I'll Do The Same { Din Djarin x OC}

Chapter Twenty: Promises

When Din caressed Thell's face to wake her, he swiftly moved past the bruises, careful not to hurt her. He knew she was more self conscious than she had ever been, but Din thought he had never seen or known someone so magnificent.

. . . .

Din delivered as promised, gently kissing her cheek to wake her up early the next morning. Thell could see light beyond her closed eyelids, so she kept them closed out of honor for him. She could feel him leaning over her, one arm braced over her waist.

"Hi, kar'ta," he whispered before warmly kissing her cheek again, making Thell smile, still half asleep.

She felt his lips on her's and kissed him back briefly before he pulled away. She rose, opening her arms so she could hug him close and wrap her arms around his neck. He reciprocated almost immediately, leaning into her with one arm braced on the headboard. She could feel the Beskar chestplates strapped across him, but he still lacked the helmet. She opened her eyes then, when her chin was resting over his shoulder and the only thing she could see were the faint wisps of chocolate brown hair curling around his neck.

Outside, the sun was peeking just beyond the trees, setting the world aglow. It was a new day, a new opportunity for the both of them. Thell squeezed him tighter, holding the back of his head.

"Please be careful," she whispered, kissing his hair. She felt him lean his head on her's, almost swaying against her grip. "Bring him back, Din."

"I will," he promised back. "I'll radio you when I can. I'll be back before the sun sets."

Din pulled away, taking his warmth with him and placing a comlink in her hand. Thell listened to himself shuffle around until she heard the front door shut, and the house went quiet again. She sat cross legged on the bed, running her hands on the sheets where Din had been sleeping just minutes ago. They were still warm, and when she raised the blanket to her face, she could smell him; metal and a hint of musk, like the pine trees outside.

Thell didn't move much of the day, resting on the porch outside to let the sun wash over her. Her injuries had improved immensely since the day before thanks to Din's quick thinking and the advanced medical equipment on the Razor Crest. The same young woman from the village came by a few times, bringing food with her and keeping Thell company for hours on end.

Despite her company, and Din's promises, the flashes of memories still came to her, ones of pure terror and fear. She would slink off, wrapping herself under the blanket and pulling it to her nose, pretending like Din was actually there when she could only smell him on the blanket. She knew she had had a restless night; it came in blurs periodically throughout the day. Sometimes they were flashes of fake images from her time in the Empire base, surrounded by throngs of stormtroopers and that admiral with the greasy hair. Other times they were actual memories from the previous night, when she would shoot up trembling and quivering beneath the blankets. Although the air in the room and the bed she shared with Din was warm, Thell felt as if she had been dipped in a basin of ice.

Even in her haze of fear, she could feel the bed shifting beneath her, the blanket shifting slightly across her legs as Din rose beside her. In all his quiet strength, he held her until she had cried herself back to sleep, warm in his arms and forehead pressed into her hair.

Her heart ached when Din didn't radio her comlink for the first several hours, the worry setting in, and waited on the back porch, hoping to possibly see a glimpse of his Beskar and the kid's floppy ears. She missed Grogu desperately, still feeling the guilt at leaving him gnaw at her. She knew it wasn't inherently her fault, Din had assured her of that, but it still racked at her being.