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geekrenaissance · 11 days

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GAIN A SON

Synopsis: Théoden survives the battle and gets to meet Faramir, the man who has stolen his niece’s heart.

Word count: 1.8k

Pairings: Faramir/Éowyn

Warnings: Battle mention, drug mention, alcohol mention

Additional tags: Just some cute fluffy crack, I hope this is as wholesome and fun as I intended it to be.

Théoden could not believe it when he opened his eyes and found himself in a healer’s care. He had survived the battle. Éowyn and Éomer had survived. When Théoden awoke, Sauron had been destroyed and all was well in Middle Earth. The healers, however, seemed to be dancing around something, of that he was sure. It was Éomer, his nephew and heir who finally told him the truth. He would never walk again. When Snowmane, his beloved horse was slain by the fell beast, his legs were crushed by its weight, and while it grieved him greatly, Théoden was glad to be alive, and even gladder after hearing the other news Éomer had brought him.

“Éowyn is in love, uncle,” he said, grinning like an idiot. Théoden sank back against his pillows and stared at the ceiling for a while, smiling. “Éowyn is in love. I never thought I would see the day. Tell me everything, Éomer.” And Éomer did. Faramir was his name, son of Denethor, the late Steward of Gondor. Over tea and cake, the two men discussed it all, until they were interrupted by Éowyn and Meriadoc Brandybuck. “Washerwomen, the both of you!” Éowyn exclaimed, smacking her brother on the shoulder. “I have brought you better company, uncle. My brother is needed elsewhere.” Éowyn kept glaring at a giggling Éomer as they left.

“Master Brandybuck,” Théoden addressed the Hobbit, whom he counted among his dear friends, “you do not happen to know this Faramir, do you?” Merry sat down in the chair next to Théoden’s bed. “I do know him, he and my cousin Pippin are good friends. Although technically he’s Prince Faramir now I suppose. Strider will announce that soon.” “Strider?” he inquired. “You know him, tall fellow, fancy sword, has an army of ghosts-” “Aragorn? The King of Gondor?” “Yes, that one.” Théoden sighed happily. Éowyn was in love. With a prince even. Théoden decided at that very moment that he already loved this Faramir. Even though he had yet to meet him.

As the days passed, the king yearned to leave his bed. Someone had brought him a wheelchair and the king was never short of a volunteer to help him get around. So it happened one day, that Théoden and Éomer encountered Faramir and Éowyn on an afternoon stroll. Éowyn was not stupid, she knew that her brother had orchestrated this chance meeting. Now she had nowhere to run. “Éowyn!” her brother called out to her, “what a lovely surprise to see you. Uncle, I do not believe you have met Faramir yet.” Faramir felt his heart thumping in his chest as he bowed to the King.

“Your grace, it is an honour to meet you,” he offered politely. Théoden smiled warmly at the man, his eyes darting to Faramir’s left arm, to which Éowyn was holding on. “So you are the man who has managed to steal my dear niece’s heart.” “Uncle!” Éowyn exclaimed in shock, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. Faramir felt a feeling of unease in his entire body. This was not going well. “I would never presume to do such a thing, your grace,” he politely replied, trying to appear composed, “I was only so audacious as to take it upon myself to keep the Lady company during your recovery.” “Coward,” Éomer feigned a cough, making Théoden chuckle. “Why don’t we all have some tea in the garden?” the king suggested. Now that he had this elusive Faramir in his grasp, he would not let him go.

“Tell me about yourself, Faramir,” Théoden commanded, “how are you holding up? I was very sorry to hear of your father’s passing. He was a good man.” Faramir froze, holding his teacup in mid-air. Éomer stiffened in his seat and Éowyn failed at subtly rolling her eyes. “Did I say something wrong?” Théoden asked. He was utterly confused at the reaction of his kin. “Lord Denethor was sick, uncle,” Éomer offered an explanation. The King looked over at him, puzzled. “I thought he died during the battle?” Éomer shook his head. “What I meant was-” “My father has not been well for many years,” Faramir said. “The constant threat of Mordor had stirred a fear in his heart. When my brother passed, he became… distant.” “He tried to kill Faramir,” Éowyn proclaimed suddenly, fearing that they would continue to dance around the subject.

“In his defence,” Faramir added, “he believed me to be dead already.” Éowyn sighed. “Faramir, he had wanted you dead for years! He knew you were alive. They told him. He knew.” The King of Rohan found himself speechless. The boy had lost his mother at a very young age, his brother had passed away on the quest to destroy the ring, and his own father had wanted him dead. And still, everyone he asked had told him only the best of the Captain of Gondor. Of his bravery, his chivalry, his sense of humour. He had led the people of Minas Tirith during a time of great uncertainty, from the siege of the city until the return of the rightful king of Gondor. If only one person in all of Middle Earth deserved the love of his niece, it was Faramir.

Théoden enjoyed spending his days in Minas Tirith. He spoke often with the Hobbits, especially his friend Merry, and they smoked many a pipe together. The old king had decided to abdicate. It was time for Éomer to be king, and he accepted humbly, making his uncle promise to lend his counsel, as often as he required it. His niece Éowyn was happier than she had been in many, many years. She visited him often, sitting with him in the garden, or pushing him around the city in his wheelchair. Faramir accompanied her often. His initial nervousness was soon gone. Théoden came to love the boy like he did his niece and nephew, and though Faramir and Éowyn were not even officially courting, Théoden counted him among his family.

