Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Din Djarin traipsed through the overgrown forest, silent and acutely aware of his surroundings, careful not to snap a twig or step too loudly on a crunchy leaf. The bounty hunter was searching for his next target. He’d followed his tracking fob from one system to the next searching for them.

Male, human, 38. That’s all he knew, but at least the number of credits was worth the hassle. Din had heard whispers about an Imperial base hidden within the forest to the east of the town he’d arrived in earlier that day. He knew he had to be extra cautious. Getting seen by an Imp while on a job is one problem he didn’t care to have.

The Mandalorian wasn’t intimidated by Imps, so he had no problem taking one down if he was caught within the outer perimeter. He’d faced them before, many a time, and had even come face to face with a Moff on more than one occasion. A man who had wronged him and taken something precious from him.

As Din moved deeper within the forest he caught a glimpse of white perimeter lights that shone beams into the deep dark of the woods and knew he was where he was supposed to be. Stepping sideways into the darkness, Din silently made his way to the perimeter outpost, careful not to be caught in the light of the overhead lamps.

One Stormtrooper was guarding what looked to be the entrance of the outpost, while two more were circling the edge of the camp. The outpost wasn’t too large, Din noted four white tents on the west side of the camp, while another larger black tent was in the far corner on the east side, being guarded by another single Stormtrooper.

Further surveying indicated several sleeping troopers within the tents as the openings flapped in the nighttime air, while some wandered the camp. Containers lined the edges of the outpost to the north, creating a sort of barrier while more open containers of what looked like blasters were open near the center.

Din caught a glimpse of a tall figure standing near the campfire that crackled under the stars. His back was facing him, so Din couldn’t see his face, but by the looks of his uniform and his billowing black cape, he knew he must be a higher rank than the Stormtroopers.

The bounty hunter mentally mapped his route into the camp, taking note of the two troopers who were walking along the edges, deciding it was best to make his way in from behind to avoid detection.

Silently, Din crept further into the forest moving around the edges of the outpost in the darkness. Checking to see if the coast was clear, and no more troopers were making the rounds, he crouched down and moved towards the back of the black tent he had scouted earlier.

Upon reaching the tent, he realized there was a small opening in the back, so he raised himself up and silently slipped inside to use as cover for the time being.

The tent was dim, lit only by a lantern that sat on a nearby table. The Mandalorian knew he only had a short amount of time before someone would come back, so he quickly began gathering in his surroundings.

Crates of more containers lined one area of the tent while the other held cages. Cells? As he stepped closer he noticed a crumpled body lying on the ground of the cell, mouth open and a blaster shot to the chest. It was his target.

“Dank farrik!” he whispered loudly.

And that’s when he heard it. A sharp intake of breath. Din whipped around immediately and scanned the room, hand on his holstered blaster, ready to open fire.

He was so preoccupied with looking at the dead bounty that he hadn’t taken notice of the other side of the tent. Carefully, he took a step forward in the dim light, and saw, hidden in the shadows a small figure standing upright.

A girl.

Hands behind her back, bound to a metallic pole that reached the ceiling of the tent. She wasn't standing at all, more like holding herself up. Her eyes were covered by a piece of cloth, and another was wrapped around her mouth, stifling her breath.

She wore loose, brown pants and combat boots of a darker shade, along with a grey bando wrapped around her chest. As Din looked closer, he realized she was also wearing a thin, metal device around her neck that had a red blinking light. He’d seen something like that before, only it wasn't for the wearer's neck and was created for a pair of small, green wrists.

Din peered at her, confused. The tip he received only mentioned that the Imps had one prisoner in their custody. Why was this girl here, too?

She must have heard him whispering earlier and that’s what had alerted her to his presence. Otherwise, she just stood perfectly still, silent, although her knees buckled slightly from holding herself up.

Din thought perhaps she was a local who had been picked up by the Imps. But if that was true, why wasn't she in another holding cell? And why was she wearing that device around her neck?

Just as Din was about to take another step forward to get a better look at her, he heard footsteps coming his way. As quickly as he had entered, Din swiftly stepped back into the shadows and made his exit the way he came, leaving the girl to stand in the dim light, alone.

Outside again, the Mandalorian took one step away from the tent, disappointed that his bounty was dead, before he stopped himself and turned his helmet to the small opening in the fabric. Peering inside, he saw the tall figure from earlier staring at the girl head-on. She looked so small compared to him while he towered over her. He was wearing a white suit with a matching white cape, black knee-high boots, and had his blonde hair brushed from his face.

The figure reached up and yanked the fabric from the girl’s mouth, tossing it aside and grabbing her jaw with his gloved fingers.

“Are you ready to talk?” he asked. The girl just stood there quietly as he manhandled her face with his grip, not saying a word.

“Listen, girl," he said lowly. "You’re going to tell me what I need to know… or else I'll use other methods that can be more persuasive. I'm sure you don't want that again, do you?"

Din watched silently as the girl shook under the general’s grip, uncertain of what to do. He had come for the bounty. That was all. Now was not the time to be playing hero, he needed to get out of there before the entire outpost became aware of his presence. He was still a wanted man after all.

“You don’t want me getting my troopers in here, do you? Hmm? They can be... rough when given orders.”

Again, she stood silently as the man in white towered over her. Din could tell he had grown irritated as he sighed a deep breath.

“Where is it!?” he demanded, roughly moving the girl’s face in his grip, his fingers making indents in her cheeks.

Din listened closely, curious as to what could be so important.

“Where is it?" he repeated. "Where is the Jedi Temple?”

Din’s steady breathing hitched.

Jedi?

No, that can't be right. Not again.
The Mandalorian was accustomed to Jedi, as much as he hated to think about it. At that moment, flashes of the past came back to him. Flashes of a hooded man wielding a green lightsaber, a Togruta woman who had taught him so much, and Grogu. Grogu who-

Din bit back tears as he thought of him. Stop it, he told himself, now’s not the time.

Looking back into the tent, Din watched as the tall figure released the girl’s face from his grip roughly. He stepped away from her slightly and turned his back as if to leave the tent. But before he did he drew his black, gloved hand back in a flash and struck the girl across the face.

The girl’s face whipped to the side and she coughed, gasping. Din’s fist clenched, subconsciously releasing his blaster from its fastening on his holster.

“You’re just making it harder for yourself," the man said. "Sooner or later, you will tell me what I want to know." He was so close to the girl now, his face mere centimeters away from hers.

The man in white stepped away, cape billowing behind him, and left the tent. Almost immediately, a Stormtrooper entered with a vibroblade in hand.

Switching it on he held it to the girl’s chest and said, “You brought this on yourself, scum.”

Before Din could react, the trooper aimed the blade at the girl’s abdomen, pushed it through her skin roughly, sliced downwards, and swiftly removed it from her open flesh. The girl released a guttural scream that rang through Din's helmet, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Din made his decision.

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Rushing into the tent, he charged up behind the Trooper. Just as he was about to push the vibroblade back into the girl, Din grabbed the hand that held the blade and forced the Trooper to jam it into his own throat. All he did was helplessly gurgle and claw at Din's helmet behind him.

He was dead in seconds.

Din released his body and let it fall to his feet. He waited cautiously, waiting for any more sound outside the tent before stepping towards the girl. Blood dripped from the left side of her exposed abdomen, and her head drooped low.

Reaching up, Din pulled the blindfold away from the girl’s eyes and tilted her head up slowly with his gloved fingertips.

