Hello All! Happy New Year! Let's ring in the new year with some Mando!

I wanted to thank you for all the amazing support. It isn't easy getting a new story off it's feet on Wattpad and I so appreciate all of your votes and comments. You are awesome!

Happy Reading!

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They had been flying for weeks now and they needed a job. Fuel was expensive and they had burned through Mando's reserves trying to stay ahead of every two bit bounty hunter in the quadrant who thought they could take on the Mandalorian. Most didn't live to tell the tail which only added to his legend. Which was in many ways almost worse. They were leaving quite the trail of bodies behind them.

Things aboard the Razor Crest had settled into a routine when they weren't being actively pursued. It had taken a week for her to convince him, but finally Mando had relented and let her actually pilot the ship. When she hadn't crashed it and killed them all for an hour he agreed to flying in shifts when they weren't in hyperspace. It made things easier and both of them were able to sleep and rest.

Yara quickly learned that the silent and brooding warrior thing wasn't just an act he put on for the villagers. Even in the privacy of his own ship Mando rarely spoke unless she engaged him. Although he remained silent much of the time Yara was getting better at interpreting all the subtle tilts of his head, shifts of his body and endless sighing. She had learned to pay attention to body language and soon she thought was able to read him fairly well. He had given her space as well. As much as she thought they had grown close in the village he seemed to be working to keep space between them once they returned to the ship. It was strange, it felt almost like he had allowed himself to be a different person when they were in the village, but now that they were back he had wrapped himself in being the Mandalorian as surely as he wore the beskar.

They had dropped out of hyperspace an hour before. They were hoping to find a planet to resupply. Yara was flying and Mando was flipping through the star charts with a quiet intensity. Hyperspace was the safest place for them, but it was expensive to continue to jump. He had run a risk coming out of hyperspace when he did, but they were running low on fuel and there were only so many options for refueling this far out.

Proximity alarms began going off. Yara frowned and her eyes dropped to the sensors. She flipped on the deflector shields before she even identified what the scans were picking up.

"What's that?" Mando asked turning and the ship was hit.

"Kriff!" Yara swore and she jerked the controls to the side to get them out of range of the small fighter that had found them. Mando jerked, bracing himself against the back of the pilots seat so he wouldn't be thrown backwards. Behind them the child giggled.

Two bright red streaks of light shot past them as the pilot in the attacking ship missed.

"Let me," Mando said and he laid his hands over the top of Yara's so there would be a seamless switch. He took control as she slid out from under him and he dropped down into his seat. Yara staggered into her chair as the ship was struck again.

"We need to get out of here," Yara said and Mando just grunted in reply as he focused entirely on dodging the other ship's attacks.

The ship shook as it took another hit. Yara gripped the arms of her chair. Alarms started to blare and sparks erupted from the damaged systems as the ship took more damage.

"Hand over the child and the girl Mando and I might let you live," the bounty hunter's voice came over the open comms.

"Hold on," Mando called to her and the child.

"I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold," the other bounty hunter said.

Mando jerked on the controls, slamming them backwards. The other ship sailed by them, directly into range. "That's my line," he growled and he fired, destroying the other ship in a fireball. Debris from the other ship floated past them.

Once the Crest was stabilized Yara jumped to her feet and immediately began working on the damaged systems. Mando may have beaten the other bounty hunter, but the Razor Crest had taken a lot of critical damage.

There were alarms going off all around them and sparks flying from damaged systems and frying wires. The two of them worked silently in perfect tandem. Mando began flipping switches turning off the systems they could spare that were malfunctioning. Yara leaned over him to reach more of the control panel. He tried to move, to get out of her way, but he was trapped in his seat. The ship jolted again as one of the engines sputtered out. The movement threw Yara sideways. Mando caught her with a gentle hand on her waist as she almost fell straight into his lap.

Yara was so focused on the ship she hardly noticed as she sat half perched on his lap, half leaning against the arm of his chair. Her fingers flew over the controls and a deep frown formed on her face as she studied the read outs.  "We're losing what little fuel we had left," she warned him gravely.

The entire ship went dark as they lost main power. Yara froze. It was only then that she noticed Mando's hand resting lightly on her hip, steadying her as she worked, half perched on his lap. She went very still. Mando shifted beneath her and cleared his throat. She immediately jumped up off his lap as though she had been burned. She hadn't meant to intrude on his person space, especially after he had made such an effort to put space between them.

