#lovesick fools

Maia fell asleep quickly after the Razor Crest had taken off, the soft swaying of the ship rocking her to sleep. Luckily for her no dreams haunted her while she was peacefully resting in the little cot. It was surprisingly comfortable on the mattress, although she imagined Mando not agreeing, him being taller and significantly broader than her and definitely too large to curl up in the little sleeping space. 

Mando was up in the cockpit, eyeing the little foundling that once again played with the little silver ball he’s grown to love. »Grogu?« again, the child responded with a noise and focusing on the helmet. Another chuckle rumbled through the armor, as he took the ball out of the child’s hands to screw it in place on the shifter. »Fascinating. You like our companion, huh?« Grogu just blinked. Mando took that as a yes and lifted him off the seat, standing up in the process. »She didn’t hesitate to protect you. Makes her good in my book. Let’s see if she’s awake.« Grogu just let out a noise that sounded like ‘patoo’, whatever that meant. 

Maia woke up as she heard the stomps approach the ladder. Everything in the Razor Crest was metal, which had the great property of amplifying any sound that was made inside. She rose to sit on the little mattress when Mando arrived at the lower deck of his ship. »Morning. Is it morning?« Maia yawned. »Afternoon. I hope you could get some rest in there. It’s not much but –« »It was enough. Thank you,« Maia cut him off. No one had to apologize for anything. It wan’t a soft luxury bed, yes, but it was definitely enough for her to doze off for a while. 

Mando’s gaze rested on her for a second too long. Before she could ask what the issue was, he said »You need something else to wear. Your tunic is cut open. Here,« he gave her the child before he checked one of his many storage containers for something to wear. She touched the child’s nose with her index and made a little noise, which made Grogu coo delightfully. He was such a cutie. Mando’s lips curled into a soft smile underneath the helmet. 

Mando handed her a brown shirt. It was definitely too big for her but maybe loose-fitting was more practical in the desert heat. »I’ll give you some privacy.« He took Grogu and left the Crest so Maia could quickly undress and put on the shirt. She wondered where it came from. Was it clothing of one of his bounties, perhaps? Or was it his shirt? 

When her head ascended from under the fabric she could make out a familiar scent. »Kriff.« It was definitely one of his shirts. She knew that smell because she got way too close to him on Nevarro. 

She tried her best to cool off her cheeks that were surely blushing, when a noise distracted her from her embarrassment. A very loud and shrill voice echoed through the cargo hold. She didn’t bother to straighten out her hair after her little slumber, surely looking all kinds of messed up when she emerged from the ship. 

»Aaaand who’s that?« the woman next to Mando asked him. Her hair was almost as messy as Maia’s although hers appeared to be normal that way. The woman in her dusty dark brown overall handed the child back to his caretaker before approaching the new arrival. »Another child you found on your adventures?« She poked around Maia’s body, taking her chin between her fingers just like Mando did, just a lot less gentle. »I’m Maia and I’m not a child,« the brunette protested. To be fair, Mando’s shirt was too big on her and made her look smaller. But it smelled so nice. What. 

»I know you’re not but you’re dressed like one. Did you get dressed in the dark?« Well, kind of… but this wasn’t her choice of outfit. »Mando,« the strange woman turned around to address the Mandalorian again, »Get her something to wear, she can’t walk around like this. Mos Pelgo can wait! And you, come with me.« With a tug on her arm Maia followed the woman. It didn’t feel like she had any choice to come with her, anyway. For a second she felt the sting and instantly turned her head back to look at Mando, who watched the two women leave the hangar. 

»What did you get into, child. All dirty and disheveled. And is that blood?« they entered a staircase, a very narrow one at that, and ascended. Probably into an apartment. »Well… most of that’s my blood if that’s any less concerning.« »Not in the slightest. Where did he find you?« They reached the top of the stairs and Maia was greeted with a small entry, leading to a kitchenette on the right, a small living space on the left. The windows were slender, horizontal slits close to the ceiling to grant some light while not allowing too much sunlight to accumulate to heat up the rooms. She was guided through another narrow hallway, a metal door on the right, a curtain opposite to the metal door. She could make out a bed behind the curtain, most likely a bedroom. »He saved me,« Maia finally confessed when the woman let go of her hand. »Saved?« she repeated and raised an eyebrow. At least that’s what Maia thought, a severe lack of eyebrow hair on the woman’s brow bone made interpreting the muscle movements difficult. »From an ex-boyfriend? A lover?« The young brunette didn’t even know how to reply to that. Why would Mando…? 

