#so I’ve gotten into the mandalorian recently if you couldn’t tell….

[sammys-magical-au]

Han: what the hell is that?

Luke, holding Grogu: it’s a baby we found in the trash.

Han: well put it back, it doesn’t belong to you.

Ben: we’re not gonna put it back!

Han: well give it to the Hutts, get it outta here, it’s bad for business!

[beskarberry]

Blue Orchid

Flowers for Ishtar, Chapter 1

(Nonhuman!Mando x f!Reader) [+18!]

You’d had to bite down on the corner of your blanket when you thought of him pinning you to the wall or bending you over the dashboard, stuffing you full of his length while he groaned his praises in your ears until you were soaked.

This was not at all what you had imagined.

Next->

Summary: You discover your hunting partner isn't human, which in a galaxy far, far away isn't that strange until his alien needs become too much for him to hide.

Rating: Explicit as FUCK

Word count: 9.2k

Content warnings: Major kinks: breeding and pregnancy, eggs and oviposition, mpreg/fpreg, alien genitalia. Minor kinks: praise, eating and weight gain. Kink sprinkles: threw some things in like just a tad of sex pollen, hair pulling, spanking, a very brief daddy kink, the idea of a/b/o. There's a few more but if you're familiar with my writing you know what's up. Negatives: body horror, dysphoria.

A/N: Yeah... um... hm... So this is some weird shit but if you enjoyed Garden of Ishtar this will be right up your alley. If that was weird and creepy for you then this is not for you! You have been warned!!!

There’s something strange going on with your partner.

Mando, as he insisted on being called, even though that was clearly not his real name, had been acting differently recently. Though he was an odd one from the get-go, the burly, short-tempered, efficient hunter took some getting used to, but now something about him was off.

It was a strange partnership you’d gotten yourself into, ever since that day you had been sitting in the same cantina booth as him on Nevarro, arguing with Karga over the last available bounty puck.

“Karga, I’m not splitting a puck with this guy.” You’d barked, crossing your arms and leaning back with a huff. Next to you, the armored stranger grunted in agitated agreement, his plated shoulders catching the light as they stiffened. You didn’t know each other, and as far as you could tell the only thing you both had in common was that you both worked for the Guild.

“Well that’s too bad!” The old agent stated, shaking his head. “This is the last one I’ve got until next month, so unless one of you wants to wait until then, this is all I have left. You're going to have to work together as a team.”

“Unless I kill her first.” The iron giant said coldly, not even looking your way.

“I’d like to see you try.” A knife flew from your belt to the table as you buried the tip of it in the faux wood counter, glaring daggers with your eyes at his shiny metal head.

“Easy now, we’re all friends here! Can’t have my two best hunters fighting, or killing each other…”

“Bullshit, I’m the best hunter here, Kargsy, and you know it.” Fury seethed from your words, but it was seemingly lost on the other man. “Tinman here can go fuck himself.”

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“No, but I fuck yours with it!”

Greef slammed a fist down on the table, making the trio of spotchka glasses bounce and spill. “That’s enough, either you two figure out how to play nice or neither of you will be getting this puck, or any other pucks for that matter! And that’s final!”

That was six months ago.

Despite your differences, the pair of you made for a terrifying duo, between his heavily armored body and your quick, nimble blades, it was like hell itself had released its most deadly demons. The bounty was found, hunted, and captured so quickly and easily that the minute the Razor Crest touched back down on Nevarro you were both excitedly harassing Karga for more.

Your newfound companion didn’t talk much, but what he didn’t say with his words he made up for with his actions. He gave you a little backstory, filling you in on his Mandalorian heritage and what that meant regarding his helmet and armor, and you were fine with the condition that he would never show his face around you. What he did show you was how lethal he could be, a whirlwind of blasters and beskar, an immovable object that coupled neatly with your unstoppable force.

It was poetry in motion.

Bounties fell at your feet like wheat before the scythe, wracking up credits like Kessel-running smugglers which you both blew on firearms and vibroblades as if the galaxy was ending tomorrow. What didn’t go towards guns and ammo went towards food and fuel, the Crest blasting off of Nevarro again and again and again.

As time went on, you slowly started to warm up to each other. You couldn’t really say you were friends, just work partners that happened to be flawlessly efficient at what they did. It was a fine arrangement, but over time small, but significant changes between you started to catch your attention.

You’d pinned a bounty, a large, malodorous Twi’lek that nearly squirmed out from your grasp, only to earn themselves a vicious cold-clocking to the back of their tentacled skull. Breath heavy and eyes burning with aggression, you’d slogged the captive into the carbonite freezer like you were taking out the trash, your wanton strength not going unnoticed by your companion.

“Good job.” Mando had said with a tilt of his helmet, watching your chest heave with adrenaline. “Such a strong verd’ika, can’t wait to see what you do to the next guy.” He’d never complimented you up to that point, if he spoke to you at all. It’d caught you off guard, but in a good way, and you knew right then you wanted to hear him say it again.

So you kept doing a good job.

And you did it on purpose.

The next bounty you held in place while Mando punched their lights out, holding steadfast against the living sledgehammer that was your partner, wincing every time you felt his fists explode against the Aqualish’s exoskeleton. When they’d keeled over, you let them fall to the floor, jumping slightly when Mando patted your shoulder, impressed with your ability to hold your own.

He seemed kind, when he wasn’t retaliating against your snide remarks or beating the living shit out of a bounty. Often when it was just the two of you he was almost soft spoken, asking you if you got enough to eat or if your wounds needed tending to, but not once did he ever make a pass at you.

That was somewhat of a surprise, but you didn’t even know what species he was, so there was a good chance you weren’t even on his sexual radar. He looked human, he obviously wasn’t a Togruta or a Twi’ with that helmet, and he was too tall to be a Rodian or Ugnaught. Too broad to be Gungan.

He was humanly proportioned to a sinful degree, his wide armored shoulders and cinched waist giving you wicked thoughts in the late hours. Even his fucking voice did something to you, the deep, gravelly husk of it almost reverberated in your chest when he spoke, and more than once you wished it would vibrate for you somewhere else.

But you were just two hunters making a living, nothing more.

Recently, however, something had started to change; and it wasn’t something that you liked. You weren’t buddy-buddy, but in the recent weeks his demeanor had started to wane. Mando was always private, taking his meals alone and keeping the fresher door locked when in use, but even when he wasn’t dealing with the necessary inconveniences of being alive he was starting to avoid you more and more.

At first you let him have his space, it was none of your business what was bothering him if he wasn’t going to speak up about it. But as the weeks seemed to drag on his temper began to flare more often, his sentences getting even shorter than they already were, his words sharp and vindictive.

You let it slide until he was rude to a merchant in a Bespin market, demanding more food rations than what he was being offered. Mando had left the market with so much dried meat and canned vegetables that it was falling out of his satchel, leaving a breadcrumb trail of bantha-in-a-can as he stormed back to the ship.

He was eating more often, too, squirreling himself away from your campfires or tucking himself up in either his sleeping cubby or the cockpit; whichever was further away from you at the time. You had your own space in the upstairs part of the Crest where he’d strung a ramshackle hammock for you, but it was so close to her reactors that you frequently woke up sweaty whenever you were in hyperspace.

On one such occasion you decided to sneak over to the ladder hatch when he thought you were sleeping, carefully peeking into the hold below. You could see him in his alcove, but just barely, only his back visible to you from your vantage point. He was eating, a lot. You watched his back and shoulders heave with each desperate bite of food, gorging himself as if he’d been lost in the desert for weeks.

The next cycle he kept his back to you almost constantly, like he was trying to hide something from view, but there were very little private spaces in the ship, especially while the stars streaked by overhead. Try as he might, he couldn’t hide his secret from your prying eyes, though you weren’t surprised with what you saw after watching him eat like there was no tomorrow.

He was gaining weight.

It was just a little at first, maybe just an illusion brought on by some extra layers of clothing; hyperspace was chilly, after all. However it soon became obvious as his extra warmth began to pudge over his belt and upset his armor that it wasn’t all fluff. You checked the larder after he went up to the cockpit to work on the navigation, and you were alarmed to find that almost half of your rations were already used up after having left Bespin only three cycles ago.

Something was definitely up with your partner.

You were watching him now from where you sat on one of the supply crates, toying with a vibroblade while he rigorously cleaned a plate of his armor, his back turned to you. His beskar was spotless, nary a drop of blood or spec of dust remained. He was just trying to distract himself from his newfound curves, but you were starting to get frustrated.

It was time to get to the bottom of this.

“Hey, are you feeling alright? You’ve been acting-”

“I’m fine.” he barked, the aggression behind his words making you jump. You weren’t afraid of him, or he of you. Your partnership was mutually beneficial and respected, and it wasn’t like him to be so short with you in close quarters. You weren’t having any of it.

“That’s crap and you know it, something's up with you, I can tell. You wanna talk about it?” Though he wasn’t looking your way, you cast your eyes at his pudge muffin, hoping he would catch your implications without you having to put it into words.

He said nothing, instead he rose from his seat and hurried up the ladder to the flight deck, sealing the airlock behind him.

You didn’t see him again until the ship dropped from hyperspace.

It was a quiet couple of days, and fucking boring too. Mando didn’t even come down to use the fresher or grab food, which made you nervous after seeing him stress eating like he had been. The Crest touched down on Jedha not far from an enormous crater that the Empire had put there in its heyday, but even when the engines went quiet, the blast door remained sealed.

“Mando? You still alive in there?” You asked tentatively with your ear pressed to the door, rapping your knuckles against the durasteel.

“Fine.”

“Are you coming out?”

There was a long pause, then: “...No.”

You grumbled and donked your head against the door. “Are you gonna make me go get this bounty myself?” He didn’t answer, which unfortunately meant the answer to your question was ‘yes’. You sighed heavily like you’d heard him do innumerable times. “You suck. Do you need anything before I head out?”

“No, thank you verd’ika.”

He was still alive, and talking, so those were both good signs, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with him during your entire hunt. The bail jumper you were after came quietly, which on a regular day would make you angry that you had even wasted fuel for such a lame chase, but you were anxious to get back to your partner.

You marched the delinquent up the ramp and goaded them into the freezer, filling the little cabin with carbonite fog. Though you were making a hell of a racket, you still hollered up the ladder before climbing it, only to find the cockpit empty. Nervously you searched the upper floor, checking everywhere from your hammock to the fuselage, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Jumping down the ladder, you quickly scanned the hold, only to realize that you’d run right past him. The door to his cubby was closed, like it always was even when he wasn’t in it, but outside on the floor near the entrance were piles of empty food tins. Horrified, you checked the larder, your eyes going all the way to the bottom of the crate. He ate everything!

“Mando! I’m back! Open up!” You yelled, pounding your fist on the door, not giving a flying fuck if he was asleep. Something was very, very wrong.

“You’re back already?” He called, his voice weak and hoarse behind the door, making your blood run cold. Oh Maker no, don’t tell me he’s sick.

“Yeah, and I’m worried about you! Open this damn door before I rip it off its rails.”

“You need to leave. You can’t be here.”

“‘Scuse me? Fucker I live here! I’m not-”

“Please, you’re not safe.” He pleaded, his voice sounded broken and desperate, like he was trying to choke something back.

“Not safe? Mando you’re not making any sense, I already took care of the bounty, they-”

“You’re not safe from me!”

A weird mix of emotions flooded through you, first the worry for the health of your partner, the confusion at his panic, and suddenly the rage that burned behind your eyes at the mere notion of him thinking you couldn’t peel him apart like a can of sardines.

You’d had enough.

“Fuck you, chum bucket, this ends right now! Hope you’ve got pants on because I’m coming in!”

“No! Don’t, please!”

“HERE I COME!” You bellowed as you slammed your fist into the glowing button panel on the wall, deaf to his fretful protests. The metal grate rattled as it rolled upwards, and briefly your eyes caught the back of his head right before his helmet sank down over the dark curls that he kept secret. The fact that he even had hair was the least startling thing of all.

What hit you first was the smell.

Inside the sleeping cubby where the Mandalorian was hurriedly scuttling into the deepest reaches, the pungent scent of...something hurtled through your synapses. It didn’t stink, quite the opposite, it smelled delicious. Warm and rich, like honey on fruit sitting out on a beautiful summer day, the alien aroma making your mouth water.

“What the fuck is that smell?” you roared at the man huddled as far away from you as he could get, his body lost to the shadows behind the scattering of armor he had discarded. You didn’t like that one bit, feeling something akin to pity at his doubled-over, armorless frame. You sniffed the air again, taking deep, greedy inhalations and trying to decipher what the fuck was going on. “Are you eating starfruit?! You fuckhole! You’re snacking without me!”

“Please leave me alone.” He grumbled, wedging himself even harder against the back wall. “I’m fine, really, I just want to be alone.”

“Well that’s just too fuckin’ bad, you’re sick, and the least you could do is tell me what’s wrong. I have a right to know if my partner is gonna up and die on me.” He pleaded again, his voice sounding whiny even through his vocorder, but you were having none of it. “I’m coming in.”

“Dammit all, why won't you leave me alone?!” He was yelling now, but in his anger he turned enough towards you that you could see his front, making you gasp.

Big.

“Holy fucking shit, Mando, are you… are you pregnant?!” Hidden by his broad backside no longer, his protruding belly caught the light, jiggling a bit when he wrapped his arms around it.

“No! I mean… sorta…”

“The fuck do you mean sorta?!” you were screaming now, blown away by his swollen guts and the fact that he was very much not pregnant only a few days ago. “What the hell is that then?!”

He was caught now, you’d seen his shame and there was no going back. “They’re… they’re my eggs.”

You stood a moment, staring at him while your mouth flopped uselessly like a dying fish. Welp, there’s your answer, he is not human. There were lots of sentient species in this great big galaxy you called home, many of which produced offspring via eggs, so you weren’t as surprised by that as you were by the suddenness of it. Of... him.

Mando rubbed at his belly, curling in on himself as if doing so would shrink him down into nothingness where he could disappear into oblivion. “Please, it’ll pass, I’ve just… I’ve never had anyone around me while I...grmph... deal with it.”

His groan of pain broke your stare, pumping determination into your legs along with the burn of adrenaline. “Do… do you need help? Is there anything I can do for you?” You leaned forward into the alcove, reaching for him. “Are you in pain?”

“...I-I’m f-fine.” He shirked away from you, avoiding your touch. “Happens every couple of years, just...hmmph… it’s not usually… so much.”

Now you were just plain fascinated, climbing up slowly on your hands and knees, trying to be delicate. “Mando, I’m your partner, I’m not just gonna stand around while you suffer. Tell me what I can do to help.” The warrior flinched hard when your fingers found his shoulder, reflexively protecting his belly. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“Cyar’ika, please, I don’t want to...hmmph… do anything that I-I’ll regret.”

“You already ate all our fucking food, what more could you do to piss me off?” You said with a laugh, trying to break the tension. Carefully you brushed your hand along his clothed shoulder, a thin smile dancing over your lips when you felt him shudder.

“You shouldn’t touch me, I’m dangerous.”

“You ain’t shit, and I’ve seen how you’ve stiched my wounds closed, you won’t hurt me. I know you.”

“No you don’t!” He screamed, flipping around all the way to try and shoo you out of the cubby, but his hefty gut kept him rooted in place. You couldn’t help but stare at his rounded middle, his flack coat straining to keep zipped shut as the weight of him wobbled delightfully. It made you laugh.

“Mando! You’re gonna be a m... da... parent! You’re gonna be a parent! Why didn’t you tell me?! I would have baked you a cake.”

“It’s.. it’s never been this bad.” he stuttered, consigning himself to the fact that he was stuck with you. “I grow a clutch every year or so, but it’s usually just a handful of... them.” he hissed with an air of disgust, shame creeping into his voice. “They pass without much issue, but it’s never been this much.”

“What do the other Mandalorians do when this happens?”

He shook his head, guarding his middle. “Mandalorian isn’t a race, it’s a creed. The Mandalorians rescued me after an army of droids killed my parents and everyone else in my village. I… I don’t know what species I am, and neither does my clan. There’s no record of my village, or where they found me, and I can’t find anything on the holonet about… this.” His visor tilted down to his tummy. “I might be the last of my kind.”

“Mando, that's terrible, but I’m sure there’s more of you somewhere. There’s gotta be! Maybe if you took off your helmet I could see-”

“No, helmet stays on. I don’t need to add the indignity of a broken creed to this mess. Now please, mesh’la I’m begging you, lock me in here and let me ride this out alone. I don’t know if I could live with myself if I hurt you.”

You scuttled closer on your knees until you were right up against him, cautiously reaching out towards his swell. His visor snapped at you, his body flinching harder into the corner, but he was trapped. “Why do you think you’ll hurt me?” You whispered as your palm met the straining fabric cradling his shameful secret.

He grabbed your wrist so hard you felt your bones grind from the strength of his grip. “Because…” he growled, the timbre of it so low you felt a shiver run down your spine. “Because I don’t know what I am, but I know I need to put these eggs somewhere, and I want...I need to put them… inside…” He trailed off when a painful contraction shook his body, making him let go of you to hold himself together. “Get out now! It’s starting… please I can handle this alone but if you’re near me… I don’t know what I’ll do!”

“Shut’cher gob and tell me what to do, and don’t tell me to leave because I won’t!” You didn’t know jack shit about human births, let alone alien gestation, but you’d been through some fucked up situations, what’s one more for good measure? “I’m guessing you need to get your pants off.” His breathing was heavy, his helmet tilting with each laboured heave, but he nodded and started to fumble with the zipper of his trousers.

Your heart leapt to your throat. In the darkness of your hammock you’d imagined what it would be like to undress him, taking each of his beskar plates off and trailing your fingers down his tight clothes, revealing the man underneath like unwrapping a gift. With your fingers lost between your legs you’d pictured his muscular shoulders and broad chest, maybe even a trail of dark hair that led you all the way down his beefy abdomen to his thick, heavy cock. You’d had to bite down on the corner of your blanket when you thought of him pinning you to the wall or bending you over the dashboard, stuffing you full of his length while he groaned his praises in your ears until you were soaked.

This was not at all what you had imagined.

His gloves and his girth were giving him a hard time, so diligently you stepped in to help him undress. Your nimble fingers found the button and zipper with ease, the heat of his groin making your cheeks flush rosy pink, and then red when you pulled the zipper across the bulge in his pants and flooded the tiny nook with the perfume of his sex.

The hair surprised you, you didn’t think that an egg-bearing creature would even have curls, but there they were. Dark brown and soft against your fingertips, growing from lovely, sun-bronze skin, but that was the last of his human traits from there on. Ultimately, you were expecting a cock, horrified by the implications of what that meant in this situation, but as the zipper’s teeth continued to split, your eyes were greeted with something that made your guts flip.

It was fucking blue.

The thing sitting heavily between his legs was the prettiest ocean blue you had ever seen, with coils of deep indigo veins running up it’s length between bands of bioluminesce. Long, thick, and glowing, Mando’s half-hard trouser meat sprang out of his open pants, a relieved sigh wheezing through his modulator. It was shaped like a wang dangler all the way up to the head, but there it was something else.

At his tip a circle of petal-shaped protrusions cinched together like the blossom of a flower right before it bloomed. The knobbed end of his thingy wept with clear juices, beading deliciously from between each little bud. Your eyes were locked to a particularly fat drop of precum as it slicked down his length to his base where you found another feast for your eyes.

A hole.

He didn’t have balls, you guessed they were somewhere inside him, instead he had a fat, juicy cunt, his quivering cock growing from where a clit would be on a human. It was just as alien as his length, a dark cobalt that lightened to vibrant teal around sharp teeth that lined his widely spread folds. Those rightfully made you nervous, and fucking confused. What the hell are those supposed to latch on to? Me?!

“I’m disgusting, I know.” He whispered, turning away from you to study the wall while you studied his excitables.

“What? No you’re not, you’re… you’re beautiful.” He snapped back towards you, his visor searching your star-struck eyes for the hint of a lie, but there wasn’t one. He was looking at you, but you weren't looking at him, you were looking at him, straight through his groin into his vulnerable soul. There was just so much, and you wanted to touch all of it. Reflexively you licked your lips, wondering if he tasted as good as he smelled. Your fingers crept forward, hovering inches from his cerulean length. “Can I?”

A sharp inhale echoed in the cubby, followed by a stark nod. “Be gentle… it’s... argh… sensitive!”

“Shhh, Mando, I’ve got you. I’m gonna take good care of you.” Your fingertips met his heated flesh, making him shudder and groan. His strange length twitched from your touch, making another pearl of precum shimmer from the tip. You wrapped your hand around him, stroking the velvety length that weighed heavily against your palm. His helmet hit the wall with a deep, guttural moan, sending molten waves of heat to your own growing need.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck mesh’la...your hands are amazing.” The man purred, letting his arms fall from his belly to his sides where his fists tangled in the threadbare sheet. His hips thrust upwards into your slow tugs, rutting into your palm. In the tight quarters the mouthwatering scent of honeyed fruit grew stronger until you were sucking down your own spit to keep it from flooding your mouth.

“Hehe, yeah? You like this?” You flicked your wrist in languid spirals, running your thumb over the weeping blossom to drag warm slick down his length and towards your second goal. His toothy slit parted for you as you got closer, the pearly white fangs curling away from you safely. With one hand still on his beef, you rubbed your fingertips around his flushed hole, sinking a digit down to the knuckle.

“Yes.” he moaned breathlessly, his womb jiggling when he convulsed from your touch. You sank another finger inside, scissoring him open while you fisted his cock. “K-keep doing that and... and…” His heels scooted on the mattress when he clenched around you, his swelling length pulsating in your hand. A needy whine busted out of his modulator, and between your sunken digits you felt something grow.

“Go ahead, Mando, come on my hand, or in my hand, I don’t care. That’s a good boy.” He bucked into your steady thrusts, lost in the combination of filling and being filled. His walls fluttered around your fingers, and you felt something press against you when he bore down, but instead of something popping out of his cunt, something went up his length.

*Pop!*

From the tip of his spear, a bright orange ball sprang from him, surprising you so much you let go of his throbbing shaft and pulled your fingers from his slit. Excitedly you plucked the egg from where the halo of petals parted, presenting the orb to you like a priceless gem. “You did it! Look, Mando, it’s a… ball! Congratulations.” You were beaming, so proud of yourself for midwifing him through the process, but he was shaking his head.

“There’s more… and… and I’m starting to get desperate. You got me started, I can take it from here. Thank you for your help.”

“I’m not leaving til you’re done, but let me go find a bucket or something to… oh no!” In your hand the soft shelled egg started to dissolve and wither in the dry air, turning into goo that dribbled down your arm. “Oh shit! Oh shit Mando I’m so sorry! I-I don’t know w-what happened!”

“No no… It's alright.” He shook his head, bringing a hand up to caress his swell. “They never make it. It’s ok though, it's not like they’re fertilized. Please leave me now, your hands aren’t going to tide me over for long, and I don’t want to do something I’ll regret.”

“You keep saying that! I don’t understand, why do you think that you’ll-”

“Because I want to breed you.” The singular black eye of his visor snapped viciously towards you, making you pale. “I’m sorry, but it’s all I can think about. It’s been getting worse the closer I’ve gotten to my heat, but I don’t want to do that to you, I respect you too much. Please… forgive me.” He looked away from you shamefully, but his luminous length was still pulsing with the rapid beating of his heart. “I think being around you is why I’m so full, you’re just so damn beautiful… a-and I want you.”

Maybe it was the sickenly-sweet spice that he was putting off, or the cum soaking your hands, or even the vulgar fantasies that you imagined to yourself in the night, but you were intrigued. “You wanna do what now?”

“Breed you.” He growled, his voice so dark and sinful everything inside you clenched around nothing. “Fucking stars ever since you stabbed the cantina table I’ve wanted to be inside you. Feel your pretty little pussy squeezing me, hear those sweet moans you make when you’re alone at night… yes I can hear you. You’re louder than you think you are. But I want to be the one making you scream.” His growls turned to forced laughter. “I wish I’d gotten to before...this.”

“I don’t mind this…” You hummed, dragging your fingers along his velvety length, but he caught your wrist again, shaking his head.

“Stop, before I can’t hold back anymore.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to hold back.” You batted your lashes at him and bit your lip, leaning seductively towards his hunkered body. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t know what I’d do to you, what my… ugh… eggs… would do to your body.”

“Maybe we should… find out?”

“You don’t know what you're asking.”

“Neither do you.” With that you rolled forward to kiss at his big blue eel, making him curse out your name and grab a fistful of your hair.

“Mesh’la…”

You hummed and lapped at his crown, his nectar tasting even better than it smelled. Sweet and succulent, driving you crazy with need. Your venomous tongue could be so kind when it wanted to be, swirling around his knobbled head and flicking at his frenulum. Beneath you he was a mess, writhing and bucking with desperation. Lips slick with spit, you sank your mouth as far down as you could take him without gagging, fisting the rest with one hand and teasing his cunt with the other.

Fingers digging into your scalp, Mando fought the urge to fuck your throat raw, your obscene sucking threatening to toss him right over the edge. You hollowed your cheeks and spun your tongue, lapping around each sensitive bean and plunging into his slit to drink him down.

His muscles swelled and clenched with another pass, and you barely were able to pull your mouth away when a new sphere spat out his tip, rolling away from you to melt elsewhere. “Mando, they’re going to waste, what are we going to do about that?”

“Take your fucking clothes off so I can fuck them into you, pretty girl.” He was gone, the husk of his voice making the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. “Let me breed you properly, make you mine. Show you what it means to be mated by a Mandalorian.”

You obeyed, rocking back on your haunches to peel your shirt away, releasing your breasts into the hot, steamy space. The black swath of void where his eyes should be drank in the sight of you as if you were the last glass of water on Tatooine, his hand coming up to pinch at your pert nipple. “These are beautiful. I’ve dreamed about these for so long, but they’re so much better in person.”

“They taste better, too.” You crawled over top of him, your knees in between his, waving the heavy dewdrops in front of his armored face. “You wanna?”

“My creed…”

“Party pooper. Fine, then you better help me open up, you’re packin’ more than I think I can fit.” You’d taken lovers before, once you’d even taken a Wookie on a drunken dare, and if it wasn’t for the persistent wet dog smell it might have been the best sex you’d ever had. But Mando was thick, and even thicker when his cock swelled to push out an egg.

“Are you really ok with this? You’re not just saying…”

“Mando~” You purred, pressing your softness against his pulsating length, shivering when you felt his fangs scrape your thighs. “Breed me. They’ll just melt back out anyway, what’s a little...fun?”

He reached a hand up tentatively to your face, his helmet shaking slightly from side to side while he hunted in your eyes for any resistance, any clue that you were just saying that to make him feel better, but he found none.

“How did I get so lucky…”

“You’re about to get even more lucky.” You teased, taking his hand from your cheek to pry the black and yellow glove off, chucking it somewhere behind you. The flesh of his hand matched the flesh of his groin, a soft golden tone that looked like it was kissed by the sun, but not once had you ever seen him bare an inch. It was also very human, looking much like your own, save for the length and thickness of his fingers and the dark hair that grew from his knuckles. They were very much the hands of a man.

Yay!

Your pants fell away next, disappearing out of the cubby and onto the floor with the collection of empty ration tins and discarded armor. Naked as the day you were born, you clambered over him and flopped against his side, letting your legs fall open. “Touch me, Mando, get me nice and ready to be bred.” He growled against you, rolling on his side and cradling you to his chest so he could easily sink his fingers into your fluttering heat.

“Fucking stars, you’re soaked. This all for me?” You nodded and whined, your eyes rolling back when he dove one finger inside, then a second, curling them upwards to find that hidden patch of nerves you could never really reach on your own. “Gonna get you nice and open, make you cum so you can take my clutch. Would you like that, mesh’la, want me to fill you up? Swell your belly full?”

You mewled at the debauchery of it all, blissed out of your mind as he finger fucked you relentlessly. His fingers sank into you all the way to the knuckle, his thumb drawing tight, diligent circles on your clit. Mando snaked his free arm under your neck, pulling you in close to his muscular body and leaning his helmet against your brow. The cold metal burned against your sweating forehead, the steam of his breath coiling out from under the sharp iron edge with every ragged breath.

“That’s it, come for me, beautiful. Almost there.” Your nails dug into his clothed shoulders and made you realize he was way more dressed than you were. Need to fix that. With shaking knees you squirmed and writhed on his slick hand until he brought you over the edge, your walls trying to break his fingers as you came, drenching the thin sheets. “Good girl, such a perfect little cunt. Give me one more, cyar’ika.” All his gentleness evaporated as he thrust into you, his thumb pressed to your sensitive button and making you fall apart all over again.

“Fuck me, Mando, please! I want you in me, you’re not the only one with wet dreams, y’know.” He rumbled a laugh and pulled his arm out from under your neck and his fingers from your sopping mess, dragging the wet of it across your bare thigh. Hauling himself up, he moved until he was between your legs, pulling his remaining glove off and working to undo his flack.

With bated breath you watched him hurriedly undress, wondering what other fun alien treats he was keeping from you. As the dark fabric fell away, your eyes were gifted with the sight of his body, though besides the wandering blue tiger stripes and his obvious non-human bits, he was remarkably close to a man.

Except for the parts of him that were glowing.

Strings of faint teal lights followed the flow of his body, mixed intermittently with yellow stars. It wasn’t enough to illuminate the little alcove, but it was a beautiful sight nonetheless, a constellation of stars you could call your very own.

His chest was wide and muscular, a trail of dark brown hair dusting down his sternum and over the swell of his middle. His arms and shoulders looked like tree trunks, ribbons of countless scars marring his flesh with shimmering whites and pinks. Pushing his pants all the way off gave you an even better view, though he had considerably more glow streaks further down his legs, spanning from the sapphire spire around his hips.

He was fucking gorgeous.

What does his face look like, then?

“You’ll tell me if I hurt you, right?” He asked sweetly, grabbing his beast and dragging the leaking head against your thirsty little cunt. You bucked your hips up to him, trying to notch him in your entrance, but he pressed his tip into your clit to make you writhe. “Tell me, I need to hear it.”

“Yes, Mando, now please please fuck...me!!” He snapped forward and thrust his appendage into you, bottoming right out even though his full tummy was in the way. He held himself still, his body shivering with delight as your excited walls rippled around him. Deep inside you felt the little buds at his tip teasing at the tight ring of muscle that protected your innermost sanctum, politely asking for entry.

“Fuck-ing Maker, I knew you would feel good, but...ah… so much better than I ever imagined.” You giggled at him, reaching out and rubbing the taut flesh of his abdomen where it sat heavily against your own, rocking your hips side to side. His fingers dug into the skin of your knees with a broken curse, trying to hold you still. “Keep doing that and I’m gonna…”

“What? This?” You arched your hips into his, trying to coax him into gear. “I didn’t know you were such a tease, tinman.” His helmet vibrated with a growl before he was sliding himself out, making sure you felt every inch of his length drag along your walls. The head of it almost managed to drop out, sitting tantalizingly at your gates before thrusting into you with reckless abandon.