"Right we should-" she stammered as she tried to hide her embarrassment. She moved towards the back of the cockpit. "Emergency power, emergency power," she chanted half under her breath.

She slid around the chair and moved through the inky blackness towards the control panel. She felt movement behind her, but it was so dark it was almost impossible to see anything. If she remembered correctly they were in a binary star system, but the ship was facing away from both the stars. She ran her hands over the controls, trying to remember the location of the emergency power master switch. She went very still as she felt the gentle pressure of Mando's hand against her low back to let her know he was there.

"Here," he said in a low tone. His voice coming through the modulator was a raspy. He had owned the ship for years and had every piece of it memorized. He reached around her and flipped the switch. The lights came back on and Mando quickly dropped his hand and put space between them once more as he turned back to the controls.

"Thanks," Yara muttered, feeling her ears burning red. The alarms started back up and she began shutting down systems to contain the damage.

"We're running only on emergency power," Yara told him. "Hopefully there's a port nearby."

Mando's hands were already flipping through the charts. "There's one," he said. "Couple hours away."

Yara pressed her lips together as she looked over the read outs. "Couple hours?" she asked.

Mando nodded. "Three," he confirmed.

"It's going to get cold in here," she said grimly and she routed as much of the life support as they could spare to the engines.

Mando stepped up into her space to look for himself. "We'll be running on fumes, but we should make it," Mando told her reading over her shoulder.

"Should?" She asked. She turned her head and was almost surprised to find the surface of his helmet only a couple inches from her.

Mando turned his head and just stared into her face silently. He didn't want to scare her, but he also wouldn't lie to her. This was going to be close. She knew enough about ships to be able to recognize the position they were in herself.

Yara drew in a deep breath and nodded then set to work. She had spent her whole life on a ship and been through a lot of close calls. The thought of dying because of a problem with the ship had never scared her before, but that didn't mean it wasn't a frightening possibility now. Freaking out wasn't going to fix the problem. Instead she focused on figuring out some work arounds to the systems she could cannibalize.

Mando slipped past her and out of the cockpit. She turned the chair towards the computer and began working through all of the damage to see if there was anything she had missed. Even a small amount of power squeezed out of something like the water heater for the fresher would buy them precious minutes.

The bounty hunter had certainly done a bang up job. Had they not been as close to a planet as they were they would all be dead. Slowly freezing to death as the systems died until the Razor Crest was left floating through space like just another piece of space junk.

Yara was so focused on her work she didn't notice Mando returning to the cockpit. She jolted when something soft fell around her shoulders. She looked up in surprise to find Mando had dropped his cloak around her shoulders.

"I don't have much else that's warm," he said apologetically. "I wrapped both my blanket and your's around the kid. He's sleeping," Mando told her. She glanced back to see his small pram in its seat. One of the blankets was nestled around the kid while the other was laid over the top.

Yara bit back a smile. Mando could be really sweet sometimes. He didn't show it often, but he genuinely seemed to care for the kid and he had a nurturing and protective side that seemed so at odds with all she knew about Mandalorians.

Yara shrugged the cloak closer around her. It smelled like leather and metal, like him. It made her feel strangely safe. Mando sealed off the cockpit to try and keep what little warmth was left on the ship contained. Yara was chewing on her lip as she studied the read outs.

"Even if we make it to a space port we will need a real mechanic. This is way beyond my skills," Yara told him, turning the chair back around to face Mando. He was standing in the small space between her and the kid's chairs, watching her closely. 

"We'll find someone," he said.

"We don't have credits," She reminded him.

Mando sighed. "We'll find some work," he promised her. "What planet?" He asked.

Yara turned back to the navigation charts. "Tatooine."

Mando nodded. "We'll be able to find something," he assured her. "It just may not be strictly legal," he added apologetically.

Yara snorted and arched an eyebrow at him. "I didn't grow up as one of the white hats," she reminded him. He grunted and moved to his chair to take the controls, but the idea seemed to bother him for some reason.

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The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful but Yara was on pins and needles the whole way. They all stayed in the cockpit, with the door closed to keep as much heat contained as possible. Yara shivered beneath Mando's cloak. She pulled it more securely around her shoulders as she watched the readouts carefully the whole, painfully slow flight into Tatooine. She didn't take a breath until they broke atmo.

"This is Mos Eisely tower we are tracking you," the control tower contacted them as soon as they were approaching the planet. "Head to bay 35 over."

