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balmasedas · 3 years

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dearly departed. /

(gif is not mine).

PAIRING: din djarin x force sensitive!f-reader.

SUMMARY: au of 2x8 where reader exists instead of grogu (i'm sorry, baby).

WARNINGS: very slight description of torture, violence and blood. major angst.

WORD COUNT: 5k.

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One day felt like a year.

A week onboard the light cruiser was hell and Moff Gideon was proven to be worse than the devil.

You’d barely slept and hunger constantly gripped your belly. You didn’t felt the urge to scream or to even beg for help, those instincts were long dead by now.

They were fascinated. A real Jedi or, at the very least, a live one, still yet to be properly trained (if you managed to survive this). So it wasn’t a surprise that because of their evil nature and in the name of “curiosity” you were obliged to use the Force until you fainted, over and over again.

It was a tragedy. In search of what would’ve been your home, you had found one with Din Djarin; and now the memories you'd learned to cherish seemed so far away in time that you started to doubt your mind.

(,,,)

Din sat against a rock; while you rested your back against his chest and between his legs. Just the two of you, the sound of the crackling fire and endless stars above your heads. You felt so little and yet, at the same time, that there was nothing that could stop you from conquering the entire galaxy.

“You got this.” his modulated voice came out lower than usual.

“Sh!” you silenced him with a half-smile. Your hand was extended, just a couple of meters away a small rock floated in the air, slowly approaching you. You’d tried it at least a dozen times and this one, you decided, would be the last.

Silence crept over you both. Too expectant to breathe for a few seconds.

You were certain, so confident. Then, fear invaded you. Your hand started to shake and so did the rock. You could feel yourself slowly losing control, anticipating a seemingly inevitable failure. You didn’t trust your power, having always been relegated to abandoning your true identity for your own (and everyone’s) safety.

Luckily, Din did have hope in you, and although he respected your wishes of quietness during this moment, it didn’t mean he couldn’t try to ease your mind through other means. After all, the Mandalorian felt more comfortable with actions than he felt with words.

So he snuck his hand beneath your hair and softly rubbed his thumb behind your ear, a soothing caress he often offered when you needed comfort.

It wasn’t a revelation that then, and only then, you felt enough peace to stabilize the Force and finally close your hand around the object.

“Oh!” both your eyes and mouth were wide open. You half turned towards Din — you were drunk in elation, still not wanting to miss the warmness of his body. “I got it!” you burst. You met his visor, but you could sense his eyes on you.

“What did I say?” he spoke. “You got this.”

You got this.

“I got this,” you mumbled, trying to hold on to comforting words carefully sheltered in your head.

You had been a prisoner of your own body for over a week now. Traveling only from your cell to the room you were currently held and vice versa. Having to extend your arm obediently when you were told so and use your powers as well.

Truth be told, there was nothing else you could do, except trying to keep your mind busy and start processing the facts: there were no (nor there would be) allies to your cause. You were alone and whatever the remains of the Empire had in store for you was still yet to be revealed.

Din would come for you, you were sure of that, but some hopeless part of your now broken soul was unsure he’d make it in time.

The door from your cell opened. A couple of troopers marched towards you. Between them, the man in the white coat you’d regularly seen since your arrival. He introduced himself by squeezing your arm, it was supposed to be gentle.

He wouldn't have done the same if you weren't cuffed and strapped into a stretcher. You thought about breaking free. Your hands around his neck, fear instead of the cockiness his eyes currently harbored.

The urge was sharp and violent and you enjoyed it while it lasted.

“How are you doing?” Like shit. You remained impassible.

He opened a case he’d been carrying and laid out the contents on a tray next to the bed. You knew what it was, you wish you didn’t. Needles of different sizes, scalpers, and syringes.

You winced when he took a needle and fitted it into a large syringe.

He smiled at you. "Be a good girl and stay still, will you?"

Fuck you. “Okay.” Even though you complied, both troopers were ordered to hold you down.

As usual, every movement from that moment was processed in slow motion. The doctor hovering the needle just a few millimeters over your skin, then, the hard cold steel piercing it. First a pinch; as it went deeper, burn; then ache. You wanted to trash but you couldn’t.

Your vision swam, and your head went thick. “It’s done.” was the last thing you heard before you blacked out.

(,,,)

“Are you seeing anything? Or are they supposed to see you?” Din queried, looking around.

You were sitting on top of the Seeing stone, drowned in confusion just like him. Still, you couldn’t help but giggle at his obvious deduction from the name of the place where you currently were.

“Yes, I-” you trailed off and furrowed your brows as you watched him thoroughly inspecting the rock. He was quiet, his thoughts were loud. Or maybe you just knew him too well by then. “… I see you” you tilted your head, reformulating your sentence into a question, “Are you searching for an interrupter, Din?”

He straightened his body and immediately backed away from it “No,” he was quick to deny. You kept your eyes fixated on him, and then a ghost of a smile appeared on your face. Finally, he corrected himself after a defeated sigh, “Yes.” he confessed.

You chuckled. You could’ve kissed him by then, if only you had the chance.

“I wish Ahsoka Tano would’ve told me more, but that’s not how it works.”

The Force seemed to be much more complex than you originally thought. And the Jedi you met in Corvus day’s ago should’ve cleared many things —instead, she baffled you, even more, shifting her entire demeanor when she sensed your connection with the Mandalorian.

Now, you were supposed to make contact with another Jedi without knowing how.

Din didn’t answer. He had left the previous planet just as frustrated as you, if not more.

“Well, look at the bright side—” you were cut by the sound of a ship circling the area. Both of you were immediately alarmed by its presence. Din ran to the edge of the mountain and followed it closely with his eyes. An attack craft was no good news. As much as he wished to complete the mission, there was no way he’d risk your safety. Both of you could come back later, he assumed.

He called your name, walking backward. “Time’s up, we gotta go.” he stopped abruptly when he finally turned around and saw you. He’d never seen anything of similar nature.

Your eyes were shut, strands of your hair floated like feathers in the breeze. Some kind of force shield had been erected around you. He screamed for you again. “Hey! Snap out of it, we gotta get out of here.” but wherever your mind was, it was far away from Tython now.

He even tried to pass through the force shield only to be violently expelled from it.

He grunted. The floor beneath him was hard, the realization he made hit harder: there was no way he could reach you.

His desperation only could grow when he spotted an unknown subject leaving the craft. “Dank Farrik!” he cursed. His hands were closed in tight fists, his gaze lingered on you. Leaving you was his last preference, he’d promised you he’d never do it until you were safe but it became the only viable option.

He had no power to interfere in whatever was happening to you up there, but he could take care of the problem on the bottom of that mountain.

Din pulled his blaster from the holder. “I’ll see if I can buy you some time.” he doubted you could hear him, but still he tried. “Can you please hurry up?” there was hesitation in his movement, his steps were slow and uncertain. Walking away from you had never felt so wrong, and yet he had no other choice if he wanted to protect you.

He would later learn that fear, desolation, and regret were very possible and present emotions in him as he could only stand and see the dark troopers taking you away.

(,,,)

The first thing you noticed when you woke up was your handcuffs.

The second thing was the light reflecting off them.

Your glance flickered from the Dark saber to Moff Gideon and then to the person he was talking to.

Until that moment, you weren’t sure if you were awake or hallucinating. But then everything became so real. His armor, his voice. As exhausted as you were, you took your time to caress Din with your eyes.

He was alive. Whole. Here.

You were in a dream.

He, on the other hand, sensed that his nightmare was far from over.

“You can keep it, I just want her,” he assured. The object of dispute between Moff Gideon and Bo-Katan had never sparked any interest in him. You were his only priority and his original quest had been long forgotten by then.

The Moff stood in silence, seemingly analyzing the proposal.

“Very well, I already got what I wanted from her.” he addressed. “All I wanted was to study her blood. You see, the girl is extremely gifted. And has been a blast with rare properties that have the potential to bring order to the galaxy.”

Din anchored his attention on you. All this talking did nothing but disturb him even more. You were so close and so far. Shut up, he wanted to say.

Instead, he remained quiet.

“I see your bond with her.” Din heard it before. Did he also believe what you both had it was dangerous? He didn’t wish or care to know. “Take her. But you will leave my ship immediately and we will go separate ways.”

If Din nodded, you missed it. He took cautious steps towards you. Your heart started to race in anticipation. You could already taste a decent glass of water, the sun kissing your skin, and the end of what was once an endless agony.

You extended your hand for him to take it. He was only a meter away.

It seemed so easy.

It would’ve been so easy.

But Moff Gideon bared only greed and darkness in his soul. He surrendered to no one, let alone a Mandalorian.

“No!” your scream ripped through your throat when you saw the Dark saber hovering over Din’s head. He was quick enough to block the hit and the ones that followed after, but the Moff was insatiable and they both disappeared into the hall.

You tugged at the cuffs, trying to get them off but it was impossible. Not when they were neutralizing your power. You were too weak to run, yet you still launched yourself at the door.

Your legs instantly gave in. You let out a hard groan but didn't stop to recover from the blow. You instantly laid your body on a side and with the own weight of your arms you started dragging yourself on the floor.

You had no visuals on Gideon and Din, still, the sound of the black saber colliding against beskar outside the room brought you some sense of calm.

They were still fighting, there was still time.

You just had to crawl a little bit more.

But the hallway seemed miles away, you were tired and you'd barely reached the doorframe when all fell silent.

"D–" your voice died before finishing the sentence. The thought of calling him and not receiving an answer infested your mind like a parasite. You wouldn’t survive that memory.

A rush of adrenaline took over your body, you started moving once again. Frightened, but not hopeless —not yet.

If Din hadn’t... If Din—

You would make sure to make Gideon pay. Maybe not with your mind, maybe with your own bare hands.

But your revenge would have to wait a few more minutes because someone blocked your path before you could reach the hallway.

Your eyes fixed over the boots in your line of vision. Where those his? You should’ve paid more attention to his clothes. If you did, you wouldn’t be trembling in fear. If you did, you would’ve instantly knew it was him, instead of waiting until he kneeled and reached for you.

He whispered your name. So loving and familiar. So soft it almost went unnoticed.

Your lips pursed into a tight line, your eyes were filled to the brim with tears. You didn’t want to cry. But your heart felt heavy and all that pain you had accumulated those days had to go somewhere.

It was inevitable to break down. To weep and shake as your thoughts bounced between what could've happened and what didn't.

Din seemed to sense this when he asserted, "I'm here." He quickly took care of the cuffs. You find relief around your wrist, but the pressure didn't seem to budge on your chest. “I’m here.”

There, on the cold surface of that cell, he hugged you for all the days he couldn’t.

One arm went around your back, his other hand rested against your head, fitting you against his body. You buried your face against his chest. He drew his fingers along the curve of your neck.

The well-known gesture felt completely different. Whereas before the calming effects of it were exclusively destined to you, it seemed that now it was he who needed it the most. He needed to make sure you were there. That you were real, alive, and well.

You vocalized your thoughts once you found the strength to do so, "I thought I lost you."

Din’s arms tightened around you, solid and warm. His heart would’ve broken right there if it weren’t filled with happiness. Your voice was the same. It was home. "No. I'm too stubborn to leave you." had you had the strength to chuckle, you would have.

You slowly raised your head and, for the first time, observed past his shoulder. You immediately regretted your decision. In the hallway, Moff Gideon laid against the wall, now in shackles, looking straight into your eyes. There was a smirk plastered on his face.

Din side-glanced the floor. The handcuffs, from which he had freed you, started to shake. Your back, once hunched and languid, was now rigid under his embrace.

“No,” he muttered. He separated and took your face between his hands. “Look at me.” you ignored him and focused on the man behind him. Gideon’s brow furrowed, his cockiness slowly fading away —the air in his lungs too. "Cyar’ika.” the whisper came out as a plead. His helmet blocked your vision now, his gloved thumbs slid over your cheeks. You blinked the lashes that framed your eyes. They would’ve looked innocent on anyone else. “Don’t. He can’t hurt you no more.” his voice was gentle and reassuring. You believed him.

He wouldn't hurt you, but he could –and would– hurt Din if given the chance.

That terrified you, and it was something you couldn't forgive or forget.

Din was waiting for an answer, so you gave him one, “Alright.” Moff Gideon would just have to wait.

You both stared at each other for a moment. You hoped your answer was convincing enough to buy Din's calm. It did, cause he dropped the subject and moved into another, seconds later, “Can you walk?” he asked.

You placed your palm on the floor and held Din's with your other hand. Your legs responded –slowly but steady, you got on your feet.

The Mandalorian held you by the waist, watching with caution until he was sure you could stand by yourself, "We have to go to the bridge" he announced. His voice was low enough to maintain what he was saying between you. “Moff Gideon will go to the front, I’ll stay behind, you can follow me.” you couldn’t tell if it was a proposition or an order.

“It’s ok. You said it yourself, he can’t hurt me.” Din tittered and shook his head.

“It’s not you who I’m worried about”.

(,,,)

You’d felt at ease once you met the familiar faces that had come to your rescue. Cara didn’t hesitate to hug you when she saw you, while Fennec limited herself to a comradely nod from afar.

Koska and Bo-Katan had been a completely different story. They didn’t take it lightly when they saw Din in possession of the Darksaber. You glanced at Moff Gideon, his victorious grin made much sense then —he knew of the traditions and what gave power to the saber. He also appreciated how Bo-Katan was as obsessed as him with it —purposely sinking his finger in her wounded pride.

Although Din had yielded, his peace offering was unwelcomed, as well as his intentions to give her the saber. The last thing you needed was internal conflicts, but you were willing to fight anyone if you had to protect the person you'd care about the most.

The rising tension was —luckily or not— shut down by the alarms going off and then Fennec reporting a breach in the ray shields of the ship.

Moff Gideon, with a disgusting proudness in his voice, announced the dark troopers.

Lines formed between your eyebrows, "Dark troopers?"

Fennec took care of your confusion. "Problems." Her answer was vague, but you could deduce from it, at least, the essential: you'd have to fight against them —inhuman killing machines that doubled your size. The chances of winning were minimal, but you couldn't have gotten this far only to surrender.

You approached the screens and took a seat in front of them. The dark troopers kept coming. Din had trouble fighting with one earlier, and now you were six against too many. Five if they didn't count you. You were still weak, no powers, no Force —you were utterly useless.

Someone softly squeezed your shoulder. You looked up and your eyes met with beskar. "I'm gonna get you out of here." He could try. His words had always given you security. You assumed it was your damaged spirit that doubted them for the first time.

You fixed your eyes on the screen again, Din went to the front among the others. The dark troopers marched towards the bridge. They were getting closer and closer and all you could do was prepare yourself and wait.

"Seal the blast doors!" Fennec commanded Koska.

You looked at the cameras.

They were there.

The two dark troopers in the front started pounding on the door. The material they were made of was resistant, but not indestructible. It was only a matter of minutes before they could get through it.

"You have an impressive fireteam protecting you," Moff Gideon spoke. His voice exuberated confidence. He appreciated his upper hand in the situation and wasn't shy about it. "But I think we all know after a valuable stand, everyone in this room will be dead, but me and the girl."

Din didn't turn to look at you. Gideon's statement probably sent him the same eerie sensation as it did to you.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. The thought of him speaking so lightly of your friends' death almost made you puke.

If only you could've hurt him. You had the will, but not the power.

The alarm went off a second time. All of you looked at your right, throughout the windows: A ship flew past the cruiser. Closer monitoring allowed you to identify it as a lone X-wing fighter. Just one. Cara whispered something about being saved, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Incoming craft, identify yourself." Bo-Katan solicited. Radio silence.

The dark troopers outside stopped pounding at the door. You looked at the cameras outside the bridge. They made a half-way turn on their place and armed themselves.

Everyone was too baffled to be relieved about it. Everyone but you.

Your eyes were glued to the screen. The hooded figure that disembarked was just a visual confirmation of what you had sensed as soon as the craft had landed in the docking bay.

There was no more such thing as uneasiness. The air felt lighter —in it, an invisible string pulling you towards the unknown subject.

No. Not unknown. You knew what and who it was —long before he'd displayed his lightsaber. You knew why he was here, as well as his intentions. You just didn't want to acknowledge the consequences of his presence —and what it meant for you.

You turned around and searched for the Mandalorian, only to find Moff Gideon on his feet and pointing a blaster at Bo Katan.

He fired at her, four or five times, you didn't exactly count —it was enough to knock her out of the way.

There was nothing between you and him now. Whereas he'd expressed before the possibilities of keeping you alive for further studies about the Force, it wasn't a viable option anymore. He would rather kill you than let the Jedi get his hands on you.

You had no way to defend yourself. So you looked at him in the eyes and held your breath, resigned, once again, to a destiny written by foreign hands.

You waited for the shots but they never came. Instead, the air was knocked out of your chest as you were thrown to the floor by someone. You winced at the harsh contact. At least you didn't have a hole in your body. You had closed your eyes by instinct, blinking felt such a waste of energy by then.

You focused on Din's helmet while he frantically inspected your body for any wounds.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

No, you were not. You were numb, expressionless, stunned, motionless. You felt your throat closing up. To speak would mean abandoning the shelter of your conscious, where you still believed to have more time with him.

But you didn’t, and Din needed to be aware of this.

Tears welled up in your eyes before you whispered, “It’s time.”

His posture stiffened above you. Though it was never a serious conversation, he’d recalled both of you touching the subject very on the surface. Always in a light, joking manner. “Oh, what will you do when I’m gone?” you’d ask. Din would follow with a snicker and tease you for the sake of your dynamic. “Get a good night of rest.” Truth be told, you could’ve never fathom to properly rest far from each other.

You wished, or rather begged with your eyes, for him to say something, anything —but he chose silence. Was his nightmare the same as yours? Or had he come to accept, long before you did, your true path?

He took you gently by the hands and helped you get up. He guided you to the front, slow and steady.

“Open the door,” the bridge was noiseless. No answer whatsoever to his request. Din insisted, “I said, open the door.”

Fennec raised an eyebrow, aiming at the entrance. “Are you crazy?” all the dark troopers were destroyed, but you couldn’t blame the group for their wariness. It had been a long day, a long journey, too many enemies in your path to trust so easily the person waiting on the other side.

You walked past by Gideon, who laid unconscious on the floor. His attempt to kill you felt so far away in time. Now, you faced something worse and more dreadful than death itself.

Din ignored the verbal protests and pressed the button himself. The blast doors opened. The green glow of the lightsaber was visible before his body. Everyone waited as he entered the bridge. The sick, anxious feeling in your gut only increased when he withdrew his lightsaber. The memories of your time on the seeing stone came back altogether. You recalled his face, he was in your dream, he was the one who had reached out and —oh, you wished you could retract your cry for help.

“Are you a Jedi?” Din found the courage to ask.

Yes, he is. You knew his identity before he could tell you so. Luke Skywalker.

“I am,” he confirmed and then looked at you. He reached out a hand, you squeezed Din’s. “Come, please.” you trusted this stranger as if you had known him all your life. The Jedi wasn’t the problem, it was the man standing next to you.

“She doesn’t want to go with you.” Din’s authoritative tone and firm stand made it clear that he shared the same wishes as you.

But Luke knew better than to give in to the whims of your hearts. If only they were reason enough to rebel against him, “She is strong with the Force. But talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect her, but she will not be safe until she masters her abilities.”

Your fingers lingered over Din’s as you broke the grip on his hand and took a step forward. For a moment, you considered the option of leaving everything behind without looking back. To spare the pain of goodbye seemed the happiest ending you could get.

Then you remembered how uncertain and unpleasant the future could be. Very few souls in the galaxy could survive regret, an ‘I should’ve’ was more gut-wrenching than any blast to your chest.

So you turned around and face him one more time. You offered a tremulous smile, drops wet the corner of your lips.

He, as always, tried to offer some peace of mind you couldn’t find by yourself. “I’ll see you again. I promise.” you hated the bleakness that tainted his voice. Still, you found yourself wordless, nodding at his words.

You extended your hand, the tip of your fingers brushed his helmet. It was cold, lifeless, so much different from what was inside of it and who you had learned to know. Din’s hand went up and reached for yours, for a moment you thought he’d push it away. Instead, he put it on the helmet and slowly removed it.

What in the past was deemed unlikely, was now a solid dream.

You lingered on the coffee eyes that studied yours, on the small crease between them above the line of his bold nose. His hair —you wanted to jump in his arms and run your fingers through that hair. Your eyes wandered over his mouth, following its curve and pout, as if he was just about to speak. You wanted to crush your mouth against his lips.

So you did.

Time stopped in a collision of senses when your lips met his. Your heart pounded in your chest as your knees got weaker. You could only focus on how soft he felt against your mouth, in how addictively he invaded your senses.

There was raw emotion in the way his fingers closed behind your neck, in how he squeezed you against his body. With your eyes closed, you weren’t sure if your mind had tricked you into a perfect present.

But then you opened them again and he was there. Closer than ever.

“We will meet again.” your voice quavered in a whisper. You threw your head back just to take a full picture of his handsome face. Tears fell over his cheeks, you brushed them away with your thumbs. “Someday, somewhere, we’ll get to be together.” you lowered a hand and placed it on his chest. “Until then, keep me here, ok?”

This time, Din draped both of his arms around your frame and met your lips halfway. It was short, intense, and everything that needed to be said was said with it, “I’ll wait for you as long as I have to, ner runi”.

You stole him one last kiss before you let him go.

There was nothing said between you and Luke as you left the bridge side by side. More tears cascaded through your face the further you walked away. You knew this was the way it should be, but never would it hurt so bad. The Mandalorian was supposed to be only an eventuality and ended up being half of your heart.

You reached the elevator and turned around. It took a massive amount of bravery to look at a loved one in the eyes as you parted ways, so you gathered every cell full of courage in your body and looked at Din.

You were still crying, so was he. But you had made peace with the past, the present, and the future — both of you knew, one way or another, you were destined to each other, whatever the odds you’d have to face.

