His work had almost felt normal until the proposal for marriage was accepted. After that it all felt like a dream: speaking with his future bride over holos, hearing her practised Mandalorian vows, and then inevitably seeing her, for the first time, in the flesh.
Din had never really considered marriage as a possibility in his life before he was named Mand'alor, but then he'd never thought his people would have a planet to call their own again. It took him over a year to feel like Mandalore was a real home; he wasn't sure how long it would take him to feel his marriage to Eva was real, too.
She was beautiful, and that was undeniable. She was the most beautiful version of otherworldly Din could have ever seen when they first met, and somehow surpassed even that today when she stood by him as his bride. She had worked hard to understand their culture, he knew-- even before she first landed on Mandalore, their conversations were always so informative, and it was clear she took notes and remembered everything that was said. The Armourer called him lucky, and that it was not often that aruetii ever tried to know them the way she did. Even though the circumstances were brought upon by political obligation, that did not diminish her efforts, and even if Din did not love her, he respected her more than he ever thought he would a princess.
To bridge their planets, perhaps that was enough.
So when she lay for him, he didn't resist the slow exhale that rasped out of his modulator. His T-visor was as imposing as ever, but at his sides his fingers curled into tight fists before relaxing once more-- anxious, in a way. But, truly, he could not deny that she was beautiful.
"You've done nothing wrong, riduur." Lover-- the word tasted foreign in his mouth, but that would hold true for a while. It was what Eva was, though, and so Din would learn how to make it feel real. "I'm sorry I haven't been more... forceful.
"It almost feels unreal that we're here."
Din approached her, bent, and pressed both his hands down on either side of Eva's waist. His helm dipped to look at the pendant hanging from her neck-- a beautiful, shining mudhorn signet made of beskar-- and then lifted once more to watch her face instead. This was his wife. This was Clan.
"But you are mine," he murmured. "And I am yours, always. This is the Way."
So Din took Eva's right hand and led it to his helm, waiting until the tips of her fingers were pressed firmly to the bottom of it. Her left was guided to that secret spot by his jaw where the slightest bump of a button could be felt.
"Press this button," he said, T-visor faced unflinchingly in Eva's direction. "And it will turn my helm's systems off.
"Only when that's done can you remove it for me. Do you understand?"