A knock on your door had you pulling your aching body up from the couch. Tissues littered the floor, but you would pick them up later.
You weren't expecting anyone. Least of all your ex-boyfriend with a bag in hand, a delicious smell rising from it.
“Itoshi! What're you doing here?”
The sound of your hoarse voice made you cringe. You kept your eyes locked with his.
“Just let me in,” he spoke in his normal annoyed tone.
“Why are you here?”
“I brought soup. Now let me in,” his tone more annoyed.
You clicked your tongue before stepping aside and letting him in. While he stepped into slippers you rushed to the living room picking up all the tissues trying to hide the mess.
“How did you even know I was sick?”
Rin was in the kitchen pulling the dishes out of the bag. He didn't turn around as he opened the cabinets grabbing the dishes he needed.
“When you didn't show up for practice on Thursday and didn't come in yesterday I knew it was bad. You'd never miss a day.”
You wanted to yell at him and kick him out but as awful as you felt it was nice to have someone to help.
“Why do you care? We broke up.”
Rin let out a sigh and you knew he was one more comment from leaving.
“I just do. And I know.”
Rin wanted to apologize. Rin wanted to beg you to take him back, but he knew you deserved better. You heard the resignation in Rin's voice and felt guilty for a minute.
“Thank you for bringing soup, but you don't have to stay.”
Rin clenched his fists against the counter. Why did you have to make this so difficult for him. He just wanted to take care of you.
Rin brought you a bowl of soup, sitting beside you on the couch. You ate in silence some stupid horror movie playing.
“I'll stay in the spare room.”
You glanced over at Rin, but his gaze was glued to the TV. Sighing, you stood up and brought your bowl to the kitchen. Fighting wasn't an option, but neither was having him spend the night.
“That's not gonna happen, Itoshi. You need to leave.”
It was so difficult to speak, your throat raw from the coughing. You froze when you felt his chest press against your back.
“Stop calling me that. Come on, you need to get to bed.”
You turned to face him which was a mistake. His eyes locked with yours, his expression soft.
“Rin, please leave.”
“No. Stop fighting.”
You opened your mouth, but a wave of heat rushed over you. Falling against Rin's chest you felt yourself fading.
Rin lifted you up in his arms when you passed out. Carrying you to your bedroom, Rin stayed by your side through the night.
You woke with a start, the full moon was illuminating your room. Your gaze fell on Rin who was sitting on the floor, leaning against your bed.
"I told you to go home," you whispered, your voice still recovering.
Rin sat on the edge of the bed next to you. His brow furrowed with concern, your body covered in sweat.
"I'll run a hot bath for you. C'mon," Rin lifted you up.
You intended to fight but quickly realized you had no energy. Your limbs dead weight. Your head settled against Rin's chest without your consent, damn body.
"I don' wanna," you mumbled.
Rin smiled, only because you couldn't see it. Setting you down on the toilet lid, he began helping you out of your clothes.
"I know, but if you stay in your damp clothes, you'll only get sicker. I already called the team doctor. He'll be here in the morning."
"Stop. I can do it myself."
Rin saw how weak you were just trying to sit up. You'd surely drown if he left you in the tub alone.
"Just this once cooperate."
You met those intense teal orbs and wished things were different. Instead of fighting you simply nodded.
"Rin, I'm so tired. I jus' wanna sleep."
"I know, love...Y/N. You can sleep after this."
Rin had already set up your spare room because he didn't have time to change your bedding. Leaving you alone was not an option right now, so it would have to do.
"Do you miss me?"
Your brain was pretty much fried, which meant you had no filters. It was why those words buried deep within had come out so easily.
"Yes. Every day."
You didn't say much after that. Rin was pretty sure you were drifting in and out of consciousness. In the end, he only managed to get you in the shower still in your bra and underwear to clean you off.
Rin made you change your underwear while he had his back to you and then dressed you in your favorite sweats and t-shirt. This was exhausting. It made him wonder how you handled everything you did while dealing with him during your two year relationship.
