I ran into Kuiil's arms when we arrived back at the ship. Mando was shocked and relieved to see that he was fine; it appears that after I sent him flying into the craft, it did its job well and protected him. I told Kuiil all about our "adventure" during the ride back to Takodana. We dropped him off at his place, departing after we said our goodbyes. Then Mando drove for a short distance; much shorter than I was expecting. We landed and I blinked to him confused. His helmeted head turned back my way, not saying anything right away.
"W-where…..?" I didn't have to finish my sentence for him to know what I was getting at. The Mandalorian got up out of his chair and went to open the front door. My face morphed from one of puzzlement to astonishment and sudden delight as I came forward to see where we were.
Home! My home! I was home since he first came here; just as Master foretold, I was back! My head shot over to Mando very, very excitedly. He wordlessly motioned for me to go forward, which I happily complied. Oh, the place was just as gorgeous as I remember it! Bright, endless blue skies with nearly a cloud; lush, green grass that felt so good against the skin; the warmth of a calm, gentle summer breeze; and flowers…. so many pink flowers. With one glorious smile at the Mandalorian, I ran off the ship to randomly wander all about. My eyes went everywhere, from the valley, to Mando, to the spring, and back to Mando. He merely watched as I scampered around through the grass, letting my hair fly in the wind.
"It's beautiful, Mando!" My hands clasped together so wonderfully. My feet kept skipping through the grass, careful not to step on any flowers. I did find one blossom which had fallen from a nearby flowering tree. Tenderly, I scooped up the pink flower- not too unsimilar to the one against the Mandalorian's breast plate- and brought it to the pond teeming with warm water. My fingers let the flower fall bottom-first onto the surface where it bobbed nicely. Then I turned back to Mando who was now approaching me; he was coming over to my side.
My smile intensified onto him. "Oh, thank you, Mando…. Thank you so much for bringing me here," I honestly felt on the verge of tears. It was so kind of him to bring me back home before we began our long journey into space. A tear did drip down my face when he reached down to take my hand. I observed perplexed as he brought it up to put something in my palm; it felt hard and smooth. My hand opened up to reveal a weird-looking pendant attached to a necklace. Of course I looked up to him still confused but his body language remained firm and true.
"It's the Mandalorian emblem," he explained in a tender tone. "You want me to wear this?" My eyes shown up at him. It took him a second to respond but he did…. he responded in a voice that was so gentle and passionate, it made me weak at the knees. "Yes…." I nodded, now full on crying. Mando then took it from my hands and proceeded to place it over my head; I moved my hair out of the way. Afterwards, we stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and even that was too short.
Like clockwork, Mando's head moved in to rest against my forehead as I leaned into him. My lips parted as I reminded myself to breathe, and my eyes closed in the most adoring fashion. I didn't know it was possible to be this happy. One of my hand rose up to press on the breastplate over his heart. Mando's fingers reached up to brush a few stray hairs off the side of my cheek; only then did my eyes reopen. Open again to see this beautiful man…. this beloved Mandalorian. His thumb ran over my cheek again and again, wiping away the constant flow of tears. My other hand came up to rest on the back of his helmet, keeping him securely there so near me. "We are one…." I uttered more softly than I've ever said anything. "This is the way," he sighed with such happiness, and I started weeping all over again.
The End.