Author's Note: Sorry that its taking so long to get to the main conflict of this story. I just really wanted to build the base of their relationship a little before throwing them into the marriage thing.

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Chapter Six:

The Next Deal

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Dafin III was a lot like any other planet with a government that had been destabilized by the fall of the Old Republic. Crowded, dirty, and festering with disease and crime. Drab grey buildings spiked across the skyline, pumping the air with fumes and smog. The Underworld had flourished under the Empire's indifference, and now that it had fallen and been replaced by the still-weak New Republic, those that had come to power could rule it without restraint. The leaders of crime gangs became warlords, and at the top of that chain was Deedi.

In the Dafin system, at least. His reach didn't go far beyond that. He was no Hutt.

Under Nenana's guidance, Din piloted the Razor Crest through the highrises and to the shipyards near the center of the city. He'd been there several times before and would've preferred a spot a little farther out, but she seemed to have somewhere specific in mind.

While Din absolutely believed that Nenana had a plan and didn't doubt that she could take care of herself, he didn't like the idea of taking her into the heart of Deedi's domain and leaving her there.

Especially without knowing what her plan was.

Especially without knowing her Plan B or who'd she'd fall back on if things went south.

And especially not… not now.

In truth, he felt ridiculous. He wasn't completely stupid. He knew he had a crush, and knew that - at the end of his thirties - he was too old for one.

And yet…

He wasn't sure that he minded.

This - whatever this was - was new to him. He'd been with people before, of course, but that had been purely sexual, quick one-offs to blow off steam. He'd never wanted… well, he wasn't sure what he wanted, but…

But he would like the chance to find out.

Nenana didn't seem to share in his confusion. But she probably had more important things on her mind. As soon as the Crest had settled, she was unstrapping herself from the jump seat and leading the way back down into the hold.

Din followed.

When he reached her, she was adjusting her robes, shuffling around hidden items and tightening the belt that held the billowing fabric snug to her waist.

Nenana glanced up and tossed him another bag of credits, which he caught one-handed. "The other half."

He nodded and tucked it away in his belt.

"I assume you know how to get there?" She asked, pulling strands of platinum blonde hair out of the intricate braided bun and intentionally mussing it up.

"Yes. I've done a bounty for him before."

"Oh?" She grinned. "Who was it?"

"Just some bail jumper," he said dismissively. "They weren't worth much."

"You probably got shorted," she pointed out. "Deedi's not known for paying well."

Din shrugged. "It was a Guild job. I didn't put much thought into it."

"Well, Guild rates are better than most." She brushed a few of the now-frazzled locks away from her face. "You got binders?"

"Yes." He took the pair from his belt. When she held out her hands to be cuffed, he hesitated. "You sure you're ready?"

She sniffed. "I told you. Always."

"Yeah." He slipped them carefully over her wrists but didn't lock them. "You need anything else?"

Nenana thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

Din scrambled for something else to say. The moment they walked down that ramp, she would be Noa Enti, and he, her captor. Even though he would make a terrible spy, he understood how important it was that they both stay in character. If they slipped up and word got back to Deedi, they would both be screwed.

But he didn't know her exit strategy. He didn't know her way off world. If he were to seek her out, it would be as an uninvited guest to her safe haven in the mountains - with no guarantee that he'd be welcome. The moment they walked down the ramp, he wouldn't be able to speak with her as Nenana, and might never get the chance to again.

Nenana sensed his hesitation. She raised her eyebrows. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah…" He almost let it go, almost told himself to get over it and not make a damn fool of himself. "Nenana…"

She gave him a blank look and, in Noa's Coruscanti accent, said, "Who?"

Right.

He got the distinct impression that she was just making the point that her true identity needed to be kept hidden - or even that she was just messing with him - but it still made him flounder for another moment.

Kriff, he was so far out of his depth.

Thank the Maker for the helmet hiding his face.

"I mean…" Din cursed himself for being such a coward, and then again for spending so much of his adult life going out of his way to avoid friendships, because maybe if he hadn't, then he'd know what the kriff he was supposed to say. "If I… wanted... to see y… her again… would… how…"

The sentence floundered in his mind. He was getting frustrated. Finally he settled on, "Is… that an option?"

There - he'd said it.

Concealed by his helmet, he squeezed his eyes closed and braced for rejection as a hundred other smoother ways of asking 'can I see you again?' Raced through his mind.

He… he literally could've just said that: Can I see you again?

After this is over, can I see you again?

Kriffing hell.

"I think… she would be amenable."

Din's eyes snapped open to see her blinking up at him. Her expression wasn't easy to read, but it seemed genuine. She looked thoughtful, maybe a little surprised, but nothing on her face suggested that what he'd said was outrageous or unpleasant.

"Really?" He couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice, which only gave him something else to be embarrassed about.

Her Movetian accent made a reappearance. "Yes. Really."

For a moment, he was elated, then he had another, horrible thought. Their situation wasn't without risks, and they were both fully aware that Din had the ability to screw her over and tell Deedi that she had some kind of plan. Not that he knew what the plan was, but still...

Was she just telling him what he wanted to hear?

"You don't… you don't have to," Din said hurriedly. "I wouldn't… our deal still stands, either way. It's fine if—"

"Mando." Her voice was gentle but stern, tinged with amusement.

He stopped, head tipping sheepishly to the side.

Slowly, carefully, she reached out with her technically-bound hands. They found one of his, hooking his fingers in hers and tugging gently.

Enraptured, Din watched as she brought it up to her face. Her gaze penetrated the visor - locking onto his and never once wavering.

