You were met with the owner of the garage, Peli Motto, and her team of repair droids. Mando bargained with her for repairs to the ship and added, “No droids,” in a firm tone at the end of the conversation before he moved to head off.

 She turned to you, “He’s got a thing about droids, huh?”

 “Mmhmm,” you confirmed, “Thanks for your help,” you spoke in a softer tone than the Mandalorian.

 “What about you? Not a fan of droids either?” She seemed genuinely curious.

 You let out a sigh, “I don’t mind ‘em,” you said with a shrug, “The way I see it, a droid will kill you, but a person… A person will tortue you,” you let her draw her own conclusion about your statement as you followed your partner out of the landing area. 

 It wasn’t long before the pair of you found yourselves in a greesy cantina to ask about any lead on a local bounty. The bartender informed Mando that the old Hutt palace recently restarted its operations under a new leader. “If there’s any work for a bounty hunter, you’ll find it there,” he said while he barely looked up from the glass he poured. 

 While he spoke with the barkeep, you stood next to Mando and scanned the crowd for any threats. It became a habit for you to always watch his back while his attention was focused, and you trusted him to do the same for you. When his conversation was finished, he turned to you and you knew what he was thinking without the need of any words. Mando led the way, but as you went to leave, a hand grabbed your arm. You gasped in surprise and tensed, but waited to react; you didn’t want to make a scene if you could avoid it.

 “Where are you going, sweetheart?” a sweaty older man taunted you.

 Mando spun around, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he threatened.

 “Why? You gonna kick me ass for touching your girl?”

 You rolled your eyes, and you could tell from the way his head rolled back he did the same, “She doesn’t need my help.”

 With that, you made quick work of the man. You swung your head back so that you collided with his nose, then swiftly punched him in the gut and tackled him to the ground. “And now you know,” you said in his ear, “Not to touch people without permission.”

 Mando watched proudly as you handled yourself and used techniques that he taught you. He found himself protective of you, but you also liked to prove you could take care of yourself so he always gave you that chance before he ran in to help. A drunk man at a bar was not an issue for you, but he was always there as back up just in case. “Shall we go?” he offered. You nodded with a huff as you walked out of the cantina together.

 And that was how you and the Mandalorian found yourself at the door of the giant palace on the outskirts of town. He knocked on the gate, and grumbled when he was met with a droid who asked questions in Huttese. Mando let out a sigh and turned to you. You met his helmeted gaze and gave him a reassuring look.

 Because of your past, you were fluent in the language, so you answered on his behalf, “We’re looking for work, anything your boss can offer.”

 The droid slunk back inside and the gate opened up. You and Mando exchanged a quick look before you both headed inside. When you first started traveling with him, you tended to walk behind him, but now you felt more comfortable at his side. Over the years, he taught you how to perfect your already established fighting techniques, how to fly, and other relevant skills. Yet he never made you feel inferior or like he thought lesser of you. He always treated you as an equal from the very beginning.

 “I have a bad feeling about this,” you muttered as you made your way down the dim hallway.

 Mando didn’t say anything, but he had the same feeling in his chest. The more time he spent with you, the more he just wanted to reach out and hold you, especially after the child entered your lives and he saw how good you were with him. He found himself face to face with feelings he never had before, but he never let it show. He buried his thoughts deep down; one day the time would be right to bring it up.

 At the end of the hallway was the large open main area where everyone was gathered. The area itself looked like it hadn’t changed much over the years; the few things that were in the room were on the old side. The leader, a young member of the Hutt family, lay sprawled out on a large, cushy chair. About three dozen armed bounty hunters of various races stood scattered across the room. The leader eyed you and the Mandalorian up and down before he spoke.

 “It’s been awhile since we had a Mandalorian grace our presence. And with such a lovely girl too,” the Hutt leader spoke with a bitter tone, “Makes the life less lonely doesn’t it?”

 You scowled but quickly got yourself under control. You knew how dangerous these people were, so it was best to keep any emotions in check. Mando, however, didn’t miss the look that flashed across your face, and even though you didn’t translate, he knew he didn’t like what was said. You took a breath before you replied, “We’re looking for any bounties you may have.”

 He thought for a moment as he scanned the crowd of his minions “There is someone that’s been causing trouble for us, taking any hits on her behalf instead of for our little organization. Fennec Shand. She’s bad for business lately, and I need her taken care of. But I want her brought to me alive.”

 Once you finished translating for the Mandalorian, he addressed the Hutt, “Consider it taken care of.”

 The leader sneered, and Mando didn’t like the look on his face. He was too focused on the Hutt to notice the movement behind him, and before he could react, one of the others in the room swooped in and grabbed you by your wrists. In one quick movement, he grabbed you, forced you to your knees and pressed a blaster right to the back of your head. You yelped at the pain; he held you right where you had a large, prominent scar on your lower arm. No one knew, except for Mando, because you always kept your arms completely covered.