The girl blinked away the darkness and stared up at Din through her hooded gaze, her golden brown eyes penetrating his own through his visor. Din's mouth parted in surprise. A large cut with a welt could be seen on the right side of her face where the man in white had struck her.

But as soon as the girl laid eyes on him, his towering form decked in armor, she began to panic, trying desperately to get away from him, pushing herself back against the pole that secured her, gasping in terror.

“It’s okay!” Din whispered, releasing her chin. “It’s okay. I’m here to help!”

The girl blinked up at him, tears staining her face, her reddened lips quivering.

“I promise, I’m not going to hurt you. I'm going to get you out of here. I just need to untie your hands and then you’re free. Okay?”

The girl stood silently for a few seconds before she nodded nervously, giving Din the confirmation to move around her body to undo her restraints. As Din did, he noticed immediately the scars and sucked in a sharp breath. Some fresh and some old, each one wicked and jagged covering her back.

Deciding now wasn’t the time to be questioning such things, he reached down and cut away the bindings that held her wrists together. The girl fell forward onto her hands and knees instantly, gasping at the pain in her side.

Din moved to help her up but she scurried to move away from him, holding her wound and gripping the dirt ground beneath her. She was scared.

Sensing her unease, Din knelt in front of her and tried his best to seem as unthreatening as possible.

“I know you must be confused and scared right now, but I’m not going to hurt you,” he said lowly.

She sat staring at Din for a few seconds before he continued.

“I have a ship. It’s not too far from here. If you want, I can take you away from here. From the Imps. I can help you.” The girl looked like she was beginning to understand him and she relaxed her expression a little.

“We need to leave. That man is going to be back soon, and then we’ll both be in trouble. What's it going to be?”

As Din said that, he heard multiple voices outside the tent talking.

“They’re coming. Come on, we need to move!” Din almost yelled. It looked like the girl had been weighing her options, because before he could say another word she was gingerly rising to her feet, still clutching her stab wound.

“Come on, this way,” he urged, leading the girl to the back of the tent and into the night.

Din had only made it five feet from the tent when heard a yell. The Imps must know she’s gone.

“We need to run! Are you okay?” he asked the girl, glancing at her wound.

She nodded slightly, even though it looked like she was about to pass out.

“Follow me. This way, quickly!”

It was then that Din heard scurrying, a blaring alarm sounded within the camp and shouted orders were being given.

Dank ferrik!

Din moved quickly through the forest with the girl at his heels. She kept stumbling under her feet, exhausted and shivering in the cool night air. He could tell by the way she clung to her side and breathed raspy breaths that she was in pain and in desperate need of medical attention, but they couldn’t stop there. They needed to get back to his ship.

“We’re almost there, just hold on,” he said.

The girl just kept on and Din caught a glimpse of her ashen face, her eyelids almost fully closed, she looked as if she would drop at any second. Finally, they came to a clearing in the forest, a steep ridge dipped low into the ground but ahead the Mandalorian could see the faint outline of his ship in the darkness.

“There it is,” he explained.

He whipped around and heard distant shouts and the sound of boots stomping and twigs snapping. Just as he turned back to the girl, he watched her collapse and stumble down into the muddy ridge. He wasn’t fast enough to grab a hold of her arm and instead, she rolled violently until she was lying flat on her back in the leaves.

“Hold on!” he shouted.

Din climbed down the slope with ease, careful not to slip on any wet soil, and fell to the girl’s side. He reached for her pulse on her neck, checking to see if she was still alive. Barely. The hunter could feel a faint beating through the leather of his gloves. She was unconscious and more blood seemed to be pooling from the wound on her side, some of the blood on her abdomen had crusted over after mixing with the dirt.

“Dank ferrik,” he repeated out loud this time.

Gingerly, the Mandalorian reached underneath the girl and lifted her into his arms, wrapping one hand around her unwounded side while the other clasped her legs together.

“They must have gone this way!” Troopers began shouting in the distance. They were so close now. He had to get back to the ship.

Din leaped back up with the girl in his arms and began trudging his way up the opposite side of the slope. Thankfully it wasn’t too wet from the evening dew so he was able to safely make his way to the top without tumbling backward with the girl still in his arms.

He heard the girl whimper, and as he looked down at her face, he saw her pained expression under the moonlight breaking through the trees. Her eyebrows were screwed together, she was breathing slowly while blood trickled down her temple and her lips quivered. He couldn’t waste any more time so he began jogging the rest of the way, careful not to bump the girl’s wounds against his Beskar. In the misty clearing, he arrived at his ship. A chrome, post-Empire model, newer than the Razor Crest, but still covert enough to avoid being recognized by Imperial scanners.

Din reached for a button on his wrist guard and opened up the ramp of the ship. He could hear them getting closer, they must be at the ridge that the girl had fallen in by now.

At that thought, a blaster shot soared past Din's helmet, almost piercing the girl as well. Din let out another loud curse and clutched the girl tighter. The ramp had just finished opening and Din ran inside, closing it behind him.

Inside the hull, he placed the girl carefully onto a small cot and secured her body with the safety straps. She was still unconscious but Din couldn’t do anything to help her now except leave this place as fast as possible.

Leaving the girl where she was, Din swiftly climbed a ladder to his far left, entered the upper part of the ship, and ran along the short corridor to the cockpit.

He jumped in his seat and began pressing several commands on the control panel. The ship roared to life. He pulled a lever, hit a few more buttons and the ship began lifting into the air. Din looked out of his side window and saw a squad of Stormtroopers firing in his direction.

When the ship was high enough above ground, and clear of any trees, Din pulled a swift U-turn and shot into the sky, leaving the Troopers to blast shots aimlessly into the air. He climbed higher and higher until he broke the atmosphere and could finally see the stars before punching in a few random coordinates for their escape.

Now surrounded by the quietness of open space, Din pressed the hyperdrive ignition launching the ship into space. Blue streaks of light flashed before his eyes as he let out a massive sigh of relief.

Chapter Text

The Mandalorian leaned back in his chair and was just about to close his eyes when he remembered his guest. He leaped from his seat, turned on the auto-pilot, and ran back towards the ladder.

After dropping into the hull, he turned and noticed the girl lay still. She was so still it looked as if she could've been sleeping if it were not for the bloody stains covering her abdomen. Din crouched down next to the girl and undid the safety straps from her body. Her head lolled to the side exposing the device locked around her neck, bringing back memories of-

Din clenched his gloved fists.

Jumping back up, Din strode towards the fresher located in the back of his ship. It was a tad larger than the tiny one he had on the Razor Crest, this one even included a standing fresher and privy, which he liked. He reached into the storage cupboard below the sink, drew out a medical bag, and pulled a rag from the bag before soaking it under the tap with warm water.

“Hang on,” he said, making his way back over to the girl.

Din had cleaned plenty of cuts and stab wounds before, on himself at least, but there was something about doing it to a stranger he’d just met that made him tread more carefully. He pulled up a stool next to the bed and took out additional cleaning swabs, Bacta spray, and his field cauterizer.

Before he could seal her wound he’d have to clean all the dirt and grime off her first. Din grabbed the soaked rag and slowly began wiping away the dirt and dried blood. It was caked onto her body from her fall, it took a few minutes to reveal her olive-toned skin beneath. He drew in his breath for a second before he began wiping again until finally most of the dirt and blood were gone. Her damp abdomen glistened in the overhead light, and now he could see the damage that was done more clearly.

