#gbtscbtf

[the-mandawhor1an]

OwO whats dis

Wolke is painting banners by hand, beech

painting reflections is so hard

Yes, it's the facility Maia grew up in, guess the theme

[the-mandawhor1an]

Lovebound

Chapter 13 – Guided by the stars, connected by the force

Masterlist

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Chapter summary: After their visit to the festival, a lot of things are about to happen for both Din and Arana, who has decided to leave ‘Maia’ in the past. While accepting her heritage is only the first step, the brunette is about to learn more about Mandalorians and even more about being with one. 

Warnings: 18+ MDNI! a little morning wood never hurt nobody; Peli is absolutely unhinged in the beginning; horny idiots; consumption of alcohol; virginity loss; yes, there is smut; Din is the king of consent; dick pronouns; 

Words: 16.3k (I’m sorry)

A/N: Yeah well… it was bound to happen. They’re in love and Din absolutely wants his cyar’ika to feel said love. Lot's of Mando'a in this, translations are explained by the characters. Maia will be referred to by Arana from now on.

The night had been short and yet there was nothing for Arana to complain about. Her head felt a little heavy when it lifted off of Din’s chest to see the light of day shining through underneath the door. Lying on his body, feeling his heart beat and his steady breathing felt incredible, so intimate in this tiny storage room. Din seemed to also slowly wake up, groaning underneath her and trying to move, but seemingly realizing he had another human lying on top of him. They both ignored the commotion outside of the storage room for now, focused on the other hidden in the darkness of the tiny, windowless room. »Are you awake?« he asked into the darkness. 

»Good morning, I –« she was about to answer when there was a shuffle and then loud bangs as Peli hammered against the metal door that separated the two from the mechanic. »Wake up! Got you two some food. Put some clothes on before you come out, for the love of everything. I’ve seen way too much bare skin yesterday.« The brunette flinched on top of Din from the noise, he himself groaned a little louder. Neither wanted details, although Arana halfway expected Peli to make another comment. The brunette started lifting herself off of his body when she realized something was pressing into her abdomen when her weight shifted. For just a moment she froze, a little overwhelmed with the realization that her partner must’ve been a little too excited about her being on top of him. She quickly dismounted afterwards and she thanked the Force for the darkness in the little chamber that hid her blushed cheeks in this moment.  

With one hand she felt for her clothes, only to realize in this moment she had left them in the bathroom and there was only her dress in here. »Shit… my clothes.« There was another flinch when she heard Din’s ‘I just woke up’ raspy voice when his head turned to her, asking »do you need help with your dress?« As if the sensation of his hard-on hadn’t been enough to make her want to whimper, his voice was making it very hard to keep her composure. »Can I have your cape?« She didn’t want to squeeze into the dress for just a few steps. There was a moment of silence. Was he thinking what she would look like wrapped in just his cape? »Sure.« 

»Hello-o? Are you alive in there? Don’t make me come in!« »We are, relax,« Din growled towards the door where Peli was apparently waiting for some kind of response. »Maia will be out in a minute.« Oh yeah, the mechanic was blissfully unaware of what had happened yesterday, including the name change. Peli probably had something wildly different in mind when it came to what the two lovebirds had done. A random woman’s name would have made her assume they had a third one in here, or something similar. Din’s body might have appreciated a different approach for last night, to be fair. It was for the best if they wouldn’t talk about this… ever. »I’ll need another minute in here,« Din let her know. Arana had a suspicion why, his not so little issue. She took his cape and got up to wrap it around her, tucking one of the corners in so it would stay in place. 

With Din still sitting, one leg angled, she leaned down to give him a kiss. »I love you… and I’m sorry.« »No need to apologize.« Did he know why? »I’ll distract her,« she promised him and got back up to her feet. She felt a little bad for putting him into this situation, but then again, she didn’t expect to be confronted with an erection so soon. After Din had put on his helmet, she took a deep breath and opened the door, practically dancing out of the storage room. The door shut behind her fairly quickly. »Good morning, Peli,« she greeted the mechanic with an overly joyous tone in her voice. »Someone’s in a very good mood today,« the mechanic commented, a steaming mug of caf in her hand. »Why wouldn’t I be? Yesterday was so much fun, and I saw fireworks for the first time ever, we enjoyed some food, good music…« she slowly walked over to the bathroom, making sure the mechanic’s eyes stayed with her.  

The door to the bathroom stayed open so the women could continue talking. Peli would respect her enough to not come looking. »I clearly choose the wrong men to be with…« »Maybe you do,« Arana replied, putting on her underwear and pants. »The necklace looks good,« came from the kitchen. »Thanks, the pendant is made of Beskar.« »I saw the symbol before… it’s on Mando’s armor, right?« Just for a second the brunette’s head popped through the door way, grinning ear to ear. The mechanic mimicked the expression before Arana returned into the bath to put the rest of her robes on. The rustling was audible in the hallway and probably also the kitchen. »The stars really aligned for us to be here around a holiday. The fireworks were beautiful.« »You saw them? Thought I had seen you and Mando leave the market fairly early.« 

Of course the older woman assumed the two had retreated to the hangar for other activities and Arana’s behavior just enforced that thought. That became painfully obvious when the mechanic rummaged through her cabinets, asking »so how does that work with you and Mando… Business up top, party below or–« »Peli!« »Come on! Let a woman be curious. It’s not like he would tell me anything about his love life.«

»Morning,« Din announced, somehow managing to sneak up on Motto who subsequently screamed. »Holy Batha-shit,« she cursed, clutching her heart. »Didn’t expect you to just stand there. I thought Maia had knocked you out for the day.« Din wanted to explain »I just need longer to–« »Put your clothes on, I get it. Was quicker to take them off yesterday, huh?« Peli finished, making Arana bite her lip while she was still hidden behind a wall. With all fabric now in place, she could reunite with the other two. »So,« the mechanic reiterated, »did the helmet stay on or not? I can’t see how that’s romantic. Not that I would judge you if you’re into that, or if Maia is.«  

»Actually–« Arana pranced down the hallway towards the kitchen, putting emphasis on every step. »It’s not so much about the helmet staying on than it is about the face not being seen. You probably know an embarrassing amount of solutions for that problem.« Peli gave her a look and Din’s helmet seemed to turn to her in slow-motion. To be frank, he was a little surprised and confused why she would insinuate they had been intimate. And did so with a straight face while he was cooking under his helmet. 

»Huh, so you’re not as prudish as I thought. But how can you make sure that he’s appealing? Don’t tell me love is blind or some pudu like that. I’ve been with some men I would have thanked for wearing a helmet, or at least a paper bag. Absolutely hideous, it was almost unbearable. No offense, Mando.« Arana stifled a chuckle while Din’s posture seemed to indicate a toneless sigh. No, he was absolutely gorgeous underneath the armor and fabric. Warm, comfortable, and hard where it mattered. What? »I just know. Let’s focus on something else. I – Maia isn’t a thing any more. To cut a long story short, I recently found out my parents were Mandalorians which kind of makes me one too; my name is Arana.«

»Wait, Arana?« Peli pulled a face of confusion. »Not sure I like that name, Maia sounds better. Besides, if you’re a Mandalorian, shouldn’t you be in armor?« Arana shook her head no. »It’s not that easy. I don’t just get one.« She exchanged a look with Din. »The only Mandalorians we know won’t allow me to have one, because I never learned to live by their Creed.. I’m not sure I would find it comfortable, either.« 

The mechanic hummed. »I still like Maia more, but that’s not important. I got y’all some breakfast, extra protein to replenish after yesterday.« Din scoffed underneath the helmet, this time audibly for the two women. »Seriously?« he grumbled while Arana pressed her lips together, watching as he took his bowl. »I’d love to see your face right now, Mando,« Peli teased. »We’re training after breakfast,« Din let his partner know and retreated back into the room they had stayed in, far enough away for him to take the helmet off without his face being seen. The women sat by the dining table and Arana took a closer look at what Peli had brought them. It smelled sweet and admittedly tasty, but the texture was hard to describe. An amorphous, beige mass. 

»You’ll have to explain to me again. You’re a Mandalorian. Okay, got it. New name, also got that, even if I think the other one fits better. Shouldn’t there be someone looking for you? I may not know much about Mandalorians but they don’t have children to just toss out into the galaxy. They’re not Jedi.« Ouch. Arana stuck her spoon into the mass before her and took the first bite, delighted to find the sweet taste relatively subtle. It felt rich and like it would fill her up nicely. She began explaining. »Judging by what Mando told me, children are invaluable to Mandalorians. I think I have to explain a little more about what happened to me. I was taken from my family by Imperials. I assume they both died and nobody that would have known me remained. So no one came looking when I broke out.« »I’m sorry, Sweetheart. You didn’t deserve that. Damn Imperials.« After a deep breath and a glance over to where Din was hidden behind the wall, Arana mumbled »what child deserves to be taken from their family.« Was her partner listening? She went for another bite while Peli mused on. 

»You caught a Mandalorian regardless of whether your family might have lost you.« Arana shook her head and chuckled, a little too amused with the wording and the memory of their playful banter up on Peli’s roof yesterday. »Caught. Like it was my sole doing that led to us being together now.« »You’ve not seen how he was before he showed up here with you. Let me tell you: The difference is night and day.« Although it was exhausting to speak with her at times, Peli’s blunt but honest approach to conversation somehow made it easier for Arana to talk about the difficult things. Like her family. The mechanic continued. »You could get married and they would accept you, right? Even if it would be cruel to hide such a pretty face underneath a helmet.« »I know the helmet thing is strange at first but I got used to talking to one relatively quickly. Makes Mando a little harder to read but I’m getting the hang of it. Not sure how it would change if I had one on, too.« 

The woman opposite of her took a sip of her drink, her non-existent eyebrows moving a little down. »I can’t picture you at a wedding with the helmets on, to be honest – but I’m not trying to be ignorant. It’s your choice. Can’t deny that you're good for him.« The reassurance felt nice, to have confirmation that the brunette had a positive impact on him instead of being a burden. Not that Din had made her feel as such, sometimes she just doubted herself. »No offense taken. All of that has time anyway. In the meantime I enjoy being around him, he makes me feel safe. Loving him sure helps.« It was a little reminder to herself in a way, and she wanted to say it out loud in front of someone. Would she even want to marry him to be part of the Watch? And more importantly, did Din even think about marrying at all? 

Peli would agree. »Yeah, it has time. And if you ever have children I’m very willing to babysit them. Not for free of course, I can’t afford that, but for a good discount.« Arana took a deep breath, albeit silently. She didn’t know. She shouldn’t know. »Be careful what you offer, we might get back to that in the future. You’re just interested in setting up a little petting zoo, aren’t you?« Banter was a welcome distraction from the short pain she felt in her chest. Peli took the bait, laughing. »Come on, can you blame me? If you show up with cute, cuddly little guys I’d be stupid to not make one. We could even share profits. Didn’t get to say goodbye to the little guy.« Another ouch, especially if Din could hear them. She could have told the mechanic that she might get to see him again one day, but in the prospect of her partner evesdropping she bit her tongue. She didn’t want to put Din’s hopes up so soon. If it was up to his decision they’d be on the way to get the little one back from Luke right now.

Breakfast was finished and Arana looked over to the ajar door. »Cyare, are you ready?« There was a rustle and a groan and Din emerged from the room, helmet on and the empty bowl in his hand. »Yes, let’s go.« The brunette rose from her seat as well, giving her partner a once-over. If he had listened in on the conversation, he was keeping any thoughts to himself. His posture seemed normal, a little tense but that could still be from when Peli had teased him. Arana couldn’t ask him with the mechanic around. 

»We need to find a suitable spot for the training,« Din let her know. He was right, they couldn’t just start swinging sabers without making sure they couldn’t cause any collateral. »We should probably leave the city, where it’s quiet enough to focus,« was Arana’s only wish. She would need a little quiet if she had to teach Din about sabers. No teasing came from Peli this time around, not even a comment about the two leaving for some privacy again. Arana vividly remembered what the mechanic had said on their first trip out of the city, where she and Din were barely more than strangers. I can tell why Mando wants to take you with him. She understood the implications back then, but now knowing that Mando had watched her at the time, it made sense. And now, why would she mind if he gave her longing looks? 

Down by the hangar, she opened her ship and jumped up to the cockpit, letting her legs hang down the hull while her torso was inside, looking for her sabers and belt. The suns were up high already and she would need her cloak to not get sunburnt when they would be out there. She left her gloves in the ship, deeming them not necessary for the time being. Her partner was just leaned against the hangar wall, as nonchalant as he always was, and still – it felt like his eyes had been on her for a moment. »I could teach you some Mando’a,« he offered while she still hung in her ship, looking for her second saber. »Does that mean you’ll finally tell me what idiot is in Mando’a?« »I might keep that one to myself.« 

With another jump she was out of her ARC, walked over to him, attaching the belt and her sabers. The ship closed and she put on the cloak. »Enjoyed the view, Mando?« she teased him with a grin. The helmet leaned sideways. »I won’t tell you that either, Arana.« The way he practically purred her name made her absolutely weak, knees feeling a little wobbly just from the soft vibrato in his voice. Considering how his voice had sounded not long ago, even more gravelly, it was a miracle that she wasn’t in a puddle right now. »Let’s go,« Din nodded towards the exit and off they went, walking through the streets and out the city. 

»How did you sleep?« Casual conversation while they walked around seemed to be their go-to at this point. »I can’t complain, I slept on quite the comfortable underground.« Arana had to stop herself before she made it awkward for the both of them, don’t mention what you felt, don’t mention what you felt she reminded herself. »Your back must hate me though, sorry about that.« »Don’t worry about that. It does hurt, but I’ll be okay when I get to move a little.« The streets were still empty, most of the people in Mos Eisley probably still asleep after the night had been going on for longer than usual. Din quieted down as soon as a stranger crossed their path, however. There was no need for her to press on more conversation, perfectly contented to walk with him in silence. 

Outside the city, after they had taken a short walk, Din halted, took a look around, and nodded approvingly. »I think we’re good here,« he announced. Taking the Darksaber from his belt, Arana took position opposite of him, a few steps away from him. She unhooked one of her sabers, deeming one enough for the time being. If Din showed improvement quickly, she could always add the second one. The lavender colored blade almost seemed white in contrast to the oceans of beige sand around them. Her blade gave off a low hum, a noise she was used to, but it sounded so different when it had nowhere to bounce off from, virtually no echo. »I need you to be open-minded, otherwise I can’t help you learning to handle a saber. It sounds weird, I know, but saber crystals have a mind of their own. Be certain of what you want to accomplish. Don’t doubt yourself. The Darksaber is old, it might be harder to handle, I don’t know.« 

Her saber raised into a blocking position, she nodded towards her partner. »Hit it.« Din activated the blade and it was obvious the weapon was heavy, even the sound was different from her sabers. While his first strike seemed easy enough, she saw him struggle with the second. No noise of strain or effort came from him yet, but his posture tensed, his biceps and shoulders flexing underneath the fabric. Din’s movements were slower, more laborious, when he struck her blade once more. On top of the visible signs he was doing something wrong, fighting the blade, it was like she could feel his doubts, the internal conflict and his frustration. It surrounded him like a cloud, a grey aura of negative thoughts. 

»You won it in combat. It’s yours,« the brunette reminded him, moving slowly to attack him but leaving enough time for him to block. To be honest, moving so slowly and pronounced was a little more exhausting. She didn’t want to hit the armor just in case the blade slipped and hurt him for real, she aimed straight for the blade and nothing else. Blocking was easier for him, not too much movement involved, but she saw how he was straining, sinking into the sand with his boots like it actually weighed more and more. What started off as a cloud around him, frustration and self doubt, had turned into a thick fog within minutes. »You’re resisting the blade.« Did it help she was telling him when it was obvious that it was all that consumed him right now? Finally, Din just sighed in defeat, deactivated and let the Darksaber fall into the sand. Arana deactivated her blade as well, giving him a confused look. Had she been too harsh with him? Had she insulted him? With the memory of their fight back on Glavis she knew she had to be a bit more tactful this time around, and not let his frustration jump over to her as well. With a sigh herself, she walked over and picked up the significantly bigger and heavier hilt, offering her blade to her partner in return. »We should maybe start a little easier. Modern technology and a little less stubborn, I would assume. No history attached to it but my short life, similarly lethal as the other one.«  

»Let’s go,« Din groaned a little, the frustration still around him in the air. Was there anything she could do to help him? He was hard to read right now and she knew his pride was easily hurt if she chose her words a little unfortunately. She activated the blade, feeling the weight instantly. Being force-sensitive however meant it wasn’t as severe for her to feel the significance of the blade. Waving the blade around a bit, she got a feel for the handling, registering Din’s frustration growing a little more. As much as she didn’t want this to happen, they had to do it this way. »In the covert, someone tried to take the blade from me. To be the rightful owner, to win it in combat. Thankfully Mandalorians seem to be useless with a lightsaber. Otherwise he would’ve decapitated me.« Din explained. Hearing that should have stunned her more than it did, the prospect of her partner being killed, but then again, Arana was removing herself emotionally from this as best as she could to be a better teacher for him. The aura of the saber was definitely stronger than her own crystals, but it felt manageable. Was it because she saw the necessity in being able to handle it? Was it because she was a Jedi? Or had Din technically surrendered the blade to her and it was now listening to a more willing master? Din tried to at least lift his spirits a little, or he was starting to feel that Arana was sensing him in the force. Could he feel her presence? »Lucky for me he wasn’t able to, unlucky for the Mandalorians as a whole because now the saber is in the hands of an apostate.« 

»Sooner or later someone will come to claim it again. All I care about is for you to be safe and not get hurt when you use it again. It’s inescapable. Also – I don’t want you to hurt me either.« The sight and smell of his burnt thigh was still so fresh in her memory and she would be grateful if it never came to another serious injury like this. The way he talked about himself explained why the blade taunted him. Din was a remarkable man but he talked himself down so much right now. Arana carefully approached him, swinging against the other blade. His armor would avoid the worst but she didn’t want to hurt him. She wanted him to get a feel for a saber. That was it. Would she mind if he lost the blade again? Not really if he managed to lose in combat and not die. Din was more important than some weapon and definitely more important than some title he didn’t seem to want, anyway. They focused on fighting, Din slowly getting a feel for the saber. Taking turns, Din took a few swings at her and in turn blocked when she swung at him. The clash of sabers picked up in frequency and they had a well-working rhythm. Arana was proud of how well Din carried himself with a completely new weapon. Most of this was due to his resilience, she was certain, but she’d like to think that her encouragement had at least a tiny bit of influence. 

After some time, the suns had passed their zenith already, they stopped and deactivated their blades, Din surrendering Arana’s blade to her, a few words of admiration on his lips. »You’re so focused while fighting. I’m far from it.« »Switching my mind off has always been a safety measure for me, it helped closing myself off from some – bad things. I don’t doubt it’s hard for you.« A heavy sigh came from underneath the helmet, his shoulders dropping. »I’m not sure if it’s worth it, or if I am. You’re making such an effort and I don’t feel deserving, not worthy. The Darksaber would be better in the hands of a Jedi master.« Arana couldn’t deny the saber felt good in her hands, but she had sabers of her own and they meant more to her. Besides, she was definitely not interested in command over the Mandalorians. Not that they would accept her anyway. »You’re too hard on yourself, cyare. Comparing yourself to someone who has been handling sabers for years. What Jedi would be interested in a saber that also grants you command over a civilization of warriors that despise them? The sword has been carried by Mandalorians for hundreds of years, it has a long history and matters to Mandos. It belongs into the hands of one.« Arana hooked the Darksaber into Din’s belt and looked into that dark visor. 

»It matters to some Mandalorians. I haven’t even heard of it when I was still on Concordia. No one ever taught us.« She gave him an apologetic smile. It was, in a way, reassuring that Din wasn’t too ardent on the title of the ruler of Mandalore either. »To some, then.« Still there was this aura of frustration surrounding him. She placed both hands on his helmet, caressing the metal as if it was his face. »Regardless of that, you might not see it because you’re frustrated, but you did so well today. Masters aren’t born, they are made.« She didn’t care much if Din didn’t want the throne. It was his choice, at the end of the day, and all she wanted was for him to be safe. Safe with her, preferably. She didn’t need to be with a king, nor did she need to live in a mansion or anything. As long as she could be with him, she would be happy. 

Let it go. That was, in a way, a mantra for a Jedi. Arana had to tell herself so often to let go, to let Din leave her behind, to overcome the death of her adoptive father, to live with not knowing who she was, where she belonged. Din had to let go of all the doubt to be able to master the Darksaber. And she had to let go of the fear of losing him. Whether it would be in combat or of old age, Din would leave her one day, or she would leave him. And, more importantly, she had to let go of her own feelings when Din was frustrated just as he was right now. She didn’t want to repeat their falling out on Glavis. »I think we trained enough for today, what do you think?« The brunette’s head tilted to the side, her hands still on the helmet. »I don’t know. Sorry. I wish it was easier for me, because right now it frustrates me too much. I know learning a skill takes time, I just–« he sighed, letting the helmet fall a bit forward, not making it far because her hands held his head in place. »Di’kut. That’s what you can call me when I’m being an idiot again.« Arana rotated the helmet, assuming he would look at her if she did. A warm smile on her lips, she repeated what he had just told her. »Di’kut. Maybe I won’t have to use it too often. I know this must be a lot for you. Maybe even too much to handle at once. I don’t know how to help you through this, I want to, though. You’ll have to tell me, because I don’t want to look into that pretty head of yours to find answers.« 

»I had to learn quickly when I was a child and I just force myself too much, I can’t learn that fast any more. I’ll work on my attitude, I don’t want to drive you away. And please don’t look around in there, it’s not pretty.« »I don’t like my own mind at times. But don’t worry, it’s hard to drive me away.« She took a step forward and leaned her forehead against the helmet. Din couldn’t help himself and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug. »I didn’t think I could ever be so emotional. I used to just turn around and keep going without looking back.« Arana took the opportunity and snuggled against his armor, her arms wrapping around his neck. »Having emotions hurts at times, I know. But both Grogu and I owe our lives to your feelings. You might not have saved me out of love, but there was something that inclined you to do it regardless. And I know you suffer because Grogu isn’t here. He is your first foundling, isn’t he?«

She was not saying ‘was’ to not make it even worse for him. »I never said having emotions is bad. Just that I’ve been closed off for such a long time. And then Grogu came along and turned my whole life upside down. And he is – was –  I saw myself in him. A child that needed to be protected. He is my family just as you are and it feels wrong to give him away,« Din explained. Slowly she let go of him, Din also letting go of her body. Her hand reached for her neck, feeling for the pendant underneath the black fabric. Being considered someone’s family felt odd. She had lost every family she had. Her biological parents, Raymond – who she had considered a father figure for years – how could she doom Din to the same fate by calling him family? She had to say something, and if she couldn’t reciprocate his feelings in that way, she had to acknowledge that at least, someone saw Din as family already. »He considers you his father… Or a father figure.« Just like she had chosen Raymond back when she was in the facility, Grogu saw a protector and role model. »Luke might not let you see him, as the emotional distance is crucial for his training. While I don’t regret leaving him, I was at a completely different stage of maturity and in my training.« 

Din tensed and she felt a little sting in her heart. She hurt him, she knew it. Resorting to honesty was her way of preparing him, so he wouldn’t be too disappointed if they made it all the way there to not see the little one. A necessary evil, so to say. Would Din know she was doing this out of love and not malice? »I know you want to see him and we can still fly there. Your expectation shouldn’t be that he sees you and chooses to come back with us, that is all I want to say. My words hurt, don’t think I do this because I want to hurt you. I just don’t know how to be more tactful about it.« »I just want him to have the gift. That is all.« That statement came so bluntly and Arana definitely had proof that she had hurt him, Din resorting to being short with her. »Will you be okay if he rejects it?« »I won’t force him. If that’s his choice I will respect it.«

Arana took a deep breath, grounding herself as to not make the frustration take hold of her. This was her fault for being honest and he had every right to be hurt by it. There was no need and no reason to snap at him, he wasn’t snappy with her, either. »There’s still a lot of time left until tomorrow, we should find something to do. Unless you want to leave right away, but we might need a longer break in between. I don’t think I need another evening at the festival.« Seemingly feeling her guilt, Din gently touched her arm, searching for physical contact to signal he was okay. He shook the helmet gently to convey a no. »We’re flying tomorrow. We can ask Peli if she needs help in the workshop. Or we sit down in her apartment and I teach you more Mando’a.« Looking down her arm, she found him caressing over her sleeve with his thumb. The bounty hunter had changed so much in the little time they had spent together, so affectionate even when they were out in the open. »Oh Peli for sure has something for us to do. In the best case we take all of the scrap that lies around and organize it into two piles. Actual trash and useful trash… or we suffer through more questions about our relationship.« »After what you made her believe, no wonder.« Oh yeah, she had kind of insinuated that she and Mando had been intimate… 

»Let’s go back and I teach you some more Mando’a on the way,« he distracted her from her memories of that one dream she had and also the sensation of his hard-on snuggled against her. Otherwise she would have gotten a little light-headed. »Let’s see how much I remember when I hear it. ‘Cyare’ just came to me when you called me cyar’ika.« They started walking back towards the city. 

»You know what it means, then?« Not quite, but she knew it was something to call a partner or a family member. She had heard her mother say it to her father in that memory of hers. Was it maybe the male version of cyar’ika? »It’s some word for loved one? Like… my beloved? But I don’t really understand the ‘ika.’« Arana felt inclined to grab hold of his hand, but then again, back in the city there were people and she knew how Din was when they were being watched. »It’s a suffix… to make the word smaller. Or used as further endearment. In Basic there’s no real way to imitate it. ‘Cyare’ is beloved or love, but ‘cyar’ika’ is closer to darling or favorite.« Din hummed a little, trying to find a better way to explain it. »‘Ika’ is when you would call a kitten a kitty to make it sound smaller.« She nodded, that was a good way to demonstrate it. »And what’s mesh’la? I assume it’s something nice because you wouldn’t insult me.« »I would never insult you. It means beautiful. ’La’ indicates an adjective.« It warmed her heart to finally know what he had said to her so often. Din had called her mesh’la so early in their relationship, before it even was one, before they had made it official. »Your name comes from ‘aran’, I assume. It means guard… or guardian. Similar to Basic most words are neutral in Mando’a. ‘Buir’ would be a parent, either mother or father.« That made more sense. Back when they visited Gor Koresh, Din had explained that women were equal to a man in Mandalorian culture. Made sense why there was no distinction in their language between male and female. »So buir’ika would be ‘daddy’?« He chuckled a little. »Yes, or mommy,« he concluded. 

She smiled at him, pondering whether to make a joke or not. But then again, she didn’t know if the connotations were the same in Mando’a as they were in Basic, despite the soft laughter he had just expelled. Just like she wondered if she could ironically call him di’kut. »So, if I wanted to make your name cuter, would I say Din’ika? Di’ka?« Din’s chuckle returned, only to become a little louder this time around. The blush forming on her cheeks was inevitable, fearing the worst. »What did I say?« It took a moment for Din to regain his composure. »Dinii means lunatic.« »Oh, damn, sorry about that. I’ll stick to di’kut then. It’s not insulting to call you that, right?« Awkward.  

»It’s not, don’t worry. ‘I’ll hold you in my heart forever.’ That’s what I told you yesterday. It’s our way to say ‘I love you’.« Arana stumbled over her own feet, startled by the sudden confession. Din jerked her way to catch her, but she managed to regain her balance on her own. »Stars, you can’t just drop that so nonchalantly. You sure have your hearts on your tongues for a bunch of warriors.« She took a deep breath and tried to calm her pulse that had just picked up. Was he aware what he was doing to her? »At least that explains why you say certain things in Mando’a rather than telling me in Basic. I won’t stumble and make an idiot of myself if I don’t know what you’re telling me.« 

»It just felt right in that moment. I wanted you to know what I said, because the Basic translation doesn’t convey the same sentiment.« 

»It’s alright. It’s just – an intensity I wouldn’t expect from a stone cold bounty hunter, you know?«

»I’m a human underneath the armor too.« She bit her lip, grinning a little when she saw the helmet turn towards her in her peripheral. »I know you are. Forever sounds like a long time.« A long time to love someone and also a long time to miss someone. »Do you believe in some kind of afterlife?« There was a clear shake of the helmet. »You’ll be in my heart till it stops. If anything comes afterwards, I wouldn’t know.«  

Unwillingly her thoughts took a darker turn, suddenly remembering the nightmares that had plagued her just recently. Seeing him die, again, and her heart ached for the inevitable, the moment it would become reality. »No one’s heart is stopping. Forget it.« She felt her throat tighten, pure stubbornness taking over for a moment. The discussion about the afterlife reminded her of something she and Luke had talked about. »I’ve been told that some Jedi stay in this life even after their death, for a while at least. Something about a noble death or inner peace when it happens that grants them to stay a little while, conscious and somewhat materialized.« The sigh she let out almost made a sob escape. »I can’t imagine how it would feel to miss you for eternity.« His helmet faced her and he took hold of her hand, stopping and making her halt as well. She felt her eyes water when she looked at him. No way she would accept him passing on anytime soon. 

»Let’s focus on now, when we’re together, cyar’ika.« He gently squeezed her hand, which she reciprocated with a sigh. »I’m sorry, you’re right.« Especially with the prospect of maybe having the apartment to themselves for a while later, Arana was fine to ditch the festival today. Her mind was occupied with memories of how Din had kissed her yesterday and she wanted to repeat it. Maybe take things further? The thought had manifested when she had felt how his body reacted to being close to her. As scary as the experience might be at first, she wanted to know how it would feel to be entangled with him, as close as can be. When she could hear every little noise he makes and feel every twitch of his muscles. Dank farrik.   

It was early afternoon when they arrived back at the hangar, which was still occupied – to no one’s surprise. »Oh, you’re back so early?« Peli commented their return. How long had they been gone? To Arana it had felt like hours, but then again, she didn’t have any means to tell the time apart from the position of the suns. »Sand’s a little scratchy, huh?« the mechanic added, arms crossed in front of her chest, grinning like she had triumphed. Did she honestly think they would go outside the city to fool around in the sand? Instead of entertaining the thought, Din distracted the woman with a question she had definitely not anticipated. 

»Do you have some work for us?« That did the trick, the mechanic loosened her posture and gave Din a blank stare, blinking twice before she found the words to reply. »Usually I’m the one doing the work, I’m the service provider over here.« While she was right, the two wanted to kill some time, besides »you’re letting us sleep in your home. Is there anything we can do for you in return?« Arana clarified. The brunette motioned to the ominous tarp that covered some form of machinery, perhaps the chassis of a pod-racer. »What about this?«  

Peli pulled the tarp from the skeleton of a Naboo N-1 starfighter that looked in a generally rough shape. Peli was pragmatic, and far from stupid. »If you just want to waste time until I leave for the festival you can tell me. However, I could use a few more hands on this. Looked for an alternative for the Crest after Mando contacted me.« Din was ever-observant and pointed towards the star-fighter. »That’s not a Crest.« »Damn right, because it’s better. Leaves that ARC-170 in the dust too, no offense. Faster, more agile and a lot prettier with a new paint job. Also… she’s pre-Imperial.«

Arana scanned over the dirty, partially flaked off yellow paint, letting her hand glide over the rough surface. Speaking of her star fighter, the mechanic had a question burning on the tip of her tongue. »Where have you even gotten that from? Last time we met you didn’t even have properly fitting clothes. And now you have a new haircut, a different name and a damn ship from the Galactic Republic, not to mention in quite good condition.« Well, how would Arana explain it? ‘I am force-sensitive and I can steal virtually anything my heart desires if it weren’t for my morals’? »Would you believe me that I just took it? I can be quite convincing if I want to.« The woman gave her a once-over and raised her lack of eyebrows. »I don’t doubt that after yesterday. But for a ship? And that’s fine for him?« Peli looked over to Din, a little shocked. »Were you present?!« Before the brunette was able to explain what she actually meant, which was far from the mechanic’s interpretation, Din, oblivious to everything, replied »I wasn’t, but I know she is very convincing when she wants to be.« Arana facepalmed. That was his revenge for what she had done to him at breakfast. Now the mechanic would forever think she had exchanged her body for a ship. Fantastic. To avoid the awkward silence making it even more embarrassing for his poor partner, Din interrupted. »You had promised a substitute.« Peli nodded violently. »I never said it was a Crest and believe me. She needs polishing but you will fall in love with her just like you did with your sweetheart. Give her a chance.« Sometimes the tin can was a little hard to convince, but then again, when had Peli ever failed him? »Fine,« he grumbled. 

Arana wondered what she could even help with, given she had no training in fixing anything. She was glad if her ship could be fixed with unplugging and replugging cables because that was about the extent of her technical understanding of anything. Din still wasn’t all-too convinced that he would like the N-1, but the mechanic tried her hardest to sell the ship to the Mandalorian. »Do you even know how hard it is to come by pre-imperial parts? Everything was handmade. They’re incredibly rare and expensive. And because I like you, I can add some modifications to make her even better.« Peli was a saleswoman through and through, and for some reason she referred to the ship as a she. Was that a tactic? »And because she’s so old, she is not registered anywhere, just like Maia’s… Ah, kriff, Arana’s ARC.« Mando huffed. »Fine, let’s see if it even starts.« Peli was delighted, either sensing a sale in the future or she was genuinely just happy that Din was giving her a chance. »Perfect. Then let’s start, because I want to go to the festival later. We won’t finish today anyway, she’s missing parts I don’t have nor can I get them this short notice.« Peli clapped, making a mental plan of what they could fix with little equipment and without the missing parts. »Mando, you and BD climb under the ship, you’ll handle the big parts. Arana, you can help me.« 

Surprisingly she found something to do fairly quickly. Being relatively slender compared to Din but still a lot taller than Peli came to her advantage, she could reach further into the hull than the mechanic could. Connecting cables or pulling them through the ship… or pull a skeleton out of the chassis. The brunette had to comment on that. »Looks like this hasn’t seen a mechanic in forever. Where have you even found all of the parts if they’re so hard to get by?« She didn’t have to be able to predict the future to know what Peli would reply and she wondered why she had even asked in the first place. »Jawas.« Of course it was the Jawas. With a shake of her head, Arana let out a defeated sigh. »I’m starting to think that they are the universal solution for any kind of inquiry on this planet.« »That sums it up. Tatooine is full of treasure and the Jawas make the best of it. I gave them a list, they bring the parts, I don’t ask where they got them from and pay them.«  

Meanwhile Din was struggling with the small droid which was supposed to light his area of work, but the little guy was just too excited and would move around the light with every noise the women made up there. 

Who knows if the Jawas scavenged from the ships that were in the hangars or the ports close by. Arana didn’t ask, of course, because why would she if the mechanic had no interest in knowing? Speaking of ‘things no one wanted to know’, the woman had another sprinkle of information to absolutely scar the brunette. »Had a fling with a Jawa once, very hairy and pure trouble,« Peli suddenly told her, making the brunette almost hurt herself when Din bumped his helmet into the ship from below, seemingly as startled by the confession as she was. Of course, the other woman also noticed and called out »Mando, you good down there?« »I’m fine… my tool slipped.« Perhaps Peli would buy that, but Arana definitely heard how shaky his voice was. If he was blushing underneath the helmet right now? »I wish you wouldn’t have told us that…« she scratched the back of her head, looking at Peli with a hint of confusion. Could Din please punch her in the face hard enough to make her forget? She laid down in the sand by the ship and rolled underneath it, landing somewhere next to Din, her feet pointing to the opposite end of the ship from his. They were head to head and she could grin at him for a short moment. After she had attached a cable to a plug underneath the hull down here, she gave the helmet a soft kiss. »Thank you for not being a Jawa,« she whispered. »You’re welcome, cyar’ika,« and once again – Din purred at her. After biting her lip she rolled back away from him.