It was clear to him he'd never been pulling his weight in the relationship, but now he realized he hadn't even been showing up for most of it.
"I'll do better. I promise," Rin whispered watching you burrow under the comforter.
"Don' believe you," you mumbled, the exhaustion clear.
Rin slipped into the bed behind you, gently wrapping you in his arms. Over two years, he'd slowly adjusted to cuddling with you and it was something he'd missed the last few months.
"I know."
You turned over still in his arms, your heavy lidded eyes struggling to meet his. When they did, he felt his heart leap against his ribcage.
"I miss you too, Rin."
Your eyes shut and Rin kissed your forehead, holding you even tighter than before. If you missed him, then there was a chance you'd let him back in. Rin was willing to do whatever it took to be yours again.
heavily breathing after a kiss (damn ittitit) Ivy and Misuin
Misuin had Ivy against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer.
“You survived,” she mumbled again his mouth.
“Of course. Death itself could not keep me from you,” he groaned between kisses. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Misuin’s latest contract was supposed to be run of the mill. He’d promised to be gone only three days. Someone had gone wrong and he had gone no contact for almost three weeks. Ivy had been wracked with worry, hardly able to focus on her halla. When she’d come home to him on her couch with a lopsided smile, the sob she’d let out had nearly doubled her over. Now his hands were everywhere. She was just as greedy.
Eventually they had to break for air and Ivy rested her head on his shoulder, panting softly.
“I thought- oh Creators I didn’t-“
“Shhhhh mi amor,” he murmured, carrying her to bed. “I am here. I am never leaving you. I will return as a spirit if I must.”
okayy i got two ideas and idk how to stitch it. maybe like at night rafe sneaks reader out and they go to like the beach and there is a mini cave. they talk it out and rafe is kinda hesitant but there’s some compromise and reader gets to see a different part of rafe (kinda like “do you take all the girls here?” and “no just you” scene (it’s okay if you don’t add this so that they don’t get tooo serious just let them pound it out heheh) then next day the family goes out to play golf. reader there meets topper and kelce. in one game the ball was hit too far and reader needs to retrieve it and in a secluded place far from everyone reader and rafe get it on :)
I am SO sorry this has taken me so long. I'm splitting these into 2 chapters (be on the lookout for the next chapter too), so I hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for the ideas I LOVED them!! Xx <3
Secrets in the Tides Chapter 7
Warnings: 18+, unprotected sex and creampie *be safe y’all), public sex (beach), light hair pulling, chocking, and spanking, a lil fluff(ish)
This is my work, please don’t claim credit or repost. Feel free to reblog 😊Xx Photo not mine.
1900 Words
......
“Jesus, you’d sleep through a hurricane, wouldn’t you?”
You hear the voice drifting through the air, feathery light as if it’s caught inside the waves emanating from the air conditioning. Your vision is blurry as you peel your eyes open to a dark room. “W-what” you say into the abyss.
A warm hand finds your wrist. The long, slightly calloused fingers send a zap of electricity through you.
“Rafe?” Your voice cracks as the unsteadiness of your mind morphs into a sound.
You can’t see him, but you can just feel a smirk on his face.
“Let’s go, c’mon,” he persuades.
“Why are you here at,” You pause, shifting your eyes to the white nightstand to check the clock. “At 2 in the morning? Someone might see,” you finish.
“That’s why we’re leaving,” he takes you by the forearm and half drags you out of bed. You trip on your slippers that you had right by your bed and gravity sends you falling straight to the ground. On the way, though, you knock into Rafe, your leg sweeping behind his as you tumble on top of him. A thud echoes through your room, convincing you that no one in the house could have slept through it.
You squint your eyes closed tight. “Just couldn’t wait to jump my bones, could you?” His breathy response clouds your ears.
“Shut up, someone is coming,” you say paranoid.
