PURPOSE | The Mandalorian

XXVIII

The next day, Din had to shake me awake.

"Jeyna," He said quietly, gently shaking my shoulder, "I've found us a job."

I blinked my eyes open against the light of the cargo bay, a little disappointed to see Din wearing his full suit of armor. The night before was... interesting. But I would be lying if I said I didn't like it.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice stilly foggy with sleep.

"A rescue," He answered. "A group I used to work with got into some trouble, and one of them got captured."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, swinging my bare legs over the side of the bench. "Some old friends?" I asked sarcastically. If there was one thing I knew hadn't changed while I was gone, it was that Mandalorians didn't have friends when it came to work.

Din remained stoic. "Not particularly," He said flatly.

I only hummed in response. But when I got up from the bench, letting Din's shirt cover the uppermost part of my legs, he stepped in front of me.

"Where are you going?" He asked deeply, his modulator making his rasp more pronounced.

I arched a brow. "To the shower," I answered, folding my arms across my chest. "In case your helmet blocks the smell, I reek."

A deep huff escaped his lips. "I didn't notice it last night," He chuckled, and the weight of his stare rooting me in place.

I huffed a laugh, but a certain slick head flared in my gut. "Because you were distracted," I said pointedly with a smirk, brushing past his shoulder as I sidestepped him. I made my way to the shower, putting an extra swish in my hips, just to make Din a little more comfortable as he stared after me.

I laughed at the Mando'a that fell from his lips as I reached the shower, grabbing a new set of clothes just before I stepped under the steaming hot water.

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"I lied," Din said as I ascended the ladder into the cockpit, my hair making the back of my shirt damp, "You really did need a shower."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," I muttered, acting like he didn't just insult me. Then I asked, "How far until we reach the job?"

"Not long," He said, punching a few buttons on the control panel. Then he turned his head to look at me out of the corner of his eye. "I see you suited up?"

I glanced down at my armored body. "Yep," I replied. The only think that was missing was my lightsaber. I didn't think having my saber attached to my belt would be a good idea if Din and I were walking in as Mandalorians. We were enough to really set people on edge without the Jedi weapon. Brandishing it would only make the already shaky situation even worse.

I inhaled to say something else, but then a large, isolated hangar came into view as we dropped out of hyperspace.

"Woah," I breathed, unable to contain my awe of the base, "You used to work here?"

Din grumbled, "Yeah."

As we approached the base, Din continued to flip more switches and press more buttons.

"Alright," Din sighed, his nerves visibly manifested in his tensed shoulders and pronounced breathing, "Lets just say I didn't leave this place on good terms." He sighed. "They are going to talk a bunch of shit to try and get a rile out of us, but don't listen to them." He took a deep breath. "We just need to get this job done and get out of here."

I just looked at him, debating on whether I should try and massage the tightness from his shoulders. But I decided against it as I said confidently, "Don't worry. I have the feeling they're all bark, and no bite."