The elevator doors were closing. Your smile grew wider and wider as you realized, not too late, just in time, “I love you, Din Djarin.” he didn’t have to say it back for you to know he felt it too.

You had promised to find him as soon as you could and you intended to keep your word.

#the mandalorian #star wars #din djarin #pedro pascal #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin imagine #din djarin one shot #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #star wars imagine #the mandalorian imagine #my work

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amiedala · 3 years

Text

SOMETHING MORE (the mandalorian x reader)

CHAPTER 25: Tied

RATING: Explicit (18+ ONLY!!!)

WARNINGS: violence, suggestive content

SUMMARY: “Nova. Cyar’ika—” he whispers, and you flinch against the nickname, against the life you once had together, “I want you back. Need you. I need you.”

“Too late. You blew it,” you manage, and even though every cell in your body is telling you to stay, to forgive him, you try to do what you used to do best. Run.

“Cyar’ika,” Din says again. No, he’s pleading with you. “Please—”

“I looked it up,” you whisper, through shards of glass. You’re trying so hard to stay angry, but you’re teetering on heartbroken. “Cyar’ika. It doesn’t just mean sweetheart. It means beloved.”

He stares at you. You’re on the verge of tears. “Please,” he repeats, and Maker, he sounds almost as broken as you do, but you can’t help yourself.

“It means beloved,” you seethe, “and you fucking left me.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: HELLO MY LOVES HAPPY SOMETHING MORE SATURDAY!!! this chapter is an absolute WHIRLWIND of emotions, and i am so excited to share it with you all!!! i hope you love it!! <3

“What are you doing here,” you manage, voice shaking. You have to grab onto the bar to steady yourself, keep your body upwards.

“I’m sorry,” Din says, and it comes out as a whisper. “I was wrong.”

You know how much this means to him. You know that coming here, after everything, wasn’t the plan. You know how much it means that he came back at all, how he’s standing in front of you, how he tracked you down after leaving you behind on Dantooine, how he probably followed your footsteps from Dantooine to Hoth to Polis Massa to here. You know how he’s standing here, unmasked, unmoored, undone, and it takes everything in you to back away.

“Please,” Din begs, and it’s so desperate that it makes you shake your head and move out from behind the bar, pull him into a quieter corner. People are staring. Gaping, actually. It’s closing time, and there’s barely anyone else left in the cantina, which means that all eyes are on the two of you. You can’t stop staring at him, so unencumbered, without his helmet. Everything in you wants to cover up Din’s face, to make everyone stop staring at him. Even hurt, even heartbroken, you can’t bear to watch him throw away his Creed, the one thing he had left.

He’s not even registering the glances he once was so terrified of. All he’s focused on is you.

“What are you doing here,” you repeat, crossing your arms over your chest to hide your shaking hands. “You left me.”

“I shouldn’t have,” he says, and it barrels over your own words. “Leaving you there—leaving you at all—was the worst mistake of my life.”

“It was.” You bite down, trying not to hide. “What do you want from me?”

“Nova. Cyar’ika—” he whispers, and you flinch against the nickname, against the life you once had together, “I want you back. Need you. I need you.”

“Too late. You blew it,” you manage, and even though every cell in your body is telling you to stay, to forgive him, you try to do what you used to do best. Run.

“Cyar’ika,” Din says again. No, he’s pleading with you. “Please—”

He stares at you. You’re on the verge of tears. “Please,” he repeats, and Maker, he sounds almost as broken as you do, but you can’t help yourself.

“It means beloved,” you seethe, “and you fucking left me.”

You turn on your heel. He says your name again, your real one, and you close your eyes against it, striding back to the bar. “I lost the kid,” he says, and that stops you. Immediately. Like a tractor beam, you freeze, turn, and stride back to him.

“What do you mean lost,” you choke out, hand coming up in his beautiful, broken, unmasked face. You knew, all along that your visions had been premonitions. You knew it months ago, and you had it solidified on Tython when you saw the Crest blown to smithereens. But the way Din’s mouth curves around the word lost, it sounds like Grogu is dead and gone.

He closes his eyes against your fury, and you inhale shakily, moving your hand back, shoving it in your pocket to contain it. “I…I had to give him up.”

“Had to?” He nods, swallows. You’ve studied him for more than long enough to recognize that he’s close to tears himself. You don’t push it. “Tell me what happened.”

“After we—we met Ahsoka,” he says, and your jaw clenches against her name, against the events that happened after her, “I took him to Tython. It didn’t go well. He—didn’t talk to anyone that I could see.” He swallows, eyes darting around your surroundings for the first time. “He—he got taken by Gideon’s soldiers.”

“I know,” you say, wiping a tear away as subtly as you can, “I—I mean how? What happened, exactly?”

“It was a planned attack,” he says through clenched teeth. “I had help, but they weren’t—enough. And Gideon’s troopers blew up the Crest.”

Your heart clenches at the memory of it, that the ship that was once your home is destroyed forever. In an instant, like it’s nothing. Like it felt when Din left you. “Who helped you?” You don’t know why you’re asking this. You know it was Luke Skywalker, but if the Crest was destroyed between Tython and Gideon’s cruiser, he had to have help elsewhere. You need to know the baby is okay. Your whole body feels like it’s been thrown into the lava rivers on Mustafar.

“Cara,” Din admits, and this makes sense. You breathe a sigh of relief—a tiny one, barely air at all, but enough to make your heartbeat quiet instead of quicken. “Bo-Katan and Koska. Fennec Shand,” he continues, and you narrow your eyes in confusion, “and Boba Fett.”

You stare at him. “Boba Fett?”

He nods, confused. “Yes. And Fennec Shand.”

“Boba Fett?” you repeat, loudly, and the music in the cantina cuts. You flutter your hand impatiently at the band, who have, somehow, been tiredly playing a background track throughout all of this, and they start up again. “The…the bounty hunter?”

Din nods. “Yes.”

“Eaten by a Sarlacc pit Boba Fett?”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Killed by Han Solo Boba Fett?” You stare at him, completely lost. He’s giving you nothing. “The—the unaltered clone Boba Fett?”

He startles at this. “Clone?”

You look at Din in utter disbelief. “You were helped by a legendary, Empire-contracted, elitist, dead bounty hunter,” you say. “Okay.” You wouldn’t believe him if it wasn’t him standing in front of you, completely confused. You swallow. You know how this story ends, but you need to hear it come out of Din’s mouth. “Then what?”

“We…all of us, we went to Moff Gideon’s ship. We barely made it out.”

“But you—the baby?”

“Grogu was fine.” He swallows. “Is fine. The dark troopers Gideon had—one nearly killed me. They were indestructible. But,” he says, and his voice is shaking again, “then a single X-Wing pulled up out of hyperspace. It came out of nowhere. When I saw it…” his voice is so quiet it’s barely anything at all, “I wished it were yours.”

You’re crying. Completely uncontrolled. You don’t know what to say. Din continues, quieter still. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” He pauses. “The Jedi…he was unlike anything I’ve ever heard. He took out an entire army of dark troopers with just his lightsaber and the Force. When he got to the bridge…he’d slaughtered all of them. Singlehandedly.”

You choke up.

“He knew…he said Grogu would be safe with him. That he’d teach him. He was one of his kind. I had to,” and his voice breaks over the syllable, “I had to let him go.”

You close your eyes. “Who was he?” You know the answer already. But, like everything else, you need Din to say it.

Din looks at you. “I…didn’t ask his name.”

You’re exasperated. Maker, he’s like the side character in his own story. “I—what did he look like?”

Din’s silent for a minute, eyebrows furrowed like he’s trying to remember. “Tall. Blonde hair. He…he has a robotic hand. A green lightsaber.”

“General Skywalker,” you breathe, even though this all makes sense, this is everything you’ve seen, but hearing Din put all the pieces together breaks your heart all over again, all the syllables coming out pitched and altered, and he looks at you, somehow confused again. “General Luke Skywalker,” you enunciate, and he startles.

“From your stories?”

You blink. You’re dumbfounded. “From the fucking Rebellion, D—”

You cut yourself off. Abruptly. He’s standing there in front of you, in front a whole cantina filled with people, with his Creed broken, with his mask off, but his name is the one sacred thing he has left. Even furious, even heartbroken—you can’t take that away from him, too.

“Nova,” he starts again, and you hold up a shaking head.

“Where is Gideon?”

Din steps toward you, you step back. He pauses. He looks just as broken as you feel, and still, you can’t forgive him. You can’t even let him touch you, because you know you’ll be a goner if he does. The second his hands go on you, you’ll forgive him. Even if it hurts like the scar Jacterr left up your belly, even if it breaks you in the same way Din leaving you did, you’ll forgive him. You just stare at him, trying to project the same look that he gave you when he found out about your Force sensitivity—betrayal.

“Bo-Katan has him,” Din answers quietly. “She took him back to Mandalore as her prisoner. I don’t think there’s any way that he’s getting out of her clutches—”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” you interrupt darkly, swiping at the strand of hair hanging down in front of your eyes before Din’s familiar touch can do it for you, tuck it behind your ear. “If the baby’s still out there—if I’m still out there—Gideon will do everything in his power to get to us, take us back. You’re not safe here,” you say, trying to steel your voice, “with me, you’re not safe. Right? That’s what you told me. So you should go. Leave Tatooine. Don’t look back.”

Din cocks his head, staring at you. “Novalise,” he starts, his voice just as daggered as yours was. “Nova, I never wanted to leave you. I—I thought you would be safer if I did, if I split you and the kid up so that Gideon would come after us instead—”

“Bullshit,” you spit back at him. The word is dirty, dark. It sends Din reeling. “Bullshit, you never wanted to leave me. You abandoned me on Dantooine, the same place you kissed me for the first time. The place we started our lives together. Remember that? You dumped me like it was nothing. Like I was nothing. I don’t care if you did it to protect me,” you continue, even though your voice is all wavery, “you gave me everything in the galaxy and then you took it away. I’m just supposed to get over that?”

“No,” Din says, earnest, pleading. He tries to reach for you again, and you yank your arm out of his grasp. It slams up against the wall, but you barely register it. Din lets his own arms fall at his sides, looking utterly defeated. “No, but I—I promise, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you—”

“Fat chance,” you seethe, even though that’s all you want. Your voice isn’t even an imitation of confident anymore, it’s broken and fractured through. “Have a nice life, Mandalorian. Don’t you dare try to follow me.” You don’t want to do it. Everything in you, all the strength and promises you built up over the last year, are screaming at you to stop, to go back, to forgive him. But you can’t. Something in you, some sort of resolve, is so much stronger than logic. You don’t even look back, no matter how much you want to. You just grab your shit and leave the cantina, making a break for it the second you can, full on crying, running wildly towards where Kicker is parked in the hangar. You don’t want to leave this planet. You’re so exhausted of moving, of being on the run. Din promised you he’d kill Gideon, and it’s just another on the laundry list of how many he’s broken. Gideon’s alive, with Bo-Katan, sure, but he’s out there. The people living in the shadows of the Empire, they’re out there too. You’re not safe. You don’t know why you ever believed Din’s promise that once Gideon was dead, you’d be out of danger. You’re Force sensitive, the mother to another Force sensitive being, you’re in the Rebel Alliance, you know Luke Skywalker has your kid. You’re always going to be in danger.

You’re so full of heartbreak and tears, you don’t notice the people huddled around Kicker at first. It’s a stupid mistake, a foolish one, but you don’t even have your thumb on your blaster when one of the men steps forward to grab you.

“She’s prettier than her puck says,” he smirks, and you tug as hard as you can to rip your arm out of his grasp. It doesn’t work. He drags you in closer. “Why are you on the run, gorgeous?”

“Not a runner,” you spit back, stomping on his foot. It’s enough for you to stumble backward, but you collide into the backs of the two other men he’s with, “not a bounty either, so—”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” the first man says, stepping forward. You look frantically up at your ship, making sure that it’s in your reach if you can somehow, miraculously, get away from the three of them before they drag you away. The way the man in front of you is smiling looks so much like Merle. “Look.” He presses a button on his bounty puck, and a hologram of you pops up, your hair tied back neatly, your eyes gleaming. It looks like you and not like you at the same time. You don’t look hardened. Your features are soft, slightly rotating in the dusk. You squint.

“You’re not in the Guild,” you say quietly, fear bubbling up in the pit of your stomach, “are you?”

“Guild doesn’t pay us like the Empire does,” the man holding you says, grinning, looking down at you hungrily, “and you’re a hot ticket, pretty girl.”

You swallow. You’re scared now, for real. Not just because three men have you captive, but because there’s no logistical way that you can get out of their grasp, and even if you do, they’ll see you run straight for Kicker. You’re taking the very slim chance that they don’t know it’s your ship, but if they do, they’ve already alerted everyone they’re working for, and you’re in as much danger out in space as you are on Tatooine. Or, really, anywhere.

This would be the time that Din would normally come to your rescue. But he’s not yours anymore, and you told him not to follow you, so now more than ever, you’re on your own. You swallow. You’re trying so hard not to look scared, but you’re terrified. There’s no way you can even get word to Wedge, not without a direct line to him, since the Alliance’s servers have become fortified and secretive, and even if you’re not getting dragged to Gideon, you’ll be somewhere, held captive, completely alone without a chance in the galaxy of getting out alive.

It hurts more this way. You were so close to escaping it—the danger Gideon put you in, from the life you’ve been living for the past few weeks. You miss Grogu. You miss your parents. You miss Din. It hurts, just as much, to simply admit it to yourself, but it’s the truth. And if you’re going to be taken hostage by these creeps who look at you like you’re a piece of meat before they look at you even as a bounty, you might not get out of it alive. Everything you’ve been running from, all three of you, it’s right here, right now, right in front of you.

You close your eyes.

“Come with us,” the one in front of you taunts, but you don’t dare open your eyes to look at him, “and we’ll treat you right, baby, I promise—”

“My name is Novalise,” you murmur, not loud enough for any of the three of them to really hear it, but loud enough for them to know that you’ve spoken. And then, louder, “and I’m not going anywhere with you.”

The one holding your right arm yanks you back. Hard, enough for you to stumble, but in the chaos, your left hand comes free. It’s not enough to push them all away, your strength has been depleted from weeks and weeks of running and hiding without a break, but you take your chance. It’s quick. The sky is fully dark, now, both suns disappeared over the horizon. You know that this is your one shot to break free, so you let everything run out of you backwards—Din leaving you, the loss of the baby, Luke Skywalker, rejoining the Alliance, Wedge finding you back on Dantooine, your parents’ deaths—and unleash it in one roar, lifting your free hand.

The guy in front of you, skittered to the ground in the chaos, grabs at your outstretched palm. You smile at him as he snatches it, a real one, because you don’t need it. This is new, being able to move things—people—with only with your mind and the Force alone—but you can feel the strength of it, the vitality. It doesn’t matter that your head doesn’t know what to do. Your body does.

You pull the thug holding you closer, close enough to touch, and the fucker’s eyes are still lit up with the thought of getting to grab you again, and you don’t show him any mercy, no Force knockouts, no gentle pushdowns. You bring up your knee in between his open legs, hard, and the noise he makes when he doubles over, howling at the top of his lungs, almost makes the moments he held you, ready to devour, worth it. He’s cursing in three different languages that you can track, but you’re preoccupied with the other two. The man who spoke, who held your bounty puck, is still struggling to get off the sand, so the other man, the biggest one, lunges at you.

They’re so predictable. Men, these kinds of men, men that want to take you and eat you and spit you back out for seconds, men who think that voicelessness means yes, men who only go after people they deem weaker than themselves, they all make the same moves. This one’s trying to tackle you. You’re so good at evading tackles. You tuck and roll, easy, landing on your feet like it’s nothing. It’s like flying—that freedom, using the liminal space midair to take your shot, to use your punches. You do, eventually. You’re so sick of playing the offense, and when the big guy comes at you again, you let him lift you up in the air and haul you over his shoulder, and then you use his trapezius to push off into the open air, already knowing the Force will catch you before you go down too hard. He wails as you yank his arm, dislocating his shoulder, and then two out of three men twice your size are writhing on the sandy ground, unable to touch you.

The last man—the one who stopped you, the one who showed you the puck, is seething. He’s the scariest, even though he’s the smallest, because he has the same sick, determined fury in his eyes that Moff Gideon did. You swallow, tucking your hair behind both ears, holding your ground, out of reach of all three of them.

“You might not be worth all this trouble,” he says. You don’t doubt he means it.

“I’m not,” you say, shrugging. “Really. You can leave here, forget you ever saw me, or you can have me defeating you in your head forever. Either way, I win. But in one, you get to win too.”

“You’re worth just as much dead as you are alive,” he spits at you. “We were only taking you in as is because of the kindness of my heart. I don’t normally like to kill little girls,” he says, “or use them, either, but you’re an exception. I’ll give you to Gideon stripped down to nothing, freshly dead—”

And then he’s not speaking anymore, because his head is blown clean off.

You shriek, ducking and hiding behind a ship as quick as you can, hands fumbling towards the blaster strapped to your thigh before you realize how shaky your grip is. You spend a few seconds in the dark that feel like full hours, trying to figure out how to get free from the shooter before you hear your name. It’s unmodulated.

You peek out from behind the ship. “I thought I told you not to follow me,” you say, trying to sound confident, angry, staring at Din in the dusk and dust. The two other men you incapacitated are trying to get up. Din sinks blasts into both of them. You think they flash like stunners do, but you can’t be sure if he just killed all three of them. And, honestly, at this point, you’re so exhausted that you don’t really care. You swallow.

“I didn’t,” Din answers, voice quiet. “I left the cantina and then I heard all the noise.”

“I had it handled,” you squint at him, trying to project confidence and disgust, but neither of those feel accessible—or real—right now. “You didn’t have to kill him—”

“I recognized them,” Din interrupts, voice scalding. “Lowlifes. Scum dragged from the depths of the Empire. They would have kept chasing you down. It’s my job to protect you.”

“It was,” you say, measured, stepping forward, crossing your arms over your chest. “You know, until you fucking left me. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m stronger than you are now.”

Din stares at you. “Cyar’ika—”

And then he’s cut off by the familiar, horrible screech of TIE fighters. You curse, loudly, and then you dive behind Kicker, climbing up the gangplank backwards. There’s a few of them, at least five, maybe more. Their dark bodies are silhouetted against the blackness of Tatooine’s night sky. No matter what, though, you can’t take them on yourself. You need to be in the sky. You’re almost in the cockpit when you catch a flash of Din just standing there, helmet off, staring up at the fighters with this blank, resolute look on his face. When they start shooting at him, he doesn’t move, standing there, resolved, making peace with death.

“You—” you start, and then you’re hurling yourself down the ladder. Your fight-or-flight isn’t screaming flight, right now. It’s yelling at you louder than your determined, emotional heartbreak is. If you leave Din here, he’ll either let the troopers take him out or keep putting himself in danger until someone else does.

And as angry as you are, as much as it hurts, watching the man you love die isn’t something you can do. Not ever. Not even now. Your hands are full of beskar and yanking it towards you before Din registers you’re dragging him towards the ship. He starts to argue, but then a blast fires, close. Too close. Wordless, eyes wider than normal, he nods, hauling himself up the gangplank behind you as you run for the controls.

“Hold on to something!” you scream, flipping all the switches, giving the dashboard one swift pounding to wake Kicker from her grumpy slumber. It works, miraculously, and you’re airborne. The starfighter doesn’t handle like the X-wing did. It’s more streamlined, but the balance is definitely off, especially with another person onboard, and somehow, it’s clunkier. Still, you’ve had plenty of practice with getting yourself out of sticky situations, and when you fire at the fighters, it’s like muscle memory. You still hate killing. It lives, awful and dangerous, at the back of your mind, always. You have nightmares about it, even when it’s you trying to stay alive. But right now, you’re all tapped out of emotion to give. You send a volley of blasts, slightly off so that the fighters don’t immediately explode in their fiery deaths, and allow a soft smile when it hits three different wings, sending them into a dangerous tailspin to the ground, but nothing they could die from. You fly through the blasts from the last few, and when you’ve chased them out of Tatooine’s atmosphere, you disengage the controls. You don’t know if Din strapped into something, if he’s even hanging on to anything, but you’re safe, nestled into the safety belts, and you go weightless. It feels like a freefall back to the planet, and the fighters think they’ve got you, but then you power the ship back up and hurl every single thruster you have into warp, and you’re gone.

Despite it all, despite everything, you smile, heartrate slowing, letting yourself stay suspended in the victory for just a few minutes. You’ve earned it.

Once you let the controls go, you turn around to see Din standing there. He still looks so uncomfortable without his helmet on, so restricted, so broken. It slices you down the middle, but you lift your chin. “Told you,” you breathe, finally, and one of his thick eyebrows lifts. “I’m stronger than you are.”

He stares at you. “You always have been,” he says, lowly, voice strangled. “Always. Even when I didn’t know it—”

“Don’t grovel,” you manage, your words coming out high and breathless. “Don’t. I only saved you because I knew you wouldn’t have fought off the ships. You’ve been lost. Reckless. But I’ve never known you to be suicidal,” you say, leaning back against the seat, “so what the hell was that back there?”

Din sighs. It’s so quiet in here, the hulking kind, the kind that made space feel like prison in the first few days after Din left you on Dantooine. “You aren’t m—mine anymore. The kid got taken. I didn’t have much left to live for. What’s the use in fighting if it’s going to be a quick death?”

You stare at him, eyebrows furrowed down the middle. “You are not,” you say, breath heaving in your chest, “ever allowed to give up and die again. Do you understand that?”

Din’s shoulders sink towards the floor. It looks like all the tension in his body has evaporated. “Nova—”

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you,” you interrupt firmly, “but I mean it, Din Djarin, if you ever willingly try to leave this galaxy again, I will bring you back to life myself. You don’t just try to die. You have to talk to someone if you’re feeling that…defeated. Understand?”

