Star Crossed Lovers

Five

"Why are you a bounty hunter, of all things?"

The question hung in the air between the two of you as streaks of light flew by the cockpit window. It had been silent, but not quite uncomfortable, since you had left Coruscant and the incident behind. The child was focused on his little ball, cooing and gurgling away as he moved around the cockpit.

"Seemed like the best use of my skills at the time," came Mando's reply. "Credits are hard to come by."

"I can imagine, especially with this rust bucket guzzling fuel like no tomorrow." A small smile formed on your lips.

Mando's helmet slowly turned towards you. "Tch. At least I can fly it."

"Hey now," you retorted. "I was never taught, so that's not my fault."

"We live in space. How were you never taught?"

You bit the inside of your cheek, contemplating. "When I was young, my parents were captured by the Empire." You were hesitant, but continued on. "Of course, we younglings didn't know what was going on at the time, but when our parents never came back, well...it wasn't hard to piece together."

"You don't have to keep going."

And there it was again, the oddly soft voice from Coruscant. It seemed like every few sentences were spoken in that hushed, modulated tone. It was nice, but you couldn't help but feel as if he were treating you like glass. You were a Jedi. Or, at least, you were before the Stormtrooper. Either way, you didn't need to be babied. You were mostly over it by now. Mostly.

"No, no, it's fine. It's not like I remember much of them. I was so young when it happened." You shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sure if my father were still around, he would've gotten to teaching me eventually."

"How old are you?"

The question jarred you a bit. It was such a normal question, but it sounded odd coming from Mando, considering about six hours ago he couldn't stand to be in the same room as you.

"I'm..." Truthfully, you hadn't been keeping track. Birthdays seemed unimportant when you were on the run. You knew it was in the summer months, somewhere, but you couldn't really remember how many summers it had been since your last birthday with your parents. "...not sure. I was about...seven? When the Empire got to us?"

"The Purge started almost thirty years ago...You don't look that old," Mando offered, trying to be helpful.

"Well, we weren't one of the first groups. I think we were found closer to the end of it all. If that helps." You weren't sure why this was important to him, but admittedly it would be nice to actually remember how old you were.

You heard a hum through the modulator as Mando punched in some coordinates. "So that puts you closer to 3 BBY...would've been about thirteen, fourteen years...and you said you were about seven?"

"Why is this important to you, exactly?"

"Tch." You watched his shoulders tense and lead settled into your stomach. You didn't mean for that to come out in such a hostile tone.

"What I mean to say is...I've never found it important, so I don't know why you would...seeing as I'll only be here for two, three months at most."

"If we're going to be spending that much time together, we can at least get to know each other somewhat." He shrugged, sitting back in his chair but not turning towards you. "And, if you decide to stab me in the back, I have information to put a hit out on you." You heard a huff. "Not that I'd want anyone other than myself hunting you down."

Goosebumps prickled your skin. His tone showed that he meant it, too. You wouldn't want him hunting you on top of evading the Empire. If he was half as good as he seemed to be, you would be absolutely screwed. The silence was heavy.