anyone know?- a green baby and also helping with bounties when needed.
Most of the time you were in the ship or just outside of it, depending on if you were in a good location or not. And depending on if the target was easy...or not. On a "regular" day with no complications and no invitation to join Mando, you were with Grogu making sure he didn't eat something he shouldn't or disappear. One time you caught him trying to climb into the vents and another time he was successful and you had to find him before Mando came back. You did, although you could see his helmet physically tilt as he looked at the child giggling and you sweating, hair plastered to your forehead.
Mando was a good guy. As in he was nice, his occupation was questionable and his methods moreso but he was amicable. He wasn't rude or aggressive (to you) and although he wasn't chatty per day, he did answer if you asked him questions. Mostly you asked about the bounties, the people he knew, the places he had been. Nothing too deep. Nothing about his identity. Nothing too personal. You couldn't quite work out if you had made it to banter level or if you were still an acquaintance sometimes. Especially with no expressions to bounce off of.
"that constellation looks like a penis," you remember saying once, and he didn't respond apart from a sigh. Maybe the day was more strenuous than you thought, but he didn't laugh. Although you swore you saw a shoulder move. He definitely shook his head and you didn't make anymore jokes that day.
Another time though, you were playing with the child, just silly messing around on the floor of the cockpit as Mando guided the ship through the stars and a rogue asteroid flew out of nowhere. Mando quickly tipped the controls to swerve the ship out of the way- light work for him, especially being sat in the pilot chair, but he forgot one detail.
You and the kid. On the floor.
As the ship jolted, you were flung to the left towards him and the controls, the kid rolling suit. Your arms flailed as you tried to grab something, anything, as you tumbled.
"ah!" Mando looked down at the noise, before he lurched forward, grabbing the kid with one hand and stopping you from headbutting the wall of the ship with his other arm. Instead of metal, you headbutted his bicep instead. You felt him tense as you collided and he pushed back, trying not to fall right into the mess that you and the kid had accidentally created with your flying bodies.
"sorry." He said as he looked over the kid and plopped him back on the floor. "Still not used to more than one passenger."
"I'm fine" you replied "lucky the armour is outside only" you gestured to his arm "or then it would be a different story."
That simple gesture, a weak joke to cover up how embarrassed you were at being flung around like a rag doll and not being able to steady yourself- and for instead crashing into Mando and his -very strong feeling- arms. That got a chuckle from him. A soft, airy one, but a small laugh.
Today you had escaped any gruelling searches of the vents as Grogu was sleeping in his pod. He was tired after an action packed day yesterday which meant you could escape. Usually that meant drawing or painting but your paints had run out around two planets ago and you had yet to find any. Your pencils had been obliterated by Grogu a few weeks ago when you left them out by accident and he decided to play with them, which ended up with them being splintered into a million pieces. When Mando saw you picking up the pieces you could have sworn he actually felt bad like it was his fault. Even though you had left them on the dash by accident when you heard the ship door open followed by the carbonite freezer. Despite being an established member of the team now, kind of, that noise still made you jump.
So today you had been outside on the steps, just reading. That was something you had managed to keep relatively safe from any prying fingers. The weather was good, there weren't any risks of fights coming back to the ship according to Mando so you could relax and read until the evening. He expected to be away for that long at least.
Being outside in the warmth reminded you of home, although it wasn't quite as dusty there as it was here. You were surrounded by desert and the dust was hot. Times like these made you miss home but also feel content with the space-adventure life.
"hey." A familiar, low voice called out on the radio. You had it clipped to your waist at all times as per Mando's instructions. Just in case. You must have fallen asleep, you realised as your eyes opened to darkness and the smell of old pages. How long were you asleep? Running a hand down your back you could feel indents of the metal from the ramp and you cracked as you pulled yourself up. Folding the corner of the page you had been reading you looked up, squinting through the brightness. Mando was in the distance, not too far away from the ship with his bounty and a package on his side. He must have seen you lying on the ramp and was worried the kid had gotten out of you had been raided. You felt a bit anxious and embarrassed as he got closer.
"hey. Sorry, I fell asleep." You replied on the radio.
"you looked knocked out." He responded.
"sorry." He sighed and you waited for him to get to the ship. "Good day?" You asked, following him into the ship. He hummed in response, pushing the bounty into the carbonite freezer and closed up the ramp.
"it was ok. Easier than expected." You watched as he did his usual routine of returning to the cockpit and checking the kid, the controls, the status of the area.
"that's good." He seemed to not be in a chatty mood, going straight to his area in the cockpit where he usually slept and kept his belongings. You disappeared into the back of the ship to your own space he had carved out in the stockroom and set about giving Grogu some snacks as he was beginning to whine upon Mando returning and waking up from his own nap.
He was a sweet thing, almost like a real baby or toddler. You sat him on your makeshift bed and watched as he ate the little rations from the last food trip that you had gotten him from the markets. That was your favourite thing- finding something new to try either for Grogu or you and Mando. Sometimes it was a trinket that was silly like a little sword made of wood for the dash or a ball for Grogu to play with (try to eat). Usually it was food.
