ILLUMINATE • din djarin

PART EIGHT

Venelia woke up to a clanking sound from above her. She rubbed the corners of her eyes as she sat up in the bed and scooted out of the space. It was early, but she didn't mind being woken up by the Mandalorian's tinkering. He'd insisted she sleep in the bed again last night, despite her protests.

She moved to press the button that opened the side hatch and took a deep breath as it slowly descended, and the cool dawn air hit her face. She gazed in wonder at the streaks of dawn that glowed across the sky. She admired the pink and orange hues, leaning on the doorway, a light breeze blowing through her hair. She wasn't used to sunrise, dawn on Fidelis usually hidden by the heavy cloudbank. But she loved the way the colours painted the sky softly.

She sat cross-legged in the doorway for a while and watched the colour of the sky change as the moon they were on woke up before she heard another clank. She leaned back on her hands and titled her head to look up at the ladder hole.

After another loud noise followed by what she assumed was a curse in the same language he'd spoken before, she stood up. Leaving the dawn behind, Venelia grabbed her corset from the bed, buckled it on and made her way up the ladder.

Once on the landing, she walked through the small annex to the reactor room, where the Mandalorian was standing, tools splayed on the grated floor, tightening a bolt with a grunt. His helmet looked up at her as she came into his eye line.

He stepped away from the hyperdrive. "Did I wake you?"

Venelia stepped into the room. "You did, but it's okay. I got to see the sunrise."

The Mandalorian just looked at her for a moment before returning to his work. Venelia watched him like she did the other day, leaning on the wall. She observed him as he welded the circuits, the light glinting off his beskar.

He broke the silence. "I should be done early this afternoon, it's why I got up early. Figured you'd want to get to Olis sooner rather than later."

"That and the pilot's seat was uncomfortable to sleep in?"

He looked at her, he shook his head in what looked like amusement as he said, "Yeah, that too."

Venelia smiled genuinely. "But that's great, Mando. Thank you."

~*~

The Mandalorian looked at her through his helmet. Her dark hair was mussed from sleep, her violet eyes tired but bright. Letting Venelia sleep in his bed while he slept in the cockpit was the honourable thing to do; he'd done it without thinking.

He'd spent the last two nights sleeping uncomfortably in the cockpit, trying not to think about her lying in his bed downstairs. Or the way her hands had slowly traced his blaster, an extension of himself, yesterday. Or the way his body brushed against hers as he showed her the safety.

Why such thoughts even entered his mind, he didn't know. It had been a while since his last tryst with Xi'an and assumed he was going through a withdrawal. Nevertheless, he pushed the inappropriate thoughts away as soon as they came. Instead, hoping he didn't have a stiff neck in the morning.

He didn't regret it though as he looked at her with that smile that had been playful, but now full of gratitude. He nodded his head at her thanks and resumed his work on the hyperdrive. He felt her eyes on him as he let her watch him. He applied sealant on the circuits before blasting them with heat, removing the shorts and replacing them with the micro-welder.

He looked at Venelia in his periphery – seeing her with a look of fascination on her face as she tried to work out what he was doing. He remembered how she'd told him how despite her knowledge in areas of culture, she'd felt useless not being able to help him with the repairs.