A precise, four-inch stab wound ran down her left side where the trooper had dragged the vibroblade down after piercing her skin. He could tell by the placement of the wound that it hadn’t caused any major internal damage but it still looked nasty and he bet it hurt like hell. For a moment, he wondered if they would've bothered to patch her up after torturing her, or just leave her to bleed out on her own.

Damn animals.

Din reached into the bag and pulled out some disinfectant and a clean rag. He soaked the first in the clear substance and began gently patting away at the wound to clean it. But before Din could even place the rag on the girl, a hand had reached up and grabbed him by the wrist. Surprised, he looked up to see the girl's wide eyes were open, looking around in shock.

She yelped and began breathing heavily, confused about her surroundings and who was handling her. She tried to move away which only caused more blood to seep from the wound.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Din tried to explain, holding his empty hand up in surrender. “You’re on my ship. You passed out and I brought you here. You’re safe.”

The girl just stared into his visor and Din could now see in the glowing light above them that her eyes were in fact dark brown with flecks of gold and amber. He couldn't stop staring as she gazed at him in confusion.

She then flicked her eyes downwards, looking at his hand holding the rag, which she still clutched fiercely.

“Your wound. It’s dirty and you're still bleeding. I need to clean it and mend it or it’ll get infected,” Din said calmly. “May I?”

He tilted his head toward the girl’s wound. Slowly, she let go of his wrist and lay back down, closing her eyes. Din hesitated but began soothing the rag to her wound slowly, being careful not to apply too much pressure. The worst of the blood had stopped pouring out. That's good.

As he glanced down, Din noticed the girl was grasping the mattress beneath her, nails digging into the fabric to stifle the stinging sensation he knew she felt. He'd done this to himself too many times to count, it was obvious to him how she must be feeling.

After he finished cleaning the wound, Din said, “All done, but it’ll need to be cauterized. It's a deep wound.”

The girl barely registered what he said, just huffed a sigh and nodded her head. He remembered the scars that already littered her back, but kept quiet.

Din put down the now dirty rag and reached into the medical bag, withdrawing his field cauterizer. He withdrew his gloves and steadied the tool in his hand before switching it on. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the girl tilt her head slightly in his direction as if she were looking at his bare hands.

With the tool charged up and hot enough to use, just before he began his work, he made sure the girl was okay with a glance in her direction.

“I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt," he spoke gently.

Again, the girl just nodded. Din couldn't tell if she was pretending to be brave. He also thought perhaps she was mute as she hadn’t spoken a word since he first brought her on board. 

Din gently settled one hand across the girl’s abdomen pushing the skin of the wound together carefully, while the other got ready to cauterize. Her skin was hot under his palm and Din realized this was the first time he’d had skin-to-skin contact with another human in the longest time.

Just get it over with, he scolded himself.

And so he began dragging the tool downwards over her gash, sealing the skin together while little puffs of steam lifted from her singed skin. As soon as the tool began its work, the girl let out a sharp gasp and grabbed the other side of the cot, nails digging into the fabric.

Din stopped for a second and looked down at her small hand squirming for something to hold onto. Glancing back up he saw that the girl’s brows were furrowed and she was biting her bottom lip. Beads of sweat were beginning to build up on her forehead while her other hand lay on her opposite side in an angry fist.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

The girl didn’t answer, instead, she blew out a soft but shaky breath, steadying herself as Din continued.

She remained that way for the entire time, clutching the cot, while he carried on with his mending. Minutes later he was done and applied some Bacta spray to help with the healing process before leaning back in his stool.

“All done,” he said, tossing the medical gear back in the bag, out of the way.

The girl opened her eyes and tried to sit up with her elbows.

“Hey, be careful!" he said leaning towards the girl and putting a hand on her damp shoulder to push her back down. "You’ll put too much strain on your wound. At least rest for a while.” 

She looked up at him and he quickly drew his hand back before standing over her again. She drew her fingers over her new scar lightly, grazing the line of her cauterized skin. Din just stared at her, not even waiting for a response.

After a few more seconds, the girl reluctantly lay back down, placing her hands over her chest, shivering in the cool air of the hull. He realized she must be freezing. It was cold in space after all and she was wearing nothing but a stained bando and ripped pants.

He stood and climbed the ladder once more, and walked a short distance to his tiny bedroom on the right side of the second floor of the ship, a foot away from the cockpit. As the doors slid open, he went inside and grabbed a blanket off the end of his bed.

After returning to the hull, he made his way back to the girl, who was still in the same position as before, and gently laid the blanket over her tired body.

The girl jumped slightly under the touch of the fabric, opening her eyes and throwing him a puzzled look. As if surprised her rescuer was offering her some form of comfort.

“I’ll let you rest,” Din stated and walked towards the ladder to go back to the cockpit once again. As he put one foot up on the step he heard her soft voice for the first time.

“Thank you.”

Din turned and saw the girl looking back at him over her shoulder. Not knowing what to say, he simply nodded towards her to let her know he heard her and smiled slightly to himself.

Not a mute then.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Din awoke in the cockpit and groaned from the lack of sleep.

He was awake all night, gazing into hyperspace and thinking about his new passenger, the Jedi, and especially Grogu. He had thought Grogu, Ahsoka, and Luke were the last of his kind in the universe, so... who was this girl?

Why did the Empire have her chained up like an animal, and why were they still so obsessed with the Jedi?

He had defeated Moff Gideon, so why were they still on this crusade?

Are they still experimenting? he thought, feeling his chest seize up with worry as he thought about Grogu again.

Din groaned and pulled his helmet off to rub his bare hands over his face. His beard and mustache had grown back again in such a short amount of time. They were still in hyperspace, it’d be a while until they were at their destination. Nevarro. The only place he knew he was welcome in this damn galaxy.

Standing up, he stretched his back, placed his helmet back on his head, and went to go check on the girl. He hadn’t heard a murmur out of her all night as he lay awake, but he was worried about her all the same.

The bounty hunter made his way through the corridor and down the ladder, landing silently in the hull, careful not to make too much noise in case the girl was still asleep. But as he turned around, he noticed that she wasn’t asleep after all.

She was sitting on the end of the cot, feet planted on the floor, her dark hair tousled from sleep. She was staring up at him through shining eyes, mouth slightly open. She sniffled and looked away quickly.

Din glimpsed that her cheeks were damp and realized he had just interrupted a private moment.

He silently cursed himself.

“Uhmm,” he cleared his throat, “I hope you got some rest, but we won’t be at our destination for a while.”

“I’ve been awake for hours,” she whispered, “couldn’t sleep after I woke up.”

“I see,” he said, doing another once-over of the girl and saw that her arms and face were still covered in dried blood and dirt.

The air fell silent and to avoid any awkwardness he blurted out, “I have a fresher if you want to use it. It has warm water so you can get yourself cleaned up. Your wound should be okay.”

“Okay… thanks," she replied, without looking back up at him.

Din was about to leave her to it but noticed that damn device was still clamped around her throat.

“Hang on. You still have that… thing around your neck,” Din gestured towards her.

It slipped his mind the night before following their escape and treating her wound. The girl reached up and slowly felt for the contraption around her throat, it looked like she'd completely forgotten about it too.

“I can remove it," he offered. "I’ll be careful."

She sat at the edge of the bed for a quiet second before nodding her head, giving Din the go-ahead. He turned and quickly grabbed a tool from his workbench opposite the cot, turning it over in his hands before deciding on a smaller one.