“Then we better hurry.” Rafe’s large hand pulls you onto your feet and you follow the tall figure out onto the balcony. He’s wearing grey sweat shorts and a navy t-shirt with a sailboat partially outlined. As he shuffles the trellis in place to climb down to the ground, your eyes glaze over his body- his toned legs, what his abs must look like as he moves that trellis.
“Give me your hand.” His voice breaks your concentration and you shakily send your hand towards him.
…..
The cool sand sinks in between your toes, the glowing white polish reflecting the moonlight above. You turn left and right deliberately. The beach is deserted. All the people out here sunning and swimming in the daytime are all asleep, leaving nature to recover alone. The rush of the waves proves to be enough to keep you in a trance as you follow Rafe across the sand.
“Where are we going?” you finally say.
“Wanna show you something,” he says, his voice confident and deep.
Why is he always so damn mysterious? You ask yourself. Does he have a magic lair he’s taking me to or something?
You walk for a few minutes in the opposite direction of the house until a mound of rocks appear in front of you. The rocks are medium-sized boulders that look like they’ve been taken off a cliffside and transferred to Figure Eight. They’re totally out of place on this polished beach.
“I’m not going in there.” You stop, crossing your arms tightly.
Rafe stops in his tracks, his sharp jaw catching the moonlight perfectly. The wispy locks of his hair fall onto his brow as he whisks his head around to look at you.
“Oh, come on Y/n,” his face twists into a knowing smile. A daring smile.
“Don’t tell me you’re not in the mood for a little adventure,” he teases, pale eyes glowing.
“That’s a fucking cave.” Your voice catches, “and you want me to go with you in it?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. You know, you should really audition for Sherlock Holmes,” he says with a smug laugh.
You cast him an obviously fake smile. “You lead the way, Rafe.”
The cave as you enter it looks incredibly small. The opening is only about 6 feet wide, and you’re almost as tall as the top of it. You duck inside.
“Rafe, seriously what the hell is this?” you say, feeling him plop down onto the sandy ground.
“Just come down here,” he says calmly.
You sit next to him and settle. You peer out into the distance and you gasp.
“Oh my…” you trail off.
The rounded roof of the cave fits over you like a telescope magnifying the sky and the distance. The thousands of stars above you suddenly feel infinitely closer, and the full moon hovers in front of you as if fate has aligned it there just for you. The black water has shifted to a glistening midnight blue, rolling towards you with each exhale.
“This is beautiful.” Is all you can get out.
“Thought you’d like it,” he says. You can feel his hot gaze on you, but you refuse to look over at his face - the gorgeous face that you know is painted and dripping with silvery moonlight.
“So, I guess this is your spot,” you say, attitude squeezing out of the words.
“My spot?” he asks, his tone reading a little insulted.
“Never mind,” you say, brushing off the subject.
“Why do you hate them so much?” you start, after letting the silence eat away at you.
“Y/n drop it. Why do we have to talk about that right now?” he snaps.
“Look, I’m just saying they’re actually really nice and fun if you would get to know-,”
“Stop” he commands, cutting you off.
“No, I’m going to speak my mind. You should really come hang with us one time and you’ll see what it’s like.”
“It’s not my scene.” Rafe says, his jaw clenching.
“I’m not going to stop seeing them. So, if you want to hang out with me, or see me, or whatever the hell is happening here…” you trail off. “Then you need to be okay with that.”
There is a long pause as he looks out into the open ocean.
“They’re going to try to take you,” he says, almost under his breath.
“What?” you say flatly.
He clears his throat. “They see you, someone not from around here, and they’re going to try to keep you to themselves.” He chuckles awkwardly at his honesty. “A-and you know Y/n.”
Your eyes drop to his supple lips as he speaks. “You deserve to have an incredible summer. I can give that to you.” He swallows hard, looking at you.
Your eyelids flutter as you float back into the conversation, letting his words sink in. His eyes look sincere. A little lost - like he’s half in reality, half not, but sincere.