Faramir was officially named Prince of Ithilien on the day of Aragorn’s coronation and his wedding to the Lady Arwen of Rivendell. Even though they were still not officially courting, Éowyn stood beside Faramir and not with her brother and uncle. It seemed wrong to Faramir. A lady like Éowyn deserved to be courted properly. To be loved by someone who was not too cowardly to ask her brother - or her uncle - for her hand in marriage. Truthfully, he did not even know who to ask. It came to him after he had indulged in too much ale and even more pipeweed. He did not know, but maybe someone else did!

“Merry,” he turned to the hobbit, whose pipe he was sharing, “if I wanted to marry Éowyn, who would I ask, her uncle or her brother?” Merry looked utterly confused. “Why would you ask Théoden to marry you?” “What? No, I-” Merry started laughing so hard he almost fell over. “Took me a while, sorry. I honestly have no idea. But I know someone who will. Wait here, I will be right back.” Faramir remained in his chair and watched Merry, to his mortification, walk up to Théoden and King Éomer. He could see the exact moment at which they had understood what Merry was referring to. King Théoden slowly raised his hand and beckoned Faramir over to them.

Legolas, who was sitting across the hall whispered something to Aragorn, who, in turn, handed Gimli two gold coins. The elves had all heard the exchange between Merry and Faramir. Even Glorfindel, who was talking to Éowyn about her heroic duel with the Witch-king of Angmar. Time seemed to stand still as Faramir slowly made his way over to Théoden. He would strangle the Hobbit in his sleep! His palms were sweaty and he felt the blood rush in his ears as he sat down in the chair the King of Rohan had dragged over. Between the other two. “So,” Théoden began, “is there anything you want to talk to us about, son?”

Faramir cleared his throat. Éomer and Théoden were both leaning in slightly, fixing their eyes on Faramir’s face. “I wanted to ask if- I could potentially- even though I don’t deserve- ask you,” he turned to Théoden, “or you,” he turned to Éomer, “for the hand of- of the Lady Éowyn.” He looked down at the table, nervously tapping his foot, expecting to be ridiculed or sent away. Éomer laughed and clapped Faramir on the back. Théoden smiled. “You have to ask her yourself, son. But you have my blessing, even though that is irrelevant.” Faramir looked at Éomer expectantly. Would the king give him his blessing? Éomer shrugged. “Ask her.”

It was the next day when Faramir summoned all his courage and made his way to Éowyn’s chambers to collect her for their daily afternoon stroll, his mother’s ring in his pocket. He led her to the place where they had first stood together, looking east, anxiously awaiting news from the battle at the Black Gate. Éowyn wondered at Faramir’s nervousness, scolding him for smoking too much weed the day before. Something Faramir swore to her he would never do again, the effects having clearly affected his judgement. He took her hand in his, putting the other in his pocket to procure the ring.

Éowyn looked as though she might faint when she saw Faramir get down on one knee. “Éowyn, my dearest Lady,” he began. “Yes!” Éowyn exclaimed. “For Eorl’s sake, sister, you need to let him ask first!” Éomer’s voice came from a nearby window. Faramir jumped at the sound of his voice and Éowyn trembled with anger and embarrassment. After a moment, Faramir cleared his throat, preparing to start again. “Éowyn, my dearest Lady, I have known you for many months now, and have loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. I do not wish to be parted from you for even one day. Will you marry me?” Éowyn had tears in her eyes as she nodded rapidly. “Yes. Yes!” Faramir slid the ring onto her finger and she pulled him to his feet and into a sweet and passionate kiss, uncaring that Éomer was watching.

Théoden cried at their wedding until Merry pointed out to him that technically, he did not lose a daughter, but gain a son.

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geekrenaissance · 16 days

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OOHEMMMM!!!! Your back!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! Owen and Claire having a first trip abroad.

I’m a little rusty, so hopefully this is acceptable!

They decided on Europe for their honeymoon. “I think we’ve had enough of the tropics for one lifetime,” Claire was firm on this, her computer perched on her lap as she threw out suggestions of Paris and Tuscany and Prague, her feet tucked under Owen (“My feet are cold,” she had whined, and Owen had rolled his eyes but let her slide her toes under him. “Are you sure you want to rule out the beach?” He teased and she threw an impressive glare his way). “Why not do all three?” Owen shrugged. “You have the time off.” Claire had learned to strike a better work/life balance, but years of never taking a day off had meant that she had accumulated approximately a million days off, and while Island Claire would have thought the world would end if she took off that much time, Post Island Claire had lived through the world almost ending, and was very aware that taking time off from the office would not have the same impact as a hybrid dinosaur on the loose. "We can start in Paris and work our way across Europe? I hear they have a very efficient train system, and I know how much you love efficiency.“ He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Keep reading

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geekrenaissance · 16 days

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Clawen prompt: Karen reacting to Claire and Owen being back together and suddenly parents. Surprise!

