Armored Passion | The Mandalorian

|24|

Buzzing. 

My mind had been absolutely fucking buzzing ever since I had received a short business transmission from one of my company assistants early on in my day. I had originally found the beeping message pretty fucking annoying since it had been the initial thing that had woken me up, but now I just felt fucking anxious over it all.

The transmission had been as short as all the others I had received in the past, only speaking of what I needed to know and what was supposed to be up and coming in my already packed schedule. 

It had been quite some time since I had actually thought about the large business that I had to run back on Cantonica, but that was mostly because I never actually liked thinking about the planet in the first place. 

The happy memories I had created there had slowly diminished into nothing but haunting incantations that I couldn't seem to escape every time I visited. And that's why whenever I actually found myself taking the time to visit the planet, I forced myself to keep my business trips around a day or two long, not wanting to get myself indulged in its heavy corruption.  

Long trips never seemed to be too good for my mind. 

But regardless of how I felt about the place, I knew that I was going to have to address the situation sooner rather than later. As much as I hated to admit it, I had a flourishing business to run. 

The thing is, I was a little nervous about bringing the topic up with Din since we were supposed to be heading to Corvus so we could find Ahsoka. Mind you, I really wanted to go and find Ahsoka, but I also really wanted to keep my fucking life. You see, I could list multiple people off the top of my head that would be more than willing to pay to have my head plastered on a wooden plaque if I didn't show my face at one of the two meetings I was supposed to be attending. 

It was all just a little nerve-wracking. 

Din and I had been sitting in the Razor Crest's cockpit, comfortable silence surrounding us as we cruised through the galaxy towards Corvus. After tucking the kid in for a little nap, Din had set out to polish his armor in near-complete silence as I piloted the ship. We hadn't said too much to each other, only sharing a few words here and there when needed. 

And this situation was getting to the point where the words were going to be needed. 

"Hey," I start, breaking the silence with a single word. I take a deep breath and hold it low in my chest, waiting to see if he would actually respond. I remember the way he would always get quiet when polishing his infamous armor. Well, quieter than usual, I should say. Usually, I tried not to bother him while he was proceeding with his precise process, but I was starting to get desperate. 

Din hums lowly in response, letting me know that he was listening. I glance over to him for a few moments, watching him clean and polish his beskar armor. He tosses the rag he was using down into his lap before lifting his large hands to the sides of his helmet, sliding it off with complete ease. I almost flinch to look away from him, but I don't let myself. He balances his helmet on one of his legs, picking the rag back up before running it over the smooth curves of his helmet. 

I study his facial features with great care for a few moments, watching the way his brown eyes appraised the perfectly shaped beskar in his hands, the way his beautiful nose curved in a strong swoop, the way his light scuff lined his jaw and upper lip, and the way his jaw looked as if it were sharp enough to cut through the strongest materials made in the galaxy. 

I quickly look back towards the control set in front of me, knowing that I had kept my eyes on him for much too long. I nervously swallow, soon realizing that he was waiting for me to say something. I mean, I was the one that initiated the conversation after all.