(Y/N) found it hard to believe that she was sitting in the co-pilot seat of the "Famous Razor Crest". At least, that's what she referred to it as, earning the signature sideways tilt of Din's helmet. But for her, it was true.

She had heard vague stories of Din's various adventures when he visited her at the bar. All of those said stories had involved the Razor Crest somehow. So now, as she sat in the ship, her stomach churned. Not from feeling nervous, but from excitement.

On the walk to the Razor Crest, the child had been staring her down, focused on the package of cookies (Y/N) had brought along for him. His bright, black eyes had zoned in on the cookies, trying to reach out and snatch them out of (Y/N)'s bag, and squeaked in protest when Din caught on to what he was doing.

"You're very quiet," Din said, messing with a few switches on the console. "Why does that concern me?"

Without missing a beat, (Y/N) smirked as her eyes landed on his visor.

"You miss hearing my voice, don't you? I was only quiet for a moment."

Din shook his head. "That's what concerns me."

(Y/N) leaned back in her seat, fiddling with the rather large pendant Din had brought her a little over a year ago. She had made some passing comment about how she liked jewelry but had lost in her own necklace a while ago.

Though, she hadn't expected him to return a few months later with another necklace, which somehow slightly resembled the one she used to wear. Since then, minus when she took a shower, she never took the necklace off...not once. To her, the little things mattered, and they must have mattered to him too.

(Y/N) knew why she was quiet at the moment. She was simply processing everything Din had told her about what happened on Navarro before he had come to get her. She knew that day—she knew that dreaded feeling, the sensation in the pit of her stomach wasn't for nothing. Then and there, it really hit her.

He had almost died.

Every time Din left, (Y/N) always avoided asking herself if she would ever see him again. Being a bounty hunter wasn't some easy job, even for someone like Din.

That day, he had almost died.

That day, she almost lost her friend—no—best friend.

He had lost a friend that day too, and (Y/N) knew it took Din time to trust people. She knew Din had a big heart, but actually allowing people to see that was different. The atmosphere shifted for a moment, as if Din could hear (Y/N)'s thoughts.

"Um, Mando—"

"Din," he reminded.

(Y/N) smiled. "Sorry, Din. I know telling me all of that must have been difficult, and I wanted to say I'm really glad you're safe, truly I am. I had this feeling around that time, like something bad was happening and I couldn't do anything about it. And, well, I'm just glad to see you and the kid safe."

Din didn't say anything, but the slight turn of his helmet told her he was listening. She hesitated before reaching out, gently placing a hand over his gloved one.

"I also wanted to say I'm sorry about your friend," she said, voice soft. "He sounded wonderful, and if you—if you ever need to talk about him, or anyone else, or anything in general, I'm here."

Din's fingers twitched slightly under (Y/N)'s had.

"Thank you," was all he said, but his voice was softer, cracking slightly through the modulator.

After a brief moment, (Y/N) leaned back again, taking her hand off of his. It was silent for a couple of minutes, and then Din spoke again.

"The ship is on autopilot for now," he said, turning to face her. "If you need sleep, you can take the bed."

(Y/N) shook her head. "Oh no, that won't be necessary. I really appreciate it, but I typically don't fall asleep until much later. I'll stay up here."

And after around ten minutes, (Y/N) was fast asleep in the co-pilot chair. Din watched in amusement at the sight. The child had hopped down from his own seat and managed to crawl into (Y/N)'s lap, one of his hands clinging to her finger. She hadn't stirred...yet, but if the kid continued babbling at her, she definitely would.

"Hey, kid," he whispered. "You're going to wake her up."

The kid blinked back at him before returning to stare at (Y/N), tilting his head at her. Din sighed, reaching over and lifting the child out of (Y/N)'s lap. Unfortunately, the final squeak of protest did indeed wake her up.

Her eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the cockpit once again. Then her eyes landed on Din, and the slightly disgruntled child in his arms. The kid waking her up had actually been perfect timing, the start of a nightmare plaguing her sleep.

"I told you she'd wake up, you little womp rat."

(Y/N) stifled a laugh at the nickname before realizing she had been fast asleep nearly ten minutes after claiming it wouldn't be an issue.

