BEEP.

BEEP.

Din glanced over the Comm device on the table.

He knew of course that he needed to answer it, but at this very moment did not want to move a muscle.

He glanced down at Lysa, still sleeping peacefully, against his shoulder.

Din's arm and legs had gone numb hours ago, but it was a small price to pay for ensuring her a restful sleep.

She had been through so much, and whatever Din could do to help her get over what Crix had put her through for so long, then he would do it.

She felt so warm beside him.

Her body pressed against his.

Her breathing- soft against his neck.

Even with his tunic covering him up to his chin, he could still feel the gentle flutter of her breaths against him. Still feel the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest against his beskar.

Din would have been content to stay like this with her for the rest of time. So close to her. Protecting her.

But there was that stupid beeping now, preventing him from doing that.

He knew he needed to answer it. For it could be information on Crix or his whereabouts. And yet Din yearned to stay with Lysa in his arms. Just as it should be.

Letting out a short sigh and being very careful, Din reluctantly retracted his arm from around her shoulder, shifting easily out from the space beneath her.

Lysa moaned slightly in her sleep, and Din swallowed hard at the reaction it immediately caused his body to have.

He cursed himself for these primal urges, knowing they were a distraction he could not afford himself now. And besides, a woman like Lysa would never want a man like Din. It was impossible.

Gently lowering her head and shoulders down onto the cushioned ledge, Din drew back as she snuggled her head into the soft material. Still sleeping soundly.

Din quickly moved over to a carbon storage container which stood just outside of the Refresher, picking out the softest blanket he owned, before placing it gently over her.

Her dress was rumpled and her hair tangled around her face, but to Din she looked like perfection. The kind of person he had thought he'd only ever imagine in dreams.

Not sleeping peacefully on his window ledge.

BEEP.

BEEP.

Din clenched his jaw at the disturbance, before letting out a huff and dragging his attention from Lysa. Instead crossing the room and plucking up the communicator and taking it outside where he knew it would not disturb her any more.

"Mi-tah."

Lysa gave a small groan, shifting slightly.

"Tah," came the noise again, breaking her from her dreams.

Opening a bleary eye, Lysa found herself face to face with a pair of large black eyes, a mere half inch from her face.

She took in a breath, pulling back suddenly and sitting up, finally realising where she was.

Sunlight poured in through the window beside her, as Lysa, lying across the cushioned window seat, grasped at the thin blanket that had been placed over her…

…her mind suddenly flitting back to the early hours of the morning and why she was here.

The ledge beside her was empty. Din, who she had fallen asleep on, was no longer there beside her.

But someone was…

Lysa stared down into the face of Grogu, who had been standing on the windowsill beside her, peering into her face. Obviously wondering what she was doing sleeping in his living room.

"Hi, sweet boy," she said warmly, letting out a breath and giving a small smile.

"Mi-tah," he repeated purposefully, and Lysa tilted her head, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Did you sleep ok?" came a sudden voice from her left, and Lysa swung her head around to see Din, in full beskar armour, emerging through the open doorway to the cabin.

Immediately Lysa felt her cheeks flush pink, as she grasped the blanket up to her chest embarrassedly.

She gave a nod.

"Yeah…I did in the end" she said poignantly, offering him a smile of humble appreciation. "Thank you."

Being so close to Din last night had made Lysa feel more at ease than she had felt in a long time. It all just felt so natural with him. So right.

And if she was being truthful with herself. The feeling of him pressed up behind her, had stirred a feeling low in her belly she had not felt in a long time. A natural reaction that went hand in hand with the closeness and the longing she felt for the Mandalorian now.

Her flush deepened now as she thought on this, so much so, that she tore her eyes from Din's, gazing out of the window for a moment before looking back to him.

"Have they had any luck?" she asked in a hopeful voice, gesturing with her head out towards the flats she knew the Marshal and his men had been patrolling all night.

But Din's statuesque silence said it all before he even answered her.

"IG-11 told me they had nine men out there looking for him, but they haven't found anything yet," he replied, as Lysa nodded.

Of course they hadn't. She would never be that lucky.

All she wanted now was for this to be over. And yet even after breaking free from Crix's clutches, it still felt like he had a hold over her.

"I made you some tea," said Din in a sudden gentle voice, nodding over to the low table just a few feet away.

And there, just as he said, was a steaming brown terracotta cup filled with a fragrant tea.

Lysa's heart fluttered.

She looked up at him again. "Thank you." Thanking him now for the second time this morning.

Din Djarin having done more for her in a few short hours, than Crix had done in years.