Peli had the next task already prepped, handing over a hand full of small parts. »Here’s a few lights and button caps. Sit down in the cockpit, don’t worry, you can’t break through and if you do, you’ll just sit comfortably on Man–« She didn’t need to hear that sentence end. Arana grabbed the parts and relatively loudly replied to interrupt Peli »oookay, Cockpit, lamps, buttons, got it. No insinuations of me on his lap, please.« Oh shit. She sat in the cockpit and busied herself with delicately placing small lights into the sockets and clicking the transparent caps over top. Light, click, cap, click, done. She wasn’t sure she was outwardly blushing but her whole body felt hot despite being in the shade. While she was busy calming her mind, thoughtlessly adding lamps and caps to the numerous buttons in the cockpit, the other two talked about the upgrades. Din and Peli threw around technical terms of ship parts. Arana had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and every time she heard Din’s voice, it was like she got goosebumps. Why could she suddenly not stop thinking about sitting in Din’s lap? How had Peli managed to say something that completely influenced her thoughts? Her mind wandered on and went to what she had felt in the morning, pressing into her abdomen while she laid on Din, practically naked besides their underwear. Stars, it was insane how much she wanted to feel more of him, but she couldn't right now; she wasn’t sure she could ever. So deep on thought, she hadn’t realized that Din had positioned himself next to her and she jumped when his voice pulled her back into reality. »You okay in here?«

Arana dropped some of the caps in response and cursed under her breath, picking the components off of the floor in the cockpit. »Yeah, I’m fine. Go and fix your turbo-venti-something. I’m doing what I’m capable of.« She waved him away in hopes he didn’t think she suddenly hated him. It wasn’t about him, more that she was simply a little uncomfortable with her own thoughts that were racing around one thing and one thing only. »Okay,« he mumbled and walked away, causing her to sigh. Her task was completed soon thereafter and Arana stayed for a while longer, sat on a toolbox to try to understand what they were talking about. Ever so often she would see the helmet look her way and every time it was like her blood ran cold. Could Din hear her thoughts? Stars, she hoped he didn’t. One thing was certain, she wouldn’t be able to quiet her mind when he was around. »I’ll go for a walk,« she announced while jumping off the toolbox, not even waiting for a reply from either. She left the hangar behind, wondering where to go. 

Well aware that Din would be concerned if she wandered off too far, so she hopped up to a nearby roof and sat down on the warm sandstone. With all of the decorations in the city and the already crowded streets, she was nicely hidden from all of the guests that ran around the bazaar already and also from the ones that would go to the festival later. Her sudden sensitivity to the topic was still a concern, in a way. »Okay, relax,« she told herself, crossing her legs, taking deep, steady breaths to stabilize herself. »You sat on his lap for a few seconds to fix his helmet. Nothing more.« She wrapped her cloak around her to shield herself from most of the sunlight. Returning sunburnt was the last thing she needed right now. A few breaths later, she groaned in frustration. »But why can’t I stop thinking about it?« You know why. You felt him. 

Her eyes shot open and she rolled them subsequently, letting out a frustrated sigh and falling backwards onto her back. Flinging her body with a bit too much gusto, hitting the back of her head on the sandstone underneath her. »Ow! Fark.« The fingers that touched her scalp to check for an injury were free of blood, thank the Force. Hurting herself the minute she was unattended would've been so typical for her. Just like it had happened on Nevarro. 

Unsure of what else she could do, Arana just laid there, covered by her cloak and hood, listening to the distant sounds of civilization to somehow free her mind, to detach from the topic all together. Din was probably similarly awkward about this, his body had betrayed him in a way. Still, the lap thing would plague her mind if she didn’t talk to him about it. She did feel bad, guilty even. They had somewhat talked about it already, but because of his hostility back then, she didn’t mention the extent of their contact. The longer it took to confess, the worse it got. To be completely honest, she had repressed it for a while. 

For a while she just laid there, basking in the sun like a lizard, before she made it back to the hangar. In fact, the distant sound of music had been her sign to leave. How long it had been since she left? She wasn't sure. Arana entered the hangar to find it empty. Neither did she hear Peli nor did she see Din. Even up in the apartment, it was awfully silent. »Cyare?« she called up there. No response. Taking the opportunity, she took a quick shower after she had been in the sun practically all day, her clothes also getting the quickest wash. Afterwards she sat down by the table in the kitchen, waiting for someone to come. Din would realize she would come back here, right? The suns were slowly descending and with the relatively small windows up in here, she had to have the light switched on, waiting for some sign of her partner returning. 

The door downstairs swished when it opened and a familiar voice called up the stairs. »Arana? Are you up there?« »I’m here,« she replied and got up from the table to come his way. Unbeknownst to her, Din practically ran up the stairs when he heard her voice, almost crashing into her when she stood right behind the landing of said staircase. »How long have you been looking for me?« Why did she ask? His behavior was a little erratic. And was that an alcohol bottle on his arm? »A while,« he replied and suddenly she felt a little more guilty for leaving, the exasperation very audible in his voice. »I was worried because you left so suddenly. I wasn’t sure if you had left the city. The desert is dangerous, even if I know you can defend yourself.« Guilt filled her face and Arana’s voice was quiet when she explained herself. »I wasn’t far from the hangar. I just needed a moment to myself.«

The alcohol bottle garnered her attention shortly and Din followed her gaze. Without having to ask, he explained »Peli gave it to me when I ran into her on the way back. Let me take the helmet off.« He hastily put the bottle on the table with a relatively loud thud, his helmet following directly after. He ran a hand through his hair and it was easy to see he had been a little sweaty underneath the helmet. »Hey, what’s wrong?«

With careful steps Arana approached him, extending one hand to cup his cheek. »I’ve never seen you so nervous.« Was it because of her? What had he thought about? That she had left and gotten killed? »I’m sorry, I was a little scared something had happened,« he mumbled, leaning into her hand ever so softly when she started caressing his skin with her thumb. His forehead wrinkled and suddenly she had the feeling she was looking into the eyes of a puppy. In a way it felt new that someone was so worried about her. It hat been so long since she had mattered to someone. 

There was a faint smile on her lips, looking into the dark brown eyes that begged for her attention. »You’re so cute when you’re worried, cyare.« One of his hands also cupped her face now. Unsure when he had taken the glove off, but she felt his warm fingers on her skin. »Have you had enough time on your own? Are you okay now?« Din hesitantly asked, »I was scared I did something to scare you off.« A soft nod came from her, not daring to move too much to not detach from his hand. »I’m fine, I promise, you didn’t do anything. I was just a little overwhelmed by Peli’s antics today.« 

Despite her intense meditation and a shower to gound herself, the brunette felt her heart rate quicken. 

Perhaps she should just explain herself rather than leaving him hanging. There was nothing to be ashamed of with him. »I sometimes feel when you look at me underneath the helmet and it was just unfortunate that Peli made me think of something that is kind of an uncomfortable topic for me.« She tried to explain, but how would she? Din’s brows furrowed. »You can tell me next time then I will give you your space.« »I will.« Din was about to lean in, probably for a kiss, when she interrupted him »Can we talk about something? It’s … I don’t know, it’s a little awkward. Or do we want to get drunk first?« There was a little regret that she had interrupted him from stealing a kiss. »We can. Your choice if you want to drink first.« And despite the seemingly certain reply, it seemed like he was blushing a little? What was he thinking about? Oh no. »She reminded me of something when she mentioned your lap. Back on Nevarro, when you fell unconscious and I had to save your helmet from falling. I had to sit on your lap for a moment and I feel bad about it.« »Why? Doesn’t sound like you were doing anything bad. It was necessary.« Well she for sure wouldn’t have done anything to him. Not that she could have. »I was so scared you would wake up right in that moment and … you were unconscious, it doesn’t feel right to come this close to someone when they’re not there, you know?«

»And that’s what made you so uncomfortable? I can’t say how I would have reacted back then, but now it’s not a big deal for me. You don’t have to feel guilty.« Din took it better than she had anticipated, maybe this was because he was big and generally less in danger when unconscious. Also, Arana plagued more than one thought about this. »I feel guilty because I kind of enjoyed it… not that you were unconscious, but the sensation…« she mumbled and tried to somewhat hide in his hand. »Just like I enjoyed what happened in the morning today.« She saw his expression derail for a split second and his skin turned pink just as hers probably was. »Uh… if I have to be honest that was kind of embarrassing. I can’t control it.« »I was only embarrassed because Peli was so close… okay no… that might be a lie, I was awkward about it too. It is kind of a compliment, I guess.« She looked at him, caressed his cheek, and so did he. Finally she leaned in more, gave one of his overheated cheeks a kiss and leaned her similarly warm face against his. »Can we get drunk now?«

Din sighed in relief, wrapping one arm around her to give her a halfway hug. Naturally, Arana leaned in a little. That wasn’t too bad. Was their communication improving? »Do you want to?« She nodded and nozzled her face more into him. It would calm her nerves a little. To be fair, having talked about it had already helped tremendously. Still, Din had something to add. »I don’t know what Peli gave me, to be honest, so I don’t know what will happen if we drink. I doubt it’s anything dangerous, though.« Alcohol was dangerous enough, Arana thought. »If it’s the same stuff as yesterday, you’ll have to live with me being a little touchy,« she whispered and placed a few kisses along his jaw, causing Din to close his eyes for a moment. She gave him a final kiss where his jaw went into his neck, whispering »And I doubt you’d have a problem with that.« She pulled back and walked over to the cabinets, hoping to find glasses or cups to drink from. To make it a little more interesting, she had something in mind. »Maybe you can tell me something about you. Doesn’t have to be your deepest secrets. Just something you assume might be interesting to me, to get to know you a little better. Or you tell me what you worked on at the N-1, but that conversation will be awfully one-sided while I empty the bottle by myself.« 

»There’s not much to tell you about me,« Din mused and opened the bottle. They sat down on opposite sides of the table, Arana placing two cups by the bottle so Din could fill them with the amber liquid. He gave her a warm smile and nodded her way when he raised the cup, Arana mimicking the gesture. It wasn't her first alcohol, even yesterday hadn't been. Probably the nicest tasting one, though. This one wasn’t shared between fugitives in a dark cargo container. They both took a sip, the alcohol numbing her tongue instantly. Instead of the slightly acidic note she had tasted yesterday, a flowery sweetness came through. Probably as strong as the one last night, which meant she would for sure turn cuddly by the end of this. 

»I’ve told you about being a foundling myself. I come from a small planet called Aq Vetina. We were attacked by droids and my parents hid me in a basement. I heard them die. The Death Watch arrived shortly after and they took me to Concordia to become one of them.« »Do you remember your parents? And how your life used to be before the attack?«

Arana had guessed Din was traumatized from that. She had seen the droid and heard the blaster fire when they had somehow connected while healing on Nevarro. »In fractions. Probably repressed a lot. We were simple people, farmers. I ended up getting the Mandalorian training and when I was old enough, I looked for work.« She was a little jealous. but then again, she probably repressed most of the memories of her family, they weren’t forgotten, right? Besides, she had been significantly younger when she had been taken. »At least you remember something. Apart from the memory that came to me on Glavis, I don’t remember my family. I do remember when I first set foot into the facility, though.« She took a sip and sighed. She didn't want to make this about her straight away, but Din encouraged her to keep going. »Your turn, mesh’la.« 

Why not tell him about her first day? 

»Raymond took my hand and walked me through endless hallways. I was four – I think. He promised they were looking for my parents and that they’d reunite us soon enough. When I was put into the small room and Raymond had to leave, I think it settled in that I was doomed. If we can believe what Gideon said, they had killed my father at this point.« Another father dead. Not sure Arana even remembered much of her father. »It’s what the file said. I read it when I had the time,« Din nodded. It felt a little intrusive, there might have been a lot of unpleasant things on her file. »What else did you read?« Obviously not enough to scare him off. »It was just your basic info. Status and where they had found you. I didn’t feel it would be fair to snoop around. After you had left on Tatooine, I was concerned they had caught you.« She filled another round in. »I’d rather be dead than a captive. I don’t want to imagine what they would do to me now that I’m older and stronger.«  A heavy sigh came from her, lifting her cup once more. It wasn’t good to drink and remind herself of what could have been. She was free, and she was with Din. »One good thing the facility granted was the silence. My room was like an isolation chamber in a way and it helped me meditate in absolute quiet, that’s also why I prefer to be on my own at times. One day in my teens something clicked and suddenly there was someone I could see. Witness his life through my eyes in a way. Raymond was so fascinated with what I could do, because I was the only one who could do something like that.« She took another sip.

»15 years ago I spent an entire week in meditation, finding out what we could about this stranger. I’m not sure if the other scientists ever heard of it – if Raymond talked to them about it or kept it to himself. My ability was peculiar, because there was only one person I could connect to. One man in the whole galaxy whose presence I could find anywhere.« A traitorous grin crept up to her lips when she saw that Din picked up on what she was hinting at already. »And you can imagine, he was not amused to feel invisible eyes watching him all the time. Especially when he was supposed to keep his helmet on unless he was alone.« Now Din for sure knew she was talking about him. »You could see me?« She motioned into the air around him. »Not as clearly as I can right now, of course. You were surrounded by your emotions like a fog most times. Hostility, but I understand why.« There was a nod from him, albeit subtle. »I remember I used to feel watched for a while when I was younger. It was driving me insane.« »Sorry.« They both chuckled. Din looked into his cup, taking a deeper breath. »So you talked with Raymond about me?« Arana nodded. »He was a scientist, of course we talked about you. Besides, I considered him my father, in a way, he was the only one I trusted enough. I could practically read your mind despite being parsecs away. Mostly we wanted to find out what it meant. About you as a person we didn’t because I never really dug that deep, it had always been more of a ‘why’ and not a ‘with whom’.«

»So you don’t know why it’s me?« She shook her head and another grin came up to her lips. It wasn’t that easy, at least not before she had met her master. »I only ever found out after I had run into you. Luke has so much knowledge about the Force.« Din took a bigger sip with the mention of Skywalker. Arana wasn’t sure what it was about him that made Din dislike him, although she had a suspicion. »The Force surrounds us all, you and me, this planet, the whole galaxy. It’s here, it connects everything. In a way it is cosmic energy, but not quite. And while most of us are affected by it in a way, some can feel it, and even fewer can use it. Like I can. You’ve probably heard that there is a light and a dark side.« Arana took a sip and hummed, unsure how to continue, or more specifically, how she could get to the point she wanted to make. »Maybe a different comparison works better, sorry. Think of the force as a magnet. Magnets always have two poles. They don’t exist with just one. And similar to a magnet, people can be opposite poles in the Force. It’s called a dyad, a really strong connection between two individuals. Luke is convinced that you’re my opposite pole and I agree. I’ve never felt such a strong connection with anyone and it would explain why I can do what I did back then.«

Din leaned back in his seat, contemplating his reply, perhaps. Arana helped herself to the third cup of alcohol, raising it to her lips and taking a sip, before a sly grin appeared on his lips. »I love being connected to you, cyar’ika.«  He took a slow, calculated sip. Of course she picked up on the flirty undertone and thanks to the alcohol, she would reciprocate. The brunette cocked an eyebrow and asked »really?« If Peli would’ve been here, the mechanic would have probably had a heart attack just now, or would’ve excused herself because she knew what was about to happen to the two lovebirds that were now notably tipsy. Arana put her cup down and sat down on the table, turning on her butt to sit right in front of Din, one of her boots rested on his chair, the other dangling off the table. Din eyed her head to toe before he replied »really.« His eyes moved slowly, as if he was undressing her with just his gaze. »Did you say that on purpose or was that an accident?« Her head tilted sideways. Part of her thought it might have slipped, but then again – he had thought too long for it to be accidental. »I mean it. Is it kind of hot in here?« It was getting a little warm, she had to admit. »I love it too, handsome.« Her hands wandered upwards towards her neck. She opened her cloak, the heavy fabric falling onto the table. »We’re on Tatooine, of course it’s warm here.« Her hands sank back down, one stabilizing her on the table, the other reaching behind her, pulling her cup towards her with the Force. »You could take some clothes off, mesh’la,« she purred with a wink. If he was in a flirty mood she would join. After all – why not? She was feeling a little more courageous right now, thanks to the alcohol she had in her hand. »Do you need help?« she asked and took yet another sip.

Din leaned forward to place his cup on the table, green eyes watching his every move while he did. »You want me to undress?« he clarified. In response she nodded, put away her cup, pulling him in closer by the belt until he stood in between her legs. Her fingers snuck underneath the chest armor to detach the cape which subsequently fell to the floor. His belt was next, which she removed a little more carefully, placing it on the table beside her. While theres wasn’t much to feel yet, his body heat was very obvious, even through the heavy fabric. While she was busy helping him, Din was fumbling with his bracers. The mechanism to close these was a little too complex for her to open, she guessed, and it would go a lot quicker if they worked on what they could simultaneously. There was a grin on her lips when she turned her head to look up to him. »I think we can agree that the alcohol was a brilliant idea.« 

Deep down Arana hoped they would be undisturbed for the night. If Peli had given the bottle to Din, maybe she knew to stay away? She had assumed they had done it last night as well, so she might grant them another night of privacy. Din chuckled. »You mean because it made me take my clothes off? Maybe I would’ve done it regardless, had you asked.« He watched her take the chest plate off, taking a deep breath when it was on the table. »So much better.« He rested one hand on her shoulder, letting it wander over to her neck before he leaned in to finally give her a kiss. »I’ve been wanting to do that all day,« he mused. Upon his retreat, she protested. He drove her insane. Her pulse picked up as soon as she had felt his lips on hers. With a little more force than she had wanted to, she pulled him back into the kiss and he wrapped both arms around her waist. Letting the instinct take over, Arana bit his lip again, softly. With a little groan, Din parted his lips and they kissed more passionately than they had done before. It felt incredible, Aranas heart jumping in her chest, especially after she had heard the sweet noise coming from him. He tasted like the alcohol and it was addicting, intoxicating to kiss him like this. Seemingly into it himself Din leaned in further and practically pushed her further back, molding to his body with both of her legs wrapped around his hips. One of his hands rested on the table, the other at her waist while her hand that wasn’t holding her upright held his head in place. If they had considered it hot before, now it was practically scorching in Peli’s kitchen. Reluctantly Din stopped the kissing to whisper ‘cyar’ika’ out of breath. 

As if keeping her composure hadn’t been hard enough, Arana felt that damn tension in her body again, pulling on her legs to pull him in closer. The desperate yearning was turning into a tightness in her core. His eyes were so dark and he was visibly out of breath, her body pressed against his. »Hey,« she replied with a smile. Despite wanting to continue making out, her partner was a little concerned for her. »I don’t know where this will lead to. You make me feel things I’ve not felt in a long time and I don’t want to overwhelm you.« She looked down to her legs that had his hips in a tight grip. »I have a suspicion where this will lead,« she said, hoping to sound nonchalant about it, however failing, sounding insecure it its place. Of course he picked up on it. »If I’m being too much, please tell me.« It sobered her up a little, the realization that Din was so much into this that he wanted to take things further, just like she had fantasized about. Suddenly it felt so intimidating. »I don’t have any experience with… this. And to be completely honest I’m a little scared.« Scared about so many things. »We don’t have to continue if you’re scared.« He leaned back just a little, giving her more space. He let her choose, but why was it so hard? »I don’t want to stop. I don’t want you to stop because it feels so good. I know you would never hurt me but I fear that things would be different between us afterwards.«

»Why do you think anything would change?« »What if one of us doesn’t like it?« She assumed Din had had sex before and she was the one who would mess up. »We have two options: We never do it again or we try until we both enjoy it.« That must’ve blown a fuse in her brain. Her body tensed once more and she was pretty sure she involuntarily pulled his hips in further. He tried his best to make her feel comfortable with the situation and she was endlessly grateful for it. »The first time is rarely perfect. I’m leaving it up to you, we can go to bed and just cuddle, that’s fine for me. Neither outcome will change any of my feelings for you, I promise,« he reassured her.   

What do you have to lose, besides a stupid title that doesn’t have any meaning? Seriously, look at him. You love Din. You see how gentle he is with you. Would it be so bad to just find out what it feels like? He’s into you, you felt it. Once you leave this planet, you don’t know when you’ll have the next opportunity for it.

After her internal pep talk, Arana softly shook her head. »No, I want this… please.« Similarly softly as her headshake, Din nodded and leaned his forehead against hers. »There’s nothing that could ever change how much I love you.« How could she be scared if that’s how he handled the situation? Unsure what to say, Arana whispered »okay.« He gave her a softer kiss, squeezing her waist with his hand gently. There was just one issue. »The mattress might be a little small for us, though.« Arana looked behind her body. In theory, they could do it on the table. It wasn’t like her body wasn’t already in the position for it, so was his, besides the fact they were still dressed. »That depends who is on top, I guess. Also –« She grinned, a devious plan forming in her mind. »There is an unoccupied bed a few meters behind you.« Yes, she was talking about Peli’s bed. Din followed her gaze towards the little curtain that led to the mechanic’s bedroom. »Are you sure about that?« he faced her, looking back and then back into her eyes. »Realistically it’s the best spot to lose your –« She placed her hand on his mouth to shut him up. Thankfully, he didn’t talk further, likely a little confused by the gesture. »Please, don’t make this a bigger thing than it is.« 

Arana took her hand back, hoping he understood what she meant. Din seemingly accepted her plea and refocused his attention. »Alright. Do you need help taking your clothes off?« Playfully offended, she replied »I’m not that drunk, but you can undress me if you want to. Is it okay if I continue with your clothes?« Din chuckled and gave her kiss, leaning into her once more before he had to retreat so they could undress. »Of course, mesh’la.« He opened her belt, placing it beside his while she opened his flak vest. 

After some time that consisted of various clothes and boots falling to the floor, kisses and the occasional sigh of enjoyment, both were bare-chested and enveloped in another kiss, Din leaned over her again, hot skin against hot skin. His hand was practically buried into her hip, holding on for dear life. 

Once more she felt the hardness pressed into her. Din was grinding into her, voluntarily or not, her hand wandering between their bodies to open his pants and feel him up. Her partner suddenly made a noise that startled her and she pulled back. »Sorry, was that too much?« She looked at him with furrowed brows, but he shook his head. His pupils were dilated like he was on something, making Arana wonder if she herself looked so hungry. »No, it’s okay,« he reassured her. »Wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.« To further make it clear that Arana didn’t do anything wrong, he lifted his hand to her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. »We should change location, cyar’ika.« His voice was so deep and gravelly, sending shivers through her body. Another kiss landed on her cheek. »Alright.« She took the hand he offered and they walked over to the bedroom, switching the light off in the kitchen. They would take care of the chaos later. 

They entered Peli’s bedroom and to Arana’s surprise, there was a larger window that allowed moonlight to enter the room. Din’s pants were practically falling off of him while walking. She sat down on the bed and looked at him against the moonlight. »You’re beautiful,« she mumbled, seeing how the soft light accentuated his muscles. He pulled his pants down, wasting no time to kneel beside her and letting his hand explore her body again. She almost anticipated him touching her chest, but his fingers avoided her breasts. »You think so?« he purred, his hand traveled downwards while he buried his face in the crook of her neck again. Her skin was still sore from yesterday. »That was a loud thought but yes… you’re very mesh’la.« After he had stopped his attack on her neck, he smiled at her, her hand cupping his cheek. »You look good in the moon light.« »If it means you’ll speak Mando’a you can say anything you want.« »You’ll have to teach me more then, otherwise I’ll call you a pretty idiot.« He chuckled, turning his head to place a kiss into the palm of her hand. »There’s too much fabric on you still,« he grumbled, sounding a little frustrated. Taking the hint, the brunette got up and stood before him, placing both hands on his shoulders once he had turned towards her fully. »I think you have to help me, cyar’ika,« she purred his way. 

Just like he was asked to, he pulled her pants down, halting when she suddenly flinched, his hand had accidentally grazed her scar »Sorry,« he apologized. »I forgot about it.« »It’s okay.« 

She stepped out of the pants when they were all the way down. The sight before her was one to behold. Din, in just his underwear, in the soft moon light, eyes full of love. »Come to me,« he purred, pulling her towards him by her hips. Instead of sitting next to him, Arana decided to be a little more upfront and sat on his lap. Without much hesitation he wrapped both arms around her, pulling her as close as he could without hurting her. Now a little taller than him, she placed a kiss onto his forehead. »I love you.« »I love you too.« Her neck wasn’t safe from more kisses, but she didn’t complain about it. Despite the soreness of her skin, it felt good to have him give her love bites and a million kisses. Especially so if he made the noises he did, further confirming that he was very into her. »Stars… you’re by far the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.« Din practically moaned against her skin, making her shiver. While she didn’t do much in her current position, it felt incredible to be so close to him. »I’m all yours,« is all she could muster up, her hip dragging along his thighs, seeking some kind of friction. »You’re driving me insane.« 

»Makes two of us.« Without a warning, hands grabbed her butt, pulling her as close as can be and tilting his hips ever so slightly that she could feel what she was doing to his helpless body. It just so happened to grant her the sensation she had longed for, causing her to let out a proper moan for the first time in his presence. She dragged him into a kiss to shut herself up, Din himself choking a moan while his hands guided her to keep going with the motions of her hips. It felt incredible. He felt incredible. Their silent moans only driving one another more insane. When she couldn’t take it any more, Arana pulled back to catch her breath, face against his forehead, panting. Her body was tingling, screaming for release. »I can’t take this any more. I need you.« There wasn’t much Din said, mainly because he was just as out of breath as she was. »Alright.« To proceed on the brunette left his lap to lie down on the bed, and as soon as she saw Din pulling his underwear down, her thoughts started racing a little. She was overly horny but still a little scared. Seeing him naked didn’t help ease that fear in the slightest. Her partner seemed to pick up on her nervousness and laid beside her, cupping her face in one hand. »You’re tense. Are you sure you want this?« It was commendable how careful he was to make sure she wouldn’t regret this. There was no going back, she was so worked up, she needed him. »Yes, I’m just nervous.« His hand started traveling down her body, pulling down the last bit of fabric she had on. She lifted her hip to help a little. »You don’t have to be. I’ll be gentle.« Another reassuring kiss occurred, then Din hoisted himself over her. At first she feared he would go right at it when his knee nudged her legs apart, but it was just to make space for his body, allowing him to kneel there. 

His lips traveled down her torso, in between her breasts, further descending. His beard tickled and every now and then he even nibbled on her skin. It was hard to not move, her body giving in every now and then, but there was no protest, so Din continued on. When he reached the scar on her groin, he gave it a very soft kiss, Arana flinching slightly. »Does it still hurt?« Din looked up to her, concern painted on his face. »No, it feels like a tingle. Like my nerves are –« while she was explaining, she felt his tongue lick over her scar, her leg twitching and her knee subsequently hitting his ribs. »Sorry,« he mumbled and kissed it again, this time without getting kicked. »I’m glad I trusted you enough to take you back to my ship.« »Me too.« His kisses wandered on, along the leg that had just made contact with his side. Arana had her eyes closed, lost in the sensation until she felt his kisses wander up her leg again, coming closer to where she wanted to feel him, but not like this. »What are you doing?« Her torso shot up, leaned onto her arms to look at him. His eyes were dark, practically black when he looked up to her. It was a sight to behold. »I want to taste you.« There was silence in the room, gears turning in her head. »No,« she quietly said. »No?« Din asked. There he was, comfortably lying in between her legs, his head close to her core. It felt cruel to tell him no, especially when he looked so hungry, but it didn’t feel right. »Next time?« she offered, not sure she would ever be ready for that. »Whenever you want to,« he said and placed a kiss up on her mound, far enough away that she didn’t feel the need to pull away. To be fair, the view she had just shortly, had been more than inviting, especially with his dark, pleading eyes. Din crawled back up, but halted just below her face. He placed a few kisses on her ribcage, then slowly moved over to one of her breasts. »This okay?« »Mh-hm,« she gave permission, feeling his lips envelop one of her nipples. It was hard to say what exactly it felt like, but the tension in her body left bit by bit and the intense pulling sensation inside of her returned. There was another moan when he pinched her other nipple, groaning a little while his face was practically buried in her breast. She actually grew a little impatient, softly urging him on. The pulling was turning from uncomfortable to painful, her body demanding release. »Din, please,« she whined. Her partner huffed a little when he laid down next to her again, probably just from the impact and not an actual response. His hand finally wandered back to her crotch. »Whatever you want, cyar'ika.« »Will it hurt?« She turned to look at him, and all she found in his face was pure affection. His hand lifted and angled one of her legs, caressing her skin while he was at it. »If I’m doing my job correctly it shouldn’t. If it does, tell me.« 

She felt his finger hit a wet spot, her slick spreading where he touched her. »Sorry,« she mumbled and hid her face in the crook of his neck, »I’m a little too excited.« Din’s face nuzzled into her hair, softly chuckling. »I don’t mind,« he assured her, kissing her hair. »You’ve touched yourself before, right?« »I have, but I’ve never been this – wet.« »I take that as a compliment.« She chuckled against his neck, giving him a kiss right where she could feel his pulse. »Di’kut.« She felt his finger glide over her clit, her hip bucking in response. It was a little torturous that Din spoke to her, but he wanted to take his time, and make it right. »I take it you’ve used your fingers?« »Yes.« His finger slid down to her entrance. »How many?« »Two at most.« »I’ll start with one.« 

»Wait,« Arana begged him. Din pulled his hand back, placing it on her thigh, waiting for her face to surface again. She was close enough to his face to feel his breath on her skin. »Can I touch you too?« She actually sounded a little shy, but se wanted to feel him too, and make this a little more comfortable for him. »Of course.« »Show me how.« With the hand that had just been exploring her, he took hold of the hand that was closer to him, guiding it towards his erection. He closed her fingers around him, her hand enclosed in his fist for a moment. She mimicked the movement he was guiding her to do, along his shaft with a little pressure. There was a soft moan from him and he bit his lip. That alone made it hard for her to focus. 

He was so hard in her hand and she was a little concerned how he would feel, as he was definitely bigger than two fingers of hers. And while she was at it, he slipped one finger into her. She inhaled sharply, somehow expecting it to hurt, but it didn’t. In fact, she could barely feel him inside of her. »Okay so far?« he checked in with her. »Yes.« »Can you even feel anything?« Arana exhaled, not really a huff and not really laughter, but amused none the less. »Not… really.« That’s when his thumb started gently rubbing her clit again, her face falling into the crook of his neck to moan. She changed the hand that was touching him, rotating her body towards his so she could be a little more comfortable, and he could be too. She tried her hardest to keep moving her hand but every now and then she would forget what she was doing, her mind blanking when he made her feel all the things she felt. Din’s soft groans were driving her mad if his fingers weren’t enough. She just assumed she was doing something right when he joined in on her moans. Her hip movements became a little more erratic and she had to choke a few moans on his shoulder. 

It felt like he changed the finger and before she could find out why, he slipped both of the now coated fingers into her. Another loud moan escaped her, Din nuzzling his head against hers. »“It’s okay, I got you,« he whispered, his fingers dragging in and out of her. Now she definitely lacked the focus to keep pleasuring him as well, and he didn’t seem to mind too much. To be fair, she wasn’t sure how far he wanted to take the foreplay when the actual sex hadn’t even happened yet. She kissed him, making out with him to somehow make all of the obscene noises stop. The soft groans and an occasional smack of lips was definitely more bearable than what was going on around Din’s fingers. 

Something changed. Whether it was because he picked up the pace or what, her body felt all tingly and she couldn’t stop panting against his skin. As much as she wanted to touch him, she couldn't. It was almost too much and opposed to her, Din knew what was going on with her. »Let go. Come for me, cyar’ika.«

And she did, a whiny moan came over her lips as she felt her body tense around his fingers and Din was so graceful to let go of her to wait until she was back in a clearer state of mind. She caught her breath slowly, nuzzling her face into his neck. »Did it feel good?« Arana couldn’t stop herself, she laughed. »What do you think?« They shared a kiss, her wrapping both arms around him. »Why did you make me come beforehand?« »I wanted to make sure you weren’t nervous any more and that you were taken care of before me.« He gave her another kiss. »I love you.« »Love you too, cyar’ika.« 

To proceed further, Din gently pushed her on her back, kneeling in between her legs. Arana gave in easily, a lot more relaxed now that he had taken care of her. He leaned over her, nudging himself right by her entrance. There was another look they exchanged, a deep gaze full of love. They had exchanged a lot of ‘I love you’s already, but neither really minded to hear it over and over again. The brunette just nodded, giving him permission to give her all of him. Din reveled in the feeling, eyes closed, lips parted and a soft moan escaping him while he slid inside of her. As if she needed any more reason to absolutely fall for this man. Din was gorgeous in the moonlight, his face painted with an expression of pure bliss, not to mention the feeling of him stretching her out until he had fully settled inside of her. He came closer to her, resting his forehead against hers, arms burying underneath her and executed the first thrust, a slow drag to cherish every second of it. It felt like he was hugging her, somehow closer now that their bodies were connected. »Don’t stop,« she whispered in a soft pant, so dangerously close to his lips. »Won’t,« he breathed, picking up the pace. Her eyes fell shut, fingers dove into his dark curls, holding him in place while his hips snapped against her body. Their moans fell into rhythm as did his thrusts, Arana not doing much besides kissing him on occasion and her hands caressing over his skin, feeling his muscles tighten with every move. 

It was incredible, the way their bodies felt like they were made for each other. Din didn’t need any commands, it was is if he knew what buttons to press to make this as enjoyable for her as possible.

Not sure how long he had been going at it, but she felt the same tightness in her body again, her muscles now very clearly tensing around him further and further. All she could muster up to alert her partner of her impending second orgasm were the same whiny moans she had let out earlier. Driven by the nonverbal signal, his movements became sloppier, harder, almost erratic. His arms came up from underneath her, holding him upright to have more room to thrust into her. With a louder moan, Din finished, the sensation of his muscles tensing driving his partner over the edge again. She felt a little bad about moaning so loudly, but she couldn't help it in the moment. Din didn’t care too much about her being loud. After a few breaths he lifted off of her, nuzzled into her side and pulled the cover over them. She cuddled into him, one arm around his torso as well. Despite the obvious noises she had just made, Din wanted to make sure she was fine. »You okay?« 

There was a pause so Arana could collect her thoughts. She and Din had just had sex. Her virginity was gone, and all she could feel was relief and so much love for her idiot. »Yeah, more than okay. Thank you.« Her index painted little hearts onto his skin. He attempted a shrug. »Thank you for trusting me.« She looked up, giving him a soft kiss. »You’ve saved my life when I was a stranger, of course I trust you.« »That’s fair.« The brunette rotated to lie on her back, her partner coming with her and now resting on her chest. Exhaustion took over quickly, even more so when engulfed into a hug in a relatively comfortable bed. Seemed no one would leave this bedroom before sunrise.

