#and hell even though din had a harder time of it than he should have if this werepre-purge it still was resolved in a single fucking episod

[oflgtfol]

also yknow what im kinda iffy about the bathing in living waters thing as a means of redemption (for reasons that belong to their own post, if i ever figure out how to word it), but the fact that there even is redemption offered despite how strict the helmet rule is, is like. well proof actually that it's not very strict

and the fact is that prior to The Purge, the mines would not have been so hard to access. literally if the city is inhabited, if the surface is not glassed, if there is no debris and shit in the way, then it should by all means just be a walk and a skip down some stairs and there you've arrived to the living waters. it all around seems like a very easy method of redemption which just blows the whole "unforgiving cult!!!" thing out of the water because, like, well it seems very forgiving actually

[everythingheard]

with Teddy ( @justteddyq ) ▌from here.

For a moment in that beat of silence, Joshua wondered if he had pushed Teddy a little harder than some might be liable to think he should have. Still, regardless of the answer, he didn't regret it. Despite the fact that his words were far from soft or gently reassuring, Teddy had decided to crack that vulnerability open to him — though he was uncertain of the reason, whether because they both knew what it was to be burdened with guilt they hadn't earned since their earliest memory or something else. When a reply finally broke through the din of the saloon, noise that had almost faded into the background of his consciousness amid the close tilt of their heads and their conversation, a faint grin crept across Joshua's face. "To hell with 'em," he affirmed.

As Teddy's teary eyes lifted to meet his, he felt a strange stirring in his chest, like a single plucked guitar string. "Alright, alright. Don't get all weepy on me." Joshua lifted his hand to graze the back of his still-curled fingers against Teddy's cheek to brush away a wayward tear that had spilled over before it could reach the other man's chin. There was a second in which he was oddly compelled to use his thumb to wipe away what traces of it remained, before he returned his palm to the top of the bar instead. But everything left something behind, didn't it? And the longer you held on, the greater the endurance of its remnants. Some people eased it with something they enjoyed, or someone; that latter notion recalled to mind the manner in which Teddy had seemed to find romantic feelings for Emma Cullen absurd. What about it was so preposterous? She was beautiful, with a fire that seemed nearly alight behind her eyes. Had Teddy come to view her so much as a friend that it wasn't even noticed? A question to mull over, though his attention persisted on his companion's more recent words.

"Still stings after you let it go, but at least you're not carryin' it 'round with you. It's easier to figure out what you wanna do with both your hands free." He gave a brief nod of his head. "Even when I wonder 'bout whether all the shit I'd been told's true, I'd rather figure it out for myself than listen to someone else's voice screamin' it in my ear." Oh, Joshua hardly counted himself as a good person, but he'd be damned if he ever let anyone push him around again. Not like that. Whatever he was or had turned out to be now, he had only been a kid then; a kid who had run from a remorseless asshole just to find another one, wishing the whole time for someone to simply tell him that they were glad he existed at all. He had probably been too young when he realized that until he dropped that figurative hot pan, he would never have anything else.

Then, Joshua paused, his lips parting slightly as he considered Teddy's countenance not for the first time that night — thinking. When he spoke again, it was so quiet as to almost be under his breath. "But maybe some voices are worth listenin' to."

[221bshrlocked]

masked in desperation

Pairing: Din Djarin x Fem!Reader

Word count: 6044

Warnings: Verbal Degradation. Physical Humiliation involving Din making reader wet herself. Dirty Talk. Penetrative, Non-Protective Sex (wrap the shlong before you king kong por favor). Rough then Soft Din. Don't worry, this is consensual and there is aftercare involved.

No summary because I don't even know what to call this? All you guys need to know is that this fic is based on/inspired by the following asks [x] [x] [x] [x]

A/N: Uhhh this is new for me so I'm sorry if I didn't get the dynamic involved with a humiliation kink right. Please let me know how I could correct anything should there be something off. This was supposed to be rougher...but I turned soft midway because nervous Din makes me warm. I hope you like it nonetheless though. Comments are hella appreciated. And you can add yourself to the taglist here. Enjoy and please don't @ me once you finish this fic. And I apologize that it took long, this semester was hell.

It was an act of crazed desire concealed beneath irritation and anger, irritation with you for managing to claw yourself into his heart and anger at himself for allowing you to do so freely. He couldn't deny his feelings anymore, not if he wanted to retain whatever sanity he had left around you. What started out as nothing but stress relief and a way to help with the pain left behind by Grogu leaving turned into Din wishing he could stake his claim on you every moment of every day so you wouldn't seek anyone else out. Not that he genuinely believed you would. Still...

And it wasn't like this was any different from what the two of you usually do. At least that's what he says to excuse his twisted behavior, to not dwell too much on his sick, possessive fantasies.

It was driving him mad. He wanted to mark you up, always did during those passionate nights, loved watching as you tried, and failed, to cover up his love bites and handprints from the guild members. But he also craved to feel the same way. He wanted to bear traces of you on him so people knew how much he cared for you, perhaps even recognized the hold you have on him. The only problem was, no one would ever see the angry nail scratches and bite marks you left every night on his skin because of his beskar. So this, this would do the trick, even if it was barely noticeable, even if it would be gone when he washed his beskar, even if the two of you would be the only ones who knew what happened behind closed doors.

The weird thing was, he doesn't even know how he got to this point. Well, that's not true. He can actually trace his way to this moment, but he feels ashamed to do so? Reluctant maybe. It didn't matter what he was feeling at this point. All he knew was that he needed to watch you as you humiliated yourself in front of him, and had no power to do anything about it. Perhaps it was because, deep down, he wanted to show you that he'd accept you no matter what. He wanted to prove to you that he may just be worthy of having you in his arms. He wanted to assure you that he would be committed to you until his dying breath. And this, in some way, was the solution.

Before he can reevaluate and dwell too much on his decision, he fills a cup with water and heads towards you, ignoring the Marshal's glances as he approaches you and taps on your shoulders.

"Yeah?" You turn around, and Din forces himself to stand his ground when he sees your smile growing wider as you take the water from his hand. "Oh aren't you sweet. Careful, or else they'll think you're growing soft." You tease him as you down the cup of water and hand it back to him before returning to fixing the ship. He says nothing as he walks back towards the cantina, and resumes his quiet meditation.

And that's how it goes for the next couple of hours. He brings you a cup of water every so often, murmuring something or other about how he doesn't have time to take care of you if you suffered from a heat stroke before leaving immediately. Din quietly thanks the maker for your discomfort with public refreshers, because this plan wouldn't have worked if you decided to go to the cantina or elsewhere to relieve yourself. He's locked his ship's refresher and made sure to not be anywhere in sight when you sought him out to ask about the issue with the door.

He feels himself grow harder when he notices you squirming as you work on the ship, softly palming himself through his pants when you halt your movements every couple of minutes to either cross your legs or push your hand between your thighs to attempt and alleviate some of that pain. A part of him feels horrible for putting you through this, but something tells him it will be worth it in the end. Din Djarin isn't a man of prayer, but he pleads to whatever higher power that created you that this wouldn't backfire and make you leave him.

As the twin suns slowly set beneath the sky, Din moves away from where he's been hiding and heads towards the ship, making sure he is in your line of sight as he walks up the ramp and towards his armory. He quickly takes out the durasteel cuffs from where he's set them, hiding them behind his back as he pretends to head towards the cockpit.

However, he stops when he sees you rushing past him and setting all of your tools aside. You're mumbling angrily beneath your breath when things begin to fall over, growling when you try to fix them a couple of more times, and they continue to fall.

"Motherfucking shit," Din hears you swear as you carelessly try to set the box again and it falls over. Shaking your head, you turn around and sprint past him again towards the refresher. His eyes never leave your shaking form as you push on the refresher button numerous times and nothing happens.

"Pfassk! Din, how angry would you be if I broke this fucking door right now?" You try to grab the gun on his holster but he is quicker than you, slamming his hand on your own to prevent you from taking it.

"Extremely." His answer is short and straight to the point, mostly because he can't trust himself to respond to you without giving himself away.

"God please I- I need..." You hesitate and try to remove your hand from him, only to feel his hold tighten around your wrist. He thought you'd break and confess what you needed to do due to your desperation, but you don't, holding your tongue and looking up at him quizzically when he removes your wrist and clasps one side of the cuff on them.

"Din, what- what're you doing?" You look down and watch as he clasps the cuffs on your other wrist and ensures that they aren't too tight around your wrists before he locks them. Before you can ask him again, Din drags you across the ship and into the cockpit, ignoring your annoyed murmurs as he sits down and pulls you onto his lap.

You squirm around and try to get up but Din’s hold on your waist tightens and he slides you against his beskar until you fall into his chest. He says nothing as you push away and try to maneuver yourself so your legs aren’t wide open. He chuckles lowly when he sees how much you’re struggling, finally allowing you to put some space between the two of you. You rest your back against the controls board and take a few deep breaths before you stare at him.

“Can you please let me go?” You ask patiently, and hope he sees how genuine and serious you’re being. When he sits back but keeps his hold on you, you know he isn’t going to make this easy.

“Why?”

“Because I- I need to take care of something,” you look away when you respond and Din feels his cock twitch in his pants at the sudden shyness taking over.

“How about you let me take care of you?” He takes his gloves off and throws them aside, smiling to himself when he sees you shiver as he moves his hands up and down your body. You watch him like a hawk and you feel yourself growing wet for a moment, but you realize this reaction is the last thing you want to experience in his presence right now.

“Wait Din- just...it’s not like that.” You bite your lower lip and stifle a moan when he cups your tits and softly flicks at your hardened nipples.

“No? And yet here you are melting at my touch...your body knows me mesh’la, it’s blooming for me and I’ve barely touched you. Sweet girl, don’t you want me to make you feel good? I’ve been thinking about you all day long, about kissing you until you’re breathless...and biting you until you have my mark everywhere. Don’t you want me to show you just how much I’ve missed you?” Din knows he’s not being fair but the way your eyes are glowing with lust is enough to ground him so he could carry out his plan.

“I- I do...fuck, Din- I really do. I barely think of anything else...but I really need to-” You shut your eyes and groan as soon as you feel Din’s hand descend down your chest and rest on your lower stomach. He supports your back as he slowly begins to push against your navel, watching with fascination as your face contorts from pain and pleasure the harder he pushes on your muscles. You’re not sure what’s happening for a few seconds until you manage to open your eyes and look at him. His visor prevents you from seeing what he’s thinking but none of it matters when you feel him shift underneath you before he eases up. You sigh in relief but Din repeats his actions, only this time, he’s becoming a little more aggressive with his touches.

"N-no wait please I-"

"What's the matter mesh'la? You're usually fucking me like a loth-cat in heat by now, begging for me to have my way with you...take what I want until you feel properly fucked and filled with my cum." Din leans forward, never once easing up as he begins to move you over his beskar-clad thigh. There’s not much you can do due to the cuffs and how much advantage Din has over you in terms of muscle and size so you do the only thing that’s left.

You beg.

"Please, please Din I- I just...I need to-" It takes every ounce of control not to let go of your body’s function and you realize you’re not making much sense when Din cuts you off again and asks you what you want.

"Need to what? Go on sweet girl, tell me. What do you need?" His motions become more rough as he alternates between shoving his hand against your bladder and moving your clothed heat across his thigh. Din wants nothing more than to push you to the floor and fuck you until you can’t remember anything but him, but he tries his best to keep himself in check until he gets what he wants.

"I'll do anything Din just...need the- the refresher. I'm so- so...maker, please wait-" The controls dig into your back the more you lay on them but you can’t find it in yourself to care because a different kind of pain shoots down your spine when Din brings you closer to him and hikes your shirt up. His palms are warm against your skin and you hate how good they feel because this was not how you saw the day going with him.

"You know the safeword. Say it if you want me to let you go and I will." His tone shifts and you throw all caution aside as you confess to him why you need to leave.

"Din please...I really need to pee. I- I'll come back right away but I- oh it's too much, t-too much." You think he’s going to apologize and let you go when you tell him but all your admission does is cause him to momentarily stop before he wraps his arms around you and stands up. He’s pushing you up against the wall, not caring for what you just said to him or how rough he’s being as he nudges his leg in between your thighs and resumes his antics from before.

"I know."

The curt response washes over you like ice and your eyes begin to water as soon as Din takes off his helmet and you see him smiling down at you. You don’t know that you’re shaking in his arms but he leans down and nuzzles into the crook of your neck to commit the moment to memory. He loves the effect he’s having on you and although a small part of him feels bad, he doesn’t bother or care to hold back as he brings himself flush against you, the action causing his beskar to push deeper against your navel and have his desired effect.

"Din?" He thinks your whimpers might make him cum right then and there but he takes a deep breath before he pulls away and looks down at you. He’s sure that his eyes don’t convey an ounce of guilt at the moment, the opposite actually, and it only brightens his smile as he pulls down your tank top strap far enough to give him access to the top of your breasts. Din moves closer to you and lays lazy kisses across your heated skin, all the while attempting to grab your attention so he could tell you what he wanted.

"Why do you think I kept handing you water all day ner ka'rta?"

"W-wha-?" Your sniffles pull at his heart but he knows that you’re not in any physical danger and that all you need to do is whisper your safeword and he’d let you go. When a tear drop trails down your chin and hits his forehead, Din has to pull away to take a better look at you. He hates how much he loves the way you’re looking at him right now, like he’s simultaneously a villain and a savior to your predicament.

"And who do you think locked the refresher? Sweet girl… I thought you were smarter than that." Your surprised gasp adds more to the innocence he’s seeing in you and it’s the last straw before he holds onto your waist and begins to move you across his thigh again.

"You what?"

“Go on pretty, I know how much you’re trying to hold it in. ‘m not letting you go any time soon,” Din talks down at you and if you weren’t trying to prevent yourself from embarrassing yourself in front of him, you’d think it was the sexiest tone he’s had with you yet. But it’s getting more difficult to control your bladder and even though you get the sense that he will probably win in the end, you still try to hold off as much as possible.

“Look at you trying so hard...prettiest fucking sight in the galaxy. And do you know what makes it even better? I can smell how much you want me...this tight, wet cunt is begging for my cock. You can have me sweetheart, you can have me right now if you want. But you know what you have to do.” You’re shaking in his arms and plead pathetically when he applies more pressure on your navel. You try to ask him why again but you can’t find the words and resume moaning his name as he uses you.

And that’s what he’s doing. He’s using you. Like he owns you. Like he has the right to control every muscle in your body. You’re not sure what it is that made him act like this all of a sudden and you know it ultimately doesn’t matter because like he said, he won’t be stopping any time soon. It’s just strange that he wants this. He wants you to embarrass yourself. He’s practically helping your body let loose so you could wet yourself. You try to convince yourself that nothing about this should be turning you on, but the way his eyes are hazed with lust and desperation makes you reevaluate your thoughts and you manage to look up at him as he begins to speak again.

“It’s okay mesh’la, you can let go. Let go, now! Make a mess sweetheart. Make a mess of me, I won’t fuck you till you ruin my beskar and make this ship dirty. Go on. Or do you want me to help you again?” Din isn’t sure what’s come over him but he doesn’t hold back anymore, slipping his hand underneath your pants and pushing hard on your bladder until he feels your thighs squeeze around him.

“D-din fuck...oh- my...maker I- I can’t-” You throw your head back as you fist your hands into his cowl, holding on to that last bit of self control before you’re no longer able to. As he lifts his hand and pushes again, the thread breaks and tears slowly roll down your cheeks as you frown up at Din when your bladder gives out. Din looks into your eyes one last time before his attention moves south and his jaw clenches tightly when he notices the material of your pants grow darker the more you relieve yourself.

He doesn’t bother to stop, continuing to apply pressure on your lower stomach as a day’s worth of water floods down your legs and onto his beskar. He watches with fascination as his pants grow wet as well before he hears the faint sound of droplets falling onto his ship. You follow his line of sight and whimper in embarrassment when you notice just how big of a mess you made. There’s a small puddle forming where the two of you are standing and your nervousness only grows when you see how wet Din’s pants are.

When there’s nothing left and your shaking subsides a little, Din removes his hand from you and returns it to your waist, squeezing the skin he has access to so he wouldn’t strip you and fuck you in the middle of your mess. Every time he moves his foot, he can hear the soft splashing sound of the puddle underneath him and it only makes him harder. When he finally looks at you, he’s met with the most vulnerable expression he’s ever seen on you and although he wants nothing more than to kiss you and apologize, he allows himself to go just a little further until he sees you’re no longer able to put up with him.

“D-din...you- you made me, I-”

“Oh sweet girl, I made you do nothing.” The look of shock on your face is worth the hassle and he watches as you pout your lower lip before more tears leave your gorgeous eyes.

“You’re just a filthy girl, wetting yourself in the middle of my ship and not caring how dirty you’ve become...you really couldn’t hold it in cyar’ika? Look at this, look at the mess you made of my armor. You know how valuable beskar is and yet you pissed all over it. And my ship!? Didn’t we just clean this ship pretty?” Din could feel you melting into him with every word that passes through his lips and when you look away from him, his smile falls and he quickly grabs your neck, turning it straightforward so he could look into your eyes.

“No, you don’t get to look away from me when you’ve just pissed all over yourself and me. Maybe I should change your name, call you ad’ika from now on.” He has to hold back from smiling when he sees the moment you recognize the word. He’s only ever used that word whenever he talked with Grogu and you knew exactly why he was bringing it up now. “You’re my little girl aren’t you? My filthy, pretty little ad’ika who can’t fucking control herself and marked me up like she has the right...like she owns me.” Din watches as your expression softens a bit at his last admission and he trails his gaze down your nose until he is only focusing on your lips.

You can’t help but also stare at his lips and Din uses the brief moment of distraction to unbutton your pants and slip his hand into your panties, humming in approval when he feels the wet fabric scratch deliciously at his knuckles. You gasp when you feel his fingers softly rubbing your slit and as you look into his dark brown eyes, Din slips two fingers into your wet cunt and stops.

“Fuck, you’re so wet ad’ika, so warm and wet and ready for me.” He nudges his fingers deeper into he finds the spot that makes you see stars. You know immediately what he wants to do and reach for his arms as he grows closer to you. When they begin to get in the way, Din takes hold of the cuffs and raises them high above your head until the cuffs are glued to the wall. He can’t stop from smiling down at you, all stretched out and ready to be thoroughly fucked. But he doesn’t give in just yet.

“Din it’s...you’ll get dirty. I- I don’t want you to-”

“I don’t fucking care,” he growls as he leans down and bites shoulder again, moaning against your skin when he feels your cunt clench around him. “That’s it, open up for me...let me make you feel good. I- I want you to scream my name sweetheart, scream my name as you make a mess of me. Please...I need it, need- maker...need you to drench me again.” His words twist something inside of you and you lean back as he moves his thick fingers in and out of you until you feel that familiar pressure all over again.

“Oh Din...your fingers f-feel so- so good.”

“That’s right ad’ika, only I get to touch you. Only I get to watch you come undone...only I get to wear your scent, your beautiful fucking wet scent. I- I won’t wash this armor sweet girl, not when you’ve marked it...marked me, this much. Go on, be a good girl and make a mess of me. Let me walk around with the smell of you etched on my fucking beskar.” You whimper at the filthy whispers Din breathes against you and just as you’re about to come, Din grabs your pants along with your damp panties and pushes them as far down as he could. You bite into your lower lip as he tries to push his digits deeper into you, and when you finally manage to turn and look at him, you hold your breath as you see the way he’s looking at you, into you.

“Cum for me. Now.”

The quiet order, along with the pace of his touches, breaks you and you force yourself to not shut your eyes as your pussy throbs around his fingers, a wave of euphoria washing over you so swiftly you think you’ll faint. Din momentarily turns his attention to your heat once again and he hisses when he feels you coming on his hand just as you squirt on his beskar and the floor of the ship. You’re unable to form a coherent sentence as Din refuses to slow down and your eyes water again when the hold he has on your waist becomes more painful than before.

“Maker...you’re perfect.” Din kisses your neck as he finally decides to slow down but the way he continues to rub your clit with his palm does little to calm your nerves and you don’t realize how much you’re shaking until everything quiets down and all that you can hear is the sound of Din’s heavy breathing and your own heaving and sniffling. You wince when he fully removes his hand from you and helps you out of your pants and shoes. He takes a step back and groans when he sees how spent and ruined you look as you stand on your tiptoes and try to calm down.

As you try to catch your breath, Din unlocks both cuffs and throws them aside, reaching down and grabbing your ass so he could support your weight against him. You jump on instinct and moan when you feel the cold beskar against your skin as Din grinds into your soaked heat. He doesn’t waste another moment, diving in and claiming your lips until he could feel your teeth nipping at his tongue. He makes sure he has a good grip on you before he moves to the refresher and as soon as the two of you are standing in front of it, he pushes a code into the pad and unlocks the door. You pull away for a moment to look into his eyes, the silence of your gaze knocking the breath out of him as you hide into his neck. It takes but a second for Din to realize that he shouldn’t try to push your limits any further for the night.

His touches grow softer as he carefully sets you down on the floor of the refresher. Din can see you’re shivering from the cold room and makes quick work of his clothes and armor, choosing to leave his boxer briefs on so you wouldn’t think of anything else. He leans down and taps twice on your shoulders so you could raise them above your head. As you do, you look everywhere else but him and the gesture is a little too raw for Din because as he strips you down to nothing, he’s leaning down and kissing your forehead until he feels you relax in his arms.

When he’s satisfied with your slowing heart rate, he stands up and turns on the water, making sure to stand in front of you and block you from the cold water until it turns warm. Even though he doesn’t particularly enjoy it, he turns the hot water just a little further, knowing how much you preferred it when it struck your skin.

Grabbing the bar of soap you bought from the last hunt, Din sits down and rests his back against the cold metal of the wall before pulling you towards him.

“Come to me mesh’la.” His voice is much more controlled and mellow than minutes before and you melt back into him as soon as his skin comes into contact with yours. You rest your back against his shoulder and sigh heavily when his hands begin to massage your arms. The scent of flowers hits your nostrils in seconds, making you relax even more as the soap washes away any trace of what you and Din had just done.

Din kisses your shoulder and neck as he rubs the soap on your chest and stomach, keeping his touches as appropriate as possible to distract himself from the hardening issue he was struggling with. Although he prefers you all sweaty and dirty, he makes sure to wash every inch of you, knowing that you probably needed to feel clean after...after what he’s done.

He pushes your back until you’re leaning forward far enough for him to wash your back as well. His breath hitches when he sees evidence of his touches on your skin from previous nights. Some of them have turned a light blue color while others were still purple.

Fuck. He didn’t know his grip was this harsh. He was a little guilty for bruising your skin, your lovely, beautiful, gorgeous skin. But the more he saw as he rubbed the soap over your back, the more pride he felt in his chest at the knowledge that he was the only one allowed to mark you.

“D-din…” You moan his name when he pulls you back into his chest and you feel his hands descend lower to wash your thighs. You think that he’s going to touch you where you ache for him but when he focuses on your thighs, you realize that he wasn’t going to go anywhere near your throbbing cunt.

“I’m here sweet girl, let me take care of you.” His whispers are laced with promises and affection and you’re not sure what to make of it. He’s never been this intense, this touch-starved, even this controlling. There’s something about the events of the night that tug at your heart and you wish you could ask him what has changed all of a sudden. But you don’t, instead repeating his words from earlier over and over again as he continues to wash you.

He told you, although indirectly, that you had the right to...to mark him, to own him. He begged you to drench him so everyone would know that he’s yours. That you’re his.

“Din please,” overcome with emotions, you slap the bar of soap away from him and use his surprise to your advantage, quickly turning around and holding onto his broad shoulders as you straddled his thighs.

“Ner ka'rta, we don’t have t-” Din keeps his hands to himself as he feels you rub yourself on his clothed cock. You instantly cut him off, molding your lips with his in a bruising kiss until his arms wrapped around your back. When you knew you had him, you pulled away and laid kisses across his handsome features. He was a moaning mess in no time and when you took hold of his chin and pushed it back, Din felt like he was travelling through the stars, the rough nips you were leaving across the jugular of his neck making him notice just how needy you were.

The hot water cascaded down your back as you assaulted Din’s skin and when you felt him grab your waist and begin to move you across of him, you knew he wasn’t going to deny you from what you wanted. Needed. Craved.

“I need you...now, please Din. I need to feel you inside me.”

“But-”

“Please? Oh maker, I- you said...you said you’d give me your cock if I wanted. And I do. I want you, I want your cock. I- you promised. I- I’ll do anything.” The sound of your desperate pleas sends a shiver down his spine and Din nods frantically just before you pull him out of his briefs.

“You- you’ve done enough for me cyar’ika. So so much. And I- I...oh-” Din throws his head back and shuts his eyes as soon as you lower yourself on his hard cock. He thinks he’s going to cum right then and there, but then you’re moving on top of him and squeezing him so tightly and he realizes that he needed to feel more of you. You cry out his name over and over again as he twitches against your tight walls, and when his eyes snap wide open and look at you, you can’t help but lean forward and bite into his shoulder to keep some semblance of control.

“S-sweet girl...lovely girl, tell me you’re mine.”

The short request causes you to falter in your pace but Din decides to take over again, wrapping his arms around you as he begins to move you on top of him.

“I- I’m yours Din, I’m yours. No one else can fuck me like you, n-no one can kiss me and touch me and take care of me like you...gods, you’re amazing. And you’re mine,” Din groans when he hears the last of your words and he nuzzles into the crook of your neck as you continue to whisper sweet things to him.

“You hear that Din...you’re mine. You- you belong to me, you touch only me...you, oh maker, you fuck only me. This cunt is yours baby and your cock was made for it. Made for me. You l-love only me. Right Din? P-please I’m...already so close. Tell me Din because you know...know that I love you. I love you. No one else. J-just you-”

Din is sure he might be suffocating you with how hard he’s hugging you right now but he doesn’t seem to notice because all he can hear is your declarations of love and commitment. Neither of you have ever come close to being this intimate but his earlier actions apparently unlocked something in the two of you.

You loved him. Even though he could be kinder, and was definitely too broken. You still loved him.

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum. P-pfassk...I love you mesh’la. Only you...always you.” Din comes with a cry when he feels your nails digging into his back and he growls as his cock throbs inside you until he’s filled you with his cum. But he doesn’t stop, instead maintaining his pace just to see you fall apart one last time. It’s all too much and not enough, and he’s already oversensitive from coming but he has only himself to blame considering how much he edged himself the entire day. When he hears your gasps turn quieter, he knows you’re close and slithers his hand between your bodies to flick your clit. You moan into his shoulder as you quickly peak one last time, the touch of his fingers reminding you of what he’s done earlier and in a matter of seconds, you’re clenching around him so hard to the point where you’re not sure if you’re experiencing pain or pleasure.

Neither of you say anything as you slowly return to yourselves. When Din moves to try and turn the water off, you accidentally dig your nails deeper into his shoulder and make him hiss.

“S-sorry.” The small apology does something to Din and he decides that he needs to do this now and not when the two of you are in his cot. Twisting his hand into your hair, Din pulls it back until you’re forced to look at him. You stare at each other for what feels like hours before you lean forward and kiss him. It’s much slower and kinder than the earlier kisses and you smile when Din unintentionally thrusts into you. He pulls away and returns your expression when he sees how genuine it is.

“I think I should be the one apologizing ad’ika.”

You know what he’s referring to and you think that perhaps he’s beginning to feel more guilt at what he’s done but you brush it aside with a joke so he knew there was nothing of concern.

“Not sure what you’re talking about Din,” you leave a quick peck on his nose as you rest your cheek on his chest and hug him tightly. He recognizes what you’re doing right away and decides to not fight you, instead maneuvering you off of him to shut the water off. You try to stand but your legs give out immediately. Forutrantly for you, Din is there to catch you and he ignores your complaints as he carries you out of the refresher and into his room. You watch as he brings two towels and proceeds to dry you off, handing you the other one to dry your hair. You giggle when he almost stubs his toe as he comes back with a set of new clothes.

Din ignores your comments when you ask him why he was handing you one of his long sleeve shirts instead of your own, quickly putting on a pair of boxers before throwing the towels back into the refresher. When he comes back, you’re already comfortable and warm in his bed, the sight of you sniffing his pillows causing him to think of a multitude of thoughts. He brushes them all aside when you make room for him and ask him to come to you.

As he slithers underneath the covers, you waste no time and move closer to him until you’re sure you’re touching every inch of his skin.

“Are you okay mesh’la?” Although you know what he’s referring to by that question, you don’t bring up the topic, instead nuzzling into his chest. The sigh of content you hear tells you that he’s not overthinking what happened too much, and it signals for you to do the same because even though you never expected the day’s events, you can’t help but admit to yourself that one thing which you know Din will bring up when the two of you have properly rested.

As strange and sudden as it was, Din’s treatment of you turned you on.

