We finally got back to the ship with everything we wanted when dusk had hit, making sure to set all of the parts out in order before taking a few steps back to rest. Well, I had all the pieces to put her back together. Now all I have to do is actually fix her up.
"This is going to take forever," I moan out, slumping my shoulders in pure defeat. The sight of all the parts resting around the ship made my heart squeeze in sadness. I place a gentle hand on her frame and let out a small sigh, upset to see her in such bad shape.
"Well, it may go faster if you care to help," Kuiil retorts in a matter-of-fact tone. I smile at him and nod my head, happy that we were going to have another pair of hands to help us out. "We will start at dawn. I have spoken," he finishes. He turns and heads back into his small shack, leaving Mando and me alone on the chilling terrain.
I let out a small shiver as I walked up the ramp and into the ship, kicking my boots off near the open hangar door in an attempt to not track any mud through the somewhat clean ship. I cringe at how muddy my boots, clothes, and skin were. And I was hoping to fix that soon because I wasn't sure how much longer I could go walking around like this.
I walk towards my room, but Mando calls my name out once, stopping me before I could let the door slide shut behind me. I turn my head and look over my shoulder, peering at my partner as I continued to stand in the doorway of my room.
"Your ribs," he says, one of his gloved fingers pointing at the lower part of my torso. I follow his finger and notice the way I was cradling my aching ribs. I furrow my brows for a moment, wondering how long I had been doing that.
"They're probably just broken. It's nothing too bad," I say sarcastically in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Let me wrap them up for you," he says, nodding his head with a sense of determination. His sense of determination had surprised me, but I wasn't complaining.
"How about you go take a shower first and get your armor cleaned up," I say, smiling softly at him while flashing my brows, "I'll take one after you."
I take a small step back and let the door slide shut in front of me before he could get anything else out. Once the door slid into a closed position, I let out a small sigh along with a shallow grunt of pain. My hand goes back to cradling my ribs while I leaned my head against the cold metal door. Fuck, now I was going to have to clean my door since I probably just got mud all over the usual pristine metal.
I turn around and throw my blaster and hilt on my bed, my mind telling myself that I was thankful that I had at least cleaned those two things off on the ride back to the ship. I let my hair down and peel my shirt and pants off, throwing them down onto the clean floor. There was still a thick layer of mud caked on my olive-brown skin and it made me feel absolutely disgusting.
I prayed that Mando would be quick in the shower because I wasn't so sure about how much longer I would be able to go feeling like this. Having a layer of mud caked on my skin wasn't something I was so keen on keeping.
I think about five minutes had passed before I broke my streak of patience because the next thing I know, I'm slapping my hand on the door panel, letting the door slide right open. I peeked my head out of the doorway for a few moments to see that Mando was already stepping into his own private quarters. He looked clean and fresh, completely covered up as usual.
I quickly snatch my towel up, lightly wrapping it around my body before grabbing a stack of clean clothes. I race to the bathroom and let the door slide shut behind me, throwing the towel onto the counter while I turned the water on.
I step into the shower, letting the hot water run over my skin, washing away the thick layer of mud I had acquired on the job. I go to wash my arms off, but the second the scalding water met the light burns on my forearm, a loud yelp escaped past my lips. I whipped my arm up, quickly pressing it against the cold shower wall, biting my tongue to keep myself quiet.
The freezing wall seemed to ease the burning pain that was radiating from my skin, offering a contrast to the burning water that was falling over the rest of my body. I continued on with my shower, washing everything off of my skin and all of the mess out of my hair, finally starting to feel clean again.
I finish my shower and dry off, quickly getting dressed. I slide my undergarments on, settling the cloth over my olive-brown skin. I then pull on a pair of loose pants before draping my black towel around my neck to keep my wet hair off of my smooth skin. I walk out of my room and jump a bit when I see Mando leaning against the wall near the door of the bathroom. I rest a hand on my chest and another on my still aching ribs.
It was starting to hurt to breathe again and I couldn't tell if it was from the strangulation or from the broken ribs I was spotting.
Probably both.
"Is your arm okay?" he asks, looking at the burnt skin on my arm. I nod and go to step around him, but he grabs my good arm, stopping me from going any further. I look up at him and he holds up the med bag I usually had stashed away in my room. I furrow my brows and take a few steps back.
