It doesn't take long for Cobb to pack some extra clothing and a couple of nicknacks he is fond of. His home is small and the items he keeps inside are few and far between. When he is finished, he has the clothes on his back, a single rucksack that still has space in it, and looks back at his home from the front door and realizes he doesn't care that he is leaving it. It never truly felt like home.

Outside, he finds Weequay talking with the Mandalorian at the base of his ship. He hands Mando a bag of something, food pouches he guesses.

When Cobb approaches the pair he hears a thank you from Mando before they both look over.

"You ready?" Mando asks. Cobb simply nods.

Mando boards and Cobb takes a look around the town. Most people are watching him with forlorn expressions, but others aren't even acknowledging his exit. It's strange, but he lets it be. He gives a wave to the few that are watching, Jo included, and they nod and wave back. Cobb gives a pat on the shoulder to Weequay and then he is stepping aboard the ship and closing the ramp door as if he's done that a million times before. He stores that thought away for later.

It's now that Cobb takes the time to look around the ship properly. There are crates strapped down and scattered around the hull, the lights are few but fluorescent enough to give the space a colder feel to it. Cobb crosses his arms. There's a privy off to the right and a sealed door to the left. Straight back from the entrance is the cockpit where Cobb can see Mando messing with the controls. The ship is small on the inside, but he wouldn't think that from the outside. Despite feeling cold and out of place, Cobb is comfortable here.

He ventures to the door on the left and opens it, finding it's unlocked. Inside is a bunk-cot, the lowest having been slept in recently, the top untouched. There are a couple of drawers Cobb decides are meant for clothing and other personal belongings. It only takes him two steps to reach the layered beds and fling his bag on top, figuring it's best to unpack later on. He heads back out to the hull and towards the cockpit. There is a small hallway connecting the two, and cabinet doors on either side. Cobb gets the feeling they store food and weapons.

Mando must know he is there because he says, "we're taking off, strap yourself in."

Cobb does exactly that in one of the seats just back and to the right of Mando. Seconds after, they're lifting off and Cobb is fumbling with the seatbelt. He doesn't give up until he hears the satisfying click of the metal. He grips the edge of his chair for extra caution as if that would do anything if the ship went down. It's in this moment that he realizes he has never been off-planet.

He watches in awe as the bright tan of Tatooine fades into blues and then black with glimmering, bright stars dotting the forefront.

Mando presses something and a holoscreen comes up. He presses a few buttons on there and then he is pushing a small lever and all the stars blur until he is thrust back into his seat and the stars are circling around them in a blinding rush.

Cobb gasps in surprise. That's when Mando turns to him and stares. That's it. He sits there and stares at Cobb. He almost doesn't mind with such a view outside, but the longer Mando stares the more distracting it becomes. Soon, Cobb is trapped in the gaze and he has no choice but to stare back. It almost feels like a challenge, and Cobb likes challenges.

"Are you cold?" He finally asks.

Cobb frowns. That's not exactly the thing he expected him to say. Not that he's really expecting much from the guy at this point.

He's about to tell him no but realizes that it is a bit chilly on the ship. Before he can respond, Mando is up and grabbing something from the cabinet just outside the cockpit. He hands Cobb a blanket. "We will be on Nevarro in a few hours. You should eat something and get some rest." Then he is gone.

Cobb tries to follow him but his hips get caught on the seat strap. He grunts and fumbles to unstrap it, then follows Mando with the blanket still in hand.

"What's on Nevarro?"

"Help."

"What kinda help?"

"The sleep quarters are in there, looks like you've already figured that out."

Cobb comes to stand in front of Mando. He realizes the man is unarming himself on one of the crates. There are a couple of chairs around it as if it's a makeshift dining table. Cobb has to squeeze himself between the man and the crate to get his attention.

"Now would be a real good time to tell me what's goin' on, partner."

Mando freezes, tense and unmoving, with the visor fixed on Cobb's face yet again. Cobb should feel unsettled knowing he is being watched and he can't watch back, but it doesn't bother him. Instead, it steadies him. Like just moments before, it feels like a challenge. Cobb is not afraid of the helmet, or the man that hides beneath it.

