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“It’s beautiful here.”
He’d only meant to stop and refuel, but the moment you saw the view from the window, you couldn’t resist stepping outside. You landed on a cliff that sprawled across the coast of the ocean. Overgrown grass and wildflowers dotted the surface and overlooked the endless water before you. The breeze carried the smell of sea salt and sweet jasmine, washing over you and putting your tired, aching body at ease.
You start to walk to the edge, and then run. And you sense him pick up behind you in a panic.
When you come to an abrupt stop a few feet from the rim, giddiness bubbles through your chest and you let out a howl of laughter. This cliff is picturesque; something in the air must’ve changed you.
You turn to see the Mandalorian breathless, chest heaving and body poised in anticipation. A tiny laugh escapes you. He probably thinks you’re a madwoman; after all, you gave him quite a scare.
“Do you ever think you could jump?” You call, voice competing with the crashing waves below.
“No,” he said between breaths, “Could you?”
He’s indulging you today. Your smile grows wider.
Past the tall grass, you see an old banister you could only assume led down the cliffside
“Maybe one day. When I’m old.” You nod your head towards the rickety makeshift stairs. “Thankfully today, we won’t have to.”
Mando shakes his head, but follows anyway.
--
You reach out, taking his forearm to steady him as he carefully stepped down to the slippery rocks below. Mando walks a few steps forward and does the same for you, only this time, you squeeze the space between his shoulder and pauldron as you hop down from the rocks onto the sand. The high tide carved a small divide separating the beach and the cliff side. Whoever was here before was kind enough to bridge the gap with a few old planks of wood.
You bounce your leg on top of it, testing its strength. Strong enough.
If the sea had been any louder, you wouldn’t have heard his smooth voice say, “Be careful.”
You don’t know what called you to the ocean, and you definitely don’t know why he followed. But as you stand on the damp sand, watching the retreating water flow back and roll and crash then repeat to meet your feet again, you’re filled with joy. This coast is detached, existing as if it were at the edge of the galaxy. Nothing here could hurt you. It was just you, the sea, and the Mandalorian by your side.
Just us, huh?
His presence called to you much like the water had. A riptide that pulled and crashed and repeated over and over again. You weren’t lovers. Colleagues, technically. Friends seemed too childish of a term.
What do you call a person who breathed the same recycled air as you for years and whose existence meant nearly everything?
It was times like these where he felt so right.
It was more than just working well together, wrapping up bounties in record time and collecting hordes of credits. Mando’s place in your life nowadays felt like a universal constant, one that you probably couldn’t (or wouldn’t) let go of. What unsettled you was you couldn’t tell if he thought the same.
“Sometimes I’m afraid to trust you because I can’t see you.” The confession spills from your lips and into the wind faster than you think.
You feel him shift beside you and you turn, regret immediately shooting through you.
The sound of the water shakes your body like thunder.
Swallowing hard, you try to backtrack, “I’ve offended you.”
His voice is short but patient, “You didn’t.”
“Yes, I did.”
You move your body to face him. You hold up your pointer finger to his tense form.
“Because when something bothers you, you straighten your shoulders”
They slack at your observation, and then his gloves tighten around his fingers as they wrap inward. You continue.
“And when you get embarrassed, you clench your fists.”
His head slowly returns back to you, black visor boring into your eyes. Your heart pounds against your ribcage.
“And when you’re intrigued,” words nearly dying in your throat under his stare, “You tilt your head. Just like that.”
Mando doesn’t move. He only continues to stare.
And then he speaks almost bitterly, “You know it all then, huh?”
“What I’m trying to say is that I shouldn’t be afraid. Even if I can’t see your face, your body doesn’t betray you.”
What in the world has gotten into you?
Mando’s fists clench again, this time even tighter than before.
And then.
“Come closer.”
Adrenaline coursed through you, straight down to your fingertips. Mando’s modulated voice sounds lower, maybe even softer. You obeyed and stepped forward.
“You’re no different, you know?” he states matter-of-factly, “How do you think I see you?”
Heat blooms at your neck and you suddenly feel warm. Your trembling fingers go to reach your temples.
“When you don’t know what to say, you touch your head.”
Damn him. You drop your hand. He goes on, just as you had. You take a gulp, suddenly feeling short of breath.
“And when you panic, you swallow.”
Your lips part open, chest heaving at how quiet and gentle his voice was becoming.
“And when you’re troubled, you breathe through your mouth.”
You’re both still for what seems like forever as the planet around you carries on. In this moment, you feel so dizzy you think you could feel the sky turn. But then, the crashing noises of the ocean waves crescendo in your ears because you swear he’s drawing closer.
Closer, closer and closer and closer.
Mando abruptly stops, his intimidating form only inches from you. Tilting his head once more, you feel his gaze skirt over your near shaking body. It’s the first time you realize you’re aching for him.
He turns around and walks away, leaving you speechless at the coast.
The waves recede.