[the-mandawhor1an]

It's wednesday my dudes

What do you mean it's wednesday again? (thanks @beefrobeefcal for tagging me and therefore kicking my ass to write ���💜💜)

Well...

I've been a little busy in the last days, as some might have realized (who am I kidding here)

Yesterday was my rp anniversary and I'll be at Comic Con on saturday and still tweaking shit on my costume (yes you will get pics!) and the end of the month is approaching, which means chapter 9 is due

I'm doing my best to get it done by saturday. I'm at 8k words right now, two scenes are still missing. (Maybe I'm scratching one of the scenes for the sake of getting it done in time, we'll see)

It might end up being more than 10k of 'Din being an idiot in love and not realizing'. The yearning is there. Here's a little snippet:

»Can I ask you something?« he hesitantly asked. Now that he had the chance, he didn’t want it to go to waste. »You just did,« she smirked. »Go ahead.« »Is it true that Jedi have to live by strict rules?« He felt his heart rate pick up. Maia had mentioned a few things about why she didn’t want to be part of the order, had it still existed. »What rules are you referring to specifically?« He took a deep breath. »No attachments, neither possessions nor relationships are allowed. As a Mandalorian, I fail to see how loyalty to someone can be seen as bad.« 

Stay tuned! I'm working on it with all the energy and time I can spare QwQ

Worth mentioning here: Marcus A. isn't forgotten, I just want to put the long fic as my top priority.

Taglist: @jennaispunk @whocaresstillthelouvre @burntheedges @rivnedell @roughdaysandart

@djarins-wife

» Click here to be added to the tag list «

Npt for the moots: @mountainsandmayhem @sizzlingcloudmentality @joelmillerspillowprincess @pedgito @burntheedges

@whocaresstillthelouvre @rivnedell @jksprincess10 @morallyinept @clawdee

@studioghibelli @evolnoomym @jennaispunk @penvisions @beefrobeefcal

@guiltyasdave @pedrospatch @mrsmando @djarins-cyare @djarins-wife

[the-mandawhor1an]

it's wednesday my peeps

@evolnoomym tagged me last week but I'm not as active on here in the recent times. I've got a lot on my mind.

BUT!

I have been diving head first into writing to distract my mind.

Snippets under the cut, MDNI for this one, Wolke is back to writing smut:

1) Din one shot for @guiltyasdave's season challenge:

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ve seen more beautiful things than a few stars” As if you could feel it on your skin, you turned towards him and found him looking at you dead on. He shrugged and continued, “I get to see the stars so often, I’m used to them. Seen sunrises and rainbows, but all of it pales in comparison to you, mesh’la.” 

A/N: This one is not beta'd yet, I will make sure it's up by the deadline, though.

2) Chapter 13 of "guided by the stars"

tiny smoot warning for the second snippet

“I don’t know where this will lead to. You make me feel things I’ve not felt in a long time and I don’t want to overwhelm you.” She looked to her legs that had his hips in a tight grip. “I have a suspicion where this will lead.”

There was another moan when he pinched her other nipple, groaning a little while his face was practically buried in her breast. She actually grew impatient, softly urging him on. “Din, please,” she whined.

A/N: Yeah, well, they'll be doing it. Excitement! This chapter being at 10k while it's still mostly in bullet points is a little concerning for my poor hands. Which is also why I will not keep my upload schedule for this one.

I still try to get it up by april 3rd (because it's mah birthday) but we'll see. RN I work on the doc whenever I have time to.

Taglist:

@jennaispunk @burntheedges @whocaresstillthelouvre @rivnedell @lilac-boo

@beskardraon @idonotenjoyourcompany

» Click here to be added to the tag list «

NPT for all the moots:

@idonotenjoyourcompany @yourcoolauntie @djarinwidow @mountainsandmayhem @sizzlingcloudmentality

@joelmillerspillowprincess @pedgito @burntheedges @whocaresstillthelouvre @tonysopranosrobe

@rivnedell @jksprincess10 @joelmillerisapunk @clawdee @studioghibelli

@evolnoomym @jennaispunk @penvisions @beefrobeefcal @guiltyasdave

@pedrospatch @mrsmando @pedroswife69 @colleenispunk

@djarins-wife

[the-mandawhor1an]

Din and Maia's first anniversary! 🥳🥳

TLDR: Roleplay anniversary; Wolke being sappy; One shot/drabble in the end

Today marks the actual anniversary of @zaddymandalorian and I's Mando roleplay. I know I made a post 6 months ago but I feel like I should celebrate this actual milestone even more than the 6 months!

Also, yesterday was the 2,5 year anniversary of the 'Maia Prime' fanfic 👀

A whole year, it feels unreal, especially considering what our mousies have been through in this year 🥹 Family reunions, so many tears, both of joy and pain. Maia cries a lot anyway, we all know that. So many revelations (that are spoilers to the current state of the fic so I'm holding my breath)

What I can do however, because it's spoiler free, is give you a few statistics about the roleplay. For the number sluts.

Story-wise we're just now reaching the plot of BOBF, which means a lot of reunions are happening right now.

Sounds like we're slow, right?

WRONG

We're just yappers and live for filler content that sheds more light on their relationship and Maia's past rather than strictly following the canon plot.

We're now over THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND WORDS in, which, to put it into perspective, means, we've now written more than The Two Towers and The Return of the King COMBINED.

We're 1210 posts in, on average about 300 words per post

This means we average on 3.3 posts per day

(In the beginning we were at 9 per day)

but then again, back then we only had this one rp which isn't the case any more

Zaddy, I love you so much you have no idea 😭 As much as Maia loves her Di'kut, as much as Peachy kind of loves Grumpy (even if she refuses to acknowledge it right now) and as much as Aurelia will love Acacius. It feels kind of unreal that we've been friends for over 8 years now.

Another commission by @kenobiwanx is in the works, I can't wait to see what magic Gio will work this time around. It's Maia and Din but with a little twist.

What a year it has been in general. My Tumblr-versary is also coming up in a few weeks, and I have to say I'm so glad I ended up on here. There's so many people that I wouldn't have met otherwise. People I consider friends 🥹

@rivnedell @evolnoomym @guiltyasdave @djarins-cyare @djarins-wife

@immarocketman @roughdaysandart @penvisions @clawdee @notjustjavierpena

@jksprincess10 @toomanystoriessolittletime

(and probably a lot of people I'm forgetting right now)

And now, because I can't not sprinkle another fic in here, we're making Maia Prime have her little moment. I talked about her on Maia Monday, she is the first version of the character. The RP and also the Fic version of her (and Din, if we're being very particular) differ character-wise. You'll see what I mean.

Also, the narration is a little different, I was young and dumb okay.

So now, we're looking into how Maia Prime and Din Prime met.... (MDNI, blood and injury mentioned)

Anyone else would have left the planet by now. The bounty hunters became more thorough in their searches … and me? I was simply too stubborn to leave for a safer hiding spot. He would return, I was certain of it. If he didn't do it on his own volition, they would bait him, lead him back here. Ever since he escaped with the child, the Imperials had doubled their head count. This forced me to avoid the city center, stay in the outskirts where I was alone. Safe. 

Only rarely, as today was such an occasion, I went further inside the city. Information about the fight and the Mandalorian was sparse, but not enough to evade my curious ears. 

The presence of the Empire made me uneasy, but my task was greater than a little discomfort. 

Or great discomfort, as it would turn out. 

At this point my purpose was not clear, but I assumed it had to do with that little green thing. There was an undeniable connection I felt with this child, perhaps that also explained why I had found this Mandalorian all these years ago. He would lead me to my purpose.

The fight that had broken out last time the bounty hunter visited must've been because of the child. That had to mean it was somewhat valuable to the Empire. Perhaps it was a child of the force, like me. Of course the Empire would be interested in that. They could train and shape us according to their wishes, given they found us early enough. 

My fate mustn’t repeat. I knew I had to help them.

At the break of day Karga had left the city with two of his men, according to my slightly uncooperative source of information. Nothing a little convincing couldn't fix. 

Something was about to happen today. Maybe tomorrow. More and more Imps assembled in the city, positioning themselves in every nook they could conquer. Everything smelled of a trap and this meant danger for me as well. I should have left Nevarro behind a while ago; my stubbornness and curiosity getting the better of me, I stayed. And stayed. And hoped my persistence meant I would finally find the courage to cross paths with him properly. 

Troopers were scattered all across, causing me to transverse the city via the rooftops, sneaking past their watchful eyes. 

This setup meant trouble, but not for me if I played my cards right. I hid on a roof near the square in the city center, ducking behind a wall to get a more secure look at the scenery beneath me. The tension in the air was palpable, my heart pounded similarly to when the Mandalorians had ambushed the guild and I had stupidly made my presence known. But right now, no one cared to look for me. The guild knew someone was in the city. Who I was didn’t matter to them. 

Karga returned around mid-day. I watched his every move as he led the shackled Mandalorian into the bar that functioned as the guild’s headquarter. An unfamiliar woman followed them inside, as did a hovering capsule. At first I assumed the child to be in there, but I didn’t sense it in there. Maybe the capsule was insulated in some way. 

What was going on here? 

I could not see nor hear what happened in the building, but I had a perfect view of what was happening on the square in the front. Troopers gathered and took position, waiting for an order, perhaps. I just assumed inside they were making some kind of deal, perhaps the Mandalorian was dropped off for a bounty. He probably had quite the amount of credits on his head. Judging by his skills I had observed last time, however, I expected him to have a few tricks up his sleeve. A man like him wouldn’t not put up a fight. 

Not knowing what was going on inside caused a little ache to blossom in my head. I couldn’t just barge in there without knowing what I would run into. Ultimately, I could ruin a perfectly curated plan with my presence, or my interruption. As fate would decide, I didn’t have to think about this any further. The Troopers outside covered the building with blaster fire, destroying the windows, the transparisteel shattering into a million pieces. From every alley more approached, an ambush, just as I had suspected. 

The impact of this trap would soon reveal itself as a TIE-Fighter drew closer and landed on the small square. Dust kicked up as the fighter touched ground, a small cloud forming. Someone exited the vehicle. Someone I would never have expected. 

Moff Gideon appeared, his black high-gloss armor reflected as it had just been polished before this very appearance. I never understood what the Empire found in black high-reflective surfaces. It was so impractical and quite frankly, looked odd in most settings. 

This surprise guest made me wonder.

What interest could Gideon have in a Mandalorian, more specifically in this Mandalorian? 

My educated guess was the child. My intuition must’ve been right about it. »You have something I want.« His voice was so loud, I could hear him perfectly fine even from my somewhat elevated hideout. »In a few moments it will be mine.« It? Did he actually talk about the child?

Silence fell over the square, a deafening, choking silence that reminded me a lot of my room in the facility. The only sound that was heard at this moment were some noises that echoed from inside the bar. A handful of Troopers began setting up an E-Web turret. This could only end badly. The commotion inside got louder, blaster shots hitting metal. »Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation. I would prefer to avoid any further violence, and encourage a moment of consideration,« Gideon calmly explained, eyeing his men setting up the turret. When it was finished and loading, he continued. »Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster. If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure that Republican Shock Trooper Carasynthia Dune of Alderaan will advise you that she has witnessed many of her ranks vaporize mid-descent facing the predecessor of this particular model.« A Republican soldier? »Or perhaps the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears.« My heart stopped for a beat. Din Djarin. That was his name. »I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karga to search the wisdom of his years and urge you to lay down your arms and come outside. The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end.« 

The voices from inside the hideout were too far away and pointed in the wrong direction for me to understand anything, but judging by Gideon’s responses, I could probably reconstruct what they were asking. »Reasonable negotiation.« Okay, so they wanted to make a deal. »If you're asking if you can trust me, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand. I will act in my own self-interest, which at this time involves your cooperation and benefit.« Gideon waited for a moment, until he turned in one swift motion. »I will give you until nightfall, and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire.« He retreated from the E-Web, but didn’t leave the scene entirely. 

Someone of his caliber might know who I was and that meant trouble. If he recognized me, maybe his plan would change to instead capture me. 

I should have left while I still could. But I didn't, I never did.

From the outskirts of the city the roar of a speeder moved towards us, the sound of blaster fire following suit shortly thereafter. A droid approached the city from the desert. Slowly I felt the presence of the child, growing stronger with every meter the droid got nearer. Did it have the child? The troops on the square were distracted by the commotion and turned to face the stranger. 

Suddenly, Karga and Mando ambushed the Stormtroopers, spilling out of the bar door and opening fire instantly. I found myself watching the Mandalorian for a moment, taking down a Trooper in close combat, completely hypnotized by the sight. He made it look so easy. My eyes only moved from him when I heard the droid drop to its knees. 

The Mandalorian noticed at the same time and ripped the E-Web from its mount and sprayed blaster fire into the Imperials. The Rebel Shock Trooper joined the shootout. Finally I regained control over my body and moved across more rooftops to avoid getting hit in the crossfire. I wasn’t sure a saber could block that kind of projectile and I was not trying to find out the hard way. 

Gideon drew in closer to the commotion again, shooting at the Beskar helmet to grab the Mandalorian’s attention. Mando was about to whip around with the E-Web still in his hands, when Gideon fired a round into the transformer and the whole turret blew up. 

»No!« escaped my lips before I could stop it when I watched the Beskar armor fly through the air, only to make hard contact with a wall. Djarin slumped over, clearly unconscious, likely concussed, possibly dead. My scream didn’t go unnoticed, as Gideon turned my way while I watched Karga and the woman pull the completely limp body back into the bar. It was terrible to see. 

»Well, well, who do we have here?« he greeted me with a sly grin. I jumped down the roof, saber in my hand, ready to use it. »Leave the Mandalorian and child alone, Gideon,« I said rather than answering his question. As it would turn out, I didn’t have to introduce myself anyway. »Looks like I’ve found a runaway experiment. Are you ready to come home, sweetheart?« He was distracted from the three in the bar, which was enough for me at the moment. I could deal with him, they could deal with the Troopers. 

»If you’re so concerned about the child, I’ll make sure you get to witness me taking it from Djarin’s cold, dead hands. Have you heard the noise his helmet made when it hit the wall? I doubt he’s taking more than his last breaths right now. How about we capture both you and the child, I will find some use for you.« He turned his head towards the Troopers, ordering them to burn them out. 

A Trooper equipped with a flame thrower approached the bar. The blaster fire stopped and I used this little moment of silence to feel for life in there. The child was there, but beside it was a weak presence which I assumed would be Mando. He was in pain and barely there, like a flickering candle running out of oxygen. The doorway was opened with a few explosives, through which the Flame Trooper could now enter. Then, something happened that Gideon had not expected and neither had I: The Trooper was suddenly engulfed in his own flames, reaching all the way back to his fuel tank, resulting in the detonation and death of said Trooper. 

I took the chance to retreat in the chaos to not end up being caught. I force-threw Gideon to the ground just in case. The Troopers were distracted. I felt the child and companions had made it out of the bar, somehow. Not knowing where the underground system would otherwise lead, I ventured out to the lava fields, assuming they’d go there to get out of the city. Part of the troops was sent into the underground system while the rest re-grouped at the lava fields. I circled around the city in a different route to meet with them. I kept my head low, not interested in actually being captured and put ‘to use’, as Gideon had called it. 

I hid behind some rocks to wait at the end of the tunnel leading out into the open. I felt the child close, sure they would surface soon. 

About a dozen of Troopers waited out here. I would be able to take down about 3, maybe 4, if I played my cards right. I snuck closer when the IG-unit emerged from the tunnel and before I could register that its self-destruct timer was running out, it blew up, the detonation throwing me to the ground, shrapnel shooting through the air. Something hit my head, I didn’t know whether it was metal, rocks, or parts of a Trooper. I might have fainted for just a second, I was disoriented and dizzy. 

Slowly I rose to my feet and walked forwards, only to be incapacitated by a stabbing pain when my leg lost footing on a loose rock. I looked down to my disobeying leg to find a piece of metal lodged in my groin on the left side. Damn. While the pain was manageable if I didn’t lose balance, this was likely just adrenaline dulling the pain to hit me with the mass of a star destroyer later. 

I barely registered the TIE-Fighter that Mando had taken down, nor did I register him being awake and more specifically able to take down a star ship with just a few detonators. The group of people stood off to the side of the TIE’s wreckage, talking. I couldn’t make out the words at first, but when I came closer I heard the Mandalorian speak for the first time. »– do you know who the woman was back in the city?« I held the wound with my hand, trying to stop the bleeding, with my cape pulled over it to cover it up. »That would be me,« I quietly announced, unfortunately not really graceful in my introduction. Mando turned and eyed me up and down. »Are you a Jedi?« he asked. If only I could think straight. Everything was spinning around me. »Something similar,« I replied, Karga also joining the conversation. »She has to be, I saw her light saber.« »Listen,« I pressed forwards, touched my forehead with my free hand, feeling blood on my finger tips. How many wounds were on me that I wasn’t aware of? 

It was bad. »I’ll tell you everything you need to know, but I need your help first. I got injured.« He exchanged a look with his allies, then looked back to me. Judging by the position of his helmet, he eyed the gash on my hairline. 

Mando checked his vambrace and sighed with his whole body, shoulders drooping and back arching. »Are you afraid of heights?« »Not that I would know.« »I can fly us to my ship if you can’t walk. But I have to be sure you don’t pass out.« »I think I can manage.« 

I had expected more resistance, more hesitation to just help me, a complete stranger. 

He handed the child over, forcing me to remove my hand from my wound, inwardly apologizing to the small green thing for having to hold it in my dirty hands. all it did was look at me with its gigantic dark brown eyes. It seemed weaker now that I could sense it so clearly, what had happened? 

What also didn’t register was when Mando had picked me up onto his arms. I was hypnotized by the large dark orbs staring into my soul. »Are you ready?« his modulated voice tore me back to reality. I nodded carefully. »Are you sure you have enough fuel?« »Yes. Hold onto the child.« 

And we were off. 

_______________________________

Some time later we landed next to the Razor Crest, one of the side ramps lowering for us to enter. I could barely walk at this point but held it together to not let lt show. »The child has to sleep, put it in here,« the Mandalorian ordered while pointing into a little cot, a makeshift bed made out of a small med-bay, it seemed. I sat the child down onto the bed, he subsequently closed the bay door with a click on his vambrace. His helmet nodded in the direction of a small ladder. »I have a medkit up in the cockpit. Careful, you might have a concussion.« I had to use both hands to climb up, tried to distract myself from the pain by asking him »what about your head?« He waited for me to reach the top of the ladder until he replied. 

»IG-11 had bacta and used it on me.« He followed me up the ladder. »I’ve never heard of an IG unit that wasn’t a bounty hunter,« I said while I stumbled towards the cockpit, leaning against every wall I could reach. My vision was blurring as I slumped into the passenger chair, the impact sending sharp pain through my spine. My senses were blocked for a second, but his helmet shot into my direction, I must’ve moaned in pain just now. 

»He was a nannybot for the child. I am its protector, so I had to be saved,« his voice was low and a little softer now we were in such close proximity. He kneeled next to the seat and wiped over my forehead with a cloth. It felt nice to have something cold on my head. »Where’s your injury?« He was so close, I could hear his voice underneath the helmet. »It… should be under the cloth?« His scoff made me flinch despite not being able to feel the air he had expelled. »I mean the one that’s causing you to stumble around and smear blood everywhere on my ship.« I felt his gaze burning into me despite the helmet hiding his eyes from my view. My heart was pounding into my ears at this point, either due to the blood loss or his intense stare. My head rolled a little to the back when I pulled my cape back to reveal the metal that was stuck in my groin. His helmet dipped down and it felt like eternity passed before he had assessed the situation. »I’m… not sure I can fix this. But the child can,« he said and shot up, going to the ladder before I could even react. »Mando…« I called after him, my head rolling to the side along the head rest. I saw his shoulders tense for just a second when he halted and turned to me. »I can do that too. Give me some rest, we have to get away from here first. There’s too many Imps out there.« He looked at me, took two shallow breaths, then walked over to his seat and growled. »Don’t fall unconscious.« 

Despite wanting to stay awake, the forces on my body when the Razor Crest took off took me right out. When I awoke, we were somewhere in space, engulfed in darkness apart from the small lights on the cockpit. Mando had turned to me, two fingers on my neck to check for my pulse. »I told you not to do that,« he growled in frustration. All I could focus on, however, was the sensation of his naked fingers on my skin. They were scarily warm compared to my body. How much blood had I lost? 

»I have to pull the metal out, it poisons your blood. I doubt you or the child have any strength left to heal you. I don’t have any bacta. I don’t know if it even works on such deep wounds.« I might have been imagining this, but it felt like I could hear genuine desperation in his voice. I laughed softly. »Isn’t it ironic? The droid that saved your life is my downfall, injuring me lethally by self-destructing. If I had known I could’ve hid behind some rocks. Or a Trooper, at least.« He listened, despite me not saying anything helpful in this situation. 

I took a deeper breath. »There is another way, but you have to trust me.« »Tell me,« he replied instantly, leaning more towards me. »I’m not strong enough, you’ve said that, and we both know it. But you –« He interrupted me before I could even finish my sentence. »I’m not a Jedi, I don’t have your magic.« »The force connects every living being, even you. I can heal myself through you, it’s probably not comfortable for either of us and we’ll most likely pass out. There is no other way unfortunately, or I don’t see any other way. I know you don’t know me.« »You’re right, I don’t. Not even your name.« He leaned back, bringing more distance between us again. He laid his glove down on his thigh and sighed. Realistically, why should he trust me? I looked into the visor and spoke, »I won’t blame you if it’s too much of a risk, it’s okay. Perhaps I can deal with this until we reach the next space port and we leave the shrapnel in there for now.« 

Silence fell onto the cockpit. It was like I could hear his thoughts race, debating what to do next, until he fully turned towards me. »Tell me what to do.« I reached out both hands for him to help me up. My legs were numb at this point so I needed his support. I walked over to the wall and slowly slid down until I sat on the ground. »Sit with me. Fall’s shorter if we’re on the ground already.« Mando knelt beside me, taking his other glove off. »Don’t break my trust, Jedi,« he warned me, spitting out the last word like venom. As much as I despised needing his help, I had no other choice. This, or death. »Believe me, this is just as uncomfortable for me, Mandalorian. Pull the shrapnel out and then press your hands onto the wound. Hard. Trap as much blood in there as you can.« I closed my eyes and waited until I felt him hold onto the metal. I inhaled sharply, it felt like the metal was stuck inside my bone and every little vibration made my nerves go insane. »On the count of three,« Mando breathed. »One–« »Bastard!« As soon as the word had left his lips, he ripped the metal out with one strong pull. His hands were warm and pushed into my body hard, blood pooling in between his fingers and running down my skin. Tears ran down my cheeks, the pain was unbearable. I placed my hands on his and focused on my wound, feeling the energy that was flowing through his body. 

Why? Why did I have to put my nose in other people’s business? Why did I interfere and get myself almost killed? 

They were safe. They were unharmed for the most part. I felt the warmth of his body slowly transfer over to my cut, a sign it was working. »Maia,« I softly said. »What?« »You said you didn’t know my name. It’s Maia.« It wasn’t much, but I felt like it was a small gesture to suggest I had some trust in him. I was thankful for his help, that much was certain. The pain slowly subsided, dissolved into fatigue. Breathing became easier, my head didn’t feel as heavy, but my eyes refused to open. The last thing I heard was a »what the –« and the sound of metal crashing against metal. I lost consciousness not long thereafter to no one’s surprise. 

I awoke some time later, not sure how much had passed, but it couldn’t have been too long. My body felt a little better. Not entirely normal or well-rested, but I was alive. My vision was back to normal and I felt somewhat fine, not dizzy. Sleep would still be good, but I didn’t feel safe in here. As I slowly straightened my back, I felt a shoulder dig into my side and weight on my thigh. Looking down, I saw Mando slumped over, his head practically on my lap, inverted, his helmet dragged down just a bit by gravity. I knew he didn’t show his face, so the fact I could see the dark curls in the back of his neck meant I had to be careful, otherwise the helmet would just fall off entirely. 

Despite my sheer endless curiosity telling me to just take a peek, I grabbed the rim of the metal to pull it back up. He had to be a human, or a hybrid at least. My fingers grazed his skin for a split second. I lifted the helmet and his head inside it carefully until I could scoot away under him and place him down so he would not lose his bucket when waking up. 

The rag he had used to wipe over my forehead laid on the headrest of the passenger seat. I grabbed it and started wiping down all the blood-smears I had left on the ship on my ascent. 

A noise startled me when I had reached the bottom of the ladder, the child was awake and still locked away in the cot. It was fussing, understandably so, far away from the adults and probably in the dark. It took a moment for me to find the switch to open the door and then two gigantic brown eyes looked up at me. I sat down in front of the bay to be on its eye-level. It reached out its small hand and I offered one of my fingers for it to grab onto. 

Thankfully it could communicate non-verbally and could tell me a bit more. About him. He wondered where his protector was, who I was. I could feel a lot of pain, a repressed trauma, similar to how my past felt to me. He was a child, much younger than me, I assumed. I told him I wanted to protect him and the Mandalorian. Despite being a stranger, the little one could feel my intentions and seemed very relaxed with my presence. I owed the Mandalorian my life, why would I want to harm him or this precious child? »Maia?« I heard a voice behind me. »Step away from the child,« his voice had dropped an octave and sounded tense. I turned my head towards him and saw him brandish a blaster, pointed at me. 

The child let go of my finger, allowing me to get up slowly, my hands raised. Mando shut the cot again, locking the child in yet again. I kept my hands up, even when his blaster went back into its holster. »How long was I out?« he asked. »I can only guess, about an hour, maybe. I myself woke up maybe fifteen minutes ago. I just wiped away the blood and then I heard the child fussing in there.« 

Did my explanation matter? Did he care? 

»Up,« he ordered and nodded towards the ladder. I did as he told me, reluctantly so, and waited for him to do … something. I could hear his breathing underneath the helmet, he was furious. I heard him wash his hands before he followed me up into the cockpit. I just stood in the open space behind the seats, waiting for him to come up. It’s not like I could run anywhere, we were out in space. 

When he came to me, he closed the door behind him, leaving me and him locked into this small confined space, that now felt even smaller. He approached me, his body tense and broad, and all I could do was take a step back. And another, and another, until I felt the hull press into my back. What was his plan now? 

»Did you touch my helmet?« »No, – Yes, but not in the way you think.« I shook my head and looked into that black visor. Why? Why did I ask him for help and got myself trapped with him now? His hand leaned against the wall behind me above my shoulder when he asked »are you sure? I remember you pulling on it.« »I am. I pulled it back onto your head. You were slumped over, on my leg, and it was about to fall off. Neither did it look comfortable nor did I want to wait until you moved back and it would just fall off.« »And the first thing you do when I’m unconscious is go for the child, when I can’t stop you.« He came closer, his chest plate now slowly pushing against my chest. I could no longer walk backwards to avoid him. 

»Mando, please, just listen to me. Neither do I want to anger you, nor give you the feeling I would abuse your trust. I touched your helmet to keep it from just dropping. I did not see your face if that’s your concern. You just saved my life, do you think I would betray you right after that? Especially when I’m confined to a small space with you and no escape?« »I’ve seen you fight, don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure your sword and the magic can do a lot of harm.« »The force. Not magic.« »Whatever,« he growled and pressed me into the wall, pushing air out of my lungs, but not yet suffocating me. I saw my breath fog up his helmet for a second. I felt his breathing, I heard the air move underneath the helmet. I think I could even smell him, I was so close. 

»Promise you didn’t see my face?« »I promise.« »Good. Otherwise I would’ve killed you.« »Would that change anything?« »No. But it would grant me a bit of satisfaction.« He didn’t move, nor could I. I watched his helmet fog up a few times until I could muster up the courage to ask him »Mando?« »Yes?« »Why are you pinning me against the wall?«

Silence fell upon the Razor Crest, the only noise audible was the low hum of the engine and our shallow breaths. He was so close I could feel his heart beat against my chest. That or my own heart was pounding.»Do you trust me, Maia?« More silence. What was I supposed to say? I trusted him enough to ask for help and I hadn't been disappointed. But now, pinned against a wall, I was unsure what to make of it. He didn't move. »It doesn't feel like I have a choice but to say yes.«»You always have a choice.« I swallowed. »Will you give me some space to breathe if I do?« »Find out.«

I sighed. »Fine. I do trust you.«

»Close your eyes.«

That confused me. It took a moment for me to register what he said, another to process how he had said it. Reluctant but too curious for my own good, I closed my eyes, unsure what to expect. As soon as my vision turned black, my other senses heightened and I had a mental image form. His hand, still as warm as I had remembered, came to rest atop of my eyes, making sure I was completely blind. I heard a hiss and then some rustling until his chest pressed further into me.

»Call me Din,« he practically purred into my ear, his breath suddenly sensible on my skin, warm and close. His voice was unfiltered, deep and gravelly, the rumble in his chest sending shivers done my spine.

He had taken the helmet off.

What was he doing? Had he not threatened to kill me a few moments ago? To be fair, his hand covered my eyes completely, there was no way I would see his face unless he took his hand off. Still, what was he trying? I didn’t have to wait long for an answer. His weight shifted and I felt his beard scratching my face shortly before soft lips touched mine. 

Out of all the possibilities I had thought about – him killing me or even worse – I never expected him to kiss me so gently. To be honest, it was probably the only thing I was certain of not happening. 

And even more confusing was the fact that I liked it. 

My hand searched for something to hold onto in the darkness, finding his waist and gently squeezing him. I heard him gasp quietly. 

What was he doing? What was I doing? What were we doing? 

It couldn’t have been more than 5 seconds before he leaned back and our lips detached. He didn’t retreat much, I could still feel his heavy breathing on my skin. »Now we’re even,« he whispered as he leaned back further. I heard more rustling and a hiss before my eyes were uncovered. He moved away, finally giving me space to catch my breath. When I opened my eyes, he was back on his seat, looking into the vastness of space. 

[the-mandawhor1an]

WIP Wednesday

Another week has passed ...

There's not much to show for Marcus A rn, as part three will be dropping on Valentines! My betas have been working overtime to look over it (also it's a lot shorter than part two, whew, I've not forgotten how to keep myself short)

Meanwhile, as I do have quite a bit of time on my hands, I am noting down chapter 12 for Din and Maia. After the roller coaster that was 11 I promise it'll be less dramatic. It's still part of the up and down but we're leaning more into the "up" direction this time. There might be a bit of a tension buildup coming too ...

Maia looked a little shocked. Were they flirting? Was HE flirting? She felt the temperature rise underneath the helmet. “I think we can make a deal. The helmet for your clothes.” She only dared to say it because her face was hidden. She saw the appeal of the helmet for once.

Yup, it's going to happen very soon, Wolke will write more smut

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@djarins-wife @littlemisspascal

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@guiltyasdave @pedrospatch @mrsmando @djarins-cyare

[the-mandawhor1an]

WIP WEDNESDAY!

I'm still very much suffering from the con blues. Between talking to Din's German voice actor, exchanging a few words with Katee Sackhoff and her complimenting my costume and meeting so many absolutely lovely people at Comic Con, I haven't been able to write much. I've stayed in bed all day Sunday to finish chapter 9.

BUT...

Chapter 10 already has a little blurb that I can show you. I lovingly call it 'the return of the bathtub'

Maia listened to the rustle of his shirt, halfway asleep in the warm water. It was Din’s voice, soft and silky, that pulled her out of her half-dazed state. »Are you okay in there?« »I’m just relaxing, don't worry about me. I haven't drowned yet, it's just so cozy in here.« Maia bit her lip before the invitation to join her in the bath could escape. As enticing as the thought was, Din wouldn't do that with her.

Or would he?

They're reunited! And she is naked!

And, because I can finally work on Marcus again (at least I hope so, have 3 weeks off in December/January) a little blurb from Searching for the stars part two:

You fell silent for a bit. while you had daydreamed about meeting Marcus before, this was real. it felt weird. You wanted to help him reunite with his wife, but also – you didn’t want him to go. there was the man you had been reading about for such a long time it had ruined your relationship. You left your home to be part of this excavation. And yet you didn’t know …

Taglist: @jennaispunk @whocaresstillthelouvre @burntheedges @rivnedell @roughdaysandart

@djarins-wife @littlemisspascal

» Click here to be added to the tag list «

Npt for the moots: @mountainsandmayhem @sizzlingcloudmentality @joelmillerspillowprincess @pedgito @burntheedges

@whocaresstillthelouvre @rivnedell @jksprincess10 @morallyinept @clawdee

@studioghibelli @evolnoomym @jennaispunk @penvisions @beefrobeefcal

@guiltyasdave @pedrospatch @mrsmando @djarins-cyare @djarins-wife

[the-mandawhor1an]

WIP Wednesday

Another week, another reason to scream

To be honest, I don't even know where to start.

Short Cosplay update: There are no updates, Wolke is a lazy bitch rn. Con is on the 30th.

Fic snippets under the cut:

We start with Din, missing his short-term companion already:

He himself crawled into his cot and nudged himself into a somewhat comfortable position so he could get some rest. The last time someone had slept in here was when he allowed Maia to take the small private space for herself. What if his makeshift bed smelled like her right now? If only he could take the helmet off, just for a second. »Dank farrik,« he cursed under his breath.

For Marcus, we only have bullet points rn, a little convo between him and reader:

“Why me?”  “You fascinated me. The cryptic messages, how you were obsessed with starlight…”  “It was our little joke. You saw the tablet”  “I know… I know… it developed into an obsession for me, I think. But… look at how far I’ve made it. Found your villa.” “And me” “that came as a surprise.”

And finally, something I've not yet told you about 👀

He would return, I was certain of it. If he didn't do it on his own volition, they would bait him, lead him back here. Ever since he escaped with the child, the Imperials had doubled. This forced me to avoid the city center, stay in the outskirts where I was alone. Safe. 

A different POV? From me? unheard of. Whoever guesses what this is will get ... something.

Also, don't exprect too much of me this weekend. I'm spending saturday with @zaddymandalorian, watching Gladiator II and going absolutely off the rails afterwards

See y'all next week, so far no fics are close to upload-ready.

💜

Taglist: @jennaispunk @whocaresstillthelouvre @burntheedges @rivnedell @roughdaysandart

@djarins-wife

» Click here to be added to the tag list «

Npt for the moots: @mountainsandmayhem @sizzlingcloudmentality @joelmillerspillowprincess @pedgito @burntheedges

@whocaresstillthelouvre @rivnedell @jksprincess10 @morallyinept @clawdee

@studioghibelli @evolnoomym @jennaispunk @penvisions @beefrobeefcal

@guiltyasdave @pedrospatch @mrsmando @djarins-cyare @djarins-wife

[the-mandawhor1an]

WIP Wednesday!

(this is a scheduled post, if any of my moots tagged me, I hope you know I love you all very much)

Well well well look who it is, the same Wolke that wrote some actual filth last week has more to show. Haven't seen the filth? »click here«

This time it's for #gbtscbtf again. What is it?

