Blaring alarms ended the temporary bliss and peace between (Y/N) and Din. She groaned, gritting her teeth at the ear-piercing sound. She was still sore, the newly formed bruises on her ribs mildly irritating.

Din was up in an instant, pulling his helmet back on before switching on the lights. The alarm made (Y/N)'s ears ring, and she squinted her eyes to get a better look at him.

"What's happening?" she whispered, voice a tad bit harsh. "Why are the alarms going off?"

He noticed her wincing at the lights, mumbling a "sorry" as she groaned again, briefly covering her eyes with the blanket. He got out of the bunk, and she soon followed after him.

"Din, what's going on?" she repeated, nearly tumbling out of the cot.

"We're being hailed."

He was quick to head back up to the cockpit as (Y/N) still adjusted to the light and noise. She left the kid in his hammock as she followed Din.

The alarm finally quieted, much to (Y/N)'s relief. Din was clearly having a conversation over the comm. (Y/N) climbed into the cockpit to see what the commotion had been about. She peered through the view port, eyes widening at the sight of an X-Wing on either side of the Razor Crest.

"Oh Kriff," she muttered, cringing as she sat down and buckled herself in.

She wondered if she knew these guys. More importantly, if they did know her, did they remember the stolen and damaged X-Wing incident? That would definitely be an issue, especially considering her departure had been less than congenial.

"Carson, can you switch over to channel two?"

  One of the voices over the comm sounded familiar, but (Y/N) didn't attempt to question it too much.

"Copy," Carson replied.

(Y/N) took a deep breath as she watched the X-Wings adjust, shifting into their attack position, her heartbeat picking up. The Force was flowing through her, setting off alarm bells. This could not be good. Din was awfully quiet, even for him, which could only mean one thing.

He was planning something.

"Was your craft in proximity of the New Republic Correctional Transport, Bothan-Five?" the other pilot asked.

(Y/N) raised her eyebrows, head tilting in Din's direction after hearing the question. Din didn't answer though, the slight twitch of his hand over the controls the only indicator that he was about to do something rather drastic.

Then, with no warning, Din steered the Razor Crest down at a sharp angle. The Frog Lady began to scream and (Y/N) held on tight to the arm rests of her seat.

Carson's voice came over the comm again. "Razor Crest, stand down. We will fire, I repeat, we will fire."

"Great, first, the Empire or whatever the hell, is after us. Then, the people of the New Republic are threatening to fire at us," (Y/N) muttered, hiding her face in her hands, before looking at Din. "What a day. Chaos always manages to find you, doesn't it?"

Din took another abrupt turn, weaving back forth in an attempt to shake the two X-Wings. (Y/N) would have typically enjoyed a chaotic flight like this, but under these circumstances, not so much. She couldn't help but wonder why Din was running from them. What had he done?

When the weaving paused and the ship leveled out, (Y/N)'s eyes flicked to Din. She knew what was coming.

Her stomach dropped as the Crest began to free fall, and while the screams of the Frog Lady filled the ship, (Y/N) wasn't terribly fazed. She was too fixated on the X-Wings pursuing them.

When Din pulled up again, (Y/N) narrowed her eyes at him.

"That was a bit unnecessary, don't you think?"

Her mild annoyance soon faded as she noticed the snow and ice that covered the planet. It was quite beautiful actually, but she didn't have much time to admire the scenery.

Din took another sharp turn, the ship grazing multiple walls of ice before it skidded across a sheet of solid ice.

"Hold on," he told their other passenger, pulling back on the thrusters in an attempt to slow down the ship.

(Y/N) shook her head, leaning back in her seat to catch another glimpse of the world outside. The ship came to an abrupt stop, slightly trapped inside the opening of the cave. (Y/N) took a deep breath, glancing at her surroundings and then a very panicked Frog Lady.

That could've been much worse.

But just as she began to relax, the ship began to sink, the ice giving way beneath them. Cracks began to form in the ice, the sounds echoing around them.

