(I blame this entirely on @phrenic-a and their glorious writer-baiting. It was meant to be one genre, but of course Zev can't make anything easy for me....)
-
“Ex… Uhm, excuse me? Miss?” A tiny voice says, dragging Zev’sonya out of the conversation she’s currently having with Mose about whether they should bother securing more supplies or not before heading back to the ship and away from this awfully crowded marked. She looks to her left and down, towards the source of the sound, and is both baffled and displeased to find a green, little twi’lek girl standing there and staring at her with big eyes.
“What?” Zev’sonya snaps. Why isn’t anyone looking after this girl? She can’t be more than six or seven years old? She shouldn’t be hassling dangerous strangers who could snatch her up and sell her to slavers. Her guardians deserve a punch in the mouth.
“Are you…” The girl’s gaze slides over and takes in the sight of Mose towering behind Zev’sonya.
Her eyes grow even larger and Zev’sonya reluctantly braces for the inevitable shriek of horror while silently swearing she is indeed going to punch whomever is responsible for letting this little girl wander off.
“Y-you are!” The girl declares and shifts her attention back to Zev’sonya, but with absolute delight all over her face instead of fear. “You’re Zev’sonya Lee Lewna!”
Zev’sonya blinks. She can feel Mose’s confusion as strong as her own. Putting on her gruffest face, she scans the little girl and sees (and feels) nothing out of the ordinary. She’s dressed nicely, but not like a rich kid, is skinny but not malnourished, and has a large, yellow cuddle-toy hanging from her right hand instead her holding any weapon. “How do you know my name, kid?”
The girl leans to the side and outright grins. “And you’re Mose!”
Zev’sonya looks back at him, but he just meets her gaze with his equivalent of raising an eyebrow and underlines it with a faint shrug. No help to be had there. Great. Zev’sonya turns back to the girl and puts on her stern face again. “Listen, kid, I don’t know what you want from me, but you shouldn’t be wandering around on your own.”
“I’m not.” The girl says, then points with her free hand. “They’re right over there.”
‘They’ must be her family and ‘they’ are a twi’lek man and two other little twi’lek girls. The man, clearly someone in Zev’sonya’s trade of shady business, is busy negotiating with a seller and has no idea what is happening beyond that, but the two girls next to him are clutching their own cuddle toys and are staring wide-eyed at their sister talking to strangers. The girl on the left is hugging a raggedy looking human doll while the girl on the right is squeezing a falleen doll tight.
“I told them we might meet you one day! This is so awesome!” The little run-away declares with raw glee.
Zev’sonya shakes her head and scoffs. Not only does this little shrimp know her and Mose’s names, which is weird enough by itself, but she actually wanted to meet them? Is she crazy? “Why?”
“Because…” Now the girl finally lowers her gaze for a moment, suddenly a little shy, but it doesn’t last for long. She flicks her dark eyes up again and now they are beaming with awe. “I wanna grow up and be just like you one day!”
Zev’sonya feels like the kid just slapped her face. Yeah, must be crazy. She considers backing up in case it is contagious. Maybe it is brain-rot? Must be something serious, definitely. “What?”
“The Pyle heist! The Julita caper! The Aand sting! The Silver holdup!” The girl blurts out, increasingly excited. “They were all you.” A sharp gulp of breath is all she has time for before rambling on. “My dad goes away for work a lot of the time, but he always comes back with stories about you. When I was little, I didn’t think a twi’lek girl could be captain of a crew, but he said I was wrong and that’s when he told me about Zev’sonya Lee Lewna. The Pirate Queen! And Mose, her best friend and second in command!”
That’s when Zev’sonya notices that the stuffed doll the girl is holding on to is not something she’s seen for sale at any marked she’s been to. It is a home-made creation; a yellow hutt with brown stripes and big eyes. It is quite raggedy from being brought along to wherever this kid goes. For some reason, the sight of the clear replica of Mose makes Zev’sonya’s heart clench.
“All my sisters do is talk about meeting a prince and getting married and living in his castle, but they also claim that there are no nice hutts, so you know they’re stupidheads. I don’t wanna marry a prince, I wanna be a pirate, like you.” The girl declares with gusto. She swings her doll forward and holds it up for her to see. “I only have Hose right now. But one day I’ll run into a hutt who is nice, like Mose, and they will be on my crew and we’ll go on adventures all over the Galaxy..”
Zev’sonya has no idea what to say to that. Her brain is spinning at how unreal the situation is.
Lowering the toy, the girl tilts her head and studies the blaster hanging by Zev’sonya’s hip before she scans the blades strapped to her thighs. “My dad won’t let me shoot one yet, but I’m really good with my slingshot.”
“That’s… nice.” Zev’sonya awkwardly mumbles. She hears a quiet rumble of amusement from behind her and Mose is clearly handling this better than she is. But that’s because he’s nice and she isn’t! She’s no role-model. She’s a result of a cruel Galaxy. This kid shouldn’t-
“Is it true you even have a human on your crew now?” The little fiend seems far more shocked by this than Zev’sonya travelling around with a hutt by her side.
