𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 - DIN DJARIN

Chapter 31: The Mission

chapter 31: the mission •••

Din's gloved hand is tight in yours all the way to the mess hall of the inn, though you couldn't be more grateful to feel his touch. You'd been afraid after he left you on the boat that Din was going to try to drift away from you, thanks to his own personal trauma and struggles, but instead he'd listened to you—and made the promise you needed to hear. If his words hadn't proved his honesty, his actions certainly did, still leaving you slightly weak in the knees as you continue ahead.

"Are you sure you're all right, cyar'ika?" Din questions with true concern, giving your hand a squeeze to make you look over at him. His helmet's tilted at you in a curious manner. "You seem a little... unsteady."

You roll your eyes dramatically, squeezing his hand back as you shake your head. "I'm fine, Djarin. I don't think this should surprise you anymore."

Din chuckles at that. "Good point, Djarin." He looks ahead for a moment as he releases a deep sigh. "I just... I want you to know that I really meant it, rid'ika." His modulated rasp is tightening up again, tugging at your heartstrings as you wrap your free hand around his arm. "I'm very sorry, and I—I do love you, very much, more than I can say, and I care about you so much that it's dangerous sometimes, and I... I regret—."

"Din." You say his name in a soft yet stern manner, stopping in your tracks to make him do the same and face you. The baby coos in a confused manner in Din's free arm, looking up at his father as if he senses his distress. "It's okay. I think you demonstrated all of that to me quite clearly." You laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood, relieved when Din does the same. "What you need to focus on now is hearing what Bo-Katan has to say, all right?"

Din nods, letting his helmet fall against your forehead in a quick movement before he starts to lead the way ahead again. You bite back your smile, joyful to see Din's focus completely shift to the conversation ahead as you both walk through the doorway of the mess hall.

Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls are still sitting at the table where you'd left them, each of them nursing a drink as Koska also starts to dig into a bowl of some kind of seafood. You join them just to see their surprised expressions, as if they hadn't expected you to be able to bring Din back to them at all. Din sits next to Bo-Katan as you sit on his other side, the baby remaining on your lap as Axe slides you a drink.

"Welcome back," Bo-Katan greets you, also nodding to Din. He returns the gesture, one of his gloved hands falling upon your thigh as the other tightens into a fist on the tabletop. You place a hand over his underneath the table, attempting to keep him at bay with whatever happens next. "I think you both might like to hear why we're here." Both you and Din nod as you draw a sip of your drink, making sure it stays out of the baby's curious grasp as she goes on. "Trask is a black market port. They're staging weapons that have been bought and sold with the plunders of our planet." She pauses, looking around the table before she looks to Din with notable determination. "We're seizing those weapons and using them to retake our home world."

Axe nods slowly beside you. The baby coos curiously in your lap, and you gently shush him as your free hand temporarily moves from your drink to his head to give it a gentle pat.

"Once we've done that," Bo-Katan continues, "we'll seat a new Mandalore on the throne."

"That planet is cursed," Din insists. You run your thumb over the back of his hand, silently warning him to just hear her out. "Anyone who goes there dies." Din looks around the table as if he's seeking confirmation, and you know he won't find it. "Once the Empire knew they couldn't control it, they made sure no one else could, either."

"Don't believe everything you hear," Bo-Katan warns Din, earning his full attention again. "Our enemies want to separate us. But Mandalorians are stronger together."