“What do you mean you stole a child?” Karen shrieked. “Stole isn’t exactly the word I would use,” Claire argued. It took exactly 14 hours before Claire realized that she needed to call her sister and reassure her that she had not actually died on the island. (To be fair, a good portion of those 14 hours were spent finding a safe spot to sleep and eat and, okay, yeah, make out with Owen a little). “You’re going to have to explain Maisie,” Owen said with an arch of an eyebrow and Claire had glanced over to where the little girl was sprawled out on the only bed in the trailer, arms splayed, and Claire realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that goddamn it, he was right. She was going to have to explain Maisie. And it was too early to really explain Maisie, because there were things to work out–legal issues–but the bottom line was that Mills was her appointed guardian and Mills was dead. And even if he wasn’t dead, there was no way in hell that Claire was leaving Maisie with him. She and Owen hadn’t really asked anyone about Maisie. In the chaos, Claire just kept her hand wrapped around Maisie’s and most everyone assumed that she belonged to them.

Honestly, Claire would rather face another Indoraptor than explain to her sister how she ended up back with Owen Grady, only this time with a kid in tow. She had squared her shoulders and hoped against hope that she would get her sister’s voicemail (“It’s Claire. I’m alive. Thanks for worrying about me. We’ll catch up soon, okay byeeeee!” It would have never worked, Karen would have called her back immediately, but she remained ever hopeful.) “What word would you use?” Karen asked in an annoyingly reasonable voice. “Well, we just sort of ended up with her,” Claire replied with a shrug, and she heard Owen chuckle behind her. “You sort of ended up with her?” Karen repeated. “I’m going to need more than that.”

“Her grandfather is dead, and the son of a bitch who was supposed to have custody of her is a piece of human trash, but that doesn’t matter because he’s dead,” Claire said bluntly. “She has no one, Karen. No one. What were we supposed to do?” There was a long pause on the other end of the line and then a deep sigh.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Karen asked, and Claire let out a bark of a laugh that caused Owen to move behind her, his hands coming down to rest on her shoulder. “God, no,” Claire shook her head. “Of course we don’t.” “Wait,” Karen said, “we?” Shit, Claire thought. “As in you and Owen? Claire?!”

“What do you want me to say? You know the answer,” Claire huffed, and Owen dipped his head and dropped a kiss into the crook of her neck to calm her down. Claire’s eyes darted over to the slightly opened doorway of the room where Maisie slept to make sure she was still fast asleep. “Are you both out of your minds? Do I need to remind you how that relationship ended the last time?”

“No,” Claire exclaimed. “I was there, thanks.” It had ended in heartbreak and tears. It ended with Claire unable to get out of bed for days. It ended with phone calls to Karen where there was nothing but Claire’s heaving sobs on the other end. It ended with Karen finally hopping on a plane to the West Coast to drag Claire from her apartment, force her into the world. It had been awful, and Claire remembered every devastating moment of it.

“Claire,” Karen said with a long suffering sigh. “Karen, trust me that I know what I’m doing,” Claire shot back. Owen tucked one last kiss into her hair and gave her shoulders a squeeze, walking away to give her some privacy. The look that he gave her as she slipped out of the door to talk to Karen alone told her that they would have some things to talk about later (adding to the long list of things that they needed to talk about. There were more pressing concerns than whether or not Owen knew the gory details about how when he left, she splintered apart.) “Do you?” Karen asked. “I love him,” Claire said simply. “Oh, sweetheart, I know that,” Karen’s voice changed. It dropped and became softer. Claire could close her eyes and see the exact look on her sister’s face. The way her eyebrows would slope down in concern, her mouth quirking to the left in sympathy. “We almost died again,” Claire told her sister, dropping onto a lawn chair. “It was…awful.”

“But you’re okay?” Karen asked, and Claire toyed with the bandage on her leg, before she answered firmly,

“Yes, I’m okay.” “And this little girl?”

“Maisie,” Claire supplied. “She’s a good kid, Karen, and she has no one. Absolutely no one. And there’s…there’s more to it, but I’ll have to explain in person.” “And Owen? You’re sure about this?”

“For better or for worse, he’s it for me,” Claire said. “We’re going to get it right this time.” And they would. There was more on the line this time. From the moment Claire saw him on the plane, things just fell back into place. It was quiet on the other line, and Claire finally broke the silence. “Karen?”

“If you’re sure, I’m happy for you,” her sister said, her tone sincere. “And I’d like to meet her, Maisie, I’d like to meet her.” Claire let out a breath she hadn’t known she had been holding, and a smile tugged at her lips.

“I’d like that too,” she said.

“Plus,” Karen added, “you are aware there are actual dinosaurs just like, hanging out in California right now? So, maybe a trip to the midwest is in order? For safety?” Claire giggled. “Yeah,” she said, and she could see Owen in the window, and she caught his eye and winked at him. Everything okay? he mouthed, and she gave a nod, her smile widening. “You might be right.”

“You’re never boring, you know that, Claire? As Mom would say, ‘that, Claire, she’s…”

“'A pistol’,” Claire filled in, missing her mother so much in that second that she physically ached.

