Good morning everyone! I'm sorry it's been a hot minute since we last read together (literally in some places) My prayers are with anyone who has been dealing with fires, drought, or extreme weather. This summer's already a wild one, huh?

In hopes of making your day a little brighter, here's some sweet, extra cuteness just for you!

Din woke when the sky lightened infinitesimally, gray-washing everything. He'd managed to snatch a few hours of sleep intermittently throughout the night, but had stayed on high alert even when his eyes were closed. No way was he allowing anyone, or thing, to launch another attack on them.

Sitting up further, he glanced over at the pod and froze. He couldn't see the kid.

Standing up, he made a quick search through the blankets he'd piled haphazardly into the pod and found nothing. When he frustratedly turned away from it, his eyes fell on the girl and narrowed. She was curled up under her cloak with her back to him. He stalked over until he was almost on top of her and finally saw it.

Sometime during the night the kid had snuck out of the pod and joined the girl. He was snuggled up against her, tucked under a fold of her cloak. The girl had an arm wrapped securely around the kid, holding him close in a way that screamed maternal. As Din watched, the kid nuzzled in closer and exhaled a small sigh of contentment with his warm little nest.

Din stepped around them until he was face to face with the girl. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully until he got a closer look and found the crinkle between her brows and the smallest of frowns hovering around the corners of her mouth. Even as he looked on, a few tears slipped free of her lashes and began their slow trek towards the ground. Her arm tightened around the kid earning her a nonplussed squeak. One that she couldn't hear.

Before Din was fully aware of what he was doing, he was crouched down and very gently wiping the tears from her face. If there was anything he understood better than guns, it was nightmares.

Her expression crumpled under his touch and she let out a small sound of pure fear, curling into herself and clutching the kid tight. Having seen enough, Din grasped her slim shoulder and gave it a firm shake. It took a couple times but he was soon rewarded with her eyes flying open on a gasping breath.

He expected her to scramble away in a panic at the sight of him looming over her but she stayed frozen where she was, her eyes blown wide with remembered fear. It took several long moments, but Din eventually saw recognition flood her expression. Recognition and relief as her shoulder relaxed under his grip.

"You were having a nightmare, and kinda strangling the kid." Din pointed out, not unkindly.

She blinked up at him for a second and then glanced down to find big brown eyes looking up at her beseechingly. Immediately she released the kid, who rolled away from her before trying to get his feet under him. Except he couldn't around the robe he was wearing and ended up just kind of flopping in place a bit. Even Din found amusement at the sight.

Which was not good because the kid was his bounty, his next payday. An enemy, in a sense. He shouldn't find him amusing or anything at all. Disturbed by what he was feeling, Din stood and tossed a ration bar down next to the girl.

"Eat. We need to keep moving."

She nodded, wiping the sleep and last remnants of tears from her eyes. Slowly she moved to sit up, already flinching away from the expected pain, only to be shocked. The bone-deep pain that had streaked across her ribs the night before was gone. Carefully she began to stretch her midsection, twisting this way and that and marveling at the ease of movement. It didn't make sense. Could the bacta truly have worked so quickly and deeply?

"Meh?"

She glanced down to find the child looking up at her all cute and innocent with his big, brown eyes and oversized ears. Could he have…?

No. She shut that thought down quickly. Even though he was an unknown entity and someone wanted him enough to put a bounty on him, it just didn't seem probable. He was just a baby. A fact that was made all the clearer when he started gnawing half-heartedly on the, still wrapped, ration bar while sleepily blinking up at her.

She offered him a small smile and held her hand out for the bar. Hungry, little one? She thought, tilting her head slightly to mimic the question in her head.

He responded by stubbornly chewing on the wrapper for a moment more, before giving up and cautiously placing it in her hand as if it were a precious treasure. The action spoke mountains to her on what the poor baby had been through in the hands of his captors. And yet, when she met his steady gaze, there was still trust there. Wary trust, but trust nonetheless. It filled her with a startling warmth that took a long second for her to identify.

Happiness. His trust in her, even over this small matter of a ration bar, made her happy.

Don't get attached. The Mandalorian's words whispered through her mind. She steeled herself, forcing her newly remembered emotion back down as she efficiently ripped open the wrapper and handed the bar back to the child. However, despite her best efforts, she knew deep down that it was too little, too late. The little green wombat had already made a dent on her heart.

I know it's a bit short but I truly hope it brought a smile to your face :)

Let me know, I'd love to hear from you. You guys truly can't possibly know how much your reviews inspire me to continue on!