He turned back and walked towards the girl seated at the edge of the bed and knelt down in front of her legs. She flinched back slightly at their sudden proximity but slowly relaxed her tense shoulders, silently permitting him to access the device with a slight nod of her head.

They were face to face, eye-level if the girl could see his face.

“Let's take a look at it,” Din said, tentatively reaching up and brushing the girl's dark hair back over her right shoulder. He moved the tool between his fingers and got to work, figuring out a way to unlock the contraption.

Din could feel her eyes on him as he worked and for some reason, it made him nervous.

The contraption’s control box was tiny and he had to move his head into her personal space to see what he was doing. Her knees bumped his chest plate the closer he got and his gloved fingertips brushed the side of her neck as he worked. The girl swallowed.

Din managed to cut through a wire inside the control box that was keeping the contraption shut and the neckpiece popped open. Immediately the girl let out a shuddering breath, as if all the pressure left her body at once.

As Din removed the neckpiece from her, he saw the marks it had left behind. Dark brown and purple bruises wrapped around her throat and a few scabs lined where it had rubbed into her skin. Seeing the girl’s reaction to having it removed had him concoct even more questions in his head.

“Are you okay?” he asked, peering down at her.

“Ye-yes. Thank you.”

Din nodded and rose to his feet, turning back toward his workbench that was opposite the cot, and began putting his tools back in their place.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl stand up weakly, tossing aside the blanket he had given her, and bending her torso at an angle so as not to put too much pressure on her new wound.

Before she could even take one step she stumbled forward. Din whipped around and grabbed her, stopping her sudden fall.

“Easy," he said. "I’ve got you."

The girl tilted her head up and looked Din right through his visor again and he swore she could see right through it. Her eyes pierced his underneath. Thankful, grateful. He held his breath for a moment, as she stared at him. 

Stars.

Din held her up, one arm resting on the small of her back while the other was wrapped around her shoulders. Her palms lay flat on his armored chest to hold herself up. He felt her shiver under the cold touch of his Beskar and tried to loosen his grip without letting her fall over again.

“Let me help,” he said, leading her carefully to the fresher on the other side of the hull. He gently turned her away from him, but still held one hand around her shoulders just in case, while the other held her forearm for guidance.

As he approached the fresher door he pushed a button on the side. It slid open, allowing him to lead the girl inside.

“Hold onto this,” Din pointed to the sink and removed his arm from her body, “Do you think you’ll be okay on your own?”

“Y-Yes. I just felt lightheaded for a moment,” she replied, cheeks going pink.

Din nodded again and swiftly cast his gaze down her body. Her left pant leg was torn open slightly from her thigh to her calf, and he noticed a faint scar that lined the flesh of her thigh. He looked away quickly.

“Uhmm, I’ll try and find some spare clothes for you,” he explained quickly, his own cheeks going hot. “I’ll leave them outside the door for when you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” she said again. 

Din left the girl clutching the sink as he went to search for some clothes in the small cargo hold down a narrow corridor. He stepped down from the inner stairs into the small room. On the Razor Crest, he had to store everything directly in the hull which made maneuvering quite difficult, especially when it came to bringing in new bounties to carbon freeze.

He began scouring the crates that lined the opposite wall, looking for anything that would be suitable for the girl. Soon, he found a small box that he recognized that was a little dusty from how long it had been laying there. Opening it, he found a pair of used, leather gloves with orange stitching, along with a pair of small black pants and some scattered objects like rifle charges and spare blaster parts.

Din realized the gear belonged to Fennec. She must have left it behind after they completed their last mission together. He thought back to the day he met the bounty hunter on Tatooine. She was fierce and came so close to ending his life. Now he considered her to be one of his closest allies, or even... friend.

“These will have to do,” he said to himself, pulling the black pants from the box and stashing the box back where he found it. He hoped Fennec wouldn't mind.

Din thought that perhaps the girl would also need a shirt as well, so he strode out of the cargo hold and went up the ladder again. 

The metal drawers next to his bed stored the spare clothes that he wore under his Beskar. With the pants still hanging over his arm, he began searching through it for a shirt. He discovered an old, grey long-sleeve shirt that must’ve been a few years old, but it was clean and would have to do.

It probably won’t fit her. I guess it’s better than nothing.

After making his way back to the hull and towards the fresher, he knocked softly on the door. He heard the girl gasp from the other side.

“Sorry," he said quickly. "I err- I found some clothes for you. I’ll leave them out here.”

Din knelt down and laid the folded clothes on the ground and moved away. In order to give her a bit more privacy, he climbed back up the ladder and walked along the hall to the cockpit again.

Slumping into his seat he leaned his head back again and let out another sigh.

What was he doing?! Rescuing a stranger from the Imps. He was already a wanted man, this would just bring more trouble he didn't want or need.

Hadn’t he already been through this before?… and lost everything in the process?

Din’s throat clenched up and decided it was probably best to just keep his mind busy instead of dwelling on the past.

He made his way back to the main hull and noticed the clothes he placed outside the fresher were gone. Deciding polishing his blaster was a good use of his time, he settled on the bench opposite the cot and got to work.

A few minutes after working on his favorite weapon, he heard the water in the fresher being shut off, and then the rustling of clothes.

The bounty hunter tried not to make it obvious, but when the girl appeared from the fresher, he couldn’t help but look over his shoulder.

Her face was clean and he could see her clearly for the first time. Her damp skin glistened under the glow of the hull lights, while her dark wet hair dripped down her shoulders and curled at the ends, just about reaching her elbow.

He realized she was young, younger than him. Perhaps 23 or 24, her face untouched from lines or marks aside from a small white scar above her left eyebrow and the welt the man in white had given her.

Din had been right, the shirt was too big for her. The sleeves went way past her wrists and she'd rolled them up to her elbows, the neckline was loose too exposing her clavicle and she had tied the bottom of it into a small knot. It was pulled tightly against her waist right above her new wound. Although she had the faint outline of abs, Din could now see how weak she looked, as if she hadn’t eaten properly in weeks... or the Imps had been starving her. 

The pants were also too big for her body. She had rolled them up once at the waist as well as at the ankles a few times so she could still wear her boots.

She’s shorter than Fennec.

Din realized he must have been staring too long because the girl cleared her throat and stood awkwardly holding her dirty clothes, the ends of her hair dripping water droplets onto the metal floor of the hull.

To clear the silence, Din asked, “Are you hungry?”

The girl looked up in surprise at his sudden words and nodded shyly under his gaze.

“Okay, follow me.”

Chapter Text

Din led the girl down the same narrow corridor on the right of the fresher and stepped down into the tiny kitchen that faced the cargo hold. It wasn’t a big room at all, none of the rooms on this new ship were, but it held everything he needed to survive the time he spent traveling the galaxy.

The kitchen contained a small square table and two metal chairs, as well as a small countertop with enough space for a sink and a built-in stove. That was it.

After stepping into the kitchen, Din turned and helped the girl step down into the room, letting her use his arm in case she fell forward again. She tentatively looked around and moved to stand next to the table, still holding her dirty clothes.

“Sit. I’ll get you something to eat,” Din said. “You can give me those and I'll get them cleaned for you if you want.” He pointed towards the pile in her arms and she looked down before handing them over.

"Thanks. The pants are ruined, so you don't have to bother with those," she whispered.

Din took the clothes from the girl anyway and placed them in a small basket next to the counter before he began rummaging around in a cabinet for something the girl could eat. He found a ration pack that held some nutrition bars and walked back to the table, handing them to the girl.