"You can start with how you knew which parts to buy for the vaporator."

"Jo told me."

"Right," Cobb frowns. Obviously. If Jo called him then of course she would tell him where he is and why. Of course, he would get the parts to help out a friend and then rescue another from certain death and/or kidnapping.

Mando turns away. He goes to the hall leading to the cockpit and opens the opposing door of where he got the blanket. Cobb follows and pointedly ignores how it feels like he just lost a round in their game.

Inside are rows upon rows of guns. Cobb isn't surprised for more reasons than one. Naturally, a Mandalorian has a cabinet full of weapons, but Cobb knew what was behind the doors before they were opened. He suppresses a shiver and grips the blanket more tightly in his hand.

Mando is rifling through it looking for something as Cobb comes up to him and asks, "who wants me dead?"

Mando pauses and lets out a sigh. "A woman named Bo-Katan."

Cobb waits but he doesn't say anything further. "Who is she?"

Mando closes one of the doors to the gun cabinet and turns to face him. "The most dangerous woman in the galaxy."

Cobb stares at him. "Why?"

Mando drops his head, refusing to meet his gaze. Cobb scowls and peers at the guns inside the compartment. That's when he notices it, hiding behind a rifle that's hanging on the door. Cobb pulls it out. It's a printed photo, which is impressive since not very many of those are around anymore, but what's startling is that it's a printed photo of him, on a different ship, with a little green thing in his lap. He is smiling down at it and it's reaching up to touch Cobb's face.

Cobb looks at Mando and finds him quickly looking away. "You weren't supposed to see that," he says in a rush.

Cobb is staring at him, a slight feeling of betrayal surfacing in his stomach which he knows is reflected in his face. He's never been good at hiding his facial expressions. "Were we friends?"

Mando snatches the photo from him and puts it ever so gently back in its place, and then slams the door shut. "You could say that."

Then he is rushing past Cobb to the privy, and slamming the door shut behind him.

Cobb opens the door again and stares at the photo peeking out from behind the gun. He looks so happy, so full of life. Something Cobb hasn't felt for a long time, if at all. With every new answer he receives, more questions arise and it's frustrating. How can he feel so out of the loop in a game of his own life?

He shuts the door again and finds himself wondering if their silent challenges are something else entirely.

--

They arrive at Nevarro not long after. Mando only came out of the privy when a beeping sounded throughout the ship, letting them know they were coming out of lightspeed. He didn't say a word to Cobb, and Cobb wasn't sure what he could even say to him.

Cobb spent his time in the sleeping quarters rifling through Mandos things, hoping to find something—anything that would give him more answers. He found nothing.

On the planet, Cobb lingers behind a silent Mandalorian as they walk the desolate and gray street towards an equally gray town.

The pair get looks as they walk and Cobb finds himself leaning a little closer to Mando in the process. If he notices, he doesn't say anything.

They veer off to the left, down a couple of stairs, and into a large room that has cells lined up against a wall and desks lined against the other. There is a burly woman in blue and black with cropped, dark hair and a tattoo under one eye. She smiles when they walk in.

"Well well, I knew it wouldn't be long." She is up in an instant and rushing past Mando to Cobb. She pulls him into a tight hug, making Cobb gasp and feel ridiculously small. When she pulls away she gives a none-too-gentle punch to the exposed part of Mandos shoulder, smile still plastered on her face.

"It's not what you think," Mando says quickly, voice straining. He subtly shifts his shoulder.

She frowns and looks between the two of them.

"Cobb, this is Cara Dune."

Her face falls as she stares at him. Cobb is wondering how many times he's going to have to endure that.

"Uh, hi. I guess you already know me."

She smiles sympathetically but there is a lingering sadness in her expression. "Yeah, I do."

"I need your help," Mando intervenes.

"What can I do you for?"

"I need you to declare Cobb as dead in the galactic database."

Her eyebrows shoot up as do Cobbs. "You want her to do what now?"

"It's the only way to get the bounty off your head. Then you can lay low and live your life in peace."

