It's a long one. Strap in, guys.

Lysa stepped inside the warm cabin ahead of Din, unpinning her cloak as she did so and removing the heavy garment from her shoulders, so as not to soak the floor any more than she already had.

From behind her, Din could see her visibly shivering, obviously freezing cold.

"You can go sit by the fireside if you want to warm up," he said, nodding over towards the large fireplace and chimney on the opposite side of the ample living space.

He gently took the soaking wet cloak from her grasp. "I'll get you a towel."

He noticed Lysa stare after him for a moment before she was disturbed by Grogu waddling swiftly over to her, thrilled by the presence of a new person in his home.

"Hi, little one," Lysa said sweetly, crouching down by the fire and coming to sit on a cushion near to the warmth of the embers. She gave Grogu's back a little stroke as he attempted to clamber onto her lap.

Placing the package of sweet breads and fruit down onto a nearby counter, Din headed into the small Refresher, his heart thudding inside his ribcage.

This was the first time, bar him and Grogu, that anyone else had been inside his home since he had lived in it.

And aside from his son, Din had not often willingly asked anyone to join him on his ship or otherwise.

But Lysa's presence here was merely functional, he needed to remind himself of that. She had needed shelter from the storm, that was all.

But Din couldn't seem to help that buzz of excitement that seemed to fill his stomach.

Plucking the cleanest, newest black gapgat towel he could find from his storage shelves, Din brought it with him, back into his living quarters.

Striding into the room once more he saw Lysa still on the floor by the fire with Grogu on her lap, both of them laughing at Grogu trying to catch the water droplets dripping from the very ends of Lysa's long hair.

"Here," said Din in a low voice through his modulator, handing her the towel.

She looked up at him with kind eyes, giving him a smile and taking the item in question.

"Thank you," she uttered in a gentle voice, rubbing at once at the side of her hair. "I don't think I've seen it rain here in all the time I've lived on Nevarro."

She looked around at the room she was sat in.

Din's cabin was not a huge space but it was enough for him and Grogu. The fireplace sat in the corner of a small living area consisting of two low chairs and a cushioned ledge built up against the wall beside an expansive window. The living area was separated by a large angular counter that divided off their basic kitchen, and a large scrubbed wooden table.

To the left there were two doors leading to his and Grogu's Sleeper rooms and to the right was the Refresher, containing a top of the range latrine, a sonic shower, and even a mirror.

Having not lived here long, the space did not house any personal possessions or trinkets, but that didn't seem to bother Lysa who stared around the room with a small smile.

"Your home is lovely," she said in a sweet voice. "I can't believe you have so much space!"

Din gave the room a cursory glance.

He'd never quite noticed before how his home would differ in size compared with some of the very small dwellings that resided on the poorer, North side of the city.

"My entire apartment is probably, oh I dunno, half the size of this room, if that!" she continued in a cheerful voice, looking down at Grogu and giving him a tickle beneath his chin.

Din gave a frown beneath his beskar helmet.

What the hell was a woman like her doing in a place like the slums on the North side of the city? Surely there were better places to live than that?

She had told him that it had been Crix' decision to move here. So Din wondered now why she had agreed to it?

Din gazed at her.

"Do you…uh...do you want some tea?" he offered, not quite sure what to do with himself with Lysa in his home. His armour felt awfully heavy and clunky and out of place all of a sudden.

But Lysa smiled up at him pleasantly as another clap of thunder sounded somewhere above their heads.

"I'm fine honestly," she said, placing the damp towel down at her side. "I'll get out of your hair as soon as the storm passes. This little guy looks sleepy."

With Grogu still positioned comfortably in Lysa's lap, she stroked his little head, causing the child to coo at her fondly, closing his large eyes in contentment.

Din, coming to lean against the counter at his side, marvelled at once at how good Lysa was with him, but didnt say anything out loud.

A silence fell between the three of them as their attention was drawn by the crackling of the fire within the grate.

And it was at least another minute until Lysa spoke again.

"Crix is out at the Cantina tonight," she said in a light conversational tone, glancing up at Din. "So luckily I didn't have to rush back to make dinner."

She let out a half smile which soon vanished as quickly as it appeared, a sad sort of look drifting over her features, her cheeks flushing scarlet and her gaze falling to the floor.

After a moment Lysa opened her mouth to speak, before suddenly closing it again.

Din gave a swallow, shifting a little on the spot.

"How's the speeder?" he asked in a low voice through his modulator, changing the subject. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Crix.

At his question, the light seemed to seep back into Lysa's pretty face.

"It's been great," she said in a bright tone. "No problems so far anyway."

She narrowed her eyes, suddenly shooting Din a teasing look.

"You know, if you ever wanted to give up being a bounty hunter, you'd probably make a decent mechanic."

Din gave an audible chuckle as a crackle of thunder played over their heads once more, quieter than it had been a few minutes ago.

