Wolven | The Mandalorian

Chapter 7: The Reckoning (Part 1)

Chapter 7: The Reckoning (Part 1)
Word Count: 8,575
*EDITED*

"How's your head?"

"Hurts." She mumbled into the pillow, nuzzling deeper.

Din applied a cold cloth to Elodie's forehead to relieve some of the pain. The cut had healed across the brow bone, leaving a thin, pale scar. Having woken mere minutes ago, she refused to open her eyes to the light illuminating the bunk. It felt as if a marching band were playing in her head.

The child rested in the hammock over the cot, and Din had crawled meticulously into the small space left in the bunk to hear her whispered responses. It was a tight fit, and he had to slide in to lay on his side.

"I hope the towel helps a little." She moaned instead of replying, the cool cloth relieving some of the ache in her temples.

Elodie grabbed his hand to apply firmer pressure, only to feel flesh.

Pulling her face out of its nest, she squinted at the tanned skin in her palm. Din had neglected to don his gloves when returning to the ship.

"Din, your gloves? I can see your skin."

He sighed, aligning his palm against hers and admired the contrast of size. Din admired how the tips of her fingers barely brushed his distal phalanges. Dark and light. Dainty and hardened. Course and smooth.

Warm and cold.

Elodie found herself sliding her fingers between his in the silence, catching the sight of dark hair covering his arm that disappeared into his sleeve.

He's a human.

And a brunette. It wasn't necessarily odd for a Mandalorian to show skin, but it was odd for Din. He seemed prudish with any form of exposure, which justified her confusion.

"I couldn't tell if you were dead," He started off by saying, giving her hand a squeeze. "When Peli and the child were threatened, I couldn't help that nagging feeling of worry for you at the back of my mind. Wondering where you were; if you were even alive. Only to find you concussed on the floor."

"It's a mild headache at best." She tried to reason. The deadpan in his silence told her everything she needed to know. "What are you trying to say? That you want me and the child to join you on bounty hunts? Our situation isn't ideal, and I don't see many solutions."

He shrugged, propping his head up on one hand where he sat on his side. "At least that way, I won't worry about you when we're apart." He was considering it?

"What about when we're neck deep in an ambush or something." She countered, "No matter what, you can't always keep us safe, Din. At one point or another, we are going to get hurt. And so are you. It goes hand-in-hand with being bounties; you should know that as a hunter." Elodie brought their connected hands closer, pressing her lips solidly against the back of his.

Testing the waters.

Din felt his breath hitch, and she heard it over the modulator. His skin was tingling from an overstimulation of touch. Goosebumps arose, disappearing under the sleeves. She found it endearing- the way his body reacted to her.

Din pinched his lips, pulling their hands closer to him this time, to his chest. Without the armour, she felt his heart beating rapidly under the cotton shirt. "But at least I can keep my eye on you both." She opened her mouth in protest, but he continued. "It's not that you can't protect yourself, because I know you can. You've proved it. But I can't focus on my fight if I'm worrying if you're losing yours."