She felt his rough hands discover every part of her body, gently caressing her skin. His lips would ghost over her neck, her shoulders, her chest, to land on her lips. They’d kiss greedily, his groans guttural and primal. She couldn’t see him, but stars, it felt so real, especially when he’d whisper sweet nothings in between moans. His fingers were buried in her hips, holding onto her while taking her like it was the last thing he’d ever do.

I have one more, a certain general wants to say hi.

MORE FILTH? 👀

nah it'll take a little while longer

He stared at the marble bust in disbelief. It had his armor, it looked similar to him, but still, what you were telling him didn’t make sense to him. You watched him from the side and were actually impressed, how well the sculptor had managed to capture his features. His prominent nose, the strong brows, the serious look on his face. Even the fullness of his hair they had somehow managed to simulate in the light stone.  »What do they say about me?« he asked. »You were a fierce warrior, but deep down you were a broken man, yearning to be reunited with your lover. You fought like you never feared death, in fact you would have embraced it, but the gods didn’t grant your wish.« A frown crept up to his lips with the mention of his wife. As much as the characterization fit, he hated that he was known for the pain he endured, and the pain he caused. »How did I die?« 

Tagging ALL of the moots this time. No pressure as always, babes.

@pedgito @burntheedges @whocaresstillthelouvre @user-kramer @tonysopranosrobe

@rivnedell @jksprincess10 @joelmillerisapunk @morallyinept @clawdee

@studioghibelli @evolnoomym @jennaispunk @penvisions @beefrobeefcal

@guiltyasdave @xxhypersomnia @joelsgreys @mrsmando @pedroswife69

@thefrogdalorian @zaddymandalorian @colleenispunk @djarins-cyare @djarins-wife

@roughdaysandart

[the-mandawhor1an]

Choices and regrets

Chapter 11 – Guided by the stars, connected by the force

Masterlist

⇐ Previous chapter | Next chapter ⇒

Chapter summary: Having just reunited and Din having to deal with the heartache that came with giving Grogu away, the duo goes on their first bounty hunting trip. As expected, not everything will go smoothly, but no one could have prepared them for all the things that would go wrong on this fateful day.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI! Injury; character death (multiple); depictions of violence; Maia and Din being idiots; angst galore; a little religious trauma I guess; alcohol consumption; a lot of emotions in this one in general;

Words: 12.4k (Still haven’t learned how to shut up) 

A/N: Y’all get ready to cry right in the beginning of the fic. POV change in the middle of the fic, where we follow Din around for a while! Also, sorry this took a little longer, my life kind of fell apart in the middle of january. 

Maia found herself a little blinded by the sudden change of lighting. With her hand above her head and shielding her eyes, she waited for her vision to adapt and found herself in a familiar environment. A hangar? she asked herself, looking around to see a crashed shuttle and various TIE-Fighters still on their mounts. This was Gideon’s cruiser, but Luke’s ship was nowhere to be found. As were the Darktroopers, she expected to find parts of the droids lying around, but there was nothing. 

A deep feeling of dread overcame her when she realized what this probably meant. As quickly as her feet could carry her, she made her way up to the bridge, concerned why there were no Imps coming her way, as if the ship had been abandoned. When she entered the elevator to the bridge, she already smelled smoke and had to cover her face with part of her cloak. This didn’t make sense, none of this made sense. She was so sure she had been here before, and things had turned out a lot more pleasant than this. 

Up in the corridor leading through the blast doors, the smoke was so thick she could barely keep her eyes open. With the hand extended, she force-pushed the smoke away so she could see and breathe a little better. The sight that greeted her made her regret her action instantly. Corpses of the women that had accompanied Din were all across the floor, yet there was no sign of Gideon. Too stunned to move, she just stood in the doorway.

»… Maia?« a soft voice came from the corner to her left, and she very hesitantly turned her head. She barely recognized his voice, it was so weak. There he sat, propped up to the wall, a dead droid over his legs. His helmet was off and there was an alarming amount of blood on him, assuming it was his. His skin was a little pale, his breaths were shallow. »Din?« she walked over to him and knelt beside him. Tears welled in her eyes when she saw just how bad he looked. His skin looked a little waxy, his eyes glossy and his hair was stuck to his forehead. He must’ve fought for his life for so long. »What happened?« she asked him, one hand on his shoulder. 

»I thought you’d come to help us,« he stated and it felt like he put a blade right through her heart. How could he say that? »I don’t understand, I was here. I saw you all alive and well, and Grogu was taken in.« Where was the small one? »It doesn’t matter now,« Din coughed. »I’m so sorry.« What else would she say? He had needed her help and she wasn’t there for him. She had broken her promise and now he would die. She pulled her gloves off and felt for any source of blood on his flight suit, assuming she could still heal him. »It’s okay, mesh’la,« he said and extended a hand himself, cupping her cheek so she could nuzzle her face into it. Her tears obscured her vision and left dark stains on his leather gloves. 

»I had a fulfilled life and will die like any Mandalorian would hope to die. Protecting my foundling.« And while Din might’ve been right about it, it hurt to hear it. He knew his time had come, and that meant there was no time left for her. »Where is Grogu?« »With Gideon.« She cursed under her breath, another sting puncturing her heart when she felt Din’s hand fall from her cheek. »I promise I’ll rescue him,« she assured him. Maia had promised him on Tatooine and her loyalty towards this child hadn’t changed, neither her feelings for the man before her. 

»It’s not looking good for me, cyar’ika,« he stated and coughed another time, blood on his lips and a rustle coming from his lungs. »Please don’t say that,« she begged him in a whisper and closed her eyes. And while she initially tried to heal him by placing both hands on his chest, his hand pulling her from his armor made her stop. He took both of her hands into his and tried his hardest to focus on her green eyes. »It’s okay. Just make sure Grogu is saved.« His eyes also welled with tears. The rustle in his breathing became more apparent. Maia sobbed and nodded, unsure of how to deal with the situation any more. »I’ll find him. And I’ll make sure he has a master.« 

»I wish … we had… more time.« His breath became more labored and he had to take multiple breaks to form a sentence. She leaned forward and leaned her head against his, softly whispering »I’ll find you in our next life.« And as much as Maia wished to beg for him to not leave her, she knew this was inevitable. She sobbed quietly. »Grogu and I will be okay.« She kissed his temple when she felt his muscles relax as if she had just set him free. 

One day there will be nothing you can do. 

He will get hurt. 

This voice she suddenly heard while she was cuddled up against Din’s still warm skin sounded suspiciously like her own, so she turned her head to see where this was coming from. Only that she didn’t look back into the bridge on Gideon’s Imperial cruiser, she stared right into a metal wall. A – yet again – familiar wall. It looked to be the wall inside of the Razor Crest’s little makeshift bed, a bed she had not stayed in in a while. Din's corpse was gone, yet the warm and soothing scent of him lingered. Wiping off the remainder of tears and feeling generally a little disoriented, she climbed out of the small chamber and up the ladder. The sight of Din was welcome and relaxing, almost as if relief washed over her when she saw the Beskar helmet move towards her. »That was fast. Feel well-rested?« The tone of his voice sounded so distant, and he was short. While this was not necessarily unusual for him, something about all of this felt off. »I feel like I was ran over by a Batha, to be honest. Something feels weird right now.« »What does?« 

Why did he use as little words as possible? Why was he not coming over to her? She looked around, motioning into the air around her. »Everything does. My hands, my body, I have a headache, and even you behave oddly.« »Mh…« he grunted in response. »Jedi Intuition…« 

»Whats wrong with you,« Maia tilted her head, confused by his sudden distant nature. »What do you mean?« He should have known, and she should have realized what exactly made all of this feel odd. »You know what I mean, Din. Why are you –« She quieted down when he rose to his feet and came dangerously close to her. »What did you just call me?« he asked her, taking another step when she stepped back, until she was pinned against a wall. While this should have been an exciting situation, to be pinned against a wall by your partner, his behavior caused more concern than anything else. »Your name. Din.« And that’s when she realized. 

They were on the Crest. The Crest had been destroyed. What was going on here? 

»Who told you my name?« he leaned his hand against the wall just above her shoulder, leaning in further. »You did. I don’t understand what’s going on here.« She didn’t even feel his presence in the force any more. Panic was starting to settle in. »Makes two of us. Tell me who told you my name and don’t play any games. What else do you know?« His armor was against her chest, slowly limiting her ability to take a proper breath. »I’m not lying. You told me on Tatooine.« His helmet leaned to one side. »We’re on our way there. Try again. Last chance.« 

What was she supposed to say? What was wrong with her, she couldn’t even push him with the Force. »What am I supposed to tell you if you’re not going to believe me, You told–« her eyes widened when she suddenly felt something sharp in between her ribs. She looked down to see his hand at her torso, vibroblade in his fist, the blade stuck to the hilt inside of her. As she felt her life practically drain from her as her blood ran down her leg, all she could do was to stare into that black visor. »Why?« she asked as she sank to her knees. And she was gone. 

He will hurt you

She took the deepest breath when she felt the draft of air on her skin, her body coming alive once more. There were no memories of what had transpired before, only a dull flicker of images. She sat up and found herself back on Nevarro, the sulfur in the air was unmistakable. It seemed like Gideon had just made the blaster turret explode. And there he laid, still in his armor. Din. His body was contorted, as if the blast had impacted him a lot more severely than she had anticipated. 

They were alone. Karga, Dune, Grogu and even the Imps had left, it seemed. His body abandoned and her as well. She rose to her feet and walked over there, seeing his body twitch on occasion, hearing him wheeze under that helmet. She knelt beside him once more, one hand on his shoulder. Again she had to accept that she couldn’t do anything for him any more. Other than to release him of his pain. 

Tears welled in her eyes again. »I’m sorry they abandoned you, Mando.« Her voice was soft and she took his hand to place it on her thighs. »I’m sorry you’re in so much pain.« She saw the knife sparkle in the sunlight and she took it, suddenly the memory of being stabbed came back. He squeezed her thigh gently, but nothing more than a wheeze came out. It almost sounded like a plea. Him telling her to end his suffering. She took his hand into her free hand, squeezed it and had the knife in her other hand. 

She leaned in closer, his hand still on her legs. »It’s over soon. Please forgive me.« His helmet rolled to the side, offering his throat for her to ram his knife into. »I know you don’t know me; but believe me when I say it pains me to see you like this.« She bit her lower lip, closing her eyes and letting some tears run down her cheeks. »I’m a Jedi. I was looking for you and the child. I will take him in and make sure he’s safe.« She promised him and when she drove the knife into him, she heard one small wince and he was gone. Forever. At least he died thinking he had completed his task. 

You will hurt him. 

Suddenly she felt a tug on her shoulder and a voice, distorted and distant, but the next noise she heard was a loud thud. Maia opened her eyes and she was greeted with the neon light outside, at the same time the softness of the mattress underneath her. She was on Glavis, in the suite, where she had gone with Din. Din, who was currently on the ground, groaning and rubbing his lower back. In an instant she was at the edge of the bed. »I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to throw you. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?« The words practically stumbled out of her, worry in her face as she reached a hand over to help him up. »I’m okay,« he assured her and came back into bed. 

Maia scooted back to give him space. Din explained what had transgressed, why he had touched her quite roughly. »You had a nightmare, so I tried to wake you up.« »I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you,« Maia apologized again and slowly the images came back. Seeing him die, twice. Once again her eyes watered and she was close to crying. »Hey,« Din softly mumbled and cupped her cheek. »I’m fine. Do you want to talk?« All she could get out was »I saw you die,« until she sobbed and refused to go into more detail. Din pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, nestling his face against hers. 

»Did I throw you out of bed?« »You did. I should have known this could happen. I’m fine.« One of her hands found its way into his hair and she turned her head just enough so that she would have been able to kiss him, but Din tilted his head simultaneously to kiss her temple. »I’m not used to sharing a bed,« she explained, a little embarrassed by it, but she didn’t have to be. She would get used to it; she wanted to get used to sleeping next to him. 

»Do you often get nightmares?« Din inquired, face still nestled in her hair. Maia sighed and kept her eyes closed, listening to his steady breath to calm herself. »Sometimes. I think everyone gets them occasionally. Usually I just wake up sooner, it must be the exhaustion.« Slowly the memories came back, especially the mysterious voice. Was it a warning? »Let’s just lie down. You need some sleep.« »So do you.« Another sigh escaped her lungs. »I know. I’ll try but I don’t want to have a nightmare again.« 

Din and her made themselves comfortable again, Maia nestled into his chest and her face buried in his shirt, registering the faintest scent of him in the fabric. Maybe she would just lie next to him for the night and rest without sleeping. But soon after Din had fallen asleep, so did she, this time around without nightmares plaguing her mind. 

The next morning came way too soon; accompanied by a blindingly bright artificial light. Maia found herself halfway on Din, her head and one hand on his chest, practically welded into his side. While she didn’t know if he had awoken by now, she let her fingers glide over the dark fabric of his shirt, feeling his warmth and the steady rise and fall of his chest. »Hey,« he greeted her, his voice rumbling deep within his chest, vibrating against her finger tips and face. With a smile she turned her head towards him. His hair was a little disheveled, but he was so handsome, even more than he had been yesterday. He didn’t look as sad as he did then. It might take a while for them to get used to the new situation, but moments like this were so precious, so special. 

»We should get up,« he added with dread in his voice. None of them wanted to leave their little nest, their hideaway from the horrors of the universe. After a sigh Maia sat up, allowing him to rise himself. »I’ll miss this bed.« Maia crawled over and towards her clothes, putting on her pants first. Din did the same, but stretched before doing anything. Not wasting the opportunity, Maia snuck a peek and just so happened to see a little of his abdomen when his shirt rose up. The sight alone made her blush and turn away. Unbeknownst to her, Din did the same when she took her undershirt off to put her bra on underneath. He had seen her back before, but maybe the sight was a little more enticing now. »Believe me, I’ll miss this too,« he said, turning back to put his flight suit on. 

Maia was so occupied by the thought what his skin would feel like on hers, that his question didn’t even register at first. »Are you sure you want to go hunting with me?« When it had processed in her mind, she walked over to him and placed a hand on his cheek, stroking over the short stubble of his beard. His eyes fluttered shut when he leaned into her touch. She reminded him »I want to stay by your side, no matter what, no matter where. Nothing will happen to me.« His eyes reopened and met hears in an instant. With the bright light outside, she could make out the warm undertone in his eye color, almost like there was a fire hidden in the darkness, waiting to be found and appreciated by her. 

»I have to put the helmet back on,« he mumbled, but leaned in and gave her a kiss, as if it was a parting gift. Maia accepted this gladly, carefully parting her lips and gently biting into his lower lip. While Din could keep any noise from coming out of him, the blush on his cheeks was undeniable when Maia opened her eyes again, even if he quickly put the helmet on to hide himself. Did he realize how adorable she found it when he was overwhelmed with her little gestures? 

Maia’s plan was fairly straightforward regarding their first bounty hunt. »You walk, I follow. I’ll be your shadow for the time being and … try to not get myself in any trouble.« Din cleared his throat and nodded afterwards. »Let’s go.« A grin formed on her lips, pleased with his reaction to her little tease. They left the suite before the room service would come around, assuming this was probably handled by droids over here and she would have no chance at manipulating droids with the force. It hurt a little if Maia had to be honest, she would likely miss the comfort of this bed for eternity. 

The artificial sun was even brighter out on the street and Maia was a little jealous about his helmet right now. Din surely didn’t have to fight the pain the light was causing. »Have you ever seen anything like this?« he asked her and nodded upwards, where one could see the ring-like structure bend all the way around the light source. »No, never. I’ve been to spaceports; rarely. Seen way too many dark and dirty cargo holds, the shiny floors of the facility… but never a station as big as this.« »It’s my first time here, it’s exciting,« he told her while she watched the helmet move around. Wasn’t it a little weird to not be able to use your peripheral vision? Maia had to agree to an extent. »Impressive, but haunting at the same time. Gigantic, captivating, and anything but natural.« Maybe she sounded a little negative, she just didn’t like artificial environments like this. It was too reminiscent of the facility. 

»I agree.« She turned her head to him and saw the visor facing her as well. »How did you sleep?« she asked. It might take some time for them to find a guild on here. »Very comfortable. Had any more nightmares?« »Fortunately not. I’m not sure I dreamt at all,« she replied. Her sleep had mostly felt like meditation rather than sleep. She had listened to his breathing and felt his warmth, focusing on his presence to keep any dark thoughts away. It seemed to have helped. 

»Where are your weapons?« Din asked, and for a moment she wondered why he didn’t call the sabers by their name. But then again, he probably had a reason. »They’re behind my back underneath the cloak.« »Good, keep them there. I don’t want anyone to recognize them.« He didn’t want her to be recognized as a Jedi. Her specific sabers, no one would know them and therefore know her. Or at least, it was extremely unlikely. »Does the guild allow outsiders to just tag along?« she wondered. For the hunt they probably didn’t care, but most of the times the guilds operated under some guise, right? »It’s unlikely for hunters to team up and therefore split the reward but I doubt anyone will ask. People mind their business and none other.« Maia shrugged. It made sense that no one asked more questions than necessary. The guild leaders mostly cared about the jobs being done, the rest was in the hands of the hunters, right? 

»Aye, Mando,« a voice called out for them. A Trandoshian waved them over and they approached carefully. It was a little suspicious that the Alien spoke Basic, but then again, Maia was one to judge, apparently force-sensitive and Mandalorian which was a recipe for all kinds of conflict. »Lookin’ for’a job?« he slurred a little, was he perhaps drunk? Din nodded, suddenly back in bounty hunter mode and very quiet next to her. She would leave speaking up to him, he had been addressed by the alien anyway. The brunette watched as her partner leaned in a little more. »I’m looking for the guild.« Straight to the point, as usual. 

Now the alien leaned in a little closer. Maia saw Din’s hand slowly wander backwards. At first she thought he would maybe reach for a weapon, but he motioned her to get behind him a little more. »I know the guild,« he began, hiccuped and a sly grin appeared on his face, showing his short, pointy teeth. »My mem’ry’s a lil’ rusty sum’times.« Despite the sting it left in her chest, Maia silently watched as Din handed over what seemed to be the last of his credits. As much as she wanted to protest, or perhaps steal the money right back from the stranger, she didn’t want to cause a commotion out in the open in such a place. Besides, her partner most likely wouldn’t appreciate it. He was, for what she could say, an honest man. 

At least the alien hadn’t lied to them for their last money and a short walk later, they were in an elevator up to a club that housed the local guild. »Nervous?« Din asked when the elevator doors had closed and he knew they were alone for a little. »I’d say curious.« She was nervous, of course the was, last time they were in a sticky situation things had turned out all kinds of wrong. She risked her life, he got swallowed by a dragon, and in the end… well. The encounter with the bandits she would rather repress from her memory altogether. 

As soon as the elevator doors had opened, the strong scent of tobacco and food greeted them together with a slight fog. It made Maia’s eyes water a little and once again, she was a little jealous of the helmet. Did Din even register anything she could smell in the air here? They were transferred to another room right as they had entered, assuming her companion had been rightfully recognized as a bounty hunter. An Ishi Tib greeted them, in Basic nonetheless. For just a moment the brunette wondered if she was the only person in this galaxy that only knew one language. Maybe she should learn some, at least some phrases and words. There was one word she knew in Tusken Sign Language and that was it. 

The duo was offered a bounty and right away the outlook for more work if they returned successfully. They didn’t even have to leave the ring structure either, which definitely came to their aid. Otherwise Maia would have had to manipulate a few more people, they were officially out of funds unless she found a secret stash of credits in her ship. One district over, there was a Klatoonian that owed someone credits. If they managed to bring him in alive, they would get even more. It sounded easy enough in theory. Go there, locate him, bag him and take him back. Now, in practice it would most likely play out differently, but Maia hoped for their first contract to be somewhat easy. 

Once back in the elevator, she could finally catch a somewhat fresh breath and she sighed. »You have no idea how jealous I am of your helmet.« There was a chuckle underneath said helmet and and he shook his head, causing her to smirk. Hearing him laugh did something to her. It made her heart jump almost as much as kissing him did. Maybe she would some day have a helmet herself. Din might like it, who knew? 

They were out on the streets soon after, Din taking this moment to voice a concern of his. »I don’t want you to think I see you as incapable, but let me handle most of it. You’re new to this and I don't want you to be in danger.« »I can take–« »I know you can. I want you to be safe, regardless.« In a way, it was cute; reassuring. Din was aware she could handle a lot herself, she knew he knew. And still it was heartwarming that he wanted to protect her. It made her feel appreciated and in a way, even loved. She would do the same for him, too.

»Do you think we might stay here for longer?« Maia asked after some walking in silence. Perhaps it was because of the bed she wanted to share with him for a few more nights before they went to wherever their way would take them next. »Maybe,« Din replied, his helmet moving from one side to another, constantly checking the area. »There might be more bounties in the area, we could.« Apart from that, there was another quest they were on. Maia asked »and the Mandalorian hideout might be here, right? You mentioned it back on the cruiser.« »Yes, but I don’t know where they might be.« So there was a possibility they would stay and perhaps share a bed again. Din didn’t seem to have an issue with the sudden closeness. 

For a second she wondered if she should ask him, but then again, they were out in the open and he most likely wanted to keep most of their relationship private. And despite being over the moon about him accepting her in his life, she agreed that this was best kept between them. At least for now. 

They made it to the district and found a cold storage warehouse that seemed to be the last known location of their target. Maia watched a few people enter and exit the building through semi-transparent curtains. It sure looked like a cold warehouse, the walls were plastered with A/C units. »Is this it?« she asked and turned her head to Din, who was pushing some buttons on his vambrace. »It is. Stay behind me. I will try to get him alive but we might have to live with the smaller bounty if he doesn’t cooperate. Or if the others decide to attack us.« »The others? How many are in there?« He typed once more and turned his helmet more towards the entrance. »At least six in the front.« 

They entered the building, Maia behind Din as they had agreed upon, her hands under her cloak, one arm behind her to reach for her sabers just in case. The other workers, Klatoonians as well, kept to themselves for the time being, eyeing the guests for a moment before returning to their tasks. Through the room and into a back room, they found Kaba Baiz, the man they had been looking for. Naturally, Din tried to make him come with them willingly, which turned out to be a bad idea.  

Not only Baiz himself, but the workers inside the warehouse attacked them and Maia had to fend for herself, not able to watch Din at all times. Somewhere in this fight Din had used the Darksaber and as it had to happen, he injured himself quite severely with the dark blade. The rumble ended with Baiz missing one hand, the lavender blade of Maia’s lightsaber close to his throat. Din was agitated due to his injury and so was Maia, on top of being a little nauseous because she could smell burnt flesh. Her partner had a large burn on his thigh, which was bad, but all things considered a light wound for a lightsaber injury. 

»We can bring you in warm, or we can bring you in cold,« Din told Baiz, and Maia couldn’t deny that his threatening voice sounded quite attractive when it wasn’t aimed towards her. »Hold on, we – we can talk about this,« Baiz tried to reason. »I’ll pay you double.« 

Maia didn’t care too much about the money, besides, she knew Din wasn’t one to tarnish his reputation for a few credits. Also, how would he pay them double if this bounty was on him for not paying someone? »We don’t haggle with criminals,« Din said and put an end to that before it could start. »Fine, your loss,« Baiz responded and the tone in his voice sounded suspicious to say the least. As soon as Din had maneuvered the cuffed quarry out of the back room, Baiz pushed the Mandalorian to the ground and took off running. Before Maia could even get the idea to tend to her partner first, Din barked at her to follow the fugitive. Kill him if you have to.

Naturally, she blamed herself for all of this. She could have manipulated Baiz and he would've gladly accompanied them back to the bar. She could have healed Din’s wound, meaning he wouldn't have to limp around. She followed the alien outside and ran after him, making sure to not expose herself as force-sensitive with so many people around. He was surprisingly fast for someone in cuffs and missing a hand, but he just ran into everyone in his way and hoped for the best. She followed him around every corner, deeper into secluded alleys when a realization hit her. Her and Din were separated and she had no means to contact him. Desperately hoping this wouldn't turn out to be a trap, she continued her pursuit until Baiz found himself in a dead end.

»Please, girl, we can talk about this,« Baiz pleaded again, but why would he call her girl? How would that make her do anything he wanted her to do? She activated her saber and came closer, the low hum of the blade threatening him into desperation. »I’ll give you three times as much, be smart.« Din had told him already, she wouldn’t budge. Her thoughts raced around Din’s injury anyway, how painful his leg must’ve been in this moment and how he would manage to make it here. The fall had probably worsened his pain, too, and all of it was this Klatoonian’s fault. She wasn’t sure she would find her way back without any help, either. 

She swung her blade, but before it could make any contact and cause damage, she deactivated it and rammed her fist with the metal hilt inside of it into the quarry’s face as hard as she could, knocking the alien out cold. A sharp pain shot up her arm and she was sure she had either severely sprained or even broken her hand upon impact. Her gloves weren’t made for this kind of contact. The quarry fell face first into the dirt, and all she could do was sit on the unconscious’s back, waiting for Din to find her by miracle. 

While she held her hand with the other, she wondered if she could reach out for Din through the Force. Back when she first discovered him, he had likely felt some presence, how else would he have threatened her back then. Maybe, if she addressed him directly, he would feel something or maybe even hear her? 

Din? I have him 

Not long after that, she heard a familiar sound of steps coming her way. Din was still slow and probably in agony, but she let out a sigh of relief as soon as she had seen that helmet appear behind a corner. He was still limping and from her position she could get a proper look at his injured thigh. It looked grim, especially because it was just exposed to all of what surrounded them. The air back in the bar would probably burn his poor skin even more. »Good job,« he nodded approvingly and she felt a little pride in catching her first bounty. »We have to get him back to the guild, though. I think I have to drag him.« Instead of reacting to what he said, Maia stated »your leg looks awful. It would help if you weren’t limping.« She was trying to ease him into allowing her to heal him. But for some reason, he didn’t take the bait. »I’m sorry you had to pursue him alone. It wasn’t my original plan.« She sighed. »Nothing happened,« she said while getting up from the body, »besides you almost dismembering yourself. Lightsabers are dangerous weapons, especially in the wrong hands.« The irritation came partially from her throbbing hand, partially from her partner’s unwillingness to get help for his leg. Her words marinated for a second until her features softened. »I can teach you how to wield a saber. But until you know how to… please don’t use it. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.« Her first response had been a little harsh. She didn’t want to paint him as incapable, he just lacked training and a lightsaber was insanely dangerous in untrained hands. 

Din probably stared at her underneath his helmet. She might have hurts his pride a little, but deep down, his well-being was her concern. Why didn’t he just let her heal him? There was no reaction to what she said, just a rather closed off »let’s go.« Had she insulted him? Din wrapped a rope around Baiz and started dragging, while she walked next to him in silence, her thumb hooked into her belt so her hand wasn’t completely hanging loosely. It still hurt, but the pain was a welcome distraction from his behavior. He’s hurt, let him sulk. He might be an idiot but he is your idiot.

It was getting dark again and she wondered how long they had been on this hunt. It couldn’t have been more than a few hours, 3 tops. Was the artificial sun just not built to have 50/50 day and night cycles up here? How long was a day here anyway? It probably made sense to have relatively long nights on a station like this, as there were so many hotels, bars, casinos, brothels, clubs. After what felt like hours of dragging a limp body, they reached the elevator again and she helped pushing the body in. Baiz groaned.  »You knocked him out cold,« Din finally said, a hint of appreciation in his voice. Had he cooled off a little? What if she wasn’t ready yet? I hit him so hard I broke my hand in the process, no wonder he’s asleep. Thank you.

During the elevator’s ascent, the Klatoonian slowly woke up. Din very harshly pulled him to his feet. If he was awake, he could walk himself. The doors opened once again and they were engulfed in the smoke of the bar. When they returned, none of the guests nor the guild master herself had moved from their spots. Another reason to think they hadn’t been gone for too long. »Ah, there you are,« the master greeted them, »And successful, it seems. I’m a little impressed you managed to get him alive, how magnificent.« She nodded her head towards yet another Ishi Tib, that subsequently handed Din a plump satchel of credits. It might not be enough for the suite, but they would be able to have some food, fuel for her ship, and a less luxurious bed. »I have another bounty if you’re interested,« she announced, but Din shook his head. 

»Not this time,« he apologized. Maia’s eyes darted down to his leg. Seeing the shine of his burnt skin made her dizzy. How was he doing anything right now? The pain must be unbearable, probably a million times worse than her hand. »You Mandalorians are hard to convince, it seems, a shame.« They were about to leave, but Din’s helmet turned back. »That makes it sound like I’m not the first Mandalorian you encounter.« »Perhaps,« she responded. So the other Mandalorians were here? The image of her parents flashed before her eyes and Maia essentially blew a fuse. Despite promising Din to hold back, as soon as he had limped past her, she addressed the guild master. 

»How can we get to the lower levels?« It just made sense they would hide under ground, just as they had done in Nevarro. Every other option up here was probably way too open for a hideout. Or would cost rent. She felt the Mandalorian halfway behind her stop and tense. »You must be new. Information has a price, child.« Maia crossed her arms in front of her chest. She never was a good negotiator, especially not when she was insulted. Girl, child, would they ever stop? »So does express delivery. It can’t have been more than a few hours.« The Ishi Tib let Maia marinate in the awkward silence, but seeing the human not budge, she started laughing. »What a smart girl you are,« she said, the sarcastic undertone was not missed. »Follow the Kolzoc alley until you reach the exhaust towers. You will find a hatch to access the substrata.« 

Maia thanked her and followed Din into the elevator, expecting him to blow up and chew her out. How much she would have welcomed any kind of emotion from him. She was seething, her breathing exaggerated and her shoulders as tense as his. »You really shouldn’t talk to guild masters like this. Their egos are insulted quickly.« And even in her current state, she heard the softness in his voice. He didn’t want it to sound like he was scolding her. It was concern and nothing else.

The tension in her shoulders melted with the realization and she sighed deeply. All of this boiled down to her frustration with Din getting injured and subsequently refusing her help. »Guess I can consider myself lucky that I’m so pathetic that no one would feel insulted,« she mumbled and held her hand. She saw Din’s helmet move in her peripheral. Maybe he hadn’t realized she had been injured as well until now. »You’re not pathetic, just new to the business. It happens. Still, you should be more careful next time. Not every master would laugh something like this off.« Her fingers were in a sensory limbo, somewhere between numb and feeling tingly as if she had laid on her arm wrong. She would need different gloves if she wanted to knock people out like this, there was just no padding softening the blow on her hands. That or she shouldn’t punch people with a metal handle in her hand next time. If only she could have an armor like Din had. She was a Mandalorian, so in theory she could wear one, or not? 

They left the elevator and she walked right alongside him, slowly as he was still limping. She bit her lower lip. Should she offer to heal him one last time? But then again Din knew she could and she would do it for him without any hesitation. Had she hurt his pride so much with the comment about the lightsaber? She didn’t know. If only she had a helmet on herself so she could let the frustration out a bit better. Her eyes traced along the spear on his back, made of Beskar, and a question popped up in her head. »What happened to the armor Vanth gave you?« Had he given the armor to another Mandalorian? It couldn’t have been destroyed when the Crest got blown up. Had it been melted and made into the weapon he now carried? All of her thoughts stopped when her partner just so matter-of-factly said »it’s back with its owner.« It stopped the brunette in her tracks, just standing in the alley for a few of his steps. 

»Boba Fett is alive?« Gideon had mentioned a Fett on his cruiser, but it could have been a coincidence. Now she had the confirmation that the bounty hunter was still alive? Din sighed and stopped himself, turned back to face her. »He is. He doesn’t know about you. I haven’t told him anything.« So they had talked? It stung, it felt like betrayal. Din had left her behind on Tatooine and just so happened to run into the man that had essentially doomed her for years? Maia didn’t even know what to be mad or hurt about any more. His injury, her injury, her own behavior back at the guild or the fact that Din just told her that Fett wasn’t dead like she had thought all this time. Not only that, Fett knew Din now, which meant he was once again dangerously close to her. Had he forgotten how she reacted to the armor alone? 

Something in her just snapped. »Oh how chivalrous of you to not tell him about me. He’d be so pleased to hear that it’s even more fun to hunt me now, my bounty is probably so much higher.«

Din took a half step back, probably a little shocked by her sudden outburst. Did he even understand why she was mad? »Would you have preferred if I had told him? He came to Tython right when Grogu was captured and my ship got destroyed. He helped me on Morak to get into that base to find where Gideon is. Without him I would have never been able to save Grogu… and reunite with you. You have your past with him, I understand, but there’s nothing negative I can say about him. He helped me.« Tears welled in her eyes. Din was right but she didn’t want to see it. »He made fun of me. Of my fear. Treated me like a toy, chased me until I had no energy left. Do you know what I had to go through because of him? What the Empire did to me after they had me back?« She sobbed, crying both from the pain and the anger she felt. »You might not have told him about me, but you should have told me he was still alive.«

Din’s stance on this was simple: »People change. If I can, so can he.« She closed her eyes and let the tears run along her cheeks. »But maybe I can’t. If you want to have secrets, so be it. It’s not like you’ve told me much about you anyway. To think I was fine with you keeping that helmet on, too.« Mentioning his helmet clearly was a mistake, as suddenly Din snapped back at her. »When was I supposed to tell you?!« And she realized she had taken this way too far when he said »maybe I should keep the helmet on from now on if you don’t care.« Suddenly she realized what she had said made it sound completely different from what she had wanted to convey, and rightfully so, Din was insulted. They couldn’t talk about this now, especially not in the open like this. And Maia did what she always did when she was feeling too many emotions. She would leave. 

She turned around. »Have your injury taken care of,« she said. It was what mattered to her the most. »Your people won’t allow me in their secret hideout anyway. They won’t care about my heritage. I’m a Jedi to them, an enemy.« She took a deep breath, her hands balled into fists despite the red-hot pain that radiated in her right hand. She turned her head to be just above her shoulder. »I’ll be at the ship. If you don’t return within the next day, I’ve understood the message. I won’t chase after my feelings any more and go back to Luke.« And she left him, she had to. She needed time for herself, for her hand and also to cry, to let all of the bottled up emotions out. 

She walked back to the landing platforms and looked for something to do to clear her mind of all of the disappointment and regret she felt – she cleaned her ship. Her cloak, belt and her sabers safely stored in her ship, she went to work. Her hand still hurt, but maybe the pain was a welcome distraction. 

Meanwhile, equally agitated from the brunette’s outburst, Din followed the little marks left by other Mandalorians to find the covert. Go back to Luke – did Maia want to be with the Jedi? Did she deliberately mention him to hurt Din? All of these thoughts drained his energy faster than he had realized, causing him to just drop at the end of the stairs leading him towards the armorer. 

Suspiciously, the woman had not yet turned around to face Djarin, but she ordered Paz Vizsla to tend to his wounds. The Mandalorian in navy blue armor had surprisingly soft words for him. »I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.« Din sat with his leg slightly bent, getting a first proper look at the injury. It looked cruel, his flesh red, shiny, charred bits of either his pants or of himself stuck to the wound. »Thank you for saving me on Nevarro, I’m sorry about your sacrifice,« he replied, just before he felt the uncomfortable cold of the Bacta spray on his skin, which soon worked its magic to heal his burn. »There are three of us now. We’ll put you to work soon enough,« Vizsla explained. 

