Haat, Ijaa, Haa'it: Din Djarin x OC

Chapter 4

A/N: this chapter is dedicated to 1Mando - hi ily and your requests so much, and also thaNK YOU FOR CREATING FIRAXA KRAST (guys, meet me, president of the FKFC, the Firaxa Krast  Fan Club, aka. Fucking Kentucky Fried Chicken)

Warnings: guns, injuries, infections, semi - vivid descriptions, most likely swearing

Word count: 1117

Once the asset is frozen in carbonite and the remains of the iktochi camp is destroyed with the Wyvern's amazing lasers, I finally get what I want. The two of us, Mando and I, stand outside, the Wyvern glinting dully behind us as the twin suns of Tatooine dip low as they set, seemingly setting the sand dunes on the horizon alight with their heat. They paint everything a reddish gold, reflecting off Mando's armour and making it shimmer, staining my hair with splashes of yellow, glinting off the stock of the rifle I hold. Turning it over in my hands, I check the well cared for mechanisms, feeling the spots and rough patches where the metal has worn down after many times of use. Not surprisingly, it's been cleaned thoroughly. Weighing it in my hands, I frown.

'Amban sniper,' I comment.

'Yeah,' Mando affirms.

In a single, fluid motion, I hold it to my shoulder and squint through the site, admiring the make and the smooth way the rifle moves. Its weight is heavy and comforting in my hands, the metal cool and unyielding. Whistling happily, ignoring the pain from the wound in my side for now, I focus on the very crest of the sand dune opposite. Taking a deep breath, I take a few paces back, eyes still glued on my target, finger tightening ever so slowly on the trigger as I relax into the rifle and -

BANG! The sound echoes through the air as the blast zips forward. A little poof of sand at the top of the dune signals I've hit my target, and I whoop, brandishing the rifle.

'This is fucking awesome,' I cry.

Lifting it again, I fire off a rapid burst, watching the little puffs of sand the blasts kick up with adoration.

Mando clears his throat. 'Can I - '

'Nope,' I interrupt, holding up a hand. 'I'm not finished yet.'

~

Mando and I sit in the cockpit. I flip a few switches on the dashboard, revving the engines before I glance over at him.

'So, I assume you'll be leaving as soon as I drop you off somewhere which isn't in the middle of the desert?' I say.

'No.'

Instantaneously, I shift into a defensive position and don't try to be subtle as I reach down for my blaster.

'Calm down,' he says, and I snort.

'How exactly? I held up my side of the deal.'

'There was a deal?'

I roll my eyes and risk it, sitting back down and slipping off my helmet so he can see that I'm scrutinizing him.

'I can't leave,' he states. 'You saved me. My life and my Creed. I owe you. And how am I going to repay that unless I stay with you?'

I sigh, looking at him tiredly. 'I'm guessing you're going to make a pact with me.'

'Yeah. I stay with you until I repay my debt. Haat, ijaa, haa'it.'

'Haat, ijaa, haa'it,' I reply, the three words; truth, honour and vision in Basic, having been used to seal pacts and promises for as long as any ancient Mandalorian script can say.

I stand up. The wound in my side practically screams, but I bite back the groan that tries to leave me. I'm not showing any sign of weakness in front of the man who just swore himself to me, and I don't need a fretful Mando on my hands either. I get up slowly.

'I'm going to bed - ' It occurs to me that there's only one bed here. Classic. I huff and fold my arms. 'One of us sleeps on the floor. I say we take turns.'

'I'll sleep on the floor.'

'If you mean tonight, sure thing,' I pause, then carry on when he doesn't reply. 'If you mean as long as you owe me, you realise giving up the bed isn't the same as saving your honour and your life.'

He grunts. 'I meant tonight.'

~

When I wake up, the sheets are tangled around me and I'm burning up. The hull seems to sway like a pendulum, swirling before my eyes, and I know that it's because of the wound I got yesterday. Infected. I couldn't reach it to do stitches or even clean it because it was on my back, so I just bandaged it, hoping I'd get lucky. I groan. See, Neth, this is what happens when you don't want to look weak.

Sweat stings my eyes, and I grit my teeth, trying to steady myself, hoping the fever will pass. Shakily, on legs like a newborn blurrg fresh out of the womb, I stumble out of bed and somehow miraculously make it to a door - to what room, I'm not sure, the walls of my own beloved ship suddenly foreign. Mando opens it and comes out, accompanied by the blinding lights of the 'fresher, and I jump back and immediately regret the sudden movement as pain shoots through my side. Swaying, I steady myself by putting a hand on the wall, the other clutching my back, like I'm some senile old fool.

'Neth!' Mando exclaims, touching a hand on my forehead. He jumps back. 'Why didn't you tell me - '

My legs crumple, and I collapse. I'm barely aware of his strong arms catching me and scooping me up, carrying me to the bed.

'Hurts,' I moan.

'Where?'

'Back.' I gasp as pain shoots through my body as he sets me down on the bed.

Mando disappears for a moment and then reappears to wipe my sweaty forehead with a damp cloth. A soft moan escapes me, and he shushes me and wipes down my face. I let him, because I'm too hot and shivery and exhausted to do anything else. He kneels by the bed and rolls me onto my front so he can pull my shirt up to inspect the wound on my back. I inhale sharply and wince as he probes it. I can imagine it in my mind's eye, red and shiny, swollen with the infection, burning to touch; oozing if it's as bad as it feels. Suddenly, the cool metal of his helmet brushes lightly against my shoulder, and it's so coldly delicious... I twist and collapse on him, sighing as I feel the cool beskar against me. He chokes, and I realise my forehead is pressed against his in a lopsided kov'nyn, a Keldabe kiss.

'Sorry,' I half mumble, half slur, and pull away reluctantly.

'It's o - okay,' he mutters, detaching his pauldron and passing it to me. I lean my forehead against it, barely taking in the mudhorn seal before I close my eyes.

GUYS BY THE WAY I'M GROWING WEAK IMMA START POSTING CHAPTERS MORE FREQUENTLY NOW BECAUSE AS SOON AS WE HIT CHAPTER 6/7 SHIT FINALLY STARTS HAPPENING AND I'M EXCITED