Not Without Me

It seemed to him, the end was coming. With his body leaning over the child, protecting it from debris and projectiles, he looked through the helmet to the stormtroopers. They didn't stop coming. The power that the little one used to hold them up gained time. But time was not enough.

With every heartbeat, he was closer to death and only will was keeping him alive. His lungs demanded air, but instead, he breathed fire. He felt the pain spreading through his body. Another explosion. Another sting of pain in his side.

Darkness.

Silence.

He opened his eyes and sat up with a grunt. Inhaling deeply and squinting in pain he tried to gauge his surroundings. Suddenly, as if the view wasn't convincing, he raised his hands to his face and seemed relieved when he touched cold metal.

"I knew a Mandalorian once."

The voice was light but powerful enough to dispel the clouds still softly enveloping his mind. He winced and turned his head to your figure, sitting in a dark corner of the room. A stab of distress shrank his stomach.

"Where is it?" His voice was more hoarse than usual.

"The kid, you mean? Sleeping."

"And... my armor?" He asked, his nervousness creeping in his voice and without waiting for an answer, he jumped out of bed.

As the cool air bit into his skin, he realized his body was uncovered. He quickly grabbed for the blanket and covered the lower part of his body. You didn't see his face, but there was an obvious question that just radiated from the naked Mandalorian. A mischievous flicker gleamed in your eyes, and a naughty smirk pulled at your lips.

"What? You were soaking in blood." You explained, spreading your arms innocently.

"You undressed me, cleaned my body from the blood but... you didn't remove the helmet?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. "Not once?"

"I've told you. I knew a Mandalorian once."

You left the room to let him get dressed and fix himself under the helmet. Meanwhile, the child also woke up. It toddled to you on tiny, clumsy feet and stared up with his eyes glittering with hunger. You smiled and embraced it into your arms. The tiny body barely weighed anything and if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe that such a small, soft creature could shape and control such force that can blow up the half valley and destroy an entire army.

"You know I was wondering what kind of person would send an army of stormtroopers against a single Mandalorian with a kid? Then I saw it... Your wounds healed as if they never existed." You said and the man immediately understood why he didn't feel pain at all and why the wounds have disappeared from his body.

"You could have taken the kid, my armor, my ship and leave me to die. But you didn't. Why?"

"I'm a smuggler, not a looter." You snapped. "And this child is far more valuable than all the beskar in the universe." You mused, letting your gaze to absorb the stunning beauty of the huge-eyed child, cooing quietly in your arms.

"What do you want then?"

"Offering my help."

"For what?"

"For you, to make sure the child is going to end up in good hands."

There was some kind of sadness in the way you spoke which the bounty hunter couldn't help but notice. He wanted to know the reason but the child became excited and fussy as it saw him and wanted to climb into his arms at all costs.

"Here you go, little buddy, right into your daddy's arms." You chuckled and tucked the kid into the Mandalorian's arms. The name you chose to call him startled him but before he could object you cut him off.

"I hope you guys are hungry! Your ship is a wreck and we can't get to work on an empty stomach."

It took only a few days to repair the ship. And those few days were enough to plant confusion in the bounty hunter's heart as well.

He often caught himself staring at you from behind his helmet. It was easy to act like he was watching something in front of him while his eyes were fixed on your beautiful face. It wasn't that your sneaky comments and teasing didn't annoy him, but that cute timbre of your voice, the way you pressed your lips into a hard line when you were concentrating, your caring kindness, your laughter, and dreamy eyes simply enchanted him.

The storm swirling in his chest became more intense as the time approached for the farewell.

"I think we're ready." He said, breaking the rustling noise of the breeze that rushed under the tall trees. "Thanks for everything."

"It was my pleasure. Are you sure there is nothing else I can do to help?" You asked. Again.

You wished he would invite you to accompany him but it would be strange to offer. Anyway, it had to be that way. You knew you wouldn't join them just because of the kid. You had feelings for the masked man, feelings that excited you more than they should have.

"You've already helped more than enough."

His heart was heavy as he walked slowly across the wet grass, each step a fresh reminder of the upcoming departure. A few more steps and he disappears forever, leaving whatever you set ablaze in his heart behind him. He nodded and the ramp began to rise. Then suddenly, it fell on the ground with a thud.

The ramp wasn't broken but before he could say anything, something caught you. Some invisible force captured you, lifted you up into the air and slammed you into the ship with tremendous force, right in the arms of the Mandalorian. You groaned at the impact, hissing, rubbing your forehead where your head clattered with his helmet.

"It wasn't me." He explained as if he needed to clarify himself.

You turned your gaze towards the child. The little green creature was staring at you, blinking heavily with its big, dark, rounded eyes. You bit your lips and finally managed a smile.

"The kid is right. We could use a crew member." The Mandalorian said and instantly felt a surge of tension over you.

Your eyes moved nervously right to left as if looking at his eyes behind the helmet. Nonetheless, you were in no hurry to break free of his embrace which he was pleased to acknowledge.

As if you were suddenly ashamed, you pushed yourself out of his arms then hiding your excitement behind a chuckle you shrugged.

"You couldn't protect it without me anyway."