“She would have been proud of you, for taking that little girl? She would have done the same thing.” Claire hummed her agreement, and then heard commotion from inside the trailer. “I have to go, I think Maisie is up,” Claire told Karen. “I don’t think I’ve said it yet, but thank God you’re okay,” Karen’s voice broke and Claire felt tears prick at her eyes. “We thought…they reported…”

“I know,” Claire’s voice was low and gentle. “I know, and I’m sorry.”

“Stay out of trouble for a little while, okay? You’re going to give me a heart attack,” Karen admonished. “Yeah, yeah,” Claire was happy to steer the conversation back to comfortable ground. Bantering, she could do, accepting just how close she was to death, so close that her sister thought she was dead, was something she wasn’t prepared to deal with yet. “I’ll keep you posed about that trip to Wisconsin.” She hung up, and stood back up, taking a minute to watch Owen and Maisie through the window.

Maisie spotted her, waving at her and smiling widely, and Claire mirrored the smile and stepped back into the trailer. “So, what do you think about a roadtrip to Wisconsin?”

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geekrenaissance · 16 days

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Back Into the Fray Ch.6: Traversing the Dune Sea

Chapter Description: It’s the return to everyone’s favorite dust ball! Now on course to find this mysterious Mandalorian. Tensions are rising and hearts are racing, at this point the baby is the only one with a clear head on his shoulders.

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First Chapter

Well, here they were again, right back where it all started. Mando went through the landing process as they came into orbit of Tatooine. “Well this trip might be a bust but Peli will be happy to see us again.” Anai’s voice rang out causing him to sigh heavily “We don’t know if it’s a bust yet.” His helmet looked over his pauldron to her seat as he spoke “Try to be positive.” She was sitting slumped in her chair with her arms crossed and a huffines in her tone “How can I do that when a dead man is sending us on a wild bantha chase? I’ve been coming to this dust ball for years and I’ve never heard of Mos Pelgo.”

“That’s because you’re not a local.” He turned back to the controls flipping switches as they started descending into the sky “From what I can tell you never even left Mos Eisley before so we’re going down to check it out.” Anai sighed behind him in a way that told him he was right. “I’m just saying a waste of a trip and fuel is the last thing we need.”

He sighed again, mumbling under his breath “Your attitude is the last thing I need.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

She didn’t seem to buy that due to the swift kick he felt to the back of his seat. The kid and the droid both laughing at their antics, at least someone was entertained. He didn’t know what had crawled up Anai’s ass today but it was starting to get on his nerves. When they finally landed in hangar 3-5 Mando turned to face her “Before we step off this ship tell me what your problem is.”

“I don’t have a problem.” She scoffed

“Obviously you do, now tell me.”

The mechanic audibly sighed “Look as much as I love Peli, the last few times I’ve been on Tatooine bad things have happened.”

“Like your x-wing being stolen.”

“Yes, and getting jumped by that kid among other things, it’s like this whole planet is out to get me or something.”

“It’s just a rough place, and you’re here with me now.” He leaned in using his most reassuring tone “Nothing bad’s gonna happen while I have a say about it.”

“I hope so.”

He sighed yet again before standing and scooping up his foundling “C’mon Peli’s waiting.”

The group made their way down to the hull, racket being the last as he had to use his rocket boosters to drift him slowing down. Mando grabbed his bag off the wall putting it on his shoulder before gently placing the child inside “What no pram?” Anai asked with a quirked eyebrow, he simply shrugged. "We'll probably end up traveling a lot today, might as well get him used to it.” She nodded thinking about the practicality of it before turning to her own backpack “I’ll meet you out there.” There were no words of acknowledgment before he punched at a panel of controls getting a door to open. “Alright. Hey, hey, hey! Sorry, gang. Come on. You know he doesn’t like droids.” Peli’s voice shrieked just outside the ship as Mando walked out the service door of the Razor Crest down to the hangar floor. “May as well let them have at it.” He huffed “The Crest needs a good once-over.” Anai couldn’t help rolling her eyes. ‘Of course, the droids can come on now but he had a problem with me poking around his ship.’

“Oh! So he likes droids now. Well, you heard him. Give it a once-over.” Peli shouted orders as the pit droids started going to work. The younger woman pulled her bag onto her back hearing her old friend cooing over the little one outside. She motioned for Racket to follow her lead as she came to the opening casually leaning against it “Oh wow, didn’t realize we were chopped bantha meat to you now.” A smirk painted her features as the wild-haired woman turned in confusion before her eyes lit up “Well what the hell are you two doing in there?!” Peli shouted in surprise, Racket trilled happily as he made his way down the ramp to drive in happy circles around her. The older woman reached out giving him a hearty pat on the head “Don’t tell me Mando decided to keep you guys too.” Anai shrugged as she came closer “Let’s just say we share a common interest, right Bachsu na?” The pink-haired woman reached a finger out to the little one in Peli’s arms who giggled as he wrapped his clawed hand around it.

“We’re here on business. We need your help.” The Mandalorian gruffly interrupted. “Oh, then, business, you shall have.” Peli scoffed “Care for me to watch this wrinkled critter while the adults seek out adventure?” She turned back to Anai giving her a playful wink which earned a quick but soft jab from her friend whose face lit up red like one of the sun's overhead. The armored man sighed, shaking his head before continuing “I’ve been quested to bring this one back to its kind.” He gestures to the child in her arms as he speaks. “Oh, wow.” The older mechanic chuckled “I can’t help you there. I’ve never seen any like it. And trust me, I’ve seen all shapes and sizes in this town.”

