SEE ME, SEE YOU: Series Two

C H A P T E R T E N

THIRD PERSON POV

"I mean—Heave—what did you—Heave—expect?" Reina clawed at the sticky nightmare that were the thick webs from the walls, floor, and what was dangling from the ceiling with her makeshift rake. She also fought through the hidious stench of the dozens of spider corpses that littered the Crest—gagging every ten seconds did not help that task. As she scooped and tossed the dead archanids, Mando was finishing up rebooting the ship's systems once again. "I say—Ack—we got pretty lucky."

"How are you seeing the bright side of all this when you are barely holding in your lunch?" Mando pointed out with a grunt.

"When did you gain a sense of—Oh, no..." Reina dropped her rake and high-stepped it out of the ship just in time to hurl in the snow and ice, her vomit mixed in with the spiders' oozing guts. She heard Mando sigh in defeat and make his way to her side, his boots crunching in the ice and corpses. His gloved hand gently rubbed her back as she keeled over and puked again.

"There, there," Mando patted her spine. "That's it."

"Even wearing my face cover and goggles doesn't help." Reina groaned, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize." Mando sighed again. He looked over to the massive hole in his ship and saw that Tilly had picked up where Reina had stopped, not seeming too bothered by the smell and waste. The Child waddled around the exterior, completely aloof at the situation they all were in. "Come on," Mando helped his partner straighten herself by holding both her arms, steadying her under her elbows. "You can help me finish the necessary repairs to—Reina?"

Mando stopped as Reina leaned forward and rested her head on his chestplate. Her eyes closed and her nose hummed from exhaustion. He still supported her under her elbows as she bent them to press her forearms into his torso. "Reina? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she breathed. "I just, I feel tired, that's all."

"You can rest in the cockpit until I finish—"

"No, no." Reina pressed her hands into his chest to lift herself. "I'm sorry, I think I just got a little dizzy after wasting away my lunch. Twice. I'm okay. Yes, I can help you." However, before Reina could slip past her partner, the Mandalorian gently pulled her in his arms, one of his hands held the back of her head while the other locked itself across her shoulders. Reina's cheek smushed against the cool Beskar steel. Her hands found his cape and clenched it. "D-din? Um..."

"Sorry I yelled at you before." Mando muttered. "That wasn't fair to you, or to Tilly..."

Reina smiled. This was the first time since Mando has held her like this. She tried to imagine what it'd be like if he wasn't wearing his armor. Holding him and feeling his body heat. She was released from her trance when Mando gently pulled her away.

"Do you feel better?"

"Yeah, I do." Reina nodded truthfully. "Don't worry, I'll get the Crest as clean as possible until you're finished with the repairs."

"Okay."

And with that, the two separated to return to their tasks. Reina placed her goggles and face cover back on and gripped her rake. Do it, she urged herself and attacked the nightmare before her. With Tilly's help, they removed all the dead spiders and most of the webs, some of it was clotted in difficult areas. Reina then took a rag and heated some ice to wash off the spider guts from their supplies, weapons, and anything else she saw that needed immediate cleaning. At last, Mando announced he was ready and ordered everyone to get comfortable in the cockpit.

It was a pretty tight squeeze. Tilly strapped herself in the only other seat besides the pilot's, which of course Mando took. The Child rested comfortably in his lap. Reina was left to either stand or crouch down on the floor. She double-checked the sealed hatch since it would be the only shield between them and the oblivion. She gave the 'okay' for Mando.

He fired up the boosters. The Razor Crest trembled, groaned, and finally broke loose from the thick ice. The console pulsed to life as the ship maneuvered through the just-barely larger hole above. The already-busted sides and wings of the Crest bumped and scraped against the jagged rim as it rose from the frigid abyss. Moments later, Mando managed to soar out of the wintery planet's atmosphere, the Crest wobbling as she cruised. He then set the course for Trask and leaned back into his seat.

"Wake me up if someone shoots at us." he said tiredly. "Or, you know, that door gets sucked off its hinges."

"If that happens," Reina rolled her eyes. "We'd all be dead."

Mando chuckled at his joke and then glanced down at his partner. "Are you okay down there?"

"I'm fine."

"If you want to...you can sit up here with me."

Reina blinked. "Really?"

"Um...yeah."

Reina looked at Tilly, who gave her a shrug back and cradled her eggs closer to her chest before closing her own eyes. The female bounty hunter rose slowly and manuevered around until she stood in front of Mando. He made as room for her as possible. Luckily, Reina was petite enough to snuggle herself between him and the armrest. Her head rested comfortably under his chin. His arm hugged her closer. The baby cozied himself between the two of them.

"Din..." Reina exhaled in content, her eyes fluttering close. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Yes," Mando hummed. He wasn't sure why Reina was asking, for he had assumed their relationship was...deeper. Ever since Nevarro. When she became the first person to ever see his face, maybe not in the normal way, but see and touch his face nonetheless, since he was a child...Of course, there was the sublty of their relationship when around others. But he supposed it was his fault he had not removed his helmet since. But Reina has not questioned him either. He guessed...it was a little complicated between them.

But as he held her and the child in his arms, he had never felt so content. For a moment, he did want to take off his helmet...His eyes grew heavy and he drifted into a deep sleep with the temple of his helmet resting on top of Reina's head.