“Ye-es….” Zev’sonya replies, not sure why she is giving her answers instead of directions back to her family or spraying her with water to make her go away. How does she know about Leo too?!
“Hey, would you mind…” The girl starts, digging into her own pocket for something that she pulls up with a triumphant look on her face. “Signing this?”
The shocks keeps on coming today because Zev’sonya finds herself looking at the unrolling of a wanted poster of her and Mose. It’s an old one. Three or four years ago? That is really not a flattering picture of her. Yikes. Does she really look like that? She's never leaving the ship again.
Mose chortles from behind her.
Ok, this must be some kind of weird dream. Has to be. This can’t be real. No way.
When all Zev’sonya does is stare, the girl gives the poster a brief, suggestive shake.
“Sure.” Mose says, reaching by Zev’sonya and taking the poster to sign it.
Zev’sonya half-turns to stare at him with no small amount of disbelief that only grows when she sees the smile he’s trying in vain to fight off. He’s far too amused by this. Once he’s scribbled down his letters on the holo-surface, he hands it to her with an expectant look on his face.
Scowling, Zev’sonya hesitates for only half a second before signing it and turning to hand it back to the girl. “Here.”
“Thank you!” She says, beaming even more brightly despite how it shouldn’t be possible.
“Sure.” Zev’sonya clears her throat. “Now, go back to your father and don’t wander off again. Okay?”
“Okay.” The girl declares with zero hesitation and endless cheerfulness. “But when I get a little older, can I come work for you? Mom says I should focus on my dancing or singing, but that’s boring, so can I? Pretty please? Can I?”
Trying hard to ignore the long, rumbling chuckle she hears from Mose, Zev’sonya crosses her arms. “Give it ten to fifteen years, if you still feel the same, sure.” She doubts she’ll see this kid again, but there is still something about her that prods Zev’sonya to say the next words. “Just remember, being a twi’lek doesn’t mean you have to sing and dance. You do what you want to do with your life. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even your mother. You can be whatever you put your mind to.”
Despite how it shouldn’t be possible, the girl’s face grow even brighter with happiness. “I’m going to be just like you!”
Wait, no t-that is not what she meant, absolutely not, but the girl takes off running towards her father and sisters before Zev’sonya can correct her. Then, after the cretin is reunited with her sisters, pointing towards her and Mose and clearly bragging, Zev’sonya spins around to leave in a hurry as their father finally catches on to something happening behind him and turns to investigate. Time to get back to the ship.
Mose is still chuckling when she stalks by him.
“Shut up.” Zev’sonya growls. Her face burns.
Mose outrights laughs.
“I will stab you in the eye!” She threatens, in vain as it has no effect whatsoever.
Back at the ship, Nohr is waiting by the open ramp. The nikto is standing guard and seems very ready for them to leave. He’s the impatient one on the crew. “We good to go?”
“We’re leaving.” Zev’sonya declares as she marches into the ship with Mose right behind her. “Now.”
The ramp starts closing behind them and Zev’sonya knows she should head up to the cockpit and have Bea’tah initiate take-off right away, but on the way she has to walk by the door to her quarters and she can’t help the way her gaze lingers on it.
“Lorda.” Mose says, now all quiet and gentle, stopping by the door. “I’ll head up. You go in.”
Zev’sonya pauses and glares at him.
Mose nods. His eyes are too mild. “You are the captain, Lorda. I know. You decide.” He’s indulging her bad temper and they both know it. “But I can handle the ship and you should check up on him.”
Hesitating, Zev’sonya is torn between her usual dislike of being told what to do and the fact that she actually wants to go inside that room. What happened earlier had left her with a knot in her belly, and now that twi’lek kid has made her head a mess too…
“Go.” Mose encourages. “I got this.”
She does not doubt that for a second. She trusts him without a shadow of a doubt and because of that, she can allow herself to be weak this one time. Zev’sonya exhales and gives in. “Fine.”
Mose nods again, relieved. “Good.” He shuffles by her. “It’s a seventeen hour journey to our next stop, remember? You might as well get some rest while you’re in there.”
“Mind my ship, not my business.” Zev’sonya snipes, uncomfortable. Mose is always looking out for her despite how she’s supposed to keep him safe. A captain watches over her crew, not the other way around. Mose never seems to get that into his head.
“Yes, Lorda.” He replies with ease, clearly not intending to heed her words at all. And people call her the stubborn one?
Stepping inside the room, Zev’sonya leans back against the door and pauses for a bit to take in the sight that greets her.
Lying on his back, arms by his sides, Leo is still fast asleep on the bed. As expected. As he should be. This morning’s attack had come out of nowhere and for several seconds that had felt like years, Zev’sonya had been convinced that the medicine had suddenly stopped working and that he would die in front of her. She had not felt so afraid and helpless since Mose was poisoned.
