flourish_or_perish | MHA #7 | Wednesday Evening

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MHA #7 | Wednesday Evening

This past weekend sure had been A Thing, hadn't it? And while nothing had happened to Faye, other than getting stuck with the cutest baby in this or any other galaxy (no, she would not be taking questions), she was a non-crappy enough person to know that that had all probably not been especially easy for Din. Or, rather, that Monday morning and the realization of how many people had seen his beautiful mustache had probably not been easy.

So, Wednesday night found her inviting people over to her apartment. On purpose. Look, stranger things had happened, surely, than Faye actually cleaning up and putting out drinks and snacks for company.

She'd even found some of those straws that Grogu liked, since, you know, this was more for his benefit and Stark's than for Din's. Call her crazy, but she didn't think this past weekend was gonna change much about certain be-helmeted individuals eating in front of other people.

[for an alien, an alien, and that guy who looks kinda like a shiny Boba Fett.]

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"I wouldn't be accepted back with my covert. If they knew." And oh man, the guilt.

"But your head clearly isn't going to fall off or anything," Faye supplied, waving a hand. "Who's gonna tell them? I'm not. Stark isn't."

She glanced over, pretty confident on that count but Stark could totally say she was wrong. Maybe he knew these people!

"I wouldn't even if I knew who to tell," Stark promised. "I can keep secrets. I've had a lot of practice." He reached up, briefly rubbing at the edge of his mask.

Most of those secrets belonged to dead people. They still deserved their privacy.

"That's not how it works," Din said, trying to figure out how to say this in a way they'd understand. "I was taken in by them, like Grogu, after my parents were killed. They're the only family I have now."

And, as we all know, family is super conditional, right? Right.

"And you've never seen any of their faces?" Faye asked, trying not to let her tone betray how sad that made her, instantly, and completely failing.

Not like she had a lot of room to talk about knowing one's family, but....

"And that's not true. About them being the only family you have." Faye inclined her head very slightly towards Grogu, who she hoped was too young to fully understand this conversation.

Stark nodded in agreement, glancing over at Grogu as well.

"Family ought to forgive. And...you didn't do anything wrong."

Grogu was blinking on up at them like a solemn old man or something.

"It's already my fault that they had to run," Din said, putting a reassuring hand on the kid's head. "We were hiding when I signaled our location to our enemies to get this one back."

"Do you know where they ran to?" Faye asked. "There's not a lot of point in blaming yourself -- it happened and there was a consequence."

And it sounded like Grogu had been in danger, so Faye felt like it had been the right call.

"Can we help? With... any of it?"

Stark still felt like he owed Din. Of course he was going to offer to help. And apparently volunteer Faye as well. Oops?

Faye, that was a remarkably healthy way if looking at it.

"You'd help find them?" Guys, that would involve so many side quests. So many.

It was only coincidentally healthy. It was mostly about not ever feeling guilty about anything if you could help it!

"Please, after you chased me across the galaxy and had to put up with meeting Whitney?" Faye asked with a little snort. "I'd say I owe you one."

In this instance, she wasn't going to speak for Stark, but she was still pretty confident of his answer.

"I told you I owed you a debt," Stark said quietly. He'd meant it.

"I'll help if I can. I'd like to help. You helped me. Helped us."

"I didn't help you two for payment," Din said with a relieved little sigh. "But I'd appreciate the help here. Finding them will be hard. They're the ones who taught me how to track people down, so they know how to hide."

Also, feelin' cute. Might end up ruler later on this quest.

"I'm good at finding people." That was a straight-up lie; Faye was good at flying her ship and hitting people when they didn't expect it. Edward and Jet were good at finding them for her. "Are we gonna get to hang out with Greef again?"

Never hurt to get a little ego-boosting going while working on a job, you know.

Did Stark not offer enough ego boosts, Faye?

"I know you didn't expect payment. I'm still in your debt, Din. I'm not sure what I can offer but I'll do what I can."

Would there be dead people? Dying people? He was good at that.

Oh, loads of people eventually getting shot, yes. Loads.

And a dessert space dragon!

"Thank you. Really."

Look, emotions were hard and you guys were being very nice.

"Do you want us to pretend we didn't see you without the helmet, around here?" Faye offered, considering all of this. (And apparently, electing to continue to be nice. Though it was niceness through lying, so there was that.) "I already told Summer that you look like Grogu under there."

She was the only person who'd ever asked, but Faye could keep that shit up, no problem.

"If you weren't yourself then it wasn't really you without your helmet at all," Stark suggested.

"But I won't tell anyone you shared a face with the cowboy, if you like."

You know, that was a good way of looking at it!

"I'll take that overthe alternative," Din replied. "And I'll ask Greef to put out feelers for any rumors of Mandalorians around."

"So let's say you took off your helmet, hypothetically," Faye proposed, "and I put it on. Am I a Mandalorian, then?"

Because the helmet seemed to be the defining characteristic. Maybe the armor, too?

Stark was going to shoot her a mildly alarmed look at that idea.

"I'd rather you didn't. But... is that how it works? You just put it on one day and never take it off again?"

"No," Din said firmly. "It's a creed. The armor is part of it, but if just wearing it doesn't make you a Mandalorian. You might actually get threatened by a real one."

He'd try not to threaten you, Faye. But the level of discomfort. Oh man.

"Most of our people were purged by the Empire and those of us who are still alive... hid. To survive. From what they say, they even glassed the planet to try to wipe us out."

It was just a hypothetical! When would she even get his helmet, anyway? She'd have to sneak in while he was preoccupied with mustache-grooming or something.

"Why?" Faye asked simply, leaning her chin in her hands. "What'd you guys do that pissed 'em off so bad?"

"Sometimes," Stark said, looking down, "you don't have to have done anything. My people didn't." They were just easy to conquer.

"I'm sorry," he added to Din in a quieter voice. "I didn't know."

Edited 2021-10-07 18:31 (UTC)

Din let the kid go to toddle on over to pat Stark in a comforting fashion. Grogu was good at that, after all.

"For our resources, because an army of us was a threat, I don't really know," Din replied. "You remember Cara? They destroyed her planet completely. Some super weapon."

Kinda made Mandalore seem kinda tame, right?

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