Its a long one...

Lysa stood behind Din and Grogu's neat kitchen counter, watching as a large pot full of a delicious smelling casserole bubbled on the stove in front of her.

She had very gratefully changed into a second, this time clean, navy blue short tunic with cream breeches beneath. Now feeling refreshed and clean once more.

Picking up a spoon, she lifted a little of the dish to her lips, tasting it, smiling to herself now, happy with the flavour.

And as she placed down the spoon beside her, she lifted her gaze to look through the window ahead of her.

Caught within the last of the sun's golden rays, were Din, who was sat on the scrubby ground near to a small pond, in full armour, with his back to her, cleaning a gasket of his ship with a dirty rag. And Grogu who was seated beside him, poking at something in the small pool of water with a long stick.

Upon their return from the city, Lysa had got to work on dinner. And despite Din insisting that he would help, Lysa had shooed him from the kitchen gently, with a smile.

That same smile of contentment and relief had barely left her face since leaving her apartment just under two hours ago.

Going back there and coming to the true realisation of how much better her life was now that she was free from Crix.

And despite her knowing that she would one day return to her tiny apartment on the north side of the city, it was good now to be here with Din and Grogu.

Here she felt protected, safe…a world away from her life with Crix. But that was not the only reason her heart longed to be here in this cabin.

She knew how she felt about Din now. A deep longing that had been there for a long time. Perhaps since the first time she'd met him.

And now, feeling as though she had left her old cruel life behind her, she felt a hope.

A hope that there was more to life than a man who treated her the way Crix had.

Lysa watched now as Din chanced a glance over his shoulder, looking back through the viewport back at her.

Lysa's smile widened as her gaze met with his. She wrinkled her nose in a happy gesture. And a second later she saw Din get stiffly to his feet, and stroll back over towards the front door.

She felt her stomach fill with butterflies all of a sudden, her heart beginning to race.

Wiping her hands on a cloth, Lysa turned to see Din enter the room, and walk towards the counter where she stood.

"Smells good," he commented lightly, earning a grin from Lysa.

She shrugged and gave a playful sigh, as she picked up the large metal spoon.

"I would offer you a taste, but-"

She nodded up towards Din's beskar-helmet.

Din gave a faux-heavy sigh, taking a step closer to Lysa now.

"Yeah…" he said in a drawn-out, lighthearted tone.

She knew that Din would not remove his helmet, but that didn't mean she couldn't tease him for that.

Lysa gave a smile, before handing Din the spoon.

"Can you stir this?"

Din didn't answer her, but took the utensil from her grasp nonetheless. As Lysa slid by him, standing just a little to his right, grabbing her cloth and removing a fresh-baked loaf of bread from Din's tiny nanowave oven.

She slid it onto the worktop carefully, glancing over at the pan that Din was busy stirring.

"Don't let it burn," she commented scoldingly, nudging him with her hip, throwing a smirk in his direction, feeling her heart pounding inside her chest at his proximity to her.

"I wasn't," he said in a growling but playful tone, turning to look at her.

But Lysa just brushed him aside, taking the spoon from his grasp once more, and stepping in front of him now, sliding into the gap between Din and the stove.

His firm beskar-covered form pressed close to hers for the briefest of moments, causing Lysa to become suddenly very hot.

"Can you and Grogu set the table?" she asked in a gentle tone.

And from behind her she heard Din give a grunt of acknowledgement into her ear…

…his hands suddenly skimming over both her hips for the slightest of seconds before he pulled away. Heading out of the room once more to fetch Grogu…with Lysa watching him as he went. A blushing smile lingering over her lips as he went.

Five minutes later and dishes had been found, food plated up, and bread sliced.

Din had thanked Lysa, before taking his bowl and cup of water outside, and coming to sit beneath the now dark sky, on a small bench just outside the cabin.

Safe in the knowledge he would not be seen or disturbed, he had taken off his helmet, and eaten his dinner alone.

The food was delicious and Din had almost groaned in pleasure at the taste of the bread. Sweet and crusty and covered in thick golden butter.

Lysa had been right. It had indeed been better than the loaf he had purchased from the marketplace.

But as much as Din enjoyed his meal, he had longed to be inside. A warm yellow glow from the viewport illuminating a patch of ground near to him.

From the bench he could hear the sound of Lysa talking to Grogu, her happy laughter ringing out into the night, as his son gurgled in response.

And more than anything Din wished he could be with them. Helmet off, eating together, like families all across the Galaxy did. But Din gave a hard swallow as he thought on this.

Lysa wasn't his family. As much as he wished that she was. Imagining what kind of life they would have together were it not for the vow he had taken to never show his face to another living soul. And although he had broken that promise more than once, another now would surely be an insult to his religion.

