Armored Passion | The Mandalorian

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"If there's something you'd like to say to me, I'd rather you say it out loud and not in my head," I state, silently wondering if Din had been intentionally trying to project his thoughts and concerns through the force in an attempt to get me to actually listen. I've mentioned the concept of thought projection to him a few times, but I don't think I've ever actually taught him how to do such a thing. "Who taught you how to project your thoughts through the force?"

"Mae, you can barely even walk on your own," he says, finally vocalizing his concerns while completely ignoring my question. 

"Keyword: barely. I have yet to start using you or the wall as a crutch. So, I'd say I'm still doing pretty damn good," I say, continuing to stagger down our shared path. 

The adrenaline that had been working its way through my body has slowly started to fade away, letting a vast amount of pain and frustration from earlier seep back into my body and bones. Practically every little move I make causes a sharp jab of pain to flare throughout my already burning limbs, making me wince in pain every few moments as we find ourselves en route to Grogu's holding cell. 

"Let me carry you."

"No."

"Mae—"

"No." I force myself to take a deep breath, immediately holding back a wince that almost slips past my lips as my lungs expand. "We need to get Grogu and I'd rather not have you be fatigued just because you had to carry me around like I'm some helpless ragdoll."

We walk in silence thereafter, only stopping when we reach a split junction in the hallway. Din takes the lead and slowly peers around the left corner before dipping back. He holds up two fingers and points to the hall he had just peered into, letting me know that we have two hostiles up ahead. 

But of course, he's not going to let me do anything about them. He proves that much by pulling me over towards the closest wall and forcing me to rest my back against the freezing surface.

"Stay," he says, whispering his command in a low tone while pointing at the floor right beneath me. 

Surprisingly enough, he earns no protest from me. 

He slowly steps out into the adjacent hall, closely following the wall and disappearing from my line of sight. I wait for a few silent moments to pass before deciding to peer around the corner. Now, that's when the real action begins. 

Din slams the edge of his beskar spear against the first stormtrooper, easily stabbing the other before whipping back around to deal with the initial figure. He wraps the shiny metal weapon around the front of the trooper's throat, gripping onto both ends of the long weapon before lifting with ease. 

I continue to lean against the wall, slowly limping into the opening of the hall as I watch him defeat his two opponents. He slowly lifts the trooper off of the metal floor, letting the man clad in white armor thrash in midair. My eyes widen and my jaw drops slightly as the trooper's neck snaps at an awkward angle before he tumbles to the floor in a limp pile. 

Din slowly looks over at me and I smile, letting out a surprised huff of a laugh. 

"What?" he questions, sliding his spear back into place. 

"Nothing. I just think my time away from you made me forget how hot you are when you go up against bucket heads," I say, letting out another laugh as I shake my head in disbelief. 

"You're injured and delusional," he says, shaking his head as he walks back over to me. He wraps an arm around my waist, keeping me up on my feet as I lean into his embrace.