You know, I always thought that I had an idea of what love was going to feel like when it finally decided that it wanted to be a present emotion in my life. And I always thought I had an idea of what it felt like to be truly in love with someone.
Of course, love had always been present in my life, just in different forms.
There was love from my older brother Kes, who tried to protect me from the strong grasp of the Empire. There was love from Cara when she rescued me from the horrid Imperial life that I had been trapped in for the longest time. There was love from Greef, who kept my dark Imperial secret and kept me up on my feet until I could hold my own again. There was love from the kid who pushed me to be the best person I could be every single day.
And there was love from the one and only Adriene Calypso that showed me that life wasn't just about surviving to simply see the next day. She showed me that it was about living each day of your life to the absolute fullest.
I suppose you could say that before I saw all of these things as acts of love, my mind had been so set on a pretty picture that I had painted of what I thought love was going to be like.
The whole telling the person how much you love them, that everything you have to offer them is completely unconditional in every way possible, and that you would do absolutely anything and everything for them no matter the circumstance.
You know, all the cliche stuff you always hear about when you start talking about love. Of course, it can definitely pertain to all those traits and it can be very straightforward, but the thing is, it can also be sneaky and tricky if you're not careful about it.
It seems to sneak up on you, especially when you least expect it. Sometimes you only realize that you have it when you're already deep in it. And I have to say, the moment you finally realize that it's been with you for the longest time without you even knowing it... now that's the best feeling in the world. A feeling that you never want to give up.
Din's arms were currently wrapped tightly around my torso as we laid in bed together, the palms of his large hands pressed flat against the smooth skin of my back as he gently laid out on top of me. He was practically laying on top of my chest, his face gently tucked in the crook of my neck, and his soft lips grazing against my skin with every shallow breath he took. I smile softly, gently running my fingers through his soft brown curls, making sure not to wake him as he slept peacefully in my arms.
I think it's been about an hour or so since I had initially woken up, but I hadn't dared to move an inch. There was just something about seeing him sleep peacefully and just actually seeing him in front of me... Let's just say that it was a moment I knew I couldn't pass up. It was a moment that I didn't want to pass up.
I couldn't stop staring at his peaceful face when I had the chance. The way his long dark eyelashes fluttered every now and then as he slept, how relaxed and settled he looked, how his lips slightly parted as he comfortably snuggled his face into the crook of my neck.
It was all perfect.
He was perfect.
And even though everything felt perfect and I was oh so desperate not to move, the kid had been cooing and call out to us for the past few minutes and I knew that I was going to have to get up sooner or later to make sure that he was okay and not dying.
I slowly draw in a shallow breath and lean my head forward, pressing a light peck to the top of his head, letting his curls tickle my skin. I smile and let out a light chuckle, not wanting to move my chest too much in fear that I would wake him up.
"So much for being a light sleeper," I whisper, a gentle smirk falling over my face and taking over the soft smile I had been wearing.
"Shhh, I'm listening to your heartbeat," he whispers back, making my heart flutter and pick up, but I don't seem to flinch from the sound of his quiet baritone voice.
"And how long have you been awake?" I ask quietly, letting a low hum trail my words. He shushes me yet again, but I don't really mind it too much.
He slowly lifts his head, pressing his lips to my collarbone before teasingly traveling up my neck and jaw. His lips press against each dark mark that he had nipped into my skin the night before, making me blush while my skin began to tingle. I could feel the small smile he was wearing on my skin, letting me know that he knew exactly what he was doing to me. Then again, I can't really blame him. It's not like I left his neck in any better shape. Our skin looked all the same at this point.
He finally reaches my lips and I let out a small hum, slowly pulling away from him while continuing to let our lips hover close to each other.
"I have to get up and check on the kid," I whisper, not really wanting to get out of bed just yet. He whines and rests his head back on my chest, snuggling his face back into the crook of my neck, making me laugh as I continued to run my fingers through his light hair.
"The kid can spare to give us a few more minutes," he mutters, his words muffled by my skin. A loud set of coos echoes from the main hangar and I smile some more.
"Apparently not," I chuckle, gently cupping his head with my hands. I slowly slide out from under him while setting his head down on the soft pillow that I had been resting my back on. He persistently keeps his arms tightly wrapped around my body, pulling me back into his chest as I tried to shift away from him. "I gotta make sure the kid's alive, Din."
