ÂME MORTELLE, din djarin

xviii. one of the same

"You think I'm proud of what I've done?" Tendrils of frustration seeping through his firm facade of patience, Mayfeld shakes his head, glancing away from the female for just a moment - his gaze returning to her with a new intensity. And, if only for a moment, his expression visibly falters, before he once more replaces the all-to-familiar mask. "I did what I did to survive, and you would have too. You and me, we're the same."

"We're nothing alike."

"And you're such a saint, huh? I've seen the things you've done. Remember our last job, on Nar Shaddaa?" His icy eyes are set solely upon Eden, despite the intrigued onlookers who watch their every interaction with great excitement. Taking note of how her jaw clenches and her fingers twitch closer to her dagger, Mayfeld continues. "The second your life was on the line, you threw away every moral. People, families - hell, even kids died so you could live. And, when I saved your ass, you still tried to kill me."

With no response uttered, Mayfeld smiles, joylessly. "Not so different now, are we?"

An aching encapsulates Eden's heart. Though the mere mention toward their mission that'd fallen off-track is enough to wound her, it is the truth that lies within his every word that hurts the most. Wishing only to linger within the peaceful bliss that is denial, Eden forces her gaze away, desperate to turn her attention's gaze away from her past. Absentmindedly, she reaches out for her one teether through her hardest of times; her hand creeping up to wrap around the locket hanging around her neck. Unfortunately, Mayfeld had yet to give up his argument, and gestures toward the locket. "I see you still have that old thing."

And, it is with such harmless words that Eden finally snaps.

Darting to her feet, she strikes the man; clutching onto a handful of his shirt and yanking him to his feet. She slams his body against the unforgiving metal interior of the ship, wasting not a moment before pressing the blade of her dagger taut against his neck. Mayfeld, his reflexes fast at work, grasps upon his blaster, raising it to the woman's stomach. Though the feeling of the weapon pressed against her catches her by surprise, she doesn't free him - the two descending into a checkmate.

"Give me a reason not to kill you." The words ooze past Eden's lips, their every syllable laced with enough venom to kill anyone. Her hand is steadier than ever before, the droplet of blood that drips from the man's throat almost encouraging her to continue. She doesn't lower her weapon, but neither does he. Their eyes intertwine, and amongst the anger brewing within them, there is a distant glint of betrayal within each of their gazes as they peer at one another, itching to attack. Xi'an and Burg maintain a vague hold on their respective weapons as they watch the pair's disagreement with a blossoming excitement, yet neither attempts to intervene.

"Hey! Hey!"

An echoing clank ripples throughout the ship's hull, the metal-clad body of the Mandalorian climbing down from the cockpit to join them. His stern words erupt through the suffocating tension, his voice brimming with authority. In the blink of an eye, he finds himself standing between Eden and Mayfeld, forcing the pair apart. Raising his gloved palms to each of the pair in a gesture for them to stop, he watches as Mayfeld slowly lowers his blaster. Eden, however, refuses to yield. His stance unmoving, his attention turns solely toward her. "Stand down."

A beat passes as Eden's attention remains fixated on Mayfeld, the sight of his surrender bringing her not an ounce of comfort. But, as Din speaks once more, her gaze is torn away from her foe, instead falling upon her friend. Despite the metal obscuring him from view, the hairs upon the back of her neck prick up beneath his stare. Hesitance slowing her every move, she lowers her dagger. Sending Mayfeld one final glare, she turns on her heel and makes a beeline for the ladder from which the Mandalorian came, her footfall halting only momentarily as Din calls out, "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here. If I stay, I'll kill 'em."

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𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎

Hi yes hello, I hope you all had
some happy holidays (:

The timing of the events in the flashbacks are a little off, but I'm not sure how to make it work, so we will have to use our ✨imagination ✨. Because operation cinder happened a few months after the battle of Endor, while boba fett was 'kiLLeD' before that obviously. If I figure out a better way to set out the timing, I'll come back and change it, but for now it's what we have lads.

Quick disclaimer; I am not trying to make Eden and Mayfeld act like a couple 👁👄👁. They were friends sksjdhchdjw. I'm just setting up some of her past, and giving a sneaky lil bit of foreshadowing and development that will be further established when I get up to season two :) this chapter was a tad bit of a filler, but we will be back on track with mando and the child next chapter

Also, I am a huge ass simp for Mayfeld at the moment, but there aren't any fics for him that I can find :') This is a shoutout to all the other Mayfeld simps out there, you beautiful bastards.

Anyway, I hope you have an amazing day 😌💛