The armorer hadn’t turned to him yet, and yet her question seemed suspiciously fitting. »What kind of weapon causes such a wound?« How did she know? As soon as Din had the saber in his hand, it was as if Vizsla’s whole demeanor changed. Carefully, the man carried the weapon over to the armorer, who received the saber and looked at the hilt. »All this talk of the empire, and they lasted less than thirty years. Mandalorians have existed for ten thousands. What do you know of this blade?« 

»I am told it’s the Darksaber.« Din told her, repeating what he had heard on Gideon’s cruiser. »Indeed. Do you understand its significance?« He nodded. »Whoever wields it can lead all of Mandalore.« As much Gideon had told him. The reason why Bo-Katan wanted to have the saber for herself, to support her claim for the throne. Din quite honestly didn’t care much for a throne. What he cared about, however, was returning to Maia as soon as he could to somehow save their relationship. If she was even still on Glavis. »If it is won in battle,« the armorer added. Djarin slowly rose to his feet, delighted to feel strength slowly return to his leg. »The hilt is of a quality of Beskar I have never seen before.« 

There was more that Kryze had told him. »I’ve been told it was forged by a man who was both Mandalorian and a Jedi.« His chest felt tight. Was Maia already on her way back to Skywalker, or was she waiting for him? The thought of her on her own out here wasn’t too calming either. She could take care of herself, she would have told him just now, but was it so bad that he worried for her regardless? »I have met Jedi. The child is in the hands of one of them now, I have been successful. And … I am with a woman who is both Jedi and Mandalorian.« He knew the question about his foundling would have come up either way, so he answered the question before the armorer had to ask it. »You may join our covert as we rebuild.« 

This is the way. »I have not heard of such a woman. Mandalorians rarely find Jedi children and keep them. They’re better raised in the hands of their own, as was the case with your foundling. Tell me about your companion while you set up the forge.« And while the two men carried the forge across the floor and started setting it up, Din told the armorer about Maia, deep down hoping she would still wait for him when he was done here. »Her parents are Mandalorians, but she was taken away at a young age due to her talents. She never got the Mandalorian training. When I gave Grogu away to be with his master, we found out her name. It’s Arana,« Din’s helmet turned to face Paz, thinking his brother might be a little curious about her too. »Arana Vizsla.« Were they related? 

This new information seemed to pique the armorer’s interest. »She was no foundling?« she asked, but Vizsla scoffed next to Djarin. Din glared at the other man underneath his helmet. »What does it matter, blood alone means nothing if she doesn’t follow the way.« Not too long ago, he would’ve agreed, but now so much had happened. So many emotions he had yet to understand, but he accepted her heritage, despite his own Creed telling him she wasn’t one of them. »Do you know what her parents’ names were?« the armorer inquired, but he couldn’t deliver much. »Her mother was called Rayssa.« That was all he knew. »I don’t remember any Vizslas that lost a child.« Expecting this would be it, Din’s heart sank a little. But then again, if Bo-Katan had known Maia’s mother and knew what her face had looked like – her parents were very likely not part of the Watch. 

»What’s your stance on Arana?« the armorer asked him while Paz attached all kinds of hoses for the gas that would fuel the forge. Din swallowed. He was sure the armorer didn’t care too much about their relationship or his feelings for his partner, but rather wanted to hear about her qualities. If she would be beneficial to the covert. »I’ve seen her fight like a Jedi, it was impressive,« he explained. And as much as he had been impressed with how easily she had made offing the Darktroopers look like, images of her smile flickered in his mind. When he had shown her the sunset on Tatooine, and the sparkle in her eyes when they sat by the campfire. How red her cheeks had gotten after they had kissed. He couldn’t help but smile a little. »She’s loyal and brave. Intelligent, but a little stubborn. Right now all she wants to know is if her family is still alive. My way might not be the best way for her.« It would be downright cruel to hide such a pretty face under a helmet. 

The armorer nodded and offered what she could. »She’s too old to be adopted like a foundling. That leaves you with two options. We treat her like an apostate and she has to cleanse in the living waters, or she becomes part of your clan by marriage. To be part of the community, she will have to swear by the Creed and wear a helmet, follow the same rules you have to.« The thought of Maia marrying him just to be accepted into his group felt wrong. She should be allowed to marry out of love, not because of some need for validation or acceptance. Besides, after their fight it was unclear if she even wanted to stay with him, let alone think about marriage. »I understand.«

The armorer left the men to tend to her forge, and as soon as she had her back turned, Paz approached Djarin. »Where did you come upon the Darksaber?« he asked, trying to make it sound casual, but failing. Din knew why he was so interested in this saber. Just like Gideon said: It was power. »I defeated Moff Gideon in combat.« »Did you kill him?« He should have, but then again, Grogu had been his main concern. »No. He was taken in by the New Republic for interrogation and a trial. He will face justice.« Vizsla scoffed. »Death would have been justice for his atrocities.« And the armorer agreed. »This is true. The blood of millions of our kind is on his hands.« »Then he will be executed for his crimes,« Din responded. 

»Where did you come upon the Beskar spear?« the armorer changed topic, nodding towards the weapon on Djarin’s back. »It was the gift of a Jedi. It can block lightsaber blades and it helped me defeat Moff Gideon.« Tano had practically saved him by gifting him this weapon. And he would be forever grateful, it was a demonstration of her gratitude and her trust after he had helped her free the village on Corvus. »I know it can pierce armor and puts us at risk.« 

Without any hesitation, he handed over the spear, offering it to the armorer to forge something for the community. »This is the way. The Darksaber is a far more noble weapon for you to wield.« »Can you forge armor out of the spear? For my foundling.« »Grogu is with his kind now and not allowed this kind of attachment. It goes against their Creed.« »I want to see him,« Din explained. It had been about 24 hours if even that, and he already missed the little troublemaker and he worried about his well-being. »Make sure he’s safe.« 

»In order to master the ways of the Force, Jedi must forgo all attachment.« Was this why Maia had told him she would leave, because they couldn’t be together? But why had she seemed so happy to be around him, and why had she kissed him and snuggled up to him while they slept? 

»That is the opposite of our Creed,« he said. Were they talking about Grogu any more, or was he now projecting this discussion onto this stupid fight he had with the brunette? »Loyalty and solidarity are the way. Mandalorians are stronger together.« Had she chosen to pursue her Mandalorian roots for him, perhaps? He would have to return to her as soon as possible, hoping she was still waiting for him. Their fight seemed so juvenile now that he had a clearer mind to think about it. The armorer forged the spear into armor for Grogu and also one more item. Maia might not be allowed to wear armor if he asked his people, but he wanted her to be able to have some Beskar with her. Even if it was just to remind her of her family and maybe of him. 

After his suit had been patched up, Din took the time to train his saber combat with the armorer. She had practically ordered him to, and with the memory of his injury still very fresh, he agreed he needed training. There he was, up on a walkway, the armorer counting his blows one by one. Sometimes she attacked, sometimes she blocked his attacks. But one thing became clear very quickly. The blade got increasingly heavy and made it practically unable for Din to swing it. He struggled and when he could barely raise the blade, the armorer commented, »you’re fighting against the blade.« »It gets heavier with each move,« Djarin explained. How did that even make sense? It was a weapon, how could he fight against it? »You should be fighting against your opponent, not the blade.« 

She used her tools to attack Din again and again, not allowing him to gain control over his weapon. She pressed the blade into his bracer. »Feel it. You are too weak to fight it. You can not control it with your strength. You are distracted.« »I am focused,« he insisted, but his mind was occupied with so much. He didn’t like feeling weak, it hurt his pride. And there was still this fight he had with Maia, and all he wanted to do was go back to her. But was she still here, waiting for him? Or had she left to be with Luke? The Jedi would surely not struggle as much with a blade like this, and he for sure wouldn’t have hurt himself like Djarin did. 

»Maybe the Darksaber belongs in someone else’s hands,« a voice came from the shadows, and to no one’s surprise, Vizsla stepped onto the walkway. Of course Paz had waited until Din was exhausted to challenge him. »Maybe,« he responded. Paz seemed to have a rather personal reason to want this saber. »It was forged by my ancestor, founder of house Vizsla.« Huh… so his blood mattered, but not Maia’s when it came to being a Mandalorian? »Blood doesn’t matter, those were your words.« Din would have handed the blade over to Bo-Katan, but the arrogance of his brother made him absolutely despise the idea of losing the blade to have it fall into these hands. »You may have won the blade in combat, but now I will take it from you.« 

»Din Djarin,« the armorer turned to him, still in between the men on the metal bridge. »Do you agree to this duel?« To which Din nodded without hesitation. »I do.« And they fought. Din struggled with the weight of the blade and also the sheer size difference to his opponent. Paz was easily a foot taller than him and the mass he could channel into a punch would knock Djarin over with ease. It looked bad when Vizsla lifted Djarin above him and threw him, knocking the blade out of his hands. And while he kicked Din against a pillar, he picked up the blade, activating it and seemingly struggling with the weight of the saber himself. »Fate has brought this blade back to my clan, and now fate will end yours.« And just when it seemed that Djarin’s luck had run out, he stabbed Paz’s leg to avoid decapitation. He used the short distraction and practically climbed on his brother’s back, his vibro blade just below Paz's helmet. »That’s enough,« the armorer finally called out. Din had won, but he feared one thing. One question. 

»Paz Vizsla, have you ever removed your helmet?« »No.« »Has it ever been removed by others?« »Never.« The armorer nodded. »This is the way.« Her helmet shifted so the visor faced him. Din’s heart sank. On one hand he could have lied to the armorer, but then again, she probably knew, or at least suspected, that he had taken the helmet off. Did she know, just like she had known his injury before she had turned around? »Din Djarin, have you ever removed your helmet?« I have, again and again, for my foundling and my cyar’ika. »Have you removed your helmet? By Creed, you must vow,« the armorer repeated when he didn’t respond. »I have.« Din’s voice almost cracked. His heart was pounding. 

»Then you are a Mandalorian no more.« 

This was it? »I beg you for forgiveness. How can I atone?« he asked, desperate to do whatever he was asked to to be forgiven. He couldn’t avoid taking the helmet off on Morak. It was necessary to save his child. »According to the Creed, one may only be redeemed in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore,« the armorer explained to him once again. Knowing the mines were destroyed, he felt the ground collapse beneath him. He was no Mandalorian. He was no one. His clan was nonexistent. To make the blow a little harder, the last words Vizsla directed his way were »leave, apostate.« 

Was Maia even still here? How long had he been away? 

Maia had been working on her ship for as much as she could, to occupy her mind from this stupid fight she had with Din. When he came back, they would have to talk about this. If he came back. The brunette felt absolutely miserable after he had misunderstood what she wanted to tell him. She shouldn’t have mentioned it at all, and now all she could do was hope for her partner to come back to her. Her heart was aching, as was her hand. One she could take care of fairly quickly, the other would take some time, given she and Din could rekindle. 

If he actually left her here and this was it, she would never get over it. 

The thought alone drove tears to her eyes, a painful drag growing in her chest. Had she insulted him so severely that Din would now wait the day out so she would leave? She wiped her tears on her robe and occupied her mind with more work on her ship; until she felt some hunger. That was the other problem: Din had left her with none of the credits they had gotten from their bounty, she couldn’t get some food, nor something to drink or fuel to leave.  She would have to manipulate her way out of this, once more. 

Maybe it was fate, or just sheer luck, that a Rodian and a Zabrak approached her on the platform and were so adamant about getting her something to eat and share a few drinks. How could she say no when her stomach was growling? Maybe Din’s intuition would get him here quicker if she stayed with these men. So the pretty brunette sat with them, had some food and a drink. While they pulled out more and more alcohol, Maia decided it was for the best if she only had this one. Instead of telling them about being a force-sensitive bounty hunter apprentice, she pretended to be a mechanic, working for a bounty hunter, waiting for her boss to return from a job.

Maia had a lot of time to think about what had transgressed earlier today. There had been so many opportunities for things to turn out differently, and yet she had managed to make the worst possible outcome her reality. She had said things that were actually hurtful and as much as she didn’t mean them how he had picked them up, all of this just happened because he refused her help. Din should have allowed her to help, or at least tell her why he didn’t want her to help. Perhaps he didn’t want her to expose her abilities out in the open, but he could have said it. Had she more openly offered her help. 

It had been hours since she and Din split, hours since she told him it didn’t matter that he took the helmet off. Hours since she gave that stupid ultimatum. Had he abandoned her? Her thoughts raced around and the alcohol didn’t necessarily make it better, but the two men, telling jokes to get her to laugh, helped a little. In theory, she could have looked for him, focused her mind and find him in the Force, but if he didn’t want her any more, she didn’t feel like it was right to stalk him. She sighed internally, telling herself it wasn’t a day later yet, so maybe he would return. She needed to be patient.

At least none of the two aliens sitting beside her seemed to realize she was still on her second cup of alcohol, which she hadn’t even touched yet. She mostly pretended drunk, because being drunk was way too dangerous out here. She knew how to make herself blush, even if it was a little embarrassing. She thought about Din. About how they had kissed and how his arms felt around her. And that little glimpse of his belly. All the things she had felt when she had dreamed about Din and her being intimate. All of the noises that had engrained in her mind. 

»Here you are,« a familiar voice startled her. She had just pretended to absolutely lose it over a suggestive joke, when she heard the steps and soon after, his firmer than usual voice. Din finally returned, and he found her here, obviously drunk and having fun. Still pretending to be drunk, she turned on her stool to face him, giving him a warm smile. Maia knew she was blushing, partially because of her lewd thoughts, partially because she actually felt a little caught. »Hey boss,« she greeted him, making sure he would instantly register that she pretended to be someone else. »Ship’s all clean and ready to go when you are,« she explained and watched as his helmet tilted slightly. She gave him a once-over just as he did the same to her. His pants were fixed and he seemed to be in less pain. Just a bit tense in the shoulders, which maybe had to do with her sitting here with two strangers and laughing. The spear on his back was gone. 

»Well, it’s not recommended to let a Mandalorian wait,« she announced and stumbled off the stool. She saw Din twitch in her direction, ready to catch her if she actually fell. »Gentlemen, it was a pleasure.« The Zabrak took a breath, perhaps to protest, but it seemed Din’s presence alone made him reconsider. The Rodian had drunk a significant amount of Spotchka and just leaned on his arms, dreamily staring at the brunette. 

Maia turned to Din and her features softened a little. He had come back and she could apologize, hoping he didn’t just come here to say goodbye again. All she needed was some privacy with him. Privacy her ship couldn’t grant them, and she yearned for the Razor Crest to be back here. Instead of postponing their talk any further, she thought of a different solution. »Oh, I have to show you something for the ship. There’s this thingy…« She grabbed hold of his hand, relieved that he didn’t immediately pull back, and pulled him into one of the alleys that weren’t visible from the small shop she had just sat at with the aliens. They had their privacy … as best as they could right now. 

Din followed until they had reached the relatively dark corner, away from her two hosts and away from other curious glances. »Well then, wheres the thingy?« he sarcastically asked, letting go of her hand and crossing his arms in front of his chest. All of this screamed ‘don’t touch me’ to her, and Maia took a small step back. As soon as her brows scrunched together, he added »I … wasn’t sure you’d still be here.«

Despite his posture clearly telling her to keep her distance, she placed both hands on his bracers. »You were gone for so long, I thought I had chased you away.« Maybe he just came here to say farewell. Stop it. You know he wouldn’t behave like this if he wanted you to leave. »Listen, I said some terrible things to you earlier. I was frustrated that you got hurt and didn’t allow me to help you. You limped around with a burnt thigh for over an hour, probably even two, and you know I can heal you. Boba Fett is a trigger for me and I blew up in your face, I’m sorry. You’re right that there was no time to tell me. I didn’t ask you, I had a suspicion about him back when Gideon mentioned Fett. You didn’t deserve all of what I did to you today.« She took a big breath and closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength. »About the helmet. I must’ve phrased it wrong, because I never wanted you to think it didn’t matter to me that you took it off. I’ve told you that it means a lot to me. What I wanted to say is that I wouldn’t have minded if you still had it on and kept it on. Being with you was what I wanted, even before I knew you had taken it off. I’m sorry, our communication needs work.« 

Din looked at her and didn’t move a muscle at first, listened to her explanations without interrupting her. As soon as she felt his arms move, she let go and as much as she didn’t want it to happen, the little alcohol in her system made it hard to hold back the tears. »Cyar’ika,« he softly said to her, cupping her cheek with one gloved hand. She closed her eyes when she felt the thick leather on her skin. She was so relieved that he still used that name for her. »I’m sorry too. Mandalorians are prideful and stubborn. Getting hurt in a fight is especially frustrating. I felt useless and having you chase after Baiz on your own wasn’t something I wanted to cast upon you.« She opened her eyes again, his glove wiping away a tear, just like it had happened in her nightmare. »I asked about your family. Unfortunately the armorer couldn’t tell me anything.« She nodded, softly as to not lose contact with his glove. »It’s okay,« she assured him. »It would’ve been too much of a coincidence. But why were you gone for so long?«

»They took care of my wound and I patched up my flight suit. While I was there I helped rebuild the forge, and trained with the Darksaber. It took some time and I can safely say, Jedi look more elegant than me when fighting.« It almost made her chuckle. »My offer still stands to train you. It takes time.« He sighed and his empty hand reached for his belt. »I had the spear remade into armor for Grogu and also this.« Maia looked down to his hand, extending one of hers so he could drop something into her palm. A small Beskar mudhorn, smaller than the one on his shoulder, but very obviously his clan symbol, laid in her hand. »It’s yours,« Din added when she held the little pendant up, closer to her face to inspect it. 

Maia understood this was a kind of connection to him, but then again, this could mean far more than she right now understood. »It’s beautiful, but I don’t understand, why are you giving me this?« It wasn’t that she didn’t like it. She wanted to know if this was more than a gift. 

»It’s Beskar, I wanted you to be able to carry some with you. I defeated a mudhorn in a fight. I almost lost, but Grogu helped me with his powers. The armorer declared us to be a clan until I found a Jedi for him. It connected us.« She kind of understood. It was a sign she belonged to him. This must mean they were okay and that fight was forgotten. She closed her fingers around the pendant and held it to her heart. »Thank you cyare.« Despite her positive reaction to the gift, his shoulders dropped. 

»I don’t have a clan any more. I took off the helmet and now I am an apostate.« His helmet followed the shoulders, dropping significantly. It was heartbreaking to hear, especially with the pained tone in his voice. She didn't even ask for permission, she just hugged him. It probably didn't feel like much with the armor between them, but she did it anyway. »I’m sorry, Din. Is there anything we can do?« 

He wrapped his arms around her after a few seconds and pulled her in, quite desperately held onto her firmly. They stayed like this for what felt like eternity, his helmet resting on her shoulder. She heard his breathing underneath the metal, felt every muscle he moved. And she stayed quiet, certain he just needed time to process all of this. »There is one thing I could do but it’s … impossible. Go to Mandalore and bathe in the living waters. The city above the mines was destroyed when the whole planet was bombed.« His helmet rotated towards her neck a little, as if he could hide his face further, or was he searching for her scent? »I don’t know where to go to next. Because they cast me out, there is no way for you to be accepted, either.« 

Her own status wasn’t a concern for Maia right now. All she wanted was for him to be okay. »Don’t worry about me. I’m right where I belong.« She kissed the side of his helmet, even if he couldn’t feel it nor see it. There wouldn’t be much for him to register besides the noise. »We should think about where to go from here. Maybe Tatooine is an option. Peli seems to always know someone who can help, maybe we can go from there.« And maybe they just needed some time off. Din needed time to grieve Grogu, too. He nodded after his helmet had risen from her shoulder. »Tatooine, then.«

She hugged him a little tighter one last time before she let go and put the pendant back into his belt pocket. She didn’t want to lose the precious gift, besides needing something to wear it, anyway. »I will get it when I have a chain for it. Do you want me to fly there?« »Please.« Maia nodded and they let go of one another. The blush on her cheeks had mostly left and her eyes had returned to their normal, beautiful state. She wondered if Din teared up underneath the helmet at all. He didn’t have to hide it from her. And as soon as they had left the small alley behind them, they left for Tatooine. 

[the-mandawhor1an]

Something for the Maia/Din babies that are waiting for an update

Momma's got you, I'm beta-ing it right now.

*cough cough* @roughdaysandart

[the-mandawhor1an]

The future

Chapter 10 – Guided by the stars, connected by the force

Masterlist

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Chapter summary: Din and his allies infiltrate Gideon’s cruiser to rescue Grogu. When all seems lost and their lives in danger, two ships approach. Is this the reunion Din is hoping for, or just the Jedi Grogu had called out for?  

Warnings: Canon-typical violence; Gideon is a dick as usual; angst angst angst; the helmet comes off; Jedi ex machina;  FUCKING KISS ALREADY!!!!; Bo-Katan hits us with the lore; jealousy; fluff; the return of the bathtub; only one bed; 

Words: 12.2k (I’m sorry I can’t stop yapping)

A/N: Alternating POVs in this chapter, peeps! I’ve ultimately decided against doing one block of just Din and then jumping back in time to show where Maia has been, having POVs change like cameras would in the series makes more sense (also could be my roleplaying background playing a huge part in this). The bathtub scene never happened in the roleplay, if anyone is interested I can yap about this more on in an ask. I hate dialogues, y’all. 

With the help of Dr. Pershing’s shuttle, making it onto the cruiser wasn’t too hard. While his allies made it up to the bridge to cause a distraction, Din took a different route towards the brig to save his foundling. There was little intervention by Stormtroopers. The Darktroopers, however, made Djarin worry. As Pershing had just let them know, the newest iteration were no longer humans. It was droids. As if it wasn’t stressful enough to infiltrate an Imperial cruiser with only 5 people, Din would have to face droids. 

On his way towards the holding cell, Din just happened to stumble upon the bay where the Darktroopers were stored. To his luck, it seemed he had just made it around the corner when they had finished charging and made their way towards the hallway. »Osik,« he cursed and practically threw himself against the door controls, shutting the doors before all of them could make it into the hallway. The closest droid to the front had just enough time to react to hold the door ajar and slipped out, leaving all of the other machines locked behind the heavy doors. In an instant, the Mandalorian was on edge. They would break the doors and if he didn’t manage do decommission the one currently opposite of him, he’d be broken too. 

Upon first contact, Din was thrown across the hallway, sliding along the reflective floor like he had weighed nothing. Thank the stars for the padding under his armor which softened the blow at least a little. Pulling the blaster out, he took a few shots at the droid, desperate to find a weak spot, but being unsuccessful. Every shot just ricocheted until his enemy was just opposite of him. It grabbed Din’s arm and twisted it, forcing him to let go of his blaster. The droid’s other hand grabbed the human by the throat and lifted him up, pressed him into the wall behind him. It rammed its fist into the Beskar helmet again and again, right in the center of the visor, slowly denting the metal wall further and further with the force of the impact. The bang of metal on metal was unbearably loud in Din’s ears, the vibrations causing a headache. Perhaps he would come out of this with yet another concussion. 

Despite the noise and lack of oxygen he had to escape the Trooper’s death grip, one way or another. Behind his opponent he saw the other droids working to break the doors in, the small transpari windows already cracking. He had to be quick. He aimed his flame thrower into the droid’s midsection, hoping to melt some key component to destroy it, but to no avail. What came to his rescue, however, was said droid flinging him through the air once more, which allowed Djarin to catch his breath and attempt to open the air lock. Before he could pull the lever, however, he was pulled away again. The Trooper decided it would now use its blaster against Din, who had no choice but to activate the whistling birds. It felt like a waste of this weapon, and it probably was, but he needed the time to whip the spear out from behind him. 

He rammed the Beskar weapon into the droid, just beneath the head, and let out a relieved breath when he saw the glowing read eyes flicker and turn off. Just before the doors’ integrity was too compromised, Din opened the air lock and saw all of the other droids get sucked into space. He took a few steadying breaths before he continued onward. After this confrontation, there was no more playing nice for him. 

This came rather unfortunate for the two Stormtroopers that stood between him and his child. Their deaths were considerably quick, but brutal nonetheless. All Din wanted was to grab Grogu and get out of here. The rescue looked to be over when he reached the controls to open Grogu’s cell door, but when they opened, he found none other than Gideon with Grogu. He was holding a strange blade in his hands, black but at the same time glowing. The closest weapon he could have compared to it was a lightsaber, but then again, it didn’t look like the one he had seen Maia use. Maia… if only she had been here with him now. But then again, would she not be in danger, so close to Imperials? 

»Drop your blaster, slowly,« Gideon ordered, and Din didn’t hesitate to do as he was told. »Kick it over to me.« The blaster hit the wall somewhere behind Gideon. Djarin wanted to make his reasons clear, so he said »give me the kid.« The Moff didn’t budge, waving the blade above the child’s head. »He is fine where he is.« He waved the blade a little more, the low hum the blade made sounded somewhat like a lightsaber. »Mesmerizing, isn’t it? It used to belong to Bo-Katan.« Go figure. So this was the blade she had mentioned back on Trask. The darksaber. 

»I know you’ve been traveling with her. A friendly piece of advice, assume that I know everything. Like the fact that your little wrist launcher fired its only salvo. Or that – to my disappointment – Maia is no longer traveling with you.« Din’s heart sank. It wasn’t so much that Gideon mentioned Maia, it was more that he was disappointed. That only confirmed for Djarin that the Imperial had some kind of plan for her. Maybe the experiments they had witnessed on Nevarro. »Where is this going?« he rather asked the Imperial. 

»I’m guessing that Bo-Katan and her party have arrived at the bridge and are looking for me, or more specifically, this saber. And, in their frustration to not find me, have killed everyone on the bridge, like the murderous savages you are,« he responded. He was probably right. Din didn’t react to it much, he focused on the child. Grogu was surprisingly calm, given the situation, but the child was most likely exhausted. Who could blame him. »And now they’re beginning to panic. All Bo-Katan is here for… is this.« Gideon held up the saber. »Do you know why?« He didn’t even wait for an answer. »Because it brings power. Whoever wields this sword has the right to lay claim to the Mandalorian throne.« Din didn’t care much for power or a throne, but it made sense why Kryze was so adamant about getting it back. »Keep the blade, I just want the kid.« 

And for the first time, Gideon was surprised. Perhaps he had thought he could get Djarin with the outlook of power and a title. He had miscalculated. The pause was long and a little awkward, but ultimately, he deactivated the blade. »Very well. I already have what I want from him. His blood. And because the other donor I had in mind has decided to … not stay with you after her little interjection on Nevarro, there’s no more blood we can study.« Din really tried his hardest to not let any kind of emotion slip. Gideon didn’t need to know that he would absolutely kill him if he ever laid hand on Maia. »This child is extremely gifted and has been blessed with rare properties that have the potential to bring back order into the galaxy.« Sure, like they had tried with the mothers and ultimately failed. Gideon looked over to Grogu, then back to Djarin. »I see your bond with him. Take him, but you will leave my ship immediately and we go our separate ways.« 

Din went to grab Grogu, but of course Gideon had to ambush him. A fight broke out, ending with Gideon on the ground and Djarin deciding he would spare the Imperial’s life. The Moff would get a trial, probably an execution at the hands of the New Republic. 

Gideon’s plan suddenly revealed itself when they had made it up to the bridge. Din had the saber in one hand, Grogu on the other arm, when he guided his captive towards the others. Suddenly it made sense why Gideon was so surprised by him declining the to take the blade. He wanted Kryze to turn against Djarin, who was now the rightful owner of the darksaber anyway. Of course, Din tried to surrender the blade to Kryze straight away, but she snapped at him. She would have to win it in a fight, otherwise her claim to the throne was illegitimate. 

They could and probably would have bickered further, hadn’t it been for the radar to alert them about approaching vehicles. Said vehicles turned out to be the Darktroopers Din had already forgotten about at this point. Of course they would return in the most unfortunate moment: When it looked like they had won. 

Din had struggled immensely fighting one, now they would have to deal with multiple. Neither blasters nor his other weapons had done much harm, only the spear had really helped. And they only had one, maybe two weapons to damage the droids; if the saber could actually cut through anything as Kryze had said. He had to think about something quickly. About 10 were marching towards the bridge, while others spread across the way to the hangar just in case the group made it out the bridge alive. He looked over to Grogu. All of this could’ve been prevented had Maia stayed. But then again, they had mutually agreed to split, as to not risk his creed, which he had broken either way at this point, and for her to gain control over her emotions. As much as he hated himself for the thought, he wished she was here with them, a last line of protection for Grogu. Could she maybe hold out for a little longer than the others would? She hadn’t been scared of the dragon either. Would a lightsaber help with the droids? Probably. 

And with every bang of the droids’ fists against the heavy metal blast doors, with every creak the steel made under the impact, slowly bending until it would ultimately burst, Din’s heart sank a little deeper, until the realization had settled in properly. 

Maia had abandoned him despite her promise to be there for him and Grogu. They would die at the hands of droids. And his foundling might survive, but would have to witness his protector be killed, just like Din had witnessed his parents die. 

If only Din had the same intuition a Jedi had. He would have known that Maia would keep her promise.

»I can sense the tension in your body. You’re nervous,« Luke said over the radio, causing Maia to roll her eyes. »Thanks for mentioning it. Putting attention to it isn’t helping. I can feel Grogu and it’s agitating me. He’s scared.« Ever since Grogu had channeled himself in an old Jedi monument, Luke had been able to sense him and now they were so close, she could too feel what was going on in the child. 

»I can feel it too. It won’t be long until we’re there,« Skywalker tried to soothe her. It wasn’t helping too much. Grogu was one of her concerns, the other she didn’t want to talk about. Din would be there and she wasn’t sure what to expect when they met again. It had been some time since they had separated. While it felt like it had been forever, it was a couple of weeks at most. If even that. The moon she had been on with Luke had shorter days, she imagined, and she had never bothered to count how many sunsets she had witnessed there. How long had it been for Din? Did it feel like less when he was in space most of the time and he had no natural day-night cycle? 

Back on the bridge, the radar alarmed them of approaching vehicles once again. Two spots came closer and Bo-Katan looked at the screen. »Two life forms, an X-Wing and an ARC-170.« Cara Dune sighed »oh great, we’re saved.« »Incoming crafts, identify yourselves,« Bo ordered via the radio, only to be ignored. Din looked to Bo-Katan, then towards the ships they could see fly past the bridge. Could this be their salvation? The helmet turned to Grogu, who was a little more alert now, looking over to his protector and his ears twitching. 

As the ships landed in the hangar, the banging on the doors stopped. It was as if the whole bridge was holding a collective breath before Fennec finally broke the silence. »Why did they stop?« Did it matter? Din looked over to one of the security monitors. All of the Darktroopers had in fact stopped in their movements, not only the ones right behind the blast doors. They all turned at the same time, now all of them facing the hangar. The group closest to the strangers started walking, a different camera showing the cloaked figures exiting their ships and walking towards the main exit. 

The sight of lightsaber blades was familiar to Bo, so it was no wonder she immediately said in disbelief »those are Jedi?« Din’s helmet snapped around towards Kryze, not sure he had actually heard right. Jedi? Was it Maia after all, coming to save him and Grogu in the last second? 

Maia walked next to Luke, one saber in each hand. »We’ll find out if the training was worth it now, huh?« Luke chuckled. »These are droids, I’m a little insulted if you struggle with them after training with me.« She shook her head in amusement despite him being right. A droid shouldn’t be too much trouble, unless one decided to blow up in her face again. »I will look for a terminal,« she announced when they entered the first hallway. »I need to check my file.« 

»Are you sure you need to find out about your past? There will be no gain from it, all it will do is cause pain.« Luke wanted to shoot her a look, but the blaster fire called for their attention. The droids weren’t too much of a problem for them, equipped with sabers that easily cut through these machines and the ability to throw them if they came too close. »Nothing,« Maia responded, throwing the scrap she had turned one of the troopers into through the hallway. »Nothing in my file could be more painful than what the Empire had made me go through.« »I can’t tell you what to do and I won’t try,« Luke reminded her, swinging his saber with an ease that was astounding. »You should focus on the future, your past can’t be changed.« But if she couldn’t change the past either way, why would it change anything about the present to know? »I’ll think about it.«

Din walked over to Bo-Katan, who still had the two Jedi on the monitor. They made fighting these machines so easy, cutting through them like it was nothing. He could neither make out the blade colors, nor any features on the strangers. They were almost the same height, not necessarily tall compared to the Troopers they were fighting. Deep down he wished for one of their hoods to just fall back so he could see if one of them was in fact Maia. He so desperately wanted her to be here. None of the fighting styles looked like what he had seen Maia use. The stranger with one blade used stronger swings. 

One of the two steered away from the path towards the bridge. Why would they separate? Then again, it looked like the Troopers had no chance against them, maybe one was here for a different reason than Grogu. Gideon must’ve realized the droids’ inferiority to the Jedi at the same time. Taking out the blaster he had hidden away underneath his cloak, he took a few shots at Bo-Katan. Of course, her armor deflected the shots and she remained unharmed. As if Din could sense what he would do next, he leapt towards Grogu simultaneously as Gideon aimed at the child. The child was fine. 

Seeing both of his plans fail, Gideon turned the blaster upright underneath his chin, only for Cara to hit not only the blaster out of his hands, she landed another blow to his face to make sure he behaved. He wouldn’t get the easy way out. She sat him down on the steps again. Din’s ribs were pulsating with pain from just throwing himself on the ground, but it was fine as Grogu was okay. The small child had climbed up one of the tables and had his hand on the monitor, showing one of the Jedi coming towards the bridge. Just as the stranger had entered the elevator, they saw the droids in front of the blast doors grab their blasters. 

Maia wanted nothing more than to just run up to the bridge and jump into Din’s strong arms. She wanted to cover the helmet in kisses, but then again, she was nervous. Scared to face him again after he had – quite cruelly – sent her away last time. Perhaps looking for her file was a distraction, a detour she took to have some time to think about this. Luke was likely right about her past, but then again, the three days with Din had impacted her in a way. If there was a family still out there looking for her, she needed to know. She would have to find them. Looking for a terminal wasn’t too hard, and she went to work. 

Up at the bridge, it didn’t take long for all of the Troopers to be turned into expensive scrap. It was a little impressive and intimidating at the same time, seeing someone deal with almost a dozen of these at the same time while Din had struggled with just one. Especially when Din saw them squeeze the last droid into a brick with the force, he was certain that person was a Jedi, a strong one at that. 

Grogu extended his hands towards the door and looked over to Din. The helmet dipped to face the child, and he picked the little one up. There were no words needed, the child’s reaction to the stranger told the Mandalorian enough. »Open the doors,« he ordered, but no one moved. »I said open the doors.« Fennec was the first to regain her voice. »Are you crazy?« With a sigh he sat the child down again, opening the doors himself. 

The mist of escaping hydraulic fluids and dust engulfed the stranger, their light saber coloring the clouds around them bright green. They were not particularly tall, but their presence was imposing, just like Tano’s had been. The blade of the light saber retracted into the hilt and they clipped the metal to their belt. They pulled down their hood to reveal a fairly young looking man with dirty blonde hair and friendly blue eyes. Contrary to what they had just seen him do, he looked harmless. »Are you a Jedi?« Din asked, to which the stranger nodded. »I am.« 

The stranger extended his arm, offering a hand to Grogu, who just shyly looked in between the Jedi and his protector. The child cooed and looked to Din, let his ears drop a bit. »He doesn’t want to go with you,« Din translated. Maybe he didn’t want Grogu to go, either. Letting the child go would mean he’d be all alone again. He’s gotten so used to being around someone, would it be worse now, with both of his Jedi companions gone? 