 Mando pulled out both his blasters in response and pointed one at our captor and one at the Hutt. This made others in the room draw their own weapons. You cursed to yourself for letting your guard down like that as the room fell into a standoff. You couldn’t see, but Mando was just as angry at himself for the situation.

 “What the fuck?!” The bounty hunter’s voice was raw with rage and emotion.

 The Hutt laughed, “I need a consolation prize,” he spoke in basic for the first time, “If you can’t bring what I ask in 24 standared hours, I keep your girl.”

 The Mandalorian shook in anger, “Absolutely not. She is not a bargaining chip,” he kept his weapons aimed as he scanned the room to calculate his next move.

 You also scanned the room and counted the number of thugs and weapons around you. The hard truth was that there was no way you could blast your way out of this situation alive, so you spoke up, “Fine!” You tried to cover your nerves, but your shoulders still shook a bit.

 This shocked Mando as he whipped around to face you, “No,” he almost pleaded. But it was too late.

 “Deal,” the Hutt spoke. “You have 24 hours, Mandalorian.”

 His shoulders tensed as he read the microexpressions on your face. He was silent for a moment before he caved in, “Fine,” he lowered his weapons and the others in the room followed suit, “But I need to speak with her first,” he spoke strongly so there was no room for negotiation. 

 “Very well,” the Hutt waved.

 Mando wasted no time and pulled you from your captors clutch. You let him lead you to the edge of the room where you could speak privately. “I don’t like this,” his voice was low, but you could hear the worry there.

 “I don’t like it either,” your eyes darted around, “But we’re badly outnumbered, Mando. And they literally have home field advantage,” you looked directly at him and realized that he held you tightly. You made no attempt to move as you continued, “I’d rather put my faith in you and your skills right now.” Your heart pounded from a mix of adrenaline running through your system and the feeling of his strong, protective grip on you.

 He sighed heavily. He knew you were right, he just didn’t like it. This was the last situation he wanted to ever put you in, especially because of your past. He let go of your arm to caress your face, and he felt his heart skip a beat when you let out a sigh and leaned into his touch. 

 “Alright,” he sounded defeated, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

 Your eyes met his visor and you nodded, “I know,” you tried to sound strong for him but truthfully, you were terrified. Normally, you were tough and strong and handled anything that came at you with ease. But this was your one fear: captivity. 

 It was then that two men grabbed you again and pulled you away from the Mandalorian. You both reached for each other to stay connected as long as possible, and it was the hardest thing Mando ever did to watch you be dragged away. He addressed the leader with a warning, “If any harm comes to her,” his words dripped with fury as he couldn’t even finish his thought.

 “Yes, yes,” he waved dismissively.

 The bounty hunter watched as they took you down below, and only turned to leave when you were completely out of sight. As he made his way out, a young man who had been watching everything from the outskirts of the room approached him.

 “Want some help there, Mando?” he offered as he strode up to the bounty hunter. 

 He didn’t even slow down, “Not particularly.”

 The young man was persistent, “Listen, we can help each other out. I know the dunes here, and you’re a Mandalorian, which means you’re the best bounty hunter there is.”

 Mando finally stopped as they reached the front gate, “Fine. Just don’t get in my way.”

 He smiled and introduced himself, “Toro Calican.” When the Mandalorian simply gave a nod in response, he continued, “This will really help me out, man. I’ve been trying to get in with these guys for awhile, and this will be my big break to get in the door here.”

 The bounty hunter only half listened to Toro’s rambling as they made their way into the dunes. They were able to find where Fennec’s hideout was easily enough, but their challenge lay in making their way across the vast desert without being taken out by her sniper shots. He laid out behind a smaller hill as he scanned the area in front of them. He could see the heat signature from their target, but without any cover, there was no way they would reach her alive.

 “What are you thinking, Mando?” the young man asked.

 He didn’t like it but, “We have to wait for nighttime to get some cover.” He gritted his teeth under his helmet as he moved into a resting position. “You take the first watch. Make sure no one leaves the area,” he ordered as he let himself relax a bit for the first time that day.

 Toro took Mando’s place at the hill, but couldn’t stay silent for too long, “So, what’s the deal with the chick?” he asked as his curiosity got the best of him, “Is she like your apprentice or servant or something?”

 “She’s not my servant,” Mando snapped, which surprised Toro. He took a breath before he spoke again in a calmer voice, “She’s my…” he never really thought about what he would label you, and it always bothered him when people assumed you were somehow beneath him, “Partner,” he finally settled on the best word. He ignored any further questions from Toro as he let himself drift off to sleep for a bit. And when he finally dozed off, he dreamt about when you two first met.

~

Notes: I have this planned out, and it’s going to be 3 chapters long. Obviously, next will be the flashback to their first meeting. I actually wasn’t feeling too confident about this, but I got a comment on another fic and it was so sweet, it re-motivated me to finish and post this. As always, if you’d like to be added to the Mando tag list, just leave a comment :)