𝖜𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖊, 𝔡𝔦𝔫 𝔡𝔧𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫

𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

THE CHILD SLEPT soundly in Sevara's arms as she rocked him back and forth in the silence of the cockpit. After all he had been through, she wasn't surprised that the child wanted to take a moment to rest and rejuvenate from the undoubted stress he experienced whilst in the Client's captivity. Sevara gazed down lovingly at the child, running a gentle touch over the wisps of his white-blond hair, holding him close.

As she cradled him, the whisper of her mother seeped into her mind. The way her mother would hold her in a loving embrace as the delicate words of a timeless lullaby left her lips. The soft song, 'Hansol Solana', had been her mother's favourite lullaby, deriving from an ancient tale depicting a noble warrior facing creatures of myth and legends.

With the ship on auto-pilot, she glanced back to the door, checking to see if Mando had returned from his armoury in the depths of the Razor Crest. When the coast was deemed clear, Sevara returned her gaze to the sleeping child and began to hum the familiar tune. Her eyes fluttered closed as the sweet words left her lips, picturing her mother's face in her memory; how her eyes would crinkle as she danced around the room with Sevara in her arms, singing the soft lullaby as they twirled by her childhood bed, careful not to trip over the fraying edges of the carpet.

She recalled the way her mother would delicately brush a strand of hair behind Sevara's ear as twilight fell, softly pressing her lips to her forehead as she dimmed the candle by Sevara's bedside and wished her sweet dreams. Although it was a routine that Sevara had grown accustomed to during her childhood, she had soon learnt that not everything in life is permanent. As the last line left her lips, Sevara's eyes cracked open, meeting the large brow ones of the child. She smiled, offering him her finger as he grabbed onto it and asked, "Did you like that, my darling?"

As he cooed in response, smiling a wide smile back, a voice from behind said, "I liked it."

Sevara froze, a deep flush coating her cheeks as she whirled around in her seat, her gaze landing on Mando, who stood still and unmoving in the doorway. He took a half-step forward, his gaze falling to his feet as he continued, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt but that was 'Hansol Solana', right?" He glanced towards her and at Sevara's slow nod, Mando added, "My mother used to sing me the same thing, too. I haven't heard it since I was child... it was nice to hear it again, after so many years."

Sevara was dumbstruck, her eyes wide as she briefly glanced away from his beskar-clad figure, stammering, "Oh."

"If you wanted," said Mando, making a start to retreat, "I could go back down to the armoury and forget I heard you."

She shook her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand as she looked back to him, replying, "It's okay, you don't have to do that. I just wasn't expecting anyone to hear me, is all."

"Okay, and— for the record," said Mando, finding his way to the pilot and lowering himself into it, his gaze fixed on Sevara, "I'm glad I heard you, it was... pretty."

As he directed his attention to disengaging autopilot and settling into the routine of flying, Sevara watched him work with a soft smile on her face. Though her cheeks burned with the inklings of humiliation, she couldn't quite help the way her heart fluttered at his words.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

THEY HAD BEEN flying through the galaxy for roughly a day now, trying to find a safe place for the three of them to lay low, for a little while, at least. Sevara watched the child with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as he stood atop the control panel, cooing whilst looking out at the vast, star-speckled sky before them. He briefly turned, his gaze wandering over to the buttons on the wall of the ship, reaching out his small hand as he flipped a switch.

Mando looked to the child, flipping the switch back to its original state. As the child reached out once more, flipping it back, Mando told him, "Stop touching things."

"Aw," said Sevara, leaning over in her seat towards him, "he's just having a little fun, Mando."

The child's ears perked up at her comment, a small smile creeping onto his face as he extended his arm, his gaze fixed on Mando as he flipped a different switch. The Razor Crest shook, rattling the panels and containments of the ship, with Mando quickly undoing what the child had done and picking him up, placing him in his lap. As the ship regained a steady path, Mando turned to Sevara and she imagined his eyes were narrowed beneath his 'T' shaped visor as he said, "You encouraged that, you know."

She offered him a sheepish smile, "Sorry."

His gaze lingered on her for a moment before redirecting his attention to the monitor in front of him, mumbling, "Let's see. Sorgan. Looks like there's no star port, no industrial centres, no population density. Real backwater skug hole," he glanced back from Sevara to their child, adding, "Which means it's perfect for us. You ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple of months, you little womp rat?"

Although she didn't want to ruin the moment, Sevara leant forward, asking, "And you're sure no one will find us?"

"I doubt it," he said, "but if they do, I'll handle it."

Nodding, Sevara reached out towards the child, taking his small hand in hers and giving it a light squeeze. She was willing to do whatever it took to ensure his safety and as much as she knew she shouldn't, Sevara couldn't help but begin to think of the wide-eyed child as her own. His presence alone gave her a new sense of purpose, the feeling that she had to be there and provide all she could for him, just as... just as a mother would.

It was a strange idea for her to think about, for she knew that if she hadn't been sent to the mines, she would have been raising a child rather than working away on Kuiil's farm all those years. But as the planet of Sorgan came into view, it's lush greenery inhabiting most of it's surface, all her troubles seemed to dissipate. Sevara decided she would deal with her conflicts after she and Mando had figured out the next few steps to their plan, watching as he engaged the Razor Crest to land.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

thank you everyone for 10k!!!

it means the world to me, i love you allll <3

also, i wanted to keep this chapter pretty fluffy since the last few have been very action packed (which was really fun to write, but i've been writing so much that it was kind of hard to reel it back a little), so i hope you guys liked the beginning of the chapter!

i wasn't sure if i should include it, (the scene basically came to me from listening to "all is found" from frozen 2), but hopefully you guys like it :)

anyway, as always thank you and.... i'm just really excited to write episode 4