Taking a deep breath, Zev’sonya pushes herself away from the door and walks over to sit down next to Leo. He looks pale, but peaceful. No fear. Nothing like during the incident. He’s breathing deep and slow. She takes his hand in hers and forces herself to smile. “You’re going to be so angry when you hear you missed out on meeting someone as crazy as you.” His hand is warm and the contact feels reassuring so she places her other hand over his. “This twi’lek kid, she came right up to me and Mose and started talking to us. No sense of self-preservation.” Zev’sonya breathes a faint laugh of reluctant admiration. “No brain.” She shakes her head, weirdly… flattered? “You would have liked her. She said…”
- I wanna grow up and be just like you one day!
While Zev’sonya knows she’s anything but a role model, the idea that a twi’lek girl might break free from the booth others want to put her in, or even give a deserving hutt a chance because she heard stories about Zev’sonya and Mose, it is dangerously uplifting. And though the girl has horrible taste in heroes and the odds stacked high against her even before she starts her journey, Zev’sonya hopes she makes it. She really hopes she makes it.
Hmm, Leo is going to be a dreadful nightmare when he hears about this. (He won’t hear it from her but Mose is definitely going to tell him. Those two love to conspire against her.) His old nickname is going to be used a lot. “She said something crazy.” Zev’sonya says, easing down to lie next to the sleeping Leo. Everything in her wants to curl up close, wrap herself around him, place her head on his chest and listen to him breathe, but she only allows herself to hold on to his hand. It’s not much, but it’s more than what she’s allowed herself in the past. “You’re going to love it.”
The ship gently shudders as they take off and head towards the stars. Technically it is barely mid-day where they are right now, but the standard time teller tells Zev’sonya the ship will swap to night-mode soon and she realizes Mose must have known as he told her to get some rest. The different time zones between parsecs, even between some planets, can leave a traveller severely sleep deprived if one is not careful and that could get you killed in Zev’sonya’s line of work.
Fine. Sleep it is. For purely practical reasons.
Zev’sonya absently runs her index finger back and forth over Leo’s warm hand as she quietly starts listing up names of people she’s never met, except for one. Even if she’d been ignorant of Hauroko’s fate, Zev’sonya would have known it is souls Leo has lost from the grief she feels radiating from him every evening when he speaks their names. She suspects it is his way of keeping them alive in memory at least and as he won’t be able to tonight, Zev’sonya will keep them alive for him.
Zev’sonya Lee Lewna is not a hero. She’s not even a good person. But she is curled up next to one.
I've added a lot of characters to this lineup since the last time I posted it, saying it was done, and I'm heart-broken to (I think) actually be done this time. T__T I've had SO MUCH FUN doing the ref sheets for @sulphuryasecretcloset‘s series, "The Mandalorian, his son and the Storm Trooper," and I have to say a huge thank you to our favorite author for letting me play with her characters. <3
As always, these are my best attempts at interpreting @sulphuryasecretcloset‘s wonderful descriptions, but they're just one interpretation and my drawings aren't the law. And if they help anyone with their own fanart or fics, then that's great!
To see the ginormous, full-res image, check my AO3.
I've been streaming on Twitch pretty much all the time I work on these fanarts, so feel free to stop by if you're bored.
If you want to join the Mandorin Discord, just ask. :)
“I'm sorry.” Zev sighs, plopping some snacks into her mouth from the container she had secured from the first food stall they had encountered.
This was meant to be a quick trip into the village to pick up some supplies and then just head back to the cabin where Mose is waiting with Junior (Neither of them do well in the cold.) and Grogu, but things just got more complicated.
“It's fine.” Din sighs as well. He had known bringing Leave-it along, not just her and Corin, would mean there would be a lot of talking, he just hadn't anticipated the blond making it his personal mission to speak to just about every soul in the village.
“He's just...” Zev gestures vaguely towards where Leave-it and Corin are in deep conversation with some stranger. “Weird. Always have to talk to strangers. He got invited to some baby's naming ceremony last week after speaking to the parents for about ten minutes. I honestly can't take him anywhere.” She rummages around in the container for more treats.
Din battles against a smile. They are such complete opposites, her and Leave-it, but somehow it works. Judging by how much she's been eating these last two days, things appear to have worked really well between them. She hasn't said anything about anything, but Din is still willing to bet credits on there being some good news real soon. “Seriously, it's fine.”
Which it is. A bit time consuming, but fine. The trouble emerges when Leave-it and Corin come trotting back over, all excited, to tell them they had just been invited to join in on some big sporting event that takes place on a frozen lake.
Zev'sonya scowls and chews. Din is about to veto the entire thing until he sees the excitement in Corin's eyes and the gorgeous smile that reveals just how much he wants to go to this thing. Great. How is he supposed to say no to that?
He can't.
Which is why Din Djarin finds himself standing next to a frozen lake with a very annoyed twi'lek by his side, while the love of his life and his obnoxiously cheerful friend are attaching skates to their feet to join the people already warming up on the ice.
“Push-over.” Zev'sonya mutters.
“I didn't hear you tell your boyfriend no.” Din mutters back, skilfully ignoring Zev’sonya’s scowl.