You knew better than to let yourself be caught up in his words, so you lean in towards him. Your faces inches apart, with a burning tension threatening to snap like a rubber band.
You lean toward his ear, your lips softly touching his ear as you whisper, “so do you take all the girls here?”
You let your words settle before slowly backing away. In a flash, he’s switched your positions all together, pinning you on your back, his leg finding its way between your thighs, parting them.
You smile, seeing that your comment got to him.
“Just you,” he breathes, before a loose, ridiculously sexy smile stretches across his lips. He leans down, lips trailing your soft neck. You let out a sharp gasp.
“Prove it,” you encourage, peeling your legs apart to give him more room.
Rafe’s smell of fresh linen and sandalwood fill your senses as his body grinds against yours. His cock is pinning you further into the sand as his desire made it grow three times its size within seconds.
Your core aches as his hard cock circles your upper thighs and over your shorts.
“You get me too fucking hard; you know that?” Rafe says.
“Fuck me, please,” you breathe out.
He chuckles before shifting to take down your shorts and his own.
There is nothing graceful about his movement as the heat between you turned to complete lust, and he couldn’t help but push into you right away.
You close your eyes as you feel his full length enter you swiftly. The feeling of relief similar to that of an itch that finally gets scratched.
“Oh my fucking-,” You start, until you’re cut off by his hand surprising you, gripping your throat gently.
“Oh fuck yes,” you moan loudly. You didn’t care how loud you were; the waves would carry the sounds.
His hand finds your ass cheek as he squeezes tightly. His hand is so big and warm on your ass cheek and the sensation mixes with the harsh snaps of his hips as he bottoms out inside of you. You lean forward, taking his mouth onto yours and pulling him down to your chest. You fidget with your top, finally shimmying out if it so that your perfect breasts are exposed to the chill of the night.
A low growl emanates from his throat as he hungrily takes a nipple into his mouth sucking hard. Your sweaty bodies move in sync as he pounds into you.
You gently push him off you as he watches you get on your hands and knees, looking back at him.
“You’re insatiable,” he says, voice low and concentrated. He swipes the hair from his brow before lining up with your entrance.
You wiggle your ass back onto him, hoping for contact until a hard slap lands across your ass cheek, making your body jolt forward an inch.
“You just have no patience,” he chuckles, breathing sharply between his teeth.
With those words, he pushes his length into you, immediately picking up speed. Your eyes roll back as he takes your hair in his fist, letting his hips drive.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he says. “Such a good girl for me.”
You look over your shoulder, eyes wide in pleasure, lips pursed. “More, more, more please,” you beg. You’d worry about how you were putty in his hands tomorrow. Tonight, you needed him.
He switches his movements to mimic the roll of the waves on the beach, in sync with every crash of the tide. You spread your legs wider, pressing your chest to the ground to allow him even deeper.
“Oh, fuck right there,” he says, satisfied as you feel him hit your spot. Your voice cracks into multiple gasps and profanities as he rolls his hips more intently. Hand pressed on your lower back, he leans forward, dotting kisses onto your spine.
You clench around him, feeling your desire bubble up like a volcano about to explode.
“Faster, faster,” you demand.
“You’re gonna cum baby girl, I feel it,” he says, moving impossibly fast.
You scream out in ecstasy as your orgasm makes your body convulse in pleasure.
“I’m gonna cum,” he says, starting to pull out.
“N-no, keep it in,” you say, out of breath from your orgasm but still needy for more.
“F-fuck, if you say that I’m gonna explode,” he says shakily.
“Cum inside me,” you beg.
“Fuck!” he shouts, throwing his head back, releasing his seed into your throbbing core.
You smile, satisfied with the feeling of his seed seeping into you.
He stays inside of you, but his body pushes you forward as he gently rests on top of you before rolling onto his side, pulling out.
You shift onto your stomach, staring out into the dark night, intently listening to the breaths from Rafe coming down from his high next to you. His fingers snake up your back as he settles beside you, staring out at the water.