»Oh well, doesn’t matter. You’re taking a bath, bathrooms to the right.« »A bath? Isn’t … water scarce here?« The older woman waved her hand, scoffed. »Honey, you’re so dirty no ultrasonic shower will get all of that off.« Maia got pushed into the bathroom. »Thanks…?« She turned to see, in fact, there was a bathtub in this bathroom. The door behind her wasn’t shut yet. Apparently there was more to say. »Mando’s getting you some clothes. I’ll add the bath to his bill. Name’s Peli, by the way.« And finally, she left, the door sliding closed. 

Without much hesitation, Maia undressed and hopped into the tub. And Peli was right, there was a lot of dirt on her. When was the last time she actually felt clean? At first she just showered off the most dirt, which was a struggle until she found the valve for the warm water. When she was clean enough that the thought of sitting in her bath water didn’t repulse her any more, she filled the tub about halfway with warm water, sitting in it and looking out the small window that allowed her to watch the droids work on the Razor Crest. Her hair was down, wet strands of brown hair sticking to her back, all the way down below the water line, ending somewhere just above her butt. In between the strands of her hair, her skin was showing, fair, soft, and with an alarming amount of scars, but given her history that was to be expected. She was alone, no one would see her back. No one would see the scars, faded over time and only really visible when you’re too close to her. What was, however, a lot more visible than the souvenirs of her mistreatment, was the large, black tattoo that decorated the middle of her back. The sigil of the Empire and her ID below it. She often forgot she even had that marking on her back. Getting tattooed against her will wasn’t something she thought about often. She repressed it. 

It was weirdly peaceful here, although Mos Eisley was a busy city. Perhaps it was that Peli’s hangar war completely closed off, like a fortress in the city center. How was Mos Pelgo, Maia wondered. Would it be similar, a metropolis amidst the large abandoned desert that spanned the whole planet? Or was Mos Pelgo perhaps smaller, even more peaceful than sitting in a bathtub and being allowed to just breathe for a minute. 

The door behind her opened with a hiss, Mando entering with a stack of clothes for her. He didn’t look at her, at least she didn’t feel the sting in her neck when he set the clothes down. »I got you some clothes and…« he stopped in his tracks. There it was, the sting. »Why is the symbol of the Empire on your back?« Fark. She pulled her hair to the side, uncovering the whole tattoo as well as all the scars that accompanied it.

»I told you I’ve heard worse than the comments of some criminals. Felt worse.« He inhaled sharply. Guess it’s time to tell him. »I was a captive of the Empire for a long time, basically all of my childhood. I mostly grew up in a research facility, somewhere in a secluded area on a small moon. I can’t remember where. I’ve forgotten where I come from originally. M-414 is my ID, Maia is just what my guardian called me. They tattooed me after I tried to escape when I was fifteen. A bounty hunter brought me back, which is why I generally don’t like bounty hunters.« She arranged her hair to her front to cover her breasts until she turned to Mando, feeling his gaze scan over her back all the while she was talking. She leaned forward against the inner wall of the tub, resting her forearms on the edge of the tub, her head on top of her arms. She was covered like that and felt safe from his looks. Or safer. Her eyes looked into the visor. What was he thinking right now? »Frankly, I’m not sure if there’s still a bounty on me, my second escape attempt was successful, after all. I still want to help you and Grogu find Jedi but I’m afraid I’ll do more harm than good if we run into a bounty hunter, and chances are unfortunately high if we’re looking for a Mandalorian. It’s my personal interest that Grogu doesn’t have to go through what I did, which is why I’ve offered to help you in the first place. If you think I’m too much of a risk, I will leave.« 

»I see,« was all he said. You see? What? I mean I know what you see right now, which is me. There was the sting again. She changed her posture, raising one forearm upright to rest her head on her hand. »Mando?« »Hm?« his head dipped. Where was he looking? »Quit staring,« she said with a grin. There wasn’t much he could see, unless he used some of the tech in his helmet for deeper insights. The worst he had seen. The tattoo. 