“Yes,” he answers quietly. “I’m sorry—”

“Stop,” you say, voice barely anything at all, but he does. You’re exhausted. “Stop apologizing to me. I’m not ready to forgive you. I’m not—” you cut yourself off, bringing your fingers to the knots in your neck, “you’re not going to stay with me. I’ll leave you somewhere safe, but this—all of it—this is over. You ended it when you left me instead of trusting me to protect myself, Grogu, and you. You can sleep down the ladder,” you offer, pointing at a spare blanket. “I’ll wake you when we land on the next planet.”

Din looks at you, and his heartbreak is written all over his face. You want to take it all back, everything, but you can’t. You have integrity. You have drawn a line in the sand, and you need to make sure no one—especially yourself—crosses it.

“Thank you,” Din manages, and with one meaningful, loaded look, he climbs down the ladder. You exhale, pressing your face into the pillow in your nest of blankets so that he can’t hear you sob. This, somehow, hurts worse than him leaving you. And you don’t want this. You want to forgive him. You want to go back to the cantina and go with him, and you want more than anything to just let all this go. But you can’t. You know you can’t. Because he didn’t trust you to protect him, this is you showing him you can, from an arm’s length away.

And, besides, you have places you can go. You can call Wedge and pick up new tasks for the Alliance. You can land back on Dantooine and visit Arlen. You can even go back to Tatooine once the dust clears, apologize to Kuna and pick up other jobs at the cantina. And, maybe, if you’re brave enough, you can ask Wedge to put you in touch with Luke, and you can learn how to be a Jedi, alongside Grogu, alongside whoever else the greatest one in the galaxy is training.

You can do it without Din. You don’t want to, but you can.

Your sleep is restless, fitful. Multiple times, you wake yourself up, biting into your pillow or the flesh of your arm to stifle your yells. If Din hears you downstairs, he doesn’t let on. When you wake for good, you drop out of warp, look to see where you are. You were halfway hoping for it to be some desert planet, somewhere he’ll hate being, but it’s Mon Calamari. Not the safest place, but not the most dangerous, either. It’s some sort of wet, desolate compromise. And it’s somewhere desolate enough that Din will have to work up the credits to get a new ship, have to work at tracking you down if he does decide to follow you anyway.

Or, you know, he could call his new best friend Boba Fett to give him a ride. You barely can escape one bounty hunter. You don’t even want to think about what two would do. Cara, you decide as you park in the landing bay, you’ll reach Cara, because even though she’s Din’s friend first, you also have a pretty good idea that she’d kick his ass for you if you even alluded to the hurt he caused you. Cara would help you hide, and then she’d tear Din to shreds.

Your stomach is in a knot when you dock. You don’t want to go downstairs and look Din in his soulful, apologetic brown eyes, because if he stares at you for one more second, you’re afraid you might break. But you have to, in order to get out of here, so you steel yourself, push your shoulders back, and slide down.

“Nova—”

You look at him. You don’t want to, but you do. It’s dark in here, but not dark enough to pretend you can’t see the contours of his face, your eyes lingering all over the places only you used to eb able to see. You press the button on the gangplank, wordless. He startles at the sudden burst of light, even though it’s rainy and miserable, and you can tell he’s nervous.

You stoop down to pick up his helmet. You push it, quiet, into his hands, breaking your gaze for just a moment to stare at it. “Put this back on,” you say, softly. There are Quarren walking around on the dock, but the dawn is barely over the horizon, and they’re not paying any attention to you.

“I can’t,” Din says, voice empty.

“You can,” you say, nodding. “You put it back on after you showed me. Besides, who’s gonna tell the galaxy they’ve seen you? Cara? Grogu? Luke?”

At Luke’s name, Din startles.

“Put it back on,” you repeat, quiet and firm. “I won’t tell anyone you broke your Creed.”

“Novalise—”

“Goodbye,” you say, gesturing for him to descend the gangplank with your eyes. “And don’t follow me. I mean it this time.”

Din walks down the ramp into the rain. He doesn’t say anything.

“Promise me,” you call after him, “that you won’t follow me.”

His helmet is back on. He doesn’t nod, just cocks his head at you, and because you can’t stand to stare at him anymore, you take that as an agreement. The second the gangplank is up, you collapse onto the ground, wrapping yourself in the blanket you gave to Din, breathing in his musk and metal and cinnamon and cleanness, crying hard enough that you can barely see the ladder on the way back up to the cockpit.

You’re not sure how you get out of there. Everything feels like a blur. You want to run to Hoth, to go back and sleep in the place you made your home for a solid few weeks, to be around fellow members of the Alliance who knew you well enough to keep you around but not well enough to pry into your past, your life, your mess. You want to go back to Dantooine and move in more permanently with Arlen and the other women at the sanctuary, but you know you’re in too much danger and the people who are after you won’t hesitate to let innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire. More than anything, more even than wanting the last month to not have happened at all, you want to go back to Yavin.

You’ve considered it. Seriously considered it, especially when it’s late at night and you’re lost out, castaway in the stars and silence, but you don’t know if you can bear to go back alone, especially when the last time that you were there, you got proposed to. And now all four members of your family are lost, stranded out there in the hulking, cruel quiet of space, and you don’t know how to light your own way back out. If you go to Yavin, it feels too much like an ending rather than a beginning. And you don’t trust your own shaky strength enough to try and flip the odds in your favor.

So you coast. You’re not sure for how long. Kicker has a clock in her, an old fashioned one built straight into the analog part of the dashboard, but you usually turn it off. You don’t like to think about the days you’re missing, because they all collide into how much time you’ve been wrenched away from Din and the baby. You fly, stopping every few planets for soap and food and water and whatever else you need, but for the most part, you stay up in the cosmos. You’re not sure if you need to actively be on the run or if you just need to avoid the Empire at large, so you’re careful. You don’t want to, but on one planet, you buy a can of paint and stretch it around the identifying symbols of orange rebellion. It’s not the best job, but it’s blurred enough that if people saw you, they wouldn’t immediately tag you for a Rebel. It feels dirty, guilty, to cover up something that’s so vital to your identity, but it’s a necessity.

You’re so tired of necessities.

When you do park Kicker more permanently, it’s on Ryloth. You hate it here. It’s swampy, and it’s swimming with Twi’leks who are undoubtably less dangerous and abusive as Xi’an, but seeing the teeth and skin are enough to make you second-guess your aim way back on Coruscant. You try to blend in, but there’s not a lot of humans who frequent this part of the planet, so you spend most of your time hiding away in Kicker, only venturing out to pick up food and drink and stretch your legs. Mostly, you just try to go unnoticed, wrapping your hair up in your shawl and pulling the hood down to your eyebrows, keeping your face trained on the ground so no one will catch your eye. You need a game plan, a good one, because you’re so tired of running. The threat was supposed to end with Moff Gideon, but Din couldn’t even make good on the promise he left you for, and now his particular shade is lurking somewhere imprisoned on Mandalore, existence taunting you even from parsecs away.

You could go to Mandalore. It starts as a joke, one you say out loud to the otherwise silent ship, because you’re going crazy when there’s no radio signal and there’s no one to talk to, a bitter, twisted one, because even though that’s the planet that Din technically belongs to, he wants to avoid it like the plague. You’re not sure how to feel about Bo-Katan—she’s commanding, graceful, kindhearted yet cold—but you’re a good fighter, and keeping Gideon close might be the only thing that could satiate the anxiety and nightmares that lurk on the edges of your sleep. It’s still a joke, but as the hours tick down, you’re considering it.

Not yet, though. You need to find somewhere with a comm system advanced enough to send a message to Wedge and the other fractured members of the Alliance without being detected, to show him you’re okay and also to make sure that you really can’t go back to Hoth. So you start plotting a course to do that—you know you can’t handle being back on Polis Massa, but there are comm centers on Balnab, and a bigger one on Coruscant—but you don’t think either planet would be safe enough to be on, both physically and emotionally. So you bide your time on Ryloth. When the planet’s atmosphere darkens at night, you wrap yourself up in your shawl despite the muggy, brutal temperature, and go for walks. Mostly, it’s to breathe in air that Kicker hasn’t turned stale and to keep your mind off your crushing solitude, but it also makes every little decision in your head get a bit easier to handle.

You aren’t expecting it. You never do, because when you’re at your most vulnerable, it’s when you aren’t paying attention, aren’t thinking about hiding. You hear your name behind you—your birth name, the one you haven’t answered to in years—and you freeze, slowly turning around to a horde of stormtroopers.

You sigh. Your hands are in the air. This is something that would have terrified you mere months ago, but you know you can beat them, even though there’s ten—maybe twelve—because you don’t need a weapon and because troopers have notoriously bad aim. But now, you’re exhausted. You’re not hardened from constantly being in danger, you’re just so bone-heavy, a tired even sleep can’t cure. “What?” you say, voice flat.

“There’s a warrant out for your arrest,” the trooper in front says.

You close your eyes. “Why?”

“Running and evading. Resisting arrest,” he volleys back, and you flick your eyes over to Kicker. If you haul yourself through the three of them closest to your ship, you can get to the gangplank. You don’t have your blaster strapped to your thigh, which was a really stupid, rookie mistake, but it’s the situation you in, so you try to inhale a breath deep enough to sustain staying upward.

“I don’t know if you guys got the memo,” you say blearily, “but the Empire’s gone now. You don’t have to be here, don’t have to do Gideon’s bidding—”

“Gideon?” one asks, stepping forward. “Oh, you’re mistaken.” His voice is full of venom. “If you think that Moff Gideon is your greatest threat, little girl, you’re in for a big, rude awakening.”

You want to come up with a snappy comeback, some sort of witty retort that’ll get blasters firing so you can move the bolts with your mind and get the hell out of here, but you’ve got nothing. You’re trying to show them that you’re not scared, that you can handle the sorry leftovers the Empire left behind in their wake, but Gideon has been your biggest fear for so long, you’d forgotten the possibility that he might not be the one calling all of the shots. Maker, you’re tired. You’re so tired.

But giving up isn’t in your blood, so you keep fighting.

“Funny,” you manage, finally, cocking your head at the last stormtrooper that just spoke, “your uniforms do look different. Who do you work for?”

“Come with us,” another one says, leveling the blaster up against your heart, “you’ll soon find out.”

“Mm,” you say, trying to keep your heartbeat as steady as it could be with this high-powered weapon pressed up against your chest, “I’ll pass. But let your boss know,” you continue, raising your left eyebrow enough to imitate that cockiness that panic takes place of, “war’s over. The Empire lost. Do you really want to do that twice?”

That does it. One fires, and it’s not the one that has the cool mouth of the blaster angled at your back, so you take your chance to dodge and drop, kicking the giant artillery as hard as you can. You’re much more of a kicker than you are a puncher, so you let yourself get dragged down to Ryloth’s surface so you can put your calves to good use. You’re no match for twelve troopers, not when you’re on the ground instead of airborne, but you feel even heavier than normal. Way heavier than normal, you realize, as your movements start slowing down, and when you blink twice, there’s about six guns in your face.

You got hit, you realize, there’s an open gash in your upper thigh, and you’re bleeding, but that’s not what’s disorienting you. They roofied you with a fucking dart when you were getting shot. You pull it out of your leg stupidly, staring at it, trying to make your eyes focus.

They don’t.

You’re panicked now, fighting and flailing against the drowsiness, but there are so many blasters swimming in front of your vision that you don’t trust yourself not to kick in the wrong spot and send yourself to a painful, ridiculous death.

“Not fair,” you slur, trying to remain as snippy and rebellious as you can while fighting off the tranquilizer they just shot you with, “dirty fucking move—”

“I have half a mind,” the one in front says, the one with the temper, “to strip you down for parts and leave you here for death,” and, Maker, you can feel the sneer in his voice, even through the stupid little modulator under their cowardly white helmets, “if we weren’t getting paid famously to keep you alive, I would—”

“You know,” you interrupt, and you know, somewhere, back in the part of you that’s still logical and lucid, “what happened the last time that someone said that to me?”

You feel the hiss of the modulator start to engage when, suddenly, he’s gone, too. You’re barely awake enough to see it, flailing on the ground, but when your head lolls sideways and your vision goes blurry, you catch the reflectiveness of Din’s beskar and something dangerous and electric as he slaughters every single trooper that pinned you down. Its’ hazy, so you think it’s just an extra-strength vibroblade, but there’s something more kinetic about it, and you stare, your focus oscillating in and out before you push it out of your mind entirely to berate Din for rescuing you twice when you said you didn’t want him to.

Finally, you feel like you have control over your words again. “I had—”

“It handled?” Din interrupts darkly. “Not this time.”

“—told you not to follow me.”

You’re being hauled into the air and being whisked away the few klicks to where the ship is, and when Din brings you onboard, your eyes, still unfocused, catch the carnage you left behind.

“Listening,” Din sighs, carrying you up the gangplank, hoisting you up the ladder, “is not my strong suit.”

“I’ve noticed,” you say, but all the malice and sarcasm that you loaded it with comes out all fuzzy. “Don’t feel so good,” you start, but then the blade of a needle is being stuck in your thigh, and you want to slap it away before it starts to kick in, shaking off all the drunken sleepiness that the tranquilizer sunk into you. “Oh.”

“We gotta go,” Din says, looking out the front window, “how the hell do you fly this thing?”

You stare at him for a second before you lug yourself off the floor, pushing down on the heels of your hands to rocket yourself upwards. You give a swift kick to the dashboard, and she comes to life, Kicker, this glorious, ridiculous beast you call yours, and you sling yourself into the pilot’s seat, fluttering a hand at Din to sit down or hang onto something. He obliges. When you pop out of the planet’s atmosphere, you see a barrage of menacing looking ships rocket out of warp, and you let out a string of curses underneath your breath.

“This is gonna get dicey,” you mutter, more to yourself than to Din, but he sighs in acknowledgement. “First, we get out of here. Then,” you continue, pressing a barrage of buttons and flipping multiple levers on the dashboard, “we teach you what not following me means.”

Din stares at you. Even under the helmet, you can tell. “Nova,” he says, quietly, voice halting like it’s catching somewhere between his mouth and the modulator, “I promised you forever. That doesn’t stop because I made a mistake—an awful, reckless, stupid mistake. I won’t ever leave you again. I—I’m—tied to you—”

You gawk at him, trying to settle on an answer between curses and tears, but the ships have caught wind of you and started firing, so you have the lovely, helpful distraction of being the Rebel fighter pilot you’ve spent the last month relearning. Kicker isn’t sleek, and she isn’t entirely responsive, but she’s fast. Fast enough that you can do all sorts of spins and shots while you’re still moving, a plus that the Razor Crest never could figure out. The ships are vast, and massive, but they’re slow. Especially in comparison to Kicker. Especially in comparison to you.

It does get dicey—their shots are fast and heavy, and their artillery completely outweighs yours—but you’ve had a lot of practice getting out of sticky situations relatively unscathed, and after the last month, you’ve had an equal amount of practice evading and escaping from the forces that still use their fallen Empire to justify death and destruction. You don’t stop shooting at them, but you take on your usual, pacifist kind of role, where you dodge instead of attack. You’re quick, and you’re fast, and you can keep up ten paces ahead of your movements in your mind, and it’s not long before you’re able to blast through a skeletal wing of a darkened fighter and hop into warp. You know they can’t follow you, because Kicker’s too quick and because they like to gang up on you instead of going on a wild goose chase, so you just gun it to go to the other end of this sector, deciding to just figure out how to get word of your safety to Wedge later.

Now, though, you can feel Din. His presence is large and lurking, demanding and stoic. With a long, quiet sigh, you exhale and turn around to face him. You’re sitting in your pilot’s chair, and he’s towering over you, but for once, you’re not intimidated. The both of you know you hold all the power here, and he’s waiting for you to speak.

“You left me,” you reiterate, and he winces at your words, harder this time than before.

“I—Nova, listen,” Din starts, trying to yank his helmet off.

“No,” you say quietly, and he freezes. “You left me like I was some problem to dump off elsewhere while you dealt with something on your own. And that something could have gone so much better if you had taken me along with you.”

“I know,” Din says, voice glum, defeated. “I—I knew it was a mistake. Almost immediately. But I did it to protect you, cyar’ika—”

“Don’t call me that,” you spit, and it’s so much angrier than you intended, but all the hurt filters up and out of your mouth, sharpening your words into malice. “Din, I held my own back on Er’kit. I protected you on Corvus. I fought off Gideon with nothing but my hands and mind. I know I’m not an experienced hunter like you are, I know that I’m untrained with too much raw energy, but did you really think that storming that bridge outnumbered would be a good idea?”

“I came back for you,” he says quietly.

“Bullshit,” you retort, immediately, before you startle with the memory of the Mandalorian helmet back on Dantooine while Wedge was taking you off to Hoth. “When?”

“After I lost the kid,” Din sighs. Slowly, as you watch, he sinks into his knees on the floor in front of you, his helmet leveling almost completely to your face. “When he got taken on Tython. I—I came to find you before I went to even Cara, to anyone else I knew. I realized how stupid I’d been, how I acted without including you in my decision. I didn’t t—think—”

“You didn’t think,” you repeat, lowly. Your voice is level. “So you just left me there on Dantooine, without thinking?”

“Yes,” Din murmurs, voice enunciated and intense. “I shut down. I’m used to protecting things, not to l—loving things. I fucked that up with you, and then I fucked it up again with the kid. I didn’t think. I just acted.”

“Loving things,” you echo.

Din stares at you. Your breath catches in your throat, wings stuck like a butterfly. You can’t breathe. The air in here is too stuffy, too intense. He’s never said that before, never used the word in the way you have, He’s told you he loved you by knowing you, by caring for you, by protecting you and then he broke you the second it was your turn to feel the same. Your stomach feels like a whole ocean that’s on fire.

“You know I lo—”

“Stop,” you say, and it comes out choked, like a sob. “Don’t say it now. Don’t you dare say it as a consolation prize to win me back. Say it because you mean it. Say it when I save you.”

Din freezes, again. You still can’t breathe. Everything in here is fuzzy around the edges, like it was when you got struck with the poison tranquilizer. Your breath catches again in your mouth, like it can’t touch the atmosphere of the ship around it. Din shuffles forward on one knee as he hooks his fingers under the rim of his helmet, and before you can stop him, he pulls it clean off. You stifle a small sob as he looks at you, his brown eyes dark and deep, filled with something colored like regret and guilt and, impossibly, belonging. What was it that he said earlier? That he was tied to you? You want to cut that string, but he’s magnetic, even when your heart is this broken, even after everything.

“You promised me you wouldn’t follow me,” you manage, around shards of glass. “I thought you were a man of your word.”

“I never promised you I wouldn’t follow you,” Din refutes, cocking his head slightly. “I just looked at you, and you pretended that was enough.”

“Din—”

“Let me prove to you I meant my apology,” he says, and he leans in. He’s electric. You’re on fire. “Please. Please, Nova, please, let me prove to you I mean it.”

“You’re tied to me?” you squeak. His lips, pink and divine, are so close to yours. You stare at them as his gaze bores a hole through you.

“What else does forever mean?” Din whispers softly, pushing his face into yours, his forehead resting, just for a second, against your own.

“I still don’t forgive you,” you say, trying to load your breathless voice with as much intention as you possibly can.

“I know,” Din murmurs, nodding, and you lean in to meet him in the middle. And then his lips are on yours.

I HOPE YOU LOVED IT!!!!!! we still have a whole arc to go my friends ;) i promise i'll let you all know when we're closing in on the last chapter, but for now, there's still more of SM yet to come, and, when it's over, the sequel will absolutely be coming! i hope you have a lovely week!! as always, i'd love to talk to you about your favorite parts of the chapter/theories of what's yet to come!

CHAPTER 26 WILL BE UP ON SATURDAY JUNE 19TH AT 7:30 PM EST!!!!

xoxo, amelie

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legobiwan · 3 years

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Maul, Obi-wan, and Raydonia

I was doing research for an entirely different post and I just...couldn’t leave this scene alone. There’s just too much going on here for me *not* to dip my oar.

So Maul goes to Raydonia and terrorizes the populace in order to send a “message” to Obi-wan at the end of TCW Season 4:

First of all, the panel where Maul says, “face me,” is interesting as Maul is directed away from Obi-wan as Obi-wan looks at Maul’s back, perhaps in facing Maul’s back, he is looking at the past, or, more specifically perhaps not being able to look at his past he cannot face Maul’s holoimage dead-on.

Secondly, this is such an obvious setup. (I know, I know. “Spring the trap.”) But Maul’s hilarious line in Twin Suns really shows us how much he not only knows Obi-wan, but the Jedi at this point (and in Rebels, he contrives this plan because it has worked twice already, on Raydonia and later, Mandalore):

Although this is not the point of this post, you have to laugh. Maul and Obi-wan, to some degree, have been dancing the same tango for over 20 years and the only time there had been a misstep, so to speak, was when Obi-wan left Ahsoka in charge of the second attempt at a Mandalore occupation instead of going himself. But otherwise, geez, no wonder Maul ended up in Obi-wan’s arms at the end of it all, just like a “dip” maneuver at the end of a dance as mentioned above. (They *know* each other’s moves, flit between lead and follow, and if you take this metaphor to its conclusion, then you realize Maul went to Tatooine, sought Obi-wan not because he wanted Luke, but because he wanted closure, knowing what closure would mean in that circumstance.)

But I’m getting off-topic. Maul goads Obi-wan by threatening to burn Raydonia to the ground and Obi-wan, of course, being of “noble heart,” immediately proclaims that he has to go. Alone, of course.

Mace, being the only voice of wisdom in this room, offers a sound strategy:

Obi-wan immediately rejects this perfectly viable option.