Din and (Y/N) barely had time to glance at each other before the ship slipped through the ice. The ship thudded on the ground below, and then, the ship was surrounded in darkness.

***

(Y/N) woke up with a start, letting out a groan as her safety belt pulled against her already formed bruises. She was stiff, hands trembling from the sudden chill in the ship. Taking a deep breath, she managed to undo the safety belt before stumbling over to Din, wincing as she did so.

He was slumped over the console, and (Y/N) gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Din?"

When he didn't answer the first time, she decided to lightly shake him. Currently, she wished she had put on her jacket before they took off, but at least her hair was dry.

"Din, Din. Hey, wake up," she said, raising her voice.

He also woke up with a start, his movements stiff and beskar cold to the touch. He took in his surroundings briefly before his attention fell on (Y/N). He pulled himself up from the pilot's seat and grabbed (Y/N)'s shoulders tightly.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine—"

His visor scanned her neck, shoulders, arms, but there were no visible injuries. A gentle, gloved hand brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"You must be freezing," he said, taking her trembling hands in his own briefly to warm them.

"I'm fine, I'm okay." Her voice came out in a harsh whisper. "I'll grab my jacket in a moment." It was her turned to check him, though he was covered in armor. "Are you okay?"

Din nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you cold?"

"No, I'm fine. My armor—"

Both of them flinched at the sound of gasping behind them. The Frog Lady had just come to, lying on the floor of the cockpit. Both (Y/N) and Din rushed over to help her stand up. After she was steady on her feet, (Y/N) made her way over to the ladder.

"I'll go check on the kid," she said.

She climbed down the ladder, slipping on the last two steps and landing on her back. Groaning, she pulled herself back up. Din hopped down soon after, having much more of a graceful landing than she did. They both looked around, taking in the damage done to the ship. A barely audible "damn it" escaped Din's helmet.

(Y/N) pushed the button to open the bunk panel, only for both of them to realize the kid wasn't in there. Her eyes widened.

"What—Where...I left him in his hammock," she said, a chill running down her spine. "Where did he go?"

She pulled her bag of out of the bunk, getting her jacket out. She winced, and Din was quick to help her stand and put on the jacket. Then, they began their search for the child again.

"Can you—Do you sense him?" Din asked.

(Y/N) grimaced, pointing her finger at the kid and the egg container. Din rushed over to pull the kid away from the container, though he had already clearly eaten more eggs.

"No! I told you not to do that," he scolded and then handed him off to (Y/N).

The Frog Lady called down to them, and Din yelled "Found them!" so she wouldn't come down. (Y/N) shook her head at the situation.

"Yeah, what's left of them," she muttered.

Din tilted his head at her, clearly exasperated, before looking at the kid.

"How many did you eat?"

The kid looked up at him from (Y/N)'s arms, and once again, simply replied with a burp.

***

(Y/N) huddled by the heaters after finishing her ration. Din had basically insisted she stay there while he fixed a couple of things. She found a blanket, so it was currently draped over her shoulders. The other blanket was on the Frog Lady.

The kid's focus was solely on the container of eggs again, that familiar mischievous glint in his eyes. (Y/N) gave him a look of warning, and he let out a quiet squeak in protest, but made no move to eat anymore eggs.

Din came back from plugging a few things in. "If you hadn't guessed, we're in a tight spot. The main power drive is not responding, and the hull has lost its integrity...I suspect the temperature will drop significantly when night falls. I'll have a better idea of our prospects at that time."

The Frog Lady spoke in a series of croaks and grunts that (Y/N) did not understand, but she wished she did. The one thing she picked up on was the Frog Lady gesturing to her egg container.

"I'm sorry, lady. I don't understand Frog," Din replied, leaning against the wall of the ship. "Whatever it is, it can wait until morning. I recommend you get some sleep."

He crossed his arms over his chest, and the kid made his way over to Din. (Y/N) hopped up too, holding onto the blanket as she sat down next to him, mirroring his posture. She pulled the blanket over the two of them, and the kid climbed into Din's lap.