Down on the frozen lake, Leave-it shows he's not a lost cause on skates, unlike Din. He's clearly not completely comfortable at first, a little awkward as he moves but improving by the second, and soon he's skating around with a confidence and skill Din has yet to achieve even after an embarrassing amount of tutoring.
Corin, on the other hand, is moving with such talent and grace that Din can't help but to wonder if he'd come rushing out of his poor mother on skates. He’s outshining everyone on the ice and he’s not even trying to impress anyone. If anything, Corin looks relaxed and is just having fun hanging around with Leave-it.
The game is silly and pointless. Six souls on each team, each person with a sturdy stick in their hands, trying to smack a small, black rock across a line about a meter long on either side of the lake.
If not for the bright grin on Corin's face as he skates next to Leave-it, Din would have found this a complete waste of time. That smile makes it worth it, though. That smile is perfection.
Once the game starts and the battle for the rock commences, it doesn't take long before the opposing team realizes what Din had already concluded; Corin is the biggest threat to their victory.
While there follows plenty of bickering over the rock, shoulders knocking against shoulders and the volume of voices rising along with their tempers, Din isn't too worried at first. In the fighting pit at the Covert, tempers always flared during their games as well. Then everything changes.
Corin is racing up the ice, tapping the rock along with his stick, when one man comes rushing in from the left. This one ignores going after the rock entirely and instead, with the determination of a hammerhead corvette, he body-slams into Corin with all of his might.
Din’s entire body jolts as Corin goes flying through the air, slams back down onto the ice and slides a good distance before coming to a halt. Pushing himself up on his arms, Corin shakes his head, as if to shake off the shock and dizziness, while Leave-it rushes to his side to check on him along with a couple of others from their team.
Din takes a step forward, about to call Corin off the ice, but it's too late as the crazy man is already up on his skates again and is sliding over to rejoin the game. He appears unharmed by the attack, though Din doesn't trust that for one second and scans Corin as he moves for any signs of discomfort. He knows only too well that Corin will ignore broken bones rather than inconvenience anyone, thinking a silly game being far more important than his own well-being. If Corin's shoulder droops, like when he broke his collarbone, or if he tries to keep his weight off a leg to ease hidden pain, or anything like that, Din will march over and physically drag Corin off the ice.
It’s not long before there is a new attempt at knocking Corin over. The same guy rushes twoards Corin with every intention of body slamming him into next week and it happens so fast that Din can't do anything to stop it.
Luckily, Corin must have anticipated this and he’s ready for it. When the guy charges at him, Corin turns, twists his body out of the way, and watches as his attacker flies by and nearly ends up face-first into the massive snowbank that circles the lake. Unfortunately, Din doesn't get to feel relief because he sees a second guy rushing at Corin's back with the intent of knocking him over while he’s distracted, but Corin once again merely turns and lets the idiot fly by him, even gives him a little wave. Now Din smirks and actually relaxes. A little. Corin's got this.
Despite several more attempts, no one comes close to even touching Corin. He side-steps, twists and slides out of their path with hardly any effort and mouth-watering elegance. If anything, he seems amused.
Din does the mistake of relaxing. Which is of course when bad luck strikes.
Once the players realize they can’t break any of Corin’s bones, they unleash their anger on the easier target: Leave-it, the other outsider. He’s nowhere near as fast or smooth on the skates and so he has no chance to dodge the guy now rushing at him.
Din flinches at the impact. It’s not as harsh as when that first guy hit Corin, but it is plenty hard enough to knock Leave-it over and for him to hit the ice with a yelp. Din looks over at Zev’sonya, who watches with a frown until Leave-it is back up on his skates and grinning at the fussing Corin before turning her attention back to her snacks. It appears that she’s a lot less worried than Din.
Minutes later, they knock the blond over again. Corin quickly skates over and helps Leave-it back up. Minutes after that, the opposing team knock him over a third time.
Kneeling next to Leave-it, who is gesturing that he’s fine, Corin slowly turns his gaze towards where the opposing team are huddling together with smugness radiating off them.
Corin is too far away for Din to see his eyes clearly, but he does see how Corin lowers his chin and how his shoulders tense up as his muscles tighten and bulge.
“Uh oh.” Din mumbles.
“What?” Zev’sonya asks.
“They just made Corin angry.”
Zev’sonya squints with the effort of trying to see what Corin’s face looks like. “I didn’t think he could get angry over a game.”
“Trust me.” Din says. “They could go after him and knock him down all day and he wouldn’t be bothered, but once they go after someone he cares about… I almost feel sorry for them.”
“I don’t.” Zev’sonya says, indeed without an ounce of sympathy in her voice. “I hope Corin breaks their legs.” She slowly cracks something between her teeth that sounds scarily like bones breaking.
Ah. A slight smile tugs at Din’s lips. Not less worried than Din after all, just better at hiding it.
The game starts up again, but this time Corin is the one ignoring the black rock and makes no attempts at scoring points. Instead he skates nearby Leave-it in what others might think is a purely whimsical way until one guy does the mistake of rushing at the blond with every intent of knocking him down.