This justification is bullshit. Obi-wan is known for being a master tactician and yet he’s refusing Mace’s offer of backup? First of all, between the two of them alone, I’m certain they could have come up with a decent plan. Secondly, Obi-wan had to know that Maul wasn’t going to keep his word. Raydonia was going to burn, regardless of whether Obi-wan came alone or not.

And, in fact, here is Exhibit A of Raydonia burning:

Even if he isn’t fully aware of this, I posit that Obi-wan rejects Mace’s offer not because he wants to save Raydonia on the premise of a very false promise (if he were truly concerned about Raydonia, he would have taken the task force), but because, as the title of this episode suggests - he wants revenge.

And I doubt Obi-wan even admits this to himself, using his “noble-heart” to justify going to Raydonia alone to face a massive threat to both the Republic and Jedi in the middle of a war headed by the Sith.

By every logical, tactical measurement, Obi-wan should have taken backup. And he outright refuses it because of a personal vendetta. I have more to say about this in another post, but his actions here seem to be part of this cycle of “fall” and “absolution” that Obi-wan goes through in TCW, each “fall” going lower, each act of contrition more extreme. (And it plays into a theory I have that if the war had continued, if events had been just a little different - Obi-wan would have fallen and Dooku would have eventually gotten his most prized pupil.) It also says a lot that in the mirrored situation during the “Siege of Mandalore” arc, Ahsoka is only able to capture Maul because she brought the backup. Or, more precisely put, because Obi-wan authorized the (illegal) backup of he 501st.

Mace, however, isn’t swayed by Obi-wan’s pretty terrible argument. (And for pretty damn good reason.)

But here is where it gets truly bizarre.

What the hell, Yoda? I was trying to figure out the thought process that would lead to Yoda authorizing this. Clearly, it’s not stemming from any military advantage or even thought towards the people of Raydonia. They’re already burnt to the ground, both in Maul’s mind and the Council’s mind (despite Obi-wan’s thin rationalizations).

So then why? If I start with the really wild speculation, I suppose I could say that Yoda had someone form of...Force premonition that Obi-wan going alone to Raydonia would lead to an intervention by Ventress (who Yoda did sense was kicking and ambivalent about her role in the war) which would lead to Ahsoka’s trial and eventual acquittal which would lead to Maul being captured on Mandalore which would lead to the Duel on Malachor which would lead to Luke finding Grogu -

Yeah, you know what?

NO way that’s true. Not even Palpatine could see that far into the future so I can BS on that idea.

So why send Kenobi alone?

I think this harkens to what we see later during the “Wrong Jedi” arc.

If Ahsoka’s trial was her great test, then Maul’s reappearance was Obi-wan’s. Both Mace and Yoda have to know that Obi-wan was teetering on the Dark Side when he beat Maul all those years ago (in fact, the TPM novelization basically states Obi-wan harnesses some Dark Side to beat Maul in his rage.) Mace wants to bring backup, for very practical reasons but also probably keep tabs on an Obi-wan who was at severe risk of becoming unbalanced.

Yoda, on the other hand, sends Obi-wan alone to face his past, to face his darkness and overcome it (in the middle of a war with the Sith where the balance of power could have shifted significantly if Maul and Dooku and Sidious were able to coexist in the same room without the threat of first-degree murder).

And here’s the thing. Both Obi-wan and Ahsoka FAIL this test. Ahsoka walks away from the Jedi, Obi-wan gets the snot pounded out of him, taps into his rage (this is not a man in control of himself),

...and then lets a war criminal go free in exchange for her help, all of which set up the disaster that Mandalore becomes in later seasons. In fact, Obi-wan doesn’t pass this supposed test until over 20 years later, on Tatooine. And...is it worth everything that occurred between this episode and “Twin Suns”? Could Yoda have foreseen all of this? Highly unlikely. It’s nice poetry, but at what cost?

Which leads to another interesting observation - if Yoda feels this is Obi-wan’s test, then both he and Mace feel Obi-wan is more than capable of flirting with the Dark Side. (Yes, all Jedi are, of course, but this seems rather pointed for a man who is considered the pinnacle of Jedi-ness). Again, I have another long post gestating about this topic, but I doubt Mace and Yoda didn’t notice some signs of Obi-wan’s slow fall and attempts at absolution (it’s almost like the habits of an addict - fall, swear off the sauce, and than fall again, even lower) throughout TCW, but between the pressures of the war and trust in Obi-wan, they didn’t see it as a huge threat.

So after Obi-wan leaves for his Revenge Tour, Mace explains, rather diplomatically, that he thinks Yoda’s idea is hot garbage and that his (Maul’s) -

Yes, and Obi-wan at least does learn from this, as stated above...eventually.

Oh, Yoda. This is where I feel the Coucil lost their way. Again, Dooku’s famous quote about Yoda and the Council from the Clone Wars novelization:

"The Jedi Order's problem is Yoda. No being can wield that kind of power for centuries without becoming complacent at best or corrupt at worst. He has no idea that it's overtaken him; he no longer sees all the little cumulative evils that the Republic tolerates and fosters, from slavery to endless wars, and he never asks, 'Why are we not acting to stop this?' Live alongside corruption for too long, and you no longer notice the stench."

It could be argued that Yoda is placing this “test” of Obi-wan above the people of Raydonia, hell, the entire Republic, in priority. Raydonia is collateral damage, and if Obi-wan fails his test, so are many planets in the Republic (which is *exactly* what played out). I suppose, in the very end - again, 20 years later on Tatooine - this was resolved and Luke Skywalker was saved to eventually help redeem his father and destroy Palpatine but...that only really makes sense in hindsight and overlooks the bad decisions the Council and specifically Yoda, are making in real-time.

And Mace is not convinced here. Too many things could go wrong. Maul could escape. Obi-wan could be killed. Obi-wan could possibly turn, or at least “darken,” so to speak.

“Trust in the Force,” Mace might say, “but all others pay in credits.”

#hello there #long post #obi wan kenobi #darth maul #mace windu #yoda #raydonia #meta #well i dont know where *that* little analysis came from but #hey it's my weekend right now so enjoy the fruits of my spare time #and yes i will write that obi wan falling post at some point

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shenanigans-and-imagines · 3 years

Text

Home is Where You Are

Din Djarin x Force Sensative!Reader, Gender Neutral, MANDALORIN SEASON 2 SPOILERS!

Summary: Din Djarin has been the rock keeping you grounded in the sea of uncertainty that is your life. How can you be expected to leave it, even when the Force is pulling you in another direction?

Word Count: 3.2K

You flinched as the pounding of metal on metal echoed through the bridge.

You were going to die. This was it. This was where it was going to happen. You closed your eyes, steeling yourself for the fear that was surely about to spread through your body.

Your instincts had always been to run and hide. It was what had kept you alive.

You weren’t a fighter; you were a mechanic for kriff’s sake. You were surrounded by Mandalorians, soldiers, assassins, and bounty hunters. You could barely fire a blaster without your hands shaking. And yet, you were here. You had fought Din to be here. Even as your end came closer with every scraping beat, you knew you made the right decision, because the fear never came.

You could feel Din through the force, his presence the same as ever; steady, strong, safe. No matter the danger you found yourselves in, you could always rely on that. It was why you decided to join him. It was why you had fought so hard to stay with him, no matter what. Leaning against it, you straighten up, raising your blaster for your final fight.

An alarm sounded.

You whipped your head to the windows to see an X-Wing approaching the hanger.

The moment your eyes landed on the ship, something deep inside you ignited in recognition, not of a face, but rather a feeling; like those moments when you see yourself reflected in a stranger, if only for a moment.

“It’s an X-Wing,” Reeves said.

“One X-Wing, great. We’re saved,” Cara responded, dryly.

You arm lowered, your blaster falling to your side as you watched the ship disappear from view.

Bo-Katan went to the comms. “In coming craft, identify yourself.”

There was no response, but that didn’t surprise you.

Your eyes followed the ship as it glided across the monitor.

You felt…something. It was faint, like a brush across the back of your hand.

Tentatively, you reached out searching for whoever was piloting the craft. A presence was there, distance and blurry around the edges, but unlike every other being you encountered it did not stay stagnant. It reached back, the brush against your hand turning to a comforting grip.

You instinctively pulled away, and it was only then you realized the room had gone completely silent.

“Why did they stop?” Fennec ask, giving voice to what you were all thinking.

You felt a tug, this one on your pants.

Looking down, you saw Grogu staring up at you. Moments like this, you wished you had better control of your abilities. Ahsoka had describe whole images, but all you got was hints of feeling; curiosity, uncertainty, and recognition.

You blinked, the last one hitting you squarely in the chest. Grogu recognized the pilot?

You turned back to the screen, your eyes going wide as you saw the soft glow of a lightsaber ignited on the small screen.

“A Jedi,” Bo-Katan whispered in awe.

You couldn’t look away. The dark figure moved with purpose, easily taking down each Dark Trooper as easily as a service droid. The image should have frightened you. But the strength of the Jedi’s presence only grew the closer they came. It wasn’t guarded like Ahsoka’s had been. Strangely, it felt like Din’s, not as solid, but determined and sure.

You jolted as the sound of blaster fire filled your eyes. Leaping back, a few sparks from Bo-Katan’s armor burned your skin as Gideon fired shot after shot into her.

Instinctively, you grabbed Grogu, kneeling down to his level and gathering him in your arms, your back facing the blaster fire.

A body fell beside you.

You turned, just catching the sight of Gideon brining his aim to bare.

Your breath caught. Your heart stopped. The trigger pulled.

Sparks flew as Din’s whole body stepped between you. He stumbled back with the impact, but didn’t, his arms spread wide to catch every blow.

“Drop it!” Fennec shouted, as every still standing gun turned towards Gideon.

You turned a little further, Grogu still buried in your arms as Gideon’s eyes darted between Fennec, Cara, and Reeves.

In a flash his blaster was under his chin. But, before he could fine, Cara knocked it out of his hands before knocking him out for good measure.

The moment Gideon fell to the floor, Din turned his attention to you. Silently, he helped you to your feet as his gaze turned between you and the child in your arms.

“Are you alright?”

You nodded, your breath a little shaky, but getting there. You focused on the hand on your arm and the gentle concern of his voice.

Steady, strong, safe.

You breathed it in, allowing it to calm your heart before another presence drew your attention to the monitor.

Grogu wiggled in your arms, his hand reaching out the screen.

You put him down, allowing him a full view of the Jedi. There was no denying it now. Grogu recognized the Jedi and the Jedi could feel him.

You looked to Din, who was now staring at the pair of you. Even with his helmet on, you could see the question surely lining his face.

You nodded a yes.

Another tug, but not from Grogu.

You turned your head to the monitor, just as the Jedi entered the elevator to the bridge. The squeeze on your hand went to you shoulder. You felt a determined look and comforting smile. The words entered your mind, even if you could not hear a voice.

It’s alright. I’m here to help.

Somewhere you were aware of the elevator doors opening. You could see the Jedi destroy the Dark Troopers one by one.

But, even with the words of comfort in your mind and the threat on your lives disappearing in front of you, a different fear came; one you had never experience before in your life.

The Jedi wasn’t just here for Grogu. He was there for you.

The blaster fire ceased behind of the dented doors. Silence filled the room.

Movement caught your eye as you watched Grogu turn from the monitor and reach out to the person waiting on just the other side.

You looked to Din, who in turn was looking at Grogu.

Carefully, he took the child in his arms and began walking to the entrance.

Almost against your will, your feet followed after him.

“Open the doors,” Din said.

Nobody made a move.

“I said, open the doors.”

“Are you crazy,” replied Fennec.

He didn’t respond, but nobody moved to stop him as he approached the control panel.

You halted a pace behind him. You couldn’t look at him or Grogu. Your eyes were only on the door and what lay beyond it.

Holding your breath, you heard the familiar scrap of metal as the doors slowly slid open.

The figure remained shrouded in smoke as he walked toward the entrance. His dark hood covered his features. The only thing solid about him was the consistent buzzing glow of his lightsaber.

The entire room stood on edge as he finally passed through the doors.

His presence came into focus. It was brighter than you anticipated and more powerful than anything you had ever felt in your life.

The emotions of your companions flared around you, ranging from suspicion to fear to awe. In a strange way, it was a comfort to know you weren’t the only one who could feel it.

But there was no denying the tug in your mind was solely for you.

Don’t be afraid.

The Jedi raised his hands to his hood, finally giving you a full look at his face.

You knew him, but at the same time, he was a complete stranger.

He looked…kind. The power he held in the force didn’t diminish, but you couldn’t dismiss the calm you felt and the lightness in his blue eyes.

You had nothing to fear. So why couldn’t you move?

“Are you a Jedi?” Din asked.

“I am,” the familiar man said. A silence fell. His eyes drifted to yours, pausing for just a moment before he turned his attention to Grogu. “Come, little one.”

A sting of uncertainty pricked you from outside your body.

Finally pulling your eyes away from the Jedi, you looked down to Grogu who’s eyes turned back and forth between you, Din, and the Jedi.

“He doesn’t want to go with you,” Din said, the threat clear in his voice.

The Jedi, to his credit, remained unaffected.

“He wants your permission,” he said, calmly. “He is strong with the force, but talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect the child. But he will not be safe until he’s mastered his abilities.” He then looked to you with a pointed expression. “Both of you.”

The words cut. They were true. You needed to go with him, but it was only now the full weight of what that meant pressed down on top of you.

You looked to Din, who was staring right back.

He couldn’t tell you to go. The decision was entirely up to you.

Fear pounded in your veins, but there was no instinct to run or hide. All you could do was stand there, frozen in the moment as the truth of your own feelings sounded in your mind.

You didn’t want to go. You never wanted to leave the feeling being with him gave you. But, what choice did you truly have? How long could you remain hidden now that you knew who you were? What danger would you put him in?

Indecision racked you. You had no choice but to look away.

To your relief, Din turned his gaze to the waiting child.

You watched as he took him in his arms, carrying him like he was made of spun glass.

“Go on,” he whispered. “That’s who you belong with. He’s one of your kind. I’ll see you again. I promise.”

Grogu stared up at him. You felt his pain. It rippled through the force, melding into your own.

He reached out, his tiny hand pressing against the beskar of Din’s helmet.

There was a small pause, and then something happened you could never had dreamed of.

Din’s hand reached beneath the shining metal and started to pull it off.

You averted your gaze, making a point to look at the floor. You blocked out the force, not daring to even let the image from Grogu’s mind enter your thoughts. This was between Din and his son, not you.

Even still, the rivers of emotions threatened to drown you; pain, loss, but also understanding and a warming love you couldn’t ignore.

“Alright pal,” Din murmured. “It’s time to go. Don’t be afraid.”

The swell of emotion in his voice made you ache, made worse by hearing them in his own unfiltered voice. This was goodbye, but not a pointless one. Din was willing to let Grogu go to protect him.

You paused. Din had always been the one to protect you and Grogu. Wasn’t it your turn?

A sense of peace damped the rising fear. It was the most obvious thing in the world.

You stepped forward, your new purposed guiding you as you kept your eyes low.

Din placed Grogu on the ground. The little guy didn’t move, keeping hold of his father’s leg a little while longer.

Taking a place beside Din, you slipped your hand into his, pressing a gentle squeeze around his fingers.

You could feel his eyes on you, but you kept your eyes down and your attention on the nervous child.

“It will be okay,” you promised. “You won’t be alone.”

Whether you were talking to Grogu or Din or yourself, you weren’t sure, but it was true and needed to be said. None of you would be truly alone. Never again.

Finally, you looked up to meet the Jedi’s gaze.

He nodded, a small understanding smile on his lips.

A small whirl caught your attention.

Looking down again, you saw Grogu and the Jedi’s R2 unit conversing with each other. You couldn’t help but smile, feeling an odd comfort that Grogu already seemed to have made a friend.

The child then turned from the droid and reached his arms out to the Jedi.

He gave a gentle look before taking the child carefully in his arms, just as Din had before. He then looked to you and reached out a silent hand.

Taking a breath, you gave Din’s fingers one last squeeze before taking your first true step forward.

You didn’t manage to take another as Din’s fingers took yours in their grip. It was a gentle touch; not a demand to stay, but a plea to wait.

You stopped, your ears straining to hear the scrap of metal or something else to indicate he had placed his helmet back where it was supposed to be.

All you got was another gentle tug, and a gloved finger lightly dancing across your knuckles.

Your breath left your body.

Slowly, you turned, finally allowing yourself to look at the man who you now realized held every part of you in the palm of his hand.

Dark brown eyes met yours, staring back at your with so much emotion it made your chest ache. You could barely take in the rest of his features. His eyes were too mesmerizing to part from.

You felt him silently pull your closer. You followed his lead, stopping only when you were practically chest to chest.

It was almost unfair. How could a man so kind and beautiful on the inside have an exterior to match?

He swallowed as he stared at you, his eyes taking in every part of your features as meticulously as you did his.

You weren’t sure who moved first. Either way, it couldn’t be helped.

You leaned forward allowing your foreheads to press against each other.

The warmth of his skin was addicting. How you settled for the cool metal of his armor you would never know. You breathed him in, taking in the smell of sweat and leather, but also the spice the subtle hint of shampoo. His presence wrapped itself around you, holding you secure in its embrace.

Solid, strong, safe…and love. Love most of all.

He whispered your name. You had heard him say it a hundred times before, to hear it now from his own unfiltered lips made it all the more bittersweet.

“I know,” you whispered. “I feel it too.”

He nodded, not quite able to fully pull away. He never was one for words, and now they seemed to be failing him more than ever.

You smiled in understanding.

“I’ll look after him,” you said, moving your head up enough to look him in the eye. “I promise.”

He stared at you for a long moment.

It was then you felt the rough leather of his glove against your cheek. Heat spread through your body and the simple touch. It would have been embarrassing, if it didn’t feel so good.

“You look after yourself too,” he said, softly.

Your lips pulled into a half smile. “I always do.”

Another pause, different from before. His gaze didn’t stay on your eyes. They traced your features, as if committing them to memory. They seemed to take particular interests in your lips, holding their focus until shyly meeting your eyes once more.

You knew who moved first this time. In a moment, you closed the small gap between you answering his silent question with a kiss.

It was chaste and soft but warm and filled with more emotion than you ever thought possible in such a tiny moment.

You pulled away, taking some small pride in his dazed expression.

A small noise from the child caught your attention, forcing you to take notice of the other people in the room.

The Jedi looked caught between wanting to laugh and the desire to look away. Strangely, that brought you more comfort than any of his words. Just that small acknowledgement that even a Jedi Master can get embarrassed sometimes.

“Are you ready,” he asked.

You nodded, straightening yourself up, and feeling braver than you had any right to be.

“Yes.”

He nodded, gesturing to a place beside him.

You took a step forward and then another and another, pulling further away from the safety and home of Din’s arms. But your steps didn’t faulter and he didn’t pull you back.

The child reached out to you, his little hands groping at the air.

You gave him your finger, the pair of you making a silent promise through the force.

Neither of you would ever be alone again.

The Jedi smiled softly, undoubtedly feeling the unspoken words before he turned his attention to Din.

“May the force be with you.”

You looked back, your heart clenching as Din’s eyes darted between you and the child and back again. Still, he nodded in acknowledgement knowing in his heart this was the right thing to do.

The Jedi then turned, taking Grogu with him down the hallway.

You followed, never looking back until you reached the elevator.

Even at a distance, you could still see the emotion in Din’s dark eyes. You could read every promise he silently made to you.

I’ll miss you. I love you. I’ll see you again.

You tried to give him a comforting look back, holding back your own tears. He was always strong for you, now you had to return the favor.

You didn’t break contact until the elevator doors slid closed and the ground lurched beneath your feet.

The further down you went, the steady thrum of his presence through the force became dimmer and dimmer until all was left was the memory.

“You’ll see him again,” the Jedi said, gently.

You blinked. It took you a moment to bring yourself back to the present moment. Warm tears streaked down your face. You hadn’t even realized you started crying.

“I know,” you said, wiping your tears away.

Grogu cooed in concern. You gave him a small smile, trying to show him you were fine.

You then looked at the Jedi and a thought struck you.

“I just realized; I don’t know your name.”

The Jedi smiled, almost sheepishly like it just occurred to him as well. “I’m Luke Skywalker.”

“I’m Y/N,” you said, deciding to level the playing field. “And this is Grogu.”

The child titled his head up giving Luke a bright little smile.

“Yes, we talked briefly,” Luke said, before turning back to you. “Can you understand him?”

“Not really,” you admitted. “It’s more feelings, I guess.”

He nodded in understanding. “That’s just something we’ll have to work on.”

You smiled in appreciation, but it faltered as another thought came to mind.

“Aren’t you going to say something like, I’m too old for training?”

Luke smiled, and you had the distinct impression you had just stumbled onto some private joke.

“No,” he assured. “As far as I’m concerned nobody is too old.”

Your smile turned a little brighter as a contentment settled in your heart. Luke was a good man. You and Grogu would be safe.

The future was ahead of you, and sooner or later, you would find your way home to Din. Of that you were certain.

#star wars #the mandalorian #din djarin #mando #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin x reader #mando x reader #luke skywalker #grogu

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moonlit-imagines · 3 years

Text

Heirloom (Part 2)

Din Djarin x Fett!reader

warnings:

a/n: lmk if you’re interested in a part 3!

prompt:

part 1

It’d been five years since you’d seen anything but sand, but you did pretty well out there, all things considered. Bounty hunting was in your blood, but this Mandalorian bounty hunter wasn’t interested in anything of the sort at the moment.

So you went from planet to planet, doing favors and tracking down people to assist Mando and the Child on your journey. You couldn’t complain much, he did save you from a lifetime of boredom and despair.

So you helped a frog woman, met more Mandalorians, clashed with a Jedi, and were finally led somewhere useful to conclude the Child’s journey.

“That’s the place, right?” You asked Din as the Razorcrest approached a planet said to have a Jedi “seeing stone.” Grogu sat on your lap, curiously peering up at you and grabbing your thumb.