"Did you go in my room?" I ask, cocking my head to the side.
"Let me help you," he says, letting out a small sigh. I stare at him for a moment longer before letting out a small sigh while nodding my head.
"Alright."
I hesitantly took a few steps backward, slowly moving back into the bathroom. I painfully hopped up onto the small counter, adjusting myself as Mando stepped into the tiny bathroom we had to share. He steps a little closer, standing in between my legs, the sides of his waist pressing against my inner thigh. I nervously swallow, subtly straightening my back out as I resisted the urge to wrap my legs around his defined waist.
I watch as he started to take his gloves off, but the moment I realized what he was doing, I snapped my hands down. My fingers wrapped around his large hands, stopping him from making any further movements.
"What are you doing?" I ask, looking up at his blank helmet.
"Taking my gloves off," he answers bluntly while nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.
"Why?" I question.
"Why not? It's not like I can't take my gloves off," he says, tilting his head slightly.
"I know, it's just... you've always been pretty tense about stuff like this," I say, looking back down to where my hands were wrapped around his. My hands seemed to be much smaller than his, making me wonder what it would look like if his hands were wrapped around mine.
"It's fine, Mae."
I hesitantly draw my hands away from his, watching as he slid his gloves off. I watch as his bare hands grab a roll of thin white bandages from the med bag beside me, his long fingers nimbly messing with the edge of the large roll. I keep watching his hands, feeling his helmet slowly tilt up to look at me, but I don't dare look back. My heart was pounding and I swore my hands were almost shaking.
His bare fingers gently hooked under my chin and I instantly froze, my breath hitching as I felt his skin press against mine for the first time in my life. His hands felt strong yet gentle and the pads of his fingers were roughly calloused. Two of his fingers stay hooked under my chin as his thumb gently grazed the edge of my bottom lip.
I swear this man was trying to drive me crazy.
My eyes grew wide and my heart started to beat faster and faster. He slowly tilted my head up, lifting his other hand to let the pads of his fingers graze along the sore bruises that graced my neck. I close my eyes, letting him tilt my head back all the way so he had a better look at my neck.
"I can feel your heart racing. Are you feeling alright?" he asks, resting the back of his warm fingers against the skin of my chest and then my forehead. I swear, I could practically hear the smirk in his tone as he spoke in a low whisper. I hum in response, not trusting myself to actually speak. I felt that if I were to open my mouth, the only thing that would come out is a high pitched squeak that I wouldn't be able to contain.
He drops his hands down to my ribs, setting them flat on my sides. He presses against them, gently feeling around and getting to work. I wince and whip my hands up to his shoulders, squeezing tight as pain surged through my torso. He had taken all of his armor off (everything but his helmet, of course), but I could still feel his muscular shoulders through the thin shirt he was wearing. I slowly opened my eyes and looked away as I realized my grip on his shoulders.
"You have a few broken ribs. I'm guessing that mudhorn hit you pretty hard," he says, keeping his hands on my sides. His hands are warm and light, almost making me want to melt into him. My skin starts to tingle under his touch, every place he grazed spiking in heat.
"Yeah, it was definitely the mudhorn," I breathe out, knowing that it was really the beskar that had hurt me the most.
"Tell me if I'm wrapping these too tight," he says, starting to wrap my ribs up to keep them in place. He gently works the thin clothes around my torso, making sure that my ribs were fully covered. I let out a few shaky breaths as he ties the bandages off, tucking them in carefully. "Those feel okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," I say, planting my hands on the counter to slide off but his hands soon rest on my hips, stopping me from moving. His hands gently squeeze my hips as he slides me back onto the counter. I look up at him, my skin starting to tingle yet again.
I have to stop feeling this way, especially for a Mandalorian. I don't stand a chance with a man who probably doesn't even feel the same for me.
"Your arm," he says, looking down at the burn on my forearm. He gently takes it into his hands, slowly lifting it up while smoothing a burn salve over it. I let out a small wince and his hand halts, slowly tilting his head up to look at my face. I silently nod and he continues, grabbing another roll of bandages and easily wrapping it up. "Does your neck still hurt?"