"Thanks," he said in a low and playful tone, thick with sarcasm. "I'll bare it in mind."

Lysa let out a smirk, turning back to Grogu who had now hopped down from her lap and was tugging at her hand with both of his own.

"Oh…now where do you want me to go?" she said with a laugh, as Grogu pulled at her hand with all his tiny might, before giving up with huff and waddling off.

Even Din frowned down at his son, never seeing this kind of behaviour from him before.

Both adults watched the tiny green child head over towards one of the doorways on the far left of the room.

There he came to a stop, giving a pointed croak in Lysa's direction.

Lysa stared up at Din a little unsurely.

But Din, who knew his son better than anyone, translated promptly, with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"He…uh…he wants to show you his new sleeping quarters," the Mandalorian muttered in a low voice.

Grogu who had obviously never had a whole room to himself before, had pretty much squealed in delight when they had first moved and Din had explained that the sleeper was all his.

So it didn't surprise him now that his son wanted to show it off to a visitor.

The first and only visitor they had had.

Grogu gave another loud croak in excited agreement as Lysa gave a wide and happy smile in return.

The blonde woman quickly got to her feet, still a little damp looking, but much drier than she had been when she had sat down, and followed Grogu over to the doorway.

Din strolled forwards, as Lysa kindly followed the child through the metal doorway as it slid open at their presence.

Out of sight for a moment he heard his son coo happily and Lysa let out a kindhearted - '"Wow, what a lovely room, Grogu."

Moving around the large counter and coming to stand in the doorway, he saw Lysa perched on the edge of Grogu's tiny bed, in the darkened room, with the green child beside her, both of them peering out of the window at the now clear starlit sky.

"I guess the storm's passed over," Lysa murmured, glancing back at Din.

And sure enough, the rain had settled, the storm cleared, and through the streaked clouds, the stars were now visible in the purple expanse of sky above.

Grogu tilted his tiny head, sitting himself down onto the soft mattress of his sleeper cot, as he stared through the window.

The trio were silent for a moment before Lysa spoke. Her voice was soft and quiet in the stillness of the night.

"You know, one day I'd like to travel across the stars again," she said, her green eyes reflecting the sky she was gazing so fondly at. "Just go somewhere…far away."

And for a moment her expression was one of sadness and yearning, before she let out a soft, shaky and barely-audible sigh.

Din stared at her, the slightest of frowns grazing his brow, pushing his tall form from the doorway and taking a couple of steps into the room.

"To go back to Naboo?" he asked her quietly.

But Lysa sighed, heavily this time, getting to her feet and brushing herself down, glancing over her shoulder at the Mandalorian.

She gave a light shrug.

"I don't know…" she said, sounding a little lost, shaking her head. "Just out of this star system for a little while."

A look of pain and hurt suddenly passed over her beautiful face.

A look that Din knew he would fight the galaxy to prevent seeing on her face again.

He took another step closer to her, his chest constricting as he gazed her way.

"I could take you." Din suddenly uttered, his heart thudding away inside of his beskar plated chest.

At once, Lysa turned to face him, that tiny frown line between her brows deepening. But she didn't look angry.

Her marsh-coloured eyes travelled over his Din's helmet, a look of pure disbelief crossing her features. A disbelief that anyone would ever be that kind to her.

Din swallowed hard as she looked at him in the quiet of Grogu's bedroom. The green child was sat on his bed staring up at the two adults, as if transfixed by them.

It was a moment or two before Lysa tilted her head, her eyes full of warmth…and hope…and something else Din couldn't quite put his finger on.

"It's a long way," she said in what was barely a whisper, her breath hitching in her throat as she finished her sentence.

Din took another step towards her, without even realising it.

"I'd need to borrow a ship," he said matter-of-factly. "Unless you could deal with being sat on my lap the entire journey in the N-1."

The last comment had meant to be sarcastic, but he felt his face instantly flush as soon as he said it. As did Lysa's.

But in a second the moment was gone, left with only the quiet between them again.

They were standing just a foot or two from one another. Close. From here, Din could hear Lysa's breathing, shallow in her throat, see her chest rising and falling.

Her perfect eyes felt like they were penetrating through his beskar, fixed now, with his own.

"Why would you do any of that for me?" she asked softly, her eyes questioning. Sounding like she honestly believed no one would ever willingly do anything kind for her. Like she didn't deserve anything kind.

Din's heart was hammering fast, his breathing shaky behind his helmet.

He knew exactly how he felt about her…about Lysa…about how she made him feel…

Like a hurricane crashing into his life, sweeping him away…making him feel something for the first time in a long time.

Tell her.

Just tell her.

"Because I-"

But Din faltered. His own self-doubt seeping in.

Lysa wouldn't want a man like him. For what did he have to offer someone like her?

