the curious happenstance of pedro pascal and din djarin [The Mandalorian]

Ringing

15th March 2020

It rang.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Din was tense. He was leaning so heavily on Pedro that for a moment, Pedro worried he was going to be pushed off the couch. The cat was in Din's lap, purring softly and curled into a ball.

It rang a fourth time. It connected on the fifth.

Din grabbed for Pedro's hand. He held it tight. Ran his fingers over the scars.

There was a loading screen. Static. Then, the old man's face filled the view, along with Pedro's and Din's at the bottom.

The old man smiled. "I'm glad you could make it," he said, his voice like honey and melted butter. "Terribly sorry for being late. I just got done with another client."

Pedro saw Din's gaze drop to the keyboard in the facecam. He wouldn't be talking, then.

"It's no problem," Pedro replied, suddenly feeling stiff and robotic. What do I even say?

"Well, I suppose we should get started." The old man shuffled through some papers on his desk. "You know this already, but for courtesy's sake; hello, I'm Robert. Din would be the one on... my left, is that correct?"

Din looked up for a moment, nodded, then looked back down.

"I hadn't realised you two were identical when we first met," Robert chuckled. "Okay. Din. If you don't mind, I'm going to ask you some questions. They might be personal. Or they might not. But you're allowed to interrupt me at any time. If I'm making you uncomfortable, let me know. I want to do anything I can to ensure your happiness and well-being in these sessions. You can steer the conversation in any way you like. So, to get us started, in your mind, why would you say that you're here with me today?"

The grip on his hand tightened. Pedro squeezed it, hoping, hoping that it would at least give some semblance of comfort.

"You don't have to talk," Robert spoke suddenly. "That's alright. You don't have to tell me anything. That's alright too. You can sit in complete silence all day, if you like."

Slowly, Din looked up. He stared at the screen through the hair covering his eyes. His eyes danced from side to side, like he was weighing his options.

He cleared his throat. "I'm here," he coughed, "I'm here because, because..." he paused, hesitating. Robert didn't interject. "I'm here because I need to be."

"Do you know why you need to be?"

Din hesitated again. "Yes," he rasped.

"Do you feel comfortable telling me about that?"

Pedro felt the sudden uprise in tension. Din leaned further into him, pressing against his side.

"Do I have to be?" he asked.

"Not at all. But that's something we can work towards in our sessions together, if you'd like."

Slowly, Din nodded.

"Great," Robert smiled again, shifting in his chair. "Agreeing to do these sessions and talk requires a great deal of courage. Have you ever been with a counsellor before today, Din?"

Din shook his head. " 'S a new concept. For me."

"That's alright." Offscreen, Robert wrote a note. "That's perfectly alright. Okay, a few more questions to kick us off. After this, I'd just like to get to know you better, and your brother too, if that's alright. So, Din, how would you describe your mood? Overall?"