Translations:

Mesh'la - beautiful

Cyar'ika - beloved

Ad'ika - little one

Ner ka'rta - my heart or my soul

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum - I love you

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Pedro Pascal (and any of his characters):

@pastel-0-princess @feelmyroarrrr @libbymouse @its--fandom--darling @spideysimpossiblegirl @princess76179 @cheekygeek05 @miraclesoflove @purple-mango @freeshavocadoooo @metalarmsandmanbuns @acthenerd @greeneyedblondie44 @cannedsoupsucks @purplepascal042 @talesfromtheguild @f0rever15elf @vibin-hippie @onesmokinbabe @leaiorganas @words-way-of-life @kideyz @lovesickmadsadpoet @niall7inches @rosiefridayrogersunday @tati-adventures @sleep-tight1 @itsfreeekinbats @cybergroupie @marsplsstop @ezrasbirdie @diogodxlot @janebby @juletheghoul @bii-aan-ckaa @nohartandsole @djjarins @lamelyssher @giselatropicana @pescopadral @blackmarketmummy @laviipopii @ew-erin @fan-of-encouragement @melody13522 @clydesducktape @planetariumx @sambucky21 @thirddeadlysin @leannawithacapitala @fangirl-316 @thou-creature-of-the-deep

Din Djarin: @a--1--1--3 @tanzthompson @mrs-ghuleh @caitlynmarty

[quindolyn]

heyyyyy, can you do harry imagine where when they fight with the death eaters fem reader rescues sirius from bellatrix because she know he is the only relative harry has and gets hurt, so in the hospital harry visits her and thanks her and she tells him that she loves her? like lots of fluff😻

To Be Lovable || Harry Potter

Word Count: 4069

A/N: Hey love, I hope you enjoy this! It was a lot of fun to write.

Warnings: mentions of a broken bone, let’s just pretend that Sirius’ name has already been cleared, obviously not canon, I believe that that is it.

Masterlist

Life had fucked Harry Potter over, that was for sure. It basically said “fuck you” and gave him the responsibility of saving muggle and wizardkind alike. Robbed him of a family, of a childhood, of any semblance of the confidence he so desperately needed. 

But life always outs. Life will always find a way to straighten itself out, even the scales. Life had given Harry Sirius Black, so it was doing a pretty good job so far. Just as life had fucked Harry Potter, it’d fucked Sirius Black too.

When life gave them each other it slowly started mending its wrong doings with Sirius’ false imprisonment, Harry’s lack of a father figure, their shared lack of affection of any sort. In Harry Sirius had found a friend, a son and in Sirius, Harry had found a father, someone to care.

You had spent the last five years watching Harry suffer trial after trial all while you suffered a trial of your own, the trial of loving him from afar. As much as you adored Harry, and you really did, how could you not? From the blush that painted his cheeks at the slightest compliment, to the way his glasses sat crooked on his nose, to the messy black mop of hair that sat upon his head the boy was completely and utterly loveable. But it was because of the love you harbored for the boy that you refused to confess your feelings to him, he had more than enough on his plate. The Boy Who Lived most definitely had better things to do with his time than deal with the feelings of a hormonal teenager. Perhaps that was life’s way of fucking with you, making you love a boy who didn’t have it within him to love you back.

Life didn’t get to fuck with Harry Potter anymore, he’d done more than his fair share of suffering, of grieving, he’d more than served a punishment he’d never earned. That’s all you could think about as you saw Bellatrix point her wand at Sirius’ form, laughing maniacally as a jet of green light shot from the tip of her wand, aimed directly at Sirius. 

Head thrown back in laughter, eyes closed, it was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to dodge the curse leaving you with no other option but to full on tackle him. You threw your body at him, aiming to take him down at the knees but failing rather miserably instead wrapping your arms around his chest and instead of knocking him to the ground, making him stumble backward.

Regardless, on the floor, or a few inches to the right, you still managed to knock him out of the curse’s path. Sirius hadn’t realized who was on top of him or that their intentions were good rather than evil, in the heat of the moment, with curses flying to and fro you were flung from his body as he knocked you onto the floor.

As you landed on your side, your arm trapped beneath you, you heard the distinct, sickening snap of what couldn't have been anything other than bone. The sound rang through the din in the room, impossible to miss but yet no one seemed to offer you so much as a glance, anyone except Sirius that was. 

“Shit” He swore, bending down to access the damage, gently turning you on to your back so that he could get a better look at your arm, “I’m so sorry (Y/N).”

“It’s fine Sirius,” You slurred, not daring to look at your arm, the pain you were feeling was enough, you were more than fine without visuals to match. Having never broken a bone before you were not ready for the immense pain that festered in your arm, sharp and stabbing it felt like every single nerve in your arm was being bludgeoned over and over again, mercy be damned.

“You’re slurring your words (Y/N),” Sirius scolded, not angry at you but rather at himself, “You’re not okay and it’s not fine. Now did you hit your head too?”

You thought for a moment, had you hit your head?

Yes, you remembered the thump of your skull against the hard stone of the room hidden deep within the Department of Mysteries, and the more you thought about it, the more clearly you could feel that the dull thrum of pain was still present where the initial impact had occurred.

 “Y-yeah,” You stuttered out, your vision blurring as the man kneeling above you started to fade, “I think so, it hurts.” Black spots began to dance through your vision, the cacophony of noise in the room became a low buzz as the sound of your blood rushing through your veins overwhelmed you. It became the only thing you could hear.

You heard the faint noise of Sirius letting out a slew of curses, not all of which seemed to be in English as his hands moved to your scalp, gently pressing down until a sharp pain coursed through you. 

“Fuck,” Someone, swore, him or you, you weren’t sure. It was very possible it had been either of you as Sirius pulled his hand away from your head and back into your visage. His middle three fingers were soaked in blood, your blood. Crimson and dripping from his digits the metallic scent flooded your nostrils making you work not to gag as you found the stench to be truly nauseating. 

He spoke again, or at least you thought he did as you could faintly make out the whisper of his voice and the moving of his lips.

Faintly you wondered if you heard the familiar voice of a certain bespectacled boy, frantic as he approached you, and the glimpse of dark, messy hair you caught almost convinced you of such. But as more and more blackness took over your vision it became harder and harder to tell until you were completely swallowed, and your eyes blinked closed into a dark, dreamless sleep.

“She’s not exactly asleep,” Someone was talking.

“Well she sure as hell isn’t awake,” There was someone in the room.

“If you’d let me finish Mr. Weasley-”

“Oh shut up,” This voice was new, deeper than either of the previous ones, its posh accent distinctly different than the other two, “No need to condescend the boy just tell us if (Y/N)’s going to be alright. Harry’s going to want to know when he finishes his business with Dumbledore.”

Harry? Was Harry alright? Stupid question, if precedent was anything to go on, he probably wasn’t.

At the mention of his name you felt a wave of energy surge through you, it was only with that energy you were able to blink your eyes open. They desperately wanted to close as the harsh white light of the room flooded your irises but you refused to let them, instead squinting so that the light entering your vision was limited. 

“As I was saying,” The first voice continued, “She’s in a medically induced coma, this isn’t a restful sleep this is because she can’t afford to be conscious right now and when she wakes up she’s going to be in a whole world of pain and having the six of you here isn’t going to help her.”

No one seemed to notice your new state of consciousness as they continued their conversation, voices tense with worry as they batted back and forth in a game of verbal racketball, a question met by an answer which was countered by another question.

You were too out of it to take offense to their neglect as you felt that surge of energy start to slip away from you, like sand through your fingertips. Grasping onto the last whispers of it before it drifted away from you entirely you cleared your throat, the sound minuscule but apparently just loud enough to catch the attention of a certain red headed girl.

“(Y/N),” This voice was unmistakable Ginny. You turned your head to face the source of her voice, met by the blurry outline of unmistakable Weasley red, they really should just patent it at this point, hair surrounding a pale face. “(Y/N) you’re awake!” She lunged towards you gripping your arm in her hand, albeit a little painfully, but all pain, and sound, and sight seemed fuzzy, like remembering a dream from the night prior.

At Ginny’s words, all heads in the room snapped to your form where you laid in the hospital bed, looking as though you’d seen better days. Which granted, you had. 

It took a second for them all to register the meaning behind what Ginny had announced, but as soon as they did they went into a flurry, a healer rushing to take your vitals, moving her wand up and down your body, muttering incantations under her breath. Molly was at your side, gazing at you with brown eyes swimming with worry as she ran a hand down the side of your face which was still lolled to the side. Two identical boys stood at the foot of your bed while two girls, the previously spoken of redhead and her curly haired friend stood back, giving the Healers space to move about. 

Sirius stood over Molly’s shoulder, his eyes drowning in guilt as he failed to return your gaze. 

“Where am I?” Godric you sounded awful, and it felt like there was gravel in your throat, irritating you even as you merely swallowed.

“St. Mungo’s darling,” Molly answered promptly, trying and failing to suppress a sniffle, “You were hurt at the Department of Mysteries.”

You remembered, oh you undoubtedly remembered. The ache in your arm and head was more than enough to remind you of what had occurred, it was reinforced by the dark haired man looming in the corner refusing to meet your eyes.

After a good deal of fussing both by the Healers and Molly people finally started to stream out of your room, first Ginny and Hermione, followed by the twins and finally the Healers and Molly. 

That left just you and Sirius, who still refused to meet your eyes, in the small room which smelt of dittany and blood. 

It was silent for a minute, then two, before you simply couldn’t take it anymore, if he wasn’t going to say something you would, “S’not your fault Sirius,” Your voice was still rather hoarse but it had improved significantly after downing the three cups of water than had been placed in front of you. 

“You were just trying to save me, you did save me and now you’re hurt.” His head which had previously been hung raised to finally meet your eyes, the shame he carried in his eyes was palpable, remorse etched into his face. A face which reflected every year he’d lived on this planet and then some. 

“M’gonna be fine Sirius, you didn’t know it was me I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.” You shook your head lightly to refocus your eyes but that just amplified the pain already pounding in your skull.

Reluctantly Sirius trudged towards you before pulling a chair up to your bed and eventually resting himself in it, not looking at your face but rather at the foot of the bed. “Why’d you do it (Y/N)? Why’d you go to all that trouble to save an old man like me?” There was none of his usual humor in his voice, only a sorrowful curiosity.

“You’re all he has left Sirius,” This drew his attention, craning his neck to look at you, his eyes, accompanied by his continued silence urged you on, “You can’t die on him because then he’ll have no one.”

For the first time since you’d tackled him in the Department on Mysteries however long ago, Sirius Black smiled. Unlike his usual smirks or grins, the one that graced his face was gentle, and perhaps a bit hopeful as well.

“Not so sure about that love,” He let out a laugh so light it was barely a laugh, more like a puff of air, “He’d still have you, wouldn’t he?”

You willed yourself not to give away your true feelings for Harry to his godfather of all people, but the nervous grin that adorned your face was a dead give away to his already good guess.

“He cares about you (Y/N),” Sirius was merciful, sparing you from verbalizing the feelings that the both of you now acknowledged existed, “We had to drag him away from you at the Department of Mysteries.”

“That was Harry?” You perked up, “I didn’t just imagine him?”

“Nope,” He replied, popping his p, “He almost punched Moony when tried to drag him away from you.”

Not knowing how to respond to that you simply didn’t.

“He had to meet with Dumbledore to discuss something, that’s why he wasn’t here when you woke up,” Sirius explained.

“Oh, its okay, I’m sure he has much better things to do than come visit-”

You were cut off mid sentence by the sound of feet thumping down the hallway outside your room. Both you and Sirius turned your heads to watch someone fly by the cracked door of the room, his voice booming as he called out for you, then Ron, then Hermione. 

“Sir, I’m going to need you to be a little quieter,” The stern but kind voice drifted into the room from the hallway.

“Where is she?” Yup, that has Harry. The sound of his voice was ingrained in your head and had been for countless years now. 

You and Sirius stayed silent, still watching the door, listening to the tense conversation taking place between Harry and the St. Mungo’s staff member before you heard Hermione’s voice cut in, trying to calm the two men down.

“Well it sounds like he’s going to be in here soon,” Sirius said, standing up from his chair, gazing down at you.

“It does,” You agreed.

“I will never be able to thank you enough (Y/N), not only for saving my life today but for being such a good friend to Harry, giving him the love that he deserves.” Tears brimmed at the raven haired man’s eyes as he laid his palm atop your hand.

“Of course Sirius,” Your voice cracked mid sentence as you too were gulping down tears.

Leaning down Sirius pressed a fatherly kiss to the crown of your head just as Harry burst through the door.

“Speak of the devil,” The older chuckled, pulling back to his full height as Harry bounded towards you, completely ignoring the presence of his godfather. 

“(Y/N)!” His long legs got him to you in no time at all, when he reached you his eyes snagged on your broken arm before meeting your own. 

Sirius sent you a silent wink as he slipped from the room, you hadn’t noticed him even make his way towards the door. He made sure to shut the door tightly behind him so that you and Harry would be granted some privacy.

“Hi Harry,” You let out a watery chuckle as you took in his appearance, he looked like he’d gotten caught in a wind tunnel with his hair all messy, and the fabric of his tight fitting t-shirt clinging to his chest. 

“Don’t laugh,” He frowned down at you as he settled himself next to you on the bed, “You might hurt your lung or something.”

You smiled at his clueless, over protective behavior, “S’not my lungs that are hurt H, just my arm and my head.”

“There’s nothing just about it,” He countered, “You’d be fine without your arm but you need your head (Y/N/N), can’t go walking around without it.” 

You opened your mouth to say something but you didn’t get the chance before he started talking again, pushing himself off up the flimsy mattress to pace next to your bed, “What the hell were you thinking jumping on Sirius like that?”

You rolled your eyes at his outburst, “Bellatrix had cast the Killing Curse at him, Harry, he was going to die if I didn’t do something!” Your voice raised against your will as you got defensive, you may have loved Harry but that didn’t stop you from getting aggravated with him when he was being an idiot. Take now for example.

“You could’ve died (Y/N)! Don’t you understand that? You could’ve died and I-”

“But I didn’t Harry! I didn’t die and I’m fine now.”

“The hell you are! You’re lying in a hospital bed at St. Mungo’s with a broken arm and a concussion, if that's your definition of fine then I’d hate to see what not fine is!”

“I’m a big girl Potter, I can take care of myself,” You argued, pushing yourself up on the bed so that you were sitting upright, independent of your pillows. How was he being so daft? You’d saved the closest person he had to real family and now here he was, completely railing on you.

He was so caught up in his own head, continuing to pace up and down the length of the room that he didn’t seem to notice when you started swaying, no doubt because you had lifted yourself up too quickly and your head should’ve been resting on your pillow. 

“You may be a big girl (Y/N), but clearly you shouldn’t be left to your own devices because what would possess someone to do something so idiotic?”

You tried to swallow the anger you felt bubbling up in your stomach, threatening to explode in an eruption of words you weren’t quite ready to say out loud. But as he went on and on you found it harder and harder to swallow your feelings until they inevitably bubbled over.

“You idiot,” You cut him off, too fed up with him to listen to what he had to say, “I wasn’t going to let Sirius die because he’s the only family you have Harry! You love him and it would kill me to see him ripped from you, just like so many other good things have been ripped from you, because…”

You went silent, all of a sudden your voice seemed very loud in the sterile room and you realized it’s because he finally shut up. 

“Because why?” He asked turning so that he was facing you, “Because why?”

“Because I-” You felt a rush of heat flooded your face and quickly averted your gaze from the boy, focusing instead on the clock hung on the wall opposite your bed. 

You were quiet for a moment, hoping he would show you mercy and continue on with his ranting but he didn’t. Harry never did stand down from a fight, especially not one that he could win. 

Coming to terms with the fact that the only way this was ending was with a confession from you, you gulped. And with your saliva you swallowed your pride, turning back to face the boy who still hadn’t taken his eyes off of you. 

“Because I love you, okay?” You admitted to him, letting your vision glaze over so you wouldn’t have to see the eventual look of guilt wash over his features before he gently turned you down, apologizing, calling you beautiful, telling you how you deserved someone better. Even though there was no one better than him.

You thought he looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he stared at you, unblinking. 

Eventually, after what could’ve been a couple of seconds or could’ve been a couple of hours, he spoke, “Y-you love me?” He sounded incredulous like he didn’t really believe you.

And that’s when it hit you, he didn’t really believe you. 

As a wave of indescribable sorrow washed over you, at the notion that the beautiful boy in front of you really had no clue just how beautiful he was, you maneuvered yourself so that you could stand up, throwing one leg over the edge of the bed, and then the other.

Pushing yourself up into an upright position you were immediately swaying, ready to collapse onto the floor, and Harry must’ve observed that as he came back to his senses as he looped his arms under yours, pulling you into his toned chest, hard from countless hours of Quidditch practice.

“What do you think you’re doing (Y/N/N)?” His voice was softer now, meant for only you to hear.

“Was gonna show you how much I love you,” Your voice was muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt as you abandoned all of your inhibitions, you needed to tell him how you felt, “You clearly don’t believe me when I tell you and that’s ridiculous Haz because you’re lovely and wonderful and you light up my day every time I see you. I can’t imagine my life without you,” You paused your ramble, not noticing the brilliant shade of vermillion his face had turned.

“No, I can imagine it without you Harry and it’s horrible, it’s not a life worth living.”

“Don’t say that (Y/N),” He cut you off, a frown gracing his enviably red lips.

“Would you let me finish Potter?” You sniped playfully, “I love you, Harry, I’ve loved you since we were first years and it kills me that you don’t see how lovable you are. Because you are lovable Harry,” You pulled back a bit to rest your chin on his chest, gazing up at him, “You are completely lovable, and that’s why I put myself in harm’s way today, because if it meant saving someone you love, then it is worth it. It will always be worth it.”

You watched as tears spilled down his cheeks, but you could tell by the smile pulling at his wobbling lips that they were happy tears, “Y-you love me?” 

How your heart could break at three simple words baffled you but it did, “I love you, Harry, I have loved you and I will always love you.”

A smile overtaking his entire face split it in half, a toothy grin you’d like to see on him more often, “I-”

“You don’t have to say it back H, the fact you’re not turning me down right now is more than enough. You don’t have to say it back, we can take it slow,” You cut him off, not wanting to rush him.

“I want to though, I want to say it back.” He insisted, sounding like an eager puppy.

“Really?” You couldn’t suppress the optimistic lilt to your voice.

He nodded surely, still grinning down at you. “I love you (Y/N).”

You had to stop yourself from crying, or screaming, or jumping in the air, or some combination of all three, but that’s all you wanted to do. You wanted to scream and jump and cry but you preferred being in Harry’s arms much more. 

“May I kiss you?” Harry’s voice dropped to a whisper you could barely hear.

“Yes please,” You giggled, standing up on your tippy toes as he leaned down to capture your lips in his.

You poured all the passion of the past five years into that kiss, all of the stolen glances at him, all of the nights spent sobbing, thinking that he could never love you back. All of the sacrifices, all of the hugs, and the smiles you shared. They were all poured into the kiss and they all meant so much more now because being part of something so beautiful could only make those memories better.

Harry wrapped his arms around your back, pressing your body to his while being careful to mind your hurt arm. You dug the fingers on the hand of your healthy arm in his thick hair, using it as an anchor to pull yourself closer to him.

You pulled away first, taking big gulps of air in an attempt to refill your empty lungs. 

“You love me,” Harry stated simply, staring down at you adoringly.

“I love you,” You agreed with a small nod of your head.

“I can’t believe you actually love me.” He smiled again, this grin even goofier than the last, making his emerald eyes shine.

You smiled at the look of childlike happiness that adorned his face, “And I can’t believe it took me this long to tell you.”

tagging: @randomoutsiders @weasleyposts @kittykylax @amourtentiaa @superbturtlemakerathlete

[killerskillercaptain]

Applause

pairing : Levi Ackerman x Reader

wc : 1.8 k

themes : the ceremony honoring Levi's squad (including you) after the reclaim of Shiganshina went wrong, angst, hurt, comfort.

warnings : angst and hate

A soft light drenched your silhouette standing in front of the mirror. Inspecting yourself, you flatted out any crease on your long army jacket while arranging the collar of your shirt. You stood there staring at the image reflected to you : you looked put together, but your face still reminded you of everything that happened just days ago. Retaking Shiganshina didn't feel like a victory at all. With all that was lost, there was no praise, no glory, no nothing, only a bitter sweet sense of accomplishment, more torturing than satisfying.

You looked at the bags under your eyes, at the cuts lacerating the side of your face, even though you've been granted enough sleep and medical care to recover, you were still exhausted, and you could still see that dark cloud veiling your eyes, images of hell still flashing in front of you.

You heard a small knock on the door of the quarters you have been assigned to. It was time to go, the ceremony was about to start.

You shouted a weak but audible "yes" before heading out of the room. When you opened the wooden door , you were met by two even more tired eyes.

Levi

"They're waiting for us"

You walked side by side in the sumptuous corridors, you were in the capital and inside this part of the walls, everything looked so lavish that you felt out of place. You didn't exchange any word for a long moment until Levi broke the silence by asking if you were able to rest.

"Not really no"

By the way he stayed silence after you answered his question, you understood that it was the same for him.

The reason you weren't able to rest was the anticipation, no, the dread you felt in regards to this ceremony. With the suicidal charge Erwin commended causing the death of so many soldiers, both young and older ones, all of you who had survived this, felt sick to your stomach, you were all eaten by a sentiment that vastly resembled guilt. You, the rest of Levi's squad and Levi himself being the ones always coming back alive started to sound like a bad sonata to the ears of the population, they would rather see their sons, daughters, cousins and husbands coming back rather then the ones who always manages to make it, so eventually, you were expecting the worst to come out of this ceremony, and you felt that this honoring event was gonna put you all on an unwelcoming spotlight.

Approaching the great doors of the ceremonial chamber, all of you hesitated to to enter as the guards invited you in.

-----

You were totally right, the moment the heavy and palatial looking doors opened to welcome you, you were met by very concerned looks. Soldiers and other various members as well as government big heads were undressing you with disapprobation, you felt your heart tighten, all of you already felt horrible enough that you cursed those blaming looks for adding more weight to your already busted shoulders.

Levi's name was called first to be given his medal, impassive as usual, Levi climbed up the stairs to where Historia stood solemnly, each one of his steps followed by a horrible comment directed at him, sometimes in a low voice, sometimes not.

"How come they're always the one coming back"

"Yeah, nothing ever happens to them how come ?"

"I bet they throw the young recruits and the less competent ones right into the titans mouths so they can protect their lives"

"I guess they don't put their lives on the line so much to be able to always come back in one piece".

"This is Levi, he can take on anything, heh, must be nice to be invincible"

Some of the comments being whispered were down right nasty and they were all directed to Levi.

Of all the people, the captain was the one to whom was directed the messiest of remarks. Everyone knew he was the strongest soldier alive, and they hated him for this exact same reason.

Seeing how Levi manages to stay composed and be able to dismiss these comments made your heart ache, you realized he must have heard them so many times to be able to ignore them like this. You knew the captain, you knew that he actually cared but had to learn not to, you felt bad realizing that this became familiar to him.

You felt so bad for the fallen ones, your heart was still mourning them to this instant but you couldn't possibly describe how gut wrenching you felt seeing Levi having to bear all the weight of the culpability people unrightfully put on him.

You clenched your fists, closed your eyes and told yourself that it was going to pass, like all the other times.

You haven't been this targeted by hate yourself, but now you were put on this unwanted pedestal and everyone could see who were the usual lucky ones, and you could feel yourself being put on the the condemning spot as it was your turn to be called and climb those cursed stairs.

You kneeled before Historia, feeling her hands ghost over your head as she put and secured the medal around your neck, repeating the same careful but solemn gestures for the second time.

"They don't deserve the medals !" shouted a particularly angry red haired youngster.

More whispers could be heard now from different parts of the ceremonial room, enough to fill the spacious chamber. Small groups started forming, their chatter was now all you could distinguish. Some were agreeing while others were quizzical, you could hear the people's subtle judgements but all you could feel was your hands becoming sweaty and an incredibly uncomfortable heat, filling your head. You already felt bad enough, you already felt undeserving enough, you already felt guilty enough, why did they have to be so-

do they not know what war is like ?

"This Arlert recruit shouldn't have been the one to be saved ! Levi's duty should have been to keep the commander alive !" spat the red-haired young man, emotion seemingly making his blood boil.

You could only stand where you were at the top of the stairs, looking at this seemingly unsatisfied and outraged human, making you doubt every single choice you made back there, you wrapped your hand over the medal holding it tightly, trying to ground yourself.

"Enough !"

It was Levi who spoke this time, putting a hand over the boy's shoulder, understanding yet firm enough for the young soldier to turn around and face the shorter man.

"A lot of tough decisions had to be made back there, if there's anyone who wants Erwin to be present with us today more than anyone, it's me."

You felt yourself trembling listening to the captain instill some sense of understanding to the soldier who seemed to try and contain his rage, even if he didn't look convinced with Levi's words. He seemed to have already judged you all as guilty.

"It wasn't an easy choice to choose Armin, it was an even harder decision to let Erwin go, but his woman out there, you say she doesn't deserve that medal, maybe, maybe none of us do, but she and all the others faced hell back in Shiganshina and had to make the toughest of choices. You're still young, but if you ever make it, you will be met with the same inconceivable decisions we did, so the least you could do is show some respect."

Levi ended his speech with a firm tone that made everyone observe a ponderous silence and just like that, every person in the room understood that the talk was over.

Soon everyone made their way to the great halls, you were informed by some subordinates that honorary soldiers would be awaited at the great dinning hall, this news made Jean and Connie start chatting vigorously about how this was the least they could do for them, both of them trying to cheer Armin up, the poor boy looked beaten down and quite affected by the guilt tripping going on in there some minutes ago.

He wasn't the only one affected by what happened in the ceremonial room, you were still trying to calm your beating heart and your pounding head, still feeling quite light-headed. The crowd, the heat, the mischievous and unforgiving gossiping, even though the ceremonial chamber was one of the largest space you've seen, you felt almost claustrophobic in there, surrounded by so many people who blamed you all for getting a chance to live longer. Your already blood-shot eyes were all watery, they stared watering when the ceremony got interrupted and you could swear Levi noticed it when you were heading towards the halls because he kept looking at you directly

"I'll be back, i'll go breathe some fresh air outside" you waved at Jean, Connie, Armin and the others, Levi had long disappeared from your view and you didn't see which direction he went so you assumed he was with Hange.

You turned around and took the opposite direction of the hall, where there were two massive gates. They were opened on an incredibly well maintained garden. When you sat foot on the marbled path you were met with gigantic and well kept trees, all sorts of trees, with even more gigantic walls guarding the property. Each wall had an impressive amount of lush greenery drapped all over them.

You walked to the wall that was the further away from the gates and stood there, your back against it. And right there, once you were sure no one would observe you, you let it all out. Within seconds, you felt heavy damp pearls making their way through your burning cheeks before landing everywhere, your shirt, your jacket, your leather boots, the soil beneath you. You weeped silently, your head suddenly empty from being too crammed seconds ago. You were ready to weep some more if it wasn't for a light touch that brushed you.

Levi was standing by your side looking at your burnt cheeks, swollen lips and red eyes.

"Don't let it get to you" he said.

"Your guilt doesn't justify their anger" he added, resting against the wall. "Yes they're angry, that's what wars do, they stir anger, pain and resentment. Everything humans don't like to be reminded of"

"Let's honor their death with the decisions we will make" he added putting a comforting hand on your shoulder, at which your heart fluttered a bit to your own surprise.

He pushed himself off the wall, hands in his pockets and headed for the gates as the familiar smell of food being cooked started filling the air, only here, even the food smelled expensive. You followed Levi into the hall, walking by his side as he silently invited you to. Heading for the dinning hall, you felt a great amount of solace being in his presence, and right now, he would never know how thankful you were to have each other's shoulders to lean on when the whole world was up against you two.

[mandospace]

Promise (Boba Fett x Reader Smut)

Request:  Hello! I was unsure if you were still taking requests, but I was wondering if you could write a Boba x reader fic where they make a bet to see if reader would last a night as a his “bounty”. Kind of like a primal kink thing? 😅 Your writing is so amazing thank you so much for the Din and Boba content! ♥️

Requested By: @xothra

Word Count: 5,797

Warnings: SMUT! If you are under 18, DO NOT INTERACT! Primal kink, hunting (?) kink, slight bondage, fingering, spanking, PinV sex, strong language, a hint of fluff?

A/N: I am a whore for Boba. That is all. **gif cred to @humanveil!**

MASTERLIST

“Right there,” Boba groaned, jaw clenched tight. Pain radiated through his back, his muscles tight and tense from the stressful life he lived as a bounty hunter-turned-kingpin. “Fuck, your hands are like magic, princess.”

“Kriff, Boba, what did you do?” your hands moved down his back, fingers prodding the sore muscles. You shuffled down his body before sitting on the back of his thighs. Boba had come home from a long hunt, complaining about how his back was hurting. He never complained, so you knew he wasn’t feeling well when he collapsed on your shared bed within his chambers. His beskar armor and shirt was already stripped from his body, revealing the tight muscles that were colored with bruises, some fading and some new. When you offered him a back massage, he quickly nodded and turned over on his stomach. His muscles were extremely tense under your fingers as you tried to massage the tension away. 

“Dunno,” he mumbled into the pillow, eyes screwing tight at both pleasure and pain. Your fingers were cool against his back, a welcomed comfort after a long day. He barely registered your weight when you sat back on his thighs, too encompassed in your soothing touch. “One moment I was chasing after the quarry and the next my back was killing me.”

“Maybe you should take a break,” you rubbed soothing circles into the dip of his back. “Lay low for a while, let Fennec take over the hunting.”

“You saying I’m too slow, princess?” Boba quipped underneath you, turning his head to the side so you could hear him more clearly. “That I’m getting too old for this?”

“Never, Boba,” you smirked to yourself before leaning down and pressing your lips between his shoulder blades. He shivered under your touch and let out a small sigh. “All I’m saying is that maybe you don’t have to hunt anymore. Let some other bounty hunter chase after your enemies.”

“You do think I’m old.” Boba huffed, turning under you so he could see your face. You settled down over his hips and ran your hands up his stomach, stopping to play with the light sprinkling of hair on his chest. 

