Part 3

Summary:

Being unintentionally rather ill-mannered to you, the Mandalorian seeks the many ways of how he could apologize to you. Conflict was not going to be an excuse anymore to stop him from confessing his true feelings for you, even if that meant violating his own creed.

Side Notes: I'm fully aware that Mando gets his jet pack later on after he sees Moff Gideon. But for the sake of this book, he will have it earlier, just so it fits more with the story :)))))

Word Count: 4670

***

You huffed your cheeks in annoyance, getting sidetracked while you were teaching the youngling. His skills have been improving just within the few hours of his training. But you couldn't help but be distracted, constantly thinking about the way the Mandalorian reacted to you as it replayed in your mind word by word.

You felt a tiny hand hold onto your own, darting your head to see the child standing beside you, his head tilting in curiosity.

"Oh, hey Grogu. Sorry I haven't been such a great master, you're my only apprentice and I've been sidetracked."

The little green bean continued to stare at you with his large doe eyes, gesturing to you that everything was going to be all right.

"You can sense my anxiousness too, can you? Sorry little one. I've just never seen Din so upset before, and I can't help but feel bad about it."

The adorable creature titled his head the other way, a few squeaky gibberish noises emitting from his mouth. Then he giggled, his large pointy ears perking up and down as his plastered smile never left.

"Tell him how I feel?! N-no, Grogu..." You paused, placing your hands onto your now burning cheeks from the blush that flushed all over your face. "Forget it. I don't even think he shares my feelings, I'm just part of the crew. I promised him that I'd take protect you, and I will until my very last breath Grogu."

The child grunted in annoyance, crossing his arms as he nearly rolled his eyes at you.

"Hmm? Well sorry if I don't want to confess how I honestly feel about him. What do you want me to do? March up to Din and let him know that I have the biggest crush on him and hope that we'll just live happily ever after?"

Grogu giggled and nodded his head, bouncing up and down onto the soft sand.

"I have a bad feeling about this," you ran your hand through your (h/c) strands, hesitant if you should go through or not with Grogu's brilliant idea, "I just don't want things between us to be awkward, you know?"

Suddenly, you remembered what master Yoda had just mentioned to you from your encounter earlier. That you were finally allowed to express your emotions to someone whom you have grown fond of, but you didn't know how to pursue further after having feelings for a certain someone. You wanted Din to know how much he meant to you, how much you loved and adored him. That he was your knight in shining armour.

"Atuuu~" Grogu chimed in, adorably interrupting your thoughts.

"Well, I've got the feelings part down. What's next then?"

"Owoaah?"

"Good question, I should probably tell you why I'm not so hesitant to love anymore, huh? A wise Jedi had told me that we Jedi are allowed to have emotions and form attachments for the people we love." You smiled, sitting down beside the child and scooping him onto your lap, "It was master Yoda."

A squeaky excited gasp escaped from the child, clapping his hands as he giggled from hearing the very name of the grandmaster himself.

You smiled in delight as Grogu's happiness grew, "You knew master Yoda, didn't you? He was one of the masters who trained you. Yes, I bet you felt joyful seeing another kind of your species. Well, you're actually only the second one I've seen of your kind. Maybe your species is rare, Grogu."

"Batamatu," the little green bean babbled.

"Very sneaky of you to change the subject of me confessing to Din once again," you snickered, rocking the chid back and forth onto your lap. "I've heard that guys should confess to girls first. That's if he actually shares my feelings."

"Euuuh,~" Grogu persistently encouraged you.

"Alright, little one. I'll wait for a bit, hopefully he feels the same way about me. If he doesn't then I'll still do it. There's really no point hiding my feelings forever and just admire him from afar."

***

A sigh escaped from the Mandalorian, regretting how he reacted to you earlier. Not that he was annoyed by you by any means, oh no, not even close. It's just the conflict that he felt from choosing between his people and you, the person who he's fallen in love with, has just been driving him to complete insanity.

But after watching you walk away from him like that earlier, it had given him the consideration that there was nothing to stop him from telling you how he truly felt about you. Even if that meant you didn't share his feelings.