"Copy that," Mando agreed calmly. "Locked in for 3-5." If he was relieved they had made it he didn't show it. His tone remained impassive and his body calm and confident as he flew his dying ship.

They landed a little rougher than normal, but the landing gears were all working. When the ship finally set down Yara breathed a sigh of relief. The kid was still sleeping peacefully, completely unaware how close they had come. They moved him into Mando's quarters and went down the ramp together.

Three droids leapt up and approached them chattering happily. Yara flinched as Mando fired his blaster at them in warning. All three collapsed back into rest mode, hiding. She turned and frowned at him but he offered no explanation. He just slid the blaster away.

"Hey!" a shrill, angry voice called from inside the hanger. "Hey!" she screeched. "You damage one of my droids you'll pay for it."

"Just keep them away from my ship," Mando warned darkly.

Uninitiated the woman crossed her arms over her chest. "You think that's a good idea? Do you?" she challenged, stepping out to look at the Razor Crest. "Let's look at your ship," she knocked on the side of it and let out a low whistle. "Look at that. You got a lot of carbon scorin' building up top," she paced around it some more. "If I didn't know better I would say you were in a shoot out," she started digging through the engine. "Special tool for that one," she muttered half under her breath. "You got a fuel leak, look at this..." she dragged off as she inspected the landing gear, then she stopped and turned to face them. "How did you even land? This is going to set you back."

Mando rested his hands on his belt. "I've got five hundred imperial credits," he told her tossing her a small bag of credits. It was almost everything he had left, but if they couldn't get back in the air they were stuck.

"That's all you got?" she asked looking down at the money. "What do you guys thing?" she asked her droids. "It should at least cover the hanger."

"I'll get you your money," Mando promised.

"Hmm I've heard that before," she snapped.

"Just remember-" Mando growled.

"Yeah, no droids, I heard ya. You don't have to say it twice. Jeez," she muttered behind him.

Yara and Mando set off from the hanger into Mos Eisley. The desert heat was oppressive. Yara unzipped her jacket.

"Why don't you like droids?" Yara asked. It was hard to tell but she thought Mando's shoulders may have stiffened. She followed the line of his arm down and noted that his hand had clenched into a fist.

"Have you ever been here before?" he asked, clearly refusing to answer her question and changing the subject.

Yara nodded. "It's been a while," she said. They came around a corner to see stormtrooper helmets jammed onto spikes. If Yara wasn't mistaken the helmets were still occupied. She swallowed. It occurred to her then that every other time she had been in a place as rough as this she had always been accompanied by her father, at least one brother and her fiancé Cy. They had a fairly large crew and no one went anywhere alone, ever. She had grown up in some pretty rough crowds and certainly could handle herself, but they had always watched each other's backs on jobs. She frowned as she looked around the busy street, for the first time she felt truly alone.

Mando glanced over his shoulder. Yara had stopped. He cocked his helmet to the side and waited for her to notice his impatient stance, but she had gone very still. Her large violet eyes were staring at the crowds surrounding them. He wasn't sure if her gift was acting up or if she was just overwhelmed by the crowded market. He moved towards her and when she still didn't react he stepped into her space.

He resisted the urge to touch her, but it was hard. Ever since she asked to be a member of his crew he had worked to treat her that way, to put distance between them and respect her space. He had allowed himself certain freedoms when they had been in the village, but he couldn't give in to those temptations now that she was staying. He had his creed to honor and uphold. He owned his tribe everything.

"Yara," he said her name low and gravely and she jumped.

Her violet eyes flickered up to his helmet and there was something behind them. Something he didn't understand. He felt like he was missing something and he looked around at the crowd.

"Everything all right?" He asked warily.

Yara nodded a few too many times. "Yeah," she assured him quickly. She realized then that Mando was standing incredibly close. His size filled the space around her. Looking around it was easy to see how people reacted to his presence alone. He hadn't even done anything and people were giving them a wide berth.

Mando reached out and the very tips of his gloved ghosted across her elbow, guiding her with him. "Just stay close," Mando said and led the way down the main street.

They passed all sorts and while some let their eyes run over Yara as soon as they landed on The Mandalorian stalking powerfully beside her they hustled along their way. Yara didn't think she looked like an easy mark, but this place was tougher than most and just being small and female were definite disadvantages. There was no New Republic out here. Tatooine was as outlaw as they came.