You shrieked, impaled on his otherworldly spire again and again, the noise of it wetly echoing in the cubby. Above you he grunted with the strain, hooking his elbows under your knees and going to town. You were helpless, head rolling back, eyes fluttered shut as he filled you over and over again, moaning out his name.

Though he was lost in the heat of the moment, he wished the name on your lips was his real name, the one he had sequestered away when he took his oaths. Din. He fantasized about it in the night, the short syllable tumbling from your full lips, wet from sucking him dry. Din! He wanted to snuff out the sound of it with his own mouth, capturing your tongue and tasting you fully, plundering the hot wet hole that would so beautifully sing his song.

“Din!”

But Mando would have to do.

For now.

Both of you could feel he was getting close to something, his thrusts quickening with his breath. You felt your heartbeat gallop in your chest, thundering against the walls of its cage with excitement. He was gasping, struggling to pull oxygen in through the iron that protected his face. Hips snapped against yours, the slap of skin sounding obscene in the little space. You arched your back and bore down on him, your coiled muscles milking out his release.

And then you fucking felt it.

The clever little buds on his tip stuffed themselves into the cradle of your body, teasing your cervix open and leaving something behind. Inside you felt the soft little ball swell your womb sweetly, giving you a feeling of fullness you’d never experienced before. You keened from the sensation, bringing your hands up to your belly, searching for your treasure.

“Are you alright? Am I hurting you?” Mando asked urgently between broken breaths, a weathered palm coming up to caress your face. You tittered and nodded, his relieved sigh felt through your legs and stomach.

“Got any more for me, big boy?” You purred, dragging your nails through the soft hair on his bulging abdomen where he obviously did.

“You’re going to ruin me, cyar’ika.” The pulsating length stuffed inside you slid out slowly, stringing a line of precum from your slick heat to his flushed blue tip. “Get on your knees and I’ll show you how much more there is.”

Scrambling out from under him, you flipped yourself over like a slutty little pancake, presenting your ass in front of him to feast on with his eyes. The rough pads of his fingers dug viciously into your fleshy globes, making both of you groan. “Gonna give you all of me, beautiful. Tell me you want that?” He was trying to be dirty, but the sincerity in his voice made your heart flood with honeyglow.

“I want it, tinman, I wanna be full!”

A dark, lecherous laugh rumbled behind you while he lined himself up, rubbing himself over your slit before plunging in. Stars flashed behind your eyes when he hit your deepest reaches again, making you drop to your elbows. He circled the bones of your hips with his hands, squeezing and rubbing at your waist while you adjusted to the new angle. Impatiently you clenched around him, earning yourself a stinging swat on your backside that made you squeal.

“Bad girl, you have to wait.” He growled behind you, making you whine and earning yourself another spanking that was followed by a soothing palm. “You gonna be a good girl while I breed you?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“‘Scuse me?”

“-snrt!-” You were having too much fun now, begging underneath him for friction with a roll of your hips, giggling through the cock-dumb grin on your face. “I’ll be good~”

“I know you will.” He slid forward, the angle hitting something destructive inside you, and you could tell he felt it. Memorizing your insides, he rocked forward again and again, building you up higher and higher to make you squirm. Fisting the sheets you cried when the lightning cracked up your spine, your cunt squeezing the life out of him and soaking him through. Your orgasm sucked another egg from his cock, the gentle weight sitting pretty next to the first.

“More…” you mumbled into the mattress, curving your ass up and brushing the underside of his swell. “Please…”

“You’re fucking perfect, mesh’la, so perfect for me.” His voice behind you sounded wildly different, lacking the gravelly modulation you’d grown used to, replaced with a rich baritone that tied your guts up in knots. Curiosity almost got the better of you, but before you could turn around to look at his bare face he covered your eyes, his broad palm spanning the entire width of your face. “No peeking. Be a good girl or you won’t get any more.”

He set his empty helmet down by your head, giving you something to look at if you could keep your eyes open, but his filthy cadence made your eyeballs roll back til they were gawking at your brain. Mando plowed you like his life depended on it, his fuckstick swelling inside your walls with each pass of his spend.

Reaching back, you rubbed your steadily-filling middle, the weight of his brood already making you show. Your devious digits kept going, fingertips teasing around where he melded into you, your lips stretched tightly around him. He jumped when you stuffed your hand back even further, careful not to catch on his goddamn crotchteeth to finger his cunt.

“Mesh’la!” He cried, bucking into you and pushing at least three more eggs into your womb with a single thrust. Above you he curled against your spine, his belly flattening while yours continued to swell. His arms left your hips to snake up your body, crossing between your breasts like a seatbelt and hauling you up off your elbows to his chest. Buckle up, buttercup! His sweaty pecs stuck to your spine while he kissed at the side of your neck.

You wanted so badly to look.

Instead you closed your eyes and let yourself get lost in the passionate kisses he pressed to your skin, his teeth grazing the tender flesh under your jaw. The fact that he even had lips crossed a few dozen species off of your list of possibilities, and even more when you felt the tickle of facial hair. Mando’s heated kisses tracked up your throat to nibble at your ear, his thrusting getting messy behind you.

“Can you cum for me again, beautiful? I wanna feel it.” The hand between your breasts slid up to your throat, pressing ever so gently while the second found your clit and spun devious little circles. His scruffy beard scraped your shoulder as you writhed on him, tears springing to your eyes with your crashing orgasm. “Mmph, that’s my good girl. So fucking perfect!”

His hips stuttered, slapping against your ass with a final burst, the fill of him swelling your middle to capacity, bouncing with fullness. Heavy, desperate breaths puffed against your skin as he came down from his high, caressing you with his hands and the sharp point of his chin; mumbling praises in your ear. “I didn’t think you could get any more beautiful, look at you…”

At his purring you flickered an eye open, looking down past your breasts at where you were swollen with his clutch as if you were swollen with child. His broad palms danced along the taut flesh, sliding from your precious tummy to the drops of your breasts, his hums of contentment rumbling between you. His chest and abdomen were flush with your spine, his body returned to its natural shape while yours had changed so drastically.

Between your legs his spent cock throbbed, making your combined arousal drip down onto the destroyed mattress when it softened and released. You whined from the loss, whining louder when he sneaked his fingers inside, feeling your stretched walls and musing about how wonderful you felt.

You reached forward for his helmet, handing it back to him and trying not to look at the warped reflection of his face in its sloping surfaces. He took it from you gently, letting it sink over his face so you could get off of your knees. You flopped heavily over on your butt, sitting upright and petting your full womb with a blissed out look on your face.

He laid next to you, holding you close to his body as if you were his cute little wife expecting your first baby together, and not a pair of interspecies hunters giving in to your primordial needs. You leaned against him, sighing contently and watching his serpent retreat into his body, the rows of teeth biting together and showing you why he didn’t wear codpiece with his armor.

“That’s fuckin’ weird, dude.” You laughed, brushing a fingertip along the glistening enamel.

He winced behind you. “I know, I’m sorr-”

“No, I like it.” you crooned, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. “That was fun. How often did you say this happens?”

“About once a year, but… uh… I can still get hard, without a clutch, if that’s what you’re asking?” You nodded with a laugh, curling up against his side so your full womb rested on his hip. He sighed contentedly, drawing circles on your belly with his fingers. “How does this feel? Does it hurt?”

“No, not at all, actually feels good. Feels full. I like it, I’m almost sad that it’s not gonna last.”

“Me too, you look so good like this. I could get used to it.” You hummed in agreement, shifting your legs apart so that when the eggs withered and turned to goo they could easily make their way out.

Should be any second now.

The two of you waited, laying together in post-coital bliss, just enjoying the feel of each other’s bodies, tracing scars and stars, exploring the wonders you’d kept secret from each other.

You waited.

And waited.

The minutes ticked by, at first it was a blessing, giving you time to bask in the afterglow together, but as the minutes turned to quarter hours, then halfs, you started to get worried. “Mando? I can still feel them, they’re not breaking down.”

“I’m sure they will, they always do.”

“Ok…”

They didn’t.

Hours went by, and even after waddling to the fresher shower and trying to squat them out, the eggs remained. You got washed up, half morbidly, half exuberantly watching the way the fresher water dripped from your belly while you cleaned up.

Outside the shower you toweled yourself off, taking extra steps to dry under the swell of your womb, but you struggled to reach all the way around. Mando knocked on the door politely before letting himself in, dressed only in his helmet and pants. Dutifully he took the towel from you and got to the places you couldn't reach while you were carrying his potential young.

It was surprisingly intimate, maybe even more so than being stuffed full of his length. He started on your legs, between your thighs and up to their apex, then softly wiped at your tummy and hips. His deft hands dragged the towel under each breast, then your shoulders and arms, then lastly your neck; draping the wet fabric around you like a cloak when he saw your bunching brows. You looked nervous.

“We’ll figure it out, mesh’la, I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.” He stated with determination, brushing his thumb down the curve of your cheek and turning your eyes to meet his visor. Your hair was still wet, and now so were your eyes, the first twinges of fear creeping into their corners. He didn’t like what he saw. “Close your eyes, lovely girl.”

You did, squeezing back the mist that was starting to form. He let go of you, and you heard the sound of something heavy and metallic being set down on the sink. The towel around your shoulders was lifted over your head, draping it over your face. You were about to give him hell, mad that he would want to hide your face when you were clearly getting emotional, but instead you felt the wet fabric being lifted as he joined you underneath.

Then he kissed you.

Warm, petal-soft lips pressed against your cold wet ones, suddenly surprising you before you melted into him. His kiss was as gentle as his hands that were making their way up to your jaw, holding you steady while he slotted his mouth to yours. He felt human, the edges of his teeth dull like yours, thankfully not sharp like the ones between his legs. Tasted human, too.

You kissed him back, darting your tongue out with an experimental flick, licking his plush lower lip. He inhaled sharply, caught off guard by your forwardness. His fingers coiled around the back of your head, tangling in your wet hair as his kisses grew in intensity. The smooth muscle of his mouth danced with your own, letting you both taste each other for the first time.

“Ner cyar’ika, I’ve waited so long for this.” he purred against your lips, his words heavy with adoration. He kissed you again, pulling you into himself hungrily and tickling your nose with his mustache. Your own hands came up, slowly dragging over the expanse of his chest to the sinewy length of his neck, and finally to the edge of his jaw.

“Can I touch your face, Mando? I won’t look with my eyes.” He nodded against your lips, his nose bumping the side of yours. Cautiously you wandered your fingertips along the edge of his jaw, the stiff bristles catching under your nails. He shivered with need when you scratched him, carding through his scruff like you were taming a massif.

His sharp jawline led you up his cheeks, their softness dusted with erratic bristles. You ran your thumbs under his eyes, exploring his cheekbones and the creases that bordered his large eyes. Pressing your forehead to his and pulling your lips away, you circled your thumbs down the sides of his well-defined nose to the line of hair above his lips. The creases that your hands found told you he wasn’t a young man, but he probably wasn’t too far beyond your age either.

And you imagined him to be very handsome.

It wasn’t until your hands found his ears that you remembered he wasn’t the same species as you. They were pointed, and sensitive if his little moans of pleasure were anything to go by.

“I don’t ever want you to see those, they’re ug- oh!” You cut off his self depreciation to tilt his head between your hands, pressing a kiss to each of his ears with a seductive puff of steam. “St-stop, you’re giving me goosebumps.”

“Stop being so mean to yourself, buckethead, only I can be the judge of that, and I bet they're cute!” He laughed, the sound warm and brassy, but not enough to distract you from your current predicament. “What… what are we going to do about… this.” You took each of his hands in yours and set them on your full belly, letting him caress his handiwork.

He sighed, pressing a kiss to your forehead in the dark of the towel, his lashes brushing your skin when he dropped his brow to yours. You heard his lips part with a smile, imagining the way the wrinkles around his eyes would bunch, wistfully hoping that one day you could see them for yourself.

“Mesh’la I-… I have no idea."

Next->

If you liked this fic, check out Garden of Ishtar! It's chapter 9 in a series but can be read stand-alone. Enjoy~

TAG LIST:

@mrsparknuts @cookiejuicedesu @kaermorons @ironbabey @theflightytemptressadventure @emesispo @what-iwish-youknew @misscamptl @t3a-bag @poppunkdee @misscamptl @pandastasia @simpingmess @lilychristine01 @inaturenymph @buttercup--bee @blackd0gdesignuk @tanzthompson @transientblueseraph @jasmincita @sunnnygiiirl123 @beskarboobs @doin-stuff @marvelranger

[concussed-to-pieces]

Of Gorgons And Gardens

Fandom(s) : The Mandalorian and Prospect [2018]

Pairing: The Mandalorian [Din Djarin]/Reader/Ezra

Rating: Holy shit uh. Explicit.

AN: That's right. I've done it. It's time for the sex pollen. This is a standalone that's not involved with either of my previous tales related to these fine boys, so we have a Death Watch-raised Mando that takes the Creed incredibly seriously and an Ezra that's well armed. Also I apologize for the constant viewpoint switches. Enjoy!

Tag List: @huliabitch @hardcorewwetrash @helplessly-nonstop @lackofhonor @oloreaa @theocatkov @jackierey09 @zombiexbody @crookedmoonsaultpunk @pedrosbigdorkenergy @absurdthirst @culturalrebel

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: For obligatory dubious consent due to sex pollen, as well as threesome activities, breeding kink and gratuitous bodily fluids. Stay safe!]

The quarry was named Ezra. Not that their name mattered, the chain code was freshly generated. The strangest part was that there had been no image attached to the puck. 

Din had tipped his helmet to the side, narrowing his eyes and tapping the bounty puck curiously. "Somethin' wrong with this?"

Karga shook his head. "No, he's just too slick for us to have any holorecords on him. Somebody from Bakhroma wants him alive."

Undocumented quarry was exceptionally rare, and not usually something that one requested a Mandalorian for. It indicated green prey, a first-time offender. "Bakhroma, huh? Pretty far out." He wasn't an idiot. There had to be a reason why Karga had offered him this one specifically.

"Guy apparently walked off with a majority of someone's aurelac pull. Typical floater squabble, but one of them ponied up the mining points for credits and asked for a certified, card-carryin' Mando." Karga had leaned back in the booth. "How's the kid?"

Din had just grunted noncommittally in reply, gloved fingers scooping the puck off the table. "I have to get back to the Crest."

…

"The target has been on Bakhroma relatively recently. Not sure if he was in the Green or not, but either way he'll probably be a walking biohazard." Mando muttered, turning his head towards you. "So you're staying put."

"Until something happens to you and I have to pull you out of the fire again." You retorted with a smirk. 

"Hey, that was one time." You knew he was narrowing his eyes, though you weren't quite sure how you knew. Something about the way he tilted his head ever so slightly to the right clued you in.

"You were full of nexu quills."

"One. Time." The Mandalorian growled. "I even said thank you."

"You sure did," You replied, laughing. "Right before you passed out!"

He palmed over the side of your head roughly. "Brat." His grumble was fond, softening the edge of the insult. "Promise me you'll stay on the Crest, Senaar, otherwise I'll ask Omera to take you and the kid for an extended sleepover."

"Fine, I promise." You relented, huffing in annoyance.

He tinkered with his charts for a moment, then tilted his head again. "Where did you go earlier? I got done with Karga hours ago. Couldn't find you."

You stiffened, abruptly absorbed in checking the fuel levels. "Oh you know. Around." You said breezily. 

"Well in the future, when you feel like going around, at least let me know so I don't think you've been abducted." Mando grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. 

"Aw, you're cute when you care!" You cooed, making him scoff and return to his control panel. 

…

In hindsight, he wasn't sure what he was more pissed off about. The fact that this Ezra character had led him on a wild fucking chase over half of a suspiciously verdant moon, or the fact that his brain had apparently decided to shift into overdrive regarding you. He couldn't get you off…

Get you off his mind, that is. Stars, he was so confused. 

He felt like he had been walking in circles for hours, the only noise the steady beep of the tracker. He was too hot. Thirsty. His armor was chafing like it never had before; it was less like an extension of his body and more like a too-tight skin he needed to shed. Din finally bent over, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. 

"You look like shit," drawled an unfamiliar voice while a set of knuckles rapped on the back of his helmet. Djarin jerked upright and immediately staggered, fumbling to grip a tree trunk for support. His vision swam uncertainly, and he blinked several times in an effort to clear it. 

The man in front of him was clad in a utilitarian suit that bore an unfamiliar logo, maybe a mining corporation. No duraplast or durasteel visible, no unnecessary frills, old-fashioned rubber gaskets to seal where glove met sleeve. Din's gaze traveled upwards, past the man's chest to his large domed helmet. He kept his motions deliberate. He had been caught off-guard by this man, but he wouldn't--

What?!

"I'll assume you're encroaching upon my solitude to haul my undesirable personage back into civilized spaces?" The man inquired after Din had taken several long seconds to try and understand what he was seeing. "For monetary compensation, if I had to hazard a guess. There are few lures that tempt a man so far out into the uncharted."

Why does he have my face? Sure, the scars were different. Different facial hair, different hairstyle, and a wild little tuft of blond sprang from amidst the dark locks at his hairline. But it was him. Same brown eyes, same nose, same mouth curving into an infuriatingly benign smirk. Djarin was struck with the sudden urge to punch him, his belly writhing.

"I take it the dust has you firm in its grip. A real pity, that. I'd love to sympathize, but regrettably I am at an advanced state of the same condition." The quarry gestured at his right arm, where a bloodstain blooming on the fabric of his suit indicated a loss of the integrity of said suit. "I'm Ezra, though I'm certain you're already well aware. And you?"

"Irrelevant." Din grated out, clumsy fingers fumbling to get his binders off his belt. 

"A man of action, excellent! I shall acquiesce, but only because being removed from this Centaurian mass is infinitely better than being confined to it." Ezra replied with a sage nod, extending his wrists. "Whither to, my recalcitrant steerforth?" 

"Be quiet." The Mandalorian grunted, his mind still reeling. How does he have my face? Then, a new, far more troubling thought occurred to him.

If he turned Ezra in, people would inadvertently know what he looked like. They wouldn't know, but they would know. What would that mean for him? For his dedication to the Creed? Did things like that count against him? Had something like this ever happened before?

"Tell me you, at the bare minimum, have functional transport?" Ezra asked after Din had relieved him of his blaster, sounding hopeful. It was so strange hearing his own voice with such an odd, imprecise cadence to it. The Mandalorian had worked for years to improve his Basic so that anyone and everyone would be able to understand him through the coarse modulator, though he still ended up sounding hitchy or curt most of the time. 

"How else would I have gotten here?" Din snapped, gesturing the other man forward with the encouragement of his own weapon.

At least now he knew how to get back to the Crest, thank the Maker for his helmet and the tracking protocols he had. Now, observing his previous path of forward motion, he realized with a jolt how much it wound back and forth. He had been walking in circles.

Since when did he lose his sense of direction? Even in unknown territory, he usually had a damn good idea of which end was up. That concerned him.

And on top of everything else, Ezra wouldn't shut the hell up.

"Be quiet." Din muttered for what seemed like the thousandth time. How long had they been walking? Probably his own fault. With how much his head was spinning, he didn't dare deviate from the winding trail he had left. Even if a straight path would have been miles quicker.

Ezra continued to drone, "a toilsome marathon of carnage, I assure-"

"I said, be fucking quiet." 

The target huffed out a breath, but obliged Djarin's terse demand for the moment. Din's head was pounding, his already short fuse shrinking with every word out of the talkative man's mouth. Was this the Maker's hysterically ironic way of compensating for how little a solitary Mandalorian would speak? Making a doppelganger that was ceaselessly chatty?

Din talked a lot more these days, between you and the kid. Maker, you. His head swam again and a low, guilty heat throbbed in his belly. You talking to him, the way your mouth moved around your words-

No. No, stop, he told himself sternly, two fingers sliding idly between the gasket and gorget at his throat just so he could breathe a little easier. This planet's air felt thick, like breathing through tar. 

"I would not indulge that craving, were I you." Ezra spoke up, the man obviously watching him claw at his neck. "The less exposure you have, the better." 

Din wanted to snap at him because honestly how many times do I have to say shut the fuck up-

But then he stopped. Since when did he even do things like breach the seal of his own fucking helmet on an unfamiliar planet?! He flinched, tearing his hand away and hating the low, wry chuckle that issued from the quarry. The other man mused, "It's already too late for me, you know. I imagine I'll have an hour, perhaps two."

"What the hell are you talking about now."

"The dust, my armored associate. It permeates. Sludges the mental processes." Ezra shrugged with only one shoulder. "Among other things."

"How do you know so much about it?" Din gritted his teeth against the buzzing pain in his stomach. "Seems pretty stupid of you to hide out here." Especially if you know the flora is deadly.

"There is naught to do on a freighter slingback aside from read." Ezra's eyes narrowed. "And I could hardly pick and choose which moon my pod decided to give out on, you monosyllabic knuckle-dragger."

"Watch your mouth before I break it." Din snarled.

"Lo and behold, he comprehends! I assumed all you knew how to say was a stagnant variation on the theme of be fucking quiet." Ezra retorted with enraging cheer. 

Din's gloves creaked with the tension of his fists and he barely kept from slamming them into his temples. They were almost to the Crest. Almost. Once they got there, he would throw this mouthy nerf herder into the carbonite and…

And what? And turn him over? And inadvertently compromise his whole identity, possibly destroy decades of loyally obeying the Creed? 

All the deprivation, the loneliness, the weakness of his own heart...

"Be fucking quiet." The Mandalorian muttered, knowing full well that the other man hadn't said anything. Be fucking quiet. Be fucking quiet quiet quiet just fucking be quiet-- 

Din ground the heels of his palms against the curve of his helmet at his forehead, praying for some kind of relief.

Carbonite, he reminded himself.

…

Ezra grudgingly held his tongue, which even he had to admit was a rarity. Unlike the other floaters that had approached him before and met their swift demise, this particular bounty hunter was heavily kitted. The gleaming plate he sported didn't seem to hinder his motion in the slightest. 

Interesting.

Ezra knew when he had been outplayed, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't banking on the other man having a functional ship even before he decided to go peacefully. 

The hunter (mentally dubbed Steerforth, he rudely had not introduced himself) obviously had no idea about the pollen, for all his outward preparedness. Clearly Serpentia was not as well known as Ezra had wished. 

Regrettable. 

He could hope that the bounty hunter hadn't been exposed, he mused. After all, the man was wearing that positively arresting helmet, and his suit seemed of a sturdy (if unfamiliar) weave. Here was an individual that Ezra would have to tread carefully around, if he wished to escape with his life. 

His faith waned a bit as he recalled watching the man 'track' him, winding back and forth through the trees like a drunken mule until Ezra had taken pity on him and turned himself in. 

The hunter was terse in his speech, likely weary from the chase. Ezra could sympathize, he was weary from running. It had almost been a relief when that last hunter had attacked him and forced him to crash the pod on this moon. Though his relief had quickly turned to dismay when Ezra had done a full turn outside his pod and realized just what was making all the pollen in the air.

Serpentia, Serpent's Tongue. He had never encountered the plant in the proverbial flesh, but once upon a time he had been accidentally doused with the extract when a holding tank had burst while he was on a job site.

His skin crawled as he remembered the torment that followed during his solitary confinement. He had been nigh-certain he would not recover, clawing free of the haze that had gripped him with the barest vestiges of his mental faculties. 

This moon's Serpentia population seemed infinitely kinder than the concentrate he had encountered, if only for its soft, creeping approach. It lapped at the base of his brain, dulled the edge of his panic until he was nearly comfortable with the ache that licked hot in his groin. 

But thank Kevva for this bounty hunter lumbering through the brush! With a little luck, Ezra would be able to persuade him to accept a few pearls of aurelac in lieu of dragging him back to face that greatly-exaggerated justice.

...

According to the limited information from the Crest's scans, the air on this moon was perfectly safe to breathe. 

And if what Mando had said was right, he probably would need the ship to himself for a little while to decontaminate. So you had posted up beside the ramp once he had departed, occasionally wiping the sweat off your brow. The atmosphere was humid and you watched as breezes too delicate for you to even feel nudged the thick pollen in the air this way and that. 

The moon was liberally coated with lush vegetation; just finding a place to safely land the Razor Crest had been a Herculean effort. You wondered vaguely if there was a lake or spring nearby that you would be able to cool off in. The ship's fresher was functional, of course, but its water had been sitting in the holding tank for a few cycles now and it smelled rusty. 

The pollen covered everything, orange-red substance sticking to your already-damp skin. You grimaced, wondering if maybe you should have put on your suit. But no, the atmosphere was safe. The scans had said so, and you already spent so much of your time in your thick suit…

The sunshine felt wonderful after all the hyperspace travel, like a warm embrace from a friend. You caught yourself wondering what Mando's hug might feel like. Probably uncomfortable, what with all the beskar. You scoffed at your thoughts. You really needed to stop thinking about him like that, he was technically your boss even if he called you his partner. So what if he had passed out on top of you? That had been an infection thing.

It wasn't as if he had stroked your cheek before he dropped, his voice breaking when he called you Senaar... 

So what if you had solicited not one, but two Mandalorians during your last stop on Nevarro? 

It wasn't as if he noticed anything that you did, aside from when it had inconvenienced him. It wasn't as if you couldn't handle your little infatuation with him, even if it did result in you seeking out Mandos that would give you attention.

You propped your chin up on your hand, your eyes half-focusing on the dust floating in the air. It was nice to just relax for once, though there was a little guilty sensation in your stomach. Because Mando was out there working, while you...were lounging around, soaking up the sunlight.

You weren't sure how long you sat there, but you finally got up with a groan and a stretch that felt heavenly. You would investigate the surrounding area, you decided, maybe you could rustle up something fresh. If you couldn't be active on the hunt for the quarry, you could at least restock the larders.

After what only felt like a few steps, you quickly stumbled across thick vines that bore an unfamiliar, violet-hued fruit. The fruit was the size of your fist, and the skin had slight give to it. Light-colored flowers dotted the vine here and there, their tiny stamens crested with heavy crowns of thick pollen. Clearly you had located one of the many sources of the dust that choked the air. 

You picked one of the fruits and propped it up on a flat rock, using your trusty field knife to slice it open. It had orange pulp inside it, and a small hollow in the middle filled with pinkish fluid. The whole fruit reminded you of a sunset. Dimly, you thought that you probably shouldn't be touching this fruit with your bare skin, on the off chance that it might be caustic or toxic. But it looked delicious. 

Surely just a little taste wouldn't hurt?

The pinkish fluid was almost overwhelmingly sweet, and sticky. It dribbled down your chin when you tipped the fruit to slurp it up. You laughed at yourself, tugging your tunic to scrub at your face. 

Mando will love these.

You weren't sure where the thought came from, but obviously it was true. The idea of Mando being alone, slipping off his helmet to eat...the juice from the fruit glistening on his mouth…

Your breathing had quickened. You carefully harvested more of the round fruit, tucking the ripe produce into the makeshift cradle of your tunic. Once you decided you had enough, you turned on your heel and went to make your way back to the Crest. 

...

No.

No no no no no-

Din stared at the partially-ajar ramp on the Crest and he wanted to yell. 

"Oh dear." Ezra murmured faintly. "What a predicament." He had been getting quieter and quieter the closer they drew to the ship, so hearing him talk again sent a jolt down Din's spine. "You left your egress open? How careless of you."

"I didn't." Din snarled, wrapping his fingers around the binders on Ezra's wrists. You. The throbbing in his stomach lurched.

Ezra's eyes widened and he abruptly planted his feet. Din hadn't realized just how off-kilter he was, normally something like a shift in weight wouldn't be enough to make him stagger. But he almost toppled, barely getting his balance back in time. "Is there someone else on that ship?" Ezra asked sharply. 

"Of course." Din didn't even think to lie. "Partner."

"Would they have wandered? Exposed themselves?" The prospector-thief-quarry continued to quiz him and Din resented it just a little. 

"Be quiet," He grunted, tapping at his gauntlet to open the ramp, "and get in the fucking hold."

Ezra abruptly drew himself up to his full height. "I do not believe you actually want me to do that." He intoned with difficulty, his teeth gritted. "Putting myself, yourself and the potential of one more infected person into an enclosed space is a very…" His words faltered. "Oh."

Din whirled, visor traveling up the ramp into the dim hold. And just barely visible at the edge of the ramp, a small pile of what looked like fruit--was that your leg?! He lunged forward, his blaster ready. 

"I would not advise you to approach them!" Ezra barked.

"Fuck you!" Din snapped, striding up the ramp to kneel alongside your body. He crushed one of the fruits beneath his knee, lurid pink juice erupting to soak into his suit. The color was high in your cheeks, your body blotchy with flush. Pollen encrusted your neck and shoulders, drifted through your hair; something pink and shiny coated your lips like a strange gloss.

Din caught himself leaning in and jerked back at the urgency in Ezra's voice when the prospector called, "Do they breathe, man?"

"Be quiet!" Djarin roared. Why hadn't he checked that first? What was wrong with him? He shoved his vambrace against your mouth, his chest clenching in relief when your breath fogged the metal. Stars. 

"I'm afraid this complicates things quite significantly." Ezra said loudly, fidgeting at the base of the ramp. "I was unaware you had a partner of the...other biological persuasion. Had it just been you and I, two masculine-presenting bipeds, things would have been miles simpler."

"What the hell are you saying now?" Din was getting tired of this shit, tired of listening to the other man talk. 

"This plant is...shall we say, heteronormative." Ezra drawled, waving his bound hands in the air to illustrate the cloying pollen. Din cocked his head in confusion. "You know, masculine and feminine? Male and female? Different. Hetero."

Djarin scoffed derisively. "My people don't care about that shit." 

"A noble practice to be certain, very forward-thinking."

"This is the Way." The Mandalorian replied. 

Ezra soldiered on, "Unfortunately, the plant that infests this planet does indeed differentiate. Fruit for the female, pollen for the male." He added hurriedly, "in the biological sense, of course! I will not make any assumptions about your partner. The fruit is a...a catalyst. Are you familiar with the old-Earth religious writings, the ones that mention the Garden? Or perhaps the Greek pantheon may have been more your style?" When Djarin shook his head, Ezra sighed. "The genus name in Basic is slippin' my mind. But this particular iteration is known as Serpent's Tongue, Serpentia. It is Medusine in nature and it inspires feelings of…" Ezra paused, licking his lips nervously. "Heat."  

"Heat." Din repeated blankly, knowing that he must be missing something. 

Ezra ducked his head, breaking eye contact. "As in, being in heat." The man clarified after a moment. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I'm-"

"Excuse me?" Din snarled, running his fingers through the juices that coated his knee. It was thick, sticky like syrup, why was it warm--He bolted to his feet and stalked back down the ramp. Ezra took a step back, and then another, the quarry obviously wary of him. Good. The satisfied feeling took some of the edge off his frustrated panic. "So what the hell is wrong with my partner?" Din grated out.

"Er, to couch it in layman's terms…" Ezra hesitated, clearing his throat. "They are aroused."