Leaving the Razor Crest behind to be fixed on another day, he went around the beach to look for something that could make up to you. He's never really truly fallen in love with a girl before, let alone tell her how he felt and find a gift that could somehow cheer you up. True, the purple Twi'lek Xi'an had been his lover from the past, but he never actually harboured genuine feelings for her. It was more of enjoying physical contact with her, whenever he was stressed, he needed her company. It never went past that. She wasn't actually someone whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

His sharp eyes spotted a bush filled with pink tropical flowers. He instinctively plucked one out, thinking that it would be the perfect apology gift to you, as you clearly weren't a high maintenance girl.

Well, I hope this works. He nervously thought to himself.

Noises of cheering echoed from somewhere in the distance, where he finally spotted you training the child near the ocean.

He hesitantly walked towards your direction, fearing what your reaction might be when you see him, considering that he was a tad rude to you earlier.

"How's training going?" He asked shakily.

You glanced at the Mandalorian, seeing the black T shape of his silver beskar helmet. The heat that he felt from his blush was hotter than the plane itself. Your (e/c) glistened with the reflection of the sunlight, smiling at him as if your little petty disagreement never existed.

"It's going great actually," you then averted your gaze towards the excited child, "did you want to finally show Din what you're able to do, Grogu?"

The little green bean then closed his eyes tightly, concentrating as he stretched his hands towards multiple palm leaves. One by one, they all levitated in the air, swaying around every direction along with the child's commands. Unexpectedly, the palm leaves formed into the shape of a heart as it levitated between you and the Mandalorian. The two of you stared at each other for a moment, feeling your heartbeat drum within your ribcage.

"Wow! Uh, good job Grogu! Very good, with the um, heart shape of the leaves. It seems like you're really advancing!" You stammered nervously, clapping your hands abnormally loud at the youngling.

"I-uh, I wanted to give you something to apologize from my attitude earlier. I hope you'll accept this as a token for my apology." The Mandalorian took out his hand from behind, gently hiding the pink flower he plucked from the bush earlier.

Your heart palpitated faster from the sight of the beautiful pink flower. The armoured man actually made an effort to give you something along with his apology.

Carefully taking the delicate plant from him, you held it and looked at its beauty, "It's beautiful, Din. Thank you. But I have to think of a place where to put it."

"I think I know where." Without a second thought, the Mandalorian took a hold of the flower, and gently placed it behind your ear, "beautiful."

"The flower? Yes, it truly is beautiful-"

"I meant you. You're beautiful," the armoured man suddenly interrupted, his face now downcast on the sandy ground.

You were caught off guard from his unexpected comment that you nearly choked on your saliva, your face now suddenly hotter than the planet's sun. From the other side, you could hear Grogu playfully giggle from your reaction. As if he was entertained from a show he's watching, urging the two of you to continue on.

"I-I beg your pardon, Din?" You asked in a confused manner.

"I said you're beautiful, (y/n). I've been wanting to tell you that I've harboured strong feelings for you ever since you decided to join my crew with the kid... I have so much more to tell you, that's if you'll let me."

Your lips twitched to a gentle smile, nodding in agreement with the Mandalorian's expression, "I'm all ears, Din."

***

It was late in the afternoon, the sun had just began to set, as the heat of the planet had become more tolerable. The sky transformed into a pinkish hue, the surrounding clouds now a light shade of yellow. The multiple palm trees danced as the gentle humid breeze flew past them. The soft trickling sounds of the waves soothed you, as the scent of saltwater lingered in your nostrils. The soft powdery sand caressed your bare feet, taking in the feeling as much as you could before you had to wear your boots again.

This was the perfect landscape scene, especially now that you and the Mandalorian were walking together side by side. Well, it was almost perfect. The two of you weren't exactly experts on how to properly confess to each other, making the atmosphere slightly awkward between the two of you.

The both of you stopped in your tracks, sitting down near the shallow area of the ocean as the child caught himself some more delicious crabs he could indulge on.

"So," you shyly uttered out, "how do we-"

"Start from here?" The armoured man finished your sentence, unintentionally.

"Who first?" You asked as the butterflies in your stomach crept within you.

"Uh, ladies first," he chuckled.

"Right." You paused, sheepishly tucking strands of your hair behind your ear, revealing the flower that he placed there earlier, "Well, I was actually terrified of you."

"Terrified? How come?"

"I was a stowaway in your ship, remember? You pointing your deadly weapons towards me kind of started us off in the wrong foot. Your scary glare from your helmet didn't help with the terrifying situation as well. And of course, you were the most feared man in the outer rim of the galaxy, so yes, you were a little scary! I couldn't exactly defend myself with my lightsaber, considering I was still hiding my identity as a Jedi from you during that time."