He rolls onto his back, pulling me on top of him while keeping his arms wrapped around my waist. I let out a small giggle and shake my head, letting myself settle in his arms. He stares up at me with a gentle smile, something soft twinging in his brown eyes. I slowly dip my head and press a gentle kiss to his lips, holding it as I practically melted into him. We both hear another line of coos and I let out a low hum, breaking the kiss as my smile remained on my face.
"Okay, now I really have to go check on the kid," I whisper, pecking one more kiss to his lips before slipping away from his tight hold. He watches as I slowly draw the sheets away, letting the thin cloth pool around my bare hips as my eyes searched for my clothes.
"I'm pretty sure I threw your bra in the incinerator before we came in here," he openly jokes, nodding his head as I looked back at him with a slightly surprised look.
"You're kidding," I say in a light tone as I let out a small laugh.
"Not even lying," he says, holding his hands up in surrender while smiling at me. It was new to see him joke around so freely. And getting to see his playful smile made it ten times better.
"I can't believe you," I laugh out, soon spotting my undergarments. I slip both articles on and then glancing around the room again, trying to find the pants and shirt that I had been wearing last night. I don't think it would be great just walking out in my undergarments to check on the kid. I glance over my shoulder at Din for a moment, noticing how quiet he had gotten. He was smiling softly while his eyes were locked on mine.
"You're beautiful," he whispers, his baritone voice barely coming out of a deep hushed tone.
"And you're handsome," I respond, winking at him before continuing to look for my pants.
"Am I?"
I whip my head around to look back at him, wondering if I had actually heard him correctly. He was still smiling at me, but it was a somber smile. I walk back over to the bed, sliding myself onto my stomach so my face hovered close to his.
"You, Din Djarin, are the most handsome man that I have ever seen. And I mean that with every ounce of my being," I whisper, nodding my head while pressing a peck of a kiss to the tip of his nose. His smile turns up a little more, as does mine. I playful pout my lips and quirk my head to the side. "Now, can you please help me find my pants?"
He rolls his eyes and reaches down to his side of the bed, pulling something up from the cold metal flooring. My cargo pants hung loosely from his grasp and I let out a snort of a laugh, grabbing them from him as he let the cloth slip from his hands.
I quickly find my button-up and put everything on, tucking the ends of my shirt into my cargo pants and tucking the slim cuffs into my boots, lacing them up with a newfound speed. I grab a belt and cinch it around my waist, quietly stepping towards the door.
"Come back," he calls out to me as I slid out of his room.
"You know I will," I call back, smiling as I walked over to the kid's compartment. I open the compartment up, looking down at the kid as he looked up at me with a wide smile on his face. He coos happily, slowly reaching his arms up.
God, I was never going to get enough of this kid.
"Hey there, bud," I whisper, gently picking him up from his little hammock and holding him in my arms. I rock him a bit, spinning in a small circle as he laughs. "So, how was your night?" He coos back at me with an even larger smile and I let out an amused hum. "I don't know about you, but I had quite the amazing night."
"So did I," Din hums, slowly trailing up behind me. I hide the kid's face into my chest the moment I heard his voice. It was untouched by the buzz of his modulator, telling me that he wasn't wearing his helmet.
Two large arms wrap around the kid and me, holding us both comfortably in a loose hold. His hands gently squeeze at my waist, letting out a small content hum as he did so. I smile and let out a small laugh, tilting my head back. I meet his warm brown eyes and he smiles, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.
"I didn't think you'd get out of bed so soon," I whisper, smiling up at him. He laughs and dips his head down, pressing a long kiss to the exposed part of my neck. I let out another giggle and squirm a bit as he snuggles his face into the crook of my neck. "You know, I wasn't aware that the kid could see your face too."
"Technically, since he's my foundling- our foundling, he can see my face just like you can," he explains, nodding his head a bit. I hum and set the kid back in his little hammock, gently patting the top of his head before starting to walk towards the ladder that led up to the cockpit.
"You know, since this whole thing is done and over, we could start picking up a few bounties while we try to find a Jedi that can train the kid," I suggest, continuing on my path to the ladder. But before I could even make it to the ladder, Din grabs my hand and pulls me back towards him.