“Here, it’s the best I can do for now.”

The girl reached up from her seat and took the food from Din’s gloved hand, grazing her fingers along the leather of his knuckles as she did.

“Thanks,” she said quietly.

“Sure,” he said. 

Din turned his back to the girl and went back to the counter, turning the stove on before reaching for the kettle and placing it on the small flame. Grabbing an empty cup, he poured some caff in it and waited for the kettle to finish boiling.

He heard the girl over his shoulder open the ration bar and dig in. She sounded hungry and he wondered how long it had been since she last ate.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the kettle whistling. Grabbing it by the handle and turning the stove off, he poured the hot water into the cup and watched as the caff granules melted. With everything settled, he walked back over to the table and set it down in front of the girl, taking the opposite seat.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Din said.

He watched as the girl set down her ration bar and lifted the cup to her nose, smelling the aroma of the caff before softly blowing into it, making the steam spin around in front of her face.

The girl couldn’t tell, but Din watched her closely, studying her.

“So… do you… have a name?” he asked slowly. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but he couldn’t keep referring to her in his head as “the girl” any longer.

She lifted her eyes to his helmet and set her cup down, clearing her throat.

“It’s… Nyla,” she said.

“Nyla,” Din tested it on his tongue. Nice name.

“What’s yours?” she asked shyly, drawing her gaze back to his helmet.

“You can call me Mando.”

“Mando? That’s not your real name is it?”

“No, but everyone calls me that.”

“Oh," her brows furrowed. "Okay… Mando." She said his name so softly.

The kitchen fell silent again while Din contemplated his approach to asking Nyla his million questions. He didn’t know what to ask first and he was sure she probably wasn’t in the mindset to answer him right this second. Instead, he shifted in his seat, placing one arm across the edge of the table while his other hung between his stretched legs.

Nyla looked up at this and also seemed to relax her rigid position, leaning back slightly in her chair, one hand on her cup of caff.

“Thank you, again,” she whispered.

Din looked back at Nyla in surprise and waited for what she was going to say next.

“For… saving me I mean. For everything I guess. I thought I’d never get away from them.”

At this, Nyla drew her eyes closed and drew in a deep breath.

“No need to thank me. You were in trouble and you needed help, I just happened to be there,” he explained.

“Still… I'm grateful,” Nyla said.

Din didn’t want the room to go silent again so he decided to ask her one of the most vital questions that was on his mind.

“So. Are you…" he shook his head. "Are you a… Jedi?”

At this, Nyla looked up and her shoulders stiffened, gripping the handle of her cup a little too hard. But then, as if realizing her reaction, she relaxed her posture again.

“No. Not exactly,” Nyla stated shaking her head.

“Not exactly?” Din asked, curious for her to explain.

“I’m… still learning. It’s hard to explain." Nyla sighed and looked down at her lap, clearly deep in thought.

“I see,” Din said. He did. He'd had a Force-sensitive child in his care for a while who was still learning to use his gift, and he'd even met two fully-trained Jedi. 

Again, there were a few seconds of silence and Din wondered how far he could push his little investigation.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been able to… you know…” he trailed off.

Nyla looked at him confused for a second, furrowing those dark eyebrows again, before realizing what he meant.

“How long have I been able to use the Force you mean?”

He nodded.

“Umm. Since I was a child?" She looked around while speaking, gazing over into the in-between as if trying to recall a memory. "Back then I didn’t know how to properly control it, I didn’t even understand what the Force even was.”

Nyla returned her stare back at her cup, rubbing her thumb along the edge. Din could see that the welt on the side of her face had softened slightly, now presenting a dark bruise in its place. The cut had also seemed to scab overnight. Turning his eyes to her throat, he noticed the bruises stand out against her olive skin, but seemed lighter after she'd washed away the dirt.

“That neckpiece. It was to suppress your… powers, right?”

She nodded.

“And your family? Are they looking for you?…“ Din regretted asking immediately. He knew what it was like to lose both parents and didn't like talking about it himself.

“They’ve been gone a really long time,” Nyla replied swiftly. “It’s just me. It’s always been me.”

Din hesitated before whispering, “I’m sorry.”

Nyla drew her gaze back to the bounty hunter and just stared at him for a few seconds before nodding.

“It’s alright. It feels like a lifetime ago.”

Din decided to ask her one last question. “The Imps, back at the outpost, they wanted something from you.”

It wasn’t a question exactly.

“You overheard them?" she startled eyes going wider.

Din just nodded, and Nyla looked down as if contemplating what to say.

"They- they wanted to know where they could find a certain Jedi Temple. They found out that I'd been there a few years ago looking for…" She glanced at him as if debating whether to tell him and instead said, "Never mind."

Din just waited for her to continue, listening intently.

Nyla threw him another look, this time with a line down the middle of her brows. “I didn't find anything and I don’t know what they want from it. The entire time they held me prisoner, they didn’t say anything to me. They just wanted the location."

She looked at her cup of caff and said with silver lining her eyes, “I wasn’t going to tell them a thing… not after what they did.”

Din didn’t want to pry any further, he could tell she was getting upset, so decided to leave that last statement alone for the time being.

“How long did the Imps have you?” he asked quietly instead.

Nyla let go of her cup and drew her arms around herself, caging herself in.

“I don't know. I think- I think it’s been five months since they…" she shook her head. "Maybe longer,” she added, unsure.

Din could tell by the way Nyla’s expression changed and how her hands clung to her arms she wasn't going to talk anymore about what happened.

Maybe it’s best to just let her be, for now, he thought.

He stood, walking out of the tiny room before Nyla suddenly asked, “Where are you going?”

He turned and pointed upwards with his gloved finger, “Cockpit. Need to check if we're on the right course before we end up in the middle of nowhere.”

Nyla nodded her head and let Din leave, returning to her cup of caff, flicking the metal with her nail before humming a soft sigh.

Chapter Text

Nyla POV

Nyla sat alone in the kitchen, leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, thinking about the last 24 hours.

“A Mandalorian huh?” she whispered to herself, grazing her fingers over her cauterized wound.

She’d never met one before. Of course, she’d heard about them, their history. Even read about them. 'The Fall of Mandalore' was the title of the book Nyla had read a few years ago. They had been wiped out during what is known as the "Purge" by the Empire, during the end of The Clone Wars. There were barely any survivors.

She thought about “Mando". Is he a real Mandalorian? She thought. He must be, that’s real Beskar armor.

But why was he so interested in the Jedi? Why was he asking so many questions? She sighed again, this time more loudly. She didn't know if she could trust him. But he did save her life, he couldn't be all bad... could he?

Nyla stood from her seat and swigged the remainder of her caff before setting it down on the counter and walking to the main hull. It was so quiet, the only noises she could hear were the sounds of the ship humming. She walked back through the corridor and towards the cot she lay in that night. The fabric was slightly bloodstained. She folded the blanket Mando had given her the night before, neatly laying it on top before making her way to the ladder.

After she made it to the top deck, she looked around for the cockpit. To the right, there was a compartment built into the wall that held small crates and not much else, and to her left, a small bedroom with its door cracked open. Ahead of her, Nyla heard the curious sound of beeping and headed in the same direction.

She reached out, pressing the switch to open the chrome door before silently stepping inside.

The Mandalorian was seated in the main pilot seat on the left side, busy with something on the control panel and she thought perhaps he didn’t hear her come in. Nyla didn’t bother clearing her throat to announce her presence, instead, she took the seat next to Mando on the right side and peered out of the viewport, the sight of hyperspace whirling steadily.

