Author's Note: This chapter is a monster, and there are a few trigger warnings below. I couldn't find a good place to break it up, so I didn't.
Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars, The Mandalorian, or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.
TW: Assault; abusive relationship; stalking.
Din sits in the pilot's chair of his new ship, waiting to drop out of lightspeed at Takodana. He's fully dressed in his armor for the first time in two days, helmet firmly in place. The time it took to get here from Nevarro is probably the longest span he's gone without armor or helmet since he swore the Creed.
After taking it off the first night, he just really didn't want to put it back on, a new feeling for him. He has often thought of the conversations he had with Mayfeld, Bo-Katan, and others. He hasn't figured out where he stands in relation to the Creed at this point, other than to know that he violated it both by taking is helmet off in front of others twice and by putting it back on both times. Also, his face may now be in an Imperial database after the console on Morak – he's not sure, though, as he doesn't know if there was time for it to upload to their network before it was destroyed.
He spent the time getting here sleeping, cooking a few things that he's been able to store in the small icebox in the galley so that he has some meals that aren't rations ready to warm, and working out with the beskar spear in the open space of the main hold. He's gotten adept at moving with the spear, using it more like a staff. It's not very heavy, and now that he's used to its weight and balance, he likes the feel of it.
He also got more familiar with his new ship, learning the controls and the guns. He learned the cargo and living areas, rearranging them slightly and also finding well-hidden boltholes for things like his extra credits and other valuables.
All in all, he is more rested and more relaxed than he has been since swearing the Creed. He knows that the message from Skywalker, knowing he'll get to see the kid again, gave him a badly needed lift. He remains uneasy about what to do now and about the Creed, but at least he knows he isn't permanently separated from Grogu.
He's pulled from his thoughts by the alarm telling him the ship is about to drop out of lightspeed, and moments later, like before, it makes a smooth transition to normal space and speed. The planet that he sees ahead is even beautiful from space, bright blue and green, telling him that it will be wooded but interspersed with large bodies of water. He turns to his sensors, and then he sets course for the large settlement he locates.
When he approaches the settlement, he's a little surprised to see what appears to be a fortress, a castle. It's surrounded by water and the woods, but the woods have been well-cleared to accommodate ships of all shapes and sizes. He finds an open area and sets the Convor down, and he runs through the shut-down.
He peers out the windows, eyeing the other ships and the castle. Given that this appears to be a hub of some sort, he's surprised that his bounty hunting days never brought him here. Curious, he gets up from his seat. After making sure everything is secured inside the ship, he exits, locking the ramp behind him. He was able to rig a proximity alert to his vambrace, so he'll know if someone tries to break into the ship, a lesson he learned after the Jawas stripped the Crest.
He approaches the castle, not sure exactly what he's looking for or what he's going to do next, but as before, it feels like where he's supposed to be going. The castle is obviously old, the stones gray with age, but there are colorful banners and flags hung throughout and above the courtyard. The age and banners also do well to hide the sensor arrays and comms towers, which are plentiful. He also notes the statue of a species he doesn't recognize, arms held up in welcome. He can't help but be impressed by the fortress.
Spotting people coming and going, he approaches what appears to be the structure's entrance. Once he passes through the door into what resembles almost every cantina he's been to in his life. Dim and dusky, with noise and music and chatter. He peers around the room. Spotting a small table with a clear line of sight to the door, he goes and sits, observing the space.
There is a large bar with a few bartenders of different species, but he sees that one is human, a woman with dark auburn hair piled into a messy bun save for a long piece that covers the left edge of her face. She has warm olive skin, and when she turns, he is surprised to see that she has bright blue eyes.
He also notes that she's likely close to his age, based on the smile lines around her eyes and the startling streak of white at the part of her hair. She's chatting with the patrons, appearing amiable enough, but the bounty hunter in Din can read tension in her frame as she repeatedly glances at him. Interesting.
"Mealena." A voice makes him jump, and he turns. His eyes land on a small woman, he thinks. She resembles the statue in the courtyard, but she's small, no more than 2/3s of his height, if that. She also wears the thickest glasses he's ever seen.
The woman has her arms crossed over her chest, and she's looking at him expectantly. "I'm sorry?"
"Mealena. That's her name." Unbidden, the woman climbs into the empty chair across from him. "And you are new here."
"I am." He looks at the woman, and helmet or not, he can feel the woman's small eyes boring into his.
They essentially engage in a staring contest until the woman cracks and smiles. With a laugh, she shakes her head and, in an exasperated tone, mutters, "Mandalorians." Turning serious, she says, "What is your business here, Mando?"