»He wants your permission,« the man opposite of him explained. »He is strong with the force, but talent without training is nothing. It is dangerous.« »I understand,« he replied. It was the same with Maia, all over again. 

Maia lifted her head from the terminal as if she had heard her name despite being alone in the room. She listened for any sound, her eyes darting around the room. Nothing. It was no use to stay here anyway, the whole database had been wiped and she was not equipped to restore deleted files. Closing her eyes, she felt for Grogu and Din up there. The pain that radiated off of the Mandalorian was intense. 

The green eyes shot back at the screen. Why did it matter? Her past was nothing more than a few 1s and 0s at this point, the family she had 25 years ago most likely dead anyway. Her future might be up there on the bridge, broken-hearted and alone. »Let go,« she reminded herself and she left the room, walking towards the elevator that would lead her to Luke, to Grogu, and hopefully, back to Din. 

»I will give my life to protect the child, but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities,« their savior continued up there, and the Mandalorian had to remind himself once again, that this was necessary. Grogu needed to learn how to handle his abilities, how to deal with his emotions, even if that meant that his protector would feel abandoned. Din picked up the child to speak to him, say farewell. Grogu fussed and kept reaching for the air towards the hallway behind the other man. Not understanding what the child wanted to tell him, Din turned him around so the big, brown eyes looked at him. »I’ll see you again, I promise,« he told the little one, gathering all of his strength to not break down. He had to be strong now. 

Grogu just stared at him, reached his tiny hand forward and touched the helmet. Din would lose him too. First Maia, then his ship and his home, now his son. They would all leave him. He understood what the child was hinting at. He removed the helmet, slowly and carefully as he just had one hand to maneuver the metal off of his head, but it felt right. It didn’t matter now after all, he had already broken his creed back on Morak. 

What harm would it do for the child to see him before they said farewell?

Grogu stared at his protector and extended his hand once more, touching Din’s cheek and then resting his tiny hand on his jaw. Din closed his eyes, trying to memorize the feeling. Whether the child had intended it or not, it was the same spot that Maia had touched when she and Din kissed, and for a moment, it was like she was here with them. 

»Alright pal,« Din finally said, having to tear himself out of this moment before he told the Jedi to get lost and rather take Ahsoka’s advice. »Don’t be afraid,« he said softer, his voice cracking because he heard a little sniffle from Grogu. He sat the helmet and his foundling down, watching as he waddled over to the Jedi and the astromech next to him. The droid seemed awfully delighted to see the small, green child, chirping and wobbling on the spot. It just so happened that at the same time the elevator in the background dinged, but Din was too distracted, exchanging a look with the human, who then leaned over to pick Grogu up. 

And just when he thought he would be alone, he saw a familiar face in the hallway. 

Maia was so focused on Luke picking up Grogu that she didn’t even register the other people on the bridge at first. There was a man opposite of her master with short, dark brown hair and a pained expression on his face. She didn’t recognize him, maybe he was just a companion. The silver armor he was wearing didn’t even register in her mind, all she was focused on was his face and the tell-tale sting she suddenly felt when the brown eyes darted over to her. It was as if electricity shot through her when the dots connected. She froze, her eyes immediately glossing over with tears. »Din?« she asked, fully aware it had to be him, the armor and the sensation in the back of her neck giving her the confirmation she needed. »You took your helmet off,« was all she could say. 

»I did. For him, and for you.« As soon as she saw him take a step towards her, she ran over to him and practically crashed into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. Finding it a little hard with the jetpack and the spear on his back, she rested one hand just below the jetpack, the other on the back of his head. If she had more time she woul have removed her gloves to feel his hair, but this happened so suddenly. 

Din buried his face in the crook of her neck, looking for evidence she was really here and this wasn’t some cruel illusion. Her much shorter hair brushed over his face and he could make out the familiar scent on her, providing enough confirmation that she was back to soothe his broken heart. »You’re here,« he whispered against her skin and pulled her closer, almost lifting her off of the ground. This was a lot to handle at once. 

Sadness, grief, but also the faint shimmer of hope that had kept him going, and love. Din wouldn’t be alone after having grown so used to being around others. It also gave him hope that he would see Grogu again some day, that he would come back to him, just as Maia did. She had her face halfway in his hair as well, her eyes pressed shut otherwise she would start crying. »I told you I’d be there if you needed me,« she reminded him, a single chuckle escaping. 

Their heads separated from each other and moved back just enough so they could look into each others eyes properly. His were red and irritated, glassy and so were hers, welling with tears but none yet rolling down her face. Safe to say they both were happy to see the other, and they didn’t care if anyone saw. Din knew his allies would know to let them have their moment, and Luke was too fascinated by the two interacting, knowing that Maia and the Mandalorian shared a bond only few could relate to. 

It was Skywalker who called for Din’s attention, feeling his job done here. »I’ll keep my promise,« he assured Din, watching as Maia unraveled her arms from the other man to stand to his left. »Grogu will be safe with me.« He nodded towards Din, then turned his attention to the brunette. »Remember what you’ve learned,« he reminded her one last time. Her head tilted to the side, leaning against Din’s pauldron and her eyes sparkled when she replied »I won’t forget it. May the force be with you, and with you, Grogu.« She extended her hand, offering Grogu a finger to hold onto for a moment to say goodbye. She knew the child would be safe with her master. He had cared for her so well, she had no doubts Grogu would do well with him, given the child was willing to learn. 

Grogu practically hung over Luke's shoulder when they walked over to the elevator, waving at his protector and friend. Perhaps he wasn’t waving and rather reaching for them, but both adults knew this was the best way for the child to get adequate care. 

This moment could have been so bittersweet, so wholesome and tragic at the same time; if it hadn’t been for Gideon to ruin it by opening his mouth. »Oh, isn’t it lovely,« he swooned, but his voice dripping with disgust. »One foundling leaves… and another returns.« Maia rolled her eyes and turned to find the Moff on the ground, where he belonged. His bloodied nose told her that this wasn’t his first uncalled for comment. Din took hold of her hand, causing her to wonder if he wanted to stop her of if he just wanted to be close. Their hug could’ve been longer, she agreed. 

»You deleted my file,« she accused the Imperial, confused why he would refer to her as a foundling. Din and her were obviously closer, and she was a little too old to be adopted, right? »I did, with great pleasure, actually,« Gideon replied, returning her intense gaze. »I was a little disappointed you didn’t arrive with your Mandalorian friend here, but as it would turn out, you are as predictable as I had thought and would show up either way. I just wanted to have the opportunity to tell you that you won’t ever find your parents.« 

Suddenly, Din holding her hand was very welcome, because she could squeeze his hand and he could return the gesture, reminding her what was actually important right now. »Then speak,« she ordered, causing the Man opposite of her to grin. »You’ll never find them.« She raised an eyebrow, did he even have information? »Tell me something new.« »Your parents must be dead, either of natural causes or killed, by the Mandalorian we neutralized to get to you.« His words didn’t even register properly before she felt her heart stop. What? 

»Oh, I’m sure it’s tragic to hear,« he continued, reading the confusion in her face with ease. »He died fighting if that is any soothing to you. Who knows how long you had been with him before we found you.« There was only one conclusion for her, Gideon was trying to agitate her, antagonize her until she lost control again. He was lying. Mentioning a tragic death of her parents at the hands of a Mandalorian while three of them were in the room with her made sense. As much as she hated to give it to him, Gideon was a smart man, but she had changed. 

»Maia,« Din softly spoke to her and squeezed her hand, he felt her fingers tremble. She turned to him, her eyes were a little less friendly this time. It was obvious it was affecting her and even if Djarin wasn’t too concerned about her losing control this time, he wanted to ground her. Did Din know? She thought about it for just a second. »He’s not lying, is he?« she asked and he felt his own chest tense. 

Did he want to just tell her? Did she even want to know? »I saw your file. I found it on a terminal in an Imperial base. It got destroyed with my ship, I wish I still had it.« It sounded like a confirmation, even if Din was reluctant to actually say it. It made sense, in a way. Despite having a rather traumatic experience with Fett she felt safe in Din’s presence, but it could’ve been because of their bond. The sound of Mando’a was familiar to her, even if she had little inclination what the words meant. It would explain why she felt all warm and fuzzy when he called her mesh’la. 

“Oh how noble, a Mandalorian willing to risk his life, wasting time in an Imperial base just to find a little intel on his friend. Removing his helmet for a child he will never see again. Does it feel good? Do you feel special?« Gideon practically spit and Maia wondered why he was still allowed to breathe. »Tell me, 414, do you actually believe you’ll have a future with him?« That stung. She thought she did, she knew it. It was easy to guess the soft spot she had for the Mandalorian, given everyone present had seen how they ran into each other’s arms. Worst of all was referring to her by her ID, something Gideon did on purpose. 

»Jedi, Sith, what does it matter. You could have been so powerful thanks to us. What would that Mandalorian have done with your talent? There were no Jedi left after Order 66 that could have taught you. See what we had made you do, turn a whole research complex to nothing more than dust with one wrathful outburst.« Would he ever shut up? »Has he seen what you can do? Does he know how many died because of you when you were still a teenager? How their pleas fell on deaf ears in your blinding rage and no one survived?« Gideon’s lips formed a devilish grin. He wanted the others to be wary of her, scared and avoid her. Part of Maia struggled to keep her composure, the sound of bending and creaking metal roared through the ship, widening Gideon’s grin even more. »I take that as a no, but why would you care, huh? What are a few humans to you?«  

»Don’t listen to him, he wants to provoke you,« Din suspected, still holding onto her hand. Was he scared of her? Gideon scoffed »of course I want to provoke her.« Finally, one of the women offered to silence Gideon, her threat did not deter him from speaking, though. »Do you realize how pathetic you all are? A failed science experiment, a Mandalorian that breaks his codex for a child and a girl,« he looked over to the other women. »Heiress to the throne of a destroyed world, and the only item to strengthen her claim is in the hands of a friend; and her sidekick. An assassin working for the traitor Fett, and don’t even get me started on you, Dune.« It was a lot to take in at once, but the name Fett rang a bell. Boba Fett? 

With a sigh Maia finally let go of Din’s hand, walking over to kneel beside Gideon. »Maybe we are a pathetic bunch and you might think you’re superior to us,« she addressed him, placing a hand on his chest armor and pushing down, leaning in to push him into the steps beneath him. Part of her wanted to just off him, but he didn’t deserve to be let go so easily. »At the end of the day, you are the one in cuffs right now. I won’t be your instrument, nor am I the monster you want the others to see in me.« Finally, Dune took Gideon and left with him. The Imperial would be on trial with the New Republic and would get what he deserved. A nice long prison sentence, hopefully. 

The tension left Maia as soon as the elevator doors had closed and she could finally face Din again, who still had his helmet off. As much as she didn’t want to be stuck staring at him, she couldn’t help it, there was so much to take in. »What did my file say?« she asked him. »Do you want to know now?« They could talk about it when they were on their own, but Maia couldn’t wait. And as she would soon find out, she did good to want to hear it now. »They stumbled upon you during a patrol. You were about 4 years old and clearly showed signs of force sensitivity. You were with a Mandalorian at the time, they neutralized him.« »Neutralized. What a nice way to phrase killing yet another father of mine.« »I’m sorry,« Din touched her arm, trying to soothe her, but more gestures from him and she would start crying. »It’s okay. I have closure. We should leave.« She didn’t have to ask him twice, it had been quite a lot for one day for the both of them. Din grabbed his helmet, but before they could walk through the blast doors, the red-haired Mandalorian addressed her. »Maia, is it?« »Yes?« »I might know something about your family,« she explained. »You mean the Mandalorian that found me?« She shook her head. »Does the name Rayssa ring a bell?« Rayssa? The brunette furrowed her brows, it felt familiar, but it was a name. She could’ve heard it anywhere. »It might.« »I figured, you look just like her.« »I don’t understand,« Maia mumbled, and yet she somehow did, judging by how her throat became tight. »I’ve met a Mandalorian once who had lost both husband and daughter. Right around the time the Empire must’ve taken you in.« Now Din also turned around to speak to the other woman. »Are you sure?« he asked. They exchanged a look and she nodded. »I am, the similarity struck me as soon as Maia appeared here. I wouldn’t have mentioned it if it hadn’t been for Gideon.« 

»Wait, I’m Mandalorian?« Maia found it hard to believe, as much sense as it made. »You are and both of your parents were. Your name is Arana Vizsla, you were born on Mandalore to one of the oldest houses our kind has. One of your ancestors, Tarre Vizsla, was both a Jedi and a Mandalorian too. He forged the darksaber.« Eyes shot over to Din with the last sentence and he looked down to the saber hilt. »Then she should have it,« he responded after a moment, motioning to grab the hilt, but Kryze stopped him. »Di’kut! She would have to win it in combat, I’ve told you. Until someone defeats you, the saber is yours.« Maia didn’t understand anything, neither who Tarre Vizsla was, nor why Din suddenly had a weapon that looked and sounded like it was a lightsaber. And was that a Beskar spear on his back? And she was certain that there was another Mando’a word in there, and she would have to ask him what it meant. 

It was a little too much at once and she looked over to him, brows downturned and eyes big. »Can we please leave?« How was he still holding up so well, had they not been through a lot too? All she wanted was some time to process all of what just transpired as well as finally having him all to herself. There was a lot for them to talk about after the realization had finally settled in that they were reunited. »Let’s go,« he nodded towards the elevator. With a nod towards Kryze and Shand, he had said goodbye and walked alongside Maia towards the elevator. This must’ve been a lot for her to deal with, but he was happy she was back with him. It looked like she would stay this time. 

As soon as the elevator doors had closed and the lift set in motion, Maia pressed the e-brake and turned around to fall against Din’s chest again. He pulled one arm around her and pulled her in, buried his face in her hair once more. »I missed you,« he quietly confessed. He wasn’t sure how uncomfortable it was to hug him with the armor on, but she didn’t complain about any pain. She buried her face in his cape and sniffled, making him pull her even closer. »I’m sorry,« she mumbled into the fabric, barely audible if he hadn’t been so close to her. »It’s okay,« he reassured her. »You’re here now, that’s what matters. It’s a lot for you to take in right now, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about your dad at a better time, when we were on our own.« He felt her head move in a soft shake no. She leaned back to uncover her face to look at him. Her eyes were a little red now, making the green of her irises seem even brighter. Yes, this definitely was his favorite color. 

Maia freed one of her hands from its glove and cupped his cheek, stroking him with her thumb. The stubble of his beard felt rougher than on Tatooine, had he shaved just recently? »I’m exhausted but I’m fine. Aren’t you tired?« There he was and she took him in. He was handsome, more so than she had thought. Not that it mattered much as her feelings had been there before she knew his face. »It’s a little weird to suddenly see a face with the voice. I’m sorry if my staring is a little uncomfortable,« she explained. »Does it feel weird now that there’s no metal between us?«

His eyes were dark, much darker than she could have imagined even if he had told her. They were beautiful, mesmerizing. Like an endless ocean, dark and mysterious. »It is,« he confirmed with a soft nod. »No one has seen my face since I took my creed and suddenly there’s so many. Today, and also back on Morak where I had to remove my helmet in front of a whole room of Imperials. But it was worth it. Grogu is safe.« She felt for him and rose to her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. He closed his eyes, his head twitching sideways ever so slightly. »If it felt right to take the helmet off, it probably was. Grogu might not understand what you’re sacrificing, and I might not understand fully myself, but it means a lot to me. One could even say you’re quite pretty underneath that bucket,« Maia told him with a soft smile on her lips. He smiled too, but there was still a bit of pain in his eyes. 

»You think I’m ‘pretty’?« »In a masculine way. Your smile is infectious.« They just stayed like this for a few seconds, looking at each other, faces so dangerously close. Maia really wanted to kiss him again, but she felt this wasn’t the right moment. Din was just as overwhelmed as she was, processing Grogu was now gone and possibly grieving. She would stay. They would find another time to kiss if he wanted to. She grazed the skin on his cheek one last time before she took her hand back, letting go of him entirely. »I assume the ARC is yours and you have a spot for me? We could also take one of the lambdas,« Din inquired. It was justified, she thought, Luke’s X-Wing couldn’t accommodate another adult. »It’s not the Razor Crest but I can take a copilot in. Do you have an idea where to go?« She loosened the brake on the elevator and they descended. 

»I lost everything when my ship was destroyed.« Din didn’t have to tell her again, she remembered when he reached out for her. His voice had sounded so broken. »We should get some money, I don’t carry that much with me. Maybe I have to take on some bounties for the time being.« »We might find you another ship, but you’re right, we’ll need money.« Bounty hunting? Would he be able to take her with him, or would she have to stay behind because it was safer? »You can be the pilot for now,« she let him know, stepping out when the elevator reached the level that would take them back to the hangar. »I don’t want to just take over your ship,« he said, but it really was no big deal. »Don’t worry. You know where to go, it just makes sense that you fly there. You’re probably the better pilot anyway. I’m … just okay.«  She walked beside him, taking the opportunity to take his profile in. Din seemed to be in thought, but he felt her eyes on him. »There is a space port I want to travel to next. Some of the Mandalorians, the covert that once was on Nevarro, might be there. The port is called Glavis, it’s a gigantic ring structure.« Maia nodded. Sounded like a good lead, and now that he had mentioned his covert, she had an idea. »Might they know my family?« 

It was possible, she wasn’t the first Vizsla Djarin had met. There was one in the covert, Paz. Perhaps he was related to her. »If anyone knows, it would be the armorer. House Vizsla is big, though.« He didn’t want to put her hopes up. If Kryze knew her mother, he had the suspicion that Rayssa had not been a child of the Watch. »You take the news relatively well,« he added. Maia shrugged »It is weird to suddenly just … be one of them. It explains why it feels so familiar to me, though, and maybe why I was so opposed to the Jedi codex from the beginning. Maybe I remembered my family deep down. It’s hard to accept, don’t get me wrong, I think I just have to let the news settle.« »It will take some time.« »Will you take me on your hunting trips? If it’s safe?« Din hesitated. »It’s hard to say when it’s safe. It can change within a second, sometimes I have to be spontaneous.«

They walked past the Darktroopers, which were nothing more than piles of scrap now. Din had struggled so much with one, he was so lucky Maia and her master had arrived just in the right moment to save them all.  »You mean like you had to be with the dragon?« A sly grin crept up to her lips and he jokingly rolled his eyes. »I doubt there will be dragons.« They finally reached the hangar and it was time for him to put the helmet back on. There he was again, just how she had known him. Still, it was a little sad she could no longer look at his pretty face. »Last chance: Is it okay I’m flying?« His modulated voice was so much rougher than his unfiltered voice was. The tone didn’t change much, but it lost a lot of its warmth. »Unless you steal the ship and abandon me it should be fine.« He chuckled and shook his head. »I won’t, don’t worry.« 

They boarded the ship, Maia struggling to climb up the ship until she ultimately just jumped up there. As soon as the cockpits were closed, she opened up the radio channel so she could talk to the pilot. »How long will it take us to get to Glavis?« Din flipped a bunch of switches, starting up the engine. »A few hours. You can rest if you want to.« »I don’t think I can,« she sighed. »I could really use a shower and something to eat, maybe I can find some rest afterwards.« She really wanted a warm shower. Hot water on her skin and a perfect little occasion to just let all of the tears out she was holding back right now. While Din agreed they needed to rest, they would have to see how far his credits could take them. »One after the other. We’ll get some food and then find somewhere to stay. Deal?« »Deal.« 

It had gotten quiet back there, and Din asked after a few minutes of silence »Maia?« »Mh?« she sounded exhausted. If only he could’ve hugged her again. »Do you want me to let you sleep?« »I don’t think I can. My thoughts keep racing.« »Do you want to talk?« »About my thoughts?« 

He smiled underneath the helmet and leaned back. »About anything you want. I’ve missed your voice.« 

»I can tell you what I’ve been up to ever since we split.« »For example. I take it that the voice you had been talking about ended up being that Jedi?« He almost referred to him as ‘that guy’. He hadn’t put any thought into it earlier, but he was a little anxious knowing Maia had stayed with him for all this time. He must’ve been around her age too, and a Jedi, just like her. 

»Luke felt a disturbance in the force because of me and offered to help. I guess you could say I found the Jedi before you did.« Din chuckled. »You could put it that way.« So, Luke was his name. Not Master, not his last name. Luke. »He took me in and trained me. It was all we did while you and Grogu were out in the galaxy, probably experiencing one adventure after the other.« Oh how right she was, but most of these adventures had been anything but exciting. »Grogu and I have been through a lot,« he confirmed, his voice a little heavy with grief. The little troublemaker was gone. With Luke, who had spent a lot of time with Maia before taking his foundling in. 

Maia bit her lip, sensing she had struck a nerve when mentioning the child. It was a fresh wound, she didn’t want to keep reminding Din. But there were some things she wondered. »How did you even find the seeing stone? We could feel Grogu so clearly and from what I’ve been told, these old monuments aren’t on any map« »I found a Jedi. Ahsoka Tano.« Did the name ring a bell with Maia? »I helped her free a village and in return she told me about the stone.« 

So he had met a Jedi. Of course Maia had no idea who this woman was, but it didn’t matter now. But if she was a Jedi, »why wouldn’t she take him in herself?« Din sighed. Maybe Maia should change the topic. On the other hand, maybe it helped him to talk to her about this. She knew what Grogu would deal with now. If there was anyone that could help Din soothe his guilt, it was her. 

»She refused,« he explained. »It sounded personal. She said his attachment to me was too dangerous. Her recommendation was to just let his abilities fade and train him like I would a foundling. But I felt like that wasn’t right.« There was a bit of silence from the other end. »I didn’t even know we could lose our abilities,« Maia mumbled. »I doubt you could. You are a Jedi now, right?« 

Maia thought about it. Technically she was. »I haven’t thought about it to be honest. I passed the trials, so … that should make me a Jedi? I – If you think Grogu could have stayed with us, he couldn’t. Just as I had to leave, he will need some distance.« She thought Din had ulterior motives. He did, but his thoughts weren’t even with what she had told him just now. He had wondered what this would mean with her attachment. If she was even allowed to have feelings for him. The way she hugged him, even the way she looked at him, made him think there was something. Something he reciprocated.   

He hadn’t expected this kind of reply, but after an awkward pause he said. »I understand.« Maybe he would have to ask more directly next time. But how could he without stumbling over his words? He pressed his lips together, hoping she would just tell him in due time. »So,« he started. »What are the trials?« 

»Six tests to prove you’re ready to become a Jedi. That you have all the qualities needed to become a warden of peace. It’s trials of skill as well as testing the mind and resilience of an apprentice. For example one trial is enduring great physical pain.« She couldn’t even finish her thought before Din interrupted. »He hurt you?« Her heart sank, that’s not what she had wanted Din to think. »No, he didn’t. My injury on Nevarro was my trial. I – sorry. Bad example. It’s just one of the easier trials to explain.« 

Din took a breath, now realizing himself that his demeanour was a little too much. His jealousy got the better of him in this moment and he just wanted a good reason to justify not liking Luke. »So you trained with him all day?« That was a lot of time to spend with a man. She had only taken three days with him to get him to kiss her. »I did. It was a little strange, I have to admit, but we’ve gotten used to being around one another all the time. It’s better than being abandoned.« That stung. Whether she intended or not, it felt a little like she blamed Din for sending her away. And now she had stayed with a guy for the entire time they had been separated. »You must’ve grown close,« he suggested, dreading his words as soon as they had left his lips. He was a little too exhausted to not let the jealousy overtake him. 

Maia picked up on it. »I would say so. I consider Luke a friend.« Was that enough? Maybe she should change the topic. »Who were the two Mandalorians with you?« »Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska. Her sister was the last ruler of Mandalore before the planet got destroyed.« »How did you meet her?« 

So he told her. From picking up the frog lady on Tatooine, to their little stop on Maldo Kreis with all of the cave spiders and the adventure on Trask. At first Maia was quite responsive, asking questions ever so often, but her interruptions turned to more and more silence. By the time he told her about meeting Ahsoka, Maia was unresponsive and had likely fallen asleep. Maybe listening to him offered the distraction her mind needed. Something to focus on while she fell asleep. 

They made it to Glavis some time later, Maia waking up from her nap when she felt the ship touch ground. While it felt good to get some rest, it was nowhere near enough and she was a little disoriented. She almost fell when she jumped out of the ship. »Let’s get you some food, mesh’la.« Din had his helmet on, who would’ve guessed, and called her mesh’la again. She was pretty to him, even if she looked a little sleepy right now. They walked away from the landing platform, finding a little shop where Din could buy something to eat for the both of them. Maia had regained her energy a little while walking, looking at the credits in his hand. »How much do you have left? Is it enough for a bed?... two beds«

»I don’t think so but maybe we can arrange something. Pay part of the cost now and the rest after I have found a bounty contract. Some cheap motels might be willing to make a deal.« Din didn’t need much to be comfortable. He had lived in his ship for the past couple of years, mostly. »Can I make a counter offer?« Maia asked. The thought of a dirty, run down motel room was a little disturbing, even if she didn’t have to worry about her safety too much. »Sure,« Din shrugged, taking the two containers of stew and continuing the way down the street. »I could abuse my power and get us a nice hotel room. And a bathtub.« »Alright.« That easy? Ultimately it was safer to get a nicer room, and Djarin was curious if she actually could just get them a room for free. It might come in handy in the future. 

Fueled by Din’s permission, Maia guided him towards the less shady part of the station. More and more neon lights showed up on the buildings, tinting everything in pink and blue. Every hotel they passed looked ridiculously luxurious and definitely out of their price range and he wondered by which criteria Maia looked for the perfect accommodation. His heart sank a little when she entered one of the giant hotel towers. He couldn’t even stop her before she halfway jumped on top of the reception to wave her hand in front of the front desk personnel, a humanoid woman. 

It was a little scary how her eyes unfocused as soon as Maia had raised her hand. »You’ll give us a key for the best room you have. With a whirlpool. No one will bother us, we don’t have to pay, and you’ve never seen us. As soon as we are in that elevator, you will delete the security footage.« Din’s helmet turned towards Maia, who did this with an alarming ease. Had she done this before? How must it feel to be influenced like this? He looked over to the receptionist, who slid a keycard over. »Suite 1217 is on the 12th floor. Please enjoy your stay.« 

The brunette turned to him, keycard in hand and a wide grin on her face. She and Din walked over to the elevator, his facade breaking as soon as the elevator doors had closed. »That was a little creepy.« »How else would we get a suite?« »A normal room would’ve been fine for me.« He didn’t need it. He was fine with just a mattress if he had to be honest. »I’m sure you’ll think differently when we’re inside.« The elevator dinged and they were on the 12th floor. She opened the door to the suite and it was … big. They had a table, a bed, and a ridiculously large window that showed the neon-tinted city beneath them. 

Din set the two containers down, removed the spear and jetpack and took off his helmet, sitting beside the table to eat before he would walk all over to inspect the suite. Maia sat with him and they ate. The stew was warm, and while it wasn’t the tastiest meal he ever had, it was satiating. They had a small kitchenette in here, so they had plenty of drinking water as well. »How’s the food?« he asked her in between. »It’s okay. Better than the stuff I had in the recent days,« she explained. Nutri-bars were really anything but tasty. They both smiled. 

Din finished his serving first and he leaned back into the chair. »You can have the shower first.« Maia nodded. »Thank you. I hope it has a tub at least, I want to be cooked a little before I go to bed.«  

After the small but satisfying dinner, Din started taking off his armor while Maia entered the bathroom and was greeted with the blinding white light. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust until she could make out everything. A toilet, a shower, even a washer was installed here. The latter’s presence surprised her, but this was a suite after all. Next to the door hung bathrobes of a very soft and fuzzy bright white fabric. 

Behind a semi-transparent wall, there it was, the whirlpool she had specifically asked for. She dimmed the light to be less offensive to the eyes and debated for a second if she should take the opportunity and use the washer. She quickly undressed and chucked her clothes in the machine, delighted it even had the option to tumble dry. She took one of the robes and went behind the privacy screen. There it was, the pool, flush with the ground level, hidden behind transpari steel that probably was mirrored from the outside. The neon lights were also visible from here, but less stark. Maybe the window in here was tinted for more privacy.

It didn’t take long to fill the pool up with water and she entered the warm bath, leaning on the edge to watch the neon lit city outside. Ever so often she’d see a ship fly by in the distance. The port was busy and yet it was so quiet up here. 

After a while there was a knock on the door. »Maia?« »You can come in,« she answered. Din entered and looked around for a second, somewhat relieved that she was behind that matte screen. »Do you mind if I take a shower? Doesn't look like you need it right now… I can’t see you from there either.« »Go ahead. You can put your suit in the wash, I haven’t started the cycle yet. Don’t worry about me, there’s nothing new to see here for you. Still tattooed, and the back is still covered in scars.« She heard the zipper of his vest, thought for a second about him undressing just a few meters away from her. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the arms she had crossed on top of the pool edge. 

Din wasn’t too amused to hear her talk like this. His voice was softer when he replied »scars tell a story. It’s horrible what you went through. The scars are a testament to the horrors you’ve endured. You survived them. Every Mandalorian would tell you that you’re so strong for persevering.«

Maia scoffed. »Strong. All the Empire did was make me weak and unstable.« For a second the rustle of his flight suit halted. »You’re not weak. Don’t say that.« 

»Of course I am. I’m emotional. Spiteful. I can barely contain myself if I feel like crying. Worst of all, I was isolated for so long, I barely knew how the world worked. I still struggle with it sometimes.« 

»You’re loving despite all of the trauma. They couldn’t take that away from you. It’s commendable.« 

»What is it worth to be loving in such a cruel galaxy? I’m a broken person. My body is mangled. Who could love that?« 

»Maia…« he came closer to the privacy screen. She turned around, seeing his silhouette through the semi-transparent material. He didn’t dare to move a muscle when he heard the water swirl around her moving body. He knew she could see him. »Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your body is still worthy of worship.« 

He just stood there, letting his words marinate. She blushed, undoubtedly so, too taken aback by his words to even speak. While she couldn’t see his face through the screen, she saw his shoulders rise and fall with an audible sigh. His head dropped just the slightest bit as he continued. »I think you’re beautiful… if that matters.« He knew it did. She knew too, but she didn’t say it. 

Din showered in silence, his clothes as well as hers in the wash while both of them enjoyed the hot water separately. There was an uncertainty in the air Maia couldn’t deny. Was it because of all that happened on the cruiser? Gideon’s words still lingered, taunting her and effectively ruining what should have been an important moment in her life. She and Din were reunited and yet she wondered if there was a future with him. She had feelings for him, she had known for a while, and it seemed he did too. But it was a lot. He had broken his creed, with the nice side effect that she was now allowed to see his face, but the consequences would find them soon enough. She had suddenly found a part of herself she had lost so long ago. 

What if Gideon was right?

When the washer let them know their clothes were clean and dry, Din exited the shower, dried off and opened the machine to take out their clothes. Maia, halfway asleep in the warm water, listened to the rustle of him putting his clothes back on. It was Din’s voice, now soft and silky, that pulled her out of her half-dazed state. »Are you okay in there?« She slowly blinked and raised her head to watch him through the privacy screen. »I’m just relaxing, don't worry about me. I haven't drowned yet, it's just so cozy in here.« Maia bit her lip before the invitation to join her in the bath could escape. As enticing as the thought was, Din wouldn't do that with her.

Or would he?

»Din?« »I’m still here.« She saw his silhouette behind the screen, watched as his unruly hair moved when he turned his head towards her. »What are we?« she asked. His shoulders tensed visibly, before he took a breath and replied »whatever you want us to be, cyar'ika.« So she wasn’t opposed to attachments despite being a Jedi? Seemingly taken aback by his own response, Din left the bathroom relatively quickly, leaving Maia to marinate in this feeling of breathlessness. At least she avoided inviting him into the water this way. 

Cyar’ika… she was certain she had heard this word before, but where? And why was Din so adamant about using Mando’a when he knew she didn't understand it. It only ever came out of him in kind of emotional moments. 

She closed her eyes and focused on the word. She heard it before, she knew she had. A different voice, still male, echoed deep in her mind. 

‘Cyar’ika where are you?’ the male voice called out, only to have a female voice reply, ‘We’re in the kitchen, cyare.’ She watched as a woman with long red hair appeared in her peripheral, and then a man joined in. There wasn't much to be seen, dark hair and the rest of his features were obscured. It was like looking through water. Were tears in her eyes? ‘How is the little one doing?’ the man asked, promptly lifting Maia from her seat. And there it was, an unfamiliar face that slowly became clearer as it came closer. ‘She’s been crying ever since you left,’ the woman explained, wiping the small child’s cheeks with her fingers. She was beautiful, and she in fact looked a lot like what greeted Maia in her own reflection. A large hand rested on the child’s back when the man pulled her up to his face, practically burying it in the child's belly. ‘I’ve missed you too, my little star.’ ‘Think you can handle two girls being obsessed with you now?’ the woman teased, causing the man to erupt in laughter. ‘Of course I can. I love you, cyar'ika.’ ‘I love you too, cyare.’ 

Maia opened her eyes, confused what she had just experienced. That was, she was certain, a memory of her parents, pulled back to her conscious because of Din. Tears began to well in her eyes, partially from the sighting of her parents, partially because that meant that Din had just used a term of endearment.

It was finally time to leave the tub, her hands had pruned significantly and the sensation in her finger tips was uncomfortable. She put on her panties and her undershirt and tried to regain her composure, to no avail as Din must've felt the heartache radiating through the bathroom door. Another knock came from the door, but instead of answering, Maia opened the door, her eyes glassy and facing the floor. 

With his thumb and index at her chin, he gently pushed her head upright. »What’s wrong?« His voice was a mere whisper, barely loud enough to hear over the single sob that escaped her lungs. »I’m sorry,« she replied, barely able to contain her voice. »It’s just too much.« She knew she worded this wrong when he let go of her. His hand wandered to her upper arm, resting on her skin as a means to comfort her. His hand was warm and surprisingly soft on her skin. »Do you want to talk about it?« was all he asked. Din was certainly as overwhelmed with the situation as she was, not much of a talker himself usually. Before he had met her, actually. 

»I’m trying. Trying so hard to be good, to not let my emotions rule over me again and ever since I've been back, all I feel like is crying. I was fine with forgetting about my past to focus on the future. Now I know a bit about my past and all it does it haunt me. My parents are most likely dead anyway, like Raymond.« Another sob shook her, tears running down her cheeks. »You just gave Grogu away and have your own grief to deal with, and now you're stuck with me, alternating between crying and a lovesick teenager.« 

There it was. A little confession of feelings, wrapped in between self-pity and justified sadness. 