The Mandalorian was indeed listening to you speak, but he was also completely entranced by your ethereal beauty, how your face was luminous as the sunlight shone on you. The pink flower that he placed behind your ear made you look like a local in this planet. He couldn't help but smile like a complete idiot under his helmet.

"Most feared man in the outer rim? Hmm, sounds about right to me," he teased. "If I was so scary, what made you like me?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that. I guess, the way you showed how much you cared and loved Grogu really changed my perspective about you. You'd go through great lengths just to protect him, and how much he saw you as if you were his own father. Not everything is all about the money for you. How about you? How did you end up liking me?"

The Mandalorian was flabbergasted for words. How did someone like yourself, now a fully trained Jedi knight to be in fact, be able to harbour feelings for a lowlife like himself? For more than half his life, he did everything for his creed and money. Even going through lengths of carbon freezing his targets or worst, sometimes even kill them to earn the money that he so desired to have.

"At first, I just wanted you get out of the ship. When you paid me with all those credits you had, then of course I agreed to drop you off and leave you on the next planet I was going to. I honestly thought you were just going to be a pain for me. But when you risked your life to save me from that mudhorn, that's when I realized how selfless you were. You did all that without the help of your lightsaber or the force, and I'm truly grateful that I wasn't demolished from that creature. Not mention the fact that you're capable of handling yourself, since you're a Jedi."

You placed your chin on top of the palm of your hand, intrigued from the way the Mandalorian spoke. There was just something about him that would make you weak in the knees. The way he spoke was so charismatic, even if you could sense his nervousness right now.

"Of course I'd risk my life to save you. It's the Jedi way to get someone out of harm's way, even if that meant I would get killed in the process."

"Remember when we went to get the Razor Crest fixed in Tatooine? I got pretty jealous from when we encountered Toro, the way he flirted with you angered me, the only thing on my mind at that time was wanting to protect you and get you as far away from that skug as possible."

"Funny that you mentioned jealousy, I was sensing envy from you and I wasn't sure why. But now I know. Well, I was also envious during our mission of freeing your prison friend. I was jealous of the fact that you and that Twi were an item in the past. I was so jealous that I nearly force choked her to death. It was pretty crazy."

"Remind me not to piss you off," he teased, still quite nervous of what you were capable to do.

***

With the child tired from feasting on crustaceans, he was now fast asleep, safely being carried in your arms. You and the Mandalorian headed back to where the Razor Crest laid idle in the beach, placing the sleeping Grogu inside the resting area of the ship.

"I want to show you something," the armoured man said as he rummaged through his ship. Shortly after, he held onto a medium-sized item, something that you've seen during the clone wars, "I've had this jet pack for awhile now. I just haven't been able to get it to work for some reason."

"I thought it was odd seeing a Mandalorian without one of those," you chuckled, remembering how you fought against the likes of Deathwatch, then eventually fighting alongside true Mandalorians.

"Well, let's see if I can finally get this thing to work. The armourer gifted this to me, and she said that this would work with my commands."

Heading outside of the Razor Crest, the armoured man then placed the jet pack on his back. The pack hummed, slowly levitating him off of the ground. At first he seemed unsteady, but thankfully the Mandalorian was a fast learner. With only a few minutes of practicing, it seems that he has mastered how to fly with it.

Slowly setting himself down on the ground, you spotted him stretching out his hand towards you, in which you sheepishly took.

"If you wanna go sightseeing, then we're going to have to do it in the best way possible. Care to trust me to take you for a ride?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

"Hold tightly onto me then."

With one swift motion, the Mandalorian then carried you bridal style in his arms, slowly levitating off of the sandy ground. On his command, the jet pack had gone to great speed as you were now in the same height as the clouds. To say that the scenery was breathtaking from this point of view was an understatement. Everything from high up just looked so beautiful.

The turquoise shade of the ocean blanketed the planet in its awe, as the Mandalorian had flown to see what the rest of the surroundings had in store. Multiple palm trees stood tall all over the beach, where you saw the local creatures roaming by from all shapes and sizes, ranging from ones that were built to crawl, climb, swim, or fly. When you thought that the planet was already beautiful, it was nothing compared to when you could see it all at once from the view you were in right now.