"Mando—" Cara is shaking her head. "This isn't the way to do this. You know that."

"This is the only way to do this."

Cara turns to Cobb. "Could you give us a moment?"

Cobb blinks, then turns to Mando as if he could get any indication of what he's thinking just by looking at him, and hears Cara continue, "the kitchen is around the corner. I'm the only one in here, you'll be safe. You can help yourself to whatever you want."

Cobb looks between them then throws his hands up in surrender and walks down the hall and out of sight.

They're stupid if they think I'm not gonna listen to them.

He gets as close as he can without being seen and cocks his head a little bit out as if thrusting his ear into the air would actually help. It's quiet, he wonders if he's close enough when he hears a modulated, "what do you suggest?"

Cara sighs and starts moving around. Probably sitting back down at her desk. "You tell him the truth."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"You know why."

Cara shakes her head. "I wish I did. I know you believe what you believe. But you're wrong. This isn't protecting him. This is putting him in danger."

"Not if you declare him dead."

"And what happens when he remembers?"

"If."

"When," Cara emphasizes. "When he remembers, he's gonna be pissed at you."

Mando is quiet for a moment and Cobb has to strain to hear, "I'd rather him pissed and safe than in danger by my side again."

Cobb frowns. What does that even mean?

They're both quiet. Cobb can imagine they're having a stare-down before one of them gives in.

"I'll do it, but understand that it's not going to make him any safer. You know better than anyone. Bo-Katan will not stop until she sees his body at her feet."

Mando says nothing. The hairs on Cobb's neck stand stiff.

"Just do it," he growls. "Please."

Silence, he imagines Cara is giving him a displeased look but he hears typing and then, "Done. He is officially dead—cause of death, eaten by banthas."

Cobb has to restrain from objecting loudly and in a colorful vocabulary—

"Stop." Mando.

"Fine, the Tuskens took him. He was trying to negotiate and it didn't work out."

Cobb's shoulders relax a fraction. That's better at least.

"Better. I'll go get him and take him home."

Cobb was about to rush into the kitchen but Cara's voice stops him. "Mando."

"What?"

"It's not just a danger by not telling him. You're hurting yourself and him by being dishonest."

"He doesn't remember, and my pain isn't important."

"How could you say that?"

"He's safe. That makes my pain unimportant."

Cobb hears footsteps. He is quick to maneuver down the hall and into the kitchen, trying to look busy in the cabinet by rifling through stuff.

Mando is standing in the doorway, his frame practically taking up the whole thing with how bulky his armor is, but Cobb is willing to bet his shoulders really are that broad underneath.

"Ah, these are good!" Cobb exclaims and pulls out a bag of chips. "You ever had 'em?"

Mando looks at the red bag in his hand. "No."

"Oh, well you have to try them sometime. Are you hungry?"

"No."

Cobb hums. "Clearly a man of many words," he mutters mostly to himself.

"Cara declared you as dead. The bounty is lifted."

Cobb pauses. "What does that mean for me?"

"It means, you get to go home and live your life." Mando doesn't leave him any room for argument. "Let's go."

Cobb tosses the chips back in the cabinet and follows him. He is up the stairs and out of the room by the time Cobb makes it back to where Cara is.

She gives him a look. He doesn't realize he's stopped in front of her until it's happened.

"I—um, I'm sorry that I don't remember you. You seem lovely."

This earns him a genuine smile. "You'll remember, and when you do, go easy on him."

Cobb cocks his head and asks the question that's been bouncing around in his head ever since he saw that suit of armor in the market. "Who is he to me?"

Cara looks away at her screen as if considering her answer. After a moment she meets his gaze. "I think you should ask him that."

"You really think he will tell me?"

"I don't know. But you're smart, you'll find a way to get it out of him. You always do."

Cobb frowns at that but nods his head. "Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome. It was good to see you again."

"You too, I think?"

She laughs.

--

Outside, Mando is at a vendor across the path buying a few fruits and putting them in his satchel. Cobb stands behind him waiting for Mando to finish paying, then they're walking back to the ship. Both of them are quiet as the ramp door closes and Mando fires up the ship. They're in hyperspace before anyone says anything.