He has to pause, because admitting that he has no idea seems ridiculous. After a beat, he says, "Nothing. I'm just traveling."
"In my old X-4." She tilts her head at him. "The one I just sold to Greef Karga."
He blinks. "You sold Karga the Convor?"
The woman cackles. "Oh, that is a perfect name for that little ship. The birds here would be honored." She holds a hand out. "I'm Maz Kanata." He shakes her hand but remains silent. "So, you're just Mando, then?"
He nods. "Yes."
"Well, Mando," she replies, "Welcome to Takodana. Please understand that I don't tolerate fighting or politics here. This is not that kind of bar. No exceptions." She stands. "So, you should come with me."
He's confused again. "I'm not going to start anything."
She chuckles. "I know. But I want to talk to you, and it could break my own rules, at least the ones related to politics." She motions to him to follow her, and then, without looking back, she moves towards the back of the room.
Curiosity getting the best of him, he follows her, but he's on guard at this point. As he catches up with her (his legs are almost as long as her entire body), she says, "Relax, Mando. I do just want to talk."
He nods and easily keeps pace with her, but while the rest of the bar seems disinterested in them, he feels the female bartender's eyes on him. He glances at her, and he can see that she's watching them closely, eyes narrowed. "Any idea why she doesn't like me?"
"Yes, but you can ask her yourself later. I think you will find common ground with her." With that cryptic comment, Maz goes quiet.
He rolls his eyes. He can already tell that this Maz Kanata will be maddeningly obtuse. He's intrigued, though. There is something about Maz that he trusts, and as a rule, he doesn't trust anyone, particularly people he just met. They enter a hallway that appears to lead deep into the fortress, stopping to enter a room behind a heavy door. There is a desk there with a seat clearly for Maz, but there are also more typical-sized chairs. There is also an array of vidscreens and a console for tracking.
Maz motions to one as she takes her seat at the desk. He settles and faces her. She cocks her head at him. "You are of the Children of the Watch?"
He nods slightly. "Yes."
"A foundling, then?"
Her quick assessment of him is a little unnerving, knocking him off guard. "Yes. I was saved by a group of Mandalorians when battle droids killed my parents and destroyed my village at the end of the Clone Wars." He stops talking, shocked at himself. "I don't know if I've ever been that direct with someone."
Maz laughs softly. "I tend to set people off balance, my boy. You didn't tell me anything that surprised me, but it feels as though it's not as simple as it sounds."
He sighs. "I've only recently come to realize how often that is the case."
After a moment, Maz says, "So, you are the protector of the Child."
"What?" He furrows his brow under the helmet, and he stands. "Who are you? Is this some sort of elaborate trick? The ship, you calling me back here?"
"Calm down, kiddo. It was an educated guess. I'm far too busy with my own enterprise and have truly lived far too long to engage in those kinds of games." She holds up her hands. "I am well-attuned to the Force. I'm not a Jedi like Skywalker, and I have no wish to be, but you spend a thousand years in this galaxy, you learn to listen and figure things out."
He sits down hard. "A thousand years?" He tilts his head. "Is your kind similar to the kid's? He's 50 but still a baby."
"Not exactly, though, if Yoda is anything to go by, we age similarly." She folds her hands in front of her. "You did well with the Child. He is innocent, and I have told Skywalker that I do not think that baby will grow into a Jedi. I do not think that is his path."
"You don't?" Despite himself, Din leans forward. "Why not?"
"He has power. I can sense that. But I do not think he will have the will." Din stiffens a little, perceiving an insult, and Maz must notice. "That's not a bad thing, kiddo. Despite what our General Skywalker might think, not everyone who is strong with the Force has to become a Jedi Knight."
Din is curious now. "Have you met Ahsoka Tano?"
"Yes. I rather like that girl. Her story is a long one, and it's hers to tell." Maz pauses. "Now, the reason I asked you back here is that I wanted to congratulate you for taking down Moff Gideon. Hopefully, they'll kill him better this time."
He laughs sardonically. "I kind of wish that we'd done it ourselves."
"I can understand that. I do not take sides in these fights. I've stayed alive by staying out of it. But I think you probably can guess that I tend to favor one regime over the other." She scowls. "The Imperials were bad for business, and they were why I had to institute my no fighting and no politics rules."
"That doesn't surprise me. I've never met an Imp leader who didn't like to talk about themselves." He watches her. "I was like you before the kid. Didn't take sides. Then I figured out that, at least for me, the side I needed to take was the side that protected the kid. My loyalty, turns out, is more to people than to causes."
