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astralisbelle · 1 year

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Dead Man's Hand 9 - I'm Feeling Good

Dead Man's Hand Masterlist tags: engineer!reader, gambler!reader, loose canon timeline, eventual smut, fluff, action, casino aesthetics, touch starved reader, touch starved din, reader and din get on each other’s nerves, also they’re idiots, defrosting ice king din, cinderella vibes, everybody loves grogu

chapter summary: Amidst staying up too late and an incident with shoes, they realize that lonely people can come from anywhere.

notes: Getting to the GOOD STUFF real soon after this one. Shit's gonna hit the fan... I promise hah. In the mean time, take some fluff <3

Din can’t take his eyes off of her. During the drawing and betting phases, she enters a zone of absolute focus that reminds him of himself when he uses his rifle.

He wonders how keeping track of it all looks in her mind, how she visualizes the deck, what does she do when cards are revealed. When the time for the reveal comes and her bluffs and secrets are exposed, she puts on the most disarming smile, brimming with confidence. The chips stack, the pot shifts, and the girl from Tatooine teaches everyone watching an important lesson: do not underestimate her.

After she wiped out the handsome man, the Mon Calamari manages to fake-out the Togruta. Five players remain. When the dealer calls to adjourn for the evening, she picks up her skirts and flutters towards him, giddiness in her steps as her heels click into the floor. Grogu, this late at night, has fallen asleep in his pram in spite of all of the noise. “Did you see all that?” she asks, using her thumb to point to the table. “Did you see that?”

“I did. You’re doing great.” Din pushes himself off the wall. “Let’s go.”

“B-Back to the room? Already?”

“It’ll be dawn in a few hours.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess.” She tilts her head, seeing that Grogu passed out already, poor thing. “I should be tired, but I have so much energy! Maybe you two should head back.”

“And you?”

She bites her lip to contain her excitement. “The parties are still going. I’ve never been to one! I heard there’s booze and dancing and overall a crazy time.” She shimmies her shoulders. “You don’t mind, do you? I swear, I’ll be back before the sun’s up.”

Truth be told, he does mind. Though unorthodox, this is a job like any other and he worries that distractions could affect her play style. He’s about to point all this out, but the look in her eyes steals his words away. There is a glow around her, like a star before it bursts. One look at her, and no one would guess that she was from a backwater planet, fighting for scraps and counting cards in the corners of cantinas. Din has to remind himself that she is doing him a huge favor and that she is capable of making her own decisions. Though, of course, a part of him still worries. He doesn’t trust anyone in this place.

“...Fine.” She jumps in place, clapping her hands together. “But if you aren’t back by then, I’m going to look for you.”

“I’d have no doubt that you’d find me.” She turns half-way. “Oh, thank you, Din.” Right, he forgot that he told her his name. Having anyone know it is something he needs to adjust to. He simply nods, his visor covering the bashful look in his eyes.

“H-Have fun.”

---

Din stays up, doing maintenance on his weapons in the meantime. He inspects them, washes away any specks, adjusts any components, keeping them neat on the living room table. Occasionally, he stands and peeks into the pram to make sure Grogu sleeps soundly. This is nice, at least, having the quiet moments between himself and his little troublemaker. It wasn’t until Grogu came into his life that Din realized how lonely the path of a bounty hunter can be, especially one that walks the Way of the Mandalore. He’s almost embarrassed to admit that he cannot imagine life without him now. A part of him hopes that he’s enough for Grogu.

Din remembers the scene of the morning, Grogu clinging to her finger, his body close to her chest. His heart tugs at the realization that Grogu will probably miss her when all of this is done. Oh well. They would visit her whenever the Razor Crest needed repairs (which is often, nowadays.)

Two hours pass. She has thirty minutes before Din is ready to put his helmet back on and go search for her. Just before that happens, he hears giggling outside of the door. He slides the helmet back onto his head and stands up just as the door slides open. A guard has her arm wrapped around his shoulder and she… well, she looks fine, other than her cheeks flushing red and a dazed smile on her lips. “Sir.”

“Mando! You missed ooout!”

“Oh, kriff.” He relieves the guard of her, letting her balance her entire weight on him. “Sorry, I’ve got her.”

“Not a problem, sir. Have a nice evening.”

Once the door closes, she laughs again and looks up. “I’m sorry, they had this drink that looked like all the stars were in your glass and it was so good. It was so good, Din.” At least she isn’t slurring her words. She is, however, very giggly. “Oh, it was so much fun!”

“Yeah.” He looks back at the pram, not wanting to wake Grogu. Better do this quick. Din leads her across the living room then closes the bedroom door behind them. He sets her down on the bed, listening to her snicker. “Good night.”

“Wait, wait.” She sits up. “Can you, can you get my shoes. I can’t…” She makes a pathetic stretch towards her feet. “I can’t reach… pffft.” Then she chortles into another giggle fit. Din groans, feeling his favorite word (“no”) ready on his tongue, but she uses those damn eyes again, coy and tempting. He resists her request for a few moments longer before he caves and kneels before her, taking her shoe in hand. At first, his attempts to undo the buckle are thwarted thanks to the thick leather of his gloves so after a while, he just swears under his breath and removes them.

His bare fingers hold her ankle while he undoes the buckle this time, pulling the straps through the loops. The touch makes her chest flutter – is this what they mean when they say princesses and queens are waited on hand and foot? When he takes off her shoe, he does so without yanking it of her ankle, taking his time. She tilts her head, watching without missing a single beat as he lifts her other foot to untie the buckle. “It was beautiful,” she breathes out. “So many lights. The music is so loud that you can’t hear anything else. And I thought dancing would be prettier, but it was just a lot of arm flailing and jumping.”