"We'll be back on Tatooine in a few hours."

"Just like that?"

Mando turns to him.

"You drop me off like nothin' has happened without explainin' to me why people are tryin' to kill me?"

Mando stands up. "Yes," and then walks out. Cobb is quick on his heels.

"Stop." He grabs Mando's arm and Mando shoves him up against the nearest wall, which happens to be one of the cabinets between the hull and cockpit, and has his arm to his neck. The pressure is there, but it doesn't hurt. For some reason, Cobb knows Mando will never hurt him.

"Leave it alone, Vanth."

"Not until you tell me the truth."

Mando is silent and doesn't move.

Cobb presses on. "Who am I to you, Mando?"

This makes Mando falter. "Nobody."

"How 'bout you at least do me the courtesy of not treatin' me like I'm stupid."

Mando pulls away from him and looks down somewhere near Cobb's chest.

"I know you're not, but I can't tell you."

Cobb steps into his personal space, now Mando is the one pressed against the opposing cabinet. "Why?"

"I—" The ship jerks making Cobb and Mando fall over, and a loud beeping fills the ship. Cobb flips over and sees they've fallen out of hyperspace and Mando is stumbling into the cockpit. The ship is shaking and jerking in different directions. Cobb tries to stand but he falls and hits his head on a crate. He feels the warm blood trickle down his temple before everything goes dark.

--

There's a flash of silver, and a little green and tan blob. Cobb feels warm inside, a feeling he hasn't felt in a long time, if ever. He holds this moment near and dear in his heart. It's important, he realizes, this feeling of being home. Cobb is holding the blob and he realizes they are on a ship that also feels like home, and the silver man comes up behind him and wraps his arms around Cobb's waist. Cobb leans into him, and the green blob is pleased by this.

The scene changes and they're on a planet somewhere, it's familiar and not, Cobb knows it's important but he doesn't know why. There is a woman in blueish armor and flaming red hair; a glowing black blade, and Cobb stumbles backward and the woman uses this to her advantage. He hears his name being yelled and the silver man is running towards him, but it's too late. Another flash of silver comes towards his head and he blacks out.

Cobb jumps awake with a shout and hands stretched out in front of him. Someone is saying his name but he is squeezing his eyes shut and his heart is racing in a panic for the next strike. All he can see is the rage of the woman and how she struck with the intention to kill.

Cobb! Cobb feels like he is underwater, but the voice pulls him to the surface and he gasps, finally seeing the silver man in front of him. He is holding Cobb's wrists, and they're sitting on the floor of the hull. Everything has shifted and things have fallen out of the cabinets and from the nets on the ceiling.

"What happened?" Cobb asks.

"We were attacked in hyperspace. You hit your head."

"What—"

"I lost them, whoever they were, they were after me, not you."

"Why?"

"They connected the coms and asked after me. Happens more often than you think. The problem is we had to land on the nearest planet. I have some repairs that need to be done."

Mando is still holding onto Cobb's wrists, and his head is hurting something fierce. Cobb tries to pull his hand to his head.

"Don't," Mando says gently, and in a tone that Cobb didn't know he was capable of. Despite the urgency of it, it helps him relax. "I just bandaged you. The bacta hasn't taken effect yet."

Cobb starts to really take in their situation, and remembers his dream, realizing that it wasn't a dream at all. He stares at Mando and then around the ship. It's not the same ship from his dream, but it's still familiar.

"Cobb?" Mando questions when he starts to stare off at something in the distance. Cobb looks at Mando and suddenly remembers how warm it felt to have his arms around his waist, even with the beskar in the way.

"What aren't you tellin' me?" Cobb asks.

Mando freezes. "I don't—"

"I've been here before." It's not a question.

Mando is hesitant. "Yes."

"But there was another ship."

"Yes. It was destroyed."

Flashes come to Cobb's mind, an explosion, the green blob disappearing—no, getting taken—the feeling of hopelessness and sadness washing over him.