Aroused. Aroused. Aroused. "Sexually?" Din hated the way the word came out, all breathy like he was a youngling that had just learned about the wonders of copulation. 

Ezra nodded, grimacing. "From the sound of your tone, I would hazard a guess that the two of you have not been intimate."

"Why would we have been?" Din retorted bluntly.

Ezra raised an eyebrow, seeming as if he was avoiding looking at you. Good. Mine. Din had no idea where the hell that thought came from. "Oh of course, I was foolish to assume so blatantly." The prospector muttered. "That does complicate your own matters further, however. Were you previously sexually intertwined, this would have been much more simple." He suddenly doubled over at the waist, a loud grunt forced from his mouth and a low exclamation of, "fuck, fuck-"

The curse sent a hot flicker down Din's spine and it took him a second to realize that you had made a noise in reply. You sounded dazed, scared. He whirled on the ramp and knelt again, taking your hand. "Senaar, you coming around?" Your eyes looked...wrong, blinking open slowly; your pupils were blown like you'd been spiced. 

You stared up at him for several long seconds before your mouth opened. "Wanted to make lunch." You managed to say. "I don't feel good." 

"Well, you don't look so great either." Din said gruffly. 

"Bastard." You groaned at him, trying to sit up. "Maker, I feel so hot, I...oh! Oh no, you smushed one." You appeared to have noticed the remains of the sticky fruit currently seeping into his knee. "I wanted you to try it. Tastes...tastes...it's so sweet Mando, s'like candy." You saying his name (even if it wasn't his actual name, shit) was like a lightning bolt to his groin. You dragged your hand over his knee, gathering up the remnants of the fruit and then sliding your fingers into your mouth. 

You brought him food. His lungs felt too full and not full enough. Stars, the idea of you feeding him that, smearing it all over his mouth with those pretty little fingers-

No, the helmet. The helmet. He couldn't take off the helmet. The Creed.

He jerked his head up, looking to Ezra. The other man was still doubled over, holding his midsection as best as he could with his hands bound. 

A dark, uncharacteristically evil thought wound its way into Din's mind, sweet and smokey like a good ne'tra gal. "Get in the ship." He grunted. Ezra glanced up and Din was a little startled by the level of emotion he displayed. He wasn't used to seeing expressions play out on his own face. The other man seemed wildly uncomfortable and Din found that grounding, for whatever reason. 

"I do not dare to." Ezra panted finally. "Just being this close is...immensely troubling. I am not the master of my own body at this moment, Steerforth."

"Is this the target?" You asked softly. Din nodded and he could almost feel your eyes raking over the other man. "What happened? He's hurt."

Shit, he had nearly forgotten. Ezra was still bleeding from his arm. The quarry had obviously forgotten as well, clearly dealing with a much more pressing matter. 

You beckoned to the other man and Din had to rein in the knee-jerk reaction to grab his blaster as Ezra reluctantly approached. He had never been territorial about you before, what the hell was the matter with him? 

Ezra halted a good five feet away from you, keeping his head down. "I am Ezra. I apologize in advance for my untoward behavior." He muttered, his voice gone so low and gravelly he actually did sound like Din. The Mandalorian's stomach pitched uncertainly. "I am not myself at this point in time."

"What happened to your arm?" Your tone was warm, concerned. Din's fists clenched. "Did Mando do that?"

"Oh, no! Of course not. Your compatriot has been nothing if not a complete gentleman." Ezra replied wryly. "I sustained this injury during a previous floater's quarrel."

…

You hummed and you saw Mando stiffen up out of the corner of your eye. What was wrong with him? One second he had been leaning over you, all worry and hand holding. The next, he was barking at the quarry. 

And the quarry was hurt. Ezra, Ezra, his slow drawl making your head swim and your chest tingle. Never mind Mando, what was wrong with you? You felt so strange, like you were hyper-fixated. 

Maker, maybe you shouldn't have eaten that fruit. "I'm sorry." You apologized to Mando, your lower lip beginning to quiver. "I just wanted to give-"

"Be quiet." He ordered, his voice startlingly gentle. A gloved thumb pressed to your lower lip and you stared up at him, opening your mouth automatically even though you knew he was just wiping the juice away. You were startled when he slid his thumb into your mouth, but you obligingly cleaned the juice from the leather with your tongue. Shouldn't this be strange? But Mando just did it, like it was normal. Maybe it was normal. 

Your mind flew back to your sultry encounter on Nevarro, how you had occupied yourself while Mando wrapped up his business with the Guild, and warmth lanced through your stomach as you recalled greedy gloved hands grasping and caressing your bare skin-

"Steerforth, if you are to carry on in that heated demonstration I must plead for the carbonite treatment that you were so hellbent on throwing myself into earlier." Ezra sounded like he was in pain. "I have only endured this once before and it was a torment that threatened my already-tenuous sanity. Have fucking mercy man, I implore-"

"Be quiet." Mando snapped, "we have to treat your arm, right?"

"Fuck." Ezra swore again, the sound writhing through your belly. "Hurry then."

"Get in the ship. I'll turn on the filters."

"Do not leave me alone with them, I implore you!" Ezra cried, that domed helmet finally tilting enough for you to catch a glimpse of his face. "I am not the master of my own body, Steerforth." 

His eyes were dark, impossibly dark, and frantic as he argued with Mando. His skin seemed tanned or olive through the sun-struck dome of his suit's helmet. Short brown hair was plastered flat to his forehead with sweat, and the lower half of his face was coated in a somewhat unkempt mess of facial scruff. Too long to be five o'clock shadow, but too bedraggled to be dubbed anything else.

Roguish, you decided, wanting to laugh at yourself. He looks roguish. What a ridiculous thought to have! Not obviously dangerous like Mando, but still dangerous. Was that your heartbeat throbbing in your ears? You sighed softly, taking a step towards the other man without meaning to. 

Mando's hand was suddenly on your arm. "Hold it. Treatment. We have to treat his wound." He said gruffly. 

You nodded. Of course. Who knew what he had been exposed to through the breach in his suit? "I was going to help him walk?"

Mando shook his head. "You get the kit. You've got no gear on. He's contaminated." He reasoned. "Get me the kit and then seal yourself into the cockpit so we can filter the hold." You nodded again and his hand found your cheek, gloved fingers grazing your neck before he jerked back. "S...Sorry." he apologized.

"It's okay." You whispered.

…

Ezra, helmet discarded and suit stripped to the waist, flinched away from Din's touch yet again. "Stop. This is a bad wound. It'll get infected if I do this wrong." Din snapped. He rarely encountered blaster wounds that didn't self-cauterize, even though that tended to come with its own set of problems.

"I do not mean to tear free." Ezra protested. "Blood flow has increased. I am…" He paused, biting his lower lip. "Sensitive. Surely you have a handheld? One of the burners? Just burn it shut man, Kevva, I cannot even endure the graze of your fingers." 

"If I give you a burner patch, it'll seal in the infection." Din reasoned, flushing the wound again. "Focus on something else."

"I cannot." Ezra said sharply. "There is only one matter my brain currently wishes to focus on, and it is not the dire straits of my wounded arm." 

"Them?" Din asked, keeping his voice low. 

Ezra shot him a guilty look from beneath his sweat-matted fringe of brown hair, finally nodding. "It is ludicrous, but I feel as though I can taste them." He confessed. "Gods, I wish I had never landed on this accursed moon. I wish I had never encountered the Serpentia."

"What will happen?" Din did his best to maintain his vocal level as he bandaged the other man's wound.

"Arousal. Sheer, unadulterated arousal. You ache, like the worst fever you've ever had. I've heard it is even more excruciatin' for those of the other human biological persuasion, due to their genitals being internal. Though it is Medusine in nature, so it has a...failsafe, of sorts. You are seized with the primal instinct to mate, conquer, claim. It does not stop until you have buried your...until you have sheathed yourself in an orifice." Ezra was gasping for air. Obviously just talking about it was enough to cause him distress, either that or Djarin was being rougher than he thought. "Steerforth please, I-"

"This will cause them pain?" Din asked slowly. 

Ezra nodded jerkily. "I have been told it's like a sickly, stabbing heat. Fingers are not enough to…er, extinguish the flames." His cheeks flushed. "The tongue soothes, but not overlong. Internals require certain length, and...rigidity." Din didn't miss the way his eyes flickered down to the beskar that covered his upper thighs. "When last I encountered this damned flora, I suffered the effects alone and I felt as if I would go mad."

Tongue. Fingers. Rigidity. Din's mind reeled. "Specifics." He gritted out, his body awash with heat in his armor when Ezra made a pitiful noise.

"Kevva, have mercy on me Steerforth."

"I said. Specifics." Din fisted a glove in the other man's hair, tilting his head back and forcing him to look up. Ezra moved, albeit reluctantly, the Adam's apple of his throat bobbing when he swallowed. "Specifics." Din repeated himself, a little softer this time.

Ezra shuddered all over. "They will seek you out. To be fucked." He said, cringing a bit as if he disliked using the word. "You must open them up with your tongue first, dissolve the Medusine barrier with saliva. That's the failsafe, you see, an individual of that biological persuasion who is suffering cannot be penetrated without tender effort. Ease into it and perhaps they will not loathe you when this madness has run its course-"

"I can't." Din interrupted. 

"What?" Ezra gawked at him. 

"I can't. T-Tongue. Not allowed. Forbidden." Din felt like he was drunk. "Helmet."

The other man's brow furrowed. "You can, I presume, take off other portions of your plate?"

Din shook his head, wishing that he could explain it better. "Technically yes, but it's frowned upon. Exceptions happen. And under no circumstances can I take the helmet off." 

"How in the Fringe have you ever-"

"I...inspire feelings in people." That was probably the most delicate way he could have said I cater exclusively to bipeds with a predator/prey fetish. Din grimaced. "I'm large and imposing. Usually that's...enough. No need for warm up." He said awkwardly. "Armor stays on."

"What a bewildering existence!" Ezra tilted his head in disbelief. "So you have never removed…?"

Din shook his head. "Not in the presence of others. The Creed forbids it."

"Your dedication is admirable, but unfortunately it leaves your partner twisting in the wind." The quarry pointed out. "I would offer my services, but I am an unknown and-"

"Yes." Din gritted out, that dark thought slithering back through his mind. 

"Yes?"

"Your services." Din took a deep breath. He didn't bargain with quarry, but this man had his face. He couldn't turn him in without jeopardizing everything he had sworn his life to. "In exchange, when this is...when they no longer require your services, I'll let you go."

Ezra's eyebrows bunched together. "I'm afraid I don't follow, Steerforth."

"I don't want them to be in pain." Din's voice grated in his throat and he watched Ezra's eyes widen in comprehension. "I don't want them to hurt."

"You...this is not just the Serpentia. You have a prior attachment to them."

"It doesn't matter what I do or don't have." Djarin muttered dismissively. "Because of the Creed, I...I can't. But you can."

"You can't give them your mouth, certainly, but there are-"

"If it's what makes it possible, you have to do it!" Din interjected sharply. "I don't want them to hurt."

"I need you to comprehend what you're askin' of me!" Ezra shot back, his bound fists clenched tight enough to whiten his knuckles. "They don't know me from Job, and you're all but demanding I violate their trust-"

"I don't want them to hurt!" Din roared, startling himself with his own furious reaction. Whatever else he was about to say was cut off by your staggering descent on the ladder. You looked unwell. Ezra skittered back a few steps, falling on his ass with a muffled swear. 

"Mando?" Your voice wavered and you swayed at the ladder. Din lurched forward, tucking you into his arms as you sniffled, "I don't feel so good. I think I'm sick." You were radiating heat that he could feel even through his suit. Your tunic was soaked with sweat.

"Osi'kyr." Din cursed under his breath after he swapped to his infrared and saw just how brilliant your signature was. "Listen to me, alright Senaar?" He murmured, simultaneously loving and hating the way you nodded in a docile manner. "We know what can fix this. But it's not…" he paused, searching for the right term. 

"Appropriate." Ezra supplied loudly. 

"I feel awful." Your whimper made Din's stomach ache. His cock rubbed against the confines of his compression leggings. 

Ignore it.

"I know you do." Din pressed his palm to your forehead. "Listen to me. We can fix this. You trust me, right?" Your nod was immediate and Din barely stifled his groan. "Ezra knows what's wrong. Ezra can help."

"He can help?" You echoed blearily, looking past Din. "Okay. He said something about the fruit before, right? I shouldn't have eaten it. M'sorry. Was it poison?"

"Poison may have been simpler to endure." Ezra muttered. "It is an aphrodisiac. Do not blame yourself. The fruit is visually appealing for a reason, otherwise the plant would not be able to propagate."

…

Aphrodisiac. Your mouth was flooded with that sweet taste at the sound of Ezra's drawling voice, the groan that followed burrowing into your blood. 

You had never felt this way before. Your body ached and twisted, arousal pooling uncomfortably in your pelvis. Everything felt like it was trapped, your tunic sticking to your skin with sweat. Aphrodisiac. 

"Please pay attention." Ezra sighed. "I understand this is incredibly distracting, but I have a limited window of coherence." He was trembling slightly, still avoiding your eyes. "Your partner has requested I aid you where he cannot. I will not harm you." He said with gravity. "This is a situation which bodes exceptionally poorly and I am...I am truly sorry for dragging you into this mess."

"Oh, it's okay. Mando gets me into messes all the time." You brushed off his apology and Ezra choked out a bitter laugh. 

"I fear you may change your tune once the pain truly starts." He remarked.

"He says it'll hurt." Mando murmured. "Like stabbing."

You knew your eyes widened with fear because Mando was quick to envelope you in his arms again. He had never been this touchy before. It was...strangely nice. The coolness of his armor felt wonderful on your skin and you moaned in relief. Mando went stiff at your noise, his gloved fingers clutching the nape of your neck. Up until this point, you had just felt some minor throbbing. Distracting, but negligible.

This was different.

...

Your breath hitched in your throat and your fists curled into his suit, knees buckling as a low, wavering cry left your lips. Din jerked at the sound. He had never heard you make that kind of noise before, not even when you had been shot--

Oh he was fucked. He was so fucked. Was he excited or terrified? "Easy, you're okay, you're okay," he soothed, clumsily brushing the hair back from your face. Who was he even trying to convince?! 

"Make your choice expediently, Steerforth. Am I to be thrown in carbonite or put to work?" Ezra queried through gritted teeth. 

"You know I would never do anything to hurt you." Din said to you, ignoring the other man for the moment. "I won't let anything happen to you. I need you to trust me for right now, alright? We can fix this."

Your grip on him tightened even further. "I don't like how this feels." You whispered. 

Din closed his eyes in a futile attempt to ward off his own self-loathing, pressing your cheek against his breastplate. "I know, Senaar. I'll be right here with you. I just...can't give you what you'll need." He stuttered, offering on a desperate whim, "I-I can hold you, if you want." You nodded frantically into his armor. 

"If you have a...a blanket. A sheet. Something for the floor, we are going to make a mess and I am uncertain if we will be able to protect your partner's modesty." Ezra muttered, his bound hands resting surreptitiously over his groin. "They may be more enthusiastic than one would anticipate."

Din patted your elbow, trying to gentle his voice. "Go get your pillow." 

"O-Okay." You gulped. 

Din tore into one of his many lockers once you released him, the armored man frantically digging around for his extra bedding. Ezra staggered to his feet, moving in close to Din. So that you wouldn't hear him speak, no doubt. 

"There is still time for you to freeze me, Steerforth. I am not a man without morality, tattered though it may be." He murmured, and Din noticed that his weary brown eyes were surrounded by the same deep lines and cracks that Djarin's own face sported. The Mandalorian hadn't ever paid much mind to just how many expressions he still made beneath the helmet, probably because he knew no one would see them.

Din grabbed the other man's shoulder, searching those eyes. Ezra stared at his impenetrable visor, probably confused by his silence. "I need your help." Din rasped seriously. He didn't trust this guy as far as he could throw him, but he could live with the uneasy truce if it would…if it meant that he could…

Stars, this was all so damn wrong. 

Ezra finally nodded. "I will do my best to assist with the...emotional aftermath. This is not your fault, or theirs. This is merely an unfortunate side effect of a hazardous occupation."

"Thank you."

Ezra's eyebrows shot up, but other than that he gave no indication of his surprise. Din elbowed him to the side, unfolding the thick blanket and spreading it out carefully on the floor of the hold.

…

This was certainly an odd predicament. 

Ezra could not say he had ever been in such a charged scenario, despite his checkered history. His jaw worked thoughtfully as he watched the armored man devote an obscene amount of care to smoothing the wrinkles out of his blanket. 

Arousal swirled around him like the thick pollen outside, but it was tempered by the terrible memory of that singular past experience where he had rubbed himself bloody on the inside of his suit. He knew he was worse off than Steerforth. No, what had you called him? Mando. 

Curious. 

A Creed that prevented the devout from showing the world their face.

Curious. And familiar, somehow. Ezra spooled his mind back, trying to recall why it was familiar. He couldn't focus however, his own breathing becoming too distracting. 

Mando hadn't gotten nearly as much of the pollen as him. The other man seemed unbearably, impossibly calm in the light of what was about to occur. Maybe it was an illusion afforded by that unreadable helm, or brought about by his lack of prior experience.

Ezra was wildly jealous all the same. "What is their name?" He asked softly. 

Mando fixed him with a look and Kevva, that helmet was indeed imposing. "I call them Senaar. It...it means bird." He sounded reluctant, like he didn't even want to give up that much. "Names are sacred in the Creed. I couldn't give them mine so they didn't give me theirs, but I had to call them something."

"No names in the Creed, either?" Ezra asked incredulously. 

The armored man shook his head. "To outsiders we are all Mando. To us, we are Mando'ade. This is the Way."

"A veritable legion of nameless, featureless warriors." Ezra muttered, mainly to himself. He rattled his restraints after a moment. "Am I to remain bound during this frotfest, Steerforth?"

"I'm not stupid enough to give you free range. Be grateful I didn't secure them behind your back instead." Mando snarked.

"I will not harm your little bird." Ezra protested.

"I know." Mando leaned in slightly, broad shoulders made even more intimidating by the blue-steel pauldrons that graced them. "I would kill you before you got the chance."

Oh, such confidence! Ezra wished he was in his right mind, he would obliterate this smug cretin--

His breath caught in his throat as you returned from your excursion. Gods, he had nearly forgotten what he was being called to do. He warred with the obscene urge that dragged his gaze to the crux of your thighs. "A divine sight." He murmured, not lying for once. This entire day had been remarkably truthful. 

You actually gave him a ribald wink, and that eased his conscience slightly. Perhaps you were not the unsullied, blushing virgin he had feared you might be. Obviously you had used the time you took to grab your pillow wisely, maybe even given yourself a bit of a pep talk. 

"Have you done this before?" Ezra asked, half-joking. He heard Mando audibly gulp in that damn bucket when you nodded, a pained smile curving your lips. "Not under the effects of such altering substances, I pray?" 

"Nah, nothing like that." You replied, shaking your head. "It was back on Nevarro, I-"

"Nevarro?" Mando hissed. "You disappeared on me for hours. That's what you were up to?!"

You shrugged weakly. "It doesn't really matter but...there were two Mandalorians, and I wanted, um, something that seemed familiar, I guess." You admitted, your tone remarkably cool for the subject matter. 

Ezra hid his grin. He was hardly immune to the allure of saucy gossip, and there was nothing quite like gossip that had no particular bearing on him. "Two?!" The armored man's voice squeaked even through the thick modulation and Ezra burst out laughing, the binders knocking his jaw when he tried to stifle his mirth. 

"I meant more whether you had engaged in copulation in general, but I suppose that would have been a pertinent question as well." He mused once he got himself under control, the low buzz in his stomach blossoming into an excited thrum. "How fortunate that you would be so generous when it comes to your partners, little bird."

"What do you mean, familiar?" Mando carried on over him, obviously agitated by the fresh knowledge that his partner may or may not have some...tendencies. Ezra almost wanted to laugh again; you were nothing if not painfully transparent. Seeking out others like the armored man to have their way with you? Clearly you harbored some sort of affection, kept secret and safe by the walls that humans build around themselves.

But Serpentia had a funny way of sliding that dastardly pink slick through all defenses, leaving the body raw and exposed.

"I mean familiar." You replied, your pillow like a shield between yourself and Mando. Ezra settled back to watch the show, well aware that his smirk was probably insufferable. "I have needs, you know." You continued primly. 

Mando's fists clenched on his thighs before he pointedly flattened them back out, fingers dragging over the plates. "I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't...I'm sorry." He mumbled, patting his leg. 

You wavered again and nearly fell. The armored man caught you, settling you down with a cautious tenderness that fired a thrower shot of arousal directly into Ezra's gut. He had always been a weak fool for chivalry, though he was able to display precious little of it in his own life. Oh, this was the best kind of story. 

...

Your face burned with embarrassment; why had you told him about your rendezvous with two other members of his Creed? It was like the words just fell out of your mouth, like your brain itself was against you. 

You could still remember the way the larger one had pressed his forehead to your own and then encouraged you down his chest to his groin, the way his helmet had tipped back--

A new flood of warmth swept into your cunt and you bit down on your hand to stifle your noise at the pain that followed. Mando paused, then laid your pillow between his open legs. "Lay down on your back." He muttered, patting his leg again. "This way you can see me. I'll be right here."

"I'm-"

"Don't apologize, please." Mando cut you off. "Once this is over, once everything is...over, I...listen, we'll operate as a sealed unit. This maneuver is scrubbed from the start. I never found the quarry. Nothing that we say or do here will ever be mentioned again. Understood?"

Your breath caught in your throat. He was giving you an out. Or himself, you were uncertain. You nodded slowly and his shoulders drooped a little, but whether he was relieved or disappointed…

Well, some secrets were meant to stay that way. 

Ezra nodded his own agreement. "It is best to have certain protocol already in place when engaging in uncharted waters." He muttered. "Decidedly militant, but I must surmise your Creed taught you that."

"This is the Way." Mando said firmly. 

"If we are operating under burner infantry orders, then I must voice my trepidation about this engagement," Ezra confessed to you. "I have endured this crisis once before and it was not a pleasant experience. I do not envy the pain I am certain you feel at this moment, but I also know that you are in a...compromised and sensitive position. I...if any advance is unwanted, I trust you will inform me. And if I do not respond, if I am too far gone, please have your associate rescind my invitation." He gestured at Mando with his bound hands. 

"Wh-What are you going to do to me?" You asked, your voice high in your ears even as you let Mando maneuver you down to the blanket.

"I am going to do for you what your companion cannot, little bird." Ezra's tongue dampened his lips nervously. "And only that, if I understand the situation correctly."

"What he…" you trailed off as a thought occurred to you. Ezra hummed quietly as if to confirm and the sound reverberated through your core, making you whine and squirm restlessly. "Oh, what, stars, you mean-"

"My mouth, little bird." He had a tiny section of blond hair on the right side of his head, the tuft residing rakishly just at his hairline. You hadn't noticed until now, but the whimsical little patch seemed to soften his stern features. "You will need the saliva, regrettably. I am certain that the idea of the mouth of a lowly aurelac harvester on you is a repulsive one, but it is the only way to get the proverbial ball rolling." 

"Wait, you have to eat me out?" You asked in confusion, trying to get back up. "Hang on, I should shower, I'll-" Agony raked down your spine and you spasmed, a breathy sound of pain forcing itself past your lips.

Ezra's incredulous chuckle soothed the sensation back down to a manageable level. "What an unexpected offer, little bird! I cannot recall the last time someone bathed specifically for me. You will wholly ensnare me if you continue such considerate behavior." 

…

Din's body felt like it was on fire in his armor. 

You had gone looking for people like him. 

You had gone looking for Mandos because you wanted familiarity. The idea of you sussing out more of his brothers or sisters because you had needs-

Din wasn't sure if he would survive this particular encounter. He was gripping his cuisses so tightly that the leather of his gloves burned against his fingertips. Mandalorians weren't celibate by any stretch of the imagination, but the Creed could make things...more difficult than they needed to be for a variety of species.

Ezra, despite his hands being bound, was remarkably capable. The man had coached you through the pain when you had tried to move, his voice obviously helping you somehow. Djarin wasn't sure if he was jealous or grateful. Maybe both.

The fact that this was causing you to suffer had him loathing how stiff his cock was in his compression leggings, even though from what he had gathered he couldn't actually help that particular reaction. 

"I must beg your assistance in disrobing." Ezra was saying softly, tugging at the overly-knotted waistband of your loose pants. "Please, little bird."

"Right, yeah, of course." You mumbled and Djarin could hear the pain in your voice, could feel the twitchy little flinches as you tried to follow Ezra's directions. 

Hesitantly, the Mandalorian moved his hands up until they rested on your shoulders. You exhaled a breathy little moan, nuzzling your cheek against his glove in what he had to assume was thanks.

"Better." You gasped, seeming more sure as you struggled to undo the sash at your waist. 

"Well done, Steerforth." Ezra praised, causing something warm and wet to pour into Din's abdomen. The armored man's breathing stuttered, was this what Ezra had been feeling the entire time they had been walking? Stars, how had he even managed-

His cock lurched against the tight hold of his leggings, precome dampening his stomach. Without meaning to, Din's fingers tightened on your shoulders and he grunted quietly. 

Your eyes shot up, locking with his visor. He knew you couldn't actually see him, but at that moment he felt exposed. "You alright?" You asked quietly, your breath hiccuping when Ezra brushed the stubble of his jaw against your naked thigh. Din ached to do that himself, Maker he wished-

"I'm fine." He choked, like he wasn't roasting alive from the double-edged heat of artificial arousal and jealousy. His left hand slid down, resting at the hollow of your throat. It soothed his ego a little to see that your eyes were still on him, despite what the quarry was about to do. 

Ezra, he reminded himself. This man wasn't prey anymore, for all that he was keeping the binders on. Din at least needed that level of control. He needed the stability.

That recurrent devious thought surged forward again, dark and heady. Utilizing Ezra, he could indulge vicariously in the hazy desires he had fought for cycles. The wish to bury his face between your legs and eat you out until you cried, like in the raunchy imagecasts he picked up on rare occasion. Putting his bare hands on you, stars-

Din Djarin was a man of extreme self-control. So far, he hadn't overstepped or shamed the Creed, unless you counted the time he was loaded out of his mind with bacteria-laden quills. He hadn't realized just how many of them were embedded in his back until his vision started getting blurry as he was standing over the nexu's dead body. Served him right for letting the feline get the drop on him before he put his backplate on.

You had been so worried when he returned. You were patched into his coms so you obviously heard the struggle he had dispatching the creature. Heard how ragged his breath got and how hard he had to actually fight. 

Din vaguely remembered flopping down on his belly with you hovering over him, pliers in one hand and bacta shot already buried in the meat of his shoulder. Stars, it was great to have a partner sometimes. If he had come back to just the kid like that, he'd probably be dead from an infection. You didn't even make him take off his suit, you just worked around it. 

You ended up removing thirty-seven quills of various lengths, most of them bearing nasty hooked barbs. The pain had hit different because of the infection, leaving Djarin trembling boneless and silent on the floor of the hold while you wriggled quills out of his back. He had never felt more helpless, more vulnerable, beskar be damned. 

"It's alright. I'm glad you made it back." You had said calmly. "I'm not letting you go alone next time, though."

"Thank you, Senaar…"

Din's face flushed when he recalled how badly his voice had cracked when saying the name he called you by, less speech and more a plaintive cry. The way his glove had slipped over the skin of your cheek, and how he had longed to remove that glove...

Maker, he sullied the Creed with his inability to reconcile over lack of touch. The hunger for skin-to-skin contact that reared its ugly head every time you were out of your heavy exosuit and durasteel served as a painful reminder, one much more poignant than the simple weight of his helm, that he was a Mandalorian.

But this doppelganger loophole was a gift to be thoroughly exploited and he wasn't about to waste that opportunity. 

Ezra buried his face between your legs and Din felt the way your entire body coiled up in anticipation, another trembling cry leaving your lips and your hands twisting frantically into the blanket beneath you. "Mando-!"

His name, his name, you were saying his name even with another man's mouth giving you pleasure. Djarin couldn't help the satisfied little growl that left his lips and made its way through his modulator. He heard Ezra chuckle, the other man pausing to shoot him a sly wink over the length of your body. Din nearly laughed.

"Ezra," He said instead, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. "Make them cry."

He stopped caring about how wrong it was.

…

You gasped at Mando's words, already inches from bursting into tears. Ezra's mouth was slowly coaxing you open, the stubble on his cheeks and jaw rubbing your thighs. Every pass of his tongue, every gentle press and suckle sought to untangle the knotted ball of heat in your belly, but you were certain you would lose your mind before you managed to disperse the agonizing feeling.

You were too full, almost too aroused to handle Ezra's mouth on your cunt but you were positive if he stopped licking at you, you would die. Heat felt like it was sloshing in your belly, there was so much of it...

Ezra placed a series of delicate kisses on your clit, each one lighter than the last. His hands, still secure in their binders, clutched your right thigh for purchase when he pulled back to gulp air. His expression was dazed, eyes managing to focus on the armored man that loomed over you after several long seconds. "Will you not indulge, Steerforth?" He sounded like he was almost begging Mando, voicing what you couldn't bring yourself to say. "They ask for you, how can you sit there so damned impassive?"

Your breath caught in your throat when you heard Mando exhale raggedly, the bounty hunter muttering, "M' not impassive. There's nothing I-"

"Touch them, for fuck's sake!" Ezra cried, pointedly rattling his cuffs. "I cannot do both. We must work together!"

The Mandalorian lurched suddenly up onto his knees, then sprawled over your body, slamming one hand down to support his weight before wrapping his fingers in the neck of Ezra's tattered thermal shirt. "You don't call the shots here, quarry." He snarled in That Voice, the one that he reserved for his bounties.

Your hands crept up to his hips, hyper aware of the sweet taste in your mouth and how good this would feel. 

…

Ezra stared at the pitch-black visor inches from his nose. Felt the strength in the gloved hand that threatened to do much more than stretch his shirt.

The prospector took a mental inventory of his body at this juncture, a bit surprised and entertained to find that he was thoroughly invested in this new direction the encounter had taken. Mando was no doubt glaring at him from the safety of that impregnable helm, the other man's hackles obviously raised by the jab from the prospector.

It mattered very little at this point in time, however, as Ezra heard a zipper fly open. Mando flinched so hard Ezra felt it in his back, and the sound you made was enough to get the devil to start sweating. "Seems that you may be outnumbered, Steerforth."

"Target rich--environment-" The armored man snarled. "Senaar, y-your--mouth, fuck-"

He stuttered. He stuttered. Ezra latched onto that weakness with a filthy grin, easily twisting out of the other man's grip to duck his head back down and taste you. Mando's other hand hit the blanket as you undulated your hips up to meet Ezra's mouth. Ezra could only imagine the noises you were making around the other man's cock. He knew you were making them by the way Mando's arms quivered. And wasn't that a sight, a man in full armor rendered helpless by the power of a warm, eager mouth on his cock. 

