Star Wars - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Odd Bounty ❯ Playing Pretend ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"What about this planet? Its out of the way of any notable imperial supply routes and host a small population spread out over the surface. Only a handful of cities...so more farmsteads than anything else."

Beler gave a short nod, "It will be perfect. My mother's family were farmers. I grew up on a farmstead so I have the necessary knowledge to run such a place."

"The only problem is finding the right kind of farmstead...Its got to be as far from the main roads and cities but still close enough for you to get supplies when you need them. And we need to try and get the deed with as little interaction as possible. You don't want anyone seeing your faces.

Boba sighed heavily, "That means either Din or I have to go purchase it...they will only see the helmet, hopefully assuming these people have heard enough of Mandalorians that it will keep them from bothering you.

Now how to play that off...and at the older man's face his gut twisted painfully.

"You could go Mando, take her with you, pretend that your a new couple wanting a home. No one would question it."

"No." He shook his head violently at Fett's suggestion.

"It would just until you finalize the deed and get back to the ship. They are looking for an old man and a young woman, not a Mandalorian and a woman. If she keeps her hood up...no one will notice her and if things go south, you and I have seen first hand that she can protect herself."

He grumbled, knowing the man was right but pretending that she was his wife...he shuddered.

She was a droid.

And yet he found himself agreeing. The sooner this gets done, the sooner he can leave this all behind.

"Fine."

Beler had been silent the whole exchange but choose to speak now. "You will not harm her during this excursion will you?"

"No, but she-it is to keep that blasted hood up at all times, got it...and I do all the talking."

Telana stepped forward and nodded. "Okay."

After hours of her not talking, those two soft syllables sent a jolt through him. He grit his teeth, hissing through them.

"Lets get this done."

He strapped the rifle to his back and made sure his blaster was snug in its holster on his hip. He adjusted his cape and his vambraces before nodding to Fett, who in turn activated the ramp. He stalked down the ramp quickly, surprised to find that Telana was two steps behind him to the left.

Exactly where Mandalorian custom would have a wife walk. She knew the customs?

He shook his head. 'Its just a coincidence.' So why did his heart pick up at the thought?

"Stick close and don't talk to anyone."

"Okay."

The town was small but had updated tech which was a surprise. The first thing they had to do was find the notary office to check on deeds and it was on the other side of the bustling market. It was packed and they could end up getting separated.

'Farrik.'

He held out his cloak, "Hold on to this. If you fall behind...give it a tug."

She nodded and gripped the fabric in black fingerless gloves. The sight of pale fingers sent another jolt through him. What the hell was going on?

There were so many people, crowding him...pressing into him. The cacaphony of sounds were like blaring alarms in his head...too much. It was far too much in this small area and he started to breathe heavily, taking short gasping inhales of air. His vision was starting to blur and he stumbled. What was wrong with him? His hands were itching and he felt like his lungs were being squeezed and then all of a sudden a hand slipped into his and he could breath again. The hand squeezed and pulled, leading him through the boisterous crowd and out of the way. She dropped his hand and instead wrapped her arms around his middle, pressing their face into his chest. He took in deep even breaths and felt the anxiety leave his limbs and his vision finally cleared. 

He had had a panic attack. Farrik. He hadn't had one since he was a kid, not since the...

"Breathe. You are okay."

His head snapped down at the soft body that pressed into his. The black hood hiding her face was still up but he knew it was her.

Telana.

The droid.

The droid was comforting him...telling him to breathe. That he was okay?

Okay? He growled, slamming her into the opposite wall, holding a vibroblade to her neck.

"Don't touch me."

In the scuffle, her hood had fallen and he could see those sapphires once again glimmering with unshed tears.

"Why do you hate me?"

And there it was...the one question he himself couldn't answer. Well he could but...did he want to? The blade at her neck faltered and he took a step back, slipping the blade back in its leather sleeve with a shaky hand.

"I...Put your hood back up. We have a deed to get."

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded, pulling the hood back up. And he let out a breath as he turned away, stopping when he felt a tug on his cloak. His eyes drifted down to the hand...her hand that held a small amount of the fabric tightly.

The one small gesture made something give and the tiniest smiles flitted over his lips before he continued walking.

She's a droid.

/  -  /  -  /  -  / 

The office was a mess but the man in charge, Les Merants, was able to get them a good sized deed. 

"Its so nice to have new families end up in our little corner of the galaxy. Its quiet here most of the time and the imperials tend to leave us be as we're so outta the way. So when you deciding on starting your family? If you don't mind me asking, that is? Its a big farmstead, plenty of room for little ones to run around and play."

'Family?'

He moved to speak but Telana beat him to it.

"No family..."

Din placed a hand on her shoulder. They had to play this out. "What she means is not yet. We'd like to see what repairs are need before we start adding to our family."

"Smart idea. It will be good to have decent folk like you around."

Din grumbled, "You barely know us, how can you call us decent folk?"

The man leveled a wise look at him and he stilled, "I know a few things about you two. You're here in this little backwater location because you're trying to get away from something. And its to do with imperials."

That made Telana tug his cloak and he slowly inched his hand to his blaster and the old man laughed, waving them off.