“A Mandalorian Armorer has set me on my path. If we can locate another of my kind, we can chart a path through the network of coverts.”

Peli gave him a sympathetic look “You’ve been the only Mando here for years from what I can tell.”

“Where is Mos Pelgo? I’m told there’s one there.”

“Oh. Boy, I haven’t heard that name in a while.” She put a hand on her free hip as she spoke.

“It’s not on any of the maps.”

“Because it was wiped out by bandits. Once the Empire fell, it was a free-for-all. Anai and I didn’t dare leave the city walls.” The two women shared a look between them “Still don’t.”

“Can you tell us where it used to be?”

“Depends who’s asking. You want to see it?” Peli smirked before loudly calling out into the hangar “R-five! Bring the map of Tatooine.” an astromech against the wall slowly made its way over much to Peli’s irritation. Racket to the chance to leap into action quickly peeling through the sand and ramming right into the older mech forcing the poor thing to be tossed right into the middle of their group “Racket!” Anai warned as said droid tried to beep out an excuse before she cut him off with a look “Be nice.” The child made a low cooing sound seemingly making fun of the droid for getting into trouble. Meanwhile, R-5 completed his task by pulling up a horribly outdated holo map. “Okay.” Peli starts “This is a map of Tatooine before the war.” She moves the map pointing to each region as she mentions them “You got Mos Eisley, Mos Espa, and up around this region, Mos Pelgo.”

There was a pause as both Anai and Mando tilted their heads curiously turning to each other and confirming the same thought before moving their gazes to Peli, Mando spoke the thought “I don’t see anything.”

“Well, it’s there. Or at least, it used to be.” She explained “Not much to speak of, it’s an old mining settlement.” The older mechanics gaze drifted back to the RazorCrest “They’re going to see that big hunk o’ metal long before you land.”

“You still have that speeder bike?” The Mandalorian quickly asked.

Peli nodded “Sure do. It’s a little rusty, but I got it.”

As they were getting ready to leave, Anai and Mando started strapping down their things to the speeder whispering to one another. Racket had the designated job of entertaining the child, he watched them from the sidelines curiously not being able to pick up what they were saying. As lost in thought as a droid could be, Racket let out a surprised yelp when a little green hand waved itself over his optic lens. There was a gleeful giggle from overhead and Racket realized that somehow the little bugger had pulled himself onto the astromech’s head. He knew enough about organics at this point that he had to be careful with the little one’s, they were much more fragile. This one was supposedly strong though and had saved his dear friend, for that he was grateful. He’d even grown to care for him as much, as his programming would allow, the little one’s designated caretaker though… Aside from the night he tried to warn the man of Anai’s violent outburst during nightmares, they hadn’t interacted much. The Mandalorian, even though he claimed to have a better understanding of droids now, always seemed eager to vacate any space they both ended up occupying. Racket wasn’t sure if he particularly liked the man, he for one starred way too much at Anai for the astromech’s liking. He had learned that men like that only wanted unsavory things to do with his friend, another purpose he didn’t truly understand. He watched them closely and when Mando turned to walk back into the ship for a moment Racket rolled himself on over careful not to knock the child from his perch. He trilled loudly once he was next to Anai grabbing her attention. She turned and smiled softly looking down at both of them “Well well well…” She giggled “What do we have here, looks like Racket brought me a little present. Come here you.” The mechanic scooped the child up into the air making him giggle before she brought him down to smother his little green face with kisses. The droid was a little miffed seeing Anai act so giddily in the presence of a child. Jealousy had crept into his circuitry a time or two in the past due to some past relationships but those never lasted too long and that was usually only one other person. Now there were two beings he had to share her affection with and her attention on him was becoming less and less.

The droid interrupted their moment by asking just exactly where he was going strapped onto the speeder with their bags taking up a majority of the cargo space. Anai all of a sudden became nervous as her eyes darted to the side and her lips opened and closed slightly trying to find the words “About that…” She settled the child on her hip before continuing “Mando and I decided that it’s probably best for you to stay here with the ship, y’know just in case.” Racket couldn’t believe it and started angrily prompting her for an explanation “C’mon buddy you know this planet is nothing but a ball of bad luck, I mean you do remember why we were stranded here right? Besides…” She gestured to the speeder as she spoke “This piece of scrap can’t hold all of us. There’s barely enough room for me and Mando.” He beeped up at her as he hopped from each foot before activating his rocket boosters and flying himself over the speeder before cutting them off and dropping right behind the seat. Racket made a quick quip to a shocked Anai feeling like he won before gravity pulled his heavy body to one side making him drop onto the sandy ground below. There was a long silent pause where the astromech internally thanked the maker of droids for not granting the ability to cry of embarrassment. His organic friend sighed as she set the little one down on the seat of the speeder before leaning over him to ask “Are you done?” Racket refused to look at her as she struggled to pull him back up on both legs “Look, I know it doesn’t seem fair but we’re gonna be out in the open with who knows what, and traveling with a Mandalorian already attracts enough attention.” His only response was a series of beeps which saddened Anai “What? No that’s not what’s happen- Racket!” He cut her off by rolling away into a dark corner of the hangar. The woman sighed, running her hand through her mess of curls as she watched her droid go. “What did he say?” The sudden modulated voice from behind nearly made her jump out of her skin “Maker, don’t do that.” She sighed again, catching her breath before turning toward her armored companion. “Don’t worry about it, he's just…throwing a tantrum.” That didn’t seem to convince Mando as he took a step closer “Tell me, maybe I can help.” She eyed him curiously “He said that…” she was a little embarrassed to repeat it “That you’re stealing me away.”