You looked over at the Mandalorian, smiling at him wishing for one more thing; to see how his face truly looked like. You wanted to see his smile as you both enjoyed this time together, flying all over the planet as he held you close in the stronghold of his arms.

Finally landing on solid ground, the two of you returned to where the Razor Crest was placed once again.

"Din, that was an extraordinary experience, one that I will also forever cherish. Thank you for that."

"I know that you've grown fond of this planet. The least I could do was show you around." The Mandalorian flashed a genuine smile under his helmet.

"If it's alright with you, I'm going to go for a quick swim. The ocean feels extremely great on my feet, but I want to get a full experience in it."

Placing your black ankle-length boots aside, you ran towards the inviting ocean, feeling the coolness of the saltwater wash all over your body. You didn't have the proper swimwear, so wearing your baggy grey shirt along with your black leggings would have to do.

Shortly after, you felt a splash from behind you. But it was the face of someone you've seen for the first time ever. A face that for once, wasn't covered under a helmet. You looked at the face of the man whom you've grown an extremely strong attachment to. His brown eyes glistened from the rays of the setting sun, dark brown hair covered his scalp as well as the facial hair that framed the bottom half of his face. His fine pointy nose sloped down as your eyes landed on his lips, where you could see a smile forming.

Not only was his helmet removed, but the rest of his beskar armour as well. Leaving the Mandalorian bare from the upper half of his body as he wore shorts. You scanned his bare upper body, where every muscle looked defined, most likely from all the training and fighting he does. It's as if he was some kind of sculpture that was brought to life. You couldn't believe your eyes, but how does someone end up being extremely handsome that it nearly makes your heart stop?!

"So, I guess my curiosity has finally been answered."

"Well, I thought I'd join you for a swim," he snickered.

His voice without the modulator of his helmet sounded so velvety, it sent a shiver down your spine as you felt goosebumps perk up all over your arms. Finally, the sound of his real voice, it was like music to your ears.

"I didn't know you held such a handsome face under that helmet, Din. Now I'm going to want to see that face of yours instead of that black T shape on your headwear."

"Take a good look at it now until I have to put it back on again once we get off this planet."

The Mandalorian then swam closer towards your direction, stopping only mere inches away from your face. You froze in your spot, paralyzed from the appearance of the armoured man.

This should be illegal. You thought to yourself, your heart palpitating as the distance between the two of you grew narrower.

"So beautiful," the Mandalorian placed his hand under your tensed chin, he could feel the nervousness emit from you, in which you quickly glanced the other way.

"Y-yeah! The sunset here is beautiful, isn't it?" You placed your hand over your chest, feeling your heart dance nonstop. "Um, let's go back on shore, yeah?"

A frustrated sigh escaped from the Mandalorian. Why did you have to turn away now?? Not when he was SO close! Glancing back, he saw you already swimming and making your way to the shore. He followed you, determined to finish what he started earlier.

Finally back on shore, the two of you quickly built a fire, as the sun was halfway in the horizon. He didn't need to be a Jedi, but the Mandalorian could feel the tenseness from you. He was certain that he didn't make the wrong move.

While you were busy preparing the rest of the fire, the armoured man spotted Grogu standing before him, drinking fresh water from a metal cup found on the ship. The child tilted his head from left to right out of curiosity, eager that this interaction between the two of you succeeds.

"Uwoooh~!" The little green bean cooed out, pointing his finger towards your direction.

"What do you want me to do, Grogu?" The Mandalorian asked, confused from the child's gestures.

The little green creature huffed in annoyance. He placed his metal cup down, stretched his arms towards the Mandalorian, and force pushed him closer to you.

"H-hey! What are you doing kid?!" His yelp surprised you, prompting you to gaze away from the bonfire and back to the armoured man, only a few mere inches away from each other.

"Oh! Din, I wasn't expecting you to come this close..."

"Grogu..." His voice was firm, yet gentle, from the bashfulness that he felt.

The two of you averted your gazes towards the child, who was busy drinking his water and giggling as if he was innocent in all of this.

"Unfinished business? What do you mean by that, Grogu?" You asked, completely clueless.

"He means this," without hesitation, the Mandalorian placed his hand behind your head, and moved his head closer to yours so that your lips had finally made contact with each other.