“Wanna fuck in the water next time?” you say flatly, a comedic tone tickling the words.
“Don’t tempt me right now,” he says, cheekily.
Taglist! Let me know if you want to be added :) <3
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Gears of War (Video Games)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Fahz Chutani/Garron Paduk
Characters: Garron Paduk, Fahz Chutani
Additional Tags: Drabble Collection, Domestic Bliss, Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, Implied Mpreg, five things challenge, One Shot, Slice of Life
Series: Part 82 of Love beyond the bones, Part 27 of Planet Caravan
Summary:
Fahz & Paduk dabbles, inspired by a prompt on tumblr: 5 kisses, 5 scars, 5 touches
CHAPTER 14 SPOILERS! S2:E6 SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!
Summary: After the events on Tython, a tired Mandalorian finds himself back on Nevarro.
Word Count: 2.5k
Warnings: SPOILERS! Also a very, very sad Din.
Author’s Note: Wow... So a lot happened in that last episode, and the only way I knew how to cope was to write. Thankfully Dincember exists, and I was able to do just that! This is very sad and has some angst in it, but some fluff too. It’s the fulfillment of the “Hot Chocolate” prompt for @dindjarindiaries Dincember, which makes this post just a tad bit late. Also, I learned that hot chocolate in Star Wars can be referred to as hot chocolate AND Hoth chocolate, and I literally love Hoth so much so that little bit of Star Wars knowledge will stick with me to my grave. Anyways! I hope you enjoy!
Here’s the previous prompt:
DINCEMBER - December 2 - December (Ariana Grande Version)
And the link to my masterlist: capsironunderoos masterlist
“Cara- Cara said I could find you here.”
You’re jumping up from your seat at the sudden break of silence. The book you were reading drops to the floor, and the sound of the hardback spine landing echoes around the room.
The shadow standing just inside your doorway is one you have not seen in a long time, one you had accepted you’d possibly never see again.
You’re still standing in silence, trying to decide what he’s doing here, and how he got in, and how you didn’t even notice.
“Din?” You whisper, almost unbelieving.
Your brain tries to talk itself into believing this isn’t happening, that you’re dreaming, and in a few moments you’ll wake up, alone and nostalgic for days when the other side of your bed wasn’t cold.
The visor of his helmet is still focused on the ground, and you notice almost immediately that he doesn’t have the child with him.
You find yourself wringing your hands together, a nervous habit you’d picked up too many rotations ago to remember, and one that could only be calmed with the touch of the man who was suddenly standing before you.
A child screaming in a fit of laughter outside your door as they run by catches you both off-guard.
You jump at the sudden rupture of the silence around you, and Din spins quickly to look behind him.
Something has happened, you can see it in the way his shoulders rise at the sound of the child laughing, and then fall once they have passed.
You walk over to where he stands, still looking into the alleyway where the entrance to your house rests.
You never take your eyes off of him as you hit the button that triggers your door to slide closed.
The soft whoosh of it closing let’s Din know that it is now just you and him, that no one will ever know what takes place in this room besides you, and him.
He’s missed that feeling, and you have too, though neither of you will admit it, not right now.
Not when there are obviously too many other things to talk about.
You stand facing his side now, noting that he has yet to look away from the closed door.
“Din?” You try again, and a deep sigh falls from his lips, crackling into static through the modulator of his helmet.
“Something has happened, hasn’t it?”
You question and he still looks forward, as if acknowledging being here with you will also force him to acknowledge whatever he has been through.
“Where is,” you’re unsure if you should finish the question you so desperately want to ask.
You stop mid-sentence and clear your throat as your hands find each other again and repeat their motions from earlier in a desperate attempt to try and ground you.
You want to know what has happened, you want so very much to know where the child is, and if he is okay.
You want to know if Din is okay, and why he is here now, after so long.
“What happened, Din?” You whisper, barely audible, and for a moment you’re unsure if he’s heard you or not.