Din glanced down at her. "You can lean on me, if you need to."

(Y/N) shifted slightly, adjusting so she could lean against him. Finally, she felt slightly warmer. Her eyes grew heavy, and she eventually drifted off.

***

(Y/N) woke up again, shivering, but tried her best not to wake up Din sleeping next to her. She let out a content sigh, closing her eyes to get some more rest.

"Wake up, Mandalorian."

She shrieked, heart racing at the sound of the voice as her eyes flew open. Din was awake in an instant, arm shielding her while the other drew his blaster.

The Frog Lady had managed to rig the droid in the corner of the ship, croaking into the microphone connected to it. Under other circumstances, (Y/N) would have been impressed, but she was still too busy trying to calm her racing heart.

Din glanced at the Frog Lady, and then at the droid, holstering his blaster.

"What the hell are you doing? That droid is a killer."

The kid squeaked, probably in agreement. The Frog Lady wasn't done speaking though, croaking into the microphone once more.

"These eggs are the last brood of my life cycle. My husband has risked his life to carve out an existence for us on the only planet that is hospitable to our species. We fought too hard and suffered too much to resign ourselves to the extinction of our family line. I must demand that you hold true to the deal that you agreed on."

She whimpered, her expression turning sad. (Y/N) suddenly felt pity for her, returning the sad gaze before glancing at Din to gage his reaction.

Din sighed. "Look lady, the deal is off. We're lucky if we get off this frozen tomb with our lives."

(Y/N)'s heart sank at Din's response, starting to realize the gravity of their situation. They truly were trapped on this planet with no one to help them. She could feel various emotions floating around the ship. Her own fear, the kid's hunger, the Frog Lady's desperation...but she sensed something else.

She sensed guilt.

When Din looked down at her briefly, she sensed it, even stronger than before. Her eyebrows furrowed when she caught him staring, but she didn't say anything yet. Maybe she would ask him about it, maybe she wouldn't. Deep down, she knew she wouldn't be able to ignore it.

"I thought honoring one's word was part of the Mandalorian Code. I guess those are just stories for children," the droid's voice said.

Din sighed again, then remained quiet for a moment. He didn't look in (Y/N)'s direction, gently setting the kid down before standing up. He grabbed the toolbox, shaking his head at the damage before muttering, "This was not part of the deal." Then, he stepped outside.

(Y/N) frowned, but as she made eye contact with the child, she mustered her best smile. He cooed in response before his eyes went to the egg container again.

From where she stood, she placed her hands on her hips. He must have sensed she was watching him again, because he paused, turning to look at her. She subtly shook her head at him. He seemed to somewhat get the message, backing up slightly. (Y/N) picked him up.

"Would you mind watching him for a moment?" she asked the Frog Lady. "I'll be back soon."

She croaked in response, holding her arms out to take the child. (Y/N) smiled and quickly thanked her before heading out into the cold. The air nipped at her skin. She wished she had some sort of scarf, but at least she had a jacket.

She found Din working at the front of the ship. She could feel the stress and guilt radiating off of him, and once again, her eyebrows knitted together. She trudged through the snow until she reached Din, crouching down next to him.

"Do you need help?" she asked, glancing over at him.

Sparks were flying in every direction as he worked. She wasn't entirely sure how to help, but she would most certainly try.

"Maybe I can help with the wires?" she offered when Din didn't say anything.

Din paused his work, but still didn't fully turn to look at her. Another sigh.

"Yeah, okay," he said, standing up and gesturing for her to follow him.

He pulled a panel off of the ship, revealing a complete mess of wires inside. Though, (Y/N) doubted this had to do with the crash landing. She stared up at ice ceiling above them, admiring the icicles above the two of them. Despite their current situation, the view sure was beautiful.

"Are you paying attention?"

(Y/N) simply shook her head. Din watched her.

"It's so beautiful," she muttered, glancing down at Din. "Do you see them? Look."