Finally she found the courage to look at him, his beautiful features tinted in blue, pink and purple. Din looked down at her, his breathtakingly dark eyes staring into her soul. There was a softness and empathy in his down turned eyebrows. »Can I –« he began but sighed and pulled her into his arms, caging her in an embrace. His forehead rested gently against hers. She wrapped her arms around his back and leaned in. Din's chest was so warm and welcoming, only his shirt and hers separating them in this moment. It felt good to be caught in a hug, feeling his heart pound against his chest and hers as well. »Mesh’la,« he began after a moment of silence, pulling her even closer when he felt her lean in. »There’s nothing that could feel better than having you with me right now.« 

She hugged him a little tighter as one of his hand caressed over her back. »I'm sorry about your parents. I'm sure you had a lot of questions and it's unfortunate that they're not here any more. I will help you where I can, I promise.« His head moved away from hers, allowing him to look into her eyes again. »I know that Grogu is in safe hands and that he might return one day, just like you did.« 

She watched as his eyes wandered downwards to her lips for a second. There was a traitorous sparkle in his eyes before he leaned forward and stole a kiss from her. Before she could reposition her hands, however, Din pulled back. His cheeks had turned colors, now a nice shade of red, presumably. It was hard to tell when the whole room was tinted purple. »I’m sorry, was that okay for me to do?« 

She took both hands from his back, cupping his face in them. »Never apologize for kissing me,« she hushed and leaned in for another kiss, more passionately this time. His hand landed on the back of her neck and pulled her in closer. It felt like time was running in slow-motion when their lips connected, sparks flying and her heart rate quickening. She leaned back to allow herself to take a breath. When her eyes opened she saw Din lick his lips before smiling at her. »I’ll remember. I could get used to this.« Did he know what he did to her with just these few words? It seemed he wasn’t done whispering sweet nothings, either. »You’ve turned my world upside down, cyar’ika. Are you aware of that?« 

Maia stroked his cheekbones, trying to find the right words to respond. Because frankly, all she wanted was to kiss him over and over again. »We’ve both sacrificed a lot for this, cyare.« Her hands wandered down his chest, feeling his heart pound underneath his ribs. His heart was racing, as was hers. »You’ve said we are what I want us to be,« she began, trying to find any change in his expression. All she could find was affection. 

His stance was clear. »If you want me, you can have me. If you don’t, we should stop this; I’m sure you can guess which I would prefer.« His hand was still on her neck, his thumb tracing over her skin. »I want to be upfront, I don’t know what my future will look like, but I’d be happy if you were part of it.«

As much as her impulse told her to reply with an ‘I want you’ or say no for a joke, she chose her words more carefully. »Guess that means ‘you and I against the rest of the galaxy’, huh?« He chuckled and nodded. »This is the way.« Her head tilted to the side when she repeated »the way?« Instead of explaining it, Din leaned forward and kissed her forehead. »We should go to bed, it was a long day and we can’t stay here for long in the morning.« He was right, but Maia dreaded having this moment end. 

»No fighting about the bed this time around?« she asked and let go, slowly walking out of his embrace. »Unless you’re not willing to share,« he replied. The bed was definitely big enough for two adults to comfortably sleep in. Something told her a smaller bed would’ve done fine as well, as she would probably take the opportunity to be as close to him as she could. He allowed her to crawl into bed first, and the first reaction she had was to practically melt into the mattress. »Oh kriff I should go back downstairs and get us this room for an entire week,« she whined into one of the numerous pillows, not properly registering when Din also snuck under the cover. Judging by the groan he let out, his back must’ve not had the pleasure of such a soft bed in a while. If ever. »Would you? Stars, I don’t think I’ve ever slept in a bed as soft as this.« Din looked over to her, didn’t have to say much. He was on the side, all it took was for him to raise his arm and she scooted in, snuggled right into his chest. It was a pity that neither him nor her smelled much like anything besides the hotel soap. Still, Maia had her face buried in his shirt and his face was in her hair. »Good night, cyar’ika,« he whispered into her hair, to which she replied »good night, cyare.« 

Notes underneath the chapter whaaaaat 

I don’t really want to add any more of my blubbering, the chapter is long enough as is (and actually I had to split it, there was SO MUCH MORE supposed to happen but I realized this would be a 20k+ chapter. no one needs that) 

I want to take this little break down here to show something that is awfully fitting with the setting in this chapter. My dear friend Rocket (whos also obsessed with Pedro and the color purple) posted a Din piece some time ago and I just… I gasped. 

Do you see the vision? Neon lights (aka Bi lighting) and Din without the armor???

HELLO??? THAT IS DIN IN THE SUITE OKAY 

Props to Maia for not undressing on the spot because gurl I would 

Give Rocket some love:

[the-mandawhor1an]

Revelations pt. II

Chapter 9 – Guided by the stars, connected by the force

Masterlist

⇐ Previous chapter | Next chapter ⇒

Chapter summary: Din leaves Tatooine to return to his search for other Mandalorians and a Jedi. Prospects look positive with Peli’s contact. Little does he know what events would unfold on his quest to find a master for Grogu 

Warnings: Canon-typical violence; Yearning; Angst; Din is down bad; Cameos! 

Words: 11.5k 

A/N: And now the other side of the yearning. Basically the season 2 storyline stays the same, there are just a few adjustments due to the yearning and also the fact that technically Din has met a Jedi already (cue Maia screaming she isn’t a Jedi). I was not anticipating this getting so long. Oops.

I'll be fine I'll be waiting patiently 'Til you see the signs And come running to my open arms When will you realize? Do we have to wait 'til our worlds collide? Open up your eyes You can't turn back the tide - It's no Good, Depeche Mode

Din watched as Maia turned her back and left, paralyzed. He knew this was the right thing for the both of them, but stars, why did it feel so wrong to let her go? »What did you do now?« Peli accused him quite loudly when she saw Maia storm past her. The mechanic rested her hands on her hips, drumming one foot in the sand. »She had to leave,« he replied, certain the mechanic wouldn’t buy it. She didn’t. »You sent her away didn’t you? It’s the middle of the night, how could you just let her leave? The city is full of criminals, they’ll have her for breakfast!« Well, how could he? »She can take care of herself.« Din gritted his teeth. Having to justify something Maia and he had agreed on to a third party annoyed him, especially so because he couldn’t tell the woman before him exactly why he couldn’t have the pretty brunette close to him. 

Peli sighed. »No getting through to this metal-covered idiot,« she shook her head in disbelief and sighed. Din felt bad, deep inside, but Maia was gone now. He’d rather focus on the task at hand. Luckily, Peli delivered delightful news. »There is a covert in this sector. One system over.« Hope was in his voice when he asked »were they the ones that were on Nevarro?« At least they knew him then and could perhaps help with his search for a Jedi. The armorer had first made him aware of the Jedi, after all. 

»Don’t know. The contact says she knows where to find them.« Peli’s gaze wandered over to the dragon’s meat that looked like it was close to ready. She nodded at one of her droids to start cutting the outermost layers of meat. She was hungry. 

»How much will this cost?« Din feared it would be expensive, given his desperation and people tending to take advantage of that. »How much does she want.« »That’s the good news. It’s free,« the woman replied with a shrug. The Mandalorian sighed, wanting to ask what the bad news were, but she continued »buuuut… she wants passage.« It was his best lead, so he didn’t think about it for too long. Besides, he wanted to get off of this planet and leave these emotions behind him. »Fine.« »Aaaaaalso,« Peli’s nonexistent eyebrows rose and she rolled her eyes, evading his gaze. »What?« »No hyperspace jumps.« »Sublight?« Was she serious? Din crossed his arms and scoffed. »No, deal’s over.«

»Come on, it’s one sector!« she retorted and rolled her eyes again, more pronounced this time. »Moving fast is the only thing that keeps me safe,« he retorted. »Oh, like moving on from poor Maia?« Ouch. Thank the stars for the helmet that covered how his brows had twitched as he felt the sting in his chest.

Peli’s contact, a frog-like alien, entered the hangar and allowed Din to swallow down the lump in his throat. It was necessary, why didn’t Peli understand? Maybe because he didn’t explain it. He didn’t want to, she would only discuss this with him until he regretted leaving Maia behind. Part of him already did. 

»I’m not a taxi service,« the helmet dipped towards the mechanic who just shrugged. »I’m aware. She knows of Mandalorians on her home world, I figured that might be enough to convince you. She and her eggs need to be there by the equinox, hyperdrive would kill her eggs.« Mando sighed and rested both hands on his belt. »And she is sure there are Mandalorians?« One very awkward exchange of the women later, Peli nodded. »Her husband has seen them.«

Reluctantly, Din agreed to take her with him. It was, like Peli said, his only lead towards finding Mandalorians. As the Razor Crest slowly ascended, he looked over to the city beneath him. Where was Maia now, he wondered. All he hoped for was that she was safe and that they maybe would one day meet again. As futile as this wish was, he wanted to carry it with him in his heart. 

His passenger didn’t talk much, or more specifically – didn’t talk any language he could understand, so he switched autopilot on and left her in the cockpit to get some rest. With heavy steps he climbed down the ladder to get to his bed. The anxiety about Grogu’s well-being still weighed on him after the altercation in the desert. Seeing that alien holding a knife to the child had done something to him. Before he opened the door to his cot, he took a deep breath. He had gotten so used to being around Maia, she would’ve been able to talk to him, to easy his nerves. It really didn’t matter what she would talk about either. Her dreams, the stars, her favorite color, what she thought his favorite color might be. All he wanted was to be able to look at her, the way her eyes would sparkle when she smiled and the dimples that formed on her cheeks. Maybe his favorite color was the green of her eyes. The same green eyes that glossed over when he practically told her to leave him alone. 

It was necessary. If he told himself that often enough, maybe he would start to believe it. His creed meant everything to him, and as much as he had enjoyed that kiss, he couldn’t risk breaking an oath he had taken so many years ago. That and he needed to get Grogu to a Jedi to make sure the child received the training he needed. 

He opened the cot to find … nothing. What? 

He didn’t have to look for long, as the sound of slurping erupted from further down the cargo hold. With the egg container open, Grogu had one of the orange spheres in his hand and subsequently shoved it into his mouth with another slurping noise and a gulp. Din shot up and rushed over to his foundling »Hey, stop that!« he gently pulled Grogu from the container and closed the lid. »That’s not food, Grogu.« 

Grogu got lifted in the air, his chin had a drip of the water of the container running down the faintly green skin. »Tasty?« The child let out a little burp and Din sighed, assessing how many eggs the foundling might have eaten before he found him, »alright, nap time, troublemaker.« As he carried the child over to the cot, he noticed Grogu holding onto an item of clothing which was now dragging over the floor. Din gathered the dirty and stained piece of cloth and carried him over to his makeshift hammock. When he wanted to pull the dirty fabric from the child, he was met with a rather large amount of resistance, so he inspected the fabric further. It was gray, stained. The stains were brown, perhaps rust-colored. 

Din felt around further until his fingers found the hole where the stain was spreading from. When did he last use his blade on a quarry, and since when did he leave their clothes just lying around in his ship? He raised his head to see Grogu peacefully snuggled into the shirt, snoring ever so softly. Suddenly, it hit him why the little one was so attached to this. 

This must’ve been Maia’s shirt, the one she had on when she was injured on Nevarro. It must’ve still smelled like her if Grogu was glued to it. The little one possibly didn’t understand why she was suddenly gone, Din hadn’t seen her say goodbye to him. 

Carefully, he placed the shirt over the sleeping child, as if it was a blanket. Something deep inside of him thought about just smelling it. Just once. 

Get it together, Djarin. 

He himself crawled into his cot and nudged himself into a somewhat comfortable position so he could get some rest. The last time someone had slept in here was when he allowed Maia to take the small private space for herself. What if his makeshift bed smelled like her right now? If only he could take the helmet off, just for a second. »Dank farrik,« he cursed under his breath. 

Din couldn’t tell how long he has slept, all he knew was being awoken from a proximity alert some time later. As restful as his sleep might have been, being ripped from it and suddenly on edge again made it feel like he had just closed his eyes. He swung himself out the cot and up the ladder to find he was contacted by some New Republic scouters. 

First he tried to pretend his tech on board wasn’t working, but the Captain and his companion were a little too adamant about Din transmitting. Sensing no other way, he steered the Razor Crest down into the atmosphere of the nearest planet, Maldo Kreis. 

While he avoided capture by the New Republic, his ship had taken some damage when it crashed and dragged across are large ice field.The fact that it broke through the ice and fell a few meters down into an ice cave, didn’t help the hulls integrity either.

Din must’ve lost consciousness upon impact, as he awoke with his armor covered in little ice crystals and his passenger shivering in the cold air. Promising her to get some blankets, he went downstairs to see the damage his ship had taken. The hull was in fact damaged, a large tear in the side of the ship allowed the cold to enter and render all means of insulation worthless. »Osik,« he cursed yet again. 

Grogu, whom Din had been looking for as well as wanting to check the hull for damages, had found himself at the egg container yet again and wanted to have a little snack. »Hey, I told you not to do that,« Din scolded the child, who not only stuck to the container, but also still had Maia’s shirt in one of his paws. 

Night approached quickly and with the hull broken, they would have to deal with severe cold soon. While Din had patched up the main tear with some fabric, the passenger, Grogu and him had to sit around a small heater to keep warm. As the child cuddled up to Din’s leg pauldron, they napped, but just shortly.

With the help of a disassembled droid and its voice module, the frog lady urged the Mandalorian to keep his word. She needed to get these eggs to her husband, as this was her last chance to have children. 

Din, still a bit shaken from being woken up by one of the scrap piles that used to be a droid suddenly talking to him, made it outside to do some repairs to get his ship back into shape. As shapely as the Razor Crest needed to be to make it off of this frozen prison. He didn’t want this to turn into a grave too.

Some time later, after a coolant leak and smaller tears had been patched up, Grogu came outside to him, but not to help his protector with the repairs. The child was very adamant to show him something. Foot steps. The passenger had left the ship with her egg container, and Din had to make sure she was safe out there. Who knows what lurked in these ice caves. With the child on his arm, he followed the imprints in the heavy snow and the thermal tracks once inside a larger cave system. 

It didn’t take long for the two to reach a larger cavern that housed two pools of water, hot water, as Din assumed, judging by the steam emitting from the surface and also by the lady and her eggs bathing quite happily in there. Being cold-blooded surely was unfortunate on a planet like this. He tried not to blame her, but reminded her he couldn’t guarantee for her safety if she went off without him. For just a second the sight of Maia flashed before his eyes, with her back turned towards him in Peli’s tub. He had risked a glance when she turned to him without much hesitation, wondering how soft her pale skin would feel underneath his finger tips. Stop that!

Grogu was sulking, not allowed to snack on more, now even heated eggs and wandered off while the adults collected the eggs to put them back into their container. He found a completely different kind of egg, white, with a stronger shell, oblong and upright in the snow. Insatiable as the little one was, he opened the shell of one of the eggs to munch on what he found inside. A small, white spider-like creature was hidden underneath the soft shell. A creature that gave a satisfying crunch when bitten into. 

Well, safe to say the disturbance and untimely death of one of the spiderlings awoke their siblings, and shortly thereafter, their mother. 

Din took Grogu and the tank with the eggs, they’d have to make it back to the Crest, this was their only chance. The few weapons he had at his expense right now could only do so much. A few blaster shots, thermal detonators and finally his flame thrower attachment. All of that just so they could run back to his ship and barricade themselves in the cockpit. It was the only spot left that he could seal. They had to get off of the planet. 

Just as the Crest lifted off of the snowy ground, the mother spider crashed down onto the ship, trying to break the transparisteel with its teeth. This would have been their end, ending up eaten or frozen to death, if it hadn’t been for the X-wings to return and the New Republic pilots open to fire on the spider. After a short exchange with the captain, they let Din run despite a warrant for his arrest. Sometimes people acknowledged that Din wasn’t a brainless, ruthless killer. Despite his offer to waive the bounties on his former mates, the pilots refused to help him repair the Crest. Guess letting him go without an arrest was the most they could do for him at the moment. 

Din didn’t press for it. He could seal the cockpit so they could at least make it to Trask, albeit uncomfortably and taking a lot longer than it should have. There he could stay for a little and get the necessary repairs on his ship, gather his energy and also work on a plan to find a Jedi, assuming he wouldn’t stumble upon one right after finding the other Mandalorians. He was certain his journey was far from over. 

The travel to Trask was bumpy to say the least, multiple timed he had feared the ship would break in half, especially breaking into the atmosphere was particularly shaky. The landing system was broken so Din needed his passenger’s help to manually land the Crest. They almost made it onto the dock safely, the thrusters giving out in the last second which resulted in the ship toppling over and falling into the water. After they had grabbed the Crest out of the water, it was covered in algae and looked like a pile of scrap, at best. He paid a mechanic 1000 credits to do his best, expecting his ship to be at least in working condition again soon. 

Din turned just in the right moment to witness his passenger finding her husband in the crowd, them hugging so tightly. He couldn’t deny it was a sight that warmed his heart a little. He wondered if Maia would hug him as tightly when they reunited. No ‘if’, but ‘when’. She had promised they’d meet again, when the time was right. 

Grogu called for his attention, the ever hungry little gremlin in his hovering pram, covered with the gray shirt Maia had left behind. He and the shirt were practically inseparable. The husband of his passenger approached them and thanked Din for bringing his wife to him safely. »I was told you had seen other Mandalorians,« he inquired, being pointed to the inn. He would get information there. Perhaps he could also get some food for his little companion. 

They entered the inn and sat at a table. Din took Grogu out of his pram and sat him down, ordering chowder for the fussing child. He either had an issue with being hungry, or he was fussing because he didn’t hold the shirt. That damn shirt. »I’ve heard there’s other Mandalorians. Do you know where they are?« he asked the waiter. It didn’t even take ten seconds of his attention away from Grogu for the child to have a small octopus stuck to his face. »Stop playing with your food,« he said softly and took out his vibro blade, stinging the octopus which subsequently fell back into the bowl of chowder. 

A Quarren approached the table. »I know where the Mandalorians are. I can take you to them,« he offered. »Where?« Din asked, pleasantly surprised that his lead was going in the right direction. »It’s just a few hours sail. We’re about to leave.« 

Shortly after Grogu had finished the chowder and was satiated, they made their way over to the ship to set sail. Most time of their travel Din looked out into the vast nothingness of the ocean, allowing himself to think about Maia, wondering where she was right now. Was she okay? Did she end up finding the voice? 

»Have you ever seen a Mamacore being fed?« The captain asked him. »The kid might be interested to see.« As Din and the child inched closer to the pool in the middle of the ship, the captain continued talking. The bars closing off the pool retracted into the ship. While he was talking, the Quarren suddenly hit Grogu’s pram, causing it to go under water. The lid had shut but the beast hidden underneath the water wouldn’t have too much trouble to break the small metal capsule. Din didn’t hesitate and jumped after Grogu, the bars closing as soon as he went under. 

Din was on edge. On one hand there was Grogu, somewhere under the surface, a monster that was hungry for him and his foundling, and on the surface were bandits, waiting for him to drown to get his Beskar. Every time he surfaced, they shocked him, poking at him with metal to get him under water again. Panic set in. This was his end. Dank farrik. 

That’s when he saw three Mandalorians land on the ship, take on the attackers and help him out of the water. One of the women offered her hand to pull him up, allowing him to catch his breath. This must’ve been the Mandalorians the husband had mentioned earlier, coming just in time to save his and Grogu’s life. »My foundling,« he gasped, the other woman pulling her knife and jumping into the water. »Catch your breath, brother,« the first woman calmed him down. Her voice was soft and reassuring underneath the blue and white helmet. A moment later, her companion resurfaced with Grogu’s dented pram, ripping it open to reveal a shaken, but otherwise unharmed Grogu. 

The green child was practically tangled in the gray shirt, quietly sobbing. Din took him into his arms, soothingly rubbing over Grogu’s back. His heart rate was still elevated, catching his breath while the three Mandalorians before him suddenly took their helmets off. 

Despite the adrenalin rush, frustration kicked in, this was another dead lead, more people having gotten their armor from somewhere while not following the way. They outnumbered him and he was shaken, also busy making sure Grogu didn’t start to properly cry. »Where did you get the armor from?« he asked the leader of the group, a woman with short red hair. She seemed a little offended when she replied »it’s been in my family for three generations.« Obviously, Din couldn’t believe what he heard. »You do not cover your faces. You’re not Mandalorian.« This made the man behind her scoff and roll his eyes. »Oh, he’s one of them,« he practically spit out. The distaste in his voice was obvious, but to Din this didn’t make sense, he was the one supposed to be offended. 

»One of what?« The visor turned back to face the leader. »I am Bo-Katan of Clan Kryze, I was born on Mandalore and survived the great purge, I’m the last of my line and this is my armor. And you are a child of the Watch,« she introduced herself and explained what her friend had hinted at. »The watch?« Din repeated, clearly this was news to him. »A fanatic splinter group of Mandalorians. Cultists, trying to re-establish the ancient way of the Mand’alor.« 

Offended, Din got up to his feet again, Grogu still on his arm and cuddled into his chest, drowning in the gray fabric. The sobbing had stopped, every now and then he sniffled a little. »There is only one way,« he stated and took off with his jetpack. 

He still held onto Grogu when he stood on the dock, watching how the three blew up the ship in the distance. The sun was setting, the colors in the sky reminding him of when he showed Maia the sunset on Tatooine. How many near-death experiences had she gone through by now? Why was he struggling with his task so much?

Walking along the dock, it was dark by now, he was approached by a Quarren, the same Quarren that had approached him back at the inn. »You killed my brother,« he said with a smirk, more of his men crowding the area. He was too exhausted to fight more, but then the familiar hiss of jetpacks surprised them, the same Mandalorians that helped him on the ship jumping in to support him once again. »He didn’t kill your brother. I did,« Bo-Katan told the Quarren, and a fight broke out. Admittedly, a short fight, as the fishermen and part-time criminals were no match to a Mandalorian, let alone four of them. 

»Can we buy you a drink, at least?« she offered after the fight, Din reluctantly accepting. He wouldn’t drink in public, obviously, but it sounded like she had something to offer. Also, he needed to know if they could help him find a Jedi. 

They sat down in the same inn, the three taking off their helmets again, drinking. Din tried to not be bothered by their behavior. Grogu had since fallen asleep in his little carrier bag. Also the shirt had been halfway discarded, now lying on the bottom of the bag for a little extra padding. 

Kryze explained that Trask was riddled with black market weapon trade. Their plan was to seize said weapons to retake Mandalore, claim rule of the planet and for her to become the new Mand’alor. Din refused to believe such a plan was possible, as they had been told the planet was cursed. Besides, he was busy. »I don’t want to help you. I can’t. I have to take this child to a Jedi,« he explained, gently patting Grogu’s head, who cooed in response, but still asleep. 

»How much do you know of the Jedi?« the red-haired Mandalorian inquired, and he thought about all the things he only knew from Maia or the armorer. »Not much. They are an order of wizards, they can move things without touching them. They wield swords made of light.« and they’re not allowed to have feeling for you. It stung a little to be reminded of his conflicting feelings towards her. »I was hoping,« he continued, »that you’d help me by the Creed. This child needs a Jedi.« Kryze sighed, she needed his help and he needed hers. »I can lead you to one, but first you have to help us with our mission.« 

Reluctantly, Din agreed to help Bo-Katan to take over an Imperial cruiser to seize the weapons before it could leave the planet soon. This was way too dangerous for a foundling, so he brought Grogu to stay with the frog lady and her husband, who had become parents by now. It sounded like a quick mission, and it seemed to be going smoothly at first. That was until Kryze suddenly decided to change the plan, to take the whole cruiser, while they were already on it, leaving Din with no choice but to help. They managed to claim the ship, Kryze held her end of the deal now that she had what she wanted. Din hoped he would not have to team up with her again, still unhappy with how she had handled the situation, practically forcing him to stay and help. 

In the end, he had what he wanted. A name and a place. Bo-Katan told him of a Jedi by the name of Ahsoka Tano, who he should be able to find on Corvus. He picked up Grogu and returned to his ship which would hopefully be good as new again. 

The Crest was … repaired, but in no way fully functional. It could fly and the landing system was running again, but it was patched up with netting and overall still looked like it was a pile of scrap rather than a ship. Just now a pile of scrap that had been salvaged from the bottom of an ocean.

Some of the wiring needed to be rearranged, something he had hoped his little companion could help with. Grogu could crawl into the machine’s hull to take out the wires Din told him to pull, to attach the ones as he was ordered. Well … it’s what the Mandalorian had hoped for, quickly learning that the child would not properly listen to him. Maybe he was colorblind and couldn’t tell apart the red from the blue wire. But then again, he let the wires touch, causing him to get a little shock. »Alright, come back out,« he said with a sigh, bringing the child to his little hammock after making sure the child was okay. 

This left Din alone in the cockpit, once again. He tidied up his ship, closing the entrance hatch Grogu had crawled through, packing away the tools that laid around on the ground. He realized the child had abandoned the shirt for once, it laying crumpled up beneath one of the passenger seats. With a sigh he sat on the pilot seat, bunching up the fabric in between his fingers. He was out in space, no other ship anywhere in the vicinity. So, he removed the helmet, eyeing the rough cloth in his hands closely. The stain on the fabric reminded him how him and Maia had met. Critically injured, taking advantage of him, in a way, but she never had him regret his choice to help her. Apart from this short moment when he had feared for the child’s safety, and for his vow to conceal his face. 

Where was she right now? Was she safe? Had she run into a trap, just as he had, and did not survive? What if she had called out for him in her last moments? Ever since she appeared on Nevarro, the Empire had her back on their radar, possibly. If not for Gideon, who had met his well-deserved end, maybe one of the surviving Troopers had notified others about her. Were they still on the lookout? Were they on the lookout again, now that they knew she was still alive?

His thoughts raced and his heart rate picked up, his mind taking him to dark places. He knew she could look after herself, she had survived up until Nevarro after all, but he worried about her so much. With his head falling forward, his face fell right into the fabric, his hands breaking the fall. He exhaled loudly, closed his eyes and tried to steady his breath. All he wanted was to know she was safe, but he didn’t know how to contact her. There was one thing he could hold onto: The hope that she’d come back, that their paths would actually cross again, as she had promised him in her very own, cryptic way. There was a sparkle in her beautiful eyes when she said it, bright enough to shine through the veil of pain. 

Pain he had caused her by telling her to leave.

At first he just remained in this position because he hated when his eyes started burning like this, glossing over when he felt he had lost someone close to him. But then, a few steadying breaths later, he registered her scent, subtle but hidden in every fiber of the gray fabric. It was comforting, in a way, being able to smell her and imagining she was here with him. 

Deciding his ship needed proper repairs before he could make the travel to Corvus, he stopped on Nevarro. At least he knew the mechanics here would be able to patch his ship up better than this. »Mando!« Karga greeted him as soon as the Crest had touched ground, the hatch only opening up halfway, causing Din to have to jump the rest of the way with Grogu on his arm. Dune stood beside the Magistrate. »It looks like someone needs repairs,« the man concluded, getting his men to work on the ship right away. His face lit up when he saw the child still with Mando, reaching his arms out. »Come here, little one,« he said and taking Grogu from Din, his brows furrowing. »What of the girl that was with you last time? I thought she was a Jedi?« 

And there was the sting in his chest again. He shook his head, eternally grateful for the helmet concealing his face in moments like these. »She couldn’t take the child, she had other plans. We split up.« I sent her away. They walked along the city streets, showing no sign of the fight that had taken place here not too long ago. »It looks like you two have been busy,« Din commented. Nevarro was so much livelier than he remembered. »All thanks to Marshal Dune,« Karga replied with a nod. »I’m busy with clerical work.« »Your ship looks a mess. Well… more than usual,« the Marshal finally joined the conversation. »I had a run-in with the New Republic. Long story.«

They reached the same building where Din had removed his helmet for the first time. The bar that served as the guild’s headquarter. To his surprise, the building now housed a class of children. »A school?« »Things changed around here,« Cara replied with a shrug. She glanced over to Karga, who was about to set Grogu down, announcing »we’ll leave the little one here so we can talk.« Din, still a bit worked up from all that happened on his way here, instantly interrupted »no. He stays with me.« 

»Mando,« Karga pleaded, »Where we’re going, no child should go. Trust me.« Dune, aware Mando was struggling with letting the foundling out of eyesight, promised him Grogu would be fine here. They left Grogu in the school, walking further to where they could talk more privately. 

»So, let’s talk business,« Cara said as she sat down in her chair. Din again explained, »I’m here for repairs, no business.« »The repairs will take some time, so you should have some to spend. We could really use it,« Karga tried to persuade him. Unfortunately, Din was extremely bad in declining a plea for help. 

Just in the outermost corner of the safe zone there was an old Imperial base, one that had been a nuisance to the city for long enough. It was where Gideon’s troops had come from, so it was in the city’s best interest to just have the base shut down. The plan was simple enough: Empty the cooling tanks, overheat the geothermic reactor and the thing will blow up on its own. 

Finding a way in, reaching the reactor and killing the cooling system wasn’t too big of a deal for the small group. On their way out, they had taken a slightly different route to avoid a run-in with some guards, only to stumble upon a room, occupied by two scientific officers. Upon further inspection, they found clone tanks on the wall. The Myrthol checked the documentation, as a holo-projection of Dr. Pershing started playing. The doctor reported to Gideon about blood samples, a donor being too weak to give more blood without the specimen being killed… He was talking about Grogu. 

»Perhaps, there is a way to obtain another donor. I heard you had encountered 414 recently, her blood would surely work better, being a human, and all.« Din’s heart sank. »This recording has to be old, Gideon is dead!« Karga said in confusion. »The recording is 3 days old,« the alien responded. »Quick, copy the data base,« Din ordered as Stormtroopers found them. Making sure to avoid damage to the terminal until the data had been duplicated, the four fought. 

More trouble would wait for them outside, so they split up. Din used his jetpack to get of the base and fly to get his ship, while the others fought their way back the way they had entered. 

Din’s thoughts were racing. Gideon was alive, and the Empire knew about Maia. He quickly started the Razor Crest to fly back to the Imperial base, just in time to see the TIE-Fighters that were coming after Dune, Karga and the alien. With a few well-aimed shots, his friends were free and he could continue his travel to Corvus. 

The Crest was now back and running, fully operational. Things seemed to be going well for Din for once. If it hadn’t been for the tracker that had been installed in his ship while getting repaired, the one which he currently wasn’t aware of. 

The flight to Corvus was long, but with the ship back in working condition, at least Din and Grogu reaped the benefits of a somewhat comfortable resting place. The autopilot steered the ship through the emptiness of space while Din could lay in his little cot. He listened to Grogu’s soft snores and sleep babbles until he drifted off to sleep himself. His dreams were somewhat pleasant, hearing a familiar voice in the distance. Maia was softly humming a melody, a lullaby his mother had sung to him when he was a child. His lips formed a smile in his sleep, still hidden underneath the helmet.

Landing the Crest was easy, given the landing system was running. Din and Grogu exited the ship, the child played with a silver ball, the end cap of one of the levers up in the cockpit. »I told you that has to stay inside the ship,« Din grumbled and took the metal sphere from Grogu, putting it into one of his belt pouches. Grogu walked more now, but he was still slower than Din by a lot, so he picked the green child up and placed him in the carrier bag. Grogu complained, reaching back to the ship with his hands. The shirt was missing, still in his hammock back in the safety of the ship. »Not today, kid. It'll wait in the Crest, otherwise it just gets dirty.«

Corvus was dirty. 

They reached a gate after some time of walking, the sway of the carrier bag lulling Grogu to sleep for a bit. Din stood before a large wall, watched by a few men standing atop the gate. »State your business,« one of the men ordered. The helmet moved to look up there. Well, what should he say? »I’ve been tracking for a few days. I’m just looking for a layover,« he explained. It was probably for the best if no one knew about him looking for a Jedi. »That’s a nice armor you got there,« the guard commented, Din almost expecting them to attack him just for the Beskar. It had happened too often. »I take it you are a hunter, then.« He rolled his eyes underneath the helmet. If that’s the first thing they wondered, this probably meant another side quest. »I am,« he simply stated, the gate opening for him a few seconds later.  

He entered the town, greeted by a rather unwelcoming sight. The forest outside the city looked dead, a green mist laid over the dead trees that also had crept into the streets. It was mostly empty, barely any life outside the small houses. The first person he had seen instantly left when Din tried to address them. Generally, it felt like a cloud of dread laid over the streets. He wondered for a second if Maia would’ve commented on the mood in here. Maybe she could have talked to someone without scaring them away. He was a bounty hunter after all, people feared them. 

In an alleyway further into the city, he found a father and two small children. They looked dishevelled, dirty and generally not in the best state. »You there,« he addressed the adult, »I need some information. I’m looking for someone.« Before replying, the man sent the children away. His eyes were sunken and he looked malnourished. What was going on here? »Please, don’t talk to any of us,« he pleaded. Din was about to respond »I just need–« when he was interrupted by the same guard that had let him into the city. »Please come with us, the magistrate would like to see you.« 

The entrance to the hold the magistrate resided in was decorated with residents of the city in torture cages. If they moved too much, they were electrocuted. It was unpleasant to see, even for Din. Not my business, he reminded himself, despite feeling the overwhelming urge to do something about it. Their pleas were quiet, weak. How long had they been on display like this? The magistrate had a contract for him, one that by sheer luck would lead him to the Jedi he had been looking for anyway. His task was simple: Find Ahsoka Tano, kill her, and be rewarded with a spear made of pure Beskar. An offer a Mandalorian couldn’t resist, and the magistrate was aware of it. 

One thing the woman said stuck in Din’s mind on his way out of the city. 

Jedi are the ancient enemy of Mandalore. 

Maybe that was why Maia was so adamant about not being a Jedi. But then again, her persistence had begun before they had even developed any kind of relationship. The pretty brunette wasn’t his enemy, she never was. She was a friend, maybe more than that. 

Outside of the city, the dead forest greeted him again as he tracked Tano, climbing over thick roots and ducking underneath fallen trees. Grogu had awoken during the travel through the forest, gently cooing every now and then when Din had to jump over yet another obstacle. When he reached the coordinates he had been given, he looked down to the child. »This should be it. Let me have a look, stay right here.« He took Grogu out of the carrier and set him down onto a rock, clearly in sight for him. 

He looked around, making sure Grogu stayed within sight. There was nothing according to see. »Dank farrik,« he mumbled. »False alarm.« But just as he wanted to go back to Grogu, two white light sabers were swung his way, luckily stopped by his Beskar. He blocked two further swings until he could activate the tripwire in his vambrace, tying up the woman for just long enough to think of what to do. Or rather, what to say. »Ahsoka Tano!« he called her name, raising both hands to chest height to symbolize he didn’t mean to attack her. »Bo-Katan sent me,« he explained, having to block another swing until she paused. »Please, we need to talk,« he begged, her head turning to Grogu who was surprisingly calm when watching them fight. »I hope this is about him,« she said, a soft smile forming on the orange lips. The saber blades retracted. 

The sun was slowly setting while Ahsoka sat with Grogu, the two force-sensitive individuals occupied with an intense staring contest. Din knew they were communicating, just as Maia and Grogu had been doing when she still was with them. This gave Din more time to think about the words the magistrate had used as an argument for him to accept the contract. Maia wasn’t his enemy. Ahsoka didn’t seem to be, either. Was Tano perhaps also not a Jedi and rather just force-sensitive and trained in using her talents? 