His back straightened and his shoulders tensed. Got you. He scoffed and turned around. »Get dressed. We have to get going.« 

A few minutes after Mando, Maia came downstairs to the hangar. Her hair was still loose and mostly damp, but the dry and hot air would dry it in no time. She could put it up later. Peli acknowledged her presence first, whistling when the young brunette joined them, clean and in a more feminine outfit. Now the helmet also turned to look at her. Loose-fitting dark brown pants, a top in the same dark brown fabric, and a beige v-neck tunic on top. Even the cape was dark brown, albeit of a different fabric and therefore had a different tint. All of it was loose-fitting to allow for air circulation, but still – it showed a bit of the feminine figure hidden beneath. It looked suspiciously Jedi with the belt and her lightsabers and she wondered if that’s what Mando had planned or if it was coincidence. »Well, who would’ve guessed that there was quite the attractive person hiding underneath all the gunk and that hideous shirt.« Again. Peli wiggled her nonexistent eyebrows. The mechanic wasn’t done. »I can tell why Mando wants to take you with him.« 

The insinuation alone made the poor Maia blush and Mando tensed again. Stars. If that made him uncomfortable, maybe it was true? No, he probably thought about ambushing her while in the bath. 

Peli showed them a map of Mos Pelgo, a very small settlement in the middle of the desert. Mando asked for a speeder bike that Peli used to have, and they got ready to leave. Grogu had the honor of sitting in a carrier bag at the end of the speeder bike, enjoying the wind that blew over his face, making his comically large ears flutter. Maia was practically glued to Mando’s back, meaning the jetpack had to be strapped to the carrier rack in the back of the bike. It wasn’t uncomfortable to be so close to him, but the fact that he had been so quiet since he saw her tattoo made Maia uneasy. Did he suddenly not trust her? But then again if he didn’t he wouldn’t have taken her with him. She didn’t want to tap into his thoughts. She could, but it felt wrong now that she was next to him. She could just ask him. He felt so … conflicted, it was practically radiating off of him. 

»The suns are setting soon. We’ll stay with Tuskens for the night,« he stated matter-of-factly. Tuskens? Of course this didn’t mean anything to her, never having encountered the natives of Tatooine before. When they approached the small village of tents, Maia got the first glance at one of the Tuskens. They looked… scary. But the way Mando talked to them, not understandable for her, made it seem like they were… quite friendly towards him and his companions. One of the Tuskens pointed a finger towards her. Mando didn’t bother to translate for her. Only when the Tusken led them to the campfire, the helmet faced her. »They’re letting us stay for the night.« »O-okay,« she said, setting Grogu in the warm sand beside her. They sat around a campfire, Maia quietly humming to herself while she braided her now dry hair. The little green gremlin got something to eat, smacking his lips loudly and looking generally happy. That was until Maia, with a grin on her face, stole some of the little one’s dinner, the green paws reaching for her to get his food back. 

Again she felt Mando’s eyes burn on her skin. She ignored it until he got up. »Come with me,« he ordered. Her heart sank. Something inside her told her he’d leave her here. Or whatever. It sounded like he wanted to talk and based on their most recent interaction it wasn’t going to be pleasant. 

She followed him through the shadows the tents cast on the red sand. The suns were setting, the whole settlement now in the shade. They walked to the edge of the camp. Maia anticipated any kind of confrontation and watched the helmet intently. »Have you ever seen anything like this?« he simply asked, the helmet looking to her, then nodding to where he had looked before. Her eyes followed the direction of the nod. 

The suns were close to the horizon, painting the sky in the most vibrant shades of orange, red, pink and even purple. Her eyes widened, clearly taken aback by the view. »It’s… beautiful,« she whispered. She had seen sunsets before, but never with two suns and also never out in the open like this, an unfiltered view of the large glowing orbs descending and slowly disappearing underneath the horizon. »I’ve seen sunsets before but this,« she blinked a few times, her eyes sparkling as they filled with tears. Don’t get emotional. »Is breathtaking.«

Just for a second her eyes jumped to the side, looking at her companion, whose gaze was fixed to the sunset. At least that’s what the helmet suggested. What are you doing to me?

»I thought maybe you needed to see something pleasant for a change. Neither Nevarro nor the fighting arena were really … nice views.« His voice didn’t give off any tense or disgruntled undertone. His shoulders sank when he sighed audibly. »I wanted to thank you for protecting Grogu. I know I said I didn’t trust you, but you jumped to action without questions. Therefore… thank you.« Mando was thanking her? Was he perhaps warming up to her? She smiled softly. »Thank you for showing me the sunset.« She looked back to the suns, the first one below the horizon already and the blue night sky slowly creeping over the sky. The first stars started showing up.