"Watch me now, Steerforth." Ezra crooned, tilting his face up to make presumed eye contact. "This is how you make them weep with pleasure." He was sure that his chin was dripping pink at this point and he knew, even without seeing the other man's face, that Mando was barely hanging on. He had to salute the armored man's dedication. A less devout individual would have given out before they made it to the floor.

The Medusine barrier that the Serpentia formed was slowly weakening under the gentle assault of his mouth, Ezra was pleased to notice. Of course, he wasn't exactly rushing, simply going at a steady pace to keep your pain to a bare minimum. You had begun to leak around the barrier, your arousal even warmer than he had expected. Ezra couldn't tell whether it was because he was under the effects of the pollen or whether it was reality that you tasted immaculate, but he reasoned that it didn't particularly matter. 

He was hungry enough to cope with either happenstance. 

"Little bird, fuck my face, won't you?" He requested sweetly, chuckling at your enthusiastic response. "Grind yourself to completion on my tongue, break the barrier so that your associate can sheathe himself balls deep in this delectable pussy and give you respite." 

...

"Fuck." Din rasped, his eyes wide behind the visor of his helmet. The way that Ezra spoke was like fucking music, the man wrapping filthy words in flowery, incomprehensible syntax. 

The Mandalorian's fingers tangled resolutely in the blanket, the armored man panting as you urged his aching dick even further down your throat. Your hands grappled with his thighs, shoving them wider and then taking two hungry handfuls of his rear to encourage him.

"Senaar-" he started to warn you off, but stopped dead when you moaned around him. Stars, he wondered how you could even breathe-- 

You pulled back, coughing and gasping. "You're doing so well, little bird." Ezra murmured from between your legs. Your only reply was to take Din's cock back into your mouth and oh fuck you weren't stopping-

Your hand found Djarin's in the blankets and you tugged on it, forcing him to try and figure out how to redistribute his weight so you could have the appendage. He managed it of course, he was a fucking Mandalorian after all, but there was a moment where he nearly lost his balance.

You guided his hand to your neck and Din couldn't fight back the groan he let out when he felt his cock bulging through your throat. Fuck, no one had ever been able to take this much of him into their mouth before, halfway was usually the stopping point. 

Djarin grunted and tilted his head down to watch you struggle, finally wrapping a hand around his cock and easing it back out of your mouth. Strands of saliva connected the engorged head of his dick to your lips. Din sighed stupidly at the sight, fisting his dick and coating his glove with your spit. "You're good at this, Senaar." He said gruffly, knowing that it wasn't really praise, not like how Ezra said it. But words had never been his forte. 

"Keep speaking to them Steerforth, they leak at every word out of your mouth." Ezra encouraged from between your legs. "That's right little bird, just a bit more…"

Din was startled, to say the least. You liked when he talked? "I…" he hesitated, then his brow furrowed. "Can't wait to fuck you, Senaar." You whimpered, your hips shuddering. "Fuck you until you don't remember your own fucking name." Din growled. "Breed you like a good Mando should, pump you full of my come just like my Creed-siblings did, right?"

You nodded against his thigh, your sweat seeping through his flight suit to meet his own liberal perspiration. He was so hot, his armor had never been this hot--

"Kevva, that's a kink I didn't anticipate." Ezra panted, pink slick smeared all over his nose and chin. "They certainly like it though, if I understand correctly."

Din could smell you, smell the sweet scent of that fruit mixed with your own arousal. His fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of Ezra's neck and he nearly headbutted him on reflex, barely reining the power back in time. Ezra seemed confused at first, the other man obviously dazed with heat and just sort of allowing Djarin to shove his face against his helmet. 

…

The helm was so cool, Ezra couldn't restrain a relieved sigh when he made contact. Mando appeared to be rubbing your essence all over his helmet, utilizing Ezra's face as a paintbrush. Unorthodox, but effective.

"Oh," Ezra realized, "you've got some sort of olfactory sensors in there, don't you. You lewd creature you!" He teased breathlessly. "If you think they smell sumptuous, I regret to inform you that their taste utterly puts that to shame." Words were heavy in his mouth, the prospector having to work harder and harder to put sentences together. It wouldn't be long before his senses wholly abandoned him, he was certain. "Release me, Steerforth, I must…I must carry out my end of the bargain." He groaned, struggling free. "We are almost at their climax."

Mando was nearly vibrating with anticipation, gloved fingers clawing at Ezra's hair. "Careful," was all the armored man said hoarsely. 

Ezra nodded, once again touched by the bounty hunter's surprising display of consideration for his partner. "When the barrier breaks, they will need your cock immediately, Steerforth. I will...not be coherent for much longer." He mumbled against your cunt, giving up on speech after Mando nodded.

With one last sweep of his tongue, the barrier dissolved. You sobbed out, your voice breaking as you writhed beneath your large companion and bucked your hips up against Ezra's eager mouth. Slick fairly poured out of you, leaking down your thighs and soaking the blanket beneath you. 

Ezra didn't remember wriggling his bound hands beneath your rear, simply returning to his senses with your legs over his shoulders and his lungs burning for air but you tasted so good, he felt raw with hunger. 

Mando's gloved hand covered nearly the entirety of his face, easing him back from his feast. Ezra watched the other man's chest heave in a daze until he suddenly remembered what he was doing. "I apologize, I...I am too far gone." He murmured in contrition, lowering your hips back to the floor. 

"Ask nicely to fuck their mouth." Mando ordered, his blunt words digging into Ezra's groin. "You said it hurt you last time because you were alone. You helped them not to hurt. If they don't want to let you to fuck their mouth though, I'll…" he hesitated, "I'll figure something else out. Nobody has to hurt."

"'Something else'?" Ezra repeated, stunned. What on earth could this armored man possibly be offering? Those gloves were remarkably soft, the leather worn smooth from a lifetime of use, no doubt- "Oh."

…

The pain had eased, only to be replaced by a searing emptiness. You squirmed beneath Mando, tangentially aware that he was engaged in a discussion with Ezra. Your hand flew to your pussy, the drenched area making an embarrassingly loud noise when you thrust two fingers into yourself in an effort to quell the ache. 

"Maker, please, please, Mando!" you begged, barely aware of what you were saying. The heat concentrated in your pelvis was burning you alive, desperate tears pouring down your face.

Mando stood to his full height, towering over you, just watching you quiver while you pleaded deliriously. He fairly ambled around your body, moving until he stood between your spread legs. His boot shoved your ankle, opening you even further, exposing every inch of you and the mess that covered the blanket under you. "Senaar." The low burr of modulation made you rock your hips up, whimpering and nodding when he stroked his cock like he was showing off.

Somewhere, deep in your soul, you prayed that he liked what he saw even without the strange pollen instigating. 

He knelt, gloved fingers curling beneath your chin to pull your eyes up from his thick, perfect cock and the puddle of precome it was currently weeping onto your pubic mound. His touch sent flickering trails of electricity through your body, and you could barely focus on what he was asking.

"Ezra...mouth?" 

You nodded rapidly, making Mando bark out what could have been a laugh. He cupped your jaw again, and then his hand stroked your hair in a way that was almost tender. 

"I'll make you feel better." He promised. Ezra was a mess, he looked like you felt. The quarry simply let Mando shove him down onto his knees, his eyes half-lidded. "Undo your suit." Mando ordered and Ezra shakily attempted to obey. He was having a difficult time with his hands still in the binders so you reached out, batting his hands away impatiently to unzip the lower portion of his exosuit.

His thermal leggings were threadbare like his shirt, the waffle-weave fabric soaked through. His cock visibly twitched when you exhaled sharply. "Do not tease me, little bird, I feel as if I am on death's doorstep." The man pleaded through his teeth, "I am raw and agony gnaws at my skin; please take me in your mouth." 

"I have to get your pants off." You tried to explain, fumbling with the article of clothing. The noise of despair he made had you frantically clawing at the pants, finally dragging them down low enough that his cock was freed. It slapped against his belly and he moaned, bound hands digging helplessly into your hair. 

"May I please have your mouth?" He requested raggedly. "I will not take it if you do not give it freely but please, little bird." 

After he had worked so hard to get you to come? You were nodding hurriedly before he finished speaking, and his deep, drawn-out groan of relief was like music to your ears when you swallowed him down. 

…

You were radiating warmth, your hips twitching and shifting restlessly even as you tried to get Ezra's dick out of his suit. Din had to hand it to the other man, he did ask nicely. 

But there were much more pressing matters to attend to. Mainly, your neglected cunt that was currently leaking all over the underside of his cock. Djarin took a steadying breath, and then slowly sank himself into your waiting heat.

Your cry of relief was fucking primal, a hungry, feral snarl that slithered hot and seething in his stomach under the beskar plate. Din was wholly, entirely lost, finding himself mentally shattered at the first stroke into your body. Your thighs trembled on either side of his hips and then your legs fell open, like you didn't have the strength to hold them up. 

Shit, he knew he should say something, he knew he should be reluctant about this, but it was like every cell of his body needed you to fucking survive. 

Maybe he always had. 

Din bared his teeth and growled back at you, his attention divided between watching you eagerly suck Ezra's cock and watching the way his own dick split you open. His passage was eased by the strange pink fluid that continued to ooze out of you, stars it was so hot-

Ezra's fingers tangled in your hair after a moment, the prospector cradling your head to his groin in a manner that could have almost been described as gentle.

"Is this how my Creed-siblings f-ucked you, Senaar?" Din's voice grated in his chest, the armored man barely aware of the heated words tumbling out of his mouth. "Filling you, claiming you, fucking your throat and pussy?"

"Kevva." Ezra breathed. "Your peculiar voice working in tandem with your cock appears to be the thing that turns them into a voracious harlot. I do not know if I have ever-" His sentence broke momentarily, "oh, fuck, very well little bird, take the whole of it then." He grunted, raking his fingers through your hair as you deepthroated him. "You are absolutely magnificent at that, you know." The other man praised shakily. 

Your cunt fluttered around Djarin's cock and he felt your arousal soak through his suit, hot fluid sliding down to coat his balls. "Stars, did you just come?" He groaned, unable to stop the filthy noise he made when you whined around Ezra's dick and nodded as best as you could. His fingers gripped your thigh, digging into the skin as he began to rut against you. The Mandalorian threw his head back, panting, "Feel so fucking--good around me, fuck, Senaar, so good-"

…

You felt like you were falling apart again and again. The taste, the sensations, the curling knot of heat in your belly that released inch by inch. Mando's hand on your thigh and Ezra's grip on your head were the things that allowed you to hold on to your sanity, but only just.

Mando was conquering you utterly, his dick driving into you with enough force that you knew you would be aching later, but in the moment you never wanted him to stop. You had craved him, wished for him for so long, to finally have him was total bliss. 

And Ezra, Ezra, his silky voice caressing your body as his bound hands carded through your hair. His cock choked you again and again and every time you had to pull back off of him for breath he praised you, talked about how good you were, how no one had ever taken him as deep as you…

You were in heaven. 

Ezra abruptly retreated, his cock smearing more precome across your lips. "If you continue on in this manner I will be undone, little bird." He muttered. "Your one-sided assault, while inescapably delicious, is rendering me wholly base. You wish for me to spill my seed on your face?" His hips twitched. "Or shall I fuck my come down your throat, request that you swallow every drop?" 

"Fuck it into them." Mando rasped before you could say anything in reply, a gloved hand grabbing your chin. "Fuck your load i-into that sweet little mouth of theirs. Give them what they fucking need, quarry." He demanded, and you nearly came again from how unhinged he sounded. 

"Well, little bird?" Ezra asked softly, his eyes dark with want. "Shall I take my pleasure from your lewd little mouth and let your beautiful throat milk me dry?"

"Please!" You begged, opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue to encourage him. 

Ezra sighed blissfully at the sight, lacing his fingers through your hair and encouraging you to take his cock until your nose rested against his groin. "Fuc-king gods, you are positively celestial." He groaned, "Relegating yourself to a singular partner would be doing you a disservice, little bird. I highly encourage you to weaponize your talents in whatever field you wish."

Come flooded your mouth, his cock twitching heavily against your tongue. Your eyes rolled back, your lungs burning for air and you dimly heard Mando snarl, dropping his helm to rest on your sternum. The metal was blessedly cool even through your tunic, helping to anchor you to reality. 

"Fucking touch me, please." Mando's voice shook even with the modulator, his words buzzing through your body. "Senaar please, fuck, pl-please, touch me, fucking--"

Your palms crashed into his shoulders, hips bucking upwards to meet his next thrust and you came again. Mando made a noise that you could only liken to a roar, the armored man grappling at your hips and grinding himself against your dripping cunt. 

"Senaar, Senaar, Senaar--" The name he had given you punctuated every thrust, his rasping tone making your belly drop out. You weren't sure if you would ever stop coming, grasping blindly at Mando and Ezra while your cunt gripped down on Mando's cock.

…

If Ezra still had any doubts about being a blatant proxy for the armored man, that was obliterated in his post-orgasm daze. 

A gloved hand slid to the back of his neck and tugged him down to your mouth. Ezra went clumsily but willingly, the prospector humming when he tasted himself and the cloying sweetness of the Serpentia on your tongue. You sobbed against his lips and Ezra soothed you with his mouth, accepting all of your hungry whimpers and whines as he stroked your hair back off your forehead. 

"Little bird, little bird, you will want for nothing with this individual pummeling you so mercilessly." He breathed, relishing the soft cry that quivered against the skin of his neck. "I imagine you can feel every inch of that prodigious girth, burning like unquenchable quicksilver, threatening to breach your very womb." He moved his bound hands down, resting them on your stomach. "Steerforth, I trust you are punishin' their cervix with every thrust?" He queried, chuckling darkly when Mando just snarled in reply.

You threw your head back, hands fisted in the fabric between Mando's pauldrons and gorget. "Mando-!" You pleaded, "fuck!" 

Mando's hands dug beneath the small of your back and he canted your hips upwards, sheathing his cock in the cradle of your body over and over. Ezra envied the armored man's stamina, grunting when he felt his member trying to rise again. Whether he could blame the pollen for that, he was unsure, but the lovely company certainly did nothing to dissuade his arousal. Watching this large, almost knightly figure rail into you, your face still a mess of tears from when Ezra had fucked your mouth…

Kevva, he could not recall a time where he had been so content to simply play voyeur, pressing the occasional kiss to your lips at Mando's behest. "Such tenderness, what a dichotomous sensation for you," the prospector mused, "the contrast between armor and flesh." His mouth brushed against your ear when he continued, "However, I believe you're beginning to realize that there is an untapped wellspring of man beneath all that metal, am I correct little bird?"

...

You squeezed your eyes shut and Din's hand reached up, the bounty hunter unable to keep from cradling your cheek. "I always knew." You said, your voice barely audible. "I-I always...I always-"

"Be quiet." Din grunted. "Y-You...don't have to say it." His heart slamming in his chest had nothing to do with his current exertion. You knew. Shame reached him dimly through the haze of arousal. All the times he ached to touch you, all the times he battled with himself over his desire for contact…

Your hand gripped the back of his helmet and he flinched sharply. He hadn't noticed you move and you could pull his helmet off, shit, he was so stupid for doing this! His eyes flew to yours, even though he knew you couldn't see through his visor.

After a moment of him fighting back his panic, you just shook your head. "S-Sealed unit, ri-ght?" You asked, your words hitching with his thrusts. Djarin nodded warily. Your eyes half-lidded and you knocked your forehead into his helmet, the gesture unmistakable to a Mandalorian.

A kiss. 

Was his heart breaking, or just fucking giving out under the assault of this insane pollen? Was he overloaded? Was this all just some wild hallucination?

Din frantically shoved his helmet against your face, pinning your head back to the pillow. Shit, he needed to be careful, you didn't have armor. "Senaar, I--" Basic had always been so damn heavy on his tongue. Mando'a flowed, but it was secret. Sacred. Djarin hesitated and you reached up again, cradling the indents on his helmet.

"Always. Even with this." You whispered. 

His brain had short-circuited. The roaring in his ears was deafening and he knew he was making some kind of ugly, wounded noise, but he couldn't actually do anything about it. 

Always. Always. 

His heart must have blown, he reasoned desperately. That was the only explanation for what he was feeling right now.

…

The sound that Mando made after you assured him was heartwrenching, a guttural sob that seemed like a mixture of agony and ecstasy. He clawed at the blanket beneath you, gasping for breath as he all but broke you in half, his dick ripping yet another orgasm from your hungry cunt. 

You were lightheaded from his prolonged fucking, your pussy in spasm around his thick cock, but you refused to give out yet. "Did you feel me come, Mando?" You whimpered against the side of his helmet, wringing more feral noises out of him. "Is it good?"

"Fuck, incredible, s-so--" Mando gripped your thigh, hitching it up over his hip and then dragging his fingers hungrily through the pink slick that had pooled in the crease of your hip. "Never want to leave, fuck, m'sorry, I know I'm t-taking--forever-" 

"Only a fool apologizes for his length in the bedroom." Ezra remarked dryly, dipping down to kiss you when you laughed. "How do you fare, little bird?"

"So good." You sighed, feeling half-drunk on your orgasm high. The knot in your belly had finally gone slack, leaving you weak and trembling beneath Mando as he chased his own completion. You hummed and Ezra rumbled back, his touch remarkably careful when he cupped your chin. 

"You have done so well." Ezra murmured. "Serpentia is no simple storm to weather, yet you have endured." Mando wordlessly bumped his helmet against Ezra's temple, the metal rubbing over the blond tuft of hair the quarry sported. "You are most welcome, Steerforth." Ezra chuckled. "One is glad to be of service, but please. You threatened to fill them, didn't you?"

Mando's hips faltered in their rhythm and the armored man finally came with a shattered moan of relief. Stars, you weren't sure if you had the Serpentia to blame for the sheer volume that he came; you could feel it frothing out of you around his cock as he continued to shudder and writhe through his orgasm. 

"Holy shit, Mando." You said incredulously, unable to fight back the urge to slip a hand down between your bodies. "You told me Mandalorians were rare."

"We--are." Mando panted raggedly, his cock still twitching inside you.

"If you come like this, how?" You asked, your combined fluids soaking your questing fingers. Mando just stared at you for a moment, shoulders heaving while he struggled to catch his breath.

And then he started laughing, which was...not nearly as terrifying as you had expected, honestly. "Stars, you--" He wheezed, his helm thudding gently against your forehead. "Fuck you, Senaar." You could hear him grinning, his voice still warm with laughter. 

"Odd method of displaying affection. I take it your Creed is of a fraternitous bent?" Ezra commented, a quiet noise of surprise escaping him when you tugged him down for a kiss.

"Thank you." You mumbled drowsily into his mouth. 

"Hardly. I ought to thank you. When last I endured the Serpent's grasp, I was incarcerated and driven to gratify myself to ribbons on the inside of my gear." Ezra informed you, his tone nonchalant. "This experience was a rare moment of hedonistic bliss in my life. Believe me when I say I shall cherish it."

He straightened up before you could say anything in reply, extending his bound wrists to Mando.

"Whither to, my recalcitrant steerforth?"

Mando ignored him for another moment, stroking your forehead tenderly. He appeared to have noticed your weariness, because he sounded softer when he spoke. "Sleep, Senaar. It's over."

…

"I'll cut you loose on Sorgan." 

Ezra swiveled in the co-pilot chair, knowing that his expression must border on the befuddled. When the armored man had left you to sleep, hauled Ezra into the cockpit and secured his binders to the chair, the prospector had assumed that whatever agreement they struck previously was rendered null and void. "I would be...wholeheartedly grateful to you, Steerforth." He breathed.

"I never found you. Your pod malfunctioned and you burned alive in the atmosphere." Mando instructed him in that level, modulated voice. "Stop stealing shit and I won't have to hunt you down again."

"Those men stole from me!" Ezra retorted hotly, knocking his elbow down into the white case that hung off his hip. "I worked alone for stands and they came along right at the most opportune juncture, put a thrower to my head and robbed me! I simply reclaimed-"

Mando waved a hand, interrupting his self-righteous tirade. "You and I both know that it doesn't matter. I'm forfeiting the credits this time, but next time…" he trailed off pointedly. "Don't get caught again. If someone else from my Guild chapter picks up your bounty, Mandalorian or otherwise, they will catch you." 

Mando leaned in close, his elbows resting on his knees and helmet propped up on his folded hands. Ezra felt for all the world like a specimen underneath a microscope, barely suppressing the urge to squirm nervously. 

"The bounty specified that you be captured warm." The armored man said after a beat. "No promise of half-payment upon cold delivery or even proof of demise. So whoever you got into a pissing match with wants to be the one to put that last slug into your brain. You already heard my advice. For your own good, I suggest you lay low and be fucking quiet." He gestured out the cockpit viewport at the green sphere that hovered in the distance. "There's good people on that planet. Good people that I care about. If you bring hunters to their doorstep, I will find out. And then I will find you."

Kevva have mercy, this man was no joke. Ezra was having a difficult time just mustering up the breath to give him an affirmation! Was this truly the same Lancelot he had watched engage in lotus-eating debauchery with his Guinevere not two hours hence? Ezra's belly roiled uncertainly, arousal and fear a potent combination. This must be how the bounty hunter indulged himself without divesting his plate, the prospector reasoned dimly. Fear was a remarkably stimulating thing. "Of course." He finally answered, his voice a little reedy. "Your mercy is...unexpectedly generous, but no less appreciated for its spontaneity."

Mando grunted, seeming satisfied with his response. The armored man returned to the control panel after a moment, flipping a few switches. The entire ship appeared to be miles above what Ezra was used to. Even the Testin had a dog-eared manual that hung from a chain by the central dash, and the craft was such a rattling nightmare that she needed three bodies just to keep her straight. But this man, this...Mandalorian, he operated the whole blasted vessel with a fluid ease. 

His next words were so quiet Ezra nearly missed them. "Thank you."

"Pardon?" Ezra queried blankly.

Mando heaved a sigh that made his pauldrons visibly dip. "I said, thank you." He growled awkwardly. "I don't know what...I don't know if I would have hurt them because of--because of how I am." 

"It will do no good to ruminate on such dour subjects." Ezra hesitated, then continued, "but your Creed...would you have broken it for them, had you known about the requirements of the Medusine barrier?"

"I…" Mando tightened his hold on the directionals, those gloves creaking with his tension. "I'm not sure." He admitted, lapsing into silence afterwards.

"Your ship is marvelously responsive." Ezra murmured by way of changing the subject. "It reminds me of a diminutive Screamer-class that I endured a few stands on, oh, nearly fifteen cycles ago-"

"Be quiet."

…

Din watched Ezra until he vanished between the large trunks of Sorgan's conifers, the Mandalorian then dropping back into the pilot's seat with a groan. Maker, he hoped he was doing the right thing. Hoped he hadn't just unleashed some mass-murdering psychopath on the unsuspecting populace.

Djarin tilted his helmet back against the headrest of the seat, aimlessly staring up at the fuselage. 

What the hell was he going to say when you woke up? 

Din's heart sank. He knew that he couldn't believe anything that had come out of your mouth while you had been under the effects of that fruit. Serpent's Tongue. He chewed his lower lip meditatively. 

He could lie. 

He fucking cringed at the thought, then shook his head at himself. You would be embarrassed at best, but at worst…

Shit, he didn't want to lose you, even if you didn't feel the same way about him. And then there was the kid to worry about. No, a lie would be better. 

You had sought out other Mandos. His stomach lurched as he recalled that little fact. Fuck, fuck, was it hope that beat so insistently in his throat?

A sealed unit, he had said.

He just wouldn't bring it up. He was the one who had insisted that this whole maneuver was struck from the proverbial records in the first place, right? He just wouldn't mention it. Easy enough. If you said something, that was fine, but otherwise…

Din nodded firmly. This is the Way.

Part Two

[marc-spectorr]

hiya callie!! this one is gonna be long, so prepare yourself >:]

thank you so much for all the music recs! i’m gonna listen to all of em after i send this ask, and i’m so excited to. :D my music taste is also very mixed, and it was hard for me to find fitting songs as well, but i’m sure yours fit wonderfully. i’ve been a glass animals fan for 5~ years now, n i couldn’t recommend their music enough. some good albums to start with are how to be a human being, my favorite, and dreamland! (that’s the one heat waves is from, all the songs have pretty similar vibes.)

sunnie!! i’m so glad my dog brightened your mood. <3 she just turned 4, so we baked her and her brother a cake! she didn’t like it too much, but her brother definitely did hehe. they’re… basically my children. n she loves you too. :]]]

but callie!! star wars is so good, i know you’ve probably gotten this a lot, but please watch it. i don’t blame you or judge you for not seeing any of em, in fact, i had only seen the sequels until two-ish years ago, when i watched all the films. but it’s such a great franchise, i’m rewatching the sequels now, deeeeefinitely not just for poe dameron. (though i do admit the thought of a poe fic from you has me excited-)

i think my favorite piece of star wars media is the mandalorian though. it’s a disney plus show, starring oscar’s space sister, pedro pascal. :] i won’t spoil anything, but i love it because it shows how it is to live as a normal person, and not a jedi, in the star wars universe. and speaking of disney plus shows, the new obi-wan show is great as well, but it’s a bit hard to understand what’s going on with no prior knowledge teehee. you can probably look up a timeline for yourself, to prevent confusion.

but enough about star wars! i took your advice to heart, n guess what? i started writing a moon knight fic! due to the anonymous nature of… well… all of this, it will probably be hard to tell which fic is the one i wrote. but! it will be a sfw fic abt marc and jake, angsty because i am angsty. if you ever do read it i hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for inspiring me to write again. it’s been a while, but my beta reader seems very happy with it so far. <333

that’s about all i have to say. to be honest, writing these asks like little letters have been the highlight of my day recently. i hope today treated you well, callie. :]

- <3

hi amor 💕 sorry for taking almost a day to answer :((

omg that’s like me with imagine dragons! i’ve been listening to them for maybe eight years now?? all of their songs are fantastic and i would definitely recommend them to everyone. ugh i love that band sooo much but i haven’t seen them live yet which is so weird of me not to. idek why i haven’t gone to a concert literally nothings stopping me LOL

arghdjdj y’all got me super convinced to watch this franchise huh 😭 i literally have to plan this all out bc there are a lot of other oscar movies i wanna see on top of star wars haha! hopefully i’ll be able to watch two films a week or something. but be prepared for the non-stop gushing that will follow on this blog :))

awwwe amor, i’m so happy that you’re writing a moon knight fic 🥺💗 it really made me smile learning about this! i hope that i come across your fic once it’s out, but i’m pretty sure it’s going to be amazing! best of luck sweetie and if you need any help, i’m always here!

and yes!! honestly the reason why i take a while to answer my emoji anons is because i’m usually at work and when i reply to you darlings, i want to take my time to type out a thoughtful response (even if it usually turns out being a rambling mess at the end lmaoao). but every day i look forward to sitting down at home and reading all about how you guys are all doing :)

hope the week has been treating you kindly, amor! stay hydrated and lovely as always 💖

[darthbecky726]

Bad Batch 1x01 spoilers

I've never done something like this before, but I figured I'd start. Reactions to the first episode of The Bad Batch. (This ended up being a lot longer than I intended, but whatever)

Spoilers under the cut

Red logo burning away starts strong

Yay narrator dude!!

Feels like clones wars

Animated rots scenes!!

And what grevious did after the rots beginning

HOLY SHIT DEPA!!!!!

And caleb right???

And we're in

Omg who voiced young caleb bc it sounds a lot like fpj but aged down and he def doesn't sound like the 14 I know he was when this happened

I like how we started out on familiar characters but not ahsoka or anyone from tcw. We started w young kanan and his master and we know what happened to them and all but if anyone watching hasn't seen rebels they wouldn't be lost as to who caleb and depa are, they'd just assume they're random jedi in o66

Good ol droid screaming as it falls off a cliff

Wow. Them.

I love crosshair

And wrecker

And tech

And echo

And hunter

B1's are so dumb

Lmao the salt from hunter

I feel like depas forehead pearls are a bit unrealistically large but I have no cultural standpoint to really know so...

Caleb's voice is too deep in the same way that jack frost from rotg's voice doesn't match his character model

Ah wrecker not really knowing what she means and echo, the one who has been trained to deal w people and hung out w ani and obi is just like 'thanks general'

Obes kenobes mention

Why is echo so pale

Depa and caleb feel a little too pale too tbh I wonder if it's the lighting or the whitewashing

Wow caleb is a lot like ezra, I can see why kanan wanted to train him lol

Is this what separates caleb and depa, leading to her telling him to run??? Do I need to read dume???

Oh no

Noooooooooo

Bb didn't get the order!

Oh caleb nooooo! Nooooooo they didn't receive that order, they can help you!!!

And he's gone

Oh I need an au where caleb stayed with bb and they helped him after depa died

Hunter sounds so much like rex it's weird like ik they're supposed to sound the same but it feels like wrecker is replacing rex or something. Even tho ik rex's story is over for the time being

Crosshair, no! Don't shoot at him! He's baby

Oh no did crosshair get o66???? It didn't seem to trigger anything in any of the rest of them, but is crosshair close enough to 'reg' for it to have triggered???

😭😭good soldiers follow orders

"sure thing, boss" "hey hunter got a sitch"

Crosshair acting sus

Oh I love watching padawans fight, they're so good!!

I hope that hit to the tree did a lil cognitive recalibration for crosshair, he was acting crazy

Caleb looks so scared!! He just watched his master get gunned down by his friends and now strange clones are trying to kill him/confusing him

Oh caleb

Oh no crosshair don't try to kill him!! Hunters trying to help!

Also hunter doesn't sound as much like rex w the helmet off, but it's weird bc most of the clones are distinguishable by voice even w helmets on. I guess it's the 'im in charge' voice

Star wars if caleb had gone w the bb

Oh hunter u sly dog lying to crosshair so he doesn't go after him. U gotta figure out why crosshair responded to o66 and no one else in ur unit did

Oh crosshair knows he's been lied to

I will always love coming-out-of-hyperspace shots

Ooh kamino, always nice this time of year

Echo is done w wrecker

Why hasn't crosshair taken his helmet off yet, lil bit sus

They better get his chip out on kamino, I don't wanna deal w this

Oof hunter 

Oh who’s that, giving me cloud city vibes

Extreme cloud city vibes wow

Never realized how many clones are just on kamino

Coruscant guard?!?! FOX?!?!

The vibes here, omg

‘The war is over’ wow

Oh no who was that

A female jedi, doesn’t appear to be shaak, couldn’t see any montrals but never know, we don’t officially know how or where she died

Ok wow none of the bb has their helmets on except for crosshair, who got the order. The regs around kamino all have their helmets on. That scene in victory and death when ahsoka took rex’s helmet off- 

And crosshair, he’s actins strange too

Oh tech, do u guys get bullied by regs a lot??

I love their barracks

Lol he finally took his helmet off only to stick a toothpick in his mouth, can he get anymore cliched?

Wrecker is seeming a lot more infantilized than he was in the s7 eps...