“Yeah,” he answered with a hint of disappointment in his voice, you couldn’t ignore that, “this is where Ahsoka told us to go. And it might be where our journey with Grogu ends.” You frowned and looked down at the young creature, who was now hugging your arm.

“Don’t worry, little buddy. I could never forget about you.” You scratched the top of his head and kept him steady during the landing. It was a beautiful planet, you admired the scenery as soon as you stepped off the ship. “I could stay here forever, Mando. How about you?”

“Hand him over.” Din instructed with his arms out, waiting for you to give him his pride and joy. You honestly didn’t want to, the kid was growing on you.

“Fine. I should probably get my armor on anyways. Never know what we might run into.” Grogu reached out for Mando as you handed him off, but he decided to walk ahead of you as you got ready. “Hey, come on! At least let me get the breastplate on!” You called out, carefully running up behind him.

“You seem to have it under control.” He shrugged as the two of you began to climb the mountain.

“At least try to be courteous.” You groaned, straightening out your beaten Beskar armor. “Right, Grogu?” The child cooed at the sound of his name. “See? He agrees with me.”

“He just likes hearing his name, we’ve been over this.” Mando told you, watching your helmet envelop your head.

“Feels good to be in my element.” You told him, nearing the final destination. “Not that it ever was, it was just supposed to be.”

“Yeah, well, after Grogu finds his people, I’ll teach you what your father couldn’t. Deal?” Mando offered officially, leaving your beaming smile hidden by your helmet.

“Deal.” You reached your hand out to shake on it, and although it was brief, it did happen. Now you’d reached the stone, which didn’t seem like much. “I guess just,” Mando set Grogu onto the center platform, “yeah, that.”

After a few empty moments, the stone had activated like something you’d never seen before. It was Forcefield protecting the child from any sudden danger.

“Wasn’t expecting that, were you?” You asked Mando while crossing your arms.

“I don’t know what I was expecting.” He admitted, intently supervising his little one. That is, until a ship entered the atmosphere. One unfamiliar to him, but a distant memory to you.

“Holy banthas.” You muttered, removing your helmet in disbelief as Mando began to panic.

“Stay here and protect Grogu.” He instructed as you ran off to the ship’s landing site. “Y/N?! Hey, stop!” You couldn’t stop if you tried. There were two possibilities here. You thought it was too good to be true, but maybe you’d score a ship that was rightfully yours. To be discovered. “Fett, get back over here!”

“I have to get to that ship! This is personal!” You shouted back to him, picking up the pace. It wasn’t long before he discovered he couldn’t do anything at the stone, he might as well help you, the other kid he decided to take under his wing. Mando was really trying to keep up with you, but you were too eager to quit.

The glare of the sun blocked your view of who stepped off the platform, but you’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“If it isn’t my only child, I knew we’d meet again someday.” Boba greeted, causing you to drop your guard and run straight for him.

“I thought you were dead,” you told him as he engulfed you in a hug, but things took a slight turn when you smacked him in the chest, leaving him puzzled, “where the hell did you go?! I was stranded on Tatooine for five kriffing years!”

“Don’t use that tone with me, kiddo.” Your father warned you while Mando awkwardly stood to the side to watch your family drama play out. “I got into some trouble on that sand planet, I couldn’t rope you into it.”

“So you thought that it’d be better for me to become an orphan at ten?” You argued, in a heated rage over the sudden realization that you didn’t have to be scrounging for food and shelter for years on your own.

“I managed just fine when the Jedi killed my father.” Boba and you stood off face-to-face, practically growling at each other.

“Circumstances were different, bounty hunters had your back.” What kind of father would leave his kid to fend for themself when he’d gone through the same thing before?

“What do you call that guy over there?” Your father pointed to Din.

“Just met him a few days back, that doesn’t change the fact that I was alone.” You were about to go on, but a less familiar face came from Slave I to warn you of something, you cut her off just before she could start. “And who the hell is that?”

“Fennec Shand, I owe your dad my life.” She introduced herself with nothing but that, “and I’d cool it for a minute. We’ve got Imps incoming.” The woman pointed skyward at Imperial ships.

“The kid!” Mando gasped, taking off before you tried to do the same.

“Fennec, help the Mandalorian.” Boba instructed, gripping onto his formerly owned armor. “I believe this belongs to me.”

“You’re joking, right?” He sternly stared you down, to which you loudly groaned and tossed him the helmet before removing the various other pieces. “Guess you just don’t care if I get shot, huh?”

“You’re a Fett, you’ll manage.” He assured while finally being able to put his armor back on after all these years. You dismissed yourself promptly to back up Mando against the swarming stormtroopers that you couldn’t wait to knock down. You were never too fond of the Empire.

“Where’s your armor, y/n?” Mando asked, throwing himself in front of you before the blasterfire hit. He saved your life is what he did.

“My old man just robbed me, let’s hope that what you taught me stuck or else I’m not making it off this planet!” You explained, ducking under his arm to take down a few troopers.

“I won’t let that happen, y/n. Not on my watch.” Mando and you continued to fight side by side, providing each other with all the assistance you needed as it rained blasterfire.

“Think the Child is okay?” You questioned while activating a grenade and chucking it towards a horde of hostiles.

“As long as he’s in that Forcefield, he should be safe!” Mando told you as he thinned out the crowd. It wasn’t long before Boba launched a rocket at the airborne cruisers, taking down two birds with one stone. “Nice shot.”

“I was aiming for the other one.” Your father admitted, a triumphant moment swiftly crushed as the Razorcrest was blown to pieces. You yelped at the sight, covering your mouth as you looked to Din.

“Grogu!” You exclaimed while backtracking to the Child, Boba took to his ship while the rest of you went to retrieve him. Just a few seconds too late, dark troopers had kidnapped him and stripped Din of everything he had within the minute. Now, your father tried his best to help, but what could he do when he wasn’t allowed to shoot?

Boba returned to the ground and watched as Mando sorted through the wreckage of his ship.

“I was ashamed.” He said while the two of you were aside.

“Huh?” You gave your father an odd look as you cocked your brow.

“You watched me suffer defeat in such a humiliating way. A malfunctioning jetpack was not the way I imagined I’d go.” Boba admitted, removing his helmet to give you a heartfelt look. “But I knew you could handle yourself out there because you’re a Fett. That doesn’t make it right, but I hope that I can.”

“Oh...I guess we’ll see.” You looked over to Mando, who just found the Beskar spear in the rubble. “At least you can try and one-up your last death, right?” You and your dad chuckled as Mando approached.

It was here that your father explained that he owed the Mandalorian a debt for caring for you, one he’d repay by getting the Child back.

Now, all was not forgiven. Deep down, you would always feel abandoned and betrayed by your father, but maybe the future held something better for you. Just take it one step at a time.

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @locke-writes // @sweetheartliz07 // @queen-destenie // @lotsoffandomrecs // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @thisetaernallove // @ofthedewthesunlight // @gabile18 // @sweetjedi //

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swan-of-sunrise · 3 years

Text

Taking Care of Business (Chapter Nineteen)

Summary: (Y/N), Din and the others recruit two familiar Mandalorians to help them rescue Grogu, and the pair shares a quiet moment before the siege on Moff Gideon’s cruiser.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Reader

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen The Rescue (Previous Chapter)

“Maker, these Lambda shuttles are hunks of junk,” (Y/N) grumbled to herself, entering the shuttle’s cockpit and moving to sit in the main pilot’s seat. After checking that Boba hadn’t accidentally damaged any of its functions when he’d used the ion cannon or when he’d latched onto its roof, she began charting their course; they’d all agreed that if they were going to storm Moff Gideon’s cruiser, then they’d need all the help that they could get and Din was dead-set on a familiar group of Mandalorians. “‘Might of the Galaxy,’ my ass…”

Just as she finished prepping for the jump to hyperspace, Cara entered the cockpit and plopped down in the co-pilot’s seat. “I took care of the bodies, stowed their weapons in the back. How’d everything lookin’ in here?”

“There’s some very minor damages caused by that ion cannon, but nothing too serious. We’re just waiting on word from-”

“Come in, (Y/N).”

She pressed a button beside the shuttle’s communication radio and replied, “(Y/N) here. Is everything good on your end?”

“Yep, we’re ready to leave when you are.” Once she assured Din that they were, the shuttle shook as Boba unlatched the Slave I. “I’ll see you when we land. Cuyir morut’yc, alor’ad. Be safe.”

(Y/N) smiled at his parting words, the Mando’a making her heart warm in her chest. “You too.” Switching off the communication radio, her hands flipped several switches before settling on one of the main levers. “Jumping to hyperspace in three…two…one.” She pushed the lever up, sending the Imperial shuttle flying into space; glancing away from the shuttle’s viewport, she took in Cara’s tense demeanor and furrowed her brow in concern. “Are you okay, Cara?”

The marshal glanced up with a brief smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah, I’m good. One of those Imps said some things that hit a little close to home, that’s all.” Nodding, (Y/N) moved to turn her attention back to the shuttle’s controls but stopped when Cara softly spoke her name and asked, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but what made you decide to join the Rebellion?”

Biting her lip, (Y/N) hesitated for a moment before answering. “After my mother died and I left Naboo, I thought that I could turn a blind eye to the Empire and live my life the way I wanted. I’d spent my entire childhood under their control, after all; no one would fault me for wanting to enjoy my freedom. But the older I got, the harder it became to ignore all the suffering across the galaxy and when I caught wind that the Alliance Starfleet was looking to recruit smugglers, all I could think about were my mother’s last words to me…” Her fingers began playing with the bottom hem of her Shaak-skin jacket. “‘Choose courage over fear, and you can change the stars.’ So, that’s what I did.” She sniffed and let out an awkward chuckle before turning back to the controls. “I’m not sure if that’s the answer you were looking for, but it’s the only one I’ve got.”

“I just needed to be reminded of all the good people who fought on our side…so yeah, it was a pretty good answer.”

The pair spent the rest of the journey in comfortable silence, soon coming out of hyperspace and entering the planet’s upper atmosphere. (Y/N) landed the shuttle beside the Slave I and followed Cara out onto the planet’s surface, where Din and Boba were already waiting. Although they’d only been apart for a short while, (Y/N) felt herself begin to relax as her eyes met the visor of the Mandalorian’s helmet.

“You three go ahead, Fennec and I can keep an eye on Pershing,” Cara gave them a brief nod before turning and boarding the Slave I, where Fennec was securing the clone engineer’s wrists in binders.

“Let’s hope that this idea of yours’ll work.”

Din’s hand came to rest on the small of her back as the three of them began walking towards the small outpost. “It’ll work, alor’ad.” They made their way through the quiet outpost and entered the nearly-deserted cantina, where two familiar Mandalorians were enjoying their meals in the back of the room; exchanging a glance with Din, (Y/N) followed him over to their table and watched as the one Din claimed was named Koska nudged Bo-Katan, who immediately looked up at them. “We need your help.”

Bo-Katan’s brow rose as she examined the three of them. “Not all Mandalorians are bounty hunters. Some of us serve a higher purpose.”

Frustration was evident in Din’s voice as he shot back, “They took the child.”

“Who?”

“Moff Gideon.” (Y/N) frowned, taking in the sudden shift of Bo-Katan’s demeanor. “What?”

The Mandalorian looked back down at the table before replying, “You’ll never find him.”

(Y/N) bit her lip to keep from saying anything derogatory and Din’s gloved hands tightened into fists, but it was Boba Fett who decided to speak up. “We don’t need these two, let’s get out of here.”

Din and Boba began turning away but (Y/N) froze, her eyes narrowing as she watched Bo-Katan look up at the bounty hunter with barely-concealed distaste. “You are not a Mandalorian.”

“Never said I was.”

Koska snorted in amusement. “I didn’t know sidekicks were allowed to talk.”

Chuckling, Boba stepped closer to the Mandalorian. “Well, if that isn’t the Quacta calling the Stifling slimy.” Koska quickly stood, her chin jutted out in defiance, and (Y/N) had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the scene the two were making. “Easy there, little one.”

“You’ll be talking through the window of a bacta tank.”

“All right, easy,” Bo-Katan commanded. “Save it for the Imps.”

After a tense moment, Koska sat back down at the table and (Y/N) sighed in relief as she focused her attention back on Bo-Katan. “We have his coordinates.”

The Mandalorian blinked in surprise. “You can bring me to Moff Gideon?”

“The Moff has a light cruiser; it could be helpful in your effort to regain Mandalore.”

Beside Din, Boba scoffed at his words. “You gotta be kidding me, Mandalore? The Empire turned that planet to glass.”

(Y/N) exhaled through her nose, crossing her arms over her chest as both Mandalorians glared at the bounty hunter; it would’ve been less of a hassle to visit Tatooine and ask kriffing Cobb Vanth for help, she thought to herself, wearily watching Bo-Katan level her hardened gaze at Boba. “You are a disgrace to your armor.”

“This armor belonged to my father.”

“Don’t you mean your donor?”

Din and (Y/N), who’d both started forward to break up the confrontation, both froze in their tracks; the bounty hunters shoulders were tense as he took another step towards Bo-Katan. “Careful, princess.”

“You are a clone,” Bo-Katan smirked and both Mandalorians stood, their meals long forgotten. “I’ve heard your voice thousands of times.”

“Mine might be the last one you hear.”

Boba’s threat spurred Koska into finally attacking and the two of them began to viciously fight. Wrapping an arm around (Y/N)’s waist, Din tugged her to his side and held her securely against him as they watched the fight, sighing deeply in frustration. “Mandalorians.”

“I told you that we should’ve gotten Cobb Vanth’s help instead.” At her words, Din grumbled something under his breath and all she could make out was something that sounded suspiciously like ‘flirt,’ making the corner of her mouth curl into a small teasing grin. “I never would’ve pegged you as the jealous type, you’re such a calm and level-headed man…”

She could feel Din’s arm tighten around her waist and she just knew that he was rolling his eyes at her beneath his helmet. “Mir'sheb.”

“I love you too.” They both turned their attention back to the fight and (Y/N) nearly facepalmed when she saw the pair ignite their flamethrowers. “Dank farrik, this is getting ridiculous.”

It seemed that the second Mandalorian felt the same. “Enough, both of you! If we had shown half that spine to the Empire, we would have never lost our planet.” Boba and Koska both extinguished their flamethrowers and as the bounty hunter got to his feet, Bo-Katan turned to face her and Din. “We will help you. In exchange, we will keep that ship to retake Mandalore.” The Mandalorian stepped closer to Din, and (Y/N)’s brow furrowed as she continued, “If you should manage to finish your quest, I would have you reconsider joining our efforts. Mandalorians have been in exile from our home world for far too long.”

“Fair enough.”

Din let go of her waist and was beginning to lead her towards the cantina’s door when Bo-Katan spoke up again. “One more thing. Gideon has a weapon that once belonged to me, it is an ancient weapon that can cut through anything.”

“Almost anything,” Koska interjected.

Bo-Katan nodded. “It cannot cut through pure beskar.” At her words, (Y/N)’s thoughts instantly went to Ahsoka Tano and her two pure-white lightsabers; why would someone who’s not a Jedi want a weapon like that, she silently wondered, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. “I will kill the Moff and retake what is rightfully mine. With the Darksaber restored to me, Mandalore will finally be within reach.”

“Help us rescue the child and you can have whatever you want,” He nearly snapped, and (Y/N) could tell that Bo-Katan was beginning to frustrate him. “He is our only priority.”

“If we’re all done fighting with each other, we should head back to the ship.” (Y/N) interjected, turning and leading the way back to the Slave I; walking beside Din, she quietly asked, “Was it just me or was that whole Darksaber thing a little strange?” He nodded but remained silent, and soon they were all boarding the ship.

Bo-Katan and Koska joined Cara in pulling up a hologram of Moff Gideon’s cruiser and Fennec made her way over to where (Y/N) and Din were leaning against the wall of the ship. “These two seem like they’re fun to hang around.”

(Y/N) smiled in amusement. “Yeah, they’re a barrel of laughs. I’ve gotta admit, it’s a little aggravating that they care more about Moff Gideon’s cruiser and his Darksaber than Grogu.”

“I know, but we need them to get onboard that cruiser.” Din glanced over at Dr. Pershing. “Has he said anything yet?”

Fennec shook her head. “Nothing. Want me to make him talk?”

“No, it’s okay; I’ve got a feeling he’ll be helpful on his own.”

Bo-Katan called them over and they moved closer as she pointed to the hologram. “This is Moff Gideon’s Imperial light cruiser. In the old days, it would carry a crew of several hundred but now it operates with a tiny fraction of that.”

“Your assessment is misleading.”

(Y/N) turned around to look at Dr. Pershing; the clone engineer was staring at the floor, his mouth set in a firm line. He certainly doesn’t act like the typical Imp, she thought to herself while Cara scoffed. “Oh great, an objective opinion.”

Dr. Pershing’s eyes flicked up to meet theirs. “This isn’t subterfuge, I assure you.” He turned to (Y/N) and after taking a moment to examine his pleading face, she nodded for him to continue. “There’s a garrison of dark troopers on board. They’re the ones who abducted the child.”

Across from (Y/N), Cara began cleaning one of her knives with a spare rag. “How many troopers do they have armed in those suits?”

“These are a third-generation design; they are no longer suits. The human inside was the final weakness to be solved…they’re droids.”

(Y/N) nodded in agreement. “It’s true, I saw them when they took…when they took Grogu.” She turned back to the clone engineer. “Where are they bivouacked?”

Dr. Pershing got up from his seat and moved to stand beside the hologram. “They’re held in cold storage in this cargo bay.” He pointed to a section of the cruiser. “They draw too much power to be kept at ready.”

“And how long to power up?” Fennec asked, her eyes narrowing as she examined the hologram before them.

“A few minutes, perhaps.”

“Where is the child being held?” Din’s words were clipped and business-like, but (Y/N) could detect the pain in his voice as he spoke.

The clone engineer brought up a different section of the hologram that clearly looked like a cell. “This is the brig. The child’s being held here under armed guard.”

“Very well,” Bo-Katan examined the hologram while she continued, “We split into two parties.”

(Y/N) felt the smooth leather of Din’s glove brush her hand. “(Y/N) and I go alone.”

Bo-Katan sighed but nodded. “Fine. Phase One, Lambda shuttle issues a distress call. Two, we emergency land at the mouth of the fighter launch tube, cutting off any potential interceptors. Koska, Fennec, Dune and myself disembark with maximum initiative. Once we’ve neutralized the launch bay, we make our way through these tandem decks in a penetration maneuver.”

“And the two of us?” (Y/N) asked.

“We’ll be misdirection; once we draw a crowd, you two slip through the shadows, get the kid.”

Cara stopped cleaning her knife and glanced up at them all. “Those dark troopers are gonna be a real skank in the scud pie.”

Leaning closer to the hologram, (Y/N) observed, “Their bay is on the way to the brig.” She looked over at Dr. Pershing. “Can we make it there before they deploy?”

He nodded. “It’s possible.”

“Here,” Fennec grabbed a code cylinder from the clone engineer’s pocket and handed it to Din. “Take his code cylinder and seal off their holding bay. Anyone else, we can handle.”

Din clutched the code cylinder in his hand, the visor of his helmet looking down at (Y/N) while he replied, “We’ll meet you all at the bridge. Now, let’s start planning out Phase One…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they finalized their plan, they all boarded the Lambda shuttle and entered hyperspace, closely followed by Boba in the Slave I. (Y/N) was seated in the main pilot’s chair at the others’ insistence; for their plan to work, they needed to look as if they were under attack by Boba’s ship, and there was no one better qualified to perform that type of flying than her. The others were keeping busy by cleaning their blasters and donning their armor, but Din was motionless in the co-pilot seat beside her; Moff Gideon doesn’t have a clue what’s in store for him when Din gets a hold of him, she thought to herself, her eyes still trained on the swirling blue outside of the viewport.

As if in-tuned with her thoughts, Din suddenly stood and asked her to join him in the back compartment. She followed him deeper into the shuttle and once they entered the compartment, she shut the door behind them; just as she was turning around to face him, she heard the unmistakable sound of his beskar helmet being removed and her heart leapt into her throat. She reached a hand out towards the control panel to dim the lights, but a larger hand appeared and halted hers; Din’s tanned fingers gently held her wrist, bringing it up to where he stood behind her and pressing his lips to her knuckles. “Please, I…I need you to see me, alor’ad.”

Taking a steadying breath, (Y/N) slowly turned around and looked up at Din’s face. Back in the refinery on Morak, she didn’t have much time to closely examine her partner’s features but what she had studied were his eyes; they were the warmest shade of brown and, much to her surprise, incredibly expressive. Meeting his concerned gaze had quickly calmed her down and made her feel safe in that mess hall, and the same was true in the shuttle’s back compartment.

Her gaze left his as she took the opportunity to examine the rest of him; his hair was also brown, the soft waves matted a little from the helmet, and his facial hair was neatly trimmed, the hair above his lip a little thicker than the rest of it. His brow and nose were prominent, but his jawline had more of a curve to it, and the last thing she looked at were his lips; they were chapped and his bottom lip was more plump than the top, something that she’d noticed whenever they’d kissed in the dark on the Razor Crest. As she watched, his lips parted and when her eyes flicked back up to his, he was closely watching her with nervousness written across his features. Smiling, (Y/N) rested a hand against the soft skin and stubble of his cheek as she brought his hand up to her lips, kissing each knuckle before finally speaking. “Mesh’la.”

Din released a shuddering breath as his eyes darted over her face. “You…?”

