I'll Do The Same { Din Djarin x OC}

Chapter Seven: Stories

Two weeks had passed since their stop on Nevarro, and with it, their reputation for harboring the child only seemed to grow. They would have covered more ground, had the galaxy not been swarmed with those looking for Grogu. It seemed as if every inhabited planet they landed on had at least one enemy waiting for them. Thell still wasn't completely blind to the way Mando would quickly disarm or kill those who were after them, but she still hadn't become used to it. She brought her own blaster, tucked away deep in her cloak, but she had yet to use it. She prayed that day would never come, but knowing the dangerous mission she had put herself in, she guessed it was only a matter of time before she had to.

Much to Thell's dismay, there hadn't been much progress on Mando's discovery of her Mandalorian necklace either. With the constant need to move from planet to planet, star system to star system, there hadn't been much free time to just sit and talk.

Clan Eldar, the symbol of her necklace, had seemingly ceased to exist, from Mando's knowledge, and any trace of them had vanished. And as far as Thell knew, her father was either dead or had no knowledge of her birth. She didn't even know his name, or whether or not they shared the last name. Either way, even though she knew that only so much could be done, her mind was still racing with questions. Mando didn't seem to consider her a Mandalorian, which was fine on all her accounts, since she had never once considered herself anything but a Sai'Lya. Even now, she was twisting the meaning of what holding that name meant; never in a million years would she have imagined that she would have run away with a bounty hunter and his adopted child in the middle of the night to wage off worse fates. She was standing for her own, making her own path just like her mother had told her to do all those years ago. Maybe not exactly like she expected it, but good nonetheless.

In the past two weeks, especially since her conversation with Cara Dune, Thell had been watching Mando. Not in a creepy or erotic way, but more in the way that a bounty hunter would. Slow, calculating, trying to figure out why he did what he did.

He was still a mystery to her, even after nearly two months of knowing him, and she was desperately trying to figure him out. She knew he was a quiet, private man, and didn't want to consciously interrogate him with every question she had. But she was still curious.

Especially when it didn't help that everytime he was overly nice to her, or protective, or would ask her about herself, that little flutter in her chest went wild. But those moments were short lived, and far and few in between, and would generally be cut short by some interference.

But deep down, she wished there was more time, because she knew that she was getting closer and closer to the end of her mission with them.

. . . .

A week passed, and Thell woke to a presence directly in her face. 

"Grogu!"

Her sudden movement rocked the hammock strung in the cargo hold of the Razor Crest so violently she flipped the bed, grabbing Grogu before he could fall out too. Her back hit the steel flooring of the hold, thudding on impact and pain lacing up her spine. The child was wrapped securely against her chest, safe from harm, and once the initial sting of pain had subsided, she loosened her hold on the green baby.

"You okay?" She whispered, to which he climbed up close to her neck, small hands padding against her sleeping tunic. He made a soft burbling noise, apparently unharmed, and Thell's head lolled in exhaustion.

In the soft lull of the ship, Thell heard loud stomping and that familiar metallic clang enter the cargo hold. Copper hair falling into her eyes, Thell spotted Mando coming in a rush to her side.

"Thell," she heard him say softly, and there was clear worry in his voice. "Are you okay?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder, helping her to sit up. Her biceps shook, and the child gently slid off her lap to rest on the floor beside her leg.