I skip on my feet a bit and start turning around as he slowly slid the beskar ring off of my finger, keeping a hold of my hand in his own. I perk my brows and instantly whip around to face him, wondering what he was doing. He holds the ring in his hand while his eyes stayed locked on my smaller hand.
"You have a tan line from wearing the ring," he whispers, running the pad of his thumb over my skin while he messed with the metal band in his other hand. I let out a small laugh and shrug my shoulders, nodding my head a bit.
"Well, yeah. I never really take it off," I say, quirking my head to the side. He chuckles and slowly nods his head, slowly slipping his fingers away from my hand. My arm slowly drops back down to my side and I perk a slight brow, straightening my shoulders out. "Do you think I might be able to get that back? It's pretty important to me-"
"I know you don't necessarily follow the whole Mandalorian Creed, so I wanted to do something like this your way," he says, interrupting my request while continuing to mess with the ring with his fingers. I perk a brow and continue to stare at him, wondering what he was trying to get at.
"My way?" I question, looking off to the side for a moment as if it were going to help me figure out what 'my way' was supposed to be.
"Yeah, not through the rules of the Creed, and not through the way of the Mandalore. Your way," he repeats, smiling a little more.
"And what exactly would my way be?" I ask, still not even knowing what would be considered 'my way'. He clears his throat and straightens his shoulders out as his eyes flicked down to the ground for a few seconds. After a few quick moments, he kneels down on one knee and my heart seems to flutter as my eyes widened. "Din, what're you-"
"Mae, I've known you for the past five years, and I have to say, you drive me absolutely crazy every day. But you somehow manage to make me feel tranquil all at the same time. You make every day worth going crazy over, and you make every day worth feeling content with where I am in my life," he says, so obviously trying to pace himself as he spoke.
Some of his words came out in rushed rambles while some of his words were slow and steadily paced. I had never seen this man ramble on and on before. He had always spoken in short sentences that were straight forward. Sentences that always got to the point so we didn't waste any time that we could be using for more important things. Watching him ramble on with his words of kindness was something that I never thought I would be able to experience.
So, I let a content smile fall over my face and stay quiet, letting him continue on with his little speech.
"Your passion, your kindness, and your craziness. Everything about you drives me crazy, but I never want it to stop," he continues, fiddling with his hands as he let out a slight huff of a breath. "And I know that I already asked you this last night, but I want to ask you again."
He looks back up at me and his soft brown eyes meet mine. He holds up the beskar ring that I had never taken off since the day he had given it to me, his fingers gently pinching the metal band. He takes a deep breath and holds it as a small smile graces his face.
"Mae Dameron, will you marry me?"
"Of course," I answer in a quiet whisper, excitedly nodding my head. He slides the cold ring back onto my ring finger, slowly standing up and wrapping his arms around my waist. He kisses me gently as he holds me close, slowly pulling away to lean his forehead against mine.
"So, Mrs. Djarin, are you ready to explore the galaxy a little more?" he asks, winking at me. His nervous energy was quickly replaced with teasing happiness that was starting to spark up in his tone.
"Exploring the galaxy as Mrs. Djarin? I think I like the sound of that," I tease, biting my bottom lip.
"Good, because I set the coordinates for a promising looking planet last night. I think we should be able to relax for a bit without anyone bothering us," he says, perking his brows slightly while easily lifting me up. I casually wrap my legs around him, letting them settle comfortably in the curves of his waist as he held me tightly in his arms. His brown eyes stare right into mine as I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck. "I love you. You know that, right?"
I smile and nod my head, leaning down and setting a gentle kiss on his lips. I slowly pull away and rest my forehead on his. He gently nudges his nose against mine, letting out a deep hum from the bottom of his throat, making my heart rush.
"I love you too."
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Word count: 2961
Note: And that's a wrap, folks. This book has officially come to an end, but the sequel is up and the story of Mae and Mando continues! I can't wait to see what you guys think of the sequel!
For the next day or two, I'm going to be editing all the chapters and such one last time. I'm going to try and do it as quickly as possible so I don't spam you guys too much! I just want to make this book more enjoyable and fix all the mistakes and such I've made.
I would also like to thank you guys for all the love and support that you guys have been giving me throughout the process of writing and publishing this book. Every comment, every vote, and every message. It all meant a lot to me and I'm so thankful for everything!
Much love to you all and thank you again!
[Check the next chapter to see the preview of the sequel!]