"Just a bit," I answer, nonchalantly shrugging my shoulders to dismiss the pain he was trying to point out, "So, am I good to go, Dr. Djarin?" I perk a brow while a small smile curls up on my face. He hums, his modulator cracking a bit from the low frequency of his voice. I start to slide off the counter, and this time he lets me. "Thanks again."
"Well, those had to hurt."
I guess that's one way to respond to a 'thank you'.
"What had to hurt?" I ask, looking up at him. If he's talking about my recent injuries, I'm going to throw my towel at his face, I swear.
"You know, getting the twenty-six moons of Yavin tattooed down the spine of your back seems pretty hardcore," he continues, nodding his head once. My eyes widen and I snap my head over my shoulder to look in the mirror set on the wall behind me. I spot a few of the inked moons that were peeking out from the bandages, shining right through the back of my bra.
"Shit," I breathe out, slowly looking away from the mirror.
"How have I never seen those before? We've lived together for the past five years, yet I've never gotten a glance of them," he says, letting out a small huff. I wanted to comment on how it's the same thing with him not showing his face, but if we were being completely honest, it's really not the same.
He won't show his face because he swore to a creed that he wouldn't. And I won't show my tattoos because... because I'm just private about shit like that.
"You haven't seen them before because I'm usually on top of keeping them covered up," I muttered, shifting the towel that was around my neck. He reaches up and rests his hand on the towel, slowly wrapping his fingers around the cloth. My breath hitched slightly and he tilts his head to look at me.
"May I?" he asks, gripping the towel a little more. I nervously swallow and slowly nod my head, agreeing to let him proceed. He pulls the towel from my neck, resting it on the counter I had just been sitting on. His fingers gently wrap around my biceps, his hands gently guiding me to turn me around. He sweeps my wet hair off of my shoulders, revealing the long line of dark tattoos. He gets a full glance at the inked moons that weren't covered by bandages, which happened to be the first ten moons.
I open my mouth to explain the meaning behind all the moons, but I stop myself when I feel the pads of his fingers graze over one of the tattoos. My eyes widen and my breath hitches as I feel his skin graze against mine. I snap my mouth shut and bite my bottom lip, my muscles tensing up as my heart starts to beat faster.
"Did they hurt?"
"Just a bit."
His hand traces one more inked moon before slowly drawing away from my skin. I slowly turn back around, not meeting his gaze. I let out a shaky breath and swallow hard.
"I'm gonna head to bed. You should too, we had quite the day," I say, finally looking up at him, but he doesn't say anything, "Thanks for fixing me up, Din."
"Goodnight," he whispers, his modulator making his voice crack a bit.
I walk out of the bathroom and slide right into my room, easing myself down onto my bed. I close my eyes and rest my head back against the plush mattress. I could still feel his fingertips grazing over my skin. His fingers hooking under my chin, lifting my head up while the pads of his fingers graze over the bruises on my neck. His hands smoothing over the tattoos on my back.
A ragged sigh escapes me as I shake my head, resting my hands over my face to block out the world.
What does he look like under that helmet?
How does he look when he smiles?
When he laughs?
What does he look like when he looks at me?
"Fuck," I mutter under my breath to myself, knowing that I was going to have to get these thoughts out of my head. It's probably never going to happen anyway.
I slid my hands off of my face, letting them plop down onto my bed. I just need some sleep. Then, I'll fix my ship up and then we can get the hell out of here.
Get it together Mae. Just... get it together.
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Word count: 2731
Note: Ah, things are getting a little more heated now haha-
Note (added 12/6/20): Hey there, everyone! I've noticed that there's been some confusion on the time line of the story! A lot of people have been a little confused on the whole 5 year gap between the prologue and now, so I'm just gonna explain the time line a bit in hope that it'll clear it all up so you guys understand and such :D
The Mandalorian series happens 5 years after the movie Return of the Jedi. Mae and Mando meet around the time that the Empire is falling in Return of the Jedi, therefore the prologue (the time they officially meet and work their first job together) happens during the point in time of Return of the Jedi.Then, chapter 1 skips to the point in time when the actual Mandalorian series starts, which is 5 years later.
I hope that clears everything up and I hope the explanation helped out!