To The Stars || The Mandalorian

Chapter Twenty Four

                                                                                          ~*~

 Dessa frowns as she glances over the dashboard at the dull scenery below. An unwelcome familiar sight greets her as the Razor crest flies over the sand dunes. It's quiet between her and Din, save for the beeping from the control panel, and the child softly cooing as it sleeps in her lap. While not a huge fan of the scenery, she begrudgingly admits that the sunsets on Tatooine were breathtaking, far much better than the ones on Arvalar-7, but there's no way she's telling Din that. Speaking of Din ...

She can see him out of the corner of her eye, focused on the road ahead and can hear his soft breathing through the beskar helmet.  He hasn't said much since they left, but maybe he just knew better than to provoke her. 

"I thought I'd hear more of a complaint from you," Din breaks the silence as they fly through the skies of Tatooine. Dessa turns to glare at him, careful not to disturb the kid on her lap. 

"Oh no, we're in another godforsaken desert, my life's a living hell," Dessa says, deadpan. 

 "I'll take it," Din says, amused. 

"Guess I'm just used to it," she says, a bit more empathetic now that the bitterness is fading away. Silence. "Forgive me for not being so thrilled to be back, I don't exactly have fond memories of this place." 

"Fair enough," Din's teasing tone does nothing for the anger she's still feeling for him  at the moment. Dessa huffs, lifting a strand of her curls in the air as she did so, and childishly turns away from him. 

"Would it make you feel better if I told you we were going to see Peli?" Din asks. 

  She slightly perks up at this, more alert at the mechanic's name. 

"Really?" she asks, careful not to sound too excited to see the elderly woman again. 

"Yup." 

Well, she guesses one visit to Tatooine wouldn't hurt, would it? 

"Fine, you win this time," Dessa says. "but don't think I haven't forgotten this, I'm still mad at you." 

"Whatever you say." 

Ooh, his amused tone is getting on her nerves. But she decides not to let it bother her too much as she takes notice of the small landing station down below. 

Dessa rushes down the ramp as soon as the ship lands, much more eagerly now that she sees the curly haired woman with the three droids waving up at them. She smiles brightly, and waves back, tackling Peli in a hug that nearly knocks them both over onto the sand while calling out her name. 

"Well, now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Peli laughs, and claps her gloved hand against Dessa's back.  

"I could say the same thing about you," Dessa says with equal enthusiasm. 

"Thought you hated deserts?" Peli asks, and Dessa's smile fades slightly at the question as irritation spreads across her face.

"She does," Din's voice carries behind them. "She's just being petty at the moment."

"I'm sorry, did you hear something Peli?" Dessa scoffs, breaking away from the hug, tilting her head slightly to make sure Din gets that she is in fact talking about him. "'Cause all I hear is an annoying breeze." 

Peli raises an eyebrow at her and glances over at Din who sighs heavily as he approaches the two.

"Well, I guess I asked for it," Din says, shaking his head, and at Peli's look of confusion, explains further, "She's kind of mad at me for dragging her back here, but in my defense, she went with me willingly."