"Mesh'la—"

(Y/N) held out her hand to him. "Come on. Look with me. Then I'll help. Please?"

Din briefly shook his head at her, but still took her hand and stood up. She could still sense the guilt.

"See?" she said, squeezing his hand and then pointing at the icicles above them. "They're beautiful."

When Din didn't say anything, (Y/N) sighed, dropping his hand.

"Sorry. I just figured we might as well make the most of—well—this for the time being," (Y/N) said, turning back to the wires. "Alright, I'm paying attention now."

They both crouched down in front of the panel, and Din proceeded to explain what to do, and most importantly, what not to do. He showed her the various wire colors and what they meant. And this time (Y/N) remained focused, taking in all of the information.

The guilt she felt from Din was still nagging her in the back of her mind. As she began to work, Din briefly left to grab a few more tools before returning. They were silent for a moment, just working together in the snow.

It felt like the right time to talk to him.

"Hey—um, Din?" she asked, pausing, moving her hands away from the wires. "Can I talk to you about something?"

He also paused, but remained focused on the ship.

"Yeah," he replied, voice low.

(Y/N) gathered her thoughts for a moment, thinking about the best way to go about the subject. She sat back in the snow.

"I've noticed a couple of things since we crashed—I mean, landed," she began, letting out a nervous laugh. "Anyway, I obviously can't see your expressions through your helmet, but it feels like you've been ignoring me...somewhat." She looked over at him. "I sense that there's, you know, well—it feels like you're feeling guilty, and I wanted to check on you."

Din was quiet for a moment, his hands fiddling with the tool he was in the middle of using. She smiled softly at him.

"Of course, you don't have to say anything. I just wanted to let you know I'm here to—"

"Do you want to leave?" he asked.

(Y/N) went quiet for a moment, taken aback by Din's question. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"What? Din, what are you talking about?"

He put down the tool, kneeling in the snow.

"When—If we get out of here...if you don't want to stay, I would understand. This mess we're in is my fault. If you want to leave, we can figure something out. I'll take you somewhere safe."

(Y/N)'s eyes widened. That was what he had been worried about? Thinking about? He thought she wanted to leave them. Really? If she remembered correctly, she was the one who had insisted on joining them.

"Alright Din, here's the thing," she began, brushing snow off of her pants. "Remember when I told you about the Jedi Temple? That I saw it burning?"

"I do."

(Y/N) nodded. "Okay, right. So, if it hadn't been destroyed, I would have probably gone to train there with the end goal of becoming a Jedi. To be honest, I don't know if they're still enforced, but there was something called the Jedi Code. Part of it specifically regarded attachments, close attachments."

She inhaled the cold air.

"Close attachments lead to strong emotions. Strong emotions, of course, can be good. But some emotions, such as jealousy, greed, the fear of losing someone...it was believed that those emotions would lead one down the path of the dark side. I have a point I'm trying to make, I promise. Anyway, when I was younger, I could  never imagine myself wanting to become a Jedi."

She paused, her eyes landing on the snow beneath her. She could tell Din was looking at her now.

"But for a while, the more time I spent isolated, I thought, genuinely, that maybe I could train, that I could find someone to train me."

She went quiet for a moment, smiling to herself before turning to Din, confirming that he was indeed looking at her.

"Then, I met you...that night at the bar. I remember you helping me of course. And then, you kept coming back, and we became friends. You know, there are, well, many emotions...strong emotions I feel around you. Some of them I can't quite explain." She could feel the tips of her ears turning red. Whether it was from the cold or embarrassment she didn't know. "But, I am sure of one thing."

She grinned at him, eyes bright as he stared back at her.

"I would give up every chance of becoming a Jedi to be with you. Even on this freezing cold planet. I don't regret it. I don't regret coming with you."

She couldn't help but laugh, realizing how long she had been talking for.

"So, to answer your question, no, I don't want to leave. Sorry for such a long explanation."

