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She knew it had been a mistake when she took off, but everything had been a little overwhelming and she needed clear air and then….she ran out of fuel for her jetpack. Now she was somewhere on the surface of Mandalore, in the dark, hoping no hungry creatures came for her.
In a way, the complete quiet was peaceful, for the first time in what felt like forever she couldn’t see the lights of Mandalore and no one had any way of contacting her with questions or complaints or opinions on rebuilding.
Even if she was mad at herself for making such an idiotic mistake.
Surely soon enough someone would come looking for her.
If they had even noticed she was missing.
A lot of the time she felt like people only noticed her when they needed her. Like she was some figurehead they needed but didn’t care about.
And she was lonely.
She had been for a year, three months and six days.
That’s how long it had been since she had seen him.
Despite her dangerous situation her mind wandered. Wondering why he hadn’t been in touch? Although she also hadn’t reached out.
If she was honest with herself, the fact he had left without even a goodbye had hurt. For a long time she had been angry about it.
Yet she had so desperately wanted to take a ship and fly to Nevarro more times than she could count.
To confront him. Or tell him that she missed him.
Maybe both.
She looked into the distance, trying to figure out if the distant glow was city lights or sunrise. Either would improve her situation because she was cold and had no idea which direction she needed to be heading. At least if the sun rose she would have a guide.
Mandalore’s atmosphere was improving but the stars still weren’t visible, making it difficult for her to navigate in the dark. Although she continued to put one foot in front of the other, she was walking aimlessly, more afraid of being prey if she stayed still, than she was actually heading towards a destination.
The sound of an engine caught her attention.
Looking up at the sky she searched for the source of the noise and was incredibly surprised to see an N1 fighter drop out from the clouds.
‘Din…’ she whispered to herself.
Somehow it didn’t surprise her at all that the person who had found her was him. He was the only person since her sister’s death who had really made her feel at home, like he genuinely cared about her.
Nerves taking over, her eyes slid to the back of the N1 as it landed.
No Grogu.
She felt her chest tighten a little, afraid something had happened to the kid. She would never forgive herself if she had been angry at him this entire time and…
No. He would have told her if something had happened. Even when he hated her, he had come to her for help saving the kid.
The way he calmly disembarked from his ship assured her Grogu was just fine.
‘Need a ride?’
She could hear the smirk in his voice and it instantly annoyed her.
But she couldn’t deny that she did in fact need a ride.
‘How did you find me?’ she shot back instead of answering.
‘If I answer that question do you promise not to get angry?’ he asked.
This wasn’t the conversation she had been expecting have with him after a year, three months and six days. Of all the possible scenarios she had played over in her mind about their reunion, none of them were this.
Then she realised what he was insinuating.
‘You put a tracking device on me!’ she exclaimed.
He didn’t deny it, which was confirmation enough for her.
Now she was mad.
The absolute nerve of the guy, thinking it was okay to bug her so he could see where she was at any time.
‘Of all the violations of privacy I’ve experienced in the last year and…’
‘It was only in case of emergency. I haven’t activated it once.’
His voice softened as he reassured her.
She said nothing, letting him continue his defence, curious what his excuse would be.
‘The Armorer contacted me and said no one had been able to get in touch for hours. Obviously the tracker doesn’t work from far away because of the atmosphere so I came immediately. Once I was on Mandalore it worked.’
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why did you put a tracker on me?’
It was his turn to fall silent, and he took a few moments to consider his answer as the sunlight began to bounce off his helmet.
‘I was concerned that some of Gideon’s people may remain, or that other fragments of the Empire would return to try and claim Mandalore as their own. I wanted to be able to check that you were okay if something happened.’
She could feel the surprised look cross her face. His last words were dripping with concern and she couldn’t remember anyone ever caring about her enough to speak about her in that tone.
‘I told you I would serve you and then I left to help Grogu on his path, but I felt that it was still my duty to protect you,’ he continued. ‘And I’m sorry that I betrayed your trust.’
‘All I wanted was for you to say goodbye before you left,’ she replied, surprised at how shaky her voice was.
‘You could have sent a message any time,’ he said simply, but she could hear what she suspected was hurt in his voice.
He took a few steps forward and lifted her shoulder pauldron, the Night Owl one. As he searched for what she assumed was the tracker, she couldn’t help but be aware of how close he was standing. His shoulder was angled in a way that it was almost touching her other one and she hated that she kind of wished it was.
As ridiculous as that seemed, she was so starved of connection to other living beings that the idea of his armor touching hers was exciting.
How desperate she must seem.
He slipped out a tiny tracking device, no bigger than a couple of millimetres in diameter.
She wasn’t surprised she had never noticed it.
‘I didn’t know they came so small,’ she observed, looking up at him as she spoke.
‘It’s the best quality one out there,’ he replied.
He didn’t move particularly far from her as he put the tracker back in his satchel.
‘I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye,’ he said quietly. ‘I didn’t know how.’
