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Chapter 28

~X~

"The only thing better than having a Mandalorian's mind, is having a Mandalorian's heart."

~Mandalorian proverb~

It didn't take long for them to round up a hanger attendant and for Leia to get things moving. She had no trouble giving orders, and from the way the man jumped to carry out her wishes, it was obvious she was very good at it. In no time at all, the Razor Crest was fueled and ready to go.

"Thank you again for all your help," Ravana told the princess turned general.

"And thank you for what you're doing as well," she said. "Moff Gideon is as evil as they come, and if he's attempting to get his hands on any who are Force sensitive…then my son is in as much danger as yours."

"Then we'll stop him for the both of us," Ravana swore, holding out her hand in friendship. However, Leia just smiled, pulling the startled girl in for a warm hug.

"You take care," she whispered, pulling away and joining Han and the others on the ramp of the Millennium Falcon. There she turned and called back. "And may the Force be with you."

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Ravana felt almost sad to say goodbye, even though she hardly knew them at all. Still, finding someone who understood what they were going through had felt good, their shared experiences instantly bonding them in some strange way. Din, however, seemed to have no such issues, hitting the button on his arm brace that would open the hatch, quickly striding inside.

"Come on, String-bean," she said with a sigh. "Time to start the next leg of our journey."

Zax had been excited to see them return, and from what little she could see, he'd not done any damage to the ship in their absence. He still had plenty of food and water…so perhaps he hadn't yet become desperate enough to chew up anything of importance.

However, what she did find odd was that as soon as Din had entered the ship, he grabbed a bag and headed for her small room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, setting the kid down as he toddled off to play with his best friend, Zax.

"Packing," he said, tossing her clothes into the bag as quickly as he could.

"What for?" she demanded, coming to stand next to him with a perplexed look on her face. "And why are you packing my stuff and not your own?"

"Because you and the kid are staying here on Anoah with the Mandalorians," Din informed her, not halting in his task.

"WHAT? No, I'm not!" Ravana stated firmly, reaching out and grabbing hold of the bag to stop him. "I'm going with you!"

"It's too dangerous," he argued. "Gideon is not one to underestimate."

"I think I know that," she huffed, this time grabbing some of the clothes he'd already packed and tossing them back on her bed. "But I'm still coming with you. You need someone to watch your back."

"Oh? And who'll watch yours?" he demanded, halting and turning to stare at her, his tone one of anxious frustration. "I can't protect myself and you at the same time, not to mention the kid and Zax."

"You've done a fine job of it so far," she pointed out. "I'm not staying behind, Din. You can't make me."

"Can't I?" he growled.

"What will you do, tie me up and drag me back to the covert?" she challenged. "I'm not some frail little waif that needs a big strong Mandalorian to protect her from the big bad galaxy and all that's in it!"

"I believe you've proven that theory wrong on several occasions already," he reminded her.

"Those were very specific cases that shouldn't count against me," she insisted with a dismissive wave. "I wasn't expecting them, thus I was not prepared. This time I will be, and that will make all the difference." Here she placed her hands on her hips and attempted to stare him down, daring him to disagree with her.

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"NO!" Din shouted, not wanting to listen to any more of her reasonings. Ravana had an irritating way of twisting things around until she sounded completely logical, making him feel like a fool for not heeding her words. But not this time.

"Why not? Give me one good reason, besides this whole male dominance and over protectiveness thing you've gotten into your head," she dared. "Come on, Djarin…one good reason!"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Din shouted, causing them both to freeze and grow silent. He hadn't meant to confess his feelings for her in this manner, and certainly not at such a high volume either. But there was no taking it back now, and even if the timing and situation were not ideal…he meant every word.

"You…you what?" Ravana asked, her voice hardly above a whisper.

"I love you, Ravana, and I can't bear the thought of losing you," he repeated, though this time in a normal tone, though one rich with emotion.

"I…I love you too, Din," she confessed, a wide smile creeping across her face. "And that's the very same reason I can't let you go off alone. I can't lose you either."

There, they had both said the words, out loud and to each other at last. Yet, suddenly, for Din it wasn't enough. So, tossing the bag in his hands to the side, he reached out and hit the button on the wall, closing the door to her room. They were instantly enveloped in darkness, since neither one had bothered to flip on a light, and the only sound they could hear was each other breathing.