His fingers twitched reflexively when the tips of his gloves brushed past her cheekbone.

The glove on that particular hand had rolled up a little, exposing an inch or so of the skin of his wrist. His breath stuttered in his chest when she brought it to her lips.

Her mouth was hot… hot, and impossibly soft. His skin burned where it touched hers. Din swore he could feel her pulse through her lips, but it was quick and frantic, so it may have been his own.

The kiss lingered. Din's blood roared in his ears. When she spoke again, he felt the shape of her words pressed into his bare wrist; felt her soft puffs of breath tickle his skin.

"I mean what I say, Mandalorian."

When she released his hand, it flopped lifelessly back to his side. Din felt strangely dizzy, like all the blood that was usually in his brain was now collecting in his wrist, which was still tingling where she'd touched him.

He desperately wanted her to do it again.

Nenana smiled at him, and this time it was warm and gentle, lacking the wolf-like aggression and hunger that had defined the others he'd seen. It was kind, and maybe even a little shy.

But it quickly faded. She returned her attention to the cuffs, readjusting them so it was harder to tell that they weren't locked.

"One more thing," she started, back to business.

"What?" Din doubted that there was anything she couldn't make him do in that moment.

"Noa Enti will struggle," she informed him in her Movetian accent. Nenana lifted her gaze from the cuffs to fix him with a stern glare. "Hold back, and I'll be offended."

Din didn't like the sound of that.

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As it turned out, he didn't like the practice of it either.

Logically, he saw the necessity of roughing her up a little on the way to Deedi's facility. It would raise suspicions if she walked in without looking like she'd put up a fight. And he understood what she'd said about being offended - if the roles had been reversed, he'd have felt the same way. He didn't doubt that she could handle it, he just… didn't want to.

Nenana seemed to understand this, and made it as easy for him as possible. As soon as she'd stepped foot off the Razor Crest, she had been a completely different person. Nenana Orze was gone, and Noa Enti had taken her place so absolutely that it was almost easy to pretend that the other had never existed.

Almost, at least.

Noa kicked, spit, and fought. She begged, she cursed, and she threatened. At one point, when he'd been temporarily distracted by a particularly aggressive street vendor, she'd balled up her bound firsts and driven them into his ribs. Hard.

The breath was knocked out of him. It hurt.

Then she ran.

It was easier then. The instincts he'd built up from decades of bounty hunting had kicked in, and he'd had no qualms about cornering her in an alleyway and slamming her into the wall.

When she came away with a bloody lip, Din froze. Horrified. For a moment, he was about to stutter an apology and try and clean her up, but then she lashed out at him again, enough to cause him more pain, and he remembered that she was literally paying him to do this.

Redin Deedi's facility was a tall, skyscraper-esque building. From what Din already knew, Deedi's personal chambers were hidden away somewhere near the top, with chambers for balls, parties, and formal dinners with other Underworld crime lords as well as government officials from surrounding systems tucked away in the middle levels.

Oh, to be a disgustingly wealthy criminal.

Deedi's guards had let them in without question. Bounty hunters came in and out all the time. They checked who he had, and the name Noa Enti got them an immediate audience with Deedi himself.

Din wondered if there was more to the story of Noa Enti and Redin Deedi. Maybe he would get the chance to ask her about it later.

He hoped he would.

It wasn't until the exchange had been made and he was back out in the crowded streets of Dafin III that he wondered if she'd actually meant what she'd said about being open to seeing him again.

Namely because they hadn't figured out a when and where. Did she expect him to wait for her at the Crest? Or would it be too dangerous for her to leave the planet the same way she'd arrived? Was he welcome to visit her on Movet?

She'd already proven that she could find him whenever she wanted, but something about that made him wonder if she actually would.

He knew she could lie - hell, she could lie better than anyone he'd ever met. So it wasn't exactly hard to imagine that she had told him what he wanted to hear - to ensure his compliance, or maybe even to protect his feelings.

Din knew he didn't have room to complain about it. The bounty for Noa Enti had been worthwhile. 50,000 credits plus the 15,000 Nenana had given him - he was 65,000 credits better off, and had barely broken a sweat to earn them.

He knew that he could just leave. If she'd been serious, she knew how to find him. If she hadn't, well… there wasn't anything to be done.

But still, he lingered. He wandered the streets for a bit, visiting the vendors selling all kinds of illegal substances and weapons, taking the time to go ahead and restock his supplies, which had been dwindling for a while now.

All the while, Deedi's fortress loomed over everything, feeling very much like the malicious little brother of the elder god mountains protecting Nenana's haven.

If nothing else, he hoped to learn if she'd gotten out safely.

The ground rumbled beneath his feet. Din whipped around from where he'd been haggling for some extra medical supplies just in time to see the second and third explosions envelop two sections of Deedi's skyscraper in flames.

The first had happened near the top of the building - Deedi's private meeting rooms, at a guess. The other two were lower, carving out huge chunks of steel and rock - crippling the stronghold.

The people of the city were out in the streets, pressing together in throngs to watch the spectacle. Glass and twisted lumps of molten steel were raining down, but the structures that sprawled around the base also belonged to Deedi, so no one much cared.

The smoggy sky was already dark with smoke and ash. The drone of city life was drowned by the wailing of alarms and the thrum of droid-piloted fire suppression vessels already swarming the building, combating the roaring flames with streams of water and foam.

Din shoved credits at the vendor, who was no longer interested in the transaction and shoved the supplies into the russack sack he had thrown across his shoulders before pushing his way through the crowd, making for the source of the commotion without a second thought.

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