A Wrench

19: Truth

You squirm in your seat for four hours, chatting idly with Mayfield while Mando remains mostly silent. Turns out your speculations about the bald man are true. He has a great sense of humor, and while his life has been difficult, to say the least, he has an optimism that spreads to the people around him. It's easy to see why Mando calls on him and takes care of him. They are most definitely friends, in the only way Mando and an ex-sharpshooter turned mercenary can be.

He actually gives you a small hug when you drop him back off at the outpost, and tells you not to be a stranger before leaning forward into your ear and muttering, "and try to loosen Mando up a little if you can. I don't know how much more of his harumphing I can take."

You laugh as he disappears into the night. The kid sleeps soundly in his pod in the hull after all the excitement, and Mando gets the ship back into hyperspace without revealing if he's traveling toward a destination or not. You bounce in the seat next to him, unable to wait a minute longer.

"Why did you surrender-"

"What did I say to hurt you so bad-"

You both speak at the same time. Mando shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and you get the courage to get up and sit on his lap, straddling his thighs as you squeeze your knees between his legs and the armrest and wrap on your arms around his neck.

"You first." You lean your forehead against his helmet, reassuring both you and him.

"They had a cannon locked onto the ship."

You frown. "I had the deflectors up."

His head shakes slowly. "A big cannon. You were both inside, I didn't have a choice. I just hoped you'd get away with the kid. I..." his breath increases. "I wasn't sure if you'd come pick me up. Or if you'd just leave. I knew you wouldn't pay. I knew your father wouldn't pay. It was a lot of credits."

Your heart cracks, making you flinch. "You thought I wouldn't come save you?"

"Pick me up." He rushes out. "I didn't need saving. Just a ride."

A small smile plays on your lips. "That's what I used to think about you. I thought I didn't need you to save me from my life. I just needed a ride."

"We were fighting. And you were mad, and then... you weren't. What...?" he speaks slow and concerned.

Your eyes drop, and you take a deep breath, ignoring your pounding heart. "You aren't training me to be a bounty hunter, are you? You're training me because nannying that little green monster is dangerous."

His gloved hands grip your waist tight. Too tight.

"I can stop training you if you want. I can stop letting you care for the kid. You volunteer to do it, I thought... I don't know I thought you liked him. I was training you because I wanted you to see how amazing you are. I didn't know how else to do it."

You don't feel an ounce of deceit in his voice, his posture. His hands hold you tight, fingers digging into your flesh. But you can't see his face. You can't pick up on the more subtle clues of his facial expressions. It was always how you knew to avoid your dad, when to stop pushing him. But you never know with this man in front of you. You might never know.

"Why do you want me here, Din?" you whisper.

"I..." the tension in his body explodes. It fills the whole room with tangible energy. But he doesn't say anything more.

Your heart keeps pounding, harder now. "Why do you want me here, Din?"

"I just... want you." he breathes.