They went to the local cantina. It was mostly empty. Only a dozen or so people milled around the bar or at shadowed tables. Mando walked up to the bar and Yara stepped up beside him, leaning her back against it so she could keep her eyes on the room. She felt stupid for reacting the way she had earlier and she was determined to prove to Mando that she would be useful to him.

"Hey droid," Mando called to the bar keep, his dislike evident in his tone. "I'm a hunter. I'm looking for some work."

"Unfortunately the Bounty Guild no longer operates from Tatooine," the droid replied.

"I'm not looking for guild work," Mando told it.

The droid turned around. "I'm afraid that does not improve your situation, at least by my calculation-"

"Think again tin can," a male voice called from the far side of the room.

Yara had already spotted the young man sitting in the booth. She hadn't considered him much of a threat. His blaster was too shiny, his clothes too clean, and he was almost as pretty as she was. He looked out of place in a Mos Eisley cantina, but not dangerous.

The young man pushed himself t his feet. He puffed up his chest and walked across the bar towards them. "If you're looking for work, have a seat my friend. Name's Toro, Toro Calican," he introduced.

Mando turned to face him full on and Toro wilted a little. Not quite stepping backward but it was hard to miss the fear and respect that flickered across his face. "You and your beautiful companion should come join me," Toro said gesturing to his table. He turned back to Yara and raked his eyes up and down her body before he winked at her.

Yara sucked in a breath but ignored the action. Punching him in his arrogant and pretty face wouldn't help them find a job.

"Come on, relax," he said gesturing to the chairs.

Yara and Mando exchanged a look. Only the subtle tilt of Mando's helmet told her he was okay with pursuing this. She led the way over to the table. When she went to sit Toro blatantly locked his eyes just below her neck. She all of a sudden wished the heat hadn't made her leave her jacket unzipped. He took in the sight of her pale flesh and flashed another far too pleased smiled.

Mando cleared his throat tightly, forcing Toro's attention back to him. If Yara had reacted at all to the man's ogling he would have put a stop to it, job or not. But when she just rolled her eyes and dropped into a chair he let it slide. For now.

Toro slapped a bounty puck down in the middle of the table without preamble. The face of a woman with dark hair and sharp features appeared. "Picked up this Bounty Puck before I left the Mid rim," he said. "Fennec Shand, an Assassin. Heard she's been on the run ever since the new republic put all of her employers in lockdown."

"I know the name," Mando said stoically.

"Yeah well, I followed this tracking fob here," he said lifting it out of his pocket. "Now the positional data suggests she's headed out beyond the Dune sea," he shrugged. "Should be an easy job."

Mando glanced towards Yara before he moved to stand. "Well, good luck with that," he said. They weren't getting involved in this. There were too many ways it could go wrong. He indulged himself and rested his hand against her low back, guiding Yara toward the door ahead of him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Toro called. "I thought you needed work."

Mando turned around. "How long you been with the guild?" Mando asked.

Toro puffed up again "Long enough," he responded coolly. He was trying too hard.

"Clearly not," Mando growled. "Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. She made her name killing for all the top crime syndicates, including the Huts. If you go after her you won't make it past sunrise," Mando promised and he turned for the door.

"This is my first job!" Toro called, rushing after them. The bravado was quickly fading. "You can keep the money, all of it. I just need this job to get into the guild. I can't do it alone and you two look like you can more than handle yourselves," he said his eyes running from Mando back to Yara.

Mando tipped his head to the side thoughtfully. This was not what he had in mind. Going out beyond the Dune Sea was dangerous enough. Going after someone like Fennec was akin to suicide. But the bounty on her would keep them in the air for months. He glanced towards Yara wondering if he would be able to convince her to stay behind. Her jaw was set, her arms crossed over her chest and she was glaring at Toro. Probably not.

"Meet me in hanger three-five in half an hour," he finally conceeded to Toro. "Bring three speeder bikes and give me the tracking fob," Mando said holding out his hand.

The big grin faded on Toro's face and he turned and smashed the fob against the wall. Mando looked down at the pieces and could have shot the kid right there. This was not going to go well.

"Don't worry," Toro said with a grin and he tapped his temple. "I got it all memorized."

"Half an hour," Mando growled.

"Looks like you're stuck with me now partner!" Toro called after them.

Yara waited until she and Mando were on the street before she spoke again. "Fennec Shand?" she asked in disbelief.

"You know her?" Mando asked glancing towards Yara. It was easy to forget the life Yara grew up in.