She held his gaze for a moment, and couldn't help but wonder what color his eyes were. Suddenly, she wanted to know. Then, the two of them began working on repairs again. (Y/N) hadn't expected much of a response from him, but she did notice the guilt she had sensed earlier had lessened immensely.

Little did she know that her answer meant more to Din than she realized.

***

"Frankly, I know this situation isn't ideal, but I personally prefer the snow to the sand," (Y/N) said, biting her lip as she focused on one particularly difficult wire.

Din's helmet tilted his head in her direction.

"Oh, come on, Din. I've just never seen this much snow before."

"You haven't?"

(Y/N) shook her head. "Nope." She took a break from working with the wires, wincing as she stretched her back.

She glanced down at Din, a question suddenly popping into her head.

"Those two X-Wing pilots mentioned something about a prison transport," she said, brushing off more snow. "Did something happen? I mean, were you there?"

Din's body language became rather uncomfortable, probably recalling an unpleasant memory. (Y/N) stood next to him and patted his shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay," she said. "Clearly the memory makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to tell me." She crouched down next to him again. "I thought they were after me for a moment, scared me."

Din stopped working, resting his hands in his lap before looking up at her.

"Why would they be after you?" he asked. "Didn't you work for them?"

(Y/N) nodded. "Uh, yes, yes I did. But that's sort of where the issue began."

"What issue?"

"So, you know how I told you I piloted an X-Wing for a little while? Well, after the mission I went on, they told me I needed to return the X-Wing, and I sort of—well—stole it," she explained.

The tool Din was using dropped into the snow.

"You stole an X-Wing?"

"And eventually returned it!" (Y/N) exclaimed. "With minimal damage."

"If you returned it, why would they still be after you?"

"Apparently I owed them for stealing the X-Wing and its damages, and obviously that wasn't going to happen," she answered. "So, I managed to get into an escape pod, and that's how I eventually ended back on Coruscant."

She heard a quiet chuckle come from Din.

"Sounds like quite the experience."

(Y/N)'s shoulders slumped. "It was! It was a real pain in the ass, especially when some guy named Davan chased me through the halls, threatening to turn me in the entire time." She sighed. "Wonder what happened to that guy."

A weird noise, almost like a groan, came from Din. (Y/N) raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"He's dead."

(Y/N) blinked back at him a couple of times, nodding as she took in this piece of information.

"Oh—well," she said, clearing her throat. "That is very...unfortunate."

***

The sound of the child babbling near them halted their repair work. He was standing right outside of the ship, his bright eyes staring right back at them.

"How about you come over here, give me a hand? Make yourself useful," he told the kid.

"Din," (Y/N) warned, narrowing her eyes at him.

The child cooed in response before turning around and disappearing out of sight.

"Hey, kid. I said hey! Where are you going?" Din asked, and (Y/N) glanced at him in mild amusement. "Come back here!"

"Oh yeah, he's definitely going to help now."

She watched as Din got up, following the kid to who-knows-where. She sighed, deciding to follow both of them too. When she caught up, they were both staring at the entrance to a cavern. (Y/N) then noticed the footprints. They belonged to the Frog Lady.

"Where'd she go?" he asked softly.

Din glanced down at the kid before picking him up, turning to face (Y/N).

"Stay here," he said.

(Y/N) frowned. "But why do I have to—"

"Please," he added, voice softer. "Just in case."

(Y/N) was about to argue with him, but ended up changing her mind. Instead, she smiled, gently placing her hands on other side of his helmet. She tilted his head down, bringing his forehead to rest against hers. She could hear him take a sharp breath. She took a deep breath, pulling away to properly look at him.

"Be safe."

"Mesh'la—"

"I'm not asking, Din," she said, her tone shifting into a more serious one. "Be safe."

He squeezed her hand a little tighter before letting go. (Y/N)'s eyes flicked to the child.

"Stay out of trouble, kid," she whispered.

Din turned away, and (Y/N) watched them venture further into the cavern until they were out of sight. She sighed, remembering what she had said earlier.

