Broken Soul | Din Djarin

chapter thirty-seven: from the heart

"Are you alright?" you murmur as you offer her a blanket, to which she croaks in confirmation.

"Okay," Din sighs as he enters the cockpit. "Repair's all done." He settles into the pilot's chair with the child on his lap. "Let's see if we can get this thing going once and for all.

Flicking a few controls, you tense when you hear the engines fire to life. The ship rises slowly from the ground, and you watch as the limp legs of the dead spider release their weak hold on it, slumping to the icy floor.

Slowly, but surely, Din maneuvers the ship up and out of the icy cavern, bumping into some walls on his way out. The knot in your stomach doesn't dissipate until the Crest is back in the open void of space that's littered with specks of stars.

"Wake me up if someone shoots at us. Or that door gets sucked off its rails."

You glance at Din at his comment, a small scowl of annoyance crossing your face at his attempt at a joke. The Frog Lady lets out a small croak of alarm, looking to you to register how she should react. Shaking your head, you slump in your chair with your arms crossed over your chest when Din glances over his shoulder to see your reaction.

"I'm kidding," he says quickly, looking from you to the Frog Lady. "If that happened, we'd all be dead... Sweet dreams."

You scoff, reaching out to smack his pauldron before settling into your chair. At least... you try to. Din seems to notice your discomfort, glancing back at you as you fidget in your seat.

"Alora..." Din whispers, head tilted in concern. "What's wrong, cyare?"

Frowning, you just offer him a shrug. It was cold - terribly cold - but you didn't want to admit that you were freezing. Nor did you want to ask Din if you could sit with him.

"Come here, cyare."

Your eyes flick up to meet his gaze, widened and wondering if he could suddenly read minds.

"I can see that you're cold," Din chuckles. "Come here."

"If you insist," you tease, moving from your spot over to Din. Once again, he coaxes you into his lap, letting your legs dangle off the chair as you basically drape yourself over him like a blanket in your attempts to keep the both of you warm. Din lets out a soft sigh as he holds you close, tucking his helmet into your shoulder as you lean against him. Sleep nags at your mind, making your eyelids heavy as peace from Din's presence washes over your body.

However, you snap out of your sleepy daze when the stirring of Din's mind catches your attention.

"Mm, what's wrong?" you murmur, exhaustion slurring your words.

"Nothing, my dear."

"Don't lie, Din." You press a kiss against his shoulder as you try to blink away the sleep pulling at your consciousness. "What's wrong?"

"I feel as if I should be asking you that question..." Din whispers so softly that you can barely make out the words.

You shift in your seat on his lap, looking at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?"

"You were crying. When I came back to the ship, you were crying."

"Oh... Din..." you sigh, shaking your head.

"Alora, you were crying."

Oh, Din... always worrying...

"You already asked me about this, cyare," you frown, tracing the sliver of exposed skin on the back of his neck and making him shiver slightly. "I told you that everything was fine."