Cobb gasps and clenches his chest.

"The green blob," he says out loud and he hears Mandos intake of breath. "Something happened to it."

"He's safe. He's safe now. I promise you that."

Cobb frowns and stares at him but he nods slowly and accepts this. The feeling still lingers, but it's something he will have to ignore until the full memory surfaces.

He stares at Mandos arms, not really seeing them but aware of how close they are to Cobb. As if they're expecting him to topple over at any second. They're sitting on the floor of the hull, legs pressed together and nearly tangled. He's doesn't even know how that happened, but it triggers another statement. Cobb forces his eyes to the man's visor when he blurts out, "we were involved."

At this, Mando turns away from him and tenses up, even under all that armor Cobb knows that this man is barely holding it together.

Eventually, he says, "yes."

Cobb releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. He pulls his knees to his chest and stares at the side of Mandos helmet.

"Why did you leave?"

Mando bristles and looks at him. "You make it sound like it was easy."

"Wasn't it?" Cobb growls. "Because you seem to have had no problem doing it."

Mando jumps to his feet and starts pacing the hull. "No problem?" Mando breathes and pauses to put his head in his hands just before resting them on his hips with his back to Cobb. He says something, something familiar and in another language, and then he turns to Cobb. Cobb, who is on his feet now too. "I had to protect you." The words are broken and whispered through a shaking breath. "It was my fault. All of it. You lost your memory because of me. I couldn't put you at risk anymore."

Things start to click together. "The red-haired woman. She attacked me and is the reason for my memory loss."

"You remember?"

"A bit. She is this Bo-Katan?"

"Yes, she's another Mandalorian."

Cobb nods. He is about to ask why she had it out for him when something loud outside rocks the ship. Not much, but enough. Cobb recognizes that power anywhere.

"Wind?" He asks.

"Blizzard. The ship is down. I imagine it's going to get cold in here soon, however, I have to go outside to fix the problem."

"And you can't do that with snow in your face."

"No."

"I've never seen snow before," Cobb comments idly.

"You have," Mando counters.

Cobb's eyebrows shoot up and Mando scratches the back of his neck like he didn't mean to say the words either.

"Did I like it?" Cobb wonders.

"No, you said it was too cold."

Cobb huffs a laugh at this and stares at the blank expression of beskar. And then he really laughs. Hard. He doesn't know where it comes from, but for some reason he becomes hysterical and he can't stop. He laughs hard enough that he leans back into the wall and puts a hand on his stomach. He's certain he looks like a madman to Mando, but soon enough he hears the silver man laughing too.

When they both settle down, Cobb can tell their eyes are locked. "You ever think we'd be here?"

"No," and Cobb knows they're not talking about the broken down ship in the blizzard. "Never."

Cobb sighs and then looks over his shoulder to the ship's windows in the cockpit. It's a sheet of white. He can't see a thing.

"I take it you couldn't find a cave."

Mando stares at him. Cobb smirks.

"You should get some rest and put on some more clothes. It's going to get dark and the temperature will only get worse."

Now that he is more aware of it, Cobb feels the chill settling into the ship.

"You may be right," Cobb admits and proceeds to the bedroom. Cobb rifles through some drawers and finds extra blankets and heavier coats. With all his years on Tatooine, he's never known what it was like to wear clothing that sat heavily on his body, now that he is pulling a coat around his body, he feels all-consumed. The lighter-wear that he's used to gives his body the ability to breathe, now he's suddenly feeling claustrophobic and it reminds him of his slave years back in the mines.

"You alright?" Mando is asking him from the doorway.

Cobb gasps and sees the air from his exhale come out in a puff. Mando is watching him, and if Cobb could see his face he imagines it is wearing a frown.

"Fine," he says and smiles falsely. "It's a bit confining."

Mando nods. "You'll get used to it."

Cobb suddenly feels silly with his concerns, since Mando is standing there in full armor and wears it consistently. He wonders if he ever takes it off when he is alone, or if he is sleeping, or maybe he only takes it off to clean the beskar.

"Now what?"

"We wait out the storm."