"That sounds like a position borne of experience." At his nod of agreement, Maz asks, "So what's next for you, Mando?"
And there it was, the same question he'd been asking himself for days. He's been honest so far, so he continues with the truth, having a feeling that Maz would know if he was bluffing anyway. "I have no idea."
"Would you like to help me with something while you figure that out?" She leans forward.
"That would depend on what you want me to do." His deadpan tone makes Maz snort.
"Wise man." She eyes him like she's sizing him up. "Have you ever worked as a bouncer?"
"A what?" Now he's confused.
"A bouncer. A guard. Someone to stop fights and toss the fighters out of my cantina." She nods. "You look more than capable of that, and it'll keep you from feeling idle and adrift."
He's stunned again by her insight into him. "What would it entail, and I assume I would be paid?"
"It would entail what I said. Keeping an eye on things, trying to stop things before they start, and if you can't, tossing the offenders." She pauses. "And you would most definitely be paid. My usual night guard had to go off world, his mother is very ill. He won't be back for at least a standard month."
He hesitates at the idea of a month commitment. Maz must realize it, because she adds, "You could commit to me a week at a time, and if you get a call from a certain Jedi, you can go." She writes down a number. "I can pay you that much a week, and I'll provide food you can take to your ship to eat. I'd usually offer a room, but I am guessing you'd be happier on your Convor."
"I would, and that amount is acceptable." He can't help but think that it's actually outrageously exorbitant, but he's not going to complain.
She stands. "Excellent. Let me show you the place and introduce you to my other staff."
After an extensive tour that leaves Din impressed with both Maz's operation and her stamina, knowing everything takes twice as many steps for her, the only person left for him to meet is the bartender who had been nearly glaring at him earlier. Maz leads him to the end of the bar, and they take seats as Maz waves the woman over. She glances at Din but then focuses on Maz. "What's up, boss lady? You know I'm doing a double today with Raff out sick. I was about to knock off for a few hours before I have to come back for the night shift."
"I will make it fast, kiddo. I just wanted you to meet Mando here. Mealena Goodfield, this is Mando." Maz gestures to Din. "He'll be filling in for Malo for a while."
"A Mandalorian? You want to rely on a Mandalorian to keep fights from happening?" The woman looks incredulous, and he can read the disdain in her face. He can't help but be irritated.
"Do you know me?" Din challenges her.
"What?" She frowns. "Of course not."
"Then don't presume that you know anything about me." He looks at Maz. "What time tonight?"
After Maz tells him to come back in five standard hours, he nods and walks away, not acknowledging the bartender again. As he walks, he hears Maz say, "Lena, he's a good man. I know your history, but kiddo, you don't know his. He didn't deserve that."
That sparks his curiosity, but he's too irritated to turn back and see her reaction right now. He has to wonder, though, what that was actually about. He gets to his ship and heads up to the living space, closing the ramp behind him.
When he gets to the bunk he's using, he rips his helmet off, pacing. He's not sure why the woman's attitude bothered him so much. He's used to people being afraid of him. Walking around armed to the teeth while wearing a mask and armor is understandably intimidating. He's not used to disdain, though, especially not from someone he's never met.
He shakes his head, and then he mutters, "Kriff it." He decides not to worry about it and sheds his armor before going down to grab some food. He's going to eat, get his gear ready, and then rest up before heading back. It's probably going to be a late night.
It's precisely five hours later when Din returns to the castle. He finds Maz at the bar. "Where do you want me?"
"This spot actually has the best line of sight for the whole room." Maz motions to a stool by the end of the bar.
He goes over to it and scans the room, realizing that Maz is right. The bar is slightly raised, so it's easy to get sight lines here. "All right. And how do you want me to handle the ones who get unruly?"
"As quietly as possible. Everyone who comes here knows the rules. They also know they get taken out if they misbehave. I've made it known that the new bouncer is a Mandalorian. I don't think you'll have much trouble." She eyes him and adds wryly, "You do strike a certain presence, kiddo."
Despite himself, he chuckles. At that moment, the woman from earlier comes rushing in. "Sorry I'm late, Maz. Overslept."
"Don't worry about it, dear." Maz glances at Din, then she turns and gives the bartender a meaningful look. "I'll be in the back. Hopefully, we'll have a quiet night."
