REINA'S POV
"Hang in there, buddy! We'll get you out!" Cara assured as she and I leaned him against a cement slab from the concaved ceiling. I leaned forward on his right side, and I pulled down my mask and pushed back my goggles and hood, letting my shoulder-length hang in front of my face. Mando's head rolled over to where T shaped visor met my eyes.
"You're here." Mando's breath staggered as he clutched my forearm. I smiled down on him, controlling my emotions. "I promised, didn't I? That I'd never leave you."
"You have to get up." Cara urged, lifting up his head from behind his neck, but when she removed her hand, it was covered in blood. Both Cara and I gasped, out eyes widening, and the ex-shock trooper stared straight through the Mandalorian's helmet. "I'm going to have to take this thing off." she stammered, reaching for the helmet.
"No." Mando begged. Just as we were about to argue back, a wave of inferno burst into the crumbling room, setting it ablazed. In my eyes, the flames were a flickering silver within black, but I feel the scorching heat all the same.
"Here," Mando reached at his neck and yanked off a piece of string with a horned skeleton pendant on it, pushing it into Cara's hand. "Find the Armorer. Tell her, that D-din Djarin sent you and the Mandalorians will help you."
"Din...Djarin?" I questioned softly, and Mando rolled his attention back to me. "It's my name. My real name." His grip on my arm began to quiver. "Leave me. I will hold them off long enough for you all to escape."
"No." I shook my head.
"We can't leave you." Cara's voice cracked.
"Reina, I'm not going to make it..."
"NO." I snapped at him. "You are pushing me away again, and I'm saying no. If you die, then I will die, too."
Abruptly, another surge of flames swept through the compound, and Cara and I covered Mando with our backs turned to the heat. Then, a fierce Stormtrooper with blood-red war paint on its helmet stormed in within the rising inferno, aiming its lethal flamethrower right towards me and my friends. Throwing myself completely onto Mando's body, my forehead pressed against his Beskar helmet. We heard the roar of fire charging at us, and we braced for the searing pain. Somehow, it never reached us, and when I raised my head, what I witnessed was beyond my understanding.
The little green child stood on his feet between us and the inferno, and with his tiny three-fingered hands stretched out in front of him, he forced the flames back as if he created an invisible, indestructable wall, deflecting it back at the Stormtrooper and entrace, blocking it with the engulfed fire.
"This is our chance." Karga urged once IG-11 zapped through the grate into the sewer system. "IG-11 has broken through. Let's go."
"Go." Mando pushed Cara away. "Protect the baby. Find the Armorer."
The IG unit appeared behind Cara with the child in its arms. Handing him over to Cara, IG-11 nodded. "It is okay. I will look after the Mandalorian." Cara finally gave in and stared the droid directly at its mechanical face. "Promise me, you'll bring him with you."
"You have my word."
"Reina, let's go." Cara headed for the sewer entrance with Karga, but I didn't move a muscle. She got the message, and then it was me, Mando, and the droid alone in the burning compound.
"Reina, I—"
"Stop." I shushed him. IG-11 knelt down on Mando's left. "I will need to remove your helmet." Immediately, Mando raised his blasted at the droid. "If you do, I will kill you."
"Din..." I breathed his real name for the first time. "IG-11 is not a living thing...but me...Would you shoot me?" I didn't receive an answer, and I understood why. This moment conflicted everything the Mandalorian believed in, but I also knew he wanted to live... I wanted him to live with all my heart. I've grown so accustomed to our runaway life together...I didn't want to end so suddenly.
"Are...are you blind?" Din stammered through his modulator. I paused, then, inhaling, nodded my head. "It's difficult to explain how, but I think I've harnessed a new way of seeing. Nonetheless, I can see you..."
I slowly placed my hands on each side of his helmet. "Do you trust me?" I breathed.
"Y-yes..."
I closed my eyes and lifted the helmet, not just above his mouth this time, but completely off. It clicked and hissed as I slowly removed it. Hugging the helmet against my chest and under my chin, I heard IG-11 apply a bacta spray on his head wound. "It will heal you in a matter of hours. You have suffered damage to your central processing unit."
"Y-you mean, my brain?" I heard Din's real voice without the modulator for the first time. It was funnier than I imagined.
"That was a joke. It was meant to put you at ease." IG-11 explained. Din stifled a chuckle, and gulped and exhaled.
I suddenly found myself tearing up under my closed eyelids, but I didn't dare open them and break my partner's trust, no matter how much I...A gloved hand cupped my cheek, and I didn't hesitate to lean into his palm. As his thumb stroke the corner of my mouth, I listened to his real voice with every sense of my being.
"Hey..." My face was guided forward and my lips touched his. I kept my eyes closed, even when he released. "Open them." He breathed.
What?...Was he serious...
"...Are you sure, Din?"
"Reina." His calm tone assured me.
My eyes fluttered open, and I saw the silver outlining of his face. His dark hair was soaked with sweat and his face was covered with dark smudges, which I only assumed could be bloody scrapes and cuts. His eyes were a darker silver with my vision, so I imagined them a dark brown, just like mine. My fingers reached out and brushed them gently across his stubbled jawline, using my other hand to wipe his sweaty hair from his forehead, and ending with my palms pressed against his temples. Relief washed over both of us as Din raised his upper body from the slab, bringing himself to his feet. I kissed him once more, and then slipped the helmet back onto its rightful place.
Not one word was spoken between the whole ordeal, but there needn't a reason to.
I slung Din's arm around my shoulders and we followed IG-11 through the open grate, and we raced to catch up with Cara, Karga, and the baby.
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See Me, See You: A Mandalorian Story
FanfictionReina Beckett is blind, but that doesn't necessarily means she can't see what or who is around her. She is a bounty hunter who agrees to take on a job with the notorious, but mysterious Mandalorian. Their motives and morals intertwine and Reina lear...
