We Belong to the Stars (Cara x Din)

Part 5

For just a few moments, everything was perfect.

He finally got to hold her close, and maybe a chance to tell her just a few of the things that were on his mind.

Then she pressed her forehead against his helmet...and everything changed.

Din had never seen anybody else do it, but he was quite sure that, in Mandalorian culture, putting your foreheads together was equal to kissing, in most societies, at least.

How was he supposed to tell his best friend, for whom his feelings were growing stronger by the minute, that she kissed him? Especially if she didn't feel the same way about him. How embarrassing would that be?

If Din was being completely honest with himself, he liked it. But there was the looming thought that Cara didn't even know what she was doing. In a way, he felt as though he were using her. He knew he had to say something to break the silence.

So he told her how he wanted to stay on Nevarro and settle down for a quiet life with the kid. "With you..." he added at the end, trying not to make it sound as meaningful as it really was to him.

It would never work. Him staying on this planet, that is. He would just have to forget about Cara and whatever feelings he'd once had for her.

It's too hazy to see anything in the room when he opens his eyes. But he doesn't care, because he has to find her. She's lying several feet away with several deep gashes in her arm and one on her forehead.

"Cara," he whispers, touching her cheek. She doesn't stir, so he begins to yell her name louder, wondering what he would do if she never woke up.

She suddenly gasps and starts to cough. Din sighs in relief.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"I don't know. I guess those smugglers had more in mind than handing over the cargo."

"Just so we're on the same page...Greef is never gonna hear the end of this, right?"

"Right."

"Let's take a look around."

Din reaches out to help her up. He notices her hesitation, even a hint of disappointment, as though she's just remembering the conversation they had during the dance.

Everybody else in the building is dead. However, there aren't many bodies, so some might have gotten away. Din and Cara try to open the main door, but it's stuck. A sudden static sound from a comlink makes them both jump.

It's coming from the cold hand that's sticking out from under a pile of concrete. Cara glances at Din before picking the comlink up and tapping it a couple times.

"Trax, do you copy? Are you there? Come in, Trax! Do you copy?" a voice says. "Whatever. We're coming. Did you make sure all the explosives went off? It doesn't look like it from here. I'll be there soon. Karga sure is gonna be in for a surprise. When I'm through with him, I'll get to work on this settlement."

Cara gives a slight gasp. "They're coming for Greef."

"Who are they?" Din mutters, making his way to one of the large glass windows that look out over the lava pools on the edge of town. At first he sees nothing, but then in the distance, coming over the ridge, is a group of a dozen people. They're the ones who caused the explosion, he says to himself. We can't let them reach the town.

"They're coming. About ten of them. Look like pirates," he tells Cara.

She sighs. "This is really what we needed tonight."

"We have to stop them."

"How?" She glances out the window to see the smugglers getting closer. "I mean, I could probably take one or two, but with this..." She motions to the cuts in her arm.

"Maybe we don't need to fight...The man on the comlink said there were still more bombs that didn't go off yet."

"So all we need to do is find out how to set those off, then burn this building to the ground with them in it," Cara chimes in. "You're a genius!"

"We need to hurry," Din replies.

Soon enough, they find a device with a red button in the pocket of the man who had the comlink.

"Are you sure this is it?" asks Din.

"It's a red button...we're talking about bombs here...what, do you think this would control the lights or something?" says Cara sarcastically. Usually, Din wouldn't mind her humorous words, but now it seemed as though their talk and dance had meant nothing to her. Like she's trying to keep him at a distance, trying to go back to just being friends. That is what we agreed to, he tells himself. We have to forget.

"Dank farrik!" exclaims Cara, after examining the device closely.

"What is it?"

"We used these kind of bombs on the leftover Imperial hideouts on Endor. You have to be within a certain range of the explosives when you push the button. That means," her voice falters, "we have to stay here to set it off."

"Not both of us," Din mutters.

Cara shoots him a look. In her face, he can see a million things that confirm she will never forget what they said during the dance. But all she says is, "Me."

"No. You need your chance at a normal life," he argues.

"And you have the kid!" she yells. "It's gotta be me." She walks closer to him and he sees the tears she's trying not to let out.

"I won't let you," he whispers, reaching out to touch her cheek.

Cara manages a slight chuckle. "It seems like we've been in a situation like this before."

"Cara. I'm staying. You can take care of the kid. Okay? I know you can. Maybe there'll be enough time between pushing the button and the building coming down. But we can't let these guys get into town, much less get to Greef."

"Listen. We don't even know what this guy is talking about. Why don't we just-"

"I know who he is," says Din.

Cara frowns. "What?"

"His name is Tharrus Nisi. I know you and I put up a good fight against Moff Gideon's soldiers, but this guy is a whole other deal. Trust me. We can't let him into this town," he says.

"I do trust you," Cara says exasperatedly. "There might be enough time for you to get away after pressing the button." There is nothing but doubt in her voice. She hesitates before pressing her forehead against his helmet once again. Din hesitates, too. But he knows his time is limited, so it would be okay to allow himself this one selfish thing, right?

"Promise me you'll make it back to me and the kid, okay?" He can't see her face, but there's a catch in her voice.

Din doesn't answer.

Ok i know the situation doesn't make a lot of sense and there were probably millions of ways to resolve the problem but this was the only one that would fit the rest of the storyline, okay? okay.