Lullaby | The Mandalorian

Chapter Eight: Pls don't touch the gumballs. Y r they there then?

Note: Ahhhh!!! I'm so sorry this took so long. We started another semester of clinic and the first few weeks are so many assessments and report writing, all my writing time has gone to writing clinical reports on my clients for the semester. But here is another chapter! Thank you all for waiting so patiently. 

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You don't just go back to normal after that.

Honestly – she had no expectations for normal, so she did not know what to compare it to.

They had dropped the most recent bounty, and they were headed to the next. Annelise thought maybe it had been four standard days and it was just silence between the two. Nothing more. She talked to the baby, but that was it – and she didn't know if they would ever speak again. When one was living in such an uncomfortable moment – it felt odd. Strange and broken. It was difficult to imagine normalcy. Especially when there had been such a small semblance of normalcy before. It was like it was worse, and the thing hanging in the air – it felt like regret between the two of them. Maybe they were both sorry. Guiltily, she had asked him to kiss her more. And maybe he felt guilty too. It was just...neither of them acknowledged it.

Otherwise, she felt she had calmed somewhat. She no longer hated the ship besides the awkward. She no longer tried to squirm her way out. Truthfully, this was probably the only reason her father had not gotten to her yet. He had been so quick to send those bounty hunters, he had probably sent more. Yet, they had not found her and she was sure it was because the Mandalorian was keeping them under in the radar in a way that she did not know how to do. A part of her was...grateful. Extremely, so. Maybe not even a part – his silence had caused a lack of angry outbursts between them. Now the Mandalorian felt safer than her father. A hard feat considering how frightening the Mandalorian could be when he killed in cold blood.

But again, she would choose.

Annelise did not think she was even angry with him anymore.

But oddly enough, he almost seemed upset with her. She wouldn't blame him. She was upset at herself, for not handling it better. Then other times he seemed angry at himself. The armor made it difficult to read him though. Annelise often caught herself being the one to stare now, looking at his helmet and imagining what his eyes looked like underneath. What color they were and if they were as sad and angry as he seemed to be all the time. His silent stoicism. Did it reach his face? Or, she wondered if there was nothing there. Just empty.

Annelise held the puck in her hand. She had found it unattended. The man's face she saw did not look evil, or like a criminal at all. He looked a bit older than herself – and in his mugshot, he looked terrified. She did not know what he had done, but apparently they were on their way to find out. Mando probably already knew. She assumed at least. He had told her that one time that he did not usually ask questions, he just went and got the bounty. Annelise looked down at where Grogu was sitting on her lap, her legs crossed on the floor in their corner. She grimaced, and pressed between the baby's eyes, causing his head to tilt and he cooed. She whispered, "Wonder what this one did."

Annelise jumped when the puck was suddenly pulled from her hand and she blinked rapidly, glancing up to see Mando. He pocketed it, and gave a simple statement without any other instruction –

"We're almost there."

That was simply a customary statement. Something to tell her to prepare. Not really to be polite, probably just so she won't slow him down. She was beginning to think maybe he wasn't as cold as she had thought. She had decided he wasn't evil soon after meeting him, but she had labeled him as cold the moment she saw him sit across from her and had collected her per her father's request. But now it felt odd underneath her skin and she stood, bringing the baby and beginning to prepare the sling she often used to carry him now across her chest. Apparently there had once been a bassinet of some kind – but it was long gone and only briefly mentioned. She didn't ask. The way The Mandalorian had said it made her less than interested to hear the perilous story.