But that didn't stop Din's heart aching for Lysa.

He could deny his feelings for her no more. Knowing that there was nothing he would not do for her now.

And yet, what would a woman like her ever see in a Mandalorian who never showed his face?

After putting up with Crix for so long, Lysa deserved someone good, and kind. Someone who would be there to protect her for the rest of her life.

Din would willingly be that person. But would Lysa ever feel the same about someone as closed off as him?

There were moments where he thought that perhaps she felt the same, the way she lingered close, brushed by him, stared his way. For those brief moments in time Din had convinced himself that she felt for him, what he did for her.

But then he shook himself, remembering that a woman like her, would always be too good for a man like him.

He had been lucky in his life to find Grogu, who was now part of his family, feeling a love for him, so dear. But there was no way Din would ever find another piece to his puzzle. To find another that brought him as much love as Grogu did. He would never be entitled to a fate like that.

Din had lost his parents young. Raised by those who never showed their faces- who never cared to reveal to him what love truly looked like.

A beautiful existence filled with love, was never meant for a person like him.

But that didn't stop Din yearning for Lysa. The need for her, almost overwhelming him completely.

She was everything he had ever dreamed of.

And he realised that he wanted her, more than anything before in his life.

She consumed him now, despite her not even knowing it.

And Din knew that when this was all over, when it was safe for Lysa to go home, it would kill him to let her go.

Din finished up his meal in silence before placing his helmet back onto his head and heading back inside to the warmth of the cabin.

Both Lysa and Grogu stared up at him as he entered. Lysa's face a picture of beauty and happiness, as he caught her mid-laugh.

"So…" she said, in a voice like birdsong on a gentle breeze. "...what do you think?"

Din was caught off guard for a moment, so enraptured by her grace and loveliness, that he opened his mouth to speak but no words seemed to come out.

"The bread?" she prompted lightly. "Was it better than Merrik's?"

She pointed to the greying hunk of bread that was still sat on Din's counter.

Din gave a smile beneath his beskar.

"Hmmm," he murmured in a faux-thoughtful tone, strolling over to the counter and placing down his dish and cup neatly, before giving an easy shrug. "I'd give it a seven out of ten."

He looked back at Lysa goadingly, just in time to see her mouth drop open.

"A seven?!" she said with another happy laugh, before offering him a mock-scowl. "Well that is the last time I make you dinner, Din Djarin!"

Din gave a chuckle, as Lysa rose to her feet, picking up her and Grogu's empty dishes.

She crossed the small space between them, arriving at the counter beside Din. She placed down the crockery carefully, before snatching up a cloth.

"You're on drying duty," she said, tossing the dishcloth his way, and offering him a smile as she slipped by him, making for the large metal sink.

And Din couldn't help the smile that etched itself onto his features as he watched her.

Utterly enraptured.

The night passed slowly, which Lysa was grateful for.

After an afternoon full of emotion and catharsis, it was good to be here, spending her evening with Din and Grogu.

Safe and warm and happy, for what she hoped, was the first of many moments for her life to come.

Din had helped her dry the dishes, while Grogu - who had joined them on the counter- had made the soap suds fly high into the air, circling around their heads like mini clouds - using the powers that Lysa did not quite yet understand. But she still marvelled at it all nonetheless.

The two adults had talked. Lysa about what planets she had travelled to, and Din about his own adventures with Grogu.

He had touched upon the first time he met Grogu and watched him use, what Lysa thought to be what some called the force, to save him from the mudhorn. And the time that he had almost lost him to a Moff.

Lysa had listened intently, as the trio had sat on the floor by the unlit fireplace, with Din regaling her with stories of their most recent trips off planet.

Lysa with her elbow resting upon the bench beside her, leaned her head into her hand, her eyes dream-filled, as she heard about far-off places she could only imagine now of going to.

And it hit her suddenly that she had so little money left, an apartment still leased under Crix's name, and a man likely set on revenge still out there somewhere, biding his time.

And as much as she wished she could have a life like Din's, travelling the stars, she knew that that would be an impossible fate for her.

Despite Lysa having travelled in her younger years she knew that that had been nothing more than going from place to place, trying to find work. All while still mourning the sudden death of her parents. Running from the ghosts that, even today, still haunted her.

It had never truly been travelling. Seeing the sights. Having the adventures she so longed for with the people she loved.

For so long out there it had only been her, alone, consumed with grief…until Crix had come along of course.

And from there, somehow, if one could believe it was possible, things had only gotten worse.