“That’s Mando’a for ‘beautiful,’ right? Oh Maker, I didn’t say an insult by accident or anything, did I?” (Y/N) rambled, her panic beginning to rise as Din remained silent. “Son of a-”

In a flash, Din’s lips were on hers and he was kissing her with an unrelenting passion as his arms held her close. (Y/N) got over her initial shock and began kissing him back, her hands moving up to his hair and carding through the thick locks; Din moaned as her fingernails lightly scraped against his scalp and before she registered what was happening, he was hoisting her up into his arms and stumbling backwards to sit on the edge of the bunk. She was straddling his thighs and their bodies were flush against one another when they finally broke apart for air, but that didn’t stop Din; while she struggled to catch her breath, he began pressing kisses all over her face and neck, finally pulling away after kissing her lips one final time. He was beaming up at her, his brown eyes bright as his smile widened, and one of his hands came up to caress her cheek.

“I’d ask if you really meant that, but I already know that you do.” Din’s hand trailed down her neck to rest flat against her chest, right above where her heart was. “Because of this. You have the biggest heart, alor’ad, the biggest heart out of everyone I’ve ever met. It’s just…I can’t help but think I don’t deserve the love you’ve given me.”

“That makes two of us, Din.” (Y/N) replied, watching his eyes flutter closed while her fingers brushed the hair away from his forehead. “Sometimes I feel that you’re too good to me.”

Din shook his head, the loving look he gave her when he opened his eyes almost making her cry. “You deserve everything I can give you and more, you and the kid…” At the mention of Grogu, Din’s smile dimmed a little and his hand moved away from her chest to rest against the side of her neck. “(Y/N), if I…if things end up going sideways, I want you to continue our quest. Find a Jedi that will train the kid; you’re the only person I trust to do it.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, (Y/N) nodded. “Of course I will, but don’t forget what you promised me that day in the meadow. ‘Ner cyar’ika alor’ad, I swear on the stars I’ll never leave your side.’” She held his face in between her hands and lowered her head to rest against his. “Please don’t forget that.”

“Never, alor’ad,” Din breathed, pressing feather-light kisses to her lips that managed to soothe her shaky nerves. “I could never.”

They sat there in the shuttle’s back compartment for several more minutes, their arms wrapped tightly around one another as they took solace in each other’s embrace. But their peaceful solitude came to an end when Din suggested they return to the shuttle’s cockpit and with a final kiss, (Y/N) slid off his lap and he put his helmet back on before opening the compartment’s door. That wasn’t a goodbye, she sternly told herself while they walked side-by-side, even if it felt a little like one.

Once back in the cockpit, (Y/N) resumed her seat, methodically checking system functions in preparation for Phase One as Bo-Katan took the co-pilot’s seat beside her. I’m not sure if she can be trusted, she thought to herself, watching the helmet-less Mandalorian out of the corner of her eye; Bo-Katan was hell-bent on finding Moff Gideon and retaking Mandalore, and (Y/N) had an uneasy feeling that she didn’t care who perished in her pursuit for vengeance. Her suspicions were confirmed when Bo-Katan called out, “Moff Gideon is mine. Got it?”

“He’s ex-ISB,” Cara pointed out from behind them. “He’s got a lot of information, I need him alive.”

Bo-Katan merely shrugged. “I don’t care what happens to him as long as he surrenders to me.”

That made (Y/N)’s brow arch but she stayed silent, her hands continuing to fly over the buttons and switches; despite the seriousness of their situation, she couldn’t help but thrill at the opportunity to pilot a ship in a combat situation again. She sensed Din moving to stand directly behind her seat just as Boba Fett’s voice emitted from the communication radio. “Prepare to exit jump space.”

“Copy that,” (Y/N) replied, pressing a blinking button beside her before resting her hand on the shuttle’s main lever. “Get the hell out of there as soon as they clear us to dock.”

Beside her, Bo-Katan smirked to herself. “And your shots have to look convincing.”

(Y/N) heard Din heave an exasperated sigh as Boba chuckled. “Power up those shields, princess. I’ll put on a good show.”

“Watch out for those deck cannons, okay? They’re real pieces of work; I’ve seen them take down X-Wings with a single shot.”

“Don’t worry about me, Captain, I’ll be all right.” Boba reassured her. “Just be careful in there.”

Nodding to herself, (Y/N) gripped the main lever and announced, “Exiting hyperspace in three, two, one…”

She pulled the lever down and returned her hands to the joysticks in front of her as the shuttle exited hyperspace. Moff Gideon’s cruiser loomed ahead of them and her stomach clenched in fury, speculations about what they might’ve done to Grogu unwillingly filling her mind. Giving her head a small shake, she yanked the joysticks to the right and dodged the shots Boba aimed at them before connecting their communication radio to the cruiser. “This is Lambda Shuttle 2743, requesting emergency docking.” She swerved again, making sure that her flying didn’t look too skilled as she continued. “Repeat, requesting emergency docking. We are under attack!”

There was a brief pause before a female Imperial officer responded. “Copy, Lambda Shuttle. Request received. Stay clear of launch tube, deploying fighter squadron.” They watched as the one of the cruiser’s TIE Fighters deployed and with a sideways glance at her co-pilot, (Y/N) flew the shuttle towards the exposed launch tube; she winced a little when they were almost clipped by a second TIE Fighter and the female officer called out, “Request denied! Please clear launch tube until fighters deploy!”

“Negative, negative! We are under attack!” Flipping a switch above her, (Y/N) increased their speed and steered the shuttle towards the launch tube straight ahead. In all her time as a smuggler, she could honestly say that this was the first time she’d ever piloted a speeding shuttle directly into another ship and without a proper landing array; it’s like Ahsoka said, she thought as her forehead began to bead with sweat, good or bad they’re always memorable.

“Clear launch tube immediately!”

(Y/N)’s arms began to shake with the effort of holding the joysticks steady, biting her lip while Bo-Katan activated their landing gear just in time for them to speed into the launch tube. Behind her, Fennec shouted, “Hang on!” and Din’s gloved hands clutched the back of her seat when the shuttle bumped against the sides of the launch tube. (Y/N)’s hands were on autopilot as she flipped switches and slammed buttons and in no time, she succeeded in making the shuttle slide to a complete stop. Her chest heaved and she struggled to catch her breath as the others got up and gathered their weapons, a part of her in absolute disbelief that she’d succeeded in landing them safely inside the cruiser.

“Well, alor’ad, you finally convinced me,” Din remarked, watching as she got to her feet and drew her blaster. “Smugglers are better pilots than bounty hunters.”

That made (Y/N) smile. “I think you meant to say that smugglers are better at everything, not just piloting.”

“Don’t push your luck, mir’sheb,” He jokingly retorted, his gloved hand resting against the small of her back; the two of them made their way over to where the four women were preparing to lower the shuttle’s ramp. “Good luck.”

Cara flashed them both a brief smile. “You too.”

Once the ramp lowered, the four of them stormed out of the shuttle and began taking out the Stormtroopers that had surrounded them. Blaster fire and dying screams rang through the air while (Y/N) and Din waited to exit the shuttle, their free hands holding each other’s tightly until everything was silent once again; (Y/N) looked up at Din just as he turned towards her and gave him a firm nod. “Let’s go and get Grogu back.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading!

Mando'a Translations: Cuyir morut’yc, alor’ad-Be safe, captain Alor'ad-Captain Mir’sheb-Smart-ass Mesh’la-Beautiful Ner cyar’ika alor’ad-My darling captain

Chapter Twenty

Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty @sinon36 @seninjakitey @thatonedindjarinfan @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mostclevermiss @momc95 @welcometothepedroverse @sarahjkl82-blog @zukoyonce @itsnottilly

#din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #din x reader #mando x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #cara dune #fennec shand #boba fett #dr pershing #bo-katan kryze #koska reeves #moff gideon #grogu #the child #baby yoda

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vagrantblvrd · 3 years

Text

The stupidly over-complicated AU where everyone lives but things still go to hell.

Anakin and Padme have to hide Luke and Leia to prevent Palpatine from getting his hands on them. Because you know he’d love to use them against Anakin and Padme and/or make them his apprentices.

(Something, something, something turn the to the Dark Side to throw against Anakin and the others? But when Palpatine deems them ready he has them fight to the death because there can only be two sith nonsense.

Something he makes sure they’re very much aware of during their training and so are meant to consider the other an Enemy.

But you know, they totally Scheme Together against Palpatine because oh, hey, there are two of them. How strange.)

ANYWAY.

Things go wrong early on in that whoever they send Luke with gets intercepted along the way - Rex, perhaps - and they have to do the cool evasive maneuvers and whatnot and end up crashing on Mandalore or nearby covert/group of Mandalorians.

And due to Plot Reasons it’s not safe to try and leave wherever they ended up because everyone is looking for Anakin Skywalker’s son and the rebel traiter clone commander who absconded with him, and anyway Plot Reasons.

So Rex is like, when in Mandalore or whatever and he and Luke hide out with the Mandalorians.

Perhaps Rex fulfills the Resol’nare, perhaps not, but Luke is considered his foundling and um, Plot Reasons???

MEANWHILE.

Obi-Wan is entrusted with Leia, and idk, goes to Alderaan where Bail and Breha raise her as their daughter? But also Obi-Wan training her in ~sekrit to become a Jedi.

It’s interesting times, because complicated? Definitely yes.

She knows Bail and Breha aren’t her biological parents even though they love her like she is, knows her real parents are important figures in the Rebel Alliance and such.

When she was younger she remembers this couple, sad, kind, all the things she remembers of her mother from the movies and whatnot.

And when she’s older Obi-Wan’s former padawan brings intel and whatnot from the Rebellion and she’s this close to realizing Anakin is her father for the longest time because Plot Reasons, you know?

Sometimes Padme is with Anakin, sometimes it’s Cody and everyone is like “We have...Things to do. Over there,” and leave the two of them alone because love in wartime and Drama and Angst I cannot not do, and anyway.

Something happens with Mandalore - Imperial shenanigans is the best way to put it and they send Cody undercover to investigate?

(Because clone and even now there are others like him fleeing to Mandalore or whatever because there’s a new Mand’alor, and anyway.)

He gets there and discovers the Mand’alor’s husband and son are missing and Imperials are suspected to be behind it, and also? Rex is there and the Mand’alor’s husband and son are Force-sensitives and perhaps someone who’s an actual Jedi would like to look into things as well????

So off Obi-Wan and Leia go to find Din who is >:((((((((((( because his idiot husband and tiny green gremlin kid and of course they’d get caught up in this nonsense.

Anyway.

Adventures and shenanigans in which Leia realizes the Mand’alor’s husband is her damn brother - her twin - and her biological parentage and also there’s this scruffy smuggler in there somehow?

But also.

Rex telling them that Luke learned to use his powers through old journals that belonged to a certain Jedi master and also little quests about in which Din met Ahsoka and was like, pls help my idiot husband, and she keeps meaning to tell Anakin and such?

But intergalactic war and people trying to kill her and she’s been real busy, okay?

Also Luke teaching Grogu and Din is like So Tired.

Also, also?

Imperials trying to being Luke who is mostly feral these days and also raised as a Mandalorian with Jedi sorcery and rad Mandalorian armor, so, you know.

It doesn’t go well for the Imperials who caught him and Grogu.

Everyone catches up to them on some Imperial base where Luke and Grogu meet them halfway, right?

Luke and Leia running into one another first and she’s like, “Hey, so, we’re here to rescue you?” because clearly her brother, her twin, didn’t need the save, but hey, whatever.

And then, like. Idk, shenanigans in which Satine is one of Din’s advisors Bo-Katan is another and there’s a reason he hates council meetings so much?

But also the Armorer and to his everlasting regret/gratitude Paz, and anyway.

Yes

Shenanigans and such, and Luke losing his hand - against Palpatine or to save his father or something suitably dramatic and then beskar hand because I love it so much and just.

Eventual ousting of Palpatine and the Empire and happily ever afters.

But also, also, emotional everything with all that Anakin and Padme did to protect their kids that went so horribly wrong (but also not) and anger and issue and whatnot and Leia being a Jedi?

But like.

Angry about it.

Because the Jedi Order and their doctrines and whatnot and look at her idiot brother over there with all his attachments and yes he turned out to be an idiot? But didn’t fall to the Dark Side and what she’s saying is maybe the Jedi Order needs to take a long hard look itself, you know?

Obi-Wan and Cody get to be in one place for longer than a week and it’s glorious, okay? Glorious.

Anakin accompanies Padme to when she heads to Mandalore once the war’s over to discuss them joining the New Republic in which there is much doting on a tiny green gremlin kid.

Also awkward family bonding moments with Anakin, Padme, and Luke, and also Leia is there because Jedi reasons?

Cannot decide if Leia remaining a Jedi or Leia going into politics is most satisfying? Because Jedi!Leia would have so much to say about the way the Jedi Order approaches everything and with Obi-Wan’s training in both Jedi ways and negotiations and everything she learned from the Organas as well as what Padme shares with her? Few can match her, y’know?

(Also, though. Think of Din and Luke sparring with the armor and Jedi sorcery and whatnot and idiot husbands and Grogu is always scandalized when a pin ends with a smooch or keldabe kiss depending on whether or not helmets are involved because he is a child, sirs!!1!)

Idk, it’s late and my thoughts are all over the place, but yes???

#star wars nonsense #dinluke #technically not a fic #vagrant fic #long post #ridiculously complicated everyone lives au #¯\_(ツ)_/¯#(sorry for posting fail #my bad #/o\)

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purpureumwrites · 3 years

Text

Din Djarin x Jedi!Reader | Memories Ch.2

A/N: What are we gonna do now that there are no more episodes until 2022? T__T I love him. And this can potentially have more parts, tbh. So if anyone has an idea for the next (like the anon who suggested this one, hope you like it!), then just let me know!

Summary: Reader is a jedi who has decided to travel with Din and the child. They meet Ahsoka [I was tempted to make it steamy in the end, but didn’t HMM]

Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 3

Warnings: None.

Word count: 1.4k

Tagged: @k-n-teeg

A few months ago, you had met a mandalorian. A mandalorian and his child, another force-sensitive like you that had received some prior training when the now ruined jedi temple in Coruscant was still standing. Hopeful, he had asked for you to take the child and train him, as if being jedi automatically made you capable of teaching him.

After Order 66 was executed, you had left everything behind and ran for your life. You traveled to poor and remote planets in the galaxy, where nothing of value could be harvested or mined and the Empire wouldn’t care conquering. It was lonely, but safe. From time to time, some news sneaked to that edge of the universe, and this way, through conversations in decaying, rusty cantinas, you became aware of the fate of the jedi.

It wasn’t until years later, after the Empire had fallen that you went back to more populated worlds but, even then, it was solitary. Those who had survived were so few that you didn’t see a point in looking for them. Your friends were most likely dead. There was no jedi order. The days where you had hope were long gone.

And then, this mandalorian, radiating so much love and concern, put this child in your hands. You refused at first, unsure of yourself. You never had a padawan before, in fact, you were still a padawan when the Republic fell. But Din, who had already lost his creed not long ago, was determined. So you struck a deal. Three months, where you would stay with them, test and train the child. Afterwards, you were free to leave and he would continue looking for a jedi.

Of course, by the time the decision was due, you had little choice. You had grown attached to the little one very quickly, partially because he was small and cute, partially because he was the first force-sensitive you had met in years. And Din... was a whole different matter. It had been so easy getting used to spending every minute of the day together. It just made sense. He didn’t seem bothered by your recurrent nightmares and you clicked pretty quickly.

He was easy to love. When he got comfortable enough to take off his helmet, first in the nook that was your cramped bed, you witnessed a different side of him. He was vulnerable and careful. Sweet to make love to you bare, rough when he wore his armor.

Wandering from planet to planet, you arrived to Corvus. You knew the moment you landed, there was another force-sensitive there. It wasn't a surprise when the magistrate, at the sight of the mandalorian, offered the bounty to him. Kill the jedi.

Din had no intention of actually killing a jedi, he didn't even know if he was capable, but he knew he had heard many of your stories, often told with melancholic eyes and simple descriptions for him, and he thought he owed you to meet them, and adult of your own kind.

The mandalorian walked ahead through the devastated and ruined forest, while you carried the child in your arms not far behind. From time to time, you corrected his direction, feeling her energy more clearly with each step. It wasn't too long until you found her.

She stood there, lightsabers turned on, in a position not threatening but cautious. You grabbed Din by his arm and pulled him behind you with a soft tug, taking the child with him.

"I think I've seen you before. In the temple of Coruscant?", you pulled away behind your shoulder the small cape you were wearing. You tapped on the lightsaber on your hip. "Though truthfully, one can never be too careful these days", you held it and ignited it. The dark forest was now filled by the white glow of her lightsabers and yellow of yours. ”I was a padawan meant to be a jedi consular... almost feels like that was only a dream at this point, I must admit. I’m y/n”

She relaxed and smiled, turning off both weapons. You imitated her.

“My name is Ahsoka Tano, I believe we had a good friend in common”, her smile turned mournful. You nodded. Neither wished to say the name. She looked at the child, intrigued. “And this little one...”

“Grogu”, Din answered. "He has powers like you"

Ahsoka walked to him and held his diminute hand. They were introducing each other. She seemed happy to see him until her jaw clenched and she turned to you.

"You cannot train him. He's too attached to him and now, to you too. It's a great risk", she walked towards you. "You should let it fade away"

You understood what she was saying and why she was saying it. The jedi didn't allow attachments, that's why they took their apprentices from their families as young as possible. That's why they almost didn't take Anakin. But you didn’t agree with that, not since a long time ago. The order was stagnant and flawed, fixated in old traditions. Maybe if the rules weren't so hermetic, he would have asked for help instead of consuming himself in despair.

"I won't. I will continue his training", you said straightening up. "That's a risk will all have to face. And he won't be alone"

She sighed. You could see the memories storming through her mind, she was concerned but resigned.

"I’ll be on my way now", she said taking a few steps backwards and observing the three of you. "I have given you my advice, there isn't much more I can do. Grogu is certainly loved and he doesn't have to linger in darkness anymore. I'm happy for him. And for you to have found your way together because of him" She parted with a little bow before making her way through the forest. "May the Force be with you"

As Din stood watching her disappear between the trees with the child cradled in his arms, you went to his side. You were concerned Ahsoka’s words may have planted the seed of doubt in him, that he would grow afraid of something he couldn’t understand. He had put a great deal of faith in you and trusted your intentions.

“Is she talking about the same thing that happened to your friend?”

“Yes...”

“I trust you with the child, you know that”, he assured you, his voice soft and understanding. “We’ll cross that bridge if we ever get to it”

He surrounded you with his free arm and pushed you against his chest. He was playing the confident man but Din, even he wouldn’t admit it yet, knew the concern would always be in the back of his head. He didn’t understand the ways of the Force, the code of the jedi, the powers you both held, but he did understand that it was something significant if you were concerned about it. He knew it by the way you quickly ended the topic when it came up, giving him vague details and passing it as a highly unlikely, very hypothetical occurrence.

You walked in silence through the forest back to the Razor Crest, and left a very sleepy Grogu in his little hammock. Din and you had some dinner in the cockpit while the ship got out of orbit. Then, he set the autopilot on and you went both to bed.

You quickly got your shoes and the extra clothes you wore, and sat while watching him get rid of his armor. How did you get so lucky to be the only one able to enjoy the sight? Not many things could make you forget about your anxieties and hardships as he did. When he finished, he stood in front of you and you looked up to him.

“You’re staring”, he uttered.

You pulled from the waistband of his trousers so he would get closer to you and with your other hand, you pulled from his shirt down, making him lean, before pressing your lips against his in a hungry kiss.

“You’re still wearing too many clothes”, you pointed out before kissing him again. He chuckled between your lips.

“You always think I’m wearing too many”

#din djarin x reader #din djarin headcanons #din djarin imagine #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian headcanons #the mandalorian imagine #star wars imagine #star wars x reader #memories:fic #din djarin

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not-so-mundane-after-all · 3 years

Text

After proessing this episode and seeing people's reactions over these past few hours...

Am I the only one who actually feels hopeful after that finale?

Yes, of course Din letting Grogu go broke my heart into a million little pieces and of course I'd want them to stay together. But this was the ending most of us expected, even if we didn't want this to happen. Din's mission for this season was to reunite the child with its kind and that's exactly what he has done.

Luke showing up, as awesome as it was, threw me off guard mostly because I thought a character like Luke Skywalker is simply too huge to put in this show. Nearly untouchable at this point. The appearances of Ahsoka Tano and Boba Fett already felt like Din was being overshadowed, so I didn't think they would do this. Until the moment he revealed his face I thought it's gonna be Ezra, Cal Ketsis or some new character - a person who got Grogu out of the Temple when the Jedi Order fell and somehow survived all these years.

The reason I'm feeling hopeful is because I see some kind of a pattern in how the story goes, following a path of character development. Because as important as the plot is, this story doesn't feel plot-driven to me, it's character-driven.

Season 1 told the story of how father and son, two lonely souls, found each other and formed a bond.

Season 2 made them realize what they mean to each other and what are they willing to do for one another - Din breaking the Creed and revealing his face so he can save his son and Grogu deciding to leave with Luke and train, so he can make sure his growing but uncontrolled abilities mixed with his strong attachment to his father won't be the reason Din gets hurt. Remember what Ahsoka said? "Grogu will choose his own path." It didn't happen at that seeing stone. It happened in the finale. Grogu made his choice and Din let him.

And I believe season 3 will focus of their separate character growth, both of them coming to terms with their own identites. Grogu will learn the ways of the Jedi and how to master his power in the right way. Din, now being crowned the ruler of Mandalore despite not wanting it in the first place will have to come to terms with his identity as a Mandalorian, how he feels about it and about himself, how his upbringing as The Child of The Watch fits into all of this and maybe consider the posibility to live outside of it. Once they both deal with that, they will reunite - either on purpose or because the fate will bring them together again when they least expect it. Who knows? Maybe we'll even get a parallel to the pilot episode?

As for the behind-the-scenes stuff, I'm not worried either.

Boba Fett SPIN OFF (because this is a spin off guys, chill) was announced this way to avoid spoilers (although I admit the way it was done brought out a good amount of confusion in me). It is NOT season 3. It's its own thing.

