𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓹𝓲𝓽𝔂 • din djarin

chapter 5: the commission

chapter 5: the commission —

Taking your jobs as far away from Nevarro as you can get them has helped you not to cross paths with the Mandalorian—but that doesn't mean he's left you. In fact, he's made himself very welcome inside your mind.

It's constant as you try to go about your work. It's almost like you can see him everywhere. You walk through the planets in search of your quarries and feel as if he's trailing just a few paces behind you. Every time you go to look, he's never there. Sometimes, you think you've seen the shine of his beskar helmet standing amongst crowds at marketplaces, but you'll always come to realize it was either a droid or a silver pot for sale.

The words from your last encounter haunt you. You'll lay awake at night in the makeshift bed on your ship, hearing Mando's words play over and over within your mind: If it's the credits that are stopping you, then I'm not your true enemy. You can't understand why you didn't just kill him when you had the chance, why you went for his side instead of his jugular. You had every opportunity to—and you're sure that if you attacked quickly enough, you could've killed him on Karnac.

But, you couldn't.

This frustrates you almost as much as the image that clouds your mind. It's from that night, the view of him trapping you between himself and the pillar, the shining of the city lights and night stars dancing along the metal of his beskar. Every time you close your eyes, you see it all over again. You hate it—because you want to hate him. You've always thought you hated him. Then, he spoke those things during your latest encounter and you realized that if you really did hate him, you would've already tried to kill him.

Instead, you felt a weight lift off your chest when you saw that his wound had healed well. You were relieved.

The image isn't even the worst part of it all. It's the burning feeling of his hands on your waist that consumes you. Sometimes, in your madness, you've even checked your skin to see if his gloved hands somehow left marks behind. When you sleep at night, your dreams are plagued with this moment. Even in the hands of the man you tried to swear as your enemy, you felt more safe than you have in a long time—and that's what bothers you the most. You refuse to give way to the Mandalorian. You know that he seeks nothing but his own glory in his profession. You'll just become another stepping stone from which he leaps ahead, kicking you away when he no longer needs you.

That's what keeps you so far away from Nevarro. Even when you arrive back on the planet to return your quarries, you make sure his Razor Crest is never parked in the hangar before you head into town. Thanks to the grace of the Maker, it never is.

But something about touching down in Nevarro is different today. When you look upon the town, it seems darker than usual, and you notice the markings of blaster fire on more of the buildings as you walk past them. The streets are quieter—and you have to swallow hard when you see a few dirty stormtroopers walking through the town. You'd heard there were some still floating around here, but you'd never seen them before. Everything seems on edge. You don't like it.

You find your hand gravitating closer to your holster than usual as you walk into the cantina. The hunters inside turn to look at you as if you're an enemy, but upon observing you, they look away. You frown, furrowing your brow as you approach Karga's table. His gaze lights up when he spots you, waving you over almost enthusiastically. Your eyebrow quirks up as you sit across from him, offering your tracking fobs delicately.

"Welcome back!" Karga greets—again, almost a little too over-the-top. Your throat tightens when you observe him further and notice a blaster bolt-shaped hole on the left part of his vest. "I take it the hunts went well?"