»I guess it’s easy to forget that beauty still exists out here and not everything is… bad. Being able to take a breather isn’t something I take for granted. I guess you don’t either. You’re like a magnet for adventures.« »Yes. Moments like this are rare. Probably even more for you if you’ve been imprisoned for so long.« He nodded, then his body slowly rotated towards her. The visor tilted to fixate her eyes. Again, there was the sting. Would that feeling ever dull? »Don’t worry about the other Mandalorians. They will not touch you. You protected a foundling and that should deter them from attacking you. Even if you have a bounty.« A soothing thought. Really, actually. »I hope they share your sentiment. I know you didn’t trust me at first and I can understand that.« She rested her hand on his shoulder plate. He tensed and she regretted the decision to touch him. But neither did he move or comment on her approach, nor did she retreat the hand. »Even if you still are unsure about me. I don’t know what you and Grogu have been through. All I know is Grogu means a lot to you. If protecting him means that much to a Mandalorian, then I hope they see it the same way.«

Her hand slid down the beskar plate and she pulled back. That was awkward. »What will you do when Grogu is in the hands of the Jedi?« she asked. »Will he forget me?« He didn’t even answer her question. He really bonded with the child. »I … don’t know,« she responded. »If we find someone who still works by the old rules, then he won’t be allowed any relationship with you. Then it’s only his master, him, and the force.« Definitely not what he wanted to hear, but it was the truth. 

»Maybe that’s what’s best for him. I will go back to bounty hunting. What about you?« She shrugged. It wasn’t like she knew what to do. All she ever wanted was to find ‘the guy’ – and now she was with him. »I guess I should find my place in the galaxy. Or figure out who I am… or was… or… originally was supposed to be before I got captured. Thing is, I don’t even know where to look. I can’t walk into an Imperial base and just ask.« Her brows furrowed. »Besides I still feel like I owe you. Bringing Grogu to a Jedi doesn’t feel like it’s enough to make up for you saving my life. You don’t need a medium-sized troublemaker to accompany you on your adventures, do you?« 

»You want to stay with a bounty hunter while there might be an active bounty on you?« Yeah, putting it like that made it sound ridiculous. It was. But she couldn’t just leave. »Why not? Could always claim you got to me first if we run into another hunter. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Not that we are but…« I feel safer with you around. 

»I’ve been with a small troublemaker for so long now… maybe I can live with a co-pilot for a while.« Her heart just about jumped. It definitely sounded like he was smiling underneath the helmet. Dank Farrik. And he did, but how would she know? 

»I just hope the Mandalorian in Mos Pelgo can help us. They’re almost as hard to find as your kind,« he continued. »That’s probably the only thing we have in common. And I’m not a Jedi.« She looked back where the sunset had happened just a few minutes ago, the horizon still showing a glimpse of the colors but most of the sky now engulfed in dark blue. »We should probably go back. I don’t want to appear rude to our hosts,« she thought out loud. »Let’s go, then.« He nodded and walked back to the camp, her following him. Where would they even sleep? Not that she was particularly tired, she had just slept for quite a few hours in the Crest, but he needed some sleep.

»You can sleep in this tent over here,« Mando stated, pointing towards one. » You’re a woman so you get a bit more privacy. I’ll keep Grogu with me.« She almost stumbled over her own feet, thankful he didn’t see as she was behind him to the side. »I can’t communicate with them. Can you thank them for me?« He nodded. »Will do. We leave at sunrise. Good night.« He turned around as Maia approached the entry of her tent. »Mando?« she asked, waiting for him to turn around. He looked over his shoulder, back still turned to her. »Yes?« »Don’t feel like it’s your responsibility to right the wrongs of others.« Did he even understand what she meant? »I know I can’t. But you deserve better.« And with that he left to return to the campfire. 

Maia retreated into the tent. Her thoughts were racing for a while until she finally fell asleep. 

A/N: One thing I have to mention here. My stupid ass forgot Star Wars universe technically doesn’t use the latin alphabet. It just so happens that M414 and MAIA look similar enough in Aurebesh that it’s still plausible. I can delulu myself into thinking that Raymond saw that and thought “eh, close enough” Zaddy approves, eheh.