She hated the fact that she had put up with the abuse and the torture for so long when someone like Din was here, so caring, so full of kindness. Something Lysa had not experienced from anyone in a long time.

She was truly grateful for all that he had done.

Gracing her with one final nod, Din turned and left the cabin once more.

"Patu!" called out Grogu, quickly hopping down from the seat and waddling off after his father.

Lysa watched him go, before turning back to her tea.

Din stood by the N-1, tools out on a patch of ground beside him.

It was mid-morning, the sun already high in the sky.

Toying with a large wrench in his hand, Din peered into the open compartment of his ship, a little distracted..

If he was honest there was nothing on the N-1 to even be tinkered with. His ship was running well and Peli Motto had sorted out any issues he had on his last visit to her.

But Din had been lingering out here, busying himself, merely to give Lysa space.

He knew she likely needed it.

Last night would have been intense for even the strongest of people.

But who was he kidding?

After what she had put up with for so long, Lysa was likely the strongest person he knew.

But knowing that she must have long-since drunk her tea already, Din half wondered whether he should go in to check on her.

But as fate would have it, Lysa emerged onto the porch a second or so later. As serene to him as a mirage in a desert.

Din quickly looked over at her, still in her rumpled cream dress, but he noted that her long golden hair was slightly damp around her shoulders.

Lysa offered him and Grogu, who was sat on the ground next to the pond nearby - distracted by a frog, a kind smile.

"I used your sonic shower," she said in a gentle voice. "I hope that was ok?"

Din promptly gave a nod, tossing his wrench back into his toolbox and strolling casually over to her. But his heart inside his beskar, betrayed his cool demeanour, thumping loudly inside his ribs.

"Of course," he replied in a low voice. "If there's anything else you need just go ahead. I have food if you're hungry…"

Din knew that he would give her the entire galaxy if she asked for it.

But Lysa tilted her head, smiling down at him, as he came to stop at the bottom of the steps leading up to the porch where she stood.

To him, at this very second, she looked so beautiful. And the helmet-wearing Mandalorian couldn't help the way he stared up at her, frowning beneath his beskar in longing for her.

"There is one thing…" she said. Her expression turning to one of mild apprehension.

Din's frown deepened slightly as he nodded, prompting her to continue.

"Well….I'm guessing it might not be a good idea to go back to my home to stay…not while Crix is still out there at least," she said, in a quiet voice, a look of worry crossing her pretty features for a brief moment, before she relaxed once more. "But do you think I'd be able to go there and pick up some…things?"

Her hands absentmindedly smoothing down the front of her cream dress nervously.

"Clothes and stuff, y'know…" she continued. "I've been wearing this since yesterday and it's still dusty from working all day. I just don't feel very….clean. Even with a shower."

The tops of her cheeks flushed slightly as she said the words.

But as much as Din understood, he felt a little wary of Lysa going into the city while Crix was still on the loose, and likely looking for revenge.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea-" he began, but Lysa gave a sudden playful frown, shooting him a look.

"Ok then," she said crossing her arms over herself and stepping down two of the steps before her, until she was stood, just a step above Din, her hand resting easily on the railing beside her. " In that case, do you have any clothes I can wear?

"I…uhh…" Din said quickly, staring up at her, a feeling a little lost for words.

Din had to admit that he didn't own any clothes save for a couple of dark tunics that he normally wore under his beskar. Nothing appropriate for Lysa, that was for certain.

"Well then what do you propose?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him and pursing her lips. "That I just walk around here naked until Crix is found and I can go home?"

At her words, Din gave a hard swallow, feeling his brow begin to perspire, trying as hard as he could not to imagine Lysa's gorgeously naked body strutting around his cabin.

She was just a foot away from him now peering down at him with a playful grin, knowing full well she had him cornered.

Din gave a huff.

She knew how to play him, that was for sure.

The Mandalorian almost rolled his eyes behind his helmet before speaking.

"I don't think going anywhere on your own is a good idea. So…perhaps I can take you back to your apartment," he said finally, his voice low and husky, placing his foot suddenly to the step that Lysa was stood on, penning her in slightly with his knee.

He saw Lysa glance down at this for the briefest of seconds, before narrowing her eyes and smirking up into his beskar-covered face once more.

"Like a chaperone?" she commented, sounding happy. Her words harking back to the time Lysa had first asked Din to escort her to the market. The first time Din had felt that real tug at his heart when he looked at her. That pull that told him that this was something more than just a fleeting moment of fancy.

And Din could only smile up at her now, giving a nod, as he replied.

"Like a chaperone."

Thanks to HipCheckChick and J-James for reviewing.

Please review! :)

….