Yeah crosshair’s being sus

Ooh, he shifted his toothpick

Lmao ‘what programming’

Well documented my ass

Tech’s speech patterns are so stiff and robotic, it’s like he has to remind himself to talk in basic instead of binary or some shit

Tech throwing shade at crosshair

I can’t quite tell if we’re supposed to like crosshair at this point

Lmao we been knew

Oop ‘more machine than man’ the vader parallels are serving folks

Understatement.

Ugh sheev

Crusty ass bitch

Straight from rots wow

Who is the mystery child and why does he look mandalorian

Ooh he gone

Oh no, the beninning of the empire

Cheering?? Why?!?

That imperial march fade in tho

Thank you echo

Oh shit mystery child is female

Omega, I would not have guessed the pronunciation of your name by reading it wow

She def seems mandalorian

Ugh kaminoans

Oh the kaminoan pronounced it as it usually is, huh.

Omega’s character model def seems more masculine than female, I now headcanon her as trans

Ugh tarkin, I hate that crusty bitch

Empire politics ugh

I love how much shade is being thrown at tarkin and his stormtrooper proposal lmao

Why do all these clones have the standard haircut?? ik them boys like their variety, even if these boys are still under o66′s programming

Wrecker you’re being extremely loud

They’re all being loud in the mess, why

They remember, kid

Lol child

Oh my sweet summer children

The dad instinct was clearly passed genetically from jango lol all these clones got it

Why are background characters so mean? What about it, shiny? Why is ur hair regulation, reg??

The Sad Batchn omg the slander

Lol the food fight I’ve read about in the fics, its finally happening!

Is she.... australian??

The over-animation of character movements in this is reminding me of the looser style of rebels, as opposed to the more clunky style of tcw

Lmao he’s still got food on him

Food fight!!

‘Not again’???!!! Echo!! Wdym not again?! Food fights have happened before?!?? Wait. W bb or w torrent, bc I can see torrent having food fights on the resolute-

Crosshair’s just eating his food until someone messes

I like how echo still has his kamas

Oh no echo!!

Oh echo’s trauma, he doesn’t trust medical droids! Where’s kix when u need him, huh?

Lol, comically long name for a robot trope is alive and well, huh

Lmao the droid lowers his voice like ik this is a perceived bad thing, but I will not tolerate this slander, boys u need to get off kamino

‘The shock’ lmao whyyy

Lmao tech!!

Oh, echo recognized tarkin from the citadel!

‘When you blew up’ lmao

Oh they make me sad

Aaaaah fox!

Man the domino squad nostalgia

Those droids look cool

This is a neat scene, I like seeing them in action

Wrecker reminding me of hevy, but he’s got the training and success to back it up

Live fire???? No!!

Ugh I hate tarkin

Oh no wtecker

Did he just get shot!???! 

Oh no crosshair, be careful!

Tarkin’s trying to kill them!!!

Lol wrecker I love you

Echo using his mech hand as a weapon, truly an arc

Now I wanna see what happened on felucia

I like how tech’s just sitting on the droid’s shoulders

And hunter just had a knife

These boys, I love them

Oh no tech bby

Hot damn that was cool

Wrecher things so too lmao

Tarkin’s like “why didn’t that work??’

Oh new baby clones

No tf they could not, they would never serve the empire and those bitches

I love that they have a window apartment lol

Ugh tarkin u shifty

They all stand at attention, only after glaring at tarkin

Oh no onderon

I hate tarkin, he’s a bitch

How quickly could bitch lord and darth sad have replaced the armory on kamino??

Crosshair still acting sus

Neither does echo, kid

No.

I like omega.

Crosshair, with the sassy hand on the hip-

What does that even mean?? Or elude to??

Lmao tech messing w wrecker, they rlly r bros

Its prob the vegetation

Oh, I missed onderon, but not this much

Lol the put-upon sigh

Its clearly saw and his rebels

Saw! Looking sharp, what’s w the hair....

That’s a very geometric beard, saw

They didn’t kill any jedi!

That’s not what happened, tech

‘The clones’ bitch that was rex and ahsoka, check urself

Aw, I’ve always like the design of imperial probe droids

Thank you, echo

It seems like crosshair’s o66 programming and his mutation are warring w his morals

Lmao the shade

I knew she was an enhanced clone!

Oh, so she is (at least on paper) trans! She’s a clone of jango, and yet she’s female! That must be her modification, but it makes me wonder why

Lol *flicks toothpick*

Aw, they have a picture of themselves! Recent-ish, too, its got echo!

Oh no, AZI!

The difference between them arriving earlier and now, the lack of escort...

Creepy how they had to open the hanger door themselves

Oh no! Everyone!

The coruscant guard, I wish they had gotten better

Tarkin u dramatic bitch

‘The brig’ this ain’t some tallship

Lol echo that shade

Their blacks are different from the ones seen in the past

Crosshair, stop being a bitch

Oh, I don’t like that phrase!! And the fact that crosshair screamed it in echo’s face makes me uneasy. Did rex fill echo in on why fives died?? I hope so...

Crosshair, ur chip hurting??

This child, I like her.

No! Don’t hit hunter!

No crosshair!!!!

I dislike this immensly

So they do still have inhibitor chips!

Tarkin you monster

Oh poor crosshair

ihatethisihatethisihatethis

Lol tech I love you

Wrecker you sweet pea

Lol that’s adorable

I love how they form a “wall” its so suspicious 

He was about to say that, omega

Aaww, echo protective boi

Wrecker shut up tf

That was cool

Sneaky bois

This reminds me of rex and ahsoka sneaking around in v&d

Echo runs so stupid

Oh no they winter soldier’d him!

If he says who the hell is crosshar, I will lose my shit

Yes, he has. They took it from him.

The toothpick

I wonder how they’re gonna get crosshair back to normal

Not good that they nabbed the sniper

Oh, crosshair shot him in the same place he got hit during training!

Ooh, a kaminoan on their side!

I hope omega doesn’t die

Poor trigger etiquette, crosshair

Wonder if omega has any speciality training

They’re just gonna leave him there!?!?!?!?!

Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Omega reminds me of young boba 

Oh, so its in her dna

Go back for crosshair!!

Holy fucking shit that was amazing! I didn’t expect it to be that long, but I’m not complaining! This ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, but I don’t feel like cutting anything out, so sorry for the long post but at least I put it under a cut.

[what-the--curtains]

Alliance

Chapter 6 – The Extraction

(Mando x f!reader)

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

Summary: The auction leads you to the child but the empire’s hot on your tail. With all hope lost you make a choice.

Notes: None (feel free to interact im unemployed and bored)!!!

Tw: (very brief) mentions of drugs/sex/alcohol/addiction, swearing

Words: 3.9 k

Tagged: @crazycookiecrumbles

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

You walk through the damp street, you don’t know what this dress is made of but the dirt and grime caused by the recent rain seemed to simply bounce off it. The streets were jam-packed, somehow even busier than they were the night prior and as the two of you make your way towards the auction hall Din’s visor scans the crowd, making sure nothing seems out of place. He takes care to never be more than a few inches away from you, convincing himself it's in order to maintain appearances. After all he knew you were more than capable of handling yourself, and why else would he feel the need to be so close to you.

“You lost beautiful?” A youthful looking Falleen asks as she appears out of the shadows

“No.” Din replies, making himself visible at your side when she moves into the light.

“Well I’m sure you're very beautiful under that armour Mando, but I was talking to your friend here.The names Isi and I make a living helping people around the city” Din’s about to respond again when you interject.

“Actually Isi we do seem to have gotten ourselves a bit lost, we're here for the auction.”

“I’ve heard of it,” she says, staring down at her manicure. You look up at Din motioning for him to pay her which he does begrudgingly. Taking the credits she leads you through the city, stopping outside a building covered completely in reflective mirrors.

“Best of luck” Isi, says offering you her hand

“Thank you, for your discretion” taking it you slide her a few more credits and she leans back against the wall of the building watching as the two of you enter. Two men in tailored suits open the inner doors granting you access to a small closed off foyer, also covered in the one way glass. You hand your invitation to the man on the right, parting your lips ever so slightly and gaze up at him batting your eyelids ever so slightly. In your experience a touch of flirting went a long way, especially when it came to moving through security.

He smiles and looks from you, up to the Mandalorian then back down. Turning his head to look at his partner he chuckles slightly.

“He your boyfriend, or something?”

“Bodyguard” you emphasize.

“Makes sense” he murmurs loud enough for the two of you to hear.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the modulated voice asks obviously aggravated.

“Never mind him, he’s just sensitive about the... you know ” you mime the outline of a helmet. The guard nods and lets you pass through placing his hand on the small of your back as you do causing you to cringe internally. Nothing worse than a stranger's hand where you didn’t want it. You glare back at the Mandalorian hoping your eyes would convey a message of ‘be cool’. A task he was about to accomplish when the second guard places a firm hand on his arm.“Leave the blaster Mando, there’s no weapons allowed.”

“He has no weapons” you interject, de-escalating the scene that was about to play out caused by the tremendous amount of male energy that was currently taking up the entire room.

“You’re right sorry ma’am, enjoy your evening” he says letting go of the Mandalorians arm allowing him to pass.

“Way to keep your cool, let’s try and get through the night without creating a scene” you say, slightly annoyed by whatever the hell he thought that display was going to achieve. Your anger disappears as you turn to an enormous room filled with people dressed to the nines in the finest the galaxy had to offer. Chandeliers dripping in diamonds hung down from the high ceilings illuminating the room like a sky full of stars and casting a rose gold hue across the occupants moving about the ballroom floor which seemed to sparkle underneath the high heels.

Servers moved seamlessly throughout the crowd; they were all dressed in lavish costumes, depicting various fashions from across space and time. The trays they carry are filled with multicolor foods and gem-coloured drinks. You’d never seen anything so opulent in your entire life. You’d noticed that servers would pair off with guests and disappear returning later with a look that could only be chalked up to exceptional sex or spice, both of which resulted in a similar glazed over and dewy look. A Darthomorian in a low cut red dress approaches you offering you a drink, you smile and thank them.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” The modulator speaks up, as you bring the drink to your lips.

“Why? I might as well enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and dangerous while I’m here” you snap, apparently you were still upset at him.

“It has love wallop in it, makes the drinker more suggestible to certain propositions usually sent over by someone who wants to.” His voice trails off.

“Ew” you say pulling a face before dumping it in a nearby plant. “Guess I’m safer going to the bar.” You swirl your new, drug free, drink around and rest your elbows down on a nearby table, hoping the auction would begin shortly.

“How did you know what was in that drink.” You ask in an attempt to help pass the time.

“They show up at these kinds of things, so does spice and other illegal substances.”

“Once again how do you know about this? You spent a lot of time around illegal substances? I didn’t think it would be your scene.” you say taking a sip of the ruby coloured drink you had ordered.

“I’ve brought a lot of dealers over the years. It also crossed my path in my...” He pauses before continuing reluctantly “ wilder days.”

“Wilder days hey? Love to hear about those sometimes. You sample the product?” you probe, he gives you an unmistakable look of disappointment “Maybe you should, might help chill you out a bit.” You joke.

“That would go against my creed and fundamental belief system. Spice is...”

“Highly addictive, ya I know , it was a joke.” You say shaking your head, why did he have to be so high and mighty all the time.

“You’ve had it?” he seems surprised by this news, you hoped it wouldn’t change his opinion of you, the two of you had been getting on pretty well of late and you’d hate to jeopardize that.

“You gonna arrest me?” you joke nervously, hoping he didn’t notice how much his response mattered to you.

“No, just… how the hell did you stop? Are you okay to even be here, it's everywhere” was it disappointment or concern you picked up in his voice, you couldn’t quite discern between the two.

“I’ll be fine just tell me if it’s in anything I’m about to put into my body. And knock me out if you see me going for it” Diverting from the conversation you lift up a piece of food and show it to the Mandalorian who lets you know it’s safe to eat.

“Holy shit this is good!” you exclaim, looking around for where the waitress had gone

“Can you feel him?.” Din asks drawing your attention back to the reason why you were here in the first place.

“Too many people, I’ve already disrupted the force once I don’t want to do it again so quickly someone might notice. We’ll have to wait for the first item and follow whoever brings it out.” Just then a woman in a slinky red dress appears with some kind of an egg on a pillow and steps up onto the stage where an Ishi Tib drones out the rules and regulations for bidding.

“Is that an Kadri’Ra egg.” you ask in amazement.

“Looks like it”

“I thought they were extinct” you say still in awe

“Guess not” he replies, his shortness had become increasingly apparent over the course of the evening.

“We’ll get the kid soon, don’t worry, he has to be here.” You reassure, looking up at him causing him to look away. As the woman passes back through the crowd the two of you turn in tandem and follow her until you reach the back of the room. You stop and place your back against the wall, craning your neck you look to see which hallway the woman had disappeared down. You turn back quickly as another woman in similar garb appears out the largest of the hallways, carrying a cape made from an ice dragon pelt. As she moves towards the stage the two of you enter where she had exited. You move through the wide hallway until you reach the end, where a large metal door prevents you from moving any further.

“Should have about 15 minutes before the next one comes out.” You say stopping a few feet from the door. “you think anyone’s in...” you're almost done your sentence when you hear footsteps approaching from behind you.

Before you can make sense of what's happening the Mandalorian has pulled you into a thin hallway off shoot by the nook of your elbow. You’re now face to face with his chest and suddenly very aware of how tall he was.

“Where’s the other half of the item, seriously were two in and I’m looking like a fool up there!” an Arkanian, who you assume must be the collector and the host of the party, exclaims. You see them do a double take to where you're currently hiding, and watch as they begin to move towards the hallway.

“Can you pick me up?” you whisper urgently,

“Yes, but…”

“do it now” he complies with your order, as he does you wrap your legs around the armour covering his hips and prop your back against the wall, draping your arms loosely over his shoulders before burying your head in the part of his neck bare from armour, hoping that the compromising position would be enough to deter the collector rom asking any question. Out of the corner of your eye you watch as the presenter takes note of the two of you. Raising their eyebrows they turn and move back to the door.

“Yes that’s it, get it out there now so the bidding can begin, gods it’s hard to find good help these days.” they exclaim turning and following behind the presenter with the newly acquired artifact. You let out a sigh of relief removing your face from his neck quickly realizing that your nose is just millimetres away from his helmet.

“You can put me down now” you whisper breathlessly, for a reason you couldn’t quite explain. You take note of the slight hesitation that precedes him dropping you. Gathering yourself you exit the hallway and reposition yourself in front of the large metal door. You can’t see a panel on it or a key slot, it must only be accessible from the inside looking up, you spot a window.

“Give me a boost” you say, and he obliges. You lift the hem of your outfit and step onto his interlocked hands which he uses to push you up enabling you to reach the ledge. Pulling yourself up you roll through the window and drop down onto the rooms floor alerting the person in charge of handing out the auction items. You knock him out and swipe his key card using it to open the door for Din.

“This way” you say, dragging the handler's body over to a nearby post and tying him to it. Standing up you turn to see hundreds of items up for auction varying from Millaflower to a juvenile varactyl.

“Do you see him?” you ask, picking up a vial of what you recognized as death stick placing it back down when you hear him respond.

“No” you think you hear his voice break. “Wait.” he says, walking up to another, smaller closed off room placing a gloved hand on the door. He draws his blaster aiming for the lock. You lower his hand hoping to prevent a beam bouncing around the room subsequently giving you away. You lift up the key card you’d swiped from the guy in the room and use it to open up the door. He moves towards the oval container floating in the middle of the room and drops down to one knee as you watch tentatively from the door. Pushing a button the oval opens up and a tiny green three fingered hand reaches up for him. You hear a slight gurgle as the second hand comes up making a grabbing motion. Din picks up what has to be the most adorable creature you’ve ever seen.

“Told you I’d get you back didn’t I” he chuckles, you can hear the smile in voice as he hands the kid the small silver ball. You approach cautiously until you're standing beside him.

“Well fair enough I get why you traded me in for him” you say offering the child your finger which he grabs happily, looking up at you.

“ You two know each other or something?” He asks, his helmet staring up at you.

“Must be a force thing” you say, smiling down at the little critter.

“We have to go” you say, closing the egg hoping it would buy enough time to make a swift exit. With the child wrapped neatly under his arm the two of you move swiftly through the back alleys in darkness.

“Well that went better than I…” almost as if on cue, your speech is interrupted by the sound of blasters ricocheting off the ship's metal exterior. He hands you the child and rushes up to the cockpit to prepare for take-off.

“Brace yourself” he shouts down and you grab onto the overhanging bars with one hand and secure the child with your other, pressing your thigh against a beam in an attempt to stabilize yourself. As the ship lifts off the ground you hear the sounds of even more blaster bullets hitting its side.

“Din!” you yell up from below

“I’m working on it!” he shouts back down. A few moments later he manages to get the ship out of the reach of the blasters, punching it as he exits the stratosphere. A distinct beeping sound rings throughout the ship indicating there was a problem that needed fixing sooner rather than later. You ungrip your hands from the bars and check on the child who seems completely unaware of the situation. Using your free hand you pull yourself up to the cockpit where a disgruntled Mandalorian was cursing under his breath. You place the child down in the back seat buckling him in before taking your own.

“How far can we make it without stopping.” You ask after a long enough time had elapsed for the Mandalorian to calm down

“Far enough to be safe, I hope.” Turning to the side you see the kid sleepily closing its eyes.

“Could you put him to bed? I have to deal with this.” He says gesturing to the entire dashboard which was currently lit up like a tree on life day.

“Of course” you say, you were completely taken with the child, and more than happy to spend time with it.

“Alright where does he keep your bed then.” You say opening up a few compartments until you find the sleeping quarters. Opening the doors Anya’s head looks over to you evidently having slept through the whole ordeal comfortably on the bed. It was decent sized compared to most ship beds but still small especially for someone of Dins stature. Above it was a small hammock like contraption which you assumed was where the child, who was now more awake than asleep, slept.

“You need to rest.” You say softly, but he keeps staring up at you and grabbing at your hair. “C’mon you going to get me in trouble, with the guy upstairs” you smile down at him as he coos slightly. “Well I know one thing that used to help me sleep when I was about your size” You start to sing softly to the creature stroking one of its long ears as you do until it's fallen asleep. Unbeknownst to you the Mandalorian had heard you singing and followed the sound downstairs watching you and the child from afar.

“Mesh’la” he says louder than intended, causing you to turn around.

“He’s just asleep now,” you whisper, handing him to the Mandalorian so he can put him up top. You watch as he tucks the kid in gently squeezing one of its feet before turning back to quietly return to the cockpit.

“Did you say something down there?” you ask, sitting back in the co-pilot seat.

“No,well, yes I was just wondering what the sound was. I’d never heard something like it before.”

“What a lullaby. Didn’t have many of those growing up at the convent?” you ask, always slightly surprised by any personal information the Mandalorian revealed to you.

“No, at least none I can remember. What are they used for?”

“You’ve heard songs before though.”

“Yes, I heard some on Vryssa.”

“ Well Vryssa is home to many a folk song, helps people forget where they are. A lullaby is a song, often sung to a child to help them sleep.” You explain.

“What were you singing about.” He asks

“Ones was about a hanging that happened in Vryssa, told the story of two lovers planning to meet there”

“Doesn’t seem suitable for a child”

“No but I assume he doesn't speak English and lullaby is more about the melody than the words, the second was one passed down from my grandmother about the meadows of her home planet.”

“Where was she from your grandmother?” he asks.

“She never told me a name, only descriptions.”

“Maybe you’ll get to see it one day.”

“Ya maybe, if you and this kid don’t get me killed first.” you laugh, only partially kidding.

“Grogu.”

“Bless you?”

“The kids name, it’s Grogu.” he chuckled softly glancing over at you, still thinking about the way you had looked with him in your arms, singing softly.

After a while the beeping increases to a point where landing was no longer a task that could be put off. You step out onto a stone covered surface stretching out your legs and breathing in the remarkably fresh air.

“Think we lost them” you state, bending down and placing a palm on the smooth, cool moss covered stones. You stand back up and turn around watching as the Mandalorian exits the ship with a tool kit in hand and Anya and Grogu in pursuit. The kid follows Din over to where the damage is opting to stare up at him as he works, seemingly not wanting to be apart from him ever again.

“It's just one of the stabilizers, an easy fix we should be good to go soon!” He shouts over to you

“Anything I can do to help?” You offer

“No, It's a one person job. Thank you” With that you head off curious in exploration of the planet. It's old, empty, you wonder if anyone had ever been here before you. It wasn’t very livable, no trees, no food, no water, a truly desolate place. Yet it possessed a charm unique to planets of old, untouched by the reach of the empire, the republic and everything in between. You peer back over your shoulder, Anya’s sat protectively near the child who's still watching the Mandalorian rattle around the ship. You turn your head back as he closes up, not wanting to get caught staring. He picks up Grogu and re-enters the ship with Anya following close behind. You're about to join them when you feel something approaching. You begin to walk further from the ship and closer towards the presence you were feeling, stopping in your tracks when you see a triangular ship approaching. It's large, too big to be from any crime lord.

“It’s imperial” you hear a voice yell from afar as the Mandalorian makes his way towards you.

“Well never outrun them” you whisper, your brain running through the possible scenarios.

“We have to go”

``We'll never outrun them” you say louder and firmer this time, it didn't take an android to figure out what your probability of success was.

“We don’t have time to argue about this” he grabs your arm, but you pull it free turning to face him.

“Go” The words leave your mouth before you can process what you're saying. He doesn’t move. You can hear the ship approaching inching closer.

“Take them and leave, you have to protect them, keep them safe.” he was right you didn't have time to argue about this.

“Not without you.” he says refusing to move.

“Go!” you say shoving him “Now!”

“I'm not leaving you here”

“Yes you are, the kid he’s all that matters right now, go before he’s taken again. Now!”

“Just come with us” he pleads

“We won’t make it. You know we won't. This isn’t a negotiation. Go I’ll give you as much time as I can.” You see him finally accept the fact that this was in the only way.

“Here, take this” he says, giving you his blaster before turning and starting back towards the ship. He stops turning around one last time.

“(y/n) I…”

“I know” you say, using the force to throw him back towards the ship before turning to face the imperial ship which has landed a hundred yards in front of you.

Dialing up the ship Din takes note of the imperial model hoping he’d be able to find it again. As the troopers march out he sees you look back at him nodding your head as if to say you’ll be fine.You clear your mind breathing in the cool air. Closing your eyes you kneel on the ground placing one hand on the stone and the other on the blaster at your side. You can hear the ship taking off behind you as the troopers take aim firing at them from below, but the shots rebound off the force field that you’ve created.

You hold your ground as the troopers move in towards you determined to protect those inside the ship. Din watches as the blaster shots rebound back into the crowd of troopers. With one last look he jumps the ship into hyperspeed. He moves it into auto pilot and throws his head back in frustration as he hears Grogu cry out. “I know. Well get her back, but we're going to need some help” He says, picking up the kid holding him on his lap as he punches in the coordinates of a familiar planet. You drop the force field and begin firing when you hear the ship jump into hyperspace taking out as many troopers as you can before the blaster runs out. In one last ditch effort you throw it at a stormtrooper knocking it out. Slowly raise your hands in the air. They take aim. You prepare yourself.

“Wait! Don’t shoot” a tall man, dressed in all black says as the crowd of troopers part in his wake.

“We may not need the child after all.”

[novembermurray]

A Very Special Day

Read on AO3

Rating: General

Pairing: Din Djarin x Omera

Summary: Winta figured that Din knew absolutely nothing about how to plan a successful picnic, so of course she had to help him when he asked. It would be a disaster otherwise. He never did explain what the big occasion was... something important for her mother and for Winta.

For @mandomeraweek​ Day 4 - Prompt: Family

Winta paused in collecting little white daisy flowers when a pair of familiar brown boots stopped in the grass in front of her. She looked up, squinting into the sunlight bouncing off the Mandalorian’s shiny helmet— Din’s helmet. He had recently told her his name and said she can use it, even if it still seemed a little strange. 

“I would like your help,” he said, right to the point.

“With what?”

“Tomorrow is… a special day. I want to prepare a picnic,” he sounded unsure and shifted on his feet. 

“Like with food?”

He nodded.

“And fruit juice?”

He nodded again.

“For momma?” 

He hesitated, then said, “for her and for you.”

Winta considered. Din was very good at shooting things with his blaster, lifting heavy objects, and fixing things, but he wasn’t very good at making food or organizing anything fun. He would need a lot of help if it was going to be a good picnic. It had been a long time since Winta got to have a picnic with her mother, and if they were going to have one, it should be a good one. Her mind made up, Winta put the flowers she had gathered in her pocket and stood up, brushing the grass off her knees.

“Ok. I will help you. But you have to do everything I say.” She was pleased when Din nodded very seriously in agreement. He offered her his hand to take as they walked back to the house.

“Have you ever had a picnic before?”

“It was very long ago. I was younger than you are now.”

“That’s a very very long time,” Winta frowned. This was going to be harder than she first expected. 

—

They went back home and Winta hunted down the largest basket they had. It was currently full of neatly folded laundry, mostly Winta and her mother’s dresses but there were a few of Din’s shirts and his socks in there as well. It was still a little strange to see his things mixed in with theirs. He had come back at the beginning of winter and it was well into summer now so he had been around for a while. Maybe it was just strange because Winta kept expecting him to leave again. He did leave sometimes. He had a ship and he would fly away in it. He always came back within a few days so far. But one day, he might not. Winta emptied the basket and went to meet Din in the kitchen. 

He was removing the jars of fruit juice from the ice box and considering them.

“Meiloorun or Jogan?” He showed them to her. 

“Momma likes Jogan.”

“I know she likes both. Which do you like better?”

“Meiloorun.” Winta admitted. He put the Jogan juice back and packed the other into the basket she offered him. She got busy finding all the things they would need, like a blanket to sit on, cups, and napkins. She paused when she passed her mother’s favorite vase up on a high shelf. Her mother liked to fill it with flowers and pretty plants on special occasions. Winta wondered if this would count; come to think of it, Din hadn’t told her what the special occasion was.

“What is this picnic for?” 

“Maybe I just want to do something nice for you and your mother,” he said, helping to organize the picnic supplies in the basket. “You both have been very kind to me.”

“You said it was a special day. Are you going to ask my momma to marry you?” She asked. Some of the other adults had been talking about that when her mother wasn’t around and they thought Winta wasn’t listening.

Din shook his head. “Not tomorrow.” He started pulling out the ingredients for sandwiches with his back turned to Winta. “What would you think if I did, a-ask your mother to…” he paused to take a deep breath, “marry me?” He was fiddling with the bowl of krill in his hands and not looking at her. She considered him for a long minute before answering.

“Momma smiles more when you are here and she gets sad when you leave. If you married her then you would have to stay and that would be good. She likes you a lot.”

“And what about you? Do you like me?” He came back over to the table and sat down across from her. Winta paused in arranging the cups to look at his helmet. She thought the helmet was scary the first time she saw it with the dark slit where his eyes should be. It was easy to think that he was frowning or angry all the time under the helmet, but the more he was around the more she thought he probably smiled a lot under there, especially around her mother.

“I think you are like a long-leg-bug.” She declared and he tipped his head to the side questioningly. “You look like a scary spider but you aren’t. You only eat bugs that are bad for the garden and you never bite people, so you are very good to have around and not mean, even if you look like you should be.”

Before he could respond, the porch floorboards creaked and rattled as someone walked over them; Winta’s mother was home.

“Quick, in the basket!” Winta order Din.

“But—”

“Hurry! You’ll ruin the surprise! ”

He put the sandwich materials into the basket quickly and Winta jumped in front of it. 

“What are you two up to?” her mother asked walking in with her gardening tools in hand and looking suspiciously at the strange pair she found in her kitchen.

“We were—”

“Checking for beetle-ants!” Winta lied before Din could spill the secret.

“Oh?” 

“Yes. None here though.”

“That’s good. Well, I hope you put away the laundry that was in that basket.” Her mother went into the storage closet to put away her tools, briefly disappearing behind the curtained doorway. 

“Hide it there,” Winta whispered to Din and pointed under one of the counters, “and you will owe me!” He nodded very seriously and she ran off to put away the laundry she had dumped on the floor before her mother saw it. She was carrying her dresses back to her room when she caught their voices floating through the kitchen doorway. She knew that eavesdropping was bad, but she stopped to listen anyway.

“What were you two talking about?” her mother asked Din.

“She was telling me that I’m a long-leg-bug.”

“Hmmm. That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Where are you hiding your other legs then?”

Din chuckled. He had a nice laugh, Winta thought, even if he didn’t do it very often. “She meant it as a compliment… I think.” Winta almost went on putting away the laundry thinking they were done talking when he spoke again quite suddenly. “You’re sure about this? This… is ok?”

“Only if it is what you want.” Her mother sounded very serious which confused Winta. She couldn’t figure out what they were talking about.

“I… yes. It is,” Din admitted in reply.

“Then I’m very sure,” her mother said. Winta thought she heard shuffling, Din’s armor clanking, and then a hissing sound like some kind of air releasing. She definitely heard the unmistakable sound of kissing, and Winta didn’t want to listen to that, so she went back to putting away laundry.

The next morning came, and Winta was practically vibrating with excitement. She did her morning chores as quickly as possible and helped Din get all the rest of the picnic ingredients ready before they went to collect her mother from the krill ponds. The three of them set off into the woods towards Winta and her mother’s favorite picnic spot. It was a lake side clearing with a stream that ran from it, making little pools along the hillside that you could step in and catch little frogs and fish. Winta kept telling them to hurry up and walk faster, but they were old and slow, so it took a long time to get there. She ran off to see the little pools while Din and her mother set up the picnic. They called her back when everything was ready to eat.

Winta stood over the spread with a smile of satisfaction. Yes, it was a wonderful picnic. Thanks to her Din had gotten all the necessary items. Her mother patted the blanket beside her and Winta sat with her across from Din. 

“Did Din tell you what today is?” her mother asked, brushing some stray hair from Winta’s forehead. 

“No. What is special about today?” Winta asked the Mandalorian. He was fidgeting with something in his lap and took a long moment to respond. 

“When I was young, not much younger than you, something terrible happened to my home—the place where I was born,” Din explained softly. “I lost my parents, but I was saved by someone—a Mandalorian. A while later that Mandalorian decided he would look after me, take care of me until I was old enough to take care of myself. So on this day, many years ago, he adopted me—I became his son and he became my father from then on.”

“Was he a nice dad?” Winta asked.

“He was…” Din hesitated and looked away, his helmet flashing in the sunlight. “He taught me many things, how to survive and how to be a Mandalorian. It isn’t an easy thing to teach. I owe him a lot.” Din took a deep breath and glanced down at the object he was fiddling with. It was shiny like his armor but Winta couldn’t make out what it was. “I would like… if you would be… if it would be ok with you, to do the same... for you. To adopt you. You would be my daughter, and I would be your father.”

Winta tensed up and tried to figure out what that would mean.

“Would that mean that the baby—that Grogu would be my brother?”