“Well...” your words trailed off, bottom lip catching between your teeth. Boba had a tough life- much tougher than most. Bounty hunting was never an easy profession for anyone, and it certainly wasn’t kind to him. Working for crime lords was always dangerous, especially one that owned a rancor and sarlacc. Life didn’t get any easier for Boba after he crawled out of the pit- it took him years to regain his strength and armor. Only recently have things started going his way, what with finding you and performing a successful coup. He shouldn’t have to work anymore, he deserves to relax and rule the Outer Rim with you by his side. “Why not relax and take a little break from hunting. Rest up until you’re feeling better, and then you can get back to chasing down quarries.”

“I am perfectly capable of hunting right now,” he playfully glared at you. Smiling, you ran your hands further up his body, cupping his jaw. Your body followed your hands and you leaned over him, nose brushing his.

“Darling,” you placed a soft peck to the corner of his mouth. “You couldn’t catch me if I ran out that door right now.”

Your mouth on his skin was distracting, but he still caught your words. “I could too!” Boba gripped your hips suddenly and flipped the two of you over so that he was now on top. He tried to ignore the slight pain that still radiated from his back. “You wouldn’t even make a mile outside the palace gates before I caught up to you. And that’s being generous.”

“Is that a challenge, old man?” you teased, teeth nipping down his jaw and neck. “I bet it would take you longer than a day to find me.”

“Oh really?” Boba couldn’t help the small smile that slipped onto his lips. He loved the playful banter the two of you sometimes shared. It always led to you in his bed, trapped between the mattress and him for hours on end. “What do I get if I win?”

It was Boba’s turn to tease you now and his lips started to trail down your neck. He stopped right over your jugular, sucking a dark spot on the soft skin. You tried to hold back the breathy moans that threatened to spill from your lips. “If you win, you could do whatever you want to me for a day.”

“I’m going to need a little more than that, princess,” he smirked against your skin. “What’s stopping me from taking what I want from you right now since you’re already under me?”

“Fine,” you relented. “A week.” If he won, it’s not like you were actually losing anything. A week filled with Boba doing whatever he pleased to you left you wet and needy beneath him.

“That’s more like it,” Boba growled before he pressed his lips against yours in a searing kiss. He wasted no time before he licked into your mouth, moaning as he forced you into submission. 

“But,” you broke off the kiss, chest heaving. “If I win, you need to take a break from hunting. A real break.” 

“You’ve got yourself a deal, princess,” he pulled your bottom lip between his teeth, biting gently. “I’ll have you back in my bed before the suns are down tomorrow. Then the real fun will begin.”

“Not if you can’t catch me, old man,” you winked before pulling his lips back to yours. 

Tomorrow, the hunt will begin.

___

“You can just forfeit now,” Boba hummed against your neck, pulling you tightly against his chest. It was the next morning and you were grabbing last minute items to throw in your satchel. You had everything a girl running from her bounty hunter lover could need- credits, food, change of clothes, and your blaster. “I won’t hold it against you. I’ll still uphold my end of the bargain and keep you in my bed for a week.”

You’ve never rolled your eyes harder than you did in that moment. “You know,” you turned in his hold and looked up at your lover. He was dressed in his armor except for his green helmet, ready to hunt you down and take what was his. “You’re awfully cocky for an old man. Aren’t you supposed to be done with such childish things?”

“Ha-ha,” he rolled his eyes. Boba brought a gloved hand to your face, gently cupping your cheek. The mischief in his eyes was replaced with seriousness. “Be careful, princess. Check in with me every few hours so I know you’re okay.”

“I will,” you turned your face into his palm, kissing the worn leather. “I’ll miss you.”

“Don’t worry, little one,” he glided his thumb over your cheek bone. “We’ll be back together before the suns set.”

“I think you’re underestimating my ability,” you placed a light kiss on his lips and pulled away before you could get lost in his touch. “I learned from the best, after all.” You started towards the large palace doors, satchel over your shoulder. The large doors opened with a creak. Excitement and adrenaline pumped through your veins. You’ve never been on the run before, but the thrill of Boba tracking and hunting you down was electrifying. Realistically, you knew Boba would find you fast on the desolate planet of Tatooine. The only advantage you had was that Fennec was driving you to Mos Eisley where you could hide more easily in the busy city. An enormous disadvantage you had though was that Boba knew where you were going. Even if you tried your hardest, you knew you couldn’t run away from Boba and keep him off your trail for long. Eventually, the skilled bounty hunter would find you and claim his prize; most likely before the end of the night. Joining Fennec on the speeder, you waved back at your lover before you sped away from the palace, wind whipping through your hair.

___

Mos Eisley was crowded with people. Shop owners were selling their various goods, hollering to potential customers to come view their wares. Food carts were everywhere and gamblers sat at their tables, playing sabacc and dice. Only a few fights broke out amongst people, but for the most part their shouting and yelling was drowned out by the din of the busy, sandy streets.

Fennec had dropped you off at one of the cantinas before speeding off on the bike. While she was a master of disguise and able to blend in plain sight, the news of Boba’s successful coup had spread and Fennec Shand’s name was in every vagrant’s mouth. She preferred to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

You had no idea where you should go or start. While you had teased Boba that you would be able to outwit him and that he wouldn’t be able to catch you, you realized that maybe you were in over your head. I mean, how were you supposed to outwit and win against the best bounty hunter in the galaxy? It wasn’t a title that he just gave himself, he rightfully earned it. Boba Fett was infamous- everyone knew who he was.

And you were supposed to be running from him.

Okay, yeah, you were screwed. But you couldn’t think like that right now- you had to think quickly and try to evade Boba for as long as you could. You weren’t doing this for yourself, you were doing this for Boba. He was pushing himself too hard lately, running the crime underworld while simultaneously hunting down his enemies. He deserved to have some fun. You knew he would love this- hunting you down like prey. It played perfectly into the fantasies that lived in his head. While he never voiced them to you, you never forgot the glint in his eyes when he first tied you up. It was only natural that desire fed into this one.

This was for Boba. And you were going to give him one hell of a hunt.

Your eyes scanned the streets of Mos Eisley, trying to think through and reason what would be the best course to take. Originally, you thought losing yourself in the bustling bazaar would be the best idea until you realized that’s exactly what Boba would expect you to do. You had to do better than that, you had to do what Boba would do. Maybe if you thought and moved like him, you could evade him long enough.

Deciding that standing in one spot wasn’t the best option, you started to move your way through the crowd. Your eyes searched high and low for possible hiding places. Boba would expect you to stay in town where you were familiar with your surroundings. When you saw the dewback nestled in a stable, you almost spent all of your credits on the beast. Going out into the dunes wasn’t a good idea, though. Tusken raiders have been moving a lot more than usual in the desert and it would be your luck to get caught by them. Passing by the giant green lizard, you patted its head and sighed. Another time, buddy.

You hadn’t been out to the town in some time. Things had changed in the central hub of Tatooine. While there were always going to be thieves and bandits and vagrants roaming the city, things seemed... more calm. People weren’t scurrying away from each other like they used to, afraid that someone would do them harm. They smiled more, talked with their neighbors instead of hiding their faces. You had never seen Tatooine actually, well, thriving since you arrived on the desolate planet. While you hadn’t resided here for long, you remembered how bad things were when Bib Fortuna ruled the area. Being out amongst the people of Tatooine made you realize that it was because of Boba that things were better. Yes, he was a crime kingpin, and yes, he knew how to be ruthless; but the people were so much better off with him in the Hutt palace than they’ve been in centuries. The thought made pride swell up in your chest. Your Boba was making this shithole of a planet just a little bit better.

“Do you miss me, pretty girl?” Boba’s gravely voice sounded over the commlink, startling you and the dewback you were still petting. Fumbling for the comm, your hands were shaking just from hearing his voice, you brought it up to your lips.

“Not at all,” you tried to sound nonchalant and not like he just scared the shit out of you. “Haven’t been to town in a while, it’s nice.”

“Well I miss you, princess,” his voice made your knees weak. He was far away from you, yet just the timbre of his words made you needy. “It’s only been a few hours but my cock is already throbbing with how much I need you.”

“Boba,” you scolded, cheeks flushing with embarrassment as onlookers gave you a look. They had heard him, of course. “You can’t... say those things right now.”

“Why?” he chuckled. “Did someone hear? Are you still in the bazaar?”

“Uh, no.” Shit, you were bad at lying to him.

“So you are in the bazaar,” you could visualize the smirk that you knew was on his face. “Mind picking me up some of those berries you love so much? I love the way they make your lips taste.”

You didn’t know how to respond to that, so you stayed quiet. Giving the dewback one last pat, you rejoined the busy crowd. Boba was getting closer to Mos Eisley and you didn’t have much time to find a good hiding space. You had to think fast.

“What, you’re not talking to me now?”

“I’m not not talking to you.” Switching the commlink to run through the small earpiece lodged in your ear, you noticed a small inn on the corner of the busy street. Maybe that would be a good place to lay low?

“Okay, then just listen, princess,” his voice was rough and made you whimper. You could feel how wet your underwear was becoming just from his voice alone. Good thing you thought of switching the audio of the commlink to your ear or else everyone would hear the filthy words Boba muttered. “When I catch you, and I will catch you, I’m going to tie you up and take you right then and there. I don’t care if anyone is around us, I’m going to make you scream and beg for my cock so everyone knows who you belong to.”

You had to find a hiding place and fast. Just hearing his words was making you soak through your underwear and you needed to get away from this crowd of people. “Promise?”

“Oh, I promise, sweet thing.” you were certain that he had a sly smile on his face under the helmet. “I’ll find you before the suns go down and claim my bounty. You’ll be the sweetest reward I ever get.”

You didn’t care if you lost the bet. Moving towards the small inn, you glanced down at your watch, noting the time. “You’ve got 5 hours until they set. Come and get me, Fett.”

“With pleasure.”

___

The inn was your best option in the small city so you purchased a room. Boba was just now leaving the palace, ready to start his hunt. While it wouldn’t be much of a hunt for him (you were too easy of prey), you were certain he would love his reward. The room was small, sandstone walls that held little to know decorations. There was a bed with simple colored sheets and a small bathroom attached. It would be enough for what you had planned for your hunter. 

You got to work.

When you were packing your bags this morning, you made a big show of grabbing only the necessities. Boba was trailing behind you the entire morning, his hands never left your waist. He was constantly trying to convince you to stay home with him and to give up the bet, but you didn’t fall into the temptation. You knew he would absolutely love hunting you, even if he never said it. Besides, you wanted to give him a real treat for when he finally caught you. Before she picked you up, Fennec had gone back to your chambers and collected the black bag with the items you had packed away while Boba was still asleep. That black bag now sat on the bed.

The satchel held what you needed for tonight. Candles, ropes, a brand new lingerie set you knew Boba would rip to shreds once he saw you in it. The black lace was beautiful and soft. Just imagining the look on Boba’s face when he sees you in it made desire pool low in your stomach.

You still had a few hours until you were sure he would find you. Fennec was nice enough to lay down a false trail to make things more exciting for Boba. What a nice lady when she actually wanted to be nice. You moved to the fresher and began to peel the clothes from your body. Even though you weren’t physically running from Boba, the day spent wandering through the streets of Mos Eisley left a thin layer of grime coating your skin. You wanted to be nice and clean for when Boba finally caught you. Turning the fresher on, excitement settled in your bones at the prospect of tonight.

___

Boba Fett had been on the hunt all day. The twin suns of Tatooine were moving low in the horizon. Sunset would be within the next hour.

Good thing Boba had already found you.

Once he realized Fennec had laid down a false trail for you, it was easy for Boba to find your real trail through Mos Eisley. Hishelmet allowed him to see your footprints in the sandy streets. He followed your every move, placing himself in your steps and lived out your day hours later. He noticed that you had stopped at the stables for some time, and when Boba asked the stablemaster about you, he learned that you spent a good part of your day petting the dewback the man owned. His heart thumped at the thought of you petting the great beast. Boba knew you used to have pets and that you missed caring for your animals dearly. He would have to get you one soon.

The suns were just starting to fall behind the sandy dunes of Tatooine when Boba arrived at the small inn. After tossing a few credits to the owner, he learned which room you were staying in. Boba could feel the excitement build up inside of him, just like it did when he was close to his other quarries. Stopping in front of your door, his cock throbbed painfully in his trousers at what would happen when he caught you. Boba didn’t wait a moment longer before turning the handle.

The room was dark, save for a few flickering candles that were scattered throughout the room. His visor easily switched into night vision to allow him to see, but he wanted to experience this with his own eyes. Lifting the helmet, Boba’s eyes rested on your figure and his cock jumped at what he saw.

You were lounging on the bed, scantily clad in black lace that barely left anything to the imagination. His eyes roamed up your body and admired the lace that hugged your curves perfectly. When he got to your chest, he noted that a small carton of berries rested on top of your cleavage and that you were lazily bringing the ripe fruit to your lips. Boba wanted to reach out and feel those lips on his own and taste the tartness of the fruit.

“Bout’ time, Fett,” you fished around in the carton before you found a particularly ripe berry and popped it into your mouth. “Was thinking you’d never find me.”

“I’ll always find you, princess,” his voice rumbled through his chest. “Looks like I found you before the suns set, too.” Boba nodded towards the small window, pointing out the setting suns. “I win.”

Picking up another fruit, you brought it to your mouth and bit it slowly, the juice spilling out and running down your chin and chest. You gave Boba a seductive grin. “Come and get your prize, my king.”

Boba’s eyes visibly darkened with lust and a growl sounded from his chest. His strides were long and quickly closed the distance between the two of you. Scrambling on top of the bed, he moved the carton of berries over on the side table. Boba dropped his head to your chest and ran his tongue over your breasts, licking the sweet juice off of you. A breathless moan left your mouth and your chest arched into his touch. His hands were rough as they grabbed at your wrists, bringing them up and above your head. Boba reached for the cuffs attached to his belt and snapped them into place around your wrists. He had you now.

“You thought you could run away from me, huh?” his voice was deep and gravely, sending waves of desire south. Boba grabbed the rope you had set aside on the table and tied your already cuffed wrists to the headboard. “Thought that you could outsmart me?”

His leather-clad hand trailed up your chest and settled at the base of your neck. When you didn’t answer, his fingers wrapped around your throat and gave it a slight squeeze- not enough pressure to cut off your air, just enough to slightly restrict your blood flow. “Answer me, girl.”

“No!” you gasped. Boba would never hurt you, you knew this, and this whole scenario was just pretend- all for Boba. That didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy it too, though. You easily slid into your role. “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

Boba hummed at your apology and released his grip on your throat. Air flooded into your lungs. Before he returned to touching you, Boba brought his hand to your lips. “Bite,” was all he said, and he nudged the soft leather between your teeth. You pulled off his gloves with your teeth before letting them fall to the bed. He returned his hands to your body, his warm skin sending shivers down your spine. His fingers were calloused, weathered from years of fighting. Hands moving to your breasts, Boba took them in his hands and gave them a squeeze. 

“Fuck, you look so good, princess,” Boba moaned at the soft feeling of your breasts in lace. Pulling down the lace cups, he released the soft flesh. He brought his head down and licked at one of your pert nipples, hand massaging the other. His mouth was warm over the sensitive skin and it felt delicious. He rolled his tongue over the bud before giving it a slight nip. A sharp gasp escaped your mouth and Boba chuckled. “Easy there, little one.”

You couldn’t help but whimper when Boba’s mouth switched to your other breast. His hand traveled down past your navel and cupped your warm pussy. “Look at this bounty,” he growled into your skin. His forefinger slid your black panties to the side and into your wet folds. “So wet, and all for me.”

“Yes,” you whined when his finger slipped past your tight entrance. He slowly pumped his thick finger in and out of your pussy, his lips trailing over your breasts while leaving marks across your chest. The rough pad of his finger brushed against the small bundle of nerves inside and your back arched at the sensation. “All yours! Fuck, Boba, please, I need you inside of me.”

Heading your pleading, Boba pulled his finger from inside of your cunt. You missed the feeling of being full by his fingers- he had barely touched you and you already started to feel the frustration tear up in your eyes. He didn’t pull his finger fully away- thank the Maker- instead, he began to circle your clit slowly.

“You need me, princess?” Boba nuzzled his face against your neck, nipping at the skin over pulse point. “Hmm? Need my cock inside that pretty little pussy?”

“Yes,” you moaned. You couldn’t take these teasing touches anymore. Pulling at your restraints to reach for him, you learned that there was no way you were getting out of those without help. “Please.”

“I don’t think you deserve it.” he pulled his hand away from your aching pussy, completely. Now the tears really started to well up. You tried to show him how much you needed him through the look you gave him. “Good girls don’t run away.”

“Boba, I’m sorry, I-“ you were cut off by your own yelp of pain when he brought his hand down on your ass. The pain turned to pleasure when he started to rub soothing circles into the reddened skin.

“Good girls listen to what they’re told,” Boba grabbed at your hips and flipped you over onto your stomach. The rope attached to your cuffs and the headboard tightened with the torque of you flipping. His fingers gripped the thin fabric of your panties and pulled- torn fabric falling to the bed. Boba’s hand came down on your ass again before rubbing the flesh. “Are you going to listen, princess?”

“Yes, I’ll listen- I’ll be good!” you cried into the pillow your face was buried in. You could feel his hands massaging your ass cheeks, playing with the pillowy flesh. Arching your back, you pushed your ass back into his hands, displaying your sopping pussy for him.

“Good,” Boba praised while taking his hands away from you. You almost whined out again when he removed his hands from you, but when you heard the zipper of his pants being pulled down, you relaxed and arched your back more. Boba took his hardened cock in his hand and brought it to your soaking pussy, rubbing the hot head through your folds. He kept running it through your slick, gathering as much of your arousal as he could. The tip of his cock brushed against your clit and you let out a breathy moan.

“Boba, please,” you moaned into the pillow. He was teasing you- he knew this, and he made sure that you sure as hell knew it. He kept brushing it over your clit, holding it there for a second- the pressure was delicious- before dragging it back down to your entrance. It was tantalizing- agonizing.

“Don’t worry, princess,” Boba chuckled at your begging. He notched the head of his cock at your entrance and pushed in. “I’ll put on a good show.”

The feeling of Boba splitting you open was something you’d never forget. No matter how many times the two of you had been together, you never got used to his size. It was both painful and pleasurable during that first thrust of his hips. His cock stretched your velvety walls almost to their breaking point. Pain dissolved into pleasure as he fully sheathed his cock inside of your dripping pussy. You couldn’t help the cry that fell from your lips- you were just so full.

Boba’s grip on your hips tightened when he started to thrust into you, setting a bruising pace. Moans of pleasure slipped past your lips and landed on the pillow. You tugged on the restraints, trying to ground yourself from the intoxicating pleasure. Boba’s hips snapped against your ass and the lewd sounds of skin slapping against skin reverberated off the sandstone walls.

“Fuck, princess,” Boba’s arms wrapped tight around your waist, tugging your hips back in time with his thrusts. You were so tight around him- a vice in the best way possible- squeezing him just right. Boba dropped his mouth to your back, kissing and biting marks against your skin between his grunts of pleasure. His hands roamed up your stomach to your breasts, cupping them with a squeeze. The black lace was still in the way, keeping your soft skin out of reach. He made quick work of the thin lace and the ruined material joined the tattered pieces of your underwear. You were completely bare before him now and Boba growled at the sight- you were breathtaking. “So-so good, so beautiful.”

Boba’s name was constantly falling from your lips. Each brush of his hard cock against your velvety walls brought you more and more pleasure. It pooled low in your stomach and spread through your veins. “Wa-want to t-touch you.”

Boba didn’t reply, instead he reached above you for your restraints. He made quick work of your bindings and soon enough you were free. Boba wrapped his arms around your waist and tugged you back against him. The cool beskar of his cuirass dug into your back and imprinted its shape into your skin. Boba dropped his head to your shoulder and nuzzled his face into your neck. Hands roamed up your stomach and cupped your breasts. His large hands pushed and pulled at the soft flesh, pinched your peaked nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. At this new angle, Boba’s cock brushed against that bundle of nerves inside of you.

“You’re mine,” Boba growled into your neck, nipping and kissing purple marks into your skin. His teeth sank into the junction of your neck and jaw, tongue swiping over the fresh mark. All you could do was nod and moan in agreement- he kept pounding into you at just the right angle that was making you see stars. His hands kept roaming over your body, kneading whatever skin he could get a hold of. Your arms were reaching up and behind you, holding his head against you so his lips never left your skin.

"Fuck, you feel so good, princess,” Boba moaned against your neck, lips trailing up to your ear. His hot breath fanned over the shell of your ear. “Do you feel that, baby?” Boba grabbed one of your hands that was holding his head to your skin and dragged it down your body before resting over your stomach. His large hand rested over yours and pressed it into your skin. “Do you feel my cock deep in your stomach, little one?”

You did. The feeling of his cock pushing deep inside of you made your stomach bulge out slightly. The feeling of Boba using you to reach his high drove you to your own.

“Boba, I-” you were cut off by your own moan. His cock kept brushing against the bundle of nerves inside of you. It was driving you crazy.

“I know, princess,” Boba nipped at your ear, growling out your name. “Come for me, little one.” The arm around your waist pulled you tighter against him while the other trailed down your stomach to where he was pounding into you. The rough pads of his fingers dropped down to your clit and began to rub quick circles into it. “Come all over my cock.”

His words in addition to the motions of his fingers and thrust of his cock inside of you made the metaphorical dam inside of you break under the pleasure of it all. Your orgasm spilled over and flooded your veins, waves of pleasure wracking your body. The feeling of your velvety walls clenching around him drove Boba closer to his own high.

“Fuck, princess,” Boba moaned lowly in your ear whilst pulling out of you quickly. You missed the feeling of being full of his cock but before you could whine out a complaint, Boba was flipping you over onto your back. He grabbed your ankles and tugged you to the edge of the bed, wrapping your legs around his waist. Boba dropped his forehead to yours and his hot breath fanned over your face. He pressed a searing kiss to your lips and drank in your breathless moans. The feeling of him pounding into you was almost too much- you were so sensitive from your previous orgasm. “You take me so well.”

“Come inside of me, Boba,” you bit down on his bottom lip and he growled. “Fill me up.”

“Fu-fuck, princess!” his hips stuttered against you as his balls pulled up tightly. He ground his cock inside of you and he came hard, his cum painting your walls. The warmth of his seed and the throbbing of his cock sent you over the edge again. Your nails trailed down his muscular back, leaving angry red marks over his tan skin. Boba settled inside of you and moaned your name against your soft lips. He trailed kisses over your face, lightly kissing your chin, cheeks, nose, eyelids, before placing a final one to your forehead. Hands came up to cradle your face and he placed another kiss to your hairline. 

“You did so well for me, little one.” Boba nuzzled his face into your hair and tucked your head under his chin. He rolled onto his back and pulled you on top of him. His beskar armor was cold against your skin but you didn’t care. Boba’s arms were around you and his cock was still buried inside of you. He placed another kiss on your hairline. “Sorry if I was a little rough with you.”

You placed a kiss to his green cuirass. “I didn’t mind. I like it when you get a little rough.” Boba chuckled underneath you and he brought his hand to your hair, combing through the tangles. “Though, I’m not sure my outfit liked it.”

“Sorry,” he laughed. “I’ll buy you a new one. Any color you want.”

“Hmm...” you hummed in contemplation, trailing your finger over his armor. “Maybe a dark green one? With red accents? I’d like to match your armor- maybe even wear your helmet while you fuck me.”

His cock twitched inside of you at your words. “Don’t make any promises you can’t keep, little one.”

“Oh, that’s a promise I fully intend to keep,” you leaned up and pulled him into another kiss. You pulled his bottom lip between your teeth, biting gently. “Just like I intend to uphold our bet.”

“I can’t wait to take you on every surface of the palace,” he pulled you into another kiss, licking into your mouth. “I bet I can make you come so much that you won’t be able to walk straight for weeks.”

“Is that a challenge, Fett?” your hips shifted slightly, his cock hardening inside of you. 

“It’s a promise.”

[littlemisspascal]

Death and an Angel part 5

Helmetless + Death!Din and Cupid F!Reader

Summary: A call with one of your bosses threatens to split you and Din apart.

Rating: T

Word Count: 2,075

Warnings: Reader experiences a panic attack, use of a swear word, angst, reference to most recent Mandalorian episode so I guess it’s kind of spoiler-ish, hurt/comfort and more angst

Author Note: All the love to everyone who follows along with this series! I joined AO3 recently so all these parts will be on there as well at LittleMissPascal. I’m actually really nervous about the response to this particular segment so...be gentle, please ❤

Links to Part 1 and Part 4 and Part 6

Photo Inspiration: 

“Cupid 1-1-7, am I hearing you correctly? You said there was an explosion?”

You scrub a hand over your face, biting back a sigh lest the comlink picks it up. “Not a literal one, sir. I’m still not sure what happened, just that when my client touched a potential match’s hand there was this...invisible blast of energy or something.”

The silence on the other end is enough to make you want to slam your head against the wall of the Razor Crest. You’d called headquarters as soon as you and Din had returned to his ship, figuring if anyone had a clue as to what the hell had happened it’d be one of your superiors. 

After twenty minutes of explaining your predicament not once, but three times, you’re beginning to realize you were evidently mistaken.

“Remind me again, Cupid 1-1-7, what name was it you referred to this immortal client of yours as?” Over the comlink, your boss’ voice sounds as if he’s gargling jagged rocks, deep and throaty. You can imagine the narrowed-eyed look he’d be giving you in person and you’re grateful you’re not currently having this conversation over a holoprojector. 

“I didn’t.” 

Your eyes drift to the ladder leading up to the cockpit where Din is located. Something inside of you is insistent you keep Din’s identity hidden from your superiors. It’s a feeling you’ve never experienced before, certainly not with any of your former clients. Part of you thinks of the sensation as possessiveness, but what have you to be possessive of? You have no claim to him, nothing tying you to one another. 

“Interesting,” your boss says, dry as the Dune Sea.

“My client is high-profile, sir. He asked me to remain discreet and I intend to uphold his request.” You clutch the comlink against your chest, taking deep breaths to keep yourself calm as you wait to hear if he believed your lie or not.

“This...incident you’ve described, it does bring to mind an event in history with similar details.” There is a shuffling sound that echoes over the device, resembling papers being picked up and flipped through. He hums, a long drawn out note that makes your skin crawl. “Yep, here’s the report right here, referencing an outburst erupting as a result of the physical contact between a potential pair.”

You wait for more information, drumming your fingers against a nearby crate.

“Unfortunately, you are not of rank to hear the specifics.”

“But—”

“I must say though, the Moff will be most interested in this development,” he continues, ignoring your protest as if you hadn’t opened your mouth at all. 

Heart lodging in your throat at the mention of the head seraph, you manage to choke out, “I really don’t think that’s necessary, Mr. Hess.”

“That’s sir to you, Cupid 1-1-7.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. Forgive me, sir.” You’re two seconds from babbling yourself off a cliff and you can’t find the off switch for your mouth. “It’s just. Moff Gideon is so busy, as I’m sure you know, and I would hate to bother him with this case when I have everything under control—”

“Except that you clearly don’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made this call.”

His words hit you like a punch, silencing you.

“The Moff will hear about this, as well as your breaking protocol by concealing information from your superior when directly asked. No doubt he will be as displeased about your behavior as I am.” 

Your eyes fall shut as you listen, slumping against the ship’s wall and sliding down onto the cold floor. You feel disconnected from the situation, as if he’s discussing someone else’s fate instead of your own. 

“In the meantime,” his voice drones on, adding more weight to the pressure on your chest. “I will permit you forty-eight hours to complete your assignment before I officially relegate it to another Cupid. You will also be ordered to take a reassessment test of your basic understanding of standard Cupid regulations.”

You squeeze your eyes together tighter, feeling like you’re about to throw up. Each breath you take feels pointless, as if there is no longer any oxygen in the air, but you have enough pride left to keep you from having a breakdown with your boss still on the line. 

“Do you understand the terms in which I’ve stated to you, Cupid 1-1-7?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Amor vincit omnia.” The parting mantra sounds almost sinister coming from his mouth.

“Amor vincit omnia,” you echo, forcing your voice to remain steady.

The comlink clicks off. The floodgates open not a second later.

You press your palms against your mouth, desperately trying to hold back the sobs that wrack your body so they don’t disrupt the silence of the cargo hold. The tears streaming down your face refuse to be stifled though, burning your eyes as they fall. Your head pounds in rhythm with your heartbeat, a frantic drumming counting down the seconds until you either scream or pass out. Or both.

It’s an ugly, hysterical kind of crying that can’t be stopped once started, not even when you hear movement from the ladder right before Din slides down it, boots thudding loudly against the floor. 

And then it seems like Din is right there in front of you without ever having moved, unnaturally fast and stealthy, gloved fingers resting on your shoulders. He’s taken off his helmet, brown eyes full of such concern it only makes you cry harder seeing them, further increasing his worry.

“Are you hurt? Tell me what’s wrong, angel,” he murmurs, a note of franticness in his voice as he looks you over for injuries, finding none except for the few scratches along your arms you’d received earlier when you landed in the dirt.

You shake your head when he tries to move your hands away from your face, emitting a choked hiccup that threatens to crack your already-bruised rib cage with its intensity. 

“Angel, you’ve got to breathe, okay?” Din says, soft and soothing. You blink through your watery vision, finding his gaze again, and he offers you a small, reassuring smile. “In and out. Just like this.” He inhales a purposefully deep breath, then slowly releases it without once breaking eye contact.

You try to copy him, but your nose is stuffed with snot and your lungs hitch with another round of sobs, ruining your attempt.