"How do you think most of the people already here came to be here? We're all escaping something...Myself...I defected from the Empire. Too many painful memories. At first I was proud to be one of them but then Operation Cinder happened and everything went to hell. So many people died from that damn operation that it physically made me ill. And the colonies that they sent battalions of droids to? So many families were torn apart."

Din froze, his hands were shaking again and Telana grabbed his hands and pulled them up to her face to lay her cheek on them. The warmth from her skin seeped into his hands and they stilled.

Les watched all this with an odd look before he nodded. "You survived one of those attacks, didn't you?"

"I don't like talking about it."

"Well, its not good to bottle it up. It'll fester if you do. Thankfully, your wife is rather good at calming you down, son."

He was about to snarl at the man that she wasn't his wife but then she spoke again, rooting him to the spot. 

"He is angry at droids. Has a right to be angry."

She moved the tiniest inch, pressing her lips to his hands...and everything shifted.

"I will help him to not be angry."

Les laughed, "Well, a word of advice, son...don't let that one go. A rare find that one. Now here's your deed and since it's getting late, I'm inviting you both to dinner with my wife and I. I'll also pay for your lodgings for the night."

He stumbled for a reply, "We can't. That would be taking advantage of your hospitality."

"Nonsense! My wife and I rarely get company. She'll be thrilled. Consider it a celebration of your new life together."

Din's eyes drifted down to where Telana was still holding his hands and the crystal blue of her eyes shone with sadness and a tiny thread of something he couldn't make out but it still made his heart hammer in his chest.

She's just a droid...right?

/ -  /  -  /  -  /  

Mrs. Lusli Merants was a tiny woman with a big heart, wrapping her arms around both of them welcomingly.

"Oh come now dear, remove the hood and make yourself comfortable. And you dear, I know that some Mandalorians don't remove their helmet so I will set a place up for you in the other room to eat, okay?"

"Thank you."

Telana let her hood fall and unclasped it, pulling it the rest of the way off and his mouth went dry. The long grey shirt she was wearing was missing the shoulders, and had a low cut allowing the pale skin of her cleavage to show. His gaze moved down to her legs and the tight black fabric clinging to trim, lean legs. He swallowed hard.

He turned his gaze away quickly, clenching his fists.

"Oh goodness dear, your hair is so lovely. Like gold. Such a rare color out here. It was a good idea to cover it up."

He looked back at her, at the long braid tossed over one bare shoulder and heat unexpectedly hit him.

Les lightly tapped his arm and motioned him to follow and he did, to a small room that held a table and a plate, brimming with hot food. "Enjoy your meal, son. When you're done, come back out and we'll have a chat over a whiskey, alright?"

Mando nodded, "Thank you."

"No problem at all. Kindness is hard to find sometimes so me and the missus try to help where we can."

The door closed behind him, immediately he brought his communicator out and activated it.

"Fett."

"Yeah?"

"Ask the doc if the droid can eat?"

"Eat? Why?"

"Just do it."

"Hey doc, the girl can eat right?"

Footsteps approached and then stopped. "Eat? Yes, of course, why?"

"The notary is charge of the deeds invited us both to dinner. So, of course we had to agree. I'm eating separately from them."

"What? You have left her alone with them?"

"The man, Les Merants, defected from the Empire too. She'll be safe."

"So you will be returning after the meal?"

Din sighed, "Not exactly. They seem to think we don't have any place else to go, so they are putting us up for the night."

The doctor sounded very agitated when he spoke again, "Will she be given her own room?"

Din snorted, "They think Telana and I are married...what do you think?"

"You are not to touch her. If you do..."

"Like I would want to touch the droid."

The doctor gave a long-suffering sigh, "And as I have told you many times before. She has cybernetic parts, yes, but she is more human than anything."

"Keep telling yourself that, old man. Someday you might just believe it yourself."

"Listen here, hunter-"

"We'll return early tomorrow morning. Over and out." And he quickly deactivated the device.

Din removed his gloves before reaching up and undoing the fastenings to his helmet and pulling it off. His hands ran through his dark hair, trying to tame the disarray of curls before looking down at the plate of food.

He smiled.

It had been a long time since he had had a home-cooked meal and the smell was making his mouth water.

/  -  /  -  /  -  /

Telana watched him leave the room and was suddenly hesitant, shifting from foot to foot. A warn hand clutches her arm and leads her into the dining area. She looks down and locks eyes with brown ones filled with kindness and a tiny thread of sadness.

"Come with me, dear. You can sit down next to me, okay? It must be so hard, having to eat by yourself all the time, hmm?"

She shook her head, "Sometimes its peaceful. For both."

The older lady smiled brightly, "A little time apart tends to make the heart grow fonder. Now Les tells me that you two are buying a farmstead... a sizable one too. Now if you need anything at all, you be sure to contact myself or Les. Especially when you two decide on having children."

'Children.' That threw her for a moment and she softly smiled, holding a hand to her stomach. Father had told her that children were the future, a bright happy spot amidst all the darkness. They fill your world with color, light, and laughter. But it is no easy task to raise a child...they require a lot of care, patience...love.