Din nodded. “He would.”

“Would that mean that you would stay with us forever?”

“For as long and as often as I can.”

“Would you marry momma?”

Din swallowed. “Maybe, if she wanted to marry me. But that’s something else. I care for your mother, but I care for you differently. If I adopt you, it isn’t because I’m marrying your mother and if we don’t remain… together, her and I, I would still be your father. I would still care for you, protect you and do whatever I can to help you.”

“But I’m not Mandalorian like you.”

Din shook his head. “Grogu isn’t Mandalorian, and he is my son. I wasn’t Mandalorian when my father adopted me either. It was something I chose to become. We have a saying ‘aliit ori’shya tal’din’ . It means ‘family is more than blood’. Your family is who you care for and who cares for you. Mandalorian, Jedi, or whatever you decide you want to be.”

Winta looked at him thoughtfully. Din was nice, and he protected her and her mother. He made her feel safe, and he helped her when he could, though he needed a lot of her help too, obviously. If he was her dad they could look out for each other and both look out for her momma. It would be nice to have him around forever—or as much of forever as possible.

“Ok. I would like to be your daughter then.”

He let out a sigh that sounded like relief and said some more words she didn’t understand: “Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Winta. I know your name as my child. Haat, ijaa, haa'it. ” He lifted up the object he was fiddling with and motioned her forward. Winta shuffled a little closer on her knees curiously. He looped a cord over her head and let the shiny pendant fall into her palm. It was an odd skull-like shape with curving horns. 

“From this moment forward, you are my daughter. I will protect and care for you, less you disown me, until my last breath.”

“What is it?” Winta asked him, turning the pendant in her hand.

“A Mythosaur, the symbol of the Mandalorians. If you need aid from a Mandalorian you can show that to them and tell them you are Din Djarin’s daughter. They will recognize the beskar and what it means. It is very valuable, so be careful who sees it.” 

“Ok,” Winta nodded, smiling at her new necklace, She flopped back into a sitting position and looked up at his visor. “Should I call you ‘dad’ now?”

“You can if you wish.”

“What did you call your Mandalorian dad?”

“Buir . It means father… or mother, actually.”

“Boo-eer,” Winta tried out the word and nodded, smiling to herself. She had a whole family now: a mother, a father, and a brother, even if he couldn’t be there right at that moment. 

“Ready to eat?” her mother asked.

“Ok,” Winta nodded enthusiastically, until it struck her suddenly. “But wait! Where will Din eat?” She looked around the clearing and the sparse tree cover nearby. There was nowhere hidden where he could remove his helmet without being seen.

“The only people here are you and Omera,” Din said. “You’re family now. I don’t have to hide my face from family.”

Winta’s eyes went so wide she thought they might be coming out of her head. Surely he was lying. But Din reached up to the sides of his helmet and it made the hissing sound of escaping air as it started sliding up. Winta stared at the stranger sitting in front of her in Din’s armor and holding his helmet. 

He looked…soft. His face was kinda round and his nose was curved. He had big brown eyes that were deep and warm with little lines around them that crinkled. His hair was dark and curled a little, partly stuck to his head from the helmet she’d guess, and there was some dark hair across his jaw, his chin, and his upper lip. He swallowed and cleared his throat, a crease forming in his brow like the one her mother got when she was unhappy but it was deeper on Din. He reached over to the napkin with their sandwiches and picked one up, holding it out to her. 

Winta took it slowly, still staring at his face. She bit into her food without looking away. He took a sandwich and bit off a corner, munching it while he watched her watching him. She swallowed her bite.

“You have a nice face.”

His eyebrows rose and he paused his chewing.

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want my dad—my buir to have an ugly face.” She stumbled a little over the unfamiliar word but she figured it would take a little getting used to.

He swallowed his bite of sandwich, wincing as it went down like he’d forgotten to finish chewing, but he was smiling too. Yes, Winta thought, it was a nice face, especially when he smiled. 

“Momma, you should have one too,” Winta turned to pass a sandwich to her mother. “I taught him how to make them just the way I like.” 

Her mother was grinning but whipping her face like she was crying.

“What’s wrong?” Winta asked, suddenly afraid that she had made a mistake. 

“Nothing, baby,” her mother assured her, pulling her daughter into a warm embrace. “Everything is wonderful.”

Winta wriggled in her mother’s arms enough to look at Din—at her buir. 

“Now that you’re my dad, you have to join family hugs too,” she primly informed him. Din’s smile grew even bigger and he got up, circling around to sit behind Omera and pulled both of them against his armored chest. Winta heard him kiss her mother’s head and then felt him bend down to place a kiss on her hair too. She smiled into her mother’s shoulder. 

It was, she decided, a very special day and the very best picnic ever.

[captains-writing-desk]

Chapter Three: The Faceless

Universe: The Mandalorian

Character: Din Djarin

Type: Reader insert (female reader)

Words: 2,251

Warnings: Swearing

Note: Woo Chapter three! Frog lady is on board and you’re both questioning your ways of life. Some fluffiness and an attempt at answering questions maybe...

 

-

 

Generally, the thought of having another passenger on board would be a nightmare but she took away from the slight awkwardness that came from the burning curiosity that radiated off of the Mandalorian. He had questions, you knew it but then what did you expect after pulling a stunt like you had back on Tatooine. Maybe you just let your anger get the best of you and you should let curious minds ask curious questions. You always wanted to know more and explore more but you just weren’t the asking type, thus making you not the answering type either.

You sat on the floor below deck consumed by your thoughts and unsuccessfully trying to distract yourself with tending to your batons. Maybe sharing secrets wasn’t the worst idea but you would have to confront those secrets yourself first before giving them so freely. Especially considering you barely knew this Mandalorian, hell you never really even spoke to him on a personal level but this long haul trek through space without jumping gave you time to start questioning all about the situation you were in. It was the first time you actually felt content in the company you were in and even with him annoying the hell out of you on Tatooine and previously just having travelled around with him and kept tabs on the kid- occasionally him too. Fuck me, you needed to get a grip on the way you were feeling, not just flicker between various stages of anger and just existing. You hushed your thoughts when the Mandalorian came down into the bay.

“Where’s the kid?” He asked upon finding the little sleeping cubby empty. You looked around and saw him with his hand in the vat of eggs.

“Hey!” He beat you to it and went over to stop him as he ate one of the eggs to which he got a telling off. Were you really so out of it that you didn’t notice?

“Get some sleep.” It was like he read your mind as he crawled into the space with the kid to take a nap, so you let yourself drift off into a nap of your own finally.

-

“Hey! Hold on down there!” Your nap was interrupted and you stood up immediately to see what was going on only to be thrown off your feet. Had you not had enough of being airborne? You made several attempts to get to your feet but you had no idea what turns he was making with the ship and you were still absolutely shattered despite the nap you’d had. So, you had no choice but to just let yourself slide around on the floor and try and cushion the blow of being thrown into the panels. You heard the engines go and the ship dove straight down, sending you hurtling into one panel before being thrown to the landing doors. Thankfully before you acquired too many new bruises you were eventually thrown into the ladder up to the cockpit where you were able to brace yourself and clamber up.

“What the hell is going on?” You braced yourself when you got to the cockpit and looked at the scanners. “X-wings?” The hell did they want and why were we coming into an ice planet.

“I may or may not be wanted,” He read the question on your mind, “Hold on.” He repeated but there wasn’t really much to brace yourself on. All it took was one sharp knock and you were crash landing to the ground. You kept yourself steady somehow, until touch down where you were able to climb to your feet once more. It was honestly tragic how much time you’d spent in mid air or flat on your ass lately. That was until the ice broke beneath the ship and once again you found yourself falling, well you got thrown back down the ladder and plunged into darkness.

You woke up with the Mandalorian hopping off of the bottom rung of the ladder and  touching his hand to your shoulder. Your ears were ringing but you could make out that he was saying your name and moving his hand to the bottom of your visor which took you off guard and sobered you up very quickly.

“ ‘m fine.” You rasped and grabbed his wrist making him jump then quickly relax his hand before you let it fall from your grip, his hand remained extended to you though. You stared for a moment before reluctantly taking hold and letting him pull you to your feet.

“Thanks,” You twisted your torso to stretch your body out and took note of the huge hole in the side of the ship and the sparking wiring, “Shit, this is bad news.” Your breath clouded in the air as you really took note of the ice and snow that had drifted in to the hold.

“I know...” He sighed.

-

It was freezing. You really wanted rid of the heat on Tatooine but this was an extreme shift in temperature. You could barely get some shut eye despite how heavy your eyes really were. You felt bad for the amphibian as neither of you spoke her language but she was clearly exasperated trying to communicate something but she was told it could wait until morning. You heard her tinkering around and watched her fiddle with an old droid that lay against the wall in a few pieces. You glanced at her eggs which she had covered with her own blanket and you sighed. She needed to keep them warm, you could tell that much. You reached out and pulled the vat towards you which you placed on your lap, underneath the loose cloth that draped around your shoulders. She watched you for a moment and nodded, which you could only assume was meant as gratitude but you had little time to figure it out as sleep suddenly washed over you.

-

Once again you were rudely awoken along with the Mandalorian. The amphibian had gotten the droid partly working so it could translate what she needed to say, that she couldn’t wait much longer or her eggs would perish. You were slightly stunned when she took a dig at the Mandalorian’s honour but to your surprise it worked and he grabbed his toolkit and left, muttering on his way out. Maybe his creed and integrity were being questioned even by himself. You chuckled and set the eggs aside then hauled yourself up to go give him a hand.

 

The silence for once seemed deafening. He had questions and you, well you had some questions but you almost just wanted to give him answers for once in your life, but it was something you would certainly struggle with.

“What will you do when you find another Mandalorian?” You decided was the best way to break the silence. He took a moment before he answered, processing the shift in the way you were interacting with him.

“I would ask them for help. They would know where to find the kid’s kind.” He continued his work as he spoke, as did you.

“Do you know what his kind is?” You asked out of genuine curiosity.

“Not really. I’ve heard mentions of Jedi.” He said plainly and you paused for a moment, pondering on whether to take your chances.

“Do you know much of the Jedi?” You asked a little timidly.

“No. I know he can move things with his mind and he can heal wounds. That’s as much as I’ve seen.” He admitted. So he knew very little then. He had no idea of the full extent. Your silence did not go unnoticed by him. “Do you?” He asked quietly.

“A little.” You admitted.

“What are they?” He pressed.

“They are wielders of the force. It’s like a religion. Very few remain.” You sounded stupid but you really didn’t know how to begin explaining.

“I see.. What else can they do?” He turned his head slightly to you, pausing in his work.

“A great many things if they put their mind to it. It requires a lot of practice and will of the mind.” You couldn’t help yourself being so vague and in the pointed silence that followed, you also stopped and turned your head to him.

“How did you-“ He was cut off by the kid appearing and making some noises while pointing. He told him to make himself useful and come help but he wandered off instead so the Mandalorian followed and left you to carry on repairs.

He hadn’t been gone too long but you felt uneasy all of a sudden so you came around to the hole in the ship and noticed the footprints that lead off into a cave system. You heard faint noises and approached the cave carefully, then you heard his blaster followed by explosions and they were getting closer. You backed your way to the ship with your blaster drawn on the cave entrance and watched as they appeared with a hoard of arachnid type creatures on their tail. You opened fire on the creatures and held the cloth that covered the hole in the ship open for the amphibian to climb through and take the child and her eggs from the Mandalorian. He ushered you in before him and you covered him while he clambered in too.

Up in the cockpit, you all struggled to get the door shut and he told you to start the engines. You did as you were told as he torched the creatures that held the door open. You didn’t get far off the ground before a giant arachnid leapt on to the ship and dragged what you hoped was it’s mouth over the glass. You racked your brain for some sort of escape plan but you came up empty, Only somebody else seemed to have come to the rescue. The Mandalorian went to see and you waited in the hold out of sight, in case it wasn’t a very friendly rescue.

 

-

 

Once again you found yourself working to repair the cockpit, enough to hold until you made it to Trask. The kid watched with his face pressed against the window as you both worked on the outer layers of the cockpit. You watched him back for a moment, thinking about how much more confident he seemed or that maybe he was growing. He seemed to be babbling an awful lot recently, though it still made very little sense to either of you, you could at least somewhat tell how he was feeling. You held your palm up and he watched as you slowly brought it closer to the glass with his own hand pressed against it.

“Bah!” You suddenly smacked the glass in front of him and he wailed before falling backwards. “Shit.” You muttered, trying to withhold the chuckle in your throat but the Mandalorian chuckled first which made you smile. The kid reappeared at the glass looking a little unsure and you felt for him a little then.

“You think it’s hard for him, having two faceless idiots to look after him?” The Mandalorian asked out of nowhere and it hit you in ways you hadn’t expected. It was the first brush with the topic of neither of you having your faces shown. Not the first ever, but the first time between the two of you where for however many months it had been, there was a mutual respect for the choices you each made on that front. Secondly, they were a clan of two but now it was the two faceless idiots that were in charge of the kid. Was this his way of saying you were no longer just a passenger there to help, or was he asking?

“Maybe. Did you ever find it difficult?” You tilted your head in his direction.

“Sometimes.” He paused for thought, “I got used to it but I wouldn’t like to say that Mandalorians are well known for the way they handle emotions. It’s not like we could see faces either.” He spoke quietly. He would never admit to it but between considering letting Omera remove his helmet and letting IG-11 remove it, he found himself straying further from the path of his creed. Not that he would ever desert it, he owed them so much but he had other priorities now with the kid. He was just conflicted.

“He knows he is protected and safe. He can see it but more than anything he can sense it.” You gently interrupted whatever thoughts he had and you both looked at the child once more whose face and hands were pressed against the window. You reached out again and he flinched for a moment but you remained steady and placed your hand on the glass lightly. He looked at your hand then put his tiny little hand up against yours then looked to the Mandalorian.

“See?” You said and looked at him too. You heard a barely audible hum from his modulator and watched him place his palm against the window too. You could feel the warmth of whatever this energy was that passed between the three of you. You felt it in your heart at first as a tingle and as you drew breath and exhaled it pulsed down through your arms, sending goosebumps with it.

“He will be fine.” You smiled, hoping he would hear it in your voice then went back to your work.

[forever-rogue]

Hi!!!! Love your writing, I come and check in daily💓❤❣💟💓💟!!!um could I ask for another oneshot mandalorian x reader, reader having a weakness on flowers and being ecstatic, and Mando just falling more and more in love(even offering one to her😍?!?!?!?!?!)?

Here’s your dose of some Soft Sunday, I hope you guys enjoy and thank you for your kind words!

Mandalorian Masterlist

»»————-　♡　————-««

“I’ve never even heard of this place. What is it? Omurria?” you mused as you spun around in the co-pilot’s seat, the Child bouncing around and giggling on your lap. Din had only briefly mentioned the name of a far off planet where he claimed his next bounty was before punching the coordinates in and taking his place in the pilot’s chair. You had trailed closely behind, asking him a million questions but getting no real answers as he just sighed at you. Sometimes your relentless inquisitive nature got the best of him and overwhelmed him in his normally stoic nature; sometimes he still needed to get used to the fact that he now had another living, breathing person with him at almost all times, “are we sure this isn’t some kind of trap?”

“I can’t speak for you, but I know it’s not a trap,” he said with a bit of an edge and you could tell he was tired and ready for some silence. If it had been almost any other person, you would have been annoyed by the snappy response, but you knew he was different and was still learning to open up to you. He leaned his head back against the rest before letting a soft groan, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’ve been to this place before, it’s safe there. I think you and the kid will like it.”

“Well, I trust you,” you gave him a reassuring smile before putting your hand on his forearm and giving it a light squeeze. He tensed up for just a moment before relaxing and letting the warmth of your touch spread throughout his limbs. It was still a thing that took him aback and took him to adjust, the touch of another. He’d been deprived of it for a long time, and no touch from you, whether accidental or intentional went unnoticed or unappreciated, “I’m sure I’ll find something to occupy my time while you’re off…doing your thing. Are you sure you won’t let me join you?”

“No,” it was a firm resolute statement and offered no room for negotiation, “not yet. You’ve only just healed up, and I don’t think you want to go through that process again.”

“I know,” you said, pouting with your lower lip sticking out at him. Even if he wasn’t willing to accept your arguments, you were going to through them out there anyway. That was how he’d found you in the first place; lying in an abandoned alley, beaten and bloody, on your last leg. He’d found you just in time and for some reason had nursed you back to health despite the fact that you were a stranger to him. He’d never really said more than a few words about it, simply asking who had harmed you before leaving, returning a few hours later when you had woken up from a nap, covered in blood that wasn’t his. You didn’t even have to ask what he had done.

“Y/N,” he turned to you, his helmeted gaze meeting yours and you were positive that his eyebrows were raised at you. You turned your head to the side and tried to give him your most innocent look.

“Din,” you replied, picking up your feet and lying them in his face, “I promise I’ll be an asset, not a hindrance-”

“I’ve seen your attempts at fighting,” he reminded you, “and if that’s the best you’ve got, I’ll be better off on my own.”

“Hey!” you stuck your tongue out at him, “I was still sore and wasn’t able to move properly-”

“Exactly,” he said as he gently took your legs and pulled them off his lap, “you haven’t had time to train properly, and until I can properly help you to do so, you have to stay back. I’m just looking out for you, and if I knew you could handle it, I’d take you with me without hesitation.”

“You…you’d be willing to train me?” you asked, your mind hyper-fixating on that little statement. Generally only Mandalorians trained with each other; this would be something almost unheard of, but you were’t about to argue with him. This life, the whole bounty hunting thing was a far cry from your past life as a simple innkeeper, but you were relishing in the freedom of traveling to new places and assisting Din however you could; and the Child of course - he’d won your heart over right away.

“Yes,” he stated as your destination came into view. He turned to you, quickly putting a gloved hand under your chin, studying your face for a gently before almost whispering, “but only when you’re ready, and I will decide when you’re ready. Okay?”

“Fair enough,” you agreed, sure your face was properly flushed from his gentle touch. He nodded before turning back to the console and getting ready to land. Without even thinking about it, you put your own hand where his had been, the skin feeling warm. He was always tender with you, much more than anyone else he came across, and definitely more than his bounties. You thought you knew what was behind it all, but never let yourself think too much about it; you didn’t want to set yourself for disappointment.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Now, stay nearby, please,” Din strapped his rifle over his shoulders, checking to make sure he the rest of equipment strapped to his person as you followed him with the Child in his arms. You made a few noncommittal sounds before he stopped and put his hands on your shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze, “if nothing else, do it for me. So you both stay safe. Just explore nearby if you must and I’ll be back soon. It shouldn’t take me long.”

“Aye aye Captain,” you grinned at him before giving him a small salute, “you stay safe too. There might be more of them than you.”

“I’m counting on it,” he said as a bit of swagger and bravado colored his voice. You just shook your head at him; this was the Mandalorian he presented to the outside world, but knew he was much more gentle in reality, “I like those odds.”

“And you think I’m bad?” you raised an eyebrow as he shrugged, a light laugh spilling off of his lips, “go on then, just get it down so you can come back and we can all go out.”

“Two hours or less, I promise,” he said as he started to head towards the exit door. You nodded as you watched him go, partly wishing he’d just stay back and change his mind, but you knew he had to go and do his job. You don’t become one of the best, if the not the best, bounty hunters in the galaxy by not doing your job.

You set the Child back down gently, and he plopped down at your feet as he made a small sound, almost if asking what now?

“Well,” you said as you reached into the small makeshift closet, pulling out a warm cloak, “why don’t we take Din up on his offer and go outside and explore? We’ll just stay close and it’ll be fine. Sound good?”

He clambered back to his feet before tugging on your pant leg. You giggled at his excited little expression before picking him back up, pausing to kiss the top of his head, before putting him on your shoulder. He’d made a habit of it recently, deciding he liked the feeling of sitting on your or Din’s shoulder as you walked around, it gave him a good view of everything.

Making sure he was secure, you walked out of the Razor Crest, and immediately found yourself gasping at the sight that met your eyes. All around you, as far as your eyes could see, was nothing but lush green in the form of trees, bushes, and plants. Flowers were littered everywhere coming every shade possible, most vibrant, some pastel, but all beautiful. You hadn’t ever seen that much green or foliage in one place ever before.

“This is amazing,” you told your small companion, taking your first steps on the lush green forest floor. He seemed too agree as he cooed and reached up to touch a nearby vine, his little green hand closing around it as he hung onto it and started to hang from it. You hadn’t noticed and started to walk away and he hung onto the vine; you turned around in surprise and found him smiling at you. You couldn’t help but laugh at the sight as he tried to climb up on to the top of the vine. You reached over and took him in your hands before setting him down, “we’re supposed to stay out of trouble, silly, not make it!”

He waddled away, going over to some nearby flowers, and you decided just let him explore. He was just as amazing and fascinated by everything around you. Why not take it all in and enjoy your time in this beautiful place.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“I told you guys to stay close,” you were heard Din’s sigh before his voice reached your ears. Your eyes widened in surprise as you realized you’d completely forgotten about him and his requests, getting so most in the beauty of the flowers. You turned to him and gave him a small smile, “I looked everywhere for you. What happened?”

“We were just enjoying everything,” you said as you pointed to all the flowers around you. You’d found a clearing that was filled with nothing but wildflowers and decided to remain there, picking a few of every flower, having come up with the idea to press them and keep them as a remind of the beautiful place, “look at all of these, they’re gorgeous. I’ve never so many lovely things before!”

“They are lovely,” he agreed as his heart melted a little at the excitement in your voice. His annoyance with the fact that you didn’t listen him already dissipated as he realized he’d seen something more beautiful than the flowers before - you. He came over and helped you gather everything before putting the Child on his own shoulders, “let’s get back, it’s getting dark. We can come back tomorrow.”

“Promise?” you asked as you followed behind, struggling to keep up with his long legs.

“Of course,” he promised as you caught up to him.

Later that evening, after you’d finally gotten the small green creature to sleep, you trudged back into the small sleeping space you’d taken to sharing with Din, letting out a small yawn. Keeping track of Din and the small creature proved to exhausting sometimes, almost like it was its’ own full time job.

Stretching as you sat down on the small cot, you heard Din’s armor-less feet pad back into the room, looking at him with a smile. He gave you a nod, one arm behind his back as he seemed nervous. It had become easy to read him at this point, to learn all his different moods despite never getting to see his face.

“What’s wrong?” you asked as you got back up and walked over to him. He was wearing normal clothes, only his helmet remaining. You wish he’s take it off, but you understood his reasons, and would never even dream of moving to remove the helmet, or even asking him to. If he ever wanted to share that side of himself to you, you wanted to be his own choice on his time. You reached up and put a hand on juncture of his shoulder and neck, “is everything okay?”

“Yes,” he tried to reassure you with a small nod. You noticed that he let out a shaky breath before pulling his arm out from behind his back, revealing that he had been holding a small handful of flowers. They were stunning, colors of vibrant purples, pinks, and blue; but you hadn’t noticed them earlier, “t-these are for you.”

“For me?” you asked as you slowly took them from him, holding them up so you could get a good smell of their sweet scent, “I love them…but I don’t remember seeing them earlier…”

“I saw them on the way back,” he explained, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, his heart rattling around nervously in his cheek, “they reminded me of you…I hoped you would like them.”

“I love them,” you insisted, throwing your arms around him and pulling him in for a hug before you even thought about it.He hesitated only for a moment before hugging you back and getting lost in your touch, “thank you you so much, Din!”

“You’re welcome,” he breathed out as you let go of him and held the flowers to our chest; he already missed your touch.

“I’m going to go to the kitchen and put these in water so they’ll last as long as possible,” you grinned at him, “I’ll be back!”

He could only nod as he watched you practically skip into the kitchen, humming a soft tune under your breath. His knees suddenly felt weak so he sat down on the bed and let out a long breath; it was only you that could ever make him feel this way. It was a strange but wonderful feeling, familiar but yet all knew at the same time, and although it did scare him a little bit, he wanted to experience all of the euphoria.

He already knew he was going to give you flowers whenever he could, because your reaction to the simple gesture enough to make him know what he was beginning to experience - love.

[luckyricochet]

I want you to answer A-Z on the fandom asks so I can peer into your psyche 👀

Wow I love you. This actually took around three hours since I wanted to think about the answers. See them under the cut!

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

From Hanyou no Yashahime — Sesshomaru and Rin

From The Mandalorian — The Mandomera’s been creeping up a little bit. 

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Honestly can’t think of one. I’m very set in my ships. 

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will.

From Naruto — SasuSaku. Sasuke was cute as a kid so I get Sakura having a crush on him then, but I think she would have gotten over it when he became a homicidal clown who abandoned the village and tried to kill her and her teammates multiple times.

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

From Harry Potter — Ron x Hermione. I’ve always thought their personalities didn’t match and not in the good “opposites attract” kind of way.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

I only know how to write angst, drama, and introspective musings so no. 

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Over fifteen years in the Harry Potter fandom, but I’ve had to separate that from JKR herself in the recent years. 

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

“Have I ever had an OTP”? *laughs from shipping hell* 

From The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare — Nat and Kit were my first OTP. Read this book in fifth grade and was immediately loved them. Boy literally risks banishment from the colony to help prove she’s not a witch. 

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)?

I love visual media, so TV, anime, and film

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

I’m not going to let tumblr dot com put me off of a particular show/book/etc. itself, but it has definitely made me think less of certain types of fans who are in a fandom. 

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

The...period drama fandom? More widely, the history fandom. They both create some of the most beautiful edits celebrating history and I love it. 

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

 From Avatar: The Last Airbender — It’s gotta be Prince Zuko

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

From Harry Potter — I think Ginny is a Mary Sue but I loved when she stood up for herself in Half-Blood Prince when Ron was trying to slut-shame her. 

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

From Parks and Recreation — Leslie Knope. Unending positive affirmations, thoughtfulness, and support!

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

I don’t really have a main fandom but I haven’t mentioned Free! yet so let’s go with it for this one. 

1. Less Nitori because I can’t stand him.

2. More female characters! I get half the appeal is the boys, but I’d love to see a girls swim team in some capacity. 

3. More Haru and his family dynamics! Doesn’t have to be a ton, but I want to know what his relationship with his parents like, especially as an adult.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Salt and the Sea - The Lumineers. “From the destruction, out of the flame. You need a villain, give me a name.” Such an Odesta song. (Finnick x Annie from the Hunger Games)

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

For The Mandalorian — A historical AU set in early 1900s New York City where Mando’s just some government agent sent to “report” on slum conditions to satisfy some housing law. He goes meaning to write up a generic report but then finds the orphaned Baby Yoda abandoned in one of the tenements. Shocked by the conditions of the slums, Mando goes from being an apathetic, middling-level bureaucrat to being an anonymous investigative journalist reporting on the corruption in the government that allows for the city’s most vulnerable citizens to live in squalor, leading the government on a search to find who within their ranks is exposing them. 

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

Sherlock, because it just took so long for the third series to come out. I had moved on to other fandoms by the time it did. Still have fond memories of when I was active in it, though. 

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

From Lord of the Rings — Aragorn and Legolas. This is played up a lot more in the films but I love it. 

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

For Lord of the Rings — Boromir definitely taught Faramir swordplay when they were little kids since their father didn’t want to. 

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

From Hanyou no Yashahime — Rin made the first move. Sesshomaru would be way too clueless to even know how to go about it. 

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

From Pirates of the Caribbean — James Norrington: Commodore in the Royal Navy during the 18th century, must I explain any further? Cool, calm, and collected on the job while looking v good while he does it but a nervous wreck in front of the woman he fancies. Tell me that’s not straight out of Austen.

From Star Wars (OT) — Luke Skywalker: An unapologetically good person in a crapsack world, doing his best to bring light into the world. A classic hero archetype who grows out of his naïveté to become a cunning—but still benevolent—Jedi. 

From Prince of Tennis — Yukimura Seiichi: His duality is *chef’s kiss*. Super scary and in charge on the court, gentle sweet boy who loves art and culture off the court. He struggled for so long but was able to overcome it all through his hard work and willpower.

Bonus favorite, because I couldn’t resist...

From Band of Brothers — Doc Roe: He’s doing the MOST for his guys but he really just needs a hug. Plus he’s got the accent.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

From Little Women — Jo March, especially as portrayed by Saoirse Ronan in the 2019 adaptation. Writer, holds grudges, opinionated, stubborn, eschewed “girliness” in her youth but is more open to it and romanticism as an adult. 

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

I’ve gotten to the point where even the hint of a love triangle tests my patience.

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

It’s about the yearning: Longing Look

Also will definitely always ship the Brooding Boy and the Gentle Girl

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Anything in the MCU or general superhero content.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

I love fandom so much. I’m sort of facetious about being obsessed with people who aren’t real on my other social media accounts, but in all seriousness, being able to escape the real world to get excited over characters and relationships that face their own struggles, triumphs, and emotions is such a gift. So often they speak so powerfully on the human experience—How can you read, or watch, any of Tolkien’s work and not be moved by what he has to say about humanity and the power of good? Even if the stories are fictional, the messages they impart about life aren’t, which is what I love so much about them.

[scarlet-star-witch]

Fade Into You - Part 2 (Mandalorian/OC)

Summary: Din has spent a year grieving the love of his life. While he thinks he has lost her forever, she lingers in the darkness, her mind twisted and manipulated, with no memory of him or the love they shared. What will it take for Din to help her remember?

Warnings: Whole lotta fluff and a whole lotta angst 

Part 1 Next Part 

Din’s movements were slow, still laced with exhaustion, as he put his armour on. He didn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a good night’s sleep. It had to have been the last night he spent wrapped around his wife.

He moved lazily as he walked around the small, makeshift kitchen on the Razor Crest. It wasn’t much, but it worked well enough. He reached up to the top shelf, pulling down the last of his rations, when something fell to the floor.

His heart dropped to his stomach and he felt a lump in his throat as he picked up the netted trinket. It was impossible not to think of her as he held the item in his hand. It was what brought them together, what made them cross that final hurdle after spending so much time dancing around each other.

The memory made his chest tighten painfully.

Din wanted to scream as Xi’an tried to link her arm with his, yet again. He’d spent all day trying to shrug off her grip, but she just wasn’t getting the hint. Ran wasn’t making it any easier, every single one of his teasing comments only fueled Xi’an’s flirtation.

He only had eyes for one person. And it certainly wasn’t the Twi’lek that wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Din had managed to break away from Xi’an, much to her annoyance, and he could feel her gaze on his back as he walked away, getting lost in the crowd. His mind was only on one person. 

He hadn’t seen her since they stopped to look around the market, and despite knowing that she could handle herself, he couldn’t help but worry about her being on her own. 

His tense shoulders relaxed when he saw her, her violet hair making her stand out against the throng of people around her. Din immediately felt at ease, he always did in her company and it wasn’t something he was willing to admit until recently.

Her smile was radiant. When he saw it, it was as though everything around her faded and only she was there, taking his breath away. He didn’t know what the hell she was doing with them. Their group was rough and shady and she deserved so much better, he’d certainly told her as much, but she hadn’t budged. She’d told him countless times that she wasn’t leaving him, that they were partners for life.