Nyla was captivated. She loved the feeling of being in hyperspace, but it was even better in still space, flying through the vastness feeling completely and utterly free. Nothing holding her down.

To her left, she felt Mando tilt his head slightly to the side to look at her and she just gazed into the beautiful sight surrounding her.

“What are you doing up here?” Mando asked finally, breaking the silence.

Nyla ripped her gaze away from the stars and spun her chair to face him.

“I- ” she stumbled for words.

Why had she climbed up here? Stupid, she thought.

Mando just sighed and didn’t even respond, instead just turning back to whatever he was doing in the first place.

“Where are you taking me?” Nyla asked quietly.

“Nevarro to fetch supplies. After that, I’ll drop you off anywhere you want to go.”

“Oh.” Nyla dropped her head and swiveled her chair back to face the front of the ship again.

She subconsciously gripped her side, using her fingertips to glide along the seam of the cauterized wound. She had no idea what she was going to do. It’d been five months (or longer she couldn't be sure) since the Imps had taken her since they’d taken her from the junkyard of a planet she called home.

Where would I go now? she thought. Was there anything even left for her after what the Imps had done?

“Do you have somewhere you can go?” Mando asked, as if he was reading her mind.

“I- No... I don’t.” Nyla whispered, she could feel the lump in her throat and the urge to let tears slip from her eyes, but she concentrated on her emotions and pushed them back in order to remain calm.

“Well, we'll figure it out,” Mando said, punching in the coordinates to Nevarro. “We’re about to drop out of hyperspace, strap in.”

Nyla nodded and fastened the belt around her waist before gripping the leather seat beneath her. Mando grabbed the helm and she immediately felt the ship surge into open space, the strips of blue and white zipping at an incredible pace disappearing within the blink of an eye. Nyla couldn’t help but smile at the feeling.

Unbeknownst to her, Mando continued to watch her from the corner of his eye.

As Mando’s ship approached the atmosphere of Nevarro, Nyla spotted pools of red lava and black rock covering the surface of the planet. She unbuckled her seat belt and leaned forward to stare down at the surface.

“We’re about to land, sit back,” he said.

Nyla nodded and reseated herself, a small smile on her lips. Is this what Mandalorians get to do on a daily basis? Planet hopping and exploring? How amazing that must be.

Mando approached the landing bay and floated steadily above the landing spot before slowly letting the ship drift down. The engines hissed as they hit the ground, steam rising in front of the ship’s viewpoint.

Mando stood up suddenly and whirled towards the cockpit door, his charcoal cape whipping around. Nyla moved to stand as well but Mando's voice stopped her.

“I think you should stay here,” he said, “I won’t be long.”

Nyla, still seated, was about to object before Mando disappeared behind the door, leaving Nyla alone again.

Chapter Text

Din POV

Din strode through the archway leading into Nevarro’s city, rifle and bag slung over his shoulder, Beskar gleaming in the morning sun.

“Simple supplies,” he muttered to himself, “Then we’re out of here.”

He walked along the first few stone buildings, glancing sideways at their rebuilt structures following his battle with Moff Gideon over a year ago. More and more stalls had been set up along the main square leading into the bazaar and it seemed like business was going well thanks to Karga’s new leading role in the city. Din thought about Greef for a moment, wondering what big plans he was coming up with now. He couldn't linger though, he was a fugitive, escorting another fugitive so there wasn't time to make a pit stop and make idle chit-chat.

Turning his attention to the food stall that was being looked after by a short, green Rodian, he proceeded to purchase another box of ration bars, space waffles, a few packets of portion bread, and a small sack of Meiloorun Fruit. After shoving his supplies in his satchel, he turned away and spotted a small clothing store directly ahead. Walking over, he inspected the articles of clothing hanging along a rack as well as the ones that were folded along the counter.

The old human woman behind the stall peered over at him, looking him up and down, and croaked, “Looking for anything in particular sir?”

Din looked up and hesitated, feeling for how many credits he had left in the small leather pouch in his hand. He could afford a few more things.

“Do you have anything that would fit a woman around this tall," he gestured with his hand around just below his shoulder.

The grey-haired woman turned her back and began rooting in a wooden crate behind her, withdrawing more clothes for Din to take a look at.

“Would something like this be suitable?”

In her hands, she held a pair of brown pants as well as a long-sleeved black top.

They could fit her.

“I’ll take them. How much?”

“5 Credits for the shirt, 10 for the pants," she offered.

Din poured out the necessary amount into his palm and handed them over to the woman, who in turn handed over the clothes, nodding her head.

“Thank you kindly, sir,” the woman said, smiling and depositing her credits into the bag tied around her front.

After placing the clothes neatly in a space in his satchel, he bid his old home goodbye and headed back to the ship.

Nyla POV

Nyla wandered up and down the main hull of Mando’s ship, turning in circles looking for anything she could do. It hadn’t been long since he left her alone on the ship but she hated being by herself, especially with her own thoughts to plague her. She wished he’d taken her with him if only it was for an hour to get some fresh air, but she didn't want to object and be a nuisance. He was going out of his way to help her after all.

They’d only met the night before, but already Nyla was starting to feel slightly relaxed around him. Maybe it was because she hadn’t had a conversation with someone for so long and she was just happy to speak to someone, anyone. She didn’t know.

Sighing, Nyla hugged her arms after feeling a chill run along her arms. “Why is it so damn cold on this ship?” she said aloud.

The metal wall opposite her makeshift bed featured a control panel on the wall. It looked busted, with wires hanging out the small opening, some lights were off while others blinked slowly.

“Huh, that’s why,” she said. Nyla knelt on the hard floor and examined the pipes leading from the control panel to a small opening in the wall.

Deciding she had nothing better to do, Nyla went over to Mando’s desk, grabbed his toolbox, and got to work. Pulling up her too-big pants, she got back on the floor before removing the rusty bolts from the wall and then the metal sheet that covered it. She peered inside and flashed a small torch she found in his stash into the dark space, searching for the problem. One of the main pipes seemed to be split open revealing a hollow tube and the deadbolts also looked loose.

“Shouldn't be too hard,” she muttered and began her work.

Din POV

The morning light seemed to have disappeared while Din had been in the city, the sky now grey looking asif it was about to start pouring. After making his way through the crowds, Mando approached the landing bay and headed to his ship. He wondered what the girl was up to. She seemed to want to come with him before he left abruptly.

As he approached his ship, he was reminded of how much he missed the Razor Crest. As faulty as it was at times, it was fast and efficient, and nothing like the one he had now. He pressed a button on his vambrace to lower the ship’s rear ramp and stepped up onto the platform. 

Immediately, he noticed a body on the floor of the hull, the torso and legs splayed out. As he walked further in he realized it was the girl. 

Nyla , he reminded himself. He could hear her tinkering with something, her head shoved into a wall. 

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?” Din said loudly. 

Nyla jumped, yelping, as she bumped her head on the software within the wall. She drew her feet up so her legs were bent and pulled herself from inside the wall. 

“You scared me,” she exclaimed, rubbing her head. 

Groaning, she rose to her feet wiping the dirt on her hands on her pants. 

“What are you doing?” he asked again, a bite to his voice this time as he closed the gap between them.

Nyla flinched and took a step back. He internally cursed himself.

“I-I'm sorry. I was fixing your heating system," she said, looking at his chest plate.