The woman rolls her eyes, but then she looks up at Din, making him notice for the first time that while she's not small like Maz, she's nearly a head shorter than he is. She coughs awkwardly. "I'm sorry I was so rude earlier." He just looks at her, unsure of what she wants him to say, and she goes on, "I'm Mealena, but that's a mouthful, so I go by Lena."
He nods. "Lena. As Maz said, you can call me Mando. And it's fine."
"You're not going to ask me why I acted that way?" She continues to look up at him.
He's surprised by the question. "No. If you wanted to tell me, you would. I am a temporary co-worker. You don't owe me information. You were glaring at me from the moment I walked in here earlier, so I wasn't really surprised."
The woman's cheeks turn pink, and she looks down. "Fine." Without another word, she turns and goes. He watches her go, puzzled by the entire interaction. He also takes a moment to assess her.
She's wearing fitted brown pants, a black sleeveless top that's also fitted, and boots that appear mostly practical except that they have a low wedge heel. She moves easily on them, and he can see from the fit of her clothes and exposed arms that she is very toned and fit. Her hair is up again, neater this time except that one lock of hair down the left side of her face, and he can see the edges of a tattoo at the top of her shirt as well as a silver chain that's tucked under her top. She doesn't look tough like Cara, but he guesses that she can take care of herself.
He watches as she greets several of the bar's patrons, exhibiting warmth and familiarity. He feels an odd twinge of jealousy at that, because when she smiles, it lights up her eyes. He shakes his head, internally telling himself to focus. He won't be here forever, while she seems pretty entrenched. Whether they're friends or not doesn't really matter.
X
Three weeks later, Din walks into Maz's bar for the evening crowd. He's mildly surprised to still be here, but it has become a comfortable routine that he's good with for now. He can't remember the last time he spent this long in one place, but he actually finds himself dreading the return of the man named Malo who he's covering for.
After the first week, Maz invited him to move his ship to the underground hangar she has. It's a longer walk, but it's also more secure than leaving his ship out with the other parked ships. He works every night, but there have not been many dustups, as Maz predicted. Most people know the rules and respect them, but he has thrown out a few drunk and disorderlies, about one a night. He also had to escort one out who wouldn't leave Lena be, but then she got angry with him, telling him that she can take care of herself.
After work every night, he'll head back to his ship, food from Maz in hand. He'll eat and then sleep for several hours. Once he wakes, he'll run through some exercises or he'll go explore the wooded area around the castle a bit. Then he'll eat again, rest a bit more, and head back to the castle. It feels like almost decadently easy work.
And Lena hasn't been the thorn he'd feared she'd be. It's actually the opposite. He spots her behind the bar, and she nods at him, a small smile on her face. He nods back. They have yet to talk about why she'd been so wary at first, but they are friendly now; however, he remembers the night that he'd escorted the lecherous man out from the bar, the night she was so angry with him. When he'd come back from taking the man out, she'd been waiting. She'd grabbed his arm and dragged him to Maz's office. He'd been too surprised to resist, so he just went with her.
Once in Maz's office, she'd started in on him. Chastising him for not allowing her to handle herself, for disrespecting her. When she'd stomped her foot and said, "I'm not some princess for you to rescue," she'd looked so adorably mad (it had called to mind a wet loth-kitten) that he was glad to have the helmet, because he'd been smirking in a weird kind of shocked amusement.
Knowing it would irritate her, he'd just replied, "Excuse me for noticing your discomfort and actually doing my job, Mealena. I could see on your face that you were about to take a swing at that piece of bantha fodder. I'm also not going to be here forever, so I can take the heat – you have friends here, and I didn't want you to have to make a scene managing that kriffing slimeball in front of them. Next time, I'll just let you hit someone, and you can explain it to Maz when a fight breaks out."
With that, he'd left the office, only to encounter Maz right outside the door. She'd motioned to the cantina door, and he'd followed her. Once they were outside, she'd said, "Take the rest of the night off, Mando." Before he could protest, she'd said, "I'm going to go in there and tell Lena to do the same."
"I'm not going to apologize to her, Maz." He'd crossed his arms across his chest.
Maz had smiled. "As well you shouldn't. You just did your job, though I doubt seriously that there would've been a fight. You didn't know that, though." She'd cocked her head at him. "But Lena is also not wrong to be irritated. Men often assume that women cannot manage things themselves. She had it under control. You two need to have an actual conversation, set out a signal she can give you when she does need you to intervene. She had such a system with Malo."
