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Mando's eyes fluttered open, allowing the bright light of day to seep into his sight. He was blinded momentarily, but, then, he adjusted to the brightness. He groaned and rolled over to lay his arm lazily around Celeste. To his dismay, his arm hit the stiff mattress. Mando shot up, on high alert as he didn't know where Celeste was. He swore he would've heard her get up if she had done so. But, since her training, she had become much more agile and managed to creep around less conspicuously. Mando walked around their quarters, checking the child's room and finding an empty room. His heart began to race as he sped around the place looking for the two. But, they were gone. His heart nearly stopped beating.
Quickly, he threw on his armor and slammed open the front door, readying himself to track down the two as fast as he could. He lost Celeste once, and he wasn't planning on losing her again so fast. The moment he stepped out into the sunshine, he heard the child's faint giggling and Celeste's sweet voice singing to him. He felt a weight lift from his chest. His eyes tracked the origin of the sound until he spotted her kneeling in the sand with the child sitting before her.
He leaned against the doorway, relaxing at the sight and enjoying the cute moment he captured. He headed over to join the two, taking a seat next to Celeste who shot him a welcoming smile as she continued to sing to the child. The baby giggled every time she'd make a crazy expression as she sang. Once she was finished she turned to Mando. "You enjoy the show?" She chuckled.
Mando nodded, "it was perfect."
Celeste leaned her head on Mando's armored shoulder, watching the star that lit up the planet's sky rise on the horizon. The child crawled into Mando's lap, tracing his fingers over the ridges of Mando's armor. They were just a little, happy family. Unfortunately, though, all good things must come to an end. Mando had been thinking for months about finding the child's kind and returning him to where he came from. He knew it wouldn't go over well with Celeste, but he needed to have a conversation about it with her before he proceeded. It was certainly going to hurt, but it had to be done.
* * *
After lunch, Celeste put the child down for his afternoon nap, giving Mando the perfect time to have a conversation with Celeste. "Can I talk to you?" Mando asked Celeste as she quietly left the room the baby was sleeping in.
She nodded, "of course."
Mando led her outside so that they wouldn't make much noise in the small house they rented. "You're not going to like it," Mando sighed, "and I don't want you to be angry..." he trailed off.
"Spit it out, Djarin," Celeste rolled her eyes. Mando was surprised she used his real name. It sounded strange coming out of her mouth.
"I want to find the kid's home, and take him back there," Mando stated.
Celeste blinked, processing his words. "I hope you mean to visit, not to stay," she pressed her lips into a thin line.
"It's not fair, Cel," Mando knew it was going to be difficult to convince her, "it's not fair we keep him away from his people. From his family."
"We are his family," Celeste growled.
"His real family, C. He doesn't belong with us," Mando told.
"Why would you want to rip him away from me?!" Celeste began to raise her voice.
"It's just not fair, Cel. He will outlive both of us, then what? He'll be alone, and lose the only people he considers family. He needs to be with his own kind so that they can care for him for as long as he lives." Mando gave her more rational reasons why the child had to go.
Celeste knew it was the right thing to do. It didn't hurt any less, though. Celeste stormed off back into the house and Mando went after her. "Go away!" She screamed at him, her force sensitivity shoving him and all of the furniture to the walls away from her.
Mando was stunned at her reaction. Her power had grown a ton more since he had last seen her. It was terrifying. "You've changed, C..."
"I've only become stronger," Celeste hissed at him.
The child began crying in the other room from the loud noise Celeste had just made by slamming everything against the walls. "No... you're different. You didn't even try to run from Gideon. For three months. For three months I was looking for you every hour of my life, meanwhile, you weren't even trying. And when I came to get you, you almost didn't leave," Mando spoke calmly. But his words only frustrated her more. The child's screams grew louder in the other room.
"Where was I supposed to go, Din?" Din. Hearing her call him that made her words feel even colder than they already were.
"This is me, this has always been me. You just see what you want to see in me. I finally feel like I found myself, and you tell me that I'm changed for the worse. I'm just like the kid, Din, that's why I grew so attached to him. I just didn't realize why yet," She told, her eyes growing darker by the second. It sent chills down his spine.
"He needs to go, Celeste," Mando spoke lowly, and assertively.
Celeste reached out her hand and retrieved her lightsaber using the force. "You're just trying to take him away from me," she scoffed, "it wouldn't be the first time."
Celeste was so angry, hot tears began to flood her eyes. She tried her hardest to not let them spillover. "He can't stay." Celeste knew he was right, but she couldn't accept the truth.
She flicked out her lightsaber and charged at Mando, screaming and the tears pouring down her cheeks. Mando stood, ready to take the blow, as he couldn't bring himself to hurt her to defend himself. He'd literally rather die. Celeste swung the lightsaber at him, but, his armor repelled it. This only made Celeste more frustrated, and she threw her saber far away. "You," she shoved him against the wall, "can't," she pushed him, again, "do this to me," she yelled as he hit his chest. The child began to wail uncontrollably.
Mando stood there and took the blows, fortunately, his armor protected him and he didn't feel a thing. Celeste placed her forehead on his chest plate and continued to sob uncontrollably. She felt her legs weaken as she began to fall to the ground. Mando held her and eased her down to the ground, holding her and rocking her as she cried.
* * *
That very night Celeste cuddled up against the child in her bed, not wanting to let go of him. She wanted to spend every last moment she could with him before they figured out where he came from and returned him there. She had come to terms that the decision Mando made was in the best interest of the child. She hoped he had forgiven her for her outburst, it was just devastating to hear that the child would be taken away from her after she considered it her own.
Mando laid right beside Cel, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was on high alert around her now. Her outburst was terrifying, and if the beskar didn't protect him from the saber, he would've lost a limb or two from her fit of rage. He had never seen her explode in such away. She had been angry before, yes, even angry at him before. But she had never reacted in such a passionate way. Pairing that with her increased control over her power, she seemed unstoppable compared to him. And it was not something he liked to think about.
Celeste didn't sleep all night as she watched the baby's chest rise and fall, listened to his soft breathing, and traced her finger over his cheek. Meanwhile, Mando watched Celeste, as her back was turned to him on the bed, all night and listened for her breathing, too. Not because he was admiring her, because he was watching her so she wouldn't kill him in his sleep.
author's note: welcome back! it's been so exciting writing this book again, I love it!!! It is one of my favorite books and I'm so excited to see where I take Celeste.