To Din, Lysa was perfection. Everything about her shining bright. Like pure sunlight warming everything she touched.

Why would someone like her ever want someone like Din? A man who never showed his face. Hardly spoke a word. A man who barely knew what it was like to love someone. Were it not for Grogu, Din feared he would never have felt love in its purest form. For him to feel the love of another person for a second time in a lifetime…what were the chances? He just couldn't be that lucky.

But there Lysa was before him, staring up at him almost expectantly. His heart ached as he looked at her.

All she had wanted was to get off this planet…her words sounding desperate…like she knew that being with Crix was not the right thing to do.

How could any man treat a woman like Lysa so badly? And what's more, why would she choose to stay with him?

"Because I…" began Din, giving a hard swallow. "Because I know what it's like to feel trapped."

It was true.

In all of Din's years living by the Creed and the ancient ways of Mandalore, he had seen others…friends…acquaintances along the way, fall in love, live their lives…be free. He knew what it was like to feel bound by something or somebody.

But almost immediately Lysa bristled at his words, her look becoming suddenly one of pure hurt.

"What do you mean by that?" she said in a sudden whisper, as Grogu gave an immediate concerned chirp from his cot.

Din blinked.

He hadnt meant it to sound perhaps as accusing as it had. But all the same, surely Lysa knew as well as he did, how trapped she was by a man like Crix and the way he treated her.

"I didn't-" Din said quickly, his voice low through his modulator.

But Lysa cut across him, sounding defensive, the tops of her cheeks pink.

"Look, whatever you think you know about me…about me and Crix…"

She was breathing hard now, tears pricking at her sad-looking eyes.

"He only does what he does because he cares about me…" she said, her voice wavering with anger and hurt as she spoke. "Because he knows I can be better. That I can do better!"

Tears slipped over her waterline, slowly sliding down her cheeks.

"He loves me," she added firmly.

But Din stared back at her in the stillness of the darkened room.

"Do you love him?" he asked suddenly.

Lysa gazed back at Din, tears slipping down both cheeks, faltering for a moment. She mouthed at the air, her eyes flying back and forth over his helmeted face.

"I-..."

She looked so utterly upset.

Lost.

"Do you love him?" pressed Din again, breathing hard, almost pleading with her to say that she didn't love him. That he wasn't what she wanted.

Again Lysa was quiet for a moment, and Din went to ask the question for a third time, only getting out the first word before she finally answered.

"Do y-"

"YES!" she blinked, her voice loud, as though the volume would help her convince herself that it was true. "Of course I do."

But it still was not enough to convince Din, as he searched her tear-strewn face, in disbelief.

"Why?" he merely uttered.

A hard gulp slid down Lysa's throat before she answered.

"Because I lost my parents," she said with a shake of her head, staring desperately into Din's helmet-covered eyes. "Because I never seem to stick around anywhere long enough to make friends. And I'm-"

She gave a sob, looking to the floor for a moment, before staring up at Din.

"And because who else do I have?" she said breathlessly, her voice breaking as she said the words.

Din swallowed, as Lysa gazed up, eyes wide and tearful…looking almost expectantly at him…

A second passed…

And another…

But it was a moment too long for Lysa, who pursed her quivering lips together and strode forwards, brushing past Din quickly.

"I have to go…"

Her voice barely a whisper.

And she was almost through the door…..when Din reached out suddenly, catching her hand in his own gloved one.

"Lysa-"

He saw her glance down at their hands, before she slowly stared up into Din's beskar-shielded face sadly.

"What, Din?" she said, her eyes desperately trying to search his hidden ones.

Din's heart was a drumbeat, loud in his ears.

They were close now, mere inches apart.

Din's fingers pressing lightly down on Lysa's, wanting to keep her here with him forever.

From here he could see the specks of light brown swirled within the green of her eyes.

He could smell the sweet scent of sugar and honey that clung to her hair.

He could feel the heat pouring from her every pore. Radiating from her. Warming Din completely.

Lysa was silent, her tears had now stopped, the only ones that remained being those that clung to her eyelashes.

Slowly she reached up, lifting her free hand to the side of Din's helmet.

And in a moment it was as if nothing else in the world existed. Just the two of them….

…as Din lifted his own hand covering hers with his own.

Lysa stared at him, her eyes willing him to say something…anything…

But Din Djarin faltered, taking in a sharp intake of breath…

…missing his chance…

…as Lysa's hand slipped from his own, and she silently disappeared from the room…

…followed a few seconds later by the distant sound of a landspeeder starting up, before rumbling off into the distance.

Leaving Din Djarin staring at the now empty doorway…his mouth open, the words he had so desperately wanted to say, still hanging on his lips.

Thanks to J-James, MsRosePetal, chipiam and Guest for reviewing the last chapter.

I would really love your thoughts on this chapter. It took me a long while to write. What did you think?

Please review! :)