He'd held up his hands in surrender and walked away after bidding Maz a good night. The next morning, he'd opened the ramp to his ship intending to go for a hike in the woods. He'd been surprised to see Lena there, nervously moving from one foot to the other. Her hair had been down, and he could see for the first time that it's long, down to her shoulder blades in the back. She'd been in her usual boots, but with leggings and a long tunic instead, wrapped in a cloak against the cool of the morning.
"Hello," she'd said, "Maz was frustrated with me last night. She reminded me of the signal I have with Malo, and I know I should have set one with you." She'd crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "But I won't apologize. You should have let me handle it."
He'd nodded. "You're right." She'd looked shocked at that, and he'd shrugged. "Do you want caf? I still have some from this morning. It's still hot." She'd hesitated, and he'd added, "We can keep the ramp open if I make you nervous."
With an eyeroll, she'd marched past him, a determined look on her face that he'd never tell her is incredibly endearing. He'd followed her in, directing her toward the galley and the small, built-in table there. She'd perched on a stool, and he'd gotten her a cup. "Sweetener?" She'd shaken her head, and he'd put it in front of her.
She'd picked it up and taken a sip, then said, "Are you not having any?"
"I already did, but I can't take my helmet off in front of other people." He'd eyed her. "What kind of signal did you have with Malo?"
She'd taken another sip. "I'd scratch underneath my right ear." She'd demonstrated the move.
He'd nodded. "All right. I won't intervene unless I see you do that." He'd surprised himself by wryly teasing her a little. "What if someone grabs your arms and you can't do it? Or gets you in a headlock so you can't get to your face? Can I intervene then? I wouldn't want to make you mad again."
She'd narrowed her eyes at him, but then she shakes her head. "Did you actually just make a joke? That was a joke."
He'd shrugged. "For the most part, yes."
Rolling her eyes again, she'd stood up. As she'd turned to leave, he'd touched her arm, an unusual gesture for him. "Lena." She'd turned back, looking up at him questioningly. "I'm sorry for one thing. I meant no disrespect last night, and I'm sorry if I made you feel like I don't think you can handle yourself. Disrespectful trash like that guy makes me karking mad, but I meant what I said. I should have let you manage it."
Her expression had softened, and she'd nodded. "Thank you for the caf, and for caring enough to intervene." She'd kicked at a speck of dust on the floor, looking down. "Malo has the signal because he always assumes that I can handle it. I set the signal so he'd get off his ass and help me. I kind of appreciate the fact that it's the opposite for you. Makes me feel," she pauses, clearly searching for the right word. "Safer. It makes me feel safer."
At that, he'd blinked in surprise. He'd guessed then that this woman was going to be very good at surprising him. After a moment, he'd said, "You're welcome for the caf, but you never have to thank me for having your back, Lena."
She'd nodded again, then looked up at him. "Where were you going?"
"I'm sorry?"
"When you opened the ramp. Where were you going?" She'd grinned up at him, making him think that maybe she knew that she kept catching him off guard and was enjoying it.
"I've been exploring the woods some. It's a nice planet, and I rarely stay somewhere long enough to enjoy the scenery." He'd wondered why she cared.
She'd then looked a little shy. "Would you mind some company?"
Before he could even think about it, he'd replied, "Company would be good."
They'd spent an hour or two exploring that morning, and after that, she'd show up every third day or so, ready for a hike. It's an odd friendship. They don't talk much, except to reference planets they've been to or jobs they've had. It's almost never personal, save for one day when they'd found a bluff that looked out over the castle and lake next to it. The view was spectacular, and Lena had quietly said that her mother would have loved it.
As he takes up his usual position by the bar, he thinks to himself that Maz had been right about one thing. They've found common ground. He imagines that it isn't precisely what Maz had been thinking of, but their shared reticence to talk about themselves is oddly comforting. He watches the ebb and flow of the crowd, his eyes often straying to Lena. He senses that there is something she is hiding, but the respect and trust that has tentatively grown up between them keeps him from asking about it.
The crowd is light tonight, and he relaxes against the wall just slightly. Every once in a while, a regular will pass by, nodding to him. He has to admit that Maz really has created a unique environment here, something he's impressed by. He's spent years dealing with the dregs of society, and there's something refreshing about this place to him.
As he stands there, his eyes go towards the door. A large group is leaving, a cargo crew that took a break here today. As they leave, a man comes in alone. Something about the man makes Din straighten up, going on guard. He watches the newcomer. He's tall, looks powerful, and appears to be attractive if the gazes of the female patrons (and some of the men as well) are anything to go by. But to Din, he also looks cold and calculating.