“Can I…?” Din again reaches for one of your hands, this time hovering without attempting direct contact, waiting for your consent. 

Trembling, it feels like a monumental task to remove your hand from where it’s glued to the top of your other one still covering your mouth. Din grabs onto your wrist and brings your hand to his chest plate, pressing it against the cool beskar.

“Together, okay? In and out.”

He continues his litany of encouragement, patient and calm, and gradually your heaving sobs begin to lose their power, enabling you to reclaim control of your lungs. Catching your breath, you begin to wipe away the lingering tears with the hand not still held gently in Din’s grip. 

“Sorry,” you sniff, embarrassed. The beginning ache of a migraine starts to form in the back of your head, worsening when you try to move too quickly, and you bite back a wince.

His grip on your wrist tightens in admonishment. “There’s no need to be,” he says, but your ears detect his thinly restrained anger. “Who were you speaking to?”

“He’s one of my superiors. Valin Hess,” you answer, biting your lip.

“I should have him wiped clean from the galaxy for making you cry,” Din hisses, a snarl on his face and eyes darkening with rage.

Face to face with anyone else, you would have felt terrified being so close to such open hostility. But this is how Din expresses his overprotective nature, making himself a more dangerous threat than the enemy, and for that reason, you could never be scared of him. 

“Din, listen to me,” you say, curling your hand in his grasp until he yields to your movements and allows you to intertwine your fingers with his gloved ones. “What happened on Sorgan when you touched Omera’s hand, Hess said it wasn’t the first time something like that has happened. He wouldn’t give me the details though because I’m not high enough rank.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware Cupids had any kind of ranking system.”

“It’s based on how long you’ve existed. I’ve only been a Cupid for fifty years now, barely made any kind of lasting imprint on the galaxy.”

“Don’t say that,” he mutters, shooting you a stern look. “You’ve made a bigger impact than you could ever know.”

Struck momentarily speechless, you can only watch as he moves to sit on the floor beside you, clasped hands settling between his thigh and yours. The pauldron on his shoulder presses against the upper half of your arm and you tilt your head until your temple rests against it.

“That’s not what made you upset,” Din says.

You don’t need to shake your head, confirming the truth he already knows, but you do anyway, comforted by the cold metal rubbing across your forehead.

“What did he tell you, angel?”

You know by how he squeezes your hand that he genuinely wants to hear what happened. You know he must hear it from you because no one else can break the news. And you know you cannot lie to him because Hess’ intervening affects him even more than it does yourself. Still, in spite of knowing all of this, the words don’t come out any easier.

“I have only two days to figure out who your soulmate is before he reassigns you another Cupid.”

Din goes abruptly stiff. “What.”

“Because of the explosion and then also because I broke protocol by refusing to say you were my client, Hess believes I’m not handling things well and should be replaced by someone better.”

If you hadn’t known Din was immortal, you would think he died with how still he remains at your side. Leaning back with increasing worry, you see him staring forward across the cargo hold, granting you only a glimpse of the side of his face.

He...Oh, Maker. 

He looks kriffing pissed.

“Din—”

“How...” he cuts himself off, nostrils flaring as he clenches his jaw. “How could they ever think there is anyone better than you?”

For the job, you tell yourself, not allowing your hopes to rise. He means there isn’t anyone better for the job.

“I’m just a Cupid,” you tell him weakly, shrugging a shoulder. “I—”

“Stop talking poorly about yourself,” he snaps, the closest he’s ever come to yelling at you, turning to meet your gaze with fire burning in his eyes. You swallow thickly, his intensity making you feel like cornered prey. 

When he speaks again, his baritone voice has become a low murmur, each word carefully chosen and bleeding sincerity. “Everything you said about knowing who your soulmate is—I want to experience all of it with you. Only you. You’re it for me, angel.”

You freeze, unable to believe what you’re hearing, train of thought coming to a screeching halt. For the second time during this conversation, you’ve lost your voice, mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.

“You’re it for me,” he repeats, sounding as if he’s pleading for you to believe him. “So tell your bosses to go fuck themselves. You’re the only Cupid I could ever want by my side.”

The reference of your designation is like dumping a bucket of ice water over your head, shocking your entire system. You wrench yourself away from him, stumbling onto your feet.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” you say as you start to pace around the room, hearing the hysterical edge in your own voice.

He stands up, expression warring between confusion and irritation. “I know you feel something too. Why do you keep pulling away from me?”

“Because we can’t be together, Din,” you answer, blinking back the unbidden tears starting to form again. “I’m not your soulmate. It isn’t possible!” 

“Angel.” He catches your elbow when you pass by him, forcing you to face him. His voice is brittle when he speaks, already expecting your answer to shatter his wounded heart. “Why can’t you be with me?”

“Because I’ve already met my soulmate. And he wasn’t you.”

Tag List:  @leilei-draws​, @theocatkov​, @becauseican2, @vintagesaph​, @stardust-and-starlight​, @kay2304, @odelia-d32, @adrieunor​, @remmyswritings​, @gallowsjoker​, @rhiannon-russo​, @randomness501​, @eleine-t1d​, @nicotinebirds, @sylphene​, @softly-sad​, @maytheglitter​, @melobee, @rogertaylorsfalsettogivesmehives, @eleinemk

[dancingwiththeplanets]

An Angel Amongst Demons - chapter one

Boba Fett x fem!reader

     chapter 2 / masterlist     

Summary:  Boba tries to shield you from the dark side of his life. In his eyes, you are too innocent and pure for the harsh realities of the work that surrounds him. So when one day you stumble upon a meeting gone wrong when you were supposed to be hidden away, Boba’s afraid you won’t like the pieces of him he’s tried to protect you from, or worse, that now you’ll fear him.

A/N:  My first fic in like 6 years, I'm nervous! haha This is kind of an AU I think?? Takes place after the events of season 2.  I’ve added in two OC Mandos to the entourage because I love me some of that tribal brotherhood devotion. Also.. considering making this a series?

Warnings: soft!Boba (like, REALLY soft!Boba) protectiveness, maybe over-protectiveness? small character death, nobody important, two new sexy mandalorians (we’ll learn about them later), not much to be honest.

Word Count: 5.7k+

------------------------

There’s a lot to Jabba’s palace that most people don’t know about.  A lot’s changed since the esteemed Boba Fett took over the throne and claimed ownership over the fortress in Tatooine. Castle might actually be a better word for it. Somewhat modest and ordinary looking on the outside, the true magnitude and vastness of the castle is hidden underground, even past the comfortably sized throne room.

What lingers further down the sandstone hallways are an array of rooms and staircases, mostly leading down in different directions.  There’s a library and a kitchen and even a ballroom, which never has and probably never will be put to use.  There are guest rooms that are more suitably described as luxurious suites, for the grand total of zero guests that Boba will allow to stay in his sanctuary.  

There are permanently standing rooms for only a handful of the staff: the maid, Ada. Fennec, of course. And the two newest members of Boba’s trusted, elite team, Enzo and Raul, who arrived shortly before you did.  The two are a pair of dutiful and truly impressive Mandalorians who serve at his beck and call, courtesy of Boba Fett’s ally and only recognized leader (not that he’s ever told what to do), Mand’alor Din Djarin.

Past the staff rooms and further down an open and beautifully lit hall, is the communal area of the palace, the center, if you will. Fully equipped to socialize and entertain guests with comfortable seating, a fireplace, and charming embellishments around the room. A warm and pleasant area of the palace that likewise, does not get as much use out of it as it should.  

And finally, behind the common area, which in its own way, serves as a magnificent entryway, is Boba Fett’s private chambers.  Home to the respected and feared bounty-hunter turned ruler, and you, his haven.  

You. His cyare. His beloved. The ruthless king had fallen in love with you and your delicate heart, seemingly untampered with and somehow not left scarred by the harsh realities of Tatooine.  He saw in you light and tenderness, and you gave him joy and true unconditional love.  He spent many, far too many, late nights in Mos Eisley, at the cantina you worked in as a waitress. At some point visiting you every night to walk you home at the end of your shift, though you assured him you always made it home perfectly fine on your own.  But Boba secretly lived for those extra few minutes he could spend with you walking you to your residence.  Not to mention, he couldn’t fathom why it didn’t scare the bantha shit out of you to be walking around Mos Eisley alone at night, unarmed. That fact that you did sure as hell scared him.  

On most nights he walked you home, you invited him in, unless you were absolutely too spent to spend another moment standing.  But it was on those long nights that poured into the early hours of the lovely Tatooine sunrise that you and Boba grew close and eventually professed your love for one another.  Soon after, he hopefully, and quite timidly, asked you to live at his palace with him.  Though you’d never been before, you knew exactly where it was, and for that matter, who he was.

The new king of Tatooine had a reputation for being ruthless, unforgiving, and dangerous. And you didn’t miss the way people cowered away from his presence, especially when he wore the armor.  Though, by your own calculations, every other patron who marched their way through these lands was just as feral as the Boba Fett they all believed they knew, and not one had ever been as kind or as gentle, or captivated your thoughts, the way he did.    

He knew these things. More than most in the galaxy, he knew what a cruel fate such a pure being could meet, and if truth be told, he wanted to escape with your kind soul and shield you from this harsh planet before anything could harm you.

When he asked you again to go with him, you met his hopeful and loving gaze, eyes filled with devotion and admiration, and the corner of his lips pulled up just slightly in the most endearing of grins, you couldn't help but to instantly wrap your arms around him, leave a kiss to his neck, and tell him nothing would make you happier.

“Besides,” you teased, nuzzling into his neck, “I always wanted to be a princess.”

Boba chuckled and wrapped a strong arm around your waist, pulling your face back and tracing his thumb under your chin. “Believe me, mesh’la. You already were one.”

The next day, you found yourself and what little you owned in possessions, situating in your new home.  Like everyone else, you had shockingly inaccurate presumptions about the size of the palace, soon learning that what lay hidden behind the throne room and down the sandstone halls was a modest castle to get lost in.  No matter, you adjusted to your new environment and routine, though still unused to the respect and coddling you received on a daily basis, you adored every extra moment spent with your king.

Which is how now, five months later, you lay quiet and still as a mouse in bed, gazing dreamily at a sleeping Boba next to you.  The early morning light casting a light blue hue over the room, as the suns hadn’t quite risen just yet.  You were fortunate enough that your bedroom, the top floor to your two story chambers, was one of the few rooms in the palace with a proper window, the rest of your home and castle being underground.  

A low grumble from the man next to you causes you to hold your breath, eyes not daring to leave his form as he breathes in a deep sigh. “You know,” he begins drowsily, “the moment you wake up and opt to stare at me instead of closing those lovely eyes again and getting some more rest, is the exact moment that I wake up too.”

“You don’t have to wake up,” you smile teasingly.

“I can’t help it.” He grumbles, eyes still shut heavily against the apples of his cheeks. “If you’re up, I’m up.”

“For all you know,” You retort, “I’ve been staring at you, awake for hours.”

At this, Boba’s unimpressed gaze turns to you, eyes now latched onto yours. “You haven’t been.” He says.

“And how would you know?” You giggle back, “I haven’t moved a hair. I woke up facing you, and didn’t move anything but my gaze.  So unless you can detect the vibrations from my blinking, you couldn’t know.”

“I know.”

It’s your turn to look unimpressed, “How?”

“Because,” He leans in close to you, your noses lightly touching and a devilish look in his eyes, “If you’re up, I’m up.”

“Mm.” You hum unconvinced, eyes fluttering closed as he leaves a kiss to your nose then pulls away to sit at the edge of the bed.  You follow his form as he stretches to a stand, joints popping as he twists his back and arms around, the result of a body having gone to war and back countless times. You sit up tiredly and lean against the headboard, watching him pull on his under armor, then latching on the Beskar.  Piece by piece his body is decorated with more intimidating and handsome armor, slowly shielding your eyes from the scarred but lovely body of his that you admire possibly a little too much.

“You stare any harder and I might decide to take it back off,” Boba quips, a smirk rising on his cheeks.

You blush, shaking your head and looking away, gaze now pointedly out the window.

“Mesh’la,” He says, grabbing your attention again, his hands now occupied tugging on his gloves as he takes a few strides towards you. He smiles at the pink tint to your cheeks and your guilty smile, the remains of having been caught admiring him still plastered on your face. “I have important business to attend to today. But I’ve arranged for those workers to come and paint the library in a couple hours, would you mind overseeing it?”

He lifts a hand to lightly brush his thumb along your cheek, looking down upon you quizzically.  

“Of course.” You nod eagerly. You've slowly been tending to every inch of the palace, erasing all remnants of the Hutt’s and adding in touches of comfort and warmth wherever you can.  You wouldn’t say decorating is a passion of yours.  But this is your home now, you might as well fill it with things you admire.  Plus, Boba said if you didn’t take over the project, he’d just paint everything grey and toss out the old furniture without replacements.  

You shiver as you untuck yourself from your velvety comforter.  For a fortress built on possibly one of the hottest planets in the Outer Rim, this place can get cold.  Probably due to the fact that it’s rooted so deeply underground.

Happy to have something to do, you head to the fresher for a quick wash before Boba leaves to his duties.  You exit your chambers together, Enzo and Raul already waiting in the common area for you both.  Upon seeing them, you turn and leave a gentle kiss to the cheek of Boba’s helmet for a final moment of private intimacy before you descend the staircase, hearing him chuckle fondly at your action as he follows.  

“Good morning Fett, my lady.” Enzo bows lowly, turning to you.  You laugh and shove his shoulder upon reaching the pair of them. You can hear the hint of amusement in his voice as Raul shakes his head beside him.

“Good morning gentlemen.” You smile.

Boba huffs coming to stand beside you, “Gentlemen.” He scoffs at your words.

Raul clears his throat, “Crane should be here soon, boss.” He says, visor trained on Boba and arms crossed over his chest, gaze briefly turning towards you before meeting the boss again.  

You look towards your partner, “Your meeting today?” You ask.

“Yes.” He says, giving a quick nod.

“Alright,” You say, glancing at the suspiciously still trio of Beskar-clad men, “I’m going to the kitchens to have some breakfast.  Then I’ll meet up with those workers in the library.”

Boba nods again, confirming your agenda.

You stare up at him, waiting for him to sputter out whatever it is you know he’s wanting to say.  

“...Then,” You go on, “I guess I will, do some reading or...baking or...stare at the wall or something.”

“Sounds like a riveting afternoon,” Raul says after a more than comfortable silence.

“Okay,” you smile, chuckling a little and taking a step back, choosing to dismiss yourself now before the awkwardness has a chance to develop. “Have fun with Mr. Crane.”

Boba clears his throat as you turn towards the kitchens, stopping you with a hand on your arm. “Mesh’la,” He says, glancing pointedly at Raul and Enzo, who move to wait for him a few paces away. “Could you do me a favor?”

You tilt your head suspiciously, urging him to go on. “You’re acting rather strange Boba Fett.” You tease.

He grunts, “I’ve had a lot of trouble with Calendei Crane. He’s not a very loyal man, nor do I consider him a good one.  He’s had a lot of chances to make up for the problems he’s caused me, but recently he went too far, and we’re not going to be having a charming reunion just now.” He sighs, “What I’m trying to say is... he didn’t necessarily come here by his own accord.  And he won’t be very happy that he is.”

“I understand.” You nod.

Boba frowns inside his helm. I don’t think you do cyare.

“Alright then,” he says, “That said, I would really appreciate it if you would stay away from the throne room today.  At least until I send Fennec or Enzo for you or something.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice his hand opening and closing nervously by his side. He thinks you don’t know what he means. Oh Boba.

You reach for his hand as you step closer to his form. “Boba,” you whisper, leaning up towards him with a small smile, “You are the most kind and gentle man I’ve ever known. But I know that you are a man of business and principles.  You do whatever you have to do. If an employee of yours is out there making a mess under your name, I would expect nothing less than for you to handle it.” You say, hoping to reassure him.

You raise your free hand to rest against the cheek of his helmet, “But I’ll busy myself back here until you’re done.”

He lets out a sigh in relief, hand reaching up to grab yours and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you.” He says, before tenderly tapping his forehead against yours and turning to get on with his day.

You shake your head at his retreating form.  Despite all of the darkness and dirt and the scum that surround Boba in his everyday life, he really does try everything in his power to not let it touch you.  It’s almost as if despite the late night confessions and raw conversations you two have shared about your lives don’t translate to reality for Boba.  As if he somehow believes you don’t truly know what it is that he does and who he is.

He seems to forget that you yourself have grown up with the same scum that populate this planet.  In the nearest city to here in fact, where all the mudscuppers of the galaxy would stay and wreak havoc when this was once Jabba’s palace. You’ve seen things. You’ve experienced things. Some things that, shamefully, you haven’t yet shared with Boba.  But what you can say with the utmost of certainty is that you know exactly the kind of people that like to deal in underworld business.  And you know that there are many cruel beings out there. But Boba, he certainly isn’t one of them.

You sigh, turning to pass through the empty dining hall to the kitchens. The light tapping of your shoes echoing in the desolate space. A part of you wishes you had said to him, ‘Oh Boba, when will you learn that you don’t need to protect me from yourself?’

A necessary conversation for another time, you decide.

Shaking away your thoughts, you wander into the kitchen, making yourself a quick breakfast and giggling a while with Ada, as she begins preparing a stew for all staff members taking up a residency in the palace.  She often prepares meals in substantial quantities, making enough for herself, you, Boba, Fennec, and the two other Mandalorians to all enjoy in your respective chambers.

“Take some of these to go dear!” She calls out, chasing after your form as you exit the kitchen. “You had better be eating a balanced diet.” She chides, handing you a towel with some berries on it.

“Thank you Ada,” you smile, leaving a peck to her cheek and making your way to the library.

When you arrive, the workers still aren't there, and you hum glancing at the clock.  They should have already been here and working at least for an hour by now.  

Expecting their arrival soon, you busy yourself with cleaning dusty bookshelves and making piles of the previous inhabitants' furnishings and decorations you’d rather not have.

You plop down on the floor after sorting through your ninth bookshelf, sighing after attempting to categorize everything by genre. Even opting to make a pile of books to get rid of, because really, nobody needs handbooks on slave trading and dealing in the dark business of the underworld. They’re just not something you’d like in your home.

You glance at the time again. “What on Tatooine.” You mutter, stretching to a stand.  You’ve officially been bailed on, because you've been sitting in this dingy library for four hours and if nobody’s shown up yet, you doubted they would be.  

Looking around at the mess you’ve made, you decide to finish tackling this task tomorrow, and head back down the hall towards your private chambers.

You pause to lean against the wall with your eyes closed, letting out a great yawn. It’s barely past noon and you’re already beat.

A voice calls your name just in front of you, startling you in the dark, candlelit hall.

“Ada!” You jump, with a hand to your chest.

“Mm, I’m sorry sweet one.” She frowns. “You had better go check on your Mandalorian.” She says sternly, wagging a finger up at you. “He sounds angrier than a farmer whose fresh crops have been raided by Tuskans.”

You furrow your eyebrows at her words, frowning. “Does he sound alright?” You ask, concerned.

“Too riled up.” She chides, shaking her head as she continues to pass you in the hall, grabbing a hold of your arm “Go straighten him out, lecture him on that temper of his.”

“Ada,” You sigh, “He’s dealing with a trying issue right now, and I promised that I’d stay away from this meeting.”

“Peh,” She waves her hand in dismissal, “Fine, your decision. But I did see a couple of those workers you were waiting on looking rather frightened up in the throne room.  Go on and fetch them and get on with your project. You left quite a mess in there for me to deal with.”

“What?” You look disbelievingly at her, “Well why didn't you just send them my way. I waited all morning for them.”

She shakes her head, looping her arm through yours as you continue walking side-by-side. You roll your eyes at the nerve.

The sound of sudden, unmistakable shouting, coming from much further down the hall and up the stairs ascending to the throne room stops you instantly. Your eyes widen a bit as the voice carries on, rather menacingly.  You wouldn’t want to be the one receiving the tail end of that conversation.  Boba truly does sound pissed. You wonder how long he’s been with this Crane fellow.

“Ada,” you whisper, the lower tone seeming appropriate, “Don’t you go trying to get me into trouble.” You say, pulling her back as she tries to urge you forward.

“Young lady,” She scolds, looking up at you in a surprisingly threatening way. “I have much work to do. I need my good broom which I left up those stairs, and you need your painters or carpenters or whatever it is those fellas up there are. So, let us ladies get on with our business and fetch our things.”

“If you’re already heading up,” You say through slightly gritted teeth, “Then why don’t you just go up there, grab your broom, and do me the favor of nudging down my workers while you’re at it.”

“Because I have a bad leg. Now either accompany me up stairs so that I don’t fall or go on and get those things for the two of us at last!”

“Maker, Ada fine!” You say, losing your temper. A part of you knowing she was just stirring up trouble. You start up the first step and turn to her with an obvious empty threat. “And I’ll be sure to note to Boba that our maid has a bad leg leaving her incapable of climbing our palace full of stairs.” You mutter disbelievingly.

“Mm, you do that.” She counters.

You sigh, shaking your head as you quickly make your way up, hearing Ada walk away behind you.  

That woman knows far too well that we would never replace her, you think.

Your focus shifting back to the surprisingly silent throne room just up and down the hall, you walk wearily, suddenly a little nervous.

You notice as you near the room, your steps silent down the hall, that there is a hushed but heated back and forth taking place.  

“-swear Mr. Fett I-I d-didn’t know they were-”

“-What?” You hear Boba’s ominous voice interrupt. “You didn't know what?”

His form comes into view as you peek your head into the room, watching him descend the steps of his throne and approaching the accused slowly.  You take a half step back, hoping to further hide your position, seeing as before, you were concealed behind his back.  But given his new stance, the flicker of his gaze upwards and Boba would be met with your sinful and curious eyes.

Raul, you note, leans comfortably against the wall across the room behind Boba, observing the scene from afar, but seemingly more interested in fixing a mechanism on his Westar-35.

Fennec, who, based on the fearful gaze he glances up at her with, was obviously the one to retrieve Crane, staring down at him with a daring look in her eyes, as if challenging him to try and escape this situation. Enzo stands on Crane's other side, blocking most of your view from the accused and his state. You also note that there is no such broom or fearful workers around. Ada.

“Mr. Fett-” He whimpers.

“Sod it.” Enzo growls, raising his weapon to shove against Crane’s neck, hushing his pleas instantly.

You observe the creature as best you can from your corner. You don’t want to peer out any further for fear of alerting Boba of your presence. He wasn’t human, but not terribly strange looking, a blue being, probably a humanoid, but with claws for nails that were certainly not cute. He’s on his knees, head bowed forward in obvious shame and fear, and hands tied firmly behind his back. This guy looks like he’s had a pretty bad couple of days, but you still can’t tell if you feel sorry for him or not.

Boba reaches Crane in the center of the room, and in a manner so menacing and calculated, that exerts a level of dominance that frightens even you, he crouches down on his heels, meeting Crane eye-level.

Boba slowly pulls his blaster out of its holster and lifts it to Crane’s ducked chin, using the barrel to tilt Crane’s face up to meet his.

You don’t even realize you’re holding your breath until you feel yourself running out of air.

“You didn’t know what Crane?” Boba repeats in a tone so hushed you could barely hear. “That you were selling information to an enemy of mine?  That you were betraying the trust that I had put in you? That you stole my property, weapons, and money to give to people who wish to do me harm?”

You can’t help but to feel anxious and on edge. Knowing very well you are not supposed to be in here observing the scene in front of you. Wondering if at this point, you should even try to make your silent leave.

Crane, seemingly breathless, and having accepted his fate, nods in defeat. “I’m sorry Boba.” He whispers.

“You violated the terms of our agreement Crane.” Boba says, rising up and adjusting his belt.  “I gave you opportunity after opportunity to make it right.  I told you that this was your final chance. I even gave you the kriffing option to leave!” He finally shouts.

You watch his chest heaving in rage as he continues to stare down at a defeated Crane.

Boba scoffs, “What did you expect would happen?”

The crippled man on the floor does what you least expect, his gaze lazily lifting up to meet Boba’s as he chuckles carelessly, his laugh soon transforming into a truly mad howl.

He looks like an absolute maniac.

Your eyes furrow in extreme discomfort as you watch the dramatic change in scene, and despite the obvious upper-hand that Boba has, you feel the urge to stand between him and this disturbed creature.

“I-I guess,” Crane breathes out between spouts of laughter, “I held out hope. Hope that the famous Boba Fett, oh-” he croaks out another laugh, “I’m sorry, that the-the King of Tatooine, would finally meet his demise like he should have all those years ago in the sarlacc. Oh, Boba, we were all so pleased when we thought you’d met the maker that day, but you...you son of a nerf herder, you lived. And WHY should you get to live while the rest of us died off! TELL ME BOBA FETT! Because you know something? You of all beings do NOT get to cheat death. You think you’re better than the rest of us, trying to make amends for your crimes against nature? Against the galaxy?”  

Crane leans his head forward nearly slamming it against the ground as he violently spits out, “-No, no, no, no old friend. You are the worst, most foul kind of scum to EVER have walked these lands. You are no worse than Jabba, don’t you kid yourself. And if I have played any part in your demise, I’ll have avenged my brothers who have died at your hand. Your end is coming Boba Fett! You will fall, and so will anyone who tries to prevent your end!” He carries on, doubling over while spitting out the most ludicrous threats between maniacal laughter.

A wave of pure fear plunges your heart, leaving a sickly feeling in your gut at his words. You don’t even realize that your longing to protect Boba has unconsciously pulled your body a few steps in his direction. Your error not evident to you until Raul moves from across the room, capturing your attention. You glance at him only to see the gaze of his visor already locked onto yours and his body making quick strides towards you.  

“Boss-” Raul says hurriedly, but not before a shot rings out, causing you to jump and gasp, hands flying up in front of you in instinctual defense.

You open your eyes and turn your head to face Boba just as his gaze snaps in your direction. Even with the visor covering his face you can see he’s taken aback by your presence. His arm lowers quickly with his blaster, holstering it.  Everyone’s attention seems to be on you.

Nobody moves for a moment, and still frozen, your gaze flicks down to the dead being, monster, who lays thankfully slain on the floor.

Seeing movement out of the corner of your eye, you avert your gaze back up to Boba, whose arm shifts nervously at his side.

“Ner- ner cyare.” He whispers, his tone strained and unlike you’ve ever heard before.

You take a step towards him, but don’t go much closer when Enzo shifts to exist as a barricade between you and the bloody mess to Boba’s side.

“What are you doing here?” He says, seeming to struggle with every word.

“I-I can’t remember.” You say after a beat, nervous again suddenly that you’ve poked your nose into business you told him you’d stay away from.

He stands frozen, panicked behind the harsh mask of his visor. His absolute worst fear being realised as you stand in the aftermath of an execution he himself carried out, right in front of your eyes.

Cruel. Unforgiving. Dangerous. Vile. Sadistic. Merciless.

All words he imagines were running though your sweet mind behind those wide eyes.

“Boba.” you utter, taking another step towards him, hesitating at first then succumbing to your hearts needs and taking up a speedier pace.

Your hands, which at some point started shaking, matching your more obviously quickened heart rate, raise up slowly to rest on his chest, and you swear he flinches at the contact.

“Cyare-” He mutters again, heart beating undoubtedly twice as fast as your own, fear and desperation clinging to the word, but he stops when your suddenly tear-filled eyes meet his gaze and you cling to the sides of his helm.

“Boba, are you okay?” You whisper frantically.

At that, he lets out a shaky exhale, body loosening and head tilting slightly at your words.

“What?” He asks, stunned.

“Are you alright?” You say, searching desperately through the dark visor of his helm for his warm, brown eyes.

“Am...am I okay?” He repeats.

“Yes I-I heard everything he said.” You stutter, head turning to meet the deranged creature's corpse covered in his own blood before Boba finally and frantically grabs a hold of your cheek to gently avert your gaze away from the scene. “He-he was absolutely maniacal.” You let out a shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry I came but I-I heard shouting and A-Ada said something I can’t even remember what but I ended up here somehow and please don’t be mad but maker I just didn’t expect this-” you pause, tempted to glance at the corpse again but your cheek stays steadied in Boba’s hand, “-this monster to be here, threatening you and maker I know you’re alright, you’re always alright, but I desperately wanted to be standing between you and him to do anything to shield you from his threats I-”

“-Mesh’la.” Boba says, more of his confidence appearing in his voice and his movements but still weary nonetheless.

“Are you okay?” You repeat desperately, cradling his helmet firmly in your hands again.

“I’m-yes. Yes mesh’la, I’m alright.” He stutters out, “Are-are you not afraid of me?”

“Afraid of you?” You breathe out, taken aback. “Never, Boba. I-I could never fear you.”

Boba’s completely stilled in your arms. It feels like hours, your wide eyes looking at him with that familiar tenderness and devotion. You almost forget about the other’s, standing completely motionless around you, until Boba suddenly turns you and urges you forward with gentle hands on your waist, his form practically shielding you, quite fruitlessly, from the scene he guides you away from.

When you reach the hallway, he allows you to pull him next to you instead, as he opens the door to the closest chamber in sight and ushers you into it, closing the door behind you both.

The dimly lit room casts a warm glow on you both as you turn to face Boba, whose back is slumped up against the closed door. He heaves in slow, heavy, deep breaths.

You stand, unmoving, only a few inches from him.  Gaze locked on his visor, you wear a concerned expression on your face, your own breaths silent but speedy as you wait for him to explain his behavior.  

He finally says your name, both his palms rising in a pleading request for you to take them.  

You place your hands gently in his, and he cradles them to his chest, looking down at them. So small and clean and innocent in his dark gloves that carry the stains of countless victims.