“What do you mean? It's not broken,” Din proclaimed, but he honestly wasn’t so sure. 

“Umm, maybe you didn’t realize, but it got awfully cold last night," she murmured. "Plus, the shower I had this morning was switching temperatures too. One of the main pipes was split open. I've mended it for you… it's the least I could do after-" 

Nyla's shoulders dropped as she loosed a sigh.

Din just stared at her, not knowing what to say.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered, kneeling again to secure the wall panel back in its place, before turning her attention to the control system above her head. 

“It only needs to be rewired and then it should be good to go.”

“Leave it, I can do that later,” he said, placing his satchel of provisions on top of his workbench. 

“It’ll only take me a few minutes,” she hesitated, pointing to the wall.

“It’s fine, just don't go touching stuff when I'm not around again,” he said sternly turning his attention back to her.

Din supposed she wasn't doing anything wrong, but he'd just met her and didn't like people messing with what was his. 

Nyla nodded, looking down, and placed the tool back in the box at her feet. She looked defeated.

“Here," Din broke the silence, "I got you something."

Nyla looked over curiously and walked toward him and the provisions on the bench. He withdrew what looked to be some clothes and handed them over. 

“I noticed those clothes don’t fit you, so I got you some new ones. They're nothing special, but they should be fine.” He didn’t look at her, just let her take them from his hands. 

Nyla looked up into his visor and whispered a small “Thank you.”

He didn't respond but did see the corner of her mouth turn up slightly before she turned toward the fresher. 

A few minutes later, after he’d placed the supplies in the kitchen cupboard, the fresher door opened and Nyla appeared wearing her new clothes. 

They fit , Din thought as he looked her up and down. 

The black long-sleeve shirt fit her almost perfectly and hugged her figure while one of the three clasp buttons remained open at the top. It was tucked into her new pants which sat on her waist snugly, while her own boots covered the hems.

Nyla walked towards him slowly and did a turn with her hands behind her back, a small smile on her face. “Thanks, I love them,” she said quietly. 

Din coughed, tearing his gaze away from her body. “Sure,” he said, watching her pull at the end of her sleeve. 

“What now?” Nyla asked. 

He looked at her face and didn’t know what to say. He had no plan. He’d been in this position before, yes, but things didn't go well before. Where was he supposed to take her that was safe from the remnants of the Empire?  

“Can I ask something of you,” she whispered. 

“Go ahead,” he replied, one hand on his hip.

“It’s true, what I said, that I don’t have a real home, but on the last planet I was living on, I left my belongings behind and I need to retrieve them. They're important. You can say no, it’s just-“ she was rambling.

Din sighed, “Where?”

Nyla looked up, chewing the inside of her lip, “It’s a tiny planet in the Outer Rim called Thabeska, the only problem is… that’s where the Imps took me, so there’s a possibility they'll anticipate me returning there.”

Din looked up at the ceiling of the ship and sighed again. He really didn’t want to get mixed up with the Empire even more than he already had, but… Dank farrick.

“Fine, do you have the coordinates?”

Nyla smiled again and nodded as she followed him to the cockpit.

Chapter Text

Din POV

“It’ll take us a few days to get to Thabeska, so get yourself comfortable for a long ride,” Din said, switching the ship to manual after setting the ship’s course for the next system.

Nyla nodded and took a seat next to Mando. A few minutes passed in silence before Nyla suddenly spoke.

“I have to tell you something,” Nyla rushed out.

Din looked over at her. One of her legs was drawn up to her chest and she was fiddling with the laces of her boot. He stopped himself from telling her to get her shoes off his seat.

“What is it?”

“When we met- I mean, this morning… I didn’t tell you the whole truth,” she wasn't looking at him.

Din cocked his helmet to the side, an indication for Nyla to carry on.

“The truth is… I did find something at the Jedi Temple. Relics of some sort. They’re what I’m returning for.”

He was silent for a moment. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him and now he knew. For better or worse.

“I see,” Din said slowly, looking through the viewport.

“I didn’t tell you, well… because we’d just met. I didn’t know if I could trust you with this information.” Nyla finally looked over at Din, searching for a response. "And since… since you're helping me out and taking me there, you're risking your own neck, I thought," she shook her head, "You probably deserve to know."

“I understand. I'm a stranger to you, but…" he looked her over, analyzing her features through his visor, the way her eyes were wide with nervousness, the way she was pulling at her laces. She was just as alone in this galaxy as him, and perhaps for the time being they could form an easy alliance while they figure things out... temporary, of course.

"You can trust me," he said with sincerity, watching as the worry left her face, her tense shoulders relaxing.

At his words, Nyla smiled a crooked smile, letting go of her bootlaces, and returned her gaze to the stars.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat, you must still be hungry.” Mando stood after setting the ship to autopilot, Nyla following closely behind.

Nyla POV

Upon reaching the small eating quarters, Mando whipped up some more caff he’d purchased back on Nevarro and handed a cup to Nyla who sat in the same seat from that morning. Mando poured himself one and dropped some rations on the table for Nyla to choose from. She selected a nutrition bar and waffles while Mando sat down in front of her.

Nyla was so preoccupied opening her waffles packet that she hadn’t heard the hiss of the Mandalorian’s helmet as he took it off.

She lifted her gaze to speak to him, but the words on her lips faded away as she looked at the man in front of her. Stunned, all she could do was stare.

He was… beautiful.

His skin was a light bronze color, he had a beard with a faded patch on his left side and his nose was prominent and complimented his features well. The brown hair on his head was curly and tousled from being underneath the helmet and it matched his deep brown eyes, which were piercing hers at that moment. She couldn’t look away.

“I- umm…” Nyla let out as she stared shamelessly.

The Mandalorian was silent and set his helmet down at the edge of the table. He took a sip from his caff all while looking directly at Nyla. She felt uneasy under his gaze and sensed that he was feeling nervous as well. She didn't know if it was the Force giving her clues or her own intuition.

“I thought… I thought a Mandalorian couldn't remove their helmet?” Nyla finally said.

“That was the case," he muttered. "But things change…”

Nyla didn’t pry, instead, she returned to her waffle and dug in. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence before his deep voice, unobstructed by his helmet, drifted to her ears.

“Din,” the Mandalorian said.

Nyla snapped her attention back to him again, mouth filled with food, and mumbled, “Huh?”

His lips twitched. “My name," he said. "It’s Din… Din Djarin." He sighed, taking another sip from his caff. "Since we’re going to be trusting each other and traveling together for a while, you should at least know my real name.”

Something inside Nyla warmed. She didn't know what it was or what it meant but as she stared at this man in front of her, the man who saved her life, she thought she wouldn't mind his company for a little bit longer.

“Okay," she smiled, "Din."

Din POV

He didn't know why he told her. He never told anyone his real name, it was a product of his past that he kept to himself. He could count on one hand the number of people who knew his name, and even then they each still called him Mando.

Maybe it was the fact that Nyla had been so honest with him, despite not knowing a thing about him, that he offered this piece of himself.

It was just a name, but he knew revealing it to her was a good first step in gaining her trust. And from the way she grinned to herself, he knew it meant the same to her. 

Din watched her at that moment. Now free of his helmet, he could survey her more clearly. Her hair had dried naturally and now sat in soft waves that tumbled down her shoulders, the ends curled slightly in little ringlets. Some color had returned to her cheeks and her lips, and her golden eyes appeared brighter, more aware now after the events of the previous night. 

She's stunning. He shook his head to clear away the thought.