"I would give up every chance of becoming a Jedi to be with you."

She had meant it. Then, of course, there had been the forehead touch. She had initiated it that time, and she had meant it.

What she had said earlier was true. She had meant it. There were plenty of strong emotions she felt when she was around him. Was it the fact that she couldn't explain said feelings, or the fact that she was scared to?

(Y/N), you're getting distracted again.

Right, she needed to get back to repairs.

***

While waiting, (Y/N) had become distracted, lost in the work and repairs, occasionally falling back into the snow for a break. However, she was beginning to grow concerned. It was taking a while for them come back. She wondered if something had happened, and that familiar feeling of dread washed over her.

She set the tools down in the toolbox before standing up, her eyes landing on the cavern entrance. She found herself drawn to it, her feet beginning to carry her toward it. Her eyebrows knitted together when it felt like something was crawling up her spine.

(Y/N) shivered.

But there was a feeling of hope as well, and of panic.

Not wasting another second, she took off into the cavern.

She only made it a few yards in when a large leg crashed through the cavern's ceiling, slamming right in front of her. She fell back and then scrambled to her feet.

She looked up with wide eyes, and that's when she heard Din's voice.

"Go!" he yelled as he ran, grabbing her wrist and pulling her forward.

(Y/N) continued to run as Din pulled her along, the Frog Lady close behind.

A giant shadow crawled over them, and (Y/N) glanced over her shoulder, only to see hundreds of small spiders chasing after them.

She heard the sound of faint beeping, realizing Din had thrown three red circles behind them.

They counted down before exploding, taking some of the spiders with them. The cave ceiling began to collapse above them, bringing the largest spider down with it. It let out a shrill squeal.

"Absolutely horrific," (Y/N) panted before Din pulled her along again.

The smaller spiders continued their pursuit. The sounds they made, the clicking and squeaking were sure to give (Y/N) some nightmares. Spiders had never been a true fear of hers until now.

As Din began to shoot at them and use his flamethrower, (Y/N) and the Frog Lady pulled ahead.

"Stay safe, huh?" (Y/N) muttered, disgust washing over her as spiders exploded into a green goo.

Oh yeah, definitely a nightmares inducing experience.

(Y/N) and the Frog Lady were the first to reach the ship, and (Y/N) quickly moved aside to let her and the child in first. Din handed off the egg container to (Y/N), and she handed it to the Frog Lady.

"Get inside the ship!" Din continued to shoot. "Go."

"If you think I'm leaving you—" (Y/N) drew the hilt of her lightsaber, igniting it. "Then you're mistaken."

Din briefly did a double-take before they returned to fending off the spiders. Unfortunately, there were too many of them for them to face. (Y/N) disengaged her lightsaber as they backed into the hull of the ship, Din nudging her toward the ladder.

As he continued fighting off spiders, (Y/N) climbed into the cockpit, snow and slush falling off of her boots.

Din was right behind her as they both tried to push the hatch closed, but a few spiders managed to slip through.

One of them dropped on the child's head. Without thinking, (Y/N) grabbed the first weapon she could get her hands on, using the knife Din had given her years ago.

She jammed the knife into the wall, stabbing and killing the spider. She wrinkled her nose at the green sludge, but at least it did the trick.

They eventually managed to close the doors, and Din turned to look at (Y/N), who was in the middle of finding something to wipe goo and spider guts off of her knife.

"Did you—Did you just—"

"Kill a spider with the knife you gave me?" she asked. "Yes, yes I did. I mean, I know it probably wasn't the best first choice of a weapon, but—"

She paused when Din held out his hand to her, raising her eyebrows.

"Hand it to me."

"Um, why?"

Din sighed. "I promise I'll give it back to you. Just, just trust me. I just plan on polishing it."

(Y/N) tilted her head. "I can do that myself."

"I know."

A small smile made its way onto (Y/N)'s face, and she handed the knife to Din.

"I trust you. Now, let's figure out how we're going to get out of here."