When Aviina stumbled back through the lobby of the inn, Carla was manning the check-in desk on her own. She looked up when the door opened, and formed her mouth into the shape of an 'o'. Aviina trudged forward, her boots dragging tiredly across the tile. When she reached the counter, she emptied her palm of two hundred credits and slid them over to the red-headed woman.
Carla regarded the pile of coins with wide eyes before bringing her gaze back up to Aviina. Aviina took the older woman's hand and gently placed it over the pile of coins.
"There are no bounty hunters lodging here," she said quietly and pointedly. "No Mandalorian either."
Understanding crossed Carla's face. Her fist closed around the credits and she nodded to Aviina as she slid them into her pocket. Aviina liked Carla. Maybe she reminded her of one of the Mothers who'd raised her. Or maybe she was just grateful someone wasn't fighting her. Aviina nodded back before taking her leave back to her room.
The only thing that had gone right for Aviina was that all three enforcers she'd turned into the guild were wanted for one crime or another. She'd managed to collect all three bounties and because no one else had accepted the jobs since their posting, the prices had been steeper than if she'd managed to snag Lars Kawldron. This almost made up for the fact that she was neck deep in trouble and all the information she could scrounge up from the shipyard was that Mara, the bartender, had jumped planet.
She leaned her head against the door before going in. Taking deep breaths as she planned what she could possibly say to Din to make this seem like an unfortunate twist of events and not a complete fuck up on her part. With Black Sun involved, she was a danger to him by just being within his vicinity. And while Din wasn't one to shy away from a difficult situation, he and Aviina were in a fragile place, and she didn't know if they could withstand this pressure.
When she opened the door, Din was seated on the bed, shirtless but wearing his helmet as he polished away the dirt and blood from the night before off his Beskar armor. His visor rose to meet her as she stepped into the room and let the door snap behind her.
Aviina's eyes wandered over his bare skin, still bruised and torn in places but now free of any remaining dirt. Her face heated and while she loathed the dark, she wished the light had been off so he wouldn't see her blush. She was about to ask him why he was shirtless, but then she remembered cutting the fabric off him.
Din didn't say anything, but he set his rag and Beskar pauldron onto the floor. She could tell from the tilt of his helmet that he was looking her over, and her face heated further. When he still didn't say anything, she set her bag (now much heavier) down by the door and crossed to the bed. She sat down next to him, careful not to brush her leg against his. Din, however, either didn't notice her effort not to touch him or didn't care because as soon as she was sat he gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Her skin erupted at his touch.
"I got into some trouble, Din," she said, she locked her fingers together in her lap.
Din continued to touch her, letting his fingers trace down her face to the place where her pulse fluttered erratically. She wanted to lean in, and to let him soothe away her worries. But she also wanted him to get as far away from her as he could, so maybe he wouldn't get wrapped up in this mess. He didn't say anything in response, he waited for her to continue.
"Corr and the other men from last night," she started, swallowing the lump in her throat. "They were Black Sun initiates." She paused and waited for him to say something, to sigh and pull away from her. She waited for her to give her one of his signature helmet tilts of disapproval. But he didn't. He placed his hand on her shoulder and let it slide down her back where it rested between her shoulder blades. He was being so liberal with his touches, it was nearly overwhelming in comparison to the vast majority of their partnership where he used to avoid physical contact at any cost.