"Can you see anything?" Din asked in a desperate voice.

"What? No…it's pitch black in here," she told him, sounding confused by his question. "Do you want me to turn on the light?"

"NO!" he barked out, reaching for her hands and gently bringing them down to her side. "Don't move…don't do anything! Just stand there." He could tell she had no idea what was going on, but after stripping off his gloves he reached up and unlatching his helmet, the covering being removed with a hiss of air. Din heard Ravana give a gasp of shock, and since he knew she couldn't see him, her reaction had to have come from the knowledge of what he'd just done. Setting his helmet down on the table he knew was to his right, he reached out with both his hands, finding her face and cupping her cheeks tenderly.

"I really want to kiss you right now, Ravana," he confessed, his voice sounding odd even to his own ears. In the rare moments he did remove his helmet, Din had very few reasons to speak out loud, with only himself to hear. He wondered if she found it as strange as he did. "Will you allow me the privilege?"

"If you don't kiss me in the next two seconds, Din Djarin, I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands!" was Ravana's answer, her voice now a mixture of excitement and desperation.

And so, he did, bringing his lips down on hers with a need he'd been holding back for far too long. Her lips were soft as silk and she tasted divine, just as he'd imagined she would. And in that moment, Din knew he could never be farther away from her than the reach of his arms. As if of their own free will, his fingers had woven themselves throughout her hair, loosening the offensive pins as her tresses fell free. Oh, how he loved her long hair, and he found he couldn't wait to examine it in the light of day. His ears were also being treated to the most delicious sounds, letting him know that his kisses were well received, which caused his body to roar to life.

It really had been a long time since he'd been with a woman.

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Ravana couldn't believe this was happening! Not only was Din kissing her, but he'd said he loved her as well. As she felt his lips leave hers, only to drift down her neck as he nipped at her throat and collarbone, she let her hands drift to his hair as well, feeling it for the first time. It was thick, though a bit unkept, and she found herself wondering if he was a blonde…or a brunette. If she had to guess, she would say he had dark hair, and from what she'd felt as he kissed her, he had a mustache and a bit of stubble as well. Oh, if only she could flip on the light and take her time inspecting every inch of his face, among other things. But she wouldn't. Not until he gave her permission, if that ever happened.

"Din," she moaned, loving every wicked thing he was doing to her with only his lips and hands. "Din…what color is your hair? Dark or light?"

"Dark," he answered, not pausing for a moment.

"And your eyes?" she pressed, wanting to be able to picture the man who was kissing her so masterfully.

"Brown," he chuckled. "I also have a scar on my upper left cheek and a burn mark from a blaster on my right shoulder. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"Yes. Everything," she whispered, bringing his face back up so she could pepper his lips with kisses once more. "I want to know everything about you, Din. Starting with what you feel like underneath all this metal." At this, she began to work at removing any piece of beskar she could, with Din aiding her in the endeavor, the sound of his armor hitting the floor music to her ears. Somehow in the process, Ravana discovered that her own clothes were being loosened as well, though she hardly minded.

"Yes, Din…yes," she urged, having no misconceptions about where this was all headed. In fact, it was her hands that were now pushing at him until he was forced down onto the bed directly behind him. And easing herself down, half on him and half on the mattress, she knew the last thing she wanted was for him to stop.

Unfortunately…he suddenly did!

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"Ravana," Din began, his voice a mixture of desire and desperation. He had no wish to halt where this was obviously going, but he had his reasons. "Ravana…have you ever done this before?"

"You mean kiss someone?" she questioned in confusion. "Well…no. Why? Am I doing it wrong?"

"No, not at all," he wanted to laugh at the sound of the panic in her tone. "Or at least I don't think so. I find nothing wrong with it, but I fear I have no experience either to fall back on."

"What? You mean this is…" here she stopped, too shocked to finish.

"My first kiss as well," he told her, hoping she didn't think his confession overly odd. "It is a rather difficult thing to do when wearing a helmet all the time."

"But…you seemed so…knowledgeable," she continued, her voice ripe with confusion. "So sure of what to do…I never would have guessed."