"Hey." Lena's voice makes him jump. She'd come around the bar without him even noticing, and she's coming towards him. "What's wrong? You're all tense."
As she says the words, her back is to the man who entered the bar a few moments ago. His eyes land on her, and he seems to turn furious. Before Din can get between the man and Lena, the man has come up to them. Lena turns to see what Din is looking at, and she gasps and stumbles back towards the bar.
"You thought you could hide from me, you bitch?" The man moves lightning fast, backhanding Lena into the bar. Din is horrified to see her head slam into the edge of the bar, and she crumples to the floor, clearly unconscious.
"Lena!" Din moves as fast as the man, who appears to be leaning down to pick Lena up. Din gets a hand on the man, and he lands a hit to the man's midsection with his knee. The man doubles over, and Din then uses his knee again, driving it into the man's face, dropping him to the ground.
Maz hurries over. "Mando, get him out of here!" The small woman motions one of the other bartenders and one of the regulars over. "We'll take care of Lena."
"Gladly," Din growls. He grabs the man by the scruff of the neck, dragging him to the door. As they get to the courtyard, Din grabs a pair of tether cuffs that he hasn't used since his bounty hunting days. The man shoves Din back weakly, still staggering from the knee to the face.
Din stumbles just slightly, but it's enough for the man to pull a knife. He has to resist the urge to say that he could bring him in warm or bring him in cold. Instead, with a quick spin, he knocks the knife from the man's hand. Din then pulls back and hits the man with an uppercut that makes his opponent stagger. From the door, he hears someone call his name, and he glances back. It's enough of a distraction that the now bloodied man takes off, disappearing into the night. "Dank ferrik!" Din can't stop the curse from slipping out.
Maz comes to his side. "Mando, we need you now. Inside. Some of my people are fanning out to look for that kriffing bastard."
Worried, Din follows Maz back inside. He sees that Lena is gone. "Where is she, Maz?"
"I have a small med room. One of the regulars is also a doctor. He's checking her over." Maz motions to him.
He follows her through the bar, down the hall to her office. They pass by it, and a moment later, they turn into a small room with a cot in the corner and a cabinet of medical supplies. The doctor is there, along with another man, the male bartender. Maz looks at the bartender. "Raff, get back out there. Make sure he doesn't come back."
The man nods and leaves quickly. Din approaches the bed, and he can see that there is blood on the pillow from where Lena's head hit the bar. The doctor is administering a spray that is all-too-familiar to Din. "Bacta infusion?" He asks softly.
The doctor nods. "Yes. The bruising where he hit her won't go away from it, but her orbital bone is intact, and her eye looks fine. This is for the damage from hitting the bar."
Din looks at Maz. "What the karking hells just happened, Maz?"
"That man was Goran Ilcet. He and Lena were once involved." Maz glances at the doctor.
The doc catches the look. "She'll be out for a while, Maz. I gave her a mild sedative, one safe with this injury, as you requested. It will be a few hours, maybe longer. I can stay with her as long as you need me to."
"Thank you, my friend." Maz looks up at Din. "Step out in the hall with me, please." Din hesitates, and she puts a small hand on his arm. "Kiddo, she'll be all right, but I need to talk to you now."
He reluctantly follows Maz out into the hall. "Maz, what just happened?"
"Lena told me that she left Ilcet when he became controlling and abusive. One night, he hit her so hard that she slammed into a mirror, shattering it. The hair she wears in her face covers a large scar." Maz takes a deep breath, and he flexes and unflexes his hands in barely-contained fury. "She left Lothal, where she'd met him, and moved to Naboo. She was there two months before he found her."
Maz shakes her head. "I knew Lena and her mother years ago. Lena called me for help when he found her the fifth time. I got her out, and she's been hiding here, completely off the grid, for three years. I don't know how he found her. I even got her chain code wiped."
"Do you want me to hunt him down?" Din really wants her to say yes.
"No." She shakes her head. "I will call Karga. I'm putting a bounty on him."
"But then I'm the one who should," he begins, but Maz cuts him off.
"I already have someone packing her things. They'll be delivered to your ship within half an hour. We'll move her to the ship as soon as the doctor says it's safe to do so." She takes one of his hands in both of her tiny ones. "What I need from you is to keep her safe. I know you two have become friends. Protect her, help hide her, until we can bring that kriffing piece of bantha fodder down."
"She won't like this, Maz." He thinks that's actually an understatement. "She is going to want to kill me."
"I'll record a message for her. Show it to her when she wakes up. Hopefully, you'll already be in a hyperspace lane by then." Maz squeezes his hand again. "Please, Mando."