You hold your breath when you hear a choked sob escape from his modulator. Your mouth falls open a bit, eyes flitting down to where he stares at his hands caressing your own.

“Boba?” You mutter.

As if prompted by your voice, a more obvious sob falls from Boba’s lips, and his hands release your own, finding purchase on your hips as he falls to his knees before you.

You gasp out a breath of disbelief as you watch your partner, your warrior, your Boba, cling to your waist. Silent sobs shake his body as he hesitantly pulls his hand from you and places it under the lip of his helmet, tugging the armor off and letting it topple to the floor beside you.

Tears spill down Boba’s face, following the same trail left behind by the first few that managed to fall. You grasp his face in your hands, thumbs sweeping across his cheeks and erasing the tears that slid down his scarred skin.  

Your vision blurs as your own eyes well with tears. “My love,” You whisper, “What’s wrong?”

His forehead tightens and brows furrow, making him look like he’s in pain. “Mesh’la I-” he stops to compose himself, his eyes looking down though you hold his face in your palms. “You- you do not fear me?”

“I could never Boba.” You assure him, you voice cracking as you say the words. “I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone in my life. You...being with you, makes me feel safer than I ever thought I could feel.”

Your hand leaves his cheek to smooth out the worried lines on his forehead, and you bring your index finger under his chin, urging him to look up at you. “That creature, monster, whatever he was,” You start, “He was disloyal and foul and cruel. He wanted to hurt you. Which means he wanted to hurt me. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you. You’re my everything Boba.”

He stares up at you, vulnerable, more unsteady than you’ve ever seen him, but you go on, “I know who you are Boba Fett. I know that you were a bounty hunter. I know that now you rule the underworld and that sometimes you do unpleasant things. I know that you have regrets and I know that you have a past. I have one too. But most importantly, I know that you are a good man, worthy of my trust. And I will stand by your side every day for as long as you want me here, because I love you. My mind, my body, my soul,” you whisper, tears flowing down your own cheeks now, “-they’re yours Boba. All of me is yours.”

Tears well in his eyes again as you speak, but he doesn’t hide from you as he frowns against the tears threatening to spill again. “I love you so much.” He confesses almost fearfully.

You reach down to unlatch his hands from your waist, though you’re met with mild resistance, before you kneel to be level with him. You lean forward slowly and kiss him, passionately and desperately and devotedly. He cups your face in his hands, pressing you to him as close as he can before releasing you.

“You,” He whispers, leaning his forehead against yours with closed eyes, “You are too pure for this galaxy. An angel living amongst demons.”

“And I suppose you think you’re a demon?” You shake your head, smiling at the absurdity of it.

“Me?” He grins, “A fallen angel? Most definitely.”

[triptuckers]

Not if it’s you - Din Djarin

Request: no Pairing:  Din Djarin x reader Summary:  After months of traveling the galaxy with each other, Din tells you he needs to continue his quest alone. You don’t know what caused the sudden change of heart and you’re hurt, but leave nonetheless. But after being around him for so long, you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be on your own. Warnings: angst, language, slight season 2 spoilers Word count:  4.2K 😳 A/N: Based on a text post I found and a video I saw on instagram. Italics are flashbacks. Enjoy reading! :)

You’re miserable. And cold. And lonely. You’re not used to it. Well, you’ve been miserable and cold before, but it’s been months since the last time you’ve felt lonely. You almost forgot what it felt like. 

Up until a few days ago, you weren’t miserable and cold at all. And certainly not lonely. You were aboard the Razor Crest, accompanying a certain Mandalorian on a quest. It came out of nowhere to you, you thought everything was well between you. More than just well, actually. Perhaps you were wrong.

‘Say that again.’ you say, trying to keep your voice from breaking. You can’t see his face, but his helmet lowers. He can’t even look at you. ‘You need to leave.’ says Din.

‘I’ve been here for months. Trying to help you on this quest of yours. Delivering the kid to the Jedi. I’ve helped you on your path to find other Mandalorians. I thought we’d stick together no matter what.’ you say. 

Though it feels broken, your heart is still beating rapidly. You can feel it in your throat while you fight the tears. It feels as if an invisible hand is slowly closing around your throat, making it hard to breathe. 

‘You need to leave.’ says Din. ‘Please.’

The invisible hand disappears, and a new emotion takes over: anger. He had the audacity to tell you to leave. After everything you’ve been through. You’ve travelled the galaxy with him, taken care of him when he got in a fight, offered to take care of the kid so he could rest, made sure he ate. You did everything for him.

But that’s not what makes you so angry. It’s the fact he can throw it in the garbage like that. You care about him. Maybe more than you’ve ever cared about anyone. You have to admit it’s scary, but you’re willing to reach out and grasp the feeling with both of your hands. Worst of all, you thought he felt the same.

All those hours you spent talking about your cultures, people and home planet. All those hours you spent getting to know each other, letting each other in your hearts. Apparently it meant nothing to him.

‘Why?’ you say, anger slowly rising in your voice. Din sighs deeply. ‘Please, just leave.’ he says. 

‘Why?’ you repeat. ‘I need to be on my own.’ he says. ‘There’s a planet nearby where I can land. There’s a city where you can-’

‘So that’s it?’ you say, getting angrier. It’s getting harder and harder to hold back the tears. ‘You’re just going to kick me off the Razor Crest? You’re just going to abandon me on the nearest habitable planet?’

‘I’m not abandoning you.’ says Din. ‘Of course not!’ you say loudly. ‘I’ve just served your purpose and now you don’t need me anymore! Now that I’ve done what you needed me to do, you’re just going to shove me away!’

It startles Din how angry you are, how loud your voice is. He’s seen you get angry before. He’s heard you shout before. But you’ve never been angry before. Sure, you could get annoyed by him, but it never turned into anger. And you’ve never shouted at him before. It hurts, but it’s for the best.

‘It’s for the best, Y/N. Please believe me.’ he says.  ‘For the best, my ass! You’re fucking pathetic, Din!’ you yell at him. ‘This is why you’re always alone. You just push people away when they’ve pleased you. The only reason the kid stays with you is because he doesn’t know any better, but I bet you he’d leave you if he could!’

Behind his helmet, tears form in Din’s eyes. The feeling’s strange to him, as it doesn’t happen often. He’s standing there, helplessly, tears in his eyes. He looks at you. You’ve always had to look up to him, because he’s taller. Your hands are fists and your face is red and tears stream down your cheeks. Before he can say anything, you’ve pushed past him. 

He turns around and his heart sinks as he sees you randomly grabbing your stuff and shoving it in your bag with such force you might rip it. He’s silent as he watches you collect your stuff. Without a word you march to the back of the ship, opening the door. 

Sunshine fills the ship, illuminating your figure as you stop. Din looks up, thinking you could change your mind. But you turn around and he’s shocked. The anger is gone. But the look in your eyes is colder than the Beskar steel hugging his body. 

‘I don’t even want to be here anymore.’ you say before walking off, leaving the Razor Crest and a heartbroken Mandalorian behind.

Din wanted you to leave. He needed you to be gone. You’ve done as he asked. He should be relieved. But he’s not. He sniffles as the tears finally roll down his cheeks, down his neck and into the collar of his shirt. You’re gone. Just like he asked you to. He broke your heart and his along with it.

You sigh and let your head rest against the rock you’re sitting in front of. It had been days since Din asked you to leave. You still didn’t know why he wanted you to leave. You’ve spend many hours thinking about it, but you can’t find the reason why.

Din was the only person to truly know you. You had told him many stories of your home and your childhood, along with your greatest fears and deepest desires. And in return, he had told you his. You felt like you were meant to last forever. Maybe the feeling was never mutual. 

You hug your arms tighter around your torso. Desert planets were unbearable during the day but just as much during the night. Your coat is thin, and your fingers are red due to the cold. 

You’d been on the planet once before, briefly. Din needed to get some information and because you were tired, and hadn’t slept in nearly three days, you decided to stay on the Razor Crest. Every now and then you woke up when you heard the sound of droids outside the ship, or the woman who owned the place. 

Peli was a wonderful woman, and you got along really well during your first time the planet. Maybe she could tell you where you could get a ship so you could get out of here. If you could only reach the city. It’d be a journey of three days. Two if you’d be fast. But you were almost out of water and food. You’d probably collapse before you’d reach the city. 

Your mind wanders off to Din again. Where would he be right now? Could you track him and catch up with him if you had a ship, or would he be long gone? What if you never met again, and he forgot about you?

You certainly wouldn’t forget about him. You cared too much about him to just let him go. Maybe you even loved him. Maybe you’d loved him for a while now, but you were just too scared to admit it. To him, and to yourself. 

Whatever the feeling was, it was making you miserable. Because you hated being away from him, and because you had no idea where he was, and if he would miss you as well. 

Suddenly, the loneliness fades and you get up, determined. If you had to, you’d crawl to the city on your hands and knees. You’d go to the city, find Peli, ask her if she had a ship for you or knew someone who could sell you one, and you’d track Din’s stubborn ass, and tell him you weren’t going anywhere. 

Rubbing your hands together to try to warm them, you begin your journey to the city. It’s still cold, but your determination makes it less horrible, and your walking pace speeds up as you think of Din somewhere far away on his ship, with the kid in his lap. 

The journey ended up being two days. When you first saw the city, you thought you were hallucinating due to the lack of water and food. But as you kept walking, the city appeared closer and closer, until you walked through the gates, onto the busy street. 

There’s a market and you buy some food at the first stand you see. The next stand over has water, and you gladly buy some. You ask the seller where to find Peli, and he points to the end of the street. You thank him and hurry towards it. 

You’re impatiently knocking on her door, waiting until it finally opens. Peli is frowning but the frown quickly disappears when she recognises her visitor. 

‘Y/N!’ she says happily but also a bit surprised. She looks behind you but when she catches your eye you shake your head.

‘You don’t have to look for him. Mando’s not here.’ you say.  ‘Shame. Was hoping he’d have that green little cutie with him.’ says Peli. ‘It’s just me today.’ you say. ‘Well you look like you’ve been through hell and back, come in.’ says Peli and she steps aside to let you in.

‘What do you need?’ she says as soon as you’ve followed her into her workspace. Her droids are running around, making little chittering noises. 

‘I was hoping you’d have a ship you’re selling?’ you ask hopefully. You know it’s a long shot, but it was worth trying.  ‘A ship?’ she says. ‘Technically not.’

This time, it’s your turn to frown. ‘What do you mean “technically not”?’ you say. ‘Well I have one fuelled up and ready to go, but it’s not mine.’ she says. ‘I was supposed to deliver it to this crappy looking kid, but he never showed up. Didn’t even pay me, and some of those parts were expensive.’ 

‘So you have a ship that’s ready to take off?’ you say.  ‘Yep.’ she says. ‘Why do you need it though? Thought you were still with Mando on that piece of trash he calls a ship.’ 

‘So did I.’ you mutter. ‘We got, um, separated. I need a ship so I can track him down.’ ‘You know what, I like you. I like your Mandalorian and that kid of his as well. You can have that ship if you’re willing to pay a little more than the original prize.’ says Peli. 

‘He’s not really my Mandalorian, you know.’ you say and Peli raises your eyebrows. ‘So, how much credits do you want?’ you say hastily. 

Less than ten minutes later, you’re on the ship. It’s tiny but, as Peli described it, a whole lot better and much cleaner than the Razor Crest. You’re headed to the last known location of Din, hoping to find someone who has information on where he is. It wouldn’t be likely, though. But you are determined to find him. He wouldn’t get rid you that easily again. 

But the searching is slow. You could only expect Din to cover his tracks, as he had taught you to do the same. Only a few people had seen him around or talked to him. It took you months to get your first solid lead. You’d run into a man called Cobb Vanth, who had met Din some time ago. He was eager to help you find him. With Cobb’s help, you figured out where Din would be headed for next. When you took off, leaving the planet and Cobb behind you, you felt like you actually had a chance to see Din again.

Still, after Cobb’s lead, it took you a while to get to the planet he’d told you about. You’re afraid Din’s already left when you finally land on the planet near one of the bigger cities. You spend all day asking around if anyone had seen him. When the days comes to an end, you’re in a bar. Sipping on your drink, you’re wondering what to do next, when you catch a few words from some people sitting at the table next to yours.

‘Yeah, of course I saw that. Do you know how much that Beskar armour is worth? We’d be rich.’

You immediately abandon your drink and head over to the table. The two men sitting at the table look at you. You feel uncomfortable as one of them takes his time to look at you.

‘Well, hello there, sweetheart.’ he says. ‘Can I buy you a drink?’ ‘You can if you tell me what I want to know.’ you say. ‘Have you seen a Mandalorian around here?’ ‘I sure did, sweetheart.’ he says. ‘Yesterday. He was getting a drink. Talked to someone for a while, then took off again.’ ‘Anything else?’ you say. ‘Yeah. He had a weird green dog with him.’ says the man.

‘Thank you.’ you say and you turn around and head towards the door of the bar. However, before you can reach it, you feel a hand grab a hold of one of your wrists.

‘I still need to buy you a drink, sweetheart.’ says a voice so close to your ear you can feel his breath on your ear. Within seconds, you flip his arm and pin him against the table, your blaster poking in his stomach.

‘How about next time, sweetheart?’ you say with a smile before pushing him away from you and exiting the bar.

Darkness is setting in as you’re heading back towards your ship. You knew Din’s ship wasn’t with the other ships of travellers passing by, you’d searched for it when you first arrived. 

When you’ve reached your own ship, you pack some essentials in your bag and head towards the forrest instead. You figured he’d lay low there for a while. These days he was one of the most wanted people in the entire galaxy. Leaving his ship next to a big city was basically sending a distress signal saying “I am here, come and get me”.

It’s dark in the woods, and you can barely see a thing. But you trust on your instincts and senses to lead you through the forrest. After some time of walking and occasionally stopping to see if no one followed you, you notice there are less trees. Every now and then you can see the stars through the leaves. 

You walk for a few minutes before you spot a big dark shadow ahead of you. There are no trees surrounding it, though no one but a skilled pilot who knew his ship well could land there. With one hand on your blaster, you slowly move closer to the ship. 

When you’re several feet away from the ship, a tall figure appears in front of you, aiming a blaster to your face. You’d be alarmed if it’d been anyone else. But you’ve spend too long around him to not recognise him. 

‘Hi Din.’ you say and you raise your hand to push his blaster away from your face. He doesn’t say anything, so you walk past him towards the Razor Crest. Just as you’re about to enter, you hear his footsteps catching up with you and his gloved hand grabs a hold of your arm, making you turn around.

His helmet is close to your face. ‘What are you doing here?’ he says. You’re so glad you’ve found him, you’re nowhere near intimidated by his actions. ‘I told you to leave.’ he says. 

‘And you think I’d listen to you?’ you say, failing to suppress a smile.

Once again, Din is glad he’s wearing a helmet. Otherwise you’d be able to see the immense relieve on his face. He can barely stay mad at you. Because he told you to leave and you found a way back to him. Though he’s relieved to see you, he’s also disappointed you’ve found him. He told you to leave for a reason. And though you didn’t know that reason, not really, you’re back.

‘Y/N, you need to leave.’ he says, keeping his voice steady and somewhat firm.

Again, he sees anger appear on your face and you pull your arm out of his grip.  ‘Are you fucking serious right now, Din?’ you say.  ‘Listen to me, Y/N, you-’ begins Din but you’re quick to interrupt him.

‘No, you listen to me Din!’ you say. ‘Do you know how much time I spent to get here? How much effort? First I had to spend two days alone in the desert with no food, no water whatsoever, then I spend almost all of the credits I had left on a ship which I flew from planet to planet talking to anyone who might have caught a glimpse of you or the kid. I spent months trying to track you, and just as I was about to give up, I overhead a conversation in a bar that was about you, and I headed to these woods and I found you, Din, I found you and you tell me that I need to leave again?’

‘Y/N, you don’t understand.’ says Din.  ‘Then explain it to me.’ you say, almost begging. When he’s silent, you get angry again. 

‘Why do you want me to leave? What could possible make you want to get rid of me?’ you shout, not even worrying about the fact someone could hear you.  ‘I’m staying, Din. Wether you like it or not.’ you say.

‘No.’ is all he says. ‘You can’t stay.’ ‘Why the fuck not?’ you yell at him, getting so close to him your forehead is almost touching his helmet. He takes a step back.

‘Come on, Din, you’re acting like a fucking child. If you don’t want me around, at least tell me why.’ you say. 

‘I was afraid!’ yells Din. This time, you’re the one to take a step back, looking at him. There it finally is, the reason why. But you still don’t understand. 

‘Afraid of what?’ you say. Your voice is calm again and to Din you sound like yourself again. No raised voice, no yelling. It’s your voice like it is in his memory. 

‘Afraid of you getting hurt.’ he admits. ‘I was afraid because I care too much about you. I felt like if something happened to you, if you got hurt - or worse, that would be on me. And I couldn't handle that. So I pushed you away. I needed to distance myself from you.’

All of the anger is gone as you look at the man standing in front of you. His helmet is lowered just as it did the last time you saw him. You slowly take a step closer to him. You hesitate for a moment, but then take his hand in yours. Din sighs so softly that you wouldn’t have been able to hear it if you weren’t standing so close to him. 

‘I’m sorry.’ he says. ‘I know I hurt you, I never meant to. I just figured that a life with me is no life at all. I wanted you to have a better life.’

‘Oh, Din.’ you breathe out. ‘Listen to me, if someone wants to be with you, nothing will keep them from being with you. If someone wants to be in your life, nothing will keep them from being with you, nothing, you hear me? You may think a life with you is worthless but I don’t think so. I’d love it.’

Din shakes his head. ‘You don’t understand. A life like mine? Forever? I can’t do that to you. You’d always be on the move, you wouldn’t be able to settle down and have a quiet life.’ he says.

‘What if I don’t want a quiet life?’ you say. ‘What if I want a life like yours?’ ‘I wouldn’t want that if I were you.’ he says. ‘I’ll take care of you.’ you say. Din shakes his head again. ‘It’s rotten work.’ he says. ‘Not to me. Not if it’s you.’ you say. 

‘Maker, Y/N, you make my life so much harder and so much easier at the same time. How do you do it?’ he says. ‘Driving you you crazy is part of the job.’ you say and Din chuckles. It’s a wonderful sound you haven’t heard in so long. 

Din lifts his helmet. You can’t see his eyes, but you’re sure he’s looking into yours. ‘What do you know about Mandalorian culture?’ he says. ‘Only the stories you told me, why?’ you say.  ‘Did I ever tell you about the Keldabe kiss?’ he says. ‘No.’ you say. ‘Tell me.’

‘It’s... a way to show affection and love.’ says Din. ‘You know that I’m not allowed to take off my helmet. The Keldabe kiss is a way to kiss someone without taking off my helmet.’

You’re quiet as you look at him. You’re still holding his hand. Inside your chest, your heart is beating rapidly. You’re surprised he can’t hear it. 

‘What’s it like?’ you say so softly your voice is barely audible.  ‘Like this.’ says Din. He moves his free hand an rests it on the back of your head. He softly pulls you towards him and rests his helmet against your forehead. 

It’s so simple, yet so intimate. It’s the closest you’ve ever been. You close your eyes, focusing on the cold Beskar armour against your skin. In all those hours you spent wondering why Din would push you away like that, you never once thought he would do it because he cared too much about you. 

After some time, Din pulls away but keeps his hand on the back of your head. ‘I’m sorry.’ he says. ‘Please never leave me again, cyar’ika.’ You smile when you look at him. ‘Is that also from your culture? What does it mean?’ you say. ‘Cyar’ika?’ he says and you nod. ‘It means...’ he’s silent as he searches for the right translation. ‘Beloved.’

You gasp quietly when you hear it and underneath his helmet, Din smiles at you. This time, you lean in to press your forehead against his helmet. ‘I like it.’ you say softly and Din squeezes your hand with his. 

‘Do you trust me?’ asks Din. ‘Yes.’ you say without hesitation.  ‘Close your eyes.’ he says. ‘And don’t open them until l say you can.’

You’re a little confused, but obey nonetheless. You close your eyes and feel Din pulling away his hands. You then hear a faint hiss and a click. This time, you gasp loudly, you know what he did.

‘Put it back on!’ you say. ‘You can’t take your helmet of in front of me!’ ‘Keep your eyes closed, cyar’ika.’ Din says.

His voice sounds different. It’s not modified by his helmet, it’s his true voice. You find yourself longing to hear more of it. You’re waiting for Din to say something, when you feel something instead. You never even dared to imagine what it’d feel like. 

You feel a pair of soft lips against yours. You’re surprised at first, but you quickly melt into his touch. Din can feel you smile through the kiss. Before you can stop yourself, you reach up to touch his face, but Din’s hands catch yours and he gently pushes them down. 

When he pulls away, you keep your eyes closed, still a smile on your lips. You hear a click again and Din’s fingers intertwine with yours. 

‘You can open your eyes again.’ says Din. And so you open your eyes, beaming up at him. ‘I couldn’t wait any longer.’ he says sheepishly and you smile even wider. 

‘What do you say, want to come with me again? I’ve still got to deliver the kid and it’d be nice to have some company.’ says Din. ‘Of course I want that.’ you say.  ‘Look, I’m really sorry. I hurt you and I-’ ‘It’s okay.’ you say. ‘You made up for it.’ 

Suddenly you feel something tugging on your pants and you look down at your feet to see the kid looking up at you. 

‘Hi there, little one.’ you say and you bend down to pick him up. ‘Missed me, did you?’ you say and the little creature looks at you with his big eyes. He snuggles closer to you and you notice his eyes are immediately getting heavier.

‘I still don’t know how you do that.’ says Din. ‘All you do is pick him up and he falls asleep.’

‘It’s just a feeling, I guess.’ you say, looking at the little kid in your arms. ‘This one looks as tired as I feel.’

You hold out one of your hands to Din while still holding the kid against your chest with the other. ‘Come on.’ you say. ‘You can use some sleep as well.’ ‘How do you know that?’ he says. You lift your head to look at him. ‘You probably haven’t slept since you landed on this planet.’ you say.

Din grabs your hand and allows you to guide him inside the Razor Crest.  ‘I forgot how well you know me.’ says and you smile. ‘I don’t think I could ever forget anything about you, Din.’ you say.

‘Oh, Maker. Don’t ever leave again, cyar’ika.’ says Din softly, sending shivers down your spine. ‘Well, if you don’t ask me to leave again, I promise you I’ll stay forever.’ you say and you smile at Din.  ‘Please do.’ says Din and he pushes his helmet against your forehead one last time.

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rules Here’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading!

Much love, Jo

[cora-vizsla]

Cabur Chapter 1

Rating: M for swearing

Word Count: 4.5K+

Warning: Paz being a dick. Injury (no great detail). Reader not feeling sure of herself.

This is a female reader with very little descriptors. There shouldn’t be anything explicit in this chapter. If I miss something or you want me to add a tag, please let me know!

As much as you loved being a Mandalorian, sometimes you envied other people. When you first started going out on any type of mission, it was jarring just seeing faces. You were used to children running free but the moment they earned their helmets, there was no going back. You marveled at the fact that people walked around just seeing each other with nothing covering their identity.

You looked at the women especially closely. They weren’t warriors and to you that was especially important, but they were beautiful. The way they did their hair and lined their eyes with different colors. You never had a need for it considering no one saw your face.

You had been young when you bought what they called eye liner. It was kept hidden in your room until one of your friends saw it and snatched it, making fun of you as they ran with it. You had pummeled them but a few of the warriors had decided to pull you off him, telling you how stupid it was to have something you would never need.

The only thing warriors cared about was what their armor looked like.

Now that you had your own armor you understood just a bit more. You took great care of it, even as you were getting newer pieces and growing out of the basic pieces you had gotten at first. It all mattered, and it was all that was between you and death at times. You were happy to die a warrior’s death, but that didn’t mean you needed to go right then.

You sat on the ramp of the Razor Crest watching the people that walked by. Every now and then they would glance at you and look away quickly, unsure why there was a Mandalorian near them. You sighed, almost wishing one of them would try to strike up a conversation.

Your company didn’t leave much room for pleasantries or conversation at all. You knew you should feel lucky that you were chosen to go with two of the greatest warriors the tribe had but sometimes you wanted to smack their bucket heads together. Even as they were walking up to you, they were bickering in Mando’a. You rolled your eyes and stood, taking a crate out of Paz’s hands as he turned to Din. You listened to them argue and they did so long enough for you to take all the supplies from them and stack them neatly along the wall.

“I know this isn’t my ship or anything but you two are starting to attract a lot of attention.”

Both visors turned towards you and you felt even smaller than normal. You were new, barely earning the title and placed with two of the strongest. You pointed at the small crowd watching the armored men argue and they huffed, walking past you. Paz made sure to bump into your shoulder, almost knocking you over. You growled out an insult and followed him, slapping the button to make the ramp close.

Paz sat down by the wall and cleaned his weapons. He was always making sure they were clean and taken care of, which you understood. What you didn’t understand was why he was cleaning the same weapon he had cleaned just a few hours before. Anyone else you would have questioned but he was in a worse mood than normal. You trudged over to the ladder and climbed up it, joining Din in the cockpit.

“Is it okay for me to sit up here?”

“Yes. You should be seeing how I fly this in case you need to.”

You sat down and watched him carefully. It was an older ship, but he took good care of it. He treated it just as well as he treated his weapons, which meant a lot.

“I’m sorry for saying anything earlier.”

You sat in silence, feeling uncomfortable that Din didn’t respond. Eventually he turned towards you once the ship was set on auto pilot.

“You had every right to speak up, vod’ika.”

You sighed, your shoulders slumping.

“Will I always be little sister to you? I’m a warrior now.”

“And you’ll always be littler than me.”

His tone was playful, and you smiled under your helmet.

“Don’t forget who trained you to be a warrior.”

“Gar serim! How could I forget about the infamous Din Djarin kicking my ass for years?”

He chuckled and sat back, crossing his arms.

“Don’t take it as an insult, prudii. I am proud of how far you’ve come.”

You smiled at the nickname he had given to you as a child. The moment you had seen him walking around you wanted to be just like him. You weren’t a baby when they had taken you in, but you were old enough to know what you wanted. You had told the Armorer then that you wanted to be a warrior and didn’t accept anything different.

“You call me little sister and shadow, but I am a grown woman now. I don’t need to be treated as a child.”

“You’re right. You will always be younger though until I die. So, you’ll always be vod’ika to me. Deal?”

You shrugged and he chuckled again. Din was shut off and cold to most people, but you were able to get him to chat every now and then. You attributed it to the fact that he had known you for so long. What made things uncomfortable was the behemoth of a man currently cleaning weapons.

You didn’t hate Paz. You really hadn’t been around him very much. He did teach but Din made sure that you were with him most of the time. He had called you shadow because you rarely left him when he was around.

It was common knowledge that him and Din bickered, and you thought you could handle it. One solid day with the two of them and you were sporting a constant and persistent headache. They fought in Basic just as much as Mando’a. Neither language bothered you, but you had a sneaking suspicion they argued more often in Mando’a because most people didn’t understand it.

“We’re going to be traveling for a while. Go get some rest. I’ll be sleeping up here.”

“Wow, thanks. Throw me to the loth wolf downstairs.”

“Loth wolves have more personality.”

“My apologies to the loth wolves.”

He barked out a laugh and you smiled, knowing just how rare it was to hear him laugh fully. You slipped down the ladder quickly, landing with a dull thud. You walked over to the cot and slipped off your beskar armor, setting it down gently against the wall. You made an effort not to make much noise not wanting to attract the attention of the brooding man in the corner.

You wondered if there was a way to break the shell away from Paz. He wasn’t going to ever be friendly to Din and it made it harder that you were closer to the one warrior that seemed to always piss him off. You wanted him to feel like he could talk to you though.

You sighed and laid down on the cot, quickly letting sleep pull you away from your thoughts.

XXX

You woke up to a loud noise and swearing. You rushed over to where Paz was and saw he was putting pressure on his arm. You walked over to the med pack and moved to him, kneeling next to where he was sitting on a crate.

“I don’t need your help, ad’ika.” He growled as he snatched the pack from you.

You bristled at being called a child and glared. You snatched the pack back from him and he hissed at the sudden movement of his arm.

“I am not ad’ika, Paz.”

“Alright, ge’verd.”

“I earned my title! I am not almost anything! Now shut up and let me treat your wound or I’ll let you bleed all over the floor.”

You grabbed his wrist and yanked his arm, yanking the sleeve up to look at the damage. You quickly used the bacta pad to cover the wound and made sure it was wrapped tight enough to work.

“I can feel the snark behind your bucket, girl.”

“You call me an almost warrior but I’m not the one who hurt himself cleaning his weapon. Isn’t that something you learn as a chi-“

He cut you off when he grabbed the front of your shirt, yanking you to him. Your helmet clanked into his, eliciting a snarl from your mouth.

“Let me go, chakaar!”

He twisted his hand in your shirt tighter and practically growled at you.

“If it wouldn’t be disrespectful, I would question how you possibly became a warrior. You’re weak. Soft. You can’t even break free of your allies’ grasp. How the hell do you think you’ll ever manage out there against someone who wants to kill you?”

A flash of self-doubt hit you but you quickly snapped yourself out of it. You reached forward and clamped your hand down on the cut on his arm. He hissed and let you go, cursing loudly.

“Cheap shot. Who is the chakaar now?”

“It’s still you. Next time you almost kill yourself don’t wake me up.”

“Toughen up, sweetheart, if your own tribesmen can hurt your feelings you won’t last a day out there on your own.”