There is a beat of silence before his shoulders slump, and the visor of his helmet tilts so far down that his chin is almost resting against his chest.
Your hands ache so badly to reach out to him, to touch any part of him you can in order to reassure him that everything is okay, even though it so clearly is not.
“I,” he starts, and your chest tightens.
Are you ready to let him back in just like that?
Are you ready to hear the tragedies he’s endured since he left you, since you asked him to take you with him and he disappeared before you’d even had the chance?
Din seems to be weighing the answers to those questions as well, but you can hear his steady breathing through the modulator and you notice him turning slightly towards you.
His chin stays tucked into his chest as he continues.
“I lost the kid. He’s… gone.” Din whispers so quietly that his modulator almost misses it, as you do you.
The word “gone” ricochets around the room before crashing into your chest, and you feel the breath knocked from your lungs.
Your legs grow weak, and you steady yourself against the wall to keep from falling down.
“Din,” you murmur out softly, and he hears his name laced with both sorrow and comfort for the first time in his life.
You notice how the utterance of his name seems to physically strike him, watching as he flinches at the sound of it.
He clears his throat before shifting his weight and starting again.
“Moff Gideon followed us to Tython. I- I left the kid, I left Grogu, alone, and scared for one,” he huffs loudly, and when he speaks again his voice is gravelly through the modulator, and you know that he is trying so hard to hold back, to stay strong.
You just aren’t sure if he is trying to stay strong for you, or for himself.
“I left him for one second. That was- all it took was one second.”
The defeat in his voice is something you have never heard from him, and it is something you never want to hear again.
Your brain briefly latches onto the name the child has seemed to receive, and you wonder how Din came to know it.
Before you can ask, you hear Din take a deep breath.
He’s not finished.
“They blew up the Crest,” he mumbles, and your eyebrows furrow.
Surely you aren’t hearing him right.
“They blew up- it took one second!” He yelps this time, his voice breaking and causing the modulator to crackle so loud it makes you flinch.
“They blew up my home!”
He yells now, visor raised as he looks straight at you, begging you to try and understand where he’s coming from, as if him leaving all those rotations ago didn’t completely uproot the home you had created for yourself.
“That was my home. It was- I had so much of myself in that ship, so much of what makes me…”
His voice has quieted down now, but he still stares at you.
He can’t even finish his sentence as his hand reaches for something in one of the pouches on his belt.
Your eyes slowly travel from the visor of his helmet to his hand, where he is grasping a small silver ball.
You feel as if your heart will explode at the sight of it, immediately identifying it as part of the control panel of the Crest.
“All that was left, I couldn’t, there wasn’t…”
Hearing him struggle to speak has broken you into a million little pieces, and you feel your face growing wet from the tears you can do nothing to stop. You are frozen, and you are unsure what to do to offer even the smallest ounce of comfort to the man before you.
Normally he is the one providing comfort, helping those in need and making sure everyone is safe.
Now it is your turn to do the same for him, and you can do nothing.
You are completely shut down, unresponsive, as if you are a droid whose each and every circuit has fried.
Din’s shoulders begin to tremble ever so slightly, and before you can register what is happening he is dropping.
The Mandalorian is on his knees now, his chin resting against his chest as he cries.
The sound of his pain through the modulator is enough to snap you out of your stupor, and you are quick to follow him to the ground.
“I lost everything, everything. In minutes. I have nothing.”
He whispers, and the words are so strained, so full of hopelessness that you aren’t sure you even recognize the man before you.
Hearing him believe so strongly that he has nothing left creates a strain on your heart akin to a vice grip, and the pain of it shoots through you, but you know you cannot argue with him now.
Your role is to listen, to understand, to sympathize.
You raise your hands to his helmet, and they hang in the air for a moment as you listen to his whimpers.
Would he still allow you to see his face?
You had made his clan of two into three at one point, but you wondered if he even remembered what that felt like.