Din couldn’t explain the butterflies that had erupted in his belly when she had said those words. It had taken everything in him not to rip his helmet off and kiss her then and there. 

He tensed as he watched the sales clerk she was talking to reach out to grab her hand. Within seconds, Din was stomping forward, nudging people out of his way to get to her. His hand grabbed his blaster instinctively as he grabbed the man’s hand and wrenched his grip off of her, pushing him back into the stall.

“Whoa, Mando, relax.” She cried out, grabbing his arm that was seconds away from pointing his weapon at the innocent man.

“He grabbed you.” Din growled, his helmeted stare locked on the man who didn’t need to see the bounty hunter’s eyes to know that he was glaring at him.

“It’s fine. I’m ok.” Iella said softly, gently turning him away from the clerk to face her. Din was still breathing heavily, adrenaline running through his veins, but as his gaze turned down towards Iella, he immediately felt himself beginning to calm.

“I was just trying to help this lovely young lady.” The clerk defended himself, his wide eyes flickering back and forth between the nice woman and the Mandalorian that hadn’t let go of her.

Din tensed again and almost growled at the man’s words. Iella, who knew him better than he thought, tightened her grip on his arm and pulled him closer to her.

“It’s fine, he’s just trying to strike a deal.” She whispered, but Din didn’t remove his gaze from the man. He didn’t trust him, he didn’t trust any man around Iella. She was too good for any of them, him included. “Mando, he’s harmless.” She said, finally making his gaze turn towards her.

Din eyed her up and down, as if to confirm that the man hadn’t done anything out of line. Iella, who had been travelling with him long enough to read what the motions of his helmet meant, rolled her eyes.

“Mando, I’m fine, relax.” She assured him, trying hard not to blush at his protectiveness. “What are you doing here anyways? I thought you were with Xi’an.”

Din rolled his eyes, unable to hold back a groan of annoyance, which made Iellla laugh. She knew how much the Twi’lek annoyed her partner and his reaction was enough to stifle her jealousy. She didn’t want to admit that seeing Xi’an hanging off his arm always made her chest tighten uncomfortably.

She was just glad Din seemed as irritated by her as she was.

“What’s that for?” Din asked, happily changing the subject as he looked down at what the clerk was trying so hard to sell to her.

“It’s a dreamcatcher. Apparently it traps your bad dreams so you never have them again and you can sleep peacefully.” She explained with a wistful smile. Din, on the other hand, felt concern wash over him and he grabbed her hand in his, the gesture enough to have her cheeks blazing red again.

“You’ve been having bad dreams? Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked in a low voice, unable to hide his concern.

Iella blushed fiercely and looked down, avoiding his gaze, which only put Din more on edge. 

“El.” He urged, his nickname for her making her heart jump in a way she was too shy to even wrap her head around.

“I- uhm-” She started, but stopped, biting her lip nervously. His hand that squeezed hers wasn’t helping her nerves in the slightest. She wanted to roll her eyes at how oblivious he was. Could he really not see her blushing everytime he was close to her? She didn’t understand how he didn’t know how she felt about him, even after all the time they had spent working together. “I was getting it for you.” She said quietly, worried that she had scared him off.

Despite the helmet that covered his face, Iella knew that he was surprised by the way he flinched and his grip on her hand loosened. 

“I’ve heard you at night. I know that things haven’t been easy and I just… I dunno, I wanted to help.” She explained rapidly, her nerves overtaking her.  

Din didn’t know what to feel. On the one hand, he felt embarrassed that she knew about his nightmares. He felt ashamed that he’d let her see him so weak. But on the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel so overwhelmed by the gesture, that she just wanted to help him.

“Hey, lovebirds! We gotta get goin’!” Ran yelled, stopping their conversation in its tracks before he could answer. 

Iella hung her head low, feeling embarrassed by his lack of response. She was more worried that she’d offended him, or scared him away. 

The pair didn’t speak as they walked back towards the ship. Iella almost couldn’t hold back a roll of the eyes as Xi’an wrapped her arm through Din’s, talking animatedly, the moment they climbed aboard. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cargo hold as the ship took off.

If she’d ruined her friendship with the Mandalorian and he wanted to spend his time with the annoying Twi’lek than with her, that was fine. She wasn’t going to fight it, but she couldn’t deny that her stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of having to watch Din and Xi’an flirt in front of her. Din had never flirted back, he barely even spoke to her, but she worried that it was only a matter of time.

She drowned out Xi’an’s voice as her mind wandered. She was happy for the distraction, hearing the Twi’lek’s voice day after day had been grating on her. 

“I’m gonna head to bed.” She spoke abruptly, interrupting Xi’an. She ignored the woman’s glare and stood, walking towards the bunks without another look at them. She didn’t notice Mando’s gaze locked onto hers as she left, and she certainly didn’t notice the way he ignored Xi’an’s rude comments and whining for him to sit back down with her as he stood to follow her.

Once the door was shut behind her, she ran a hand through her hair, letting out a loud sigh of annoyance. She felt so mad at herself, she couldn’t believe that she let herself cross that line she said she would never cross. She didn’t want to believe that her friendship with the Mandalorian was over, that she’d offended him beyond repair.

As she wallowed in self pity, pacing across her small room, a soft knock sounded, breaking her from her thoughts.

The last thing she ever expected to see when she opened the door was the Mandalorian staring back at her.

“Hi.”

“Can I come in?” He asked quietly. Iella nodded, moving to the side to let him enter the cramped room.

“I’m sorry about today.” She said quickly before he had a chance to open his mouth.

Din stayed quiet, his helmeted gaze meeting hers, which had her even more on edge. Not being able to see his face made reading his emotions almost impossible and it had her fears plateauing. 

“I didn’t mean to overstep or make you uncomfortable, I just wanted to help.” She spoke quickly, her anxiety making her unable to pause between words. “You’re my friend and I care about you. I don’t want you to have nightmares and I just thought that-”

“Close your eyes.”

“What?” She asked slowly, her voice laced in confusion.

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” She answered without hesitation. 

“And you know I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“Of course I know that. What the hell is going on?” She answered frantically, her nerves pushing her to the edge.

“Close your eyes, please.” Din repeated, almost pleadingly. His heart began to race within his chest at what he was about to do. He breathed deeply, slowly moving to take off his helmet once he made sure that her eyes were closed.

He was terrified, but he couldn’t wait any longer. 

He stepped closer to her and Iella tensed as she felt a hand at her waist. He leaned his forehead against her and she almost gasped at the feel of his skin on hers. Her stomach flipped at the realization that he had taken off his helmet. 

Their hearts raced in unison at finally being so close to each other.

“Why-”

Din cut her off as he placed his lips to hers, causing her to freeze in shock. His hands gripped her waist tightly, as if he never wanted to let go. Iella, despite the complete surprise of his actions, melted into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as her hands involuntarily moved to tangle into his hair.

The small move caused Din to whimper against her lips, the feeling so foreign to him, it almost left him on his knees. 

Din couldn’t believe that what he was feeling was actually happening. It had been such a long time coming, it almost didn’t seem real. He had been deprived of touch for so long and he had been aching for it since he’d met the woman. Now that he had her in his arms, his lips moving with hers, he realized his fantasy was nothing compared to the real thing. If he had known this is what it would feel like, he would have done it years ago.

He pulled away slowly, not wanting to part from her soft lips, but the need to breathe became too great. Iella kept her eyes closed, knowing the grave consequences if she didn’t. 

“Mando-”

“It’s Din. My name is Din.” He said quietly, his heart racing in his chest.

“Din.” She whispered back, a smile growing at the knowledge that he trusted her enough with something so personal.

Din almost moaned at the sound of his name falling from her lips. 

“Gods, I could listen to that all day.” He breathed out, crashing his lips to hers again before she could say anything else. Din knew he was never going to want to let go of the woman in his arms.

~~

Din stared down at the dreamcatcher in his hands, feeling his eyes beginning to sting with emotions he’d repressed for so long. 

When he’d lost her he’d taken out all the trinkets and gifts he’d given her from the room they shared. He didn’t have it in him to throw anything away so he’d kept it all hidden, pretending it didn’t exist and pretending the memories they evoked within him didn’t absolutely crush him.

He stared at the gift in his hand for a few more seconds, allowing him the small moment of remembrance before putting it back in the overhead compartment and slamming it closed.

He needed to get on with his work. He’d been slacking in jobs lately and he couldn’t keep going the way he was or he’d starve to death before the Guild could come after him. Once he was finished with his armour, he stepped off the Razor Crest, the blinking tracking fob in hand.

He knew he was close to the target and he was itching to get the man on board and in carbonite so he could go back to wallowing. In a way, he hated that these jobs distracted him from his grief. It wasn’t as if he wanted to grieve his wife, but the thought of her was better than nothing at all.

The memories, no matter how much they hurt, were all he had left of her.

Din pushed down the emotions, something he was getting quite good at, and his calculated movements had him closer to the target than he thought he’d be. It was almost surprising how well he could do his jobs with how scattered his mind always was. 

His hand instinctively moved to pull his blaster from its holster on his hip once he realized he was in a secluded part of the planet, far from the bustle of the town center. It was more risky to be out in the open in such a quiet and desolate part of the planet. 

There was no movement at all and it had him on edge. 

The tracking fob in his hand began to blink faster and he knew he was close. It had to be one of the few shacks that lie amongst the rocky shores of the poor planet.

He moved stealthily, his training keeping his footsteps light. The light suddenly started to blink rapidly as he approached a rotted door that looked like it had already been kicked in. He pushed it open slowly, ducking in with his weapon raised for any potential threats.

When he saw none, he lowered his blaster. He looked around the room, his hackles rising at the sight in front of him. There was no bounty in the room, but there had definitely been at one point. Everything was in disarray, signalling a struggle. The furniture was on it’s side and little drops of blood littered the floor.

A loud cry of pain caught his attention and he tensed immediately. 

Whoever was after the same bounty was here and they weren’t looking to bring him in alive, or with mercy. Din felt annoyance creep over him. He didn’t want to have to deal with another bounty hunter. He needed the credits and fighting off yet another person for them wasn’t ideal.

His grip on his blaster tightened and he followed the noise out to the back door, walking with determination.

“Please don’t hurt me. I have a family. I have a son, I can’t leave him.” A broken voice pleaded, their words stifled through their sobs of agony.

“Is that supposed to make me care?” 

Din stopped in his tracks, feeling as though he walked straight into a brick wall. 

That voice.

He knew that voice.

His eyes began to water and a lump grew in his throat. He felt his hands beginning to shake and he clenched his fists tightly. It couldn’t be. It’s not possible.

He moved unsteadily, worried that he’d collapse at any moment, but he had to know, he had to see for himself. He stepped outside just in time to see a deadly looking blade slash the bounty’s neck, a helpless choking sound replacing his desperate cries.

The man fell to the ground, unmoving, leaving a lone figure standing over his body. Din’s lips parted in surprise at the gruesome scene. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to see something so bloody and deadly, but it was who had been so deadly that left him stunned.

That violet hair was unmistakable.

Din stood frozen in his spot, his mouth gaping beneath his helmet, unable to formulate any words. He could feel his entire body shaking, his heart racing as he desperately tried to search for an answer.

It can’t be her. She’s gone.

The woman in front of him tensed, clearly sensing his presence behind her. She turned slowly and the moment he saw those eyes, he knew there was no mistaking it. 

Iella. His wife. She was here. Alive and breathing.

His blaster slipped out of his grip, landing at his feet, forgotten. He let out a shaking gasp and his legs finally gave out. His knees landed in the sand and his hands caught themselves on his thighs, trying to steady himself as he breathed heavily, almost panicked. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, his pessimistic mind telling him he was seeing things. He knew it was only a matter of time before he descended into madness, but this felt too real. He opened them, only to find the same sight in front of him.

She was really here. 

“El,” He breathed out, tears now falling steadily down his cheeks. “How is this- what - I can’t believe it.” He stammered in shock.

It didn’t seem real. He had mourned her for a year, had come to accept that he was destined to be alone for the rest of his life, but now, seeing her face staring back at him, he felt for the first time in a year, a glimmer of hope, of happiness.

His gaze roamed her figure, checking to see that she was alright, something that had become a habit of his over their many years together. He felt confusion seeping through him at seeing the black cat suit she wore that hugged every curve of her body. That wasn’t like her at all. His shy girl would never show off her body in that way. 

The smile that had grown, almost on instinct, upon seeing her fell slightly when he noticed the cold look in her eye. He had never seen that expression on her face before. He had never seen her like this, so distant, so apathetic. 

Something was wrong.

He looked up at her in wonder as she stepped closer to him. He reached out to grab her hand.

“El-”

His words cut off and he let out a grunt of pain as she swiftly pulled a blaster out of her waistband and stunned him in the chest. His body shook with the electric pulse and he fell on his back. 

His vision began to swim with black spots and his breathing weakened. He tried to call out to her, but an anguished moan escaped him instead. He felt panic rising within him, but his body was unable to move to reach out to her.

The last thing he saw was her eyes staring back at him, those eyes that he had longed to see again, those eyes that haunted his dreams each night. Those eyes that never failed to make his heart race. But the loving gaze he had become so familiar with was nowhere to be found.

~~

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[crowleyellestair]

Imagine Why - Din djarin (The Mandalorian

This isn’t apart of my last fic even though it has a similar small plot point

Here’s my other fic: Din Djarin

“And Perry swung his sword towards the three headed creatures.” I tried to keep quiet but keep the excitement in my voice. Letting the book drop slightly, I leaned in closer to the baby. “What do you think, bud? What will happen?” He peered up to me best he could and gargled with what I could only hope was excitement. We had been laying on the cot for what seemed to be a short while. In reality it had been a couple of hours of the kid resting against my chest and me reading to him.

“I don’t wanna have to do this to ya, but I think that’s enough for tonight. Let’s get some soup in you before tucking you in.” I placed a slip of parchment I found lying around a while back into the pages to hold our place. Swooping him up, we make our way out of the room to our ration’s cabinet on the other side of the Razor Crest. Preparing the soup was easy, but trying to keep quiet was proving to be harder.

Din and I had a great arrangement after one too many awkward run ins with each other’s sleeping spots. Too many times has he tripped over me finding a comfortable position on the ground somewhere or me finding solitude in the cockpit when he had tried to fall asleep. Usually I would rest on the cot when he was out on a job and he would take rest when I watched the kid after he came back.

He had gotten back to the ship after a job while the babe and I were cuddling on the cot and having story time. He went straight to the cockpit without a word, which was unusual. I assumed he was just exhausted and wanted seclusion. Din wasn’t known to be a man of many words, but recently he’d opened up a little more.

I’ve been on the Razor Crest for a couple of cycles to watch the child. He took a job on my home planet and the thug happened to be my next-door neighbor. A lot went down and the child ended up in the cross hairs of the fight. After everything died down, Din started to be hostile towards me as I had his son. I explained my situation of just wanting to see the boy safe and he asked me to join.

I could be quiet when I wanted to be, but usually I ramble to make small talk. I stopped after a while, but Din admitted he appreciated the effort to try and create trust and security between us. Little did he know that I wanted more than trust. Maybe it was because of his love for his space boy. Maybe because I’m one of the few he has apparently told his real name to. Maybe it was the many nights of silence sitting together in the cockpit, looking out at the stars, comfortably keeping each other company.

Whatever it was, it made me care about his well-being more than mine.

So, I make the babes soup as quietly as possible, not knowing if Din was resting up there. I tried to put the book down a couple of times prior as to keep quiet, but the kid just wasn’t having it. Which was troublesome to my plan to be respectful, but also to our relationship. I came to the ship with the bare essentials. Din has always been by my side in any city or village we scout into. One day I was telling a story to the boy to pass the time, and thought maybe he’d like being read to. In our crazy life, Din and I try to make it as normal as possible for the baby. I thought bedtime stories would be just the thing to bring a safe, relaxing, and fun time for the wee lad. I had acquired the book, however, by sneaking away from the ship one day to buy one.

“What’s this?” I jump at his voice, not realizing I zoned out about the repercussions of the book. Turning, I can see the boy pushing the book against Din’s feet. It’s a cute sight as the book is half his size. I tried to find one that would last. He must have waddled back to grab it and try to convince me to read again. Din leans down to grab it, bringing it close enough to his where the beskar reflected the blue cover.

“It’s a book.” I start making my way towards them, small bowl in hand. His visor turned to me, and I could tell he was trying to convey that he obviously knew that it was, indeed, a book. “I made soup; would you like some? Sorry I took up more time on the cot. The room is all yours.” I bend down, giving the bundle of joy the bowl.

“When did you get a book?” I stiffen, but try and play it off. But the thing is, he knows that he doesn’t know where it came from.

“Are you ok?” He apparently wasn’t expecting that as his posture shifts back just slightly.

“That’s not an answer.”

“You didn’t say anything when you got back. You always acknowledge us, which makes me assume something bad happened. I obviously respect that, but now, the first words we’ve spoken since you accepted the job is going to start a fight.” He started to deflate just in the slightest until my last statement. Before he spoke, the baby placed an empty bowl on top of Din’s shoe. He grabbed the bowl, putting it into the small sink behind him in the refresher.

“Why would we fight?” He tilts his head as he asks. Maybe I fell for that small tilt. Damn that cute tilt.

“I think we both know what I did to get the book without you knowing already.” I could hear the leather of his gloves against the book as his fist starts to clench. His voice came out louder than expected, making me flinch.

“That’s not safe, y/n.”

“I know, Din, but I just wanted a normalcy for the kid.”

“That’s not a good enough reason to risk yourself out there. Alone.”

“I brought a blaster and stayed low- “

“That doesn’t matter!”

I’ve never heard Din raise his voice to me before. The Mandalorians where known to be strong. I didn’t know they’d be strong enough to reach into my chest and clench my heart with just a voice. A voice I’ve truly heard twice. Maybe it was because there was always a sense of gentleness towards me that wasn’t spared for others that had me surrendering my heart and mind to the man in front of me.

“I was brought here because you trust me and my ability to protect the child. The child that I would lay my life down for. If I can protect him, I can protect myself.” Din make quick work of the ladder into the cockpit, leaving me standing there, I go to bend down, but he drops back to the previous spot. A quick beep catches my attention. My eyes go to the tracker in his hand. He makes a show of putting the tracker to the boy, the beeps only slightly slowing. He brings it towards me, and it quickens. Din then reaches for his pocket and brings out a puck, turning it on to show my face. “I don’t… I haven’t done anything.” He sighs, handing me the puck.

“You’re with me.” Realization sunk in. Obviously, someone would report that the ex-guild member and ‘the asset’ was traveling with a new companion.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry I didn’t know- “

“Sorry isn’t good enough.” Din quickly sidestepped my frozen body to his portion of soup. Did he not accept my apology for not knowing a bounty has been placed on me? Din starts walking with his bowl towards us and the room, but I turn, minding the child that has plopped himself in the same spot and blocked the door. “I’m tired.” He tries to push past but my arm flies towards the frame of the door my body doesn’t cover.

“Sorry’s not good enough?” He tightly sighs

“No.” I peer into the visor that isn’t returning my gaze.

“I can’t change a bounty on my head, Din.”

“No,” he states as he finally meets my eyes. “But you can change your actions.”

“What?” My question is almost completely hidden by the breathless, humorless laugh that escapes me. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Din leans in closer, his voice eerily steady and quiet.

“Don’t be reckless and leave without me.” I lean in closer, only millimeters separated us.

“We established I can handle myself.”

“And I established that that is not good enough.” He pushes past my arm and closes the door.

It had been a couple of days without speech. The only words uttered was towards the little boy, wo seemed none the wiser of our fight or situation. Din mainly stayed in the cockpit, and I stayed towards the back of the ship, doing maintenance. Din, strangely enough, kept a manual of overall maintenance for the ship in a random box. I wanted to learn the ship inside and out to be able to do quick work if we were in a sticky situation. Sparks had been flying for a while as I worked on soldering a tank joint back to the tank itself. I want to do a good job, but it’s hard when I can feel my heart in the sparks. I felt sparks anytime I accidentally brushed his shoulder with mine. Anytime he checked me over after a shootout. Anytime I caught him cradling his son when he thought I was sleeping. Even when we fought days ago, I couldn’t feel true anger or malice. I could only feel love. Maker, I can’t handle it.

I let out a yelp as I nicked myself with the soldering tool.

“Shit- Maker- Damn it!” I was too focus on the medium sized hole on the outside of my thumb to notice Din all but fly down from the cockpit to my side. The wound had half cauterized itself, but blood was still gushing. He assessed the damage and left to grab the healing spray and bandages. He grabbed my hand and I could feel the sparks again.

“What happened?” He started to wipe away the blood, and barely spared a glance to meet my eyes when I didn’t answer.

“I misjudged my hand placement.” There was a pause as he focused on my hand. Once he was done, he marched back to the ladder, but gave a finishing statement.

“Be more careful next time.” I scoff which stopped him in his tracks.

“I’m on the ship. Haven’t left, as you said. It was a little mishap, I’m not dead.” I turned, trying to hide the redness in my face. I couldn’t truly be angry at him, but this is getting ridiculous. I didn’t hear him leave but still jumped at his loud voice.

“No, you’re not, but you could be. I want you safe on the ship, y/n. I want you on the ship because I care. I want you to be more careful because I care. I don’t really know… If you got…Hurt? The kid would be devastated but I…” Din shook his head and made more headway on the ladder. I don’t want us to be on silent terms again.

“I care about you too, but I don’t stop you from doing what I trust you’re good at.” He stopped again. “Imagine it: you’re here on the ship, day-in and day-out. You’ve fallen for a known bounty hunter that risks her life every day to make money for you and her newfound son. To make money, she has to put herself in danger and the line of fire, just to make you happy. But you can’t help. You have to sit here and wait. Wait, not knowing if she will ever come back. So, all you have is yourself and that beautiful boy, wallowing in love a-and fear and-and not knowing what could happen- “

“Y/n- “

“What!?” In my rant, I hadn’t noticed that he grew closer. No words were spoken. All I could feel was him turning me around into his arms, hugging the life out of me. I quickly give it back, tears filling my eyes. “Imagine not knowing why you fell so hard or if it’s actually requited.” Din’s hand made quick work of finding my cheek, moving my head to peer into his visor.

“It is. I know I’m not… good at showing it, but I think I love you. I’ve never really…. Felt this way before.”

It’s like a dream come true. Smiling, I place my forehead against where I assume his sat behind the helmet.  I could feel him pressing back to show his affection.

Din had decided to fly to a closer planet than we usually land on when changing hideouts. This requires an actual pilot, especially since our new destination has more traffic than our usual. I look to the hatch when a loud plop could be heard. Din and I were enjoying a quiet, peaceful time in the cockpit together while the child was sleeping. Or so we thought.

All I could see was the book, then a cute green head pop up next to it. I smile to him as he waddles toward me, dragging the book behind him. I hadn’t picked I leaned down to meet him.

“Hey, bud. Not now, ok? Maybe a little later.” I normally wouldn’t mind, but I didn’t know if Din would want to hear me read for hours. I pat his head and sit right back up. After a minute, I hear a gargle. I look down to his pleading eyes. I smile but shake my head. “Honey, we’re halfway.” I lean down really close again and whisper. “I don’t think your dad would want to start in the middle. We can read later.” He looked like he gave me what seemed to be a nod. I sat up again and another minute passed. This time, the book quickly flew up, landing in Din’s lap. Din, alarmed, quickly looked down. The child tried clawing his way up his cape, and Din picked him up, placing him onto his lap. With his still free hand, he hands me the book. I watch as the kid wraps himself in Din’s loose cape, looking like a little burrito. His darling head peaked out and looked at me, waiting. I smile and flip to the beginning.

“Perry Johanason and the Evil of Endor, by S. Morganstern, chapter one. Ani lived on the far end of the base.” I snuck a quick glance upward to find Din relaxed in his chair, free hand over the kid, resting it on his back. The kid’s eyes were closed and snuggled securely against Din’s cape. It will take time for us to open up more, but now knowing how the others feel has opened a door to a whole new galaxy.

[writers-blogck]

Opposites [ Mandalorian x Reader ] 04

The sun was just beginning to peek over the edge of the dunes when Mando started up his ship. It rumbled under you as it began its ascent into the air and journey into the stars. It was strange as the ship began to sail in the sea of stars. Everything was dark up here. An ocean of an abyss filled with gem shards of stars. Your eyes scanned the vast landscape before you, hands gripping the armrests lightly to contain your excitement. It was everything you had dreamed about and more. "Have you never seen stars before?" Mando's gruff voice broke the silence, only stealing your attention away for a moment before you were focusing back on the stars.

"From the ground but never this close up. It is amazing."

"Are you telling me-" The chair turned to face yours, armored arms crossed over his beskar chest, "-that you have never been on a ship flying before? You said you were a skilled mechanic. Did you lie to me? I can still go back down to that sand-covered hole you call home and go on without you."

"No! I mean, I haven't but I've worked on a lot of ships before. They just...didn't fly. I could get them to turn on and I could have flown them if I knew how. I'm a mechanic, Mr.Mando, not a pilot. I never lied to you." Sitting up straight, you looked at where you assumed his eyes were. You wouldn't let his Mandalorian act get to you. He wanted you to feel intimidated, yet for a man to take in a băiat (baby boy), he couldn't be that terrible. You had been told you trusted people too quickly but you didn't let their words stop you. "Don't call me Mr.Mando." With the huff, he spun his chair back to focus on the controls. There was an alto pilot for backup at the moment but he still was plotting a course to find the next best planet to go to. You didn't care where he wanted to go as long as he took you away from your planet. What would you see? What was out there that you had never seen? Just the thought excited you. With one final glance at the vast unknown in front of you, you turned your attention to the newest book you had found. When you went scavenging, it was a rare treat to find pieces of literature. Sometimes they would be manuals or fiction but this was different. This was a notebook or diary someone had filled in. It was the first time you had ever found something like this. It was covered in wreckage from the ship when you found it but after a good brushing over, the only hint to the past was the aged pages and slightly worn cover.

The coffee-colored pages were held together by a leather cover with what looked to be two swords crossing on the cover. There was no way for you to tell how old it was. You had flipped through it quickly when you first found it and there weren't any dates listed. Perhaps it would be hidden in the entries and you could figure it out yourself. If there were any big or famous events, you should be able to put a small timeline together. The time didn't matter in reality. You had simply taken the book because it seemed interesting. There was nothing you were expecting to learn, unlike the other manuals you had taken from other ships.

As you opened the journal, you could feel how rough the pages were against your fingers. It had to be at least ten years old, probably older. You were surprised that it had lasted with how it looked to be on its last leg. A few more years and it may have begun to wear away, leaving broken pages and a worn leather cover. Who knows what kind of secrets would have been lost if you hadn't found it? Your eyes began to scan over the words, escaping into the diary to allow the Mandalorian the quiet which he seemed to prefer. The only time he did was when he reprimanded you. You pushed those thoughts to the side, making yourself focus on what was written on the pages. -Entry One-

I'm not sure why I'm writing this.

I've never kept a diary before but now I have so much I can't tell others. It is not due to a lack of trust per se but I know that I will only end up being scolded or taught some deep lesson if I do say anything. I could always talk to Skyguy about some of this stuff but he already has so much on his plate. I've ranted to R2 but it is still a lot different ranting to him. I know he is way smart and advanced for a droid but he still is a droid. Plus, what if he goes and tells Master? I can't risk that happening. It's nothing serious, I don't think anyway. R2 said it was just girl troubles and normal as I started to reach puberty. Yuck! Just the idea of R2 knowing and understanding puberty feels weird...Like he is a textbook of what happens during it. He can't fully understand how it feels. Robots don't go through puberty...Do they?

Anyway, he probably is right. There aren't many other fourteen-year-olds fightings in the rebellion. Plus, I am surrounded by guys all the time! There was the rare occasion of seeing Padme or some of the other female rebels but most of the time it is all guys. If I did have any questions, how could I ask them!? I'm not changing that much, right? I should just write down some of my questions about that and ask the next time Padme is around. She seems close to Master so she tends to pop up unexpectedly. I can feel how much he trusts her. I trust her, though I don't spend that much time with her. Still, she has some type of maternal aura around her when I'm near? Is it because she is so used to dealing with C3PO? That would be a handful. I'm glad we have R2 instead.

I also have some questions about the Jedi but I don't dare ask any of them just yet. Maybe I can ask Skyguy one day but not now. I just...Recently there was an attack and it was unknown if there were any survivors that needed help. Obi-wan said it was too risky to do a search and believed we should have left them. How could he think like that? They are a part of this rebellion as much as we are. I know he is just worried but is that how a Jedi is supposed to feel? I've heard him scolding Master at times for being so close to R2. Jedi's don't make attachments. Like, seriously? Why is that a rule we are supposed to follow?

Master doesn't think like that. It's hard to figure out what he believes because he always pretends when he wants to do something that Obi-wan doesn't believe in. He agreed about the search mission at first but once we left the base, he decided we had to go and find them. Does he get how confusing that is? He calls me reckless at times but he is thinking the same thing. He just acts like that because I'm younger than him. That has to be it.

I know both of them are good people but I just can't understand why they aren't as willing to take chances. We are the Jedi. We help people, it's what we do. Right? I'm not so sure anymore what we are supposed to stand for.

It's so confusing. I just want to help people and take down the bad ones. That sounds simple enough. Maybe it is just because they're old and need a young person to remind them what we need to do. They praised my determination for the search mission after it was all done. That has to be a good sign. Yet I dare not ask these questions yet and risk my padawanship. I still have so much to learn before I can do anything to help. I'm going to change the Jedi way one day. No one is going to have to follow those stupid rules...Oh, Gods, I'm starting to sound like Master now. Was he this way when he was a Padawan? Maybe we are more alike then I think.

As the entry drew to a close, you heard cooing and felt the child climbing up your leg to get on your lap. You had wondered where he was when the ship first took off. You assumed he was off taking a nap somewhere, maybe he was. Kids need a lot of sleep when they are that young. Well, when they are in that life-stage anyway. You couldn't call this child young when he was as old as your grandfather. It was interesting to see in person how different races can differ in such important life matters such as aging.

Shutting the book and placing it aside, you turned your attention to the little green ball of energy. With how he was acting, he just woke up from a nap and was ready to play. You doubted that the Mandalorian played with him a lot. He seemed to even keep himself from touching the little thing as much as possible. Did he not want to get attached? Just like in the entry, did he believe he couldn't form attachments?

To you, that was utter nonsense. Your people put relationships, platonic or romantic, above everything else in your beliefs. Being raised that way had made you able to express your feelings easily and let people know that you cared about them. Did this tough warrior have anyone? Did he ever have someone? This life seemed one filled with loneliness and solitude. As you had gotten on the ship, it was easy to figure out he was a bounty hunter with the carbonite freezer he had. Finding this kid was good for him...Who could keep themselves from getting close to the baby? He was so cute and adorable. You loved children to begin with but this one was the cutest you had ever seen. It hit those evolutionary instincts to take care of him with those big eyes. It was easy enough to entertain the child since he found your fingers to be just as interesting as any toy he could have. His tiny hands reached up and grasped at your fingers which threatened to tickle him. Could he laugh? You were curious if he was just like a normal baby in that regard. That was a question that deserved to be experimented on. His cooing was adorable enough that it would only make sense that his giggle would be too.