“Oh?” Mando looked away towards where Racket had gone. “I’ll uh…I’ll talk to him.” He turned to walk away as Anai called after him “He won’t wanna listen to anything you have to say.” His mind was already made up though.

He followed the treads of the astromech before coming up on the pitiful thing full on pouting in a corner kicking small metal scraps into the sand “Hey.” Mando called out, catching the droid's attention before it quickly turned away. The man sighed, stepping further in and leaning against some sort of machinery covered by a cloth. “Anai told me what you said, I’m not trying to steal her away.” No response, no movement, he was being ignored “I’ll admit, your presence on my ship is off-putting. Trusting droids of all things is…still new to me.” Still nothing, Mando took a different approach bending his knees to squat down to Racket’s level “You’re not happy being left behind and I understand that, but you also mean a lot to Anai.” The head of the astromech swiveled til the viewfinder landed on the T of his visor, now he was getting through “The dune sea is dangerous if something happened, if you were ripped apart by Jawa’s or stolen by smugglers it would destroy her.” The viewfinder moved to his feet and a sad ‘woo’ was heard “I’m willing to put my apprehension aside to make sure that doesn't happen and I’m trusting you with the safekeeping of the Crest.” He leaned forward catching the viewfinder on his own, making the droid look at him “Would you honor me with the same courtesy of trusting me with your master's safety and wellbeing?” There was another pause as he gave Racket a moment to think before the astromech straightened up and the color of his processor turned green. Mando didn’t know what that meant but he assumed that it wasn’t a no “Alright.” Standing to his full height he made his way back to the speeder where Anai stood to one side watching him intently before her gaze went to Racket who had decided to follow. He didn’t say anything as he flipped open the lid of a bag grabbing the child to slip him inside while Anai walked past him towards her droid “Listen,” She started but was quickly cut off by the rambled beeps of an apology making her raise an eyebrow “Really? So you’re okay now?” He trilled an affirmative “Okay…” The mechanic keeled down into the sand placing a hand on his head “Listen, I’m not gonna keep you in the dark I promise to update you just keep your coms open. Alright?” She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Mando holding her visor out to her “Time to go.” Anai nodded as she stood, slipping it over her eyes and climbing onto the speeder to sit behind Mando. She fumbled with the placement of her hands for a moment before deciding to just hold onto his shoulders “What did you say to him?” She asked, leaning closer to Mando who shook his head “Don't worry about it.” He took off before she could press him for answers.

They drove through the endless desert for hours on end. The only indicator they had even moved at all was the fast passing of different rock formations that protruded from the sand. Anai peeked back now and again at the child to make sure he was still giggling happily as his ears were blown back by the wind, at least someone was enjoying themselves. They stopped for short moments to stretch and take a sip of water from the canteens. Mando was quick to turn away from the group to lift his helmet the slightest to drink before dropping it again. Anai wouldn’t deny that she was curious to know what he looked like but at the same time, it didn’t matter. Knowing what he looked like wasn’t going to change who he was, he’d still be the same stoic Mandalorian so she rationalized early on that all she needed to see was what he had provided. The last time they stopped for the day as the sun’s set she stood a few paces from Mando drenching her dry throat with the swirl of lukewarm water. Mando leaned against the speeder keeping his eyes on the horizon behind her, “We’ll probably have to make camp right? The temperature drops dramatically after dark.” She looked around taking in their surroundings “I don’t see any good shelter out here, no telling what might come creeping up on us in the night.” Mando turned his attention back to her “Not much to be worried about.” She smirked back at him “Why cause you’re a big bad Mandalorian.”

“Something like that .” He shrugged “You’re not worried about Tuskens, are you?”

“I mean shouldn’t we be?”

“What do you know about their people?”

She shrugged this time “Not much, just what I hear from locals. I know it’s hard to live out here and hey you gotta be a little rough to surv-“ She stopped abruptly noticing the reflection of movement in Mando’s shiny armor and becoming noticeably rigid she asked “They’re behind me aren’t they?”

“Mhmm.”

“Ah…” Slowly she turned to look over her shoulder where a small group of sand people gathered behind her. Anai smiled at them nervously raising her hand in a small wave “Heh…Hello.” The leader lifted his weapon roaring in the mechanic's face causing her to quickly shuffle herself behind Mando who now stood holding his hands up to calm the situation. Anai turned back, watching curiously as Mando made several hand gestures and copied their throat sounds. *He's communicating with them…?* In the middle of the conversation the leader raised his hand pointing to her, she might not speak their language but she knew they were not happy she was there.

