Stowaway | A Mandalorian Love Story | Din Djarin x OC

Chapter Twenty-Four: Keep Saying Goodbye

Suggested Listening:
Silver Leaves - James Newton Howard (from Treasure Planet) | ...another goodbye (Only up until 3:13, then the tone shifts -- but listen to the whole thing cuz cmon its so so good lol)
The Last Farm - Kjartan Sveinsson (from The Last Farm) | ...farm life
There Are Spies Everywhere - Michael Giacchino (from Rogue One) | ...the fifth day
Doomsday - Murray Gold (from Doctor Who) | ...i need a job

The walk to the edge of town was quiet and solemn. We didn't look at each other much, opting instead to squint into the early-morning sun and muscle through the mess of discomfort and sadness, through which ran a live wire of curiosity and fear and hope for a positive reunion. I felt everything so much that it almost felt like nothing.

We came upon a small trading outpost and looked around, curiously.

"This is where she said to meet," said Din quietly, craning his neck to try and spot her.

There was a sparse crowd of quiet, serious farmworkers silently picking up their animal feed from an open-ended warehouse and building materials from a large vehicle carrying lumber and ore. My heart turned over as my gaze alighted on a thin frame and a wisp of grey-brown hair across the square.

"That's her," I breathed, clutching Din's forearm absent-mindedly. He followed my gaze to where an older woman was heaving bags of Nerf feed into the back of her cart. At the front of it, a juvenile-looking Nerf was licking a salt-block and waiting patiently to go.

As though sensing my gaze, the woman froze and raised her face, locking her eye with mine. In the cool morning sunlight, her green eyes shone and instantly I knew her. She looked so much like the long-lost memories of my mother. She looked like me.

Her face softened as she saw me, and I knew she was registering the same thoughts as myself. She didn't wave or cry out — we didn't want to make a scene. Instead, she folded her hands in front of her and stood patiently, waiting for me to approach.

"I guess this is it," I said, my stomach twisting. I turned to look up at Din, my hand still on his forearm. "I don't know what to say."

He looked down at me, wordlessly, and wrapped his hand around my forearm too.

"I feel like I've said goodbye to you a lot," I realized out loud with a soft chuckle. "Tatooine, then Coruscant, then Trask..."

"I guess they don't stick," he rumbled, an attempt at lightness.

I laughed, though tears had begun to spring in my eyes.

"But I hope this works out," he continued seriously. "I want you two to be safe with each other. This could be the key to you not needing to be on the move anymore."

I nodded, hoping he was right. I opened my mouth to say "I'll miss you," or "I love you," or anything even hinting toward all that I was feeling, but nothing came to the surface. Instead I searched his dark T-visor for a moment, recalling the memory of his face in my mind.

"Goodbye," I said, and released his arm before turning to go.

I had only made it a few steps when I stopped. This is ridiculous.

I knew I was doing the right thing. I knew I had to leave him for now, to explore this part of me and this path that had appeared before me — but that doesn't mean I shouldn't say a real goodbye.

I turned on my heel before I had a chance to lose my nerve and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him down into a tight hug. He froze in shock for a long moment, then tentatively responded by tightening his arms around my back and holding me close. His armor was hard and uncomfortable to be pressed up against, but I didn't care. I memorized the feeling of his hands holding me and savored every second.