Your attention was drawn away from the diary you had read. There would be time later when he went back to taking a nap that would give you time to think. Still, it was hard to ignore one piece that you had read in the ink dried from years past. A ringing question that seemed to stick in your brain even as you idly played with the green jellybean: What was a Jedi?

[althebountyhunter]

Hey everyone! I decided that it’s finally time for me to write out the post-Grogu idea floating in my head. I want to explore what Din Djarin could be like after separating from his closest companion and this is what I’ve started!

Hope you enjoy,

     Alli

New Beginnings: Chapter 1, New Beginnings

Tags: Mature Audiences, Mild Injury Warning (minor blood mention), Swearing

Word Count: 2035

Mando stomps through the tall grass, heavy boots demolishing the blades dancing in the wind. His left hand has a death grip around the center bar of the cuffs holding the quarry’s hands hostage behind his back, giving Mando enough leverage to push the trudging Rodian back to the ship. The gentle breeze that flutters the edges of his cloak causes his usually menacing shadow to dance in the sunlight. There’s something about watching him shove a reluctant quarry along your path that amazes you. You know he does it for a living, but it doesn’t make his demeanor any less impressive. 

You however, do not demolish grass as you trail behind the Mandalorian. In fact, you barely cause it to bend. The tall grass pops up behind you as if to taunt you, to remind you that you are not in fact a terrifying bounty hunter. Which, technically is true. You’re not a bounty hunter, at least not officially with the guild. According to their records you’re just a nuisance with a blaster and a knack for evading major bodily harm. 

You pause as Mando lowers the ramp to the ship, giving the Rodian a shove into the hull just because he could. You watch them from the outside, taking one last chance to soak in the sun rays and fill your lungs with fresh air before you set off for the next planet on the list. The air is sweet and warm blowing around you and through the gaps of your fingers. It lifts strands of your hair and drops them haphazardly around your face. The grasses you fought so hard to walk through now bristle against your shins and tickle at your knee caps.

You close your eyes, trying to take this moment for everything it is. You don’t get a lot of time on nature-filled planets, or on the ground, or outside the ship come to think of it. Mando may have hired you as backup but he rarely ever needed any backup. The only reason you stepped off the ship today being a small ambush you begged to take on. At first you were told absolutely no fucking way, but after incessant pleading you were reluctantly allowed to “help.”

“Let’s go.” His modulated voice snaps you from your trance. Mando stands at the edge of the hull, a finger hovering over the ramp’s retract button. You can tell by his voice he isn’t pleased with you standing around in a field of grass, seemingly doing nothing. 

“Sorry,” is all you can manage to say, hurrying up the ramp and taking a seat on one of the many cargo crates littered around the ship. The door thuds closed behind you followed only by the low ring of metal creaking under the Mandalorian’s boots. 

He had already put the prisoner in carbonite while waiting for you to get your head out of the clouds. It wasn’t your fault the guy was basically a lethal tin can who couldn’t appreciate the simple moments. You sink down onto one of the many cargo crates littered around the hull and wait for what will surely be another boring jump to lightspeed. For a ship preparing to leave a planet’s orbit, it’s awfully quiet. You had spent plenty of time alone on this ship, and while that may have become the status quo, it didn’t make it any less lonely. 

You prop an arm up on one knee and rest your chin in your palm debating whether or not it was worth getting thrown off the New Crest for trying to start a conversation. It wouldn’t be that bad, this planet was nice from the little you had seen and not terribly violent despite your little brawl. There was probably a village you could walk to with food and a job, so really, getting your ass left here wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to you.

“So where to next,” you quip. It’s so evident in your tone that you don’t actually care. 

Mando doesn’t respond right away. Typical. He does however walk towards you, helmet tilted down to your right leg. “You’re bleeding.” The helmet makes it sound like more of a notification than a concern.

“What?” Instead of checking your leg your eyes stay locked with his visor, forehead scrunched and brows furrowed. 

“You’re bleeding,” he repeats, this time more stern. Mando points to your leg, and, shit. Sure enough you’ve got a somewhat nasty cut running about four inches from just below your knee cap to your outer leg. You hadn’t felt the cut, it wasn’t all the deep. Honestly more damage had likely come to the fabric of your pant leg than anything, you try to convince yourself.

“Oh um, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” You try to wave him off, play down the stinging setting in the longer you ignore it. As you try to stand, to step around him, he taps you on the sternum causing you to stumble back onto your make-shift chair. 

“It’ll get infected. Let me treat it.” He doesn’t give you much of a choice, taking your injured leg in his hand and shoving your pant leg up just high enough to expose the full damage. You can’t hold back a wince. Okay, maybe it did hurt a little more than you were hoping. Maybe standing in knee-high grass for so long wasn’t the smartest idea you’ve had today. Mando applies bacta to your cut then wraps a few layers of gauze to stop the immediate trickle of blood. 

“Some bounty hunter,” he mumbles as he finishes patching up your leg. 

“Not a bounty hunter,” you stiffly remind him. This had become a regular point of contention between you. See, when Mando hired you, the interview consisted of just two questions; can you shoot and can you fly. Apparently answering yes meant “yes, I’m a bounty hunter” and not actually “yes, I can shoot and fly.” It must not have bothered him that much given your continued stay on his ship. 

Mando didn’t say anything, just pulled the bottom of your scrunched pant leg down to your ankle before walking back to the cockpit. He took his place in the pilots seat before tapping in the coordinates for the next trip and initiating the lightspeed protocols.

“Um, thanks.” You aren’t sure how to respond, still baffled at how quickly Mando was able to switch from gentle and caring to cold and distant. 

Sometimes it seemed like he was holding back, like he was torn between wanting to embrace having someone around or push them away. The way Mando had noticed your injury before you had made it seem like he was used to looking out for someone other than himself. And, the delicate way he handled your leg was such a sharp contrast to his usual roughness that you would almost dare to call it second nature. You were considering letting the idea go, not making much of it and moving on. But something pulled at you, this sort of nagging curiosity to understand him beyond just a mysterious man hidden in beskar. You just wanted to know why, really. Of course there were other questions you wanted to ask but in this moment you needed to know why. You stood from your crate, taking a hesitant step forward on your injured leg. It doesn’t feel great, considerably more sore than before, but certainly not the worst shape you’ve been in.

“You shouldn’t walk on it yet.” Mando’s modulated voice throws you off guard. He hadn’t been looking anywhere near you and he still knows your every move. You shouldn’t be as surprised as you currently are, he is possibly the most well known bounty hunter throughout the galaxy for a reason. 

“Oh, yes, right. Well-” 

“You can ask your question,” he cuts you off. It isn’t stern, just to the point. A lot like him, actually.

“Why’d you clean and bandage my leg?” You blurt out, perhaps a bit too eagerly. The inflection in your question has Mando swiveling his seat to face you. You stare blankly at the visor of his helmet, just hoping he doesn’t make your curiosity for ungratefulness. 

“You were hurt,” he says calmly.

“Well yeah, but. I could've taken care of it, not like I was going to bleed out.” You cross your arms over your chest, hip popped as you shift your body weight onto your better leg, displeased  with his initial response. You’re waiting for the truth, and you know that he  knows you expect it.

The silence hangs in the air until Mando breaks it. He sighs, “I’ve gotten used to having a partner that needed a lot of help.” He shifts his posture to be less rigid, arms now loosely resting on the seat’s armrests and back ever so slightly hunched forward toward you.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t mean you.” Mando pauses, searching for a way to explain. “About two years ago I was hired for a difficult bounty. Pay was good so I took it. Turned out it was just a kid, they wanted me to bring in this kid, and…” His trails off, gaze now shifting from you to the floor. 

“And... you didn’t bring it in, did you?” 

He doesn’t look at you. “No, I couldn’t. I decided to save him, took him on the run to find more of his kind.” 

“Did you?” You ask softly. Baffled to have even gotten this much out of him. You lower yourself back on to your crate, trying to make it obvious that you want to know more if he’ll share it. 

“Eventually, yes. Some young kid, a um, fuck. What did he call himself? A Jedi, I think. Gave him the kid. That was almost a year ago now.” He sits quietly. Though you didn’t know it, that had been the first time he would ever tell someone about his recent history. You don’t know what to say. Is there anything you can say to someone opening up when they hardly say a word to you otherwise?

“I’m sorry,” you say meekly. “It sounds like you were really close.” 

Mando doesn’t answer. He simply fixes his posture and returns his chair to it’s primary position facing the dash of flickering lights. From your angle you could see the faint reflection of the red and green flashes off his body armor. It was clear you had gotten as much of the story as you were ever going to. Honestly, you still couldn’t believe he told you anything. You suppose you may never know his reasoning, and at this point you knew it was best to refrain from prodding further. 

The slight bulge of the bandage under your pant leg catches your eye, pulling you from the abstract train of thought to a new, clearer one.

Oh. It wasn't his partner. It was his kid, the bounty was like his kid. Mando didn’t just lose a partner, he gave up his family.

The realization hit you like a ton of bricks. Your chest tightened, suddenly understanding why he was so closed off but more importantly why he had asked you to join. He was lonely, and you happened to be in the right place at the right time to be someone he could simply exist around.

See, you had crossed paths in some tiny desert town, he asked a few questions about his current job and you told him what you knew in exchange for a handful of credits. At the time it was a moment in passing, until three days later you saw him walking back through town, this time quarry in tow. He had stopped long enough to thank you for your information and ask if you needed a job. A terrible, low paying job, he warned, but still a way off a desolate planet. 

So of course you said yes. At the time you assumed the offer came out of gratitude, but you were starting to understand that you played a bigger role than just the occasional back-up. 

You weren’t a replacement, no. You were a new beginning.

[voidendron]

One Little Kitten

One-Shot, 1′696 words Star Wars AU

(( I wanted to write when Marv was found by his clan; it’s from the leader’s POV instead of his since he was pretty little at the time. This was partially just to do some study on his species and to give his clan a little more life (hah) ))

Warnings: Minor Character Death (Corpses), Child Death Characters: Marvin the Magnificent, Ferr (OC), Other Background OCs POV: Ferr Magniif

Keeping her blaster close and body low, Ferr’s eyes scanned the settlement just beneath the ridge she was perched on.

There was nothing left. Just felled tents, destroyed crates, bodies. Bodies everywhere. Bodies of pirates, and bodies of the Cathar villagers. Men, women, and, god… She felt her stomach twist when she noticed even children laying down there, motionless.

She’d gotten in contact with the settlement to trade goods—some good blasters in return for ship parts that Clan Magniif needed. She’d never expected to arrive to…

“Sir?” One of her men—Mili—had the scope on his helmet down in front of his visor. He was shaking his head. “Only getting some small energy signatures—probably from droids or computers that managed to make it.”

No smoke. Nothing was smoldering.

Ferr activated her jetpack; the four accompanying her followed suit. Down, down to the settlement, weapons poised, heads on swivels. Her boots crunched in the dirt when she landed, and when she toed at one of the dead pirates, the body was stiff. Stiff, and cold, and its eyes already decaying, and no smoke from anywhere, nothing.

She shook her head. “Happened a few days ago.”

Simon snorted from her left. “I thought Cathar were warriors.”

“They are.” Mili was kneeling at another pirate’s side, prodding at the obvious claw marks in his face. “And they clearly fought. But they wanted weapons for a reason.”

“They were Bantha fodder just waitin’ to be slaughtered.” Sarla put her hands on her hips. Even with a helmet, Ferr could picture the sour expression on the older woman’s face as she scanned the settlement. “Warriors or not, these people didn’t have much a chance against armed pirates.”

“I’ve never liked pirates,” Mili growled as he pulled himself back to his feet, kicking one of the offending bodies for good measure.

Ferr couldn’t agree more. “That makes two of us.”

“Slippery bunch they are.”

“Cowards, the lot of ‘em.”

Glancing back at the youngest member of their party, Ferr frowned. “Sisto, you’re awfully quiet.”

“I keep getting weird readings.” They put their scope away, offering a shrug. “It’s probably just broken again. Sorry.”

“I’m surprised these people even agreed to trade with us.” Simon had wandered off and found a broken…something, that he was tossing from hand-to-hand carelessly. “You know, after what our people did to theirs?”

Ferr and Sarla glanced at each other. It was the older woman to speak first, “Kid, the Mandalorian Wars were long before any of our times. Generations ago. If we can help each other out, then why not?”

“Hey, just saying. Our ancestors did almost make their entire damn species go extinct.”

Mili just shoved past him to check under one of the fallen tents, while Sisto grumbled something mockingly under their breath. Ferr just felt a spark of irritation. “You complain an awful lot about our history,” she noted. “I’d be careful about that.”

He missed the chunk of metal in the next toss and it clattered off behind something. “That a threat?”

“I lead this clan. If I ever feel your loyalty wavers, I’ll gladly remove you from it.” The unspoken “one way or another” hung in the air between them.

Simon snorted, but said no more. They both knew which of the two would win in a fight, so now he’d tuck his tail and keep his head down for a while to avoid one. Ferr could only turn away and to start searching the rubble, but she could practically feel Sarla trying not to laugh in the man’s face.

Mili had already broken the other man’s jaw once before when he’d pressed just the right button. Ferr even had a bet going with her second on how long it would be before it happened again.

“’Ey, boss, what’re we even lookin’ for now?” Sarla picked up the remains of what looked like a glove, dropping it when she realized the hand was still inside. “Place is picked clean.”

“Whatever—” Movement made her stop short and poise her blaster instead. When she turned to Simon—had he thrown something?—he threw his free hand up and shook his head. His blaster was also readied, and Sisto had their scope down again, the blinking light on the side telling Ferr that they had it in its infrared setting.

“Maybe it’s not broken…” they mumbled. “Something’s here. Didn’t get a good look at it.”

“Scavenger?” Mili suggested. He had both hands gripped tightly around his electrostaff, purple electricity sparking at its ends.

“It was pretty small. Animal, maybe.”

“Womp rat?”

“Not everything is a womp rat, Sarla. …And aren’t they big?”

“They aren’t even on this planet, so what’s that matter?”

“Keep your guard up,” Ferr interrupted. “Look for anything useful we can take back.”

Ferr managed to find a well-stocked toolbox. She nodded approvingly, but dropped it when Sarla and…someone else, she didn’t recognize the voice, started shouting. Well, the new voice was really more shrieking.

“Aw, he’s just a little tyke!”

“Sarla!”

The older woman was holding the child by the back of his shirt while he kicked and clawed and hissed at her. His eyes were wide—Ferr could see the whites even from where she stood—and, while her Catharese was poor, she could tell his vocabulary was limited. Kid couldn’t be more than a few years old.

“Sarla!” she repeated, more forcefully that time. “You’re scaring him!”

“I’m not doin’ nothing! Kid’s just a spitfire!”

Holstering her blaster, Ferr pulled her helmet off as she approached, keeping her body low. The kid only looked at her wide eyes as he curled in on himself, feet dangling uselessly as Sarla held him off the ground.

She had to wrack her brain for the language she didn’t know well, and she knew it wouldn’t sound right—she couldn’t growl like the Cathar!—but the moment the words came out, the little guy relaxed a little.

“We won’t hurt you. You’re okay.” Ferr opened the pouch at her hip, pulling out a nonperishable food stick that she held out. “Are you hungry?”

He snatched it up greedily as soon as he was set back on the ground. When she offered a second, it was gone just as quickly as the first. They didn’t taste any good—poor guy must be starving.

“Sisto,” she murmured softly, not wanting to startle the kid, “I thought Cathar had siblings?”

“Littermates,” they agreed. “He likely has at least one other sibling his age.”

Ferr didn’t know the Catharese word for littermates, so she asked instead, “Brothers or sisters? Where are they?”

“Papa told us to hide.” His voice was squeaky, so she wasn’t surprised that the growl to accompany some of the words startled Simon. The kid had retracted his claws and started chewing on his fingers. “Mm… They didn’t listen.”

“Did the pirates take them?”

He shook his head and pointed at the body of a Cathar male—Ferr noticed that, like the child, he had a heart-shaped mark on his forehead. He was curled around two tiny bodies.

“The mean men made them sleep! They don’t wanna wake up so they’re sleepin’ with Papa.”

Poor kid didn’t understand… Maybe that was for the better.

Ferr held out a hand and he grabbed it curiously. “My name is Ferr. What’s yours?”

“Marvin.” He giggled, swinging her hand and picking at her glove. “You talk funny. And look funny.”

“Don’t think he’s seen a Human before,” she said to her companions—the boy only tilted his head when he couldn’t understand her switch to Mando’a. Then, in her sloppy Catharese, she answered, “That’s a very nice name, Marvin. I don’t know your language very well, but maybe you can teach me, and I’ll teach you mine?”

“Really?”

Glancing back at the bodies of the kid’s father and littermates, Ferr nodded. “Yeah. Your papa wants us to take you with us. We can train you, and teach you things, and those mean men will never hurt you. How does that sound?”

“What about them?”

“We’ll let them keep sleeping.” Ferr reached down for her helmet, slipping it back on while the kid tilted his head. She brought a hand up to ruffle his hair (mane? it was thicker than Human hair). “You’ll get a helmet like this.”

“I will!?” He was grinning.

Their armorer would really have to work to craft one to fit his bigger, pointier ears and flatter nose, but, “Of course you will! We’ll make sure you feel right at home.”

Their first foundling in some time—the last had been found a few years ago and had recently turned old enough to get her first helmet. Ferr stood, picking the kid up and holding him close—was he purring?

“He’s not Human,” Simon muttered.

“Our founders weren’t Human,” Sisto snipped back. “It’s unusual these days, sure, but not impossible. As long as he embraces and respects our culture, he can be as much a Mandalorian as the rest of us.”

“’Sides!” Sarla leaned in to inspect the kid—he’d tucked his face against Ferr’s neck. “Only different between him an’ us is he’s got fur and—” she held up her gloved hands as if they had claws, “—built-in weapons. What Human Mando ain’t gonna envy that?”

“As with any foundling, he’ll be treated as our own.” She rubbed her hand over his back and he started purring again, hugging his arms around her neck and playing with strands of hair that were loose from her helmet. “Mili, you’ve always wanted a kid, right? Why don’t you take him under your wing?”

While she couldn’t see his expression, she could certainly tell that the larger man had perked up at that.

When she activated her jetpack, his arms tightened, but she shushed him, held him securely. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

He was so young. Ferr wasn’t sure he’d even remember what had happened to his tiny village when he got older. That didn’t matter—he’d be treated just like any other member of Clan Magniif.

Marvin. Little Marvin Magniif.

That had a nice ring to it.

[celticvampriss]

This is a prequel fic to Established Rhythm involving my own OC, Kira Skye, and a developing romance with the Mandalorian.  If anyone wants to be tagged when I update let me know.  You can read this by following the link or reading the chapter below the read more. 

TAG LIST: @banana-batman

A scream followed the hydraulic hiss of the central lifter and a body flew over the extending boarding ramp.  It landed with a crunch on a bed of grime and dust, sending a wave of rodents scattering into the trash that had built up in the corner of the mud caked buildings. The sun was blocked by a haze of cloud and smog, the air thick with greenhouse heat that added a nice pungency to the overall smell.

The Mandalorian looked down at his feet, meeting a pair of wide brown eyes that naively saw no issues with the landscape they were about to enter.

“This is no place for a kid,” He said, almost to himself.  The Kid liked the occasional sound or he’d get mischievous, and so Dyn was working on the habit of narrating.  If only to save his ship from idle green hands.  “Any chance I can get you to listen and stay put?”

The Kid cooed, already heading down the ramp.

Dyn sighed.

He let the Kid walk for exactly two tense minutes before scooping him up and quickly weaving his way through the city to his destination.  He couldn’t say this was an ideal choice for a new base for the Enclave, but then it wasn’t his place to have a say.  He was the reason they’d had to move.  Dyn had already memorized the layout, easily finding the new base and proceeding inside.  There, at least, surrounded by familiarity and even—despite the new scenery—as close a sense to ‘home’ as he could claim, The Kid would be safe on his own legs, but had protested being set down.  With a sigh, Dyn continued to carry him.

As he neared the Armorer, the one who had summoned him, he noticed a face that didn’t belong.  A woman with no helmet or armor—who wore quite the opposite in a brightly colored gown with dark hair twisted and bent into an elaborate design—his eyes lingered on her.  It was jarring to see a face in the Enclave, he’d imagine it was similar to walking through the halls of your childhood home and seeing a ghost leaning on the kitchen counter chatting with your parents.  

He found the Armorer and set the Kid down as he sat and waited.  She was in the middle of working and didn’t care to be interrupted.

With a spray of steam, she threw down her smithing gloves and came around to greet him with a silent nod, which he returned.

The Armorer’s gaze drifted briefly to the Kid and then back.  “We have a time critical situation that will require your cooperation.”

“What do you need?”

“We need protection and immediate evacuation for her,” The Armorer gestured past the open archway of the armory, to the woman he noticed earlier.

His fists clenched. He couldn’t refuse the request.  `“Why?  What does she need protecting from?”

“She’s proven to be a great asset to our community, with connections that might just get us some ground in our plans for the future.  A little less hiding.”

“A politician?”  No wonder she needed protection.  

“Not exactly, but there are those who will silence her if they had the chance.  We can’t risk that.  So you are going to get Kira Skye off this planet and keep her alive until we contact you.”

Dyn glanced at the woman again, her chin high in the air, shoulders set, though closer observation showed the snagged and frayed edges of her dress—recent damage—and that elaborate hair design was lopsided.  If he were to guess, she was a highborn lady, someone who had grown up with credits and privilege.  And still ‘no’ was not an option.

“Fine,” He relented, “But my ship is small, she’ll have to travel light.”

“She has one bag,” The Armorer gestured to a small, well made rucksack near the door.

They exchanged terse parting words and Dyn scooped up the Kid to leave.  He hesitated, then grabbed the rucksack and slung it over his shoulder. Out in the hall, the other Mandalorian’s had left, and she was alone and staring questioningly in his direction.

He sighed, resolving himself to this situation outside his control and silently hoping that it wouldn’t turn out the way he was predicting.  Now, closer, he noted the signs of fear and unease in her posture and manners.  “Guess you’re with me,” He said, “Come on.”

Kira followed him silently. If he knew that would be her only moments of silence, he might have appreciated it properly, for now he was only grateful to put that planet behind him and that she hadn’t cried.  

She marched up the boarding ramp, head high, and immediately crossed her arms as her eyes bounced around the main cabin.  Once inside the Razorcrest, he set her bag and the Kid down.  “Sit tight until I come back.”  He headed for the cockpit.

“Wait,” She marched after him, “Where are you going?”

“I’m getting you off this planet,” He said, “As ordered.”

Her mouth opened and closed, green eyes flashing with a touch of insanity.  Her heart was racing, too.  He wasn’t sure what had brought her to this moment, but he was starting to piece it together.  One bag, nice clothes that were freshly torn, and how hard she was trying to cover her fear and panic with forced confidence.  She started to wring her hands together, fingers working over and over each other as her breathing grew heavier.

“Here, sit.”  He guided her without touching her to a seat—a crate that was the right height—and then the shut bay door.  

“I’m fine. Really.  I’ll be fine.  I just,” She swallowed, “I just need some air.”

He didn’t know how to tell her that all her air would be recirculated from the air scrubbers and life-support systems for the foreseeable future.  It was the kind of comment that wouldn’t help anyway.  Instead he found a canteen and offered her old water that, maybe, hadn’t gone stale.

Kira chugged it, water spilling out the corners of her mouth, and when she finished she swiped at her lips with the back of her hand.  “Thank you,” She said through heavy breaths, “I don’t remember the last time I drank anything.”

Sitting wasn’t wise. He needed to get them airborne and on their way if the threats to her life were that serious.  Yet, every time he turned to do just that, she stopped him.

“Can I come?”  She pleaded, eyes big and the barest tremor in her lips.  The Kid had already crawled his way up there, though how was a mystery, and he did have the seat for another.  There wasn’t any reason to say no except that there was a lot of people encroaching on his solitude and, though he wouldn’t say he hated it, he wasn’t used to it either.

“Sure,” He relented. She crawled into the seat behind his, pulling her legs up under her and getting cozy.  He’d never be that flexible, especially with all the armor.

“What’s that flashing?” She asked, as the engines started up and he went through the launching sequences.  He glanced down, where her finger was pointing.

“Proximity sensor.”

“What does that do?”

“Alerts when we’re close to things.”

He felt her rise, her hands gripping the back of his seat while she craned her head around him to look. “What about that?”

“It’ll take a long time to explain every switch or indicator,” He said, “And you should be seated. Or you’ll fall.”

She sat and he heard the safety harness click.  “I have time, you know.”

He sighed.  The Kid cooed in his lap while every other minute she fpund something new to say or ask.  He counted one blessing, her constant talking was keeping the kid happy which meant he didn’t have to do it.  Once they were moving, he technically didn’t have to stay in the cockpit, but he liked to.  Or, rather, sitting in the cockpit had become a habit when he was alone and had nothing else to occupy him while traveling.  Now, he supposed, there were things he could do, like see to Kira’s temporary living situation.  The Kid had found a shelf to call home—forgoing the crib he’d tried to build for him—and didn’t take up much space.  As for accommodations, the Razorcrest had exactly one sleeping cabin with one single bed. There was a cot somewhere in his gear, buried, but he’d have to make it work.  He could hardly stick her on the cot in the middle of the open.

“Where are we going?” She asked, ending a solid 47 seconds of silence.

“Not sure yet,” He said, “Right now, I’ve got us heading toward the outer rim.  Best place to lay low.”

There was a touch of awe in her voice, which was so naturally expressive he hardly needed to see her to know every emotion she was feeling.  “I’ve never been this far from home before.  I’ll admit, for as much as I’m afraid, I’m also excited.”

“That’s nice,” He added, though it wasn’t to be dismissive.  She seemed to pick up on that and babbled on.

“I’ve read about a great many planets, learning and reading are my favorite activities, since I hadn’t gotten out much as a child.  If I’d known I was going to be traveling, I’d have read about ships and their functions. Then I’d have a better idea what all these things do,” She gestured around the cockpit, “Like I’ve been staring at that panel up there for ages, but I can’t decide if it’s meant to show the engines or the life-support functions.”

“Neither,” he said, “That’s an optical transducer panel.”

“What does that mean?”

“Means there are sensors in places sensors aren’t normally found.  Keeps the ship more secure.”

“How does it—”

“There’s a manual,” He said, rising and scooting around her legs to a cabinet above her head.  He brushed off some of the dust and handed the data pad to her.  “Everything about the ship is in there.”

The thing was a relic, he’d never touched it in the years since he’d owned the ship, but the look in her eyes when her fingers closed around half a century old data pad you’d think it was a gold plated set of rare jewels.  She stood up, hugging the data pad to her chest, and they were very close together—nowhere else to stand—and she looked like she might try to hug him.

“Your room is down here,” He avoided quickly, heading down the ladder and away from the smothering intensity of her eyes.  

She followed him down, saying something about ladders and climbing them in dresses and impractical shoes, and how she really wished she had been able to grab a proper change of clothes. “As it is,” She continued, “It’s just more of this.  I hadn’t a chance to…” She swallowed.  “I took what I could and, unfortunately, that means nothing of real use.  I don’t even have shoes.”  She gestured to the high heel of her footwear and then proceeded to rip them off and chuck them in a corner.  “I’ll clean those up later.”  She said, marching barefoot past him.

“There’s only one cabin with a bed.  I’ll need a few minutes to get what I need out, but then it’s all yours—”

She held up her hand in a very commanding gesture, though somehow she managed it without the condescending air.  “Out of the question.”

“There’s no other room.”

She looked around, “I can figure out something out here.”

“You can take the room.”

“No.”  She crossed her arms, and gave him a look that said quite clearly he would not win this debate.  She would outlast him.

He sighed.  “Then all I have is a cot.  I need to find it first.”

“I’ll help you look.”

They searched through the accumulated junk and odds and ends for a good half hour.  Mostly silent, except she had to constantly ask him questions about the things she found.  She even cleaned as she went, neatening each displaced object whether it was trash or not. Her path through the minimal storage space was an organized trail.  He looked back at his path, and it was just a mess with a walkway in the middle.  They found the cot after another half hour and he set it up and placed it against a wall.  At least, without carbonite bounties taking up space, there was more room to walk, but that still didn’t leave much.  There was also the issue that the cot needed to be secured.  He found some tools and welded it in place. He’d hack it apart later.  Or leave it, didn’t matter.

“Thank you,” she said once he finished.  He nodded.

“I’m sorry I don’t have much for sheets, but there’s an extra pillow.” This was a lie, there was only one and it was his, but he was starting to learn that if he told her that, she’d refuse it.

“Ha!” She tore open her rucksack and started tossing long, flashy garments over the faded, dull green canvas of the cot.  “Guess they did have a use after all.”

“Can I get you anything else?”  There wasn’t much else to offer.

“No, thank you.  I’ll be fine.  Please don’t worry about me.”

He nodded, then hesitated to leave.  It was still bothering him, her not taking the room.  He didn’t want to voice it, but he thought he could guess the reason. Still, the question wouldn’t come, so he watched her awkwardly for a second, before snapping back to his senses and attempting to leave.

“You want to know why I refused your room,” She stopped him, eyes knowing.  How she had guessed his question, he decided not to imagine.  She gave him a knowing wink and then tapped her head.  “I know a bit about the culture and I’m not about to throw you out of your space when, of the two of us, you’re the one who needs privacy.”

He had a feeling that was it, but then he hadn’t expected her—anyone, really—to be that considerate of what he needed.  People often attempted.  If they weren’t skirting the line of rudeness, then they would at least be civil about it.  But never adjusting their own comfort for his.

He left her.  He wasn’t quite tired, so he returned to the cockpit to try and settle on a place they could restock supplies.  Her voice drifted up from her cot, a slow, luring song in words he didn’t understand.  She was singing.  He might have minded, except her voice was pleasing.  Lyrical, but strong, he decided to enjoy it rather than tune her out by adjusting his audio sensors.

It wasn’t long before she fell asleep.  He swiveled in his seat, glancing toward where she lay, but unable to see her.  He only knew she slept because the singing had stopped.  It had been nice, but the quiet was welcome.  Alone, with only the sounds of the ship, it was a piece of his old normal.  He settled back to enjoy the encompassing solitude, when Kira’s voice startled him into standing.  He hopped down the ladder, though he couldn’t imagine that any danger had found her in the two hours since he’d left her, and he realized she was still sleeping.  Her voice babbled incoherent strings of words and phrases.  

Of course she talked in her sleep.  He had a feeling that his moments of solitary quiet would only exist in memory.