You had found sanctuary in each other, and in the way the both of you cared for the child, but it had seemed so long ago that you were unsure he even remembered a time when you were allowed to see him outside of the beskar.
You begin to move your hands back to your lap, content with wringing them against each other, but you freeze when his hands shoot up to grab yours.
His fingers are wrapped around your wrist, and holding them so tight that you are almost afraid he will leave unintentional bruises there.
His chin still rests against his chest, and his shortened gasps for breath let you know that he is still crying.
Din slowly begins to move your hands to his helmet, and he pauses for just a moment before bringing them to rest against the sides.
The beskar is cold underneath your palms, and you instinctively curve your fingers under the helmet.
His hands still grip your wrist, and with a final squeeze he lets go, his hands now falling limply into his lap.
“Din,” you state his name in wonder, and he knows why.
“Please,” he insists, begs, and it is all you need to hear.
You lift the helmet slowly, sitting it beside you on the floor as you turn back to him.
His hair has been cut, but you can still see the unruly mess of curls.
His eyes are closed as tears continue to slip between his eyelids, making their way down his cheeks and pooling into the fabric around his neck.
You inch ever so closer to him, gently taking his face into your hands.
A tear begins to roll down his cheek, and when your thumb moves to swipe it away he breaks.
A loud cry erupts from his chest, and the noise is so foreign to your ears that your brain can only register it as a feeling of unease and pain that spreads through your body like wildfire.
Din suddenly falls the rest of the way, landing on his bottom with a loud thud, pulling your hands down with him, but you do not let them move from their spot against his skin.
You have longed for one more chance to touch him, to hold him, and you would have asked for it in any way other than this, but this is all you have been afforded, and you will not take it for granted.
You follow his actions, sitting on the floor in front of him, but he is quick to catch you and pull you into him.
You straddle his lap, legs wrapped around him as he squeezes you into his chest.
His nose finds the crook of your neck and your hands move to wrap around his head, your fingers lacing through his dark hair.
You shake as he cries, both from his sorrow and yours.
Tears fall freely as your mind tries to wrap around everything he has endured, and the way he so freely trusted you with his stories.
You allow him to cry for what must be hours, neither of you moving or speaking.
He whimpers as if in pain, and his struggle to catch a deep breath shakes you each time he gasps for air.
You can feel his warm breath against your neck, and you can feel where he has soaked the collar of your shirt.
Your heart aches for him, breaks for what he has witnessed, and longs to know the status of the child.
After his breathing has begun to even out, and he has stopped shaking, you bring your hands back to his face, moving it to look at you.
His eyes are bloodshot, and the skin around them is puffy from crying for so long.
You can see that he is exhausted from the release of so many emotions, and you lovingly stroke his cheek.
The smallest hint of a smile graces his lips and is gone as quickly as it came.
“I shouldn’t have left him. I shouldn’t have left you.”
You start to protest but he does not let you speak.
“Gedet’ye, please, cyare, forgive me. I shouldn’t have left you here.”
You have begun crying again, and he moves his hands to cradle your face and wipe away the tears.
The both of you now sit in silence as you hold each others faces between the plans of your equally callused and bruised hands.
“I will always, always, forgive you. You are my heart, my home.”
“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum.”
“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum.”
I love you.
At your confirmation of his words, he pulls your lips to his, and the both of you continue to cradle the other as you share the softest kiss.
His lips are so familiar to you, as yours are to him, and it takes only a second for the pieces to begin to slowly connect once more.
When you pull away, a bit breathless and somewhat surprised, you notice that sorrow is still settled in the deep brown of his eyes.
“You know that I will do everything in my power to find the child, to return him safely to you. I know the attachment you feel to him, and how much he means to you.”
Din nods at your words, and you notice that he has begun to tear up again.
“I want you to tell me your plan to find him, because I know you, and I know that you were already thinking of one the moment he was lost.”
At the word “lost,” Din’s chin dips again, but you quickly raise his eyes back up to yours.