After Grogu finished eating and ransacking your space for other things to entertain himself, he decided to head back to the cockpit. You stretched out on the bed and peeled your book from the shelf, flicking to the right page. In the background you could hear the chortles of the kid and Mando chiding him.
"No. Don't touch that. No. It's not yours."
After a while of entertainment you decided to go and help out the Mandolorian with his foundling who was still grabbing at whatever Mando didn't want him touching. You walked in and they both turned, the baby doe eyed and Mando reaching towards his green fists. He swiped something from his hands whilst Grogu was distracted by your entrance.
"Parenting struggles?" You asked, kicking up your feet in the co-pilot chair. Grogu came waddling over. You swiped him up and sat him on your lap. He tried to fiddle with the buttons so you unscrewed the metal ball from one of the joysticks and gave him that instead. This seemed to keep him entertained enough to put him in his carrier and occupy him enough for Mando to change the controls and get everything going for another trip.
You were happy watching the stars all pass by as Mando steered the ship. Occasionally looking over to watch him. He was fixated on the galaxy in front of him, moving sticks and pressing buttons without looking away. You watched the galaxy reflected in his armour and his helmet.
"can I help you?" He asked.
"hm?" You said, still watching the stars light up the beskar.
"you're staring." Shit. You forgot sometimes that even though you can't see his face he still had eyes that you presumed moved enough to see in peripheral.
"beskar reflects the stars really well. That's all." And you could see his muscles tense at rougher moments when there was a rock that needed avoiding. He hummed, unconvinced by your statement but not willing to push anymore. His hand kept twitching and you noticed a bag near him.
"do you want me to get that for you?" You asked.
"huh? What? No." He replied. This time he broke from the trail in front to scoop up the bag and put it on his lap. Whilst he steered with one hand, the other was rooting in the bag, counting what was in it .
When you were flying it was peaceful and you both sat in silence, watching the galaxy and Grogu as he played with the metal ball until he fell asleep. Mando got up, hovering near you as you patted Grogu's head. He pulled the bag he had been holding earlier out from behind him, his fingers gripping the handles.
"this. This is for you." He said, nervously. He reached over the baby to give the bag to you and took his foundling in exchange, putting him in his crib.
Inside the bag was a new sketchbook, pencils and paint set- handcrafted ones at that. The paintbrushes were burgundy like ones you had seen one time when you were out on a mission with Mando, the paints were in a wooden case with flowers burnt into the edges like the flowers that you had mentioned were your birth month one time in a conversation. There were replacement pencils coated in a very close colour to Grogu on the outside.
"The pencils are from him." Mando said, gesturing to Grogu. "To make up for the ones he destroyed."
"and the others?" You palmed through the booklet which detailed who poured the paints and what they used as he loomed over you, watching your fingers turn the pages. His body was tense.
"A gift. From me." You could tell from the strained voice he was nervous and a bit embarrassed but as soon as you heard him you remembered all the times you got him and Grogu sweets or little treats calling them "a gift," as well as the times when Grogu got into the wires or something else and you returned the destroyed items to Mando with sarcasm as he realised what the "gift" actually was.
He was getting used to your quirks and ways of speaking as you spent more time on the ship with him and his foundling. Even though he was quiet sometimes he did truly listen and take note of things, like your penchant for art and warm days. It made your chest feel fuzzy as you pictured him going around the market stalls looking for the correct tools and bag. Actually even the bag was a gift- it was velvety with a gold drawstring and tiny little embroidered stars that were rough against the fabric
"For storage. He can't open drawstrings. I tested it." Mando chuckled as he looked over at Grogu. You remembered that Mandolorians usually show their affection rather than say it- which made sense given the helmets. It gave you great pride that you had managed to gain some affection from the Mandolorian, although part of you was itching to know more. God you felt like a teenager, buzzing at the sight of a crush.
"they're really great I love them! Thank you, you really didn't have to but I do appreciate them! I love the designs."
"good." His shoulders relaxed as you gushed and thankfully you must have looked appreciative enough- you were always awkward with gift receiving and facial expressions and were forever worried that you looked horrified at a gift.
"you ran out the other week." He said after a while of watching the maps as you sharpened and played with your new tools. "so I got you new ones after I finished the job."
"Not many people make their own paints and stuff the way these guys do anymore. Look, here's the studio." You pointed in the leaflet to show him the drawings of the artists at work.
"that's where I got them from."
"the source?! Not just a market stall? You went into the studio?! What was it like, did they give you a tour?"
"I'll take you back next time. Without the kid." He said, pointing to him as he snored. "It's going to get bumpy now."
"It's a date." You felt your heart in your throat. The most ballsy thing you have said since bargaining a place on the ship and now the ship was at full throttle, Grogu was awake and thankfully enjoying the hyperspeed and your insides were jelly from the speed and your dumbass saying "it's a date" to someone whose face you couldn't even read- not that you were even good at that anyway.
"a date." Mando said, swerving the ship. You gripped at the arms of the co-pilot chair and dug your nails in. Was he trying to make you suffer even more?! Your face was burning already.
"figure of speech. I would like to go though."
"a date." He repeated, before another asteroid nearly hit the ship.
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