GALDANA || the mandalorian

PART TWENTY-THREE

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"Y'know, your last name sounds mighty familiar, flower."

Fwega nodded at him, watching Mando speak Tusken to the reptilian creatures.

"Galdana blew up a couple moons back. I was..." She paused, smiling as Mando pet the reptile. "I was queen of Galdana."

Cobb's eyes widened. "Queen, huh? Just by default er..."

"I was queen since I was a little girl. Hair defines status, pink is a royal color."

"Damn. What's gray, then?" Cobb ruffled his own hair.

"White was for the stone keepers, that's as close as you get to gray on Galdana."

"When'd it explode?"

"0 BBY, I think. By the new common calender."

He tilted his head, but abruptly stumbled back as two Tusken Raiders appeared from behind the rock.

"It's okay, it's okay. They want to get rid of the krayt dragon too." Mando had turned back around to look at his two accomplices, watching Cobb's unease with amusement. They followed, reaching an uneasy peace with them as the raiders agreed to let them spend the night.

The suns went down slowly, fading until there was only a sliver of orange across the horizon. Fwega accepted the cup of water given to her by one of the raiders, thanking him with a grunt and a hand signal. She had picked up a few things while Mando was still learning the language.

The raiders offered another cup to Cobb, the fire sparking in front of them.

"Drink it," Fwega whispered to him, nudging his side gently.

"It smells weird. There's no way in hell I'm drinking this," he snapped, knocking the water from the raider's hands.

Everyone suddenly stood up, arguing with each other while Fwega sat there, her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. She watched as they squabbled, their immediate fate in each other's hands.

Than Mando lit the flamethrower and everyone was silent once again, the child cooing as he watched the dry twigs burn.

"That was kinda hot," Fwega whispered, knowing Mando and only Mando could hear her.

"Like, temperature wise or-"

She scooted closer, rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean. How about you take that helmet off in our tent and we forget about everything else?"

She felt him grow more alert the more she talked and she laughed, winking at Cobb as she met his eyes before turning back to the Mandalorian.

"Or maybe I'll just ask Cobb if he wants a kiss instead-" she yelped as Mando stood up beside her, lifting the child into his arms.

"No." He was a little angry now, and Fwega smirked at his jealousy.

"You jealous?"

"Tent. You have two minutes." The Mandalorian left her to sit by the fire, striding to the tent they had been lent by the raiders and ducking inside with the child.

"Well, gentlemen, it looks like I'll be turning in for the night as well," she announced, nodding at the raiders and thanking them in their language.

Cobb huffed a "night" at her and she tried to keep herself from running to the tent, instead settling for a slightly faster-than-normal  walking speed.

Inside the tent was inky blackness, but Fwega felt a pair of arms around her waist and a head duck into her neck almost immediately upon her entrance.

"Missed me that much, huh? Earlier today Cobb was telling me-"

"Stop saying his name," he said, his teeth obviously gritted in annoyance. His lips pressed against her collarbone and she shivered, one of her hands finding his head and massaging the sore parts of his scalp. He groaned into the darkness, feeling the bliss of a head massage.

"You sore?" She asked, sitting down on the blankets that lined the ground and pulling him with her.

"I'm always sore."

She nodded at him, her hands travelling down his neck until they reached his shoulders, once again working the kinks out of the muscle. Fwega felt something pull on her shirt and she drew away, feeling the loneliness of the child right next to her.

"You want a massage too?" She patted its head and gently kneaded the child's shoulders with her thumb and forefinger, giggling.

Mando pulled her waist until her attention was once again on him, and Fwega giggled at how annoyed he was at the small creature.

"Kiss me, Fwega." His voice barely rose above a whisper but she caught it, grabbing his chin and pulling him closer and closer until their lips met. Every time, every damn time, it was like the first kiss they had shared, like asteroids hitting the surface of a planet. Mando grew rougher, hungrier, but Fwega pushed him away, leaving one more lingering kiss on his lips.

"None of that today, mister."

"Yes, your highness." She didn't have to see his face to tell he had rolled his eyes, sarcasm thick.

Fwega laid down on the rough bantha-wool, feeling the Mandalorian lay down beside her. She accepted his arms around her and threw her leg over his.

The child took his usual spot and slept near their heads, drifting off into a dreamland only he could know.

Din watched Fwega's hair shift in the moonlit night, finally succumbing to sleep after having watched over her for a couple hours.

Nothing was more important than her and their child. Nothing.

At least, it seemed that way to him.

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