Corin turns, faster than anyone should be able to on skates, speeds up, hunches forward and slams his shoulder into the guy so hard that both Din and Zev’sonya flinch. The impact is so violent it stops the man as if he’d run straight into a wall, his feet fly high while his upper body go down like a lead weight. The landing is so brutal his ancestors probably feel it too.
Zev’sonya lets out a low cackle of mean satisfaction when the guy has to be helped back up on his feet. Din, on the other hand, keeps his gaze on Corin, who nonchalantly skates around like nothing happened without straying too far from Leave-it or taking his eyes off the opposite team. Oh, he is seriously pissed off. Those guys have no idea what they’ve unleashed. Dank farrik, Corin is hot when he’s angry like this. Watching him destroy that guy without mercy, he’s gorgeous. Most people who have met Corin once upon a time would describe him as amiable to the point of being an easy push-over, but he’s showing a very different side to himself at the moment. One that Din loves. Right now, Corin looks ready to knock your teeth out if you challenge him.
The next man trying to knock Leave-it down fails to see Corin’s approach, but he certainly feels it when Corin grabs a hold of his shoulders and spins around to fling him face first into the snowbank on the left. Idiot number three who charges at Leave-it eats the ice hard when Corin comes up behind him and swings the stick with all of his might at his ankles. It takes a little while before someone tries to knock Leave-it down again after that, but once he scores two points for his team the tempers flare and one moron can’t help himself and rushes towards the blond.
“Mistake.” Zev’sonya observes,
“Big mistake.” Din agrees, while hoping she doesn’t pick up on the rasp in his voice due to how his throat is snaring up with the urge to admire out loud how hot Corin is right now.
“Down, boy.” Zev’sonya mumbles with a slight grin.
She heard. Dammit. Din clears his throat a little awkwardly, but still savours the ruthless way Corin slams into a guy with all of his considerable strength and no fear. Magnificent. Mandokarla. So karking Mandokarla. This is what he knows is hiding behind Corin’s peaceful front and Din love it when idiots are corrected for mistaking his kar’ta’s kindness for weakness. Just because Corin prefers not to beat the shit out of people, it doesn’t mean he’s not able to if he feels like it.
It almost makes Din a little sad when there are no more attempts to challenge Corin’s defence of his friend. Leave-it gets to skate around freely, oblivious to the ominous presence of his self proclaimed bodyguard hovering nearby, ready to interfere with anyone going after him.
Not trusting things to not go wrong, Din lets out a sigh of relief when the game is finally over. Corin and Leave-it’s team win 16-2. After a quick celebration with their team-mates, the two make their way over to Din and Zev’sonya, who choose to wait at a safe distance from clingy strangers.
“We won!” Leave-it declares with a laugh, one arm around Corin and the other punching the air.
“Congratulations.” Din says, eyes dwelling on Corin and loving how happy he looks.
“We saw.” Zev’sonya drawls.
“Don’t you wanna kiss the most important player on the ice?” Leave-it counters, leaning towards Zev’sonya with a suggestive grin and waggling eyebrows. “I mean, I must have scored ten or eleven of those points.”
“Yeah.” Zev’sonya says, raising an eyebrow to underline her sardonic look. “Because Corin beat up anyone who got in your way.”
“What?” Leave-it huffs. “No!” He looks over at Din. “Tell her that’s not true.”
Corin sends Din a tense look that begs for him to lie so Leave-it can go on smiling like he is.
Din purses his lips for a brief moment, considering his options, before replying. “I think you scored twelve of them, actually. That’s what I counted, anyway.”
“See?!” Leave-it exclaims with delight, only to have Zev’sonya roll her eyes and walk away which of course makes him hurry after her. “Zev, baby, twelve points. That’s awesome. I’m awesome! We should celebrate. Lucky you to be married to a genius. I’m kinda jealous. Zev. Hey, Zev. Wait up!”
Din smirks. Not a lie, no revealing of Corin’s actions, the perfect distraction for the guy famous for his lack of attention span. Raga would have been proud.
Corin inches over to stand next to Din as they watch the two walk away, speaking in a quiet voice: “Thank you.”
Din grunts, then turns to face him.
Offering a nervous smile, Corin shrugs. “I got a little carried away, I know. I’m sorry. I just… There was no reason to go after him like that. They were just doing it because they couldn’t get me; hurting him because they couldn’t hurt me, and I… got angry.”
“Furious.” Din corrects him a little absently.
Corin nods and lowers his gaze, appearing outwardly submissive, yet there is an unmistakable undertone of quiet, hard defiance in his voice as he speaks. “It was just game, I know, okay? I acted like an idiot, I realize that, but they were hurting him and I-”
“You.” Din reaches up and cups his gorgeous face between his hands to make him look up again. Din loses himself in those mesmerizing eyes as if the barrier of the HUD does not exist. “Were magnificent out there. Strong. Gorgeous. I could have watched you for days.”
