The Sweetest Taste

Chapter 31 - Fresh bread and a shared bed

[Author's note: Its a long one...]

Lysa stood behind Din and Grogu's neat kitchen counter, watching as a large pot full of a delicious smelling casserole bubbled on the stove in front of her.

She had very gratefully changed into a second, this time clean, navy blue short tunic with cream breeches beneath. Now feeling refreshed and clean once more.

Picking up a spoon, she lifted a little of the dish to her lips, tasting it, smiling to herself now, happy with the flavour.

And as she placed down the spoon beside her, she lifted her gaze to look through the window ahead of her.

Caught within the last of the sun's golden rays, were Din, who was sat on the scrubby ground near to a small pond, in full armour, with his back to her, cleaning a gasket of his ship with a dirty rag. And Grogu who was seated beside him, poking at something in the small pool of water with a long stick.

Upon their return from the city, Lysa had got to work on dinner. And despite Din insisting that he would help, Lysa had shooed him from the kitchen gently, with a smile.

That same smile of contentment and relief had barely left her face since leaving her apartment just under two hours ago.

Going back there and coming to the true realisation of how much better her life was now that she was free from Crix.

And despite her knowing that she would one day return to her tiny apartment on the north side of the city, it was good now to be here with Din and Grogu.

Here she felt protected, safe...a world away from her life with Crix. But that was not the only reason her heart longed to be here in this cabin.

She knew how she felt about Din now. A deep longing that had been there for a long time. Perhaps since the first time she'd met him.

And now, feeling as though she had left her old cruel life behind her, she felt a hope.

A hope that there was more to life than a man who treated her the way Crix had.

Lysa watched now as Din chanced a glance over his shoulder, looking back through the viewport back at her.

Lysa's smile widened as her gaze met with his. She wrinkled her nose in a happy gesture. And a second later she saw Din get stiffly to his feet, and stroll back over towards the front door.

She felt her stomach fill with butterflies all of a sudden, her heart beginning to race.

Wiping her hands on a cloth, Lysa turned to see Din enter the room, and walk towards the counter where she stood.

"Smells good," he commented lightly, earning a grin from Lysa.

She shrugged and gave a playful sigh, as she picked up the large metal spoon.

"I would offer you a taste, but-"

She nodded up towards Din's beskar-helmet.

Din gave a faux-heavy sigh, taking a step closer to Lysa now.

"Yeah..." he said in a drawn-out, lighthearted tone.

She knew that Din would not remove his helmet, but that didn't mean she couldn't tease him for that.

Lysa gave a smile, before handing Din the spoon.

"Can you stir this?"

Din didn't answer her, but took the utensil from her grasp nonetheless. As Lysa slid by him, standing just a little to his right, grabbing her cloth and removing a fresh-baked loaf of bread from Din's tiny nanowave oven.