“And don’t you dare blame yourself for this Din Djarin. You knew the risks when you rescued him from the Client, you were aware of what could happen, and this tragedy has always been a possibility. The only difference is that now it is reality. Regardless, you are not at fault, and we will not abandon him.”
Din is crying again, and you swipe away each tear as quickly as they fall.
“Now, I want to hear that plan,” you prompt, and Din offers you a small smile.
“You always did love immediate action,” he states, and hearing the slight tone of tease in his voice makes your heart swell with affection.
You nod in agreement, and his smile grows.
“I will make a deal with you, Mandalorian,” his hands have long fallen from your face to rest around your waist, but he uses them now to pull you closer to him.
“Anything, cyare, anything.”
“You tell me your plan, and I’ll make Hoth Chocolate.”
He ponders your proposal for a moment, before a wide smile splits across his face.
Kai stumbled into the healing center, practically falling over as he leaned against as the doorframe.
“Hey, Kai.” Lyssa glanced up and smiled at him as he watched Lyssa finish up bottling the last few potions she’d just concocted.
“Anyone else in here?” he asked, his voice low and raspy. He kept his head turned away, as he flung himself onto a cot.
“Just Vera,” she frowned at him, “Kai, you don’t look so good.”
She felt his forehead, and immediately yanked her hand away, hissing as she inspected the heated skin. “Kai, what’s wrong?”
“I need to use my ability.”
Vera came from around the cabinets, arms full of rolled bandages and smiled at Kai, then frowned when she noticed Lyssa cradling her hand.
“Is the burn bad?” She didn’t wince like Lyssa had when she felt Kai's forehead, but shook her head concernedly.
Lyssa went over and smoothed a cool blue balm on her hand, easing the pain, and quickly slid on a pair of leather gloves. Because of the fire in him, Kai’s body temperature was usually a lot warmer than other people, but it was strange for his skin to be this burning hot.
“Is it because you have to suppress it?” she asked, sitting beside him, and pulling Vera down beside her.
“I think.” He kept his eyes turned away, pulling at the threads in the sheets.
“I’ll go find some cooling potion, maybe?” Vera suggested and hurried off.
“I think the only thing that will actually help is if you burn. Haven’t you been melting metal?”
“Every night.” He closed his eyes, and leaned back, moving restlessly as if he had a fever. “It’s not enough. I need a more aggressive burn. It’s so much worse than in the Outskirts.”
Lyssa looked helplessly around her, “I can try upping the strength of the cooling potion.”
“Yeah,” he said doubtfully, running his fingers through his hair. Lyssa looked at him for a moment, then tapped his arm.
“Kai, open your eyes, and let me check them.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Cause.”
“Kai kai.”
He groaned, sitting up, and opening his eyes. Lyssa gasped as she stared at the gold streaking through his now ashy silver eyes.
“Why didn’t you show me?” she asked, as Vera came back in, holding two bottles of cooling potion. She stopped, her eyes widening as she looked at Kai’s eyes.
“What’s going on?” she demanded, “Does he have a disease?”
“It’s his powers,” Lyssa said gently, brushing his hair out of his eyes, as Vera handed him the vials. He chugged them down, and put them aside, breathing carefully.
“Did it help?” Vera asked anxiously.
“A little,” he shuddered, his eyes flying open, and for a moment, glowing a deep amber gold.
“Careful, Kai,” Lyssa went over and dipped him a cup of water, wetting a towel and putting it on his forehead. “Vera, can you go ask the gardeners for some mynia herbs?”
Vera ducked out of the room, leaving Lyssa and Kai alone in the healing center.
“I’ll go work while you rest, okay?”
She paused as she felt him tug on the hem of her tunic.
“Sorry,” he said, his hand over his eyes, “just, can you stay with me for a bit?”
Lyssa couldn’t hide her smile. “If you want.”
She flopped back onto the cot, and they lay there in silence until they had both fallen asleep.