“Sounds awful.”

He slips the other shoe off, again, careful not to yank on her ankle. “You’re so sweet.” The words spill out of her mouth.

“Wh-what?”

Din’s flustered voice makes her laugh again. “What? You are. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I know you’ve got a reputation.” She winks.

He grumbles. “Is that all?” With urgency, he stands up, pulling his gloves back on.

Her eyes trail up, taking in the entire full body of the Mandalorian. She knows the warmth of all of the liquor makes her body feel light and her mind blank. She stares into the darkness of the visor. I wonder… such a pretty name. Is your face just as pretty underneath that helmet?

He says her name to snap her out of her thoughts.

“Oh. It’s…” She has to say something to keep him here. “Din, even if I lose, I’m never gonna forget this. All of this. It’s so amazing.” She lies down on her back, staring at the ceiling. “But I’m not gonna lose.”

“You’re sure?”

“I just remembered what you told me, about it not being different underneath it all. And you were right.” She rolls onto her side.

Din knows he can end this conversation as fast as he wanted to, but he hears the wistfulness in her voice, the sincerity despite the inebriation. And, a part of him doesn’t mind talking to her. Daresay, it rather likes it. He sits on the edge of the bed, looking over his shoulder. “You’re gonna have a hell of a story to tell Peli.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She gets up so they sit side by side, her legs resting on the bed. “You know, depending how big the final payout is, she could retire with that money. Stars, so could I. I could… not go back.”

“...Is that something you want?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought of it before.” They turn their gazes towards the wide window, watching the dark sky turn lighter, blues mixing with oranges. The lights in the buildings turn off as the sun peeks from the horizon, making the waters shimmer like thousands of jewels. It’s a sight Din has seen a handful of times, but it’s never felt this peaceful. She watches it with a faraway look, as if memorizing it. “You know, I… I’ve been alone. Since I was, I dunno, eight? Nine?” Her voice quiets.

Din faces the window. “You lost your parents?”

“Mhm. Something about a debt they couldn’t pay. I don’t remember and it doesn’t matter anymore… and you?”

His throat hardens, as it usually does when someone tries to bring up the past. “...Clone wars,” is all he answers. “I was a Foundling.”

“I see. I’m sorry.” She pulls the jewelry off her hands, her rings then her bracelets. “I know how hard that is…” She tosses it all on the night table. “As for me, since then, I just focused on one thing: surviving. I would do whatever it took. I’d go through the dumpsters. I’d beg. Sometimes, I’d get in trouble just so they’d throw me in jail. At least it meant a bed and slop which was better than most days. I… I didn’t have dreams or aspirations.” Her hand inches – just inches – towards his. “I didn’t have anything. And now, I…” She sniffles and her bottom lip trembles. As she wipes her eye, she forces a laugh through the tears. Keep it together. Come on. You’re a big girl, now’s not the time. “I’m sorry.” Another nervous laugh. “I don’t know why I’m like this.”

Din knows. He knows. “It’s okay,” he says. “I understand. I… I was lucky that I was saved. I had a family. It… it must have been hard for you. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

I’m sorry. No one had ever said those words to her like that. I’m sorry you lost your parents. I’m sorry you had such a hard life. I’m sorry you went through all of that. Her throat chokes up and her vision blurs. The tears roll down her cheeks. You didn’t deserve that. You didn’t deserve any of it.

She wants to hug him. She wants to hide her ugly, crying face in his chest. She wants to feel those hands that were so gentle with her moments ago around herself. But she has to be realistic. She’s pulled herself together in the past, all by herself, and now couldn’t be any different. Her fingers wipe away the tears and she inhales deeply. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s fine. And, look. You don’t have to stay in Tatooine. I have a ship, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go after this is over.”

“And… where would I go?”

“Like I said: anywhere.”

She wants to tease him and say that that answer isn’t helpful, but she gets his meaning. Truth be told, she hasn’t the faintest clue of where that would be. It’s not as if anyone wants her. “...Okay.” She smiles and she hopes, but isn’t sure, that he smiles back – she wonders if he has a nice smile. When he moves, she stops him. “Din.”

“Yes?”

“...I’m going to win.”

He stands up slowly. “I know. Get some sleep.”

“Okay.” She watches him go to the door. “Good night – er, morning. Sweet dreams.”

“...You too.”

When he leaves, she reaches behind herself to pull the ties off her dress, letting it fall to the floor. She uses a nearby towel to wipe her face before she snuggles under the covers. Wait, something seems missing… Grogu. Wait, but didn’t Din say it’d be better for him to be in the room? That was the whole reason he made her sleep in the bed–

Oh. She chuckles to herself, hugging a pillow between her arms. That softie.

Outside her door, Din needs a moment. His back leans against the door as his head rests. Inside, his chest feels uneasy, abuzz with warmth. His heart races, pounding in his ear. When did he feel like this before?

He remembers: it was right after he rescued Grogu after giving him up and they were flying away on the Razor Crest. It’s that feeling of knowing he did something right with a mix of anxiety of what consequences he would reap for this.

But that’s just the thing: what consequences could possibly come out of this?

Maybe he’s thinking about it too much… or he just really needs the sleep.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #din djarin #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian fanfic #work: dead man's hand #crying screaming sobbing throwing up about these two #its nice they have this moment #theyre #theyre gonna need it

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