You stomped back over to your cot and tossed yourself down on it. You chastised yourself for even considering being friendly to the giant ass on the ship. You’d stick to Din and continue to learn from him. He at least made sure there was a real lesson with anything hard you faced.

XXX

You wouldn’t ever admit it, but the mission was falling to shit. Din had gone in to find the quarry and you had no idea what Paz was doing. Your job was to watch out for anything incoming, but you hadn’t seen a damn thing in hours. Something was making the hair on the back of your neck stand up which put you on edge. You noticed that the woods around you got eerily quiet, so you stilled as well.

Right as you were about to switch the safety off on your weapon, you were grabbed from behind and flung to your right. You let out an involuntary squeak the moment you left the ground and whipped to your back when you reconnected with the hard gravel below you. You scrambled backwards and saw three shots land right where you had been. Your head whipped to the being stalking towards you and you jumped back to your feet.

“Paz! What the hell!”

“What the hell yourself! I just saved your ass!”

“It would have hit my beskar. I would have been fine!”

“There are weak spots in your armor, girl. You can’t expect to take three fucking hits and think you’d walk away without a mark on you.”

“So, I’m supposed to just walk away from being thrown by you?”

“Better you walk away limping than me dragging your body back to the ship.”

He was right in your face and you hated how much you had to tilt your head back to look up at him. You heard Din coming up walking the quarry and he paused when he saw the two of you.

“Glad to know I had no one watching my back.”

“I was watching your back until this chakaar decided to throw me across the forest.”

“I saved your life, ad’ika.”

“I am not a fucking child, Paz!”

“Enough!”

You shoved off Paz’s chest slightly satisfied by the fact he did actually move slightly. You stomped over to Din and took the quarry from him, walking towards the ship. You heard him try to talk to you, but you weren’t having it. The quarry complained that you were moving too fast, but you didn’t care about that either.

Once he was pushed into the carbonite you went to go to the cockpit knowing Paz hated it up there, but you were quickly grabbed and slammed into the wall behind you, knocking the air out of you. He lifted you up like you were nothing more than a rag doll, making it so your feet were dangling below you, unable to touch the floor.

“Let me go!”

“No! You are going to listen to me, ad’ika. You hate it so much when I speak down to you, but you don’t listen.”

“How can I listen when you don’t speak!? All you do is belittle me and trash talk Din. I haven’t heard a wise word come out of your stupid bucket!”

He moved forward so his helmet was pressed against yours, growling lowly. You grabbed at his arms and tried to dig into the spot you still knew would be sore, but he had wrapped it to prevent anything from harming him.

“I never would have let someone so weak pass my training.”

“Weak? How would you know when you were never there! You rip Din for being a bounty hunter all the time but when have you actually been there to train the next generation of warriors!”

“Maybe I was gone because I was ashamed, they were training aruetii with the idea they actually belonged!”

The roar of his voice was nothing compared to the pain of what he said. Outsider. You remembered all the children calling you that. Outsider. You would never belong.

You felt your entire body deflate and when he moved his helmet away from yours you looked down. He dropped you to the ground when Din started yelling at him and somehow you caught yourself, but you barely remembered it. You brushed past both of them and head straight for the cockpit, desperately wanting to get away from everyone.

You shut the hatch behind you and sat down in the co-pilot seat. A sob wracked you and you pulled your helmet off, desperate to be able to breathe. You held it in front of you and looked at it, tears streaming down your face. You had worked so hard to earn your helmet and took the creed just as seriously as the two men on the ship.

The children had taunted you with that word. Aruetii. They had told you that you’d never belong no matter how hard you tried, and you had proved them wrong. You were a warrior and damn proud of the fact. You pressed your forehead against the helmet and shut your eyes.

You just wanted to be accepted.

XXX

You heard the hatch open and wiped at your face with your sleeve before slipping your helmet back on. Heavy footsteps got closer until Din sat down in his chair, swiveling to look at you. You kept your face trained down at the floor, trying to calm your breathing and stop the seemingly endless catches in your breath.

“He was wrong, vod’ika.”

“He wasn’t the first person to say that to me, Din. I’m sure he won’t be the last.”

“And what happened every time someone said that to you?”

“I kicked their ass.”

“So why is this different.”

You shrugged and pulled at your chest plate, uncomfortable wearing the unforgiving metal.

“You and Paz are the two most respected warriors in our tribe. I just.. I thought things would be easier once I earned my place. All I do is fight and lose.”

“Don’t think that way, vod’ika. You’re a strong warrior. I made sure of that. I wouldn’t have brought you with me if I thought you were incompetent.”

“Why did you bring him?”

“We get bigger bounties the more of us there are. If I go in alone, they won’t give me the larger more important bounties to hunt. They see someone as clunky as he is, and they think he’s competent.”

“I wish he didn’t hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you, vod’ika. If he hated you, he’d throw you from the ship.”

You sighed and let your head hang more.

“You don’t need to prove anything to him. You’ve proven yourself to the tribe. The Armorer forged your helmet, for you. You worked for the beskar that protects your body. Don’t let that chakaar make you think differently.”

“Do you mind if I sleep in your sleep area? I just.. don’t want to deal with him right now.”

“Go head. You can take your bucket off and relax for a while. We’re taking the quarry back and getting some more pucks. Won’t need you for a few cycles.”

“Keep him away from me as much as possible. I’ll work with him for the good of the tribe but..”

“Understood. Sleep well, vod’ika.”

“Goodnight, vod.”

You slid down the ladder and shot Paz a glare before climbing into the small sleep space. Once the door was shut you slipped your helmet off and sighed at being able to lay down without the helmet. You ran your fingers through your hair and groaned at the sensation. You would gladly live by your creed but the few precious moments you were alone would always be important to you.

XXX

You spent months avoiding Paz and helping Din get quarries. It became routine to help with whatever mission there was and immediately move to the cockpit or sleep area. You had found a way to clean your weapons in there even though it wasn’t the most comfortable. Anything was better than being stuck in the same room with Paz.

You weren’t sure you could ever get over him calling you an outsider. Din had been right; you worked damn hard for everything. His disrespect of you was disrespecting everyone who had trained and tested you. He didn’t know better than the elders or the Armorer.

Reminding yourself that you were competent is what kept you going. You moved through the rough terrain after a particularly grueling mission, listening for anyone sneaking up on you and your comrades. You didn’t know much about the current quarry, but he was a big deal which meant a lot of credits.

You had thought it was strange that Paz was the one walking him but didn’t say much. The guy was much bigger than you and still bigger than Din. It did make more sense to have Paz walk him if even to try to deter him getting away.

Of course, none of you were that lucky.

The quarry broke free by tripping Paz. It looked like he was going to take off but instead he pulled a blaster that was hidden in his boot. You tried to turn quickly enough to shoot but he was able to get a shot off first. You screamed out in pain as it hit your side, right in an open spot your armor left unprotected.

You dropped to the ground as Din tackled the man to the ground, punching him in the face. The man went limp and you howled out at the pain coursing through you. Din scooped you up in his arms and ran towards the ship. You couldn’t see much but it looked like Paz had tossed the quarry over his shoulder.

“Din.. can’t-can’t breathe.”

You wheezed in air and it was only amplified by the helmet. Din brought you directly to the cot and laid you down, ripping your beskar off your chest. He pulled your shirt up and swore under his breath at the injury.

“Vod’ika, I’m going to sedate you. I have limited medical supplies, but we’re close to a medic station. I move quicker than Paz. I’ll be back. You hang on, okay?”

You nodded at him and winced when you felt the medication being injected into your arm. You thought you could feel the cool of bacta hitting your side but sleep quickly took you from consciousness.

XXX

The first thing you noticed was how unfiltered the air felt as you inhaled. You groaned, touching your side lightly and heard shuffling around you. It sounded like Din and Paz were arguing quietly but your brain felt muddled. You tried to sit up, but a strong hand landed on your shoulder stopping you.

“Don’t. You need to give all the medication time to work.”

“Okay I-“

You stiffened when your voice sounded wrong. You whipped your eyes open and started breathing heavily as you looked up at Paz’s visor. Your eyes wildly looked where you knew his eyes should be and you jolted up to sitting.

“No. No!”

He tried to grab you again, but you roughly pulled from him and grabbed your helmet and slammed it down on your head. You slid back on the cot and panicked realizing both men had clearly seen your face.

“What did you do!? Why! Why did you do this!”

“You couldn’t breathe.”

“Then you should have let me die!”

Paz was trying to be calm and Din had his entire body turned from you. You sobbed and clung to your helmet like you were afraid they were going to take it again.

“Don’t be foolish.”

“Foolish? FOOLISH!? I took the same creed you did! Both of you! You both.. dar’manda. You’ve made me dar’manda!”

Din whipped so he was facing you and walked forward. You shrank back from him and Paz, feeling like a cornered animal.

“No. No one could possibly hold this against you.”

“No? You’re telling me that you could find any interest in a riduur if she had been seen? You have no idea how hard it is to be a warrior when you stupid men only want children. I had only a few years to live this dream of mine. Just a few years before the tribe would need me to start bringing younglings to add to our future. Now.. you’ve ruined my future. I’d be better dead than this shame!”

Din gripped the bed and tensed up. Paz looked down, not saying a word. Another sob fell from your lips so you curled up into yourself.

“It would have been a waste to let you just die.”

You raised your face slowly until you were looking directly at Paz. You felt your entire body tense as you glared.

“A waste for who? You know what? You got what you wanted. You said I’m an outsider, well now I really am. Forever branded dar’manda and shunned from the only family I have ever known.”

Paz stormed away, slamming things as he went. Din put his head down on the bed in front of him and stayed silent as you cried.

“Vod’ika-“

“Don’t call me that.”

“I didn’t look at your face. Paz warned me when I came on the ship, he had to remove it. He stayed with you and treated your wound.”

“I don’t care.”

“There are ways-“

“I am not marrying him, Din. No. And I’m not going to suddenly become his child so no matter what, my vow has been broken.”

“We can go to the Armorer. She can-“

“She can do nothing. She will say the same that you have.”

“You’d rather give it all up than-“

“Than be in a marriage with someone I could never.. yes. He has no respect for me. I was prepared to raise children on my own. I would have been honored to raise my ad’ika to be strong. I can’t teach them to be strong while being willfully disrespected. I won’t.”

“Then what? What will you do?”

“I will go. I’ll send half of my earnings to the tribe somehow. I can’t.. I can’t change what I am now, but I can still make sure they have what they need.”

“We could just not tell anyone.”

You scoffed and stood up, pulling on your armor. Everything hurt and you knew you needed more time to heal but the idea of getting away from everyone you knew was much more important in your head. Din handed you a bag full of supplies and walked you down the ramp, pointing you in the direction of the closest city as he handed you a comm device.

“It will be a long walk. I can-“

“No.”

He grabbed your arm and turned you, so you were facing him. He put his hands on your shoulders and pressed his forehead to yours, making your eyes start to sting with tears.

“Re’turcye mhi, vod’ika.”

You shook your head and sniffled, trying to stay strong.

“Goodbye, Din. Thi-this is the way.”

He hesitated and put his hand on the back of your head, keeping your forehead to his. You shut your eyes knowing that it was very likely the last time you would see him.

“This is the way.”

[writtenonreceipts]

Feysand and “You weren’t supposed to hear that.” - “Well, you shouldn’t be saying it then.”

<3

Kinda sappy? Kinda cliche? Kinda...idk.  

Thanks so much for the prompt!

 #

Words, Words, Words

Escape.

Escape.

Escape is all that is pounding through her head.  Just that one word.  One simple action that one would think it would be simple enough to obey.

But Feyre is stumbling as she back peddles and tries to weave through the bar.  Why did it have to be a Friday night?  Why did she have to pick tonight to come out with her friends?

“Feyre,” his voice is almost desperate in the way he calls out.  Desperate and afraid.  And everything she doesn’t need.

She ignores him.  Feyre’s gotten pretty good at it too.  As much as she loves her best-friend, it’s been harder and harder to be around him because that love isn’t what it should be.  That love is a raging fire within her.  That love should not be reciprocated.

“Feyre.” Rhysand manages to grab her hand and swing her around to face him.

In the jostling crowd she is pushed flush against him, the heat of his body flaring around her.  His cologne, a familiar haze to her senses.  By the cauldron she has to get away from him.

“I can’t do this right now, Rhys,” Feyre says.  

Rhys’ violet eyes bare into her, scanning every inch of her face as though he can keep her there himself.  But the longer she stares at him the harder it will be to walk away.

She shakes her head and pulls back, turning to leave the bar. She's not sure why she trusted Mor. Or course the young woman would spend the weekend hanging out with her cousin.  She should have known Mor would want Feyre to talk to Rhys.  It was Feyre's mistake to trust her friend with the sensitive information of being in love with her best friend.

Feyre is outside in the stiff chill of autumn and is desperately looking for a cab. But it isn't the right time of night. The street is just a touch too busy and Feyre is out of luck.

She pushes a hand through her hair and begins walking. A cab will show up eventually, won't it? Besides, it's only a few blocks to her apartment.

"Feyre!" Rhys calls again. She can hear him running to catch her. She doesn't slow down. When he finally does reach her, he makes it a few steps in front of her and stops, forcing her to run into him. 

Feyre snarls, bracing her hands on his far too sculpted biceps. Damn him.

"Rhys," Feyre says when his hands grip her waist. She can feel her heart thundering in her chest. Feel her breath catch in her throat. Feyre refuses to look at him. Even when she can feel his eyes baring down on her.

"Please just let me explain," he says.  The desperation to his voice returns and in the overhead street lamps she can see the tension lines in his face.  This is so different from the calm and collected Rhys that she knows.  So different from his usual confidence.  It almost makes her want to laugh.  To tell him that he’s being over dramatic as always.

“Rhys,” she begins.  He lets her pull away and she wraps her arms around herself, holding her coat closed against the wind. “There’s nothing to explain.  I decided I’m not feeling good and want to go home.”

The lie is blatant and obvious that it causes her to cringe and look away.  A couple walks past, too engrossed in each other to even notice Feyre and Rhys.

“You weren’t supposed to hear what I said,” Rhys explains.  He runs a hand through his hair mussing it up from its usual neat style.  “Cassian and Azriel were being asses and wouldn’t shut up about and I just--”

He’s floundering for words now, his mouth agape and eyes wild.  He doesn’t even know what he’s saying.

Feyre shakes her head and exhales slowly, trying to remain calm. “If I wasn’t supposed to hear it then maybe you shouldn’t have been saying it.  I mean, dammit, Rhys you’re my best friend.  It’s just--I mean.”

Now it’s her turn to struggle for words.  Heat rises on her cheeks and Feyre looks down at her feet.  She’s probably said too much as it is.  But the conversation that she overheard is all she can hear and it’s hard not to say too much.

How can you be in love with me?

The words are on the tip of her tongue.  They could slip so easily from her lips and stain the night with uncertainty.  But she stays silent.  Nothing good has ever come from bar gossip and if she knows Rhys, he’s already got at least three beers in him.  Maybe more.  Definitely on the road to getting tipsy if not drunk.

“Can I just explain?” He steps toward her, slowly, as though she’ll run away if he moves too quick.  And she’s ready to bolt.  Ready to flag down the next car that passes and bum off a ride.

All she feels is mortification.  Why did she have to overhear that conversation?  Overhear Rhys’ exact words.  And then she ran out of there the way she did.

Feyre stuffs her hands into the pockets of her coat.  Her keys dig painfully into her palm, but she welcomes the distraction.

“You know I’m an idiot Feyre,” Rhys says.  He tries to smile, but she doesn’t return the gesture.  

Feyre rolls her eyes and brushes past him, determined to walk home and get away from him.  Because of course tonight she came to realize the extent of her feelings.  Of course tonight she was feeling a bit more willing to act on them.  Of course tonight had to be the night where Rhys went and ruined it all.  He is actually very good at doing that--saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing.  She used to find it endearing, humorous even.

Rhysand is quick to keep pace with her.  His long legs eat up the distance with ease, his jacket flying open around him.

“Feyre.” He’s pleading as they walk.  She knows he’s watching her so Feyre tries to keep her expression blank.  But Rhysand has always been able to get under her skin. 

She stops abruptly causing Rhysand to swing around and almost collide with her.

Standing flush together, Feyre has to tilt her head to avoid squishing her nose against his chest.  Which wouldn’t have been quite a terrible problem if he weren’t wearing that cologne she likes.  Swallowing roughly, Feyre meets his dark gaze.

“If I wasn’t supposed to hear what you said, then we shouldn’t be talking about it,” she says stiffly.  And she really doesn’t want to talk about it.  Because how did you tell your best friend you were in love with him?  It didn’t matter that she’d heard him admit to the same thing just minutes earlier.  He’s already denying what he’d said so why not help him along by keeping her mouth shut?

Rhysand’s hands come up to her forearms, holding her in place.  He leans forward enough that Feyre’s heart skips a beat and she knows they’re in a far too compromising position.  One that would be so easy to sink into and cross all the boundaries of friends.

She steels herself and lifts her gaze.

In the streetlights overhead Rhysands eyes become pools of black.  Deep and endless it is so easy to get lost in them.  There’s a furrow in his brow as though he’s trying to solve some equation or think of a solution to an impossible scenario.

“Feyre.”

He’s always used her name so casually.  Tossing it around as though he’d never tire of it.  Using it almost as a punctuation mark when they’re having the most mundane of conversations.

This time is an exception.  This time her name is a prayer lilting off his lips.  

Slowly he brings a hand up to her cheek.  He brushes his thumb along her jaw and a shiver races over Feyre’s skin.  She can’t help it, can’t control it.  There’s always been something about Rhys that causes her to lose control and slip up just a little.

So now, when she has this little bit of courage, she keeps his steady gaze.

“You said you loved me.”

Somewhere in the din of the bar as she was weaving around patrons, Rhys had been sitting with Cassian and Azriel.  He hadn’t noticed her approach otherwise she was certain the discussion wouldn’t have been anywhere near where it was.  But Cassian and Azriel were pestering Rhysand about something laughing and giving him knowing looks.

And somehow amid the rest of the noise of clinking glasses, conversation, and music she’d heard Rhys’ words clearer than anything else in that bar.

I’m in love with my best friend, what else do you want from me? 

Feyre isn’t interested in the exact nature of the conversation.  The boys have always kept up strange discussions and debates.  She isn’t interested in Cassian and Azriel’s reactions to what happened either.  She's more concerned with the utter panic that consumed her and forced her to run in the opposite direction.

“Yeah,” he replies, “yeah, I did.”

Because, really, how can Rhysand be in love with her?  It’s some sort of sick cosmic joke for this sort of mix-up to happen right when she’s starting to realize her own feelings for him.  And hell, who is she to say that Rhys was even talking about her?  He can have other best friends.  Amren, for instance.  Cresseida.  Vassa.  She’s grasping now, desperate to fil her mind with anything than to respond to Rhys.

Maybe a hole will open up beneath them and swallow her up.

“And I meant it,” Rhys continues.  

“You’re drunk,” Feyre says and rolls her eyes.

He shrugs. “Only a little.  But it doesn’t make what I said any less true.”

Feyre squeezes her eyes shut, unable to tell if he’s being serious or not. “Including the bit about being an idiot?”

She opens her eyes in time to see a smirk flash over his mouth.  His hand brushes softly against her cheek and Feyre knows she could so easily get lost in his touches, so easily get lost in him.  Despite his arrogance and nonchalance of everything--she knows Rhys for who he really is.

“I’ll let you go if you really want, but I just needed you to know, I meant what I said.” He drops his hand to his side, fingers flexing.  

Unconsciously, Feyre tilts forward, missing the contact.  In his eyes she can read every emotion.  Everything on his mind is laid bare for her to see and Feyre knows just how deep his words run.

“Rhys,” Feyre whispers as she snatches a hand out to grasp the front of his jacket before he can pull away. Oh hell, oh hell, she has no idea what she’s doing.  And before she can stop herself or convince herself it’s a terrible idea, Feyre surges up on her toes and kisses him.

Feyre never would have guessed that she would be able to catch Rhys off guard, considering how collected and confident he always appeared to be.  But the second her lips meet his, Feyre knows she’s surprised him.  And that’s fine by her.  She put all her feeling into the kiss, despite leaving it at barely more than a brush.  She still wants to give him the opportunity to pull back and take back what he said.

Rhys however doesn’t have any qualms about being surprised.  When Feyre pulls away, his hands are already at her neck, her waist keeping her close.  His mouth is urgent against hers as though he can’t quite get enough of her.  Feyre gasps, the feeling of his mouth, his hands and the taste of his tongue on hers--everything has her begging to be closer to Rhys.

When they part, foreheads pressed together and hands desperately searching each other’s bodies, Feyre finally catches her breath.  

“You didn’t throw a shoe at me this time,” Rhysand says grinning down at her.

“The night’s still young, we’ll see what happens,” she replies.

Rhys laughs, kissing her again.

#

tags, I think I got the acotar tags right? maybe...and if you didn’t specify which fandom, I put you on my fixed list, please feel free to correct me if you’d just prefer TOG.

tottenhamboys20  @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx @bamchickawowow @ladywitchling @ireallyshouldsleeprn @courtofjurdan @sassys-world @sleeping-and-books @superspiritfestival @chieflemming @julemmaes @harrymoncheri @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @my-fan-side @sjmships @emikadreams

[raiseyourcups]

Sorry that I lost our love

Pairing: Din Djarin x Ex-Mandalorian Reader Warnings: Not so vague allusions to sex, Star Wars cursing, actual cursing, violence (more than canon-typical imo), angst peppered throughout, angst ending Word Count: 4.2k (because I can’t write short things to save my life) Notes: If you think I should add anything else as a warning, let me know. I wrote this in an inspired rush and it was 3:30am by the time I finished this. Also please let me know if there’s any stray she/her’s that refer to the reader or anything that describes reader in any way. Thank you!

Summary: A Mandalorian lands on Tatooine and you would like nothing more than to dig a hole and hide in it until he leaves. Too bad you work for Peli Motto and have no choice in the matter. Thankfully he leaves for a bounty but of course that’s when things go sideways. 

Sequel with less angst

The armor was new, all silver beskar but you would recognize that stance anywhere. You had grown up learning everything about him and vice-versa. There was a time when the two of you knew every inch of the other’s body, fumbling around in the dark together, twin blindfolds covering their eyes just in case the lights turned on. Yes, you used to know Din Djarin like the back of your hand. But then he had gone against Guild Code and they came after the Covert. Someone had pulled off your helmet before you could get them off of you and that was the end of that. 

The Armorer had been understanding but everyone knew the Creed, your helmet had been removed by someone other than your family. Not that you had any family. Once upon a time you had wished for it to be Din but now…

You had been able to get passage on a ship, got as far as Tatooine which still wasn’t far enough for you but you hadn’t been able to catch another ride yet. Rather than wallow in your sorrow, you found somewhere to work despite being utterly useless at everything outside of fighting. Peli Motto was a beacon of hope, had taken one look at you and taken you in as an employee. At first it was small things, cleaning up after the droids but eventually she began to trust you with a spanner. 

And now back to the present.

You didn’t know how much time had passed since that bounty hunter had damned you, when a familiar ship limped its way to the spaceport you had started to call home. You made yourself as scarce as you could as Peli went out to speak with the owner of the ship. You were close enough to hear what was being said but hid behind a piece of junk that even Peli couldn’t fix. 

“No droids.”

“It’ll cost ya more but fine,” Peli said before turning her head in the direction she had last seen you. “Starbird, get over here!”

Peli had given you the nickname when you told her you didn’t want to reveal your name to her, not because you couldn’t trust her but because you hadn’t heard someone say it in so long. Well...hadn’t heard someone other than Din but that would never happen again now. You had taken to wearing a scarf, covering your hair even though it wouldn’t matter, and you adjusted it as you walked over. It made you feel more secure, like you weren’t dar’manda even if you knew the truth. He wouldn’t recognize you, had never seen you without your helmet and those nights didn’t count with the pitch black of the room. As long as you didn’t speak around him, you could help Peli fix his ship and he would be gone again. 

“Mando here doesn’t like droids so it’s just you and me fixing this rust bucket, got it?”

You nodded silently, ignoring the confused look your silence got you from Peli. The Mandalorian, the one you thought you had known so well, tilted his head and you could almost feel his gaze on you. You and Peli move towards the ship to take note of the obvious damage and you can’t help but cringe when you finally see how bad of a shape it is. 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in a shootout and you have a fuel leak!” Peli kept muttering to herself as she found more and more things wrong with the Razor Crest. You pointed out a few more things to her, still keeping your mouth shut. “This ship is a mess, the fact you were even able to land it! This is gonna set you back.”

“All I have is 500 Imperial credits.” The Mandalorian held the credits out and Peli wasted no time snatching them away from him. “That’s all you got? What do you think, Birdie?”

You shrugged and held a hand out, palm facing the ground as you tilted it from side to side. It was going to take a hell of a lot more credits to fix up the Crest, the fact that it was pre-Imperial making it even harder to find spare parts. 

“Well then, this should at least cover the hangar.”

“I’ll get you your money,” The Mandalorian said bluntly, but you could just about hear the desperation beneath the vocoder in his helmet. You were taken aback, had never heard him sound like that before. 

“Hmm, we’ve heard that before.”

“Just remember…”

“Yeah, no droids. I heard ya, you don’t have to say it twice.” Peli watched as the Mandalorian walked away before letting out a scoff. “Womp rat.”

Peli sat with the droids, starting up a card game with them, dealing you in without asking. You let out a sigh because she knew how kriffing bad you were at every card game. 

“What was that?” You asked, staring at the gangway of the Crest as a loud shriek echoed from the Crest.

“Oh so you are gonna speak today?”

“Sorry, I just-”

Peli cut you off, “Nope, I said I wouldn’t ask questions when I hired you and I meant it.”

You were about to thank Peli for being so understanding when you both hear a cry coming from inside the ship. Peli turned to the droids, “Shh, quick, grab my blaster rifle.”

“Peli, I don’t think you’ll need it.”

“Better safe than sorry, who knows what he has on that rustbucket.” The two of you inched closer to the Crest slowly, Peli with a trigger finger ready to go. “I’d stay in that ship if I were you!”

The tiniest creature you had ever seen started walking down the gangway, smoke and dust getting in its eyes. You let out a gasp, bringing up a hand to cover your mouth when it dropped open. Peli looked at you confused but lowered the blaster rifle, there was no way this...thing was a threat. The little thing let out a coo and looked at you both with its sad eyes. You couldn’t help but move forward to pick it up when it raised his hands in the air. 

“Oh honey, did he leave you all alone on the ship?” You asked it, cradling it in your arms before looking up at an equally confused Peli. You gave her a shrug, unsure what else to do. She moved closer and looked into the child’s big eyes and was stumped. 

“Would you like some food? Are you hungry?” The child seemed to like that idea, letting out a loud coo as his little stomach growled. Peli turned to the closest droid. “Fetch us something to eat, quick!”

“Maybe something with bones in it,” you added when you caught sight of his little teeth. The droid took off in search of food. “Okay, so here’s the plan, little one. I’m gonna look after you until the Mandalorian gets back.”

“And then I’m gonna charge him extra for watching you, see how that works?” Peli added before heading off to do some repairs, a new pep in her step at the thought of a bigger pay day. 

You couldn’t put the child down, just stunned. Was this why he had broken Guild Code? Was this tiny little thing the reason you could never go back home? If it was then more of the anger you had let fester inside of you dissipated, you couldn’t blame Din. As more time passed, the more sleepy both you and the child seemed to get which led to you telling Peli that we were going to give the child a nap. She waved you off saying that she probably would take one too, it wasn’t like you two could do anything for the ship without more credits.

You didn’t even notice when you fell asleep but a loud shout scared both you and the child awake. You let out a quiet shriek and the combination made the child start crying. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. I”m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Where is it?” You heard the Mandalorian growl to one of the droids and you walked as fast as you could to where he was. 

“He’s right here, now keep your voice down. He was taking a nap,” You tried to keep your voice steady, not only to calm the child down but also to still your beating heart. You bounced the kid in your arms a few times, staying light on your feet in order to sway a little as you tried to shush him. The Mandalorian tilted his helmet at the sound of your voice but then he realized that you were still holding the child. 

“Give him to me.” He pointed at you threateningly, or at least you supposed he was trying to be threatening. It wasn’t going to work since you were so annoyed with him right now. 

“No. You can’t just leave a child alone on a ship like that!” You didn’t mean to raise your voice but you did as you pointed your own finger at him. “I can’t believe someone would trust you enough to have a child with you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Oh I know more than you think I do,” You said, glaring up at him and hoping that you were making eye contact so he knew how serious you were. 

“What’s going on out here?” Peli asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes but alert nonetheless. 

“Mando’s back. And he woke up the baby.” You said your last words with a glare towards that kriffing rustbucket. 

“Oh well, while you were gone, I started the repair on the fuel leak while Birdie here watched the kid.” Peli gestured towards you but you paid her no mind as you made sure the kid was okay. “There were a couple of setbacks that I want to talk to you about.”

Peli kept going on about the repairs, how they took longer without the droids or your help since you were preoccupied with the child he hadn’t warned you two about. He walked into the ship and you moved back over to Peli, unsure what he was doing. He came back down with a bag and looked at you both.

“We figured you were good for it since you have an extra mouth to feed,” you said, no longer worried about speaking in front of him. He once again tilted his head at the sound of your voice. 

“Thank you.” He said before walking away. You were, once again, stunned at how rude he was being. First he leaves a child alone on his ship, threatens you when he realizes you’re holding the kid, and now he’s just going to leave again. You shot a look towards Peli before you followed after him, kid still in your arms. 