"I have been with women before," he confirmed, though not proud of this admission. For each time in the past it had meant little to nothing, not at all how he knew it would be with Ravana. "But I've never removed my helmet with any of them. Those times weren't about love." Here Din cleared his throat, hating to be speaking of such things with her and knowing that he was letting himself become sidetracked from his original question. "What I was asking, however, was if you've ever slept with a man before?" Though in retrospect, if she'd never kissed anyone, the chances were pretty strong that she'd not slept with anyone either.

"No, I haven't," she confessed, now sounding shy and embarrassed. "Is that why you stopped…because I'm not experienced enough?"

"NO! Absolutely not!" Din balked, struggling to sit up, having to remove her from on top of him in the process. "I stopped because I don't want our first time - your first time, to be shrouded in darkness," he explained, his hand once more reaching out to cup her cheek tenderly. "You deserve better. I want to see every expression on your beautiful face and know that I'm doing everything in my power to make it wonderful for you."

"But…how else can we…well, you know," here she stopped, obviously not quite sure how to describe the action without sounding silly. "I mean, are you saying you want to keep your helmet on, as well as the lights?"

"No. For the first time in my life, I want to remove my helmet and anything else that might come between us…including the cloak of darkness," he explained. "I want to see you, my love, and for you to see me."

"Is that allowed?" Ravana gasped.

"It is if you're my wife," he revealed.

At this, Ravana wiggled into a sitting position, with Din following suit.

"Umm….I hate to break it to you, Djarin, but I believe we're already man and wife." Here she found his hand and brought it to her wrist, letting him feel the bonding bracelet she still wore.

"But not by Mandalorian standards," he insisted. "And while it might not mean very much to you…it means a great deal to me. Especially since it's the only way I can remove my helmet in front of you without breaking my oath to the creed."

"Wait…you mean you actually want to stay married to me…that it wasn't all just a ploy to protect me from being auctioned off?" she gasped.

"In my heart, I don't believe it was ever a ploy, Ravana," Din said in a soft voice, bringing her hand up to his lips as he kissed her palm and then the inside of her wrist reverently. "I want you to be my wife, in all ways, and not name only. I want to stand before my people and claim you as mine. For I desire all of you, Ana…every inch. Would you be willing to wait for that day?"

"Of course I would! I'd wait forever if that's what it took! For I want you the same way, Din," she agreed, throwing her arms around his neck out of pure joy. However, she couldn't hide the heavy sigh of disappointment that accompanied her words. "Still…nothing says we can't keep touching each other and kissing in the meantime, does it? Because I'm quickly becoming rather fond of such things."

"As am I," he laughed, loving how anxious she sounded for his attention – something he was only too happy to give. "And when the time comes, after we've stopped Gideon and the kid is safe, I swear that I will more than make it up to you for forcing you to wait, my love."

"That sounds very nice," she agreed, her voice turning playful as she ran her hand down the center of his chest. "And don't think I won't hold you to it, for my memory is very long."

"As is your hair," he whispered, bringing his face close once again, this time inhaling deeply as he brought a handful of her luscious curls to his nose. "Do you know that this has been my torment ever since we met? From the first day, I've dreamed of what it would feel like to run my fingers through your beautiful hair."

"Really?" Ravana giggled. "And all this time I figured you barely even noticed I was a girl."

"Oh, no," Din replied in a husky voice. "I noticed, believe me." Once more he let his lips find hers, savoring each kiss as if it might be his last. "Though, I wasn't very pleased that Paz noticed your beauty as well."

"You can't seriously be jealous of him, can you?" Ravana balked, pulling back slightly. "I mean, he's nice and all, but trust me, Din, he has nothing on you." She then reached up to encircle his neck with her arms again, wiggling her way back onto his lap. "You're the only Mandalorian I want. You, and no other."

"That's good, for I'm not the sharing kind," he told her with a slight growl. "And I wasn't happy to find you alone in his room either, especially in your drunken state."

"It was all perfectly innocent," she swore.

"And you didn't do it simply to get back at me for leaving you alone the way I did?" he pressed.

"Well…perhaps that had a little something to do with it," Ravana confessed. "But only a tiny bit, and I truly had no idea the stuff he offered would get me drunk so fast. I must really be a lightweight when it comes to alcohol."

"Something I'll keep in mind the next time I want you to tell me how you really feel about something," Din said with a snort of humor.

