Unmasked Love | The Mandalorian

|23|

It hadn't been very long since we had left Peli's hangar on Tatooine. Mando and I had been sitting in complete silence, neither of us daring to actually say anything. The tension was almost unbearable, but I wasn't willing to break it myself. Not yet, at least. 

I take the time to glance over to the kid for a moment, seeing that he was still peacefully sleeping in his bundle of blankets and robes. He had passed out not too long after we had taken off. I could feel that he was tired and distressed. It was practically radiating off of him. 

"Are you okay?" Mando asks, finally breaking the tension that had sprouted between us, filling the room. I look over to him for a few seconds before slowly nodding my head, then snapping my eyes back over to the controls set in front of me. 

Surprisingly, regardless of everything that happened today, I did actually feel a little better. I mean, my head still feels a little iffy and sore, but it's nothing I can't handle. I don't even really feel that tired anymore. I guess Toro kind of did me a favor by pistol-whipping the shit out of me. 

Nothing like a little forced nap time, you know what I mean?

"So... do you want to talk about what happened?" he asks, tilting his helmet to the side to look at me. I bite my bottom lip, not like where this conversation was going. "It kind of sounds like you're having an identity crisis."

"I'm not having an identity crisis," I immediately snap, furrowing my brows while gripping the controls a little tighter. The cockpit falls silent and I let out a heavy sigh while slumping my shoulders. I shouldn't be snapping at him like this. He just wants to help and he's isn't always so verbal about it. I relax my shoulder and take in a deep breath. "I just... I haven't exactly figured everything out for myself," I continue, muttering all of my words out. I uncomfortably shift around in my seat, hoping that he would just leave the subject alone. 

"Sounds like an identity crisis to me."

"It's not like that-"

"You're the one that said you didn't know who you were and that you wanted to take the time to find yourself," he interrupts, tapping his fingers against his legs a few times. 

I glare at him, but he doesn't react other than lifting his hands into the air as a faux surrender. He has a point, I suppose. I did say all of those things when I was preaching my fucking monologue to Toro. I was actually stupid enough to say my fucking thought out loud. Heat of the moment type of shit, you know? I slowly look back out the windshield, watching all the stars that were flying past. 

"What's got you so chatty all of a sudden? Not that I mind or anything, I'm just a little curious," I say, flashing my brows as I tried to steer the conversation away from my so-called 'identity crisis'.

"I was just thinking about what you had said is all. I think you'll find yourself sooner or later. Whatever happened to you all those years ago, it didn't strip your entire self. Regardless of the path your life takes, I think you're still going to turn out to be the sarcastic yet caring asshole that I know you to be," he says, not sounding like himself at all. 

I look over to him, my heart starting to race in my chest. I don't think he's ever really been like this before around me. He's being so... philosophical? It's always been short conversations that were never about anything specific or deep. It was like living for years with small talk with him, but now something was different. Everything felt like it was shifting. 

"And let me emphasize on sarcastic-"

"Are you alright, Mando?" I interrupt, staring right at him as I narrowed my eyes with slight concern. He stares at me for a few seconds before nodding his head. He keeps his gaze set on me as he turns in his seat to face me properly. I swear to the Maker, he probably ran into something and that beskar helmet of his rattled his head a little too much.