"So, apparently I can sleep right now," (Y/N) muttered. "But if you need to sleep, the kid and I can handle it, right kid?"

He squeaked in response.

"Thank you," she replied before looking back at Din. "See? He gets it."

"He's agreeing because he knows you have food."

(Y/N) narrowed her eyes. "Still, I appreciate his support."

Din leaned back in his seat.

"See, this is where you ask if I can fly the ship, to which I would say no, I technically can't," (Y/N) said. "Although, I did pilot an X-Wing for a little while, so I'm sure if I really needed to, I could help out."

Din's helmet sharply turned in (Y/N)'s direction, and for the first time in a while, (Y/N) felt nervous under his gaze.

"What?"

"You flew an X-Wing?"

(Y/N) nodded. "Not for very long, had one mission. But I at least remember how to fly one."

Din stared for a moment. "That's another thing I've learned about you today. First, you have one of those—" He gestured to (Y/N)'s lightsaber. "And now I know you can fly an X-Wing."

(Y/N) simply responded by laughing, shaking her head.

"Well, since we're both awake, we might as well go over a couple of things," he said and stood up, placing the kid in the seat next to (Y/N)'s. "Come with me."

(Y/N) nodded, slowly standing up, legs slightly shaky as she adjusted to being on the ship. She followed him over to where the ladder was, then followed him down the ladder, nearly slipping on the last step. Din helped steady her, and she smiled in response.

They both turned to one of the panels on the ship, and Din punched in a code to open it. (Y/N)'s eyes widened at the large collection of weapons inside. She had never seen so many before, and some of them she didn't recognize. Her eyes moved away from the assortment of weapons and back to her friend.

"Well, that's—certainly something," (Y/N) muttered. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're heading to a place that's not...safe," Din began, grabbing one of the small blasters off of the wall. "But if I find more of my kind, there's a chance they can lead me to the Jedi."

To the Jedi.

The Jedi.

It all sounded so distant now.

(Y/N) nodded. "Hm, alright. That makes sense. How can I help?"

Din hesitated for a moment, his helmet turned away from her. (Y/N) raised her eyebrows at this. He rarely turned away from her when they were talking.

"You can help by staying on the ship," Din said. "It's not safe, so while the kid and I go—"

"Excuse me?" (Y/N) scoffed, hands on her hips. "You're leaving me here?"

Din mirrored her pose and posture, his helmet titled down at her.

"It's safer that way."

(Y/N) took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts before straightening her posture.

"So, you're telling me it's not safe, and yet you're taking the child with you?" (Y/N) asked.

"Wherever I go, he goes."

The answer was simple, straightforward, but (Y/N) wasn't happy about it in the slightest.

"Fine, fair enough," (Y/N) replied, taking another deep breath. "But you do realize you'd be leaving me on a planet I've never been to before, with this blaster I've never used before?"

Din sighed. "Do you know how to use a blaster? In general?"

(Y/N) smiled sweetly. "Absolutely not."

"I still think you need to stay here. They're looking for you. I can't promise they won't find you in there."

"Can you promise me they won't find me on the ship?" she asked, and then added, "Alone?"

A moment of silence passed between the two of them, and (Y/N) stood there with a determined look on her face. She did not want to be left behind.

"Fine, you can come too," Din said, but held up a hand to pause (Y/N)'s excitement. "But we need to agree on a few things first."

***

As the door to the ship opened, (Y/N)'s eyes adjusted to the dark street ahead of them, an uneasy sensation suddenly washing over her.

There were three things the two of them agreed on if (Y/N) was going to come with them. Firstly, (Y/N) needed to leave her lightsaber on the ship and bring the blaster instead. At first, she had been reluctant, but Din made a fair point about how it would only potentially risk her safety more.

Secondly, they couldn't sit together. Din said it would only make the two of them more recognizable. She would sit a few rows behind him, so at least she could listen in on the conversation.

Lastly, if something went awry, she was tasked with grabbing the kid and meeting him back at the ship. She couldn't stick around and couldn't join the fight if there was one. She wanted to especially protest this point but thought better of it.

