PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XXII

As a common courtesy (if Calican even has any), Toro plopped down in the sand about fifteen yards away, leaning his back against the other side of his speeder. He began wiping down his blaster and humming to himself, but I tuned him out when Din's arms snaked around my waist.

Sitting between Din's legs with my back against his chest, I let my head rest against his shoulder and let out a deep sigh. The beskar of my helmet clinked when it hit his pauldron, and his arms wrapped tighter around me as I started to relax against him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked after a moment, sounding truly concerned.

"Yeah," I breathed after a moment, "Just exhausted and a little beat up."

He scoffed, and I felt his chest lurch with the effort. "Exhausted? We've barely done anything today."

I popped my head up and looked him in the visor. I snapped, not so playfully, "I just got shot at! Twice!"

"If that's exhausting," He said smugly, "Then we may have a problem."

I smacked his leg. "Shut up," I spat, a smile creeping across my face. "It's hotter than hell out here and I'm tired, so leave me alone."

His arms wrapped tighter around me, pulling me closer to him. "As you wish," He said mockingly, leaning back against our own speeder, "Cyar'ika."

My body tensed at the endearment, just like he did when I whispered it to him back at Mos Eisley. My face instantly flushed red, and I was extremely grateful that I was still wearing my helmet so he couldn't see my embarrassment.

"Uh," I started frantically, "Okay, Din, trust me, I didn't mean to call you that. Really. I mean— I was just trying to mess with Toro and I forgot he couldn't even understand what I was saying because I was speaking Mando'a and—"

"Hey," He laughed calmly, loosening his hold around me to let his hands rest on the curve of my waist, "I'm just messing with you."

"But you—"

He squeezed my waist. "I admit, it did catch me off guard, but..." He let out a small laugh that made the blood in my veins turn into honey. "I didn't mind it at all."

My brows furrowed, but my heart skipped a beat in my chest. "Really?" I asked, my voice shaking.

He hummed and nodded. "Really."

I turned back around as my smile grew, leaning my head against his shoulder again. He situated himself into a more comfortable position before leaning forward and whispering in my ear, "Now get some sleep."

My body shivered and I could almost feel the ghost of his breath tickling my ear. In a surprisingly steady voice, I whispered back, "Don't talk like that."

His body tensed behind me. "Like what?"

I swallowed. "Don't whisper in that deep, husky voice," I said, trying but failing to sound sarcastic. "It's very... distracting."

"Ohh," He said in a lower voice, making his deep, husky tone even more prominent, "How distracting, exactly?"

I could practically hear his smile beneath his helmet as he continued to torment me. It was infuriating, but I couldn't deny the heat pooling in my stomach. Which infuriated me even more.

At this point, everything about him was infuriating. But I couldn't find the desire to move away from him. If anything, I wasn't close enough.

"Very," I bit out, crossing my ankles and folding my arms across my chest.

Din laughed again and the heat in my stomach flared. "What has gotten into you?" He asked playfully, flattening his palm against my stomach.

Goddamnit, he knew exactly what he was doing. And saying that I didn't like it would be a flat out lie.