That had been why the dream of owning her own little bakery had been so important to her. It had been something to hope for, when bruises littered her skin, and cruel words hung in the air like a deathly omen.

But she smiled gently now, as she looked upon Din and Grogu. The pair that had saved her life in more ways than one. They had rescued her when she had thought she was long past saving. Given her her life back.

And despite the worries that consumed her now, for these small moments that Lysa was with Din, she felt an indescribable warmth and a longing to never leave his side.

He was everything to her now.

So kind and gentle. And despite the beskar that covered his face, she felt like she truly knew him. Like she was always supposed to know him.

Lysa knew what she felt for him now. A longing like no other.

Her eyes grazing across his lean form, as he sat opposite her, leaning up against the wall behind him, one arm gently resting on his bent knee.

But Lysa's thoughts were suddenly broken by Grogu giving a huge yawn that seemed to catch the two adults off guard.

"Come on, buddy," said Din, giving a grunt as he scooped up Grogu and got stiffly to his feet.

Lysa watched as Din carried the small child to his bedroom, the door sliding open as he approached it. She glanced to the window, seeing how dark the sky had become, now awash with stars. It was late. Later than she had realised.

Getting to her own feet and brushing down her pants, Lysa slowly made her way over to the bedroom, peeking in to see Din carefully putting Grogu to bed.

She pressed herself against the doorframe watching the masked Mandalorian as he brushed a gloved hand over Grogu's tiny head, before standing up straight and turning to head from the room once more.

But he caught Lysa's look as he did so, stopping in his tracks a little, before slowly making his way towards her.

Everything felt quiet now as he approached, Lysa stepping aside to allow him to exit Grogu's sleeper. The door slowly shutting at their side, as they stood facing one another now.

"It's late," Lysa commented after a moment or two of silence passed them by, merely gazing at one another in the dim light.

They stood close, a heat burning between them. Undeniable now.

And Din was quiet for another brief second before speaking.

"I should take watch again," he said in a low voice, through his modulator.

But at his words, Lysa gave a small gentle frown, tilting her head slightly, as her eyes searched his beskar-covered face.

"I thought the robot had that covered?" she asked quietly.

Din had assured her that Din's droid R5, who was positioned on the small porch on the other side of the cabin, was able to keep a watch on the perimeter. And would easily alert Din to any presence other than their own.

"He does," replied Din in a gentle voice, full of warmth. "But you need your space."

Lysa softened at his selfless words.

But space was not what she needed now.

"But what if I don't want space," she said, her heart rate quickening inside her chest as she uttered the words. "What if I don't want to be on my own tonight, Din?"

Lysa heard him let out a shuddering breath as she reached her hand out, suddenly sliding her fingers between his gloved ones.

He looked down at their contact for a short moment before his gaze lifted, his eyes behind his beskar meeting with hers once more.

He gave a nod, causing Lysa's own breath to catch in her throat, and a warmth the pool in her stomach.

And so with their hands still clasped, Lysa made for the door to Din's sleeper, watching as it slid open before them, revealing a hastily made bed, illuminated by the window above.

Moving around the bed, Lysa let her hand drop from Din's now as she removed her boots one by one and sat down onto the soft bed, moving swiftly across to allow space for Din beside her.

She was still fully clothed, making no effort to remove any further layers…because that was not what she was here for tonight.

Tonight, all she wanted, was to feel him close to her. To know that he was there beside her, where she needed him to be.

Din made no effort to remove his own heavy boots, instead coming to lie beside her in full beskar. The weight of him causing the mattress beneath them to sink slightly as he dropped down onto it.

There was space enough for two of them now, as Lysa turned to face him, lying on her side.

And, albeit a little stiffly, Din did the same, his helmet-covered face turning towards her as he settled himself down onto the flat pillow.

They were close now. Their bodies turned into each other, as Lysa shifted a little, tucking herself into him, her knee grazing his in the starlight that poured in from the viewport just above them.

And a moment later, Din's gloved hand moved up, coming to rest gently on the small of Lysa's waist, feeling his thumb graze tenderly over her tunic covered skin.

And it was in that moment, that Lysa knew that there was nowhere she wanted to be more, than here, in the bed of Din Djarin.

And despite no more words being uttered between them, it was obvious now how they both felt.

A shared moment passing between them in the stillness and the quiet of the night.

A moment of hope.

As the two adults slowly felt sleep begin to wash over them, drifting off into an untroubled dreamworld.

The best sleep either of them had had in a long, long time.

Phew - hope that was ok? Did you guys like it?

Thanks to J-James, GraysonGirl13 and chipiam for reviewing the last chapter.

I'd love to know what you thought of this one.

Please review! :)