"Is anyone else seeing the glowing eyes?" (Y/N) whispered, hand grasping Din's slightly tattered cape as they walked.

When they finally reached the guarded door, the Twi'lek waited silently. He peered at Din, but his view of (Y/N) was mostly blocked by Din himself. The child cooed from inside his floating crib.

"I'm here to see Gor Koresh," Din said, his tone calm.

The Twi'lek stepped aside, letting them walk through, and offered a short statement of, "Enjoy the fights," before closing the door again. Din grabbed (Y/N)'s shoulder before going any further, spinning her around so she was facing him.

"What is it?"

"Mesh'la," he said, and (Y/N)'s eyes widened slightly. "Remember what we talked about?"

(Y/N) hummed. "Of course I do. I'll stay back here." She smirked. "By the way, I know what mesh'la means now. Wanted to let you know."

Din shook his head, his hand finding her hip, giving a quick squeeze before pulling away.

"Mir'sheb," he muttered, and headed down to the front row.

"Well, guess I'll have to learn that word now," (Y/N) said to no one but herself.

As she sat down, (Y/N) was almost too focused on the place Din's hand been moments ago, though she had no idea why. Her eyes landed on the two Gamorreans fighting in the ring, their axes clashing together, the crowd roaring.

Then, her eyes landed on Din again, and she leaned forward slightly, trying her best to overhear the conversation. Between the axes clashing and the crowd roaring, it was proving to be a challenge.

She gave up trying to eavesdrop and instead made her way around the arena, keeping a close eye on Din. What she didn't realize was Din was keeping an eye on her too. She sat down on the other side of the arena, nodding in Din's direction to let him know she was safe. The kid had clearly spotted her too.

She wondered...maybe.

(Y/N) took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again, focusing on the kid.

"Hey kid, can you hear me?"

She focused her attention on him, noticing how his ears twitched slightly as she spoke to him.

"Okay, if something starts to go wrong, I need you to tell me. Can you do that?"

The kid blinked back at her from across the room, but something told her he understood what she was asking him. Communicating through the Force was something (Y/N) didn't do often, but it was proving to be helpful at the moment. She couldn't do it for long though.

She noticed the way Din tensed slightly, and then she felt it. She felt sick to her stomach again, uneasy. It was a warning again, like something bad was going to happen. Then she realized...

The kid was warning her.

Clearly, he sensed it too.

Everything happened too quickly.

Gor Koresh lifted his blaster and shot one of the Gamorreans. (Y/N) stood up as more of Gor's men surrounded Din and pointed their weapons at him, though her view was blocked as people rushed out in a panicked swarm.

When (Y/N) saw the slight tilt of Din's helmet in her direction, for some reason, she knew it was time to take cover. This was especially confirmed when the kid reached over and closed his own crib.

(Y/N) crouched down, just barely peeking around the corner of the arena to watch. She would have grabbed the kid and left, but something told her to wait, to wait just a moment.

She shifted slightly closer, trying to hear the conversation better while avoiding the chance of getting swept up in it.

"I thought you said you weren't a gambler."

(Y/N) noticed Din shift his wrist, and she already knew what was coming. It truly was time to take cover.

She collapsed to the floor, hissing "dank farrik" under her breath as Din's weapon went off. He had told her about them at one point, whistling birds, something like that. They were guided, precise. She had never seen them in action, not until now.

From her spot on the floor, she watched small projectiles fly from Din's vambrace, hitting each target. Hearing about them versus seeing them made all the difference.

As Din managed to kick the crib out of the way, (Y/N) knew that was her cue, and she scrambled to her feet. She rushed over and grabbed the crib, glancing up at Din. The other Gamorrean still in the ring then proceeded to launch himself at Din.

And really, as much as (Y/N) wanted to stay and help, that wasn't what they agreed on. It would be fine. She knew Din could handle it.

Then, she noticed Gor rush away out of the corner of her eye, so she decided to follow him outside, the crib in tow. When she reached the door, Din was already right behind her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

(Y/N) nodded. "I'm fine, you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

(Y/N) could vaguely make out the shadow of Gor running away in the dimly lit street.