"So, I did say something embarrassing!" she squeaked. "Tell me! What did I say?"

"Well…first you scolded me quite liberally," Din informed her, having committed her words to memory from that night. "But then you confessed that you had feelings for me…rather strong ones."

"Oh, I knew I humiliated myself!" Ravana moaned, burying her face in his shoulder. "Just kill me now."

"Never," Din soothed, pulling her back and tipping her face up to his once more, even if neither one could see a thing. "I will treasure your words till my dying day, my love. For what you said gave me the courage to act on my own feelings, offering me the hope that any confession on my part would not be rejected or laughed at. You might have noticed that I'm not normally the type to open up and make such declarations."

"No…really?" Ravana gasped, her tone ripe with sarcasm.

"Now don't get smart with me, Miss Sass," Din scolded playfully. "Though I'm sorry it took an argument for me to at last blurt out the proper words. And while I would much rather have said them for the first time under different circumstances, it makes them no less true. I do love you, Ravana. Very much in fact."

"And what exactly was it that made you decide that's how you felt?" she posed, leaning her left ear against his shoulder as she looked up to where his voice was coming from.

"Hmmm," Din pondered, as if deeply considering her question. "It was a lot of little things that convinced me that you were the only one I could ever love. Things like the way you looked in that green dress, how you'd stood up to that Quarren, and your quick thinking on how to keep the Trandoshan bounty hunter distracted. There is also the way you care for the kid so gently, not to mention the faith and confidence you always seem to show in me. But I would have to say, what sealed the deal was when you freely offered up the last of our credits to help the covert. You are so selfless and wonderful, Ravana…how could I not have fallen in love with you?" He paused before asking his own question. "And when did you realize that you were starting to have feelings for me?"

"Oh, that's easy," she said, and Din could almost hear her smiling in the dark. "When you first said I was beautiful. No one had ever said that to me before, other than my father and my uncle, and they don't really count."

"What? Is every man on Pessue blind? Do you mean that not even that space-slug, Tannor, told you such things?" Din asked, shocked at the idea.

"Nope, not a one. Though, I suppose Tannor may have said something to that effect, but in a smarmy way that turned my stomach," she said with a scoff. "But when you said it…even if it was only in a warning about what Zojo had been thinking, it meant the world to me."

"You are beautiful, and you should be told this often," Din insisted, meaning every word. "And your beauty is not only on the outside, but in here where it counts the most." At this, he laid his palm over the middle of her chest, feeling her heartbeat speed up beneath the tips of his fingers. "I love every inch of you, Ravana."

"Even my little crescent shaped birth mark?" she giggled, giving his own chest a playful slap. "Which, by the way, I'm still upset about. You lied about not having seen anything when you undressed me."

"I only lied to spare you some needless embarrassment," he stated in his defense. "Trust me, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Fully clothed or not, your body is a constant distraction and a delight, one I've come to appreciate a great deal over the past several weeks." He then cleared his throat, attempting to sound stern as he spoke his next words. "And…I think it's high time I demonstrated to you the consequences for striking a Mandalorian."

"Oh? And what might they be?" Ravana asked, her voice ripe with excitement.

Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, Din grabbed hold of her right leg, just above the knee and fliped her around while moving himself as well. In seconds she was off his lap and in a prone position on the bed, his larger frame hovering over her in a rather predatory manner. He'd heard her gasp of surprise, but she gave no word of protest, offering him the encouragement to continue.

"First, I will place you at my mercy," he teased, letting his hand run up and down her leg, feeling her shiver with excitement at his touch. "And then I'll make certain there's no way you can escape."

"How will you do that, pray tell? By freezing me in carbonite?" she asked in a playful whisper.

"Oh, no. I would never freeze you," Din said in denial. "I will make you burn." Here he began a series of long, slow kisses, starting at her collarbone and drifting upwards at a torturous pace. "Burn with passion…with lust." When he finally got to her lips she was gasping for air, spurring him to continue with his delicious form of punishment. "But mostly…I will make you burn with desire." And sealing his lips to hers he kissed her long and deep, the action almost making him forget his decision to wait until they were properly wed before taking her.

However, a sudden sound from outside the room had both of them freezing in place. There was a scratching noise, accompanied by a light tapping, as if a little three-finger hand was beating on the metal door, telling them that both the kid and Zax were wondering what was going on in there. Giving one of his heavy sighs, Din knew their precious time alone had come to an abrupt end.