Grogu is NOT OFF THE SHOW. You really think those greedy bastards at Disney will let go of the one thing that brings them the most money right now, not just from streaming views and ratings but from toys and merchandise, stuff they harvest the most money from? BABY YODA IS EVERYWHERE, EVEN IN THE COUNTRIES THAT DON'T HAVE DISNEY+ YET (*waves my hand from Poland where Disney+ is basically nothing but a myth but Baby Yoda plushies are at every fucking supermarket and they are expensive af*) You really think they are just gonna put a high-tech puppet worth MILLIONS of dollars into a box and stash it somewhere in a warehouse? NOPE.

I also don't think we're gonna see Luke around that much. Why? I think money, again. It looks like they used the same technology that brought us young Leia and Tarkin in Rogue One. The Mandalorian's budget is already huge, but I feel this is something they needed to put some extra money out for. And didn't Mark Hamill said after TRoS that he's basically done with Luke? So how did they got him here? Was he on set? Was it just a body double while Mark recorded his lines and they mixed it so he could sound younger? Or maybe they went through his works, took voice samples and put his lines together this way? Who knows. I hope they reveal it in the making-of special on 25th.

Plus, with all those new live action and animated series recently announced, Disney won't be pumping all its money into Mando.

Now it all depends on the writing. There are some things I would add or extend this season. It wasn't perfect but nothing ever is.

All we gotta do now is wait (and not waste our energy on overthinking)

#the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian season 2 #the mandalorian #din djarin #grogu #grogu djarin #baby yoda #ahsoka tano #boba fett #luke skywalker

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dindjarindiaries · 3 years

Audio

DIN’S CHARACTER ARC: A CONVERSATION

This is just a very casual thinking session I had about some elements of Din’s character arc thus far in the show—covering two important critiques of his writing and what I think about them! Feel free to share your opinion if you listened.

TRANSCRIPT:

Hello, everyone! Welcome to some random thoughts with... me. [chuckling] I’m sitting in a squeaky chair so I’m sorry if it makes sounds. This is very unprofessional, this is literally just me thinking—I don’t have any of this written down and I hope it’s not terribly long or anything.

I guess I’ve just been thinking a lot about Din’s character and his arc throughout seasons one and two. I’ve seen a lot of people say—which is totally fine, we all have our own opinions (I swear!), that’s totally fine. I’m also very open to people critiquing my opinions ‘cause, you know, that’s just... debate is great, I love debate! It’s so good to hear what other people say because I’m the kind of person that can be swayed, you know, pretty easily, so I’m definitely open to hearing any kind of things that you might disagree with me [on.] But... personally, I’ve been thinking a lot about the writing decisions at the end of season two that a lot of people disagree with.

So, one of those things being when Din takes off his helmet, of course. So, a lot of people were, you know, pretty upset by that because he’s been following this Creed for so long and it’s really important to him and it helped him, you know, in the face of—after losing everything, this is what he had to hold on to. And I totally get that, too, like... it was a shock, you know, for Chapter 15—the stakes were raised, so, you know, it was different than like in Chapter 16 where he willingly takes it off in front of other people and doesn’t go in private.

But in my opinion, first of all, the problem with that is that in Chapter 16, it would’ve been really awkward for him to go in private because... you know, he—Luke’s in the way, and all these people are behind him on the bridge, so he would’ve literally had to say, “Hold on, can we just... either all of you leave, or we’re just gonna go to another part of the ship?” It just... there wasn’t a good way to get privacy and I think that’s a big reason why he didn’t get privacy.

In general, for those decisions, I think it actually is a very important part of his character that it did happen, because... the biggest—one of the biggest parts of his character as described by, you know, like Jon and other writers and contributors to the show ever since it started is that... the beskar is not just a physical armor for Din, it’s also been an emotional armor and a psychological armor, you know? So, he’s not—like, he’s hiding in his beskar not just physically, but in every way, he’s hiding in it to get away from his trauma, to get away from—you know, a lot of different things. So, for him to be able to not cling to his armor anymore and to hide within it just because of Grogu is huge growth, and I think that was a really good way of showing it, is... you know, he’s not defining himself by this status of a “Mandalorian” anymore. Like, yes, it’s still important to him that he’s a Mandalorian and that’s not something that he wants to take away from himself or that he will take away from himself, but it’s not something he has to reduce himself to. He’s not just “the Mandalorian,” he’s “Grogu’s father,” and he’s okay with that. He’s willing to not hide anymore, especially for Grogu’s sake—which is just major.

I think that’s why I don’t really have a problem with the helmet removals myself, because it’s just a very effective way of showing Mando’s growth in that way and how Grogu has helped him to realize he doesn’t need to stick to this Creed which, quite frankly, right now his whole Tribe that he was with—that he learned that custom from—they all are gone! They had to break the Creed, you know? Like, he saw their helmets. So, I think that Grogu kinda helped him to let go. And that’s what leads me into my next point about how, you know, a lot of people were upset that Grogu left.

I totally understand that because, you know, that’s heartbreaking, and it seemed like with Ahsoka rejecting Grogu for training and saying, “Well, he can choose his path,” we’re all like, “Okay, well, Grogu obviously doesn’t want to go, he’s gonna choose Din.” But it wasn’t really a matter of Grogu choosing Jedi stuff over Din, it was more like Grogu knew what he had to do to protect Din—because if he doesn’t train, if he doesn’t contain his Force powers, he won’t be able to—like, Din can’t keep him safe forever. So, now, he’s going to train because he knows that if he does, he’ll be able to keep Din safe. So, he doesn’t necessarily want to leave Din, he doesn’t want to go train, but he knows that he has to. And Din knows that he has to. That’s why Din was upset in Chapter 14 when he was talking to Grogu and he’s like, “You have to go with them, I can’t train you,” like, he knows—they both know. So, that’s why he had to go.

For Din, you know, it wasn’t just like he was like, “Oh, this has been my quest, I have to do this,” it’s like... a parent—a parental growth moment of letting go of your kid. When you think about parents who are sending their kids off to college, you know, think about it like... Mando’s quest—sorry, I’ve been switching between Mando and Din, but—the quest is very much like a parent helping their kid choose a college, right? So, they go through this whole process, they’re paying this money for applications, they’re doing college tours, they’re doing all this stuff. But then, their kid is ultimately gonna have to go. They’re gonna have to let go of their kid, like, they’ve done all this stuff for them, they’ve raised them, and they knew that it was gonna reach this point, but that doesn’t make it any easier at the end! You know? I know that my parents cried when I went to college. It’s not easy, no matter how much you prepare for it.

So, for Din, it was like yes he knew, he was fighting all these battles and he was—he risked his life to protect Grogu, but he ultimately knew he was gonna have to give him away. And when that moment came, he didn’t hold back. He didn’t hold Grogu back from what he knows he’s supposed to do. Instead, he was able to let go—which he’s not been able to do! ‘Cause we know he still holds on to his trauma from his childhood and we know that he still holds on to those grudges he had with the gang, even though he treated those better because Grogu has taught him to, you know, be a better person. [chuckles] But his whole problem is that he hasn’t been able to let go and that’s why he hides within himself. But now, he can let go—let go of the Creed, let go of Grogu (but not, you know, he doesn’t actually have to fully and forever let go of Grogu).

Anyway, those are just some random thoughts I had. I could’ve typed them out, I might type them out at some point to make this better. I might do a transcript of this too so then people who can’t listen to audio can hear it, too. And... yeah! But those are just some scrambled thoughts on Mando’s character arc in season two specifically. Feel free to let me know if you disagree with any of these opinions and why. I’m totally open for different opinions—what I say is not, like, the hard golden truth—it’s just my personal thoughts on it. So... thank you for listening!

#din djarin #the mandalorian #meta #star wars #the mandalorian season two #molly talks

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thewayofthemandalorian · 3 years

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the ties that bind - oneshot

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader Rating: T Word count: 3,167 Summary: When you and Din find a solid lead on the child's people, you are faced with the fact that you do not want to let him go. But a promise is a promise, and you must put your feelings aside in order to let the child go. Notes: What an episode! I’m still tearing up just thinking about it. This is a very emotional oneshot based directly on the episode, so heavy spoilers for 2.05 “Chapter 13: The Jedi” ahead. I’d advise waiting until after seeing the episode to read this one. Warnings: Emotional hurt/comfort, the briefest mention of sex, angst with a kind of happy ending

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It’s been a rough few days. Hell, a rough few weeks.

Ever since Mandalore heiress Bo-Katan Kryze informed your lover, Din Djarin, about where to find a proper lead on the baby’s people, a pit of dread has been settled in your stomach, growing with each passing day.

You knew that as soon as the Armorer told you that you and Mando had to reunite the child with his people, your time with him was limited.

But that didn’t stop you from loving him. Wanting him to be with you and Din to raise for the rest of your lives, far-fetched as that dream may have been. All the same, you were the coddling one with the small creature. Loving him. Taking care of him when Mando was searching for bounties.

You loved the child the same way a mother would love a son. And, he loved you the way a son would love his mother. Loved Din like a son loved a father.

How the hell were you supposed to give him up and move on like nothing had happened?

Through all this, Din acted as though everything was fine. That this was something he wanted to do. It was what he was tasked to do, after all, he would say to you in the dark.

You couldn’t claim to know Din Djarin that well, having been a part of his crew for less than six months, but you knew what his tells were. You could sense when he was lying most of the time.

It just hurt, how stoic he was about it all, when you knew that beneath it all, he wasn’t. You had seen the true version of the Mandalorian bounty hunter that had struck fear into people’s hearts. Even from you, Din hid his true emotions.

You had never seen this man’s face. Not properly, anyhow. Nothing more than mere shadows and rare glimpses in the darkness of his sleeping cubby.

It hadn’t started out this way. You were merely hired to be an extra set of hands and help take care of the child when he couldn’t. But somewhere along the way, you had wormed your way into his bed. And his heart. He hadn’t said the words to you yet, nor you to him, but you knew you loved each other. You knew from the way he held you, the way he kissed you in the dark with such heartbreaking tenderness. How he looked out for you.

Which is why this hurt so much.

You tried very hard, for your sake, as well as Din’s and the child’s sakes, to keep it together. To not let your emotions cloud your judgement. The two of you had been tasked to reunite the baby with the Jedi. You and Mando were people of your word.

But, a small voice whispered, the Armorer also said that another option was until the baby came of age.

It was back-and-forth like that for days. Weeks, even. Din, if he had noticed your shifted behaviour, hadn’t said anything. Whether that was because he didn’t notice, or didn’t know what to say, you couldn’t be sure. He himself had also changed his behaviour, especially with the baby he had been tasked with protecting. While he was more fatherly with him than he had been before, he was also more distant as well, contradicting himself.

The three of you had taken off from Nevarro to Corvus with haste following the revelation that Moff Gideon was still alive and wanted the child - the asset, as everyone kept calling him.

And now you were just a few parsecs away from this Ahsoka Tano, due to arrive sometime tomorrow. Din was rocking the child to sleep, humming a lullaby from his youth to the child quietly.

Your heart clenched at the sight. Din had removed his pauldrons for the baby’s comfort before telling you he’d be along shortly, to get ready for bed.

Usually that would send waves of desire through you, but tonight you were distracted. Trying to keep the tears at bay.

* * *

“Cyare, are you all right?” Din’s modulated voice made you jump. You hadn’t heard him come into the sleeping compartment. “You’ve been far-away for a while now. Since we departed from Trask.” He sounded concerned.

Pressing your hand to your eyes to stave off the fresh tears you hoped he couldn’t see, you nodded. “I’m fine, Din.” Your voice broke, your breath hitching as you tried to steady yourself.

“No, you’re not, sweet girl.” Din began to remove his chest plate. A tear rolled sideways onto the pillow as he moved on to his leg armour. Usually that was the last bit he removed before moving on to his helmet. No tell-tale hissing sound filled the air, however.

You sniffed quietly. Mando heard it, you knew he did. “I just …” you started, not knowing what to say. “He …”

Din sighed his trademark sigh. “I know mesh’la.” His voice was quiet, tender. “I know.”

Of course he knew. Din Djarin always knew.

“I know we’re supposed to reunite him with his people. But what if this Ahsoka Tano isn’t who Bo-Katan says she is?” You can’t help but ask it. You hadn’t trusted the Mandalorian woman. Not fully, anyway. Not in the way you had inherently trusted Din when the two of you had met on Sorgan when he was first on the run with the child.

“We have no choice, cyar’ika.” You knew he was going to say that. “We’ve been tasked -”

You cut him off. “I know we have, Din. I was there when she told us that we had to find his people. But she also said that you were as his father until he came of age, too.”

Din sighed again as he pressed the button at his gauntlet to plunge the sleeping compartment into darkness. A minute later, you heard the hissing sound of his helmet come off.

Snuggling in beside you, his arm slung around your hip loosely, Din spoke. “I can’t - It’s not safe for him to stay with us. You know that.”

Your voice was more brittle than you intended it to be. “Yeah, like going with the Jedi is going to be so much safer for him. You said so yourself, wherever we go, he goes.”

The words hang in the air between you for a moment before you continue. “I know I’m not a part of your clan, that you’re a clan of two -”

Din interrupted you. “Would you like to be?”

“Are - what?” To say you are stunned would be a massive understatement. “Din, I -”

“I love you,” Din said suddenly, his lips grazing your cheek lightly. “And I don’t want my clan of two to become a clan of one again, even after we part ways with the kid.”

Tears sprang to your eyes again. “Don’t say that.” You were still reeling from his sudden proposal. “I can’t bear to think about it.”

Din swiped away a tear that was rolling down your cheek. “This is the Way,” he said mournfully.

* * *

Corvus frightened you. When Bo-Katan said it was a forest planet, you were expecting it to be lush and green and peaceful. Not a ghostly, sick planet overrun with tyranny. You stood close to Din as he spoke with the Imperial rulers of the city, trying not to let your gaze linger on the prisoners strung up in the courtyard.

“What kind of a place is this to leave a child?” you asked Din as you walked in the direction that the Imperial woman sent you. Din said nothing in response.

Ahsoka Tano wasn’t what you were expecting her to be. She was a kind and lovely soul, but also very bitter and resigned to the fate of the Jedi, grief lacing her words as she spoke of a former Jedi master who had given into the darkness.

Having very little else to do, you merely listened to what Din and Ahsoka had to say to one another, feeling vindication when she said that the child had bonded with the two of you.

You sat with the child - Grogu, you corrected yourself - as Din and Ahsoka went to take the city back from the Imperial forces. It was almost a relief to have something to call him after not knowing for so long.

A tear slipped down your cheek as you looked at Grogu sleeping. Another one. Soon, you could hardly see the sleeping child in front of you. You covered your mouth to stifle your sobs. You knew that it was only a matter of minutes before you and Din would have to part ways with him.

Unable to keep your sobs silent any longer, you shut the compartment door so that you wouldn’t wake little Grogu. Allowing the sobs to rack your body, you didn’t hear your lover come in.

Firm arms wrapped around you, cradling you close as you sobbed into the cold steel of Din’s chest plate. “It’s all right, my love. Let it out. It’s okay.” Din’s words were soothing as he stroked your back, though you noticed how his voice was shaking, his breathing hitched.

You could hardly stand any longer. Din seemed to sense this, allowing the two of you to fall to the floor together, his strong arms still around you protectively.

It broke his heart to see you this broken up, your emotions matching his own hidden ones.

“I can’t do it, Din. I don’t know how to say goodbye to him. Not when he’s become like a son to us.” Your words were choked in between sobbing, shuddering gusts of breath. “I don’t know how you’re so okay with this.”

Din pulled back for a moment, his helmet tilted at you. “I’m not.” His voice was thick through the modulator. “But I have to at least try to be.” A moment passed. Then, “Mesh’la, can you close your eyes?”

You frowned at him in confusion, but complied just the same. A second later Din took your hands in his, guiding them to his face.

His face was wet. Oh.

“This week has been the hardest week I’ve had in a long time. I keep thinking about how after today -” Din cut himself off, trying to keep his voice steady. “After today, he won’t be a part of our family.” You let out another sob. “But we made a promise. To return him to his people. People who can help him.”

You made no attempt to keep your voice steady or even. “But Din. We are his people. Ahsoka said so herself. He’s bonded with us, with you.”

You could feel Din nodding against your hands. “I know.” A tear slipped onto your finger. “But he will be better with the people who understand his abilities. The Force.”

The Force, although Tano had explained it well, still confused you, as you knew it stil confused Din.

Din moved your hands away from his face and kissed you, your tears mingling with his. “I want you to know,” he said, his voice more even. “That I meant what I asked last night. I want you to be my riduur - my wife.”

You nestled your face into the soft material at his neck. “I love you, Din. I do. And I want you to be my husband. But right now we have to bring him to Ahsoka.”

It broke your heart to say it. But a promise was a promise. Though you didn’t agree, you understood Din when he said that the child you had come to think of as yours and Din’s would be better with people who were familiar with the Force.

“We should wake him,” Din whispered as you pulled yourself away from him, eyes still firmly shut.

You were tempted to give Din and his son some privacy while Din sat with him as he woke from his rest. But then Din gestured you come over and sit with the two of them, your last time as a would-be clan of three.

Grogu looked up at you and Din with some concern. He had never known you to be sad. It made him sad to see you so distraught.

You pressed a tearful kiss to his wrinkled forehead. “It’s okay, sweet thing,” you said shakily, as yet another fresh batch of tears fell from your eyes. He reached the hand that wasn’t holding Din’s up to your cheek, wanting to fix whatever was hurting you.

The three of you sat there together, a family for the last time, for as long as you could.

* * *

“I cannot train him.”

The three of you had barely made it down the ramp of the Razor Crest when Ahsoka spoke. Hope sparked in your chest.

Maybe you wouldn’t need to say goodbye after all.

Still, Din spoke, steeling his voice. “You made me a promise, and I held up my end.”

Ahsoka sighed, stepping towards the three of you, her eyes fixed on the child in Din’s hold. She reached out her finger to place it in his small hand. He cooed gently as he took it. He liked her.

“There is one possibility.” You and Din exchanged a glance at this.

Your voice was small as you spoke. “What’s that?”

Ahsoka pulled her hand back slightly, looking at you and Din. “Go to the planet Tython. There you will find the ruins of an ancient temple that has a strong connection to the Force.”

You didn’t allow the hope that was beginning to swell inside you to become too strong. “And what will happen there?”

Ahsoka was serene as she replied. Not hopeful, but not without hope either. “Place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain.”

Din was intrigued. “Then what?” he asked.

All Ahsoka said was, “Then Grogu may choose his own path.” He sputtered up at her at the sound of his name, relinquishing Ahsoka’s finger from his grip completely. “If he reaches out through the Force, there is a chance a Jedi may sense it and come to search for him.”

Din was quiet as he tilted his helmet slightly. He sensed a but coming.

Sure enough, there was. “Then again, there aren’t many Jedi left.” Ahsoka sounded almost despondent, alone.

“Thank you,” Din whispered. Though what he was thanking her for, you couldn’t be sure. For the information? For helping him? Allowing the little one to stay with you?

A stray tear slipped conspicously from your eye. Ahsoka noticed but said nothing more than, “May the Force be with you.”

You and Din turned awkwardly from her, ascending back up the ramp. The small creature looked over Din’s shoulder at Ahsoka as you made your way into the hull of the ship. You noticed Ahsoka smile a true smile at the three of you as the ramp lifted itself up.

* * *

“C’mon ki - Grogu,” Din corrected himself, remembering how he had responded upon hearing his name spoken by Din the night before.

The child in question was in your lap, dozing against your chest as you stroked his back.

It was going to take some time getting used to him having a proper name.

“Time for bed.” Din took him from you gently. “And perhaps for us as well,” he said to you.

As you got ready for bed, exchanging your day tunic for your sleep one, you thought back to what Ahsoka had said, that Grogu considered you to be his family. If anyone would know about bonding, it was probably her. It was a very similar thought to the one you had voiced to Din earlier.

But we’re his people.

Though it was a simple thing, one that you had thought since before the Armorer had declared it, it was good to have it properly confirmed.

You didn’t know what Tython would bring, what he would choose. But if Ahsoka’s words had any value as you thought them to, then perhaps you and Din had reason to hope.

“Are you okay?” Din surprised you. “Today was rough.”

You nodded as you helped him unclasp his cloak and armour. “I think so. I’m so relieved that we didn’t have to say goodbye just yet.”

Din nodded as he reached for his helmet. “I don’t even know where Tython is. The map was inconclusive.”

He reached out and grabbed the hand that was stretching to get the light so that he could take the helmet off. “It’s fine, cyare. I already consider you a part of my clan.”

Tears of a different kind sprang to your eyes. You were going to get dehydrated from all this crying. Still, your voice was teasing as Din eased both of your hands up to his helmet with his own hands. “Yeah? Good. I consider you to be a part of mine, too.”

As you lay with him, having finally seen his face, he spoke quietly to you in the dark, just loud enough for you to hear as you fell into the embrace of sleep for the night. “May we be a clan of three for as long as possible.”

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #mando x reader #mando x you #the mandalorian fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian season 2 spoilers #the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 2

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tanyawritesstories · 3 years

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Frozen Wounds | The Mandalorian x Reader pt. 5

Things are gonna go downhill today, guess what chapter we're on 😈 I believe there are only two chapters after this one. Also butterflies are called flutterbyes in the Star Wars universe now, I don't make the rules 😝😂 Enjoy!

Series Masterlist

Word count: 5.1k

Warnings: angst, sad times, fluff, mild nudity, canon violence, torture

•••

Tython was in the middle of nowhere in space, Din happened to notice as he input the coordinates into the nav computer. It had taken him several minutes just to find it in the star charts, let alone set a course for it. Just after they left Corvus they had stopped at a nearby planet for fuel and resources, that had been when he realized Y/N was wearing his clothes. He had given her credits to go buy some that actually fit her, as well as more ammo for her pistol.