Corin’s eyes flash with surprise and his lips part a little in a way that makes heat lick up Din’s spine. Yeah, his kar’ta still has no clue in regards to the effect he has on him and Din is starting to think he might never get it. Though, that might not be a bad thing, considering how enticing Corin looks all flustered when Din has to spell it out for him. “Din…”
Breathing a soft laugh, Din decides not to tease him today. He draws a final and lingering caress along Corin’s jawline before letting go and ordering the heat to leave his blood. “You protected your brother. As a Mandalorian should. You did good, okay?”
Corin smiles as the anxiousness leaves his body, but his gaze never leaves Din. Actually, there is something in his mesmerizing eyes that keeps a stubborn ember of fire alive in Din’s veins. “Does that mean I get a reward?”
Din struggles to swallow. Behave. He might mean something platonic. “Sure. What do you want?”
Corin’s smile widens a tiny fraction. There is nothing platonic about what’s on his mind, for sure. “I’ll tell you later.” He abruptly turns to follow the others. “Let’s get back to the ship before Zev’sonya decides to leave us behind and makes us walk back to the cabin.”
Din takes a deep, deep breath, before he follows with a faint laugh. Ice skating with sticks is officially his new favourite sport. It is definitely not a waste of time after all.
Maybe there is some way to get Corin a semi-regular spot on the local team?
Mose nods. He knows that means Zev'sonya is off some place where Hutts aren't welcome. While neither of them like it, there are some situations that are just made easier by him staying behind. She will be back. Or he'll come get her. “Understood, Lorda.”
Zev'sonya adjusts her cloak and seems ready to leave right away. He's not surprised. She never did like to waste time. “I'll be back in about five hours, if things go without a hitch.”
“Understood.”
“Have fun watching the kids while I'm gone.”
Now those words do puzzle Mose. Junior has been asleep for over a week now. Without the little green one to keep her company, she tends to sleep a lot more. Mose is aware of how it is far more normal for a Huttlet to sleep for months, even years, rather than be awake and active like Junior has been, mostly due to the strain of their growing bodies and their fragile minds, but he finds himself missing her. The feeling of her breathing and occasionally twitching is reassuring, but he still misses her exploring new places with her innocence and enthusiasm. Why would... Wait, Zev said kids. KidS. Plural. Which means... she does not intend to bring her human.
Mose draws a sharp breath, meaning to object rather harshly, when Zev'sonya has the audacity to wink at him, actually wink at him, and he stares with a slack jaw as she trots off with a far too smug cackle. She has definitely been spending far too much time around humans!
And speaking of which... Mose slowly turns his head and, as dreaded, finds himself looking down at Leo, who is grinning up at him like an excited child about to go out on the most wonderful adventure. While there is no denying that the eternally cheerful blond has had a very positive effect on Zev, easing a lot of the burning anger she had at life, he is also the most talkative and energetic soul Mose has ever met. He sighs. This is going to be a very long day.
Ignoring Leo is what Mose usually does and it works for the first couple of hours: Leo talks while Mose pretends he can't hear him. Others would take the hint, but the blond merely keeps chattering away and tries to get Mose to engage with a wide variety of topics. Humans, such troublesome creatures. How many times in history have they set the Galaxy on fire by now?
“Let's go into town!” Leo declares, very loud and with that eternal grin on his face. Hours of basically talking to himself must finally be getting boring even to him.
Mose scowls. “No.” The ship is parked a safe distance from the small town that seems to be beckoning the blond and Mose is perfectly happy to stay right there and laze about until Zev returns. There is no reason for them to head into town.
“Come onnnnnn, Mose. Pretty please?”
Mose doesn't hesitate. “No.”
Leo's eyes narrow a tiny fraction for the briefest of moments, then he shrugs and smiles. “Well, you can stay here, but I'm going. And going alone, you know I might get into trouble, stuff like that happens, and Zev is not going to be happy that you let me wander into danger by myself, you know. What if I get hurt? Oh, she won't like that at all. She will be quite disappointed in you.”
Once again the audacity of a biped has Mose slack-jawed and staring, then he sighs and has little choice but to trail after Leo marching towards the town with a jaunty whistle. Zev would indeed be very upset if something bad was to happen to her idiot, and Leo is bound to get into some kind of trouble if he is allowed to spend time in town without supervision. Mose toys briefly with the idea of merely grabbing him and holding him down with his tail until she returns, but something tells him that Leo would be whining so loudly his ears would bleed, and punching him unconscious is too risky with that frail human skull of his.
Turns out that heading into town achieves the impossible; Leo turns even more talkative. And determined to use every credit he has in his pockets once he finds the marked place.
“What do you think about this?” “Do you think she'd like these double-bladed ones?” “Hey, this would look cool on you.” “Wow, can you believe the price of these?” “Check this out, I would look awesome in this!” “Maybe we should get some of these for Junior?” “I'm telling you; the ship could use a little colour inside.” “A man, or a Hutt, can never have too many blankets.”
It never ends. Mose is going to get back at Zev for this.