He took the time to inspect the Togruta that had just ambushed him. She seemed older than Maia, although it was hard to tell how old she could be. Her skin was of a deep orange, white markings decorated her face. She was tall for a woman, the growths on her head making her easily taller than Din himself. 

The Togruta broke eye contact with Grogu once to look at the Mandalorian, possibly having felt his gaze linger on her. She turned back to Grogu a moment later. Feeling safe to approach them, Din came closer to them. Ahsoka’s presence was so different from Maia’s. It was more like being confronted with yet another armorer, a powerful woman, aware of her aura and presence instead of someone purposely making herself smaller. She took the child and came towards Din, setting Grogu down on yet another rock before she herself sat down. 

»You can communicate, right?« he asked. He had seen it before. »In a way. We can feel each other’s thoughts,« Tano replied. Din pondered whether he should tell her that he knew something, but Tano continued. »He was raised at the Jedi temple on Coruscant. About thirty years ago, during Order 66, when all Jedi were deemed enemies to the Empire and subsequently killed, he was hidden away.« »They killed all Jedi?« Ahsoka sighed and averted her face for a moment. »Not even the children were safe.« 

Maia had to be around 30, maybe a little younger. Was she only now alive because she was born a little too late? Why did the Empire kill all the Jedi but then started capturing the remaining female force-sensitive individuals to turn them into … whatever? Din sat down with Grogu and Ahsoka, the helmet stayed turned toward Tano. »His memories turn dark after that. He’s lost and alone.« She reached over and offered her finger for Grogu to hold onto. »Can he still wield the force?« she asked, not breaking eye contact with the child. Din tried to find the right words. »I’ve seen him do things I can’t otherwise explain. Heal wounds, move things with his mind.« His voice turned quiet, Ahsoka not breaking the silence. »My task was to bring him to a Jedi,« Din finally said, freeing his tongue from the knot it had formed. »Well… what about Maia?« Finally, Tano’s head turned back to him, at the same time he felt his heart sink into his pants. 

»How do you –« »Grogu told me about her,« she explained, not even allowing Din to finish his question. Of course, he was a child. He didn’t understand why Maia was suddenly gone, all he could see was that … well, Din and her had behaved oddly around each other, and now she was gone. Din swallowed hard. »She’s not a Jedi. She said she can’t do what Grogu would need.« He sent her away. She was warming up to him and also the child, and he sent her away, because all he wanted was to rip this damn helmet off of his head to kiss her again. »Where did you even find her?« Ahsoka asked, leaning back as Grogu had stopped holding onto her finger.

Din closed his eyes, thinking back to when he had first encountered her on Nevarro. »I didn’t find her. She found us, wanting to make sure Grogu was safe from the Empire.« She would have died for the little one, and Din had almost let it happen. »Such a noble task. Do you know more about her? Did she ever mention a master?« Ahsoka inquired. »I’m just asking because… force-sensitives are rare these days and the name doesn’t ring a bell. She seems young from Grogu’s memories.« 

The Mandalorian found himself in a sticky situation. He was aware that Maia had hid away for years, keeping her identity a secret to keep herself safe. Because of him, or because of Grogu, she had interfered with an Imperial remnant, and now she was back on their radar. Besides: would she appreciate an actual Jedi knowing about her, when she didn’t talk about the order in the most positive way? But then again, Tano could have killed him straight away. And how had Maia explained it? Grogu felt their intentions, and the little one was very relaxed in the Togruta’s presence. 

»She had no master. Saving Grogu was a personal matter for her, she was part of the mother-project back then,« he explained. He dreaded his decision to tell the woman as soon as the words had left his lips, but he couldn’t take them back now. »I see,« she said first, turning more towards him and leaning forward. »I’ve heard rumors, but I thought none had survived. I can see why she wouldn’t deem herself capable to train a traumatized child, she was one herself, once. It’s terrible what they did to these children and women.« 

What was he supposed to say? This was nothing he could reply much to. Maia might have cared about the empathy Tano sent her way. »We really need your help. Or… he does,« Din changed topic, nodding over to Grogu who had fallen asleep on the moss-covered rock. »Let him rest. I’ll evaluate him tomorrow.« Relief washed over him when Ahsoka said this. It wasn’t a yes, yet, but a maybe. He could work with a maybe. 

»Can I ask you something?« he hesitantly asked. Now that he had the chance, he didn’t want it to go to waste. »You just did,« she smirked. »Go ahead.« »Is it true that Jedi have to live by strict rules?« He felt his heart rate pick up. Maia had mentioned a few things about why she didn’t want to be part of the order, had it still existed. »What rules are you referring to specifically?« He took a deep breath. »No attachments, neither possessions nor relationships are allowed. As a Mandalorian, I fail to see how loyalty to someone can be seen as bad.« 

Tano leaned back and inspected the armor, trying to read his body language. »Answer me this: Would you kill for love?« There wasn’t too long of a pause before he replied »of course.« »It is the fear to lose that can be a Jedi’s downfall. Desperation brings out the worst in people, especially if paired with grief and anger. Jedi are powerful beings, and this power comes with responsibilities. Collateral damage is a lot more severe if a Jedi loses themselves.« He had seen it, how Maia had mangled that one body after she got tased. 

»I understand,« he sighed in defeat. It was right to send her away after all, but why did he struggle with his choice? Maia was missing here.

The next morning came quickly, and Ahsoka held her side of the bargain. »Let’s see what knowledge the little one possesses,« she said as Din sat him down on yet another rock covered in moss. Ahsoka found a small pebble on the ground, rolling it around in her hand for a bit before she presented it to Grogu, who was a few meters away from her. With a soft movement of the hand, she made the pebble float across the air towards Grogu, who stared in awe. Din sat off to the side. 

»Now return it to me,« she instructed the child and presented the palm of her hand. »He doesn’t understand,« Din interrupted, but Ahsoka was sure »he does.« The two force-sensitive individuals shared an intense look before Grogu let the pebble fall in defeat. With soft steps she approached him, placing her hand on Grogu’s forehead. »There’s so much fear in you.« She sighed and turned to Din, an apologetic look on her face. He dreaded having to hear that she was yet again someone who wouldn’t help him. It came differently, though, as she asked him to come over. 

»Maybe Grogu listens to you,« she guessed and handed the stone to him. And just like Ahsoka had done at first, he held the stone loosely in between index and thumb and looked over to his foundling. »Alright buddy, lift the stone.« He waited for a few seconds, but Grogu just sat there and cooed as if he didn’t understand. »See, he is stubborn,« Din huffed, causing the woman to smirk yet again. »Try to connect with him.« 

Connect, how should he? He was no Jedi. 

That’s when he remembered the little metal sphere Grogu had practically stolen from the Crest. This must’ve been the connection Tano meant, as Grogu pulled the ball out of Din’s fingers without any hesitation. Din was ecstatic, praising the child relentlessly when he went over and took the metal ball from him again. 

The euphoria ebbed when he saw the expression on Tano’s face. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, when she said »his attachment to you is strong.« She sighed deeply and shook her head. »I can’t train him.« Din, almost offended, asked. »What, why not?« »His attachment to you makes him vulnerable for his fears. It’s exactly what we talked about yesterday. I have seen what anger does to a fully trained Jedi knight. I will not start a child down the same path.« Her explanation made sense. He had seen it first hand himself, despite Maia regaining control in the last moment. »Let his abilities fade,« Ahsoka recommended. »Train him like you would a foundling, in the ways of the Mandalorians. I have to return to the village, I have unfinished business.« 

»The magistrate sent me to kill you,« Din finally confessed when Tano was on the leave, causing her to stop and turn back to him. He continued, »I didn’t agree to anything. I needed your help and I still do. I’m willing to offer my help if you help with my problem.« His wording was a little unfortunate, as the child scoffed. »If you help him get trained, or find a master.« 

Ahsoka agreed and they went back to the village, but not before Din had tucked Grogu away in the Crest, finally reunited with Maia’s shirt which he had instantly snuggled into.

The fight took all night, ending in victory as both Ahsoka and Din stood before the city gate. She handed the Beskar spear over to him, it was for the best if it was in the right hands. »I guess I should get Grogu then,« he said, the pain audible in his voice. While he had anticipated the moment, having to let go got harder, the longer it took. The way back to the Crest felt endless, his heart heavy with anticipation of having to say farewell. Grogu was peacefully sleeping in his hammock, drooling into Maia’s shirt. »Wake up buddy,« he softly awoke the child. »It’s time to say goodbye.« 

Din held Grogu for a while, feeling the shallow, tiny breaths underneath his fingers, listening to all the coos and babbles. He would miss the little one. As much as he was annoying to look after, it felt good to be there for someone. Din had really warmed up to the foundling and was now struggling to let go. Would Grogu understand why he had to give him away? Or would the child wonder why he had abandoned him. If Grogu would even remember him. 

Not wanting to postpone the inevitable further, Din exited the Crest with Grogu on his arms. To his surprise, Ahsoka waited for him just outside the ship. »He’s attached to you. I can not train him,« she stated. Din stopped in his tracks, just looked at her, and let the silence mariante for a second. »You promised. I held up my end of the agreement and helped you free the village.« Tano approached them and offered a finger for Grogu to hold onto. »There is a way,« she addressed the visor before her. »Fly to Tython. There you will find an ancient temple with a strong connection to the force. In the middle sits a stone where you can place Grogu.« »And then what?« »Then, he may choose his path. He can reach out through the force. A jedi may sense him and come searching for him. Perhaps they are willing to take him in.« 

Tython. Yet another stop in this sheer endless quest to get Grogu to safety. And yet another almost-farewell for Din. He knew it would just get worse the longer him and Grogu were together. 

Why? Why could Grogu not stay with him? Why was the child a danger to everyone if his feelings weren’t in check? Why did anyone Din had warmed up to have to leave him? 

The end of their journey was approaching. Din’s legs felt heavy when he carried Grogu back inside the Crest, sat down on the pilot’s seat and punched in the next coordinates. 

His glove brushed over the data stick Myrthol had given him after their adventure on Nevarro. He hadn’t found the time to check it yet, but the travel to Tython would take a while. What he wanted to find on there, he wasn’t sure himself. Maybe he wanted to know how much they knew about Maia. The Empire was aware of her, and possibly of him. 

Finding the data about her wasn’t too hard, considering her file had been changed fairly recently. Din hesitated. Did he want to snoop around? Maia was gone, nothing he could find on here could change the fact. But then again, if the data said the Empire had captured her, he would have to do something about it. She said the voice could have been a trap after all. 

»Grogu?« Din turned his helmet back to the child. »If we find a Jedi… you have to agree to come with them, okay? I… wish I could train you but I can’t. You’re too powerful. Don’t you want to learn that Jedi stuff?« he sighed. »You could be like Maia. Maybe you could see her again.« Did Grogu understand Din had no choice? It was like having to let Maia go. It was necessary for them all. Although, looking at the information he had found on her file, he massively regretted sending her away so cruelly. He had known something was special about her, and there he found the reason.

They arrived on Tython some time later, Din feeling the dread deep in his stomach. He found the mountain with the seeing stone, but having no other option than to land in a nearby valley. The last part of the way they flew with the jetpack, Din holding onto Grogu a little tighter than usual.  

The rock formation looked odd, spiky rocks arranged in a circle with a dome-shaped stone in the center. He couldn’t decipher the carvings on the seeing stone, but it surely looked odd. »I guess this is it. Does it look Jedi to you?« They exchanged a look. What did he expect? Of course Grogu wouldn’t reply. He sat the child down on the rock and shrugged. »And now… focus, I guess. Find a Jedi, as Ahsoka said.« 

He stared at Grogu for a bit before he heard the engine of another ship. He watched as it landed a little away from the temple. »Okay, change of plans, we have to get away from here.« When he turned back to get Grogu, the child was surrounded by a force field that he couldn't get through. The child had his eyes closed, the carvings on the stone glowed blue. Perhaps this meant he was reaching out to someone, just at the wrong time. It was getting dangerous. »I’m serious, Grogu. We better get out of here.« He looked over to the ship, watching someone exit. »Osik,« he cursed. »I’ll buy you some time.« Din walked down the mountain to seek out who was following them. His heart was pounding, fearing another bounty hunter or Imperial. 

Shots forced him to hide behind a boulder, allowing the cloaked stranger to approach him. »I’ve been tracking you for a while now, Mandalorian,« the stranger addressed him. His hood was up, his face hidden in the shadow of the dark fabric. »Are you a Jedi? Are you after the child?« Din asked. He didn’t care much any more. He wanted Grogu to finally be safe. The stranger removed his hood to reveal a middle-aged man with a scarred face. »I’m here for the armor,« he announced. »Over my dead body,« Din growled and aimed his blaster. He knew Beskar was highly sought after, but he would not give it away without a fight. »I’m not talking about your armor,« the man corrected. »I meant mine, the one you took from Cobb Vanth back on Tatooine.« 

Wait. Din knew who this armor belonged to. Boba Fett, Maia had told him. »Are you Mandalorian?« Din asked. »I’m a simple man making his way through the galaxy, like my father before me.« He was evading the question, great. »Did you take the Creed?« »My allegiance belongs to no one.« Din rolled his eyes underneath the helmet. »and this armor belongs to Mandalorians. This armor was looted in the purge.« »This armor belonged to my father, and now it is mine.« 

»Who’s going to stop me from just shooting you?« Din asked. »The sharpshooter on the hill over there,« Fett smugly replied. »Will pull the trigger before my lifeless body has even hit the ground.« Din scoffed, »I’m wearing Beskar, why would I care?« »I never said you were the target.« The Mandalorian’s heart sank when he realized he meant Grogu. From a hill the line to the child would be undisturbed. 

A familiar voice came from the larger rock formation next to him. »And if you remember, I never miss.« »Fennec?« Din asked and his helmet turned to the elevated spot where the sniper sat. »You have good ears, Mando.« 

After some back and forth, they agreed to lower their weapons and approach this a little more well-mannered. Having thought Shand dead, Din asked how she was able to stand here before him. The assassin explained that she had been left for dead, but Fett had saved her life, so she owed him. This was the confirmation, this was indeed Boba Fett. 

Just as yet another ship approached, Fett had offered his support in taking care of the child in exchange for the armor. There was no time to disagree with Fett any further, as the transporter that had landed next to the Crest was Imperial. Practically stumbling up the mountain, Din got to Grogu as fast as he could, but still the force field was up. The glow was brighter now and it felt like the force field had become stronger. »Grogu we need to go!« Din urged the child, who was too focused to even hear him. He tried yet again to get through the force field, ending in him being thrown back and losing consciousness for a bit. 

When the second transporter landed, Din came to and decided he needed to get down there. »Stay here, I will protect you. I’ll be back soon.« Shand and Fett had fended off the Stormtroopers while Djarin was unconscious. The bounty hunter had put on his armor, and Din could see how a teenage Maia would have been intimidated by Fett. Seeing him fight in the armor was definitely a sight to behold. 

Realizing they were no match to the three, the remaining Stormtroopers boarded the transporters to flee, only to be shot from the sky with one single jetpack rocket. Victory tasted so sweet, but the celebration was cut short when a shot from orbit suddenly hit the Crest, tearing the ship to shreds. 

All was gone in the blink of an eye. 

His weapons, his gear, the little trinkets he had collected on his missions. His home was in ruins. The tech in his helmet scanned the sky and showed a large ship in orbit, causing Djarin to run back to the temple. 

On his way back to the child, 4 Darktroopers deployed from the ship and surrounded Grogu, who at this point had fallen unconscious, causing the force field to drop. Just as Din and Fennec reached the mountain top, the droids left with Grogu. Fett followed them with his ship, offering to shoot them down, but Din vehemently declined. It would hurt Grogu, so they let the Troopers reach the ship. 

»They’re back,« Fett said in disbelief. »Who is?« Fennec asked him. »The Empire. I can see their cruiser up there. I’m coming back to you.« And while Fett landed his ship, Din stood in the wreckage of his beloved Crest. Everything was gone, destroyed, burnt, nonfunctional. The only two items he could salvage were the Beskar spear and the little metal ball Grogu had fallen in love with.

There he stood, with nothing left to his name apart from his armor, the spear, and a massively broken heart. Din had lost it all. His child, his home and therefore all means to get said child back. But there was a shimmer of hope: Despite the differences in the beginning, Fett swore to help Djarin get Grogu back, whatever it took. Their deal had been the safety of the child for the armor. Djarin had kept his end of the deal, Fett could keep his father's armor. 

Din was sure he would need help to get Grogu back from this cruiser, which no doubt belonged to Gideon. 

While on Fett’s ship and on the way off of Tython, Din retreated from the cockpit. He needed some time to himself, to process what had just happened. With the metal ball in his hand, he sat there, wondering how he could have failed so drastically. Of all things, he wondered if he could have prevented this from happening. Perhaps things would have ended up differently, had Maia stayed. 

If you realize that you need me, I won’t be far away, I promise. As long as my heart beats, you and Grogu won’t be alone in this galaxy. 

Din closed his eyes underneath the helmet and focused. Focused on Maia, in the desperate hope she could somehow hear him. He rolled the metal ball in his hand, trying to feel for anything changing, any sign she was with him. »Maia?« his voice was shaky, but he felt something. A warmth in his chest and an undeniable presence beside him. »I failed. I lost him,« he confessed and closed his fist around the ball until he felt his muscles strain. Admitting defeat stung, and his breathing betrayed him. 

It was as if he felt a weight being placed on his shoulder, like a hand that tried to reassure him. His shoulder twitched, feeling the weight more clearly for a moment. She was here, somehow. »We found and old stone that was supposed to guide a Jedi to us,« he explained in the seemingly empty room, »but the Empire found us before that. Now Gideon has him. I couldn’t keep him safe.« He felt the burn in his eyes, certain a tear would soon run down his face. His breathing became labored, as if something was crushing his chest. He exhaled sharply, legging his helmet fall forward into his hands. The metal ball clinked against the Beskar. 

»I hope you’re more successful than I am, that you found who was looking for you, because right now it feels like I have lost everything. Grogu, my ship, you. I –« He hesitated. The regret he felt for sending her away only grew with every passing day, and now he blamed himself for letting all of this happen. Had she stayed with him, things might have looked a little better. »I miss you.« A sob shook his whole body and he felt the weight on his shoulder vanish, as if she had let go. He missed her, admitting it felt good, especially now that he was sure she had heard it… somehow.

»Part of me wants to ask you to come back, but I fear I will ultimately cause you harm. The Empire is too close, and they are aware you are alive because of me. Despite that, part of me wants you back here.« Feeling this weak felt awful, but he knew Maia would never judge him for it. Maybe she was the only person who could understand him. »I found out something about you,« he said more softly. The feeling of her presence had left, however. His helmet raised once again and he looked around. Din was alone, as expected, and the warmth had left. Maybe he had imagined her after all. 

Their first stop to gather supplies and help to get Grogu back was Nevarro. Although Marshal Dune was now part of the New Republic and first refused to help Din get Mayfeld, 4 words were enough to change her mind. 

»I lost the child.«

Why Mayfeld exactly? Well. He was Imperial once and knew the in’s and out’s. As he would tell them upon his liberation, he needed access to  an internal terminal, meaning they had to infiltrate yet another base. There just happened to be one on Morak, an old refinery. 

The plan sounded so simple. Get in, find a terminal, locate Gideon’s cruiser and out they were. Mayfeld and Din had to do this alone, as any other of his allies were either wanted or familiars to the Empire. Never had Din anticipated having to change out of his armor into a different set of armor. In general, the involuntary road trip with Mayfeld to the base, him blabbering on and on about breaking rules when things got messy, had Din think about a few things. 

Things he had to think about later, as pirates tried to blow up their vehicle. Having to fight without his armor was a new experience for Din, and surprisingly, he was a lot stronger with less weight on him. Getting hit hurt more, but he was faster like this.

They made it in and just before Mayfeld reached the terminal, someone of his past was in the way, an old superior Mayfeld had served under, who might recognize the human. They were out of options, the ex-Imperial said. If Din wanted to operate the terminal, he’d have to have his face scanned. With some hesitation, the Mandalorian decided this was his breaking point. 

‘Thanks to the sacrifice of someone who loved me. I don’t want to believe that love is wrong when it saved my life.’ 

She might have talked about something entirely different back then, but Maia’s words echoed in his mind when he removed the helmet. Grogu was worth breaking the rules. He was a foundling, after all; His foundling. What Mandalorian would blame him for doing anything ensure the safety of a child? 

After gaining the location, Din looked for allies to join on his quest. Even Bo-Katan and Koska were in it, albeit for Gideon’s cruiser and also a mysterious weapon he allegedly had. To gain entrance, they kidnapped Dr. Pershing, whom Din had a personal issue with for all that he had done to Grogu. While he was glad to hear the foundling was still alive, it only fueled his drive to make it to Gideon as soon as possible.

They made it onto the ship, but as it would turn out, this was where the fun only began.  

[the-mandawhor1an]

WIP WEDNESDAY BITCHES

@evolnoomym thank you for kicking my ass by tagging me 😗✨

I actually manage to post on time? WHAT

Well. I only have one little snippet to show this week.

While one hand held onto Din by his waist, Maia’s other hand snaked up to the shoulder that was hidden from Vanth’s view. With every time Vanth would look over to her, she’d squeeze Din’s shoulder softly. Deep down she wondered, and she was a bit embarrassed by her own thoughts, what it would feel like to touch him without all the fabric separating them. Maia was unsure of how she would call whatever she shared with Din. She obviously liked him, but his point of view was completely unclear. 

Chapter 7 is coming along nicely. I have a 4 day weekend ahead so I hope I can get some more writing done.

Other exciting news:

The Beskar boobs are here and I'm busy af priming, sanding and painting all the armor parts. And the fabric for my flight suit arrived as well.

mostly tagging my Din girlies, no pressure babes:

@rivnedell @djarins-wife @djarins-cyare @djarinmuse @pedroswife69

@jennaispunk @grogusmum @penvisions

and last but not least @roughdaysandart

[the-mandawhor1an]

Wip Wednesday

It looks like this god damn cough that was with me all of December is finally leaving and what better way to celebrate that than with some intense fic scenes.

Maia and Din snippet under the cut, content warning this time around, death and grief. Get the tissues ready

»I wish … we had… more time.« His breath became more labored and he had to take multiple breaks to form a sentence. She leaned forward and leaned her head against his, softly whispering »I’ll find you in our next life.« And as much as Maia wished to beg for him to not leave her, she knew this was inevitable. »Grogu and I will be okay.« She kissed his temple when she felt his muscles relax as if she had just set him free. 

I am a little sorry for breaking all of our hearts

Taglist: @jennaispunk @whocaresstillthelouvre @burntheedges @rivnedell @roughdaysandart

@djarins-wife @littlemisspascal

» Click here to be added to the tag list «

Npt for the moots: @mountainsandmayhem @sizzlingcloudmentality @joelmillerspillowprincess @pedgito @burntheedges

@whocaresstillthelouvre @rivnedell @jksprincess10 @morallyinept @clawdee

@studioghibelli @evolnoomym @jennaispunk @penvisions @beefrobeefcal

@guiltyasdave @pedrospatch @mrsmando @djarins-cyare

[the-mandawhor1an]

The escape

[Flashback Chapter!] Chapter 0 – Guided by the stars, connected by the force

Masterlist

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Chapter summary: The day has arrived. Maia has to take another chance of breaking free of the shackles the Empire forced upon her. Maybe, just maybe, today is the day she can finally escape and seek the life she was destined to lead. To find out who she is and what her place in this universe is. 

Warnings: 18+ content, MDNI! Canon-typical violence, mentions of SA/involuntary pregnancy, brief mention of periods, the Empire in general needs its own warning, character death

Words: 2.6k 

A/N: This chapter will be one of many flashbacks (because I’m a slut for flashbacks) and I guess I call it chapter 0 because it’s JUST backstory, no tin can involvement yet. Enjoy, I guess!

»Maia, wake up,« a voice rudely awoke the 18-year old in what felt like the middle of the night. Her room didn’t have the luxury of a window, just cold, white, high shine walls and similarly sterile fluorescent lighting, so the only way to tell was by trusting her body, which felt heavy and uneasy in the shine of the cold, bright lights. »What’s going on?« she asked, soothing over her brown hair with one hand while her eyes adapted to the sudden change of brightness. After a few blinks to adjust, she made out the person that had barged in. Sitting upright in her bed, she turned to face the man that interrupted her slumber.

Raymond, a man she had met on her first day here, had a concerned expression plastered on his face. The expression only a father had when he feared for the worst for his child. It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them; him seeing her as his daughter, and her seeing a father in him. What made him enter her room in the middle of the night and what in the world had him so worked up?

»You need to leave tonight,« he proclaimed, earning a puzzled look from the just awoken. »What?« She understood what he said, but not what he meant. »Listen, we don’t have much time. You have to leave. I’ve watched this long enough and I can not tolerate it any longer. They want to transfer you to the Phase 3 ward.« In an instant she rose from the bed, while he peeked his head out the doorframe to listen for any sign of steps in the hallway. »I have someone waiting for you at the outskirts of the facility, they’ll take you away from here.« 

Maia’s heart sank. With every day since her capture the hope to make it out of here dwindled more. And with each passing day it became more and more clear, why she was even here in the first place. At first they lied to her, promising her to take her back to her family as soon as they were found. The reality was a whole lot darker: She was taken from her family when she was about 4 years old. She lost everything that day: Her family, her future, herself. She forgot each detail about herself, even her name, as if it had been wiped from her memory. The Imperials only referred to her by her identification, M-414. Raymond had come up with ‘Maia’, which in retrospect was just her code with the numbers exchanged for vowels. But the then-4-year-old liked the name. 

Days became weeks, weeks turned to months as she studied and trained to one day be utilized by the Empire. Only as a teenager she had made the realization, that all test subjects were in fact girls, and that this was no coincidence. 

Early on the weekly assessments started to test their progress and also their capabilities. Fighting, acrobatics, using the force, sometimes fighting the other girls until one was barely hanging on. Until, one by one, the older subjects disappeared as the frustration with the officers and the Overseer grew. Although Maia had rarely interacted with the other girls, she could sense their presence in the force. But with every presence that left the close vicinity, an aura of pure dread grew on the other side of the facility. She was never allowed to go close to the Phase 3 ward, but she knew what was going on there. The screams would double within 8 to 9 months, after a year it was unbearable to be even close to that area in the facility. There was so much grief, pain, helplessness. Yet still – Maia felt love, even in such a dark place, where everything was hopeless. 

Love. She was surrounded by it, even though it was hard to find love in a place like this. Yet still, there was this sliver of love in all of the dark feelings that surrounded the facility. Like the undying love a parent had for a child. The same love she saw in the warm brown eyes of her father, hidden behind the veil of years of worry.

The Imperials were counting on this love, this motherly instinct as means to make the girls obedient. Holding the children hostage they forced them to have, making sure every rebellious thought was killed off to protect the infants that kept Phase 3 quarters awake at all times of day. Children, more specifically only daughters, born by abducted, brainwashed, abused women, to be molded into the perfect Sith assassins. Who knows what experiments were conducted on all those poor souls in the name of science. 

Hastily, she got dressed as her father packed some of her clothes into a bag. Her hands were shaking as she tried to put on her jacket. With a sigh Raymond walked up to her and helped her, his hands soothing over her shoulders in the process. Maia shook her head, her voice was trembling. »I don’t understand, why me? I’m not ready to…« be a mother. While she was definitely not mentally ready to be forced to get pregnant and have a child, she wasn’t physically. Part of the never-ending medical examinations was monitoring their hormone levels. She hadn’t spiked yet, and hadn’t had to deal with the pain and discomfort that came with the bleeding.

»They want to see results quicker so their approach has changed. Take the most promising subjects and give them hormone therapy. They’re tired of waiting for nature to take its time. This is why I have to get you out tonight. You are on their list.« Raymond furrowed his brows. He was a captive himself, albeit not in the same way Maia was, but still he felt the guilt of not ever trying to put an end to this. Or not doing it sooner. He had hoped to have her be safe in here, but all of his efforts, all his good intentions, were futile. Witnessing what the Empire did to so many girls had broken him over the years. The scientist was a shadow of his former self. The fullness in his cheeks had left years ago and his hair had grayed substantially. Only the softness in his gaze persisted whenever he faced his beloved daughter.

»Are you coming with me?« He halted in his movements and looked into her eyes. Desperation shone within the green eyes of the young woman. As much as he’d love to leave with her, he couldn’t. She was a person of interest and so was he. That meant her chances were a lot better if he distracted them long enough. He knew she make out his lies without having to think about it much, so he chose to be honest with her. Even if it meant seeing her heart break in front of his eyes. »I wish I could, Darling.« His brows furrowed as he saw her eyes welling up with tears. It tug on his heartstrings but he knew it had to be like this. Gently, he cupped her face in his hands and stroked over her cheeks with his thumbs.

»You are smart and so unbelievably strong. I know you can do it without me. You have to. I will stay here and distract them as long as I can.« »What about my sisters?« She had always referred to the others as such. Raymond often wondered if that was a fragment of her old self shining through. »I will try to get them out of here as well.« Maia wasn’t sure she could believe him. She wanted to, she really did, but something in the way he looked at her made it feel like a farewell. »I’m really sorry it has to be like this. You’re not burdened by being a mother yet so your chances are far better to make it out of here.« He pulled her into a tight hug before they made their way out of her room. 

He pulled out a blaster and slowly entered the hallway with his daughter in tow. They didn’t talk as to not alert the guards that were patrolling. Every now and then Maia had to get rid of one while Raymond dealt with the other. He hated himself for forcing her hand to kill, but they couldn’t risk another escape attempt to fail. 

Something was off, Maia could tell by her father’s posture. He was uneasy, maybe because they had yet to run into actual trouble, which was suspicious to say the least. The hangar was just ahead of them, when the door opened and a squad of stormtroopers greeted them. None moved, yet, but Raymond halted. Not all was lost yet, but they had to focus. 

»I have to admit, I was wondering when you would try to save one of your little ones, Doctor Kaville,« a voice echoed through the hallway towards them, as the Overseer approached from behind the troopers. Raymond extended his arm to ward off his daughter. »We were sure you’d want little 414 out of here soon.« »Velkas, this has to end,« Raymond retorted, slowly pulling Maia behind his back as if to shield her with his body. They weren’t going to open fire on them, were they? »You have no idea what you’re doing here.« »We are breeding our own little army of Sith, Raymond, beautiful enough to blind the enemies of the Empire and equally lethal. Aren’t you proud of what we have achieved so far? She is one of the strongest force-users we have, her daughters will be even stronger, given the right training.« »You will never understand, will you? You are creating ticking time-bombs. You are working toward your own destruction. Training girls to be killers while treating them like animals, breeding them and relentlessly abusing them. They will rebel against you some day.« Velkas scoffed. Maia obviously never liked the Overseer, in his shiny black uniform, the serious expression that never left his features, the grayish undertone his skin had, similar to the white-silver of his hair. He wasn’t old by any means, but his appearance was downright unpleasant to look at. Perhaps he himself was consumed by the dark. 

With one gesture the stormtroopers approached Raymond, blasters drawn and focused on the doctor. Maia was practically glued to her father’s uniform, pressing her face into the fabric. Two troopers approached to separate the two, while Raymond was disarmed and handcuffed. Maia put up a fight, although she wasn’t quite angry enough to be any threat to the two men, yet. Screaming and kicking, they dragged her behind Raymond toward a makeshift holding cell.

The captives were dragged into one of the cargo rooms that surrounded the hangar. Maia had been handcuffed as well, tased one too many times to be able to walk straight any more. She was fixed to the wall, while Raymond was brought to his knees, right opposite of her. Both had been putting up a bit of a fight, although it wasn’t showing on the scientist. Strands of his hair were in disarray and his uniform had creased in places, but other than that he looked like he had just had a bad night. The teenager on the opposite hand looked a mess. Her hair was down, matted in places from fighting while getting handcuffed. Her jacket had burn marks where the taser had made contact with her. Her nose was bloodied and her face wet from the angry tears she had been slowly letting out.

»Look at me,« Raymond begged her. He knew what they would do to him. To make sure they could break her and deter her from making her final escape attempt. The last time she had made it off the perimeter, this time she would for sure make it farther. She didn’t listen, rather she watched as another familiar face entered the makeshift prison cell. »Maia,look.at.me,« Raymond pressed. She fixed her gaze to her father’s dark brown eyes, now also welling with tears. »I’m really sorry, Dr. Kaville,« Nathan, the blonde man holding a blaster to Raymond’s temple, confessed. »Nathan stop this,« Maia begged him. »Please.« Of course they were forcing her kind-of-boyfriend to kill her father. She pulled on her restraints, trying to break free from the cuffs they had her in. »It’s okay, Honey. I’ll be fine,« again, Raymond tried to reason with her, seeing her struggle to deal with her emotions already had him fear the worst. She tugged on the restraints, her hands looking like they would disconnect from her wrist any second now. Her breathing was erratic, sobs shook her whole body. »Remember everything I’ve told you. About what defines us, about who you want to be in this world. I am so immeasurably proud of you and that will never change. Promise you won’t forget who you are, deep down.« Tears started running down her face as she slowly nodded. She didn’t want to let go, but a small part in her didn’t want her father to see her struggle in his last moments. »I promise.« »My story might end here, but yours won’t. There is so much left for you to discover in this galaxy. Who you are, and who he is.« 

Her heart skipped a beat. Nathan knew who Raymond was referring to. Maia had mentioned it briefly in one of their conversations. She had someone out there, someone she could connect to in a way they never could. Possibly a relative. Possibly something more powerful than that. 

Nathan pressed the gun further into Raymond’s temple as one of his supervisors grew impatient. »Shoot him already!« Raymond choked a sob himself. It broke his heart to know he would ultimately hurt her by dying in front of her eyes. »I love you so much. Find him.« Those were the last words she ever heard of her father. She didn’t even register the sound of the gun going off. His lifeless body fell to the side while Nathan fought back a heave. The communications engineer averted his gaze and hunched over. He had just killed someone. That alone was too much to process, more so as this was his girlfriend’s father.

Her world fell apart. With Raymond, the last person keeping her sane in this mess had ceased. Not even Nathan, who she now made responsible for the passing of her only comfort, would be able to stop her. 

She screamed as loud as she could without losing consciousness. She pulled on the handcuffs once again, while the metal holding her back made strange noises. The low grumble of metal being bent surrounded the holding cell, all the way to the other side of the hangar. This was what they had wanted to see all this time. Her losing the grip on her emotions. The green in her eyes faded and slowly, even the yellow left to be replaced by fiery red. With a crack, the metal gave in, and they were now confronted with what could happen if you made a force-user angry enough.

There wasn’t much she remembered after that, but the screams had haunted her for years afterwards. Sometimes she could make out mortified faces in her dreams. She doesn’t know if anyone survived the destruction of the research facility, and she mostly didn’t care. All she knew was: she had made it out somehow, awaking days later in a foreign place. She had made it. 

More of Wolke's ramblings: Soooooo... Actually I wasn't planning to start the story with this, which is precisely why I call it chapter zero. But I feel like my original approach lacked the exposition and this scene offered a lot of it. It's not really smart to start with a bang like this, killing off a character that at this point hasn't established himself to any extent, but I feel like there is a totally different kind of tragedy in witnessing Raymond's passing without knowing much about him. It'll hurt more in the end. At least that's what I hope for.