He grabbed a waffle himself and tore into it trying to occupy the silence of the kitchen. She was still munching away on her own food, glancing around the space every now and then to get a feel of her surroundings. 

The light of the kitchen caught on the bruise and cut on the side of her face. He clenched his free fist, hiding it under the table. He should've stepped in sooner . 

"Does it still hurt?" he asked.

Nyla locked eyes with him, confusion on her face. He gestured with his head to her injury.

"Oh," she reached a hand up as if to touch it but stopped. "It's- it hurt more last night. Just feels a little swollen now I guess."

"Hmm," Din replied, still analyzing the wound. 

"If I touch it, it hurts. But, I can deal with it," she added.

Din stood and walked out of the kitchen, Nyla looking after him. He went back to the fresher, grabbed his medkit, and stalked back to find her looking at her caff. Hearing his return, she whipped her head around quickly. Did she think he was leaving again?

Din dragged his chair from his side of the table to hers and sat down, depositing the medkit on the table next to him.

"What are you doing?" Nyla asked him.

He gestured to her head again.

"You said it still hurts. I'll patch it up so it doesn't bother you when you sleep," he answered matter-of-factly.

Nyla just stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Oh, umm. There's no need, honestly. You don't need to waste your med supplies on me, I'll be fine," she said shaking her hands in front of her.

Din just continued to remove his Bacta spray and a medical patch from his bag. He moved closer to her in his chair, and she leaned back at his sudden proximity.

"Let me help," he said simply, sternly, keeping eye contact. 

After looking at each other for a few more seconds, Nyla just nodded and leaned toward him again. Din removed his gloves and he caught her tracking his movements, noting the scars on the backs of his large hands.

He lifted his fingers towards her and gently gripped her chin, pulling her head forward. Her skin was so soft against his calluses. They were so close to each other now, inches separating their faces as he examined her.

Din used his other hand to move her hair out of the way, tucking it behind her ear. He tried not to notice how she shivered under his touch. He then grabbed the Bacta, his other hand still holding her chin, and sprayed it where the bruise and cut were.

She softly gasped at the coldness and the stinging sensation and when he scanned her features, he found her eyes already staring directly into his. She swallowed and Din tried not to notice that either. 

"Just gotta put a Bacta patch on now," he muttered in the space between them. "Both should numb the pain and make the healing process faster."

She hummed her approval.

After applying the patch over her wound, he smoothed it over with his fingertips and moved back to survey her entire face. She was still staring at him and when she noticed his attention she quickly looked away, a light pink bloom spreading over her cheeks. 

Din wanted to smile at her reaction to being caught, but instead swiped his thumb over her chin softly and leaned back, giving her space. 

"Thank you," she whispered, as Din replaced the items back in the medkit.

"You're welcome," he said and walked away.

Chapter Text

Nyla POV

It was, Nyla assumed, the middle of the night as she sat cross-legged on her bed. With her eyes closed and hands loosely placed in her lap, she tried to control her breathing and reach out in the Force.

Ever since she learned of this technique, she'd try to do it daily to center herself, but after months of being a captive, she was out of practice.

Just as she was about to fall into that strange, cosmic place, she heard the sound of footsteps on hard steel, ripping her away from her focus. She cracked open an eye and saw Mand-, Din, standing near the ladder. No helmet, brown eyes shining in the glow of the hold.

When did he come down here? How long has he been watching?

"Sorry to interrupt," Din said, gesturing to herself, "I was just checking up on you."

"Oh," Nyla said, shifting so her legs weren't crossed anymore, "I'm fine. I just can't sleep."

He nodded, "Yeah, me neither."

As they watched each other in the dim silence, Nyla couldn't help but stare… again. She didn't know what she expected was under that shiny helmet, but it certainly wasn't this man. She recalled the way he had applied the Bacta spray earlier that day, the way he had gripped her face and ran his fingers over her skin. 

Stars. Her cheeks blazed and she ripped her gaze away, pretending to find something interesting about her blanket. His, blanket. The one that he'd given her.

"Where you doing… Force stuff?" she heard him ask. Her lips twitched at his phrasing, before turning her head around to see that he's silently moved to lean against the workbench in front of her.

How does he do that?

"Umm, you could call it that, yeah. It helps me sleep," she explained. "I haven't done it in a while, but I find it's a good way to calm my thoughts."

He hummed, studying her in the way he always does. Now with his helmet removed, she was even more aware of it, like he had her pinned under a microscope, analyzing her very existence, trying to figure her out.

"What does it feel like?" Din asked, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the edge of the table behind him.

Nyla thought about that for a second, biting her lip and examining her hands. What does it feel like?

"Imagine you're in a quiet place, with no gravity," she finally found words. "You're airless, floating through stars and time. It should feel overwhelming, but it's oddly peaceful. I'm able to sense that place that winds throughout the galaxy, that thing that surrounds us. It touches all living things, and... it's a comfort being a part of that."

Nyla didn't know if that was the correct explanation of what the Force was exactly, the Jedi would probably offer more insight if they were still around, but that's what it felt like to her. A comfort that she's known almost her entire life.

It was quiet for a minute, and at Din's lack of response, she looked up to find him staring wordlessly at her, lips parted.

She smiled shyly, "I know it sounds ridiculous like some made-up mumbo jumbo, but… it's real."

Suddenly torn from his thoughts, Din shook his head and muttered, "It doesn't sound ridiculous at all. It sounds… nice."

Her smile grew wider, showing off her dimples, and Din's gaze honed in on them. She could see one corner of his own mouth curve up slightly under his beard.

"Thank you, by the way," he blurted out, Nyla's smile vanishing at his abrupt topic change, "for fixing the heating system. I didn't know it was broken and I shouldn't have uh-" he shook his head.

"It's fine, you are taking the time to help me, it's the least I could do."

"You don't owe me anything, Nyla," he said firmly, his eyes fixed on her. Hearing her name on his lips made a cold line run up her spine, and before she could respond he asked, "Are you warm enough?"

Her brows furrowed and she glanced down at her cot and blanket. Although the heating system was fixed and her single blanket provided her some sense of warmth, they were still in space after all and she couldn't seem to rid herself of the chill of the open hold.

Nyla didn't want him to go out of his way for her again, she was already asking so much, so she just nodded her head vigorously, before saying, "Yep, I'm good."

Din tilted his head at her, like he could tell she was hiding something, but just nodded.

"How long will it take to get to Thabeska?" she changed the topic.

He looked up at the ceiling, as if doing the calculations in his head, and said, "Maybe three days, but we may need to make stops along the way for fuel and other supplies, so... four, max."

"Okay," Nyla replied, nodding her head.

"Okay," he repeated, watching her for another minute before making his way to the ladder.

Before he stepped up, she remembered her manners and called, "Goodnight!" He turned his shaggy, brown head towards her and murmured a quiet, "Night" before heading to the cockpit.

She watched him go, not saying another word, before laying down on her cot, hunkering down for the night under her blanket. As soon as Nyla closed her eyes, she drifted off into that dream state, her mind calm for the first time in months.

She wasn't aware of how much time had passed since she had fallen asleep, but sometime during the night she was roused into that place between dreams and wakefulness and heard the soft sound of steps on metal. They had paused by her bedside for a brief moment before a heavy weight of something soft fell over her body.

She smiled in her sleep and snuggled under the warmth, dreaming of stars, unusual planets she'd never seen before, temples, and a pair of pretty, brown eyes.