THE ARC OF SKYWALKER | a star wars story✔️

19 | petty arguments

—FINDING ASA PROVED TO BE HARDER THAN DIN THOUGHT.

How could he miss a lightsaber wielding, scarfaced woman who dressed in all black? He couldn't answer that question.

As he walked around the village, he caught up Omera hanging up clothing on a clothes line. Din stared in her direction for a moment, his mind focused on her and how pretty she looked in the evening sun. Shaking his head of those thoughts and remembered what he was doing, he continued past her and found her daughter sitting on the steps of their home.

"Hey, Winta? You know where Asa is?"

Din knew Winta, Omera's daughter, would know since the little girl always spoke or spent time with his companion. She would know where Asa would hide out to get away from people and have time to herself.

The girl looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear as she nodded.

"Yeah! I'll lead you to her."

Winta grabbed his gloved hand and began to lead him to the woods. Din was tense from her actions, not used to gestures like this, but he let the little girl hold his hand to lead the way.

"Do you like Asa, Mr. Mando?"

The question caught Din off-guard as he looked down at her. She had a small smile on her face.

"Well, she's nice to have around and she takes care of the kid. Why do you ask?"

"Well, she's like your son's mom and she's really beautiful where I wish I was as pretty as her."

Din stopped in his tracks before kneeling down in front of the girl. Winta frowned as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Everyone is beautiful or pretty in their own way, kid. Just because someone else is pretty doesn't mean you're any less pretty than they are. You get your beautiful features from your mom." Din said, uplifting the young girl and making her smile bashfully.

"I also heard Cara Dune say she's your girlfriend."

What...

"Who's Mando's girlfriend?"

Din and Winta looked up as Asa jumped down from a pine tree, using the Force to land gracefully. She raised an eyebrow at Din who only stared back like a skittish creature in the beam of a helmet's light.

"It's nothing. Winta was just leading me to you."

The brunette hummed in response, her eyes narrowed but she dropped the subject. Winta giggled mischievously before running back to the village, leaving Din and Asa alone.

"So, you and Omera, huh?"

"What?"

Asa shook her head, chuckling as she crossed her arms. A playful look was in her eyes.

"You and Omera? I can sense it. She definitely likes you and you have something for her."

"I'm not discussing this with you."

"I don't see it though."

Din frowned, tilting his head at her as she pondered on the thought, her finger tapping her chin. He never saw it before, but there was a small ivory white scar there.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you two may be cute together, I can't see you, a nomadic bounty hunter, staying here; living a peaceful life; becoming a shrimp farmer or mender. I do see you being a father to a couple kids—"

"Again, I'm not having this discussion with you. You don't know me and you don't know what I want for myself."

"I'm not saying I know you, Mando." Asa snapped, her playfulness gone. "All I'm trying to say is that I advise not...forming any permanent attachments with these people here. We're only here to help them then we're leaving."

"You seem pretty attached to Winta." Din muttered, his hands balled into fists as annoyance began to rise in him. "It's almost hypocritical of you to tell me to not make any—"

"I'm not attached to Winta. She's attached to me." Asa cut him off, her eyes darkening as she got in his face. Din stayed where he was, not moving as he tried to make sense of what she said.

"There's a difference between being acquaintances and being attached to one another. It was the first thing I was taught when training under Darth Vader. Make allies, not attachments."

"Then what am I and the kid to you?"

Asa's gaze faltered as she stared at him, hurt flashing across her face as she thought about her answer. Din didn't understand why he felt a pain in his chest when he heard her words. In truth, he did like her and he liked having her around. He liked the way she interacted with the kid and did her best to respect his Creed when they were on the ship. Everything about Asa was something he found himself thinking about.

Her scars held mysteries and stories waiting to be told. Her eyes reminded him of a starry night sky. Her strength and combat abilities wowed him endlessly.

Din hoped Asa's answer wasn't the one he dreaded in his mind.

"You two..." she hesitated for a moment, "You...I...don't know. One minute I want don't want anything to do you with you; next I'm acting like a loving, gentle mother toward the kid; then we're fighting over something stupid like we are now! So, forgive me if I don't have an exact an answer for you."

Asa turned away from Din, her gaze set on the ground as she slightly turned to speak to him.

"We should head back. We have more training to instruct tomorrow."