"I suppose we best go out and let them know we are all right," he muttered.

"Do we have to?" Ravana whined, wrapping her arms around his neck, unwilling to leave this cocoon of happiness they'd just found.

"I still have no idea how the kid manages to get out of his compartment, even when I lock him in," Din pointed out. "So, there's a good chance he'll just open the door and let himself in here if he so desires. And he'd probably do it without any warning either, not allowing me a chance to put my helmet back on."

"Oh…right," she agreed, at last willing to release him so he could stand up.

Din had just located his helmet and was about to put it back in place when Ravana's hands found his face in the dark.

"One last kiss…please?" she begged. "Then I'll be good and let you put it back on."

Din, only too happy to oblige, did as requested, and the two shared one final moment of passion before they both agreed it was time. So, with his helmet securely in place, and their clothes back in order…they opened the door and stepped out into the light. They were met by two pairs of curious eyes, looking up at them expectantly.

"Either they suspect what we've been doing," Ravana whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Or they're hungry."

"I'm going with hungry," Din nodded. "However, I wouldn't write off them knowing exactly what took place in there. But I regret nothing."

"Nor do I, Din Djarin," Ravana grinned wickedly. "Nor do I."

Well, ladies...and possibly gentlemen...there you have it. The moment you've all been waiting for. So...how was it?

True, they didn't actually DO anything but kiss, but I think they'll be finding a way to do a lot of THAT until he can actually marry her by Mandalorian standards.

And while I've been informed (by those who have done a LOT more research than I) that a Mandalorian wedding can take place anywhere and at any time, even in the middle of a battle...I'm gunna make it a little more special for these two. Thus, they must wait.

And look at Din being all romantic and getting to play with Ravana's hair! What a happy day for him. ha ha.

Now, they're off to hunt down Gideon...he better run!

PS. I've been saving that Mandalorian saying I used at the start of this chapter for a long time. And while I'm sure it didn't really mean 'possessing a Mandalorian's heart by means of love' I always took it that way, and thought it would be the perfect quote to use in THIS chapter. There are a few others I've picked out to use in specific chapters in the future as well...they just kind of fit.

Guest Reviews:

Guest: Glad you enjoyed their brief appearance. I do wonder if they will bring them in at some point in the Mandalorian...it would be hard to have them be seen on screen...unless they use CG effects or actors that look like them...or maybe we see them from a distance and just recognize that's who they are. ha ha. I always thought that when Greef Karga was listing off the bounties that Din could choose from in episode three, the "smuggler" he mentioned might have been Han. ha ha. Yes, I have recently heard that they will be bringing in a few 'familiar' characters from the Clone Wars! Exciting! Thanks for the review. T.O.W.G.

zenrobbins0021: I'm tickled you enjoyed their cameo appearance. You KNOW it kind of had to be touched on, since Luke is the only 'official' Jedi in the galaxy at this moment...but we also know that there was never any mention of a Baby Yoda type Jedi in the final three movies. So...I wonder where the TV series is taking all this. Or...we could just go with what I'VE dreamed up for this story and call it cannon. ha ha. Thanks for enjoying my story so much, it really makes me smile to hear such things. I originally had like 20 chapters written ahead when I started posting this story - thus allowing me to keep a very firm schedule of two chapters a week (with a few bonus chapters tossed in) but I kind of fell behind in my writing schedule during the spring, since I had lots to do outside in the yard and garden...so now I'm only 10 ahead. But I'm also nearing the end of the story, so maybe when I'm all finished writing, I can bump up the posting schedule. Thanks so much for the kind review! T.O.W.G.

Phantom Guest: Thanks, I'm glad you think so. Yeah, the last thing Din would have wanted was to be killed by a Wookie's hug. Not a very manly way to go out. Of course the String-bean would want to protect his daddy-mando. He's cute that way. I think Han and Din would be good friends, really. And Din and Ravana ARE the kid's family...now. Din would never have asked for help in any way, so of course it was Ravana who thought to ask for gas money. And as you saw from above...they did indeed get to have 'that' conversation. Hope it was worth the long, long, loooooooong wait to get to it. ha ha. Thanks. T.O.W.G.