The Mand'alor must have arrived back at the house rather late, as Poe was only aware of the man's presence when he woke up to the sound of a plate being set on the edge of the table beside him.

He sat up, inhaling a quiet breath through his nose. He was rather embarrassed, having not woken up sooner, as warmth crawled up his neck.

Din placed Grogu's plate next to the pilot's own, his visor not meeting the other man's eyes as he abruptly left the room.

It was then that Poe noticed the child on the floor beside the couch, grabby hands reaching up towards him. He accepted the gesture, gently lifting him into his lap, and swiftly offering Grogu his food.

He couldn't help but stare at the doorway every chance he got that morning, expecting the king of Mandalore to walk back into the room at any given moment.

After breakfast, Poe couldn't bare it anymore. He got up as soon as the small child had finished his meal. He had barely touched his own, putting the dishes in the small kitchen.

The study was just down the hall, though Poe had only caught a glimpse of it when he initially arrived on the desert planet. The door was ajar, which he took as Din extending the olive branch. He wrapped his tan arms around Grogu's little body before entering, half guessing the other man wouldn't resort to yelling if a child was involved.

The mandalorian had a data pad resting on the desk in front of him, his visor not leaving it's screen. Poe was sure his spouse had heard him enter, though he guessed he was rather deserving of the silent treatment.

Poe was silent for a moment, rubbing at the soft fabric of Grogu's robe as he stared into the child's large and comforting eyes.

"I just... wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday." He spoke softly, not wanting to disrupt the heavily quiet atmosphere in the room.

Din didn't reply. He only nodded his head slowly, as if mulling over the pilot's apology.

"Our situation is... well, less than ideal. And I was making it more difficult." It was probably the most mature he had sounded in his life.

Again, Din only nodded his head.

There was a beat of silence as Poe awkwardly shuffled his feet, staring down at the worn leather of his boots.

"I realize that my actions towards the chancellor were different from what you expected." The Mand'alor began slowly, as if testing the words on his tongue each time he spoke. "Just know that what was done, was done with good intentions towards you."

Poe was hesitant for a moment before nodding. It wasn't quite an apology but the pilot accepted it nonetheless.

It was a start, at least.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the king before he spoke again.
"I want to take you some where."

It was a simple enough sentence, but it made Poe's heart quicken in its pace.

"Get dressed, we'll drop the kid off to Iva."

-

The journey there lasted nearly the whole evening.

Poe was used to flying long distances, not walking them. He was sure his soles were worn in ten times as much as they had been prior to their adventure, and it felt as if there was a pile of sand in each boot.

Meanwhile, Din seemed unaffected by it all, treading silently under the heat of the sun. He looked back every few moments to watch Poe stumble to catch up.

"How much further is it?" Poe panted, leaning on his knees as his brown eyes peered at the tan horizon. The sun was beginning to set, he could see Mandalore's multiple moons begin to show themselves in the ever darkening blue sky.

The Mand'alor was stood beside him due to Poe's incessant pleading for a break. He relented after the fifth time, finally walking at the pilot's desired pace. Which was rather slow in his opinion.

The king tilted his visor upwards, looking ahead of the duo for a moment. He pointed at the peak of the mountainous pile of sand they were climbing.
"It's at the top of this dune." He supplied as he began to walk again, Poe scrambling to follow.

When they reached the top, the words "is this it?" died before meeting Poe's lips. It was definitely it.

A large tree stood ahead of them. It's dead branches stretching out widely while it's expansive trunk looked as if were reaching achingly towards the sky.

The sight of the dead being left an odd taste in Poe's mouth, causing the pilot to scrape his tongue mercilessly over the roof of his mouth.

Din noticed the sour expression on the other man's face, a quiet breath of laugh filtering through his helmet.

Poe turned to the king, quickly raising his hands in mock surrender.
"No, it's not like that. I jus-" He slowly lowered his arms, eyebrows furrowing as he searched for the words. "I'm not sure what I feel."

"I was the same way." Din reassured him before making his way downhill. Poe followed, finding it much easier to walk down the dune rather than up it.

When they reached the base of the tree, there was a smooth boulder beside it. The Mand'alor sat atop it, turning his visor to face the other man. Poe took it as an invitation, hastily sitting down on the king's left.

They watched the sun begin to turn the sky a light hue of pink for few moments as Poe silently emptied his sand-filled shoes.

"How did you find this place?" Poe inquired as he leaned back, having finished lacing his boots back up.

"Just happened." The other mumbled.

Poe let out a breathy laugh. "You know, you should take some credit every once in a while. Do you some good."

There was beat of silence.

"This is the place I go to when I need to think." Din supplied, looking down at his gloved hands.

The pilot looked to him for a moment, narrowing his eyes at the thin lines of the mandalorian's helmet. "Is this where you went last night?"

"It's quiet here." The Mand'alor said vaguely. Poe felt like that it was as much of an answer as he could hope for in that moment.

"Do you like being alone?" Poe tucked his right leg underneath him, moving to sit closer to the other man. Dark curls fell into his vision as he dropped his head to rest on a propped up arm.

"No one likes being alone." Din coughed, leaning away from the pilot. Poe noticed his discomfort, quickly moving away. He was used to close proximity with his friends on the Rebel base. Then again, he and Din weren't technically friends, were they?

"You just get used to it." The king's voice was softer, still gruff by anyone's standards, but Poe felt like he could tell a small difference.

They stayed there a few moments, possibly an hour. All Poe remembered was that it was dark when they broke the silence to head back.