Leo has grabbed a dangerous amount of candy to buy from a horribly decorated cart when he grins up at Mose. “What do you want? My treat.”
Mose glares. “Ylesian white worms.” He deserves tasty snacks for putting up with this.
Minutes later, Mose is rummaging his left hand around in the big glass container he's carrying under his right arm until he has a big haul of worms in his grip. He shoves them into his mouth as he shuffles along after the still talking Leo and wonders how Zev is doing. He knows she can look after herself, but he still worries. She's so awfully impulsive...
Lost in thought, he doesn't notice how Leo turns a corner, freezes and stops talking mid-sentence.
Mose nearly smacks into the man's back due to the sudden and unexpected stop and he's about to ask what the hell is wrong with him when he sees what Leo sees: five stormtrooper helmets on top of wooden sticks stuck in the ground. There are pools of dark, coagulated blood on the ground under the helmets.
Oh.
For a long time they just stand there, staring, until Mose can't handle the tension. Or the complete absence of a smile on Leo's face. “Did you know them...?”
Leo keeps his gaze on the helmets and answers in a too quiet voice. “I don't know. I can't see their operating numbers.” The green eyes that are usually bright with mischief are dark and solemn.
Silence follows his words and Mose awkwardly remembers a time when he'd asked Zev if there wasn't a way to shut Leo up and she had replied that the only thing worse than a talking Leo is a silent one, and he's now inclined to agree. This is making Mose's hide crawl with unease.
“Maybe they deserved this.” Leo suddenly says in that too quiet manner. “Maybe. A lot of them were not good people and they did a lot of bad things.” A hard swallow. “But... not all of them. Mikey only joined because his family told him to. Kiergan joined so he wouldn't end up in jail with his brothers. Hauroko, it was the only way she could go after her dream. Corin, he didn't have a choice at all. Kinnon, Jana, Heiden, Mokae, Cordè, none of them would have deserved this, but the ones hunting down Troopers these days wouldn't have cared and put their heads on spikes anyway.”
Mose had entered a mercenary's hut with Zev once, years ago, and found himself surrounded by eight Hutt skulls mounted on the man's walls. Knowing that the Hutts were probably cruel cretins who deserved it had not made the sight any less unsettling. But this situation does give Mose the opportunity to ask something he's been wondering about for a very long time. “Why did 'you' join?”
Leo, Leave-it, whatever you want to call him, has never struck Mose as an imperial fanatic or a war monger. Why would someone like Leo join the stormtroopers?
“Back home where I grew up, they were portrayed as the heroes.” Leo says, still staring at the helmets. “In the news, everything we saw and read, they were the good guys. They were the ones who saved others from mercs and pirates and all kinds of scum. My dad was in complete awe of them. If it hadn't been for him not wanting to leave my mom and me, he would have joined in a heartbeat. We were mere miners, nobodies, while the guys in white kept everyone in the Galaxy safe.” Leo finally closes his eyes. “After my father died, I decided I wanted to do some good before I followed him into the afterlife. I was already sick by then, my mom too, so I knew I had limited time. Becoming a stormtrooper meant I could afford medicine for my mom, travel the Galaxy and see other planets while helping other people as well. I thought it was the best idea ever. By the time I realized the truth, it was too late. I needed the credits for mom's medicine, I didn't want to leave Kiergan and Hauroko to face danger alone, and after my mom died, they were all the family I had left so I had to keep them safe at least. I couldn't leave.”
Mose doesn't know what to say. He feels bad for asking, but he can definitely relate to wanting to protect your friend even if it means risking your own life.
Leo turns away from the helmets. “I've changed my mind. Let's just go back to the ship.”
Just as Leo walks by him, Mose looks over at the blond. “Are you okay?” It's a stupid question, of course he's not, but he still asks as an awkward gesture to show concern.
Pausing next to him but keeping his gaze on the horizon, Leo sighs. “Yeah. I just forgot.” And before Mose can ask him what he'd forgotten, the human continues. “I forgot for a moment that every single soul on this planet hates me.”
Again, Mose can relate only too well and he knows how bad of a feeling that is. It's the worst kind. It makes you feel endlessly lonely. And worthless. But it's not true. “I don't hate you.” He offers.
That causes Leo to glance up at him with a ghost of a sad smile. “Really?” There is fragile hope in that simple word.
“Yeah.” Mose confirms, shifting the glass container to his other arm to reach out with his right hand and he gives him a couple of worm-free pats on the blond head. “Really.”
Leo's smile turns into something so warm and grateful that it makes Mose's heart clench in a way that usually only happens around Junior and the little green man. Fine, he can be a little nicer to him. After all, Leo's basically a kid too by Hutt standards.
-
“Higher!” Leo's voice demands.
“Then stop squirming!” Mose snaps back.
“I'm not squirming.”
“Yes, you are.”
Zev'sonya frowns as she approaches the ship and hears her two companions arguing from somewhere on the other side of the craft. What is going on? Rounding the front of the ship, what she sees makes even less sense than anything she could have conjured up as possible scenarios.