After a few more signs in discussion, their group started up one of the dunes and Mando finally walked back to the speeder pulling the kid from his bag and letting him stand in the sand. Anai came to his side feeling as though sticking as close to him was her best option right now “What’d they say?” She asked as he grabbed the handlebars of the speeder and followed up the dune “They invited us to camp with them for the night.” She raised an eyebrow at that “Wait really? Why?” He stopped and turned back to her “Their people trade goods and services for passage on their lands, I told them you’re a good storyteller.” Anai stared at him astonished. “Wait, why me?” He shrugged before walking again, the little one tottering after him “It was that or hand over your visor.” She threw her head back and groaned as she followed them. Once over the dune, they came down to the camp where the Tuskens had already made themselves comfortable around a fire. Mando and Anai settled themselves among them and the child climbed into Anai’s lap staring at their hosts “What kind of story should I tell them?” She asked timidly turning to Mando, the last thing she wanted was to start a brawl “Why don’t you start there?” He pointed to the metal pendant around her neck “Tell them about the rebellion.” Mando couldn’t see her eyes through the visor but from the way her hand came up to wrap around the dog tag he could tell the spark had been lit “Okay.”

Anai once again told her stories of victory in the rebellion as the Mandalorian translated to the best of his abilities. The wrapped-up beings in front of them ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ completely enamored by her embellishments and ferocity in her storytelling. Of course, these were all things Mando had heard before so it had less of an effect on him though it was still interesting to hear. Even the kid was enjoying the moment as his big dark eyes sparkled in the firelight. It was hours later when she finally finished the tale behind the destruction of the second Death Star and the “banger of a party” on Endor. Though she did add a bit this time about a pair of Ewoks who tried to put a stormtrooper on a spit-roast over a roaring fire, they seemed to enjoy that. “Whew.” She had herself propped up on her hands looking exhausted “That’s it I’m all tapped out.” Mando dropped his hands indicating the end of the story “You did well, you should rest.” She smiled sleepily “Y’know I’d usually fight you on that but I’m inclined to agree.” Her eyes traveled down to her lap where the child let out a big yawn rubbing his eyes “C’mere Bachsu na, you can snuggle up with me.” She placed him into the crook of her arm before laying back on the sand wiggling a bit to make herself comfortable before stilling into sleep. Mando looked around the group, seeing the others settling down as well, he’d stand watch tonight, he had more than enough to think about keeping him awake anyways. He sat in vigil keeping the fire going until a noticeable golden hue began to color the horizon, lighting up the sky and hiding away the stars until the next night. The group was beginning to rouse as mumbled groans signaled their movement as they pulled themselves up from the sand. There was a jumble of gurgles and movement next to him and he turned to see Anai sit up stretching her arms as her joints popped and cracked. Lifting her visor onto her head she looked up at Mando and smiled “Good Morning Merichetara.” Maker… He thought feeling like his heart and stomach were competing for how many flips they could do. The way the morning sunlight fell upon her currently messy frame and the dewy look of her bright green pupils could make a flower hang its head in shame, she was beautiful, just utterly gorgeous. She sniffled running a hand through her messy mop of pink waves, eyes still opening and closing in their battle to wake fully. “G-Good morning.” He finally choked out when his son popped up from his spot rubbing sleep from his eyes. Anai pulled herself up to stand brushing sand from her sides. “We should get a move on soon.” She said, putting her hands on her hips, “I’ll drive today.” Mando shook his head from his seated position “You don’t have to do that.” She gave him a look before bending down to his level “You’ve been up all night, you’re not a droid you need rest. I’m driving today.” She used the same tone as when she had insisted on fixing the ship, she wasn’t gonna budge on this either. “Fine.” He relented before standing, making her take a few steps back. The sand people now all stood opposite them ready to leave as well as they signed a goodbye before quickly disappearing into the dunes. Anai smiled as she watched them leave as she patted Mando on the arm “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” She pulled her visor down once more turning to the speeder and throwing a leg over it before making herself comfortable on the front of the seat. The Mandalorian sighed, bending down to grab the little one to secure him in his pack then settling on the back of the seat. Like his companion had before he couldn’t decide where to put his hands. He took so long that Anai got tired of waiting, grabbing his wrists she pulled his arms around her. The armored man sat there in shock “What about your rule?” He asked, “I think I can make an exception for this.” The mechanic scoffed as if it was obvious “If I waited for you to decide we’d be here all day.” She revved up the bike speeding off forcing him to wrap his other arm around her as well to steady himself.

By midday, the silhouette of a small collection of buildings could be seen in the distance. It was a real blink and you’ll miss it little town nestled in between the dunes. Anai brought the bike to a stop as they approached the edge of the street. If it wasn’t for the one or two people standing out on the raised wooden porches and a bantha tied up at the other end of the street she would’ve thought this place was a ghost town. Mando pulled himself from the speeder making Anai shiver when his arms freed themselves from her. The whole ride he had rested against her back and while it had been heavy it was a comforting weight that kept her calm despite the blush she had felt creep up her face. She stood from the bike as well feeling the stiffness in her knees from their prolonged sitting position. As Mando stepped towards a small set of stairs Anai scooped up the little one holding him close to her chest as she followed after his Dad. The only open building in the whole settlement was a bar tucked between what was assumed to be homes. As they walked in the barkeep, a Weequay male, stopped what he had been working on and approached the bar as Mando came to stand across from him. “Can I help you?” The barkeep asked in a gruff accented voice. Anai stood by the door taking a page out of her companion's book to stand there quiet and menacing. Well as menacing as you can be holding a cute little green baby in front of you. “I’m looking for a Mandalorian.” The armored man disclosed.