"You should have told me about this, Maz. One of you should have warned me. I could have gotten her out of there the moment he showed up, or at least gotten between them." He is incredibly frustrated with them both.
"I know. I'm sorry Mando." Maz looks off-balance for the first time since he met her, and he decides to let it go.
He expels a breath. "I need to go prep the Convor. I need to get things stowed and get the second bunk set up for her."
Maz visibly relaxes. "Thank you. You can walk inside." She calls to one of the waitresses, telling the woman to guide Din to the underground hangar. "I won't see you again for a while. Be safe, Mandalorian."
"You too, Pirate Queen." He'd learned her nickname two weeks ago. It suddenly felt like the right time to use it. He pauses. "Also, if the bounty doesn't pan out, tell Karga to talk to Cara about filing official charges. Cara is a Marshal. Tell Karga to have Cara call Wedge."
With one last squeeze to her hands, he turns and follows the waitress down the hall. When she shows him how to get to the hangar, at the door when he can see his ship, the young woman looks at him. "Mando, sir, thank you for taking care of Lena. She taught all of us girls to fight. I wish you'd been able to kill that bastard tonight."
"Me too. Thank you." He leaves the woman, double-timing it to his ship, jumping onto the ramp as it lowers.
Once inside, he scrambles up the ladder to get the door to the second bunk open. In minutes, he has the lights on and an air vent open. The bed itself was already made, something he did in a fit of boredom a week ago. With that done, he goes to his own bunk and makes sure that it's flight ready.
He hears a noise down in the hold a moment later, and he steps out, blaster drawn. He lowers the weapon and holsters it when he sees that it's one of Maz's people with a floating pallet with a large bag and two boxes on it as well as the doctor, who has Lena on a floating stretcher. He brings it over to the ladder, pushing it up until Din can lean down and pick Lena up. "Gently," the doctor calls.
Din nods, and he carefully scoops Lena up, carrying her to the bunk, which has a rail for space flight, ensuring that she won't fall out of the bed as they take off. Moments later, the doctor and the member of Maz's staff enter the small bunkroom with Lena's things. The doctor also holds a bag out to him. "Med kit. It has more bacta spray if you need it, bandages, painkillers, and various and sundry other things."
"Thanks, Doc." He looks down at Lena, and he has to keep himself from slamming a fist into the wall at the sight of the bruise blooming on her face. "Will she be all right?"
The man nods. "She should be fine." He passes a holo device to Din. "Maz said this is for her and for you to get going. She also said not to call her or tell her where you're headed. It's safer that way."
"Understood." Din nods and follows the doctor down the ladder. Moments later, with a wave, he's closing the ramp behind them. Once it's closed, he pauses for a moment, glancing up at the sleeping area before pulling his helmet off and leaning his forehead against the cool metal. He pulls in a few gulps of fresh air, trying to calm himself down.
When he feels a little more centered, he puts the helmet back on and heads to the cockpit. Settling in the pilot's seat, he fires up the engines. The hidden hangar doors open, and he has the ship heading up out of the atmosphere in seconds.
He's not exactly sure where he's heading, but he calculates a jump to a route that will take them to the opposite end of the Outer Rim. He's certainly adept at disappearing when he needs to, but he doesn't like this feeling of being on the run again. He also is ready to rip that guy's head off with his bare hands. It was how he felt about Moff Gideon.
He can tolerate many things. He knows that his moral compass, at least until he met the kid, was ambiguous at best. But he likes to think that even then, a much-larger man striking a woman like that, for no reason other than she tried to get away from him because he'd hurt her, would have enraged him. When he was bounty hunting, he rarely felt much, if anything, about his prey. But he knows that when it was garbage like Ilcet, he did enjoy it a little.
He shakes his head and checks the sensors. They'll be at lightspeed for a long time, over a day, so he sets the sensor alarm on his vambrace and heads back to the room where Lena is. When he gets there, he sees that she's still out but breathing easily. She already has a nasty black eye, but she seems otherwise all right. He douses all but one small light in the room, knowing that she might be light-sensitive when she wakes up.
She shivers slightly, so he goes and gets an extra blanket and covers her with it. He then sinks down to the floor next to her bed, the adrenaline wearing off. He takes off his gloves, and he reaches up and takes her hand, the first time they've touched skin-to-skin. Her small hand feels tiny in his, and he holds to it like a lifeline. His mind wanders to the kid and how he'd protected him, and he starts to think about where they can go and what they can do next.
