We Belong to the Stars (Cara x Din)

Part 7

Darkness.

That's all Din can see when he wakes up with a gasp. Immediately, he tries to stand up, but a block of concrete is pinning his left arm to the ground.

He'd had quite an intense conversation with his old enemy, Tharrus Nisi, but the words running through his head right now belong to Cara.

"Promise me you'll make it back to me and the kid, okay?"

She probably thinks he's dead. He needs to find her.

He tries to push the block off his arm, but it's too heavy. Dank farrik. Maybe...maybe he just has to let her go. You can't, says a voice in his head, surprising him. When you first decided to stay a little longer here, you were almost sure there was a chance. Cara showed you that there was, but you had hope. You love her, don't you?

Does he? He thought he did, but nothing could ever come out of it. So he forced himself to believe that it was just something he would get over.

"I...love her," he whispers out loud.

Presently, after many tries, the block shifts. He still isn't able to pull his arm away, but it's a start.

I have to hurry.

Cara might be leaving.

What's happening to the kid?

Is Tharrus dead?

I need to find Cara and tell her the truth.

The many thoughts are almost overwhelming, but the strongest one is that he was wrong; he and Cara still do have a chance. Though he would never be able to choose between his responsibility of the kid or his love for Cara, they could work something out. Din doesn't care.

Through the rubble, he can see the sky beginning to turn pink. The stars are still visible, and it makes a beautiful picture. It makes him feel as though if only he can convince Cara to go with him on his travels, everything would be perfect. You don't belong down here on a quiet planet, he would tell her. You, the kid, and I are supposed to be up there. Together. We belong to the stars.

He'll never get the chance to tell her unless he finds her.

By the time he manages to push the concrete block away and free his arm, the stars are nearly gone. Din isn't sure how long he was unconscious for; probably several hours. When he tries to stand, he gets dizzy. He can't move his left arm without a stabbing pain. He's bleeding, bruised, aching, but he survived.

Now he has to keep his promise.

He manages to limp to the back of the building, the very edge of the town. He can still see the silhouette of the Razor Crest. Cara is probably still on Nevarro.

He uses the path on the outskirts of the town instead of the main street, so as to not cause a scene. He makes his way towards the diner, wincing at every step, but determined to get back to his kid and the woman he loves.

He sees Greef through the window of the diner, sitting alone with his head in his hands, a tall spotchka bottle on the table in front of him.

Din wants to go let Greef know that he survived, but he sees Cara's silhouette walking towards the Razor Crest. Din can talk to Greef later, but now he just has to stop Cara.

She has almost reached the ship when Din gives up. She's too far away, and maybe she already accepted the fact that he was gone. A sharp pain in his leg makes him stumble and fall to the ground. He wants to call out her name, but instead, he just whispers, "Wait...I love you."

Maybe it was fate, destiny, or maybe she had somehow magically heard his words, but Cara chose that moment to turn around and take one last look at the town. Din sees the Child in her arms. He knew he could always count on her to keep the kid safe.

Cara sees him and instantly starts running; Din is still struggling to stand up when she throws her arm around his neck and desperately pushes her forehead against his. He wants to hold her close, envelop both her and the kid in his arms.

But he doesn't.

Din can't use her like that. Even though she's smiling through her tears, so happy that he's alive, he can't let her do this without knowing what it means to him. Maybe it's just some random wave of insecurity, but every thought he had while trapped in the rubble vanishes. He loves her, and maybe she does feel the same way about him, but they don't have a chance.

Cara pulls away and puts her hand on the side of his helmet; the smile on her face and the look in her eyes making Din want to kiss her. Not just push his forehead against hers, but actually kiss her, take his helmet off and press their lips together.

"You made it," she says with a tremble in her voice.

"Of course," he replies. The explosion must have messed him up pretty badly, because it hurts to talk. The Child gurgles and reaches out to him.

"What happened? Are you okay? Is Tharrus dead?" She begins peppering him with questions, but Din notices a shiny object hanging from her neck.

"That's the one I gave to the kid," he says.

"Oh, that. Yeah, the kid gave it to me. Is that okay? I was gonna keep it really safe-"

"It's okay. Cara, it's okay."

"I thought you were dead," she practically whimpers. "I-I saw the building go down, and I told Greef and everything, and he told me..." she stops in mid-sentence.

"He told you what?"

"...that-that he was sorry about m-making us go to that party," she stammers. "Greef! We've got to go tell him! Here, I've got you." She puts his arm around her shoulders and helps him back across the long stretch of land to the town.

She kicks the diner door open and Greef's head shoots up. "Mando?" he says slowly. Din can't tell if he's surprised or been drinking too much spotchka, but Greef rushes towards him and all four of them end up in a group hug.

"Here, sit down," urges Cara.

"Tell us everything," exclaims Greef.

Din shares what happened after Cara left the hall, but switches up the story a bit. "The bombs went off instantly after I pressed the button," he says. In reality, he had a few spare seconds and spent them trying to run away, trying to get back to Cara. Obviously, he also doesn't mention what motivated him to escape the pile of rubble.

"Well, you sure gave us a good scare," says Greef when Din is finished. "We were both pretty sad."

Cara shoots Greef a deadly look and he shrugs back. Din watches in amusement.

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad you're okay," Cara says with a sniffle.

"Are you okay?" Din asks.

"Yeah, I just, um, I kinda need to be alone right now. I'll see you later. Don't go dying again." She pats him on the shoulder and leaves.

"Is she okay?" Din asks Greef. "Usually she's always super tough. Lately she's been kinda emotional."

"Yeah, uh, I'll go check up on her," says Greef awkwardly. Din gets the feeling that he knows something else, but he lets the thought go.

Sheesh I posted like ten times today, talk about being bored 

also jsyk, you can dm me any time you feel like it, I'd love to be friends!!