“You know it takes a lot for Peli to keep those droids powered up, right?”

“Hey, Mando, what do you think? Not too shabby, huh?” A new voice spoke once they were out of the spaceport. You rolled your eyes at the sound. Calican. 

The Mandalorian gave the speeder bike a once over, looking over Calican in a way that made it obvious he wasn’t impressed. “What? This isn’t Corellia. Hey, Birdie, still looking good.”

You rolled your eyes at him before turning around to head back inside of Peli’s shop. Those brief seconds of speaking to Toro Calican were more than enough for you. You heard the speeders take off and knew they probably wouldn’t be back until later. 

“Well now that we’re all awake, let’s get some more repairs done,” Peli said, already getting ready to do so. You joined her, placing the child on one hip in order to pass her any tools she may need. The suns went down and there was still no sign of the Mandalorian or Toro so you and Peli just kept working. There was nothing else to do. But even repairs couldn’t take forever and soon enough it was just you and your thoughts. 

With no sight of either bounty hunters everyone decided to head in for the night, you kept the child with you since you knew Peli already had her hands full with the droids that were like her own children. Morning came quicker than you were prepared for knowing that the Mandalorian and Toro would probably be back soon. 

Part of you knew you couldn't wait for the Mandalorian to leave the planet but another part of you, the younger and dumber part of you wished that he would recognize you before he left. You didn’t know what that would do for you, it wasn’t like he could do anything. You were dar’manda now, you could never be together again, no matter how much you missed him. 

“Hey, Birdie, I’m gonna head out to the cantina for a bit. Wanna come?” Peli came out of her room, having changed into a slightly cleaner jumpsuit. 

You looked down at the child in your arms before looking back up at Peli. “I’m not taking a baby to a cantina.”

“Suit yourself, and if that Mandalorian comes back while I’m gone, make sure he pays before he leaves.”

“Got it, have fun and don’t drink too much.”

“What are you, my mother?” Peli replied shortly but with a smile on her face as she left. You shook your head, a smile on your own face as you looked down at the child. 

“Looks like it’s just you and me, kid.” 

“Hey, Birdie.” You flinched at the sound of Toro’s voice from behind you and spun on your heel to face him. Your brow furrowed when you noticed that he was alone. 

“Toro? Where’s D-- Mando?”

“About that, put that thing on the ground before I shoot you.” He was aiming his blaster at you before you could even blink.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I really don’t wanna shoot you, you’re too pretty to die.”

You weighed your options and knew that it would best to listen to him and put the child down before making your move. So you did, placing him on one of the empty fuel drums that you and Peli used as a table. 

“I said the ground, are you stupid?” Tora asked as he moved towards the child which is when you moved. Faster than he could react, you rushed forward and hit him with your shoulder, knocking him off balance. He didn’t lose his grip on his blaster, unfortunately, since you hadn’t been able to hit him on that side but you took advantage of his being off balance. You rolled forward and grabbed a spanner as you got back up on your feet and rushed towards Toro again. You pushed him against the Crest, hitting him with the spanner several times before he finally grabbed your arm and held it out to the side, letting you throw a punch with your other fist. You dropped the spanner without meaning to but you had another idea.

You grabbed his blaster, spinning away from him in an attempt to get him to let go of it, even throwing your head back to headbutt him. He wrapped his arms around you and picked you up, dropping you onto another fuel drum. You groaned out in pain, wishing you still had your armor, but you didn’t let go of the blaster even as he picked you back up and you two fell to the ground. You forced him up, grip still hard on the blaster as you tried to break it on a piece of metal. Kriffing Toro and spending all his credits on high end bantha shit. You heard something pop and took the chance to punch him again, followed by a quick elbow to keep him down just a little while longer while you looked for another weapon.

Where was Peli? Or Din? Was Din even still alive?

You didn’t have time to ask yourself anymore questions as Toro grabbed you by the arm, dragging you to your feet, and throwing a punch at your face. Using your arm as leverage he tossed you into the side of the Crest and you turned just in time to block another punch with your arm before bringing your knee up into his side. You put your arms around his neck and flipped both of your bodies over and onto the ground. It was getting harder to catch your breath and you had no idea Toro had that much stamina when fighting. It had been too long since you fought anyone. 

You tried to get to your feet before Toro but he beat you to it, throwing several punches your way. You got up, kicking out at him just for him to grab your leg again. But it left you open to punch him yourself, one to the face and another to the stomach. He grabbed your arm, bringing up his own knee to your wrist causing you to let out a shout of pain. He put a hand around your throat but you brought your knee up to his crotch making him fall to the ground. He wasn’t unconscious though so you went for another kick, this one to the face, but he grabbed your leg and flipped you onto your back again. 

Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t get back up and you felt so weak all of a sudden. Maybe it was the blood gushing from your nose or the fact that you had now been dropped onto your back twice or the ringing in your ears. Either way, Toro had won. You could hear the child crying from where you had left him, it was amazing that you two hadn’t slammed into it during the fight. 

“Didn’t think you had that in you, Birdie.” Toro said as he forced you up. “That was stupid though, I was going to let you go but now...now you get to be my hostage.”

He pulled your hands behind your back, wrapping a cord around them tightly. You could feel it digging into your skin but there wasn’t anything you could do now. You willed yourself to not let him see you cry, cursing yourself for being so Maker damned emotional. “Why are you doing this, Toro?”

“Because that thing has the highest bounty I’ve heard of and Mando...well he’s worth even more with that armor.” The unspoken meaning behind his words hit you like a flash of lightning. 

“No!” You thrashed in his grasp, he couldn’t. No, he couldn’t take Din’s armor, he couldn’t be like you. He couldn’t. 

“Stay still or I’ll shoot you right now,” Toro growled out. You did as he said because you couldn’t help Din if you died before he made it back. He dragged you along as he went over to where you had placed the child and you winced as he picked him up roughly. As the hours passed, you grew more and more worried for Din. Toro was just getting angrier and you were scared he’d shoot first and ask questions never. You hoped Peli stayed at the cantina a little while longer. 

The suns had already gone down by the time he showed up and your breathing had gotten a little more labored. You were also sure that your back was bruised to haran and back. Toro stood a little straighter, pushed you forward a step before speaking. “Took you long enough, Mando. You missed a hell of a fight.”

He shoved his blaster into the middle of your back and you walked down the gangway and into the moonlight to see Din pointing a blaster at you. Really it was on Toro but you were in the way. He took half a step back and his helmet twitched to the side when he caught sight of your face. You were sure you looked a mess, Toro hadn’t even bothered cleaning the blood off your face. 

“I’m the one calling the shots now. Drop the blaster and raise ‘em.” 

Din did as he was told and placed his hands behind his head. Toro pushed his blaster into your back again before undoing the cord around your wrists. “Cuff him and don’t try anything.”

You let out a quiet growl of anger but ripped the cuffs away from Toro and moved over to where Din was.

“You’re a Guild traitor, Mando.” Toro said, before pointing a gun towards the child. Your hands tightened on the cuffs. “I’m willing to bet this is the target you helped escape.”

You moved to place the cuffs on Din’s wrists when a light clink caught your attention. You looked up and saw your potential saving grace. “Oh you smart man.” You couldn’t help but whisper, only loud enough for him to hear. 

“Fennec was right, bringing you in won’t just make me a member of the Guild, it’ll make me legendary.” Toro said. You pretended to shut the cuffs on Din’s wrists, shuffling them behind you as you walked out from behind Din to stand next to him. “Say, Birdie, one last thing before I shoot you.”

“What?”

“What is your real name?” 

You didn’t have to answer, you could give Din a signal to set off the flash charger but you couldn’t stop yourself. “...Y/N.” You answered.

A delayed second later and Din pressed down on the flash charger and you shut your eyes before dropping to the ground and rolling behind a fuel drum. You would just get in the way now. You watched as Toro blindly shot at nothing while Din moved behind the crates to the left, popping back out in time to shoot Toro just as he turned. You rushed forward as Toro fell off the gangway, he had still been holding the child. 

“Stay back.” Din’s voice was a weird mix of stoic and emotional, the vocoder in his helmet making it sound off. 

“He had the child,” you said as Din leaned down to move Toro onto his back. There was no child. “Where did he go?” 

You didn’t mean to cling onto Din’s arm as you both looked in every direction. A quiet babble caught your attention as the child game out from behind a couple of baskets. Your heart slowed down from its rapid pace as soon as you saw him. “Oh hun, there you are,” you said as you picked him up. 

“You’re okay now,” you bounced the child a few times as Din grabbed something off Toro’s body. He came over to where you were and you pretended to be very interested in the child. 

“Y/N.”

“Yes.”

“What happened?” He asked you and you weren’t sure if he meant the wounds on your face, as he reached out to oh so lightly stroke your cheek, or if he meant the fact that you had broken the Creed you both took. 

“I tried to fight back, I lost.” It was true of both occasions. Din stared down at you as the child continued to babble. You still couldn’t look up from  looking at the child. 

“Come with me.” That got your attention, head snapping up to look at Din like he had lost his mind. You knew he could be dumb sometimes, breaking Guild Code an obvious example, but this took the uj cake.

“I can’t.” 

“Why?”

“Din, you know why I can’t go with you.” The fact that he could see you, really see you should have made it clear why you couldn’t go with him. 

“I don’t care.”

“You say that now but what about tomorrow, or next week, in two weeks? I’m dar’manda.”

“And it’s my fault, cyar’ika.”  Din said as he moved forward, bringing his helmet down to gently rest against your forehead.

“Don’t call me that, not anymore.”

“Y/N…”

You let out a shuddery breath, blinking away the tears that threatened to rise. “Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be, you need to find somewhere safe for the child, and I cannot go with you.” 

Din stared at you for one more long moment before reaching out to take the child, silently passing you the pouch he had taken from Toro. You opened it and let out a gasp, looking back up at Din in shock. He started to reach out again but stopped himself, nodded once, and turned to get back on the Crest. And you just watched him. Kept watching as the Crest took off, leaving you behind once again.

You wished you could go back to the beginning, when you had first met Din as kids with scraped knees and elbows from trying to do all the fight moves the adults could do. Growing up with each other, feelings changing until that first kiss in the pitch dark of someone’s room, you couldn’t remember whose it was. The first time you two snuck out of the covert to rent a room, tying blindfolds around your eyes in order to show how deep your love went for each other. 

But you couldn’t. You never could.

[angstyaches]

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Hungry People?

This is my first hunger fic in a very long time. How the hell are you supposed to title these things?!

It’s also the first ever fic from the Lucyverse, as I’ve decided to call it (basically, any fics that follow the day-to-day lives of Lucy’s flatmates).

CW: hunger, overworking, getting stuck on public transport.

___

Autumn waved as she entered the coffee shop, flinching as the little bell over the door went off to announce her arrival. She glanced up at it, gesturing with her palm for it to calm down, as though it should have somehow known she wasn’t a real customer. Payton’s heart skipped a beat as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and scampered away to an armchair by the window, not wanting to disturb her partner while they worked.

She was so freaking cute.

“Busy today?”

Payton tore their eyes off the back of Autumn’s head and turned to look at Jake, who had only started his supervisor shift five minutes ago. He was inspecting how much money was in the till as Payton laid out a fresh batch of muffins in the food case. The wafting scents of cinnamon and banana and chocolate were all so enticing that Payton could no longer ignore the fact that they’d had to work through lunch. Going an afternoon without food had left them with an ache in their stomach that had only been aggravated more by the stress of keeping the constant stream of customers satisfied. It had rained unexpectedly all afternoon, which had sent floods of park visitors running for shelter and warm drinks.

“Very,” Payton replied to Jake. “I don’t think we had any free tables for about four hours. We barely had time to wipe them down between customers.”

“Christ,” Jake grumbled, closing the till. “And you managed okay, even though Stephen called in sick?”

Payton gestured around themself, displaying the fact that nothing appeared to have burned down or crumbled. Part of them wanted to complain further about the toll the day had taken on them, but it felt better to just act confident about it. “Everything was fine. Nothing to worry about.”

“They should be paying you as a supervisor, you know,” Jake said. “I’ll talk to Anne about interviewing you.”

“Really? That would – that would be really cool.” Payton blushed, partly from the praise from their superior, but mostly because their stomach chose that moment to twist inside of them, releasing a long, rumbling growl. The music in the coffee shop was low and calming at this time of evening, but… maybe it would still muffle the sound?

When Jake double-glanced towards the front of Payton’s apron, it was clear that the music had muffled nothing.

“Sorry.” Payton placed a hand over their belly. “When Stephen couldn’t come, it meant I couldn’t take my lunch break.”

Jake frowned and glanced at his watch. “Your shift started at ten thirty, right? You haven’t had a break since then?”

Payton shook their head.

“Fuck it, go home. I’ll tell Anne you clocked out on time.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, you’ve only got another half-hour anyway, and the place is dead now.” Jake gestured to the room of thirty-six seats, of which only five were currently occupied. “Plus, your girl’s already here. No use in keeping her waiting.”

Payton was already wriggling out of their apron and heading for the door that led to the break room and lockers. “Thank you so much.”

Once they were in the break room, silence crashed over Payton like waves. The shop hadn’t been loud just now by any means, but they hadn’t been away from a din of any kind for almost ten hours. Their ears rang as they put their apron and work shoes in their locker and gulped a half-bottle of water that they found in there. The liquid hit their stomach like a solid lump of rock, but luckily it was lukewarm, and the discomfort didn’t linger for too long.

Payton didn’t linger either.

They tugged their jacket on over their buttoned shirt, wishing they’d brought something with a hood today, in case it decided to rain again before they made it to the tram. Maybe Autumn had thought to bring an umbrella, they reckoned, sighing in premature relief at the thought of her, waiting in the shop for them. They quickly pulled their headband off, brushing their dark bangs downwards and tossing the band into the locker for the next day.

As they pushed back through the door to the coffee shop, Payton felt like their feet had ceased to exist, leaving behind ankles that just floated through the air with a human body propped over them. They saw the back of Autumn’s head near the window, and they smiled to themself, momentarily forgetting the hunger and exhaustion and stress.

“See you tomorrow,” Jake called from behind the till.

Payton shot him a half-hearted salute, never slowing on their beeline to where Autumn was waiting. Well, it was less of a beeline than Payton would have liked; as though to personally inconvenience them, the coffee shop was full of tables and chairs and sofas, which needed to be manoeuvred around.

“Ooh!” Autumn exclaimed as arms snaked around her shoulders from behind the armchair. She dropped her book into her lap and reached up with one hand to tickle the back of Payton’s neck. “Hello, baby. Finished early?”

Payton mumbled an inaudible confirmation against her hair, not caring that they were probably messing up her ponytail. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Autumn said. “A little tired.”

“Me too,” Payton sighed, lifting their head but remaining slumped against the back of the armchair. They felt a gentle cramping in their stomach as they reconsidered their answer. “And hungry.”

“Huh.” Autumn reached up and tapped her book against the top of Payton’s head. The gesture was unnecessarily gentle, as though she’d hit them with something thicker than a paperback print of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. “Well, luckily for you, I’ve got all the makings of your favourite waiting in your fridge.”

Payton’s stomach clenched again, their heart lifting slightly. It had been tricky to get Lucy to agree to it, but Autumn had her own key to the apartment; not only did she call around to visit Payton so often that she might as well have lived there too, but there were often issues at home that she opted to spend the night away from.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

“Your famous sausage rolls?” Payton sank even harder against the back of the armchair, partly to be dramatic, but partly because their body literally weakened a little at the notion of Autumn’s cooking.

Autumn smiled up at them from the cushions. “Pastry’s already made. Just got to assemble and bake them. I got us some oven chips too. Oh – I forgot to check if you had any beans in the cupboard, though.”

“We’re four college students; of course we’ve got beans in the cupboard,” Payton assured her, loudly enough to disguise the fact that their stomach was growling again as they pictured the dinner they hadn’t known awaited them.

“Excellent point.” Autumn scooped up the strap of her shoulder bag and slipped her book inside. She smoothed down the hem of her pinafore as she stood up. “Ready to go?”

“Way beyond ready,” Payton smiled, watching her scoop up the umbrella that was resting against the arm of the chair.

 ***

Payton wriggled uncomfortably in a scratchy tram seat, unable to find a relaxed position where they didn’t feel painful pressure building up in their stomach. It was really starting to ache, now that there was nothing to keep Payton’s mind busy. They would have loved nothing more than to be home already, biting into the flaky pastry and warm, soft filling of Autumn’s sausage rolls and finally getting something into their cramping belly.

“You alright, baby? You’re quiet.”

“Am I?” Payton laughed. Their head was spinning just a little, and their voice was starting to sound shaky. “Sorry, I’m just very tired.”

It didn’t feel good to lie to Autumn, even if it was less a lie and more a concealment of the truth. She would never say the words out loud, but Payton knew that she thought of them as a pushover, both in matters at work and at the apartment. There were a lot of aspects of their job that she called unacceptable, and if she’d had her way, they would have quit the coffee shop by now. They had no idea how she would react if they became a shift supervisor and had to take on even more responsibilities, but Payton reckoned that was a discussion for another night when things were a little more certain.

In the meantime, it was best not to say anything about having to skip lunch.

Slipping their hands into the pockets of their open jacket, Payton subtly rubbed their middle, feeling their empty stomach roll around in distress. They tensed and held their breath, hoping to prevent any noises from emerging.

There was a sharp jerking motion as the train slowed to a stop. Autumn gasped lightly and put out a hand to stop herself from sliding forward in her seat. They both looked at each other and held the gaze for a moment before a voice crackled over the tram’s intercom.

“Apologies, folks, it’s just a minor technical issue. Service will resume shortly.”

“Shortly?” Autumn mumbled in annoyance. “Talk about vague...”

“Damn it,” Payton sighed, sinking lower in their seat and pushing their hands deeper into the pockets of their jacket. “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Autumn chuckled; she was still sitting fully upright, leaning towards Payton’s seat as she tried to see up to the top of the tram. “Assumptive of you to refer to yourself as good people.”

“Not me, baby. I was talking about you.”

“Oh. Aw. Thank you.” Autumn smiled and reached out a hand, both to acknowledge Payton and to give herself some balance as she craned her neck. 

The hand landed lightly on Payton’s belly, which - in their slumped position - acted as an almost-flat surface for her to lean on as she continued peering up through the carts. She was probably expecting to see tram staff coming through, explaining the situation to the passengers; what she probably wasn’t expecting was to feel rumbling movement beneath her palm, which was accompanied by a loud, pinched growl.

Payton let out a little groan too, turning their face to bury it against Autumn’s shoulder.

“What’s going on, baby?” Autumn half-laughed, her eyes trained on Payton’s stomach as it vibrated under her hand again. She teasingly ran a finger between the buttons in their shirt, gesturing as though to peek under the fabric. “You hiding an angry tiger in there?”

“I told you I was hungry.”

“Yeah, but...” Autumn gasped and rubbed a wide circle across Payton’s belly as it roared again, prompting them to glance around and make sure the seats close to them hadn’t magically filled up with people in the last few seconds.

Autumn, on the other hand, had had her attention drawn away from anything to do with the tram, and towards a particular, grumbling organ. “Baby, what’d you have for lunch?”

Payton groaned again, wriggling a little further down so that their knees were pressed against the seat in front of them. They felt a red blush in their cheeks as Autumn sat back and peered down at their face.

They sighed, eyes trailing down to where Autumn’s hand was still resting on their belly. “The shop was really busy today, and the shift supervisor couldn’t come in, so I ended up working through lunch.”

Payton then held their breath again, both in anticipation of their stomach letting out another whine under Autumn’s palm, and of her response.

“You’re so good, baby.”

Payton raised their eyebrows. “Am I? You’re not mad at me?”

“Of course I’m not mad at you,” Autumn sighed. “I obviously don’t like it when you don’t take care of yourself properly, but I also wish I had your level of dedication.”

A smile played on Payton’s lips as they nudged the side of their head against Autumn’s waist. “Jake’s gonna see about getting me bumped up to supervisor.”

“And he should,” Autumn laughed, lifting her other hand to sweep Payton’s eyes out of their eyes. “You’re amazing at that job, and no one ever tells you enough.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Autumn leaned down to kiss the side of Payton’s head. “Just promise me that you’ll use your powers as supervisor for good. Like giving yourself lunch breaks.” She gently tapped one finger against Payton’s stomach. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Payton mumbled, burying their face as their chest fluttered. The glow of being praised and worried about lasted only a precious moment though, because there was still an empty belly in the vicinity, and it was determined not to let itself be forgotten in all the chatter.

“You’re mad at Payton though, aren’t you?” Autumn pursed her lips as she spoke to their stomach, as though she was talking to a cat. She patted her hand against Payton’s belly as it grumbled. “That’s okay, I’d be mad too, if my owner spent the day giving yummy food to customers and not me.”

The mention of food sent Payton’s thoughts drifting back towards the dinner that had been promised, and they groaned again, this time nudging their head right into Autumn’s lap. She bit her lip and glanced around at the nearby seats, once more confirming that there was nobody else in the cart.

“Comfy down there?” There was a tiny twist of irony in Autumn’s voice, but her tone was mostly genuine. 

“Kind of,” Payton said, using both hands to keep Autumn’s pressed to their aching gut. They glanced up at the grey ceiling of the tram, at the darkness that lay just outside the window, hopelessness welling in their chest as their belly rolled unhappily. “Just so hungry.”

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just wish I knew how long we were gonna be stuck here.”

“Me too,” Autumn sighed. “But no matter how long it takes us to get home, I’m still going to cook for you the minute we get in.”

“Mmm.” Payton smiled to themself and closed their eyes, letting go of Autumn’s hand as it began to work slow, gentle circles into their belly through their shirt. “Thank you.”

[piratesfromspace]

The Nightmare (Mandalorian x Cobb Vanth x Reader)

Pairing: The Mandalorian x Cobb Vanth x Reader

Summary: Reader has a pretty awful and vivid nightmare involving Din, Cobb and them being kidnapped. Comfort ensues.

This story is part 3 of my series “A Mandalorian, a Marshal, and some complicated feelings”. You can read part 1 here: “Two saviors and some hope” and part 2 here: Five Times. I strongly advise you read them first!

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: detailed description of violence, blood, threat of sexual violence (but no actual), threat of slavery

A/N: Neutral pronouns for reader but they are perceived as feminine by the villain (no specific description of Reader's body). English is not my native language, please be kind. Fic also available on ao3.

MASTERLIST

Part 1   Part 2

“On your knees.”

You fall on your knees on the cold steel floor of the ship. You don’t really remember how you ended up here, the only thing that you know is that the hand that pushed you down is now grabbing a fistful of your hair to have you raise your head. It’s an order more than an invitation, the pressure on your neck on the brink of becoming unbearable at any moment.

Your captor is towering above you, dark-blue skin and mean red eyes looking at you with something dark in them. You struggle against his grip, but it’s useless and you know it. Your hands are tightly bound behind your back. You’re already hurting all over, the taste of blood and despair in your mouth. He finally lets go of your hair, and your head falls limply on your chest.

“I told you I couldn’t wait to put a new chip in your brain, right? Well let’s get on with this.” You can guess the cruel smile on his face, the disturbing way he seems to be enjoying all of this way too much. “Hold her down.”

Two of his thugs grab your shoulders and upper arms, preventing you from going anywhere. You feel his own hand grab your neck, and the touch of his bare slimy skin against yours sends a chill of disgust through your whole body. The cold device bumps into your neck, just above his fingers, and as a wave of terror hits you, you feel a sharp pinch followed by an awful sensation of burn slowly spreading in your nape.

“So? Wasn’t that bad, was it?”

He removes the metallic device and lets it fall on a nearby tray with a theatrical clatter. Tears are filling your vision with the realization that all you’ve done up until now, trying to survive and build a new life for you, all of this was for nothing. You’re a prisoner again, with a freaking tracker chip stuck to your skull.

“Now, what else did I promise back in this small alley…” He circles you slowly, like a freaking loth-wolf playing with his prey before killing it - or worse .

“Oh yeah, I think I mentioned your two little friends.” He crouches in front of you, forcing you to look at his face. His pupils are blown wide, two orbs of blackness in a glowing sea of lava-red. “So I think we should welcome them then, what do you say?”

It’s like he’s speaking about actual friends, and his casualness becomes more and more terrifying as you’re living, helpless, your own demise.

With a quick move of his hand, he signals his crew and a few seconds later, the door in front of you slides open. Your jaw goes slack as you watch half a dozen of the slaver’s men bringing in the Marshal and the Mandalorian. Despite their hands bound and the chains linking their ankles, even visibly exhausted by what should have been a long and gruesome fight, the criminals are having a hard time containing them both. They are coerced into kneeling, strongly held back by your captor’s henchmen, facing you.

“No, no, no, no...” it’s a whisper at first, but it becomes a scream you cannot hold back. Through your tears, you can see the dried blood in Cobb’s beard, the mess of mud and dark unknown fluids on the rare pieces of beskar still on Din’s body. You're almost relieved to find he still has his helmet on, even though the black glass of the visor is visibly cracked.

A blue hand is suddenly splayed across your mouth and chin, shutting you up.

“Shh shh, that’s how you say hello to your friends? Not very nice!”

In a reckless reaction, you withdraw from his hold in a quick move of your head and bite his nearby fingers with all the strength left in you. He jerks back, cursing, holding his injured hand while a few droplets of blood trickle on his clothes. You don’t have the time to savor your little victory before the strength of his blow forces your face to the side. You kinda knew there was going to be a backlash, and you don’t regret it. Your cheek was already bruised anyway.

“You’ll regret this.” he growls through gritted teeth.

You hear him rummaging behind you, probably trying to swipe his hand clean from the blood on it. Good luck with that.

“Well, where were we? Oh. Right. My mark. Bring me my tool.” he snaps his fingers impatiently and one of his goons brings him what looks like a branding iron. The end of it is star-shaped, and you can see sparks running around the metallic edge, ready to burn his mark into your flesh.

You start trashing against the hands that hold you down, a vain attempt to escape what’s coming next. You’re not the only one struggling though, Cobb and Din trying to break free as well.

“Let them go!” Mando’s voice, usually steady, sounds desperate “The bounty put on my head by the Hutts, I bet it’s high enough, you don’t need to keep them. You don’t need to keep him either.” he says with a nod of his head toward Cobb. “If you free them, I’ll promise I’ll let you deliver me to whoever offers the highest reward.”

“Din, no, please...” Cobb seems to be on the verge of crying.

The Chiss seems to be gauging the offer. The smile on his face grows bigger and he finally speaks, looking thrilled.

“That’s an interesting offer, Mandalorian.” his smile changes into a mockery of a pout. “But I’m afraid I have to decline. See, I’m sure I’ll be able to get a very good price for your girlfriend here. Look, almost as pretty as a Twi’Lek! She’s worth some credits for sure... even more so if I trade her as a pleasure slave.” He says this part with a nasty grin, deliberately taunting the men who were supposed to protect you, like you weren’t even there. For him it’s not about you, it’s about getting revenge for that one time they freed you. You’re just a pawn in his little game. Anger joins the atrocious cocktails of emotions you’re already feeling. Of course, both Din and Cobb battle against their shackles and the men trying to contain them, letting out threats you all know they can’t follow up on.

“Enough of this.” The Chiss barks. “Now before we begin, one more thing, Mandalorian. I would not want for you to miss anything because of a broken visor.” He turns to the two guards in the back of the room. “Remove his helmet.”

You shriek, and as unholy hands grab the beskar, you close your eyes. Cobb’s yelling is breaking your heart, you hear metal clatters, fabric being ripped, the muffled thud of a blow in the gut. You squeeze your eyes even harder, you don’t want to know what’s really happening, don’t want to see Din’s face, not like this. Of course you had already imagined seeing what he looked like, but on his own terms, when and if he wanted to, not forced by some evil brute.

“Oh come on, open your eyes woman, I’m sure you want to see.” You shake your head. Your captor starts losing patience. “Open your eyes, or you won’t have any left” he threatens, his fist grabbing your hair again.

“Did you hear what I said?”

He tugs so painfully at your scalp, you’re so scared, you’re so lost, you finally give up and open your eyes. Your vision is blurry but your gaze falls immediately on Din’s face. He’s handsome despite the sweat and the dark traces of blood smearing his face, features almost like you had imagined them. He’s looking at the floor, livid, and you can’t even fathom the hurt and the shame of the humiliation to be exposed like this, on top of being unable to prevent both of his lovers from getting hurt.

“Yoo too, look at him!” Your tormentor is next to Cobb now, almost strangling him, trying to make him follow his order. The Marshal makes a series of desperate noises, gasping for air, eyes still squeezed shut.

“Stop it, please! Please...” The distress in Din’s voice is gut-wrenching. It’s the first time you hear him plead for mercy.

“It’s okay, Cobb, do as he says, it’s okay, I swear.” Cobb probably knows it’s not okay, and that the reassuring words are nothing but a way for Mando to try stopping the arm done to him. But he has no choice than to listen and he finally looks at him.

You can read the word sorry on Cobb’s lips when his eyes meet Din’s.

“You all are a bit stubborn, for Maker’s sake.” Your captor looks slightly upset. “But we’re not done yet.” He comes back behind you, and takes his branding tool while the guards holding you slice open the back of your shirt with a vibroblade. You can hear the device buzz to life behind the protests of your two beloved and the voice of the Chiss.

“You better stay still for your own sake.”

You can’t think of a reply because the tip of the iron touches your skin, just next to your right shoulder blade, and the pain eats away all your thoughts. It hurts like hell and more. You try to squirm away from the device in a gut-reaction. But it’s worse. You want to scream but there is not enough air into your lungs and it feels like you can’t take any more breaths. Your vision is filled with dark spots and you’re sure you’re gonna faint any second.