He also realizes that the reason he was so upset about them not telling him isn't because he was somehow owed the information. It's because he feels like he failed her.
He's still lost in thought over an hour later when Lena begins to stir. Her hand flexes in his, making him look up at her. Her left eye is blinking open, the right one swollen almost shut. He can tell the moment that she is fully awake, because she gasps and pulls her hand from his, shrinking back against the wall of the bunk. It occurs to him that she may think that she's with Ilcet.
"Lena, it's Mando. You're with me on my ship. You're safe." He gets up on his knees, letting her see him.
After a moment, her good eye focuses on him in the dim light. "Mando?"
"Yes." He nods.
"Where are we?" She's clearly still confused.
He reaches out and takes her hand again, and this time, she clings to it. "We're on my ship and at lightspeed. We're putting distance between you and that karking piece of shit."
He'd expected anger from her, expected her to chastise him for making decisions for her, but instead, she gulps back a sob. "How did he find me?"
"I don't know. Maz is working on that and on finding him. We're putting a bounty on him, and if that doesn't turn him up, I have a friend who is a New Republic Marshal. We can file actual charges. He assaulted you in front of a bar full of people, then he tried to use a knife on me. He'll get thrown in prison." He squeezes her hand.
She closes her eyes. "He never attacked me in public before. There were never witnesses." Opening her eyes again, she says, "I know I should have warned you. Let Maz warn you. It had been three years. I thought maybe he'd given up. I'm sorry."
"No." He shook his head. "I was upset at first, but only because I was mad at myself for not moving fast enough to prevent him from hurting you."
She bites her lip, a tear running down from her good eye. He lets her see his free hand first, and then he wipes it from her cheek. He hesitates near the hair there. "May I?" he asks.
She nods, and he gently smooths the hair away from the left side of her face. He touches the scar there, the one Maz told him about. He whispers, "I want to kill him, Lena. I actively want to kill him."
She sniffles a little. "How can you care about me this much? I don't even know your name. I've never heard your real voice." He sighs and stands up. She looks even more upset. "I'm sorry. I wasn't asking. It's not my place. I understand the old traditions."
He shakes his head, then he steps over to the control panel for the room. He turns off the lights, making the room completely pitch black. He has his night vision in the helmet. He watches her, can see that she's gone tense, and he says, "I'm not going hurt you, Lena." He sees her relax, and he warns her softly, "You'll hear some sounds. I'm just taking the armor off, nothing else."
"All right," she says, her voice equally quiet.
He takes all of it off, even the control vambrace, which he puts on the shelf above her head, along with a blaster. He's down to just the pants and heavy tunic he wears under the armor, even pulling his boots off. The last thing he removes is the helmet, leaving him as much in the dark as she is. He has a lump in his throat as he says, "Din Djarin." Lena gasps at the sound of his voice, no longer modulated by the helmet, and he reiterates, "My name, Lena, is Din Djarin."
He hears her choke back another sob, and he says, "I'll stay here with you. We'll be at lightspeed for a long time."
"Can you," she stops, sniffling again.
"Can I what?" he asks.
She huffs out a breath. "Can you get up here with me?"
"Lena, I don't want to take advantage of this situation." He shakes his head.
"I know that you won't. I trust you. I just would really like to feel safe and not alone." She takes a deep breath. "Please?"
He hesitates for a moment and then says, "I need my back to the wall so I can see the door." He picks up the helmet and puts it on the shelf above her, in arm's reach of the bed.
He hears her shift forward, and he goes to the foot of the bed and carefully climbs up next to her. Once he settles on his side, he feels her turn over, facing him in the pitch black. Her hands find his shoulders in the dark, and then they slide up. He has to draw in a breath as her fingertips begin to trace his features, and he knows that this may be the most intimate experience he's ever had, his past mostly anonymous sexual encounters not even coming close to this.
After a moment, she says, "You need to shave."
It's not what he expected, and he huffs out a laugh. "I like my scruff, thank you very much."
She laughs softly, too, and then she brushes her thumbs across his cheekbones. She sounds emotional when she says, "Thank you, Din." She then drops her hands and moves as close to him as she can get.
He moves to put his arms around her, but again, he asks her permission first. "May I?"
"Please do." Her reply is immediate.
He wraps his arms around her, pulling her in close to his body. She nearly burrows into him, only lightly hissing when she bumps her bruised face against him too hard. When she fully relaxes against him, he moves his head slightly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Rest, Mealena. You're safe."
She sighs. "I know."