She shook her head, "Not now...not yet. Needs to be right time."

Lusli Merants giggled, "My dear, children never come at the right time. They come when you least expect it. And I bet you now that that man will be over the moon when you do become pregnant. He seems closed off, but I even bet that under that helmet, he can't take his eyes off you."

"Now sit down and dig in dear. Don't be embarrassed of your appetite either, if you're hungry, eat as much as you can, just save room for dessert. I made citrus cream."

And for the first time in she didn't know how long, she smiled brightly.

/  -  /  -   /  - / 

They both had enjoyed the food and the dessert was even better.

He had of course turned down the citrus cream but watched Telana take a small bite and he smiled at the childlike wonder with which she looked down at the dessert.

"This is..."

"Good?"

She nodded animatedly, "Better than good! I've never had..." She bowed her head over the plate and he could faintly hear the plop of water drops hitting the plate. She was crying.

"I've never had this before. At least I don't remember if I had." He sat up straighter in his chair at the broken tone she now held.

Lusli rushed to her side, rubbing her back gently, "Oh sweetie, its okay. Do you want a second piece?"

Telana nodded, lifting her plate up, "Yes, please."

"And before you leave tomorrow, I'll give you a flimsi with the recipe for it. That way you can make it all the time."

Les clasped his shoulder, "Did you get your whiskey?"

"Yes."

"Tell me one thing son? Have you ever shown her your face?"

"No. Its complicated."

"So you've never kissed your wife?"

"I don't need to kiss her."

Les shakes his shoulder, "There come a point when its not about what you want, but rather what she wants."

Din was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation, "Its getting late. If we are to make good time to the farmstead tomorrow, we're going to need rest."

"You're right. Let me take you to the inn. Now tomorrow morning you two stop by for breakfast, okay?"

"If Lusli's cooking, we'll be here."

He turned to Telana, "Time to go. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

She set the plate down and moved towards her poncho, throwing it back on before pulling the hood back up and with a tight hug from Lusli to both of them they followed Les out the door.

/  -  / -  /  -  /

"Well, here you are. They only had one room left surprisingly." He handed the key to Mando and patted his back with a grin. Din rolled his eyes, knowing very well that the old man was lying about the room.

"See you two in the morning. Good night."

Telana nodded, "Good night."

And when he opened the door, his theory was proven correct. This was a suite. Far nicer than anywhere he had ever stayed before. The old man had set them up....to...

He slammed the door shut, pointing at Telana. "You take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

She looked around, "There is no couch."

"Then I will sleep on the floor."

"The bed is big enough for both of us."

His anger exploded. "Are you stupid? Do you know why he had them put us in this room?"

She shook her head, "Why?"

"I think they took it upon themselves to 'help' us along. They think we're newlyweds."

"Help?"

"All that talk of children? They think by putting us in a nice cozy room with a big bed that we'll get right on starting a family. Like hell."

She pulled off her poncho and threw it on the floor with a growl.

"Why do you hate me? I have done nothing."

Again with the question and this time he had had enough of her...of her childish ways, of her slim curvaceous body and her wide sapphire gaze that sent his pulse pounding through his veins.

"You want to know why I hate you?"

She nodded, taking a step towards him.

"You're a droid, Telana. To me, you stopped being human the day he put those cybernetic parts in you. You're a machine...a thing pretending to be that man's daughter. Do you know what droids did when the Empire sent them to my village? The droids slaughtered everyone because they were ordered to and they follow their programming. My...my parents were murdered right in front of me by a droid. So yes I hate droids. I hate you."

Her eyes were red rimmed now, tears pouring down her cheeks. She was gasping for air between her faint sobs. He growled, stalking closer to her.

"You're 'father' told you that you could have children but most men, if they found out you were a droid would sooner shoot you than fuck you but I suppose if they didn't know, they'd only feel flesh, but hell, even that isn't real, is it? Humans don't have a failsafe built into them...they get tired, they bleed and in some cases they die. And you can't even do that! I doubt you can even age normally."

Telana let out a shuddering sob and he snorted, waving a hand over her, "He did a damn good job in making you so damned innocent with damn near irresistible curves that even I haven't been completely unscathed by you. If I hadn't found out about you being a blasted droid...I would have...I could have..."

He stopped short at the sudden realization that hit him.

The Armorer was right.

He was attracted to her...even now he could feel the pull to be near her, to hold her...to...he wanted to...he didn't even know what he wanted anymore. She was a droid but she was so...acted so human and he...

He fucked up.

Dread filled him as he locked eyes with her.

Shit.

She was shaking, her bottom lip quivering as she let out little sobs.

His eyes closed, pain flashing through him. He had let his anger and hate take control and he had torn her apart. He hadn't touched her but he hadn't needed to as his words did far more damage than his hands ever would have.

"Telana..."

He reached out a hand, taking a step towards her and she whimpered, scooting back across the floor away from him. His hand fell to his side.

"Shit. Telana, I'm...farrik, I'm sorry."

And he left, the door slamming behind him echoing throughout the small suite.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and sobbed harder, the little dream of normalcy she had laid shattered around her.

She would never be normal.

She was a droid, after all.