Leo and Mose are both frozen, staring at her, but what makes it odd is the fact that Mose has pulled himself as high up as he can, has his hands under Leo's arms and is holding him up to face the panel just under the transparisteel of the cockpit.
Blinking, Zev'sonya only absently registers that the grey panel in front of Leo has the outline of what looks to be a drawing of a yellow twi'lek and that his hands are clutching a can of spray paint each, because she's too startled by the sight of him hastily slurping the tail of what looks to be a white worm into his mouth.
“Lorda, you're back...” Mose says awkwardly, slowly lowering Leo to the ground.
“What is going on here?” Zev'sonya demands to know.
“We're decorating the ship!” Leo declares through some hasty chewing.
“Decorating the...” Zev'sonya echoes, struggling to believe what she's hearing in addition to what she's seeing. At least Mose has the decency to look embarrassed. Leo just looks delighted at the sight of her. “I leave for half a day and you both lose your minds?!”
“Aw, come on!” Leo whines. “All the cool ships have decorations.”
“We got bored.” Mose mumbles.
She stares at them for several long seconds, trying to digest the weirdness of it all until she decides she can't. This is just too weird. Zev'sonya turns on her heel and stalks inside the ship. Starting up the engines, she gives them just enough time to scramble on board before Zev'sonya shuts the doors and takes off towards space.
It is hours later when she allows Leo into the cockpit and only after he has brushed his teeth twice. “I can't believe you ate worms.”
“You know,” her idiot says with a big grin, slouching in the co-pilot seat with one leg over the arm-rest, “if you really want to pull off the act as a culinary expert, you're going to have to be more open to new foods. I'm telling you; Mose is right. They're really good. Spicy with a hint of liquorice.”
Zev'sonya glances over at him without turning her head. “And if you want to pull off the act as a stupid blond, you need to stop using big words like 'culinary'.”
Leo laughs, not bothered at all, as usual. He then sits up properly and leans a little forward towards her with a grin. “So, are you going to tell me what you were up to today? It wasn't a job, right? Was it an evil scheme for me and Mose to spend time together so that he'd grow dangerously fond of me and we'd become best buddies? Because if it was, I can tell you it really worked!”
Fighting back a smile, Zev'sonya turns her gaze to the stars ahead. There would be no need to make Mose like Leo because she knows he already likes him just fine. She never would have brought Leo on board the ship if that wasn't the case, her selfish heart be damned. As much as the idiot annoys him at times, Mose has shown Leo far more patience and leniency than most souls they have encountered in their years together. He even gave his approval of their relationship before Zev'sonya could handle mere the thought of it. “It was a private errand.”
“Roger that.” Leo says, instantly backing off by slouching back in his seat and flinging his leg over the arm rest again. “Oh, for your information; once we park some place, me and my buddy are finishing the art work on the ship. Just so you know. We cannot be stopped!”
“I had my chip turned off.” Zev'sonya says, gaze firmly locked straight ahead. Yet, even without looking at him, she senses Leo freezing up before deflating from having inhaled a lot of air to cover a grand speech about his and Mose's plans. “Wh...” He sits up straight again and his reflection in the transparisteel shows his confusion and concern. “What?”
“You heard me.” Zev'sonya feels a clench of unease in her gut. Had it been a mistake? She glares over at him. “Didn't you say last week that you'd always dreamed about having kids?”
“Yeah.” Leo blurts out. “But, like, I wasn't... It's not... Didn't you then tell me it would be crime for me to breed and pass on my stupidity?”
Zev'sonya nods. “It would. Which is why I'm going to make sure our kid inherits my intelligence.”
Eerily enough, Leo goes quiet for a moment. He looks down at where his hands are nervously fidgeting and clears his throat. “Zev. Are you sure? It would change everything. And... I might not be around to-”
“Shut up.” Zev'sonya snaps. She knows he is thinking about the death sentence hanging over his head, is worrying about the thought of her having to raise a child alone, but Leo seriously needs to get through his thick skull that she is not going to let him die.
“No.” Leo counters, his voice firm with unbreakable stubbornness. “Dammit, if you want me to even consider this, I need to know that you have really thought this through. I love how impulsive you are, Zev, but this is the one thing I can't have you decide on a whim. I can't. Okay?”
Zev'sonya takes a calming breath before facing her idiot once more. “Fine. Listen up; I want this too. I know what I'm getting myself into. And even without you, I wouldn't be alone. I've got Mose. I've got Din and Corin. I know Kiergan and the others will love any child that is part you. Happy? I even had the doctor do research on Miner's Lung to make sure it was safe for a kid.” She scowls at him. “But that is just stupid talk because we'll both be there all the way. End of discussion.”
Leo stares at her with disbelief and growing giddiness before he breaks into a wide grin and nods.
“Good.” Zev'sonya leans back in her seat. “Now the only problem is that we have to wait two days before we can get to work on this.” She makes a face. “I can't believe you ate those worms.”
“What?” Leo suddenly looks devastated. “But-”
“Your mouth is not getting anywhere near me with worm-breath.”