"Of her," Yara said, "My dads crew liked to talk. She's been a big deal what...five...maybe ten years ago now. She was up and coming back then."

"It won't be easy," Mando agreed grimly. "Don't suppose I'll be able to convince you to stay behind?" He prompted.

Yara shot him a look and he actually held his hands up in surrender. His eyes caught one of the market stalls and he reached into his pocket for some credits. "Why don't you pick up some clothes, maybe another small blaster," he suggested, jerking his helmet towards the market stall across the way.

Yara turned with a frown. "I don't-" she started to argue. They needed to keep what credits they had.

"You need more stuff, and we're about to get a big payday," he assured her. "Get us some canteens while you're at it."

Yara took the credits and did as he asked, shaking her head. Sometimes Mando confused her more than anyone she had ever met.

Once Yara was headed where she pointed her he turned and approached the market stall they had just passed. He handed over his credits and slid the items into his bag before joining Yara.

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When they returned to the ship the two of them went on board. They both froze when they saw the door to Mando's quarters was open. Yara frowned and looked around. She hadn't felt anything out of place.

Mando stormed out of the ship with Yara on his heels. "Hey!" he snarled dangerously, reaching for his blaster as he approached the three droids. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"Hey! Quiet!" the woman called defensively. "Ah, you woke it up," she said, coming out of the hanger. She was bouncing the child in her arms. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?"

"Give him to me," Mando growled, reaching for the kid.

"Not so fast," she said. "You can't just leave a child alone like that. You know, you have an awful lot to learn about raising a young one."

Mando tilted his helmet thoughtfully as he regarded her. Then he turned and looked back at Yara who just shrugged.

"Anyway, I started the repair on the fuel leak. There you go. I had a couple of setbacks I want to talk to you about. You know I didn't use any droids as requested so it took me a lot longer than I expected. But I figured you were good for the money since you have an extra mouth to feed."

"Thank you," The Mandalorian said. "Can you watch him?"

The woman nodded and continued to coo at the child. "Did you get a job?" She asked, but Mando moved back into the ship to gather a few more supplies. When he came back down with his bag filled and his pulser rifle over his shoulder her eyes sparkled.

"I guess I was right you got a job, don't you?" she asked. "You know it's costing me a lot of money to keep these droids even powered up."

Mando ignored her and led the way back out of the hanger. Yara and the woman carrying the kid followed.

"Hey Mando, what do you think?" Toro asked.

Mando looked over the speeder bikes. "There's only two."

He reached into this bag and turned to Yara. He held out a set of goggles and a beautiful scarf awkwardly.

The scarf was shades of violet and blue and the craftsmanship was incredible for the outer rim. "What's this?" Yara asked.

"You'll need these," he said in a forced casual tone as though he hadn't bought that scarf in particular because it was the exact shade of her eyes.

Yara took the offered items and glanced into Mando's helmet. She wanted to thank him but she was well aware the two of them were being watched. She pulled the goggles down over her eyes and wrapped the scarf over her nose and mouth so she wouldn't inhale the dust. How like him to get something both beautiful and practical. How very Mandalorian of him. It hadn't escaped her notice that while beskar was very useful, the design of the armor itself was also an artistic masterpiece. Beautiful and practical.

Mando secured his pack and climbed onto the bike, checking over the switches and electrical connections. When one of them snapped he shot a disgruntled look at Toro.

"They'll have to do," Toro said. "This isn't Corellia," his eyes flickered from Mando to Yara. "I figured with all that extra weight you're carrying your lovely friend here should ride with me."

Yara rolled her eyes and moved to Mando's bike. "Beskar is very lightweight," she told him snuggly.

Toro grasped his heart. "That hurts sweetheart," he said dramatically. "Don't worry, you'll come 'round," he promised and he winked at her.

Yara moved to climb on Mando's bike and he reached back, offering her a hand to pull her up. She took it and threw a leg over the back to slid up behind him. Her thighs rested intimately against the backs of his. It took her a moment to realize there was no armor there and it was just the thin layers of fabric separating them. Her cheeks flamed red as she tentatively rested her hands on his waist. The speeder bike moved and she jerked, wrapping both hands around Mando's waist tighter. His hand came down and touched the backs of hers briefly to steady her. It happened so fast it may have been her imagination. Then he slammed the controls forward so their speeder bike surged ahead of Toro's towards the Dune Sea.

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I hope you enjoyed the update!