Pet Names

Sunshine

    This time, Imogen woke up naturally. She let out a quiet groan as she stretched her legs out under the blankets and then opened her eyes. She was surprised to see the Mandalorian sitting against the wall not far from her cot, playing with Ruu'Eva. It looked like they were... playing fetch? There was a small metal ball that Imogen had noticed Ruu'Eva was fond of playing with, and the Mandalorian was rolling it a little bit away so Ruu'Eva could waddle to retrieve the ball and then hand it back to his dad. Imogen rolled over onto her stomach to watch the adorable game.
    "Thanks, Ruu'Eva," he murmured when he was handed the ball, and the baby cooed up at him. He quickly noticed Imogen's open eyes, turning towards her with a happy squeal. The Mandalorian's helmet snapped to look at her, and she smiled sleepily up at him.
    "Good morning," he greeted, and Imogen nodded.
    "Su'cuy," she said back, sitting up and letting the blankets fall off her back. Her brows furrowed when she noticed something around her neck, and her hand lifted to feel at the cloth. Imogen's eyes widened when she realized that she was wearing the mandalorian's cape, the events from the night before flooding back to her brain. "Oh!" she gasped as she went to take it off.
    "Keep it, I have another one," the Mandalorian said before she could undo the knot, and Imogen stared at him, shyly biting her lip.
    "Th-thank you," she stuttered after a moment, averting her eyes. She stood when Ruu'Eva toddled over to her cot, scooping him up and kissing his cheeks. He squealed happily, tiny legs kicking around.
    "I-" the Mandalorian started, but cut himself off. Imogen raised her eyebrows, turning to look at him curiously.
    "What?" she asked.
    "We'll be landing soon," he said, though it was obvious it wasn't what he originally wanted to say. Imogen smiled softly, slightly disappointed that he didn't say whatever he wanted to.
    "Okay," she said, and the Mandalorian turned to ascend to the cockpit. Imogen sighed, looking at the womp rat in her arms. "You hungry?" she asked him, and Ruu'Eva cooed in response. "Alright," Imogen murmured, grabbing a rations packet for him and a nutrient bar for herself.
    Ruu'Eva was set on being independent today, apparently. He fed himself, Imogen helping by sliding the rations packet closer whenever he made grabby hands towards it. He was even set on playing by himself, tossing the metal ball and running after it, then tossing it the other way and repeating the process. Imogen was content to sit and watch him, giggling softly whenever he was disappointed that his throw didn't go as far as he'd hoped. She began humming to herself unconsciously, only realizing it when Ruu'Eva stopped throwing the ball to plop himself down in front of her and stare at his caretaker.
    "Deep in the meadow, under a willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow," she began to sing, the song being one from a vid she had seen when she was younger. Ruu'Eva cooed happily, babbling along with the song. Imogen smiled at him, reaching to her instrument case that she kept under her cot and pulling out her ukulele. She began to strum along. "Lay down your head, and close your eyes, and when they open, the sun will rise," Imogen barely noticed the Razor Crest coming out of hyperspace, instead continuing to sing to Ruu'Eva, who crawled into her lap and blinked sleepily. "Here it's safe, here it's warm, here the daisies guard you from every harm; Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true, here is the place, where I love you," she finished the song, letting the final chord ring for a moment before gently setting her ukulele down next to her, careful not to disturb the precious bundle now sleeping in her lap.

    Din almost let himself be lulled to sleep as he heard Imogen's angelic voice drift up to the cockpit. Apparently his initial assessment of her bringing an instrument case on board was correct, and he was tempted to ask her to play another song. Instead, Din piloted the Crest into the atmosphere of Tatooine, landing in Peli Motto's bay. He saw the small woman come out of her office to narrow her eyes at the Razor Crest, her arms crossing. Somehow Din knew she wasn't actually upset, and he powered down the Crest and went down into the hull. He did a double take when he saw Imogen sitting on the floor with Ruu'Eva on her lap.
    "I don't know what it is with my voice and putting him to sleep," she whispered when she saw the glint of his armor. Din chuckled softly, the sound only partially masked by the modulator in his helmet.
    "I have an idea," he responded, a fond smile on his face though she couldn't see it. Imogen carefully stood and walked over to Ruu'Eva's bed, placing him down and tucking him in. "Do you need anything from the market?" Din asked, and his attention was drawn to Imogen's lips as she bit softly down on her bottom one.
    "Could I-Could I go?" she stuttered, and Din pondered for a moment, knowing she could handle herself but not really wanting her to be put in any danger. After a moment's consideration and puppy eyes from Imogen that were almost as cute as the kid's, Din nodded.