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"Mae," Mando calls out, but once we leave the eerie building and hit the streets, I don't stop walking. "Mae!" he calls out again, grabbing my arm this time around. He spins me around and roughly pins me against the wall of the nearest building. He towers over me, pressing one of his armored forearms against my chest to keep me in place. "What the hell was that in there?"

"Nothing," I answer, not wanting to meet his gaze. He tilts his helmet down a little more and his gloved fingers hook under my chin, forcing me to look up at him and meet the intense gaze of his blank visor. My eyes widen from his touch, but I don't dare pull away from him. "It's nothing, okay?"

"Don't bullshit me, Mae," he snaps, drawing his hands away from me before poking an aggressive finger against the exposed skin of my chest that my thin button-up didn't cover. I had a feeling that my usual excuses weren't going to work with him anymore. Looks like I was going to have to come up with a new list soon.  

"Then drop it," I quickly retort. I swipe his finger away from my chest and glare at him, not appreciating the sudden hostility that laced his attitude and actions. 

"You can't just-"

"Drop it," I repeat, not letting him continue.

"Fine," he deadpans, obviously done with my stubbornness. "We have something to do before we head back to the ship." He pushes off the wall and starts walking off without me at a quick pace. I let out a rough sigh, knowing that I had pissed him off. I follow him regardless, trying to keep up with his long strides. 

We walk through the town, scooting through certain alleyways while pressing through other small areas. We soon stop in front of a small opening that was covered by a thin cloth sheet. Mando turns around to face me and I take a careful step back, my nerves still bouncing around my head.

"Can I have the credits?" he asks, referring to the two ingots of beskar the client had given us. I slide them out of my jacket pocket, placing them into his gloved hand. He looks at the entrance for a long moment before looking back at me. "Alright. You can either wait up here and be completely safe, or you can come with me and perhaps risk your life."

"I'll go with the latter," I say without an ounce of hesitation. He scoffs behind his mask and I smile up at him, hoping that I could make up for how I had been acting a few minutes ago. "Don't think that just because I'm on edge that I won't risk my neck for you, Din."

He stares down at me for a long moment before slowly nodding and moving the sheet to the side, letting me descend into the deep darkness first. He leads me down the short set of stairs and through grim feeling tunnels, his hand resting on my lower back to guide me. 

My eyes dart around as we walk and I spot a few other Mandalorians that were sitting around near the walls of the tunnel, cleaning their weapons and shining their armor. They all stare at me as we walk past, but I quickly snap my gaze away, not wanting to stir anything up or infuriate any of them. 

Did Mando really have the fucking audacity to bring me into the Mandalorian covert without even thinking of blindfolding me?

We soon met the ned of the tunnel we had been following and I spot someone in shiny Mandalorian armor sitting in front of a large furnace that was set in the middle of the room. The person's gaze immediately looks over to me and I take a small step back, but Mando nudges me forward. He pats my upper back once before stepping around me. He places the ingots down on the table and then steps back to where I was standing. 

"Who is this?" the female Mandalorian asks, her tone strong and commanding. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the woman in charge around here. With an intimidating voice like that... 

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