"You know, if I had brought my lightsaber, this could've ended a lot sooner," (Y/N) muttered jokingly, earning a snort of laughter from under the helmet.

"Can your lightsaber do this?" Din teased, and launched his whipcord, which yet again, came from his vambrace.

It wrapped around Gor's ankles and tripped him up. He fell to the ground.

"No, it can't," (Y/N) replied, her eyes flicking to Din's vambrace. "You know what I've learned from tonight? I gotta get one of those."

"Absolutely not."

He hoisted Gor up by his feet on the nearest lamp post. Both of them waltzed up to him, simultaneously tilting their heads to peer down at him. (Y/N) narrowed her eyes slightly, folding her arms and tapping her foot. After all, he had threatened her friend, so she wasn't too pleased with him either.

"Alright, stop, stop!" Gor pleaded. "I'll tell you where he is. But you must promise that you won't kill me."

"I promise you will not die by my hand," Din answered, causing (Y/N)'s eyebrows to raise. "Now, where is the Mandalorian you know of?"

Gor groaned. "Tatooine."

"What?"

Din's tone was skeptical, for obvious reasons. (Y/N) had been to Tatooine years ago, though she had tried to repress the memory of most of that particular trip.

"The Mandalorian I know of is on Tatooine."

"I've spent much time on Tatooine. I've never seen a Mandalorian there," Din replied.

From under her cloak, (Y/N) had returned to narrowing her eyes at Gor, feeling a bit skeptical about what he was saying as well.

"My information is good, I tell you. The City of Mos Pelgo. I swear it by the Gotra."

Din glanced back at (Y/N) before taking a couple of steps backward. It was time to go.

"Tatooine it is then."

Both of them turned away from Gor and began to make their way back to the Razor Crest. Din left Gor at the light.

"Wait, Mando! You can't leave me like this. Cut me down!"

It was clear that he was becoming frightened, left alone outside with the glowing eyes. (Y/N) glanced over at Din, who had just turned a smidge back in Gor's direction.

"That wasn't part of the deal," he answered, and proceeded to draw his blaster and shoot the light above Gor.

"Hey! What are you doing—" Gor peered over at (Y/N). "Hey, you, tell him I can pay!"

"Sorry, but you threatened my friend," (Y/N) answered, turning away once more. "And like he said, that wasn't part of the deal."

"Don't turn around," Din whispered, guiding (Y/N) back to the ship with a hand on her back.

Unlike earlier when (Y/N) had argued with Din about staying on the ship, this time, she listened. She tried her best to block out the screams from Gor as whatever lurked in the shadows descended upon him. As chills ran down her spine, she tried to distract herself.

"So, Tatooine, hm?" (Y/N) said once they reached the ship. "Haven't been there in a while." When they were inside, (Y/N) smiled. "You know, I still think getting myself one of those—" she gestured to the vambrace on Din's wrist. "Would be a good idea. I mean, just think about it...a lightsaber, a whipcord, AND whistling birds? Can you imagine?"

"I try not to."

(Y/N) placed her hands on her hips. "Well, considering I can't shoot a blaster, I figured that would be the next best option."

Din tilted his helmet down at her, shaking his head slightly before gently removing the hood of her cloak off of her head. His gloves brushed by her face as he did so, and she shivered at the touch.

"I guess I'll need to teach you how to use one then, cyar'ika."

(Y/N) titled her head. "So, today, so far, you've used the word mesh'la...I know what that means. But what do mir'sheb and cyar'ika mean?"

They held each other's gaze for a moment or two, and then Din climbed up the ladder, leaving (Y/N) standing there with her arms folded.

"Oh yeah, Din. That really helps answer my question!" she exclaimed from the bottom of the ladder. She glanced down at the kid. "Do you know what those words mean?'

He simply responded with an "Eh?"

(Y/N) nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought." 

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Author's Note: So, I originally said I would update this story every Friday. I'm thinking the updates are going to be a little more random.

Also, I've done research regarding Star Wars lore, as I really enjoy the shows and movies, but if I miss something or it's not as accurate, please feel free to let me know! I'm still learning about all of the lore, so I don't mind the feedback! Thank you!