Grogu then giggled in excitement, covering his innocent eyes with his hands and waddling away in the process.

You felt time stop, the hairs in the back of your neck rising up. At first you had no idea as to how to react, considering that you stood like a statue for the first few seconds. But you felt his other hand slither around your waist as he pulled you closer towards him. In turn, you snaked your hand around his neck, as your other hand stayed by his bare chest, feeling the beat of his heart for the first time.

Your heartbeat skyrocketed, the butterflies in your stomach increasing by tenfold. This feeling, it's something that you've never felt before, and now you're sharing it with the man you've now felt head over heels for.

The kiss was soft and gentle, not those sloppy, somewhat gross passionate ones.

The Mandalorian finally pulled back from the kiss, with you staring right at his brown hazel eyes. Your hand caressed the very flesh of his face, feeling every crevice of where the imperfections of his face from his tired eyebags, the smile mark, and facial hair. But despite all this, he was still the most handsome man you've ever seen in your life.

"Wow. All this time I've been wondering how your eyes looked like, let alone your entire face. I know I've mentioned this already, but I didn't know you could be so handsome."

The Mandalorian chuckled from your remark, a blush forming on his cheeks, "Well, I've seen your beautiful face after you removed your mask in Sorgan when you rescued everyone from the AT-ST walker. I never knew there was someone as beautiful as you in the galaxy. You're even more beautiful when your face is this close to me."

"I didn't know you had a way with words, or that you were such a great kisser."

"And I'm about to do it again."

Din then placed his lips onto yours once again. This moment was entirely perfect; the sun had finally set, leaving the evening skies blanketed with the many stars that surrounded the galaxy. It was simple, a bonfire, a beach, it was the perfect romantic getaway. Of course, you didn't want to spend it with anyone else other than the Mandalorian.

Pulling back from the kiss again, Din stared more intensely at your eyes this time, "I love you, (y/n)."

You were taken aback from his statement, but definitely something that you'd want to hear from him over and over again, "I love you too, Din."

***

You awoke, seeing the man you love laying down beside you, still fast asleep. On your other side, laid an adorable snoring Grogu. The three of you laid under multiple palm trees, its shade shielding you from the heat of the sunrise.

A muffled groan was heard from the Mandalorian, as he too had woken up. You were glad he was still only wearing his shorts, otherwise sleeping beside him with all that beskar would have made you feel extremely uncomfortable. His groggy appearance, and disheveled hair had somehow made him look more attractive, and you didn't know that was possible.

"Mmm, good morning beautiful," his morning voice was velvety and deep, a first that you've heard since he always had his helmet on before. In which he pecked your cheek.

"Good morning to you too, handsome," you giggled sheepishly from your morning kiss.

"Did you sleep well last night?"

You smiled gently at him, nodding your head, "Yeah. Your arm was a great pillow by the way, your bicep muscles helped a lot with the comfort."

"No wonder why my arm feels so sore this morning," he snickered, massaging his biceps.

Your eyes widened, feeling slight panic creep up to you, "Oh no, I'm so sorry Din! I probably slept on it too hard, or I might have-"

But you were cut off by his kiss, a muffled snicker emitting from him, "Relax, it's fine. I don't mind. I'm just happy you got to sleep well."

Adorable groans came from the little green bean, as he stretched his short limbs from waking up. A smile formed on his lips, giggling excitedly from seeing the two of you.

"Good morning to you too, little one," you scooped the child up and placed him on your lap. "You want me to tell that to Din right now?"

The Mandalorian cocked his head to the side, obviously confused from your conversation with the child, "Tell me what?"

You smiled bashfully, "Grogu was wondering since you're his father, that if it's alright with you that I could be his mother."

Din chuckled, running his hand through his messy morning hair, "Of course. I can't raise him alone you know. And you're the perfect partner for this."

"Uwoaah~!" Grogu clapped his hands excitedly.

"Deal. We'll be his parents then," you smiled, leaning your head onto the Mandalorian's shoulder.

"The Razor Crest hasn't been completely repaired yet. Let's just say I got lazy and that we have to stay in this planet for another few days. I want to spend the next few days with you until we get back to reality again."

Additional Notes: I'm also an avid Korean drama watcher, so I live for the cute soft kisses. Passionate kisses make me extremely uncomfortable 😅 and I much prefer the cute slow burn love and kisses like that of kdramas!