She looked up at his helmet. He was still so close and it unnerved her. In a way she wished she had her helmet to hide behind but it was back in the city along with her comm device and everything else she should have brought with her when she ran off.
‘It’s okay,’ she found herself saying.
Was it? She was still upset that he had left without saying a word, but him being so close in her personal space was changing how she felt about it. With the sun shining into his visor she could just make out his eyes through the helmet, see them searching her own and before she could stop herself she lifted her hand up to touch the side of his helmet.
‘I didn’t realise how much I needed you until you weren’t there…’ she whispered.
‘If you had asked me to return I would have in an instant,’ he responded.
‘But the Armorer…’
To her surprise he reached up and unlatched his helmet. Reconsidering his choice for only a moment, he hesitated, then lifted the helmet off.
His eyes met hers for the first time.
‘The Armorer isn’t the one I promised to serve until her song was written…’
His voice was different without his helmet. The familiar echo obviously gone, his soft, dark eyes doing as much of the talking as his voice. She was frozen in place, his face so close to hers. It was a moment she hadn’t even dared dream about.
She had seen his face once, when the Jedi had taken the kid away, but their relationship had changed in almost every way since then.
Reaching up, she touched his cheek, then his beard, his lips…
‘Din, what are you doing?’ she asked, looking up at his eyes.
The way they were looking back her answered her question. Any anger she had felt for him in the past fifteen months had melted away into the overwhelming affection she felt for the man standing in front of her.
‘I don’t know,’ he responded, reaching up and touching her hair lightly before dropping his hand again. ‘I needed you to see me the same way I see you.’
Whatever she was feeling was overwhelming and she felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes. Not once had she allowed herself to fantasize about love, about someone wanting to be by her side. She had fallen victim to crushes, had brief romances with people along the way, but she had never really let herself believe she was worthy of the love she saw so many others have.
Perhaps she had never really believed in it.
Until now.
‘My sister once fell for a Jedi, she let him go and I know she regretted that decision for the rest of her life,’ she spoke carefully, her hand settling on the side of his face. ‘I don’t want to have that regret, Din.’
He didn’t say anything, but she could hear that he had stopped breathing. In fact he was completely frozen in place, looking down at her in anticipation of whatever she was about to say.
Every fibre of her being was afraid, despite all the signs telling her it was what he wanted to hear.
But she had never wanted something so deeply in her life.
‘I need you here, I want you to be at my side in whatever capacity suits you. As my second in command or as a military advisor or…’ she trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. ‘Or simply as Din Djarin, the man that I love.’
He blinked in surprise as she spoke those words.
Then a broad smile broke out on his face.
‘I would be honoured to be any of those things, perhaps all three…’
He took her hand, tilting his head and kissing the top of her glove softly.
That was enough for her, she put her hand back on his face and looked into his eyes, willing herself the courage to lean in and kiss him. His eyes fell to her lips and she let hers follow his lead. She began leaning in and suddenly…
A loud squeal came from the N1.
She swung around, pulled her weapon and aimed it at –
‘Grogu! I told you to stay hidden,’ Din sounded annoyed.
Bo smiled to herself, putting her weapon away, then turned back to Din. ‘Oh did you now?’
‘I didn’t want him to see you if you were hurt…’ Din was defensive.
‘You came here knowing exactly what you planned to do,’ she teased, taking a step back towards him.
Grogu squealed again and she could hear now that it was with delight.
Without hesitation, Bo stepped forward and put her hands around Din’s neck, pulling him towards her and pressing her lips against his, sealing the confirmation of feelings between them. He was stunned for a moment before putting his arms around her, holding her close.
After what felt like a long time, but she was sure was no more than ten seconds, she pulled back and looked him in the eye.
‘So that’s a yes, then?’ she asked.
‘If Grogu’s okay with it,’ he looked towards the kid, who gurgled a response, then turned his attention back to Bo. ‘I think that was a yes.’
‘Just one more thing. I am not sitting in the droid port to get out of here,’ she commented.
Din smiled. ‘I assumed as much. I’ve already called the Armorer, she’s on her way.’
She felt a pang of disappointment. His smile warmed her heart in a way she had never experienced. His face was warm and welcoming and the mention of the Armorer reminded her that there was a reason she never saw it.
‘I guess that means the helmet goes back on?’
He considered his response as she reached up to touch his hair, trailing a finger down the side of his face. He closed his eyes as she did so and took in a deep breath.
‘There is more than one way to honour the creed, I understand that now,’ he said carefully. ‘It may take time for me to make that decision, but I promise this won’t be the last time you see my face.’
‘Take as much time as you need.’
The sound of incoming engines alerted them both to their alone time coming to an end and Din pulled his helmet back on before anyone saw.
They both turned to watch the Armorer’s ship arrive to meet them, Bo entirely aware that she couldn’t hide the smile on her face. Everyone was going to know straight away that something had happened.
Especially when Din stuck around.
But she didn’t care one bit because he would be right there by her side.
And that would make everything okay.