“Well, we don’t get many visitors in these parts. Can you describe him?” Anai and Mando’s gazes both snapped to the man, either this guy really was suffering from the town's isolation or just playing dumb. “Someone who looks like me.”

“Mmm… You mean the Marshal?”

“Your Marshal wears Mandalorian armor?”

Anai heard the clink of spurs on wood approaching and turned just in time to see a figure stand in the doorway the barkeep turned to the door as well “See for yourself.” The woman finally found her voice as she called to her companion “Merichetara.” Mando quickly turned and standing right there in the sunslight was who he had come searching for. A Mandalorian decked out in scuffed green-painted armor. It made him look rough, like a man who had been to hell and back. Anai felt like something was off about this man though, the armor didn’t fit just right. Like it wasn’t made for him, wrong, a loth wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The pretender Mandalorian sauntered his way into the bar, his back now to Anai and the child as he stood in front of Mando “What brings you here, stranger?” Even his voice through the modulator sounded wrong. The mechanic’s eyes kept looking between the two men waiting to see what would happen. “I’ve been searching for you for many parsecs.” Mando sounded reserved but relieved as he spoke, now he could truly begin his quest, he could reunite his child with the Jedi.

“Well, now, you found me. Weequay, three snorts of spotchka.” The pretender ordered to which the barkeep quickly produced a bottle of blue liquid and three glasses which the one in green armor snatched up walking towards a table “Why don’t y’all join me for a drink?” Anai watched as Mando stiffly turned to watch the man; he moved to follow but stopped short when the pretender removed his helmet. The air turned thick with a red-hot rage and the true Mandalorian visibly stiffened. Anai didn’t move, not a single step watching as Mando’s hands tightened into fists. “I’ve never met a real Mandalorian.” The grey haired mustachioed marshal chuckled, but Anai could hear the nervousness behind it “Heard stories. I know you’re good at killing.” He knew he was a dead man, even as he filled the shot glasses. “And probably none too happy to see me wearing this hardware.” Most definitely not “So… I figure only one of us is walking out of here. But then I see the little guy” The child cooed in Anai’s arms “And your lady friend there.” That earned him a scowl from her “And I think, maybe I pegged you wrong.” He finished his speech setting one of the drinks across the table as a peace offering. “Who are you?” Mando was angry and he wasn’t in the mood to play around with this pretender. “I’m Cobb Vanth, Marshal of Mos Pelgo.” He brought the glass to his lips but was interrupted before he could drink. “Where did you get the armor?”

“Bought it off some Jawas.” He finally drank his spotchka sigh with satisfaction. “Hand it over.” The real Mandalorian coldly demanded and the other man smirked “Look, pal, I’m sure you call the shots where you come from, but around here, I’m the one who tells folks what to do.”

“Take it off. Or I will.” If this was a different situation Anai might’ve blushed, she didn’t know he could talk like that. Now was not the time though as Mando seemed to be itching to start this firefight. “We gonna do this in front of the kid?” He gestured towards the two behind Mando and the little one cooed nervously “He’s seen worse.”

“Right here, then?”

“Right here.”

Cobb sighed as he stood kicking his chair back behind him. The two men stared each other down, both urging the other to dare reach for their blaster. Give them a reason to shoot. The weequey behind the bar and Anai shared a look as both began to back away to the nearest exit.

This was between them and Anai’s priority was to keep the child safe. Just as her heel touched the doorway though there was a massive rumbling and the whole place shook violently. The child in her arms let out a scared shriek and turned to bury his face in her chest. She patted his back trying to hush the little one’s cries and stay on her feet. Mando seemed just as perplexed as they were but Cobb merely lifted a finger putting a pin in their fight as he made a b-line to the wooden porch outside and his barkeep friend ran out the back. Mando and Anai looked at each other before quickly joining Cobb outside. The tremors suddenly brought the sleepy little town to life, alarms were blaring, mothers ushered their children inside, and everyone made a run for higher ground. Even the little critters that poked around the sand were quick to run for cover. Something was coming, they could see it in the distance as sand clouds billowed up from the ground. They watched as it traveled up the road and passed them letting out a cry of warning to all who dared step in its path, then for a moment, it stopped just long enough for you to think it was over. Then suddenly there was a crack in the ground and an unsuspecting bantha was devoured whole by a gigantic creature. Anai let out a gasp, stepping back into Mando who quickly raised his hand to the small of her back, keeping her steady. The creature must have burrowed down further after his meal because the rumbling finally stopped. Anai and Mando stood there stunned in silence when Cobb finally spoke up “Maybe we can work something out.”

Author's Note: We're slowly catching up with where I left off on AO3 hopefully this helps drive me to work on chapter 10 a little faster.

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