He had asked her how she knew how to fight and she told him that her husband taught her. Some part of him didn’t think that was true. He was getting more in tune with her and could tell when she was lying. When he thought about it, he actually didn’t know much about Y/N, he assumed she had been born and raised on Tatooine, but what if she wasn’t? Who knew what kind of life she’d had.

Din eased the Crest into hyperspace and planned to go down into the hull and see what Y/N was up to. He’d been in the cockpit for almost an hour, by now the kid- Grogu. He had to remember that, his child had a name now. Grogu was fast asleep in his passenger seat and Din was content to leave him right there. He watched Grogu for a few minutes, smiling beneath his helmet. He double checked that the autopilot was on and quietly climbed down the ladder so as to not wake anyone. He turned and looked to his left, expecting to see the ship empty or perhaps Y/N sitting on the floor with Mandi.

Instead he saw Y/N in the middle of undressing. He couldn’t help but stare at her as she tugged her new pair of pants on and shucked off his shirt that she had been wearing, oblivious. His eyes wandered her exposed upper body, surprised to see scars here and there. His face was heating up, along with another part of his body, as his eyes roamed over her covered breasts. She turned around looking to see where she had put her shirt when she saw him. She squeaked in shock and covered her chest with her arms, Din shook himself out of his stupor and looked away, slapping his hand over his visor.

“Sorry, I didn’t-didn’t know you were….uh...occupied,” he stuttered out, once again thankful for his helmet as it covered his flustered expression. He heard her shuffling about trying to get dressed, her small grunts of effort suggesting she was having trouble. The sound of her knocking on some part of the ship got his attention but he didn’t look up. “Psst,” she tried to get his attention again. “Are you..covered? C-can I look?” He asked. She knocked twice again and Din slowly raised his head and lowered his hand from his helmet. She was holding his shirt over her chest to cover herself.

I can’t reach the clasp, can you get it for me?

Din saw the flushed and embarrassed expression she wore on her face, she didn’t want to ask him to do this. He saw a new bra laying on the crate beside her and his mind connected the dots. Maker, help him. She turned around and demonstrated, her arms couldn’t quite bend that much and her fingers came close to the clasp but couldn’t reach it. Din gulped and walked towards her, at least she was turned around and couldn’t see the predicament that was starting to make itself known on the front of Din’s trousers.

She signed a sorry to him as he fumbled with the challenging and tiny clasp, his leather gloves making it difficult. After a tense minute he got frustrated and took his gloves off. He hesitated and held his breath as his bare skin touched hers. He was able to undo the clasp with ease, his fingers gliding along her skin, feeling the softness. He let out a shaky breath as he gently pushed the straps off her shoulders. Her skin was so soft and warm and he could feel the muscles tense under her skin. He couldn’t help but rest his hands on her bare shoulders and hold them there.

Din could hear her slow breathing and see her breasts rise and fall, covered only by a small part of his shirt. She was able to slip the bra off without exposing herself. Din didn’t want to take his hands off her, he loved the feeling of her skin. What he wanted to do was turn her around to face him. He didn’t though, he just held her, content.

“You’re beautiful…”

The words were out before he could stop them. Y/N turned her head so she could see him. He thought she looked confused, maybe transfixed, like she was experiencing the same emotions as he was. Confusion. Attraction. Love? It was like a magnetic force was pulling them together. Her nose bumped his visor, his helmet the only thing separating them. Her lips skimmed over the Beskar as though she was wishing it wasn’t there. Her eyes found his through the blackened visor; this time Din didn’t feel vulnerable. He felt safe, comforted.

Y/N felt much the same way he did. The original feelings of shame and embarrassment had faded. Deep down she felt at peace, a realization hitting her. Her husband would want this for her, he would want her to be happy. Her mind was made up now, she loved this Mandalorian and his child. Now she had to wait for him to accept that he was too.

Their moment was interrupted by Mandi crying. “I, I’ll go get her…” he whispered. Din broke away and let Y/N get dressed while he checked on the baby and calmed himself down.

~~~~

It was finally in sight after a few hours in hyperspace, they were now approaching Tython. Grogu had woken up and was playing with the metal knob while Din watched him. Y/N had finished feeding Mandi and was going to head up into the cockpit when she heard Mando laugh. It made her smile, she’d never heard him laugh before. She stood at the bottom of the ladder listening to him talk to Grogu. What he said made her sad.

“But you have to agree to go with them if they want you to,” he spoke. “Plus, I can’t train you, you’re too..powerful..”

“I agreed to take you back to your own kind, so that’s what I need to do. You understand right?”

It sounded to her like he was more trying to persuade himself rather than inform Grogu. Y/N didn’t want anything to tear them apart. Especially that criminal Moff Gideon that Mando had told her about. The Crest entered the atmosphere of the hilly, rock covered planet. Din quickly spotted the temple Ahsoka told him about, or at least what little of it there was.

After circling the area on top of the hill, Din knew it was too small to land the ship. He would have to use his jetpack to go the rest of the way. That in itself presented an issue, how was he going to bring Y/N with? Previously he would have asked her to stay on the Crest, but now knowing she was a skilled and capable fighter he wanted her with him. For more reasons besides just having an extra pair of eyes.

Y/N exited the Crest with Mandi on her chest, stepping onto the grass and breathing in the fresh air. She saw Din standing a few feet away, his jetpack was attached to his back and he was tying a better and stronger leather strap onto his pulse rifle. He looked up and saw Y/N walking over to him.

What are you up to?

She asked with a smile, looking down at Grogu who was playing in the grass at his father’s feet. Din finished the new strap on the rifle, much more secure and nicer than the one Y/N had on it before. “I can’t carry these both, you want to use this?” He asked, holding the rifle out to her. “You seem to know your way around one.” She took the weapon in her hands and looked it over, nodding a thank you to him.

My husband had one he insisted I know how to use. He trained me until I was an expert with it, it was the exact same model as this one.

“Then whenever I’m not using it, it’s yours,” he said. She smiled and swung it onto her back, making sure the strap wasn’t across Mandi on her front. Din produced a thick leather belt with extra ammunition on it, also including her DT-22 in a holster. “I figured you could use one of these too,” he said. Y/N smiled and allowed Din to strap it to her waist. Now she had her blaster pistol and the pulse rifle she could use, as well as extra ammo for both. Din also let her keep the vibroblade she took. “Are you afraid of heights?” He asked. She raised an eyebrow and smirked, knowing there was another part to his question.

Not yet.

He beckoned her closer, bending down to pick up Grogu. “She secured tight?” He nodded to Mandi. Y/N nodded, asking him why. “We have to get up there,” he explained, “and I’m not going to make you walk.” She looked at him suspiciously and he asked her to hold Grogu. Din went to put his arm around her but figured he should ask first. “Can I…?”

Of course.

Din put his arm around her back and the other under her knees and swept her into his arms. She let out a small squeal before giggling. Mandi was secured to her chest and Grogu was held tight in her other arm, leaving Y/N to put her other arm around Din’s shoulders. “Hang on tight,” he told her, “I won’t drop you.”

How comforting.

She laughed at her own comment and held both children tight to her chest, her other hand gripping his cape. “Don’t worry, it’s not far,” he reassured. Din tightened his grip on her and powered up his jetpack, shooting into the sky. Y/N buried her face into his neck and he couldn’t help but smirk as he flew. It didn’t take long with how fast his jetpack was, a few minutes maybe, then Din was setting her down on solid ground. “You alright?” He asked. He held onto her, making sure she had her balance.

That was fun.

She answered with a smile. Din smiled back at her, though she couldn’t see it, and took Grogu from her arms. They approached the so-called Temple, and looked around. Din walked into the center and Y/N walked around the circular base, just inside the pillars. “I guess you sit here,” Din assumed, setting Grogu on the round stone. The child watched as his father expected something to happen immediately. Din activated the sensors inside his helmet and searched around for something he might be missing. He heard Y/N laugh and looked over at where she stood in the shade of one of the pillars.

Not everything the Jedi did was obvious. Just be patient.

Din sighed. He didn’t have patience right now. Grogu wasn’t doing anything special, just sitting and looking around, reaching for a flutterbye as it flew over his head. Din wanted to roll his eyes. “Oh, c’mon, kid.” He said exasperated. “Ahsoka told me all I had to do was get you here and you’d do the rest.” Din perked up at the sound of something coming closer, he looked up and saw a strange looking ship flying quite close to where they were. He jogged outside the circle to get a better view and Y/N joined him. Neither of them noticing the kid was starting to sense something.

The ship landed and Din made the assumption that whoever it was, they were looking for trouble. He couldn’t take any chances. “Times up, kid. We’ve gotta get out of here.” The pair turned around to see a transparent pillar of blue energy emitting from the stone and surrounding Grogu. The little one himself was sitting still with his eyes closed in concentration, he was definitely doing something now. Din approached the stone. “We don’t have time for this, we gotta get-”

The second he touched the field of energy he was violently thrown backwards a few yards. Y/N gasped and ran to help him up, asking if he was ok. He just nodded. “Hey, snap out of it, kid. We gotta get out of here!” He urged. The duo just stared at Grogu, he seemed perfectly safe and calm inside his little energy field. Din didn’t know what to do. He walked to the edge of the temple and realized he could see the other ship from there. He zoomed in on it and saw a robed, hooded figure exit the ship. Bad news, no matter who it was. Din drew his blaster and Y/N grabbed his arm, shaking her head.

“I have to go see what they want, they could be Jedi,” he told her. She looked nervous and he assumed she was scared for him. He took her other hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll come back, don’t worry,” he said. She wiggled her hand out of his and put it on the side of his helmet, drawing him closer to her. She pecked a kiss on his visor where she imagined his lips would be, leaving Din stunned.

I’ll keep Grogu safe, and watch your back from up here. Please be careful.

All Din could do was nod before taking off down the hill, blaster in hand. Y/N took point from just behind a pillar of the temple, watching Din as he moved and surveying the area. A reign of bullets shot at the ground in front of him and Din took cover behind a boulder, he peeked out from behind it and heard a voice address him.

“I’ve been tracking you, Mandalorian.”

Din watched as the hooded figure came to a stop on some rocks several yards away from him. He could see vague features of a man under the hood, he was older but still armed to the teeth. His expression was stern and his face was weathered, like he’d spent too many years on an unforgiving planet. Din spoke: “are you Jedi?”

Y/N watched through the scope as Din and the man talked, she wished she knew what they were saying. She had already picked out the sniper that the other man had positioned at a vantage point on the rock ledge above where Din and him were talking. She was easy to spot, her black and orange getup didn’t exactly blend in with the beige and green surroundings. The woman had her blaster rifle trained on Grogu, but Y/N knew the energy field would protect him. Any blaster bullets would either ricochet or be absorbed by it. Y/N herself was half hidden behind one of the pillars of the temple, she doubted the sniper could see her. She had the pulse rifle set directly on the other woman’s body, one misstep and she would be reduced to ash.

Meanwhile, Din was listening as the man explained that he had a sharpshooter on the ridge above them, who’s sights were locked onto Grogu. The shooter spoke and Din recognized her voice. Fennec Shand, he thought that other kid had killed her. Guess not. “Yeah? I have my own sniper, back up there, guarding the child and aiming at both of you. One wrong move and you’re both dead.” Din threatened. The man’s eyes shifted up to the rock where his companion was. “Shand.” “I got her, she’s not hiding as well as she thinks she is,” Fennec replied. Din shuddered at her words. The man suggested a peaceful interaction and Din reluctantly deactivated his whistling birds and removed his jetpack.

Y/N watched as the sniper got up and walked down by the other two men. Y/N checked behind her to see that Grogu was still… whatever he was doing he was keeping it up. She wanted to believe that these people were friendly now but she couldn't let her guard down. As Fennec explained how she was still alive, Din learned the name of the man.

Boba Fett.

He was claiming, and demanding, the armor Din had acquired from the Marshal on Tatooine, saying it was his. Din had a hard time believing that and he wasn't about to hand over precious Mandalorian armor to a man he didn't know. They were on the verge of coming to an agreement when the sound of another ship could be heard. Everyone looked to the noise and saw it was coming from a troop transport. Imperials.

The trio split up and Din began running back up to get the kid. Y/N stepped out from behind the pillar when he got close.

What's happening?

"The Imps are here, they want the kid," he explained quickly. Din once again tried to walk through the force field to get Grogu, but it was even harder this time. Din had to use a lot of his strength just to walk to the middle; only to get flung backwards again. He didn't understand what was really going on. He went to try and get through again, but before he could take a step Y/N stopped him with a hand on his chest.

The energy field is protecting him, you won't be able to get through it. We have to help them.

She motioned to the strangers who were currently holding back the waves of stormtroopers and making it look easy. Y/N didn't know who either of them were, but she wasn't about to let them take on all the troopers on their own.

All we can do is protect him until he's done doing whatever it is he's doing.

Din sighed. He didn't like the situation but what choice did he have. Plus, Y/N would be guarding the child and could grab him whenever he was free of the energy field. "Keep an eye on him. The second that field is down, grab him and get to the Crest," he instructed. Y/N nodded, she looked frightened again and Din wished he could think of some way to comfort her.

"We'll be ok," he told her. Those small words seemed to calm and focus her enough to smile at him.

I've got your back.

Din nodded and looked at Mandi, who seemed oblivious in her wrap. The little girl appeared content if not alert. "Keep them safe," he said before dashing down the hill to aid Shand who was surrounded by stormtroopers. Din braced himself against a boulder and fired his whistling birds.

Y/N picked off troopers with the pulse rifle, leaving piles of white armor behind. The second transport landed and she noticed that the older robed man wasn't anywhere in sight. A large explosion drew Y/N's eyes away from the scope. The sudden lack of blaster fire and noise, made her realize that it was quiet from behind her as well. She turned around and saw that the energy field was gone and Grogu was laying on the stone exhausted. She glimpsed through the scope once more to see the robed man annihilating troopers with a suit of armor similar to Din's. He was commanding all the attention and Y/N took her chance.

She slung the rifle onto her back and ran to Grogu, picking him up and holding him close to her. She made her way down the hill as fast as she could heading towards the Crest as the troop transports took off and tried to escape. Grogu, who was facing outwards and right beside Mandi, began reaching for the little girl’s hand. Y/N was getting down the hill at a decent pace. The Razor Crest was in her sights, even the noise of the transports exploding couldn’t distract her.

With her eyes set on the ship, Y/N noticed it was starting to rattle. She watched as it shook more violently, as if there was a quake happening only below it. She continued to run while watching and soon the Crest was lifted off the ground into the air. Y/N was stopped dead in her tracks and the sound of metal creaking drew the attention of the other three. Everyone was stunned as the Crest was lifted into the air and moved. It was almost like-

Y/N looked down at the children in her arms, Grogu and Mandi were holding hands while each of their other hands was outstretched towards the Crest. Din looked up the hill and saw Y/N and the children. He was in awe. The kids moved the ship far away from where it had been and set it down in a completely different spot. They both gasped in exhaustion from the effort they had just put in. Y/N was beginning to wonder why they did that when a blast as big as a meteor came down from the atmosphere, blowing a massive hole in the ground where the Crest had previously been.

Din was shocked motionless. How had the kids known that would happen? More importantly, who had shot? Din bolted to the Crest as Y/N once again started down the hill. She was about halfway down when she began hearing a sound similar to Din’s jetpack, only louder. She looked behind her and saw several dark figures descending from the sky. Those couldn’t be good. The two strangers began firing at the objects but their bullets only bounced off. Y/N knew they were after the child and as they drew closer she could see they were heavily armored droids. She had a split second decision to make.

Y/N curved her path, ducking behind a large boulder, out of sight from the droids. She unwrapped the cloth hood from her head and wrapped Grogu in it completely, leaving a small hole for him to breathe. She held him for a second and spoke in a hoarse whisper. “Take care of Mando, little Grogu.” With that Y/N set him on the ground in the safe shelter of the strong boulder, wrapped in her shawl that blended in with the ground. Clutching Mandi to her chest she emerged and began running back down the hill as fast as she could.

Din had started up the Crest and prepped it so he could take off at any second. He ran back outside, hoping Y/N was closer. He saw Boba take off, heading to his ship. Din ran to try and get to her, with Fennec right behind him. The droids were getting closer and Y/N moved her legs as fast as she could, jumping over and dodging around rocks. She shed the pulse rifle, running faster. She could hear them. The jets were so loud. She wasn’t going to make it.

One of the droids landed with a loud crash right in front of her, Y/N skidded to a stop and tried a different direction. There was a droid blocking her way, she went the opposite way, one there too. She was surrounded and the droids closed in. She could barely hear Din calling her name, he sounded so desperate. She hoped what she did had worked, the droids wouldn’t know which child they were taking. She held Mandi tight to her chest and stood still, waiting for the droid’s cold hands to grab her. Y/N closed her eyes.

The metal hands clamped down on her waist tight and secure and she was pulled against a metal body. Her eyes opened as her feet lifted off the ground, seeing Din and the sniper come within a few yards short of reaching her. She looked into his visor mouthing the words ‘I love you’ as the droids ascended and took her with. Mandi was now crying and Y/N sheltered her daughter’s head from the high winds, planting a kiss on her forehead and nestling her into her chest.

Din felt like his heart had gotten ripped out of his chest. He had gotten so close to reaching her and he fell short. He stared up at her as the droids carried her away, he read her lips. I love you. Din clenched his fists, why hadn’t he told her! He realized now that he felt the same way. He was in love with this woman and now she was gone, ripped from his hands, taken. Like everything else he loved in his life, it had been taken. He hadn’t even told her he felt the same way. He saw Fett’s ship following and told Fennec to get him to stand down. He watched in horror as the other man's words came through the comlink.

"They're back….the Empire…"

Din had gone from upset to angry. Scratch that, he was enraged. He knew who was on the bridge of the cruiser Fett was describing. And Din wanted to wring his neck. Fett came back and landed his ship, telling them that the droids had taken the woman into the ship and disappeared into hyperspace. Fett had just finished showing Din the chain code in the armor that proved it was his when all three of them heard a soft whining.

Din looked around and saw Grogu waddling towards them, dragging Y/N’s shawl wrap behind him with a little hand. He whined and lifted that hand into the air, as if showing them that she was gone. Din swooped the kid into his arms and held him, the realization of what Y/N had done entering his mind, making him want to scream and cry at the same time.

She had hidden Grogu and let the droids take her and Mandi, to protect Din and his child. She’d sacrificed herself and her baby to those monsters to make sure that Grogu and Din weren’t separated. She had known what she was doing. Din took her shawl from Grogu and held it in his free hand. He could still see the faint darker patch on it where she hadn’t gotten all the blood off from when he used it to clean her wound not long after they first met.

He turned and looked at the other two, not knowing what to say. “Thank you for your help, I’ll...figure it out from here….” Fett stopped him by saying that he had promised the protection of his entire group, not just Din and the child and would therefore help get the woman back. Din gathered up his pulse rifle and jetpack. “Meet me on Navarro, we’ll go from there,” he told the other two. Din boarded the Crest and set Grogu in his seat before taking off. Moff Gideon would pay for everything he had done to Grogu and everything he was going to do to the woman and child Din loved.

~~~~

Y/N woke up in a dark and cold room which she could only assume was a holding cell. It had been awhile since she was in one of these. As she gained her senses she touched her chest and found that Mandi was gone, she looked around the room, but she was alone. Y/N had lost consciousness when the droids flew too high and she couldn’t get enough oxygen. Whatever happened between then and now included them taking Mandi away from her, taking Y/N's weapons away, and throwing her into a cell. She hoped they had been more gentle with her baby. She registered the feeling of something colder around her neck and reached up, her fingers touching cold metal that she only assumed was...yep, shock collar. Was she really seen as that much of a threat?

Just as Y/N got to her feet the door to her cell opened and a man clad in all black with a flowing cape and an imposing attitude entered with a couple stormtroopers behind him. She glared at him with as much hate as she could muster. He just stared back, unamused and undeterred. “I wasn’t aware we had such an influential figure on board,” he spoke. His voice was unnerving, scarily calm and composed.

What have you done with my daughter, you asshole?

She signed snappily and with attitude, knowing he couldn’t understand her. “Are you going to speak or do I have to make you?” He threatened. She saw the troopers fidget with their blasters, probably getting ready to shoot her. She cursed at him in sign, asking again where Mandi was. The man sighed almost unnoticeably. “Do you know where the Mandalorian and the child are?” He asked. Y/N didn’t answer, he wasn’t going to make her speak. She only swore at him more in sign. The man rolled his eyes.

Are you going to keep cussing at me, or actually answer my questions?

Y/N’s eyes widened and the man chuckled at the fear in her eyes as she realized he could sign, and understand her every word. “Now that I’ve got your attention, do you know where they are?” She just stared menacingly at him, not saying or signing a word. “I would think such an important New Republic asset would want to do anything to protect the ones they love,” the man taunted, walking closer to her. He drew a hilt from his belt and with the press of a button a black, shimmering blade emerged from it. He held it inches away from her neck and she could feel the heat radiating off of the weapon.

I don’t know, but you’ll never find them.

The man turned the blade off and clipped it back on his belt. “Not to worry, I have a locator placed inside the Razor Crest. I’ll have them soon.” With that he turned to leave and she charged at his back. Y/N didn’t get very far as her collar was activated and she dropped to the floor, seizing from the electricity. The shocks turned off after a few seconds that felt more like minutes. The man knelt down next to her. “Don’t worry about your daughter, we have supplements to keep her alive for as long as we need,” the man said. Y/N looked up at him and growled. “You on the other hand, we have no use for. Thank you for your specimen.” He said before exiting the room, leaving the distraught mother on the floor, hoping her baby would survive.

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #Grogu #frozen series

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