That’s when you wake up.

With a small gasp, drenched in sweat, out of breath. The room is dark and quiet. You silently slip out of the bed, heading for the refresher and trying not to disturb the two men peacefully sleeping next to you.

You put your head under the faucet, letting the cold water run on your face, fingers rubbing your skin, like you’re trying to erase the memories of the nightmare.

Kriff, what is wrong with me?

There is a soft knock on the door.

“You ok sweetheart?” Cobb’s voice is still hoarse with sleep.

You let the door slide open to reveal your Marshal, tall and handsome with his messy grey hair. The familiar figure warms your mood more than you expected.

“Just a nightmare.”

“Like the usual ones?”

“Not… really.”

“Want to tell me about it?”

“Mmm” it’s not a yes, neither a no.

“Want to go back to bed?” he tries tentatively.

“I don’t think I can sleep right now. The suns are gonna start rising anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m not sleepy either.” you know it’s a blatant lie because Cobb had been yawning non-stop since the beginning of your conversation.

“I’ll go make us some caf. And then we can even watch the sunrise if you’d like.” He adds with a kind smile. You appreciate the offer nonetheless.

“Join me when you want, honey.” he turns his heels to leave but you stop him in his way.

“Cobb?”

“Yes?”

“Can I have a hug?”

He lets out a chuckle and takes you in his arms. You melt into the warmth of his body, your head resting on the solid plane of his chest. He leaves a chaste kiss on your forehead before heading to the kitchen.

When you join him, he’s already on the small deck in front of his house, and he hands you a steaming mug of sugary caf. You sit on the bench, next to him, and he wraps an arm around you, his hand resting on your waist. You sip on the hot drink, tongue almost burning, letting it ground you in the moment. The air is just warm, not as cold as during the night, not yet as scorching as during the day. The two suns are lazily rising above the horizon, the sky all sorts of pinkish colors.

“You know, this nightmare, it was… It felt so real.”

He hums in approbation, doesn’t want to interrupt you.

“Remember when I told you what he said that night in Mos Eisley?”

No more details are needed for him to understand who and what you’re talking about.

“Well, everything he said… it happened in my nightmare. He captured me. And you, and Din.”

“Hey, it’s over now, ‘was just a bad dream. I won’t let anyone hurt the people I love, I promise.”

He tucks you closer against him and you know he means it. You clear your throat, hesitant to go on.

“The worst wasn’t the pain, wasn’t even when he mentioned he would sell me to a brothel or something, it was when he removed Din’s helmet and he forced us to watch.”

You needed to let this detail out of your system. You leave out the part involving a star-shaped mark, at least for now, because you know Cobb is wearing one on his back and you don't want to bring back more bad memories.

Cobb’s fingers are clenching against your hips. He sighs.

“I’m sorry you had to experience this, love. I know how dreams can seem so vivid, it’s legit traumatizing. Please wake me up next time, I don’t care if I’m having the best sleep of my life, I want you to feel safe, always. I’ll do anything you need me to.”

“I know.” you whisper, letting your head fall on his shoulder.

You take another sip of the delicious liquid out of your cup, and as the light of the two suns is slowly casting the streets of Mos Pelgo into an orange glow, warming up the sand and your skin, you feel like the shadow of your nightmare is finally retreating, burnt away by the new dawn.

[invisibleimages]

christmas confessions

james potter x fem!reader

words: 1,251

a/n: second installment of my twenty five day christmas writing challenge. thank you for the notes on the last one shot, i really appreciate it and i actually freaked out for like ten minutes because i was so happy. this is horribly rushed, I thought I would finish and publish it early today but it was longer than expected. i'm sorry my writing is super sh*tty. like and follow if you enjoyed♡

summary: james and the maraurders spend christmas at the l/n residence and chaos ensues.

warnings: swearing, ooc characters, bad writing, rushed ending, sleep deprived author

Christmas spent with the Potters was nothing new for the L/ns family, they had been doing it for years now, even before James and Y/n had gone off to Hogwarts when they were 11. Both families lived on the same street, only about two doors down for one another. Which by default meant Y/n and James would grow up conjoined at the hip.

They were truly inseparable even throughout their Hogwarts time when they made other friends and pursued different activities, they always found a way to be together through and through. But this year was different, this year James had invited his friends over.

Of course Y/n knew about the maraurders, the whole school knew about them, but Y/n never really took anytime to talk to them. James brought up his gang of misfits on a few occasions but Y/n never really had any connection with them. Their paths just never really crossed except on a few occasions, and even then they had no memorable interaction. But since James invited them over for Christmas, Y/n had to attempt to socialize with them.

“Y/n get the ham out of the oven so I can get the door!” Doing as told, Y/n snuck glances at the door, nearly dropping the ham when she saw James, clad with the red sweater she had gotten him last Christmas and a ugly pair of khakis that she's sure his mom made him wear. Not far behind were the other marauders.

“Y/n come welcome in the guests while I set up the rest of the table.” Walking in the living room, Y/n greeted the Potters with a hug before moving along towards the fellow teens. James opened his arms upon seeing her and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. The other marauders were greeted accordingly once he let go, which took awhile. “Nice to finally meet you guys.”

“James talks a lot about you” Flushing,. Y/n offered Sirius with a small smile, totally oblivious to James threatening hand gestures that Remus and Peter had the pleasure of snickering to. “Hope it's nothing embarrassing….” Y/n couldn't help but think of all the embarrassing things she's told James over the years and silently prayed that he didn't tell the other boys. “I'd never embarrass you N/n” Sharply turning to him, Y/n saw the cheeky expression plastered on his face. “Calling me that is embarrassing!”

“Common kids, let's eat!” Mrs. Potter yelled from the dinning room. The 5 made their way to the table, mouths watering at the sight of all the delicious food M/n had cooked. “This all looks amazing Mrs. L/n, thank you for having us over.” Remus said sitting down next to Peter. “Thank you son, now everyone, EAT!” Y/n's mom gushed at the complement, digging into her own food shortly after seeing everyone's reactions to her heavenly cooking.

“So y/n,” Mrs Potter said, cutting into the ham she had previously put on her plate “How have you been with studies, I'm sure you're doing well. Better than james I hope.” Chuckling a bit, Y/n looked at her plate and stabbed her fork into her mashed potatoes. “I've been doing quite well in my schooling Mrs Potter, my grades are higher than ever actually!”

“That's wonderful dear! James, tell us about that study date you two had that you kept blabbing on about!” Mr. Potter nudged James a bit, bellowing in laughter when he saw his son's flustered face.

Y/n couldn't help but become flustered herself, seeing as though the whole table was laughing at the two embarrassed teens. Joining into playfully jab at his friend, Sirius exclaimed lousy “The bloke wouldn't bloody shut up about it for days!”

If it was even possible, both Y/n and James flushed even harder, growing more embarrassed with the constant laughter surrounding the two. Taking his opportunity to speak, Peter spoke out in his fits of laughter “Yeah, he's so in love with her he talks about her 24/7! He's always trying to come up with ways to ask her out but he never goes through with it!” Peter laughed for a solid minute, not noticing he was the only one. The rest of the table was dead silent, looking at James, Peter, or Y/n. Waiting for one of them to make the next move.

“Wait…. what does he mean?” James visibly paled, getting up as quickly as he could and rushed down the hall towards the bathroom. “I-I gotta go!” The table was purely quite for a second, seemingly in shock at James' sudden dash. Getting up as quickly as she could, Y/n leaped out of her own chair and rushing behind him to follow after him. “W-wait! James!”

The door slammed was already closed when she got in front of it. “James?” Y/n asked, hoping he would open the door for her to come in. “James I know you're in there, let me in so we can talk. Please….” Watching the door slowly open, Y/n quickly stepped through and swiftly locked the door behind her.

Neither one of them talked for a moment, they just stood staring at each other. Y/n eventually broke the suffocating silence. “It's okay, I know the teasing was a bit much” Averting his gaze from her and straightening himself out, James stood as stiff as a board. “Yeah…” He trailed off. Trying to lighten the mood, Y/n smiled at the taller boy. “Well if it makes ya feel any better, red really is your color!” Laughing at her corny jokes, James couldn't help but smile at the smaller girl. “You're a riot, you know that N/n…” Smirking at the boy Y/n jokingly said, “Of course I do you bloody plonker, how did you think I became such good friends with you?”

The two laughed, the atmosphere of the room turning into a more cheerful one. “Ya'know Y/n I really really like you, scratch that, I love you and I want you to want me too. And, it's okay if you don't feel the same way I'll totally be okay with that even though I've been in love with you since 4th year and-” Y/n shut him up with a swift kiss, seeing she had to cut off his out of character blabber. She pulled away, looking at the shocked expression on his face. “James, stop talking. I thought it was pretty obvious that I liked you, hell all the Ravenclaw girls totally planned out a little romance story for us, and yes I did read the whole thing.”

“I love you James Potter.” Giving him another kiss, he pulled Y/n into him by the waist and deepening the kiss. Pulling away, Y/n left a lingering kiss in the corner of his mouth, “I think we should go back now before they suspect something dirty happened.” Unlocking the door, Y/n motioned for James to walk out first mumbling out a quiet “ladies first” when he was just about out of earshot.

“Sorry for running off before, I was just embarrassed.” James said, sitting down at his seat and going back to eating his food. Y/n's mom leaned over to whisper in the ear, “What happened in there?”

“Nothing.” Y/n said plainly, shooting a small glance at James before going back to her food.

[otonymous]

A Bolt From The Blue (MLQC Shaw - NSFW) - Part IV (End): Courage, My Love

Description: The final chapter.  The Big Bang 😉  Warnings: NSFW/18+: Explicit/graphic language & mature themes — reader discretion is advised.  Potential trigger warnings: physically aggressive behaviour, ex-boyfriends, angst, size kink, profanity, vaginal fingering and intercourse Word Count: 4237 words (~21 mins of thrills, real talk, fluff and smut) Author’s Notes: To all the lovelies who have been patiently following this story: you’ve made it! 🥳  Welcome to the final chapter in this Shaw saga, where we aim to go out with a massive bang (pun intended 😆).  Once again, thank you all for every like, reblog, and comment I’ve received on this story.  You are all amazing, and I appreciate your support! 💕

As always, tagging the lovely @op-peccatori​ — I hope you enjoyed this story!  I certainly had lots of fun writing this!  Please note the potential trigger warnings listed above, dear readers, and happy reading! 

Jump to Chapter(s): One | Two | Three

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The quiet is back.

But there is no peace, no relief in the monotony that follows after the man known as Shaw burst into your life like a bolt from the blue, stirring up long forgotten feelings like dead leaves animated by a carefree wind — here one minute, gone the next.

And with each passing day, hope erodes.

Little by little, your heart learns not to race as the clock above the magazine rack approaches 1:30.

It becomes harder to remember the sound purple sneakers made walking through the store.

You stop hoping, wishing, to see a head of lavender hair; that the next person to approach the register would place a cup of Pepsi mixed with Coke on the counter, amber-eyed gaze speaking volumes without uttering a single word.

Days become weeks, and then eventually…

…you stop counting them altogether.

* * *

“You’re looking good.  I see you’re doing well for yourself.”

He reaches for the jade pendant hanging around your neck, eyes flashing with amusement when you hit his hand away with an audible smack.

“What the hell do you want?  Haven’t you already done enough?” You say through grit teeth, steps quickening as you head for the better lit part of the street, trying to outpace the man and silently cursing the fact that returning to the convenience store was no longer an option at this point.

“C’mon baby, don’t be like that.  It took a lot of effort to track you down and I waited a very long time for you to get off work.  It’s cold, dark and lonely out here.  Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?  Or friend, at least?”

“ ‘Ex-boyfriend,’ asshole, and you’re no friend of mine, especially not after the way you took my life’s savings and ran.”

“Baby, it wasn’t like that—”

“Oh yeah?!  Did you try telling that to the loan sharks too before they came and trashed my place?  I had to move, Leto, because it wasn’t safe for me anymore, not with the way they kept harassing me and the neighbours asking about your whereabouts.  They even came to my office.  I lost my fucking job.  So don’t come around here and tell me that I’m doing well for myself.”

Breaking into a sprint, your mind races as you try to think of a way to lose your ex, anger and anxiety prickling every nerve in equal measure.  He had ruined your life, singlehandedly taken away everything you had.  And though you had known him once, desperation has a way of making monsters out of men.

And right now, for all you knew, he was desperate and dangerous.

“Please, I just want to talk.  I don’t need much this time, just a little bit to get me through this rough patch.  I’ll pay you back, I swear, just…just STOP FOR A MOMENT!—”

You shriek to feel Leto wrap his hand about your wrist, but before he could tighten his grip, another arm is thrown around your shoulder, pulling you back until you’re pressed up against a hard, muscular chest, staring at a close up of Snoopy riding a skateboard.

“You got business with my girl?”

That voice.  Dangerous and cocksure, yet comforting like nothing else as the muffled words reverberate through the tiny bones of your ear, a prelude to the soothing ba-bump of his heart, rhythm steady and concrete as the ground upon which you stood.

Shaw.

He’s really here.

“Hehe.  Your girl?”  The derision in Leto’s voice makes you sick to your stomach; you can’t help but hold your breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop as he looks Shaw up and down, zeroing in on his old t-shirt.  “Tsk, tsk.  So, not only do you enjoy wearing second hand clothing, you also have the habit of picking up sloppy seconds?”

BOOM!

Deafening thunder rolls moments after a bolt of lightning rends the night sky in two, throwing a jagged spotlight on the fury written on Shaw’s face when he moves just as fast to grab a fistful of Leto’s collar.  The muscles of his forearm bulge as he holds up the entirety of Leto’s bodyweight in one hand, the sky opening in a sudden downpour as your ex struggles in midair, rain dripping almost comically from dangling feet.

And when Shaw brings Leto’s terrified face up close, the ferocity in those amber eyes sends a chill up your spine.

“This is the last time you’ll ever talk to her, see her, even think about her.  Or else I’ll find you and take my sweet time making you wish you were never born, do you understand me?”

Head bobbing in vigorous nods, drops of water fly off the tips of Leto’s rain-slicked hair.  Seemingly satisfied, Shaw tosses him onto the ground at your feet, voice low yet audible as it cuts through the din of the storm when he says, “Beg for her forgiveness.”

The fear in his expression almost palpable, Leto looks between you and Shaw — cowardice etched onto features you had once found so pleasing a lifetime ago.  He prostrates himself onto the wet pavement, voice cracking in between sobs as he yells over the sound of the rain:

“P-please…please forgive me!  I’m a piece of shit!  I’m nothing, I’m garbage!  I…I deserve to go to Hell for what I did to you!  I-I’m so sorry!  Please forgive me!”

Leto reaches out a shaky hand towards your soaked shoes before he remembers Shaw’s warning, but it is too late.  Black combat boots hit the concrete hard within an inch of Leto’s face as Shaw stoops, yanking back a fistful of hair and pulling until your ex is looking up at you like a pitiful supplicant begging for mercy.

“Satisfied?”  Shaw looks to you as if he were asking about something as mundane as the weather.  You nod, suddenly too tired to even speak.  You wanted to wash your hands of Leto, wanted nothing to do with all that had happened since you finished your shift at the convenience store.  All you could do was watch as Leto scrambled away on all fours the moment Shaw loosened his hold, running until he was nothing more than a speck of darkness merging with the night.

The rain is cold, wetness driving against your body to leech even the final bits of warmth from bone.  Your clothes are drenched, heavy as they cling uncomfortably to skin.  But you are too drained to care, lacking the energy to even notice when the dim light of the streetlamp above is blotted out — Shaw holding his leather jacket over your head in the place of an umbrella.

All you are aware of before your vision goes dark is the anxiety in his voice when he calls your name over and over again, how weightless it felt to be carried in the cradle of his arms.  

How much you missed the scent you thought you had learned to forget.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?”

You opened your eyes to gaze into irises of warm amber, the situation similar to one you experienced before except for the fact that this time, you were the one lying in bed, staring at a man who sat on its edge, brows knit with concern beneath soft lavender strands.

“If you slept for any longer, I would’ve had to knock on your neighbour’s door.” Shaw chuckles but the sound is hollow, mirthlessness obvious like the blanched knuckles of his tightly clenched fists.

“What…how did we…” You begin, voice raspy as it dies, a sudden sharp pain in your throat making you wince.

And immediately, Shaw is on his feet, rummaging through cupboards in your kitchen until he finds a glass.  You watch him run the tap, fill it to the brim.  Feel the strength of his arm around your back as he holds you up, touch lingering even as you down the water in gulps to chase the discomfort away.

“You passed out not long after your douchebag of an ex ran off with his tail between his legs.  I found your keys in your purse, so I let myself into your apartment — hope you don’t mind.  Although, to be fair, I was also carrying you at the time, so it’s not really breaking and entering.”

Head feeling like it would explode as the events of the evening come rushing back, you turn towards him…slowly…slowly, afraid Shaw might disappear before your eyes should any movement prove too sudden.

Thank him.  Now.  Before he goes away again.

He is close, so close that you can count those long, beautiful lashes; almost feel the minuscule shifts in the air between you every time he blinks — those pupils encroaching onto gold as they expand and pulling you into their depths as they do.

“Why are you doing this?”

He doesn’t flinch at your question, and you can’t bring yourself to be shocked by the discrepancy between what you meant to say and the words actually spilling from your lips.  And as the grey memory of days spent counting the hours of his absence settles like lead in the pit of your stomach, the only thing you knew was that your heart couldn’t survive latching onto this sliver of hope only to have it ripped away again.

All you wanted…was the truth.

“Because I can’t stand to see you sad anymore.”

There is no smirk to stretch across that handsome face, only pain that hurts your heart to see it.  Resignation heavy in his voice, Shaw takes a deep breath before he continues.

“Turns out I’m weak when it comes to you.  Selfish.  I know I’m no good for you; there’s no future with me.  I can’t give you anything, can’t even promise you tomorrow, but…I just can’t stop thinking about you.  Wondering how you are.  Whether you’re eating well, sleeping well.  If you’re safe…happy.

“Tonight wasn’t supposed to happen.  I just wanted to make sure you got home okay, that some asshole wasn’t going to hassle you at work.  But then your ex showed up and when he tried to get fresh with you, well…I couldn’t let that slide.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s wrong with me but…I’m sorry, if I ever made you sad, if I scared you.  I’m sorry for everything.”

His gaze drops to the rip in his jeans, the drip, drip of the leaky faucet the only sound in the ensuing silence of his confession.  That is, until you say,

“I’m sorry too…that you’re such an idiot.”

His head whips up, brows furrowed and mouth slack as if caught in a rare moment of speechlessness.  The shock makes him seem years younger, lending him an air of innocence that you couldn’t help but smile at.

“In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m a grown woman, capable of making my own decisions.  I’m not so naïve that I don’t know what I would be getting into by being with you.  You say you can’t promise me tomorrow, but tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.  All we can ask for — hope for — is the here and now.  

“Love takes courage, as does life.  But a life without love…it’s not much of a life, is it?  So I’m willing to be brave if that’s what it’ll take for us to be together.”

As quickly as they came, the words are gone, leaving you cotton-mouthed and faint as your heart pounds to send the blood rushing to your ears.  That could’ve been the only explanation as to why Shaw’s “I knew there was a reason why I loved you” sounded so muffled you had to ask him to repeat himself.

“Too bad, I only say things once.”

And there it is again: the spark in his eyes, smirk on those lips — igniting the fire you only allowed yourself to feel in dreams of his body on yours, skin to skin like kindling to flame.

“Are you that single-minded about everything?”  You ask, the smile on your face mirroring his as it approaches closer…

“Only when it comes to not letting go of the one I care about.”

…closer…

“Tell me one thing.”  Your voice is barely above a whisper.

…and closer still.

Lips now a hair’s breadth apart, the gentle rhythm of his exhalation blows soft upon your cupid’s bow; a shy request.  Your vision is filled with him, wonderfully awash with colour — lavender, amber, the soft pink of his mouth — and you wished you were the very clothes upon his body; saturated in his intensity, dyed in his hues.

His eyes fixate on your tongue when you wet your lips before asking, “That night, when you were hurt so badly you passed out in my store…why did you still insist on coming in?”

Shaw’s breath catches, hitching in his throat.  You know because you can feel it, the way the warmth stops short on your skin.  And when he speaks, the eyes that hold yours tell you this is no lie.

“Because if it was going to be the last night of my life, I didn’t want to go without seeing your face one more time.”

Love is a funny thing.  Formless, senseless, yet the strongest thing that could bind two strangers.  You hadn’t known Shaw for long, could count the days you spent together on one hand.  And still, entirely without reason, he bled into each and every hour, crept into the darkest corners of your mind to fill your weary heart with a desperation that made it very clear that love was far from done with you.

That right or wrong, the only place you wanted to be was here — held in the arms that wrapped around your body: hot, tight, safe…

…Shaw.

His lips are softer than you ever imagined when he brings his face to yours, plush silk gliding corner to corner to cover your mouth in reverent kisses — one for each night he came into your store, watched over you from afar.  

Your stalwart protector.

You tasted it now, the remnants of cinnamon on his tongue from the gum he was so fond of chewing, intensified by the memory of all the times you wondered about its flavour: pink bubbles popping in his mouth as he coolly dealt with the robber, the night you emptied his pockets as your neighbour stitched him up on your bed.

Shaw tasted sweet.  Far sweeter than you ever imagined.

And when his tongue slides against yours — slow and sure as it explores your mouth with increasing fervour before drawing back just as you clenched around emptiness, yearning for more, the beast within you refuses to abide.

You like the shock that passes over his face when you move, sudden and forceful, to push him onto the mattress beneath you; the artless way Shaw sinks teeth into his bottom lip in response.  You like how he watches as you straddle his hips — gaze earnest and body honest, hardening as you grind undulating circles upon his groin.

But, perhaps most of all, you liked the spark of something wild in those amber eyes, an unpredictability warning that if you weren’t careful, you’d be the one to find yourself pinned to the bed.

Because wasn’t that ultimately the push-and-pull that characterized so much between you and him?  Maddening at times, but always, always binding you to Shaw like some red string of fate.

So you nod when he whispers “May I?”, unable to suppress a moan to finally feel his hands on you: tracing along your jaw, cradling your face…resting the pad of his finger on your lip before pushing past to stroke your tongue.

Every sound he makes pleases; the soft hiss preceding the bob of his Adam’s apple to feel your lips pucker around his finger to suck, pink tongue enticing as it swirls along the length of that digit, drawing it deeper into the hot wetness of your mouth.

You never saw yourself as seductive before, but Shaw made you feel sexy.  Perhaps the impulse stemmed from some primitive desire, an instinctive call to please the man you felt so profoundly for that shame was the farthest thing from your mind when you pulled his hand from your lips to guide it to your breast, only partially aware of how wet you were becoming from his gaze alone — half-lidded and heavy with lust.

The heat of his touch permeates your blouse, white and transparent still in patches from the rain.  You watch his hands as they play: cupping your breasts in a gentle squeeze, thumbs and forefingers catching your nipples to pinch and roll until they stood stiff against the drape of your clothing, the flush of your flesh bold through fabric.

“You’re so beautiful that there are times I think you can’t possibly be real.”

His voice is low, husky.  You let it wash over you, almost frightened by how stupidly happy you become, willing the magic to linger even as his words dissipate amongst the sounds of the night: neon buzzing and the faraway screams of sirens in the distance.

A world apart.

Your hands find the broad expanse of his chest, tracing along muscle before circling the nipples that stood erect against his damp t-shirt.  Each twitch is endearing, every erratic breath he draws to feel your touch making you fall harder.  And when he tries to focus on unbuttoning your blouse while fighting the impulse to tear it clean off your body, the stirring between your legs grows in intensity until he finally pulls the silken panels aside, a quiet gasp escaping his lips to see his necklace nestled between your breasts.

“It really does belong on you.”  

The admiration in his tone is laced with a hint of possessiveness that makes you throb.  Shaw pushes himself to sitting, gathering you onto his lap in one smooth motion as he buries his face in your chest, inhaling deep.  You gasp to feel gentle teeth sink into the flesh of your breasts, Shaw following the chain of precious metal with his lips until it leads to the pendant.  And when his tongue slips out to draw the piece of jade into his mouth, he brings your nipple along with it.

“Oh!…”

The sensation is unlike any you’ve known before, the soft wetness of his pliant tongue a searing contrast with the cool, smooth stone rubbing against the sensitive tip of your breast in equal measure.  You feel his smile on your skin when you fist your hands into lavender hair, spine curving as your legs begin to tremble.

And he had yet to touch you below the waist.

“Your body responds so well to me.  I knew you were a good girl.”  He looks up at you, teasing shamelessly even as he continues to lavish attention on your breasts.

“Just your girl, if you’ll have me,” you say without second thought, long past the point of caring to keep your cards close to your chest.

Something breaks in that expression, the final walls crumbling like dust when Shaw blinks once…twice, revealing eyes that shine with emotion when he replies, “For the rest of my life, if you’ll have me.”

* * *

“Hmm!—”

Your moan is muffled, swallowed by Shaw’s greedy lips like he does with every sound of ecstasy that leaks like you do around his cock, buried impossibly deep in your body as it rocks back and forth, back and forth on his muscular thighs…

…doing your best to adjust to his ample size.

He had barely suppressed a chuckle when you first slipped your hand into his jeans, a subtle mix of pride and amusement on his face to see your eyes widen when you couldn’t quite wrap palm and fingers around the entirety of his girth.

And foreplay had only just begun.

“Still doing okay?” Shaw asks, touch tender as he brushes loose strands of hair from your eyes, lips smoothing along the apple of your cheek to feel its pink heat.  “We can go as slow as you want, there’s no rush.  If it’s too much, we can stop—”

“No!  No…I’m okay.  More than okay, I’m great.  Please…please don’t stop…don’t stop…”

Struggling to string words together, your breath comes in disjointed pants as Shaw begin to thrust up — the look on his face effortlessly sensual when he bites his lip to feel you spasm around him, tight wetness yielding in increments to accommodate his body as it broke new ground.

For you had never taken a man of that size, the litheness of Shaw’s muscular body belying the impressive package he’d been hiding in those jeans.  Your jaw ached just to look upon the length of that thick cock, mouth watering as a fresh wave of arousal made you press your thighs tighter together.  The movement didn’t go unnoticed.  Shaw had drawn you to him then — deft fingers dipping low to trace the outline of your swollen folds through moist panties, lavender head bending to kiss its lacy trim.

He took his time preparing you, licking his fingers before he eased them into your pussy — first one, then two…curling deep until the slippery sounds of arousal told him the time was ripe to introduce the third, leaving you blooming for him even as he whispered, “Think you’re ready for me to make you my girl for real?”

It borders on overwhelming, this sensation of fullness — between your legs, within your heart.  And as skin stretched to capacity to accommodate the sweet friction of his slide, you wished there was a way for the euphoria of this connection to last forever:

To the one you could never forget, no matter how hard you tried.

To this man you loved like no other.

“Shaw.”

His name is faint on your breath when he falls back onto the bed, taking you with him.  And as you found yourself straddling his hips once more, the altered angles of your bodies gave him the leverage to make you gasp when he begins to thrust in earnest.  The eroticism of his face, lost in lust, drives all thoughts from your mind as you drop a hand to your clit, fingers drawing tight circles before his hungry eyes.

The violence of your climax takes you by surprise, having no time to consider neighbours and thin walls as the lewdest sounds escape your lips at high volume.  Intense convulsions wracking your body in waves, you clench in time around your lover.  The sensation proves too much to bear, drawing out Shaw’s own release as he pulls out to spill onto the folds of your pussy — swollen and pink and trembling still beneath the coat of his pearlescent seed.

* * *

“I love you.”  

Morning light trickles across your walls like the slow crawl of spidery legs.  Shaw’s words hang in the air between you, a final, sacred moment shared between lovers before the rest of the world wakes.

You loved the hoarseness in his voice; a testament to the hours of noisy lovemaking you had shared in lieu of sleep.

You loved the weight of his hand, stroking softly at the crown of your head.

You loved the rhythm of his heart, echoing just below your ear to confirm his existence.

“I love you too.”

You look up into those amber eyes, trying to discern whether those four little words were sufficient in conveying that fact that you adored every fibre of the man before you.

The smile that graces his face in return is tender, honest…more brilliant than the day breaking in the East.

Your hands find his body, bare beneath the sheets.  And as a curious finger traces along the ridge of the scar that runs in a broad stroke across his sculpted abdomen, your gaze falls on his t-shirt, draped over the back of a chair.

“You should probably throw that Snoopy shirt away, especially after what happened last night.”

Shaw follows your line of sight, chest rising and falling in a deep sigh.  “Shitty as its previous owner was, I could never bring myself to hate something that reminds me of you.  Aside from saving my ass, this was the first gift you ever gave me.  And I never throw away gifts from my girl.”

His girl.

The mystery of life is that filled with unknowns though it is, we continue to live, brave in the face of the uncertainty that comes with every passing day.  You had no idea what fate had in store for you or Shaw, had no way of knowing if your relationship existed on borrowed time.  

The only thing you were certain of was that your feelings for each other were real, that try as you might, neither of you were very good at forgetting the other.  That in this moment, here and now, the only thing that mattered was this love that hit you…

…like a bolt from the blue.

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

Thanks so much for reading!  I hope you all enjoyed this Shaw saga! 💖 

Check out more of my work here! 📚 (Please do not repost/copy/alter my work.  Reblogs, on the other hand, are perfectly fine and much appreciated! 💖👍🏼)

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